Radically Modernizing the Bus Network (London)

[marmar]

from the Next American City blog:





London’s Underground rail network is hugely popular with the city’s residents, carrying over 3 million passengers a day between its 270 stations. However, its iconic buses are even more widely used, transporting 6 million Londoners around the city every day.

But with Britain’s new coalition government preparing comprehensive budget cuts, the future of London’s transport network is uncertain. The Mayor recently abolished plans for both a £70 million extension to the Docklands Light Railway and a tramline along Oxford Street – London’s popular shopping district – and the national government has repeatedly stated their desire to reduce the £16 billion budget of Crossrail – a high-frequency railway connecting East and Western outer London with the city centre.

Despite this, London is pushing forward with other ambitious plans for its transport network. Crossrail is continuing, and the Mayor has even launched a public consultation on plans for a cable car crossing the river Thames in East London. But funding for this project would need to be sourced privately, and considering the long-term nature of national government spending cuts, London is unlikely to see transport developments as expensive and ambitious as Crossrail for several years.

But to encourage continued use of public transport and make London a more sustainable city, a commitment to developing and improving the network will need to be made, albeit on a smaller budget. Thankfully for London, one potential solution to this dilemma is already endorsed by 6 million Londoners every day – the bus. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://americancity.org/buzz/entry/3137/

[nxylas]

1. London is the one British city that already has first-rate public transport

How about diverting some of that money to the rest of the country, instead of on the expensive white elephant that is Crossrail?