If you were Mayor: your transport manifesto

[towerman]

When they got agreement with the unions a few years ago to recruit T/Ops off the street there was a 65% failure rate.

[yunus]

Saying this light hearted:

First thing I would do in regards to transport is focus on improving buses by creating better connections.

Secondly I would scrap all HYBRID/ELECTRIC buses.

Thirdly I would work with the govt to set lower fares.

Will post more when comes to mind cos I need to think deeply.

[capitalomnibus]

Apr 14, 2024 9:07:00 GMT TB123 said:

With a Mayoral election around the corner and transport being a huge issue as always, I thought this would be a fun thread to do: if you were Mayor or a candidate what transport ideas would you put in your manifesto?

And go 👇

I would ban all LTN's and CPZ, these are nothing to do with what they state and purely there for revenue raisers and create more problems than anything else.

Ban any more bus garage closures and give them listed status
Start Crossrail 2
Reclaim land for the Northern Heights project
Central line extended to Brentwood via Ongar Branch
Ban all protests in central London
Re introduce junk food adverts on transport system
Abolish cycling nonsense from TfL
Ban temporary traffic lights
Vandalism to public transport automatic 5 year sentence and being whipped 100 times a month
Bring buses back under TfL
Scrap TfL and re-introduce London Transport
Scrap ULEZ, makes no sense
Tax cyclists and introduce a tax charge on all cycle sales
Insurance and number plates compulsory for all cyclists
Mandatory 10 year prison sentence for all cyclists not wearing a helmet
Remove all the 20 zone nonsense bullshit apart from outside schools and major shopping centre's
Scrap the 24 hour routes and put it back to N prefix on ALL night routes.
More to be done to preserve buses, scrap any stupid LEZ on buses over 15 years and not used in stage carriage service.
Reintroduce child fares
Fare evaders when caught get a choice of 3 months in prison or 100 lashes
Sadiq Khan and Donald Trump made to do a cage fight at Tower of London in just their underwear with alligators waiting to get them if they try to exit the ring.
Ban all these stupid high rise new build flats.
Scrap route 357
Re introduce cross border bus routes that go out of London

[capitalomnibus]

Apr 15, 2024 15:00:04 GMT TB123 said:

Apr 15, 2024 14:49:34 GMT Green Kitten said:

Go ahead then, detail what you wish to be changed to the benefits package. 

Whatever guff the Daily Mail write tomorrow:

The same tripe spouted out by the chav rags the Mirror and Guardian

[PGAT]

You can tell this guy has never ridden a bike in his life

[Green Kitten]

Apr 15, 2024 22:31:05 GMT capitalomnibus said:

Scrap the 24 hour routes and put it back to N prefix on ALL night routes.

What would be the point of this?

[mondraker275]

Apr 14, 2024 20:39:58 GMT Eastlondoner62 said:

9. Make bus stations a pleasant waiting experience for passengers. Bus Stations like Canning Town and Walthamstow are dreadful for people to wait at and they really do need some TLC and frequent maintenance. If you want people to use the new routes such as Superloop you need to make sure that the waiting area is suitable for them. 

Two of my top three used bus stations. What is wrong them?

One immediate thing that I will focus on is a complete overhaul of how roadworks operate to ensure:

- No site is unattended during peak times.
- Temporary light phasing is reviewed and monitored regularly. Buses prioritised.
- Proper cost rates for digging up roads to ensure efficiency of works. Including weekend rates even though no works are taking place.
- Multiple works cannot take place at close proximity to each other.

Separately, ban taxis from using bus lanes.

[capitalomnibus]

Apr 16, 2024 6:06:31 GMT PGAT said:

You can tell this guy has never ridden a bike in his life

Really? Maybe I have rode them too much. I can ride, so stunts on bike etc. Been riding bikes since the 1980's over 40 years now.

[capitalomnibus]

Apr 16, 2024 9:27:51 GMT Green Kitten said:

Apr 15, 2024 22:31:05 GMT capitalomnibus said:

Scrap the 24 hour routes and put it back to N prefix on ALL night routes.

What would be the point of this?

Uniformity. After all they got rid of all the A numbers, the 24 hour style routes has caused more confusion than anything else.

[southlondon413]

Apr 16, 2024 10:31:15 GMT capitalomnibus said:

Apr 16, 2024 9:27:51 GMT Green Kitten said:

What would be the point of this?

Uniformity. After all they got rid of all the A numbers, the 24 hour style routes has caused more confusion than anything else.

Explain to me how it causes confusion? Is the difference between a 24hr and night only route not clear?

[TB123]

So I've left it a bit late to post on my own thread creation, but here goes....

Trams/light rail 
I'd extend the DLR to Dagenham Dock and Thamesmead.
I'd build the West London tram along the Uxbridge corridor.
I'd resurrect the previously planned tram extensions to Sutton and Crystal Palace.

Underground
I'd rebuild Camden Town station, and split the Northern Line into 2 - Morden to High Barnet via Bank and Battersea to Edgware via Charing X - and I'd extend the Battersea branch to Clapham Junction
I'd extend the Bakerloo Line to Lewisham and truncate it at Queen's Park
I'd commission new trains for the Central, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Waterloo & City line
I'd transfer Metropolitan Amersham & Chesham services over to London Overground (inc Chiltern Aylesbury services)
I'd extend the Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction
I'd convert the Watford DC line to an Underground line using S8 trains made free (See above)
I'd extend the Northern line to Bushey Heath from Edgware and build the full Northern Heights project as was
I'd build a loop at the Brixton end of the Victoria to incorporate Herne Hill

Overground/National Rail
I'd devolve most suburban rail services to TfL - Southern Metro services, South Western suburban services, South Eastern suburban services, Great Northern suburban services, Chiltern Aylesbury & Wycombe services, Greater Anglia services via Lea Bridge & to Hertford East, GWR Greenford shuttle
I'd implement the suggestions in the South London 'Metroisation' report of improved infrastructure, more frequent services and new rolling stock more akin to S-Stock units (with toilets)
I'd have Thameslink as a separate operation with joint TfL/DfT responsibility 
I'd build Crossrail2 in full 
I'd convert the Watford DC line to Underground as described above

Buses
I'd convert all but a handful of routes to high-frequency, and change the minimum definition from 5bph to 6bph
I'd introduce a Superloop 3 and maybe even 4 - a whole new network of express routes all over London and adjusting stopping routes accordingly 
I'd delay a fully ZE fleet beyond 2030 (No later than 2035) if it meant extra services could be rolled out quicker, but ideally by 2030
I'd get rid of Hail & Ride everywhere but country lanes and the sort
I'd do deals with neighbouring authorities to bring some cross-border routes into the TfL system - albeit with a different brand and colour, but the same fare structure  - eg 84 restored to Barnet, 614, 477, 458, 461, 402 restored to Bromley
I'd introduce free electric minibus shuttles around towns and neighbourhoods where conventional bus access was tricky - eg Walthamstow Village
I'd move over to 10 or 15 year depot-based tenders with routes reassigned according to operational efficacy 
I'd build a BRT along Purley Way and also along the 472 corridor - using open-boarding articulated buses - and I'd expand the ELT system accordingly too, and convert that to articulated vehicles. I'd also build 'mini BRT's out of big railheads where there are heavy flows, like Brixton, Finsbury Park and Hammersmith
I'd convert suitable high-footfall, shorter-ride routes to either long single decks or articulated vehicles to improve passenger flow and increase frequencies accordingly
I'd introduce tri-axle double decks with a rear staircase onto busy routes with a longer-ride and suitable road layouts
I'd merge TfL enforcement officers into the BTP and expand the unit size to cover buses and the wider transport network 

Other stuff
There'll be loads more I'll think of and forget that I'll add accordingly down the line
I'd move back towards 30 mph limits on some main roads, but keep busy thoroughfares in high footfall locations and smaller roads at 20 mph
I'd continue to build cycle lanes and LTNs, but only where they are properly designed and I'd remove ones that aren't suitable
I'd introduce a TfL directly operated boat service from Gravesend to Windsor (in overlapping blocks) with tube-level fares and zonal fare structure and frequent departures - I'd call it 'Waterloop'
I'd abolish peak fares and have a standardised all-day level - I'd also look to harmonise non zone 1-6 fare zones.

How is all this gonna be paid for and delivered?
Building a s*it tonne of new development and the magic money tree. Obvs.

[wirewiper]

May 1, 2024 15:00:45 GMT TB123 said:

So I've left it a bit late to post on my own thread creation, but here goes....

Trams/light rail 
I'd extend the DLR to Dagenham Dock and Thamesmead.
I'd build the West London tram along the Uxbridge corridor.
I'd resurrect the previously planned tram extensions to Sutton and Crystal Palace.

Underground
I'd rebuild Camden Town station, and split the Northern Line into 2 - Morden to High Barnet via Bank and Battersea to Edgware via Charing X - and I'd extend the Battersea branch to Clapham Junction
I'd extend the Bakerloo Line to Lewisham and truncate it at Queen's Park
I'd commission new trains for the Central, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Waterloo & City line
I'd transfer Metropolitan Amersham & Chesham services over to London Overground (inc Chiltern Aylesbury services)
I'd extend the Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction
I'd convert the Watford DC line to an Underground line using S8 trains made free (See above)
I'd extend the Northern line to Bushey Heath from Edgware and build the full Northern Heights project as was
I'd build a loop at the Brixton end of the Victoria to incorporate Herne Hill

Overground/National Rail
I'd devolve most suburban rail services to TfL - Southern Metro services, South Western suburban services, South Eastern suburban services, Great Northern suburban services, Chiltern Aylesbury & Wycombe services, Greater Anglia services via Lea Bridge & to Hertford East, GWR Greenford shuttle
I'd implement the suggestions in the South London 'Metroisation' report of improved infrastructure, more frequent services and new rolling stock more akin to S-Stock units (with toilets)
I'd have Thameslink as a separate operation with joint TfL/DfT responsibility 
I'd build Crossrail2 in full 
I'd convert the Watford DC line to Underground as described above

Buses
I'd convert all but a handful of routes to high-frequency, and change the minimum definition from 5bph to 6bph
I'd introduce a Superloop 3 and maybe even 4 - a whole new network of express routes all over London and adjusting stopping routes accordingly 
I'd delay a fully ZE fleet beyond 2030 (No later than 2035) if it meant extra services could be rolled out quicker, but ideally by 2030
I'd get rid of Hail & Ride everywhere but country lanes and the sort
I'd do deals with neighbouring authorities to bring some cross-border routes into the TfL system - albeit with a different brand and colour, but the same fare structure  - eg 84 restored to Barnet, 614, 477, 458, 461, 402 restored to Bromley
I'd introduce free electric minibus shuttles around towns and neighbourhoods where conventional bus access was tricky - eg Walthamstow Village
I'd move over to 10 or 15 year depot-based tenders with routes reassigned according to operational efficacy 
I'd build a BRT along Purley Way and also along the 472 corridor - using open-boarding articulated buses - and I'd expand the ELT system accordingly too, and convert that to articulated vehicles. I'd also build 'mini BRT's out of big railheads where there are heavy flows, like Brixton, Finsbury Park and Hammersmith
I'd convert suitable high-footfall, shorter-ride routes to either long single decks or articulated vehicles to improve passenger flow and increase frequencies accordingly
I'd introduce tri-axle double decks with a rear staircase onto busy routes with a longer-ride and suitable road layouts
I'd merge TfL enforcement officers into the BTP and expand the unit size to cover buses and the wider transport network 

Other stuff
There'll be loads more I'll think of and forget that I'll add accordingly down the line
I'd move back towards 30 mph limits on some main roads, but keep busy thoroughfares in high footfall locations and smaller roads at 20 mph
I'd continue to build cycle lanes and LTNs, but only where they are properly designed and I'd remove ones that aren't suitable
I'd introduce a TfL directly operated boat service from Gravesend to Windsor (in overlapping blocks) with tube-level fares and zonal fare structure and frequent departures - I'd call it 'Waterloop'
I'd abolish peak fares and have a standardised all-day level - I'd also look to harmonise non zone 1-6 fare zones.

How is all this gonna be paid for and delivered?
Building a s*it tonne of new development and the magic money tree. Obvs.

I'd be on board for much of this. A lot is simply investment that should have happened, be happening, or be due to happen under a rolling programme of planned renewal and improvements. Perhaps take some money off the roads budget and start increasing vehicle and fuel duties in line with inflation + 1%.