Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2012 22:21:16 GMT
London mayor ‘delighted bendy buses are clogging up streets of Malta’
London mayor Boris Johnson described bendy buses as beached whales in his keynote speech to delegates at the Conservative party conference yesterday, and said he was “delighted” they were clogging up the streets of Malta.
The Independent (UK) reported: “Mr Johnson recalled his own promise to rid the London streets of (Labour predecessor and rival Ken) Mr Livingstone’s bendy buses, which he described as a German-made ‘hopeless broken-backed diplodocus... jack-knifing across our yellow box junctions like a beached whale’, and said he was replacing it with a UK-made modern bus for London.”
When he announced last year that London’s bendy buses would be replaced, Mr Johnson referred to them as cumbersome machines that were too big for some roads.
He said the bendy buses, which are “now clogging up the streets of Malta, I’m delighted to say” were being replaced by the “cleanest, greenest bus in Europe”.
Reacting, the Transport Ministry referred to the vehicles as articulated, rather than bendy buses, noting that they were the subject of some humour in the London mayor’s speech at the Conservative party conference.
Mistakenly referring to Mr Johnson as ‘Mayor Johnston’ twice in its statement, the ministry said passengers in Malta appreciate the comfort and sheer capacity of articulated buses. Three or four old buses were required for the number of passengers that fit comfortably in a bendy bus, said the ministry, adding that “by our mathematics” that results in less, rather than more congestion.
“His remarks have also made it to the comment boxes and Facebook pages of prominent Labour spokesmen here in Malta. Quite apart from the fact that this must be the first time in living memory that the MLP has found anything useful to repeat from the British Conservatives.”
The ministry went on to say that the London mayor’s mathematics will have to work out the considerably higher expense that London taxpayers have to pay to replace the transferred bendy buses.
“One need hardly point out that even if removed from London streets, articulated buses are hardly an exclusive feature of Maltese roads. They operate in just about every other city in Europe with high bus passenger numbers.”
As BBC News pointed out, Mr Johnson used his speech at the Conservative party conference to praise bus firm Wrightbus. He said he had ordered 608 double-decker “scarlet beasts” – the biggest order in the factory’s history, and said this was an example of driving British jobs and growth.
London mayor Boris Johnson described bendy buses as beached whales in his keynote speech to delegates at the Conservative party conference yesterday, and said he was “delighted” they were clogging up the streets of Malta.
The Independent (UK) reported: “Mr Johnson recalled his own promise to rid the London streets of (Labour predecessor and rival Ken) Mr Livingstone’s bendy buses, which he described as a German-made ‘hopeless broken-backed diplodocus... jack-knifing across our yellow box junctions like a beached whale’, and said he was replacing it with a UK-made modern bus for London.”
When he announced last year that London’s bendy buses would be replaced, Mr Johnson referred to them as cumbersome machines that were too big for some roads.
He said the bendy buses, which are “now clogging up the streets of Malta, I’m delighted to say” were being replaced by the “cleanest, greenest bus in Europe”.
Reacting, the Transport Ministry referred to the vehicles as articulated, rather than bendy buses, noting that they were the subject of some humour in the London mayor’s speech at the Conservative party conference.
Mistakenly referring to Mr Johnson as ‘Mayor Johnston’ twice in its statement, the ministry said passengers in Malta appreciate the comfort and sheer capacity of articulated buses. Three or four old buses were required for the number of passengers that fit comfortably in a bendy bus, said the ministry, adding that “by our mathematics” that results in less, rather than more congestion.
“His remarks have also made it to the comment boxes and Facebook pages of prominent Labour spokesmen here in Malta. Quite apart from the fact that this must be the first time in living memory that the MLP has found anything useful to repeat from the British Conservatives.”
The ministry went on to say that the London mayor’s mathematics will have to work out the considerably higher expense that London taxpayers have to pay to replace the transferred bendy buses.
“One need hardly point out that even if removed from London streets, articulated buses are hardly an exclusive feature of Maltese roads. They operate in just about every other city in Europe with high bus passenger numbers.”
As BBC News pointed out, Mr Johnson used his speech at the Conservative party conference to praise bus firm Wrightbus. He said he had ordered 608 double-decker “scarlet beasts” – the biggest order in the factory’s history, and said this was an example of driving British jobs and growth.