I have mixed feeling over Ken Livingston to be totally honest. I accept that he has been a man of his word, a very rare commodity in Politics, and made massive improvements to the public transport system in the capital. We have buses running 24/7 and underground trains that run about 18/19 hours. There are more buses, trains and other systems, this is great, he did what he said he would do.
However this has to be balanced on other things. The congestion charge is a joke. We already pay for the roads. If it were truly a CONGESTION charge then all vehicles would actually have to pay it, no matter what form of propulsion they use. This is simply another petrol/diesel tax and it is about time this was admited.
If he truly wanted to resolve traffic issues in London then there are easy ways to do it. Between say 6am and 6pm you ban the use of privately owned cars in the Capital/West End unless you actually live there. The only vehicles being allowed should be commercial vehicles, buses and licensed Black Cabs, and obviously motorbikes.
If this were done then many parts of the centre of London could be improved dramatically for pedestrians and I for one would applaud it. However to do this would reduce his stealth tax and thus mean he had less money to give to his hangers on and pay for Dictator Visits etc.
However this has to be balanced on other things. The congestion charge is a joke. We already pay for the roads. If it were truly a CONGESTION charge then all vehicles would actually have to pay it, no matter what form of propulsion they use. This is simply another petrol/diesel tax and it is about time this was admited.
If he truly wanted to resolve traffic issues in London then there are easy ways to do it. Between say 6am and 6pm you ban the use of privately owned cars in the Capital/West End unless you actually live there. The only vehicles being allowed should be commercial vehicles, buses and licensed Black Cabs, and obviously motorbikes.
If this were done then many parts of the centre of London could be improved dramatically for pedestrians and I for one would applaud it. However to do this would reduce his stealth tax and thus mean he had less money to give to his hangers on and pay for Dictator Visits etc.
