COMMENT: Watch the birdie
At least we have been warned. In a bid to help London”s buses and other traffic flow more smoothly, Transport for London, under the auspices of Mayor Livingstone, has installed more cameras in bus lanes to monitor (and catch) vehicles that drive in these lanes illegally. Unlike speed cameras, these image taking machines don”t flash; so if a driver nips into a bus lane he may not be aware that he has been caught until the letter arrives on the doorstep. The fine has been increased from ”80 to ”100. Without the flash whether these work on dark winter evenings is open to question The flash in fact serves two purposes. Firstly it makes for a better picture but secondly it also acts as a deterrent, reminding other users that they are there! That”s something for London”s transport hierarchy to think about. The question then is if the flash equipment is not installed are the machines just another form of revenue generator?
Now ABTN is not opposed to cameras in the bus lanes, and supports the scheme. Transport for London ought to be further praised in highlighting this move to those of us outside London (effectively those outside the M25) who come into town, with a mail shot. What ABTN is concerned with is the way the current mandarins controlling one of the world”s great cities seemingly are able to push through legislation without reference to its ”clients.” There is a fine balance and whether the Mayor”s office has got it right regarding congestion charges still remains a big question. There is no doubt that the zone in some aspects has been a success, and today”s version of County Hall has been very quick to crow about it, but there is little doubt that it has had a negative effect on the stores, restaurants and theatres that make up the majority of the street business of London. People have been scared off, not just by the ”5 charge but also the technical complexity of a scheme they do not understand. The financial shortfall for City Hall has been enormous. Go into Central London any day and you will find parking as easy as it was 20 years ago when there were half the cars about. Add to that the underperformance of the scheme as a whole and the figure must be much higher than hitherto published. The taxi drivers love the scheme (surely the world”s most expensive ” and richest cabbies) not having to pay the charge, and able to use the bus lanes too. Their only gripe is Trafalgar Square, at a suggested cost of ”25m, possibly the most expensive use of paving stones anywhere in the globe. All Nelson can see for half a mile around him is traffic chaos. Here we have a classic example of closing roads without thinking of where the cars should go.
Transport for London”s new speeding posters (which take your eyes off the road) and leaflet”s say ”Watch the Birdie” And then goes on to expound ”say cheese”. We say that the bus lanes are not a bad idea but what you need is flashers. Legal ones of course.