London History

Metronet, the company refurbishing the London Underground, faces a funding crunch as costs spiral at its track-and-station upgrade program, two of its owners said today.

Right Said Fred star Richard Fairbrass has vowed to run for London mayor because he is enraged by the congestion charge. Mayor Ken Livingstone introduced the charge, which requires drivers to pay a daily fee of £8 to take their cars into central London, to reduce traffic in the capital.

The world’s first hybrid diesel electric double-decker bus, built by WrightBus, entered service today (16 March) on route 141 in London. This inaugural service comes after the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, recently announced plans for an increased hybrid bus fleet for the capital. A leafy motif on the buses will help passengers recognise their environmentally-friendly status.

Ah, double deckers, good idea. What more efficient way to get a lot of passengers into a small road ‘footprint’. And yet Transport For London (TfL) have foisted the hated bendy bus onto London. 18 metres long, hated by drivers and cyclists, beloved by the large minority of passengers who don’t pay (because there are no inspectors and the rear door passengers are half a postcode away from the driver). My street (in East Dulwich SE22) is half full of parked bendy bus at any given time. Sometimes they even manage to park in two streets at once. Their one saving grace is that they no longer catch fire all the time. Is this really the only way to get wheelchair users onto buses?