London has the lowest car ownership in the uk.It has fallen significantly since Ken Livingstones 'fare's fare' policy when he was leader of the GLC. 12% in just six months when the travelcard was introduced along with the zone system. No big stick, just an improvement in fare structure, and getting every bus out on the road and speeding them up.The most significant fall in car use and ownership fell in the original Zones 1 &2 and the inner parts of zone 3. Most of Ealing and Hounslow are in Zones 3,4 and 5.That created other problems. Those who benefitted the most, were those who lived just outside of the GLC area who did not pay towards London Transport in their rates or Council Tax, but found that commuting into zone 3 by car then tubing it was beneficial.There lies the beginnings of CPZs which were introduced (with consultation) as a "service to residents" against being overrun by commuters.The problem with that is it then created a ripple effect and that has fanned out to all of Zones 3 and 4 and now well into zones 5 and 6.We now see that CPZs are used as a revenue raising means, and do not facilitate residents as commuters who can afford it, now get permits and many streets near stations were ( prior to covid) filling up gradually with non residential vehicles.Ken's second attempt was the Bus Plus and service increases on the tube at the beginning of TfL. Massive improvements after a period of stagnation yet private car usage was already down before the congestion charge commenced.During this period, commercial traffic has grown massively. Anyone stuck on the top deck of a bus and sitting near the front can see that. Virtually every vehicle is a working vehicle of sorts, vans, light trucks, HGVs and Private hires. Fact is London has been revitalised as a commercial city with councils and the GLA encouraging and hawking it as a place to gravitate to. It's now seriously overcrowded and that's because it has a huge below radar working population servicing a huge above radar working population.It is wholly dependent on transport. Pre covid Public Transport was both at capacity and struggling. Overcrowding is nightmarish and other means not really practicable in what is a rather hilly city and hinterland which makes comparisons to Dutch cities and Copenhagen rather ludicrous. We are also one of the wettest and windiest locations in Europe. Which is why working people jumped at affordable car ownership after decades of cold wet daily soakings going to and from work.No survey has ever been conducted that ascertains precisely and clearly how many car users are using their cars for work and what and why they may be transporting in their vehicle.i.e. A District Nurse uses a car. With their workload and thus amount of stuff they have to carry, would you expect them to walk or Cycle? They still have to on many calls. They would never get a day's work done. As it is, the LTNs have severely damaged health visits to elderly and housebound patients. Not a word from caring socialist councillors on that one.All the surveys have made assumptions. Yet assumptions are considered offensive and wholly unacceptable when made about people's backgrounds. Currently, a car is just about the only means of safe travel. It's a no brainer. In Ealing 4 busy bus routes in the LTN areas have journey times now 3-4 times longer from both badly co-ordinated roadworks and the forcing of local traffic onto roads they would otherwise not need to venture onto.That, as a passenger, means 4 times longer exposed to risk.No comment from TfL ( who know this, nor our erstwhile caring councillors)6.45am on the Central Line and its still packed by West Acton and still far too many not wearing masks.Fact is, there are far more who cannot work from home and the fall in quality of services reflects just how non productive people working from home are close to becoming unnecessary.London and it's suburbs can never be a flowery green utopia without either losing several million inhabitants or plunging millions into poverty from low rates and joblessness that comes from commerce being strangled.And certainly not with overdensification the order of the day.It's easy in a cosy little middle class perspective to be 'green' - if you can afford it in both time and fiscal resources, but the cold hard facts are millions in this countries cities, just like previous generations, just about manage and they are already being priced and forced out.
Raymond Havelock ● 1624d