tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/transport-for-london-17878/articlesTransport for London – The Conversation2022-09-27T19:01:06Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1828832022-09-27T19:01:06Z2022-09-27T19:01:06ZResearch into 1930s commuting in London shows how public transport boosts the labour market<p>Following <a href="https://theconversation.com/mayoral-elections-is-londons-transport-system-on-track-or-off-the-rails-159091">losses</a> of £1.5bn in annual fare revenues incurred during the pandemic, Transport for London recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/30/tfl-funding-deal-means-tube-fares-must-rise-and-bus-services-be-cut">signed a deal</a> with the UK government for emergency funding. The agreement ensures that new train orders, bridge repairs and tube upgrades will continue as planned. It also will lead to tube fares rising and <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/full-list-of-london-bus-routes-facing-the-axe-in-tfl-cuts/">bus services being cut</a>. </p>
<p>While the <a href="https://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/the-elizabeth-line-unveiled-on-latest-london-tube-map">Elizabeth Line</a>, a £19 billion east-west addition to the London Underground, opened to great fanfare in May 2022, this year has also seen some of the oldest bus routes in the UK axed: including route 144 between Worcester and Birmingham, <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/another-london-bus-route-set-24454780">route 477 between Dartford and Orpington</a>, and route 84 between north London and Hertfordshire. At least <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/02/more-than-100-bus-routes-in-england-face-cuts-and-cancellations#:%7E:text=More%20than%20100%20bus%20routes%20in%20England%20face%20cuts%20and%20cancellations,-Falling%20passenger%20numbers&text=At%20least%20135%20bus%20routes,staff%20shortages%20and%20funding%20constraints">135 bus routes</a> countrywide currently face cutbacks or permanent cancellation.</p>
<p>The standard justification for public transport closures is economic feasibility – a lack of <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/north-london-barnet-84-metroline-st-albans-axed-b981482.html">profitability</a> for the service provider. </p>
<p>As our work <a href="https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1868.pdf">shows</a>, however, such discussions often miss much of the full value of public transport to society. In addition to making profits for operators, public transport opens up <a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/2051/how-important-is-access-to-jobs-old-question-improved-answer">labour market opportunities</a> for workers, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226989900_Transport_facilities_and_residential_choice_behavior_A_model_of_multi-person_choice_processes">increases residential choice</a>, and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-08-29/the-commuting-principle-that-shaped-urban-history">reduces crowding</a> in inner-city areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An archival photo of a bus in black and white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485031/original/file-20220916-24-z5r53s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A double-decker bus in 1930s east London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/116071498@N08/33910688268">Alan Farrow/flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The advent of working-class commuting</h2>
<p>Our research examines the consequences of working-class access to <a href="https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/transport">public transport</a> in London in the 1920s and 1930s. </p>
<p>We know from a survey of working-class London conducted in the 1890s, entitled <a href="https://booth.lse.ac.uk/learn-more/what-was-the-inquiry">The Life and Labour of the People of London</a>, that Victorian-era workers were typically employed in the immediate area of their home. Indeed, the homes themselves were often extensions of factories as “outwork” was a common phenomenon. </p>
<p>This absence of commuting in the 19th century led to widespread <a href="https://victorianweb.org/history/slums.html">urban crowding</a>, as industry typically clustered geographically due to economies of scale and <a href="https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/agglomeration-economies/#:%7E:text=Agglomeration%20economies%20or%20external%20economies,Supply%20of%20trained%20workers">agglomeration</a>. Social reformers commented on how crowding caused <a href="https://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/poverty.html">poverty</a> and what they perceived to be <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/reinvention/archive/volume1issue1/joyce/">“vice”</a>, as well as the spread of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2d68mn/revision/4">diseases</a>. </p>
<p>Over the next 40 years, growth of the transport networks opened up opportunities for working-class commuting. <a href="https://www.londonreconnections.com/2020/a-tale-of-two-systems-london-and-new-york-city/">By 1930</a>, most residents and workers in the north and west of London had access to the Underground, most in the south and east had access to a tram, and almost everyone had access to at least one bus route. Only 1% of Londoners lived more than 560 metres from a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nEWX5kIXo78WSipTq2f-uoHZpfyxP8NxJdKucxgbINY/edit">public transport stop</a>.</p>
<p>We have used the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2342215#metadata_info_tab_contents">New Survey of London Life and Labour</a>, a 1930 follow-up survey which contains a large sample of working-class Londoners, to examine how early public transport networks affected the labour market. This data contains, among other things, each worker’s place of residence and work. </p>
<p>By “<a href="https://theconversation.com/data-mashups-can-help-answer-the-worlds-biggest-questions-25684">GIS coding</a>” this information, along with the entire extant public transport system in the London area, we were able to calculate their commuting distances, the centrality of their residences and workplaces, and their access to public transport. </p>
<p>Our research shows that commuting in 1930 followed many of the same patterns as today. The largest number of workers (about 38%) commuted inwards towards the city centre. The next-largest group (29%) worked within a kilometre of their residence. The remaining workers were evenly split between people travelling away from the centre for work and others travelling across the city.</p>
<p>To illustrate the typical commuting patterns, let’s look at where residents of Wandsworth Borough, located about nine kilometres southwest of the city centre, commuted for work.</p>
<p><strong>Share of commute from Wandsworth by borough, 1930:</strong></p>
<p>We found that the average residence had 212 employers (in any industry) within a one-kilometre radius, 1,700 within three, and 4,333 within five. Moreover – holding age, gender, occupation and workplace area as constants – an additional kilometre commuted increased earnings by 1.5% to 3.0%, although the additional returns on longer commutes were likely less. These higher earnings considerably outweighed the monetary cost of public transport. </p>
<h2>Access to transport leads to increased job opportunities</h2>
<p>To understand the importance of public transport networks to labour markets, it is necessary to understand the reasons behind these large returns to commuting. We focus on two explanations why a commuting worker might have earned more than a local worker. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/advanced-economicsciences2010.pdf">Search theory</a> suggests that individual workers are better suited to some employers than others. Someone who can only work near to home, as was typical for workers in the Victorian period, only has a small number of employers to choose from. </p>
<p>But a worker who can travel using public transport, as had become the norm by 1930, can potentially work for more different employers. This in turn implies there will be a higher probability of a good match between workers and employers, and thus higher productivity and wages. </p>
<p>In the 1930s, British economist <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27918009#metadata_info_tab_contents">Joan Robinson</a> in her book <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2548808#metadata_info_tab_contents">The Economics of Imperfect Competition</a> formulated a theory of microeconomics she called <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0895330027300">monopsony</a>. A slightly modified version of this theory suggests that, in the absence of public transport, local employers have a degree of monopoly power over their workers. </p>
<p>Employers can pay less than the market wage because it is costly for workers to switch to more distant jobs. The construction of London’s public transport networks in the early 20th century opened up remote employment opportunities for workers, and thus reduced local employers’ monopoly power.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An archival photo of a bus in a city centre, in black and white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485037/original/file-20220916-24-qctrsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A London bus crossing Charing Cross Road with Tottenham Court Road underground station to the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/more.php?id=3212330">George W Baker | Geograph</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public transport improvements between 1890 and 1930 broke the link between residence and workplace. This allowed first the middle class and then the working class to move away from the city centre. </p>
<p>One result was a dramatic decrease in urban crowding and the associated concentration of poverty and spread of disease. As we have shown in our research, another implication was that workers were no longer constrained to working locally, and could seek out better employment opportunities further form home. This led to substantially higher wages for the working class of London.</p>
<p>These lessons about public transport from the 1930s still resonate today. If historical improvements in public transport increased the efficiency of London’s labour market, more recent cuts to infrastructure and increases in ticket prices will likely have the opposite effect. Workers who are no longer able to commute large distances or who face higher costs of doing so will likely also face a restricted set of employment opportunities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182883/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Transport route closures are usually justified to the public on grounds of profitability. But that ignores the immense value of public transport to the labour market.Andrew J. Seltzer, Professor of Economics and Economic History, Royal Holloway University of LondonJonathan Wadsworth, Professor of Economics, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1733882021-12-09T10:44:59Z2021-12-09T10:44:59ZCycle lanes blamed for urban congestion – here’s the reality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436501/original/file-20211208-23-t1wcy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5699%2C3782&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bicycle-traffic-lights-london-734928964">Patrick Shutterstock/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The average driver in London spent 148 hours in traffic jams in 2021 – twice the national average, according to <a href="https://inrix.com/scorecard/">a new report</a> by Inrix, a firm that analyses road traffic. These findings prompted <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59559863">a BBC story</a> that attributed London’s new supposed status as the world’s most congested city to <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/december/major-boost-for-london-s-cycling-network">an increase in cycle lanes</a>, implemented throughout the capital to maintain socially distanced travel during the pandemic. This analysis would seem to overlook the fact that congestion during 2021 was about the same as it was in 2019, before the pandemic. </p>
<p>To make sense of what is happening, we need to remember that the amount of time available to each of us constrains the amount we can travel. There are many things we need to fit into 24 hours, and on average, people spend just an hour <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03081060.2020.1851445">on the move</a>. This limits the build-up of congestion in cities.</p>
<p>Road traffic congestion happens when there is a high density of people and high car ownership and not enough road space for all the car trips that might be made. If traffic volumes grow for any reason, delays increase and some people who might otherwise drive make other choices instead. They might travel at a different time or take another route, use an alternative mode like the bus, change their destination and go to a different shopping centre, for example, or decide not to travel at all, by shopping online for instance. </p>
<p>If road space is taken away from cars to create cycle or bus lanes, then congestion will initially increase. But the additional delays will prompt some drivers to make other arrangements, and congestion will revert to what it had been.</p>
<p>The overall effect is to reduce the share of trips by car. This is <a href="https://content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-report-13.pdf">what has been happening</a> in London for many years as the population has grown and as there has been large investment in public transport. Private transport use fell from 48% in 2000 to 37% in 2019, while public transport use grew from 27% to 36% over the same period. Cycling increased from 1.2% to 2.4% while walking held steady at 25%. </p>
<p>The London mayor’s transport strategy aims to cut private transport use to <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mayors-transport-strategy-2018.pdf">20% of all trips by 2041</a>. This would probably diminish the total amount of traffic congestion, although not necessarily its intensity at peak times in the busiest areas.</p>
<h2>The limits of cycle lanes</h2>
<p>Creating cycles lanes reduces the space available for cars but does not get people out of cars. Copenhagen is a city famous for cycling, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-a-uk-cycling-and-walking-revolution-wont-reduce-car-travel-144689">28% of journeys</a> made by bike. Yet car traffic is only slightly less than in London. Aside from cycling, the other big difference is that public transport accounts for only half the proportion of trips compared with London. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cyclists on a road in Copenhagen city centre." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436503/original/file-20211208-68670-y7w87k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Copenhagen has some of the highest urban cycling rates in the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/copenhagen-one-most-bicycle-friendly-cities-337279727">S-F/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The experience of Copenhagen shows that people can be persuaded off of buses and onto bikes, which are cheaper, healthier, better for the environment and no slower in congested traffic. Yet buses are an efficient way of using road space to move people in urban areas. Replacing their diesel engines with electric or hydrogen propulsion could cut carbon emissions, too. Getting drivers out of cars and onto bicycles has proved more difficult, even in Copenhagen, a small, flat city with excellent cycling infrastructure and a strong cycling culture.</p>
<p>Across a range of European cities, there are diverse patterns of journeys by different travel modes, reflecting the history, geography, size and population density of each place. But there are no major cities with high levels of <a href="https://epub.wupperinst.org/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/7033/file/7033_Living_Moving_Breathing.pdf">both cycling and public transport</a>. The prospects for a substantial increase in cycling in London are far from certain given the relatively high level of past public transport use. Still, the very act of creating cycle lanes reduces road space for cars, regardless of the extent to which these lanes are used.</p>
<p>COVID has had a major impact on public transport use in London, with bus and tube journeys still at <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMjZjMmQwYTktZjYxNS00MTIwLTg0ZjAtNWIwNGE0ODMzZGJhIiwidCI6IjFmYmQ2NWJmLTVkZWYtNGVlYS1hNjkyLWEwODljMjU1MzQ2YiIsImMiOjh9">70-75% of pre-pandemic levels</a>. The financial shortfall may mean Transport for London has to <a href="https://www.onlondon.co.uk/transport-for-london-prepares-for-managed-decline-of-network-as-government-fails-to-engage-on-funding/">reduce services</a>, unless the government offers more support.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman walks down an empty escalator on the London Underground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436502/original/file-20211208-17-6hcvti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Public transport use may take a while to fully recover from the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-june-8-2020-underground-1756044071">Chaz Bharj/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Further investment in new rail routes, both tube and overground, would not be possible in these circumstances. Investment in cycling infrastructure would then make the most sense for reducing car use in London, both by encouraging cycling as an alternative and by lessening the scope for people to drive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Metz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>London was rated 2021’s most congested city.David Metz, Honorary Professor of Transport Studies, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572782021-04-01T13:13:50Z2021-04-01T13:13:50ZBritain’s betting on buses – but how far will boosting services reduce carbon emissions?<p>A move to “make buses the transport of choice, reducing the number of car journeys and improving quality of life for millions” has been launched as part of a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-back-better">national bus strategy</a> in the UK. It seeks to make bus services more reliable and affordable to get people out of the cars that still dominate transport in the country.</p>
<p>But to what degree can such changes convince people to ditch their cars and rely on a sector that in many parts of the country has been neglected for years? Can boosting bus services reduce carbon emissions and help the UK achieve its environmental goals?</p>
<p>It’s difficult to convince drivers to choose public transport, as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214367X1400043X?casa_token=oOOEG_fmAeMAAAAA:L0iqFZaX3yyiSuq7Yv_NdBHBKN-abjPAMOaUtaQMW6xfniCkw8dO6CekYZCTx9UJRRFm00ee">studies have shown</a>. Increasing the reliability and frequency of bus services might attract people who rarely travel by bus, but it’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X12001692?casa_token=WnJrtdEQENkAAAAA:tArmE5CxeWXOjihL237V3iaDOtHPAOL7ON4_szURfe4zdWfRwAnef6Cpe0GH19EWsmEvt5s8">not always enough</a>.</p>
<p>The national bus strategy proposes making services more appealing by giving buses priority over other traffic. Where separate bus lanes have been introduced in the UK – and especially guided busways, such as one in <a href="https://www.thebusway.info/">Cambridgeshire</a> – the improved speed and reliability have made the services attractive to those with cars and led to higher passenger loadings. In the <a href="https://www.cpt-uk.org/news/impact-of-bus-priorities-and-busways-on-energy-efficiency-and-emissions/">Cambridgeshire Busway case</a>, about 25% of drivers left their cars and chose the bus along with 13% of car-share passengers, saving about 550,000 litres of fuel in a year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three red buses drive on Westminster Bridge in London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390654/original/file-20210319-19-1ge35n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bus ridership is much higher in London than elsewhere thanks to high service frequencies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-red-buses-against-big-ben-657367207">Samot/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Redesigning road networks to give buses more priority also reduces their operating costs, which mostly derive from the <a href="https://humantransit.org/2011/07/02box.html">time buses are running</a>, rather than total distance travelled. The savings that providers and public authorities make can be reinvested to improve services further or passed onto passengers through lower fares, making services even more appealing and increasing loadings in a virtuous circle. </p>
<p>But while buses are more fuel efficient than cars, exactly how much more depends on several factors. In London, where high-frequency services mean people don’t have to rely on timetables, passenger loadings are higher on average than elsewhere, producing lower emissions and using less energy for each kilometre travelled per passenger than cars. In places where maximising ridership is <a href="https://geography.upol.cz/soubory/lide/hercik/SEDOP/Purpose-driven%20public%20transport%20creating%20a%20clear%20conversation%20about%20public%20transport%20goals.pdf">not the main goal</a>, but ensuring everyone has fair access to a bus route is, as in many rural areas, the emission savings of buses versus cars are less impressive.</p>
<h2>U-turn on competition</h2>
<p>The most striking aspect of the strategy is its proposed reform of how services are planned and delivered, which marks a sharp departure from the pro-competition policies the Conservatives have espoused since <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/reader/improving-urban-bus-services/deregulation-makes-improving-bus-services-harder-for-mayors/">deregulating bus services</a> in 1985. The shifting consensus is evident in Greater Manchester too, where the mayor, Andy Burnham, recently announced a new London-style franchise system to run the region’s buses by 2023.</p>
<p>At present, most services in Britain are planned and run by operators on a commercial basis, with local authorities filling gaps in the network through competitive tendering to private operators. The new strategy would see authorities coordinate services and fares with operators in “enhanced partnerships”, or contract them to run a planned network using a franchise model, as happens in London. </p>
<p>London has a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Passenger-journeys-on-local-bus-services-by-metropolitan-area-status-and-country-per-head_fig4_344377724">very high level</a> of bus use – 247 trips per head in 2018-19 compared with an average of 75 in the six English metropolitan areas. Car ownership per head in London has not risen since the early 1990s and the share of car travel has <a href="https://content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-report-13.pdf">fallen substantially</a>, in marked contrast to trends elsewhere in Britain.</p>
<p>Together with a shift to zero-carbon buses, running a national effort to reduce unnecessary competition between bus operators could repeat London’s successes and make services more efficient and attractive – all helpful for lowering emissions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-60-of-journeys-are-made-by-bus-so-why-has-funding-been-halved-99903">Almost 60% of journeys are made by bus – so why has funding been halved?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the new strategy will have to overcome several challenges.</p>
<p>First, to continue receiving funds, local authorities will have to follow a franchising or partnership model, but on a very tight timescale. Managing this U-turn in Conservative policy may be particularly difficult for councils after years of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/14/councils-in-england-fear-they-will-have-to-make-cuts-of-20">cutbacks</a>. </p>
<p>Local government will need more support to cover the difference between operating costs and passenger revenue in many areas, as well as investment in infrastructure and new vehicles. The government has promised £3 billion overall, but the overall timescale is unclear.</p>
<p>The second challenge regards the pandemic-induced slump the bus sector finds itself in. A year ago, Boris Johnson warned people <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnson-warns-brits-stay-22006329">to avoid bus travel</a> to control the spread of COVID-19, and bus ridership is now running at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic">about 40%</a> of pre-pandemic levels. Recreating a positive and safe vision of bus travel will be necessary to make services more efficient.</p>
<p>The strategy prioritises rescuing the bus sector, which can be reshaped quicker – and cheaper – than rail could. But the bus sector’s recovery must be embedded in a longer-term vision that sees all transport modes working together to decarbonise the sector.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157278/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter White has received funding from several organisations supporting research connected with the bus and coach sector in the past – including Greener Journeys – and public research bodies. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and a member of its Bus and Coach Policy Group. All opinions expressed in this article are purely personal. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enrica Papa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Long-overdue changes are afoot in Britain’s bus networks.Enrica Papa, Reader in Transport Planning, University of WestminsterPeter White, Emeritus Professor of Public Transport Systems, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1559132021-03-03T17:50:38Z2021-03-03T17:50:38ZCan the city cycling boom survive the end of the Covid-19 pandemic?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386445/original/file-20210225-23-1u1pnz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C2%2C1495%2C934&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Paris, the major east-west axis, from the Place de la Concorde to the Place de la Bastille, as given a temporary 'coronapiste' after the pandemic broke out. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has said that it will become permanent.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paris.fr/pages/deplacements-les-mesures-de-la-ville-pour-le-deconfinement-7788">Mairie de Paris</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article was co-written by Philip Adkins, cycling writer and consultant.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2019-20, it had an immense impact around the world, but particularly in urban areas, where it was particularly transmissible. Lockdowns and curfews were imposed, as well as distance work and remote learning, in an attempt to reduce infection rates. As car and plane travel dropped precipitously, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201014082806.htm">air quality improved</a> unintentionally due to an “unprecedented decline in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions”. At the same time, because cycling was a form of <a href="https://www.iisd.org/sustainable-recovery/cycling-and-covid-19-why-investments-to-boost-cycling-are-important-for-a-sustainable-recovery/">“safe mobility”</a>, leading cities created <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53105020">“pop-up” cycling lanes</a> to encourage socially distanced mobility.</p>
<p>The result was an <a href="https://ecf.com/news-and-events/news/covid-19-cycling-boom-real-numbers-say-yes">unprecedented bike boom</a> around the world. It was in part enabled by <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/environment/bikeshare-research-growth-user-demographics-health-societal-impacts/">bike-sharing systems</a> that began to spread in the 2000s as well as technological innovations such as electric bikes. The sudden emphasis on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01441647.2017.1340234">low-pollution, active transportation</a> has permitted cities to move closer to pollution reduction targets – the UK has targeted an <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/hitachi-social-innovation-climate">80% reduction in emissions by 2050</a>, while France is seeking <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-energy-idUKKCN1TS30B">carbon neutrality in 2050</a>.</p>
<p>The gold standard for active transportation has long been the cities of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02723638.2019.1709757">Amsterdam</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01441640701806612">Copenhagen</a>, where cycling is embedded in the culture. So much so that to “Copenhagenize” is now a common term among promoters of urban cycling. While it is easy to assume that this is cultural and has always been the case, Amsterdam only committed to improving cycling access <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord">during the 1970s</a>. </p>
<p>Bringing about transportation and lifestyle change is achievable, but requires political will and public support. Other examples of significant cultural changes in shorter periods of time include the compulsory use of seatbelts in cars and the prohibition of smoking in public buildings. Amsterdam and Copenhagen present high standards by which to judge other cities, but if the growth in cycling is to be safe and sustainable, standards must be high.</p>
<h2>How Covid-19 has helped cities shift to active transportation</h2>
<p>Three leading cities – London, Paris and New York – have all seized on the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to make improvements to their cycling infrastructure to improve mobility, reduce congestion and cut pollution. While these cities are distinct, how do their cycling infrastructures compare?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="London 'cycling superhighway'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386453/original/file-20210225-13-cdfwaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘cycle superhighway’ on London’s Southwark Bridge Road.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1979700">Geograph.org.uk</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>London</strong></p>
<p>The introduction of a number of <a href="https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/london-launches-action-plan-for-cycling-3677">“cycling superhighways”</a> in London over the past few years has expanded segregated cycling facilities, while routes on existing roads have improved user safety. The addition of <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/streetspace-for-london">temporary cycling lanes</a> could help link these existing facilities together, to provide a convenient and comprehensive cycling plan for London.</p>
<p>The UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has promoted cycling during lockdown and as a legacy of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/cycle-lanes-and-wider-pavements-to-be-fast-tracked-for-post-Covid-streets-11-05-2020/">stating</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Millions of people have discovered cycling – whether for exercise or as a means of safe, socially-distanced transport. While there is no change to the ‘stay at home’ message today, when the country does get back to work we need those people to stay on their bikes and be joined by many more.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To support this goal, in May 2020 the government established a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-billion-package-to-create-new-era-for-cycling-and-walking">£250 million emergency active travel fund</a>, kept bicycle shops open, and issued £50 bicycle repair vouchers to encourage people to cycle. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is aiming to have 80% of journeys be made by foot, bike or on public transport by 2041. A key element of the program, known as <a href="https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/cycle-lanes-and-wider-pavements-to-be-fast-tracked-for-post-Covid-streets-11-05-2020/">Streetspace</a>, is the construction of a “strategic cycling network, using temporary materials”. The intention is for changes to become permanent fixtures, accommodating a projected 10-fold increase in cycling.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pop-up cycling lane in Paris" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386443/original/file-20210225-15-1wqqa2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘Velopolitain M’ pop-up cycling lane on the Avenue de Saint Ouen in Paris. It designed to follow the city’s number 13 metro line, allowing former or occasional subway users to easily find their way when cycling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Velopolitain_M13_-_avenue_de_Saint-Ouen.jpg">Chris93/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Paris</strong></p>
<p>Long an advocate of reducing car traffic in Paris, mayor Anne Hidalgo has recognised the danger of air pollution in conjunction with the <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200505-cyclists-inherit-50km-of-post-Covid-19-paris-streets-mayor-hidalgo-opens-boulevards-to-bikes">coronavirus</a>, calling the combination “a dangerous cocktail”.</p>
<p>During her first term in office she spearheaded a significant increase in cycling-specific infrastructure. The Rue de Rivoli, which runs east-west through the heart of the city, was already reconfigured to reduce traffic and prioritise cycling. When the pandemic broke out, what was already the equivalent of one of London’s “cycling superhighways” was doubled in width, removing an entire lane once dedicated to car traffic. The long-term goal is that even when the pandemic ends, the <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200505-cyclists-inherit-50km-of-post-Covid-19-paris-streets-mayor-hidalgo-opens-boulevards-to-bikes">pop-up cycling lanes will become permanent</a>. </p>
<p>The city has also introduced <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/business/paris-bicycles-commute-coronavirus.html">€500 subsidies for the purchase of E-bikes</a> and €50 reimbursements for bike repairs.</p>
<p><strong>New York</strong></p>
<p>New York would not perhaps be the first city to come to mind as being cycle-friendly. However, even prior to the pandemic it had committed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/01/new-york-city-bike-lanes-car-culture">“breaking the car culture”</a>, as the city council speaker Corey Johnson put it. The plan is to spend $1.7 billion on 250 miles of new cycle lanes adding to the existing 1,240 miles (of which 480 are segregated).</p>
<p>In the early period of the pandemic, this was supplemented with some street closures for safer cycling and walking, the goal being up to 100 miles of streets being closed. In April 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio opened <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/04/850357743/new-york-city-is-latest-to-close-some-streets-to-cars-making-more-space-for-peop?t=1610114786893">seven miles of streets to pedestrian and cyclists</a>.</p>
<p>There was also a commitment to opening temporary cycle lanes during the early part of the pandemic. This “Open Streets” initiative closed 67 miles of streets by late June 2020 and also created <a href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/06/24/breaking-city-doubles-temporary-protected-bike-lanes-in-response-to-covid/">temporary protected cycle lanes</a>, but the city has not committed to creating a comprehensive transportation network for cyclists across its 6,000 miles of streets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="New York City bicycling lane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386449/original/file-20210225-23-y6incp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Starting with the administration of Michael Bloomberg and continuing with his successor, Bill DeBlasio, the city of New York has built hundreds of miles of protected cycling lanes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WTM3_Gnarly_0030.jpg">Gnarly/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Will leading cities really “Copenhagenize”?</h2>
<p>The test of these cities’ commitments will be whether the new cycling infrastructure survives once vaccination becomes widespread and the Covid-19 pandemic recedes. Will we simply return to a pandemic of <a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/rising-air-pollution-related-deaths-taking-heavy-toll-on-society.htm">air-pollution-related illnesses</a>? Is there the political will to ensure that this cycling boom is not just another passing symptom of the pandemic?</p>
<p>Naturally, city politicians and residents are not uniformly in support of leaving behind old ways, whatever their health and societal cost may be. In London, a temporary cycle lane in Kensington was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/nov/30/kensington-and-chelsea-council-criticised-for-scrapping-cycle-lane">removed just seven weeks after construction</a> despite daily use by thousands of cyclists. Members of the London Assembly proposed removing the Euston Road pop-up cycle lane, and <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/euston-road-covid-cycle-lanes-removed-a4567221.html">launched a petition</a> to eliminate road closures, “school streets” and low-traffic neighbourhoods. However, the survey received only 25% of required signatures, and the government <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/552306">reiterating its commitment</a> to move toward more active travel.</p>
<p>Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has confirmed that 50km of temporary cycling lanes <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200701-paris-temporary-bike-lanes-to-become-permanent-after-hidalgo-re-election-mayor-green-pollution-cars">will become permanent</a>, including the highly symbolic conversion of the Rue de Rivoli in the city centre.</p>
<p>In New York, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/nyregion/nyc-streets-parking-dining-busways.html">Bruce Schaller</a>, a consultant and former city transportation official, said, “This is the time to reconfigure the streets. Traffic will fill however much – or however little – street space it’s allotted. Now is the time to literally redraw the lines.” Whether the required action will follow is in the balance.</p>
<h2>The key to Europe’s recovery?</h2>
<p>The <em>New York Times</em> has stated that cycling as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/business/paris-bicycles-commute-coronavirus.html">key part of Europe’s economic recovery</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Governments are trying to revive their economies… but can’t fully rely on public transportation… In urban areas at least, bicycles are suddenly an unlikely component to restarting economic growth.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This “new normal” for personalised transport, could be, in and of itself, a growth industry for a “green recovery”. The need for clear policies, creative thinking and substantial investment is self-evident.</p>
<p>Cultural changes are required across the world to combat air pollution, and worldwide, local groups are seizing the opportunity for change and encouraging people to get on bikes. The UK’s <a href="https://www.bikeisbest.com/home">Bike Is Best</a> and <a href="https://betterbybike.info/">Better by Bike</a> provide resources for new cyclists. France’s <a href="https://parisenselle.fr/">Paris en Selle</a> is working to get more city residents on their bikes and to extend cycle lanes into areas that have been previously inaccessible, such as the car-centered <a href="https://www.defense-92.fr/mobilite/paris-en-selle-baptise-la-coronapiste-de-la-defense-velopolitain-1-65200">La Defense business district</a>. Even in cities such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Tour-De-Hood-147646565259515/">Houston</a>, Texas, and <a href="https://rotaryclubofbombay.org/mumbais-bicycle-mayor-firoza-suresh-wants-mumbai-to-become-the-bicycle-capital-of-india/">Mumbai</a>, India, commuting by bike is on the rise.</p>
<p>The unforeseen fall in air pollution when the pandemic took hold revealed that cities could be made more pleasant and safe for people to live and work. Given the importance of reducing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions to fight climate change, it’s an opportunity worth seizing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hélène Duranton ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The need for social distancing sparked a cycling boom, cutting air pollution and boosting city dwellers’ mental and physical health. But when the pandemic ends, will it be back to life as usual?Hélène Duranton, Directrice de l'Institut des Langues et Sport (expertise: enseignements des langues, interculturel, sport, innovation pédagogique), SKEMA Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1277462019-11-26T14:20:49Z2019-11-26T14:20:49ZUber’s troubles in London are nothing compared to the bigger picture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303734/original/file-20191126-112531-16m1oog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shabby cabbie?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-march-23rd-2017-photograph-610479299">Ink Drop</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The taxi app giant Uber <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/25/uber-loses-licence-london-tfl">has again lost</a> its licence in London, if only temporarily. Uber has 21 days to appeal after Transport for London (TfL) ended a probationary extension it granted to the company in September, citing a “pattern of failures” around issues such as driver security. </p>
<p>TfL has no wish to deprive Londoners of low cost convenient transport, but this decision comes as little surprise. Uber does not appear to have the controls necessary to run a wide-scale transport service and assure passengers and authorities of adequate safety standards. Despite this being one of the company’s <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1543151/000119312519103850/d647752ds1.htm">top five markets</a> in the world by revenue, the company has shown a marked reluctance to fully cooperate with transport authorities. </p>
<p>Time and again, TfL has found that the only way to make Uber listen is to withdraw its licence and let it appeal. The authority originally <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41358640">refused</a> to renew Uber’s licence in September 2017, citing “public safety and security” concerns. That seemed to lead to better controls – certainly judging by the <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-britain/put-on-probation-uber-wins-london-licence-to-avoid-ban-idUKKBN1JK16V">concessions</a> Uber made in exchange for a 15-month probationary licence in June 2018, and then again <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/uber-only-given-twomonth-extension-to-carry-on-operating-in-london-a4244716.html">in September 2019</a> for a two-month extension. </p>
<p>Now, however, TfL <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50544283">has announced</a> new issues including the fact that over 14,000 Uber trips in London in late 2018 and early 2019 were taken by 43 drivers with fake identification. These drivers had been able to exploit a change to the Uber system that allowed them to upload their photo to a different driver’s account. Some had previously had their legitimate licences revoked, while one had been cautioned by the authorities for distributing indecent images of children. Uber <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/25/uber-loses-licence-london-tfl">has said</a> it alerted TfL to these issues in May, and claims that over the past two years, it has “fundamentally changed how we operate in London”. </p>
<h2>Where to, Uber?</h2>
<p>The latest TfL decision comes at a time when competition in ride-hailing has become cutthroat. The emergence of London competitors like <a href="https://bolt.eu/en-gb/cities/london/">Bolt</a>, <a href="http://driverapplondon.co.uk/ola-sets-its-plan-for-londons-launch/">Ola</a> and <a href="https://www.kapten.com/uk/">Kapten</a> were already making it <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bolt-taxi-london-price-uber-app">difficult</a> for Uber to maintain its significant <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uber-fare-new-congestion-charge-london-a8857521.html">price increases</a> of recent years, while there are <a href="https://www.lyft.com/">plenty rivals</a> in other parts of the world as well.</p>
<p>All would-be competitors need to do is the same as Uber: vouchers and promotions to customers and incentives to drivers. Indeed, most taxi firms now have their own apps. Now that the market has caught up, Uber’s model amounts to little more than underpricing to customers to gain trade, while offering <a href="https://www.uber.com/gb/en/drive/rewards/">incentives</a> to drivers not to work for someone else, such as free insurance and gym passes. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, most passengers will have more than one app on their phones and taxi drivers can work for several providers at the same time. This is really just an extension of what has always been the case: the markets for both customers and drivers are highly competitive. The taxi market has <a href="https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/uber-profitability/">never been</a> very profitable and that shows no sign of changing. Plenty of people in the UK are willing to drive taxis and the only qualifications are a licence, insurance, a roadworthy car and no criminal record. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this problem for Uber is much wider than just the UK. In 2018, the <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1543151/000119312519103850/d647752ds1.htm">company made</a> adjusted losses of US$1.8 billion (£1.4 billion), compared to US$2.2 billion the year before. There is <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/4/20948213/uber-q3-earnings-report-net-loss-revenue-profit-2019">no real sign</a> of improvement <a href="https://investor.uber.com/news-events/news/press-release-details/2019/Uber-Announces-Results-for-Third-Quarter-2019/default.aspx">in 2019</a>, despite attempts to increase fares in Uber’s main markets. Whenever the company attempts to raise prices, demand drops. Uber has already had to exit <a href="https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship/the-real-story-behind-ubers-exit-from-southeast-asia-10096">South-East Asia</a>, <a href="https://www.inc.com/associated-press/uber-yandex-merge-russia.html">Russia</a> and – though <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/08/the-real-reason-uber-is-giving-up-in-china">possibly</a> for reasons to do with state intervention – China. It is also <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/hail-no-more-ola-ubers-ride-growth-slows-to-a-crawl/articleshow/69641990.cms">struggling</a> in India. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303735/original/file-20191126-112522-wujy33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sputtering.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/navi-mumbai-vashi-maharashtra-india-march-1350204842">Willrow Hood</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It may well be that outside North America and parts of Europe, Uber will never be profitable. In many cases, it entered markets too late. And as the ride-hailing division attempts to reduce losses, the Uber Eats takeaway delivery business is <a href="https://qz.com/1693843/uber-eats-will-lose-money-until-at-least-2024-say-cowen-analysts/">driving them</a> deeper into the red. Uber Eats exhibits similar characteristics to the ride-hailing business, subsidising the cost of home delivery to attract demand. </p>
<p>Restaurants are traditionally low-margin businesses so they are unlikely to be able to foot the bill if the customer is unwilling to pay the full delivery costs. Home delivery also has low entry barriers and switching costs, which is likely to keep it competitive in future – there are already big incumbents like Just Eat and Deliveroo. Meanwhile, other Uber initiatives such as <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/26/tech/uber-jump-app/index.html">bike hire</a> and developing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/19/ubers-self-driving-car-unit-valued-at-73bn-as-it-gears-up-for-ipo">driverless vehicles</a> face strong competition, too. </p>
<h2>Environmental concerns</h2>
<p>Besides Uber’s financial difficulties, there are serious environmental issues surrounding such businesses. Taxi driver numbers in London alone <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/15/sadiq-khan-wants-to-restrict-number-of-uber-drivers-in-london">have increased</a> from 60,000 to 120,000 since 2012 when Uber entered the market. Studies <a href="https://www.cityam.com/1292973-2/">show that</a> not only has this increased congestion but CO₂ has increased by 23% for the taxi industry over that time. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/uber-promises-all-london-rides-will-be-in-electric-cars-by-2025/">Promises</a> that all Uber taxis will be fully electric by 2025 seem unconvincing, as taxi drivers themselves have to make the vehicle purchase and these vehicles are expensive – albeit Uber <a href="https://www.uber.com/gb/en/u/drive-journey-to-electric/">will provide</a> a subsidy funded by a fares increase. </p>
<p>As for Uber Eats, encouraging more people to get takeaways is not good news for carbon emissions either – at least when they are delivered on scooters or mopeds. These issues could easily turn the company into a pariah and make its battles with city authorities much harder as time goes on. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303736/original/file-20191126-112517-3u508.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green in bag only.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gothenburg-sweden-april-11-2019-uber-1374104270">nrqemi</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No doubt after a lengthy appeal, Uber will agree to better controls in London to get around its current difficulties. It is true that the TfL decision may embolden authorities up and down the UK and elsewhere to feel more confident about taking on Uber, but the bigger questions are really about the overall business model. Remember that this is a company that was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/technology/uber-ipo-stock-price.html">valued at</a> US$82.4 billion when its shares were listed in May. It has already sunk beneath US$50 billion: the jury is very much out on whether this can be turned around.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127746/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Colley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Uber’s London licence has been a political football for several years, but that’s not really the point.John Colley, Professor of Practice, Associate Dean, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/947542018-05-15T13:48:06Z2018-05-15T13:48:06ZWhy fewer Londoners are taking the tube – a transport researcher explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218979/original/file-20180515-122935-4hshqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3872%2C2590&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattspinner/4482441020/sizes/l">mattspinner/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the first time since 2008, the number of people using the world-famous London Underground – locally known as “the tube” – has fallen. After over two decades of long-term growth, passenger numbers are <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/transport-for-london-budget-2018-19.pdf">down 2%</a>, from 1.38 billion in the financial year 2016-17, to 1.35 billion in 2017-18. Bus use also peaked in 2014, and has been <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/bus_network_report_final.pdf">falling steadily each year</a>. Simply put, fewer people in London are using public transport – and this means fewer ticket sales. This has created a funding gap that puts plans for improvements and upgrades in serious jeopardy. </p>
<p>Since the national government cut its <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b7392524-8923-11e5-90de-f44762bf9896">£700m a year</a> grant, London’s transport agency, Transport for London (TfL), has been banking on ticket sales to fund the capital’s transport system. But this year, TfL has had to revise its income from tickets sales <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/response_to_draft_consultation_budget_2018-19_-_final.pdf">down by £240m</a>. </p>
<p>This spells trouble for the agency, which <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tfl-business-plan-december-2017-.pdf">plans for ticket sales</a> to generate up to £6.2 billion, or 62%, of the £10.2 billion budget for 2022-23 – a step increase from today’s £4.6 billion, or 45% of this year’s budget. Since London Mayor Sadiq Khan is committed to freezing single fares, additional growth will need to come from more passengers. </p>
<p>This is, in some ways, a reasonable expectation: <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/current-london-plan/london-plan-chapter-one-context-and-strategy-0">population</a> and <a href="https://data.london.gov.uk/apps_and_analysis/labour-market-update-for-london-april-2018/">employment</a> - the key drivers of transport demand - are still growing in London. <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tfl-business-plan-december-2017-.pdf">TfL points</a> towards economic factors, including the uncertainty of Brexit, to explain the downturn in demand for public transport. But this year’s lower passenger numbers point instead towards lifestyle changes, which are affecting when and how people choose to travel. </p>
<h2>London’s missing passengers</h2>
<p>Travel surveys show that the average Londoner made only 2.2 trips (across all transport modes) a day in 2016-17, down 20% from 2006-7. So despite population growth, transport demand has not risen as much as expected. This decline is mirrored across England: between <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-10.pdf">2002 and 2016 a 9% drop</a> in trips across all modes was recorded. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220329/original/file-20180524-51091-63ponz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Passenger numbers and journey stages on London Underground.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-report-10.pdf">Travel in London Report 10/TfL</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Flexible and remote working practices are contributing to this trend: instead of commuting to work five days, the new normal for Londoners is now four. Over the past decade, commuting trips have dropped <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-10.pdf">by 14.2%</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, the <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-10.pdf">cost of travel has been increasing</a>. While single fares on the bus and the tube cost approximately the same in real terms between 2000 and 2012, they have increased 5% and 3% respectively since then. The cost of season tickets is up even more; 8% on the bus and 6% on the London Underground in real terms since 2012.</p>
<p>Greater transport costs mean less disposable income, which partially explains why Londoners <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-10.pdf">are making fewer leisure and shopping trips</a>, instead opting to stay home and shop online. Meanwhile, London’s changing mix of traffic suggests that personal trips are being substituted with deliveries. This shifts the burden from the public transport network to the road network. Across London, light goods vans are making up a growing proportion of traffic: <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-10.pdf">accounting for 14%</a> of traffic in 2016, up from 10% in 1993 and 11% in 2000. </p>
<h2>Trouble for TfL</h2>
<p>To avoid a major shortfall, TfL will need look at new ways to fund transport. One solution might be <a href="https://theconversation.com/london-congestion-charge-why-its-time-to-reconsider-one-of-the-citys-great-successes-92478">to reform London’s congestion charge</a>. Currently, the congestion charge covers less than 1.5% of the city, applies only between 7am and 6pm, consists of a simple, daily flat rate, and exempts private hire vehicles - your Uber drivers and minicabs. </p>
<p>Over the past four years, there has been a 75% increase in the number of registered private hire vehicles. On Friday and Saturday nights, 18,000 cars flood the streets of Central London. With New York City set to introduce a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/nyregion/congestion-pricing-new-york.html">surcharge for taxis and private hire vehicles</a> (US$2.50 and US$2.75 respectively), London might also want to follow suit. </p>
<p>A more comprehensive road pricing strategy would be an effective tool to manage traffic and generate funds for the transport system. A reformed congestion charge alongside good public transport, cycling infrastructure and public space could encourage Londoners to shift away from their cars toward travelling by public transport, walking and cycling. </p>
<p>TfL predicts that most of it’s revenue growth – £3.2 billion over the next five years - will come from the new Elizabeth Line, which is set to start running in December 2018. By 2022-23, TfL expects passenger numbers on the Elizabeth Line to increase by <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tfl-business-plan-december-2017-.pdf">200m to 269m</a>, and tickets sales to earn <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tfl-business-plan-december-2017-.pdf">£913m</a>. Over the same period, passenger numbers on the London Underground and bus network are forecast to rise by just 5% and 3% respectively. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219031/original/file-20180515-195318-1m9jtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Almost ready?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/transportgovuk/31598041145/sizes/l">Department for Transport/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The income from the Elizabeth Line is crucial to TfL balancing its books. As outgoing deputy mayor for transport, Val Shawcross, <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/mgChooseMDocPack.aspx?ID=6265&SID=16777">warned</a>, delays to the Elizabeth Line opening on time are TfL’s greatest revenue risk. So as <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/crossrail-needs-500m-bailout-by-taxpayer-chris-grayling-to-tell-mps-lv77md5vp">engineering challenges</a> threaten to push back the opening date, TfL’s money worries look set to worsen. </p>
<h2>The funding conundrum</h2>
<p>TfL is also seeking to earn from developments on some of the 300 acres of land it owns in the city. By 2022-23, the property partnerships agreed between TfL and thirteen large property development companies in 2016 are set to generate <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/february/tfl-selects-13-property-partners-to-help-it-deliver-thousands-of-homes-for-lond">£3.4 billion of income</a> to reinvest into London’s transport system. London Mayor Sadiq Khan is pushing for further sites to be unlocked, to generate more funds and meet his manifesto commitment to build more affordable homes for Londoners. </p>
<p>Khan’s manifesto pledge to freeze single fare tickets throughout his term is estimated to <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi3-L-YwMvZAhXhhaYKHW9zD7IQFgg1MAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.london.gov.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fbudget_and_performance_committee_report_tfls_financial_challenge_final.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1Mz0_mV-uAaLG1pPi1axRs">cost £640m</a>. Arguably, reneging on that promise could return £640m to TfL’s purse. <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/mgChooseMDocPack.aspx?ID=6265&SID=16777">TfL points to</a> national rail services where fares are higher and the reduction in passenger numbers has been greater, and argue that the fare freeze blunted the drop in passenger numbers. </p>
<p>If TfL fails to find new ways to fund its network, more cuts to upgrade and capital programmes are only a matter of time. The agency has already <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi3-L-YwMvZAhXhhaYKHW9zD7IQFgg1MAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.london.gov.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fbudget_and_performance_committee_report_tfls_financial_challenge_final.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1Mz0_mV-uAaLG1pPi1axRs">cut its funding</a> for streets, cycling and public spaces in London’s boroughs, and suspended its roads renewal programme and <a href="https://www.londonreconnections.com/2017/third-world-class-capacity-cancelling-tube-upgrades/">underground capacity upgrades</a>. TfL’s reliance on ticket sales to fund the capital’s transport system makes it very vulnerable to unexpected changes in demand. To ensure London continues to have a world-class transport system, both Khan and TfL must urgently find new sources of funding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94754/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Badstuber received funding for her doctoral research into urban transport governance from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via the research programme Transforming the Engineering of Cities. Nicole currently works at the UCL Transport Institute as Knowledge Exchange Coordinator. Previous research projects Nicole has worked on have separately been funded by MacArthur foundation, the New Climate Economy, the European Innovation Council via Horizon 2020 and UCL. Nicole is a ordinary student member of the Labour party. This article does not reflect the views of any research organisation Nicole has been or is associated with. </span></em></p>TfL’s money troubles worsen, as passenger numbers fall for the first time in two decades.Nicole Badstuber, Researcher in Urban Transport Governance at the Centre for Transport Studies, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859992017-10-25T13:32:26Z2017-10-25T13:32:26ZOutdated regulations halt Uber in its tracks, but innovation must prevail<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191728/original/file-20171024-30556-90rl5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=104%2C82%2C1940%2C1315&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/srgblog/8313393095/in/photolist-dECj8H-q7UNGX-o6ZGVt-6z3FEk-4bqsap-64tFvr-oU33Rr-38wi5W-EMqBV-iTH1wJ-d3grr-53Yd5K-nzouc-qeUK2y-8u1PB-vXCUM-6kvdy2-4MerDc-7447j1-GYyVuA-2ew55T-hZfhvo-eqwopM-nUhCwH-oCH9ee-a4eDcb-dTh5zQ-4cVPEn-ePC45v-baDuk6-CnZWFJ-pbhjy9-9PqquK-75HRjD-atBHQw-bXDrrW-b5YtyX-bfLcza-5qMBev-4cZG1u-bc7UaZ-kzYen3-666zqu-L9MZrN-bguNEv-Wcajfm-4cVDXZ-aWC4qM-97MDSw-rjH1gU">srgpicker/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ride-sharing company <a href="https://www.uber.com">Uber</a> has led a charge by companies who are upsetting applecarts in their respective industries. The power and convenience of mobile platforms can efficiently match assets, labour, or both with those who need them. Established players in regulated markets are on notice, and the regulations, in many cases, have been left looking unfit for purpose.</p>
<p>The modern world has been built on what economist <a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Schumpeter.html">Joseph Schumpeter</a> described as “creative destruction”. When regulations are out of date, or can be circumvented by new technologies or new ways of doing things, new entrants can disrupt incumbents by innovating outside of the reach of regulators. </p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.skype.com/en/">Skype</a>, the popular voice and video communications service, was first launched, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8231444/China-makes-Skype-illegal.html">it was illegal</a> in many parts of the world. It has since established a global market for voice over IP technologies, lowering prices for voice and video communications and changing how millions of people communicate. </p>
<p>A new entrant can offer compelling services which attract so many customers, so quickly, that sheer weight of numbers persuades (or even forces) regulators to recognise the new reality – witness the 850,000-strong <a href="https://www.change.org/p/save-your-uber-in-london-saveyouruber">petition</a> that greeted the decision to remove Uber’s licence in London.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191719/original/file-20171024-30596-anf0qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trailblazer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kazan-russian-federation-aug-9-2017-701674423?src=83g37Xo3cz6ZsXM6taEWyQ-1-64">Allmy/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Uberisation</h2>
<p>Uber has been the poster child for a 21st-century sharing economy that challenges 20th-century regulations. The firm has been valued at <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/uber-board-says-it-approved-equality-among-shareholders-and-to-move-forward-with-softbank-deal-2017-10">close to US$70 billion</a>, riding out concerns about the viability of its business model and a series of headlines about poor corporate culture and bad behaviour. </p>
<p>Uber’s innovation inspired numerous other start-ups across different sectors throughout the world – from rivals like <a href="http://www.didichuxing.com/en/">Didi Chuxing</a> and <a href="https://www.lyft.com/">Lyft</a> to holiday letting agent <a href="https://www.airbnb.com">Airbnb</a>, jobs and skills matcher <a href="https://www.taskrabbit.com/">TaskRabbit</a> and <a href="https://www.wework.com/">WeWork</a>, which hooks up gig economy workers with shared workspaces and services. We are seeing Uberisation across multiple industries.</p>
<p>The significance of the sharing economy goes well beyond disrupting a particular regulated market. Uber’s ambition is to eventually make ride hailing so cheap and convenient that many people would forgo car ownership altogether. It has the potential to <a href="http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/13879/">reinvent urban transport and transform cities</a> while reducing road accidents and pollution. </p>
<p>The enormous value in the data it collects from the millions of rides every day could potentially exceed ride hailing itself. The on-demand movement started by Uber and co could change our life styles and lead to new ways of living and working. </p>
<p>However, such dramatic innovations inevitably rub up against regulators and encounter push backs from vested interests. The question is how to effectively maintain the balance between regulation and innovation. The refusal by Transport for London (TfL) to renew Uber’s licence – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/13/uber-appeal-london-licence-tfl">an appeal notwithstanding</a> – raises serious questions on whether existing regulations in UK and Europe are killing off promising innovations. </p>
<h2>Failing to compete</h2>
<p>It should be a worry that despite significant research and development investment in digital technologies by the multi-billion euro <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/">EU Framework Programmes</a> and the £150m <a href="https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/research/ourportfolio/themes/digitaleconomy/">Digital Economy Programme</a> from the Research Councils UK, the EU and UK have so far failed to produce many serious digital “unicorns”, private companies valued at US$1 billion or more. One exception is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotify">Spotify</a>, the music streaming company started in Sweden in 2008 and valued at US$8.5bn. </p>
<p>There are simply no challengers in Europe to the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/28/fang-tech-market-concern-volatility.html">US-based “FANGs”</a> (Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google) or <a href="http://www.investors.com/research/industry-snapshot/move-over-fangs-chinas-bat-stocks-go-from-copycats-to-fat-cats/">the Chinese “BATs”</a> (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent). Stringent regulations in some EU countries, combined with language and culture barriers, have fragmented the European single market, which make it more difficult – and more expensive – for new entrants to challenge incumbents and scale up operations in Europe.</p>
<p>Uber successfully disrupted a regulated market by circumventing regulations and offering convenient services to 40,000 drivers and 3.5m customers <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/09/26/really-ubers-40000-drivers-35m-users-london/">in London alone</a>. However, its future success in the UK and Europe is by no means guaranteed. </p>
<p>TfL should think again. Despite its various mistakes, Uber is still a young company, and all the issues are fixable, aside from the fury of the incumbent Black Taxi drivers, perhaps. Killing it is not in the interest of consumers and drivers, and it will damage the reputation of London as a place for innovation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191725/original/file-20171024-30613-7pv7mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We’ve moved on …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hur/174497674/in/photolist-8MneV3-96aHfj-5yT8AC-gqm5A-paLEU3-pcwQk8">Jin Ho Hur/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Back in 1865, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locomotive_Acts">Locomotive Acts</a> (also known as the Red Flag Act) was passed in the UK. The law required self-propelled vehicles to be led by a pedestrian waving a red flag or carrying a lantern to warn people about the vehicle’s approach. We can all laugh at how ridiculous this now seems, but the flags served a purpose in their time, before becoming obsolete. </p>
<p>TfL should bear this in mind. Regulations should not stop innovations that improve people’s lives. Uber has clearly improved many people’s lives in London and all around the world, offering employment opportunities alongside affordable and convenient door-to-door transport services for a large number of consumers. If there are issues and concerns, then TfL should work constructively with Uber to address them. The sharing economy is here to stay, and London has a chance to show the rest of Europe what progressive regulation looks like in a world of rapid innovation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85999/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Feng Li receives funding from Research Councils UK, Innovate UK and EPSRC</span></em></p>Rules are made to be broken. Innovation stalls when you don’t follow that simple maxim.Feng Li, Chair of Information Management, Cass Business School, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/845512017-09-25T14:26:13Z2017-09-25T14:26:13ZLondon Uber ban: regulators are finally catching up with technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187394/original/file-20170925-17414-1tsg6td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">dennizn / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In what could be a major blow to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38930048">gig economy</a>, Transport for London (TfL) has <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2017/september/licensing-decision-on-uber-london-limited">refused to renew Uber’s licence</a> to operate in the UK capital – its <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9e315c30-a137-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2">largest European</a> market – on the grounds that its approach and conduct “demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility” on issues which “have potential public safety and security implications”. </p>
<p>In its announcement, TfL cited concerns over passenger safety, arising from Uber’s failure to monitor the criminal and medical records of its drivers and to conduct related checks. The transport body was also critical of Uber’s use of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html">“greyball” software</a>, which prevents officials from monitoring Uber’s app, and from undertaking normal regulatory and law enforcement duties.</p>
<p>Yet despite these issues, TfL’s announcement provoked an enormous public backlash; <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/uber-petition-calling-on-london-ban-to-be-reversed-backed-by-record-breaking-500k-supporters-in-a3641866.html">more than 500,000 people</a> had signed a petition protesting the decision within 24 hours, making it Change.org’s fastest growing petition in the UK this year. <a href="https://www.change.org/p/save-your-uber-in-london-saveyouruber">The petition</a> – established by Uber – called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to reverse the ban, accusing London of being “closed to innovative companies” that offer choice to consumers and employment opportunities to tens of thousands of Londoners. </p>
<h2>The march of progress</h2>
<p>The stance of Uber and its supporters reflects a view routinely presented in the media, politics and, indeed, <a href="http://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1927&context=articles">in large parts of the social sciences</a>. From this view, technology is seen as a kind of elemental force; one beyond the control of law and policy, and beholden only to the whims of those who develop and sell it. To resist technology is to stand in the way of history and progress. </p>
<p>A variation on this argument holds that while some in society – mostly those with vested interests – might be in a position to frustrate technological advances, the public interest lies in preventing them from doing so. Likewise, <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/londoners-call-for-boycott-of-black-cabs-after-uber-decision-a3641196.html">many saw the Uber ban</a> as an attempt to protect the interests of black cab drivers at the public’s expense, following <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tfl-transport-for-london-ban-uber-london-sadiq-khan-black-cab-a7961176.html">a long-running campaign</a> against the firm by the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187382/original/file-20170925-17379-dgp1jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stopping traffic: black cab drivers protest against Uber in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-10-february-2016-thousands-469981658?src=_3W6zpw_UnRLIQ7iITCniw-1-1">Dinendra Haria / Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The argument goes that capitalism proceeds through waves of “creative destruction”, which should be ushered forward as quickly as possible, not unduly stifled by regulation and red tape. Those who oppose this inexorable march are often denounced as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17770171">“Luddites”</a> – a term which today describes a person with irrational or small-minded opposition to technological change, <a href="http://kk.org/thetechnium/the-unabomber-w/">sometimes with violent consequences</a>. </p>
<h2>The Luddites’ legacy</h2>
<p>Historically, the Luddites were a group of 19th century English textile workers and weavers who destroyed weaving machinery to protest against their adoption by English mills. Conventionally described as “machine breakers”, they were in fact <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/rage-against-the-machine">resisting attempts</a> by employers to avoid minimum wage laws and customary rules of industrial trades that were centuries old. The court system refused to enforce these laws to protect the trades, on the grounds that to do so would be inconvenient for factory owners. </p>
<p>The Luddites failed to halt the rise of the factory – indeed, some were <a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/politics/g3/">sentenced to death or transportation</a> for their actions – but their example of resistance to abuse of power left a legacy. Within a few decades, collective bargaining over wages and conditions was being established in the same industrial districts that had witnessed the Luddite risings. In due course, this new mode of regulation led to the development of social legislation and the modern welfare state. </p>
<p>The story of the Luddites suggests an alternative view of technology; one which recognises that technological change occurs in phases. We are currently going through a stage of rapid development, in which it seems that technology is outstripping the capacity of lawmakers and regulators to respond. We often hear that regulators “can’t keep up” <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/526401/laws-and-ethics-cant-keep-pace-with-technology/">with the pace of change in industry</a>. </p>
<p>This refrain is generally at its loudest just before a social or financial crisis occurs, often driven by the adoption of new technology, which brings regulators back into the frame and triggers new laws and modes of governance. The process runs in a cycle, with the law responding to technological and organisational change after a lag, then setting the framework for a further round of innovation. This cyclical process is borne out in the study of systems theory and evolutionary economics, but we are seeing now that these insights are in some ways transferable to the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27760013?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">study of technological change</a>.</p>
<h2>Another cycle</h2>
<p>TfL’s response is a sign that the next phase in this socio-technical cycle is beginning. Technology, such as the Uber app platform, is creating modes of delivery for goods and services which are often on the borderline of legality. Technology companies have been exploiting this uncertainty to entrench their position and defend it forcefully. Now, it seems as though regulators are finally catching up.</p>
<p>Uber will challenge TFL’s decision, as it did when a 2016 employment tribunal ruled that drivers were, in fact, employed by Uber, and therefore entitled to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37629628">certain benefits</a>. While these cases <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/19/uber-appeal-uk-employment-ruling-drivers-working-rights">are being appealed</a>, Uber will probably continue to operate much as before. </p>
<p>Uber hopes that laws and regulations will eventually normalise in its favour; in other words, if it throws enough lawyers and lobbyists at the problem, then regulators and policy makers might well cave. But <em>this</em> time, TFL hasn’t. This may be a one-off. But perhaps change is afoot – Uber <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41384499">has been quick to own up to its shortcomings</a>, and admit that change is necessary – even as it remains committed to defending its business operation in the capital.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Deakin receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Markou receives funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Resesarch Council of Canada (SSHRC). He is on the legal expert committee of Responsible Robotics, an NGO that promotes the responsibile development of robotics in society.</span></em></p>A rebellion against the technology which triggered the industrial revolution changed the way we understand technology.Simon Deakin, Professor of Law, University of CambridgeChristopher Markou, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/768872017-05-11T21:49:18Z2017-05-11T21:49:18ZGood riddance to the Garden Bridge: an eye-watering waste of public funds<p>With one swift blow, London Mayor Sadiq Khan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/apr/28/garden-bridge-across-thames-scrapped-by-sadiq-khan-london">confounded plans</a> to construct a leafy walkway above the River Thames. By refusing to guarantee further public funds, the mayor leaves the Garden Bridge project with a funding gap of some £70m, and a countdown of just eight months until planning permission expires. </p>
<p>The Thames Garden Bridge project has already used £37.4m of public money, and the government’s agreement to underwrite cancellation costs could bring the taxpayers’ bill <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/independent-review-garden-bridge-project">up to £46.4m</a>. But while these are staggering sums, they are small compared with the risks – and the losses – which <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/md2108_appendix_garden_bridge_review.pdf">could have been incurred</a> had Khan not pulled the public purse strings tightly shut. In doing so, the mayor drew a line under a saga which has given rise to series of <a href="https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/top-criminal-qc-raises-serious-concerns-over-garden-bridge-contest/10017651.article">allegations</a> of imperfect processes and conflicts of interest, which risked soiling the integrity of the public service.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"857883252903882752"}"></div></p>
<p>The project was first conceived by British actor Joanna Lumley who – together with product designer Thomas Heatherwick – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/24/joanna-lumley-role-boris-johnson-thames-garden-bridge-london-thomas-heatherwick">sought support</a> from her friend and then-mayor Boris Johnson, in May 2012. Initially, the project was to be privately funded, with the design and location to be developed over the months to February 2013 with engineering firm Arup. When <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-tried-to-get-apple-to-sponsor-londons-garden-bridge-2016-1?r=US&IR=T">fundraising efforts</a> failed to procure financial support, Johnson made a commitment to kickstart the project with public money. </p>
<h2>Not your typical public tender</h2>
<p>It was not until much later that it was <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/board-papers/2013-board-papers">officially</a> <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/board-papers/2014-board-papers">recorded</a> that the board of Transport for London (TfL) - the statutory corporation responsible for London’s transport network – was made aware of the full cost, scope, risk or remit of this proposal. There had been no real business case made, no policy need identified and no groundswell of public support for any such proposal. Nevertheless, the project was ostensibly put out to public tender in February 2013. </p>
<p>Although <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/itt-bridge-design-services.pdf">the procurement</a> had only invited parties to analyse, appraise and consult on a need and location for a pedestrian and cycle crossing, the submission from Heatherwick Studios provided a polished vision of the Garden Bridge and its location, primed for public consumption. Heatherwick’s team won the bid, <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/tfl_internal_audit_review_of_the_garden_bridge_procurement_process.pdf">under the authority</a> of then-TfL director of planning Richard de Cani. In a theatre of revolving doors, he <a href="https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/tfl-top-brass-to-join-garden-bridge-engineer/10002750.article">subsequently resigned</a> and was later appointed by Arup. TfL and the Department for Transport <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/21/london-garden-bridge-accusation-of-conflict-of-interest-over-public-funds">denied suggestions</a> that de Cani had a conflict of interest. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167203/original/file-20170428-12970-mzxge6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Heatherwick Studio’s Garden Bridge: a polished proposal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Garden Bridge Trust.</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The business case was eventually completed in May 2014 – long after the project went to public consultation in November 2013 and appeared, with Treasury support, in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-plan-2013">December 2013 National Infrastructure Plan</a>. In <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/public-accounts/written-evidence/2015-20-Parliament/pac-submission-garden-bridge-project-review-281016.pdf">a clear departure</a> from accepted protocols, central government, by using Ministerial Directions, and TfL agreed to <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/report/investigation-the-department-for-transports-funding-of-the-garden-bridge/">fund the project</a>, to the tune of £30m each, on the understanding that forthcoming private donations would make up the shortfall. A charity called the <a href="https://www.gardenbridge.london/">Garden Bridge Trust</a> was established to oversee the project’s execution. </p>
<h2>Ballooning costs</h2>
<p>By mid-2014, the project’s costs had escalated from £60m to £175m – over seven times the cost of the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1374490/5m-bill-to-mend-wobbly-Millennium-Bridge.html">£24m Millennium Footbridge</a>, which links St Paul’s Cathedral to the South Bank. Questions and concerns were repeatedly raised by London Assembly Member <a href="http://www.carolinepidgeon.org/node/1155">Caroline Pidgeon</a>, Will Hurst of <a href="https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/searcharticles?keywords=garden+bridge&qsearch=1&PageNo=2&cmd=GoToPage&val=1">The Architects’ Journal</a> and myself from <a href="http://www.projectcompass.co.uk/index.php?page=aboutus&sub=publications_garden_bridge">Project Compass CIC</a> (a procurement intelligence service). These, alongside community opposition from <a href="https://www.tcos.org.uk/about-us">Thames Central Open Space</a>, <a href="http://www.jennings-photography.net/willjennings.info/?page_id=580">protests by London artist Will Jennings</a> and <a href="https://view.publitas.com/p222-10185/review-of-garden-bridge-operations-and-maintenance-business-plan-2/page/12-13">critiques of the business case</a> by Dan Anderson of <a href="http://fourth-street.com/">Fourth Street Studios</a> were repeatedly <a href="http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/questions/question_284052">dismissed</a> by the mayor. </p>
<p>Finally, following a request for an internal TfL audit, the <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_oversight_committee_-_garden_bridge_report_-_march_2016.pdf">Greater London Assembly (GLA) oversight committee</a> took evidence. This clarified the many <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/audit-of-the-procurement-of-design-and-development-services-accessible.pdf">inappropriate</a> <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/aac-20161011-part-1-item08-ey-review-of-internal-audit.pdf">issues</a> with the procedures and procurement process, and resulted in a cascade of revelations, leading to <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/independent-review-garden-bridge-project">the most recent inquiry</a>. Commissioned by current mayor Khan and undertaken by MP Margaret Hodge. The vanity project was roundly condemned on all fronts, and the mayor called upon to cancel any further support.</p>
<p>What started life as a project costing an estimated £60m is now projected to cost <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/11/london-garden-bridge-project-future-doubt-trustees">over £200m</a>. The Garden Bridge Trust only secured £69m in private funding pledges, leaving the gap of at least £70m. No new pledges had been obtained <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/independent-review-garden-bridge-project">since August 2016</a>. Now, with Khan’s announcement, it is to be hoped that this shocking waste of public money will come to an end. The allegations which have dogged the project must now be investigated and brought to account, so that trust in public service may be restored once more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76887/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Walter Menteth is a director of Project Compass CIC, director of Walter Menteth Architects, (p/t) Senior Lecturer at the Portsmouth School of Architecture and an RIBA Councillor. </span></em></p>Ding dong, the bridge is dead.Walter Menteth, Senior Lecturer, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/721442017-02-07T08:59:44Z2017-02-07T08:59:44ZBig data is adding a whole new dimension to public spaces – here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155700/original/image-20170206-23515-iejbpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us encounter public spaces in our daily lives: whether it’s physical space (a sidewalk, a bench, or a road), a visual element (a panorama, a cityscape) or a mode of transport (bus, train or bike share). But over the past two decades, digital technologies such as smart phones and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-internet-of-things-16542">internet of things</a> are adding extra layers of information to our public spaces, and transforming the urban environment. </p>
<p>Traditionally, public spaces have been carefully designed by urban planners and architects, and managed by private companies or public bodies. The theory goes that people’s attention and behaviour in public spaces can be guided by the way that architects plan the built environment. Take, for example, Leicester Square in London: the layout of green areas, pathways and benches makes it clear where people are supposed to walk, sit down and look at the natural elements. The public space is a given, which people receive and use within the terms and guidelines provided.</p>
<p>While these ideas are still relevant today, information is now another key material in public spaces. It changes the way that people experience the city. Uber shows us the position of its closest drivers, even when they’re out of sight; route-finding apps such as Google Maps helps us to navigate through unfamiliar territory; Pokemon Go places otherworldly creatures on the pavement right before our eyes. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155689/original/image-20170206-18532-1ec23to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A virtual world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/148525563@N02/30503663936/sizes/l">https://paintimpact.com/ (Flickr).</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>But we’re not just receiving information – we’re also generating it. Whether you’re “liking” something on Facebook, searching Google, shopping online, or even exchanging an email address for Wi-Fi access; all of the data created by these actions are collected, stored, managed, analysed and brokered to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1068/a44484">generate monetary value</a>. </p>
<h2>Data deluge</h2>
<p>But as well as creating profits for private companies, these data provide accurate and continuous updates of how society is evolving, which can be used by governments and designers to manage and design public spaces. </p>
<p>Before big data, the architects designed spaces based on mere assumptions about how people were likely to use them. Success was measured by “small”, localised data methods, such as <a href="https://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=1793">post-occupancy evaluations</a>, where built projects are observed during their use and assessed against the designers’ original intentions, as well as fitness for purpose and performance. For the most part, the people who used public spaces did not have a say in how they were designed or managed. </p>
<p>Now, public space is becoming increasingly dynamic. Information about consumption is being used to shape production, in a hybrid process called “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540509354673">prosumption</a>”. One example of this is TV competitions where viewers have an active role in deciding who is going to remain or leave the show. In an urban context, there’s the <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/open-data-users/">TfL Open Data system</a>, where all data produced by Oyster Card holders are made available for people to raise awareness, develop new programmes, visualise data or analyse statistics. </p>
<h2>Digital cities</h2>
<p>And this is just the beginning. A <a href="http://www.arup.com/%7E/media/Files/PDF/Publications/Research_and_whitepapers/ARUP_Smart_City.ashx">growing number of projects</a> are demonstrating the potential impacts of big data on our experience of public spaces. For instance, engineering firm Arup came up with a <a href="http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2011/08/melbourne-smart-city-c40.html">“net” of public data</a> which allows individuals to see their direct impact on urban data in real time. And designer Keiichi Matsuda offers a strong visualisation of possible future scenarios, where the digital and physical aspects of space are synthesised.</p>
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<p>If it is true that cities are increasingly becoming <a href="http://www.academia.edu/9468998/Decoding_the_City_Urbanism_in_the_Age_of_Big_Data">spatial social networks of interaction</a>, we are all in front of a crossroad: then we can either continue to unthinkingly produce <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2053951714528481">a deluge of data</a> that will result in the space we live within, or we can start taking control of it. If we all use the power and potentiality of big data and ubiquitous computing in a clever way, we can actively contribute to the making of the public realm, by inputting data and generating information consciously. </p>
<p>By being aware of, say, the wider impact of our Twitter feeds, Facebook responses or personal information sharing, we can make data analysts and brokers go in one specific direction or another. For instance, the code-animated graphics on the giant LCD screens in Times Square respond to the time of the day, the amount of people in the square and the events happening in a specific time. People in the square can change the configuration of the backdrop by moving around the different parts of the public space.</p>
<p>If members of the public are aware that their (data-producing) actions are listened to, collected and used to shape decisions, then they can become an active part of that process. Projects such as <a href="http://senseable.mit.edu/livesingapore/">Live Singapore!</a> – which provides a platform for the collection, elaboration and distribution of real-time data about what’s going on in the city – show how people can use the urban data they help to create, to better understand their city and inform their actions. </p>
<p>We still are quite far from the day when public spaces are shaped as the people desire, in real time, with a high level of customisability. Becoming more conscious of how individual actions can shape public spaces is just the first step.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silvio Carta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Public spaces are becoming new arenas for people power – and it’s all down to how you use your smart phone.Silvio Carta, Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Design Research Group, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/689582016-11-22T07:43:39Z2016-11-22T07:43:39ZWhy it’s so hard for Europeans to get compensation after Dieselgate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146802/original/image-20161121-4528-1rbv33w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/127064847@N02/23238278553/in/photolist-BpufB4-cBbRq3-cBbJKf-cBbzNo-cBbMJY-cBbHY5-cBbMXo-cBbFKh-cBbAVd-cBbQqQ-cBbGw9-cBbNv3-cBbLQC-cBbCoL-cBbQNC-cBbBw5-cBbwRb-cBbHAj-cBbP6S-cBbA2L-cBbvzm-cBbzcb-cBbBEf-cBbQ2E-cBbLoj-cBbNJA-cBbvYq-cBbJmC-cBbR1j-cBby75-cBbM2m-cBbAnC-cBbFUL-cBbDU1-cBbAAN-cBbHqs-cBbDJf-cBbGi5-cBbD3j-cBbKLS-7CXhML-cBbB7o-cBbE5U-cBbSuG-cBbMbC-cBbDdf-cBbQAW-cBckSy-cBbPPj-cBbEyb">Elena Savelyeva</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than a year after the <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/11/07/vw-dieselgate-more-bad-news/">Dieselgate scandal</a>, which uncovered cheating by Volkswagen and other car companies in emissions tests, there has been little progress for European consumers. </p>
<p>Most people are unsure of how – or if – they will be compensated. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has written to Volkswagen and asked that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/20/sadiq-khan-demands-vw-compensate-capitals-residents-and-tfl">£2.5 million be reimbursed</a> to Transport for London as compensation for gas emissions affecting the city’s residents. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"800300393142034432"}"></div></p>
<p>The company, which announced <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/11/18/volkswagen-vw-job-cuts/">30,000 job cuts</a> on November 18, has not yet replied.</p>
<p>Why is the compensation process so different in the US, where Volkswagen will reportedly spend up to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKBN13A1VEhttp://example.com/">US$16.5 billion</a> to buy back affected cars? </p>
<p>There are two main reasons: the influence of the diesel lobby in the EU and with national authorities, and the lack of an EU-wide collective redress system.</p>
<h2>A powerful diesel lobby</h2>
<p>National carmakers have <a href="https://euobserver.com/dieselgate/133235">consistently lobbied national authorities and the EU</a> to gain trust and deal with the fact that most cars <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/publications/dieselgate-who-what-how">surpass legal emissions limits</a> under real driving conditions. The car industry spent <a href="https://lobbyfacts.eu/articles/01-09-2016/car-industry-lobby-spending-keeps-growing">more than €18 million</a> on EU lobbying in 2014, making it a powerful force to be reckoned with. </p>
<p>Lobbyists for Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW - as well as VDA and ACEA, the German and European automobile associations - have prevented up-to-date car testing methods and limits from being put in place <a href="http://www.sven-giegold.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Greens_EP_Automotive_Jan-2016_report.pdf">since the first EU regulations in 2007</a>. </p>
<p>The European Commission has promised new onroad tests <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/2015%2007%20RDE%20position%20paper%20FINAL.pdf">since 2012</a>, but these were blocked by the industry. Even after the scandal, in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/eu-emissions-limits-nox-car-manufacturers">October 2015</a>, car-makers weakened EU emissions limits and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/21/all-top-selling-cars-break-emissions-limits-in-real-world-tests">delayed</a> the introduction of the new test methods, now scheduled to start in 2017.</p>
<p>The European Commission was <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d0d7ba40-6394-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2">aware</a> of the possibility of defeat devices being used years before the scandal broke. But because only national authorities can test cars in the EU’s <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/confusion-slows-europes-response-to-vw-scandal/">fragmented system of regulation</a>, the matter was not investigated. </p>
<h2>Protecting national interests</h2>
<p>In Germany, the Transport Ministry was <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/vw-scandal-exposes-deep-complicity-of-government-a-1061615.html">aware that cheating existed</a> up to five years before the Volkswagen scandal. But although an investigation revealed that <a href="https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/EN/Anlagen/VerkehrUndMobilitaet/Strasse/report-by-the-volkswagen-commission-of-inquiry.pdf?__blob=publicationFile">most carmakers were using defeat devices</a>, it decided in <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-06/vw-escapes-cheating-fines-in-germany-as-payout-pressure-mounts">June 2016</a> not to fine any of its manufacturers - as long as they organised voluntary recalls of their vehicles. </p>
<p>However, the German authorities did contact Fiat-Chrysler for questioning about its use of defeat devices. The Italian government argued that its own tests had not found evidence of Fiat cheating and reminded Germany that Italian carmakers were Italy’s responsibility. Meanwhile, in August 2016 the Italian Competition Authority became the first in Europe to fine Volkswagen <a href="http://www.agcm.it/en/newsroom/press-releases/2294-ps10211-the-italian-competition-authority-fines-the-volkswagen-group-for-tampering-with-their-vehicles'-emissions-control-systems.html">€5 million</a> for misleading advertising. </p>
<p>In September 2016, Germany <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-fiat-chrysler-emissions-docum-idUSKCN1174O3">took the matter to the EU</a>, which turned the responsibility for investigation back to Italian authorities. The dispute is still unresolved, but shows how hard transparency can be when national authorities - and the information they provide - are influenced by their national carmakers.</p>
<h2>A patchwork system of collective redress</h2>
<p>But national lobbying alone cannot explain why results for consumers have been so different in the EU and the US. This boils down to the fragmented state of consumer redress (also known as class action) in the EU.</p>
<p>The European Commission <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32013H0396">recommended</a> in 2013 that all countries set up collective redress systems for all areas of consumer policy, but only 16 of its 28 member states currently have such laws. Due to the differences in these laws, it is <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/european-volkswagen-owners-face-a-bumpy-legal-ride-pan-eu-class-action-lawsuit/">very difficult to bring pan-European class actions</a> to court. </p>
<p>Previous attempts to set up a <a href="http://www.iclg.co.uk/practice-areas/class-and-group-actions/class-and-group-actions-2017/eu-developments-in-relation-to-collective-redress">European collective redress system</a> have failed due to countries’ different legal traditions and the fear of a flood of US-style litigation. Consumers are already at a disadvantage in taking on a deep-pocketed multinational, and limiting class actions to country boundaries makes it even harder for consumers to act.</p>
<p>In the US, known for its tradition of litigation, class action was one of the main responses to the scandal. The district court of San Francisco gave final approval to the first settlement in <a href="https://www.vwcourtsettlement.com/en/">October 2016</a>. US consumers can either sell back their car, or have the car repaired and receive compensation of between US$5,000 and US$10,000 each. On top of this, consumers had already received a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/09/volkswagen-gift-cards-vw-emissions-scandal">US$1,000 “goodwill” gift</a> from VW.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Italian consumer organisation Altroconsumo <a href="http://www.altroconsumo.it/auto-e-moto/automobili/news/altroconusmo-contro-volkswagen">brought class actions</a> against Volkswagen and Fiat in September 2014, long before the scandal broke. These were <a href="http://europe.autonews.com/article/20160617/ANE/160619890/italian-appeals-court-accepts-class-action-against-vw-report-says">accepted after appeal</a> in 2015 and 2016, and are ongoing. But these actions demand only €500 payback per vehicle, and Volkswagen has made it clear that it has no intention of providing any extra “goodwill” gift to European consumers.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/583793/EPRS_BRI(2016)583793_EN.pd">Similar lawsuits</a> are ongoing in several other European countries and are being coordinated by the <a href="http://www.beuc.eu/volkswagen-emission-affairs">European Consumer’s Organisation (BEUC)</a>. But the lack of EU-wide rules mean that even if some consumers do receive remuneration, consumers in countries without collective redress systems will miss out. </p>
<p>These holes in the system leave consumers with less power to place pressure on manufacturers to go beyond the bare minimum - pressure which is vital when national authorities are reluctant to enforce sanctions themselves.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>So what prospects are there for consumer compensation in the EU? Progress is still slow, despite pressure from the European Commission and NGOs. </p>
<p>In a belated but welcome first step, Volkswagen recently committed to <a href="https://euobserver.com/dieselgate/135230">creating an action plan</a> to better inform EU consumers and speed up the repair process. The website will only provide information that US consumers have been given since the beginning though, and, so far, there are no plans to compensate EU consumers.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most positive thing to come out of the scandal is that it has created momentum for transparency and raised awareness of the need to introduce EU-wide collective redress.</p>
<p>In an opaque system dominated by industry lobbying, fragmented regulation and responsibility, that can only be a good thing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesca Colli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A powerful diesel lobby and fragmented class action laws put EU consumers at a disadvantage.Francesca Colli, Phd Student, KU LeuvenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/597122016-09-04T10:02:46Z2016-09-04T10:02:46ZFrom Southern to Sadiq Khan: everything you need to know about London’s broken commuter railways<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136407/original/image-20160902-20228-1o566dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Running slow.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=406500028&size=huge&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTQ3MjgzMjE4NCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfNDA2NTAwMDI4IiwiayI6InBob3RvLzQwNjUwMDAyOC9odWdlLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJvc2UyRmNYR0M4dWpYRm5ic3FqT21kbW1JbkkiXQ%2Fshutterstock_406500028.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=kOT5QXCM48PHqz0IrpI7FQ-1-20">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has dismissed <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CppsI7VW8AA_LmC.jpg">repeated calls</a> from the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for Transport for London (TfL) to take over the troubled Southern Rail network, which has been hit by strikes, overcrowding, delays and cancellations. Grayling rejected Khan’s offer because “<a href="http://audioboom.com/boos/4999912-grayling-slates-sadiq-over-southern-rail?utm_campaign=embed&utm_content=retweet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">I don’t believe that TfL has the skills to run the mainline</a>.” </p>
<p>Instead, Grayling announced his own “hit squad” and a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/package-of-measures-announced-to-help-improve-resilience-of-southern-network">£20m fund to improve Southern</a>. Meanwhile, the company running Southern has just announced <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/southern-rail-owner-profits-jump-27-per-cent-one-day-after-20-million-government-bailout-a7221276.html">a jump in profits of 27%</a> – although a glance at the accounts of the parent company, which also operates bus routes in London, <a href="http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/unlike-sadiq-southern-isnt-contributing-to-go-aheads-soaring-profits/">suggests Southern specifically made no profit</a>.</p>
<p>Southern’s customers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2016/sep/02/morning-commute-on-southern-rail-live">aren’t happy</a> and many must hope following Khan’s call that TfL could transform the commuter line as it did the London Overground. But this cannot be done overnight and a TfL takeover is not a quick fix. </p>
<p>The problems on the Southern network <a href="http://www.londonreconnections.com/2016/railway-roulette/">run deeper than the disputes between train operations management and the unions</a>, who <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/package-of-measures-announced-to-help-improve-resilience-of-southern-network">Grayling blames for the chaos</a>. The services started to crack and crumble as issues such as driver and rolling stock shortages were not addressed and grew worse. Fixing it will be a long game – <a href="http://centreforlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Geoff-Hobbs-presentation-14.07.15.pdf">even for TfL</a>.</p>
<h2>Debating rail devolution</h2>
<p>The debate around devolving rail services in London is not new – and TfL has had its successes. TfL’s takeover of underperforming inner-city London lines to create the London Overground resulted in <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/Item08-020212-Board-London-Overground-Impact-Study.pdf">frequent, reliable train services, with clean and staffed stations</a>. </p>
<p>Following this <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/Item08-020212-Board-London-Overground-Impact-Study.pdf">transformation</a>, many have been calling for more control of London’s railways to be devolved from national to city government. Additionally, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49453/cm-8526.pdf">Brown Review on Rail Franchising</a> in 2012 suggested control of franchising might be best devolved from national government.</p>
<p>In response, former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, published his 2012 <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mayors-rail-vision-2012-final.pdf">Mayor’s Rail Vision</a>. It proposed devolution of management of two London rail networks – West Anglia and Southeastern – to TfL. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136451/original/image-20160902-20241-1su189u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inner London Southeastern route network. Routes in purple were proposed for devolution of management to Transport for London (TfL). Southeastern has not yet been devolved to TfL. Southeastern’s current franchise is due to expire in 2018. It is expected that TfL will put forward a case to take over the part of the franchise within London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mayor of London (2012). Mayor's Rail Vision.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This proposal was partially successful. On May 31 2015, Transport for London took over management of <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/june/mayor-hails-transformed-services-as-tfl-takes-west-anglia-routes">West Anglia</a>, which runs out of Liverpool Street station to Cheshunt, Chingford and Enfield in north-east London. Stations along the route have been rebranded, staffed and refurbished to meet TfL standards. Inherited trains have been revamped and <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-overground/improving-london-overground?intcmp=32665#on-this-page-2">new trains are due in 2018</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136448/original/image-20160902-20241-yvdn51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">West Anglia routes proposed for take over by Transport for London in Mayor’s Rail Vision. Routes within London and as far as Cheshunt were taken over by TfL in May 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mayor of London (2012). Mayor's Rail Vision</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The proposal to take over Southeastern was, however, unsuccessful. This was partly because of concerns over TfL running services beyond the Greater London jurisdictional boundary and the resulting democratic deficit. Grayling <a href="http://bbc.in/2cchQLw">echoes this</a> in his response to Khan’s suggestion that TfL should take over Southern – which goes to Southampton, Brighton and Hastings. This would mean TfL and the mayor taking over control of rail links far beyond the Greater London boundary.</p>
<p>More recently, the <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/devolving_rail_services_to_london-final-report.pdf">London Assembly’s Transport Committee</a> and <a href="http://centreforlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Turning_South_London_Orange.pdf">think-tank Centre for London</a> also made the case for South London’s rail services, including Southern services <em>within</em> London, to be devolved to make best use of the existing infrastructure. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136423/original/image-20160902-20224-5p54yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Mayor and Transport for London’s proposed rail routes for devolution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">London Assembly Transport Committee (2015). Devolving Rail Services to London</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The proposals suggest that current rail networks out of London rail termini should be split: suburban routes contained within London would go to TfL, while long-distance or inter-city services would be let via a franchise by the Department for Transport. As yet, however, no agreement has been made.</p>
<h2>A magic bullet?</h2>
<p>The prospect of TfL taking over more rail services around London is appealing to passengers. Who would not want better train services and stations? And with rapid population growth and employment centralisation in London, demand on the city’s transport arterials is ever growing. </p>
<p>Large infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and Crossrail 2 are expensive and disruptive, so the ideal would be to better use existing infrastructure. TfL is well placed to take on that coordinating role – but the transformation observed on the London Overground orbital was years in the making and required substantial investment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136408/original/image-20160902-20247-3wx9bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">London Victoria: expect more delays.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/dl2_lim.mhtml?src=kOT5QXCM48PHqz0IrpI7FQ-1-3&id=17464591&size=medium_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rail services in and around London are currently provided by <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf">a plethora of different train operating companies and TfL</a>. The <a href="http://data.transportfocus.org.uk/train/nps/question/service-overall/?orderby=-wave_9">quality of service varies hugely</a> from some of the worst performers in the country (Southeastern and Southern) to one of the most popular (Chiltern Railways). As the <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/a_new_agreement_for_london.pdf">London Assembly’s Devolution Group argues</a>, this fragmentation hinders greater integration of the transport network in and around London and the provision of a good transport service. </p>
<h2>Who runs the trains?</h2>
<p>Contrary to what the brand suggests, TfL does not run rail services, such as the London Overground, itself. All of the London Overground is run by a private train operating company: <a href="http://www.lorol.co.uk/">London Overground Rail Operations Ltd</a> (LOROL). And in November, Arriva will take over the operation of the service. </p>
<p>Like the national government’s Department for Transport, TfL contracts out the provision of this service. But while most services around the country are contracted out via a franchise agreement of around five to seven years, TfL uses a different model to manage its rail services: a concession or “gross cost” contract. </p>
<p>The key difference is that TfL takes on the risk of ticket sales – instead of the operator. TfL pays the operator a set fee for running the service with financial incentives for strong performance – equally, it imposes penalties for underperformance. Extra payments also go to features TfL has identified as improving journey experience such as station staffing and good quality station environments. An example of this greater focus on the customer is the new concession for London Overground which stipulates <a href="http://www.londonreconnections.com/2016/orange-futures-a-brief-look-at-the-new-overground-concession/">more stringent punctuality metrics</a>. In the concession model, the operator is like an employee with a regular wage and potential performance bonus. </p>
<p>By comparison, in the franchise model, the operator takes on the risk of uncertain passenger numbers and ticket sales. This means its financial performance is directly linked to sales rather than the delivery of a punctual, reliable service. To “insure” itself against the possibility of lower than expected ticket sales, the operator can charge more for the provision of the service than under the TfL concession model.</p>
<p>Due to its size and the fact that it covers most of the transport network in London, TfL is in a good position to take on the revenue risk. As the integrated transport authority, TfL can also take a more holistic view and manage the network to respond to growing demand. It can focus more on the quality of the service provided.</p>
<p>Southern is part of a recently created <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rail-franchising-deal-set-to-transform-passenger-services-across-london-and-south-east">mega-franchise</a> including Thameslink from Bedford to Brighton, and Great Northern to Cambridge and Peterborough. Issues such as complex engineering projects at London Bridge station and along London’s new rail route, Crossrail, were set to impact the franchise network and made it a risky proposition for bidders. Consequently, an unconventional model was adopted by the DfT for this mega franchise, which applies for the next few years. Instead of collecting ticket sales, it would run the rail service for the DfT for a charge for the duration of the franchise. This arrangement sees the train operator accountable to national government, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/04/southern-railway-passenger-protest-industrial-action">rather than passengers or metropolitan government</a>, as in the models outlined above. </p>
<h2>A long game</h2>
<p>But there’s a problem with Sadiq Khan’s plan to hand the Southern network to TfL. Because TfL does not run rail services itself, there is no team that could step in immediately to resolve the Southern headache. Indeed, based on the West Anglia experience, TfL estimates it needs <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/b12819/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%202%20-%20Transcript%20Second%20Panel%20Tuesday%2009-Jun-2015%2010.00%20Transport%20Committee.pdf?T=9">approximately two years</a> to prepare to take over control of a London rail network. </p>
<p>Securing a new operator alone is a lengthy process: it took a year from TfL advertising for a new London Overground operator to announcing a successful candidate this spring. </p>
<p>Even taking over the South West network – the franchise is up for renewal in 2017 – <a href="http://www.railway-technology.com/features/featuretfl-commuter-takeover-expanding-to-the-suburbs-4861259/">is too soon for TfL</a>. Southeastern looks to be next feasible take over candidate for TfL. Its current franchise <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523791/may-2016-rail-franchise-schedule.pdf">expires in 2018</a>. </p>
<p>Planning and agreeing the terms of a concession contract are important and cannot be rushed as they are the cornerstone of whether the rail service will be successful. TfL has managed to build on success and establish a reputable brand. A rushed takeover could undo all this. For now, it seems, there are not quick fixes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59712/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>For her doctoral research at UCL Nicole receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via the research programme Transforming the Engineering of Cities. Nicole works on the MacArthur funded research project New Urban Governance looking at transport governance in different cities across the world. This project is hosted at the urban research centre LSE Cities at the London School of Economics. Nicole is also currently supporting the project CREATE, which is looking at the evolution of sustainable transport policies in cities. CREATE is funded by the EU via Horizon 2020. Nicole is a non-active student member of the Labour party. This article does not reflect the views of any research organisation. </span></em></p>There are no quick fixes.Nicole Badstuber, Researcher in Urban Transport Governance at LSE Cities at the London School of Economics and the Centre for Transport Studies, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/585332016-04-29T12:55:07Z2016-04-29T12:55:07ZDoes London really need an elected mayor?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120391/original/image-20160427-30973-1xfeup7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>London has experienced 16 years of elected mayoralty, and soon a third incumbent (or encumbrance) will be elected to this office. So, what are elected mayors good for? </p>
<p>You’d be forgiven for thinking that their main power lies in needlessly reinventing existing public transport infrastructure: Ken Livingstone liked his buses continental and bendy, while Boris Johnson prefers them with a hint of nostalgia. The last of Livingstone’s road-blockers <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/bendy-buses-sent-from-london-to-malta-taken-off-their-roads-after-three-burst-into-flames-8788929.html">immolated themselves</a> under Maltese sunshine, while Johnson’s are being <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2016/feb/03/london-mayor-cut-price-deal-could-signal-end-of-boris-bus">quietly supplanted</a> with a more practical hybrid lookalike. Both projects carry the stamp of mayoral ego, and have rather less to do with the position’s actual remit: the necessary improvement of public services. </p>
<p>Indeed, vanity projects, with their high profile and short lead time, seem to fascinate elected mayors. The <a href="https://londonist.com/2015/12/cable-car-still-has-no-regular-users">underused cable cars</a> of the Emirates Air Line frame the Thames like the fairy lights from yesterday’s party, providing a prelude to other high visibility, low utility, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/thank-goodness-the-garden-bridge-is-metaphorically-collapsing-lets-now-build-a-bridge-east-london-a6699981.html">cross-river projects</a> to come. It’s as if someone were trying to divert attention from the crucial issues which need to be addressed, in order to safeguard London’s future as a world city. </p>
<p>Providing affordable and well-located homes for the bright 20-somethings that put this metropolis at the cutting edge of global creativity and keep the nighttime economy burning brightly seem to <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb707cf8-df10-11e5-b67f-a61732c1d025.html#axzz472Rb0JfG">fall far down</a> the mayoral agenda. Instead, the development industry has charmed both previous post holders into approving the construction of luxury tower blocks, which act as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/26/londoners-miss-out-as-foreign-investors-buy-up-home-sites">safe-deposit boxes</a> for the world’s uber rich. </p>
<p>Ever since it ceased to be a “square mile”, London has had difficulty finding a suitable mechanism of governance. The <a href="http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/london-county-council-l-c-c">London County Council</a> boundary, which was in place from 1889 to 1965, probably encompassed the most coherent urban metropolis to represent a governable capital city. </p>
<p>In 1965, having achieved an enviable reputation for the provision of affordable housing and public transport, it gave birth to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35716693">Greater London Council</a> or the GLC. This bloated creation was too large to be a city and too small to be a region – an uneasy combination of urban metropolis and sprawling suburban hinterland, girdled by a green belt. </p>
<h2>The rise of ‘Red Ken’</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=871&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=871&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120394/original/image-20160427-30967-6lhx3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=871&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ken Livingstone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/brisbanecitycouncil/11199082744/sizes/l">Brisbane City Council/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In spite of this handicap, the GLC managed to continue the good practice of its predecessor in the fields of strategic planning and public housing, until the early 1980s. Then, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-margaret-thatcher-invented-the-modern-british-election-campaign-39885">under the Thatcher government</a>, it discovered personality politics. Livingstone was crowned head of the GLC by a victorious Labour party following the 1981 elections. </p>
<p>Livingstone tasked the organisation with disrupting the Conservative government from office, and thereby signed the GLC’s death warrant. The inevitable threat to national power posed by a Greater London leader had been demonstrated, and Thatcher <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35716693">made it her mission</a> to disband the council. </p>
<p>The GLC’s eventual demise in 1986 was followed by one of the most creative and successful periods of London’s governance. The capital was run by the 33 municipalities via collaborative boards, such as the London Planning Advisory Committee. Personality politics disappeared and activity was focused, through consensus, on key strategic planning issues such as London’s role as a “world city”, and the location of tall buildings. </p>
<p>Civic collaboration saw off the extremes of left and right wing politics, and the stultifying conflicts which had marked the previous decade. This interlude of harmony witnessed the creation of the strategic policies which formed the basis of <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/the_london_plan_2004.pdf">the London Plan</a>, first published under Livingstone – a comprehensive masterplan for the city’s future, covering everything from tourism, to travel, to tackling climate change. These were the essential ingredients for the subsequent strategies, which have been rebranded by the elected mayors. </p>
<h2>Making a mayor</h2>
<p>In spite of the unexpected success and stability enjoyed during this period of “strategic governance by consensus”, Tony Blair couldn’t resist the temptation to reimpose a formal structure when he came to power. In 1998, Blair put it to the people of London that they should be governed by a new “slim-line” Greater London Authority, and an elected mayor, in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/london_referendum/89327.stm">a referendum</a>. The vast majority (72%) of a small turnout (34%) <a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/mayor-of-london">agreed</a>. </p>
<p>When it came to the first mayoral election in 2000, the PM should not have been surprised when his preferred candidate for the role – Frank Dobson – <a href="http://www.londonelects.org.uk/download/file/fid/176">was supplanted</a> by the familiar figure of Livingstone, who ran as an independent candidate against the wishes of his party (and was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/699204.stm">expelled for it</a>). Personality politics – and government by conflict – were back. </p>
<p>London’s elected mayors control a budget of <a href="https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/what-mayor-london-and-london-assembly-do">around £17 billion</a> – a small sum, relative to total public expenditure across the capital. However, when it comes to development projects and London’s skyline, they hold enormous power through their role in the planning system. Whereas borough councils debate development applications at planning committees of up to 30 elected councillors, the City Hall development control committee has one member only. This places the mayor in a vulnerable position, exposed to pro-development pressure and perhaps even <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35784880">compromising planning procedures</a>. </p>
<p>It is no coincidence that more than <a href="http://newlondonarchitecture.org/news/2016/march-2016/survey-reveals-more-tall-buildings">400 high-rise developments</a> have been approved – or <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3483571/The-future-London-capital-s-skyline-transformed-400-high-rise-towers-set-built.html">are likely to be</a> – under the supervision of the two elected mayors so far. Developers now have an easy ride through a planning system that has been continually degraded, first by Livingstone and John Prescott (as Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions), and latterly by Johnson and Eric Pickles (as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) – although it may well have been the Treasury that was really pulling the strings.</p>
<p>In the face of all these shortcomings, I had begun to believe that elected mayors held no attraction for London, until I saw the pictures of Johnson suspended, stationary, on a zip-wire over Victoria Park. It was then that I was forced to admit that they do, at least, make wonderful Christmas decorations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58533/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Wynne Rees is affiliated with University College London (Professor); British Council for Offices (Director); Architecture Foundation (Trustee); Council for Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat (London Chapter Board Member). Formerly City Planning Officer for the City of London (1985-2014). This article does not reflect the views of the research councils, or any of the organisations mentioned here. </span></em></p>There’s an argument to be made for the old way of doing things.Peter Wynne Rees, Professor of Places and City Planning, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/530442016-01-14T11:52:35Z2016-01-14T11:52:35ZLessons from London: how hosting the Paralympics can make cities more accessible<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107995/original/image-20160113-8429-11irjua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In September 2016, 4,350 Paralympic athletes will arrive <a href="http://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics">in Rio de Janeiro</a> to compete for medals across 23 different sports. The games in Rio have a lot to live up to. London’s 2012 Paralympics proved to be a <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703398504576099680221267872">magnet for sponsorship</a>, and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/35255001">competitors have said</a> that the crowds – and their enthusiasm – were unparalleled. But there’s another respect in which the 2012 games set the standard for future Paralympic tournaments: it made the host city itself more accessible. </p>
<p>In order to secure <a href="http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/Official%20Past%20Games%20Reports/Summer/2012/ENG/2012-RO-S-London_V1_I_eng.pdf">their bid</a> for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, organisers had to make two key promises to do with transport. One was to make public transport a key part of their sustainability agenda. The other was to make London 2012 more accessible than any previous games. London 2012 was planned as a public transport-driven games, and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) took action to maximise its usage.</p>
<h2>The challenges</h2>
<p>To live up to their promises, the committee had to overcome a number of challenges. Parts of London’s transport system had to undergo a radical overhaul. The commitments also had major implications for venue design, equipment and even the workforce of the games. And because the <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-the-olympics-and-paralympics-really-leave-a-social-legacy-9156">idea of “legacy”</a> was central to all of the preparations for the games, the solutions put in place needed to work over the long term – not just the main event. </p>
<p>When LOCOG started its work, disabled people’s confidence in using the public transport network <a href="http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/documents/get_lob?id=3739&field=file">was very low</a>, so there was a need to change people’s perceptions through advertising. The demand from disabled people to attend the Paralympics was higher than expected, but organisers did not know what sort of mix of disabled spectators they needed to plan for. For example, while they knew that many groups of wheelchair users would be arriving, they did not know how many would be using electric wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs or scooters – each of which has different requirements for travel. </p>
<p>Finally, the transport system needed to be flexible enough to accommodate the extra short-term influx and diverse needs of disabled people, and revert back to more “standard” operations after the event. For a transport system first developed in the mid-1800s, these were no small demands. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107994/original/image-20160113-8406-16g0gls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queensway tube station, circa 1900.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_London_Underground#/media/File:London_Underground_circa_1900.jpg">Pigsonthewing/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The London Underground – commonly known as “the tube” – was the first underground rail network in the world. At some points, the tracks are <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9789966/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts.html">almost 60m</a> below ground. Modernising such a system involves working around complex arrangements of existing infrastructure. For example, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-29367464">adding a two-lift shaft</a> to Green Park station in central London in time for the games required engineers to build a straight path between pedestrian tunnels, escalators, stairwells and the platforms themselves – not to mention finding the least disruptive times to carry out the developments and space to store the construction equipment. </p>
<p>Such logistics meant that it was impossible for LOCOG to create new accessible entrances into all of the stations. Nevertheless, the organising committee worked with Transport for London, the city’s transport authority, to adapt the public transport system and improve accessibility. </p>
<h2>The changes</h2>
<p>Evidence such as wheelchair ticket sales, pre-booked journeys and increased lift usage <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmtran/116/116.pdf">suggests that</a> many more people with disabilities were using public transport throughout the games. Tactile paving and protective walls at the platform edges made the system safer for the visually impaired. And 66 of London’s 270 functioning tube stations were fitted with <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/Part-1-Item06-TfL-Games-performance-Final-corrected.pdf">step-free access</a>, while the overground DLR system was fully accessible. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107996/original/image-20160113-14613-1q0j0c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wheely inaccessible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In many stations – particularly on the Piccadilly line – the issue was the height difference or the gap between the platform and the carriage floor. Changing the position of the platforms would have been disruptive and costly. So instead, platform ramps were installed across four stops on the Piccadilly line, while manual ramps <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2012/september/manual-boarding-ramps-to-be-retained-at-key-tube-stations-after-the-games">were provided</a> at 16 strategic stations, to make it easier for wheelchair users to get on and off the train. </p>
<p>These ramps not only benefited disabled people but could be used by the wider community, including parents with pushchairs and tourists with suitcases. They were <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2012/september/manual-boarding-ramps-to-be-retained-at-key-tube-stations-after-the-games">left in place</a> after the games as part of LOCOG’s legacy commitment. And since then, they have been added to <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/may/lu-stations-with-manual-boarding-ramps-up-by-">28 more stations</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, there’s still much to be done before London can be a truly accessible city – a fact highlighted by Paralympian Hannah Cockroft, <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/london/2014-10-03/paralympic-champion-challenges-boris-johnson-to-spend-a-day-in-a-wheelchair/">who challenged</a> London Mayor Boris Johnson to spend a day navigating the tube in a wheelchair (he declined). And <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/transport-committee/news/disabled-report--substantive/">there are concerns</a> that the momentum toward further improvements is waning. </p>
<p>But London 2012 still marked a major leap forward in disabled access to public transport. Through a combination of controlled traffic management, communication with Londoners and collaboration with industry partners, LOCOG was able to develop practical and efficient transport solutions. These did more than fulfil the transport requirements for the Olympic and Paralympic Games: they also left a legacy value for Londoners to enjoy, and set a new standard in games-time transport. </p>
<p>Now, Rio is taking the challenge to heart, by <a href="http://www.rio2016.com/en/news/rio-mayor-launches-project-to-improve-accessibility-in-city-ahead-of-2016-olympic-and-paralympi">launching projects</a> to improve accessibility in the city ahead of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Indeed, British experts have <a href="http://www.rio2016.com/en/news/british-experts-to-help-improve-accessibility-in-brazilian-cultural-spaces-through-rio-2016-gam">been actively involved</a> in helping to transfer the learning from London 2012 to improve accessibility for Rio 2016. Rio has a golden opportunity to seize this legacy opportunity and set even better standards. Let the games begin.</p>
<p><em>This article is part of a series on the outlook for <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/rio-2016">Rio 2016</a>. You can also find out why <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-reasons-why-your-city-wont-want-to-host-the-olympic-games-52289">your city won’t want to</a> host the next Olympics, and discover the story of <a href="https://theconversation.com/vila-autodromo-the-favela-fighting-back-against-rios-olympic-development-52393">the favela fighting back</a> against Olympic developments.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Bamford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Navigating a major metropolis with a disability is tough, but the Paralympics give us the chance to make it work.David Bamford, Professor of Operations Management, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/429012015-06-16T05:15:34Z2015-06-16T05:15:34ZSix things other cities can learn from Transport for London’s success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84869/original/image-20150612-1461-1inlzg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A shining example. No, really.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">dade72 / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Complaining about public transport might seem as English as moaning about the weather. And it isn’t very British to shout about success. So what follows might seem odd, but here goes: Transport for London leads the way as an effective transport authority. There, said it. And it does so by building popular and political consensus around the importance and urgency of transport investment. Step by step, the city reliant on Victorian suburban railways and a Georgian underground railway increases its fitness to cater to the demands of a <a href="http://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/dataset/2014-round-population-projections/update-03-2015-2014rnd-trend-proj-results.pdf">growing 21st-century city</a>. </p>
<p>Transport for London has succeeded by creating an integrated transport authority from the fragmented patchwork of services it has inherited piece by piece since 2000. Today, <a href="https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/aac-20150616-part-1-item05-annual-report.pdf">30m journeys</a> are completed on TfL’s network every day. A testament to the TfL model is that both <a>Sydney</a> and <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0032/latest/DLM2044909.html">Auckland</a> adopted many aspects of it. Here are six lessons from its success that other cities can follow. </p>
<h2>1. An integrated network</h2>
<p>Under the iconic TfL brand, different public transport modes were integrated to provide end-to-end services. Unlike other transport authorities, TfL also manages the main roads and streets in London, as part of which it is in charge of cycling, taxi and mini cab regulation, traffic signalling and congestion charging. </p>
<p>A testament to the successful integration of the different types of transport on offer is the significant growth in public transport usage, in particular bus services. Since 2003, the percentage of car users has dropped by <a href="https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-7.pdf">ten points</a>. And the success of cycling policies and campaigners’ efforts is reflected in the rapid increase in cycling uptake. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84896/original/image-20150612-1456-sxr4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cycling’s on the up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt/16673560307/in/photolist-rpomzH-agi5sG-iFYfSM-omTwqx-9tKnhQ-dsn4kg-ndmAUA-bBFyjq-bdy3UM-egi9L9-ktDCb4-vZ2dU-vZtDq-8ANugY-e7LyaF-o7WqjH-ekQoB6-8AKpU6-nVEjBo-bh4oqV-8YfhpF-ee79Cg-ktDVa3-fipVEP-bWdJwN-9aHjdr-nY7TJR-9fmbJ3-7ENrhV-iYqVQQ-nEcyQr-8nmNox-8rLcQp-ijkPem-e9J5x6-dYBGCu-8RFQMC-dyZw1k-dhdNrN-nBQ1tm-fgLCDq-ee77sg-bovwFU-dbezkg-i9377Y-csud9o-dvCiXH-oF8mMd-ofohHa-g4ivP2">Matt Brown</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Easy to use</h2>
<p>The transport system has become easy to use with the introduction of smart ticketing in the shape of the Oyster card in 2007 and cashless payment cards in 2014, allowing people to use their debit and credit cards.</p>
<p>By making data on their services openly available to app developers, many transport apps for London have been created which make the use of the network easy and accessible. <a href="http://www.tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/tube">Clear network maps at stations</a> and <a href="https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/ll-yellow-book.pdf">street maps across the city</a> make getting around easier and more hassle-free. </p>
<p>Since TfL was created in 2000, investment in the system has created a more reliable and safe system. For example, on London Underground reliability has improved significantly, with the excess journey time due to delays reduced by <a href="https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/travel-in-london-report-7.pdf">40% since 2000</a>. Clean and staffed stations create a safer and more welcoming environment for passengers to use. </p>
<h2>3. Strong leadership</h2>
<p>Key to TfL’s success is having a vocal and charismatic mayor to champion the transport agenda and secure political and financial support for it. The Mayor of London chairs the TfL board and currently spends <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/City%20Hall%20leaflet_2015.pdf">£11bn</a> – two-thirds of his annual budget – on transport via TfL. This is three times more than on policing <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/City%20Hall%20leaflet_2015.pdf">and 21 times more than on the fire brigade</a>.
TfL’s revenues from fare and advertising cover only half its costs. To bridge the shortfall TfL relies on grants and borrowing. For these it is vital for TfL to drum up support across the political spectrum. Cross-party support ensures long-term funding security. It allows the transport authority to plan into the future and reduces the risk of projects being stopped midway through. </p>
<p>As a directly elected, executive mayor, London’s incumbent holds significant power. He has both the mandate and authority to realise his vision for the city’s transport. Without it, policies such as the congestion charging scheme in central London may not have been implemented. The potential downside, however, is that more contentious projects (the Emirates-sponsored cable car and the garden bridge spring to mind), both celebrated by the incumbent mayor, Boris Johnson, and supported by TfL funds can also gain traction. </p>
<h2>4. Unlocking potential</h2>
<p>Transport is key to realising the mayor’s vision for London as a whole. With statutory responsibility for transport, land use and economic development, the three are seen as interdependent. Transport is therefore developed in a way that unlocks new development sites and facilitates the continued growth of the city’s industries. </p>
<p>The Olympics marked a shift in this thinking. TfL was no longer in the business of just transport service provision – instead, its role evolved to be part of wider mayoral objectives, whether to promote London as an attractive business centre, a liveable green city – or to tackle the housing crisis. By promoting its supportive role in the delivery of wider objectives, TfL becomes a key player in shaping London and strengthens its position for funding and involvement. </p>
<h2>5. Thinking strategically</h2>
<p>Transport for London’s role is a strategic planner rather than an operator. With the exception of London Underground, which is wholly owned and run by TfL, the network is run on a concession system: TfL plans and manages the network, while private companies run the service. </p>
<p>For example, Transport for London will stipulate a bus services’ route, frequency and service hours. The private company will run the buses, employ the bus drivers and supervise the depot for a fee. London will carry the revenue risk, the risk that fare income will not cover the cost of the service provision. By taking on that risk TfL reduces the cost of the service provision. All buses, the Docklands Light Railway and the London Overground are provided in this way. </p>
<p>Even though TfL does not run the service, TfL branding is used on all concessions and worn by staff to present a integrated and recognisable network to the passenger. </p>
<h2>6. Building on its successes</h2>
<p>Transport for London seeks to take over more of the transport network within the Greater London boundary. Building on the success of the Olympics and London Overground, TfL is campaigning to take over more of the rail network in Greater London. A <a href="http://www.londonreconnections.com/assets/PUB_TfL_London_Rail_0311.pdf">recent report</a> indicates how much of the Greater London rail network TfL may take over:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84903/original/image-20150612-1461-ub05sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Possible TfL controlled services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.londonreconnections.com/assets/PUB_TfL_London_Rail_0311.pdf">NERA consulting</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the immediate future TfL has set its sights on routes terminating outside the authority boundary in neighbouring counties of Kent and Surrey, southeast of London. </p>
<p>TfL’s London Overground provides a good model for further suburban rail takeovers. For just over £1 billion, a neglected urban railway infrastructure was combined to create an orbital network. The route boasts <a href="http://www.transportfocus.org.uk/research/publications/national-rail-passenger-survey-nrps-autumn-2014-train-operating-company-toc-best-in-class-report">high passenger satisfaction levels</a>, which reflect the investment in clean, well-staffed and safe stations that are fully integrated into the TfL transport network. Since TfL took over in 2007, passenger numbers have <a href="http://www.lorol.co.uk/go/about-us/improving-our-service">increased five fold</a> – <a href="https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/Item08-020212-Board-London-Overground-Impact-Study.pdf">from 2.5 million</a> to <a href="http://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/public-transport-journeys-type-transport">13.5 million</a>. </p>
<p>There’s clearly a lot to learn from TfL’s success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole works on a LSE Cities New Urban Governance project which is funded by the McArthur Foundation. Nicole's PhD studentship is funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via the Transforming the Engineering of Cities for Societal and Planetary Wellbeing Research Programme (Liveable Cities). Nicole sits on the London Transport Expert Panel of the Institution of Civil Engineers. </span></em></p>Transport for London leads the way globally as an effective transport authority.Nicole Badstuber, PhD Researcher and Research Assistant in Transport Policy and Governance at University College London, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.