27/06/2017
Britain’s first ‘pay per mile’ driving charge will replace the current fixed, £11.50 congestion charge and provide a financial incentive for Londoners to ditch their cars, under the headline provision in Mayor Sadiq Khan’s proposals for a radical transport strategy that will deliver a “fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous city for all Londoners”.
The three key themes underpinning ‘Draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy 2017’ are
- the creation of ‘healthy’ streets and street networks that encourage walking, cycling and public transport and reduce car dependency and the health problems it creates
- a good public transport experience, with improvements to the Tube, Dockland Light Railway, rail, tram and bus services encouraging the shift away from private cars
- planning the city round walking, cycling and public transport to help unlock growth in new areas to ensure London can create the 1.2m jobs and 1m plus new homes that are needed by 2014
Specific proposals include
- major investment will create new signalling and more frequent tube services throughout London
- the Elizabeth Line will open next year to make cross-London travel easier
- an immediate go ahead needed for Crossrail 2
- cut 3m car journeys per day
- work to ensure London’s entire transport system is zero emission by 2050
- make London’s extensive bus network fully zero emission by 2037
- radically improve rail travel in outer London by creating a London suburban rail metro service
- aim for no-one to be killed in or by a London bus by 2030 and serious injuries from road collisions to be eliminated from London streets by 2041
- improve accessibility across London for all Londoners, including disabled and older people
- take advantage of innovation to improve transport experience
- secure new revenue source to support the delivery of vital transport infrastructure