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Repeating something our taxi trade
has been saying for several years, the London Assembly in
a new report has now called for a reduction in the number of
buses serving the West End saying that Transport for London
and Westminster Council should assess the possibility of
re-routing buses serving the area to reduce the number that
travel through Oxford Street. The report - Streets ahead: Relieving congestion on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street - claims that 300+ buses every hour use Oxford Street, with over 100,000 pedestrians passing along the shopping hub each day. The report adds that average bus speeds are little more than walking speed. However, when the claim is also made by Passenger watchdog London TravelWatch that taxis take up 37% of the road space, but only carry 1% of the passengers, you can see which way the report is heading. Assembly member Victoria Borwick, wife of former Manganese Bronze Chairman Lord Jamie Borwick and who led the investigation on behalf of the Transport Committee said: "The wall of slow-moving metal running along Oxford Street tarnishes what should be a world-class shopping experience – delaying and endangering residents, workers and visitors." Victoria acknowledged the competing demands for access to the area created a complex situation, but added: "We are talking about a vital retail destination that generates £5.5billion a year for the UK economy. There has to be a better way to strike the balance between the needs of shoppers and pedestrians and the demand for |
London Assembly: Too many buses in Oxford Street! And taxis to be banned? |
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 transport links." The report claims that average bus speeds along Oxford Street are little more than walking speed, accident rates are 35 times the average of all other London streets and that on average there is a collision involving a bus in the area every 3.4 days. Pollution levels are said to be 4.5 times the EU target and the area is predicted to be the most polluted in the UK by 2015. The volume of buses on Oxford Street is huge with 23 routes running along the street with peak flows in each direction of up to 160 buses per hour or during a peak hour, over 300. Londoners make 218,000 bus trips a day to, from or within the street. It adds that buses share the street with taxis, which take up around 30 per cent of the available road space. Steve Norris, Chair of the TfL Board’s Surface Transport Panel and a former Conservative Transport Minister for London, warned of unforeseen consequences from making large changes to the transport system. TfL had strongly cautioned against diverting a significant part of the bus service away from Oxford Street saying this would be neither deliverable nor desirable and warning of major disruptions for passengers. The LTDA warned that well-meaning proposals to reduce traffic congestion may |
inadvertently discourage
access to the area and ultimately lead to a decline in the
area’s commercial interests. And the report’s possible answers? * Part-pedestrianisation between Oxford Circus and Bond Street: All traffic would be diverted and pavement surfaces extended across on this part of the street. * Shuttle bus: The New West End Company, London First and others have proposed a dedicated bus which would run along Oxford Street - for example between 10am and 4pm. This could either be combined with removal of all other traffic from the street or alongside other reductions in traffic levels. * Ken Livingstone’s tram idea: A tram running up and down Oxford Street, with all other traffic diverted from the street, had been considered and rejected by the current Mayor as likely to be expensive and disruptive to reintroduce. And in OUR bold writing: * Restrictions on taxis: Taxis would be restricted from using Oxford Street and / or Regent Street, either all of the time or just during busy times. This would require a change in the law. The ORB includes measures to encourage taxis to pick up off Oxford Street through additional ranks on side streets and signposting. Also shifting taxi ranks to adjacent streets, usually north-south roads and at alternative entrances at the rear of department stores... |
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COMPLAINTS RESULTS A Complaints meeting was held on 11 February 2010. The results are below… |
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| Name/call sign | Nature of Complaint | Sentence |
| Anthony Fairey (C44) |
Driver booked into S99 when true location was A2 in
Eltham SE9 and accepted a trip from Gatwick Airport Rule 11 |
2 weeks susp |
| William Dorrell (C78) |
Driver booked into S99 when true location was
A316 nr Richmond and accepted a trip from Gatwick Airport Rule 11 |
2 weeks susp |
| Lee Francis (L45) |
Driver booked directly into S50W when true
location was N.Hyde Rd, Hayes (W50C) and accepted trip offer
from S99(S50W is a back up to S99) Rule 11 |
2 weeks susp |
| Simon Trotter (H58) |
Driver booked into Heathrow (WW00) from his home
address in Acton. You must be within Perimeter Rd to book in Rule 11 |
3 weeks susp |
| Paul Samuels (T85) |
Driver used foul and abusive language to a DaC
Marshall in front of other DaC drivers and Citigroup
employees
Rules 1, 2, 3 |
1. 2 weeks
susp 2. 1 week susp 3. Expelled |
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