Enter Ken Livingstone, the controversial London mayor who caused a political upset when he won office last year. Livingstone and the city’s governing body, the Greater London Authority (GLA), are desperately seeking ways to end this season of discontent. Their solution? Part of it, at least, is contained in a report released Jan. 26 by the Mayor’s Environment Commission.
With the not-so-catchy title “Environment and Sustainability,” the report offers 100 ideas to improve life in the city. Some examples: taxi-sharing programs; a Walk to School Week, car-free days and rental bicycles at stations for the underground train system known in London as the tube. The report also suggests demarcating specific areas as “low emission” zones and offering incentives for companies who curb the number of commuters by employing local staff. Ultimately the aim is to reduce harmful emissions “as close as possible to zero,” says Darren Johnson, chair of the Mayor’s Environment Commission.
Livingstone hopes the report will form the foundation of his blueprint for his 10-year vision of London as a “sustainable” world city. One of his priorities is a revamp of the overcrowded tube, currently used by nearly 3 million passengers a day. The London underground is the oldest subway system in the world, and it often shows. Ratings by users range from “pretty poor” to “absolutely dreadful.” They also describe it as smelly, underfunded, overpriced, dirty, and outdated, especially at heavily-used stations like Victoria and Oxford Circus. At Victoria, staff often shut turnstiles at rush hour because they are afraid the crush will push waiting passengers onto the tracks. “I refuse to use it during rush hour,” explains one London commuter. “I am not a sandwich filling.”
Londoners complain the bus service is not much better. Slow and elusive, they say buses often are too crowded for comfort. “You have to wait ages, even then they are packed. Some mornings I wait for five buses to pass until I can get on one,” complains one bus rider. Nor does traveling by car offer any respite. Although roads have become slightly less clogged since Christmas, delays are common. Driver Nicki Ainsley, for example, complains that it takes her an hour to commute three miles from Wimbledon to Putney.
Livingstone already is working on the tube problem by appointing Robert Kiley, the man credited with rescuing the New York City subway system in the ’80s, as his transport commissioner. Kiley, however, has his job cut out for him. Not only are riders angry about recent fare increases, but tube workers are planning a wave of one-day strikes-starting next week-in protest over national government plans to partly privatize the system.
For Livingstone, the political stakes are high. Once known as “Red Ken” for his days as a left-wing firebrand, he headed the Greater London Council from 1981 to 1986. He lost his power base when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher abolished the body to undercut his influence. The Red Ken of those days was derided by the British tabloids as a member of the loony left who freely dispensed public funds to unknown groups with politically-correct names like Babies Against the Bomb and turned down an invitation to the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981. (“My own wedding was bad enough,” he reportedly explained.)
Livingstone has mellowed since then. Still, his victory in last May’s mayoral race was a blow to Britain’s ruling Labour Party, which had forced Livingstone to run as an independent by refusing to select him as the party’s candidate. Throughout his campaign, modernization of the tube was a hot-button issue. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government plans to fund the tube through a public-private partnership scheme; Livingstone supports selling bonds.
So far, the mayor’s eight months in office have won mixed reviews. A survey of 340 London businesses carried out by the city’s chamber of commerce last September showed that 63 percent were confident Livingstone “will work well in the business community.” But a January poll revealed that only 6 percent of London’s small businesses believe Livingstone and the GLA have made a good start, while two thirds of London’s residents remain undecided on whether his time in office has been a success. Presumably Livingstone is hoping his “Environment and Sustainability” will help win them over and firm up his base of support.
Meanwhile, growing numbers of Londoners are seeking alternatives to public transport. The number of cyclists on London’s roads increased by 6 percent from 1998 to 1999, according to the London Cycling Campaign. Scooter sales are also buoyant, rising 10 percent in the last year. “A trip between Kings Cross and Waterloo takes anything up to an hour on the tube,” says Londoner Charlie Rickett. “On my scooter it takes 15 minutes.”
The coolest option, though, may come from Richard Branson, the flamboyant founder of the Virgin business empire. Branson’s solution: a Virgin Limobike. That’s a motorcycle offering almost everything found in a limo but the fridge and TV. Passengers are provided with a jacket, gloves, helmet, mobile phone, side panniers for luggage and, of course, a driver. It doesn’t come cheap: a ride from central London to Heathrow airport costs 50 pounds (US$72.50). But at least those who ride it are guaranteed a seat of their own.
