Re: London tram system postponed because...?

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 15:24:30 +0000 (UTC), "Mark Williams"
<mark.williams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...

>
>"hummingbird" <XSJCLSIAEMCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:vlv7j1t4t9rab7ku5sr1e524ukmhdva2ui@xxxxxxxxxx
>> On 23 Sep 2005 04:47:31 -0700, "joeh" <j.hutcheon@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...
>>
>>>Dariusz wrote:
>>>
>>>> It's been announced today (sorry, no URL's available at time of
>>>> writing -
>>>> just heard on radio), that the mayor of London Red Ken is to postpone
>>>> the
>>>> pushing through of the building of a pointless tram system in West
>>>> London.
>>>
>>>Here you go:
>>>
>>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4271012.stm
>>>
>>>> I couldn't be anything to do with elections next year that New Liebour
>>>> are
>>>> expecting to lose in London? Maybe it's just all pure coincidence, just
>>>> like the council tax re-evaluation postponement, and the London only
>>>> Olympics tax postponement.
>>>
>>>Hmm. It says on the BBC website that it's because of 'local
>>>opposition', but that's never stopped RedKen before.
>>
>> Maybe deferred/dropped on cost grounds? Apparently quite a few of
>> Prescott's earlier tram schemes have been scaled back for this reason.
>> As a tram supporter, I find this a great shame since if designed well
>> they could seriously reduce traffic congestion in major cities. The
>> tram system from Wimbledon to Croydon and beyond has been a
>> success.
>
>But a financial disaster. It was built on time under the PFI and is
>operating, but the fares do not cover operating costs enough to pay back the
>banks who funded it according to the original schedule.

I haven't seen the numbers but it's not surprising. ISTM there needs
to be an element of taxpayers money invested in public transport
services if the intention is to reduce traffic congestion. I sometimes
wonder why such infrastructure costs so much in the first place.

--
smart men solve problems, wise men avoid them.
.

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