Transport watchgo London TravelWatch has co-ordinated writing a letter alongside London First, several other organisations and elected representatives stressing to the Department for Transport “the importance of London’s transport system receiving a fair funding deal in the forthcoming three-year CSR settlement”.
The organisations say they are concerned that inadequate funding for transport in the capital this Autumn would result in cuts being made to services, which could hold back London’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
“During the coming months people will be making critical decisions on how they will travel to and
from, and within, London in the post-Covid period,” the letter states. “The evidence is that a sizeable minority of people are wary of returning to public transport, at least in the immediate future. It is important that, if and when they do decide to use it again, they find that the services have not been cut back.”
The letter quotes research by Transport Focus which indicates that the number one concern for people returning to public transport is the “ability to feel safe by maintaining social distancing”.
“Getting on a bus ortrain that is uncomfortably crowded could prompt transport users to choose less sustainable modes or not travel at all,” the letter continues. “As new habits are formed as the economy unlocks, we risk permanently making these retrograde shifts into the new normal.”
Read the full letter here.
(Picture – Highways News)
