The meeting is billed as the big show-down with three contentious items on agenda, I feel in murderous mood. Have had enough shenanigans from colleagues in other parties and witnesses alike. Time to get tough.
First up – motorbikes versus cycles in bus lanes. I know – it doesn’t appear that sexy or contentious – but the vitriol that has been flying through my email box as the contenders have rowed over recent months has ended up here in my ‘courtroom’.
Transport for London have been running a pilot along three radial routes in London allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes. To cut a long story short – and no surprise – the motorbike lobby want this to become forever and the cycle lobby more or less say over their dead bodies! Which appear to be the point – they believe they will be injured by motorbikes. The trial so far doesn’t bear this out.
The disagreements were plain to see – but that was all that was plain. The only clear evidence emerging from the session was that nothing was clear at all. And it will be a real tough call as to where to go with this one. Meanwhile the trial is extended so Transport for London can collect more data.
Contentious item number two was the London Transport Users Committee business plan and budget. We have had problems – us and LTUC. Read earlier blogs for more detail. Suffice to say they turned up mob-handed to support their chair and chief exec. Not necessary. I asked LTUC to come back with comments within a month.
That was fine in the end. Though John Biggs (my Labour vice-chair) did say he would behave today – having previously caused ructions by being outrageously rude to them at a previous committee meeting. He behaved like an angel today! Well that’s John. We heard later – don’t know if it was true – that the chair of LTUC had brought six other members just to witness John Biggs appalling behaviour. Disappointment all round then!
And the last item which could have wreaked havoc – was getting the congestion charging report through committee. The Tories had already made it quite clear they would vote against it. Labour had been messing about for two months trying to find fault and were down to five minor amendments to the text.
It looked like it would fall or have to come back yet again, when I thought ‘sod it’ put the amendments (well the three I didn’t mind) to the meeting, they got passed – we then passed the report as amended and Bob’s your uncle. All done and dusted. Hurrah!
