As I write to you, the impact of Sadiq Khan’s mismanagement of our city’s transport network is being felt most painfully. We have the looming threat of bus cuts. Nearly 80 routes in central and inner London face cutbacks, with 22 facing total removal. You can sign this petition to stop West Central London bus cuts, alongside responding to the wider consultation here. The Mayor will claim he has no choice, but this is untrue. TfL has received nearly £5 billion of support from the Government since the start of the pandemic to cover the cost of Covid. He has picked the most damaging bus cuts to scare Londoners and blame the government. This is not about running a bus network, it's a dead cat to distract from his own mismanagement of London's transport system. His stubborn insistence on freezing TfL fares, despite repeated warnings, his refusal to confront militant unions and his unwillingness to reform over-generous TfL pensions have all contributed to the mess he has created. Now Londoners are paying the price as Sadiq Khan plays the victim. Following the wonderful Jubilee celebrations, the city was brought to a standstill by RMT strikes on London Underground. Before the Mayoral election in 2016, Sadiq Khan promised Londoners "zero days of strikes" should he become Mayor. Yet he has presided over more strikes than both his predecessors combined, with no hint of a plan for how he will stand up to militant unions like the RMT. Alas, the Mayor’s transport meltdown extends to Outer London, too; he is planning to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone to the whole of Greater London. This will hammer those who can least afford it. It is a plan based on a fundamental misunderstanding of Outer London, where car ownership is far higher than Inner London. And it’s the wrong solution to London’s air quality problem; the Mayor has set aside nearly £400 million, he could be talking about massively expanding the number of electric vehicle charging points, or greening the bus fleet. Or even creating a gigantic scrappage scheme. Instead, he’s choosing to spend the lion's share of £400 million on a huge camera network with massive ongoing costs and built-in obsolescence – it doesn’t make sense. On the bus cuts and Tube strikes, we are holding the Mayor to account and pushing back against his misguided plans. We are fighting ULEZ expansion, too, because we know how damaging it would be to Londoners, to London’s businesses and to the city’s economic recovery. Please sign our petition and respond to the consultation. The Mayor should be doing all he can to boost London’s recovery by supporting residents and businesses. Instead, he wants to cut our buses, he seeks to impose yet more taxes and he refuses to show leadership in opposing militant unions. Londoners deserve better. Rest assured that the GLA Conservatives will keep up the fight. With best wishes, Nick Rogers AM GLA Conservatives Transport Spokesman
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