5:04pm Friday 16th June 2006
By Benedict Moore Bridger
A SENIOR Transport for London advisor has admitted tram schemes cost ten to 20 times more than buses and provide little added benefit.
Dick Halle made the admission to the London Assembly's transport committee on Thursday last week.
Mr Halle said that as long as buses were allowed to by-pass traffic they could meet the same journey times as trams more cheaply He said: "It doesn't matter whether you have a bus or tram, the real difference is how much priority you give them on the road.
"Tram schemes are not feasible."
The news was welcomed by campaigners against the West London Tram, who fear it would effectively close the Uxbridge Road.
Richard Barnes, London Assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon, said it was time for the Mayor of London to cancel the scheme.
He said: "Dick Halle is right, there is no point wasting all this money on a tram scheme when buses could do the job cheaper and with less inconvenience to drivers.
"It's time for the mayor to cancel this expensive, unpopular and unnecessary scheme."
TfL spokesman Nathan Fletcher said there was no one-size-fits-all solution to every transport issue in a city the size of London.
He said: "Croydon Tramlink has shown the effectiveness and popularity of trams in moving very large numbers of people quickly and comfortably.
"In other areas, such as the Greenwich waterfront, research has found a bus-based system to be more appropriate at this stage.
"Given the volumes of people involved in public transport along the Uxbridge Road, our studies have found that a tram is the best solution to transform public transport capacity and reliability in this part of London."
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