Mayor must seek private funding

12.30.00pm GMT Thu 6th Nov 2008

Caroline Pidgeon AM, London Assembly Liberal Democrat lead on transport, commenting on Transport for London's Ten Year Business Plan, published today, said:

"It is staggering that schemes such as the Cross River Tram, the Croydon Tramlink Extension, East London Transit, Greenwich Waterfront Transit and plans for an Oxford street tram appear to have been scrapped with nothing in their place apart from, perhaps, a few more polluting diesel buses.

How can a Tory Mayor moan that there is no public sector funding to deliver these projects. He should instead be looking for private sector funding or support from enterprising business groups. Where is the Mayor's innovation and creative thinking that we were promised?

The only seed of hope in this plan is that TfL has not ruled out funding for Phase 2b of the East London Line Extension from Surrey Canal Road to Clapham Junction. This would provide Londoners with a truly orbital transport link, meaning that journeys across south London would no longer have to be via central London"