Mayor’s draft transport strategy

Report: 8
Date: 9 November 2000
By: Clerk

Summary

This paper summarises the Mayor’s draft Transport Strategy and makes an initial assessment of the implications for policing in London.

A. Supporting information

Background

1. The Mayor is obliged to develop and implement policies that promote a safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport system to, from and within Greater London. The Mayor seeks to discharge this responsibility via a Transport Strategy, a draft of which was issued on Friday 27 October 2000.

2. The strategy is a large document (200+ pages) and it is hoped that a copy can be circulated to members before this meeting. The Executive Summary is attached at Appendix 1 together with the Mayor’s introduction which sets out, at paragraph 7, the key issues on which the Mayor would like to receive comments..

3. The Mayor is obliged to consult the GLA and functional bodies before consulting the public and other stakeholders. The Mayor has requested feedback from functional bodies by 6 December 2000 prior to issuing a strategy for public consultation in January 2001. The Mayor intends to publish the final strategy in June 2001.

4. An initial assessment of the draft strategy is presented below. This assessment has been made in ‘quick time’ so as to allow Members an opportunity to consider the strategy within the Mayor’s consultation timetable. The assessment describes:

• Status of the strategy
• Summary of the strategy;
• Implications for operational policing;
• Implications for the MPA;
• Responding to the strategy.

5. The GLA Transport Strategy Manager has been invited to the Authority’s meeting (subject to confirmation) to present and discuss matters of immediate and direct relevance to the MPA.

Status of the strategy

6. The Mayor regards transport as the highest priority for London’s new government. It is one of eight strategies to be developed and implemented by the GLA to promote economic and social development and to improve the capital’s environment.

Summary of the strategy

7. The Executive Summary is attached at Appendix 1. The Mayor seeks to create a world class transport system that will:

• Enhance business efficiency;
• Achieve a wider spread of economic prosperity;
• Improve the quality of life for all Londoners.

8. The strategy proposes that these benefits need to be brought about by a range of measures including:

• Reducing traffic congestion;
  • via (for example) improving public transport and introducing congestion charges to deter unnecessary car journeys in central London;
• Reducing overcrowding on the Underground and increasing the frequency and reliability of services;
• Integrating London transport with national rail services;
• Facilitating car travel;
• Improving bus services;
• Enhancing the taxi system;
• Improving transport for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists (including safety and security improvements).

9. Many proposals in the strategy have no direct implications for operational policing. However, many other proposals within the strategy are likely to have a significant and direct effect on the MPA and MPS. These proposals are described below and, overall, the strategy as presented will:

• Initiate and/or widen the debate on the role of the MPS with respect to transport matters in general and ‘police vs civil’ enforcement issues in particular;
• Inform and influence decisions relating to MPA/MPS priorities, objectives and targets (for 2001/02 and in the longer term);
• Alter patterns of demand for MPS services (a vague conclusion since, at things stand, the net effect of the strategy on demand is impossible to predict).

Implications for operational policing

Road use

10. The strategy seeks to reduce congestion via a wide range of methods including:

• Enforcement of parking/loading restrictions;
• Extension and enforcement of Red Routes and Controlled Parking Zones;
• Introduction of congestion charging.

11. Other things being equal, the proposals would make additional demands on the police/traffic warden service. However, part of the enforcement regime envisaged includes the deployment of additional technology (eg cameras in all bus lanes by April 2002) and the use of a ‘dedicated, decriminalised highway enforcement capability within the control of TfL’ (Transport for London). One of the proposed benefits of this approach would be that penalty charges could be re-invested in transport related expenditure.

12. The introduction/extension of a civil enforcement regime would have major budget and resource allocation implications for the MPA/MPS. The MPS currently provides traffic wardens to enforce the Red Route network under a Service Level Agreement with the Traffic Director for London (expires in March 2001).

13. A TfL-managed civil enforcement regime might also affect how the MPS collects intelligence information. In any event, additional demands might be made on the Service since robust congestion charging/traffic enforcement could prove contentious and lead to an increase in public order incidents.

14. The strategy also seeks to increase the physical safety of all road/street users and to set reduction targets for accidents and casualties (especially for children). The strategy is to be supplemented by a London Road Safety Plan to help create safer drivers, roads and vehicles. Part of the Plan will require improved enforcement of stationary and moving traffic offences and the police will be invited to work with TfL to develop strategies to secure compliance with local speed limits.

Bus use

15. The Mayor seeks radically to improve bus services in London. Indeed, the London Bus Initiative (LBI) seeks to bring about a step-change in the actual and perceived quality of bus services in London.

16. The strategy seeks to extend the use of buses at night and to improve the security of staff and passengers. Quicker and more reliable journey times are also required and the extension and priority enforcement of bus lanes is seen as an integral component of this objective. By March 2002 the LBI seeks to create 27 ‘BusPlus’ routes where enforcement is delivered via a Service Level Agreement with service providers (which could include police and traffic wardens).

Public places

17. The strategy seeks to improve personal security in all aspects of the transport system via a combination of methods including:

• Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in general (partly to help reduce the fear of crime and to promote the use of public transport);
• Increasing the presence of police officers / transport staff / other people;
• Improving physical design (eg lighting, CCTV, secure cycle storage);
• Extension of the ‘Secure Station’ standard developed by BTP.

Other issues

18. The strategy seeks to develop/regenerate a ‘ring of sites’ bordering inner London in order to improve access and act as venues for world-class functions. Such sites would ultimately make demands on local policing services. The strategy also seeks to develop use of the Thames (both as a conduit and as a riverbank venue) and this proposal would likewise impact on the provision of river policing services.

19, Finally, the strategy seeks to encourage the use of cycles but to discourage (partly by enforcement) the use of cycles on footpaths.

Implications for the MPA

Overall

20. The Mayor gives transport the highest priority and this will, obviously, influence his expectations of all functional bodies with respect to delivery. Within the strategy the Mayor regards improving bus services as the ‘Number 1’ priority until TfL assumes responsibility for London Underground.

21. However, the public has yet to be consulted and it is unclear which proposals will be carried forward to the final strategy. This creates some problems for the MPA in formulating priorities and/or allocating resources for 2001/02 since the final strategy will not have been agreed by the time the MPA’s plans are published. The MPA (and other functional bodies) may wish to influence the timing of major changes to reflect the planning and budgeting cycle.

Working in partnership

22. A clear theme within the strategy is that transport problems need to be resolved via a partnership approach (and following consultation with users of transport). This suggests that:

• The MPA/MPS should not develop responses in isolation (eg increased consideration of transport by local crime and disorder partnerships);
• There will be increased benefits in developing/implementing a consultation and communication strategy that address the needs of all functional bodies.

Role of the police service

23. The partnership approach advocated by the strategy includes a re-evaluation of the role of the MPS with respect to the enforcement of traffic offences. The strategy states a vital need for ‘fair and effective’ enforcement of roads/bus lanes but that there should be a decriminalised enforcement regime on the strategic road network (partly to free up police time for other matters).

24. The strategy also sees enforcement of congestion charging as a civil issue with bailiffs obtaining payments from those car drivers who avoid payment. However, the strategy states that an attempt to avoid payment (eg altering a number plate) should be a criminal offence. The strategy regards the net revenue from fines and payments as essential to funding improvements elsewhere in the transport system.

25. Overall, the strategy proposes areas of increased activity on the part of the police/traffic warden service, which has implications for budget levels and resource allocation. However, the strategy also suggests a redefinition of the police/warden role with respect to traffic enforcement which, other things being equal, could reduce demands on the MPS. This redefinition implicitly affects the nature of ‘core MPS business’ and Members may wish to consider the issue in a wider context before making a judgement on traffic-related roles.

Role as an employer

26. The strategy seeks to reduce the number of unnecessary work journeys taken by car. (Indeed, the Mayor has stated that Members and officers of functional bodies should not travel by company car.) The strategy aims to establish ‘work travel plans’ via consultation with companies in London starting with the largest. The MPS, by virtue of its size and role with respect to the transport strategy, would presumably be included in progressing this proposal.

27. In the longer term the creation of a 24-hour, integrated, reliable and quick public transport system would have implications for the distribution of MPS staff in London. Staff may be able to live further out (at cheaper prices but quicker journey times) and there may be a reduced need to provide accommodation in inner London.

28. Finally, the strategy requires the staff of TfL to reflect London’s diverse population and there may be scope to repeat recruitment/retention initiatives in the MPA/MPS.

Responding to the strategy

The next full Authority meeting is on 14 December (ie after the Mayor’s deadline). It is suggested, therefore, that an initial response to the draft strategy should be presented to the Chairs’ Co-Ordination and Urgency Committee on 23 November 2000. This will enable time to prepare a formal response to the Mayor by 6 December. In any event, the MPA will still be able to progress matters during the period of public consultation (January to March 2001).

It has not been possible to prepare this assessment in conjunction with the MPS. Consequently, it is considered that MPS expertise in transport/traffic policy issues needs to inform discussion at the next Chairs’ and Co-Ordination Committee.

B. Recommendations

1. That members consider and offer initial comments on the draft Transport Strategy, taking account of the key issues on which the Mayor has asked to receive comments; and
2. That the MPS is commissioned to prepare a report for consideration by the CUC Committee (to address the draft strategy and this initial assessment and concentrating on proposals for implementation in 2001/02).

C. Financial implications

There are no direct financial implications.

D. Review arrangements

A response to the draft strategy will be considered by the Chair’s Co-Ordination and Urgency Committee and reported to the Authority in due course. A second draft strategy (for public consultation) will be issued in January 2001. This will also be brought to the Authority’s attention.

E. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officer listed below or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

• Mayor’s Report on the Draft Transport Strategy
• Mayor’s Draft Transport Strategy (Assembly and Functional Bodies Consultation)
• Enforcement of bus priority and other management measures (paper for Mayor’s Advisory Cabinet 17 October 2000)

F. Contact details

The author of this report is Derrick Norton.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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