Green London Assembly member Caroline Russell has accused TfL of prioritising safety on tube and trains over road safety at a London Assembly hearing.
Referring to TfL’s proposed cost-cutting measures which abandon the Vision Zero plans to stop all deaths on the road by 2041, Caroline warns the mayor: ‘Be careful because then you get into a place where you are accepting a certain amount of death and injury on the roads’.
Budget cuts are a condition of the three emergency bailouts received from government to prevent the collapse of TfL following the substantial drop in income caused by the pandemic.
Caroline questioned, however, the theme of ‘managed decline’ inherent in TfL’s proposal and claimed the focus on reducing bus and train services is to the detriment of road safety.
Khan said short-term funding is the problem: ‘Only a proper, long-term funding deal with the Government, including additional capital funding, will avoid these damaging cuts.’But Khan agreed that despite the lack of appropriate funding, road safety must still be a priority and asked Caroline to raise the question with TfL to ensure the survival of Vision Zero