LTT631 page 7_LTT631_p07 20/09/2013 05:47 Page 5
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Borough negotiations frustrate point-to-point car share firm
CAR SHARING
further boroughs,” a spokeswoman told LTT. “The political landscape is challenging for the free-floating model to gain traction due to the fact that one has to negotiate with the city’s 33 boroughs individually about whether parking permits are granted or not,” she added. Car2go has 500 vehicles in the London fleet. Members pay a one-off membership fee of £29.90 and are then billed 35p a minute per hire, up to a maximum of £14.90 per hour, and £59 a day. The hourly and daily rate is augmented by a 35p per mile long-distance tariff
applied after 17 miles per trip. The London Borough of Wandsworth is planning to sign a three-year contract with car2go allowing the operator to park in any residents parking bay. Car2go will pay Wandsworth £1,230 per permit per annum and will buy 50 permits a year for three years. It could purchase additional permits retrospectively based on data about the average number of vehicles parking in the borough each quarter. The permit fee is higher than the £1,080 Wandsworth charges car club operators, which was the highest fee of any borough when it was set (LTT 28 Jan 11). Wandsworth says the higher fee for car2go reflects the fact that the point-to-point permit is more flexible, applying to all residents’ parking bays rather than just dedicated bays. The borough will be prepared to sign deals with other point-topoint car share operators. “Other potential operators are known to be developing proposals, for example BMW has a similar product called BMW Drivenow and the operator of the Paris Autolib’ scheme has approached
happens to be and you would then have serious problems of risk and congestion.” Earlier this month Johnson announced plans to consult on introducing a “substantial” safer lorry charge, which would apply to HGVs that weren’t fitted with basic safety equipment to protect cyclists. Johnson told the Assembly that an estimated 6,000 lorries “presented an obvious threat” to cyclists. These are primarily vehicles
used in the construction sector. Construction and waste vehicles are exempt from having to have side guards fitted, which protect cyclists and other vulnerable road users from being dragged underneath the vehicle in a collision. While the mayor has pledged to introduce a charge to tackle the problem, transport minister Stephen Hammond announced this month that the DfT would review the exemptions from current regulations.
The City has funding from the mayor’s Air Quality Fund to explore the concepts. “Depending on the outcome of the feasibility study it is proposed to implement a pilot scheme on one or more of the priority corridors identified in the Fenchurch & Monument area enhancement strategy,” said the City of London’s director of the built environment Philip Everett. A freight forum is to be set up, initially covering the areas
selected for the pilot delivery zones. The City Corporation plans to volunteer to be one of three night-time delivery and servicing activity pilots that Transport for London is keen to set up. The City will also join the out of hours delivery consortium that TfL is in the process of setting up. The feasibility of setting up consolidation centres in the City’s car parks or other premises is also to be studied.
by Andrew Forster
THE OPERATOR of Britain’s first point-to-point car sharing scheme says the fragmented nature of local government in London is hampering its ability to offer a full service. Car manufacturer Daimler launched its car2go brand in London last December using its smart fortwo cars. Whereas traditional car clubs require members to pick up a vehicle from a dedicated bay and leave it there at the end of their booking, point-to-point car sharing allows members to leave the car parked at a different location within the scheme’s area of operation. Car2go wants to offer a service in which members can park for free in any parking space, including metered spaces and residents parking bays. But this depends on striking deals with individual boroughs. “We are currently operating in two boroughs with our full car2go service [Islington and Sutton] and offer a partly operating service, only including parking in legal and unrestricted free parking areas, in seven
car2go: full service in two boroughs
Lorry ban impractical, says Johnson ROAD SAFETY
BORIS JOHNSON has ruled out banning lorries from parts of London at particular times of day. He told the London Assembly last week that the idea was impractical. “If you ban them during peak hours, for instance, which is one thing I’ve thought about seriously, the difficulty is they would congregate on the M25 or wherever and come in at ten o’clock or whenever it
City plans freight delivery restrictions
FREIGHT
THE CITY of London wants to change freight delivery patterns to cut congestion and improve road safety and air quality. Among measures being considered are ‘timed delivery’ zones, low or zero emission zones, consolidation centres and out-of-hours deliveries. Timed delivery zones and low emission delivery zones could be set up in areas of high pedestrian and cycle activity.
TfL about the potential for a scheme in London using a fleet of electrically powered vehicles,” Tony McDonald, Wandsworth’s director of environment and community services told councillors. He added: “While there may be concerns about flooding the borough with point-to-point car share vehicles, the economics are such that if the cars are not used then the product becomes unviable and would be withdrawn; if the cars were to be well-used then that would demonstrate that the service was of value to residents.” The London Borough of Wandsworth is to extend its car club framework agreement with two car club operators by a year to July 2015. Three operators – City Car Club, Zipcar and Greenwheels – signed a threeyear framework with the borough for the use of dedicated on-street parking bays, which began in August 2011. Dutch-based Greenwheels withdrew from the London car club market in March. There are now 62 Zipcar and 22 City Car Club vehicles based in the borough.
BRT plans progress
BUS RAPID TRANSIT
LEEDS CITY Council and Metro, this week applied to the DfT for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) to build the nine-mile trolleybus line. The single north-south line will connect with two park-andride terminals, and the electric powered vehicles will substantially cut journey times. The last British trolleybuses ran in neighbouring Bradford in 1972. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pennines, work has begun on Greater Manchester’s first guided busway. The 4.5-mile section linking Leigh (in Wigan) with Ellenbrook (in Salford) utilises a disused railway for part of the way. Design and construction work is being undertaken by Balfour Beatty, and the project is part of a larger £68m 13-mile bus priority scheme due to open in 2015. Local transport minister Norman Baker will open the Luton-Dunstable guided busway on Tuesday 24 September.
News 7
In Brief
I’ll defend LIP funding, says Mayor London mayor Boris Johnson has pledged to defend Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding, which Transport for London pays boroughs to fund small-scale transport improvements. Transport for London is currently reviewing its spending plans after the Government cut its grant for 2015/16 by £222m in the summer’s spending review. TfL’s board will receive final proposals in December but there has been speculation that the LIP budget will be hit. At mayor’s question time last week, London Assembly member Gareth Bacon asked if rumours of a 25% cut to LIP funding were true. “The answer to that is no,” said Johnson. “I have made it very clear in my conversations with TfL that I don’t want to see that as the outcome. I’m determined to protect LIPs.” Johnson refused to rule out a smaller cut. “There are pressures on the TfL budget and there is going to be a discussion to be had but I am a keen defender and supporter of LIPs funding. No decisions about this have been made.” Bacon said there were “many places where TfL could look [for savings] without going to LIP funding.”
Wandsworth boosts cycle accessibility The London Borough of Wandsworth is to improve accessibility for cyclists by allowing contra-flow cycling on ten roads and permitting them to move from one road to another in seven places where currently there is no through road.
Six-month closure for Putney Bridge? Putney Bridge could be closed for six months to facilitate a £1.5m refurbishment scheme. The bridge forms part of the A219 and carries almost 14,000 vehicles between 7am and 7pm on weekdays. The London Borough of Wandsworth says the refurbishment work could be undertaken either through a complete closure lasting six months or by closing half the bridge at a time, which would extend the works to 11 months. The borough is discussing the options with stakeholders. Director of environment and community services Tony McDonald said the £1.5m cost assumed full closure, adding: “Any decisions resulting in a change from this method of working and the associated increase in the scheme cost would have to be met from council finding.” The DfT is contributing £1.05m from its local pinch point fund.