The Andalusian visit

It was a long day in London for the Infrastructure Commission of the Andalusian Parliament. It was headed by the Delegate for Public Works in the Junta de Andalucía, Concepción Gutiérrez, and made up of journalists and members of the PSOE, PP, IU and PA parties, who met with representatives of the London transport authority in the Transport for London headquarters. Four experts in big-city transportation spoke at the function to the Andalusian delegation.

The speakers were Kevin Austin, the head of the Transport consortium, who had some very interesting facts and figures about the city’s transport system; Tony West, a former trade unionist who later became an adviser to London Transport and who told a number of fascinating stories about transport in London and about the aftermath of the terrorist attempt in July 2005, and the head of security in the London Underground, Kevin Clack. And to finish, plans for the future of the system were revealed by Mike Keegan, head of Transport Strategies.

The conference lasted almost six hours, and it was followed by a guided tour of the Jubilee Line, one of the oldest in the city, but modernised in recent years. The visit began at the Westminster control station, where the Andalusian delegation could see at first hand the extraordinary number of trains (one every three minutes) running under the streets of the city at the same time. They were also impressed with the cleanliness of the system and the beauty of the huge Canary Wharf station, designed by the prestigious architect Norman Foster. The Titanic would fit inside it, the delegation was told by Emily Herreras Griffiths, one of the company technicians who came originally from Mallorca.

Cross Rail

Transport plans for Andalucía include the high-speed train known as the AVE, connecting Malaga city with other Andalusian capitals in the interior, and the coastal train, and although quite different from the London transport system, they will handle large numbers of passengers at peak times. But however Andalucía and the Costa del Sol is expected to grow, projected passenger numbers will probably fall below those of the British capital. In London, it is estimated that passenger numbers will increase by 40 per cent up to 2025.

To meet this huge demand, a metro line of almost 50 kilometres, named the Cross Rail, is planned for the city, as well as the so-called Thameslink line running in a north-south direction. Trains and platforms will be amplified to hold more passengers, and a new bridge will be built over the Thames. All the experts agree on the need for large-scale investment in transportation, especially in view of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Safety

As far as security is concerned, the Junta de Andalucía is especially interested in the installation of safety measures to prevent people from falling onto the tracks. Security in the London Underground has been tightened since the terrorist attack of July 2005, in which 52 people were killed. Transport for London has 670 police officers working in the tube system, and to give one example of their efficiency: any suspect object discovered anywhere in it will have the police on hand within ten minutes. First-aid services have been improved, but an x-ray system like the ones used at airports would be impossible to operate. “The safest tube station is one that is closed,” said Kevin Clack, adding that constant vigilance on the part of the public is also very important in the fight against terrorism. London’s system is also well protected by closed-circuit cameras.

The Andalusian delegation almost met up with a delegation from Venezuela, whose government has recently signed a contract with the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, for the purchase of cheap fuel for the city’s public transport system. Livingstone, it will be remembered, took the unpopular but courageous step of imposing a surcharge on motorists entering the city centre at certain times. With 35 different local authorities involved in managing London’s traffic and transport problems, drastic action was certainly called for. The Delegation for Public Works in the Junta de Andalucía will also be forced to come to terms with the problem of too many private cars in our cities, and here too the Spanish could probably learn something from the London experience. The cities of Europe may be quite different, but their transport problems are the same.

Innovation and incentives

The principal factor that works against any public transport strategy is the pleasure, freedom and convenience of driving one’s own car. The serious problems arise when too many of us wish to do so in too small a space, and our urban population keeps growing at a faster rate than the space available in our cities. For this reason, the Junta de Andalucía is not alone in its plans (such as the single ticket) to make public transport more attractive. The Malaga Transport Company is carrying out similar plans in Malaga city and the London transport authority are doing it in London. They introduced the Oyster card, which is an intelligent card used now by three out of every four users of the city’s public transport system. The card not only allows for discounts, especially on the Underground, where a single ticket can cost six euros, but is also useable as a Barclays bank card.

But the most surprising initiative was that introduced by the Mayor of London, Kevin Livingstone, who is responsible for the surcharge on the entry of private cars to the city centre. This charge amounts to 12 euros a day (eight pounds), and has been operative since February 2003. It is named the congestion charge, and operates from seven in the morning to six in the evening. It was extended this year to other areas such as Notting Hill.

Some of the results of the initiative have been a 12 per cent reduction in contaminating gases and a ten per cent reduction in traffic accident victims in the city centre. All money derived from the system, including the 150-euro fine, goes back into the public transport system. There are also many other measures being taken to reduce the number of car users in the city, with special rates for those people over the age of 60, who have free passes on the city buses and on the Underground. Special rates are also available to minors under the age of 16 and students up to the age of 18, who can travel free on the city’s buses.

London’s transport systems Workers: The City Hall is responsible for all public transport workers in the city, and it has a workforce of 11,600 employees.

Budget: 1,000 million euros each year.

Car use: In London, 41 per cent of all travellers do so in their own cars. The corresponding figure for Andalucía is 80 per cent.

Means of transport

Bus: London has a total of 8,200 vehicles and 16,500 bus stops, used in 2006 by more than 180 million people. This is a 40 per cent increase on the corresponding figure for 2000. All busses are accessible by wheelchair and have closed-circuit television vigilance.

Underground: The first underground rail system was built in London in 1863, and the network is now used by three million passengers each day (a total of 1,000 million in 2006). The private sector is responsible for 75 per cent of the underground rail system, although the private Metronet company went bankrupt some years ago. The network covers almost 300 kilometres, on which 520 trains run.

Car: The city’s transport authority is in charge of a road network of 580 kilometres, including motorways. The motorways and the rail system, except in the case of some lines, are the responsibility of the central government.

Bicycle: Use of bicycles has increased since 2000 by 83 per cent. There are 500 kilometres of bicycle lanes, in which more than 60 million euros was invested last year. There are 4,500 bicycle parking spaces available in the city.

Regards