• Question by: James Cleverly
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

Mr Mayor, I think Ms Shawcross' line of questioning again demonstrates the obsession that that side of the Chamber has with the micro management of every single issue of London life. Will you give me an undertaking that, in this issue as with other issues, you will take a sensible practicable pragmatic approach and if the orbital bus service is popular and if it does relieve or reduce demand for certain radial routes, that we will not be obsessed with maintaining things for the sake of their holy cow status and that we will actually allow transport experts to get...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

Can I ask you then just to focus in on this proposal you have for the creation of orbital bus service networks?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

When there are changes made to the bus services obviously the TfL website is updated so people know about it but sometimes there seems to be a lag so the bus services change and the information on the website is still about the previous services. I have a constituent who knows all this off by heart and brings it to my attention and gets very irritated by it. But it is more of a problem for the people who do not know about it and are misled by the website. Now it seems to me to be quite a cost...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

So if you do feel that it is a success and you want to move forward with your network of orbital buses, how would you be funding it? I understand that the revenue settlement to London Transport buses is going to be increasing at Retail Price Index (RPI) there is obviously going to be no capacity there for additional services without either putting up fares or taking out existing bus routes. So what commitments can you give on existing bus routes and on bus fares?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

Following on from the theme of my questions on Routemasters before, will all new buses, regardless of whether they are Routemasters or ordinary double deckers or whatever, be hybrid or cleaner from 2012, which I believe is the timetable that TfL was working to under the previous Mayor?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

I agree with most of what you said. You can guess which bit maybe I do not totally support because that is easy name calling, but we are delighted that you have taken on Ken's [Livingstone] initiative in this area. The problem we have is that this week some of the post offices are closing - certainly one in Poplar in my patch is shutting this week - and we may be waiting until the end of time for the court to come back, meanwhile the post offices will be closing and people will be losing their services. So two...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

I would like to bring up the question that my newly esteemed colleague, John Biggs, asked and that you ducked earlier. That is when are you going to appoint an environmental adviser because you are already making big decisions on the environment, like the desalination plant, which are frankly idiotic? When are you going to get somebody who knows what they are doing?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

Just on this issue of the remaining Mayoral advisers that you have yet to appoint. Is the delay because you have not found the right people and you are still looking or is it because you have found the right people but there are some sort of legal obstacles with their appointment?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

So you are not? You are not going to appoint an environmental adviser?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

But is it a Cabinet? What it says here is, 'End the culture of cronyism at City Hall. First pledge; create a Cabinet for London to assist in running London.' Where is the Cabinet?