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

I understand that you think there is latent demand for these services but I am just concerned to discover how you intend to fund additional orbital bus service routes?

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

The previous Mayor made a commitment that there would not be an increase in bus fares. Can you give a similar commitment?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

I can briefly help you with that last point, Mr Mayor. Close to me are bus stops where the stage coaches used to stop and so there has been no change as far as that is concerned over a couple of hundred years! I have to say that the speed of the buses has hardly improved since then. However, very struck by the point that you made about real time information about buses; it would be extremely helpful, would it not, if your new wonder bus was able to give accurate information to the bus stops for the people who...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 18 June 2008

I would like it to be at the bus stops as well for those unfortunates who do not have the all singing and all dancing mobile phones that I have no doubt the new Londoners will receive. On the general point about improving bus services, it does occasionally happen that bus routes are proposed which residents do not want. Indeed, I have recently submitted a petition to you on that particular matter. I wonder if, in the spirit of localism that the new congress is setting up, if a borough is opposed to the introduction of a new bus route...

• 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...