• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

In the autumn, TfL ran a poster advertising campaign, copies of which I have brought with me. One of them shows a young lady lighting a cigarette on a bus, with the strap-line `do it and you could lose your free travel'. Another one shows a group of youths appearing to open a can of beer on the bus, saying `do it and you could lose your free travel'. It looks like for nine months they have been able to do it without any penalty whatsoever despite TfL's public claims. Would it not have been better to wait until you...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

What a shame you are not being serious this time either, Mr Mayor.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Well that is self-evident; what we want to know why it took longer than you thought.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

At the time that you brought this scheme in and following your statement in September, which you seem to now be quite keen to disassociate yourself from, I said this scheme was clearly full of holes and had not been thought through properly, despite the fact that it had been a Labour Manifesto commitment since the days of good old Frank Dobson (MP), who some of us can still remember. Was I not right that this scheme was full of holes and was badly thought through?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Thank you, Mr Mayor. We have been asking you this question for a number of months and it is encouraging to see the trend improving. Did I hear you say that four had been withdrawn for anti-social behaviour?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

You told us in September, and if I may quote you Mr Mayor, `it will be a virtually instantaneous penalty that TfL can apply'. It appears to have been virtual rather than instantaneous.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Nine months.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

You suspect the answer is no? Nine months ago you suspected that this was rife and was going to be happening, and you assured the Assembly that that was going to be the case.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

I am sorry, there is not a single figure quoted to support that. I cannot help but suspect a lot of my residents would say that here is yet another example of a Zone 1 Mayor who does not set foot in the suburbs and see what the problem is.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Yes, what a shame you did not realise that when you made the promises that you made back in November.