• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

If you are saying that there have to be criteria, why can't you be specific? Is it 15 minutes, or 20?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

What is the criterion for "a reasonable time"?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

The increase in bus miles is likely to be significantly in areas which will not assist those who are applying for exemptions at the moment - those who have to work unsocial hours; those who have to get to the suburbs by difficult routes. I am seriously inquiring: what choice do you give those people to exercise in applying your price mechanism?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

A price mechanism implies the ability to make a choice. If there is no choice, it is not a price mechanism: it is a tax, isn't it? Is that what you are giving them?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

Those are sufficient improvements, you think, to give people an alternative and a choice, are they?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

You have previously said that you will not introduce the scheme until specific improvements in public transport can be met, What are the criteria - not the wish list, but the specific deliverables that have to be met before you introduce it? Not just 200 extra buses - what else?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

Thank you. The change of position by the City is highly symbolic, because they were very strongly supportive of the principle of the charge - indeed, I believe that they even offered to pilot it in the City area. It is a symptom of a wider problem in London, which is that boroughs affected by the charge are getting extremely grumpy and fed up with what they perceive to be a lack of consultation, sharing of information and openness in the way in which TfL are working. I think we are all aware that there are teething problems with TfL...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

I know that many public sector workers, including the firefighters, have been in to see you, Ken. In some sense, what you just said about people making cases is slightly worrying. In the past, I have asked you to go through a proper, serious impact assessment process, looking at the public sector generally. It would be unfortunate if we ended up with a set of exemptions which were not criteria-led but were in some way influenced by the powers of the lobbying. It is really important, if congestion charging is to work, that it is seen as fair, and those...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

You will be interested to hear that Labour Members are presenting a number of helpful proposals as to how this scheme, if it goes ahead, might work better. That takes me to my final question: although there is a minority view in the Assembly which is very opposed to the scheme, I think you recognise that the majority do not have a problem with the principle, but we are very worried, for good reasons, about details - details on the boundary, details on the exemptions, details of the way it is going to work and whether you are being too...

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 21 November 2001

The answer to the narrow question - are you happy that the technology will work - is yes?