PLANS FOR re-shaping London's transport systems for increased efficiency and
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decreased costs form a major part of the Conservative manifesto for the Greater London Council published last week.
Tory aims for London Trans port include diverting resources used to fund the LT deficit to provide new buses and interchange facilities, as well as new Underground lines and rolling stock.
The manifesto comments: "The bus service is now incapable of meeting Londoners' needs," and the Tories plan to reshape the service and direct LT to "redouble its efforts to ensure that buses run on time and to cut down bunching and breakdowns."
The future of the Leyland 815 project has also been thrown into doubt by the Tory statement that the whole question of a co-operative to build the bus will be "reviewed" by a Tory council.
Fiddles are also to be a target for a Tory council. The Conservatives say that in 1972 alone, fare fiddles cost LT £7 million; "one man's far fiddle is another man's fare increase," says the manifesto.
Conservatives would also abandon the Speedbus project, which they describe as "useless and costly," and concentrate on improving London's road system including the completion of the M25 orbital motorway around the City.
Hauliers may also find themselves the guinea pigs of plans for experiments using lorry-free zones in London.