LONDON MAYOR Boris Johnson stands accused of “ducking responsibility” for London Underground after official figures showed delays to trains of more than 15 minutes have risen by 19% in the last year.
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“Boris Johnson has repeatedly refused to get a grip of the Tube, accusing anyone who complains about delays of misusing statistics,” said Val Shawcross, a Labour Party London Assembly member.
“But these new figures come from TfL [Transport for London], the organisation he runs.”
TfL agree that the figures are real enough, but are sticking to the “misusing statistics” line highlighted by Shawcross.
“These statistics selectively take a small number of lines where delays rose, which can be for a whole host of reasons,” said a TfL spokesperson.
“On the Bakerloo line, for example, it was due to flooding caused by the Trafalgar Square fountains.”
Those leaky fountains helped the Bakerloo post a 350% increase in 15 minute-plus delays and upgrading work saw Jubliee line delays rise by 120%, but it is also the case that every year has its share of engineering-led delays and unforeseen fountain-type problems.
“Tube users are well and truly fed up with Boris Johnson’s excuses,” added Shawcross, “blaming anyone but himself for his failure to make the Tube run on time.”
“Rather than trying to duck responsibility for the increasing number of tube delays, it’s time for Boris Johnson to roll up his sleeves and take responsibility for sorting this mess out.”
