I caught some of the Labour conference coverage on the news over the weekend and they are terrified of Boris. Blears and her cronies were going out of their way to paint Livingstone as 'one of the boys, the true saviour of London' and Johnson as Satan's secret love child.
Bendy buses should be scrapped and replaced with Routemaster buses with conductors, London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson has said.
The Conservative candidate unveiled his transport manifesto on Monday, ahead of the 1 May elections.
Bendy buses "were never suited to London's roads" and conductors would prevent fare evasion, Mr Johnson said.
Mayor Ken Livingstone's spokeswoman said Mr Johnson's plans would result in a "15% minimum increase in bus fares".
'Iconic bus'
Routemasters stopped serving normal London routes in December 2005. Mr Johnson wants to introduce a new version of the double-decker bus "that will once again give London an iconic bus that Londoners can be proud of".
Each new Routemaster would come with a conductor, comply with EU legislation, have disabled access and run on environmentally-friendly fuel, he said.
He would also scrap bendy buses. "The truth is they were never suited to London's roads and the facts show they have twice as many accidents as normal buses," Mr Johnson said.
"In addition, open boarding means they have become known as 'free buses', and the facts show they lose almost three times as much fare revenue as other types of bus."
Mr Johnson also said that if he became mayor he would pay for more police officers to patrol buses and railway station platforms.
He said he would encourage union bosses to agree not to strike on the London Underground, in a deal with Tube bosses.
"The London Underground is like no other public service, in that strikes can paralyse the whole city," Mr Johnson said.
Mr Johnson said he would introduce express orbital bus routes for the capital's outer boroughs that would avoid central London when possible.
He also said he would campaign for better rail services, extend the Oyster card top-up network and provide better information to commuters.
"After eight years of a Labour mayor we too often spend our mornings and evenings in cramped, overcrowded carriages paying some of the highest fares in Europe," Mr Johnson said.
However, Mr Livingstone's spokeswoman said it would cost £108m a year to replace the bendy bus routes with buses which had conductors.
MAYORAL CANDIDATES
Alan Craig Christian Peoples Alliance & The Christian Party
Boris Johnson Conservative party
Brian Paddick Liberal Democrat party
Chris Prior Stop The Congestion Charge party
Damian Hockney One London party
Dennis Delderfield New Britain
Gerard Batten UKIP
Ken Livingstone Labour party
Lindsey German Respect party
Matt O'Connor English Democrats party
Richard Barnbrook BNP
Sian Berry Green party
Winston McKenzie Independent
"To replace all London's 5,000 double deckers and bendy buses with (Mr Johnson's) new bus would cost £600m a year and require almost doubling bus fares," she said.
"Every Londoner can now be totally clear that Boris Johnson's policy means a minimum 15% increase on their bus fares."
Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said: "Boris's promises to improve trains and the policing of stations show he has no idea what the mayor has control of, British Transport Police and British Rail are beyond the mayor's remit."
Mr Paddick added: "Express buses already exist but Boris probably didn't know that!"
The Green Party's mayoral candidate Sian Berry said: "Johnson has shown that, as someone who doesn't use public transport, he doesn't know much about the real concerns of people who do."
"What we need are practical changes for cheaper, safer, faster and greener transport in London."
