12 January 2017
RMT Press Office:
TAXI UNION RMT says that the closure of the pivotal Bank Junction to all vehicles (other than buses and bicycles) exposes Transport for London’s (TfL) symptom-focused decision-making and unwillingness to tackle the cause of the problem.
TfL’s gutlessness in failing to stand-up to multi-national venture capital-backed raiders such as Uber, has left our streets flooded with minicabs. With buses stuck in gridlock behind haphazardly driven Uber cars – and with the Tube dangerously overcrowded during peak hours – people are turning out of desperation to commuting by bicycle.
Despite its impracticality, there has been an explosion in the number of people commuting by bike. Astonishingly, 30% of road traffic traversing Bank Junction are now cyclists.
It is time that TfL refused to licence Uber, which it acknowledges is unlawfully “plying for hire”. It is time that black cabs were recognised and supported as a mode of public transport. It is time that cuts to the Tube were reversed.
RMT will be protesting TfL’s catastrophic mismanagement of London roads today Thursday 12 January at 5pm at Bank Junction.
RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash, said:
“RMT agrees with proposals which improve public safety, but it is clear that the driving factor behind the decision is to improve bus journey times under a buckling road network.
“Black cabs are an integral part of the public transport system and as the data shows, one of the safest.
“The decision to close Bank Junction to traffic is a comicly inept one, made exceptionally bitter as the Mayor promised greater access to road space for black cabs.”
Ends.
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