Mike Rutherford's column

Dear Bo Jo

Congratulations… and commiserations.

You’ve just won the right to sort out transport in England’s capital. Depending on where you draw the boundary lines, this patch is home to between 7.5million and 14million residents, who collectively make the territory more heavily populated than Scotland (5.1m), Wales (2.9m) and Northern Ireland (1.7m) put together. Scarily, of all the municipalities in the EU, London has the highest population. But the 14m residing in metropolitan London are only half the problem, because countless millions more pour in on a daily basis for everything from employment to hospital appointments.

With this in mind, your new manor is less like a city and more of a small country, which might have dozens of millions of people occupying it at any one time. Trouble is, there just isn’t enough space for them to move easily from A-to-B.

So – and this is where commiserations are in order – it’s your duty to assist them with their travel needs in BRoL (Boris’ Republic of London). You’ll also need to acknowledge that you are now the most senior ruling Conservative and the highest ranking Englishman in political office. And since you faced a democratic leadership election – whereas Prime Minister impersonator Gordon Brown didn’t – it could even be argued that you’re now the number-one elected politician in Britain.

Therefore, whether you like it or not, what you do or don’t do for travellers in London will help dictate what transport systems other British cities will or won’t adopt. In short, people in and around London and way beyond are relying on you to start the successful counter assault against Labour’s decade-long war on car users. Here, in no particular order of importance, are 10 of my suggestions to get you going. If you’re interested, I have hundreds more up my sleeve.

1. Establish giant, affordable car parks in dozens of locations on the fringe of London, and site them close to railway stations, bus terminals, river-boat stops and bicycle-hire outlets. Commuters could then drive most of their way to work, then use public transport, cycles or walking shoes for the final leg of their journey into the capital.

2. Build more long, low tunnels, plus under- and over-passes for cars, motorcycles and small vans to move swiftly – and less obtrusively – while at the same time cutting fuel consumption and C02 emissions.

3. When bus and taxi lanes are available, buses and taxis MUST use them, and NEVER stray out of them.

4. Abandon 24-hour bus lanes and allow all vehicles to use them at least between 10am and 4pm, and 7pm and 7am. Better still, remove bus lanes. A subsidised bus passenger, who might not even be paying a fare, shouldn’t have priority over a non-subsidised motorist, who pays taxes every mile he drives.

5. Allow drivers to turn left at a red light – on the strict understanding that all pedestrians and oncoming vehicles have priority.

6. Force cyclists to register, display number plates, then pay road tax – and with the proceeds build them dedicated lanes, wherever possible, alongside river banks and parks.

7. Make public transport workers serve the public at ALL times by asking them to sign no-strike agreements. No signature, no job.

8. Discourage business hours of 9-5 and promote 10-6 or even 11-7. This will help prevent commuters fighting for road and rail space with 8.30-4.30 school kids.

9. Penalise private and professional drivers who deliberately block road junctions. Double the penalties when there is yellow hatching.

10. You’re a Conservative, so don’t inherit the Congestion Tax cruelly introduced by Labour. Scrap it. And other British cities will follow your fine example.