New London Mayor announces senior transport appointments
Fri 16 May 2008
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Boris Johnson, the new London Mayor, has asked the Conservative former transport minister and erstwhile mayoral candidate Stephen Norris to join the boards of Transport for London (TfL) and the London Development Agency (LDA). The Mayor announced that he will initally chair the Board of TfL himself but will be replaced by Tim Parker, newly appointed first deputy Mayor on September 1.
The Mayor is reported to have asked Mr Norris to carry out the specific task of co-ordinating work between TfL and the LDA.
The Mayor has also appointed Kulveer Ranger as his new director for transport policy. Ranger is expected to lead on policy direction for transport on behalf of the mayor and to oversee the relationship between the GLA and TfL.
Kulveer Ranger was formerly an adviser to shadow trade and industry secretary Alan Duncan and is now vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. He was the lead delivery manager for the Oystercard smartcard public transport ticket which was introduced to London in 2003.
The new Mayor has also appointed the former AA chief executive Tim Parker to be first deputy Mayor and chief executive of the GLA Group. From the beginning of September, Mr Parker will also become chairman of Transport for London.
The new Mayor is expected to scrap the former Mayor Ken Livingstone's plans to introduce a £25-a-day charge for the most polluting vehicles entering the London congestion charge zone. Mr Johnson may also scrap plans for a westward extension of the zone.
Despite his manifesto committment to weaken the congestion charge and its link to car emissions, Boris Johnson has been a supporter of Tory leader David Cameron's attempts to reposition the party as environmentally responsible. According to reports he is expected to introduce a number of new 'green' policies in the coming months.
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