how transport changed in london over the last 50 years?

Question

i cant find it so please help me

Answer 1

By 1950 London Transport was the largest transport system in the world, employing 100 000 people. The last electric trams were withdrawn from service in 1952 and replaced by buses, unlike pre-war tram replacements by the trolleybus.

The Transport Act of 1962 abolished the BTC, replacing it with a series of government-appointed independent management boards. With this gradual drift of control of London Transport to government ministers and various committees, it became increasingly difficult to persuade government to invest in some of London Transport's improvement schemes. London's transport issues were often considered less important and less financially viable than other transport concerns, such as successful national railways and road services. Political changes, funding policies, recruitment problems and industrial disputes, along with the increase in private motor car use have all influenced the way transport in London has worked over the years.

Control goes to the GLC
On 1 April 1965 the London County Council (LCC) was replaced by a new authority, the Greater London Council (GLC). Its area of authority was extended from that covered by the LCC to include Middlesex and parts of other surrounding counties. The GLC had new powers and responsibility for most road transport. On 1 January 1970 the GLC took responsibility for London Transport from central government. The GLC actively discouraged the use of private cars, instead encouraging commuters to use public transport.

Throughout this period, London Transport (LT) was beset with problems. Congestion on the roads continued to increase, inflation was rising, LT was experiencing staff shortages, and grants for fare subsidy had been slashed, all contributing to a decline in services. The years of GLC control also often brought the Council and central government into direct conflict over transport policies. The most famous ideological clash was over a campaign called 'Fares Fair'. The introduction of Travelcards and zoning is one lasting legacy inherited from the sometimes turbulent days of the GLC's relationship with LT. In 1983 simplified zone pricing and Travelcards were introduced. The scheme has been very successful, and was extended in 1985 to incorporate commuter train routes around London.
top
Fares Fair
In 1980, a radical Labour group, led by Ken Livingstone (affectionately referred to as 'Red Ken'), took control of the Greater London Council (GLC), having campaigned on a policy of cheaper fares. Ticket prices were cut by 32%, financed mostly by charging rate-paying Londoners a supplementary rate. This was done at a time when inflation was running at nearly 20%. The idea of the campaign proved popular, but only increased Tube passenger traffic by 9%, which was not enough to fund the fare reductions. The level of subsidy rose from 30% to an unprecedented 54%.

Poster advertising the
GLC Fares Fare policy
click thumbnail to view enlarged image

However, Conservative-led Bromley Council took the GLC to court, arguing that the supplement was unfair as the borough was not served by the Tube network. The case went all the way to the House of Lords, where the Fares Fair campaign was ruled illegal. In March 1982 fares were increased by 96%, resulting in the Underground experiencing a dramatic drop in passengers using its services.

Control goes back to the government
During the 1980s and early 1990s a number of changes to London's public transport took place. In the light of many policy changes and political battles for control, the House of Commons Transport Committee recommended that a separate metropolitan transport authority take control of LT from the GLC. On 1 April 1984, control of London Transport (LT) passed yet again to the government, prior to the abolition of the GLC in 1986. The new authority, London Regional Transport (LRT), was essentially a holding company in control of buses and trains. In 1985 London Buses and London Underground became wholly-owned subsidiaries of LT. Bus routes were put out to tender with both London Buses and private companies bidding for three-year renewable contracts. In 1993 privatisation of London Buses meant the end of the unified red bus fleet, as different companies operated buses on different routes in London

FURTHER READING
Ken Fuller, Fifty years of London Transport. stage or terminus? Campaign to improve London Transport, 1983
Paul E. Garbutt, London Transport and the politicians, Ian Allan, 1985
GLC, London Transport under the GLC. A record of achievement, GLC, 1985
Ian Savage, The Deregulation of bus services, Gower Publishing, 1985

During the 1950s and 1960s there was economic growth, prosperity and an era of full employment. This new-found affluence changed the habits of many Londoners. As television became more popular, people started to go out less for entertainment, and there was also a rapid increase in private car ownership. These factors (amongst others) contributed to more traffic on the streets of London and slowed the overall average speed of all road vehicles.

Traffic engineers unsuccessfully attempted to speed up the flow of traffic by introducing schemes such as timed traffic lights and one-way systems. These schemes generally failed to increase the flow of traffic, and combined with staff shortages, resulted in London Transport's bus services becoming less reliable and less popular with the public. Then, in an attempt to save costs, bus services were cut, contributing further to a deteriorating service and a bad reputation. This cycle of deterioration became known in LT as the 'vicious spiral'.

top
Bus services decline
To make matters worse, the revenues and profitability of different parts of London Transport were shifting. Bus services had always been very profitable, and had effectively subsidised the more expensive and less-profitable Underground. As the efficiency and profitability of bus services declined, the funding of maintenance and improvements across the whole transport network became increasingly difficult as government investment also declined.
In 1966 the flat-fare, single deck, one-person operated Red Arrow buses were introduced to try to cut costs. Bus lanes were also experimented with in the early 1970s, but not "boldly or quickly enough to combat the strangling effects of private cars and lorries" (London Transport, 1971). Other bus lanes followed but were not enforced well enough to make the routes effective. Despite this, bus services and passenger numbers continued to decline.

Red Arrow single deck bus, 1971

While new zoning and Travelcards regenerated passenger journeys on the Underground, it was not enough to encourage passengers back onto the buses. A reliable bus service is not only integral to the smooth running of London but to the success of LT as a whole. A key new scheme is the London Bus initiative which provides £ 50 million of investment (2000 - 2002). This includes more bus priority lanes at traffic lights and Countdown realtime information displays at bus stops.


Theo Barker, Moving Millions: A pictorial history of London Transport, London Transport Museum, 1990

Answer 2

I only go back 40 years but a few things that occur to me. Buses used to have conductors who came round to collect the fares. There used to be a more complicated fare system with prices depending on the number of fare stages one traveled. There was an overhead cord to pull which rang a bell when one wanted to get off. There have also been lots of new road developments, congestion charges, some new tube lines, the Docklands Light Railway.

Answer 3

These people had so much to say on the matter I've decided to just give you the link. It goes back to 1837 though which is a might more than the fifty years you asked for.
Doc

Answer 4

it changes because in the past people got a little bit of $ but now we get way way more $

Answer 5

By 1950 London Transport was the largest transport system in the world, employing 100 000 people. The last electric trams were withdrawn from service in 1952 and replaced by buses, unlike pre-war tram replacements by the trolleybus.

The Transport Act of 1962 abolished the BTC, replacing it with a series of government-appointed independent management boards. With this gradual drift of control of London Transport to government ministers and various committees, it became increasingly difficult to persuade government to invest in some of London Transport's improvement schemes. London's transport issues were often considered less important and less financially viable than other transport concerns, such as successful national railways and road services. Political changes, funding policies, recruitment problems and industrial disputes, along with the increase in private motor car use have all influenced the way transport in London has worked over the years.

Control goes to the GLC
On 1 April 1965 the London County Council (LCC) was replaced by a new authority, the Greater London Council (GLC). Its area of authority was extended from that covered by the LCC to include Middlesex and parts of other surrounding counties. The GLC had new powers and responsibility for most road transport. On 1 January 1970 the GLC took responsibility for London Transport from central government. The GLC actively discouraged the use of private cars, instead encouraging commuters to use public transport.

Throughout this period, London Transport (LT) was beset with problems. Congestion on the roads continued to increase, inflation was rising, LT was experiencing staff shortages, and grants for fare subsidy had been slashed, all contributing to a decline in services. The years of GLC control also often brought the Council and central government into direct conflict over transport policies. The most famous ideological clash was over a campaign called 'Fares Fair'. The introduction of Travelcards and zoning is one lasting legacy inherited from the sometimes turbulent days of the GLC's relationship with LT. In 1983 simplified zone pricing and Travelcards were introduced. The scheme has been very successful, and was extended in 1985 to incorporate commuter train routes around London.
top
Fares Fair
In 1980, a radical Labour group, led by Ken Livingstone (affectionately referred to as 'Red Ken'), took control of the Greater London Council (GLC), having campaigned on a policy of cheaper fares. Ticket prices were cut by 32%, financed mostly by charging rate-paying Londoners a supplementary rate. This was done at a time when inflation was running at nearly 20%. The idea of the campaign proved popular, but only increased Tube passenger traffic by 9%, which was not enough to fund the fare reductions. The level of subsidy rose from 30% to an unprecedented 54%.

Poster advertising the
GLC Fares Fare policy
click thumbnail to view enlarged image

However, Conservative-led Bromley Council took the GLC to court, arguing that the supplement was unfair as the borough was not served by the Tube network. The case went all the way to the House of Lords, where the Fares Fair campaign was ruled illegal. In March 1982 fares were increased by 96%, resulting in the Underground experiencing a dramatic drop in passengers using its services.

Control goes back to the government
During the 1980s and early 1990s a number of changes to London's public transport took place. In the light of many policy changes and political battles for control, the House of Commons Transport Committee recommended that a separate metropolitan transport authority take control of LT from the GLC. On 1 April 1984, control of London Transport (LT) passed yet again to the government, prior to the abolition of the GLC in 1986. The new authority, London Regional Transport (LRT), was essentially a holding company in control of buses and trains. In 1985 London Buses and London Underground became wholly-owned subsidiaries of LT. Bus routes were put out to tender with both London Buses and private companies bidding for three-year renewable contracts. In 1993 privatisation of London Buses meant the end of the unified red bus fleet, as different companies operated buses on different routes in London

FURTHER READING
Ken Fuller, Fifty years of London Transport. stage or terminus? Campaign to improve London Transport, 1983
Paul E. Garbutt, London Transport and the politicians, Ian Allan, 1985
GLC, London Transport under the GLC. A record of achievement, GLC, 1985
Ian Savage, The Deregulation of bus services, Gower Publishing, 1985

During the 1950s and 1960s there was economic growth, prosperity and an era of full employment. This new-found affluence changed the habits of many Londoners. As television became more popular, people started to go out less for entertainment, and there was also a rapid increase in private car ownership. These factors (amongst others) contributed to more traffic on the streets of London and slowed the overall average speed of all road vehicles.

Traffic engineers unsuccessfully attempted to speed up the flow of traffic by introducing schemes such as timed traffic lights and one-way systems. These schemes generally failed to increase the flow of traffic, and combined with staff shortages, resulted in London Transport's bus services becoming less reliable and less popular with the public. Then, in an attempt to save costs, bus services were cut, contributing further to a deteriorating service and a bad reputation. This cycle of deterioration became known in LT as the 'vicious spiral'.

top
Bus services decline
To make matters worse, the revenues and profitability of different parts of London Transport were shifting. Bus services had always been very profitable, and had effectively subsidised the more expensive and less-profitable Underground. As the efficiency and profitability of bus services declined, the funding of maintenance and improvements across the whole transport network became increasingly difficult as government investment also declined.
In 1966 the flat-fare, single deck, one-person operated Red Arrow buses were introduced to try to cut costs. Bus lanes were also experimented with in the early 1970s, but not "boldly or quickly enough to combat the strangling effects of private cars and lorries" (London Transport, 1971). Other bus lanes followed but were not enforced well enough to make the routes effective. Despite this, bus services and passenger numbers continued to decline.

Red Arrow single deck bus, 1971

While new zoning and Travelcards regenerated passenger journeys on the Underground, it was not enough to encourage passengers back onto the buses. A reliable bus service is not only integral to the smooth running of London but to the success of LT as a whole. A key new scheme is the London Bus initiative which provides £ 50 million of investment (2000 - 2002). This includes more bus priority lanes at traffic lights and Countdown realtime information displays at bus stops.


Theo Barker, Moving Millions: A pictorial history of London Transport, London Transport Museum, 1990

Source(s):

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/learning/onlin...

If you go to this site it will give you as much info as you could possibly want