Sweeping changes to London's transport system, including free bus travel and congestion charging, could bring fast benefits to passengers in the capital, according to Professor David Begg, Chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport.

"We don't need to wait for the long-term investment in London Underground's infrastructure or for a technology-based congestion charging system to deliver the improvements everyone is crying out for, " he told London's mayoral candidates candidates at a London conference.

Outlining a blueprint that offered quick wins for the capital, Prof Begg proposed:

• Free bus travel in the heart of the capital
  
  
• A new guided busway network
  
  
• A paper-based congestion charging system backed by digital camera enforcement
  More priority for pedestrians

"Free buses would bring immediate relief to overcrowding on the underground and offer faster journeys in the capital. The fare free proposal would speed up London travel as it would cut queues to pay at a stroke and minimise time spent at bus stops. Guided busways on major arteries would give buses dedicated lanes and speed passengers past drivers stuck in cars. These are already working well elsewhere in the UK and producing phenomenal passenger growth - up as much as 65% in three years."

The Professor warned that without tough action congestion was predicted to rise in the capital by 34% in 10 years, much of it in the next five.

"We need to tackle that now - and the only way to deliver that is to bite the bullet and bring in congestion charging in central areas. We cannot wait for a technology solution. A paper-based solution can be introduced within two years, with digital cameras monitoring and enforcing the system. A £5 charge to drive in central London would reduce congestion - offering even more relief for the bus - while still keeping motoring affordable and much cheaper than a taxi ride today. And the revenue raised would be ploughed back into transport too."

The Professor also called for radical benefits for pedestrians -
"The vast majority of people in central London get there by public transport and yet they are squeezed onto narrow pavements to make way for crawling lines of traffic.

"A good start would be to introduce more people power - rephasing traffic lights to give pedestrian priority, longer green-man sequences at pedestrian crossings, more zebra crossings and new, signed pedestrian safe routes around the capital," he said.

Richard Byatt