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| Luton on Sunday 14-Oct-2014 |
This follows on from the previous piece referred to on this blog, and Cllr Taylor's subsequent 'apology', a statement which looked and sounded very much like it had been written by someone else and he had been ordered to say it.
The "genuine mistake in a live interview" excuse just doesn't hold up when he was given a chance to retract or correct the statement (but chose to stand by it) and he also chose to STILL stand by his original statement when the quote was followed up by print journalists. As I have said before, this is not really about the busway figures themselves but the worrying arrogance of a stance that it is okay to lie if it gets you what you what. Even the "apology" would appear to be based on a lie as the "genuine mistake" line is a bit of spin that doesn't stand up to the slightest scrutiny.
Let us also not forget that another member of this merry bunch gave a Parliamentary committee a straight answer ("No") to a straight question about whether their Council had walked away from previous negotiations at an advanced stage and then had to issue a 'clarification' only minutes later.
You guys in Caddington shouldn't lose sight of the traffic jam misery that would be worse if the busway wasn't there, for people travelling to/from Houghton Regis. And as developments come on stream around HR, the use of the busway will surely increase. Have you checked the page I edit at http://is.gd/busway ? It's just there to reflect the public mood. What I can't understand is why Arriva don't have extra routes serving Poynters Rd and then joining the busway at Tesco, Dunstable. That would surely increase bus use.
ReplyDeleteAlan, we haven't challenged the busway. It stands to reason that mass transit public transport relieves pressure on the roads and this will become more accute as there is more development.
DeleteAs stated above, this issue wasn't about the busway figures themselves but about deliberate false claims around statistics and projections. It is acknowledged that Luton can not meet its full housing need and some of that unmet excess will instead be brought forward by Central Beds; in that context, I think the fair assessment of what Luton CAN provide is critical and their statements need to be held up to scrutiny when they have a previous admission of having "pumped up" and "embellished" important numbers.