… but “I don’t know what Project Detroit is” says Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, November 2023
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost 100 people are – or were – already working on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s mystery ‘Detroit project’ back in 2022, a Freedom of Information request to Transport for London reveals.
“Project Detroit’s remit is to develop a prototype for distance-based journey charging” says GLA member Peter Fortune.
“It says that the Detroit platform is looking to build a system that other forms of charging can be based on distance, vehicle type etc.”
But at last week’s Mayor of London’s Question Time Sadiq Khan denied having even heard of Project Detroit – although he later said he had heard of something called Project 2030.
Mr Fortune (Con, Bexley and Bromley) asked Mayor Khan about a website – http://www.project2030tfl.co.uk – which talked about “your plans for road user charging.
“That site’s now been taken down. “On that website it talks about Project Detroit. “Can you tell us a little about Project Detroit?.”
Khan: “I’m afraid I can’t. “I don’t know what Project Detroit is.”
Fortune: “OK. “That’s interesting. “I did some digging and I found out from a Freedom of Information request* that Project Detroit’s remit is to develop a prototype for distance-based journey charging.
“It says that the Detroit platform is looking to build a system that other forms of charging can be based on distance, vehicle type etc so that’s going ahead.
“And I’ve got procurement data for money that’s gone into Project Detroit as well. “So can you confirm that’s been cancelled, if road user charging or pay per mile road user charging is off the table?.”
Khan: “I don ‘t know what that project is so I’m more than happy to ask officers to look at your question and respond to that.”
Later:
Khan: “So do you mean Project 2030 or Project Detroit?”
Fortune: “Project 2030 and Project Detroit are the same thing.”
Khan: “So Project 2030 is a project on attracting talent to the technology department of TfL to use data to improve operations and customer experience and that includes working on bringing systems in house.”
Fortune: “So the 97 staff working on Project Detroit – have they been redeployed?”
Khan: “I’m not sure. “What it says about Project 2030 is that some of the intention is to bring the work that’s been done by a private company in house. “It’s not called Project Detroit. “It’s called Project 2030.”
Fortune: “It’s called Project Detroit. “It’s on the procurement data. “So – those 97 staff. “Let’s say there on somewhere between £80,000 and £100,000 on cost. “That’s going to be worth £12 to £15 million worth of salary costs with on-costs involved.
“It would be useful to know where they are. “If you could go away and look at Project Detroit and confirm that tholse elements of it have been cancelled and it’s looking at pay-per-mile or distance user charging that would be useful. “Is it possible for us to visit Project Detroit and some of the technicians there?.”
Khan: “I don’t know about Project Detroit. “What I’ve got here is Project 2030 but I’m more than happy to look into the question you’ve asked and to follow up.”
* Blocked-off roads: Project Detroit / Project 2030 – the FOI question and TfL’s response in full:
Further reading:
WebNov 16, 2023 · Sadiq Khan has said plans for such a charging scheme are “not on the …
WebNov 18, 2023 · Mr Fortune asked Mr Khan whether he could “confirm that [Project …
NEWS FROM CRYSTAL PALACE 