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e27002 aurora

On Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:05:19 +0000, wrote:

On Thu, 21 Jan 2016 03:15:02 -0800, aurora wrote:

Better, IMHO, to add the county of Oxford and Hampshire to the list of
Home Counties, and have a Home Counties PTE.

We need the "London Passenger Transport Area" back.

I live in Hampshire. It is a County with a lot of diversification,
North Hampshire is very similar to Surrey in that areas like Aldershot
,Fleet Hartley Witney after years off assault from the Metropolis are
not much more than dormitory areas of boring towns interspersed by
golf courses separated by pinewoods and scrubby heath that make the
inhabitants think they live in the country.
This end where I can hit Dorset with a good rifle has a completely
different character and I don't think I would be alone in thinking
London should not be controlling things this far West.
Now there are some commuters from these parts to London, my neighbour
has a contract that involves frequent visits at the moment ,but they
depart from Salisbury which is actually closer to London than this
part of Hants so are you going to then add that County to your Home
Counties PT as well?

No. The only aim is to take in those areas contributing to London's
wealth because of their high commuter quotient. Commuters in these
areas will be impacted by the "Mayor's" mishigas, but have no control
over it.

Southampton and Portsmouth are now unitary authorities, within
Hampshire, but outwith the ambit of Hampshire's authority.

The City of Westminster is easily as significant as Southampton. But,
Westminster has the tax burden and authority of the mayor's office
imposed on it.

The only role the regional authority provides, that Westminster cannot
in isolation, is transit. But, the moving of people does NOT end at
London's regional boundaries.

So why not drop the nonsense of the London regional authority. But,
for travel and transit body purposes have a body covering SE Commuter
land.

The London Boroughs are perfectly capable of functioning as Unitary
Authorities. OTOH, the movement of people is an issue they share with
the surrounding counties and municipalities.

As things stand SWT don't do a bad job of combining a commuter flow
amongst those who are travelling medium distance to destinations
further West such as Exeter. Cannot really see the need for London to
have more influence.

SWT do pretty well. I am a very satisfied customer. We do not need
our service on the south coast disrupting by London Overground's
antics in metropolis.