Picture from The Guardian
Is it simply a glorified funfair attraction, or a genuinely important transport link for London? Well, the Mayor was in town to launch the new Emirates Air Line stressing that it was a key part of London’s transport strategy.
The £60 million system is Britain’s first urban cable car and will transport people from the O2 on one side of the Thames to the ExCel centre on the other. The cable car takes five minutes each way and can carry up to 2,500 people per hour.
An excited Bozza said: “The real advantage of it is that it’s an important addition to our transport network. It is as good as a bus route with 30 buses on it.”
Emirates, the Dubai-owned airline, covered £36m of the £60m costs while the Mayor also secured £8m from the European Regeneration and Development Fund. The balance will be made up from ticket sales and revenues.
Boris added: “I’m amazed at the value that we’re able to offer. The tickets will be about £1.60 for regular users so it’s a viable addition to people’s commuter routes.”
The Mayor was less sure as to who the cable car was targeted at. “Who’s going to use this?” called one reporter as Johnson posed with a pair of Emirates air stewards in front of a capsule.
“A huge amount of, um …” replied the mayor…