News that the bus drivers in London are demanding an extra £500 for doing their jobs during the Olympics, fills me with a sense of great delight, causing me to reach for another bottle of the shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck. These days, apart from a few reminders of our glorious past in museums and galleries, London is unbearable at the best of times. During the 17 day festival of running and jumping, it will be well nigh impossible. Boris can bluster about his routemasters all he likes, but as Margaret Thatcher once remarked, "anyone who is over 30 and has to rely on public transport is a failure in life."
The fares will have to rise to pay for the extra wages, pricing them out of the reach of many of their fellow workers.Then, they will have to reduce the number of bus services, throwing many of them out of work. At £70 per week,the congestion charges are keeping the poor from driving around. Soon, the only motor vehicles to be seen in London, will be the limousines of the wealthy. London may then become a civilised place again and I might once again book a suite at Claridges.
Alternatively, they could look elsewhere for drivers to do the jobs. With 7 weeks to go, there is quite enough time to sack the current lot and recruit and train some new ones. A Mr Schwalbe, from Doncaster, claims to have applied for over 200 jobs, without success, as he has too many qualifications. He looks just the sort of chappie that they should be employing.
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