Transport has been a dominant political and public funding issue in London for decades. The growth of the city's economy and population has created demands for new and improved services and to reduce congestion. Proposals have been made to build new railway and underground lines, though the process of delivering them has proved problematic and slow. Existing transport infrastructure has not been properly maintained. Governance arrangements have been reformed from time to time. The city must operate within the UK's centralized public finance model, which ensures a need for multi-level government decision-making. London cannot use the product of local taxation to re-invest in its own transport system. Consequently, there is only a weak, inconsistent, and under-researched approach to the delivery of such transport investment. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.
