Campaigners demand action to save London Transport Museum
Today members of the public are taking their concerns about the future of London Transport Museum direct to its board of trustees.
Transport for London and central government cuts have left the Museum with an annual shortfall of £2.5 million, casting doubt on the Museum’s ability to survive. Education and outreach posts have already been slashed and the trustees will today be considering further proposals that have alarmed both Museum staff and its supporters.
Manuel Cortes, General Secretary of the TSSA union which represents staff at the Museum, said:
“Swingeing cuts have left the Museum starved of crucial income and mean that its future as an accessible, welcoming venue for Londoners and visitors alike is seriously threatened.
The entrance fee has recently been hiked and further increases have not been ruled out. The future of the school visits programme, which has enabled hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren to learn about transport safety, has not been guaranteed.”
Union members and community activists will be presenting letters to trustees asking them to make responsible decisions that will safeguard the Museum’s future. Afterwards, the public will be leafleted outside the Museum entrance in Covent Garden Piazza to draw attention to the Museum’s plight.
This week hundreds of members of the public have emailed the trustees, asking them to support measures to ensure that the Museum properly funded.
A letter recently published in the Guardian calling the cuts an ‘act of cultural vandalism’ and asking Mayor of London Boris Johnson to properly fund the Museum was signed by transport commentator Christian Wolmar and broadcaster Tony Robinson among others.
Camden Trades Council 