Today's discussion came from our archives and was recorded in February of 2023. Our talk is hosted by Ed Dodson, who joined our guest, Mr. Dave Wetzel.
Dave Wetzel has had a long career in transportation, working as a bus conductor and official in the 1960s. Shortly after, Mr. Wetzel became a political organizer of the London Co-operative Society between 1974 and 1981. He was elected as a Labour member for Hammersmith and Fulham on the Greater London Council in 1981 and served as the Chair of the Transport Committee. Mr. Wetzel also served on Hounslow Borough Council, acting as the leader in the late 80s and early 90s. Dave was Vice Chair of Transport for London between 2000 and 2008 and Chair of London Buses from 2000 to 2001.
London has long had an issue with congestion and transportation. Often, policy-makers take a top-down approach to implementation and steamroll over the issues most important to the people impacted by these policies. As a transportation leader for the city, Dave fostered collaboration and consensus-building when making plans and procedures regarding transportation. One of the pitfalls of technocracy, a society or government run by experts, is that the people most impacted by policy choices are left out of the decision-making process. This will, in turn, fail to address the structural inequalities being addressed since the people with the most knowledge about them aren’t able to correct these problems
Mr. Wetzel was educated at Southall Technical College, Ealing College, and at the Henry George School of Social Science.
This week we discussed how Mr. Wetzel’s experience impacted his time as a transportation leader, the implications of Russian imperialism and their conflict with Ukraine, and got into the weeds of London’s transportation policy.
To check out more of our content, including our research
and policy tools, visit our website: https://www.hgsss.org/
