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Peter John Ford, CBE (born 21 November 1938) was Executive Chairman of P&O European Ferries and North Sea Ferries in the 1970 and 1980s, and Chairman of London Regional Transport from 1994 until 1998.

History

Townsend Thoresen and P&O

Ford was Chairman of Townsend Thoresen at the time of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987. Following the disaster, Ford was criticised for underestimating the number of people killed in the disaster.

London Transport

Ford was appointed as Chairman of London Regional Transport (LT) in September 1994, replacing Sir Wilfrid Newton. During Ford's tenure, the number of passengers on London Underground and London Buses continued to rise – however cuts by the Treasury of £375m and cost overruns of £500m on the Jubilee Line Extension project increased the maintenance backlog on the Underground and worsened LT's financial position.

In April 1998, amid furore over the potential imposition of Public private partnership (PPP) on London Underground, Ford was removed as Chairman of LT by then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott due to his opposition to PPP. Following this, Ford was highly critical of the government’s plan during a select committee, stating that "It’s going to be very difficult to make it work, and I think there is a very big element of uncertainty about the whole thing". Ford was replaced as Chairman by Sir Malcolm Bates – one of the architects behind the PPP.

Ford received a golden handshake of £350,000 – the balance of his contract. He was made a CBE in June 1998.

See also

• List of heads of public transport authorities in London

References

1. ^ Taylor, Lynda King. (29 February 2012). Corporate excellence in the year 2000 : a framework for success. London. ISBN 978-1-4481-3575-2. OCLC 1004976204.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
2. "Ford, Peter John, (born 21 Nov. 1938), Chairman, London Transport, 1994–98". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U16096. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
3. Markham, James M.; Times, Special To the New York (8 March 1987). "AS FERRY SURVIVORS WEEP, 408 ARE SAFE IN BELGIUM; 51 Dead and 84 Missing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
4. "The day death swept in through Herald's open doors". The Independent. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
5. "London Regional Transport Bill (Hansard, 13 March 1996)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
6. Prescott, John (22 April 1998). "London Underground - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
7. "Cash-cuts threat to Tube services under threat". The Independent. 20 February 1997. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
8. ^ Seldon, Anthony (2007). Blair's Britain, 1997–2007. Cambridge University Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-1139468985.
9. Oliver, Antony (23 April 1998). "Capital risk". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
10. "Underground split could cost £1bn". Railway Gazette. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
11. Wolmar, Christian. (2002). Down the tube : the battle for London's underground. London: Aurum. ISBN 1-85410-872-7. OCLC 50402287.
12. "Queen's Birthday honours 1998". The Independent. 13 June 1998. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2020.

v t e Heads of public transport authorities in London
London Passenger Transport Board	Lord Ashfield (1933–1947) Lord Latham (1947)
London Transport Executive	Lord Latham (1948–1953) Sir John Elliot (1953–1959) Sir Alexander Valentine (1959–1963)
London Transport Board	Sir Alexander Valentine (1963–1965) Sir Maurice Holmes (1965–1969)
London Transport Executive	Sir Richard Way (1970–1975) Sir Kenneth Robinson (1975–1978) Ralph Bennett (1978–1980) Sir Peter Masefield (1980-1982) Sir Keith Bright (1982–1984)
London Regional Transport	Sir Keith Bright (1984–1988) Sir Neil Shields (1988–1989) Sir Wilfrid Newton (1989–1994) Peter Ford (1994–1998) Sir Malcolm Bates (1999–2001) Bob Kiley (2001) Sir Malcolm Bates (2001–2003)
Transport for London	Bob Kiley (2000–2006) Sir Peter Hendy (2006–2015) Mike Brown (2015–2020) Andy Byford (2020–2022) Andy Lord (2023–present)
London transport portal

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