Labour candidate Ken Livingstone today pledged to put pressure on the government to fund a £750 million extension of the DLR if he is elected on May 3.
Mr Livingstone said he wanted to boost the capital’s economy through new transport infrastructure projects in east London including running the DLR to Dagenham Dock.
The extension would include one new station in Newham and four in Barking and Dagenham.
Mr Livingstone said: “More than one in 10 Londoners are out of work. Boris Johnson’s inflation-busting fare increases, and his unwillingness to invest, mean there are huge surpluses. I will give the utmost priority to extending the DLR to Dagenham Dock.”
Val Shawcross, running as Labour deputy mayor, claimed that, since defeating Mr Livingstone, Mr Johnson had cancelled the Dagenham extension and cut 32 bus routes.
She added: “Boris Johnson has wasted millions on the world’s most expensive bus and a cable car while Londoners face overcrowded Tubes and trains and are forced to wait longer for buses.”
A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Boris Johnson has launched a raft of new bus routes and improved or expanded almost 200 so they better match demand and has secured £22 billion from Government to upgrade the Tube and deliver Crossrail.”