Whether you are talking about roads, rail, tubes or trams, transport is the hottest topic around. The Government has promised a £180 billion cash injection which commuters are praying will get congestion choked Britain moving again. But what does it all mean for Barnet? JENI CONNIBEER investigates

John 'two Jags' Prescott is no longer at war with the motor car. He has promised to clear the backlog of road repairs and widen motorways as well as putting money into tubes, trains and buses.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has pledged to freeze bus fares and keep tube fare increases within inflation and Gordon Brown has coughed up £3.2billion for public transport in London over the next three years.

Things are definitely looking up.

Or are they? Some transport gurus are not so sure.

'I am a bit sceptical,' said Colindale resident Stan Davison, secretary of the Capital Transport Campaign.

'If all this money goes into prestige projects it won't work. There's simply got to be an overall development that doesn't shift one massive problem into another massive problem,' he said.

And he is not too keen on Mr Livingstone's pet project of congestion charges in the capital.

'They will hit the poor motorist and if that was to happen, without a better bus and tube system it would be a disgrace,' he said.

Mr Davison has been campaigning for better public transport since his days working for London Transport in the Seventies.

'This area badly needs some investment in the bus system. They need to be stricter about enforcing bus lanes and making the service more attractive,' he added.

'Trams would also be an excellent way of spending the money. There used to be trams on the Edgware Road and it would be a perfect place to have them again.'

Much of the initial money for London ,, £218million in the first year ,, will go on projects already underway, leaving Ken Livingstone furious that new schemes will have to be put on hold.

But in the longer term, the Government is hopeful that motorways serving the capital will be widened, local transport will be improved and tube and train services will get back on track.

Green Party activist Miranda Dunn of Finchley said the money should be spent on improving bus services and cycle routes.

'I would like to see cycle paths along Regents Park Road and Ballards Lane. If you are going to make a major difference in air quality and how people live their lives, you have to put paths where they are going to be of use and not just on the quiet back roads,' she said.

Ms Dunn, who was Barnet's Green Party candidate for the GLA elections, also believes the bus service needs a major overhaul. 'It needs to be expanded, particularly for community needs. Services to hospitals are not good enough.'

Barnet Transport Users' Association has been lobbying for better bus and tube services for years.

'There are a number of bus routes that we watch closely because the service is not up to standard,' said secretary Jack Welby.

The association also keeps a close eye on the tube, which now carries more than 20 million passengers every week.

'We also get dozens of complaints about the tube. The Northern Line has improved but there are still too many delays. And they put too much priority on central London, passengers from the outskirts get a rough ride,' said Jack who is not optimistic about Prescott's cash injection.

'So much needs to be done and there is no guarantee this money is going anywhere. We see it as just electioneering.'

Barnet and Camden GLA member Brian Coleman agrees. 'London has been stuffed on the transport bill. The money allocation is more about providing by-passes in marginal constituencies,' he said.

'Barnet needs signalling and station improvements on the Northern Line and at British Rail stations, particularly New Southgate.

'What it doesn't need is more traffic calming. Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent on calming in Barnet and it's an absolute waste of money.'