TfL have started the bidding process for sponsors to get their company name on the new Thames cable car and stations. It's certainly a day for sponsorship stories - there've been protests about BP funding the National Portrait Gallery's prize, and now Diamond Geezer conjures images of The Wonga Dangleway or Vodafone, for the O2.
Sponsorship will definitely be needed - Caroline Pidgeon's just had confirmation, at Mayor's Question Time, that it's possible the £57m cost may be met by taxpayers.
(Sceptical thought: surely that amount of cash could be better ploughed into another part of the transport system?)
Given the outcry over the sheer visibility of the Barclays Cycle Hire sponsorship deal, it's amazing TfL are going that route again - though presumably it's the only way to pay for the thing. Do we really want a new cool transport toy badly enough to have the skies over Greenwich and the Royal Victoria Dock branded to buggery?
