Greens criticise London gov't open source

London authorities have not done enough to make good on a central government commitment to use more open source, according to the Green Party.

London Assembly Green Party member Darren Johnson told ZDNet UK on Friday that various local London services had not done enough to follow the government's action plan on open source, first published in 2004.

The action plan stated that "government should seek to use open source where it gave the best value for money to the taxpayer in delivering public services."

However, Johnson said that various authorities, including Transport for London, could do more to promulgate open source software.

"TfL relies on a lot of technology, there is significant potential there, both in backend and front-end systems" said Johnson. "We think they need to be a bit more proactive."

In answer to a question put by Darren Johnson, London mayor Boris Johnson gave this answer:

"TfL acknowledges the potential for making significant savings, particularly if the Cabinet Office Open Source Action Plan is adopted successfully across the wider public sector. TfL eagerly awaits further direction as it emerges from Government."