London-wide + Bexley stories
Blackheath Bonfire Night passengers should check for overcharging
4 January 2012 - 9:31pm — AdministratorThe South London Press reports on the overcharging suffered by many passengers who travelled from Blackheath station after the fireworks display on 5th November - when station staff taped over the card readers at the station.
Caroline commented:
"Many would be unaware they had been overcharged and, for those who were, the onus was on them to collect the overcharged amount.
"It beggars belief Southeastern merely taped over the Oyster readers leading to so many people being overcharged on their Oyster cards."
River Thames is a great opportunity for transport
23 December 2011 - 8:55pm — Administrator
The River Thames is a forgotten highway, a tube line effectively, across the centre of London and yet under-resourced in terms of transport.
In January, the London Assembly Transport Committee is looking into river transport services - so Caroline and other Committee members spent a chilly morning in early December out and about on the river with Thames Clippers from Putney to Erith, looking at the challenges and opportunities to really expand river transport services for Londoners.
Assembly demands answers over passengers' Southeastern ordeal
1 July 2011 - 4:57pm — AdministratorThe London Assembly’s Transport Committee, led by Caroline Pidgeon has written to Southeastern trains seeking an explanation for the severe delays yesterday evening, and how passengers – some of whom left the train and walked along the tracks to escape the sweltering conditions – will be compensated.
A broken down train in Dartford caused significant delays to Southeastern services during the evening rush hour, and left passengers on one train stuck just outside Bexleyheath for almost two hours on the hottest day of the year.
Greenwich Council lets down pedestrians and cyclists with yet more delays
10 June 2011 - 8:44pm — Administrator
The full reopening of Greenwich foot tunnel has been delayed once again, with users facing night time closures and no lifts throughout the Summer until September. At the same time work on the Woolwich foot tunnel, which has been completely closed since last year, is not set to be finished until August.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, discovered this information buried away on Greenwich Council’s website. The explanation for the six-month delay to the Greenwich foot tunnel is put down on the website to “additional works and problems with materials used in the repairs.” At present, no information at all has been provided by Greenwich Council about why the works at Woolwich foot tunnel are so far behind schedule.
Making London's roads safer for cyclists
30 May 2011 - 3:39pm — Administrator
Caroline Pidgeon is continuing to support action to tackle the high number of accidents and fatalities that face cyclists on London's roads. London faces an especially serious problem with accidents involving collisions between lorries and cyclists at junctions.
A recent question asked by Caroline to the Mayor revealed that in 2009 six cyclists were killed on London's roads in accidents involving a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV), and with a further two cyclists killed in accidents involving a refuse lorry and a cement mixer. In 2010 there were two cyclists killed in accidents involving vehicles and two further two fatal collisions including a skip lorry and a cement truck.
Caroline has already given her full support to the campaign by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) for better training for lorry drivers and recently received the petition that had already gathered more than 10,000 signatures. Read more information about the campaign here.
More underhand fare rises from the Mayor and TfL
26 May 2011 - 10:54pm — AdministratorThe BBC reports on the 5% rises that Transport for London has imposed on off-peak Railcard fares without warning.
Caroline told the BBC:
Boris Johnson has real form in pushing through fare rises in an underhand way.
He has already been caught red handed over his attempt to sneak through fare rises as high as 74% by abolishing Zone 2-6 Travelcards this year.
I am not aware of previous mid-year fare increases and think it is extraordinary that this has been sneaked out.
The mayor should publish his fare proposals for all fares for the year ahead and fully consult Londoners on his plans.
Southeastern's Olympic cuts to train services challenged
15 May 2011 - 5:50pm — AdministratorCaroline Pidgeon has sharply criticised Southeastern's plans to scale back local train services during the 2012 Games. Commenting on Southeastern's proposals to reduce the frequency of some train services and to even remove some stations from their timetable, Caroline said:
"Ensuring more people can get into London to visit Olympic venues will of course create challenges for Southeastern, however Southeastern's approach to tackling these challenges is completely wrong. Putting on extra carriages and extra staff at stations is the best way to ensure that the needs of local commuters and visitors are both met, while ensuring a reliable service is also maintained.
"Southeastern must listen to the outrage they have created amongst residents in Greenwich and Deptford and back down over their completely daft proposals."
Why are Southeastern repeating the same mistakes again?
5 December 2010 - 8:51pm — AdministratorCaroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the widespread failure of Southeastern to provide accurate information to its passengers over the last two days of snowfall, including many of its information boards at its stations not even working, said:
“Back in January during the two days of snow Southeastern passengers faced a double whammy of a much reduced train service combined with an appalling lack of useful information being provided by the train company.
Thames Clipper cuts will hit thousands of travellers
28 October 2010 - 10:12pm — AdministratorCaroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the much reduced Clipper commuter service which will operate from Monday 1st November, said:
“Today you can jump on a Clipper boat just before midnight at the Embankment and travel down the Thames to Bankside, Blackfriars, London Bridge, Canary Wharf, Greenwich and Woolwich. Yet from Monday simply getting home will become a real struggle for many people when they suddenly discover that the last boat now leaves as early as 9.10 pm.
Both the Tube and Crossrail are essential for London
18 May 2009 - 8:31pm — Administrator
On Friday 15th May, Caroline attended an event to witness the start of the construction of Crossrail with the Mayor of London and Prime Minister.
© Caroline Pidgeon 2012. Printed (hosted) by Tsohost Ltd, 3 The Meadows, Worlington, Suffolk IP28 8SH. Published and promoted by Caroline Pidgeon, c/o Liberal Democrats, 4 Cowley Street, London SW1P 3NB. The views expressed are those of Caroline Pidgeon, not the service provider.