London-wide + Havering stories

Assembly urges Mayor to rethink Tube ticket office staff cuts

The London Assembly has called on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to rethink plans to cull up to 800 jobs on the Underground because of the adverse affects for passengers.

The Assembly believes the proposed cuts will damage customer service and leave passengers feeling less safe at stations where only one member of staff is present, particularly early in the morning and late at night.

Ticket office hours will be reduced, forcing people into long queues for ticket machines. This will especially disadvantage passengers with disabilities who find it difficult to use the machines and who rely on Underground staff for assistance when travelling by Tube.

Questioning the Mayor on cycle hire glitches

The BBC reports on the Mayor's responses to questioning from Caroline Pidgeon AM, the London Assembly Lib Dem leader, revealing the impact of glitches in the launch of the cycle hire scheme.

Question: Has any money been returned to Barclays since the start of the scheme for any reason?

Answer from the Mayor: The Barclays Cycle Hire sponsor agreement does incorporate measures to reflect the success of the scheme. The precise details however are commercially sensitive.
 
 

Why is the Mayor paying £500 a second for celebrity bike videos?

The BBC report on their website that written questions from Lib Dem London Assembly leader Caroline Pidgeon forced the Mayor to admit that TfL has paid celebrities £5,000 each for 10-second appearances in videos to promote the cycle hire scheme.

Caroline says:

It is scandalous that the Mayor is splashing out our money on frivolous celebrity videos, paying them £500 a second, when Londoners are facing huge hikes in fares.

The Mayor needs to get a grip.

Read the full article here.

Transport for All’s protest against ticket office closures

Caroline joined members of Transport for All outside City Hall on Wednesday 8th September as they protested against the proposed cuts to staff at tube stations. The Mayor is looking to reduce ticket office opening hours by around 7500 hours every week across the capital, and up to 800 staff may lose their jobs.

“For many people with disabilities and those with other mobility issues, the idea of reduced staffing at stations is simply unacceptable. The suggestion that machines can substitute someone in a ticket office when, for example, you might have a problem with your Oyster card, or need a boundary ticket, is just wrong. I am very supportive of flexible staff who can be out in the ticket hall helping passengers and then go into the ticket office to issue a ticket and help with fares advice as needed. The Mayor and TfL need to rethink their plans now” commented Caroline Pidgeon AM.

Passengers and London’s economy pay a heavy price for unnecessary strike

Speaking ahead of the industrial action starting later this evening on the London Underground network, Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and Deputy Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said:

“This is a strike that should not be taking place. Both London Underground and the unions are guilty of failing to put passengers first.”

“For too London Underground have tried to claim that most ticket offices provide no useful purpose and that many stations sell fewer than 10 tickets an hour. In reality this only applies to eight stations. The savage reduction of office opening hours at 90% of ticket offices on the Tube network will inconvenience many passengers, especially disabled people and visitors to London. Some vulnerable people might even be deterred from using the tube.

“However the TSSA and RMT unions are failing to make their case to Tube passengers. Strike action will not help keep ticket office hours open. By striking they are just throwing away a great deal of goodwill from the traveling public.”

Put passengers first – Caroline Pidgeon urges both sides to back down over dispute on ticket office closures

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and deputy chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, commenting on the news that talks have broken down between London Underground and the unions with a series of strikes now expected to start on Monday, said:

“There are legitimate concerns about TfL's plans to slash the opening hours at so many ticket offices across the Tube network, but taking strike action is not the way forward. The unions are running the risk of losing all public sympathy on this issue.

London Underground ticket offices facing savage reduction of 7458 hours every week

Research by Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, has revealed London Underground are planning to close ticket offices across the underground by 7458 hours every week.

Responding to London Underground’s defence of the reduced hours and their repeated claim that all tube stations with a ticket office will continue to have one, Caroline Pidgeon said:

“London Underground and the Mayor are playing with words when they keep peddling the claim that no ticket office will actually close. The harsh reality is that if you can’t access a ticket office for most hours of the day it is effectively closed.

“Ticket office staff carry out many tasks to help customers, with their duties going far beyond just serving tickets. If staff numbers are severely reduced at 9 out of 10 stations it will become far more difficult for staff to help disabled and vulnerable customers and other people who need assistance including visitors.

“London Underground's simplistic portrayal of many ticket offices being quiet places where few tickets are actually sold overlooks the vital service and safety that staffed ticket offices provide. If the plans were to allow ticket office staff to go in and out of the office, depending on the needs at a station, and without a reduction in staff numbers that would help to improve customer services. But to simply cut ticket office hours and take away so many frontline staff makes no sense. In the end it is passengers who will lose out.”

Mayor must be open about plans for 2011 fare rises

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and Deputy Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, commenting on the publication today of July’s inflation rate which is used as the basis for setting fares on London's transport network for the next year, said:

“Although the slight easing in the UK inflation rate for July is welcome I am seriously concerned that the Mayor of London could use this figure to hike up fares on London transport next year.

Bike hire scheme is tremendous - but Boris and Ken should be honest

In an article for the Liberal Democrat Voice website, Caroline Pidgeon warmly welcomes the new London bike hire scheme as a "tremendous idea", while pointing out that Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone are eager to take more credit for it then they deserve:

Despite its launch being associated with quite a number of problems – including a highly complex registration process, and a number of cyclists being overcharged – no one can deny that the scheme is proving incredibly popular. And let’s be realistic, no major scheme ever starts without at least some minor teething problems. Of course I will be chasing hard until these glitches are resolved, and they certainly must be, but the bottom line is that the bike hire scheme is a tremendous idea. Especially if the scheme is expanded it has the potential to help reduce congestion and pollution as well as making it easier for Londoners, visitors and tourists to get around the capital at very little cost. Most significantly it could play a vital role in transforming the status of cycling...

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