Police station sales should be used to address housing crisis
Writing for the MayorWatch website, Caroline Pidgeon discusses the beginning of the Metropolitan Police's sale of former police stations.
Caroline concludes:
In the news articles
Mayor must respond swiftly to Cycle Superhighways safety concerns
The London Assembly motion has called on Mayor Boris Johnson to take swift action to make cycle routes in London as safe as possible, including responding fully to criticisms made during the inquests into the deaths of cyclists Brian Dorling and Philippine de Gerin-Ricard.
Following criticism from police and other witnesses, Coroner Mary Hassell expressed concerns over the safety of Cycle Superhighway 2 in a Prevention of Future Deaths report, which stated that she felt “there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken”.
Mayor needs to give guarantees on Oyster fares
As a pilot of "wave and pay" technology on the Tube approaches, Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Lib Dem London Assembly Group, said:
“It is time the Mayor gave some clear answers on how wave and pay technology will finally be rolled out across the Tube, DLR, trams and Overground.
“He needs to clarify his long-term vision for Oyster and ensure its fares always stay the cheapest available.”
Cancelling pedestrians' day is a bitter disappointment
Commenting on the news that the "Very Important Pedestrians" day, where West End shopping streets are closed to traffic, has been cancelled, Caroline Pidgeon said:
"After a decade of growing success, it is bitterly disappointing that VIP Day is not taking place this year.
"Every year, tills have been ringing out as tens of thousands of extra customers have flooded into the West End to take advantage of streets free from noisy and polluting vehicles.
"Far from ending VIP Day, we should be building upon it."
Battle for GLA openness is far from over
Welcoming the news that the GLA will publish almost all of its previously secret contracts, Caroline Pidgeon cautioned:
“It has been a long fight but the Mayor’s response to the repeated calls by the London Assembly for far more information to be placed in the public domain over contracts signed at City Hall is incredibly welcome.
Tube passengers will lose 20 million hours this year
On the release of figures showing the millions of hours already lost this year to Tube passengers during service delays, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“The one thing that is definitely on schedule is that London will see 20 million lost customer hours on the Tube by the end of the year.
“While this figure might be an improvement on the appalling previous years’ figures it is still a staggering waste of time for hard pressed passengers.
Cable car usage falls by half
Commenting on figures showing that usage of the Thames cable car has halved compared to a year ago, Caroline Pidgeon said:
"After 16 months of operating the latest passenger figures for the cable car speak for themselves. It is increasingly clear that the longer it is in existence the fewer people want to use it as it is currently run.
"The Mayor of London, who is chair of Transport for London, should now be honest with Londoners and decide what its future should be.
"If the cable car is to have any success in the long term it should either be run and operated as a privately run tourist attraction, or instead operated as an integral form of public transport, where people with a Travelcard or a relevant pass can use it for free."
Bring part-time season tickets to the Tube and Overground
As Transport Minister Norman Baker announced a trial of a part-time season ticket on a National Rail route, Lib Dem London Assembly leader Caroline Pidgeon has called for the scheme to be extended to Transport for London services such as the Tube and Overground.
Caroline said:
"It is simply wrong that people who work part-time are penalised because the fare structure is so rigidly based around people who work a conventional five day a week.
"A part-time travelcard would also do wonders to reduce overcrowding on the Tube."
New London buses - staggering costs and broken promises
Responding to the costs of the new "Routemaster" replacement buses in London as revealed by a Freedom of Information request, Caroline Pidgeon, deputy chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, told the Huffington Post:
“The Mayor of London first promised Londoners that the research and design costs of the new bus for London would be picked up by private business.
"The reality is that over £400,000 of public money was spent on design costs alone and the first eight buses cost taxpayers a staggering £11 million.
New £1m "Routemasters" are a waste of public money
Caroline Pidgeon told the BBC's Tom Edwards - after learning that passengers on some of the Mayor's new "Routemaster replacements" will not be able to get on and off the bus between stops:
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