Commenting on the news that TfL’s journey planner website is being upgraded to show walking options, Caroline Pidgeon, the transport spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat Group at the London Assembly, says: “If we want to encourage people to be greener and healthier we need to show quick walking alternatives. And especially, given the current economic situation, some routes are quicker to walk and also save money." At this month’s Mayor’s Question Time Caroline asked if TfL’s website could be amended to which the Mayor replied:
"TfL are currently developing a technical solution that will allow Londoners to personalise how Journey Planner responds to the enquiries they make. This will allow users to specify exactly what sort of responses they want, e.g. 'only give me walking options for journeys of less than 20 minutes and only public transport options for journeys longer than this'; 'always give walking and cycling options first'; etc. The technology being used can store these settings and it will automatically remember a user’s preferences when they return to the site."
Caroline says: “I hope these changes to what is on the whole an excellent website will encourage people to walk from A to B. It’s about time walking was recognised on this site as a method of transport.”