Transport articles

Mile End plans offer little for cyclists

14 December 2012 - 9:33pm — Administrator

Proposed improvements to the Mile End Road and Burdett Road junction are totally inadequate and fail to provide any significant benefits for cyclists, claims Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and chair of the London Assembly’s transport committee.

Responding to Transport for London’s (TfL) consultation on the review of this junction, which is part of a wider exercise to review the safety of 100 junctions across London for cyclists, Caroline Pidgeon said:

“Quite frankly these proposals appear to be the weakest plans to have emerged from TfL’s junction review so far. The introduction of mandatory cycle lanes is welcome, but there is little else that will benefit cyclists. Indeed some of the changes will make the junction more intimidating and potentially even more dangerous."

‘Wave and Pay’ must give passengers the best deal, says London Assembly

14 December 2012 - 9:29pm — Administrator

The London Assembly today welcomed the introduction of 'wave and pay' cards on London's transport network, but warned that Transport for London must ensure that the new technology does not disadvantage any passengers.

In 2011, the London Assembly's Transport Committee published "The Future of Ticketing", which set out how 'Wave and Pay' could be made fair to all passengers and not disadvantage those who continue to use Oyster. The Assembly heard confirmation from TfL that it will review and act on its recommendations as the new technology is rolled out.

Cable car is little more than a tourist attraction

2 December 2012 - 5:06pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the latest figures for ridership on the cable car which show that daily ridership has fallen to as low as 301 passengers on one day and that just 16 Oyster card holders used the cable car more than five times in the week ending 21st October 2012 said:

“Outside of weekends and school holidays the passenger figures for the Thames cable car are pitiful. It is now increasingly clear that the Thames cable car is little more than a tourist attraction and not proving a useful link for people who regularly commute across the Thames.

“Of course if the Mayor had just been honest about this from the outset and honoured his claim that the scheme would be funded entirely from private funds there would be no complaints. But that is not what he promised Londoners.

“Having poured so much public money into the scheme the Mayor must now ensure it operates like an integral form of public transport. A good start would be to ensure that people with a relevant Travelcard are not charged again for using a publicly funded transport scheme.”

Gearing Up for a safe cycling city

22 November 2012 - 12:01am — Administrator

A report from the London Assembly Transport Committee, which is chaired by Caroline, warns that the number of cycling injuries on London’s roads has risen by 50 per cent since 2006 and recommends doubling funding for cycling and targets for the number of journeys made by bike.

Gearing Up calls on the Mayor to respond to falling cycle safety by prioritising ways to encourage more people on to bikes and reduce serious cycling incidents on London’s roads.

The Assembly’s recommendations to the Mayor, Transport for London (TfL) and the Government include:

Cable car needs to be a serious mode of transport

19 November 2012 - 11:44pm — Administrator

Speaking to the BBC about the extremely low passenger numbers on the Thames cable car, Caroline Pidgeon said:

"All we're seeing is a publicly funded tourist attraction rather than a serious mode of transport. What the Mayor now needs to do is to incorporate it in the Travelcard network, to make sure people are using it, rather than the handful that are today."

TfL's lack of ambition as superhighway stops short

19 November 2012 - 11:31pm — Administrator

Talking to the local 853 blog, Caroline Pidgeon criticised the lost opportunity to link Lewisham to central London with a cycle superhighway.

“Just one week after the Mayor and TfL were boasting about the new Victoria to Lewisham Superhighway we now discover that the plans have been seriously scaled back," said Caroline.

“The excuses for not linking the Superhighway to Lewisham show a total lack of ambition by Transport for London.

“This foolish decision suggests the Mayor of London is not really serious about introducing Dutch-style cycling infrastructure across London.”

You can read the full story here.

You can also read more at the News Shopper.

Mayor and TfL receive huge petition to keep King St bus stops

2 November 2012 - 12:57pm — Administrator

A petition with over 700 signatures has been sent to the Mayor of London, urging him to ensure that Richmond Council does not relocate bus stops away from King Street in Twickenham. As Chair of Transport for London, the Mayor of London has the ultimate authority to ensure that the TfL funded proposals are reconsidered.

The petition, which was started by Fulwell and Hampton Councillor Jerry Elloy, highlights the harm that moving the bus stops would have on many bus users.

Commenting on the need to retain the existing bus stops, Cllr Jerry Elloy said:

Junction redesigns must go further to make people safe

2 November 2012 - 12:43pm — Administrator

Transport for London’s junction review proposals for the Waterloo IMAX roundabout and the junction of Abbey Street and Tower Bridge Road do not go far enough to improve cycle and pedestrian safety and will fail to deliver a real step change in the way people travel predicts Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly.

Commenting on the proposals, Caroline said:
“While some of the changes are welcome they ultimately do not offer a real step change in the way that people will travel. For the occasional or nervous cyclist the Transport for London plans do not make cycling across Waterloo Roundabout or along Tower Bridge Road any more appealing.

£60m cable car has just 1400 regular users

26 October 2012 - 1:05am — Administrator

The Snipe London website reports that - as revealed by Caroline Pidgeon's question to the Mayor - only 1400 people have used the Greenwich-Newham cable car often enough to get the discount for frequent users.

Read the full article here.

Cycle hire is still wrongly charging users

26 October 2012 - 1:00am — Administrator

Speaking to the Money Saving Expert website on the risk of erroneous cycle hire charges, Caroline Pidgeon said:
"The scheme is not 100% reliable and I have been contacted by dozens of people who after inserting their bank or credit card have being wrongly charged, sometimes by £150."