After pressing Thames Water to pay compensation for the extreme transport disruption caused by a burst pipe on 1st August, Caroline Pidgeon commented:
Thames Water should stop playing legal games and accept that they were responsible for the havoc faced by thousands of passengers.
After her question to Boris Johnson revealed that TfL has had nearly £300,000 worth of metal stolen in the last three years, Caroline Pidgeon told the Evening Standard:
The increasing amount of metal theft from TfL property is a bill Londoners can least afford. This theft is also inconveniencing bus users and potentially creating safety risks on the tube.
This is far from a victimless crime and it must be tackled.
Speaking to the Evening Standard about the Mayor's plans for fare evasion fines to rise to £80, Caroline Pidgeon backed the plans but commented:
Boris Johnson promised Londoners that he would cut fare fraud, especially on buses.
Sadly, after being Mayor of London for more than three years it is crystal clear that he has totally failed to tackle this issue.
The fact that fare evasion, especially on buses, increased last year under Boris Johnson is shameful.
New evidence has come to light of Greenwich Council’s appalling record in communicating with the 1.5 million people who have used Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels every year.
After extended delays in re-opening both the tunnels, along with repeated incidents of inaccurate information being provided, Greenwich Council is now claiming via their website that Woolwich Foot Tunnel will finally re-open to the public by the end of this month. However, at the same time, at the entrance to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel there are public signs saying the foot tunnel will only re-open in Spring 2012.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s plans to start from today a 12-week consultation on plans for a lane rental scheme that should give utility companies an economic incentive to complete roadworks more quickly, said:
“For over three years the Mayor has been talking about forcing utility companies to ‘hire’ the road while at the same time overlooking steps he could have already taken to reduce congestion across London.
A new name for Blackfriars Station would provide exciting new opportunities for the Bankside area, predict Caroline Pidgeon and Simon Hughes.
Commenting at the start of a Network Rail consultation for a potential new name to Blackfriars station, Caroline said:
“It is time to put Bankside on the map! Including Bankside in the station’s name would really help attract far more tourists and visitors to the area and lead to more money being spent locally. It would be good for businesses and good for local residents."
Local people in the Gooshays Drive area of Harold Hill have long been campaigning for a bus shelter to enable better accessibility for older and disabled bus users. The issue was recently brought Caroline's attention by local residents and Lib Dem campaigners, and Caroline raised this with Transport for London, asking if a shelter could possibly be installed.
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, is calling for a number of key assurances from the Mayor, Transport for London and the developers Treasury Holdings over the proposed extension of the Northern Line to Nine Elms and Battersea.
In a detailed submission to the public consultation, Caroline Pidgeon sets out Route 2 as the preferred option, due to the benefits it would bring for people living around the Nine Elms area, while also reducing pressure at Vauxhall station and on the Victoria line.
Yet while backing Route 2, Caroline sets out a number of concerns which must be addressed:
After years of disruption on the Jubilee Line new evidence has come to light revealing some of the real costs of the years of dragged out weekend closures.
Following extensive freedom of information requests Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, has now discovered that the costs of the weekend closures since April 2007 on the Jubilee Line include:
Commenting on these immense figures Caroline Pidgeon said:
“A year ago the Mayor and Transport for London admitted that the upgrade programme on the Jubilee Line would slip once again. After years of disruption to passengers, communities and businesses they announced a further year of weekend closures which has only just finished.
With the final East London Line (ELL extension) coming under budget, Caroline Pidgeon has called for the cancelled station at Surrey Canal to be reinstated.
A recent Transport for London report has revealed that "phase two" work on the line is expected to come in more than £4 million under budget.
The new section of the line from Surrey Quays will run through Peckham to Clapham Junction from late 2012. It will connect to the main section of the line which already runs from north London, through Southwark, Lewisham and onto Croydon.
