Transport articles

Mayor should honour his pledge to deliver a better train service for Londoners

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, today called on the Mayor of London to look at whether Transport for London could take over the running of certain rail routes serving Londoners.

Following her questioning of the Mayor at City Hall she said:

“There is a chasm between what the Mayor promised train commuters before he was elected and the harsh reality facing so many commuters each and every day.

Boris’ obsession with a new airport must now be challenged

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s latest call at City Hall for a new airport covering London and the South East said:

“The coalition government has ruled out a third Heathrow runway or a further airport in the south east. Boris Johnson should now be slapped down by the Government for his ongoing comments, which are helping no one.

Lib Dems fight for Ealing Broadway station upgrade

Crossrail's latest design proposals for Ealing Broadway station would delay the station completion by at least two years and downgrade the planned station by removng the three planned escalators and two new footbridges planned across the tracks.

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the London Assembly Liberal Democrat Group and Vice Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee came to Ealing Broadway last week to see for herself what this could mean for Ealing Broadway station.

City Airport’s expansion means increased misery for many more Londoners

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on today’s Judicial Review decision upholding Newham Council’s decision to significantly expand London City Airport said:

"Many people in east and south east London are already facing serious problems with noise and disturbance from air flights. Today's decision provides the green light to increased misery for many more Londoners.

New London bus is costing Londoners dearly

Caroline Pidgeon, commenting on the replies from the Mayor of London and the Commissioner for Transport for London, following her questioning today about the value of money of the new bus for London said:

"Despite spending a staggering £7.5 million there will be just five of these new buses on the roads by the time Boris Johnson’s term of office comes to an end. Boris Johnson promised far more to Londoners.

Mayor’s meddling on aviation is helping no one

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, speaking ahead of the Mayor’s seminar on the “need” for increased aviation capacity in London and the South East, said:

"Boris Johnson's position on airports is full of contradictions. He opposed the expansion of City Airport in his election, yet once in office he has been happy to support its substantial expansion. He has also spent the last two years backing the fantasy idea of an airport in the Thames Estuary - uniting every council and environmental group against him.

Veiled threats from the Mayor will not keep London moving

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Boris Johnson’s threat to introduce driverless trains on the London Underground, said:

“Instead of baiting the unions with veiled threats the Mayor needs to find a way to work with the unions to put an end to unnecessary strikes and to keep London moving".

Olympic transport will not be as easy as the organisers hope

The Telegraph covers the advice by the 2012 Olympics organising committee that commuters should stay at home and avoid public transport during the Games, despite polls showing that 80% of Londoners plan to be in the city as normal.

Caroline Pidgeon comments:

Instead of relying on many commuters staying at home or avoiding London we need assurance that plans are in place and the transport network will be able to cope to prevent gridlock across the capital.

I fear travel will not be as easy as they hope.

You can read the full article here.

Visiting Bank to investigate overcrowding issues

Caroline Pidgeon AM visited Bank station on Thursday 6th January to meet with Howard Collins and other senior staff from London Underground to look at issues with dealing with rush hour at the station. Caroline was caught up in an emergency evacuation from Bank station at rush hour in the autumn of 2010 and experienced some serious issues with a lack of signage and confusion created by such an evacuation.

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