London-wide + Bromley stories

Copers Cope Road needs a pedestrian crossing

South London train passengers have suffered enough – reverse cuts for access improvements

South London train passengers have suffered enough and should not face further delays to access improvements to train stations, is the message that Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon has sent to Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport.

Just before Christmas and so far unnoticed by most people the Government finally admitted that they were delaying the installation of lifts and other vital access improvements to 26 train stations across England and Wales, seven of them in south London alone.

Mayor’s plans for London transport network may not be what they seem

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on Transport for London’s new Business Plan, said:

“There is much in this new Business Plan that is very welcome, such as the commitment to continued upgrades to the Tube, the extension of the Bakerloo Line and a pedestrian and cycle bridge linking Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf.

“The reduction on TfL’s reliance on expensive agency staff is certainly long overdue. Tackling this is something I long urged TfL to address.”

Out and about in Bromley

Caroline joined Bromley Liberal Democrats campaigning to save our community policing on 28th November in Orpington.

The team handed out campaign newspapers and talked to local shoppers about the threat to PCSOs and our Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Caroline and the team also collected signatures on their petition to save our local policing teams.

Bakerloo Line extension progress is a great Christmas present for SE London

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on Transport for London’s confirmation that it will be taking further steps to extend the Bakerloo Line to Elephant and Castle and Lewisham via Old Kent Road, with detailed technical work starting in 2016, said:

Mayor must now come clean over plans for Night Buses

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on the announcement that the launch of the Night Tube has been deferred, said:

"This is a big climb down for the Mayor. His retreat is entirely due to his error in setting a specific start date before all the staffing arrangements and other issues had been settled.

"By pushing for a set start date the Mayor strengthened the union’s negotiating position.

One Hour Bus Ticket: a long-standing focus for Caroline and the Lib Dems

Dave Hill's London blog in the Guardian looks at the proposal by potential Labour mayoral candidate Christian Wolmar for a bus ticket valid over multiple journeys for an hour - and points out that this has been a long-standing policy of Caroline Pidgeon and the London Assembly Liberal Democrats:

Upsurge in lift problems at Tube stations harms freedom to travel

Caroline Pidgeon's questions to the Mayor have revealed that between 2013 and 2014, the hours lost due to lift closures on the Tube have risen by 50%, harming the freedom to travel of disabled people and those who depend on step-free access. The main reason was the lack of available trained staff to operate lifts.

Caroline said:

Step-free access to half London's stations is not enough

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on today’s announcement that half of TfL’s rail and Underground stations will be step-free by 2018, said:

“Any progress on making more TfL rail and Underground stations step-free is obviously welcome.

“However we can hardly be complacent when the reality is that in three years’ time half of all TfL rail and Underground will still be permanently inaccessible to disabled people and the many other people who require step free access.”

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