London-wide + Greenwich stories

Residents' cable car discounts - welcome but not nearly enough

Speaking to the Wharf newspaper as Transport For London announced discounts for Newham and Greenwich residents on the Thames cable car, Caroline Pidgeon said:

"Providing cheap travel on the cable car for Greenwich and Newham residents is obviously welcome news for people that live in these two boroughs, but this latest development will not be sufficient to turn around the dismal passenger figures for people using the cable car.

9 February 2014 - 8:14pm

Common sense over bikes on the DLR is welcome news

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on today’s announcement that Transport for London, will permanently permit bicycles on off-peak Docklands Light Railway trains said:

“This is an incredibly welcome decision. I am not surprised at all that the recent trial allowing non-folding bicycles on the DLR has been a success as there was no real argument to support the total prohibition of bikes being allowed on the DLR.

19 January 2014 - 7:00pm

Cable car usage is pitiful for a publicly funded project

As figures revealed that use of the Thames cable car has fallen nearly 50% compared to December 2012, Caroline Pidgeon, called for the service to be free for those whose travelcards include Zone Two, and said:

"Last week barely 2,000 people were using the cable car every day," she said. "The number of people using it has plummeted over the last year.

19 December 2013 - 10:23am

Cable car should go on top of the bonfire of Mayor's vanity projects

Commenting on the latest cable car passenger figures for the Thames cable car which show that weekly passenger figures are dramatically lower than a year ago Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group said:

“If there was a bonfire of Mayoral vanity schemes the cable car deserves to be put at the very top.”

10 November 2013 - 12:19am

Greenwich Council owes foot tunnel users an apology

Responding to a report investigating the causes of the 3-year overrun in the project to refurbish the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels, Caroline Pidgeon said: "Finally some information has come to light as to why the upgrades to the tunnels took so long and incredibly are still in such a poor condition.

"Reading the report it does seem that fault lies equally with Greenwich Council and the contractors.

"Greenwich Council must now apologise to the tens of thousands of pedestrians and cyclists who rely on these tunnels but were never kept properly informed while the disruption over the tunnel closures dragged on over such a long period of time."

27 October 2013 - 6:08pm

Cable car usage falls by half

Commenting on figures showing that usage of the Thames cable car has halved compared to a year ago, Caroline Pidgeon said:

"After 16 months of operating the latest passenger figures for the cable car speak for themselves. It is increasingly clear that the longer it is in existence the fewer people want to use it as it is currently run.

"The Mayor of London, who is chair of Transport for London, should now be honest with Londoners and decide what its future should be.

"If the cable car is to have any success in the long term it should either be run and operated as a privately run tourist attraction, or instead operated as an integral form of public transport, where people with a Travelcard or a relevant pass can use it for free."

29 September 2013 - 7:22pm

Caroline meets Greenwich Lib Dems

Caroline was delighted to be the guest speaker at a Greenwich Lib Dems fundraiser on Monday 3rd June.

Caroline joined lots of members to enjoy a curry and drink followed by a detailed discussion on lots of issues form transport to police and fire cuts.

“It was great to meet so many members both old and new to discuss local issues in Greenwich. The saga of the foot tunnels, plans for river crossings and the Mayor’s plans for an airport in the estuary were all issues of concern”, commented Caroline.

16 June 2013 - 11:22pm

Cable car is still failing Londoners

Commenting on figures from TfL showing that the Thames cable car has been closed 69 times between July 2012 and April 2013 - not including a week's planned closure in March, Caroline Pidgeon commented:

"These figures show just how unreliable the Thames cable car is as a form of public transport.

"If a year ago anyone suggested that the Thames cable car would have to close for over 216 hours in its first nine months of operating they would be accused of wild scaremongering.

15 June 2013 - 8:00am

DLR bike trial is long overdue

Commenting on the news that the DLR will allow bikes on board off-peak trains for a six-month trial starting in July, Liberal Democrat London Assembly leader Caroline Pidgeon said:

"There has never been a convincing case for a blanket bike ban throughout the day on the DLR. This trial is both welcome as well as long overdue.”

Read the full story here at the Evening Standard.

9 June 2013 - 8:57pm

Good news for south-east London on Crossrail

Commenting on the news that funding has been very nearly agreed for the £75m Crossrail station in Woolwich, Caroline Pidgeon commented:

“If an agreement is close to finally being reached for the funding of a Crossrail Woolwich station, that is clearly great news. The failure to deliver a station would be an absolute betrayal for people in south-east London, denying them the improved transport links and economic benefits that Crossrail is set to bring to so many other places.”

24 May 2013 - 7:13pm

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