London-wide + Kensington and Chelsea stories

Small businesses cannot afford congestion charge delay

The harmful effects of the western extension of the congestion charging zone were seen at first hand by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, on her recent visit to the Portobello area. The fact-finding visit was organised by local Liberal Democrat campaigner Carol Caruana, who was keen to update the London Assembly on the impact of the extension on local shops and market stallholders.

After the visit Caroline commented:
“For a long time I have been aware of the harmful effects of the congestion charge extension, however there is no substitute for seeing first hand the harmful impact it is having. Trader after trader told me how they lost business since the congestion charge was extended. The congestion charge extension could not end sooner for businesses in this area.

14 February 2009 - 9:59pm

Mayor hits Freedom Pass holders with double whammy

Pensioners and eligible disabled people in London were today hit by a double whammy as the Mayor of London Boris Johnson revealed that not only would their 24-hour Freedom Pass not be able to be used on Network Rail trains before 9.30am, despite this being a key election promise, but that the London Boroughs face paying out millions of pounds to fund Mayor Boris Johnson's 24-hour commitment.

18 December 2008 - 9:03pm

Congestion Charge extension should be got rid of as soon as possible

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon today joined in the calls for the western extension of the congestion charge to be abandoned earlier than 2010, which Mayor of London Boris Johnson has suggested is the earliest date the scheme can cease.

Caroline Pidgeon said:
“The problem is that there are legal procedures that have to be gone through before the scheme can be cancelled. This includes a formal public consultation process. The Mayor should be sitting down now with his lawyers and Transport for London to find a way of making sure that, with the legal process observed, the charge is got rid of as soon as possible.

"It is clear that shops and businesses in the area need action now. They can’t wait two years.”

3 December 2008 - 10:29pm

Caroline welcomes scrapping of the western congestion zone

Commenting on the news that the Mayor of London Boris Johnson is to scrap the western extension of the Congestion Charge zone, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Transport spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon said:

"It is good that that this ill-conceived idea will be abandoned. The western extension of the Congestion Charge zone encouraged thousands of residents to drive into central London, putting the original scheme at risk.

27 November 2008 - 10:30pm

NO to the the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge Zone

The Liberal Democrat group at the London Assembly has demanded Mayor Boris Johnson scraps the western extension of the Congestion Charge zone.

In his consultation exercise the Mayor suggested three options for the future of the western extension in Kensington and Chelsea and the GLA Liberal Democrats have now responded.

12 October 2008 - 6:23pm

Action on dial-a-ride services

Over many months, Lib Dem Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon received serious complaints about the dial-a-ride services provided by Transport for London. On 3rd September Caroline met Paul Blackwell, General Manager of dial-a-ride, to discuss the many issues that had been raised by dial-a-ride users and to hear about what TfL are doing and have put in place to improve the service.

“It is quite clear that the centralisation of the service has caused huge problems, particularly in certain parts of London, and that their computer system has had real problems. I am trying to get to the bottom of how much the computer system has cost Londoners” commented Caroline.

“I have requested further statistics, going back as far as possible, so that I can really get a clear picture of the maximum length of time users are having to hold on the telephone before speaking to someone. We also need to know how often dial-a-ride are unable to provide a service.

4 September 2008 - 10:55pm

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