Caroline Pidgeon joined local residents and other Assembly members to lobby Boris Johnson. Mayor of London about the future of the South London Line. They then went to meet Sadiq Khan MP, Minister for Transport.
London Lib Dems have reacted angrily to news that the concessionary fares scheme in London will be cut by £29m this coming year.
It is yet another clear sign that Gordon Brown has given up on London, choosing to sacrifice capital seats for marginals elsewhere in the country.
London taxpayers have always paid for the Freedom Pass, which covers pensioner travel on all forms of transport. But when the Government introduced the national free bus scheme, they agreed to contribute to the cost and cover journeys made by tourists and neighbours.
The new nature trail in Kennington Park was unveiled on Saturday 31st October by the Mayor of Lambeth.
On the borders of Lambeth and Southwark, the Park has been transformed thanks to the hard work of the Friends of Kennington Park.
Cllr Caroline Pidgeon joined Simon Hughes MP, Lib Dem Vassall Campaigner Matthew Hanney, Cllr Daphne Marchant and Cllr Rob Banks at the celebratory opening.
“Many congratulations to the Friends of Kennington Park who have worked tirelessly and sought funding from every possible source to ensure the park gets the investment it needs such as the wonderful play area, fitness trail and now the new nature trail,” commented Caroline Pidgeon.
Plans uncovered by London Councils show Government proposals to cut funding for the popular Freedom Pass - the scheme that gives older people and disabled residents free travel across London.
The government plans to seize £50 million from London to shore up funding gaps in other parts of England. Unlike other parts of the country that receive 100% of the costs of the free travel scheme, in London local council tax payers pay a third. These government cuts would reduce that support to 50%.
Liberal Democrats Chris Nicholson and Caroline Pidgeon have been assured by Lambeth Borough Police Commander Nick Ephgrave that there are no routine armed patrols of Brixton streets and estates. The assurance came in the light of press reports that police officers armed with sub machine guns were patrolling streets and estates in Brixton.
Chris Nicholson, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Streatham, and Caroline Pidgeon the Liberal Democrat MPA Link member for Lambeth, on hearing the reports, urgently sought clarification from the Borough Police Commander. They also wanted to know why the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Lambeth Community Police Consultative Group had not been informed of this change in approach.
The London Assembly today overwhelmingly agreed a motion calling on the Mayor to explore a proposal to introduce a ‘one hour bus ticket’ to be available on ‘Pay As You Go’ Oyster cards.
The proposal, which would enable passengers to use more than one bus during a 60-minute period without paying more than £1.00, would be more affordable and convenient for Londoners using public transport.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, who proposed today’s original motion, said:
“You can already switch from tube to tube on the same ticket, so it makes real sense to allow people to do the same with buses. It really is unfair that people who use Oyster pay as you go have to pay a new fare every time they change buses.
"One hour bus tickets already operate successfully in Paris, Rome and Brussels. It is now time London caught up and gave bus users a fair deal.
Caroline Pidgeon AM recently visited the dangerous Cavendish Road Junction with Clapham Common Southside with local campaigner Chris Nicholson, Lib Dem Cllr Darren Saunders and Transport for London engineers.
“We witnessed people trying desperately to cross this complicated and busy junction without a clue as to which way traffic might move next” commented Caroline.
“The whole junction just does not work and means residents have to take real risks just to get across the road. TfL have agreed to see if the cones on the traffic lights can be reduced in length so at least pedestrians can see the colour of the traffic lights and to look to rework the whole junction to make it easier for pedestrians. This will take a while for the various options to be worked up. We will keep up the pressure to make this area safer for local people” added Caroline.
Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, commenting on the Mayor’s fare package for 2010 which is hiking up tube and bus fares and cutting bus and tube services in outer London, said:
"For the second year in a row the Mayor is punishing Londoners with an inflation busting increase in fares. Incredibly even a short bus journey involving just one change will set people back £2.40.
"People in outer London will be particularly aggrieved to be paying even more for a poorer service.
Caroline joined Ed Davey MP and Chris Nicholson, the Lib Dems Parliamentary Campaigner for Streatham, out and about in Streatham on Saturday 10th October.
"Local residents were telling us how unhappy they are with the poor housing services they are receiving in Lambeth" commented Caroline Pidgeon AM.
Chris Nicholson and the local Lib Dems are working tirelessly for Streatham residents all year round.
Disabled and elderly people across the whole of London have faced a growing number of refused trips from Transport for London’s Dial-a-Ride service.
Following extensive questioning by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, the Mayor has been forced to release figures showing that over the last two years there has been more than a 50% increase in the number of trips refused to disabled and elderly people who rely on the Dial-a-Ride service.
Commenting on the figures, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“Three years ago Transport for London promised disabled Londoners a far better deal from Dial-a-Ride. They specifically promised that the number of refused trips would halve in just two years. Yet instead of falling the number of refused trips have actually gone up by more than 50%. It is simply appalling every day of the year more than 400 trips are now refused to Dial-a-Ride users.