Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s announcement on bus, tube and tram fare rises, which include plans to hike the cost of One Day Travelcards by up to 74%, said:
“The Mayor was insulting Londoners by burying bad news like this on the day the Comprehensive Spending Review was announced.
The Evening Standard reports on the calls for an inquiry into the chaos on the tube last week, when power failures left thousands of passengers stranded in tunnels.
The Standard quotes Caroline Pidgeon:
Apologies are simply not enough. People are paying ever higher fares and deserve a far better service.
“As the Mayor is chairman of Transport for London, he needs to come before the Assembly, explain why such a horrific situation has occurred and provide clear assurances as to how similar incidents will be avoided.
Shepherd's Bush blogger Chris Underwood reports on the news - as revealed by the Mayor's answer to a question from Caroline Pidgeon in the London Assembly - that Hammersmith & Fulham Council is pressing ahead with plans to remove traffic lights despite concerns about pedestrian safety.
Caroline Pidgeon: Please list all boroughs in London which have agreed to the removal at traffic lights at all sites proposed by TfL.
Answer from the Mayor: TfL has not yet met all of the London boroughs to discuss the individual traffic signal sites proposed as potential candidates for removal but many have been receptive to the general principle. These discussions are therefore on-going.
To date, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has undertaken a public consultation on a site on Shepherd’s Bush Road and it has agreed that the site should be removed. Other boroughs, including Brent, Ealing and Westminster, have been receptive to the concept and are looking at alternative/additional locations where signals could potentially be removed.
Caroline Pidgeon has backed a recent House of Commosn motion tabled by Martin Horwood MP, the co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee on Transport, denouncing the recent tube strikes and highlighting the inconvenience suffered by commuters. Martin has criticised both the unions and the Mayor of London’s office for not doing enough to reach an agreement between all parties, and encouraged the Mayor of London to bring the current talks to a settlement.
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s confirmation that the Western Extension Zone (WEZ) will be abolished from Christmas Eve said:
“This is long overdue and very welcome. The WEZ was a serious mistake from the very outset. The WEZ has diluted the initial aims of the original zone by enticing Londoners to drive into central London on a daily basis.
“It is utter madness that some of richest Londoners can drive into central London for just 80 pence a day when everyone else faces a daily Congestion Charge of £8.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s fare package for 2011 said:
“The Mayor’s fare package is hitting hardest the Londoners who are on the lowest incomes.
“Last year the Mayor racked up Oyster pay as you go bus fares by an eye watering 20%. Now again he is hitting hard people in temporary or low income jobs who simply cannot afford a season ticket.
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the announcement in today’s Comprehensive Spending Review that Crossrail will go ahead, said:
“This is good news for London and Londoners. When difficult short term decisions are having to be made in so many areas it is excellent news that long term plans to improve transport in London have not been compromised.
The London Assembly has called on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to rethink plans to cull up to 800 jobs on the Underground because of the adverse affects for passengers.
The Assembly believes the proposed cuts will damage customer service and leave passengers feeling less safe at stations where only one member of staff is present, particularly early in the morning and late at night.
Ticket office hours will be reduced, forcing people into long queues for ticket machines. This will especially disadvantage passengers with disabilities who find it difficult to use the machines and who rely on Underground staff for assistance when travelling by Tube.
Caroline Pidgeon, the leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, has received further excuses from Transport for London about their controversial decision to remove seating from Bermondsey station.
Following questions to the Mayor of London it had already been confirmed that Transport for London have no plans to remove similar seating at Wood Lane tube station. Now this week Caroline has been informed that the decision to remove the seats at Bermondsey station was a decision by a sub-contractor to Tube Lines.
Commenting on the new development, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“The Bermondsey seat saga continues. The Mayor and Transport for London are being totally inconsistent in how they have dealt with this issue. They claim the initial seats were inaccessible at Bermondsey station, which is why they had to be suddenly removed, yet they are quite happy to leave exactly the same seats at the new Wood Lane tube station.
The Harrow Observer, the News Shopper and the Docklands24 papers all report on the revelation that the Jubilee line upgrade works have led to up to £12m in lost ticket revenue, as Boris Johnson admitted when responding to a question from Caroline Pidgeon.
In the News Shopper, Caroline says:
The upgrade of the Jubilee Line has turned out to be a case study in exactly how not to upgrade the tube.
There is now overwhelming evidence that carefully planned blockades of short sections of the tube for two or three weeks would be a far better way to upgrade the tube than the expensive fiasco of literally years and years of weekend closures.
You can read full coverage in the Harrow Observer, the News Shopper and at Docklands24.
Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Cathedrals Ward Councillors David Noakes and Geoffrey Thornton to visit the new Blackfriars Station, to hear about progress to date on the new station which will span the Thames, and to hear what the construction team is doing to help with noise issues affecting some Bankside residents.
The site visit allowed the team to see how the materials are shipped in along the Thames, and how the team are working on one side of the Bridge, before shifting over the Christmas period to start the same process on the other side.
“It was amazing to see the works on this new station, part of the Thameslink programme. Ultimately though, unless the next phases of the Thameslink programme are secured, the increase in capacity for passengers won’t be realised” commented Caroline Pidgeon AM.
Caroline spoke at a fringe meeting at Lib Dem Conference in Liverpool hosted by Transport for London.
Caroline highlighted the unique challenges in the capital with a growing population and ageing infrastructure and the need for the investment through Crossrail and the tube upgrades to keep London moving.
Caroline also expressed concern about accessibility improvements being cancelled due to budgetary constraints. TfL spent £20 million on Step-free access projects at Amersham, Greenford, Ladbroke Grove, Newbury Park, Osterley and West Kensington stations. These have now been halted before the work has been completed.
Caroline met with Islington Liberal Democrat Council Group on 4th October, to discuss important issues in Islington as well as across the capital.
Caroline Pidgeon AM recently joined Lib Dem Cllr Gwyneth Deakins at South Woodford station to highlight the closure of their ticket office by the Mayor of London.
Cllr Deakins and Caroline have been trying to find out the rationale for the cut in hours at the ticket office which will see South Woodfood ticket office on the Eastbound platform closed completely whilst on the Westbound platform it will be open for a couple of hours or so each day.
Caroline met with Redbridge Liberal Democrat Council Group on 14th September, to discuss important issues in the Borough as well as across the capital.
“It was good to meet the team at Ilford Town Hall and to hear the issues of concern to local people from problems on the Central Line with reliability, to ticket office closures and the hike in charges for London Underground car parks, causing problems on the streets for local residents” commented Caroline Pidgeon AM.
Before meeting the Council Group, Caroline went on a site visit to the Charlie Brown roundabout to see the serious issues with safety for pedestrians on this TfL road with Cllr Gwyneth Deakins.
After years of disruption on the Jubilee Line further evidence has now come to light revealing some of the real costs from years of weekend closures on the tube line.
Following extensive questioning by Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, the Mayor has admitted that Transport for London has already lost between £10 to £12 million in ticket revenue due to the saga of continual weekend closures. Incredibly the Mayor is unable to even estimate what the final bill in lost ticket revenue will reach before the upgrades are ultimately completed.
The East London Advertiser newspaper reports on Transport for London's admission, after pressure on Boris Johnson by London Assembly Lib Dem leader Caroline Pidgeon, that 115 pedestrian crossings across London do not meet government safety standards.
Caroline visited the dangerous Whitechapel Road crossing with Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Griffiths, who said:
It’s outrageous that vulnerable people in our borough are being put at risk by the refusal of the London Mayor to rectify this admitted problem more quickly.
The council should also really be lobbying harder on this.
You can read the full article here.
