As disruption on the Elizabeth Line worsens, Caroline Pidgeon has called on the Mayor to accelerate work to fix the recurring issues.
Caroline told the Evening Standard:
“Services on the Elizabeth Line have clearly deteriorated over the course of the summer.
“As London’s flagship piece of transport infrastructure, customers rightly demand more reliable levels of service.
City Hall Liberal Democrats have called for the full pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.
During Mayor's Question Time, Caroline Pidgeon highlighted that Sadiq Khan had previously committed to the pedestrianisation of London’s flagship shopping street in his 2016 manifesto. London Liberal Democrats have supported pedestrianising London’s flagship high street since 2004.
The Mayor stated Oxford Street is “not what it used to be” and indicated that he agreed with Caroline that the street should move towards full pedestrianisation.
In the London Assembly, Caroline Pidgeon pressed the Mayor to review issues with accessibility on the Elizabeth Line – following reports from travellers with disabilities that they have been unable to board due to a lack of level access or boarding ramp.
Caroline Pidgeon has called for an investigation into allegations that deputy mayor Shirley Rodrigues asked one academic to modify the conclusion of a scientific report, and another to issue statements supporting the Mayor's policy on the ULEZ.
In the London Assembly, Caroline said:
"We called for an investigation at City Hall into what has or has not happened, in order that we could have more facts – because I think Londoners need to know the facts on this…
Labour and Green Party London Assembly Members voted against the Liberal Democrats' proposal to open the Mayor of London’s ULEZ scrappage scheme to retrospective applications.
An amendment brought forward by the Lib Dem group in the assembly had called on the Mayor to open his scrappage scheme to those who replaced their vehicles between January and the Mayor’s widening of the scheme in August.
Responding to Sadiq Khan's announcement of electric buses in Sutton, City Hall Liberal Democrats have accused the Mayor of using smoke and mirrors tactics ahead of next year’s London elections and of trying to hide the extent of cuts to bus services across London under his administration.
A previous Freedom of Information request by the Lib Dems showed that since Sadiq Khan came to power in 2016, his administration has presided over 19.3 million kilometres of cuts to bus routes in the capital.
Commenting, Caroline Pidgeon said:
Caroline Pidgeon's questions to the Mayor have revealed that since January 2022, the Met have conducted over 6,000 stop and searches without the required video recording.
Caroline said:
“We have seen over the last few decades how the disproportionate use of stop and search has led to decreased levels of trust between the police and communities. Stop and search is still being used three times more on black people in London than it is on white people.
Caroline Pidgeon has raised concerns with the Mayor over the lack of availability of shared electric cars, which has contributed to London's poor rating for "clean transport" compared to many other European cities.
Caroline said:
The Mayor must do more to promote the use of electric car clubs in order to improve London's zero-emission mobility and to prevent further car club operators from leaving the market.
Responding to the expansion of the ULEZ scrappage scheme, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Transport Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
"It's about time the Mayor listened to the Liberal Democrat calls for an expanded scrappage scheme.
"Whilst we welcome the Labour Mayor at last listening, he could have saved Londoners a lot of stress and worry in the cost-of-living crisis if he had accepted our budget amendments in January and February.
Responding to the news that the High Court challenge to the expansion of ULEZ has been unsuccessful, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“The Liberal Democrats have been clear throughout this saga, we support action to clean up London’s air, but this must be done with adequate financial support to help people through any changes.
