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.
London Lib Dems were out in numbers this morning on London bridge to launch their campaign for a tube and bus fares freeze.
Tom Brake MP (London Spokesman), Susan Kramer MP, Simon Hughes MP and Caroline Pidgeon (London Assembly Member, Deputy Chair of the Transport Committee) were joined by Father Christmas.
London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson on the Assembly, has handed in a petition with 396 names on it calling for either the K2 or K3 bus to pass by the Cambridge Road estate, Cambridge Gardens and Norbiton.
Organised by Kingston Councillor Sheila Griffin, the petition was presented to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in his role as Chair of Transport for London, in an attempt to see the estates better served by bus links to Kingston Hospital as well as the centre of Kingston and the Asda superstore at Roehampton Vale.
Caroline Pidgeon said:
"At the moment there are a large number of residents on these estates who have little direct access to the hospital or to the main local shopping centres. People from these estates wishing to access treatment or out patient services need to take at least two buses. I hope the Mayor will get Transport for London to look seriously at whether some minor route alterations could happen - it would definitely benefit local residents wanting to use public transport."
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.”
Caroline was delighted to join members of the London Liberal Youth at LSE on Thursday 27th November to discuss the Cross River Tram and their campaign to try to persuade the Mayor of London to change his mind and keep the plans alive.
The team of students have produced leaflets and posters and are planning a number of events and different levels of lobbying to keep the pressure on the Mayor to save the tram.
“I was very impressed to meet such an enthusiastic and energetic student group, who strongly felt the tram would benefit the student community in London as well as the wider community, in many deprived areas.
Caroline joined local residents and police officers from Newington Ward, West Walworth, last week to review the junction of the Walworth Road with Penrose Street with Southwark Council traffic officers.
Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrats London Transport Spokesperson, has joined Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, and local Councillors John Keys, John Leach and Jenny Slark to campaign to get Beddington's X26 bus stop back.
Caroline helped to launch the campaign with Tom Brake MP at the Plough in Beddington on Monday 24th November.
Lib Dems Caroline Pidgeon AM and Norman Baker MP spent over 4 hours looking at works on the London Underground at night in November.
The visit included looking at escalator replacements works at Swiss Cottage, going deep down an underground tunnel at Chalk Farm to see sleeper replacement works and finally to Waterloo to see extensive station refurbishment. Norman even had a go at removing a wooden sleeper with a pneumatic drill! Caroline and Norman chatted to staff to fully understand the scale of works that go on at night on the Underground and how this is done in the most efficient way.
Caroline travelled with the London Assembly’s Transport Committee to Portsmouth on Tuesday 18 November, to assess how effectively the 20mph limit introduced on all residential streets is improving road safety in the seaside city.
Commenting on the announcement today by Transport for London of the agreement of a new contract for the future management and development of the Oyster card system and other ticketing services, Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on transport at the London Assembly said:
