Caroline's news

Caroline continues to urge both the Mayor and Transport for London to address the issue of Oyster overcharging, which still affects many honest passengers, especially by train and tube.

The Evening Standard recently reported that in 2011 the level of "incomplete" journeys was £66.5 million, compared to £63 million in the previous years.

Although some minor changes have occurred to the way Oyster operates the Mayor and TfL have failed to address the main causes of Oyster overcharging, which is when every passenger is automatically charged the maximum fare, which regularly occurs when the machines are not operating or the stations are very crowded.

Commenting on another major disruption to the Jubilee line during the rush hour on 22nd March, Caroline Pidgeon said:

"This line is critical to ensuring London keeps moving during the Games, but far from seeing improvements, reliability has been falling.

"The Mayor and Transport for London need to detail actions that will be taken in the next three months to turn this round."

And just 4 days later, hundreds of passengers had to walk out of a broken down train and through a darkened tunnel to safety.

Caroline said:

Writing for the Politics First website, Caroline Pidgeon sets out the case for key London Liberal Democrat policies, ranging over:

• A one hour bus ticket, so people can make two or three short bus journeys for the cost of a single fare
• Reduced early bird fares for journeys before 7.30am - helping some of London's lowest-paid workers
• Comprehensive measures to make cycling safer - and make roads safer for all Londoners

The London SE1 website reveals that after questions to the Mayor by Caroline Pidgeon, TfL have admitted leaving a cycle hire docking station outside Elephant and Castle's Strata building unrepaired - since the end of January.

Read the full story here.

Caroline was joined by Lib Dem London Assembly Candidates at the new King’s Cross to have a sneak preview and briefing on London rail matters with Network Rail.

“It was fantastic to see the wonderful new roof and design at King’s Cross and to hear about the other exciting rail projects such as Thameslink and station upgrades” commented Caroline.