Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the London assembly, joined Lib Dem candidate for London Mayor, Brian Paddick, for his first official campaign visit with Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, in which he called for a more robust approach to payback sentencing.
The London Assembly Transport Committee has published a report in response to TfL’s new proposals on transport accessibility, showing that step-free access and other accessibility measures fall far short of the growing need for them, with half of bus stops, two thirds of rail stations, and three quarters of tube stations, not fully accessible to people with limited mobility.
The report argues for a range of measures, including low-cost steps such as allowing manual ramps, upgrading pedestrian crossings, providing better training for bus drivers, and improving online and paper maps.
Lib Dem Leader on the London Assembly, and Transport Committee chair, Caroline Pidgeon AM, today welcomed Transport for London’s plans to reward people who make their journey on foot or by bike under a new incentive scheme, saying:
“This incentive scheme is a very welcome step by Transport for London as it is exactly the kind of thing I pushed for in my report on walking last year.
“Around a quarter of all journeys in the capital are already made on foot but rewarding people with offers and discounts should help get even more Londoners walking.
At Mayor's Question Time on 14th September, Caroline Pidgeon pressed the Mayor to ensure that TfL does more to protect minicab passengers by enforcing safety rules and background checks on drivers.
Caroline asked:
Speaking to the Evening Standard after the Metropolitan Police released figures showing that 20% of 999 callers gave up waiting during the rioting on 8th August, Caroline Pidgeon said:
Although the events of August 8 were exceptional it cannot be right that almost one in five people couldn't get through via the 999 emergency number and simply gave up trying to contact the police.
Launching the London Assembly Transport Committee's report into the performance of the Tube - which highlighted a 20% increase in delays over the last year - Caroline Pidgeon commented:
Passengers spent an extra six-and-a-half million hours on the Tube in 2010/11 because of the increased number of delays, this is clearly unacceptable and a drag on London’s economy.
We know delays on the Underground have fallen overall since 2003, but TfL must ensure that last year’s 20 per cent dip in performance is a blip - not a disturbing sign of things to come.
There is also no room for complacency when it comes to delivering value for money on Tube maintenance and upgrades. London is a world class city and it has a right to expect a standard of efficiency from TfL that compares favourably to other metro systems across the globe.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Boris Johnson’s fare proposals for 2012, which he confirmed today will be set at RPI plus 2 per cent, said:
“This is the fourth year of fare misery that Londoners will face under Boris Johnson.
“He has already hit Londoners hard by hiking up bus fares from 90 pence to £1.30 for a single fare since he arrived at City Hall. Today’s further rise will really hit hard many people, especially those on low incomes.
“Boris Johnson has failed to tackle effective action to tackle fare evasion or cut waste which is widespread throughout TfL. If the Mayor got on top of these issues there would be no need for such severe fare rises, especially for low income Londoners.
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s new facility for Oyster pay as you go customers who occasionally forget to touch out at the end of their Tube, DLR Overground or National Rail journeys, said:
"After many months of campaigning to highlight the scandal of Oyster overcharging it is good news that they are at last beginning to accept that a problem even exists.
“It is however regrettable that the new system only addresses just one form of Oyster overcharging caused by people who occasionally forget to touch out.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s plans to start from today a 12-week consultation on plans for a lane rental scheme that should give utility companies an economic incentive to complete roadworks more quickly, said:
“For over three years the Mayor has been talking about forcing utility companies to ‘hire’ the road while at the same time overlooking steps he could have already taken to reduce congestion across London.
A Big Switch to electric buses and taxis can cut London’s appalling air pollution, dramatically reduce premature deaths and ill health, and help meet climate change targets. The London Assembly Liberal Democrats have put forward an ambitious programme to convert high mileage buses, taxis and light goods vehicles to electric power by 2020. The plan was launched with Caroline Pidgeon AM and Mike Tuffrey AM with support from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP.