Transport articles

Better shelter needed at South Bermondsey station

Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat MP for North Southwark and Bermondsey, and Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, felt the cold on Monday morning at South Bermondsey station. After being contacted by a local resident, Simon and Caroline visited the station to discuss the wet and windy conditions with commuters.

Simon commented “all those who use South Bermondsey station will know that it is extremely exposed. The current shelter is very small and inadequate. Recently, two of the roof panels have blown off. People waiting on the platforms face cold winds, particularly with the recent weather which we have been having. People are often forced to wait on the stairs as there is nowhere else to wait. This is completely unsatisfactory and dangerous.

Simon is raising the matter with Southern Railways who have recently been able to fund the repainting of the station in their colours, but have done nothing to improve comfort for their passengers.

6 January 2010 - 9:10pm

Campaigning to make Hither Green station fully accessible

Lewisham Liberal Democrats brought Caroline Pidgeon AM, the London Assembly Transport Committee Chair, to Hither Green station to see the problems passengers face in accessing the station.

Local campaigners are calling for the closed-up ramps at Hither Green Station to be re-opened to ease access to and from the station. Currently only one ramp is open to passengers using the station. Re-opening the ramps would allow direct access to the platforms, and avoid the current need to use bridges to get to and from the station.

Caroline Pidgeon said:
"Re-opening the closed ramps would massively improve access to this station for those with mobility problems, pushchairs or luggage. I have just launched a five point plan to improve train stations across the capital, and better accessibility is one of my priorities."

5 January 2010 - 8:51pm

School bus victory in Chessington and Hook

Families across Chessington and Hook are celebrating the success of a three year campaign for a new school bus to take local pupils to Hinchley Wood School. This will reduce traffic on the road and provide a quicker, safer route to school for many local children.

Transport for London confirmed just before Christmas their proposal to extend a journey on the current 467 bus route to and from Hinchley Wood School at school times. Subject to consultation with stakeholders (including the local authority, London TravelWatch and the police) the new service will be introduced from Monday 22nd February 2010.

4 January 2010 - 8:11pm

Mayor is hitting low income Londoners hardest with his 2010 fare package

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, commenting on the steep fare rises that the Mayor is imposing on London transport services for 2010, said:

"For the second year in a row the Mayor is punishing Londoners with an inflation busting increase in fares. Incredibly, even a short bus journey involving just one change will set people back £2.40.

1 January 2010 - 6:01pm

More delays on 24-hour Freedom Pass for National Rail

In response to a question from Caroline Pidgeon, the Mayor has admitted that Freedom Pass users will not have free travel at all times of day on National Rail services by his target of January 2010. In fact, he does not even expect TfL to begin negotiating this with the train companies until Easter 2010!

Caroline Pidgeon said:
"It is very disappointing that there is still no end in site for Freedom Pass holders to be able to travel on rail before 9.30am. The Mayor promised a 24 hour Freedom Pass. He has not used his considerable influence to date to negotiate hard with the train companies, working with London Councils. He now needs to deliver it so that pensioners across the capital can all enjoy equal travel benefits."

More details of the story are on the MayorWatch website.

29 December 2009 - 11:37am

Disabled people should not be second class citizens on Ilford buses

The Mayor of London will soon be hearing about access problems facing wheelchair users on Ilford buses following a recent visit to Ilford by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee.

On Wednesday (16th December) Caroline took up an invitation from Councillor Shoaib Patel to visit Ilford and find out at first hand some of the specific problems facing wheelchair users in using local buses, with a detailed briefing provided to her by wheelchair user Max Reid.

The issues raised with Caroline Pidgeon and Councillor Patel included ramps frequently not working or being too steep and also the lack of space on some buses for wheelchair users. Caroline Pidgeon and Councillor Patel also heard about the unhelpful attitude of some drivers towards disabled bus passengers.

Following the visit Caroline Pidgeon has promised to raise all the issues raised in Ilford with Boris Johnson through a series of written questions at the next Mayor’s Question Time in January.

23 December 2009 - 8:08pm

Arbiter’s decision exposes Gordon Brown’s legacy for Londoners

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, commenting on today’s draft decision by the Arbiter for the London Underground Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on the future maintenance of the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, said:

A staggering gap of £400 million exists between the Mayor’s calculations and the true cost of further upgrading the Tube. With the Mayor and Transport for London having no contingency for funding this gap it is hard to see what options the Mayor has other than raising fares further or cutting back on the Tube upgrades.

19 December 2009 - 9:28pm

The Mayor just doesn't understand bus travel

The Mayor of London has rejected the proposal of a One Hour Bus Ticket despite recent unanimous support for the proposal from the London Assembly.

In response to a letter from Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, the Mayor has stated that he has “no plans to introduce such a scheme”.

19 December 2009 - 9:16pm

New ticket hall improves access for King's Cross passengers

Caroline visited the new ticket hall at the underground at King's Cross station just before it opened at the end of November 2009.

The new ticket hall will help passengers get around form rail and bus to tube far more easily, and has disabled access to most of the platforms.

13 December 2009 - 6:34pm

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