Uber ridesharing raises safety concerns
Writing to the Transport Commissioner, Caroline Pidgeon has expressed concerns over Uber's launch of a ridesharing scheme in London:
Transport articles
We need a better run Heathrow, not a bigger Heathrow
In an article for the Huffington Post, taking on the arguments made in the intense lobbying by Heathrow's owners, Caroline Pidgeon writes:
Card payments in all taxis: good news for passengers and drivers
Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on plans by Transport for London to require all London’s taxis to accept card payments from October 2016, including contactless, said:
“This is immediate good news for passengers and in the long term it is also good news for London’s taxi drivers as new forms of payment can only help to boost trade.
Real action is needed to reduce lorry danger for cyclists
Caroline Pidgeon has welcomed a petition to the Mayor, promoted by the London Cycling Campaign and supported by 13,000 Londoners, asking for measures to make cyclists safer from the risk of collisions with lorries.
The petition calls for:
- A rush hour lorry ban
- The use of direct vision lorries
- Stronger enforcement against any fleet operator who puts profits before lives
Caroline said:
Murky funding arrangements for Garden Bridge risk the public purse
As building work on the Garden Bridge is due to begin despite a £30m funding shortfall, Caroline Pidgeon has expressed concerns that the funding arrangements are “as murky as the water that flows down the Thames” and stressed that both the Department for Transport and the Mayor need to prove they had properly planned for any future problems without extra calls on public money.
Campaign against closure of Caledonian Road Tube Station
Caroline Pidgeon has been supporting the campaign to stop Caledonian Road station closing for eight months next year. Closing the station would have a serious negative impact on local residents and businesses. It would also make it harder for wheelchair users living in the area to access the tube network. She has been:
- Making inquiries with TfL about why the lifts need to be refurbished, the reasons for why TfL says the station has to close and what the costs would be to do the work in stages
Give Croydon longer trams instead of a costly loop
Caroline Pidgeon has joined Croydon Lib Dems in presenting a petition with 2000 signatures, calling for Transport for London to invest in longer trams for Croydon, rather than the Dingwall Road Loop project that would cut the existing network in two.
Read the full story at Inside Croydon.
We undermine investment in London’s transport at our peril
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on reports that the London transport network is potentially facing the loss of £700 million in central Government funding by the turn of the decade, said:
“Keeping London moving is central to keeping the UK economy moving. Continued upgrades to the Tube are essential to improve capacity and reliability, as are new and much needed transport projects such as an extension of the Bakerloo Line and Crossrail 2.
Mayor’s fare package shows his lack of ambition for London
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on the Mayor’s fare proposals for 2016, said:
“I very much welcome the extension of National Rail free train travel to under 11-year olds, ending a long standing grievance for children living in South London.
‘Under 11s already get free travel on the Transport for London (TfL) network but given that there are fewer tube lines in South London, children living South of the river have missed out for too long.”
London’s commuters will pay a heavy price for Mayor’s blunders over Night Tube
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on reports in today’s Financial Times that TfL is paying 500 additional workers £1.5 million a month since September for a new Night Tube that will not start until next year, said:
“Soon the Mayor will be announcing the fare changes for next year and we will discover the real price that London commuters will have to pay for the long list of the Mayor’s financial blunders and vanity projects.