Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on today’s announcement that Lambeth Council and the Garden Bridge Trust have reached an agreement over the public funding contribution from TfL towards the construction of the Garden Bridge, said:
Caroline Pidgeon AM visited Archway on Tuesday 20th October to see first hand the proposed changes to the area being developed by TfL with Islington Council. Caroline met with residents and TfL engineers to discuss the plans and hear concerns.
One of the major issues is the location of 12 bus stands on the main road - as a result of Islington Council selling off a piece of land where the buses currently wait between journeys.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s initial plans for a limited Christmas Day bus service, which will for the first time be considered by TfL’s Surface Transport Panel, said:
“For many years TfL has peddled the claim that there is little demand for bus services on Christmas Day so it is welcome that they finally recognise the potential demand of as many as 1.3 million passengers for a full Sunday service operated on Christmas Day.
As Transport for London released figures showing that London bus accidents cause a death every three weeks, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“There is something seriously wrong when the penalties facing bus companies are stacked towards tackling lateness when safety should be the very first priority.
“Bus companies must face stiff penalties if they take any risks with passenger safety.”
Transport for London will be putting more buses on the C10 route through Rotherhithe and Bermondsey this month after a long-running campaign by local residents supported by Caroline Pidgeon AM and by Liberal Democrat campaigners.
Passengers have complained for years about long waits, overcrowding and journeys being terminated before their final destination to ‘improve frequency’. Their concerns were backed by local Liberal Democrats on the Council, at City Hall and by former MP Simon Hughes.
Tom Brake MP, and Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate, have formally delivered a petition with 500 signatures opposing changes to bus route 463 changes. Transport for London’s Head of Consultation Peter Bradley officially received the petition in person.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the discovering by Architects’ Journal that the earlier version of the audit review into the awarding of design contact to Heatherwick Studio was significantly different and far more critical to the published version said:
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayoral Decision to spend a further £1 million of Transport for London’s resources on ‘aviation related matters’, bringing the total budget for work on aviation up to £6.2 million, said:
“Once again the Mayor is throwing good money after bad on aviation.
“The Mayor should be explaining why he has already blown over £5 million of TfL’s valuable resources pursuing his misguided ideas for a Thames Estuary airport.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the announcement by Transport for London that they will install opening windows on the new Routemasters at a further cost of around £2 million, said:
“Anything to make travelling on the new Routemasters more bearable during the Summer is obviously welcome. These buses are quite frankly a cauldron on wheels during hot weather.
The Mayor of London has finally released information showing that Tube delays caused by overcrowding reached a five-year high during the financial year 2014/15.
The figures, obtained by Caroline Pidgeon AM, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, also show a very worrying level of delays due to overcrowding on the Central, Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines between April and June 2015.
Commenting on the latest figures, Caroline said: