Transport articles

South West Trains passengers must wait months for Oyster top-up

South West Train passengers may face a wait of many more months before they can finally obtain Oyster top-up from station ticket machines in the London area, Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, has been informed this week.

Both South West Trains and Transport for London declared back in November 2010 that by May 2011 all ticket vending machines within the London Travel zone would allow passengers to top-up their Oyster cards. The latest delay has been explained as being due to technical problems facing Cubic, the technical supplier of Oyster to Transport for London. At present South West Trains are unable to give any indication to Caroline Pidgeon as to when the technical problems will finally be resolved.

26 May 2011 - 11:45pm

Network Rail’s Olympic and Paralympic timetable puts Southeastern to shame

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, commenting on today’s announcement that next Summer there will be more than 2,000 extra train services serving London during the Olympic Games and an additional 1,500 extra services during the Paralympic Games said

“It is incredibly welcome that nearly 4,000 additional train services will run during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

25 May 2011 - 10:56pm

Northern Line extension plans on show

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Oval Lib Dem Cllr Ishbel Brown and Streatham Cllr Jeremy Clyne visiting the exhibition for the proposed Northern Line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station via Vauxhall Nine Elms.

“The exhibition showed the planned route but still left many questions unanswered and meant residents were very concerned about the impact on their homes and during the construction. I was pleased to hear that residents in Kennington – both Southwark and Lambeth - will have a further exhibition explaining details of the proposals for construction shafts which could cause real disruption to local people” commented Caroline.

23 May 2011 - 9:43pm

Another day of rush hour Jubilee line chaos

The Evening Standard reports on the rush-hour chaos on the Jubilee line yesterday, with a loose screw on a platform door at Westminster causing major delays along the line.

Caroline told the Standard:

The ongoing problems and delays on the Jubilee line cannot be dismissed as isolated incidents. There is something seriously going wrong with one of London's most important transport links.

It is time that the Mayor provided proper answers and not just excuses over the running of the Jubilee line.

20 May 2011 - 7:57pm

Lift the harsh cycling restrictions in Regent's Park

Caroline Pidgeon is calling for a review to be undertaken of the cycling restrictions that exist across London's Royal Parks.

At present cycling is severely restricted in most of London's Royal Parks (see the extensive restrictions here) - especially in Regent's Park, where cycling is only permitted on the northern section of the Broad Walk, between Chester Road and Outer Circle. Incredibly, such restrictions exist despite the provision in the park of docking stations for the Transport for London's bike hire scheme!

Commenting on the current situation, Caroline said:

"Pedestrians should always have first priority when it comes to pavements, and it is absolutely vital we curb the menace of the small minority of cyclists that ride on pavements on London's streets. However parks are a totally different matter!

19 May 2011 - 10:40pm

Transport for London back down over Blackfriars junction plans

Caroline has welcomed Transport for London's decision to back down over their design proposals for the new Blackfriars junction.

After a site visit in April, Caroline expressed her strong objections to TfL's plans, which would have led to the removal of an existing cycle lane, with priority given to vehicles rather than pedestrians and cyclists.

Full details of Transport for London's new proposals can be seen at the Cycle London City blog.

19 May 2011 - 10:28pm

Caroline supports petition to safeguard cyclists from lorry dangers

The London Cycling Campaign took their campaign for safer roads directly to City Hall this week. Their petition calling for local councils across London to provide cyclist awareness training for lorry drivers, was jointly presented to Caroline Pidgeon and London Assembly Members representing all the other main political parties. The LCC petition, which has more than 10,000 signatures, has now been sent onto the Mayor of London.

Commenting on the need to make London's roads safer for cyclists, Caroline said:
"Cycling in London needs to be made far safer. More than one cyclist a month dies on London's roads - that is a shocking figure and is unacceptable."

18 May 2011 - 10:10pm

Mayor must get on top of the cable car project

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s reply to her question at today's Mayor Question Time, asking when the Thames cable car will be open to passengers, said:

"For the Mayor to state that the cable car will be completed when 'it’s good and ready' is totally unbelievable.

"It is simply staggering that the Mayor is throwing around £57 million of public money at the Thames Cable Car yet is totally incapable of giving any assurance as to when it will be open. The Mayor should get on top of this flagship project.”

18 May 2011 - 10:02pm

Mayor’s unbelievable latest broken promise over Jubilee Line

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s admission made today at City Hall that substantial improvements in capacity on the Jubilee Line will only be completed by the Autumn, said:

“Passengers will find it truly unbelievable that there is yet another delay to when the Jubilee Line will be operating at full capacity, seven days a week.

“Today’s admission is the fourth broken promise made by the Mayor as to when improvements to the Jubilee Line will finally be completed.

18 May 2011 - 10:02pm

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