Transport articles

Addressing Highgate bus concerns

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined local Lib Dem Councillors for Highgate ward in Haringey - Cllr Rachel Allison and Cllr Bob Hare - on Friday 18th March for a meeting with members of the Highgate Society and other local councillors from Camden about buses in Highgate, and particularly problems with the bus stand in the middle of South Grove, Highgate Village.

"It was clear from our walkabout and discussions that there are serious problems with the 271 bus stands in the middle of the square. The Highgate Society has done a huge amount of work analysing the bus routes across the area and various options that could be explored to finesse the routes and result in a community space" commented Caroline Pidgeon.

27 March 2011 - 2:05am

Greening Tolworth Broadway

Caroline Pidgeon AM hosted a meeting on 22nd February with Cllr Daniel Moylan, Deputy Chair of Transport for London and TfL officers with local Kingston Councillors Frances Moseley and Vicki Harris to try to help the Tolworth Broadway design project move forward.

The exciting plans for Tolworth Broadway would see barriers removed and a wonderful wide cycle and pedestrian route along the central reservation up to Tolworth station. The route would be distinct with green quality materials used for the surface in stripes, and would ideally go across the traffic island as well.

27 March 2011 - 2:00am

Boris Johnson is playing fast and loose again with statistics

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Boris Johnson’s claim today that fare evasion rose to almost £75 million last year, said:

“The Mayor is right that we need to tackle fare evasion, but I don't have any faith in the figures he quotes. He just seems to use a random figure that helps his story.

“In 2009 the Mayor told us fare evasion was costing Londoners £70m a year. Last Year Boris told me that fare evasion was running at £55m a year. Today he tells us it costs £75m a year. One of the Mayor’s answers must be wrong!

19 March 2011 - 10:11pm

Caroline meets RNIB on Tube accessibility for visually impaired people

Caroline Pidgeon AM met with representatives of the RNIB and officers from London Underground to discuss issues with the accessibility of the Underground for visually impaired people.

A number of issues were discussed including the reductions in staff at ticket offices and their impact on assisting visually impaired passengers, as well as issues with help points and future developments.

19 March 2011 - 9:18pm

Biggin Hill 320 bus problems

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined local resident and former Bromley Councillor Bob Shekyls and an officer from Transport for London to look at the issues faced by residents in Biggin Hill Valley with the 320 bus route.

The route was extended from Bromley to Catford last year and since then the bus has become completely unreliable. Bob showed Caroline and TfL the problem places along the route, such as the stop by Biggin Hill Airport where buses sometimes turn around instead of completing the route to Biggin Hill Valley, leaving passengers stranded, a long way from their end destination.

19 March 2011 - 9:14pm

Tube provides a "good service" only one day a year

The BBC and the Evening Standard both cover the story that there was only one day in the last year when the Tube provided a "good service" on all lines.

Caroline Pidgeon told the BBC:

It is staggering that 10 months have passed since the London Underground ran a good service, even for one single day.

Given the significant investment that has gone into the Tube every Londoner deserves far better than this.

16 March 2011 - 11:32pm

Abolition of Oyster Extension Permits is long overdue

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s announcement today that Oyster users heading out of their travelcard zones will no longer need to obtain Oyster Extension Permits, said:

”I welcome this as Boris Johnson should never have permitted the train operating companies to introduce them. The abolition of Oyster Extension Permits is long overdue.

”Oyster Extension Permits were the daft invention of the Train Operating Companies which totally undermined the benefits of Oyster Pay As You Go.”

12 March 2011 - 9:54pm

Excessive Tube delays hit over 11 million journeys a year

The Evening Standard reports on Caroline Pidgeon's findings that Tube delays leave passengers entitled to claim over 11 million refunds per year - but only 330,000 are claimed.

Caroline commented:

No one should have to wait 15 minutes for a Tube train, yet incredibly more than 14 million people had to in the last 12 months. It must be the Mayor's top priority to tackle these excessive delays.

12 March 2011 - 9:52pm

Oyster overcharging at a station near you

Passengers are being overcharged more than £1 million a week when using Oyster, with overcharging occurring at every tube and train station across the capital, new figures obtained by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group leader, have revealed.

The top ten stations where passengers were ripped off last year were:

Waterloo National Rail £2,452,000
London Bridge National Rail £2,300,000
Liverpool Street National Rail £1,615,000
26 February 2011 - 12:45am

Mayor cannot ignore disturbing rise in bus crime

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s announcement today about crime statistics on public transport and his claim to be providing extra policing on to the transport network said:

“The Mayor should take great care when boasting about crime statistics on London’s transport network, especially as the overall fall in crime seems to hide some very disturbing rises in bus crime in about a third of London boroughs.

26 February 2011 - 12:38am

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