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Haringey + London-wide stories

Northern Line could close from 10pm on weekdays

2 September 2009 - 9:44pm — Administrator

The Evening Standard reports on plans for sections of the Northern Line to close at 10pm on weeknights, as signalling systems are replaced over the next two years.

In the article, Caroline gives her views:

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib-Dem transport spokeswoman on the London Assembly, encouraged TfL and Tube Lines to “think outside the box” and suggested that full-line closures, lasting several weeks at a time, may be more efficient than repeated weekend shut-downs.

Local MP demands apology for local residents for Oyster PAYG delay

6 May 2009 - 7:34pm — Administrator

Local residents in Haringey will have to wait an extra four months after a train company broke promises last week on introducing Oyster Pay As You Go (PAYG) on local trains. First Capital Connect (FCC), which runs the Overground train line north of Finsbury Park, recently agreed that train users would be able to use PAYG from September this year; but this has now been delayed until at least January 2010.

Caroline ventures where Boris feared to tread

4 March 2009 - 10:44pm — Administrator

While London Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) Chair, Boris Johnson, refused to travel on the overcrowded, TfL-run, London Overground Barking–Gospel Oak rail service when invited by London Assembly Chair Jennette Arnold, Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Vice-Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, was made of sterner stuff. She travelled with members of the Barking – Gospel Oak Line User Group (BGOLUG) on a crowded morning peak train from Barking last Friday (27th February) in order to see the overcrowded conditions for herself.

Supporting David Schmitz in Seven Sisters

15 January 2009 - 9:31pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Liberal Democrat campaigners in Seven Sisters Ward in Haringey on Tuesday 13th January, to support David Schmitz’s by-election campaign to become the new councillor for Seven Sisters on 15th January.

“It was really great to knock on doors and meet so many people and hear the issues they are concerned about” said Caroline. “It is quite clear local residents want a hard working, strong voice for their area and are concerned about the cost of council tax and the recent hike in fares on trains and buses. David will work hard for Seven Sisters all year round and be a superb local councillor” added Caroline.

‘The world should be our Oyster’ – Caroline Pidgeon AM

14 September 2008 - 7:06pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon AM, the Liberal Democrats' transport spokesperson at the London Assembly, joined forces with colleagues in Haringey this week to help launch a campaign for residents to be able to use their pay-as-you-go Oyster cards on local trains.

On Wednesday Caroline met up with Lynne Featherstone MP and Alexandra by-election candidate Nigel Scott at Alexandra Palace station.

Liberal Democrats are campaigning for Transport for London (TfL) and First Capital Connect to extend pay-as-you-go Oyster card travel to Harringay, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace and Bowes Park stations.

Caroline says: “It's encouraging we've finally heard there's movements in the right direction on this but what we need now is a commitment on an exact time frame to ensure PAYG is introduced on this line as soon as possible."

Oyster passengers overcharged £500,000 a month

1 March 2010 - 9:27pm — Administrator

In an article for the Lib Dem Voice website, Caroline Pidgeon describes how anomalies in the Oyster card system result in Londoners being overcharged by £500,000 a month when they travel on National Rail services:

This week at City Hall I was accused by Boris Johnson of being a “negative Liberal Democrat” when I dared to question him over some of the problems that have happened as a result of the extension of Oyster Pay as You Go to national rail services across London.

Well I stand by my questioning of the Mayor as there is no doubt that a huge number of Londoners are not getting the best deal that Oyster could deliver. There are serious anomalies in how the system operates, and the full benefits of the technology are simply not being delivered. Most significantly many people using Oyster on the trains, whether they are Londoners or visitors, are being overcharged, sometimes by quite large amounts. This January alone it is estimated that 32,000 passengers were overcharged a total of half a million pounds.

Read the full article here.

Rail companies must improve their response to snow

19 February 2010 - 9:06pm — Administrator

Following the chaos on London's railways during this winter's snow, the London Assembly Transport Committee has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, asking for a national review of the rail industry's performance in bad weather to cover:

  • Rail operators’ and Network Rail’s contingency plans
  • Modification of trains and tracks so they can cope in icy conditions, for example using 'third rail' technology
  • Better information and compensation arrangements for passengers, with a consistent and transparent industry-wide standard

Every Londoner now owed £5 by embassies evading the Congestion Charge

12 February 2010 - 9:25pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, has revealed that each and every Londoner is now owed £5 by embassies that evade paying the Congestion Charge. For the first time ever the total unpaid bill for non-payment of Congestion Charge and Penalty Charge Notices now exceeds £40 million.

Through repeated questioning, Caroline Pidgeon has obtained figures from the Mayor showing that the amount owed by embassies soared during 2009 by more than 40%, with the unpaid bill rising by £1 million every month. At the very start of the 2010 the total unpaid bill from embassies stood at £39 million, compared to an unpaid bill of £26 million at the same time last year.

Commenting on these new figures, Caroline Pidgeon said:
"It is shameful that a minority of embassies continue to evade paying the Congestion Charge. British diplomats respect the law of other countries and it is only right that diplomats do the same in this country.

London Assembly calls on Mayor to guarantee the future of London's buses

25 January 2010 - 8:48pm — Administrator

The London Assembly Transport Committee has launched a report, The Future Of London's Buses, setting out a number of questions to the Mayor about how he will guarantee the future of the capital’s world-class bus service despite large cuts to the bus subsidy.

The report captures a range of views expressed at a seminar hosted by the Committee to debate both the benefits of the bus service and how any changes to it would impact on Londoners.

Buses are by far the most popular mode of public transport in London, catering for nearly two billion journeys each year. However, despite a growing population, and for the first time in several decades, the bus network is not anticipated to expand at all between now and 2012. Over the next eight years, the bus subsidy will be cut by a third, from £700 million in 2008/09 to £450 million in 2017/18.

London Assembly criticises government cuts to Freedom Pass plans

14 January 2010 - 8:42pm — Administrator

The London Assembly has called on the Mayor to persuade the Government to meet its original commitment to contribute funds to London boroughs to help them meet the costs of extending off-peak free bus travel to people who do not live in London.

A motion agreed today deplored the government's decision to halve this contribution, and urged the Mayor to put pressure on the government to abandon their U-turn and honour the agreement they originally made.