• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MayorWatch

London News and Comment

  • NEWS

“Imaginative” transport solutions needed to keep London moving

September 4, 2015 by Martin Hoscik

tube_platform_queue2Planned upgrades to the Tube network are unlikely to be enough to let the capital to cope with the needs of a growing population, one of the contenders to succeed Boris Johnson as Mayor has warned.

Figures collated by Caroline Pidgeon, who is expected to be confirmed as the Liberal Democrats’ mayoral candidate in the next few weeks, show that delays caused by overcrowding are now at a five year high.

According to the statistics there were 237 delays in financial year 2014/15, up from 153 in 2010. Passengers experienced a further 56 delays between April and June this year.

Pidgeon, who is currently the Lib Dem leader on the London Assembly, says Transport for London’s programme of Tube upgrades are unlikely to be sufficient to alleviate the situation and warns that “imaginative” solutions will be needed to keep the city moving.

She commented: “The Mayor and TfL are constantly boasting about the record performance of the London Underground.   However, there is an increasing problem of serious overcrowding for passengers on much of the Tube and this is only going to get worse.

“Improvements to the Tube are barely keeping up with the rising demand for travel created by London’s booming population and record numbers of tourists.

“Further upgrades to the Tube must continue, but we also need to think of more imaginative ways to manage demand and reduce overcrowding.”

Among the remedies Pidgeon has put forward are a pedestrian and cycling bridge between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf which she says could reduce pressure on the Jubilee Line and lower ‘early bird’ fares to encourage passengers to travel outside the morning rush hour.

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: News

RECENT UPDATES

Tube and rail users to benefit from Oyster weekly fares cap

Mayor and TfL call on ministers to help plug funding gap

Tube to get full mobile phone coverage from 2024

TfL says Direct Vision Standard is already making HGVs safer for London road users




POPULAR

City Hall to move to Docklands as Mayor seeks to raise £55m for frontline services

‘Concern’ over TfL’s ability to deliver major projects in wake of Crossrail cost overruns

City Hall halts London Overground ticket office closures but many will still see opening hours reduced

Transport for London confirms bus cuts will go ahead despite passenger opposition

Copyright © 2025 · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy