Tonight (Monday 12 September), the House of Lords will debate an amendment to the Localism Bill which, if agreed, will effectively end independent passenger representation in London.
The amendment will abolish London TravelWatch, with its work being taken over by the London Assembly, which proposes to outsource rail issues and complaints.
London needs an independent, non-political passenger voice which can hold Transport for London and train companies to account.
We put an unbiased objective view on vital policy transport issues on behalf of the travelling public, and each year more than 10,000 passengers contact us to help resolve their problems.
The plans also mean that there will no longer be one body looking at all transport issues in the capital: rail passengers will be represented differently from other passengers in London.
Dividing representation between two separate bodies makes absolutely no sense in a city like London where fares, tickets and journeys are increasingly integrated, and where there is a real risk of long-distance rail passengers being prioritised over local London passengers.
We call for all peers and Ministers to oppose this amendment in order to ensure sixty years of independent passenger representation in London continues.
