Brian Paddick

Brian Paddick and the Liberal Democrats’s top transport priority will be the Cross River Tram project delivering a zero-emission high capacity tramway to Peckham, Brixton and Camden with a spur down a pedestrianised Oxford Street to Marble Arch – a step change to sustainable public transport.

We will deliver SmartHire: a thousand hire bikes on London’s streets - released to subscribers by Oystercard - and Car Club hire cars in every locality, so Londoners needing personal transport do not need to own their own cars, or use them in London.

Liberal Democrat Mayoral Candidate, Brian Paddick has also pledged to give access to free transport to every person in full-time higher education or skills training in London.

Eco-friendly high capacity zero-emission trams

Liberal Democrats in Camden, Southwark and Lambeth strongly back our proposals to give top priority to Transport for London’s Cross River Tram (CRT) project which links Camden north of the river with Peckham and Brixton in south London via Kingsway and Waterloo Bridge.

Inexplicably Mayor Livingstone has decided to delay indefinitely the section north of the river – making the “cross river” tram not cross the river! We will build it. Top Tories oppose the tram project. Only the Liberal Democrats are fully committed to this step-change for London’s public transport – and we led the way in proposing in addition that the CRT should have a spur along Oxford Street to Marble Arch enabling shoppers to travel directly homewards both north and south of the river.

We will plan in the longer term to connect the CRT to the existing Croydon Tramlink, build its link to Crystal Palace and do project work on a link from Morden to Sutton.

Walking and cycling

We want to make London much more pedestrian-friendly – and our commitment to a pedestrianised Oxford Street is an emblem of our vision. It is our aim in the years to come to develop a pedestrian-friendly area stretching from Oxford Street through Soho, Chinatown and Leicester Square down to Trafalgar Square itself, working in cooperation with Westminster City Council, residents, retailers and the entertainment industry.

We will work with Borough Councils to investigate many more pedestrian precincts and road-scapes where those on foot have priority.

We will introduce better signage which tells those on foot how long a particular journey will take (“10 minutes to Piccadilly”) and promotional advertising highlighting that it is often quicker to walk than to take the Tube or bus for shorter journeys.

Cycling has not been a priority for Transport for London and their Centre for Cycling Excellence is underfunded. Cycling must be made safer and more attractive, with many more cycle lanes protected where possible by high kerbs and with priority at junctions. Transport for London must provide much more secure parking for bikes – some of this can be incorporated into our SmartHire bike docking stations. In return we would expect responsible cycling on the roads, not on the pavements, and respect for red traffic lights.

Working with the 32 Borough Councils we will work together to provide more secure cycle racks across London.

Congestion charging

We will maintain the current Central Zone Congestion Charge and carry out an immediate review of whether there are too many traffic lights. The Mayor’s new powers will be used vigorously to coordinate and manage roadworks, to keep traffic moving: stationary or slow-moving traffic is the major cause of harmful emissions pollution.

We will introduce a new Scheme Order abolishing the western extension into Kensington and Chelsea as it was opposed by residents in the consultation and it incentivised them through the 90% charge reduction to drive their cars into central London.

We will press ahead with introducing ‘tag and beacon’ technology which enables drivers to have the charge deducted from a smartcard (could be Oyster) in a sensor on their windscreens. We shall work with Boroughs to target congestion hotspots where they believe action is necessary – for example in outer London town centres.

Meantime we will develop a billing system where C-charge is sent to registered keeper of vehicle once a month or once charges reach £50 (so no big bill surprises) – no more fines for just forgetting.

The Liberal Democrat Mayor will ask Transport for London to conduct a feasibility study into introducing a £10 Congestion Charge using the boundary and technology on the GLA perimeter already installed for the LEZ scheme. The charge will be targeted at long-distance car-driving commuters during the morning peak (Monday-Friday: 7am-10am) with the aim of shifting people to rail, and of reducing severe pollution levels on the arterial roads leading into the capital.

GPS technology will identify private cars driving into inner London from beyond the GLA boundary and use Automatic Number Plate Recognition data to impose the charge.

Private cars on journeys to outer London boroughs close to the GLA boundary will not be charged. Commercial and HGV vehicles will not be charged. All net revenue from the perimeter charge will be spent on public transport improvements in outer London including longer and more frequent commuter trains.

Any such Scheme Order will be subject to statutory consultation and in this case to local authority areas bordering the GLA boundary.

Buses

We will make Transport for London Buses much more accountable and responsive to passengers and to Borough Councils for changes in route and new routes. This is especially important where health provision requires patients and relatives to make new and longer journeys to more distant hospitals and health centres.

We will introduce many more express/limited stop bus routes using comfortable coaches to connect outer London town centres. Orbital journeys in outer London need to be made much easier, removing the need to travel through central London and its overcrowded rail termini.

We will further develop the Met Police’s Safer Transport Teams and TOCU patrols to put uniformed police and PCSOs on buses where appropriate, and expand the fare evasion inspectorate.

We will speed up the introduction of Transport for London’s “ibus” technology to manage buses by a GPS system that will avoid bunching (three buses in convoy) and enable accurate electronic displays in bus shelters with real-time bus information available via mobile phones.

We will encourage and work with the 32 Borough Councils to install litterbins at all bus and tram stops.

Some Night Bus routes (e.g. 25 route Oxford Circus-Ilford) are grossly overcrowded when nightclubs close. Bus conductors/security guards/Safer Transport police Teams are needed to police these routes in the interests of passenger safety, and more buses are required.

Bendy buses

There are six recorded incidents of ‘bendy’ buses catching fire. They have been involved in three times more road traffic accidents than standard buses involving pedestrians and cyclists. There is three times more fare evasion on ‘bendy’ buses at a cost of £8 million in 2006.

We will instruct Transport for London to investigate replacing ‘bendy buses’ on key routes requiring high capacity vehicles with Ultra Light Rail trams – a new and much less expensive form of tram which does not require overhead wires or major highway excavations. ULR trams are much lighter rail-buses with their own power source on board, using cheaper pre-fabricated rail and point sections. Their weight means that it is not necessary to move utilities under road surfaces when the tramway is built, hugely reducing costs.

Meantime the Liberal Democrat Mayor will put uniformed staff on every ‘bendy’ bus (345 in service) to bear down on fare evasion and anti-social behaviour (estimated cost £40 million). He will review all 12 ‘bendy’ bus routes to re-assess suitability re blocking junctions and tight turns.

Dial-A-Ride

Users report that since the introduction of a centralised computer booking system, the Dial-A-Ride service has seriously deteriorated, with vulnerable elderly people abandoned in unsafe locations, and dedicated drivers highly dissatisfied with the service levels they are now able to provide. We will urgently review service provision to address these issues and consult actively
with users.

The Tube

London Underground Limited is part of the problem with our transport system with its record of fifty years of failure with endless delays, cancellations, signal failures and strikes.

Therefore Liberal Democrats want to run the tube like every other form of public transport run by the Mayor and Transport for London (buses, DLR, North London Line): through the “concession model” where Transport for London sets the fares and service standards and takes the fare box, and a contractor is paid a fee to deliver the service.

We will negotiate with international rail operators who would be encouraged to bid to operate trains, stations and maintain and upgrade track, rolling stock and signalling on the former Metronet lines. This could deliver a seamless operation without demarcation squabbles.

Our focus on upgrading the Tube will be on improving track, signalling and rolling stock rather than stations. All these are crucial to eliminating signal failures, delays and cancellations and on delivering more trains per hour along Tube lines.

We want Londoners to feel safe on Tube trains especially in the later evening. Each train will have a clearly marked carriage staffed by a security guard after 9pm and we will step up patrols on stations.

We will pursue innovative engineering solutions to “cooling” the Tube so that temperatures are acceptable for passengers during hot weather.

We will work to ensure that the Tube is powered by sustainably generated electricity.

Rail

The London Mayor should have oversight of all overground suburban rail services in the capital. This involves the Mayor in cooperating with local authorities beyond London’s boundaries.

We will support and encourage the Mayor’s involvement in setting franchise conditions for the letting of the Southern Railway franchise at the end of 2009, requiring more frequent and longer trains, Oyster ‘pay-as-you-go’, and staffing on trains and stations.

Liberal Democrats support Crossrail. We approve the principle of Supplementary Business Rate funding such schemes, but would also like a fiscal mechanism for capturing the rise in land and property values along such a route. We strongly backed the station at Woolwich, pushed through against Treasury wishes by a powerful local campaign and funding from Berkeley Homes.

We strongly support the Thameslink programme: a vital and overdue rail enhancement programme which will hugely improve the North-South Thameslink route connecting Gatwick and South London with Luton Airport and North London via Farringdon. A new Blackfriars Station straddling the Thames with entrances on both sides of the river should be completed before 2012. London Bridge Station will be rebuilt with additional through lines and platforms. This involves some rebuilding over and around the historic Borough Market but London Liberal Democrats are pleased with the projected design for this redevelopment.

We should develop Farringdon Station as an air terminal for Heathrow [Crossrail] Gatwick and Luton [Thameslink] where bags can be checked in. Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Committee chair Geoff Pope led a campaign for funding Phase 1 of the project to link the old East London Tube line to the overground rail North London Line (Richmond-Camden-Stratford). This succeeded and new track north of Dalston is under construction.

The North London Line will be modernised with new trains, upgraded stations, track and signalling. We expect this to release huge suppressed demand, and urge an early move to 6-car operation, with selective door-opening if necessary. The Gospel Oak-Barking line must be electrified as soon as possible, as operation of diesel rolling stock is environmentally unacceptable. Network Rail now appear seriously intereste in taking this forward.

The old East London Tube line will be transformed into a rail ‘London Overground’ line with termini at Crystal Palace and West Croydon. The Liberal Democrat Mayor will press Government to fund Phase 2 of the East London Line extensions that will connect Surrey Quays with Peckham, Brixton, Wandsworth and Clapham Junction, thus completing the “orbital” London Overground under Transport for London Rail. This is a top value project which, for £100M, will regenerate severely depressed areas and wide job opportunities by connecting them to Docklands and the City (at the new Shoreditch station close to Bishopsgate).

We must press for the platforms vacated by Eurostar at Waterloo Station to be made available for use by suburban commuter trains Clapham Junction needs to be redeveloped urgently with a plan involving retail and affordable housing, as do the West Hampstead stations.

Urgent work is needed to complete the stations at Shepherds Bush and Imperial Wharf. We will continue to press for through services from Milton Keynes and Watford through Clapham Junction to south London and Brighton.

We will fund more British Transport Police to improve security on trains and stations.

DLR

The award-winning Docklands Light Railway has been one of London’s transport success stories. We strongly support the planned extension of DLR to Barking Riverside and Dagenham Dock.

Cabs and minicabs

We will prioritise development trials for hybrid-engined black cabs to reduce harmful emissions. Even new LTI cabs have Band G emissions.

Licensed minicabs will be required to be painted in distinctive livery clearly marked “not for hail-and-ride: pre-book only” – so passengers can be assured they are using a licensed minicab not a ‘cowboy’ vehicle. We will clamp down on those falsely registering private cars as private hire vehicles.

For reasons of security, where loading and unloading is permitted, all Boroughs will be encouraged to treat licensed black taxis which stop to allow passengers to access a cash machine as ‘loading and unloading’, and not to issue Penalty Charge Notices.

A black-cab trade representative will be given a seat on the Transport for London Board.

Taxis will be encouraged to use taxi ranks, by increasing the number of taxi ranks, particularly at stations and hotels, and revising the fare structure to allow an additional charge for licensed black taxis picking-up passengers from cab ranks.

Private hire vehicles will not be given access to bus lanes and enforcement against private hire cars plying for hire will be stepped-up. Those registering or renewing will have to provide copies of ‘hire and reward’ insurance certificates and the contact number(s) where any member of the public can hire the vehicle. Random ‘mystery shopper’ calls will be made to those numbers to ensure the service is genuine.

The Mayor will consult on the possibility of banning pedicabs or severely restricting their numbers, or to license them with an identification plate clearly visible. Their riders must be licensed and trained in road safety and the pedicabs subjected to safety checks.

Airport expansion

Brian Paddick and the Liberal Democrats are strongly opposed to plans to expand Heathrow Airport and to build a third runway. Further, we will back moves to tighten controls on night flights. Rail services using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link should be enhanced and extended to other Continental cities to reduce the need for short-haul air flights. We propose a new High Speed
Rail link to the North and Scotland starting at Heathrow to reduce the demand for internal air flights.

We would also oppose any proposals to expand London’s other airports: Luton, Gatwick, Stansted or City Airport. We would resist proposals to close City Airport. An airport in the Thames estuary has properly been rejected as both unacceptably expensive and environmentally intolerable.

We will develop Farringdon Station as an air terminal for Heathrow [Crossrail] Gatwick and Luton [Thameslink] where bags can be checked in. We will press the Department for Transport to fund Airtrack (Heathrow Terminal 5 via Staines and Richmond to Waterloo), with appropriate safeguards for vital existing commuter rail services.

Work needs to be progressed to upgrade the express rail link to Stansted.

River

Regular commuter services on the River Thames need much more vigorous and pro-active promotion by Transport for London. Passenger services should be made fully Oystercard compliant with fare levels which encourage commuter use.

We will resist any further encroachment of access to the river.

Freight

We back moves to consolidate freight deliveries from outside London in dedicated distribution centres so that where smaller hybrid or electric vehicles can do appropriate deliveries to shops and businesses. Nighttime deliveries should be explored now that new technology permits much quieter operations – avoiding much peak-hour congestion in the first half of the morning.

Rail freight routes need enhancing – an upgraded Felixstowe-Nuneaton line would reduce pressure on the North London and Gospel Oak-Barking lines where capacity is needed for passenger trains. Barge traffic on the Thames should be encouraged: vital that docking sites are safeguarded along the river.

Fares

We strongly support the Freedom Pass. The Mayor, rather than London Councils, should now operate it along with all the other free travel concessions.

We will introduce free travel on bus, Tube and train without time restriction for the 300,000 university undergraduate students in London, whether full or part-time at an estimated cost of £70 million in a full year.

We will introduce half-fares for early morning public transport to help low paid workers who often need to arrive well before the morning peak. We will also consider developing a travelcard for part-time workers.

A new ‘timed’ travelcard will cut costs of those needing two or three buses for a single journey. We proposed issue of free Oystercards (without £3 deposit) to passengers in areas of social deprivation. We would configure all Oystercards purchased abroad to enable them to be used for pre-paid travel and admission to London’s key tourist attractions.

We support free travel for under 18 passengers and wish anti-social behaviour on buses by a minority of young people to be addressed by uniformed conductors on busy bus routes at peak times, and by enhanced police TOCU patrols and Safer Transport Teams under Borough Commanders.

We need determined Mayoral action to ensure that negotiations with train operating companies are concluded allowing pre-pay Oystercards to be used at all suburban rail stations.

Low emission zone

We oppose the current Mayor’s LEZ scheme, which Transport for London admits will only deliver a 0.3% improvement in air quality across Greater London at a very high cost. We will consider adapting the technology already installed to facilitate a perimeter congestion charge to reduce polluting congestion on Red Routes during the morning peak.

Motorbikes and scooters

Liberal Democrats are supportive of powered two-wheelers, which have a low carbon footprint, take up less road space and have fewer harmful emissions. There is insufficient parking space for motorbikes and scooters in central London and the Mayor should work with inner London Boroughs to improve the situation. We will allow powered two-wheelers to use bus lanes, as research shows this improves safety for all road-users including cyclists.

Parking

The Mayor will work urgently with Boroughs and the City of London (especially inner London boroughs) to harmonise parking regulations and restrictions to overcome the confusion (especially for disabled drivers) generated by conflicting rules sometimes on opposite sides of the same street if they are divided by a Borough boundary.

On Red Routes (managed by Transport for London) parking wardens will not be incentivised by rewards for the number of tickets they issue.

Green travel plans

Active programmes such as Smarter Travel Sutton (soon to be rolled out in Richmond) advise car-owners of all their public transport options and can provide personalised travel plans for journeys to and from work. Such programmes overseas have reduced car use by up to 15% - almost as effective as congestion charging.

All schools and hospitals should have ‘green travel plans’ and Transport for London should actively advise and encourage on schemes such as ‘the walking bus’ and safe cycling routes to school.

Such schemes need to be backed by funded ‘hard’ traffic management measures where Boroughs consider these necessary.