“Since when has a £46K starting salary and 43 days of holiday a year not been enough for tube drivers?”
Posted by GLA Conservatives in Blog
In response to today’s announcement of Boxing Day strikes being avoided as tube bosses agree to a £350 bonus for tube drivers, Conservative London Assembly Member Richard Tracey said:
“TfL should not be in a position where they feel they have no choice but to pay a bung of £280K of fare payer and taxpayer money in order to stop union bosses holding London to ransom on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Since when has a £46K starting salary and 43 days of holiday a year not been enough for tube drivers? This proves that even when strike action does not go ahead, the threat is often used by union bosses to make Londoners suffer. The Government needs to urgently ban tube strikes and replace them with an independent mediation process which protects workers’ rights.”
Call for Mayor to bring Piccadilly Line to Turnham Green Station
New report calls for TfL to institute change by January 2014 to satisfy 6 million footfall
A new report “All Aboard at Turnham Green” has called on the Mayor and Transport for London to include Turnham Green as a stop on the Piccadilly Line from January 2014. Turnham Green has an annual footfall of 6 million, which is greater than both Hyde Park and Mansion House in zone 1.
£136M in public transport sponsorship deals could freeze fares for a year
Zone 1-6 travelcard holder about £90 better off
A package of sponsorship deals across London’s public transport could raise the £136 million¹ required to completely freeze passenger fares for a year – leaving a zone 1-6 travelcard holder an estimated £90² better off. Alternatively, passenger fares could be capped at inflation for the next three years if TfL could raise £204 million³ through sponsorship.
A poll of 531 Londoners shows more than 4 in 5 people in the Capital (82%) support more sponsorship across public transport such as renaming existing tube stations (e.g. Virgin Euston), entire tube lines or bus routes.
read more
Untapped Resource
Bearing down on fares through sponsorship
Gareth Bacon: "It's time for the London Underground to join the rest of the world and get Tube mobile coverage"
Gareth Bacon, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report “Calling All Stations” to ask Transport for London (TfL) to implement Tube mobile coverage.
“TfL has been dragging their feet for too long and London is far behind in terms of mobile connectivity because of this. Paris and Berlin have had this technology since the late 1990’s and now cities such as Moscow, Rome, Seoul, and Beijing are able to make phone calls, text, and surf the web underground when we can’t.
“Every excuse to why London does not have mobile connectivity on the Tube is weak. The technology exists and TfL needs to make the kind of progress driven deals other world cities have made. This may mean TfL will gain a smaller percentage of the large profits this technology will reap, but at this point London needs to catch up.
“Mobile connectivity is no longer a simple convenience it is a requirement for a growth driven and competitive modern city.
Link to report on Tube Mobile Coverage
Richard Tracey urges the Government to pass tougher strike laws
Richard Tracey AM, the London Assembly Conservatives' Transport Spokesman has criticised ASLEF for threatening to strike on Boxing Day.
Commenting Richard Tracey said: "Several years ago ASLEF urged their Members to sign up to a very generous new contract offer from TfL. This contract gave employees a big salary increase in return for being willing to sometimes work on bank holidays, including Boxing Day. This contract was freely signed. Now ASLEF's leadership are trying to tear up this contract.
"It has long been clear that London needs new strike legislation to require that 50%+1 of all eligible members vote in favour of strike action in order for that action to go ahead. This threat comes after the breakdown of talks that TfL should not need to have. ASLEF are trying to blackmail Londoners and, in so doing, have reinforced the case for Parliament to pass fresh legislation to take the Unions' feet off London's throat."
https://twitter.com/Assembly_Tories/status/268324157282983936
- More than 5,000 ppl signed the petition calling fr changes to the current CR2 proposals @KemiBadenoch @WimbledonNews https://t.co/JraHnbumBd
- .@KemiBadenoch receives a petition from @WimbledonNews and local residents opposing Crossrail 2 proposals https://t.co/NxaZBxwhrI
- .@SteveO_Connell says TfL's financial commitment 'is a sign that this plan is being taken seriously' https://t.co/EQf2Sfzlmb
