Urgent Action Required to Improve Commuters Tube & Bus Journeys
Posted by Lee Scott, MP for Ilford North, at 08:46, Tue 25 July 2006:
Over the past few week heat and humidity on buses and tubes have climbed to unbearable levels. I regularly use the Central and then the District or Jubilee Line to travel from my home in my Ilford North constituency to my office at Westminster and so have experience the conditions at first hand.
Bus roofs are now painted white in a bid to reflect the heat and additional opening windows have also been installed although with little improvement. Some buses have forced ventilation, but air conditioning has not been fitted because of the cost. Additional problems have been experienced by tube passengers because of the failure to re-tension the tracks for summer conditions. This has led to speed restrictions and cancellations
The Mayor said there could be a "serious loss of life" if a train breaks down in a tunnel. Newspaper headlines reported that the heat-wave has turned the Tube into a potential death trap.
I think that it is all very well for the Mayor to tell us about the serious problems London Commuters are facing but he should remember that it is his job to find the solutions. Lessons must be learned from the transport systems failures of 2006 and solutions put in place for next summer.
What are your views and what suggesting would you make to improve travelling conditions?
Lee Scott
Comments
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Posted by Stephen, 10:45, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
Surely some sort of air conditioning can be provided on trains as is seen in other European countries. Obviously, I imagine it's very difficult to install this kind of system without disruptions to service, however if it is a hazard to public health than surely a concerted effort must be made sooner rather than later. It is, indeed, worrying that the Mayor seems to be waiting to respond to disaster rather than making moves to prevent it.
Posted by Shirley Collier, 10:46, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I think the first thing is that people should also realise is that they should initially take care of themselves and make sure they carry water with them in case of holdups or breakdowns.
It is also very easy to criticize a system that is suddenly having to work under extreme conditions. I am not an admirer of Ken Livingstone but it is definitely not an easy problem to solve. How would you solve it, Mr Scott?
Posted by JK Howard, 11:03, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I think we have to be realistic when considering public transport and then frame a response to the heat.
Given that a bus opens and closes two sets of doors regularly would air-con actually make much difference?
Much of the tube system is over 100 years old and travels through highly built up areas with some lines being deep underground so what are the options available?
Surely the awareness of individuals needs to be raised; drink more water and carry some with you (I always do) how to react if someone is ill and how to summon help. My station has this info on a large poster as you enter and I've seen it elsewhere.
The Majors comment and headlines you refer to are very sweeping general statements and need clarifying - Why would there be serious loss of life, what emergency response plans are in place, how have they been assessed, how has tfl (or whoever) responded to any shorcomings in the plan, is there a communications plan should such an event occur, has tfl liaised with the relevant emergency services in construction of the pla etc etc
Posted by Pratik Parekh, 13:52, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I believe it is time to face the possibility that the intense heat of this summer may not be a one-off, and we will be having similar conditions for years to come now. My initial suggestion would be to allow an exemption on the congestion charge for the summer period, allowing people to drive to work and thereby reducing strain on transport. With the extortionate fares we as Londoners are paying to travel, there must be some excess capital to put into our transport system. We use an aged ventilation system where the end-door windows on tubes blow air into the carriage through the tunnels, worked when only fifty people were in a carriage, not over one hundred and fifty! Maybe it's time for Red Ken to look to private enterprise and employ a firm to fit a cooling system into tubes and buses. This may cost a lot, but we are are paying obscene amounts to travel anyway and it is difficult to see just how this money is being utilised! Maybe the Tories should have a suitable candidate for Mayor next time, maybe someone with a bit of gumption, God knows it's lacking somewhat in our party, and another radical thought, maybe someone who does listen to people like us sending our views and ideas! I'll be waiting for the winter now, because I've waited for change for too long, and I'm a bit bored to be frank.
Posted by Miranda James, 14:01, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I would much rather walk or even use my little car, than use public transport!
Surely it would be preferable to make public transport as comfortable as possible as well as cutting costs, to make the public WANT to switch to using it?!
In the present situation, I avoid it as much as possible! So Ken Livingstone, get your act together & get out of Blair's shadow!!
Posted by Anna McGovern, 14:41, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I'd like to travel by bicycle as an alternative, but I do wish that the roads were safer for cyclists. How about pedestrianising large parts of central London ;-)
I'd also like to see support for flexible working hours at work (so I can miss the rush hour as much as possible) as well as working from home from time to time.
Posted by Iain Tatch, 19:26, Tue 25 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I fail to see that it's really a criticism of the Mayor that he hasn't come up with solutions. Obviously we'd all love the tube, trains, and buses to be fully air-conditioned, but even forgetting the engineering problems who's going to pay for it? Is Lee Scott suggesting all Londoners pay another few hundred pounds a year in council tax so that TfL has the money to do this? That doesn't really sound like the Conservative way to me.
One thing that I think could be done would be to provide free water at stations. I know you can get chilled bottled water from vending machines (at those stations which have them) but it would be great if there were taps on station platforms where you could refill your own water bottles. I'd have thought most stations, at least in central London, have plumbing anyway, so running some kind of system through to the platforms should be feasible.
As to the problem of delays caused by warped and untensioned tracks, surely that's down to the engineering companies who are contracted to do the tube maintenance. Perhaps the best solution here would be to bring maintenance back in-house so that TfL don't have umpteen levels of subcontractors to go through when it comes to trying to determine accountability.
Posted by John Oxley, 07:10, Wed 26 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
Some 33 years ago I was a train guard on the Central line. The trains were still packed like sardines in those days, and extremely uncomfortable for the passengers. Some 4 years ago I was travelling on the Prague underground system and guess what.........it is air conditioned, and so relaxing. It is purely about cost, that's the reason there are no guards on the underground and no drivers on docklands light railways. Remember that two of the jobs of the guard was to take over from the driver in event of ill health, and ensure that nobody had clothing trapped in the doors as the train departs. Please remember this though. If there is an incident or a power failure then the electricity will be lost and so would the air conditioning.
Posted by Stephen, 09:17, Wed 26 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
It's all very well coming up with groundbreaking suggestions to deal with the heat as many have, such as 'carry water', but unfortunately this alone is not merely enough. A woman fainted on board the other day due to the heat, as I imagine many have. This is not the first summer, as John Oxley correctly stated, that the tubes have been such a hazard due to the heat, and it will not be the last. Considering that underground ticket prices have increased so much over recent years, it doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that this could go towards making the system safe and bearable for those who are forced to pay such extortionate rates.
Posted by Miranda James, 15:11, Wed 26 July 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I think Iain has hit the nail on the head with his idea about drinking water taps at underground stations! I always leave home with a bottle, but it doesn't last long in this heat, so I'd be happy with having free drinking water to top up my bottle :o)