At a packed meeting in the Chamber at City Hall today, Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy formally responded to the hard-hitting London Assembly Transport Committee Report ‘Future Proof’, into Taxi and Private Hire services.
In response to the report, TfL has announced new measures including £600,000 investment to increase the number of taxi ranks by 20 per cent within 5 years.
The Commissioner was questioned about an over-arching vision for the taxi and private hire trades, which TfL has agreed to develop.
The issue of Uber was also raised and remained unresolved. The Commissioner believes the trades must move with the times and keep pace with technological advances – but he also commented about his dislike for the company.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee said;
“First, I’d like to thank the huge numbers of London Taxi and Private Hire drivers who attended the meeting at City Hall today. The Chamber was full and many drivers were left standing outside in the rain. This emphasised to us how important these issues are to the trade and strengthened our resolve to continue to push TfL to provide a better service for the industry.”
“The ranks action plan is a good start, if not a little flimsy - but we would like to see all our recommendations taken forward by TfL – we need more than lip service. TfL needs to put the passenger first and there is clearly a lot more work to do.”
Notes for Editors:
Read ‘Future Proof’ here.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Chair of the Transport Committee, is available for interview – see contact details below.
London Assembly Transport Committee.
As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
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