Reimagining public services

This all seemed geared to the application of ever more AI, ever more online interaction, so a robot call centre if you're lucky. Who's going to pick up the bins digitally, or build council houses digitally? It's a sticking plaster over a real wound, which is cuts to budgets and collapse in provision.

London transport is free to disabled people but not for their carers. As the disabled client has to pay for their carer, this means free transport is not free at all. I have tackled people at every level about this and they all come back with the same information, a list of discounted fares and services that are irrelevant to someone like me just wanting to go with my carer from where I live to the supermarke thalf a mile away. They even suggested Dial a ride, when all they need to do is add a ' +1' to the disabled freedom pass, 

nA few of the things that help me live a happy and healthy life include: being able to get around the whole of London using our brilliant public trasnport system (but what are we doing for the elderly and those on the margins who don't have such good access - do we styill have dial-a-ride services and how do you access it; going to the pub and music venues (make sure these do not close down - if they do ensure the locations have to be used for similar purposes; and make sure licences to sell alcohol and open late are granted in tour town/city centres regardless of NIMBY complaints); the freedom to walk and cycle around our great city (we have hundreds if not thousands of parks and cycling infrastructure is improving); 

Support that would help me would include: certainty about health appointments (if I have to wait for weeks or months for an appointment I would at least like to know within a window when it aill be; clarity on how and when to contact my GP - there are online and phone options); more segregated cycle lanes that join up with other cycle lanes (the infrastructure has improved massively but lanes often run out just as you arrive at the most dangerous junctions); a massive campaign about the importance of keeping London tidy with real enforcement of littering and fly-tipping offenders (a dirty town is an unhappy town, an unhappy town is an unhealthy town). 

We all have a role in ensuring we can live happy and healthy lives (we can walk instead of drive, take our litter home, report problems rather than moan about them). However, some things are too big for individuals. I'm all for devolution up to a point but some thing need to be standardised to minimise confusuon - e.g. can we have at least a London wide standardisation on recycling collections. In the other direction, all roads in a borough should be the responsibility of the borough - at the moment tfl manage the main roads and this leads to confusion.

The survey was extremely poorly phrased, and seemed written against a rubric that might have made sense against a local government planning document but didn't as a respondent. Mentally, bin collections, the tube, calling an ambulance, and enjoying a public park do not fit into the same mental category. How often do I interact with the planning authority? As a renter, never or daily, as their (restrictive) decision-making increases my bills. Do I support the use of AI in public services? Probably, at an abstract level, no. Do I support faster, more personalised, and more efficient public services supported by AI? Obviously. 

It also seems like almost everyone in this comment section is either in or nearing retirement age. It's important to take the views of older Londoners into account, but the needs of the other ~90% of Londoners also should be recognised. 

All public services should be judged by how accessible to the most marginalised in our society, e.g. those who are housebound, in prison trapped by domestic abuse.

Developing creativity should be the priority for all councils and the Mayor;s office. If this occurs all other goods will follow.

It would be nice if local councils followed the guidance in  Ageing Better’s series of Age Friendly Quick Guides covering Parks& Green Spaces, Public and Community Buildings, seating and Rest Areas, Toilets and Bus Stops.  Although intended to help the elderly things like clearer signage, sensible seating and accessible buildings help everyone. 

After the heatwave last week, the one issue that was high on my list the unbearable heat on the buses.  A short journey from Hampton to Richmond was atrocious, no air and felt like we were travelling in a sauna.  Surely with the temperatures rises, something should be done for passengers travelling on public transport.  You make things difficult for people to drive into central London but nothing is being done to help people move around comfortably on the service that is being provided.  This needs to be improved on.

We also have a council that doesn’t consult its residents, just decides to close roads because councillors live on them and don’t want traffic going near their homes.  The councils need to tidy up the area, it’s appalling looking out and seeing rubbish dumped in streets and weeds growing a foot high.

My understanding of public services include travel services (include buses and trains) which in the area I live are atrocious and as the other alternative is car for elderly people and london council is making it impossible by having no suitable parking facilities at reasonable prices. The London councils are obsessed with cycling and have no regard for the elderly who cannot use cycling for every day needs. London especially need to wake up for the transport needs of elderly who are not classed as disabled.

Here in Ealing we had timetabled meetings with Councillors and Council staff.

Area Committes. Ward Forums and Surgeries. All have disappeared. We don't think our council or our officers listen and/or represent us. No consultation about local (some major some minor) issues. Feel disenfranchised. Made worse by not having a local newspaper to hold Council, members and officers to account and to keep tyhe public informed and involved.

I would like to see responsive and accessible health care -ending of corridor care -which is so awful to experience! also more support for voluntary organisations who harness volunteers' time and experience to provide crucial services at very little cost to the public purse. 

Can we have better mental health support services. A&E department in a hospital is not the best environment and the long wait to be seen means you are more likely to walk off. A&E is not mental health crisis support. 

It is sad that banks are closing branches, ignoring vulnerable customers needs. However, I put to one bank how I can deposit cash and this was answered...I can do this at a hub or post office. However, when I checked and this cannot be done at a hub and there is an annual limit how much cash you can deposit into your own account at the post office. So a service is lost and alternatives have limits. It is sad that these things are not made clear before services are lost. 

It would be helpful to have a local authority that works. One that answers email and letters and phone calls. One that does what is says it is going to do. It would be great if they did not threaten people. It would be great if they did not turn up unannounced for no reason. It would be great if they actually listened to residents. It would be really helpful if they produced accurate accounts. It would also be great if they stopped sending threatening letters when they are the ones who need to respond. It would be great if local authorities were are great places to work and people would not keep leaving so have to then start all over again. It would be helpful if they did not change a complaint into a service request because it helps their stats. It would be great if, when they change their computer system they uploaded all the data. It would be nice if when you attending an open day and speak with a member of staff if that  member of staff came back to you as they said they do. It would be great if local authorities understand the impact of repeating the same thing each and every year has on residents. Maybe I am asking for too much but I don't think I am...I work and I have to respond to people too. I cannot ignore something for years just because....how is it that local authorities can behave as a law onto themselves?

It is all very well throwing money at AI, technology,  What about basic needs of London?

 Potholes roads repaired. People dumping rubbish everywhere and getting pithy fines  businesses who dump rubbish should be closed or their owners removed from their jobs. 

Not only computers to contact services but an easy way to contact services without clicking too much and a phone number! 

I love to walk and use public transport. A walk to the bus stop will mean dodging dog mess, rubbish strewn on pavements, e-bikes casually left by inconsiderate riders, or worse dodging cyclists (of all kinds) on the pavement so by the time I get to the bus stop I am frazzled. I avoid local floating bus stops - one you have to stand in the cycle lanes to hail and board the bus or when getting off. And no, cyclists do not stop and will cycle through passengers. More inconsiderate actions. Once on a bus, you are lucky if you can hear your own thoughts with phone calls on loudspeaker, music turned up high, or food waste scattered around. On one bus I was getting off once I had descended the stairs I had stood on something, thought it might be a pebble, nope - a chicken bone...looking I saw a few more bones on the platform. I have seen what looked like cockroaches on one bus. Of course now that ebikes, escooters and mopeds are in larger numbers all other vehicles are slower. Sadly these weave through traffic and make journeys slower and I feel sorry for bus drivers. I enjoy when I travel outside of the UK as I can see transport systems that are clean, and not an assault on all the senses. In other countries people will put rubbish in bins or take it home they do not scatter it on the streets. In other countries cyclists are not on pavements. Having encouraged us all to walk it is such a shame that even that joy is ruined by inconsiderate people. 

Firstly we need prompts on navigating modern technology.

If we  travel in the London area we need safer pavements with Police stopping pavements being used by Cycles , E Bikes and E Scooters some of which are illegal anyway. Currently Police do little to make the pavements safe , despite the injuries regularily reported.

We need in our city more communication between citizens and council representatives. 

We need to talk with them about the streets cleaning. Because this is impacting a lot our mental health and our opinion about the city and the country.

If we know the council issues then we can help. 

Together we can do something for the city to look better, now, when we have trenches in many locations. 

I hope to have the opportunity to do more for this city in my off days .

I find transport inaccessible it is damgerosu for women genuinely scary and people with noisy phone or playing speaker phone conversations or music mean I am overwhelmed with sensory issues   I was born in London commuted for years but can't do it now even with earplugs 

Going out to wild parks and libraries is important to me. I do not like Parks being taken over by music events. We need our green spaces in London. I do not like them being managed and manicured too much. 

In London we have great public transport and access to it via the freedom pass. This is very important to me. 
It would be great if the buses could be speeded up and a review and extension of bus lanes would help as well as reducing space for car journeys.