Archives for August 2010

See out the summer in style by indulging yourself in every Londoner's (least) favourite sport.

That's right, prepare and start training for the capital's very own mass participation endurance event: Getting to work (and getting home) when there's a Tube strike.

Here at Mind the Gap, we've got two of our very best men to help you get up to speed (although not as speedy as a Tube train if they were actually running, obviously.)

They are the Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello of all things transport and travel in London. Ladies and gentlemen... Tom Edwards and Steve Phillips.

That's them in the photo on the right. Tom is wearing the fetching pink shirt. Why are they both grinning when there is a strike on?

This is also them in this exclusive video below.

Shot especially for you, the wonderful Mind the Gap readers, on location in Oxford Circus, Steve and Tom discuss the likely impact of the strike and offer top advice to keep you moving.

Also, in a less hi-tech manner, they've also set out a useful Q&A-style guide.

Stay with us throughout the forthcoming weeks for the latest transport news and travel information.

We are Mind the Gap, and we are here so that there are no gaps in your journey!

And if anyone wants to share their coping strategies or tell us about their nightmare scenarios, leave a comment below/tweet us/email/Facebook/carrier pigeon.

Why are they striking?

The RMT and TSSA unions are set to walk out over 800 job losses. London Underground are making the cuts to ticket office staff to save £16million a year.

There will also be a reduction in ticket office opening hours by 7500 hours in total across the network and 6 stations are going to lose ticket windows.

LU says there will be no compulsory redundancies and staff will be redeployed. It says sales from ticket offices are down 28 per cent over the last four years due mainly to the success of the Oyster Card.

The Unions say fewer staff and ticket office opening hours mean they won't be able to help as many people in particular the disabled and the vulnerable. And this is a "mugger's charter."

Will all Tube services be affected?

In short, most. All Tube lines will suffer some disruption from delays to part or even full suspensions. Best to check what's running/not running before you leave the door.

Our travel team will be in overdrive giving extra updates on the traditional channels - BBC London TV bulletins, extra radio bulletins on BBC London 94.9, and the travel section of this website.

You can also join our commuter community on Twitter, Facebook and there will be more detailed updates on our Audioboo channel.

Will TfL be providing any extra services on the strike days?

As yet, we're awaiting confirmation of TfL's contingency plan, but expect it to be similar to last year.

That means extra buses, river services, guided cycle routes, and of course we've now got the hire bikes (though there will be a big demand for those).

Is there any chance the strikes could still be called off?

Yes, there is a chance that both sides could end up at ACAS the conciliation service to thrash out a deal.

What could be compromised on? The number of job losses perhaps and therefore the number of hours some ticket offices are losing.

There is also the other route of court action which has become more popular with employers for example Network Rail and British Airways both obtained court rulings to stop strikes.

But this dispute started back in March and the RMT Union have been updating their records since then. So you'd think the chances for any irregularities in the administration to emerge in court would now be low.

When was the last time there was a Tube strike and how bad was it?

June, 2009. And it was bad, if you wanted to struggle into work.

A lot of London's faithful commuters worked from home or took time off. The roads were a lot heavier, but the few Tube services that were running were surprisingly quiet!

Are there enough hire bikes to take up the slack?

No.

Up to four million commuters a day use the tube - more than the entire rail network and there are around 4,000 hire bikes all in Zone One.

So, I think while the bikes will probably be busier than ever before, they clearly can't match that kind of capacity. It's not really what they're designed for - they are aimed at short journeys under 30 minutes within Zone One.

But there will be guided cycle rides to help novice cyclists into town from all over London, I'd have thought.

As well as commuters who else loses out from a strike?

The business group London First estimates it costs the capital's economy about £50m a day.

The employees who go on strike don't get paid. LU get no fare box for that day. Industrial relations between employers and employees can sometimes get extremely ugly. Of course, the biggest losers are commuters.

Any winners from the strike?

Yes - black cab drivers, mini-cab firms, pedi-cab cyclists, Thames Clipper boat services, Boris Johnson's bike hire scheme, buses (if you can get on one) and possibly Tom's overtime!

But, no, generally, a Tube strike is just a lot of hassle for everyone.

What happens after the strikes? More strikes? Back to the negotiating table?

After the last few strikes we've had settlements quite quickly with both sides saying the other backed down first and they didn't change their offer. So that's a possibility.

But predicting things in industrial negotiations is a tricky business as you don't know exactly what's going on round the table.

The issue here also is this strike will have national significance.

Many people will be looking at these lay offs and say they show which way other cuts in the public sector will go and how they will play out.

So the stakes become higher and it can then become more about a clash of ideologies, than about head count. And in the current climate, the Unions will not want to lose face.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

News reaches me from the Lib Dems that they have got assurances from Network Rail that they are considering renaming Blackfriars.

As reported on the great local site SE1, one option is calling the new redesigned station Blackfriars & Bankside.

The press release I've been sent says:

Ian Coucher, Chief Executive of Network Rail has stated that he is "sympathetic" to the proposal and has initiated further work to be carried to examine the practical implications of the name change.

Simon Hughes, MP for the area, commenting on the response from Network Rail said:

"The redeveloped station will be the first to span the River Thames. It will also be the first station built with access from the South bank of the River Thames for 120 years. This is a golden opportunity to ensure that the name of the station highlights the direct access to attractions like the Globe, Tate Modern and the many new businesses and residential developments in the area.

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, who is working with Simon Hughes on this issue commented:

"It is vital that Network Rail and Transport for London seriously consider this proposal. Putting a name on a map really does help in drawing tourists and other people to a locality. Without question this name change could be a huge boost to businesses and the other many attractions around Bankside, as well as local residents who are proud to live in the bankside area"

Would naming it "Bankside" make a difference? Surely, traditionalists wouldn't like it?

According to Wikipedia the name Blackfriars goes back to 1317.

Or is this an elaborate smokescreen to distract from rumours the deadlines are going to get put back?

What other names would suit that area? South Fleet Street? North South Bank? North Millenium Bridge?

Anyway there is a big shin-dig this morning at the site with Network Rail and the Government Minister Theresa Villiers.

So watch this space. We will see how "sympathetic" they really are...

UPDATE: 3.30pm

Blackfriars isn't the only London station that is being redeveloped. You can see a photo gallery here of how some of the stations could look in the next few years.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

With just over two years to the Paralympics I've been looking at how practical it is for wheelchair users to use the Tube.

The answer is - not very - unless you're with people who can lift you out of the Tube carriage.

At Stratford Station, there seem to be a number of problems including gaps between the trains and the platform.

There are also four lifts wheelchair users have to use to get out - one in particular seems to overload when a wheelchair and a carer are in it.

London Underground says it will look at the findings and say 25% of station will be step-free.

A viewer Steve Smith has already emailed me:

"I have long been interested in accessability for disabled people because my father has been confined to a wheelchair for over 50 years and the inaccessability of London's stations don't only affect my father and other disabled people but also every one who's with them... or any one with young kids, pushchairs, prams, large suitcases, bikes, walking sticks, bad backs, visually impairments, etc. who struggle to get up and down steps, stairs and escalators.

I have written to London Underground before asking why they cannot make their most important underground stations accessable by using large lifts - which may take 10 or 12 people because then they will not only assist disabled people but also all the people mentioned in the above paragraph - as well as many others others not mentioned - but I don't recall receiving a response.

All of London's large train stations i.e. Victoria, Kings Cross, Euston, Liverpool Street, Waterloo, Paddington, Charing Cross, etc. should be easily accessable for any one in a wheelchair or any other disability, or with a large item, i.e. a pram, suitcase from street level to the underground. Maybe also other busy train stations i.e. Clapham Junction, London Bridge, Vauxhall, Lewisham, etc.

The underground stations with "acessable lifts" as you could see in the report are too small and not easily accessable for a disabled person and their luggage and any carers. God knows how they would feel if they suffered from claustrophobia!

If they put proper lifts of a decent size in, they would be acessable to everyone who needs help accessing the underground - not just some of the disabled.

Other underground stations which would really benefit London's residents and its visitors if they were made accessable with decent sized lifts may include Oxford Circus, Baker Street, Earls Court, South Kensington, Embankment, Tower Hill, Camden Town, Bank, Shadwell, Whitechapel & Greeen Park to name a few off the top of my head."

UPDATE: Tuesday, 10.30am

A viewer emailed this to me last night:

I have just watched on BBC London News about disabled access on the London Underground. This also applies to the main-line trains.

West Ham station serves C2C mainline and Jubilee line Underground but did you know that West Ham has to share a ramp for wheelchair users with Barking station on the C2C line?

What happens if the ramp is needed at both stations at the same time? How pathetic is that and do these ramps cost so much money that it is impossible to buy one for each station?

Having said that the C2C staff at West Ham are extremely helpful when it comes to wheelchair users.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

Ping!

Another initiative from Transport for London on cycling lands in my inbox. And this one is aimed at young people:

"Radio One DJ Edith Bowman and X-Factor presenter Dermot O'Leary have teamed up with Transport for London (TfL) to promote cycling in the Capital.

They are taking part in a series of short films produced by TfL to highlight the pleasures and ease of using a bike to get around London.

From today (20 August) five films, featuring the well known faces alongside three typical Londoners, can be seen online at www.tfl.gov.uk/cycling (where the videos will be prominently featured for three months) and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/transportforlondon, while a sixth film opens in cinemas.

Each film concentrates on a different aspect of the Mayor of London's cycling revolution, such as the Mayor's flagship Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, or the new Barclays Cycle Superhighways, and tells a story around one of the people taking part.

The films form part of the Mayor and TfL's efforts to increase the number of cycle journeys in the Capital.

The cinema film also features the new Bike Song track by producer and DJ, Mark Ronson."

You can watch one of the films here:

Transport geeks like myself will have thought "soft measures" when they read that, i.e. it's sometimes cheaper to try and change travelling habits through marketing than build new "hard measures" like a new Underground line.

The most succesful is the Smarter Travel Sutton scheme which cost £5 million over three years.

These films are well made and I quite like them. They may persuade some people to get on their bikes.

However, a couple of points:

1. The films cost £300,000 to make. That's £50,000 each. There will be those that say it is a complete waste of money.
2. Neither Edith Bowman or Dermot O'Leary are wearing cycling helmets. Of course, cycling helmets are not mandatory in law in the UK but there will be those who say in a cycling promotion video for young people that helmets should have been worn.

Equally, as I'm aware of the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of cycling helmets, there will be those who say wearing no helmets is absolutely fair enough.

TfL are pushing cycling hard at the moment with the cycle superhighways, the bike hire scheme and, now, these films. That can only be a good thing (unless you're a cycle-hating motorist!?)

Perhaps this concentrated effort to get everyone on their bikes is also a cunning ploy to counteract the upcoming Tube strikes?

Thoughts???

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

Last Friday (the 13th, no less), I broke the terrifying story about a runaway train on the Tube.

Yesterday, I managed to get hold of a video that was taken inside a control room, which sheds further light on what actually happened.

You can see this footage in my video report below.

It seems that the runaway engineering train was a lot closer to a passenger train than we had originally thought.

Sources close to the ongoing investigation say the closest the trains got was just 600m.

Last Friday London Underground had said they were 1km apart.

But there are insiders who, having seen this footage of the signalling display from inside the control room, think it could be much closer.

Although we won't know exactly until the results of the investigation are published, one source told me he thought it looked very much like they were just a platform length apart.

I've also seen leaked documents that say the driver of the engineering train jumped clear at Highgate Tube, while a platform at Camden Town station was evacuated.

Furthermore, the engineering train had no brakes.

Needless to say, the consequences of this incident could have been much, much worse.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

Last night my cameraman friend again called me saying loads of hire bikes had been left undocked near King's Cross.

So we legged it up there and filmed some.

Surprisingly, there were two Serco employees watching over the non-docked bikes waiting for the distribution trucks.

You can see some of the footage we shot in the video above, although there is no accompanying commentary.

This wasn't a mass revolt by cyclists but a planned method of emptying docking points.

Cyclists were docking and then Serco were removing them. The Serco employees told us the problem with distribution is even worse at Waterloo.

This is clearly a short-term solution but isn't it going to make the problem worse at some stage when they remove this over-flow facility?

I'd have thought they are going to either introduce more docking stations at Waterloo and King's Cross or they are going to beef up the number of trucks considerably from the 14 they have at the moment.

What it also means is while these bikes are in limbo, (and I'm told its hundreds at Waterloo some rush hours) there could be a shortage elsewhere.

No doubt, Serco's finest are working on a long-term solution...

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

I was at a BBQ over the weekend and a friend said his wife had been sent a free Bike Hire T-shirt.

They were given out to the first 1,000 people that signed up to the bike hire scheme as members.

The problem was she'd been sent a large size and it was too big for her. Now she took this extremely well but he says she returned the T-shirt to Transport for London.

Surely, I thought they haven't sent large sizes to the whole of the female population of London?

Oh yes they have.

My Transport for London contact (who probably thinks I'm trivialising things) said:

"Yes, all women got sent large. The large T-shirt fits a size ten perfectly."

Also on Saturday I got a courtesy call from Serco checking that everything was going OK with my cycling experience. Anyone else been contacted?

On another note, thanks to Lou Lou who got in contact about bank accounts and Boris bikes.

It seems you can't get two bike accounts on the same joint account.

So it means Lou Lou can't become a member or a casual user in September as her husband already has a membership account.

More on this when Transport for London get back to me.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

Welcome to my continuing bike hire adventures this week (part five). Part four: here. Earlier parts: here.

Yesterday was glitch free. And I used the bikes four or five times during the day.

There was one lonely bike left at King's Cross. And Londoners seem to getting the hang of the bikes very quickly.

If you see a bike on its own you know it will probably be broken.

Also, speaking to cyclists there is a whole vocabulary evolving around the bikes.

They've been nicknamed "boris bikes" and have a community site (borisbikes.co.uk) of the same name.

But yesterday someone talked about hiring his first "boris brick" - that's a bike where the brakes have been tightened too much. Basically it's an absolute shocker to pedal.

Are there any other phrases for the hire bikes? Please let me know.

I also had a look round the nerve centre in Islington. Along with the Evening Standard, I was given the guided tour.

The operator Serco are extremely open about the problems they've had and it seemed to me they were genuinely trying to figure them out.

The big issue as I've mentioned is the rail stations which seem to be like Paris' Montmatre or Barcelona's beaches - where the bike racks there are always empty or full.

Serco admit they may need more trucks to keep moving the bikes and they are now getting a picture of how the bikes are being used.

Not surprisingly it's from just outside central London into the West End at rush hour and vice versa at home time.

There are also a thousand or so bikes more ready to go and quite a few docking stations that have been installed and haven't yet been turned on.

They have 100 staff on the ground mending and moving bikes so it's quite an operation. So this is just the beginning.

Also no date yet on the full roll out. In hindsight the idea of a fully open roll-out seems crazy and would have probably been a disaster.

Serco and TfL took some flak on that decision (yes, myself included) but it seems this soft roll-out at least gives them a degree of control.

Of course, as TfL's press office kept emphatically telling me, 100,000 journeys have now been made on the bikes. And that's with the teething problems.

UPDATE: Saturday, 1pm

One of our cameramen was passing King's Cross last night at 7pm and he told me there was a huge pile of discarded hire bikes on Crestfield Street near King's Cross.

He thought there were probably 20 or so discarded hire bikes.

No doubt they were from people who dumped them because they couldn't find a docking station and had to get a train.

It's unlikely those people who dumped the bikes will get a £300 fine yet - although you never know - but it again highlights the issue about distribution in this system.

This is the issue around the mainline stations. The cameraman, who is a big fan of the scheme, said "There were two bemused TfL wallahs looking at the pile."

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

I've been writing about my cycle hire adventures all week. For the earlier installments click here.

Last night I picked up a bike close to work again and headed off towards King's Cross.

What is striking is how many of the bikes are being used.

Making my way through Bloomsbury there were hire bikes every few seconds and most people looked like they were enjoying it.

Around the station though I hit problems. I couldn't find a docking point at all.

I tried four but they were all full. A number of times I saw teenagers sitting on them enjoying the comfy seats. I think that is going to be a feature...

I ended up opposite King's Cross where there were three of us trying to find a docking point.

I successfully managed to add an extra 15 minutes at the terminal so I could find a slot somewhere.

There was much griping amongst us as you can imagine. But then a just before I set off a revelation!

What looked like an Astra towing a trailer turned up and started loading the bikes so I could quickly get rid of mine. These are the guys who redistribute the bikes.

More docking stations in some areas are definitely needed or more cars towing trailers...

But it was nicer than the Circle line so a positive result there (just)...

I visited the control centre this morning to see how they are coping. You can watch my video report at the top of this post.

Below, you can watch an extended interview I did with Alan Stannard of Serco, the contractor who are operating the bike hire scheme.

Keep your experiences coming or let me know if you've got any questions.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

I've tried again to change my cycle hire membership from a weekly to an annual as no-one has called me back following my efforts yesterday.

The contractor Serco's call centre is really struggling with the weight of calls. Having waited for five minutes this morning on the phone the first time I was cut off.

The second time I tried I was put through to the main reception. The receptionist there took my details the same as happened yesterday.

I've been told someone will call me back. It's midday now. Watch this space.

Update: 1330 - just received a call from the Barclays Hire Scheme. My weekly membership is being unsubscribed and they will call me back in another two hours to make me an annual member. Things are moving but it's not yet done. However I remain optimistic ....

Update 2: 1537 hold the front page. I just got this email at 1532 confirming I'm now an annual member.

Dear Mr Tom Edwards

We are pleased to confirm that you have successfully purchased an access period of annual. As a Member, your access period will start when you first use a cycle hire key to hire a cycle from a docking point.

Yours sincerely,

Barclays Cycle Hire

So, 27 hours after my first call it's finally sorted. Room for improvement Serco I think ....and reading the comments I'm obviously not alone.

Update 3: Wednesday, 1030

The bike hire saga continues.

Last night I failed in my latest attempt to hire a bike. With the first three bikes I got the red light at the station on Portland Place.

The docking terminal itself was showing error messages so I walked upto Great Portland Street. Again, no joy so I got the Tube. Hrmmmph.

However, a new day brings fresh optimism and this morning I tried again. And yes! It worked.

So I cycled into work and, personally, as I've said before the bikes handle pretty well. It reminded me of riding my Grifter back in the day.

The only slight hitch was when it came to finding a docking point.

All the slots around the office were full. So myself and a few others had to back track to find a space.

That's not ideal and I have noticed some racks seem to be full and unused while others are heavily used, particularly around rail stations.

There are meant to be 1.7 docking points for every bike and no doubt Serco and TfL will be trying to figure out how to solve the problem.

In Paris where they had the same issue they give extra credits to people who leave the bikes in more inaccessible places, i.e on the top of a hill.

Also unlike The Times who reported this morning a certain animosity and snobbery between hardened cyclists and those on the hire bikes I found no such thing. In fact, most cyclists were very friendly and inquisitive.

In another development today, TfL have admitted that thousands of people have been overcharged by the hire scheme. Are you one of them?

Please post a comment if you've had problems or indeed a good experience...

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

Just been told that a man's been arrested for stealing one of the capital's hire bikes. According to Transport for London he was caught on CCTV and the bike's still missing.

Tfl says it's the first recorded theft of one of the hire bikes - and so far there have been just two reports of vandalism.

The latest statistics for the Bike Hire scheme certainly show the schemes popularity. There have been 70,000 journeys as of 0800 today. And there are 31,000 members.

The breakdown of the members shows that the daily access fee is the most popular with 16,164 signed up - most using the auto top up facility. 13,775 are annual members with just 1,868 weekly members (myself included).

There are still problems though.

I tried to change my membership type from weekly to the daily type by calling the contractor Serco on the call centre number.

I called at 2pm and they said they'd call me back. No call back yet and it's now six o'clock. I did however get a T-shirt.

Having read and watched much of the coverage of the Bike Hire scheme my feeling it was debatably the largest advert for everyday cycling there has ever been in this country.

Olympians Sir Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins might disagree.

I'd have thought, Barclays the sponsors must think it's £25 million well spent (so far).

Also there isn't yet a date for the full roll out. And that will be another real test of Serco's systems.

UPDATE: Wednesday 11, August, 1230

Congratulations to the real cycling blog.

They posted a photo of a hire bike that had been suspiciously left in a canalside garden in north London. This was spotted by the Met who then managed to track down the thief!

Let me know your hire bike problems, pleasures and opinions...

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

So we're a few days into the much vaunted cycle hire scheme.

Have you hopped on board? How have you found it? Have you docked your bike successfully?

We've had reports of cyclists not being able to dock at full stations, and having to ride around in search of a free one.

And of course, we had the glitch on the Friday with bikes not being docked properly, forcing TfL to not charge on its launch day.

See Gareth Furby's report from the weekend:

Whatever your tale, it'd be good to hear them...

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?