London TravelWatch
Encyclopedia
London TravelWatch is a British consumer organization
that campaigns for improvements to transport in London. It is the transport watchdog for services provided by Transport for London, which includes facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. It is also the watchdog for National Rail companies in the London area and significant parts of the South East. It also deals with individual complaints by passengers against the relevant transport operators. However, it takes up a complaint only after the operator has already dealt with it, if the complainant remains dissatisfied. It is therefore in consumer representation terms an "appeals body". It is funded by the London Assembly
and was established in its current form in July 2000.
in 1947 was accompanied by a system for national and regional advisory committees set up to represent the public interest. London was represented by the "Transport Users Consultative Committee for London", which had a duty to consider and make recommendations relating to matters brought to its notice by users, transport providers, or which it considered merited investigation. This responsibility has remained broadly unaltered and is part of TravelWatch's statutory remit today. What has changed is the extent of the body's geographical and modal remit; responsibility for its appointment and remuneration; and on several occasions, its name.
These changes were due to changes in both the way transport was run and the way London was governed. By the 1970s a "London Transport Passengers Committee" existed, appointed and paid for by the Greater London Council
(GLC). It represented passengers of London Transport services but not those of the railways (still nationalised at that time). Rail passengers had separate representation by a rail users regional committee, part of a national network of rail users' committees.
When the GLC was abolished in 1986, the "London Transport Passengers Committee" became the "London Regional Passengers Committee". Its remit was extended to British Rail passengers in and around London, so in effect it absorbed the rail users' regional committee for London. When the Greater London Authority
was established in 2000 it was renamed again, this time as the "London Transport Users Committee", which remains its legal name, and had its remit extended again to cover all activities of Transport for London, other than freight. In practice this included parts of the road network, so car users became part of its responsibility: there is also a duty to take particular account of the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. In 2005 LTUC adopted the operating name "London TravelWatch".
, including the London Underground
, London Buses
, the Docklands Light Railway
, Tramlink
, Dial-a-Ride
services, London River Services
and the Woolwich Ferry
, taxis and private hire cars, Barclays Cycle Hire
, and services operated by National Rail
train operating companies, the Heathrow Express
and Eurostar
.. The geographical area of the rail remit extends far beyond the boundaries of Greater London itself, and includes sizeable areas in the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Kent from where passengers travel into London for work and leisure purposes. All rail journeys that either start or end in London are covered. This means that TravelWatch is responsible for over half of all rail journeys within Great Britain. As Passenger Focus is responsible for rail outside London this produces an overlap in jurisdiction. However in practice this relates to a small number of cases as most rail passengers who make a complaint have a clear enough idea as to whether it is, in common sense terms, a London train or not. Any ambiguity as to which consumer body should be involved in a particular case is dealt with by liaison between the two bodies with the workload associated with these processes not being significant. On policy matters the two bodies co operate when required.
The role of London TravelWatch is to:
However the implementation of the Assembly's decision which was opposed by TravelWatch, required legislation by Parliament, as TravelWatch has a statutory basis separate from the GLA. Accordingly the Assembly requested that the Government introduce legislation to give effect to its wishes. The appropriate vehicle for any change would have been the Localism Act but the Minister declined to include any alteration in the status of TravelWatch in that Bill when it originated in the House of Commons. A further complication was the decision by central government to sharply reduce the funding of Passenger Focus, which would have made any transfer of further functions to that body problematic.
When the Localism Bill was before the House of Lords an amendment was proposed at committee stage by two Liberal Democrat peers, which if passed would have transferred the functions of the current TravelWatch Board to the GLA transport committee. The amendment due to timetabling issues, could not be taken until the report stage but was debated on the evening of the 12 September 2011. In the event the amendment was withdrawn without a vote having neither Government support nor being without criticism from a number of Peers. (The Bill received Royal Assent as the Localism Act on 15 November 2011). There are no other plans known for legislation to alter the status of TravelWatch.
Consumer organization
Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse like unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution.Consumer organizations may operate via protests, campaigning or lobbying...
that campaigns for improvements to transport in London. It is the transport watchdog for services provided by Transport for London, which includes facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. It is also the watchdog for National Rail companies in the London area and significant parts of the South East. It also deals with individual complaints by passengers against the relevant transport operators. However, it takes up a complaint only after the operator has already dealt with it, if the complainant remains dissatisfied. It is therefore in consumer representation terms an "appeals body". It is funded by the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
and was established in its current form in July 2000.
History
The origins of London TravelWatch can be traced back over 60 years to the time of nationalisation of parts of the public transport network under the postwar Labour Government. The creation of the state-owned British Transport CommissionBritish Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
in 1947 was accompanied by a system for national and regional advisory committees set up to represent the public interest. London was represented by the "Transport Users Consultative Committee for London", which had a duty to consider and make recommendations relating to matters brought to its notice by users, transport providers, or which it considered merited investigation. This responsibility has remained broadly unaltered and is part of TravelWatch's statutory remit today. What has changed is the extent of the body's geographical and modal remit; responsibility for its appointment and remuneration; and on several occasions, its name.
These changes were due to changes in both the way transport was run and the way London was governed. By the 1970s a "London Transport Passengers Committee" existed, appointed and paid for by the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
(GLC). It represented passengers of London Transport services but not those of the railways (still nationalised at that time). Rail passengers had separate representation by a rail users regional committee, part of a national network of rail users' committees.
When the GLC was abolished in 1986, the "London Transport Passengers Committee" became the "London Regional Passengers Committee". Its remit was extended to British Rail passengers in and around London, so in effect it absorbed the rail users' regional committee for London. When the Greater London Authority
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...
was established in 2000 it was renamed again, this time as the "London Transport Users Committee", which remains its legal name, and had its remit extended again to cover all activities of Transport for London, other than freight. In practice this included parts of the road network, so car users became part of its responsibility: there is also a duty to take particular account of the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. In 2005 LTUC adopted the operating name "London TravelWatch".
Remit
London TravelWatch's remit covers all services provided by Transport for LondonTransport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
, including the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
, London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
, the Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
, Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
, Dial-a-Ride
London Dial-a-Ride
London Dial-a-Ride is an arm of Transport for London that provides multi-occupancy door to door transport service for people with a permanent or long term disability or health problem who are unable, or virtually unable to use conventional public transport.-Fleet:* Mercedes Sprinter 312D minibus*...
services, London River Services
London River Services
London River Services is a division of Transport for London , which manages passenger transport on the River Thames in London, UK. They do not own or operate any boats but license the services of other operators...
and the Woolwich Ferry
Woolwich Ferry
The Woolwich Free Ferry is a boat service across the River Thames, London, UK, which is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of Transport for London...
, taxis and private hire cars, Barclays Cycle Hire
Barclays Cycle Hire
Barclays Cycle Hire is a public scheme bicycle sharing scheme that was launched on 30 July 2010 in London, United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are informally referred to as Boris bikes, after Boris Johnson, who was the Mayor of London at the time of the official launch.BCH commenced operations...
, and services operated by National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
train operating companies, the Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express is an airport rail link from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
and Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
.. The geographical area of the rail remit extends far beyond the boundaries of Greater London itself, and includes sizeable areas in the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Kent from where passengers travel into London for work and leisure purposes. All rail journeys that either start or end in London are covered. This means that TravelWatch is responsible for over half of all rail journeys within Great Britain. As Passenger Focus is responsible for rail outside London this produces an overlap in jurisdiction. However in practice this relates to a small number of cases as most rail passengers who make a complaint have a clear enough idea as to whether it is, in common sense terms, a London train or not. Any ambiguity as to which consumer body should be involved in a particular case is dealt with by liaison between the two bodies with the workload associated with these processes not being significant. On policy matters the two bodies co operate when required.
The role of London TravelWatch is to:
- investigate suggestions and complaints from users who are dissatisfied with the response received from the service provider;
- conduct independent research and produce publications on issues affecting transport users
- maintain a regular dialogue with operators;
- assess the impact and make recommendations if proposals are made for the closure of a railway line or a station.
Board
The full complement of the TravelWatch Board is a chair plus twelve ordinary members. Each member is appointed for a four-year term, with half the members retiring every two years, with the possibility of reappointment. In addition the TravelWatch Chair is separately appointed by the London Assembly also for a four year term with possibility for reappointment. Members of the London Assembly may not be appointed to the Board; but London Borough Councillors may be. Vacancies are advertised when they arise, and the appointments are made from amongst applicants by the GLA according to the rules governing public appointments that are to be made on the basis of merit. The London Assembly having recommended the separate existence of TravelWatch be brought to an end through absorption by the Assembly (following the review discussed below), the Transport Committee decided not to appoint successor members to the Board while the future of the organisation is in doubt. Six members of the Board retired in rotation on January 2011 and were not replaced. Consequently the London TravelWatch board has, at present, (November 2011) six members and the separately appointed chairman. The Chairman is Sharon Grant. One of the Board members is appointed by the GLA to sit on the Board of Passenger Focus to represent London in national rail matters and to facilitate coordination between the two bodies. The current appointee is David Leibling. He is also Vice Chair of the TravelWatch Board, having been nominated to this position by the Board, and appointed to it by the GLA.Future
In March 2010 the London Assembly authorised a review into the future of London TravelWatch, undertaken by the Business and Management Committee. The Committee was empowered to examine the effectiveness of London TravelWatch as an advocate body for transport users. As part of this process, user groups across London alongside elected representatives made submissions to the Committee. In September 2010 the Committee published its findings, chiefly to recommend London TravelWatch be abolished. This was the only option put forward by the GLA for the future of transport user representation in London. (Other options that could have been considered, but were not, were to either merge TravelWatch completely with Passenger Focus, or to leave TravelWatch as a stand alone body, but with reduced functions.) The Committee argued there was too much duplication between London TravelWatch and the national watchdog Passenger Focus that the cost of TravelWatch was too great, and that transport users interests would be better represented by elected politicians rather than a board composed of residents of the TravelWatch area appointed after open competition on the basis of merit. It was proposed that rail matters in London, including complaints, be handled by Passenger Focus. For other transport modes the complaints (appeals) function was to be transferred to a complaints unit which would be part of the London Assembly. The remaining functions of the Board (which would cease to exist) would be carried out by the elected members of the Transport Committee.However the implementation of the Assembly's decision which was opposed by TravelWatch, required legislation by Parliament, as TravelWatch has a statutory basis separate from the GLA. Accordingly the Assembly requested that the Government introduce legislation to give effect to its wishes. The appropriate vehicle for any change would have been the Localism Act but the Minister declined to include any alteration in the status of TravelWatch in that Bill when it originated in the House of Commons. A further complication was the decision by central government to sharply reduce the funding of Passenger Focus, which would have made any transfer of further functions to that body problematic.
When the Localism Bill was before the House of Lords an amendment was proposed at committee stage by two Liberal Democrat peers, which if passed would have transferred the functions of the current TravelWatch Board to the GLA transport committee. The amendment due to timetabling issues, could not be taken until the report stage but was debated on the evening of the 12 September 2011. In the event the amendment was withdrawn without a vote having neither Government support nor being without criticism from a number of Peers. (The Bill received Royal Assent as the Localism Act on 15 November 2011). There are no other plans known for legislation to alter the status of TravelWatch.