Krupesh Hirani

Customers of all major networks set to have access to high-speed mobile coverage across London Tube network

Access to high-speed mobile connectivity on the Tube has taken another major step forward today, with Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 joining BAI Communications’ (BAI) network, Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London confirmed today.

Customers of all four mobile network operators – Three, EE, Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 – will be able to access high-speed 4G and 5G-ready mobile connectivity across the Tube, including within the tunnels. 

BAI was awarded a 20-year concession by Transport for London (TfL) in June 2021 to deliver mobile connectivity on the Underground. Once complete, customers will be able to make calls wherever they are on the Underground, check the latest travel information, keep on top of their emails, catch up on social media and live stream videos, transforming the passenger experience and securing London’s transformation into a smart city. 

BAI’s neutral host mobile network will also host the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), which will give first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the frontline.

Work on delivering 4G coverage across the Tube network is well underway, following the successful transfer of the previous pilot section on the eastern end of the Jubilee line to BAI earlier this year. Positive progress now means that the next five stations to get coverage – Bank, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Euston, and Camden Town – will go live within the next six months. The additional connectivity within these stations will help customers visiting the city to make plans for shopping, events and socialising with friends and family in Central London across the festive season.

All stations and tunnels across the Tube network remain on course to have high-quality and uninterrupted mobile coverage. Some sections of Tube network will go live by summer 2023 – including parts of the Central line including stations and tunnels through the City and West End. TfL and BAI are also continuing to progress with delivering mobile coverage across the recently opened central section of the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Abbey Wood.

Mobile operators will also ensure continued and improved coverage via Wi-Fi on the London Underground and Elizabeth line when the network transfers to BAI in April 2023.

Krupesh Hirani

Support ramped up for Londoners in cold and poorly insulated homes with £43m cash injection to Warmer Homes programme

Mayor ramps up support for Londoners in cold and poorly insulated homes with £43m cash injection to Warmer Homes programme  

  • Sadiq and local councils are writing to almost 45,000 eligible households this week inviting them to register for the scheme  
  • Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 are available for low income households to make homes warmer, greener and cheaper to run  
  • Vital funding comes as Londoners face unprecedented cost of living crisis and soaring energy bills  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is today urging Londoners living in cold, poorly insulated homes to apply for grants from his £43m Warmer Homes programme. The vital support comes as Londoners face an unprecedented cost of living crisis, with Ofgem now estimating bills will increase by another 40 per cent, or £800 in October.   

This week, the Mayor and local councils are writing to eligible households inviting them to register for the scheme, which will make grants of between £5,000 to £25,000 available to low-income households to make homes warmer, greener and cheaper to run. Warmer Homes has successfully secured match funding from energy suppliers through the Energy Company Obligation and from boroughs.   

Funding is available for low-income households living in low energy efficiency homes. ​Including grants available for measures like:   

  • Heat pumps  
  • Insulation for walls, lofts and floors  
  • Heating system improvements or repairs  
  • Draughtproofing  
  • Solar energy installations 

While the Mayor welcomes the Government’s U-turn on introducing a windfall levy on energy companies – something he has called for repeatedly – he believes the Government must urgently take further action to help the most vulnerable with more money off their energy bills to pay the £800 increase; raise benefits by the actual level of record inflation as soon as possible  and restore the universal credit £20 a week uplift.   

The £43m of Warmer Homes funding comes on top of £20m delivered through the scheme since 2018, which was a mixture of Mayoral and government funding. ​The dramatic increase in City Hall support shows Sadiq’s clear commitment to ensuring Londoners live in warm, insulated homes, and ensuring which is crucial as energy bills rise.    

As part of the programme, the Mayor offers a Warmer Homes Advice Service which provides fuel poverty advice and referrals. To date, it has supported over 14,700 households, across all 33 boroughs in London.  

Fuel Poverty is also a major environmental health challenge in London. One in ten households in the capital are struggling to afford to pay their energy bills and heat their homes during the winter months. To help tackle this, the Mayor set up the Fuel Poverty Partnership, working together with experts across the health, social justice and environment sectors to guide London’s work on fuel poverty. 

To find out more and apply for the Warmer Homes programme please visit: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/housing-and-land/improving-quality/warmer-homes

Krupesh Hirani

ULEZ Londonwide extension consultation open until 29th July 2022

The formal consultation period for the extension of ULEZ to all of London is now open for people to feed in to. Toxic air caused by polluting vehicles leads to the premature deaths of 4,000 Londoners every year – most are in outer London. https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/cleanair

Consultation opened on 20th May 2022 and closes on 29th July 2022.

Krupesh Hirani

Central section of the Elizabeth Line to open on 24th May 2022 – Bond Street interchange to open later in the year

Transport for London (TfL) has today confirmed that, subject to final safety approvals, the Elizabeth line will open on Tuesday 24 May 2022.

Trains will run every five minutes 06:30 – 23:00 Monday to Saturday between Paddington and Abbey Wood. 

The Elizabeth line will initially operate as three separate railways, with services from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield connecting with the central tunnels from autumn this year.

In the coming weeks, Elizabeth line signage will continue to be uncovered across the network in preparation for the start of customer service. The updated Tube and Rail map will also be released later showing the new central section stations connected with the rest of the TfL network for the first time.

Work is ongoing at Bond Street Elizabeth line station, which means that it will not open with the other stations on 24 May. 

Whilst it is great to see a date has been announced for the opening of the Elizabeth Line, it is frustrating that people living in Brent and Harrow near one of our nine Jubilee Line stations will not be able to benefit fully from the Elizabeth Line for now as the Bond Street interchange is not yet ready. 

Thankfully TfL say they are working hard to get the Station ready. As with many major infrastructure projects on railways, some stations are logistically and practically harder than others to do works on. 

The station continues to make good progress and the team at Bond Street are working hard to open the station later this year. 

Krupesh Hirani

Normal Metropolitan Line Timetable set to resume on Tuesday 3rd May

The normal weekday timetable is planned to resume on the Metropolitan line from Tuesday 3 May.

This is following detailed checks on some of Metropolitan line trains, following a fault that TfL found with some of the wheels on the fleet.

Following those checks and while the faulty wheels are replaced, TfL has enough trains to run a normal service on all days of the week.

Some planned cancellations may be required at certain times whilst TfL continue to work to return the full fleet to service. TfL are continuing to run weekend and Bank Holiday timetable as normal. 

Krupesh Hirani

New timetable for Metropolitan Line following safety fault

During regular and routine inspections, TfL have identified a fault with some of the wheels on a number of Metropolitan line trains. Safety has to be the number one priority top priority and as a precautionary measure TfL have increased the rate of inspection of these trains to make detailed checks of the entire fleet.

A new timetable has been introduced on the Metropolitan line to ensure TfL can continue to run as frequent and regular a timetable as possible while the inspections take place and engineers resolve the fault. The details of this timetable are provided below and TfL are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue.

TfL have begun notifying customers of the changes via direct email, at stations, and all journey planning tools are being updated. All customers are being asked to check before they travel. 

Krupesh Hirani

Jubilee line Night Tube services to return on weekends from the evening of Saturday 21 May

Jubilee line Night Tube services are to return on weekends from the evening of Saturday 21 May, with Northern and Piccadilly lines returning later this summer. 

This is in addition to the Night Tube services already running on Central and Victoria lines and Night Overground services between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate.

All Night Tube services were suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Services on the Jubilee line will run throughout the night on Fridays and Saturdays from the evening of Saturday 21 May, joining the Central and Victoria lines, which resumed Night Tube services in November 2021. The return of the Jubilee line Night Tube service also provides an important interchange with Night Overground, which operates between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate.

The Northern and Piccadilly lines will be returning to night services later this summer. Restoring night services on these lines is helping businesses like bars, clubs and restaurants as London’s night-time economy returns to normal following the pandemic.

It will also provide further safe, quick travel options for all Londoners and visitors looking to make the most of all the capital has to offer in the evenings, and those who need to travel to or from work at night.

London had 1.6m people regularly working at night before the pandemic – that is a third of the city’s workforce.

The Night Tube is a safe, affordable and quick way for the people who keep London going at night to get to and from work. 

Krupesh Hirani

Mayor announces new online hub to help Londoners facing financial hardship amidst cost of living crisis

  • The Cost of Living Hub will help Londoners access information, financial support and advice to help manage household finances
  • The new online resource is announced as the energy price cap is raised, meaning many across the capital face a 54 per cent rise in their energy bills
  • The effects of rising energy bills coupled with increases in National Insurance contributions and Council Tax will put more pressure on Londoners, with polling earlier this year showing that 34 per cent had struggled to pay their household bills in the previous six months

The Mayor of London has announced a new online Cost of Living Hub to help Londoners experiencing financial hardship as a result of spiralling inflation, increases in National Insurance and the raising of the energy price cap which comes into effect today.

The Cost of Living Hub will help Londoners access a wide range of information and advice including how to claim benefits that they are entitled to, help dealing with debt, financial management and mental health support.

The new online Hub includes targeted information for groups of Londoners who are more likely to experience poverty and financial hardship. For example, the Hub signposts disabled Londoners to disability benefits, older Londoners to Pension Credit, which is not taken up by nearly 100,000 eligible older Londoners, and low-income families to childcare entitlements.

With inflation set to hit at least 8 per cent and energy costs rising by 54 per cent this April, more Londoners face an impossible choice between heating their homes and paying for other basic essentials like food.

Some Londoners are already experiencing the impact of being moved off fixed tariffs and onto variable rates as a result of energy supplier failure. Adding a further overnight average increase of £693 will be incredibly difficult for many in the capital to deal with.

Polling earlier this year showed that 34 per cent of Londoners have struggled to pay their household bills in the previous six months. The Survey of Londoners also showed that fuel poverty disproportionally affects Black Londoners, single parents, social renters and disabled Londoners.

The knock-on effects of increased energy bills coupled with benefits not rising in line with inflation will risk more Londoners being plunged into poverty. The cost of living in London was already a challenge before the pandemic with prices seven per cent higher than the UK average, housing costs taking up a higher proportion of income and average weekly pay 5.9 per cent lower than in 2010 when accounting for inflation. This was in stark contrast to a 0.9 per cent fall of 0.9 across the UK.

In February, City Hall provided £200,000 to extend Debt Free London’s helpline for Londoners struggling with debt to become a 24-hour service until May. The free confidential and impartial advice helps Londoners with a range of problem debts, including rent arrears, council tax arrears, utility bills, credit card debt, and loan repayments.

Krupesh Hirani

New Lifts installed at Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station

Harrow-on-the-Hill Underground station on the Metropolitan line has become step-free, helping customers with reduced mobility to access the station and the wider Transport for London (TfL) network.

Four new lifts have been installed at Harrow-on-the-Hill station, providing a step-free route between the street and Metropolitan line trains. In addition, station signage has been enhanced to assist with wayfinding. Boarding ramps will continue to support customers boarding or alighting Chiltern trains, and with TfL’s Turn-up-and-go service, staff will be on hand to assist customers if required.

With the completion of step-free access schemes on the wider TfL network, the average additional journey time required for step-free journeys has now been reduced to around 6.7 minutes. This compares to 9.5 minutes in 2016, meaning significant progress has been taken towards the Mayor of London’s aim of halving 2015’s additional journey time of 11 minutes by 2041. Without long-term capital funding from Government, TfL will not be able to make further progress on delivering step-free stations across its network, which will mean disabled people will continue to have to take longer journeys to travel in an accessible way.

The completion of the step-free scheme at Harrow-on-the-Hill increases the total number of step-free London Underground stations to 91, meaning that one third of the 272 stations on the Tube network are now step-free – a 33 per cent increase since 2016, when Sadiq Khan was first elected as Mayor of London.

In 2021, step-free access schemes were completed at Sudbury Hill (in December), Osterley (in October), Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms on the Northern Line Extension (in September), Wimbledon Park (in August), Ickenham (in June), Debden (in April) and Amersham (in February). In addition, Ealing Broadway was made step-free in May 2021 in preparation for the Elizabeth line, and Whitechapel became step-free when the original station entrance on Whitechapel Road re-opened in August 2021. 

This year, TfL will complete a range of step-free projects that are currently under construction and began prior to the pandemic. These include step-free access to the Northern line at Moorgate, which became step-free to the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines last year. TfL is also progressing step-free access work that will make busy Zone 1 stations partially step-free in 2022. These are at Bank (Northern line and DLR Interchange only) and Paddington (Bakerloo line only). The current proposed designs for the redeveloped Euston station as part of High Speed 2 will also deliver step-free improvements to Euston and Euston Square station.

TfL is currently reviewing the results of its recent public consultation to help shape future step-free access priorities, with final outcomes of the consultation communicated in the summer. However, a ‘managed decline’ scenario would mean that without sufficient long-term capital funding from Government, further improvements to step-free access at stations across London – outside of those already underway or funded by third parties – would be impacted. Such investment is essential to future accessibility improvements and to ensuring an efficient and reliable public transport service for all Londoners.

This was a long fought campaign by previous London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow Navin Shah and was one of the schemes cancelled by the previous Mayor of London Boris Johnson. 

Krupesh Hirani

Time running out to sign up to money saving solar panel scheme amid energy bill crisis

More than 100 Brent and Harrow households have already had solar panels installed to help tackle soaring energy bill costs. So far 110 houses in Brent and 28 in Harrow have joined the Mayor of London-backed Solar Together initiative, latest City Hall figures show. Local London Assembly Member, Krupesh Hirani AM, is urging residents to sign up to the “exciting and innovative” scheme before registration closes on 3rd April to save cash and help London towards a “greener, cleaner future”.

Responding to a written question from Mr Hirani, the Mayor for London, Sadiq Khan, revealed more than 1,500 homes across London, including 138 in Brent and Harrow, were now part of the affordable renewable energy project. The deadline for the latest phase of installations is April 3rd. 

Solar panel installation could reduce household electricity bills by 30-50%. With energy prices increasing to record levels, now is a better time than ever to invest in solar to get cleaner energy and save money on bills. With rising petrol and diesel prices, the option is also available for people to use the scheme to install a car charging point powered by solar energy.

An installation through the Mayor’s Solar Together initiative is a third cheaper than the typical market price. For an eight-panel system – the most common system installed – customers have saved an average of £3,504. 

Mr Khan said that hundreds more installations are booked in over the coming months which are “critical for both tackling the climate emergency and helping to reduce household energy bills”. 

Energy bills in the UK are set to climb by £693 to an average £1,971 in April, after regulator Ofgem announced in February it was lifting the price cap putting more pressure on those struggling with the rising cost of living. 

Recent increases in energy bills have pushed an estimated 75,000 Londoners into fuel poverty. The latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show that in 2019, 20,322 households in Brent and 13,014 in Harrow were living in fuel poverty. 

Last month the Mayor announced he is committing a record £90 million through green bonds to unlock more than £500m in private investment to support low carbon projects, create green jobs and move closer to his target of a zero-carbon capital by 2030.