We look at the recent transport news from across London.
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00:00Hello, yes, this is your latest London transport roundup. Four Labour London Council leaders
00:09have renewed their calls for the government to commit cash to deliver the upgrade extension
00:15of the Bakerloo line. Trains on the 119-year-old line could run every two minutes under Transport
00:22for London's plans to upgrade and extend the Tube route. The proposals, which depend on
00:28government funding, would allow 27 trains an hour to run on the line, seven more than
00:33the current 20. The Department for Transport said TfL got £500 million in additional funding
00:40at the budget last October, and the government was still assessing the challenging financial
00:46position it faces before committing any further funding.
00:54The amount of time lifts on the London Underground have been closed due to lack of staff has
00:59almost doubled in the last year, new figures have revealed. Lifts were out of action for
01:056,197 hours in 2024, compared to 3,301 hours in 2023. A Freedom of Information request
01:15by the Liberal Democrats showed those statistics. Campaigner Jenny Barry has said she has had
01:21to crawl upstairs when lifts are broken, and she wants Transport for London to be held
01:26to account and reduce time to fix these issues. Nick Dent, the Director of Customer Operations
01:32for London Underground, apologised, adding that they are reviewing the data to better
01:37help stations keep those lifts open for customers. Concerns have been raised at City Hall, as
01:48data suggests 1,131 Londoners, businesses and charities have applied for a discount
01:54to drive through the Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnel. Low-income Londoners in boroughs near
01:59the tunnels are eligible for a 50% discount on the charge. Small business and sole traders
02:05and charities are entitled to £1 off the peak charge. Local Democracy Reporting Service
02:12found 904 residents and 227 businesses had applied for discounts as of 17 February. Transport
02:21for London said it has launched a comprehensive multi-channel campaign to raise awareness
02:27of the discounts. Hina Bukhari, the London Assembly's Liberal Democrat leader, said
02:32the low take-up was very worrying and urged the Mayor to ensure that local people are
02:38fully aware of the discounts available to them. And finally, National Grid's Chief Executive
02:47has said Heathrow had enough power from other substations following the Friday's fire that
02:53caused the airport to shut down.