TUBE SURVEY CRITICISES MAYOR FOR POOR SERVICE

9.24.00pm GMT Tue 11th Mar 2008

Ealing Lib Dems Nigel Bakhai and Simon Rowley conducting a tube survey at Ealing Broadway station

A tube survey undertaken by Ealing Liberal Democrats has found that a majority of passengers think that the London Underground service has worsened under Mayor Ken Livingstone.

The Lib Dem survey conducted in stations around Ealing and Acton found that 44% of passengers thought the Mayor had done quite badly, while a further 15% thought he had done very badly in running the tube network. The Lib Dems handed out surveys and spoke to hundreds of passengers at Ealing Broadway, Northfields, Acton Town, North Acton, Chiswick Park and Turnham Green stations in January to find out their views on the local service.

Passengers raised a number of issues in the service in the survey, including problems of overcrowding, delays, the lack of disabled access, and concerns about safety. Overall, a staggering 72% of passengers surveyed felt that the underground service did not provide good value for money.

Responding to the survey, Nigel Bakhai, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Ealing and Hillingdon on the London Assembly said: "Tube passengers are getting a raw deal in Ealing and Acton. Passengers told us they felt they were being charged first class fares for third class travel. Despite record investment, tube trains are still overcrowded, overheated and unreliable. We must improve the tube network if we want more people to switch from using their cars."