Volkswagen joins materials firm Umicore in £2.6bn battery venture September 26, 2022 Volkswagen has teamed up with Belgian materials firm Umicore and announced a €3bn (£2.6bn) battery parts joint venture. The German powerhouse is the latest automotive maker aiming to bring battery production in-house to protect it from geopolitical tensions as it also reduces logistics costs. While raw materials will be sourced from around the world, the [...]
EV drivers hit by rise in public charging costs September 26, 2022 The cost of charging an electric vehicle has risen 42 percent since May, according to RAC Electric Experts. On average it now costs 63.29p per kilowatt hour to refuel an EV at a public rapid charger on a non-subscription basis – an 18.75p increase from four months ago. The latest figures show that “it is [...]
Labour re-commits to nationalising rail if it wins the next election September 26, 2022 Labour has re-committed to nationalising the railways if it forms government after the next election. Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh told the Labour party conference in Liverpool today that “the days of tinkering around the edges of a system that so clearly failed the public are over”. Five rail firms – including LNER, Northern Trains [...]
Delta resumes flights from Gatwick in April following 11-year hiatus September 26, 2022 Delta will resume flying from Gatwick to the US in April following an 11-year hiatus. The legacy carrier announced on monday that a daily service to JFK will restart on 11 April, with tickets already on sale. “Delta is a huge name in the transatlantic market and being able to offer passengers across London and [...]
Easyjet ends carbon offsetting scheme as it focuses on new aircraft technology September 26, 2022 Easyjet is ending its carbon offsetting scheme at the end of the year in favour of a multi-million-pound investment into new aircraft technology under its roadmap to net-zero by 2050. As part of the plan, older planes will be replaced with 168 new Airbus NEO, which are 15 per cent more efficient and 50 per [...]
Burnham calls on Starmer to show more ‘fight’ against Truss’ tax cuts September 25, 2022 Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has called on Sir Keir Starmer to show more “fight” against the government, after a day of fuelling speculation that he wants to be the next Labour leader. Burnham told an event at the Labour conference today that he supported Starmer, but that “we need to get a bit more [...]
Avanti asks ministers for relief with train service performance targets September 25, 2022 London to Manchester train operator Avanti has begged ministers to relieve it from performance target deadlines, after struggling with driver shortages. The ailing operator has asked the Department for Transport to greenlight a “force majeure” declaration on its West Coast line, according to The Sunday Times. This would mean Avanti would not have to hit [...]
Some parts of UK to have zero trains this weekend with rail strike to disrupt London Marathon September 25, 2022 Passengers are warned that some parts of the UK will have zero trains during a strike by the rail unions in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association and Unite will walk out on Saturday October 1, with further [...]
UK motorists won’t make most of drop in oil prices due to weak pound September 24, 2022 Drivers will not make most of oil prices falling due to the pound’s ongoing drop against the dollar. Oil prices have dropped to the lowest since January following recession fears in the UK but, as Brent Crude is priced in dollars, any change in the exchange rate is automatically passed on to motorists. Data from [...]
Overseas travel to UK lags behind pre-Covid levels despite yearly boom September 24, 2022 Overseas travel to the UK has remained significantly behind pre-pandemic levels, despite a boom if compared to 2021 levels. This is largely due to countries around the world – including the UK and EU – scrapping Covid travel restrictions since the beginning of the year. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday [...]