Mercedes Benz-owner Daimler to cut thousands of jobs by 2022 in electric push November 29, 2019 German car giant Daimler announced today it plans to slash thousands of jobs worldwide by the end of 2022 as part of its push to electric vehicles. The cuts are aimed to boost profit margins which have been eroded by investments in electric and self-driving vehicles. “The automotive industry is in the middle of the [...]
CAA website besieged by angry drone pilots ahead of registration deadline November 29, 2019 Thousands of UK drone pilots could face a fine of £1,000 if they fail to register their details with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) by the end of today. Drone users blasted the regulator on Twitter today, complaining that its website was repeatedly crashing as users rushed to register. Twitter user Toby Stripp said: “@UK_CAA [...]
Thames Water trickles to a loss on financing costs November 29, 2019 Thames Water said today it had swung to a loss in the first-half of the year, blaming increased financing costs. The company announced a loss before tax of £23.2m for the six months ended 30 September, which it said was driven by a “revaluation of hedging instruments to current market prices”. Read more: Water giants [...]
Christmas travel chaos looms as South Western rail staff prepare to strike from Monday November 28, 2019 Londoners are set to endure a month of chaos on one of the capital’s busiest railways, after last ditch strike talks between union bosses and the rail operator broke down again today. The 27 day strike, which begins on Monday, is on course to be London’s worst ever, and will hit all South Western rail [...]
Anti-Conservative Tube ads to be referred to watchdog November 28, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) will be referred to the advertising watchdog for displaying anti-Tory advertising during the election period. Israeli tech startup Monday.com has paid for advertising on the Tube that makes fun of Boris Johnson’s background and his record as mayor of London and Prime Minister. Read more: TfL bans Uber for London after [...]
Airports face ‘hostility’ from both Labour and Tories, says former transport minister November 28, 2019 Both Labour and the Conservatives have been accused of “hostility” towards Britain’s airports, amid concerns over whether the expansion of Heathrow will go ahead under the next government. This morning, former Labour aviation minister Jim Fitzpatrick said that politicians in Westminster are “nowhere near” catering to the needs of the airport industry. Read more: Heathrow [...]
Southeastern rail franchise on course for another extension as Go Ahead in talks with government November 28, 2019 Go Ahead, the company which operates the Southeastern rail franchise, is in talks with the government over extending its contract to run the line beyond the current 1 April end date. The competition for the franchise was unexpectedly scrapped in August and a five-month extension awarded to Govia, the joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis, [...]
It may be popular, but scrapping hospital parking charges would be a total disaster November 28, 2019 Amid myriad headline-grabbing proposals, you might have missed Labour’s promise to scrap hospital parking charges. This is exactly the kind of local, community-based policy that is likely to win votes — but it is a mistake. They might not be popular, but these car parking charges are actually a good thing. First, the charges bring [...]
Time for us all to get motoring on combatting climate change November 28, 2019 The polling firm YouGov has been tracking views on the environment for nearly a decade. For most of that time, the subject ranked pretty low in terms of voter priorities. But this election marks a big change. Figures from July show that more than one in four voters (27 per cent) rank the environment as [...]
Car production falls again amid ‘worrying times’ for UK automotive industry November 28, 2019 Britain’s car manufacturing industry suffered another month of decline in October, with 5,000 fewer vehicles made than in the same period last year. Manufacturing output fell four per cent in October, as 134,752 cars rolled off production lines, driven largely by weak demand in the UK market, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and [...]