Flying taxis could help smart transport take off October 23, 2018 Flying taxis have this week moved one step closer to take-off, as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) opens a consultation for new rules to govern drone-filled skies. And not a moment too soon. Last month, a drone capable of carrying human passengers was trialled in Gloucestershire, while another British firm is working on electric [...]
Tube delays: Signal failure causes delays on Northern Line’s Charing Cross branch October 23, 2018 Delays are affecting the Northern Line this morning after a signal failure. Commuters travelling southbound between Camden Town and Kennington on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line faced severe delays after the signal failure at Euston. Transport for London (TfL) said local buses will accept Tube tickets if commuters are able to get [...]
British Airways to hand Heathrow staff iPads in bid to improve customer service October 22, 2018 British Airways (BA) has announced a multi-million pound training scheme for its Heathrow staff that will see them walk terminal floors equipped with iPads to answer passengers’ enquiries. Starting with its customer service personnel in Terminal 5, between now and next summer BA will train staff to help with a range of customer enquiries, [...]
Hybrid car grants end early after ‘exceptional demand’ October 22, 2018 The government has pulled the plug on its grants for buyers of low-emissions cars, after “exceptional demand” for certain models meant the policy quickly hit its sales cap earlier than expected. Drivers had rushed to take advantage of the previous, more-generous grant: prompting a huge spike in sales over recent weeks. Now, the smaller replacement [...]
Uber to appeal Singaporean competition watchdog decision on Grab merger October 22, 2018 Uber has said it will appeal a decision made by the competition watchdog in Singapore on its merger with local ride-hailing rival Grab. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) last month imposed fines of 6.42m Singaporean dollars (£3.6m) on Grab and 6.58m Singaporean dollars on Uber, in addition to business restrictions, after concluding that their [...]
Fiat to sell components maker to KKR-backed firm, creating major car parts manufacturer October 22, 2018 Fiat will sell its car parts business Magneti Marelli to private equity backed Calsonic Kansei for €6.2bn, creating one of the world’s largest components companies. It will put US private equity firm KKR in charge of a new entity, Magneti Marelli CK Holdings, with total revenues of around €15bn. Read more: Addison Lee signs deal [...]
Elon Musk says first Hyperloop tunnel to open in the US in December October 22, 2018 Entrepreneur Elon Musk has said the first testing tunnel of his Hyperloop transport system is almost fully completed, and will be open to the public later this year. Manufactured under his firm Boring Co., Hyperloop is a network of high-speed transit tunnels designed to maximise the efficiency of public transport at a lowered cost. Musk said on Twitter [...]
Ryanair profits slide as strikes, cheaper fares and higher fuel costs impact bottom line October 22, 2018 Ryanair saw half-year profits decline this morning to round off a troubled few days at the budget airline. The results Cheaper fares, higher fuel costs and strikes all hit Ryanair’s bottom line, taking post-tax profits down seven per cent year-on-year to €1.2bn (£1.1bn) for its crucial April to September trading period. Read more: Photo of Ryanair crew [...]
Addison Lee signs strategic deal with driverless startup Oxbotica for London revolution October 22, 2018 Private hire firm Addison Lee has signed a strategic partnership with UK software startup Oxbotica to bring self-driving car services to Londoners by 2021. Addison Lee said the two firms will collaborate on technological development, deployment and operation of self-driving cars to first provide affordable ride-sharing taxi services in the capital. In the long term, it [...]
Electric bike startup Lime to scoot into the UK market with a soft launch in Milton Keynes October 21, 2018 Dockless electric bicycle and scooter startup Lime is set to fire up its first expansion into the UK market with a soft launch in Milton Keynes. The San Francisco firm, which is valued at $3bn (£2.3bn), is exploring an office in the UK with plans to hire a country manager and up to 20 staff [...]