Here’s just how much of an impact long commutes have on health and productivity May 22, 2017 You may have suspected it, now a comprehensive study has confirmed it: long commutes are bad for people's health and productivity. A study of more than 34,000 workers across all UK industries, developed by VitalityHealth, the University of Cambridge, RAND Europe and Mercer, examined the impact of commuting, along with flexible and homeworking, on employee [...]
United Airlines: An abject lesson in how not to behave in a crisis April 12, 2017 Unless you were taking a break from the internet for the past two days, you would have come across a video of an elderly man – apparently 69, apparently a doctor – with his shirt rolled above his stomach, glasses slid down his face, blood dripping from his mouth, dragged down the aisle of the [...]
Government will pay long-suffering Southern rail passengers over £8m but many more could still claim compensation March 21, 2017 The government will pay out at least £8.85m in compensation to Southern rail annual season ticket holders due to months of disruption suffered by passengers. However, there have only been 36,979 claims so far from passengers for the special scheme to refund a month’s travel; under half of the number entitled to claim the compensation, [...]
Openreach is hiring 1,500 trainee engineers and trialling a new virtual reality experience March 20, 2017 Openreach is set to expand its workforce with 1,500 new trainee engineers hired over eight months who will work to extend the UK's fibre broadband network and improve customer service. The broadband provider will seek recruits from across Britain to fill new, full-time and permanent roles. Openreach will initially take on 119 recruits in April, followed by around 60 new [...]
Major work on the Westminster Bridge cycle lane revamp will cause travel disruption from next week until 2018 March 20, 2017 Work starts next week to develop two cycle lanes on Westminster Bridge that will cause nearly a year of disturbance, though Transport for London (TfL) has pledged to "minimise disruption". The bridge will become the fourth Thames crossing to get segregated bike lanes, and the south-side junction will be remodelled to make it easier to cross [...]
Southern rail will agree to fresh talks with the RMT if the union suspends all strike action March 20, 2017 Southern owner Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has extended an olive branch to the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union. Well, sort of. The train company has offered to meet the RMT for fresh face-to-face talks if the union suspends industrial action in its year-long dispute over changes to the role of the guard. Read more: Southern [...]
Hundreds of flights cancelled by airlines including EasyJet and Ryanair due to Italian air traffic control strike March 20, 2017 An Italian air traffic control strike today has caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights, as airlines warned of travel disruption throughout the day. Passengers flying to and from Italy will have their travel disrupted due to the industrial action, which is expected to last for four hours this afternoon. Airlines for Europe (A4E) said it [...]
Mkango and Metalysis team up to develop 3D printed earth magnets to power up electric vehicles in the UK March 20, 2017 Two firms have teamed up to develop 3D printed rare earth magnets, components for electric vehicles, in the UK. Aim-listed Mkango Resources and South Yorkshire-based Metalysis have entered into a memorandum of understanding to jointly research, develop and commercialise rare earth metal alloys for use in 3D printed permanent magnets. Read more: Business Committee launches inquiry [...]
New roads increase traffic rather than ease it, says the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) March 20, 2017 Building new roads causes more traffic, according to a study of over 80 road schemes by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. It found that congestion initially falls, but often this doesn't last long as new roads result in people swapping from public transport and making more journeys. Read more: This is how much Londoners will [...]
Rail industry promises 6,400 new passenger trains a week by 2021 to address the railway’s “capacity crunch” March 20, 2017 Britain's rail industry has announced plans to run 6,400 more passenger trains a week by 2021 as around £50bn gets plugged into the network to address a "capacity crunch". Projected timetable improvements for the next four years show 1,283 more trains a day will run from Monday to Friday nationwide, according to analysis by the Rail [...]