UK motor industry shifts down a gear as inflationary sentiments creep in March 14, 2017 Britons are expected to put the brakes on their spending for new cars in 2017 as inflation bites, new data by consumer research company GfK finds. In research out today, it forecasts that car sales will slide by 5 per cent this year, following last year’s record. Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, [...]
Potholes beware: Britain’s roads are getting worse and hitting drivers in the pocket March 13, 2017 Potholes on UK's roads are hitting drivers in the pocket, with damage to vehicles costing an average of £1,600 per incident, according to research released today. The analysis of 10,000 over-50s revealed eight out of 10 motorists think road maintenance has got worse over the last few years. Councils and highways agencies have come under increasing pressure [...]
Monday strike chaos is here as the RMT union begins walkouts across Southern rail, Northern and Merseyrail March 13, 2017 It's not just Southern passengers who are being hit with strikes by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union next week. The union's dispute over the changes to the role of the guard is spreading, with a 24-hour walkout today on the Merseyrail and Northern lines, as well as Southern. An injunction effort from Merseyrail failed last [...]
Hailo merges with Daimler-owned MyTaxi to take on Uber in London March 13, 2017 There's no shortage of taxis and minicabs in the capital, with an array of companies competing for passengers, from Uber to Gett to Addison Lee, and of course London’s stalwarts: the black cabs. So, it may seem rather late in the game for a cab company to try and make inroads in the market, but Mytaxi [...]
Exclusive: TfL staff suffer stress, anxiety and depression while number of suicide attempts on the Tube hits 600 March 13, 2017 Nearly 6,000 Transport for London (TfL) staff have received counselling for issues including stress, anxiety, depression, train suicide and harassment, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. Figures obtained through a freedom of information request show that 5,810 Transport for London (TfL) staff received counselling between 2010 and 2016. TfL has spent over £4.4m since 2010 counselling [...]
Elon Musk has another ambitious energy project and this time it’s free March 10, 2017 Elon Musk has risen to the challenge of fixing South Australia’s power crisis in 100 days. If he can’t accomplish the goal within that time? He’ll do it for free. The Tesla executive responded to co-founder of the software company Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes, on Twitter following Tesla vice president Lyndon Rive's own claim that he would [...]
Easter and summer flights strike chaos ahead as over 1,000 flights are cancelled from French air traffic control walkout March 10, 2017 There are fears this week's French air traffic control strike could be the start of the next wave of action disrupting Easter and summer flights and causing chaos for passengers. When the five-day strike by staff at control centres in Brest, Bordeaux and Marseilles comes to a close later today, 1,500 flights are expected to have been cancelled, [...]
Tata Motors announces tie-up with VW Skoda to ramp up their ambitions for the Indian market March 10, 2017 Volkswagen and Tata Motors are teaming up to develop vehicles in India. In a statement today, the firms said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on a partnership that would lead to the launch of new vehicles by Tata Motors in 2019. VW's Skoda will take the lead on the project developing cheap cars for [...]
Heathrow and Gatwick fly to new heights as the London rivals both announce a record February March 10, 2017 February has been a bustling month for London’s two largest airports, as both Gatwick and Heathrow reached record-breaking passenger numbers. Again. Gatwick Airport recorded its busiest-ever February, as three million passengers used it, up 9.9 per cent from the same month last year. Once more, long-haul routes proved a key area of growth, soaring 20.3 per cent, while cargo [...]
Rolls-Royce crushed 1,000 diamonds to take luxury cars to a whole new level with this bespoke Ghost March 10, 2017 Just in time for the end of the Geneva Motor Show, luxury car maker Rolls Royce has rolled out its newest luxury: diamond paint. The paint colour itself is dark grey, but contains the dust of 1,000 “ethically sourced” diamonds, according to the company. In photos, the paint glitters rather underwhelmingly in the light, but [...]