2016 was a record year for used car sales after 8.2m vehicles changed hands February 15, 2017 Britain's used car market hit record highs last year with 8.2m vehicles sold. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), that marked an uplift of 7.3 per cent. Some 1.8m used cars changed hands in the fourth quarter, with a 5.5 per cent rise in October. Demand for smaller cars showed no [...]
Qantas passengers will soon get to use Netflix and Spotify inflight February 15, 2017 Flying is about to get a whole lot more fun. At least for anyone midway through binge-watching a TV series they can't bear to be apart from. Airline passengers will soon be able to watch hours of TV shows and films for free, listen to 30m odd songs – oh, and watch live sport too. Well, [...]
Amazon’s delivery drones could one day be dropping packages by parachute February 15, 2017 Amazon has filed another very interesting patent. At the end of last year, it was revealed Amazon had filed a patent for a flying airship warehouse designed to speed up drone deliveries. As you do. And now the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted the e-commerce giant a patent for a new way to deliver [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan announces new electric-only bus routes to curb toxic transport emissions in the capital February 15, 2017 Sadiq Khan has bolstered the number of electric bus routes in the capital, amid plans to crack down on London's air pollution problem. The London mayor said next spring, 36 buses on routes C1 and 70, which run between White City and Victoria and between South Kensington and Acton respectively, will become electric only. That will [...]
The number of days lost to industrial action soared by 89 per cent to 322,000 last year February 15, 2017 There were 322,000 working days lost to strike action in 2016, an increase of 89 per cent on the year before. According to official figures for the year ending December 2016 there were 322,000 days lost from 99 stoppages and 154,000 people took strike action. That compares to 170,000 days lost due to labour disputes in [...]
Lazy people rejoice: Jaguar and Shell team up for in-car cashless petrol payment February 15, 2017 Here's a treat for those often in a hurry. Jaguar and Shell have teamed up to launch the first in-car payment system for petrol. So you'll actually be able to pay for your fuel through an app on the car's touchscreen at Shell service stations. You drive up, use the car's touchscreen to select how much [...]
Fresh Tube strike chaos is on the cards after the RMT sets new walkout for next week February 15, 2017 London Underground drivers will be staging a fresh strike next week on parts of the Central Line, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced today. Drivers will walk out from 9pm on Tuesday 21 February until 9pm Wednesday 22 February in industrial action that could also cause disruption to the Waterloo & City line. The [...]
A fifth of Brits are resigned to poor rail service as more than two million complaints were made in 2016 February 15, 2017 One in five Brits are resigned to poor rail service, with complaints up nearly half a million on last year. There were 2.04m complaints made regarding trains in 2016, according to Ombudsman Services' annual Consumer Action Monitor. The rail sector was responsible for 3.7 per cent of complaints last year, making up more than half of those [...]
Hitachi trains for Great Western Railway’s Devon and Cornwall route take shape February 15, 2017 The wheels are in motion for new intercity trains connecting London to Devon and Cornwall – well, in a manner of speaking. Hitachi Rail's Italian factory has just started work on the bodyshells for new trains which will begin running as far south as Penzance along coastal routes in Devon and Cornwall from next year. Karen [...]
RMT and Southern Rail talks break down February 14, 2017 Talks between Southern Rail and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have broken down. The two groups have been in disagreement about the role of the guard on Southern Rail services, and the dispute has led to days of strike action, over several months. Southern had come to an agreement with Aslef, the union [...]