Chris Grayling promises compensation for Southern passengers and slams “politically motivated” industrial action December 1, 2016 Transport secretary Chris Grayling has described more proposed industrial action on Southern as "politically motivated" and "designed to create maximum disruption". In a letter to Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown received yesterday, Grayling said: "We cannot allow the unions to dictate how or whether the railways should be modernised or not. They are seeking the [...]
Reduce motorway speed limit and ditch speed bumps to tackle air pollution, says UK health body December 1, 2016 Why would a UK health body want the government to ditch speed bumps? According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), it's a great way to cut air pollution. That's not all: a new report from Nice points to evidence from the Netherlands that slashing the speed limit to 50mph on motorways in [...]
China has hit supercar owners with a 10 per cent tax as it cracks down on luxury December 1, 2016 China's crackdown on luxury just went up a gear. It's imposed an additional 10 per cent tax on super cars, so the likes of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Ferrari are all affected. The tax will be applied to cars costing more than 1.3m yuan (£151,024) and is part of an effort to clamp down [...]
Chris Grayling has called TfL’s Heathrow expansion cost estimates “ludicrous” December 1, 2016 Chris Grayling has called Transport for London's (TfL) predicted costs for improving road and rail links for the Heathrow expansion "ludicrous". Giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on Heathrow's third runway, the transport secretary discussed warnings from TfL that making such improvements could cost up to £20bn. The Airports Commission has estimated surface infrastructure changes [...]
UK construction industry fears hard Brexit will turn skills gap into a gulf November 30, 2016 Construction could be buffeted big-time if there's a "hard Brexit" and lose more than 200,000 workers. According to a report by design and consultancy firm Arcadis, the industry could suffer from a "skills gulf" once the UK leaves the European Union and the loss of nearly 215,000 workers from house building and infrastructure if there's [...]
Air France workers guilty of “organised violence” after shirt-ripping episode last year November 30, 2016 Three former Air France employees have been found guilty of ripping the shirts from the backs of two executives fleeing a meeting about job cuts. A French court gave them suspended sentences of three to four months for "organised violence", while two others were found not guilty. Another 10 were given 500 euros (£425) fines for [...]
Cycling groups pedal away with £190,000 in Transport for London funding November 30, 2016 Not everyone thinks the prospect of cycling in London is an appealing one. You have to brace yourself for congestion, wayward pedestrians and angry drivers as all part of the experience. But Transport for London (TfL) wants to encourage more people to take it up and has plugged £190,000 into 46 cycling groups. It has [...]
Mayor Sadiq Khan unveils London’s first hydrogen double-decker bus November 30, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled the capital's first double-decker hydrogen bus as part of a commitment to phase out diesel buses. They will be trialled on London's roads next year and the mayor wants other cities to follow suit. No more pure diesel double-decker buses will be added to the capital's fleet from 2018 [...]
Ford is gearing up to test self-driving cars in Europe next year November 30, 2016 Keep an eye out on the roads next year. For Ford is bringing its self-driving cars to European roads next year – but just for testing. “People are really beginning to think about exactly what autonomous vehicles could mean to their day-to-day lives,” said Thomas Lukaszewicz, manager, automated driving, Ford of Europe. “Many of us [...]
Carmakers warn losing single market access in Brexit deal will ramp up car prices November 30, 2016 The boss of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned leaving the single market could jack up car prices. Gareth Jones said the car industry will be hit with "billions" in tariffs should Britain not sign a deal keeping the sector within a tariff-free EU trading bloc. It will add at least £2.7bn [...]