Airport expansion go-ahead could coincide with the general election October 13, 2016 The government is set to decide on airport expansion in the south east next week, as legal experts warn that a lengthy process means consent is not likely to come before 2020 – an election year. Kevin Gibbs, planning partner at Bond Dickinson who has advised on airport expansion since the government’s 2003 whitepaper, The [...]
Luton Airport hits the 14 million passenger mark October 13, 2016 Luton Airport has reached another milestone – 14 million passengers have flown through the airport in the past 12 months. September marked its 30th consecutive month of passenger growth. There was a 15.6 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. In total a record 1.4m passengers chose to fly from London Luton Airport (LLA) [...]
Tax Uber more and cut black cab fares, think tank tells London mayor October 13, 2016 The Mayor of London has the power to make Uber pay more taxes and the city's iconic black cab drivers should reduce night time fares to compete, according to a new report calling for a major shake up of London's cab industry. A maximum working day of 12 hours should be imposed on Uber drivers and all black cab drivers [...]
Don’t pass Heathrow’s third runway costs onto customers, warns British Airways boss October 13, 2016 As speculation grows over the government's anticipated airport expansion decision next week, British Airways has said it would be "totally unacceptable" for carriers and passengers to bear the cost of construction. Alex Cruz, chief executive of BA, told the British Air Transport Association that while a third runway at Heathrow Airport was "overwhelmingly" the obvious choice, [...]
Create an engineering legacy for the UK, Chris Grayling tells HS2’s international bidders October 13, 2016 The UK's biggest infrastructure bidding frenzy starts today – with firms competing for seven packages of civil engineering work to build the first phase of HS2. Nine international consortia are submitting final bids to win nearly £9bn of contracts, and yesterday, Chris Grayling warned that only those who convince they will invest in a legacy of [...]
Passengers will be able to claim compensation for trains that are 15 minutes late October 13, 2016 Rail passengers will soon be able to claim compensation if their train is more than 15 minutes late. The Department for Transport (DfT) has introduced a new compensation scheme – Delay Repay 15 – which will be launched on Govia Thameslink Railway services, including Southern, within the next few months, and then rolled out across the [...]
Infrastructure delays cost the UK £48,000 a minute October 13, 2016 The nation is being held back by infrastructure delays – and they're proving costly. A one-month delay in the transport infrastructure pipeline means the UK economy will miss out on around £2bn of investment-related GDP over the next five years – equivalent to £48,425 for each minute of delay. That’s according to research by the Centre [...]
Beyond Heathrow versus Gatwick: The government should set airports free to compete for future growth October 12, 2016 The question of where to build a new runway in the South East has been stuck in the hangar for decades. But the lack of progress has not been for want of trying. Far from it. In fact, for all the time that’s been devoted to this issue over the last 40 years, we should have [...]
A legal decision on the status of Uber drivers is imminent October 12, 2016 Uber drivers could receive a judgement as soon as today in a landmark legal case that could decide the status of millions of people working across the growing gig economy and potentially disrupt the billion dollar startup's business in Britain. An employment tribunal will make a decision based on the arguments of drivers, represented by law firm Leigh Day and [...]
Commuters facing travel chaos at Euston station October 12, 2016 Commuters are facing travel chaos at Euston station this afternoon, due to a broken down train between Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction. Rail operator London Midland warned that some trains in and out of Euton may be delayed by up to one hour. UPDATE: Due to a broken down train btwn #Harrow&Wealdstone – #WatfordJunction trains [...]