Government hails a new air lane agreement with China that is “vital” for post-Brexit Britain October 11, 2016 The Department for Transport (DfT) has negotiated a deal that will more than double the number of flights between Britain and China. In a move the DfT said would "boost tourism and trade opportunities for the UK", 100 flights will now be allowed to depart from each country, each week. Previously a restriction was in place [...]
TfL signs £17.6m advertising contract with Outdoor Plus October 11, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has signed up Outdoor Plus as its advertising partner in a £17.6m contract to bring digital advertising screens across road underpasses in the capital. TfL said the network of roadside screens would generate at least £13m to reinvest in modernising the transport network over the next ten years. Initially, Outdoor Plus [...]
Every new house in Europe to have an electric vehicle charging point by 2019 October 11, 2016 Is the take-up of electric cars about to accelerate? A draft EU directive expected to be introduced by 2019 states that every new or refurbished house in Europe will need to be equipped with an electric vehicle recharging point. The guidelines due to be published by the end of the year will also state that ten per [...]
Heathrow’s exports soar six per cent in September October 11, 2016 Heathrow Airport may have been firmly in the Remain camp ahead of the referendum vote, but its September figures suggested Brexit wasn't giving rise to much turbulence. It welcomed a record number of passengers in September – 6.8m travelled through the airport, while Heathrow's cargo volumes rose six per cent on the back of growth to [...]
Government watchdog warns taxpayers stand to lose £22.5m should Garden Bridge project collapse October 11, 2016 The National Audit Office (NAO) has announced the findings of its investigation into the use of public funds to pay for one of Boris Johnson’s projects as London Mayor: the Garden Bridge. And it’s not impressed. Meg Hillier MP, chair of the committee of public accounts, said: “It worries me that whenever the Garden Bridge [...]
Driverless cars have officially hit the UK’s roads for the first time October 11, 2016 Watch out Google and Uber – driverless cars are about to hit the roads of the UK and they've been created by our very own homegrown tech expertise. The pod-like vehicles will be tested on the roads of Milton Keynes for the first time today, in the latest breakthrough in the government's ambitious driverless car strategy. After 18 months [...]
Southern Rail commuters had some very British responses to the latest RMT strikes and engineering chaos October 11, 2016 Travel chaos is well and truly underway as strikes (and over-running engineering works) cause more turmoil for Southern commuters. And passengers have been doing what any good Brit would do – taking to social media to complain. Strikes might be disruptive, but they do provide ample opportunity to take part in one of the national pastimes: queuing [...]
London commuters set for delays and disruption on train services as Southern rail strike kicks off October 11, 2016 Commuters travelling in and out of London on Southern services are facing delays and disruption as RMT union members embarked on the latest round of strike action – and engineering works are creating mroe chaos on the train lines. Workers are taking industrial action against Southern's plans to get rid of conductors and operate driver-only [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan gears up for charge on London’s most polluting vehicles October 10, 2016 Sadiq Khan has started the formal consultation before an emissions surcharge – “T-charge” – for older polluting vehicles is introduced in October 2017. Cars, vans, minibuses and heavy vehicles that don’t meet the Euro 4/IV emission standard will pay £10 to enter the congestion charge zone. It will predominantly be for those registered in 2005 or [...]
Don’t tell the black cabs: Brits can’t get enough of Uber as UK profits and revenues double in 2015 October 10, 2016 Uber drivers in the UK raked in more than £100m in fares last year, doubling revenues and profits at the disruptive transport app. The taxi service's holding company in Britain, Uber London, recorded a 105 per cent uplift in turnover to £23.3m in 2015, according to records filed on Companies House. This was up from [...]