Addison Lee drivers to gridlock Mayfair on Tuesday May 22, 2016 Over 100 Addison Lee drivers are set to gridlock Mayfair’s Berkeley Square tomorrow during a major protest over a fall in pay rates. Members of GMB, the union for private hire drivers, will block the road outside the office of Carlyle Group, that bought Addison Lee for £300m in 2013. The union claims that Addison Lee, [...]
Liverpool Airport wasn’t technically evacuated – but passengers have been removed from departure lounge due to problem with scanning machine May 20, 2016 Liverpool Airport was not technically "evacuated", but passengers have been asked to leave the departure lounge after a technical problem with scanning machines. The airport said passengers are currently being re-screened and there is no threat to passenger safety. Large numbers of holidaymakers had to leave the main airport building after the glitch. Manchester Evening News [...]
Dog lovers, look away now: Cat pictures may soon be coming to a Tube near you May 20, 2016 Hot on the tail of the city's emerging cat café culture, Londoners may soon be able to see cats during their daily commute. A cuddly Kickstarter fund aims to replace all the ads at a Tube station with pictures of cats, and it is coming within a whisker of its target. Although it was initially dismissed [...]
Transport for London’s contactless drive takes another stride forward May 20, 2016 Londoners are now able to use contactless on the Thames. Transport for London today announced that customers travelling on the MBNA Thames Clippers River Bus will be able to pay using contactless payment cards. Using contactless is the same cost as using an Oyster Card, which TfL says is up to 19 per cent cheaper than [...]
London’s iconic black cabs to come clean as Chinese owner raises $400m to electrify taxi fleet May 19, 2016 The Chinese owner of London’s iconic black cab has raised $400m (£273.8m) in a bid to introduce "clean taxis" on London roads. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. secured the funds to electrify black cabs through a green bond sale that is rumoured to have been oversubscribed by eight times. The company intends to use the funds for developing [...]
Uber’s driverless cars have hit the roads May 19, 2016 Uber is the latest company to get its driverless car plans into gear, with test vehicles hitting the roads of Pittsburgh, the location of its Advanced Technologies Centre. The billion dollar startup is embracing more technology with Ford Fusion cars which drive themselves. The head of the research centre John Bares told the Pittsburgh Tribune [...]
Uber drivers accused of over 30 sex attacks on customers in London last year May 19, 2016 Uber drivers in London were accused of 32 sexual attacks in one year, new data has revealed. The figures show one customer was assaulted once in ever 11 days, Freedom of Information data shows. The Metropolitan Police dealt with 154 allegations of sexual assaults that involved taxi, minicab (legally booked or illegally picked up in [...]
Caledonian MacBrayne wins £900m ferry contract in Scotland May 19, 2016 Caledonian MacBrayne has won a £900m contract to operate the Clyde and Hebrides Ferries Network after stiff competition from Serco. CalMac, which is state owned, had to compete against Serco Caledonian Ferries Limited to continue running the service after EU rules meant the Scottish government was forced to open up the network to competitive bids. The [...]
Here’s how your brain works on the Tube (and what it can teach AI) May 19, 2016 Our brains work harder when we have to switch lines on the Underground, even if there are fewer stops than a longer journey which requires no changes, new research reveals. Scientists have identified how our brains work when we're navigating the London Underground which could help artificial intelligence learn things more efficiently. Read more: Accenture's launching an [...]
EU referendum: Ryanair wants people to back Remain so much it’s offering cheaper flights home to vote on 22 and 23 June May 19, 2016 Ryanair has made no secret of the fact it is one in a vast number of companies that wants the UK to remain in the EU. But it turns out the company wants the UK to reject Brexit so desperately that it's going to be selling cheaper flights back to the UK on the 22 and 23 June [...]