Minicab and Uber drivers to lose exemption from congestion charge December 19, 2018 Minicab and Uber drivers will no longer be exempt from the £11.50 congestion charge from April next year, Sadiq Khan announced today as part of his push to curb pollution levels. TfL expects the changes to reduce the number of private hire vehicles entering the congestion zone each day by up to 8,000, a 44 per cent drop from current levels. [...]
Halo Top ice cream defrosted from the startup doldrums to become a retail success December 17, 2018 Junk food is, rightly, under assault. This year, we’ve seen the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks, and last month London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a ban on junk food advertising on the capital’s public transportation network. This comes after tougher TV advertising rules introduced last year, which meant that ads for food [...]
Exclusive: Aberdeen Standard backs controversial £1bn bid for Crossrail fleet December 17, 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) is backing a controversial £971m bid to acquire a fleet of 70 Elizabeth Line trains from Transport for London (TfL), City A.M. can reveal. The asset management giant is stumping up £147m in equity investment to Rock Rail, a rolling stock infrastructure company that finances new trains, with funding proposed from [...]
Tube driver salaries break £100,000 barrier despite train automation December 16, 2018 Some London Tube drivers are now earning more than £100,000 a year, despite new technology that makes their jobs easier. Figures obtained by the Sunday Times reveal the highest-paid driver earned £103,374 in the year to November, a 69 per cent rise since 2012. The surge in pay comes despite five of the network’s 11 lines [...]
More than half of Londoners would vote for Sadiq Khan in 2020 according to a Yougov survey December 11, 2018 More than half of Londoners would vote for Sadiq Khan in the 2020 mayoral election, according to a new survey, despite concerns over crime rates and affordable housing. A total of 55 per cent of respondents to a Yougov survey said they would vote for the incumbent Labour mayor in the first round of the election, [...]
Sadiq Khan blasts government for ‘forcing London to pay twice’ for Crossrail delay December 11, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) has admitted its fare income will be £2.1bn lower than expected as it battles a "perfect storm" of pressures on its finances. In its business plan for 2019-20 to 2023-24, TfL said a “subdued” economy and a £700m reduction in central government funding for challenges facing the organisation. It said fare revenue [...]
Nearly 300,000 homes could be built in Greater London above rail tracks, says new research December 11, 2018 Untapped space above London’s railways tracks could pave the way for as many as 280,000 new homes, according to new data that comes amid growing calls to tackle the capital’s housing shortage woes. Almost 2,500 hectares of land on top of Greater London’s train, overground and Tube lines could be freed up, a report by [...]
Crossrail crisis escalates as TfL confirms up to £2bn cost overrun and possible delay to 2020 December 10, 2018 The crisis facing Crossrail deepened today after Transport for London (TfL) admitted that the delayed project could need an extra £2bn in rescue funding to stay afloat. The Elizabeth Line, which will stretch from Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood in the east, was projected to cost £15.4bn and to open by 9 December [...]
Sadiq Khan slams Westminster Council for pulling out of £80m TfL Oxford Street redevelopment plans December 6, 2018 Sadiq Khan has slashed £80m of funding from Westminster City Council (WCC) for redeveloping Oxford Street, after finding out the council had ditched joint plans with Transport for London for the project in favour of its own £150m proposal. In a letter seen by City A.M., addressed to council leader Nickie Allen, the mayor of [...]
Crossrail boss Terry Morgan resigns after Sadiq Khan spat December 5, 2018 The chairman of Crossrail and HS2 has resigned from both roles following a dispute with mayor Sadiq Khan over delays and spiralling costs. Terry Morgan admitted last week he expected to be sacked amid rising costs and opening delays to both the Crossrail and HS2 projects. Morgan, who has led Crossrail for almost a decade, [...]