The Crossrail effect: Fares between Liverpool Street and Shenfield cut by up to 40pc as TfL Rail takes £5m hit May 26, 2015 Essex commuters will be the first to benefit from London’s Crossrail train service, with fare cuts of up to 40 per cent introduced this weekend. Although the east-west London line will not be travelling through the capital’s newly-dug tunnels until 2019, some services between Liverpool Street and Shenfield will be run as TfL Rail from [...]
In pictures: Why TfL escalator and lift work can take so long May 26, 2015 Maintaining the heavy duty escalators and lifts which support London's tube network is a mammoth task – and this helps to explain why replacements and refurbishment can take such a frustratingly long time. It all boils down to the fact these escalators and lifts aren't subjected to an ordinary degree of wear and tear, according to Transport for [...]
Black cab protest: Police close Victoria Street, Buckingham Gate as United Cabbies Group rails against TfL’s lack of support May 26, 2015 Central London roads were gridlocked this afternoon as the black cab protest caused chaos around Parliament Square, Whitehall, Embankment and Lambeth Palace Road. Campaigners are directing the protest, scheduled to take place between 2pm and 4pm today, against Transport for London, which they claim are not doing enough to keep on top of regulation [...]
Conservatives want to end free travel for friends and flatmates of TfL employees, saying it will save the government millions May 26, 2015 Friends, flatmates and family of TfL staff are currently able to use London's public transport for free, but the Conservatives want to put a stop to this. They say the rule, which allows each employee of the body to select one person they live with to be able to travel around the capital cost-free using [...]
London’s cabbies are taking on Uber, and TfL in high stakes fight for capital’s streets May 25, 2015 Transport for London’s (TfL) headquarters will be the scene of a protest by black cab drivers today. The action is a demonstration of the simmering tensions between traditional cabbies and modern firms like Uber, which show no sign of dying down. Black cab drivers are represented by the London Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), Unite [...]
National rail strike called off: Bank holiday train misery averted but London Underground poised for more industrial action May 21, 2015 Britons breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as unions called off a 24-hour bank holiday strike that threatened to bring the country’s rail network to a standstill. But fresh calls for industrial action – this time over rostering and pay for night-time Underground services from September – point to a growing union revolt against [...]
Commuter misery vs the digital world: Londoners wrote 480,000 tweets about bad train journeys last year May 21, 2015 It's no surprise that we take to social media to vent our frustration when commuting, but a new report has shed light on exactly how frequently we do it. London's commuters published nearly half a million angry tweets about their journey last year, a new report has claimed. A whopping 473,661 tweets were [...]
Train strike: Transport for London warns commuters of disruption from bank holiday Network Rail walkout May 21, 2015 UPDATE: The RMT has followed the TSSA union in suspending strike action after an improved offer from Network Rail. The nationwide Network Rail strike on bank holiday Monday will cause some Transport for London (TfL) services to also suffer delays and disruption. A 24-hour walk out has been called by rail union bosses from 5pm on Monday 25 May, [...]
Video: New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is far better than Transport for London at explaining why Tube delays happen – and how they’re solved May 19, 2015 Presumably in an effort to quell commuters' constant rage, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released a video explaining the science behind delays on the subway – and it's in the style of an 8-bit video game. So what happens? According to the video, subway (and, presumably, London Underground) trains usually have a regular interval [...]
The truth about rickshaws in London: Here’s why Boris Johnson’s crusade to ban them might be pointless May 15, 2015 Boris Johnson renewed his crusade against rickshaws, aka pedicabs this afternoon, the announcing he wanted to ban them on London's streets to "ease congestion". His gripes are twofold. Firstly, the lack of regulation for rickshaws means no one is entirely sure how many there are and how to control numbers or the safety of passengers. [...]