Autumn Budget: Pay-per-mile tax ‘completely wrong move’ Transport and infrastructure Chancellor Rachel Reeves has hit electric vehicles with a pay-per-mile tax which will cost the average driver £255 per year and raise £1.1bn for the Treasury. Reeves delivered the expected 3p pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicles (EVs) at today’s Budget, which she framed as a fairness measure to balance the costs facing drivers. The OBR, the independent fiscal [...]
London Councils urge e-bike firms to stick to borough contracts Tech The group London Councils has called on e-bike operators to respect local contracts and act “responsibly”, as friction deepens between boroughs and rental bike companies over parking and safety standards across the capital. The organisation, which represents London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London, warned that some firms continue to operate in areas without [...]
Lime bikes: UK sales spike as expansion continues Transport and infrastructure Turnover at the UK arm of shared bikes provider Lime has spiked as its expansion across London continues, it has been revealed. Lime Technology has reported a turnover of £111.3m for 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The total is up significantly from the £63.5m it achieved in 2023. However, the latest [...]
Elizabeth Line operator doubles profit before contract loss September 23, 2025 Profit at the first company to operate the Elizabeth Line in London more than doubled in the year before it lost the contract, it has been revealed. The division of MTR Corporation is part of the wider majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong and had run the line since it first opened. However, the [...]
Patrick McLoughlin to leave northern transport role September 12, 2025 Former Cabinet minister Patrick McLoughlin is to step back from his role at a key transport group for the North of England. McLoughlin is stepping down as chair of Transport for the North (TfN)’s board, with his last meeting to be held in Darlington next Monday. He was transport secretary under David Cameron and served [...]
LNER passenger data accessed in cyber attack September 10, 2025 Train operator LNER has revealed passenger contact details and some information about past journeys have been accessed in a cyber attack. The government-owned firm, which operates services on the East Coast main line between London and Scotland, said the breach involved files managed by a third-party supplier. In a statement, LNER said that “no bank, [...]
Balfour Beatty receives profit boost from government contracts August 13, 2025 Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty recorded a jump in profit for the first half of the year after a bumper performance in its UK construction. The London-listed firm posted a £20m rise in pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year to £132m, up from £112m last year. It came as the business’ UK [...]
Alstom: Profit slashed at London Underground trains maker August 12, 2025 Profit at Alstom, the train manufacturer which supplies the London Underground, has been slashed by almost £100m as its turnover fell significantly during its latest financial year. The Derby-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax profit of £21.9m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, down from the £121m it achieved in the prior year. [...]
Forest’s Hounslow e-bike contract win sparks concerns over cash-first tender model July 31, 2025 Hounslow Council awarded one of its two e-bike contracts to the operator which offered them the highest fees despite scoring demonstrably lower than rivals on other metrics, City AM can reveal. The move, which has attracted fury from rival operators, lays bare the competing interests of cash-strapped local authorities as they weigh which criteria to prioritise [...]
Auto Trader: Brits turn to older cars amid ‘economic uncertainty’ July 29, 2025 Brits are turning their backs on new cars choosing to buy more older models amid “ongoing economic uncertainty”, according to FTSE 100 giant Auto Trader. The Manchester-headquartered company said a “standout trend” of 2025 so far is the “growing appetite for affordable used cars”, particularly those aged between five and 10 years old. Auto Trader has [...]