Union urges Ryanair to attend talks to avert summer strikes August 15, 2019 A trade union has urged Ryanair to attend talks to resolve the current dispute with its pilots over pay and working conditions. The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), which has over 10,000 members, has called on the budget airline to attend talks with the Acas conciliation service after pilots voted for strike action for Thursday [...]
Grant Shapps questions whether Heathrow third runway plan ‘stacks up’ August 14, 2019 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has cast doubt over the Heathrow third runway after he questioned whether the £14bn plan “stacks up”. Shapps, who replaced Chris Grayling when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister last month, said that while parliament had voted in favour of the third runway, there were “questions about whether the whole plan stacks [...]
US vice president Mike Pence to speak at City trade banquet August 14, 2019 US vice president Mike Pence will speak at a trade banquet in the City when he visits London next month, City A.M. can reveal. The black tie dinner, hosted by the City of London Corporation, will take place at Guildhall in the Square Mile on 5 September and will also be attended by the international trade secretary Liz Truss. Some City councillors [...]
Rail fares have risen twice as fast as wages over past decade, says union August 14, 2019 Rail fares have risen twice as fast as wages in the past decade, new analysis by the TUC trade union has found. The figures show that rail fares, which are pegged to the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation measure, have risen by 46 per cent since 2009, while nominal weekly earnings have only grown by [...]
Rival Silvertown Tunnel bidder launches legal action against TfL August 13, 2019 A rival bidder for the proposed Silvertown Tunnel has launched legal action against Transport for London (TfL), preventing it from signing the £1bn contract. TfL awarded the contract to build and design the tunnel in East London to Riverlinx, a consortium that includes Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), Cintra and Macquarie Capital. Read more: TfL awards [...]
Late holidays cause slump in Getlink passenger traffic August 13, 2019 Getlink, the Channel Tunnel operator, reported slumps in its truck and car traffic figures in July, which it blamed on a slowdown in UK consumption and later holiday departures. Getlink, which used to be called Eurotunnel, transports passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles across the Channel. Read more: Getlink blames Brexit for slump in traffic numbers [...]
PM braced for September showdown over parliament suspension threat August 13, 2019 A court case designed to stop Boris Johnson suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit has been fast-tracked for the first week of September – when MPs return from summer recess. The case, which was heard this morning in Edinburgh’s Court of Session while English courts are closed for the holidays, has been signed [...]
Axe to grind: Taxi drivers slam ‘PR gimmick’ as City launches car-free days August 13, 2019 Taxi drivers have slammed plans to close off key locations in the City of London to traffic during the summer, saying they amount to a “PR gimmick”. Key City hotspots, including St Mary Axe and Chancery Lane, will be closed for days in August and September to allow workers to enjoy traffic-free lunch breaks, the [...]
Heathrow on track to top 81m passengers after July boost August 12, 2019 Heathrow has said it is on track to top 81m passengers this year after new figures revealed that nearly eight million passengers used the airport in July. The hub airport has already flown 46m passengers so far this year, a near 1.5 per cent increase on the same time the previous year. Read more: Business [...]
Hitachi trials tech for ticket sensors via phone app August 12, 2019 Transport giant Hitachi has said ticket barriers could become a thing of the past as it trails new technology that could scan tickets via a smartphone app. The Japanese firm is currently developing and trialling technology that uses sensors on trains to detect tickets via an app on passengers’ mobile phones. Read more: Commuters braced [...]