“Dogma”: Why Seat’s boss is no fan of UK’s 2030 ban on petrol engines August 13, 2023 The British boss of the Volkswagen-owned automakers Seat and Cupra has blasted the UK government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles as inflexible “dogma.” “I don’t think the solution is prohibition,” Wayne Griffiths, who serves as CEO of both European marques, told the Sunday Times. “I don’t think that’s the [...]
Starmer parks nationwide ULEZ plans in attempt to woo motorists August 13, 2023 Keir Starmer has ditched Labour’s commitment to introduce Ulez-style clean air zones across the country, in a loss for Mayor Sadiq Khan. According to reports, a statement supporting the roll-out of clean air zones, which charge drivers whose vehicles fail to meet emissions standards, has been scrapped from the party’s policy programme. It follows Labour’s [...]
BusinessLDN launches plan to help London workers get higher paying jobs August 11, 2023 A plan to tackle skill shortages and help Londoners get higher paying jobs has been launched by business advocacy group BusinessLDN, after new figures revealed that the capital has higher unemployment levels than the rest of England. The Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), which has received backing from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, aims to highlight [...]
London Tube journeys propelled to above pre-pandemic levels thanks to Harry Styles and the Ashes August 10, 2023 A blockbuster summer of events, coupled with booming tourism, has seen journeys on London’s network of tubes, buses and trains exceed pre-pandemic levels on multiple occasions this year. Stations in central London are regularly hitting pre-pandemic levels of traffic at the weekend, and often exceeding them, according to figures from Transport for London (TfL). Tube [...]
ULEZ: ‘Unreasonable’ scrappage schedule means daily charges for ‘quite some time’ after expansion August 9, 2023 Many drivers will be charged daily fees “for quite some time” because London’s car scrappage scheme is not being extended until eight days before the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ), a motoring services company has said. The RAC, which issued the warning, described the timings as “extremely frustrating”. The area covered by [...]
Sadiq Khan expands London ULEZ scrappage scheme in wake of Uxbridge by-election loss August 4, 2023 The Mayor of London has announced a major expansion of financial support designed to ease the impact of the capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) on people’s pockets. Sadiq Khan said every Londoner with a polluting car facing charges under Ulez will now be able to receive a grant of up to £2,000 to support [...]
London rent crisis deepens: Costs may soar to £2,700 as families face being driven in to poverty August 3, 2023 Average rental costs in London may soar to £2,700 per month next year, new figures suggest. Families in the city are being driven into poverty by “sky-high” rents, campaigners warned. The figures, gathered by City Hall, mean that many Londoners can expect to pay £133 more than the current average of £2,567 calculated by Rightmove. [...]
Here is the first glimpse of London Underground’s 94 new (air conditioned) Piccadilly Line trains August 1, 2023 London is close to welcoming 94 new shiny new Piccadilly Line trains, after the first of a new Siemens-built batch went for testing in Germany. Transport for London said the state-of-the-art tube trains had gone for trials at a test and validation centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany. Consisting of nine carriages, the trains came off the [...]
London Calling! Over two million tourists will visit this year in £674m boost to the capital August 1, 2023 London will welcome more than two million international tourists this year compared to last, bringing an additional £674m to the capital. As travel fully recovers post-pandemic, data from the London mayor’s office, shows that London was the top city in Europe for bed nights in 2022 with an increase of 131.5 per cent in 2021. [...]
London commuters are our ‘most important’ e-bike users, says Lime boss July 31, 2023 London’s commuters are our “most important” riders, the CEO of the e-bike operator Lime has said. Speaking to City A.M. Wayne Ting, Lime’s chief said that “commuting is the most important use case” for the popular vehicles as demand soars in the capital. Lime has seen a 10 per cent monthly increase in riders in [...]