TfL bailout conditions published as rescue row rolls on May 29, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) has today published the terms and conditions of its £1.6bn bailout from the government as the row over the rescue package continued. In the letter from transport secretary Grant Shapps, TfL was asked to suspend free travel for under 18s and Freedom Pass holders and reinstate the congestion charge in order [...]
London must square the circle to deliver a sustainable transport network May 28, 2020 Transport for London’s (TfL) funding, both in the short and long-term, was a thorny issue even before the pandemic set the scene for an eruption of the tensions between central and London governments. While keeping the system afloat is rightly the focus of debate – and will be again when the temporary solution expires in [...]
London First: Give more powers to City Hall to fund TfL May 28, 2020 Business group London First has this morning called on the government to devolve further powers to the Greater London Assembly in order to secure the long-term finances of Transport for London (TfL). In a new report produced in partnership with KPMG, the group argues that unless City Hall is given access to tax revenues via [...]
London’s first skyscraper 55 Broadway to be converted into luxury hotel May 27, 2020 The former London Underground headquarters in St James’ Park will be converted into a luxury hotel after the development was given the green light by planning authorities. Westminster City Council has granted planning permission for Blue Orchid Hotels, part of the Integrity International Group, to transform the 55 Broadway complex into a new hotel. Transport [...]
Transport for London taps former New York transit chief as new boss May 27, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) has this afternoon named Andy Byford as its new transport commissioner. The former chief executive of the New York City Transit Authority will take over from his predecessor Mike Brown in July. Brown, who has held the role for five years, will take on a new position overseeing the renovation of [...]
Crisis is a chance for us to reset our air quality for good May 27, 2020 Air quality in London, the UK and indeed the whole world has improved significantly in a matter of weeks due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions being put in place. New data now shows nitrogen dioxide levels have reduced by around 35% in the Square Mile since the beginning of lockdown, when compared to the average reading [...]
Khan and Bailey clash over congestion charge hike May 21, 2020 A row has erupted between Sadiq Khan and one of his challengers to be the next Mayor of London over the conditions of the government’s bailout of struggling Transport for London. Yesterday, the Mayor said that the government had forced him to reinstate and expand the congestion charge as a condition of the £1.6bn rescue [...]
The 20 busiest Tube stations TfL wants commuters to avoid May 18, 2020 Transport for London has issued a list of the Tube stations that commuters should try to avoid as more people begin to return to work after lockdown. From today, London’s transport network will aim to run 75 per cent of Tube services and 85 per cent of bus services. Government advice remains that those who [...]
Railways introduce crowd control measures to help stop coronavirus spread May 18, 2020 Rail and Tube chiefs today put in place crowd control measures at stations around the UK and added more train services amid fears overcrowding could help spread coronavirus. Last Sunday Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraged those who could not work from home to go back to work in an easing of the coronavirus lockdown. Network [...]
Bailout shows the need for a TfL rethink May 18, 2020 We will probably never know exactly how close we came to TfL going bust and services across London not running last week. Unless, of course, when today’s bailout agreement expires in September, there isn’t another crunch. The capital’s transport network has had another log thrown on the fire, but central Government remains in control of [...]