The office is changing – and that means a shift in the real estate market, too May 15, 2020 When businesses emerge from lockdown, many will seek ways to reduce their operating costs to maintain margins in a post-COVID-19 world, when revenue generation is likely to be appreciably more challenging. Real estate often represents the second largest operating cost of most businesses, after staff salaries. It’s regrettably very likely, then, that headcount and office [...]
Video-by-default and a silver surfer generation: Predicting a post-pandemic tech world May 15, 2020 Everybody is in the business of prediction these days. The path of the pandemic, and its impact on health services. The shape of the impending recession, the stock market or the oil price. Unemployment figures or the size of the national debt. As a venture investor, I can’t predict the future better than anyone else. [...]
National Express running at 50 per cent revenue in April May 15, 2020 Coach operator National Express has said that it is currently operating at half its normal revenue due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on travel. In a trading update, the firm said its revenue in April was 50 per cent what it was in the same month last year. However, the coach company said [...]
TfL agrees £1.6bn bailout deal with government May 14, 2020 TfL tonight agreed a £1.6bn bailout deal with central government after London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that without an emergency cash injection the transport system would run out of cash. The bailout is made up of £1.1bn in cash with a £500m loan. Number 10 has attached a number of conditions to the bailout including [...]
Grant Shapps ‘optimistic’ of TfL bailout deal, but signals potential fare rises May 14, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said he is “optimistic” a deal can be struck to rescue struggling Transport for London (TfL), while signalling that fare hikes may be a condition of any bailout. Shapps said at today’s press briefing that a bailout was on its way for TfL, just hours after Sadiq Khan said he [...]
UK government kick starts £2bn transport spending spree May 14, 2020 The government has begun a £2bn spending spree on the UK’s transport infrastructure, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps. Shapps said at today’s press briefing that the government had begun a slew of road and rail projects, which were first announced in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto. Shapps said the government was in the process [...]
Sadiq Khan warns TfL will run out of cash today without government bailout May 14, 2020 London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has given the government an ultimatum saying that if Transport for London does not receive a bailout today the operator will have to cut tube and bus services. Speaking to LBC, Khan said: “Being blunt, today is the last day. Unless the government gives us confirmation of the grant we need, [...]
Boris Johnson urges commuters not to crowd onto public transport May 13, 2020 Boris Johnson has urged commuters not to crowd onto public transport as some workers began returning to their offices today. Speaking in parliament, the Prime Minister said: “I don’t want to see crowding on mass transit or public transport in our capital or anywhere else”. Johnson’s words come after a number of images were released [...]
Coronavirus public transport advice: What do lockdown rules say? May 13, 2020 The government has released new public transport advice for would-be commuters as the UK takes its first tentative steps out of seven weeks of lockdown. Although it once again stresses that people should avoid travelling it is totally necessary, the measures lay out steps people can take to keep themselves and others safe when making [...]
Coronavirus lockdown: Commuters should prepare to queue, government says May 12, 2020 The government has said that commuters using public transport should prepare to queue as more people begin to return to workplaces on Wednesday. In new guidance published today by the Department for Transport (DfT), people are urged to avoid public transport where possible and to prepare for journeys to take longer than normal. “If you [...]