We spoke too soon: Now maintenance and engineering workers are striking over Night Tube May 24, 2016 Thought a deal had finally been reached to launch Night Tube? Think again: the RMT union has confirmed that there's going to be a strike over the new 24-hour service – by maintenance and engineering workers. The much-maligned service was finally given a launch date of 19 August yesterday following months of delays while drivers' unions [...]
Now you can live in the apartment where D-Day was planned – if you have a cool £4.7m May 24, 2016 It's the ultimate piece of war memorabilia: an apartment in the building that served as a base for the Special Operations during the planning of D-Day has just gone up for sale. The only catch? You'll need a cool £4.75m to live in it. The five-bedroom duplex apartment is in Montagu Mansions, used as a headquarters [...]
“City sophisticates” will dominate the Night Tube and give a boozy £71m boost to the economy, according to new research May 23, 2016 There's something of the night about City workers, according to new research. Researchers at CACI International have put their heads together to work out just how much the hotly anticipated Night Tube will bring in to London's boozing economy. The white paper, "Mind the Gap", has found that London would see a staggering £71m boost to it's late-night [...]
Card is king? The UK is closer than ever to being a cashless society May 23, 2016 The old adage that cash is king is about to be kicked into the long grass, new research suggested this morning – with card payments about to whoosh ahead of cash payments. A study by Payments UK found although cash is still the biggest method of payment – some 45 per cent of all UK [...]
Night Tube is go: Launch date and launch lines for London’s first 24-hour service May 23, 2016 The Night Tube is go. London's new mayor Sadiq Khan has formally announced the 24-hour service will begin on Central and Victoria lines from 19 August, with Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern lines to follow in the autumn. The launch – almost exactly a year to the date that it was due to go live – means that London [...]
Transport for London’s contactless drive takes another stride forward May 20, 2016 Londoners are now able to use contactless on the Thames. Transport for London today announced that customers travelling on the MBNA Thames Clippers River Bus will be able to pay using contactless payment cards. Using contactless is the same cost as using an Oyster Card, which TfL says is up to 19 per cent cheaper than [...]
EU referendum: Brexit risks compromising plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes May 19, 2016 If Britain votes to leave the EU it risks sparking a chronic construction skills deficit, compromising plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes. According to new research, a Leave vote could lead to a cut in the construction workforce, which would in turn jeopardise plans to expand the UK's housing stock that would otherwise ease [...]
Travelling at night is going to get easier as London Overground announces an increase in evening services May 17, 2016 Londoners are now benefiting from an increase in evening services on the London Overground after growing demand for night term services. London Overground said that key services will increase by 50 per cent after 10pm as extra trains have been added to a number of routes on the network. Mike Stubbs, Director of London Overground, said: "This [...]
London housing: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan plans to fast-track scores of sites owned by Transport for London to build homes May 16, 2016 After pledging to build new homes on land owned by City Hall if elected Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has said he intends to fast-track scores of sites for development. During a visit to Landmark Court in Southwark, which is owned by Transport for London, Khan announced that the wants to unlock the site, which [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to launch consultation to tackle air pollution in London May 13, 2016 Sadiq Khan has been a busy man in his first week as Mayor of London. Following his "Hopper" bus fare and applause of more armed police in London, Khan has today confirmed that he will launch a formal consultation in a matter of weeks related to a major package of measures to tackle air pollution [...]