Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne bails himself out with a u-turn on tax credit cuts November 25, 2015 George Osborne rowed back on controversial and unpopular cuts to tax credits – but admitted that the U-turn will be offset by an £11.6bn raid on British businesses. The chancellor also avoided potential pitfalls such as having to make cuts to the police force, after an unexpected £53.2bn jump in expected tax receipts over the course of [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Transport for London loses billions in Spending Review as subsidies cut by Department of Transport November 25, 2015 Transport for London will lose out on billions of pounds of funding after the government announced it will cut its subsidy in the Spending Review. The Department for Transport will phase out TfL's resource grant which makes up around six per cent of its annual budget, amounting to £2.8bn by 2019. The move comes as part of efforts by [...]
Night Tube launch back on track? TfL proposes hiring part-time drivers to break union deal deadlock and get start date agreed November 25, 2015 Plans for the Tube to run through the night are back on track after Transport for London suggested hiring part-time staff to drive the services in a bid to break a deadlock in negotiations with unions. Part-time drivers, estimated to number around 140 at this early stage, would be hired to work the night shifts which unions [...]
Business committee chair Iain Wright MP accuses Uber of being a “seedy backstreet minicab firm” November 24, 2015 An influential MP has accused Uber of being a "seedy backstreet minicab firm". Iain Wright, a Labour MP who chairs the business, innovation and skills committee, made the comments during an evidence session at the House of Commons this morning. Wright took issue with a previous Uber promotion in France offering passengers the chance to book a minicab with a "hot [...]
Travel disruption as severe delays on Jubilee Line between Westminster and Stratford causing “death trap” crowds at Waterloo November 24, 2015 A faulty train at Bermondsey was causing severe delays on the Jubilee this morning, disrupting services between Westminster and Stratford. The delays were causing crowds of commuters to build throughout the line, with Transport for London having to deploy crowd control in stations such as Canada Water. Entrance to the station is currently restricted and [...]
Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association to square off before MPs November 23, 2015 Top bosses from Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association are set to be questioned by MPs tomorrow morning. Both Uber's head of public policy in the UK Andrew Byrne and Licensed Taxi Drivers Association chairman Richard Massett will give evidence to the influential business, innovation and skills (BIS) committee as part of its inquiry into the digital economy. [...]
Metropolitan Line extension to Watford Junction gets go-ahead after securing final funding shorfall from Transport for London November 23, 2015 Plans to extend the Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction have finally been given the green light after securing a multi-million pound shortfall in funding from Transport for London. Ground will be broken on the project next year when the line was originally slated to open with completion due in 2020. The £284.4m project, originally called the Croxley Rail Link, has been beset [...]
Mastercard Mondays: Free travel on Tube, bus, DLR, tram and National Rail on offer across London with Apple Pay November 23, 2015 Everyone loves a freebie and Londoners are being treated to an especially valuable one today – free travel across the capital. Mastercard users will be able to travel on Tube, train, tram, bus and DLR for free by using Apple Pay, making the cold morning perhaps just that little bit more bearable. And, it's not just today. The free rides will [...]
New Crossrail train revealed: TfL unveils design for £1bn train fleet with 4G, Wi-Fi and air-con as standard November 20, 2015 Transport for London today unveiled the design of the Crossrail trains that are due to enter service from May 2017. The new trains are being built by Bombardier Transportation's UK factory in Derby. Each train will provide space for 1,500 customers in nine fully-interconnected, air-conditioned, walk-through carriages with 4G and Wi-Fi as standard. (Source: TFL) [...]
Bank Junction is dysfunctional, dangerous, congested and polluting – but can be improved November 20, 2015 Quite simply, the Bank Junction is so busy that it is not possible to achieve effective traffic flows or safe pedestrian movement. At the morning peak hour 18,000 pedestrians, 1,600 cyclists, 1,400 cars and 220 buses cram into this restricted space, a space not worthy to form the heart of this great City. So what [...]