Cash fares no longer accepted on London buses July 6, 2014 London buses will no longer accept fares paid in cash in a move that Transport for London (TfL) says will save the capital £24m a year. From today, passengers will only be able to pay for bus fares using an Oyster card, contactless credit or debit card or travelcard ticket. TfL estimates less than one [...]
Serco fails to win rebid for Docklands Light Railway July 4, 2014 Troubled outsourcing firm Serco has received yet more bad news today as Transport for London informed the company it had failed in its rebid to operate and maintain the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). After 17 years of running the DLR Serco will hand it over to a venture between Keolis and Amey. However, Serco was [...]
TfL court ruling delayed as Uber drivers are sued July 3, 2014 The battle over Uber’s controversial car hire app escalated yesterday as Transport for London (TfL) said its attempt to get a High Court ruling on the dispute would be seriously delayed following news that the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) was taking its own legal action against Uber drivers. The dispute focuses on whether Uber’s [...]
Uber saved from London court battle and is operating within the law says TfL July 3, 2014 Transport for London (TfL) has announced that the High Court cannot proceed with a case regarding taxi app service Uber because the magistrates courts are deluged with cases concerning individual Uber drivers. Furthermore, as far as TfL is concerned, Uber is acting within the law by using an app to calculate fares based on the [...]
London’s iconic double deckers are about to get a lot smarter June 23, 2014 Transport for London (TfL) will be introducing screens displaying how many people are sitting upstairs and which seats are available, in a trial system to begin in two weeks. The display screens will be situated next to the driver as people board the bus and between the driver and the staircase before passengers go upstairs. [...]
Lego bus stop arrives in London June 20, 2014 No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, that actually is a London bus stop made out of 100,000 Lego bricks. It's not just for show (although the seats might be uncomfortable). Travellers can alight at the Conduit Street stop near toy store Hamley's on Regent Street until July 15 TFL, engineering company Trueform and the toy store worked together [...]
Uber app wins the heart of EU commissioner after taxi protests June 12, 2014 Smartphone app Uber has found a new champion in the form of EU digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes. After protests against the San Francisco startup swept Europe yesterday, Kroes wrote "we cannot address these challenges by ignoring them, by going on strike, or by trying to ban these innovations out of existence." “The disruptive force [...]
Uber app vs black taxis: Cab war heats up June 11, 2014 Taxi drivers bring central London streets to a standstill over Uber – yet smartphone app says it won the day Thousands of black cabs caused gridlock in London’s west end yesterday as taxi drivers protested over the smartphone app Uber and warned that they could bring more chaos to the streets of the capital with [...]
More than 300 Transport for London staff now earning over £100,000 June 11, 2014 More than 300 staff at Transport for London are now paid more than £100,000, and the boss of Crossrail’s pay has topped £700,000, new accounts show. Andrew Wolstenholme was awarded a bonus of £176,000 as well as a £523,000 salary in his role as the head of the new railway, giving him a pay rise [...]
London’s Uber app taxi protests: Here’s what you need to know June 11, 2014 Thousands of London’s iconic black cabs are today staging a mass protest against innovative taxi app service Uber. Uber customers can hail a ride using their smartphone, which will show them the nearest vehicle available. Organised by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), the protest could wreak traffic chaos across large swathes of the capital. [...]