London Tories: Council tax hike is a result of Mayor’s mistakes January 14, 2021 Londoners are struggling. Businesses are closed. Our city’s streets are empty. And yet, it’s during the worst recession for 300 years, that Sadiq Khan has chosen to ask Londoners to pay for his mistakes. Khan’s whopping council tax rise couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Mayor wants to paint himself as the saviour [...]
Square Mile sees four times as many commuters than during first lockdown January 13, 2021 There were four times as many trips made on public transport in the City of London last week than during the spring’s first lockdown, Transport for London (TfL) data shows. Last week there were around 80,000 entrances and exits from Tube stations in the capital’s financial district, which equates to 40,000 journeys. By contrast, back [...]
Exclusive: TfL took legal advice on cancelling First Group tram contract after fatal Croydon crash January 12, 2021 Transport for London (TfL) was considering cancelling Tram Operations Limited’s (TOL) contract to run the Croydon tram network in the aftermath of 2016’s fatal crash, but concluded it would be too difficult to do so. City A.M. has obtained TfL documents from 2017 showing that the transport operator received legal advice on whether it could [...]
Sadiq Khan to boost share of London council tax by nearly 10 per cent January 8, 2021 Sadiq Khan today announced that his share of council tax will increase by nearly 10 per cent from April in order to keep funding public transport services. Under the proposals, the average bill for Band D will increase by £2.63 a month – £31.59 over the whole year. Of the increase, £15 will go towards [...]
Scandinavian fund EQT join race for First Group’s US businesses January 7, 2021 A Scandinavian fund has joined the bidding for transport operator First Group’s US assets, which are valued at £2.5bn. Sky News reported that EQT Infrastructure made a $3.7bn bid for the First Transit and First Student in the days leading up to Christmas. The fund, which is run by one of Scandinavia’s most powerful equity [...]
Mayor of London election to still go ahead in May January 6, 2021 The London mayor election is set to go ahead as planned in May, the government has confirmed. The election, along with a swathe of other local elections across the country, were postponed for a year last May due to Covid-19. The election will pit incumbent Labour mayor Sadiq Khan against Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey. The [...]
Tube and bus passenger numbers plunge as lockdown begins January 5, 2021 There were 200,000 journeys made on the London Underground on the first morning of the latest national lockdown, figures from Transport for London (TfL) showed today. As of 10am this morning, passengers made a total of 400,000 entrances and exits to the Tube network, which is the equivalent to 18 per cent of pre-pandemic demand [...]
On track: First passenger trains run on Northern line Tube extension January 4, 2021 The extension to the Northern line came a step closer to completion over the Christmas period as the first passenger trains completed journeys through the new tunnels. Test trains entered the 3.2km of new track at Kennington, passing through Nine Elms station before arriving at the extension’s second new station at Battersea Power Station. The [...]
Rail services to be axed under Government plans: reports December 28, 2020 Reports have emerged overnight suggesting as many as one in five train services could be axed to reduce financial pressure on the network. The Treasury has been propping up rail services throughout 2020 as lockdown restrictions cut passenger numbers. The Telegraph reports that officials want to bring rail capacity down by a fifth to reduce [...]
City Corporation clamps down on illegal street traders, gamblers and pickpockets December 18, 2020 The City of London Corporation will crack down further on illegal street traders, gamblers and pickpockets operating on five London bridges.