Exclusive: TfL officials watered down Croydon tram safety audit to ‘placate’ First Group November 25, 2020 Internal emails seen by City A.M. show that Transport for London (TfL) officials agreed to water down an audit into fatigue management on the Croydon tram network in a bid to “placate” the company running the service. A group of TfL executives responsible for a 2017 audit of Tram Operations Limited’s (TOL) safety standards agreed [...]
Tory mayoral candidate pledges to build 100,000 homes for young Londoners November 22, 2020 Young Londoners will be able to buy new homes for £100,000 in the capital with a deposit of just £5,000 if Tory mayor candidate Shaun Bailey is elected next year. Bailey will announce tomorrow that if victorious in the May poll that he will build 100,000 “Millennial homes” that can only be bought by young [...]
Crossrail will be ‘mothballed’ without extra funding, TfL chief warns November 21, 2020 The troubled £19bn Crossrail project is at risk of being “mothballed’ unless it receives urgent additional funding, London’s transport chief has warned. Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Andy Byford this week urged the Department for Transport to provide £80m of immediate support to keep the rail link on track, Sky News reported. In a letter [...]
Santander Cycles to cost commuters just £1 a week November 20, 2020 Londoners will be able to cycle to work for as little as £1 a week under a new scheme being launched by Santander Cycles. Cycling to work provider Cyclescheme has partnered with Transport for London (TfL) on a new programme called City Bike Hire. Under it, those employers who nominate Cyclescheme as their cycle to [...]
London business groups urge Sunak to give capital its fair share in spending review November 19, 2020 A pair of London business advocacy groups have called for the capital to receive significant amounts of funding in Rishi Sunak’s spending review next week amid fears the city could be overlooked. London First and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry told City A.M. that it was vital the capital was not forgotten by [...]
Exclusive: Sadiq Khan’s PR budget soars by 33 per cent in four years November 19, 2020 Sadiq Khan has increased City Hall spending on public relations by 33 per cent over the course of his term in office, according to newly released figures. Numbers released by City Hall through a freedom of information request show the mayor spent £977,912 on press office costs for 2019/20, compared to £732,537 in 2015/16. Spending [...]
Crossrail 2 ‘still needed in the future’ despite cash drought November 18, 2020 London’s Crossrail 2 is “ready to be restarted” in the future despite London mayor Sadiq Khan earlier this month agreeing to shelve the £33bn project in return for a bailout for Transport for London (TfL). Khan agreed to put the north-south rail project on ice as part of a last-ditch financial package from Westminster to [...]
Levelling up: Sony takes over Oxford Circus station for Playstation launch November 18, 2020 London Underground is famed for its iconic roundels, but eagle-eyed commuters will notice something different about Oxford Circus station this week. Transport for London (TfL) has teamed up with Sony to give the Tube station a redesign, transforming the traditional signs into squares, triangles and crosses — the classic symbols of the Playstation controller. The [...]
Transport for London to begin e-scooter trials in the spring November 17, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) will begin trialling rental e-scooters in the spring, it was announced today. The transport network will work with London Councils to select three companies for the trials, which will take place across all London boroughs that wish to take part. Trials will last for 12 months, with roughly a third of [...]
Sadiq Khan forced to cut budget by £38m after Covid leaves black hole November 16, 2020 Sadiq Khan has revised the Greater London Authority’s budget downward by £38m after a drop in revenue due to the Covid crisis. A statement from City Hall said the drop in spending is “because of a forecast unprecedented loss of business rates and council tax income, caused by Covid-19, and the government’s refusal to adequately fund local and [...]