London much better prepared for terror attack than five years ago March 11, 2022 London is significantly better prepared to deal with a potential terror attack than five years ago, although the capital will never be “entirely safe”, an independent review has found. Lord Toby Harris’ report said “very substantial progress” has been made by the emergency services and other agencies following the 2017 attacks on Westminster Bridge, London [...]
TfL approves 5.5 per cent increase in cabs’ fares to help drivers face economic situation March 10, 2022 Transport for London’s (TfL) finance committee approved today a 5.5 per cent increase in black cabs’ fares as a way to help drivers survive the ongoing economic situation. From 30 April, minimum fares between 5am and 10pm will increase from £3.20 to £3.80, while travellers to Heathrow will see their supplement go up from £2.80 [...]
DfT reports London tube strikes brought down passenger numbers to 4 per cent of pre-pandemic levels March 9, 2022 The RMT’s London tube strikes of last week had a devastating impact on passenger numbers, according to Department for Transport (DfT) figures. Data showed that on Tuesday and Thursday ridership numbers plummeted to 4 per cent of pre-pandemic levels – the lowest since the Covid pandemic first hit in March 2020. On 4 March, levels [...]
Angry rail workers stage protests at stations across London and other cities as job cuts loom March 9, 2022 Rail workers are staging protests outside train stations to warn about the impact of job cuts on services and safety. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) handed out leaflets to commuters on Wednesday at stations in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds warning that despite the recent increase in fares, rail companies [...]
HS2 unveils new London Euston designs March 9, 2022 HS2 has unveiled new design for its London Euston station, seven years after they were originally shown to the public. The updated concept has turned Euston from an initial 11-platform station to a 10-platform and simpler one, which will be built in one phase instead of two. According to HS2’s Euston are client director Laurence [...]
Londoner evacuates dozens of Ukrainian refugees across Polish border in his black cab March 8, 2022 A British man is seen helping to evacuate refugees across the Ukraine-Polish border by using a London black cab. Londoner Roman Tymchyshyn, 31, has already transported around 80 people including pregnant women, disabled elderly people, children and even a nine-month-old baby. He began driving refugees in his black cab across the Polish border on February [...]
Rail cleaners go on 48-hour strike across London and South East this weekend March 8, 2022 The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has announced its members working for cleaning contractor Churchill will take the streets for the second time in less than a month over wages. The strike – which will affect major rail operators such as Thameslink, Eurostar and Southeastern – will take place on Saturday [...]
First we need to cut fuel duty, then we must redesign our road taxes entirely March 8, 2022 In early 2011 at The Sun, I pestered the editor for long enough about rising petrol prices that he decided the newspaper should be doing something about it. A campaign to freeze fuel duty was born – with all the old-school trimmings. We even took post bags full of petitions signed by readers up Downing [...]
Ukraine crisis highlights Europe’s dependency on Russian gas March 7, 2022 Russia is currently facing the ire of the world following its illegal invasion of Ukraine, which is bringing misery to millions. It is also the second largest producer of natural gas in the world. It serves European consumers of energy through a number of pipelines. Proximity and the ease of transport means supplies from the [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Clearing up London’s air and TfL budgets March 7, 2022 Last week, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced he would expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to include the entirety of Greater London. Drivers of old, polluting vehicles will have to pay £12.50 a day to enter the city. The first aim of this move is to turn London into a city with clean [...]