£19bn Crossrail mess: Uncertainty over how loans will be repaid while £150m funding gap looms October 29, 2021 The estimated cost of completing London’s new east-west railway exceeds current available funding by £150m, according to a new report by the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Moreover, Crossrail is facing a “serious” funding gap and there is uncertainty over how loans will be repaid, MPs have warned. The predicted cost of finishing the project [...]
Green steam vs the big smog: London’s green jobs to double to 600,000 by 2030 – CityAM : CityAM October 29, 2021 The UK’s push for net zero will double the number of green jobs in London to 600,000 by 2030, according to new research. The findings, by WPI Economics and the Institute for Employment Studies and commissioned by Central London Forward, Local London, South London Partnership and West London Alliance, also revealed that the capital’s green [...]
New: Waterloo & City line to operate all day by the end of November October 28, 2021 THE WATERLOO and City Line will return to a full weekday service before the end of next month. ‘The Drain,’ which runs from Waterloo to Bank, has been running a limited services around morning and evening peaks since the service was restarted after pandemic lockdowns in June. The service will run every three minutes at [...]
Before we give London’s transport to the rest of the UK, we should fix it here first October 28, 2021 The only standout mention of the capital in yesterday’s budget was a promise to bring “London-style transport settlements” to regions across the country. On the face of it, this is an entirely sensible aspiration. Many other cities would love to have London’s mix of cheap, frequent buses with flat fares, a fast reliable and wide-ranging [...]
Before we give London’s transport to the rest of the UK, we should fix it here first – CityAM : CityAM October 28, 2021 The only standout mention of the capital in yesterday’s budget was a promise to bring “London-style transport settlements” to regions across the country. On the face of it, this is an entirely sensible aspiration. Many other cities would love to have London’s mix of cheap, frequent buses with flat fares, a fast reliable and wide-ranging [...]
Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Budget: A quick overview of what has been announced October 27, 2021 Downing in numbers and announcements? No worries, here are the main points from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget. – The Budget is focused on the “post-Covid” era, according to the Chancellor, and will pave the way for the “Prime Minister’s economy of higher wages, higher skills, and rising productivity”. – Independent forecaster the Office for Budget [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak commits £46bn to railways October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a further £46bn on rail investment at this year’s Budget. The money is focused predominantly on boosting connectivity across the country. The Autumn Budget and Spending Review includes £35bn directly for railway connectivity over the next three years. It is also committing £5.7bn over five years in eight city regions [...]
Budget 2021: Government invests in road and railway, as APD for domestic flights goes down October 27, 2021 In his Autumn Budget speech, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out the funding for the transport sector, focusing on road and rail improvements as well as lowering air passenger duty (APD) taxes on domestic flights. To level up the country’s “uneven economic geography”, the Chancellor is allocating £130bn for infrastructure investments such as road, railway [...]
How’s vaccine inequality driving up global inflation? October 27, 2021 As the more highly vaccinated countries roll out Covid booster shots, other parts of the world are still struggling to get their first jab. The vaccine divide is more apparent in the emerging markets (EM). World organisations have voiced their concerns over “vaccine nationalism” whereby vaccine-exporting countries prioritise supply first for their own populations before [...]
London transport hit by ‘aggressive’ marketing ‘assault’ from crypto meme coin Floki October 27, 2021 A digital token named after Elon Musk’s new dog, Floki, has rolled out hundreds of adverts in the capital in what it’s called “a full-out assault of the London public transportation system,” raising questions as to who is responsible for high-risk investments being advertised so widely. Floki Inu coin is one of many dog “meme” [...]