Uber launches world’s first Uber Boat with Thames Clippers July 8, 2020 Uber is today revealing its first permanent commuter boat service, launching in London with Thames Clippers. Branded Uber Boats will travel from piers along the Thames from Putney to Woolwich, available in the Uber app. Passengers can book tickets via the app, and then scan a QR code to board the Uber Boat. However the service [...]
Can international tourism ever recover? July 8, 2020 We look at what might reignite demand for overseas travel and whether the downturn could profoundly change some countries’ economies. Travel restrictions are slowly being lifted, but most people are more likely to be jumping into their cars to go on holiday than onto an aircraft. So, can international tourism ever recover? And might the [...]
WFH: Is it the death knell for offices? July 7, 2020 Some real estate investors believe the successful working from home experiment during this crisis will lead to a long-term decline in demand for offices. We think this is premature. One of the more mundane aspects of the coronavirus has been the sudden evacuation of offices and mass adoption of home working. In the US it [...]
PM calls for driverless Tube trains in TfL bailout July 6, 2020 Boris Johnson has said that driverless Tube trains should be a condition of any future government bailout of Transport for London (TfL). The government gave TfL a £1.6bn support package in May following a slump in revenue as the coronavirus lockdown prevented commuters from using the service. The funding is due to expire in September. [...]
Super Saturday: Pubs to open as London braces for boozing Brits July 3, 2020 Pubs and restaurants up and down the country are preparing to open tomorrow – dubbed Super Saturday – for the first time since lockdown began, as Brits readjust to life under social distancing. Bars and eateries will be allowed to open their doors for the first time using measures such as table service and visitor [...]
Commuting in the post-Covid world July 3, 2020 It’s a cliche to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything — we need to get over this and embrace “the new normal”. But change needs more than an embrace: it needs to be understood and thought-through, not rushed into headlong because everyone else is doing it. And nowhere is such consideration more necessary [...]
Aviation industry hails ‘turning point’ as quarantine scrapped for 60 countries July 3, 2020 People from England will be able to go to more than 50 countries from 10 July without having to quarantine on return, the government has announced. The full list of countries will be published later today but ministers have already named France, Germany, Spain and Italy among those exempted from the blanket restrictions. The announcement [...]
England scraps quarantine for Germany, France, Spain and Italy July 3, 2020 People will be able to go on holiday to Germany, France, Spain and Italy from 10 July without needing to quarantine on return, the Department for Transport has confirmed. A full list of countries that have been deemed exempt from the blanket 14-day quarantine rule will be published on Friday, ministers said. However, the new [...]
Ghislaine Maxwell charged in sex-trafficking probe following arrest by FBI July 2, 2020 Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and confidante of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested by the FBI and charged with playing a role in the “sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls,” according to a court filing. The British socialite and heiress was arrested by the FBI in New Hampshire at 8.30am this [...]
Innovation is the only way to recover from the Covid crisis July 1, 2020 One silver lining of the Covid-19 crisis has been a surge in innovation. Enterprising firms have invented both new products and different ways of delivering existing ones. Innovation is the life blood of any prosperous economy. Innovation is much more than a scientific invention. It turns inventions into things of practical and affordable use to [...]