Taxi and private hire drivers to undergo criminal record checks every six months July 21, 2020 Taxi and private hire drivers will have to undergo criminal record checks every six months as part of a suite of new measures to protect passengers. Under new licensing standards introduced today by the government, drivers will also be given safeguarding training so they can help passengers being exploited or abused. In addition, the standards [...]
Exclusive: Ride-hailing app Ola launches new corporate service July 21, 2020 Ride-hailing app Ola will today launch a new service for its corporate clients, City A.M. can reveal. According to the Indian firm, Ola Corporate, which will be available to businesses across the UK, could save firms up to 25 per cent on their travel expenses. The firm said that it was cheaper than alternative services [...]
DEBATE: With one in three of us wanting to keep working from home, is it too soon to urge Londoners back to the office? July 21, 2020 With one in three of us wanting to keep working from home, is it too soon to urge Londoners back to the office? Ben Kelly, a commentator for Reaction, says YES. For months we were told to stay at home and hide from the deadly virus. Unfortunately — for the government and our economy — [...]
Business groups cautiously welcome easing of workplace restrictions July 17, 2020 Boris Johnson has announced that employers will be given “more discretion” to decide whether to bring staff back to workplaces after the coronavirus lockdown. From 1 August, firms will be able to ask staff to come back if it is safe to do so. “If employees think it would be better and more productive to [...]
England lockdown: Guidance on public transport and workplaces to be relaxed July 17, 2020 From 1 August employers will be asked to decide on whether to bring staff back to workplaces after the coronavirus lockdown, Boris Johnson announced today. Restrictions on public transport will also be lifted from today, he said, with anybody now allowed to use any method of travel they wish. Speaking at a press conference, the [...]
London’s R rate could be as high as 1.1 July 17, 2020 London’s R rate could be as high as 1.1, according to the government’s Sage advisory group. The R rate – the reproduction rate of the virus – is between 0.8 and 1.1 in the capital as the government continues to ease lockdown measures. It stands at 0.7 and 0.9 in the rest of the UK, [...]
London boroughs spent nearly £1m opposing Heathrow expansion July 17, 2020 A number of London boroughs and Transport for London have spent almost £1m over the last year and a half in challenging plans to expand Heathrow Airport. Between September 2018 and March this year, the boroughs of Hillingdon, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Hammersmith and Fulham, as well as the capital’s transport operator, have spent £944,603 [...]
Exclusive: Uber’s UK boss ‘optimistic’ it will win back London licence July 16, 2020 Uber’s UK boss is “optimistic” that the firm will win back its licence in the capital when courts decide in September. Transport for London (TfL) banned the ride-hailing app in London at the end of last year. It said Uber had unlicensed operators upload photos on other people’s accounts, leading to at least 14,000 trips [...]
Kapten and Free Now launch joint service in bid to topple Uber July 16, 2020 Black cab app Free Now and Kapten have today launched their newly combined service in a bid to topple Uber as the country’s biggest ride-hailing company. The new service, which will be available through a new app under the Free Now brand, will give users access to 35,000 drivers in London alone. It is the [...]
Tube cleaners accidentally scrub out Banksy coronavirus artwork July 15, 2020 Artwork worth potentially hundreds of thousands pounds by street artist Banksy was removed from a London Tube carriage accidentally, after cleaners had no idea about the value of the works. Transport for London (TfL) removed the artwork, after the world-renowned artist painted a series of his trademark rats posing with face masks, due to TfL’s [...]