Airports face ‘hostility’ from both Labour and Tories, says former transport minister November 28, 2019 Both Labour and the Conservatives have been accused of “hostility” towards Britain’s airports, amid concerns over whether the expansion of Heathrow will go ahead under the next government. This morning, former Labour aviation minister Jim Fitzpatrick said that politicians in Westminster are “nowhere near” catering to the needs of the airport industry. Read more: Heathrow [...]
Southeastern rail franchise on course for another extension as Go Ahead in talks with government November 28, 2019 Go Ahead, the company which operates the Southeastern rail franchise, is in talks with the government over extending its contract to run the line beyond the current 1 April end date. The competition for the franchise was unexpectedly scrapped in August and a five-month extension awarded to Govia, the joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis, [...]
London is the busiest city in Europe for private jets, according to research November 28, 2019 London has retained its position as the busiest city in Europe for private jets, with more than twice as many so called business aviation flight departures as the next most active city, according to research. The capital saw 4,577 private flights leave its selection of business aviation airports last month, which include Stansted, Biggin Hill [...]
Virgin Trains manager jumps ship to First Group for west coast main line railway takeover November 26, 2019 First Group has poached the boss of Virgin Trains just in time to take over the west coast main line rail franchise in 12 days’ time. Phil Whittingham, who has been at Virgin since it took control of the country’s most lucrative rail network in 1998, will keep running the line, which connects London to [...]
Uber rival Ola announces London launch November 26, 2019 Ride-hailing app Ola has fired the starting gun in the race to recruit Uber drivers and customers, announcing it will soon launch in London. The Indian ride-hailing app today announced it had begun on-boarding drivers in London and would launch in the coming weeks. Read more: TfL bans Uber from London after a ‘pattern of [...]
Uber rival Bolt set to secure $100m in new funding November 26, 2019 Uber competitor Bolt is on the verge of securing more than $100m (£78m) in new funding. The Estonian ride-hailing app is working with Goldman Sachs on the new round of funding, just four months after raising £50m from new and existing backers. Read more: TfL bans Uber from London after a ‘pattern of failures’ Bolt, [...]
Electric dreams: How long until electric cars go mainstream in the UK? November 26, 2019 Visitors to the picturesque Whitby Bay beach in north Yorkshire were in for a shock earlier this month, when they encountered two giant footprints etched into the sand. The left was half the length of a football pitch, at 50 metres – the right was just 3.5 metres long. The reason? A publicity stunt by [...]
Uber keeps giving its critics what they want November 26, 2019 The relationship between Uber and regulator Transport for London (TfL) has always appeared to be one of mutual distrust. From its earliest incarnation the ride-hailing app left plenty of feathers ruffled after breezing into London and disrupting a market that had been the preserve of black cabs and minicabs. Read more: Why did Uber lose [...]
DEBATE: Is Uber’s loss of its London licence evidence that we need more gig economy regulation? November 26, 2019 Is Uber’s loss of its London licence evidence that we need more gig economy regulation? John McCallion, chief executive officer of GroundScope, says YES. Transport for London has quite rightly decided not to grant Uber a licence to operate in London — just as many other cities around the world have done. Every city needs [...]
Tackling UK productivity crisis could yield £83bn a year for economy, says PwC November 26, 2019 The UK productivity crisis is dragging on the economy, a new report has said, which could be £83bn a year larger if laggard areas could make up just half the efficiency gap. The next government has a major opportunity to increase investment in infrastructure and encourage the private sector to better train its workers to [...]