RMT accepts offer from Southern Rail for talks on Wednesday October 11, 2016 Fresh talks will go ahead tomorrow in an attempt to break the deadlock between Southern Rail and the Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT) union. Charles Horton, the beleaguered boss of Southern Rail, today offered to meet with the RMT to try and halt ongoing industrial action. Read more: Southern Rail commuters had very British responses to today's train [...]
TfL signs £17.6m advertising contract with Outdoor Plus October 11, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has signed up Outdoor Plus as its advertising partner in a £17.6m contract to bring digital advertising screens across road underpasses in the capital. TfL said the network of roadside screens would generate at least £13m to reinvest in modernising the transport network over the next ten years. Initially, Outdoor Plus [...]
Government watchdog warns taxpayers stand to lose £22.5m should Garden Bridge project collapse October 11, 2016 The National Audit Office (NAO) has announced the findings of its investigation into the use of public funds to pay for one of Boris Johnson’s projects as London Mayor: the Garden Bridge. And it’s not impressed. Meg Hillier MP, chair of the committee of public accounts, said: “It worries me that whenever the Garden Bridge [...]
Driverless cars have officially hit the UK’s roads for the first time October 11, 2016 Watch out Google and Uber – driverless cars are about to hit the roads of the UK and they've been created by our very own homegrown tech expertise. The pod-like vehicles will be tested on the roads of Milton Keynes for the first time today, in the latest breakthrough in the government's ambitious driverless car strategy. After 18 months [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan gears up for charge on London’s most polluting vehicles October 10, 2016 Sadiq Khan has started the formal consultation before an emissions surcharge – “T-charge” – for older polluting vehicles is introduced in October 2017. Cars, vans, minibuses and heavy vehicles that don’t meet the Euro 4/IV emission standard will pay £10 to enter the congestion charge zone. It will predominantly be for those registered in 2005 or [...]
Don’t tell the black cabs: Brits can’t get enough of Uber as UK profits and revenues double in 2015 October 10, 2016 Uber drivers in the UK raked in more than £100m in fares last year, doubling revenues and profits at the disruptive transport app. The taxi service's holding company in Britain, Uber London, recorded a 105 per cent uplift in turnover to £23.3m in 2015, according to records filed on Companies House. This was up from [...]
Heathrow vs. Gatwick expansion: Airports decision still stuck on the tarmac October 10, 2016 The question of where to build a new runway in the south east is an issue that has been stuck in the hangar for years. The current choice, between Heathrow or Gatwick, is just the latest instalment in a long-running capacity saga. Since 1963, no fewer than 12 policy documents, commissions or white papers have been produced [...]
This is Me: Let’s talk about mental health to end the stigma in the City October 10, 2016 Today may be World Mental Health Day, but if you’re an employer, or indeed an employee, mental health should always be top of your agenda. Stress and poor mental health in the workplace are commonplace. Last week, a survey by Business in the Community and YouGov, supported by Mind, revealed that 62 per cent of [...]
Consumer spending bounces back in September October 10, 2016 The last of the summer sun brightened consumers’ spending habits for September, rising 2.4 per cent on an annual basis. That was the highest level seen in the past five months, according to Visa’s latest Consumer Spending Index update. August had been fairly flat, up 0.1 per cent, which was the weakest seen in nearly three [...]
Focus On Earl’s Court: Around 7,500 new homes and a brand new high street coming to west London by 2033 October 7, 2016 Best known for its (closed) Exhibition Centre, Earl’s Court is not the sort of place you’d expect to attract million-pound investment. But it’s currently undergoing its biggest upheaval in over a century and this west London outpost is set to be a very different place in a couple of decades. The last huge change in [...]