London airport expansion: Business groups rally on government again after Heathrow accepts conditions for expansion May 11, 2016 Business groups have jumped on pledges by Heathrow Airport to reduce night flights, as well as curtail noise and pollution, to urge the government to make a decision on aviation expansion after months of dithering. Heathrow Airport today promised to make the concessions if it is allowed to build a new, third runway, ahead of [...]
Highbury and Islington station evacuated after suspect package found on nearby bus May 11, 2016 Highbury & Islington station was shut during rush hour this morning after reports surfaced of a suspicious package on a nearby bus. An item of unattended luggage was found on the route 271 bus and police called to Holloway Road, north London at 8:39am, with specialist officers in attendance. Cordons were put in place as a [...]
Visa Europe records three billion contactless payments over the last 12 months May 10, 2016 Card company Visa has recorded three billion contactless transactions in Europe over the past year. In April alone, European consumers used their cards 360m times, clocking in at almost 140 transactions per second. Contactless now accounts for one in every five Visa card payments in Europe, up from one in 60 in 2013. In the [...]
Uber extends London service with wheelchair-accessible vehicles May 10, 2016 Uber has launched its first wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV) option in London. Since 4pm today, wheelchair users have been able to request the vehicles through the new uberWAV option on the app. In its announcement, Uber said one in four Tube stations are wheelchair-accessible and the uberWAVs are on average 30 per cent cheaper than a black cab. Read more: Uber adds [...]
Tooting By-Election: Simon Hogg favourite to retain the seat in a two-horse race with the Conservatives May 10, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan simultaneously won City Hall and triggered a by-election by standing down from his job as MP for Tooting. While no candidate has yet been announced the election will take place on 9 or 16 June, and is anticipated to be a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservatives. Local councillor [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announces first transport policy and statutory deputy mayor as Joanne McCartney May 10, 2016 Newly elected mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced his first major policy. The one hour bus "hopper" fare – which he pledged throughout his campaign – will start in September. Bus passengers who use Oyster cards or contactless payment will be able to take an extra bus within one hour and pay just one fare. Khan [...]
Now that he is mayor, Sadiq Khan must ignore the Nimbys and look to the Greenbelt to solve our housing crisis May 9, 2016 London needs to build more homes, but from reading the press coverage of the mayoral election over the past few months you may have forgotten that. Instead, you could be forgiven for thinking that this election was all about deciding if we wanted a Corbyn-supporting son of a bus driver or a posh boy Etonian [...]
This giant credit rating agency has just issued a warning about Sadiq Khan’s plans to freeze TfL fares May 9, 2016 Hmm. Looks like things aren't getting off to a great start for London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan, after one of the world's largest credit ratings agencies warned his central pledge may hurt Transport for London (TfL). That didn't take long… In a statement that was as brief as it was punchy, this morning Moody's warned [...]
He’s won the popularity contest – now London’s new mayor Sadiq Khan must make some unpopular decisions May 9, 2016 Let's be honest, the world of politics has witnessed better campaigns than the scrap between Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan that culminated in the latter storming into City Hall with over 300,000 more votes than his nearest rival. Goldsmith has been roundly condemned for his team’s negative focus, while the broader contest was strangely subdued, [...]
Sadiq Khan’s legacy as mayor will hinge on how he responds to these key challenges May 9, 2016 Now that the London mayoral election race is over, the real work begins for Sadiq Khan. First, though, I want to offer my congratulations to him and convey the message that the City of London looks forward to working closely with him and his team in the coming years. London is a truly unique and [...]