Holborn Tube station trials standing-only (no walking) escalators as Transport for London tries to speed up exit with rule-breaking experiment November 25, 2015 Commuters heading through Holborn during morning rush hour will be stopped from walking up escalators at the Tube station in a new experiment that's actually designed to speed thing up. The new standing-only rule will be in effect during early peak travel for the next three weeks, breaking what might just be the cardinal rule of London – walk on the left and stand [...]
Night Tube launch back on track? TfL proposes hiring part-time drivers to break union deal deadlock and get start date agreed November 25, 2015 Plans for the Tube to run through the night are back on track after Transport for London suggested hiring part-time staff to drive the services in a bid to break a deadlock in negotiations with unions. Part-time drivers, estimated to number around 140 at this early stage, would be hired to work the night shifts which unions [...]
Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review 2015: Housing set to dominate – as well as what time it starts, how to watch it and what will be in it November 25, 2015 Later today George Osborne will take to the despatch box to give his combined Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review. George Osborne has already tweeted the front cover of the document, saying it will "deliver economic and national security – the foundations of everything we do". Today's Spending Review will deliver economic and national security – the [...]
Worldpay: Mobile payments will “leave growing pains” in 2016 November 25, 2015 Get ready for the “third age of digital payments” coming next year, according to payments processor Worldpay. In its Global Payments Report released today, the company predicts that the technology will really hit mass appeal in 2016, as major banks and brands begin rolling out their own mobile payments apps. The company also forecasts that [...]
Business committee chair Iain Wright MP accuses Uber of being a “seedy backstreet minicab firm” November 24, 2015 An influential MP has accused Uber of being a "seedy backstreet minicab firm". Iain Wright, a Labour MP who chairs the business, innovation and skills committee, made the comments during an evidence session at the House of Commons this morning. Wright took issue with a previous Uber promotion in France offering passengers the chance to book a minicab with a "hot [...]
Travel disruption as severe delays on Jubilee Line between Westminster and Stratford causing “death trap” crowds at Waterloo November 24, 2015 A faulty train at Bermondsey was causing severe delays on the Jubilee this morning, disrupting services between Westminster and Stratford. The delays were causing crowds of commuters to build throughout the line, with Transport for London having to deploy crowd control in stations such as Canada Water. Entrance to the station is currently restricted and [...]
Shaftesbury continues to be buoyed by London’s West End property market November 24, 2015 London's residential property market might be cooling, but the commercial sector is showing no signs of slowing down with landlord Shaftesbury reporting strong growth for the full year. The figures Shaftesbury's net asset value per share rose 21.9 per cent to £8.69 in the year to September 30, up from £7.13 a year earlier. Earnings at the [...]
Uber vs London Taxi Drivers’ Association: Sajid Javid knows the benefits of enterprise November 24, 2015 One should never assume that a Secretary of State for Business will be, by nature, pro-business. Fortunately, the current occupier of the role, Sajid Javid, most definitely is. He possesses an instinctive understanding of the benefits of enterprise, competition and innovation. This perspective is doubtless the product of having witnessed his immigrant father save enough money [...]
Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association to square off before MPs November 23, 2015 Top bosses from Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association are set to be questioned by MPs tomorrow morning. Both Uber's head of public policy in the UK Andrew Byrne and Licensed Taxi Drivers Association chairman Richard Massett will give evidence to the influential business, innovation and skills (BIS) committee as part of its inquiry into the digital economy. [...]
Metropolitan Line extension to Watford Junction gets go-ahead after securing final funding shorfall from Transport for London November 23, 2015 Plans to extend the Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction have finally been given the green light after securing a multi-million pound shortfall in funding from Transport for London. Ground will be broken on the project next year when the line was originally slated to open with completion due in 2020. The £284.4m project, originally called the Croxley Rail Link, has been beset [...]