Fossil Fuel divestment: The feel-good climate change policy that would undermine public pension funds September 2, 2015 Most would agree that climate change could pose a threat to the economy. However, measures to combat it will ultimately prove counter-productive if they conflict with the interests of the taxpayer. Forcing government to pursue losses from taxpayer-funded investments in the name of environmentalism, for example, would be an obvious misuse of public [...]
Overcrowding and smelly people: These are Londoners’ biggest commuting complaints September 2, 2015 Rush hour traffic. Getting your face crammed into someone’s sweaty pits. Delays (or strikes…). Screaming toddlers. The list of our commuting woes could go on, but let’s stop there for the sake of everyone’s blood pressure. Londoners spend 18 months of their lives commuting. Our daily journey to and from the office is a necessary [...]
Tube workers slam RMT union for poor communication over the Night Tube strikes September 2, 2015 Tube workers have slammed their own union for poor communication over the Night Tube strikes. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union suspended strikes due to be held on 8 and 10 September, which tube workers discovered via rumour and the BBC. The walkout was over pay and work conditions on the all-night Tube service, due [...]
From average salary and a monthly travelcard to a meal for two: Here’s what it’s like to work in global financial centres London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo September 2, 2015 London may be oft-cited as the world's top financial centre – but how what's it actually like to work in? And how does it compare with rival finance sectors? We've looked at the basic costs of city (or City) life – from the price of a monthly train ticket to rent; from the price of [...]
London travel delays and Southeastern train chaos: A false start for the City’s DLR commuters? September 1, 2015 Commuters were launched back into work head first yesterday morning when workers trying to get into London on the DLR faced pretty heavy delays. Southeastern services were already having problems, as operators announced that all lines between Deptford and Charlton were “blocked”, resulting in services either being delayed or diverted through Lewisham. As if that [...]
RMT union suspends September Tube strikes September 1, 2015 The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has suspended Tube strikes planned for next week. Read more: Picket line travel disruption is hurting London Underground A walkout was planned between Tuesday 8th September and Thursday 10th September over disputes about pay and working conditions ahead of the planned all-night Tube service. Plans had been in [...]
The evolution of mobile: From bricks and dumbphones to iPhones in 30 years September 1, 2015 You can’t even walk down the street without bumping into dozens of people talking, tweeting, taking Snapchats and hailing Ubers, all from the 5-inch smartphone screens they carry. London didn’t always look like this. In fact, it was 30 years ago this year that the very first British mobile phone call was made on [...]
Notting Hill Carnival 2015: Can’t go? Here’s how to watch it from home August 30, 2015 If the threat of a washout, crowds of hundreds of thousands and the seeming inability to find a toilet put you off Notting Hill carnival this year, you can still get in on some of the action. Local television channel London Live will let you catch a glimpse of the streams of colorful floats, huge processions of [...]
Crazy markets, Night Tube called off and Jeremy Corbyn goes off the rails: Here’s what got us talking this week August 28, 2015 It was the week in which everything got a bit trippy: the markets went bananas. The South Bank went psychedelic. Someone discovered a Nazi train full of gold (allegedly). And after 60 years of rivalry, Burger King finally proposed a truce with McDonald's… What got us talking 1. Up, down, up, down… Who said August was [...]
TfL: Bank station reopens fire alert and reported flooding as Waterloo and City, Circle, Hammersmith and City lines disrupted August 28, 2015 Commuters faced travel chaos in the run-up to the bank holiday, after Bank and Monument stations were closed and several lines were disrupted after a fire alert. Although the stations have now reopened, several lines, including the Waterloo and City line, were still disrupted. Transport for London cannot give an estimate of when normal service [...]