Stagecoach share price jumps on East Coast mainline rail franchise win with Richard Branson’s Virgin November 27, 2014 Stagecoach and Virgin are the joint winners of a bid to run the East Coast mainline route, netting the government £3.3bn over the next eight years. The route between London and Edinburgh has been publicly run since 2009 after previous operator National Express ran into difficulties and gave up the contract. Stagecoach and Virgin, which [...]
Home Retail and TfL take Argos underground at Cannon Street Tube station November 25, 2014 Commuters will now be able to pick up everything from laptops and televisions to furniture as they hop on the Tube after Argos launched its first Underground store yesterday. The retailer’s parent company Home Retail Group has signed a partnership with Transport for London to open a store “the size of a large family kitchen” [...]
Lib Dem’s Caroline Pidgeon to take the fight to TfL over Wembley Park tube closure chaos November 25, 2014 Leader of the Lib Dem London Assembly Group, Caroline Pidgeon, plans to confront Transport for London (TfL) over closures at key Tube stations during significant events, after the women’s football international at Wembley on Sunday. “With close to 50,000 people visiting Wembley to see this international game, it seems TfL opted for a cap on [...]
Mastercard’s Fare Free Friday returns: Free travel on London transport on November 28 using TfL’s contactless payment November 25, 2014 After a succesful outing two weeks ago, MasterCard is bringing its Fare Free Friday back for another day. Londoners will be able to travel for free on the Tube, train, tram, bus and DLR this Friday (November 28) if they swipe their MasterCard on the transport network's contactless system instead of an OysterCard. [...]
Transport for London is trying to make Stockwell Cross friendlier to cyclists: Here’s what it could look like November 24, 2014 Another day, another unveiling of one of Transport for London's (TfL) bright ideas for making some of the most dangerous junctions in London safer for cyclists. This time, it's Stockwell, which will be "transformed" as part of works due to begin next year. According to TfL, the number of cyclists travelling along the Cycle Superhighway [...]
Wembley Park Tube station closed as England plays Germany: Did Boris and the FA drop the ball on the biggest day yet for women’s football? November 23, 2014 On 3 August this year, the England women’s football team stormed to victory against Sweden by four goals to nil in a friendly international match. The joyous celebrations didn’t take place on the hallowed turf of Wembley though, as would have been the case for their male peers, but up in the far-flung reaches of [...]
Singapore to start regulating taxi apps from mid-2015: Introduces fee limits, license requirements November 21, 2014 Singapore has said it will start regulating taxi apps such as Uber from next year, by capping fees and ensuring drivers are licensed. Its Land Transport Authority (LTA) unveiled a regulatory framework designed to "safeguard commuter safety and interests". They will ensure the fees charged by taxi apps are no higher than those of regular [...]
London Underground just had its busiest day ever, with 4.6m journeys November 20, 2014 Last Friday was the busiest day in the history of the tube, according to Transport for London. London Underground carried well over four and a half million passengers (4.6m) on Friday the 14 November. This beat its previous record, which was set during the London 2012 Olympic games, when a whopping 4.5m journeys were made [...]
When is the best time to go Christmas shopping? Here are London’s busiest days so you can avoid them November 20, 2014 Next week is expected to see the start of the Christmas rush with Black Friday on November 28 – a US import that was brought about to stimulate spend after Thanksgiving. Fast becoming a crucial part in the retail calendar, high street names such as John Lewis are predicting big things, with many [...]
Taxi app wars: Uber vs Hailo vs Maaxi vs Lyft – Emil Michael gaff is latest hurdle in startup battle November 19, 2014 Fast-growing “ridesharing” app firm Uber hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons again this week as senior executive Emil Michael was reported suggesting the company hire researchers to dig up dirt on its media critics. The blunder is the latest in a long line of controversies that have plagued the startup over [...]