London Underground ghost stations may get new lease of life September 21, 2014 Transport for London is thought to be looking at making the most of disused underground stations by giving companies the chance to convert them for business use. The proposals, believed to be at early stages of consideration, may see around 20 stations transformed. The idea has been promoted by Old London Underground Company founder Ajit [...]
On the right track: KBH On-Train Media’s Ian Reynolds talks train adverts September 21, 2014 If you commute into London on an overground train, chances are you’ll have seen dozens of ads placed by KBH in recent years. The UK’s largest rail media specialist, it claims to reach around 6m consumers a month, 4m of which are in the lucrative commuter bracket. These figures look set to grow. The [...]
The devolution genie is out of the bottle – and London must not be forgotten September 18, 2014 WHEN the UK government ruled out devo-max on the Scottish referendum ballot, few decried it as the strategic mistake it later turned out to be. Forced into an unexpected corner by a surge in nationalist support, the leaders of the three main UK parties promised Scotland the earth, magically transforming the No box into a [...]
London bus strikes: Here are the routes affected September 18, 2014 NB. This article was written in September 2014. If you're searching for info on the January 2015 bus strike, click here As if the travel chaos yesterday wasn't bad enough, Unite has announced strike action affecting around 50 bus routes will take place on Monday. TFL has warned the action is “likely to [...]
Uber’s German ban just got overturned September 16, 2014 A judge in Germany has reversed a country-wide ban on Uber, the taxi app. The service had been told it could no longer operate in the country, but after an appeal Frankfurt Regional Court Judge Frowin Kurth decided the original complainants – other taxi companies in the country – had waited too long before they [...]
Contactless Tube payment: Just the latest advance in the UK banking revolution September 15, 2014 You could be forgiven for thinking that London’s trams might be an unlikely place to find cutting edge technology. But from today, this iconic and characterful mode of public transport – along with our more conventional Tube stations and buses – are offering technology that allows you to pay your way with just a flash [...]
What’s in a name? Salesforce set to lose battle to rename Heron Tower September 11, 2014 The controversial renaming of Heron Tower to Salesforce Tower is set to be abandoned after the owners of the City skyscraper agreed this week to withdraw the application. The parties involved are understood to be close to reaching an agreement that will see the building called simply 110 Bishopsgate, its street name, with existing name [...]
Service industry looks to an improved Britain September 11, 2014 BUSINESS SERVICES of the year In uncertain times, companies that are willing to try something different – be that a new management team, an innovative business structure or a better use of technology – are those that tend to succeed. Our choices come from the transport sector, catering, white-collar recruitment, online professional networking and management [...]
UK commuters feeling strain of taking the train September 10, 2014 If you are a regular traveller on the 16:46 from London Euston to Crewe and are wondering why you never get a seat, it’s because you are on the most crowded train service in Britain. According to figures released yesterday by the Rail Executive of the Department for Transport, last autumn the four-carriage service carried an [...]
Virgin on ridiculous: Four businesses showing how Richard Branson likes to “fail fast” September 8, 2014 It was only a year ago that Richard Branson was prancing around in a red kilt during the opening of Little Red, his domestic airline for the UK, which was designed to provide competition after British Airways owner International Airline Group acquired BMI. Since its launch, though, Little Red has been dogged by rumours [...]