Uber vs Maaxi: Race is on but Nat Rothschild’s taxi app rival is laps ahead – Bottom Line October 5, 2014 Nat Rothschild, the 43-year-old from an extensive lineage of financiers, certainly has a bold and strategic approach to spotting business opportunities. His adventure with Indonesia’s Bakrie family may have had an unhappy ending, yet even this was based on a reasonable theory. The plan was to connect a mining giant in the booming continent of [...]
Just starting out in the City? Here’s how to be noticed October 5, 2014 Dress smartly, finish your work, build your network, and you’ll be fine. As graduate schemes open their doors for a new generation of employees, the City is now flooded with fresh-faced grads, all eager to impress. But how to stand out? A few simple steps can go a long way to getting you noticed. [...]
Secrets of London part II: Our homebuyer’s guide reveals more hidden gems October 3, 2014 In the second part of our series on hidden London, we reveal the secrets and ancient artefacts living side-by-side with some London’s newest and most innovative residential architecture. Here are just some of the treasures future homeowners will be living alongside, including Ernest Hemingway’s favourite riverside pub in London, a tribute to the [...]
Uber taxi app is no threat to London’s black cab says TfL commissioner October 2, 2014 Uber does not pose an imminent danger to London's iconic black cab. So says Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Sir Peter Hendy. Speaking at the Guardian's transport debate held during the Conservative party conference, Hendy argued the fury directed toward the San Francisco-based company had been largely "misplaced". In fact, Hendy was optimistic that there [...]
Maaxi taxi app gets backing from Ken Livingstone as he hails Nathaniel Rothschild’s new venture October 1, 2014 Former London mayor Ken Livingstone has thrown his backing behind financier Nathaniel Rothschild’s new taxi sharing app Maaxi, believed to be likely to launch in the next few weeks. In an open letter to taxi trade organisations, Livingstone said: “I have been using my experience and knowledge of London and its transport system to help [...]
Why I’m backing Maaxi – to launch a new black cab ride-sharing revolution October 1, 2014 GPS-enabled smartphones and apps have transformed urban commutes more than any technological advancement in the last 100 years, as former mayor Ken Livingstone outlines in a remarkable letter (see below), calling for action to ensure the controlled adoption of disruptive technologies in transport. While trains, buses and cars have evolved in speed and comfort, these [...]
Crossrail will send London property prices soaring by 60 per cent October 1, 2014 Crossrail’s high-speed rail service will not only provide millions with increased connectivity into the capital, but it will send house-prices along its route skyrocketing, new figures show. The £15.8bn Crossrail project has already had a profound effect on properties in London, with the prices of those near the large-scale Tottenham Court Road development rising [...]
More Tube chaos with delays and cancellations on the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines October 1, 2014 More chaos for London's Tube users this morning, after a broken-down train at Tottenham Court Road caused Transport for London (TfL) to suspend the line between Liverpool Street and Marble Arch. To make matters worse, the Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Circle lines were hit with severe delays while TfL fixed a signal failure at [...]
Forget Crossrail, Boris Johnson proposes south London Tube extension to Camberwell, Lewisham and Bromley September 30, 2014 Are you a south Londoner, fed up with the lack of Tube infrastructure, forced to rely on overcrowded overground trains for your daily commute? Me too. So maybe you should respond to this consultation over a proposed extension to the Bakerloo line, bringing the Tube out to New Cross, Lewisham, Bromley and Hayes. [...]
Uber makes peace with German taxi drivers September 30, 2014 Uber has launched its UberTaxi service in Berlin and Hamburg after a series of struggles with German courts. UberTaxi, which operates in London and New York, allows users to hail a licensed cab. Furthermore, Uber will be changing its UberBlack service to comply with Berlin regulations. The prices are, usually, lower than those of traditional [...]