Uber offer a discount alternative to tube strike mayhem April 28, 2014 Eager to keep commuters moving throughout planned strike action on the Underground, Uber's new "KeepLondonMoving" promotion will allow Londoners to receive a 50 per cent discount for splitting a car. Those getting involved need only request a ride via the service's mobile app, then opt to split the fare with their "Uber-savvy friends". The deal [...]
Tube strike still on as last-ditch talks continue April 28, 2014 LONDON Underground staff will start a 48-hour strike tonight unless last-ditch talks between Transport for London and the RMT union produce a truce. TfL, which will meet with RMT officials for conciliation talks today, last night urged the union to call off the “pointless strike”. This week’s walkout, which comes after two months of negotiations [...]
MPs to hit out at HS2 as research doubts benefits April 28, 2014 NEW RESEARCH claims the benefits of the High Speed 2 railway for the north of England have been exaggerated, and that the “regeneration myth” is obscuring the damage that would be done to some regions. Ahead of a vote in parliament on the new laws needed to build HS2, the Institute of Economic Affairs argued [...]
On the runway to SUCCESS April 27, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks to Cristobal Lowery, founder of GigaFare, which aims to bring algorithmic trading to the airline industry ARE ENTREPRENEURS born or made? In the age-old debate, Cristobal Lowery – the chirpy 20-something who founded his first company straight out of university – makes a compelling case for the former. In 2010, he created [...]
Sydney, Australia: the global cultural capital of the future April 27, 2014 Forget the stereotype, Australians can do hipster as well WHAT’S the difference between Australia and a petri dish? If you leave a petri dish for long enough it will eventually develop a culture… Or so the joke used to go. But anyone who’s visited Sydney recently would struggle to justify that view. Australia’s economy has [...]
Letters to the Editor – 25/04 – Transport capacity, Western decline, Best of Twitter April 24, 2014 Transport capacity [Re: Just three reforms would transform UK recovery into sustainable boom, yesterday] Rolling back the green belt around London by one mile is a sensible suggestion. But how would the inhabitants of the 1m new houses, all within travelling distance of London, travel into the city? Certainly not on the overcrowded trains and [...]
Focus on… Stratford: Stratford’s racing to the finish line April 24, 2014 EVERYONE knows that the Olympic Games were held in Stratford, east London, nearly two years ago, but few people know it for much else. It’s true that, since the opening of Westfield Stratford City, millions of people go there to shop – but how many are looking to live there? Despite the pre-Olympics hype, house [...]
RMT calls off planned pensions strike April 24, 2014 Transport union the RMT has called off planned strike action over pensionable pay. The General Grades Committee has decided not to go ahead with action planned to begin from next Monday, so Transport for London members should work normally. The general tube strike – scheduled for 28 April to 30 April and 5 May to [...]
London Time: You don’t have to be an elitist to appreciate a decent watch April 16, 2014 A CERTAIN newspaper, which shall remain nameless, last weekend highlighted a continuing problem in the perception of the watch business – namely that owning a decent watch immediately puts you in an elitist club. It featured a fashion special that included just one watch: an orange-plastic, £170 Uniform Wares creation, which is apparently appropriate for [...]
Inflation falls to four and a half year low April 15, 2014 Inflation keeps moving lower, having fallen below the Bank of England's two per cent threshold in January for the first time in four years. Headline consumer price inflation has come in at 1.6 in the year to March, down from 1.7 per cent last month. Analysts expected to see inflation at that level today – [...]