Heathrow protests gather pace over expansion plan December 15, 2013 PROTESTERS against a third runway at Heathrow airport are braced for action as transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin yesterday refused to rule out plans to expand the site. The government-backed Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, is publishing an interim report tomorrow that will provide a shortlist of locations for new runways, with a final [...]
Prince Harry got to the Pole – but you can still help December 15, 2013 Last chance to take part in the Walking Home For Christmas appeal to help raise money for wounded troops AFTER four weeks trekking across the Antarctic Plateau, the Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge teams arrived at the South Pole just after noon on Friday. Prince Harry described it as an “amazing feeling” to have [...]
Touchless bus fares pass first year December 15, 2013 More than 6.5m journeys on London’s buses were paid for with contactless bank cards in the first year of the technology’s use, according to Transport for London. This represents less than one per cent of the 2.3bn bus trips taken, but TfL said interest in the scheme is growing as it passes its first anniversary. [...]
Letters to the Editor – 16/12 – UK drugs policy, Passenger duty, Best of Twitter December 15, 2013 UK drugs policy [Re: Failing UK drugs policy should take a leaf from Uruguay and Portugal, Thursday] We need to stop this foolish and unwinnable war against cannabis. Independent research has shown that a tax and regulate policy would produce a large net gain for the UK economy, while saving millions of pounds from the [...]
Strong year boosts outlook at Go-Ahead December 12, 2013 GO-AHEAD Group said yesterday it expects profits in its bus division to hit £100m by 2015-16, as it raised its annual forecasts to reflect a better-than-expected performance so far. Shares in the transport operator, which runs London buses and Southeastern trains, rose after it said deregulated bus revenue for the half-year to 28 December was [...]
Few predicted London’s reinvention but we can build for its future growth December 12, 2013 LONDON is changing. But then again, it always is. The theme of my new book Reinventing London is that change is the lifeblood of a great city. Over the past 30 years, the capital has replaced around 1m jobs in manufacturing, largely around the edge of the city and along radial routes, with over 1m [...]
Tennis slammed as participation falls despite Wimbledon factor December 12, 2013 FOOTBALL and tennis chiefs have been warned their funding could be cut after both suffered drops in levels of participation. A Sport England survey found football had lost the most participants since April and is now only the fourth most played sport in the country, with 1.84m playing at least 30 minutes a week. Despite [...]
Business calls for Crossrail 2 December 11, 2013 AROUND eight out of 10 business leaders in London believe the capital needs an expanded airport capacity, while seven out of 10 say that high living costs makes it difficult to attract the right workers. A survey of 150 chief execs and senior partners by Deloitte also found that 79 per cent believe better surface [...]
As Barclays backs out of bike deal, here are 4 ways TfL can attract greater sponsorship December 11, 2013 In the wake of the announcement that Barclays will not renew its sponsorship of the London bike hire scheme, here are four ways that Transport for London (TfL) could attract greater commercial investment. 1. TfL should be more active in seeking sponsorship In a report for GLA Conservatives, Gareth Bacon suggested TfL should be more [...]
Barclays to end its sponsorship of Boris Bikes December 10, 2013 BARCLAYS will not renew its sponsorship of the London bicycle hire scheme when it ends in 2015, it confirmed last night. The bank signed a deal worth £50m to sponsor the bikes, named colloquially after London mayor Boris Johnson, in 2010. But in a joint statement with Transport for London, Barclays said it will not [...]