Congestion charge after ten years: It’s time to be bolder February 17, 2013 IT’S exactly a decade since London’s congestion charge was introduced. Its immediate impact was a dramatic fall in traffic volumes, and there are still around 60,000 fewer vehicles entering the central zone every day. But with 23m journeys made on London’s roads each day, congestion is now back to pre-charge levels. Over the next 20 [...]
Underground success story February 14, 2013 EXHIBITION POSTER ART 150 London Transport Museum **** In this excellent new exhibition at the London Transport Museum, 150 posters have been selected from a collection of more than 3,300. Not only are the posters striking pieces of art, they also offer a unique insight into the history of the transport system that most of [...]
Aviation bosses set out their stalls for London expansion February 13, 2013 TRANSPORT bosses locked horns over how to provide London with more flights yesterday, as rival firms ramp up campaigns aimed at the coalition’s Davies Commission on the future of air travel. Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said his firm will propose to Davies that the UK should allow a new runway each at Gatwick and [...]
Fall in the number of London workers that commute by car February 13, 2013 THE NUMBER of Londoners that drive to work has dropped by over seven per cent since the start of the millenium, according to Census data released yesterday. Over 1.1m residents in the capital used to drive a car or van to work according to the 2001 Census – yet the figure is now closer to [...]
Boris’s experts to look at new airport options February 11, 2013 MAYOR of London Boris Johnson has put together a team of economists, architects and advisers to thrash out the details of a new hub airport in the south east of England. Johnson told the transport select committee yesterday that the country needs “a solution that gives us a four runway hub, preferably a 24 hour [...]
Hit the right note this Valentine’s weekend February 6, 2013 THE concept of Valentine’s Day as a time for lovers to express their romantic desires has, contrary to the cries of the cynics, been around since at least the Middle Ages. The tradition of sending flowers and hand-written letters has been around ever since, albeit with the intervention of the ubiquitous greetings card. These days [...]
Boris wants to keep property tax in London February 5, 2013 BORIS Johnson will tonight call on the government to let London retain the tax charged on property sales in the capital, so he can use the money to stimulate housebuilding in the capital. The Mayor will tell the Chartered Institute of Housing that if City Hall took control of all the stamp duty receipts raised [...]
TfL considers proposed route for Crossrail 2 February 5, 2013 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) yesterday backed calls for a new £12bn underground railway link to be built through the capital by the early 2030s, following the publication of a proposed route for the Crossrail 2 project. Business group London First unveiled its preferred route for the railway, which will run from south west London to [...]
Give London back its stamp duty to reinvest in growth February 5, 2013 FIFTY years ago the average London house cost roughly the same as a month’s rent in some parts of North London today. Notwithstanding the effect of inflation, that cannot be sustainable, socially or economically. Among the range of housing challenges we face, the greatest by far is simply to build more homes. That’s why Boris [...]
A late night Tube is simple way to keep London competitive February 3, 2013 TRANSPORT for London has raised the prospect of the Underground running until 2am at weekends. Starting in 2015, this could deliver a signifciant boost to London’s £8bn a year dining, drinking and entertainment industry, and would provide a boon to the thousands of Londoners who flock to the West End for a night out. This [...]