It’s full steam ahead for Tornado’s timetabled services on the Settle-Carlisle line February 14, 2017 For the first time in nearly 50 years, a steam train is to run a timetabled passenger service in England. The A1 Pacific Tornado will pull 12 Northern services on the line over the next three days, replacing diesel trains on the Settle to Carlisle line. The line crosses the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, [...]
Forget contactless, train tickets could soon use fingerprints and facial recognition February 7, 2017 Ambitious plans to bring train travel into the 21st Century could replace paper tickets and even forward-thinking contactless payments with fingerprints and iris scanning. “Britain’s railway exists to drive our economic prosperity. A 21st century railway offers opportunities for businesses to grow by bringing more technology to the railway more quickly. Everyone in the railway [...]
All you need to know about next week’s massive Tube strike February 3, 2017 Just in: next week's Tube strikes have been suspended after last-ditch talks were held this week between the RMT union and London Underground bosses. There was going to be more strike action next week with more than 3,000 members of the RMT union planning to walk out over ticket office closures and job cuts. Read more: Every [...]
The story behind the Tube strike – a new era of ‘smart travel’ beckons February 3, 2017 Next week’s proposed strike action is yet again set to cause travel misery across the capital. However, amidst the inevitable swathe of discontent as commuters take to crowded buses, bikes, and hit the pavement in a desperate bid to make it into the office, we should take this opportunity to look at the bigger picture. [...]
Over 30m journeys have been been made using Sadiq Khan’s one-hour bus Hopper fare in under four months January 11, 2017 Over 30m journeys have now been made using the bus Hopper fare, in under four months since its introduction in September 2016. London mayor Sadiq Khan introduced the new bus Hopper fare enabling passengers to take a £1.50 bus or tram journey and then change onto another bus or tram for free within one hour of [...]
Cashless era could leave bureaux de change out of pocket January 4, 2017 January is a time when many of us start to think about the summer and where we want to disappear to on holiday. And anyone looking ahead to an overseas vacation or a business trip will have to consider travel money at some point. But the way British consumers pay for things when abroad is changing [...]
Transport for London warns Londoners that travelcards and daily fare caps will increase in the New Year December 29, 2016 Londoners have been warned not to get caught out by New Year public transport price hikes despite promises to freeze fares in the capital until 2020. Transport for London (TfL) said it did not have the power to stop a 2.3 per cent increase in the cost of travelcards because their pricing is set by the government. [...]
London just got the first ever contactless payment beer pump December 16, 2016 It looks like bartenders are the latest workers to be threatened by robotic replacements. The world's first contactless, self-pouring beer pump prototype has been launched by Barclaycard. Set up in Henry's Cafe and Bar in Piccadilly, the first-of-its-kind contraption has been dubbed "Pay @ Pump", and it's designed to help pubs and bars reduce queuing times [...]
This European flying car maker just raised €10m in VC money December 5, 2016 We may live in a world of talking virtual assistants, contactless payments and a world of knowledge in our pockets – but we won't truly be in the future until cars can fly. Pleasingly, though, flying cars came a step closer today, after a German company trying to develop a pint-sized plane raised €10m in [...]
Shoppers spent over £2bn using Visa cards on Black Friday November 29, 2016 UK shoppers spent more than £2bn using Visa cards on Black Friday this year. The figure was up 13 per cent on last year's, and half of the spend was made online. Visa said that there has also been a strong uptake in contactless payments, across all age groups. Among those aged between 55 and [...]