Commuters crowdfund £26,000 to launch legal challenge against DfT over Southern Rail crisis October 5, 2016 A fed up group of commuters has gone further than the average Londoner in an effort to tackle their travel delays and disruptions. The Association of British Commuters, a pressure group created after months of ongoing turmoil on Southern Rail, set up a crowdfunding website for a challenge of the Department for Transport's handling of the situation. [...]
The Central and Piccadilly Lines didn’t have enough trains for peak times once last month January 26, 2017 Perhaps not the best day to break this to strike suffering Central Line commuters, but they may well have suspected it anyway… There wasn't a single weekday last month when the Piccadilly and Central Lines had the required amount of trains during peak evening times. The daily service requirement at peak time for the Piccadilly Line is 79 trains [...]
The number of London workers with daily commutes of two hours or more is up by nearly a fifth November 18, 2016 You haven't imagined it: long commutes in the capital are increasing. The number of employees having to suffer through daily commutes of two hours or more has gone up nearly a fifth (17.2 per cent) over the past five years, according to new analysis from the Trades Union Congress (TUC). In 2015, 930,612 London workers had daily [...]
Editor’s notes: Forget about Murdoch, media dominance is now an online battle December 16, 2016 For a while this week it felt as if we’d slipped back five years, as Ed Miliband and Vince Cable dusted down their criticisms of Rupert Murdoch. 21st Century Fox’s bid for Sky saw the former Labour leader take to Twitter like a student protester. “Do we want Rupert Murdoch controlling even more of [the] [...]
Face-to-face talks between Southern Rail and RMT break down October 12, 2016 Talks aimed at resolving the ongoing dispute over the role of guards on Southern Rail have broken down without agreement, the Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT) union said. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said Southern Rail boss Charles Horton was "refusing to stick by the assurances he gave to the media yesterday that he can 'absolutely' guarantee a [...]
UK wages grow at fastest rate since September 2015, while unemployment rate retains 11-year low January 18, 2017 Wages grew faster than expected at the end of 2016, while unemployment stayed steady at 4.8 per cent, as the UK labour market showed little sign of any short-term Brexit effect. Weekly pay grew by an annual rate of 2.8 per cent including bonuses from September to November, according to the Office for National Statistics. [...]
Rail workers to strike, disrupting trains for 48 hours on 25th of May bank holiday after latest Network Rail offer falls short of RMT union expectations May 15, 2015 Network Rail workers will strike for 48 hours on bank holiday Monday, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said today. The strike has been looming since 80 per cent of members voted in favour of industrial action earlier this week. Network Rail's latest pay deal – a one-off £500 payment to staff and three years [...]
Opinion: The Night Tube won’t have any effect on house prices until it runs during the working week September 16, 2016 If the Night Tube was introduced during the working week, then it would be a game changer. It would mean people who work shifts – such as ambulance workers, fire fighters, nurses, junior doctors and other professionals who provide around the clock support to the community – wouldn’t need to pay high central London rents [...]
Department for Transport unveils £20m plan to get Southern back on track September 1, 2016 Transport secretary Chris Grayling has unveiled a package of measures aimed at improving the performance of the Southern rail network and restoring passenger confidence. The new measures include a £20m fund and the appointment of one of Britain’s most experienced rail industry figures, Chris Gibb, to help get the service back "running as it should". London [...]
How the new industrial strategy leaves the past behind and will benefit London and the south east January 23, 2017 Last week, the Prime Minister outlined how the UK can make a success of Brexit and how the strength of our economy will be crucial to that success. Leaving the EU can be a catalyst to drive both improvements in productivity and to spread wealth and opportunity more evenly and fairly across the country. Throughout London [...]