UK national rail strike: Disruption could ruin bank holiday Monday, cause train travel chaos and cost Britain £600m May 18, 2015 Yesterday’s peace talks continue into today in a bid to avert a strike that could cost Britain £600m. In terms of timing, next week’s proposed national rail strike, the first in 21 years, could hardly be worse. Starting on Bank Holiday Monday, the planned day-long industrial action by 25,000 workers would cut short [...]
Megacity London: Our next mayor needs the ambition to match the scale of the challenge January 28, 2016 The next mayor of London will have some difficult decisions to make. Forecast to reach 9m residents by 2020 and 10m by 2030, the capital’s soon-to-be status as a “megacity” will bring with it both significant challenges and opportunities. This evening, the main candidates standing to be the next mayor will be setting out their [...]
Doddle’s Tim Robinson talks 2016, the future of shopping and why he’s looking for a new partner January 18, 2016 Have you used Doddle? If you have, then you’ll either have done so once or 13 times, Tim Robinson, chief executive of the parcel collect and send service tells me. Founded in the autumn of 2014, Doddle has done rather well so far. Over its 2015 peak trading period (the run-up to Christmas), it saw [...]
2015 season ticket and travelcard price rise: How much will London train, tube and bus fare costs go up next year? December 11, 2015 Part-time workers in the capital will soon be saving money on travel after London mayor Boris Johnson revealed details of plans to lower Pay as You Go fare caps, however full-time workers will have to fork out more to commute from next year. The daily maximum commuters will be charged when using Pay as You [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Liberal Democrat candidate Caroline Pidgeon talks childcare, Tube and bus fares, congestion charge, airport expansion February 16, 2016 As the Liberal Democrat candidate for mayor of London, Caroline Pidgeon dismisses suggestions that the contest to replace Boris Johnson in City Hall is a two-horse race between Labour hopeful Sadiq Khan and Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith. But she does not shy away from slamming the front-runners for being too self-important in their efforts to become [...]
RMT confirms 17 days of DLR strikes in 2016 December 4, 2015 Rail Union RMT announced today that there will be a series of strikes on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) next year, as part of an ongoing dispute over working practices. The strikes, which will run between January and March, are over a number of issues, including DLR operator Keolis Amey's use of agency staff. Last month, DLR workers went [...]
TSSA union boss Manuel Cortes throws down Night Tube gauntlet to Boris Johnson October 26, 2015 A boss of one of the four main transport unions has thrown down the gauntlet to London Mayor Boris Johnson over the Night Tube, urging him to agree a meeting to restart talks. Manuel Cortes, general secretary of TSSA, has written to Johnson calling for him to meet union members to resolve some of the [...]
Trade Union Bill explained: Will it prevent strikes? What does it mean for employers? Here’s everything you need to know November 9, 2015 Some have called it an "attack on workers' rights", others have defended the plans – either way, the government's proposals to impose a minimum turnout of 50 per cent has left employers scratching their heads. Here's everything you need to know about the Trade Union Bill. Explain the new threshold rules Under the existing rules, [...]
Longest Tube interchange: 10 Tube stations where changing lines takes longest October 9, 2015 It’s not just your imagination: You really are spending hours of your life wandering around the labyrinthine tunnels that connect the different Tube lines at Bank and Monument. But as far as long Tube interchanges go, it’s not actually London’s worst. That dubious honour goes to Paddington, where the connection between the Bakerloo and Hammersmith [...]
Focus On London Bridge: Why house prices are on the rise next to The Shard December 11, 2015 Children in nursery may sing about London Bridge falling down, but in property circles, it’s building up and the sky’s the limit. The area first became a part of London’s fabric due to its famously crumbly bridge, which was built by the Romans and was the first to cross the Thames. It was originally made [...]