Whitehall should not be able to escape TfL’s case for funding November 18, 2021 There is a brilliant, if possibly apocryphal, anecdote that emerged from the 2000 US election. Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s election strategist, was finally accosted by the journalists who had been following Bush on the campaign trail for weeks, reciting the same speech, city by city, state by state. The hacks begged Rove to change [...]
Shipping crisis could push global inflation up, UN warns November 18, 2021 The current global shipping crisis could push global inflation rates up 1.5 per cent, hindering the economic recovery. A UN conference on trade and development (UNCTAD) report published today highlighted how the increased costs in container shipping have become a main issue for small suppliers, usually less equipped for absorbing additional expenses. If the current [...]
Brits have worst delivery experience, research says November 18, 2021 British consumers have a worse delivery experience compared with their counterparts in the US and Europe, even though the supply chain crisis is affecting the whole world. Research from operations experience platform Parcellab has revealed that 39 per cent of UK consumers claim to have placed an order that never arrived, compared with 18 per [...]
Railway industry says HS2 cuts will hinder net zero and levelling up agenda November 18, 2021 Railway industry stakeholders have hit back against the government’s decision to cut the eastern leg of HS2, which was initially planned to connect Birmingham and Leeds. Speaking at Commons, Shapps argued that the changes made to the £100bn Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) “will bring benefits at least a decade or more earlier” and that they [...]
Lib Dems call for bank tax hike to plug TfL funding gap November 18, 2021 The Liberal Democrats have called for taxes on banks to be hiked to help fill Transport for London’s (TfL) £6.6bn funding gap. The party called the long-running TfL funding saga between the government and mayor of London Sadiq Khan a “a ridiculous macho battle”, while urging them to “sort this mess out”. Khan last night [...]
EV premiums tumble by £97, research says November 18, 2021 Insurance rates for electric vehicles (EV) have gone down by £97, from £753 to £656, while premiums for petrol and diesel slumped by £82 to £622 in the third quarter of 2021. Research from price comparison website Comparethemarket has revealed that, despite the decline, the average annual insurance for EV is still £33 more expensive [...]
‘Great train robbery’: Labour outrage at government cuts to HS2 November 18, 2021 Labour has labelled the government’s decision to cut the eastern leg of HS2, which would have connected Birmingham to Leeds, a “great train robbery”. Transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed today, after a series of press stories this week, that the eastern leg of the high speed rail line will instead go from Birmingham to near [...]
TfL: Network planning for “managed decline” and return to 1970s without Whitehall funding November 18, 2021 LONDON’S transport network is headed for “managed decline” that will echo the 1970s if central government refuses to fill a growing funding black hole. Late on Wednesday evening, TfL’s finance committee published the bleakest assessment yet of the future of London’s public transport network, outlining an 18 per cent reduction in bus services and a [...]
Lower than forecast ULEZ receipts hit transport network’s coffers November 18, 2021 The expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has been so successful in driving down the use of heavily-polluting cars that it has blown a £600m hole in TfL’s forecasted budgets. The ULEZ was expanded out to the north and south circular in October as part of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s push [...]
Jet2’s operating losses go up due to customer anxiety November 18, 2021 UK low-cost carrier Jet2 registered a 53 per cent increase in operating loss as a result of the Covid-19 air travel restrictions and consequent customer anxiety. In its half year results, the airline’s losses went up to £170.4m, compared with £111.2m registered in 2020, while the group’s loss before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation increased [...]