London leaders urge government to let TfL keep £500m in vehicle duty ahead of new bailout talks February 10, 2021 The leaders of the London Assembly’s political parties have come together to urge transport secretary Grant Shapps to allow the capital to keep the £500m it raises in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) every year. Led by Mayor Sadiq Khan, the leaders have written to the government asking that London receive its “fair share” of the [...]
Hydrogen truck firm Hyzon to go public through SPAC February 9, 2021 Fuel-cell truck firm Hyzon Motors has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp in a deal that values the startup at $2.7bn. It is the latest electric vehicle company which has chosen mergers with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) as the route to go public instead of traditional initial [...]
Eurostar collapse would be ‘disastrous’, warns RMT February 9, 2021 The UK’s biggest union for transport workers, the RMT, has today warned the government that failing to support the Eurostar would be “disastrous” for the country. The union has launched a petition calling on transport secretary Grant Shapps to “urgently agree” assistance for the cross-Channel rail link. However, all the signs so far suggest that [...]
The Week Ahead: Look out for GDP data, Ocado, AstraZ, Twitter and Ted Baker February 8, 2021 Start your week informed: here are the announcements and results to look out for this week. UK GDP: A double dip recession is looming After a fairly decent third quarter, and an expansion of 16 per cent, the UK economy has had a much more troubled fourth quarter, with the likelihood that we may well [...]
Londoners could face tougher face mask rules in transport crackdown February 5, 2021 Tube and bus passengers in London could be made to wear higher-grade face masks to help combat new mutant strains of Covid-19. Mayor Sadiq Khan and Transport for London have both launched reviews of current guidance amid concerns about the rapid spread of the so-called Kent strain across the UK. Face coverings have been mandatory [...]
Covid-19: Hotel quarantine policy for UK arrivals will begin on 15 February February 4, 2021 The long-delayed hotel quarantine policy for all UK arrivals from 33 'red list' countries is set to begin on 15 February
Airport hotel chain still ‘in the dark’ over new UK quarantine plans February 4, 2021 Britain's biggest airport hotel chain has been "kept in the dark" over how the government's hotel quarantine policy for arrivals will work, a week on from its announcement.
Scottish rocket company to clean up space debris from 2023 February 4, 2021 The UK could become a world leader in tackling space debris after successful trials of a ‘space tug’ align with a new UN space initiative, the Scottish rocket company behind the development said today. Skyrora said that its orbit transfer vehicle, part of its Skyrora XL rocket, could clear debris, reposition satellites and remove redundant [...]
Car sales sink 40 per cent as 2021 gets off to worst start since 1970 February 4, 2021 Just 90,000 new cars were sold in January, the worst start to a year since 1970 for the UK auto industry. According to new figures from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations dropped 39.5 per cent last month, with 90,249 cars sold in total. That’s nearly 60,000 fewer registrations than in January [...]
Grant Shapps: Sadiq Khan cannot ‘raid national budget’ to fix TfL finances February 3, 2021 Grant Shapps has this morning said that Sadiq Khan cannot “just raid the national budget” to fix Transport for London’s ailing finances. Speaking to the Transport Select Committee, the transport secretary said that it would not be fair on taxpayers to fund services and concessions that were not available outside of London. The comments raise [...]