London Assembly votes against mayor’s plan to remove congestion charge exemption for private hires September 6, 2018 The London Assembly has voted down Sadiq Khan's plans to remove the congestion charge exemption from private hire vehicles (PHVs) operating in the capital such as Uber. Sixteen assembly members voted for the motion against the mayor's proposals, while three voted against it and two members abstained. Taxis and PHVs are exempt from paying the congestion charge when [...]
Ride-hailing firm Taxify enters the electric scooter market September 6, 2018 Embattled ride-hailing firm Taxify has launched its first foray into battery-powered scooters with a debut in Paris, proving the tide might be turning after it was forced out of the UK just three days into operations last year. The firm, which operates in 25 countries across Europe, Africa and Australia, will compete against startups Bird and [...]
Ford recalls nearly two million cars over faulty seatbelts in the US, Canada and Mexico September 6, 2018 Car giant Ford is recalling around 2 million of its cars after discovering a number of faulty seatbelt pretensioners that are found to be a fire hazard. An investigation by Ford found that the F-150 Regular and SuperCrew cab vehicles in north America have been fitted with the faulty pretensioners, which can generate excessive sparks and [...]
More strikes on the cards as RMT renews mandate for industrial action on South Western Railway September 6, 2018 More strikes lie ahead for users of South Western Railway after workers at the RMT rail union voted to continue action over the role of guards. The RMT union said it had secured an 88 per cent vote to continue with the strikes that have plagued commuters over the past year after the government forced [...]
TfL to lose £20m from delay to ‘game-changer’ Elizabeth Line September 6, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) will miss out on £20m of additional revenue from the delay to the Elizabeth Line, commissioner Mike Brown has admitted. Earlier this month Crossrail Limited, which is building the £15.4bn Elizabeth Line, unexpectedly announced that the project that will connect Abbey Wood in the east to Reading in the west instead of this [...]
RMT rail union to launch 24-hour strike this weekend over guard safety September 6, 2018 Commuters on South Western Railway (SWR) are to endure more strike action after the RMT rail union announced it will be holding further strikes this weekend and next weekend. A reduced service will be operating on most of the SWR network, which runs services out of London Waterloo and Clapham Junction to destinations such as Reading, Bristol and Exeter. Passengers [...]
Ryanair pilots vote to back deal over working conditions September 6, 2018 Ryanair pilots in Ireland have voted to accept the airline's deal over working conditions. The agreement follows five days of industrial action by pilots represented by the trade union Forsa, and was proposed after 22 hours of talks. Read more: Ryanair shares take flight after trade union agreement Around 100 of the 350 Ryanair pilots based in [...]
Thameslink owner Go-Ahead Group’s profits climb despite London Midland franchise loss September 6, 2018 Govia Thameslink owner Go-Ahead Group reported higher profits this morning despite losing a franchise and dealing with timetable chaos. Shares in the company jumped 9.4 per cent in early trading as management signalled that performance for next year would be "robust". The figures Revenue for the year to 30 June fell 0.6 per cent to [...]
Volvo dreams up its first driverless electric car September 5, 2018 Volvo has unveiled its first electric self-driving car concept, as it races to meet its own targets of making a third of its car sales autonomous by 2025. Aside from driving around town, Volvo hopes that the 360c could replace short-haul air travel, particularly for routes where the distance travelled is around 300km (186 miles) such as [...]
Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing to plug £16m into customer service after passenger death September 5, 2018 Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing is set to fork out 140m yuan (£16m) to improve its customer service, after a passenger was raped and killed by her driver. Founder Cheng Wei told government regulators of his decision when they visited the company as part of a nation-wide inspection into ride-hailing firms, according to reports from Chinese newspaper Beijing [...]