London’s cabbies are taking on Uber, and TfL in high stakes fight for capital’s streets May 25, 2015 Transport for London’s (TfL) headquarters will be the scene of a protest by black cab drivers today. The action is a demonstration of the simmering tensions between traditional cabbies and modern firms like Uber, which show no sign of dying down. Black cab drivers are represented by the London Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), Unite [...]
National rail strike called off: Bank holiday train misery averted but London Underground poised for more industrial action May 21, 2015 Britons breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as unions called off a 24-hour bank holiday strike that threatened to bring the country’s rail network to a standstill. But fresh calls for industrial action – this time over rostering and pay for night-time Underground services from September – point to a growing union revolt against [...]
Commuter misery vs the digital world: Londoners wrote 480,000 tweets about bad train journeys last year May 21, 2015 It's no surprise that we take to social media to vent our frustration when commuting, but a new report has shed light on exactly how frequently we do it. London's commuters published nearly half a million angry tweets about their journey last year, a new report has claimed. A whopping 473,661 tweets were [...]
Train strike: Transport for London warns commuters of disruption from bank holiday Network Rail walkout May 21, 2015 UPDATE: The RMT has followed the TSSA union in suspending strike action after an improved offer from Network Rail. The nationwide Network Rail strike on bank holiday Monday will cause some Transport for London (TfL) services to also suffer delays and disruption. A 24-hour walk out has been called by rail union bosses from 5pm on Monday 25 May, [...]
Video: New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is far better than Transport for London at explaining why Tube delays happen – and how they’re solved May 19, 2015 Presumably in an effort to quell commuters' constant rage, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released a video explaining the science behind delays on the subway – and it's in the style of an 8-bit video game. So what happens? According to the video, subway (and, presumably, London Underground) trains usually have a regular interval [...]
The truth about rickshaws in London: Here’s why Boris Johnson’s crusade to ban them might be pointless May 15, 2015 Boris Johnson renewed his crusade against rickshaws, aka pedicabs this afternoon, the announcing he wanted to ban them on London's streets to "ease congestion". His gripes are twofold. Firstly, the lack of regulation for rickshaws means no one is entirely sure how many there are and how to control numbers or the safety of passengers. [...]
UK train strikes: Network Rail, DLR strike action and further taxi driver protests spell May bank holiday travel hell for Londoners May 15, 2015 London is speeding towards a bank holiday that could bring utter misery to commuters with the prospect of strike action looming. Workers for Network Rail, the company which keeps the entire UK rail network running, have voted in favour of strike action over pay which has the potential to bring rail services in London and [...]
More rush hour chaos as signalling problems cause delays at London Waterloo station May 6, 2015 Network Rail has confirmed there will be delays into and out of London Waterloo station until "at least 9.30am" because of signalling problems. The station is currently experiencing delays of "up to 40 minutes", it added. To add to commuters' misery, TfL said bus services over Waterloo Bridge were delayed by up to 20 minutes [...]
TfL boss Sir Peter Hendy apologises for calling Southeastern trains s**t and criticising London Bridge chaos April 29, 2015 Transport for London (TfL) boss Sir Peter Hendy hit the buffers last week in an embarrassing gaffe when he called train services into London s**t. It may have cheered commuters to hear some honesty about the commuting situation – particularly the disaster-prone London Bridge served by Southeastern trains – but Hendy has now changed track [...]
TfL wants businesses to pitch “something exceptional” to transform its disused Down Street Tube station April 28, 2015 Transport for London is calling on businesses to come up “something exceptional” to take on the lease of its disused Down Street Tube station. Down Street Tube, on a quiet residential street just off Piccadilly, opened in March 1907 on the Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. It closed in May 1932 because of [...]