News

London Assembly publish report into Oxford Street congestion

February 4, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Transport for London and Westminster Council should assess the possibility of re-routing buses serving London’s West End to reduce the number that travel through the area according to a new report published today by the London Assembly. ‘Streets ahead: Relieving congestion on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street’, which is available to download from the London Assembly website, says more than 300 buses serve Oxford Street every hour and over 100,000 pedestrians pass along the busiest point on Oxford Street every day. The report finds the shared use of the West End has “created... [Read the full story]

Martin Hoscik

Does Boris really need one hour bus tickets explaining to him again?

January 12, 2010 · 2 Comments

Just before Christmas City Hall LibDems circulated a letter from Boris Johnson dismissing (not for the first time) calls for the introduction of a one hour, transferrable bus ticket. The thinking behind the idea seems to be that some bus users are disadvantaged by having to pay for more than one bus to get to their destination. Last April Boris’s spokesperson told me: “A one hour bus pass has been suggested several times previously but the Mayor does not plan to introduce it in London. This is because it would be an extremely complex and expensive exercise, that would only benefit a small... [Read the full story]

Damian Hockney

Primary Level Thinking (Part 1)

September 15, 2009 · 4 Comments

Rumours that the state might pay millions of pounds for political parties’ candidate selection processes could be the final straw for the public, says Damian Hockney. “David Lammy’s recent call for ‘Primaries’ for the London Mayor elections was worthy of Marie Antoinette in one of her less thoughtful moments,” he says. “These exercises in central control will not fool anyone. And if the state were to pay for this process, then the tumbrils might finally roll.” It is scarcely conceivable, but discussions about how to fund “Primaries” appear... [Read the full story]

Open Platform

From 2012 we should cut fares not protect polluters

December 30, 2009 · 12 Comments

Boris Johnson is preparing to hit London with above-inflation fare rises, which will mean that in just eighteen months the price of a single bus fare will have risen by a third. Many commuters going back to work on Monday 4th January after the Christmas and new year break will find they are paying considerably higher fares. A single bus or tram journey by Oyster will rise by twenty per cent, as will a weekly bus pass. That comes on top of last year’s rise in the price of a single bus journey by another eleven per cent, also under Boris Johnson. Overall bus fares will rise in January by 12.7 per... [Read the full story]

Editor's Pick

PPP Arbiter sets Tubes Lines contract at £4.4bn

December 17, 2009 · 1 Comment

The cost of works on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines over the 7½ years from 1 July 2010 should be set at £4.4bn according to Chris Bolt, the independent Tube PPP Arbiter. Bolt said: “I have reviewed carefully the submissions from Tube Lines and London Underground, and taken expert advice. On the basis of my analysis, I consider that a company operating in an overall efficient and economic manner and in accordance with Good Industry Practice – the test in the PPP Agreement – could deliver its obligations at a substantially lower cost than projected by Tube Lines, though not as... [Read the full story]

Features

10 years on the London Eye unveils a new ‘wow’

August 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment

What do you do if you’re the (very proud) owner of London’s most popular paid-for tourist attraction and one of the UK’s most iconic landmarks and want to celebrate its 10th anniversary in style? This was the question facing London Eye owners Merlin Entertainments, Europe’s largest operator of visitor attractions and second globally only to Disney. Their answer has been to spend more than £5m on a state of the art 4D cinema experience and then include access in the cost of a standard ticket. This not only adds value to the attraction for new visitors but, Merlin hopes, offers past visitors... [Read the full story]

News

TfL Board agree taxi fare increase

Taxi fares in London are set to rise by 2.3 per cent after Transport for London’s (TfL) Board today agreed the need to ensure drivers were able to meet rising costs. TfL say the increase “aims to find a balance between maintaining income levels for drivers, who face disproportionately higher costs in order to work than average Londoners, while... [Read the full story]

Boris slams Tube Lines shareholders and demands Ministers ‘make good’ PPP funding gap

London Mayor Boris Johnson has called on the Government to make good any funding shortfall on upgrade work carried out by Tube Lines, the PPP maintenance firm responsible for the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee Lines. In a letter sent to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, the Mayor calls on the Government to acknowledge the “evident failure” of the... [Read the full story]

London Councils calls for greater devolution to London

Londoners should have greater say over the services they use including local health care, policing and schemes helping the jobless get back into work according to a new ‘Manifesto for Londoners’ published this week by London Councils. The document, which is supported by all three main political parties, follows an report for London Councils... [Read the full story]

Passenger watchdog publishes TfL performance report

London TravelWatch, the London Assembly funded passenger watchdog, has published a new report into the performance of TfL controlled transport services in the capital. The report covers second quarter of 2009/2010 (July to September 2009) and rates all transport modes using a ‘traffic-light’ system. The organisation says the aim was to provide “easy... [Read the full story]

City of London consults on St Paul’s improvements

Consultation opens next week on plans to dramatically improve the area around London’s iconic St Paul’s Cathedral in time for the 2012 Olympics. Proposals for the site include relocating the existing St Paul’s coach park and landscape the space to provide a high quality green space, adding green space around the south transept and increasing... [Read the full story]

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