Waymo robotaxis accused of using London black cab EV charging points
Waymo is blaming ‘human error’ after self-driving vehicles took electric taxi charging points reserved for London’s black cabs. According to The Telegraph, London’s taxi drivers have clashed with Waymo after its vehicles were found taking up electric charging bays reserved for black cabs. Taxi groups said there had been multiple cases of Waymo’s electric vehicles using dedicated e-taxi […]
Lime director says cyclists should be given priority at lights
Traffic lights in London should automatically turn green for cyclists to help speed up their journeys, according to Lime’s policy director. The majority of traffic light systems in London are fitted with sensors that detect buses approaching. They then turn green sooner to let them pass or stay on green for longer, says the BBC. […]
A fascinating social experiment: Should we be worried about autonomous taxis, asks UCL professor
Driverless taxis are heading to London, and Professor Jack Stilgoe (UCL Science & Technology) calls the rollout a “fascinating social experiment”. Writing in The Guardian, he raises concerns about their safety, suitability for UK roads and how we’ll fix them when they go wrong. “Having run surveys of public attitudes, my sense is that the […]
Unite backs TfL proposals for publicly owned buses
Unite has strongly backed proposals for a new publicly owned bus company for London. Last week, Transport for London (TfL) set out a new draft business plan, which aims to transform the capital’s transport network. Within this, it references the development of detailed plans for a new publicly owned bus company in London – the first in […]
London drivers facing yearly congestion charge and tunnel toll increases
Motorists have been warned to expect annual above-inflation increases in the London congestion charge and the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel tolls until the end of the decade. The central London C-charge rose by 20 per cent, from £15 to £18, in January while drivers of electric vehicles lost their 100 per cent exemption, says the Evening Standard. This means that drivers […]
Putney residents and businesses unanimous in calling junction redesign ‘a disaster’
A £1million redesign of roads leading up to Putney Bridge has been described by frustrated residents and businesses as a “disaster”. Locals said Wandsworth Council’s overhaul of the junctions of Putney High Street with Putney Bridge Road and Lower Richmond Road, by Putney Bridge, had made congestion in Putney worse in its bid to prioritise […]
Waymo driverless taxi filmed driving in London
A video circulating on Instagram shows what appears to be a Waymo driverless taxi being filmed while driving through London traffic. In the short clip posted on DM News, a man filming from inside another vehicle captures the autonomous car travelling in the middle lane of a London road, positioned next to a double-decker bus. The vehicle’s unusual […]
London to review £372m a year Freedom Pass
The free travel benefits enjoyed by more than a million older Londoners are to be reviewed because of the soaring cost of the Freedom Pass. The pass provides free travel on all Transport for London services and national rail services within Greater London, says The Standard,and is funded by the 33 London boroughs but its cost is […]
London should drive down the cost of transport infrastructure, says report
London could deliver major transport infrastructure projects between 20-50 per cent cheaper if it followed processes in place in other major European countries, according to a London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee report. The extension of the metro system in Madrid, Spain, between 1995 and 1999, was notable for a low-cost and speedy approach, with a 35-mile […]
Zipcar to cease UK operations
Zipcar has announced that is proposing to cease operations in the UK, subject to formal consultation with affected employees, by the end of the month. As many national news outlets have reported, the US-based company, which is owned Avis Budget, informed its 650,000 members that it would temporarily suspend new bookings after 31 December. Zipcar […]