London underground extension

London’s Circle line, which since 1884 has ringed the inner city, has opened a western extension that sees the circle now looking more like a hoop with a handle attached. The new section, from Edgware Road to Hammersmith, adds nine...

London sets energy saving drive

Thousands of London homes are taking part in an energy-cutting trial, launched as part of London mayor Boris Johnson’s pledge to cut carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025. Ten thousand households across nine London boroughs will be given a...

Oyster card extension delayed

London commuters will finally be able to use their pay-as-you-go Oyster cards on the capital’s suburban overland rail network in early 2010, reports the BBC. The Oyster smartcard currently works on the city’s tube, bus and Docklands Light Railway network....

New Oxford Circus crossing

One of world’s most popular tourist spots, London’s Oxford Circus, has been given a Japanese makeover. The £5-million redesign, which allows pedestrians to cross the intersection of Oxford Street and Regent Street diagonally as well as straight ahead, while all...

London transport charges to rise

Londoners face a massive hike in tube and bus fares and an increase in the congestion charge, from £8 to £10 daily, in 2010. Mayor Boris Johnson announced that bus fares will rise by 12.7 per cent, tube fares by...

Teenage gun crime on the increase

The London Evening Standard reports that gun crime in the capital is rising dramatically, driven by teenage “respect” shootings. According to the Standard, the number of these shootings – where the aim is not to kill but to inflict a...

Muddled future for London’s transport

London mayor Boris Johnson has been accused of threatening London’s transport system with chaos because he is “blinkered… to the wider strategic issues”, according to a report by former Transport for London officer Peter Brown, commissioned by the RAC Foundation....

London Bridge Station plans inadequate expansion

Plans by Transport for London (TFL) to expand capacity at London Bridge station, a key commuter hub serving 42 million people a year, without extending all its platforms to accommodate 12-carriage trains, have been labeled “shortsighted” by the London Assembly...

Evening Standard goes free

Evening Standard goes free In a move that has allegedly taken its competitors by surprise, the London Evening Standard has announced that it is to become a free newspaper. From 12 October the newspaper, founded in 1827, will drop its 50...

British Airways charges for seat allocation.

On 7 October British Airways starts charging for advanced seat allocation on all its flights. The price of choosing a seat on a one-way economy flight to European destinations is £10 and for one-way long-haul flights is £20. This means...