Latest news with #TransportForLondon
Telegraph
a day ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Revealed: How much Sadiq Khan's congestion charge plans will cost Londoners
Sir Sadiq Khan's plans to increase the congestion charge will cost London's electric car drivers an extra £75m per year. The Mayor of London is poised to increase the capital-wide tax by a fifth – from £15 to £18 – as well as applying it to electric cars and delivery vans. The planned increases, set to kick in from Christmas Day, will cost drivers of electric cars £75m per year as the Labour mayor brings electric cars into the taxation scheme for the first time. The increases could total as much as £455m over the next five years, Auto Express magazine reported. Although Transport for London (TfL) suggested it could add a 25 per cent discount for EVs, that would only apply to those owners who trust the capital's transport authority enough to sign up for its Auto Pay system, the car magazine added. Figures obtained by the magazine suggested that TfL's internal financial projections showed that raising the congestion charge to £18 and extending it to electric vehicles – commercial delivery vans as well as cars – could rake in an extra £75m a year. Under current rules, any driver on the roads inside the M25 motorway at the wheel of an older, more polluting diesel or petrol car must pay £15 a day. Electric car drivers have been exempt until now – but a public consultation that closed on Monday included options for Khan to include those vehicles in the charging scheme for the first time. Richard Holden MP, the Conservative shadow transport secretary, said: 'Sadiq Khan's answer to every problem is to reach deeper into Londoners' pockets. As Transport for London's mismanaged £13bn debt continues to spiral, it is little surprise Sadiq Khan is jacking up the congestion charge on top of the new tunnel tolls, Ulez, and annual Tube fare hikes. 'It can already cost over £35 just to get to work in London before you've even paid the recent road tax hikes, rocketing insurance costs, and rising fuel prices. It's daylight robbery. 'Meanwhile, more than 2,200 TfL staff are on six-figure salaries. Londoners are being bled dry while Labour's Mayor rewards his top brass and piles the bill on working people.' The impact of the Congestion Charge, as well as the mayor's hated Ulez emissions reduction scheme, has had a catastrophic impact on ordinary Londoners and the businesses serving them. David Tucker, 59, who runs a waste and recycling company in South East London with 55 trucks and more than 100 employees said: 'At the moment, Ulez and congestion is costing me £300,000, give or take, per annum, and it's going to get worse. 'We would have to pass the cost onto customers. We built this business over more than 10 years, and employ more than 100 people. We have always played by the rules, but we cannot reinvest now if TfL takes all the profit. 'The margins are really small. We already had to buy new trucks at massive, massive costs. It's no picnic, this business. It's very unfair. TfL, they are absolutely destroying London.' A TfL spokesperson said: 'The congestion charge has been in place since its introduction in 2003 to manage traffic and congestion in the central one per cent of London during the busiest times of day. 'Without the changes proposed in our consultation, the charge would become less effective, with an estimated additional 2,200 vehicles in the zone on an average weekday. 'Under these proposals, we are also proposing a new cleaner vehicle discount for those who do need to drive in the zone so they would still be able to benefit from a discount if they drive an electric vehicle, with a greater reduction for journeys that are harder to switch to walking, cycling and public transport, such as those made by vans for commercial purposes. 'Central London is one of the best-connected places in the world with high quality sustainable transport options.' Ginny Buckley, chief executive of electric car sales website said: 'Mayor Sadiq Khan's plan to make electric car drivers pay the congestion charge flies in the face of the Labour Government's push to accelerate EV adoption and hit our net zero targets. 'It's a backwards step for London's air quality that punishes those making cleaner, greener transport choices – and risks stalling the shift to zero-emission vehicles at the very moment we need it to accelerate.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Moment staff on London's 'lawless' Tube appear to ignore two fare dodgers who shamelessly push their way through barriers next to where they are standing
This is the moment three Tube workers failed to react as two fare dodgers pushed their way through the barriers on a deserted concourse without paying - right in front of them. The shocking incident is believed to have taken place at the brand new Elizabeth Line station in Woolwich, south-east London last week. Footage shows the two young men brazenly pushing through the barriers designed for the disabled, families and people with luggage. The friends nonchalantly walked past members of station staff, who either failed to notice or more likely failed to act. The incident was captured by commuter Matt Stevens, who has started filming and shaming the fare dodgers, as well as the Transport for London staff who appear to do nothing. He said sarcastically: 'Staff on circa 40k a year standing and watching people barge through barriers with no tickets. Money well spent'. Weeks earlier, at the same station, he filmed 'dozens' of people doing the same. He said: 'Dozens of people breaking through the barriers and your 'enforcement officers' are stood twiddling their thumbs. What an insult to the taxpayers who pay their wages'. On another occasion he photographed a young man pushing through the barriers at Canary Wharf Station. He said in a tweet to TfL: 'He then proceeded to threaten me after I reminded him to buy a ticket. Your staff sat and watched'. MailOnline has asked Transport for London to comment. Hello again @TfL. Staff on circa 40k a year standing and watching people barge through barriers with no tickets. 👏👏 Money well spent. — Matt Stevens (@MattStevns) August 7, 2025 The fare dodgers push through the barriers while members of staff appeared to do nothing The friends nonchalantly walked past members of station staff, who either failed to notice or more likely failed to act Earlier this year the Mail revealed how TikTok influencers are brazenly showing London Underground passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers. Young men are filming themselves laughing and joking with each other as they push through the wide-aisle gates in videos liked by hundreds of thousands of viewers. The gates, which were first installed in 2008 at a cost of £12million, are normally used by wheelchair users, older people, parents with children and travellers with luggage. But they are increasingly being used by fare dodgers who either push through the gap in the middle, or quickly follow someone in front of them who touches out. It comes amid a fare dodging epidemic on UK trains, with an official report published this week revealing staff believe the practice is becoming 'normalised' and they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Videos show young men at stations across the Tube network walking through barriers without being stopped by staff - and even explaining to others how to do it. In one clip posted by rapper Stepz, real name Samuel Agyei, he claims that Transport for London (TfL) have 'upgraded the barriers' but still pushes his way through. References to 'free TfL' and 'free travel' can be heard, as he tells the camera: 'I don't know why they made it look like it's hard to bump through when it's that easy.' In one clip posted by rapper Stepz, real name Samuel Agyei, he claims that Transport for London (TfL) have 'upgraded the barriers' but still pushes his way through at one station Another video by Tenton, who has 70,000 followers, sees the TikToker push through the barriers and ask: 'Mandem, at what age are we gonna stop bumping train?' The clip by Stepz, who has 3.5million TikTok followers, was called 'Still Easy' and has racked up 388,000 likes and nearly 1,000 comments since being posted in 2022. Another video by Tenton, who has 70,000 followers, sees the TikToker push through the barriers and ask: 'Mandem, at what age are we gonna stop bumping train?' He says: 'It's getting silly guys because I'm almost finished uni and I'm still bumping train.' As a staff member walks past, he tells them: 'Sorry, you didn't hear that.' Tenton continues: 'Realistically at what age are we gonna stop? When we got grey hairs we're not gonna be bumping train. Do you get it guys? I think the threshold is 25.' A third video by user CFCRocky7 features a man showing women how to push through the barrier at Stratford, with the caption: 'Saving NPCs [non-player characters] from extortionate train fares @Transport for London.' In another video posted by Parafactual, a series of commuters are shown at East Ham walking through the barriers without paying, following customers who do touch out. Similar videos have also appeared on other social media sites such as Instagram. A video by user CFCRocky7 features a man showing women how to push through the barrier at Stratford, with the caption: 'Saving NPCs [non-player characters] from extortionate train fares' In another video posted by Parafactual, a series of commuters are shown at East Ham station walking through the barriers without paying, following customers who do touch out One posted by Gavin Chee, which has racked up 80,000 views, is called: 'Different types of people bumping TfL. Can't lie know bare talkers.' This shows a series of different attempts to get through the barriers at a Bakerloo line station by the same man in a comedic style, categorised as 'The Scum Bag'; 'The Runner'; 'The Talker'; 'The Savage' and 'The Kwalis'. Fare dodgers are estimated to cost TfL around £130million a year in lost revenue. Wide-aisle gates are the main access point for chronic fare evaders, and TfL has trialled changes to how they work at some stations to see if they can reduce pushers. Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said: 'The overwhelming majority of our customers pay the correct fare, however there is a minority who do attempt to travel without a valid ticket which is a criminal offence. 'Fare evasion is unacceptable. That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network. 'This builds on the work of our team of more than 500 uniformed officers already deployed across the network to deal with fare evasion and other anti-social behaviour, keeping staff and customers safe.' Robert Jenrick confronts people pushing through the barriers at Stratford station in London An estimated 3.4 per cent of passengers did not pay fares between April and December 2024 – and they face a fine of £100 if caught, although this is halved if paid within a fortnight Ms Hayward added: 'Fare evasion is not a victimless crime. It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network and we are committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion to 1.5 per cent by 2030.' And a British Transport Police spokesman said: 'Ticket fraud is not a victimless crime - the cost is passed down to the honest fare-paying members of the travelling public. 'We are committed to working closely alongside the railway industry to tackle fare evasion and regularly support them with high visibility patrols at known hotspot locations.' TikTok said it has removed videos which violate its community guidelines around criminal behaviour, and has also blocked associated hashtags and search terms related to this. The social media firm's guidelines state that it does not allow content which promotes or provides instructions on how to commit criminal activities that may harm people or property. Between October and December last year, TikTok claims to have proactively removed 97.1 per cent of content which violated its violence and criminal behaviour policies before it was reported to the firm. The Channel 5 programme 'Fare Evaders: At War With The Law' shows a passenger pushing the gates at Kingston station in London without touching out before attacking police officers Meanwhile a report by the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) released on Wednesday found travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime'. Staff enduring abusive behaviour when asking fare-dodgers to present their tickets are warning that evasion is becoming 'increasingly more challenging to tackle'. The report had been commissioned to look at concerns some passengers were being unfairly prosecuted by train operators over genuine mistakes when buying tickets. But it found fare evasion is a mounting problem now costing taxpayers £400million a year which is resulting in higher fares and less investment cash to improve services. The Mail highlighted some of the worst cases of evasion in exclusive clips from the Channel 5 series Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law, airing on Monday nights at 9pm. And shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick tweeted a video last week in which he confronted people pushing through the barriers at Stratford station in London. It comes after separate video showed furious passengers taking the law into their own hands when a Tube passenger dropped his trousers in a packed carriage. British Transport Police (BTP) believe the naked man, who has since been detained under the mental health act, was assaulted on the District line in east London. Up to four men stepped in when he repeatedly refused to pull up his pants at 3.30pm last Thursday. He was pinned to the floor and carried off the train before being arrested by an off duty police officer. But detectives are probing whether the vigilantes committed any criminal offences in the confrontation after he refused to pull up his pants. BTP has appealed for witnesses to the incident but there have been no arrests over the brawl. 'The man had been assaulted by a number of other passengers and was initially arrested by an off duty officer, before being detained under the mental health act and taken to hospital,' the BTP statement said. 'An investigation into the incident is ongoing.' It comes after separate video showed furious passengers taking the law into their own hands when a Tube passenger dropped his trousers in a packed carriage A group carried him off the train and pinned him down on the platform, waiting for help to arrive The Daily Mail revealed how he began yelling after the eastbound train travelled between Upton Park and East Ham. He then dropped his trousers and put his belt around his neck. His bottom and genitals were on show, sparking anger and revulsion around him on the train, which was busy with children who are on their summer holidays. A passenger stood up and quickly confronted him, gesticulating angrily. He politely and firmly told him: 'You need to get off the train.' But the man began repeatedly yelling back: 'F*** off.' The commuter said in response: 'What do you mean "f*** off"? You need to get off the f***ing train. Now. There are kids on here.' Footage of the incident showed up to four men kicking and punching the naked man, who was hitting them with his belt. The video then cut to him being pinned to the floor of the carriage. The man was then unceremoniously carried on to the Tube platform at East Ham and dumped to the floor. He was then pinned down as the commuters tried to alert staff. It appears an off duty police officer was on the train and performed an arrest and he was taken to hospital. It is yet another horrifying incident on the Tube, which is run by Sir Sadiq Khan's Transport for London (TfL). Since he became Mayor in 2016, Tube crime rates have more than doubled, and today he has been accused of ignoring a manifesto pledge to maintain a 24-hour police front counter in every borough in the capital. Just last month a brawl broke out on the steps of a packed station - with a screaming toddler ending up on the floor in the chaos.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
New air-conditioned Piccadilly line trains tested in central London
New air-conditioned Piccadilly line trains have been successfully tested in tunnels through central London after the launch of the fleet was postponed by up to a year. Technical issues identified in prototypes delayed the launch as new trains had to be modified and re-tested to ensure they ran sufficiently. The new trains had a test run between Northfield and Hyde Park corner during a closure of the Piccadilly Line last weekend. New Piccadilly line trains will replace older trains introduced in 1973 and will be the first of the Tube's deep-level lines to have walk-through carriages and air conditioning. Londoners have been calling on Transport for London (TfL) to install or improve air conditioning on Tubes, after temperatures reached up to 33C on trains during the heatwave in July. The Tube lines which reach the hottest temperatures include the Victoria, Central, Bakerloo and Northern lines. The Standard previously interviewed commuters on the Tube on the hottest day of the year in July. Salvatore Cafaelli, 60, who commutes on the Victoria line, said: 'I have no choice, I have to take the Tube for work, but definitely it's too hot. It's like I am in a sauna. 'I think for the money commuters are paying, (TfL) should be improving the system,' he said – and called for air conditioning to be provided on all Tube lines. The new Piccadilly train test run comes after The Standard revealed the arrival of the first 94 new trains which were due to be introduced into public service during 2025 had been delayed by up to a year – the new trains are now expected from July to December of 2026. The initial delay was caused by unexpected difficulties in introducing the first new train onto challenging 'real life' conditions on London Underground infrastructure, compared with the test track, on which the train is understood to have performed well. The introduction of a new fleet of trains is part of a £2.9bn investment programme to upgrade the line. Once the 94 new trains replace the existing 86 trains, TfL plan to increase the number of trains travelling through central London from 24 to 27 trains an every hour – equating to one every 135 seconds – at peak times. The new trains are designed and manufactured by Siemens – the majority of the fleet is being assembled at the Siemens factory in Goole, Yorkshire. At a London Assembly meeting, Andy Lord, the TfL commissioner previously admitted the introduction of the new trains was proving 'challenging' and 'extremely complicated' to fix. Mr Lord said: 'The first train was slightly late [arriving] in London last summer. Since it arrived, a number of issues have been discovered as part of testing that we have been undertaking in the depot. 'That has meant that Siemens have had to do some further design work.' Stuart Harvey, TfL's chief capital officer, who is in charge of the introduction of the new trains, previously told The Standard: 'It will obviously be disappointing for customers that they will have to wait a bit longer for the new trains, and I regret that. 'But I would like to assure Londoners and visitors to our city that we are working extremely closely with Siemens to ensure that the new trains can be introduced as soon as possible in the second half of next year.'
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
Heathrow Airport hit by rush hour chaos as Tube line closed over faulty fire equipment sparking huge delays
A HEATHROW Airport station has been evacuated due to "faulty fire equipment", causing travel chaos during rush hour this morning. The Elizabeth Line was suspended between Heathrow Terminals T2 and T3 and Terminal 4. 1 This has caused disruption for both commuters and travellers heading to and from the popular airport. A Transport for London update points to faulty fire equipment at Heathrow as the reason. National Rail said a fire alarm went off at one of the stations between the Heathrow Terminals. It was evacuated while emergency services and staff investigate it. National Rail said: "The fire alarm sounding at a station between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 means that the line is closed. "Elizabeth line trains operating to / from these stations may be cancelled or revised as a result. "Station staff and emergency services are currently investigating the incident and for safety reasons, the station has been evacuated and trains are no longer able to stop at Heathrow Terminal 4." The rest of the Elizabeth Line has good service.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
London bus heat complaints highest on record
Complaints about London buses being too hot have reached their highest level on have already been 276 complaints this year, up from 155 last year and 149 in 2023, Freedom of information figures show. There were 51 in the second half of more than 6,000 London buses have air-cooling systems, according to Transport for London (TfL), most are not which only keeps figures for three years, said the data "should be viewed in the context of the 1.8 billion bus journeys that are made in London each year". A series of heatwaves, where temperatures are above 28C (82.4F) for three consecutive days, have struck the capital this Murphy, TfL's director of buses, said: "We value all customer feedback and continue to look at ways to make bus journeys more comfortable for our customers, especially during longer spells of hot weather. "We've introduced several measures to help with this, including reflective roofs and insulation to help reduce heat, and opening windows for improved ventilation. All new double-decker buses are also fitted with air cooling."We also frequently issue travel advice for customers when travelling in hot weather, advising that they carry water and ask customers to look out for one another while on the move."Last year, the Victoria line was shown to be the hottest on London Underground with average summer temperatures above 30C.
