
The Deputy Mayor for Transport An FT profile of Isabel Dedring, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, throws up a few interesting nuggets, including that a high-speed orbital rail network for the capital is under consideration for the long term future. A second interview, ostensibly about her role as a 'power mum' is also worth reading to get a full picture of the woman who guides much of the transport policy in London.
Strikes
Tube drivers on the Victoria line are due to strike next Tuesday over working conditions. As a side note, the GLA Conservatives reckon that each strike costs Londoners about £48m in a report they've put out. The RMT were, predictably, not warm in their comments on the paper.
Cashless buses
TfL is consulting on making all buses in the capital cashless. The consultation runs until 11 October.
Cycling
The BBC reports on another tussle between the London Cycling Campaign and the Mayor's office. Meanwhile, the Cycle Hire scheme continues to expand, Southwards this time.
Under the city
The FT carries an excellent article on the art - and difficultly - of tunnelling in London:
Beneath the capital’s pavements lies a Swiss cheese of shafts and tunnels. Constructed over centuries for myriad purposes, they include underground railways, gas mains, medieval sewers and utility pipes.
They weave around and sometimes interlock with one another, skirting deep foundations of buildings or the buried tributaries of the Thames, a three-dimensional jigsaw that most inhabitants are only dimly aware of.
Airport expansion
It's not all about Heathrow or hubs. London City has applied to double its customer numbers to 120,000 a year.
Taxis
The London Taxi Company is back and producing their iconic black cabs following a rescue by the China based Geely Group.