6:50 am, December 23, 2022
Planes, trains and postal service to be affected by pre-Christmas strikes
Planes, trains, driving lessons and postal deliveries are set to be disrupted by strikes in the days before Christmas.
Thousands of Border Force, National Highways, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and Royal Mail employees are due to take industrial action on Friday.
While these workers continue their strike into Saturday, staff represented by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), Abellio London bus workers, and Environment Agency employees will also launch separate waves of action.
Unison members to stage two fresh ambulance strikes
Ambulance workers in Unison are to stage two fresh strikes in the dispute over pay and staffing.
Members of the union in five ambulance services in England will walk out on January 11 and 23.
The strike will affect London, Yorkshire, the north west, north east and south west and follows action by members of three ambulance unions on Wednesday.
Motorists warned of long queues as millions embark on Christmas trips
Drivers are being warned to prepare for long queues as millions of people embark on journeys to spend Christmas with friends and family.
The AA said Friday will be the busiest day on the roads this week, with an estimated 16.9m journeys being made across the UK.
A further 16.6m journeys are expected to be made on Christmas Eve.
Congestion could be increased due to a strike by thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail causing train services to finish at around 3pm on Saturday.
Train passengers face biggest fares rise in 11 years
Millions of train passengers face a hike in fares of nearly six per cent, which is the largest rise in more than a decade.
The Department for Transport (DfT) announced that regulated fares in England will increase by up to 5.9 per cent from March 5 next year.
PA news analysis of Office of Rail and Road data for standard class fares in Britain shows that would be the largest annual rise since a 6.2 per cent jump in 2012. Transport secretary Mark Harper said the 5.9 per cent cap is ‘well below inflation’, but Labour described the increase in the cost of train travel as ‘savage’.
Audi’s new service gives access to 400,000 EV chargers across 27 countries
Audi has created a new charging service which gives owners of its EVs quick and easy access to charge points across Europe.
The new service will give access to around 400,000 charging points across Europe, operated by more than 800 different providers. Audi says that around 1,900 of these units are high-performance chargers from Ionity.
The pro tariff is aimed at EV drivers who frequently have to charge up while on the road. In the UK, it will come with a monthly base fee of £12.95, but it’ll mean that drivers get a lower price of 35p per kilowatt hour at slower AC charging points and 43p per kilowatt hour at faster DC ones. The pro tariff also sees Ionity rapid charging come in at 31p per kilowatt hour.
Thursday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
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- Inchcape’s Bravoauto opens four new used car supermarkets
- Suzuki honours its top dealerships at swanky awards ceremony
- Drive Motor Retail raises £100,000 towards Ukraine war relief
- Porsche begins producing synthetic fuels at new facility in Chile
- Isuzu UK bolsters football connections as it sponsors Scottish FA Men’s Cup
Rising flu admissions sparks warning of more severe season than pre-pandemic
The number of patients in hospital with flu in England has ‘skyrocketed’ according to new data, sparking warnings that this season could be more severe than in pre-pandemic years.
An average of 1,939 people with flu were in hospital each day last week, up 67 per cent on 1,162 the previous week, according to NHS England.
There has also been a surge in the number of flu patients in critical care beds, with the daily average standing at 149 last week, up 72 per cent from 87 the previous week. At the equivalent point last year the NHS had only two flu patients a day in critical care and 32 in general beds.
Strong shop sales help lift Superdry as retailer secures £80m refinancing
Superdry has revealed higher sales for the past six months driven by stronger trade in stores, as the fashion brand also secured an £80m refinancing for the next three years.
The company told investors that group revenues lifted by 3.6 per cent over the six months to October 29, compared with the same period last year.
Shares in the company jumped higher on Thursday afternoon as shareholders welcomed the positive update.
Weather outlook
A band of rain will push across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in a north-easterly direction; heavy in places. A cloudy and showery day for Scotland.
The band of rain will continue its progress north tonight, becoming wintry in northern England and Scotland. Clear spells and isolated showers in the south of England.
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