London bike hire scheme on road to be only public transport system in profit

TfL expect the project will cover operating costs within three years and will then go on to meet implementation costs

Boris Johnson tries out a bike at the launch of London’s cycle hire scheme, which is on course to make an operating profit. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

London’s bike hire scheme is on course to become the only Transport for London (TfL) system to make an operating profit, just 10 weeks after its launch.

Full article in Guardian.co.uk

Subsidies not the electric answer

ELECTRIC CARS: Taxpayers’ money needs to be used fairly for energy-saving initiatives. The best way to do this is to scrap the subsidies for electric cars and introduce a nation-wide car share scheme which will benefit us all, writes JAMES NIX

THE GOVERNMENT seems hell-bent on offering a subsidy of €5,000 to buyers of electric cars. Exclude the subsidy and a saloon-sized electric vehicle would cost in the region of €35,000. So, under the draft scheme, taxpayers stump up €5,000 for each electric vehicle but, unlike public transport, ordinary taxpayers have no opportunity to use these vehicles, unless, of course, they are among the small number of purchasers. Full article – Irish Times