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If you – like us – spent the past couple of weeks totally detached from what’s actually happening in the world, you’re probably feeling pretty lost right now. Instead of sitting at your desk in a daze, why not have a click through this handy list of Things of Importance that Happened in London Over Christmas. At the very least, it’ll help you procrastinate for the next 30 minutes.
The good
Children can now get the tube for free!
Kids younger than 11 can now travel on all National Rail services in the capital for free.
Boris Bikes are getting laser lights
Boris Bike cyclists should be safer in the dark now thanks to special lights that project a green bicycle icon six metres ahead of the bike itself.
The Night Tube is probably coming!
TfL's director of customer experience Sashi Verma said: 'It's very clear that with the changing economy in London the night tube is going to be a valuable addition to London's transport system. We still don't have an agreement with the trade unions, but we are expecting that we can make some headway on that one.'
The bad
It was revealed that 7,500 people slept rough in London in 2015
The Guardian reported that numbers of people left homeless in the capital were increasing because of ‘cuts, government failure and a lack of support for people arriving from EU countries’.
Some horrible guy had a homophobic rant on the tube
Police are investigating, after footage of a man shouting at a drag queen hit social media.
There was a gas leak in Penge
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the south London area on January 3 after a ‘huge’ leak. It happened after gas firm SGN suspended work on a broken gas main on Penge Lane for the Christmas break.
Market data reveals that more expensive properties are sold than 'affordable' properties in London
Last year, twice as many two-bedroom apartments costing between £650,000 and £1 million were sold compared to cheaper homes priced at £300,0000-ish.
There was a one percent rise in tube fares
Booooo!
The just plain weird
Pigs went for a walk on the motorway in Bromley
Described by the RSCPA as 'very clever', the KuneKune breed porkies escaped from a farm close to the A21 and were eventually returned to their field.
And finally… This strange bus/tube/train hybrid showed up in the New Year parade
@lnydp
And the controversial
The Green Party called for London to just be one Zone
They hope it'll make public transport fees fairer for people in the outer zones.
New plans for Balfron Tower were revealed
Tower Hamlets councillors have approved the reconfiguration of the Balfron Tower. Planners say the changes will 'preserve the special character, historic significance and appearance of the grade II*-listed Balfron Tower along with the requirements to bring the building up to modern standards.’ However, critics claim that future generation will regret stripping the building of its 'original fabric'.