London Underground – The Underground (Tube) is divided into nine zones which have a range of different fares. The easiest way to travel on the Tube is to use an Oyster card or contactless bank card to tap in and out of stations.

National Rail – Trains offer transport across London and are useful to reach places that do not have the Underground.

Bus – Iconic red, double decker buses ride around London via their own bus lanes. Payment can be made with an Oyster card or contactless bank card.

Cabs – London’s traditional and iconic black cabs are available all around London. They can be hailed when they have their yellow light on show. London black cabs are able to travel in bus lanes, reducing travel time. Payment can be made with cash or card. There are also licensed minicab and ride hailing services.

Bicycle – There are lots of cycle lanes in London. Santander Cycle Hire (the city’s official cycle hire scheme) has various docking locations to hire bicycles. The hire process is easy using your debit
or credit card as payment, but if you are after a quick cycle the first 30 minutes are free. This system is further augmented by dockless bicycle hire schemes.

Key innovation and regeneration areas, with major examples listed below, are well connected by various modes of transport:

— Kings Cross (central London) – major rail stations at Kings Cross and St Pancras (with regional, national and international connections), supported by various underground lines and extensive bus connections. This is a prime example of transit-oriented regeneration.

— Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (East London) – major rail stations at Stratford Regional and Stratford International, supported by underground, DLR (Docklands Light Rail), London Overground and extensive bus connections.

— Shoreditch (a major tech hub in central/East London) – major rail station at Liverpool Street, supported by various underground, overground and extensive bus connections.

— White City (West London) – multiple underground, overground and bus connections.

— Croydon (tech hub in South London) – good train, tram and bus links, including 15 minutes to central London by fast train.

Additional information on innovative and shared ways of transportation:

The Mayor of London has an ambitious plan to make London carbon neutral by 2050. This has resulted in an ambitious transport strategy to achieve 80% of journeys to be on foot, cycling or public transport by 2041, as well as the largest electric bus fleet in Europe by 2041, as well as the largest electric bus fleet in Europe. An industry-wide Taskforce has been launched to expand charging infrastructure for EVs, and, all new taxis are now required to be zero emission capable. London is also the lead city for C40 on zero emission vehicles.

There are now almost 12,000 electric vehicles registered in London, with 1,869 charging points across the city, and a further 1,500 planned for installation. Additionally, an Ultra Low Emission Zone implemented in April 2019, is making drivers meet new, tighter emission standards or pay a daily charge to travel within central London.

Many universities run dedicated programmes and initiatives to encourage innovation and spin out new businesses as a result. There are also many examples of collaboration between academia and industry, with a few outlined below:

— Plexal: running the London Cyber Innovation Centre – a £13.5 million initiative to bring industry, researchers
and investors together to boost the UK’s position as a place to develop cyber security technology. It is funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of the Government’s five-year, £1.9 billion cyber programme.

— MedCity: MedCity connects international companies and researchers with talent and public and private investment. Centering on London, Oxford and Cambridge, MedCity is an ecosystem for businesses and investors keen to understand, access, collaborate and invest in life sciences.

— Imperial White City Incubator: A hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, providing office and laboratory space for early-stage companies. Early-stage businesses can take advantage of being in close proximity to eminent scientists and experts in technology.

— Accelerator London: Originally launched with London Metropolitan University, Accelerator is one of the oldest programmes in London, and offers private offices and hot-desking within an active community of start-ups.

— FFWD: Established by City University London, in conjunction with Accelerator Academy. Delivered in one-day sprints, over a six-week period, this interactive, hands-on programme is designed to cover key topics such as Tech, Marketing, Finance, and much more, using a blend of expert speakers and professional industry mentors.

— Enterprise Hub: The Royal Academy of Engineers’ Enterprise Hub provides up to £60,000 equity-free, grant funding, as well as a year-long programme of training and mentoring for researchers who are looking to spin out a technology business and recent graduates who are looking to bring their innovation to market. The programme supports engineers to become entrepreneurs, but defines ‘engineering’ in the broadest sense, from AI to construction.

— The Francis Crick Institute: The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical research centre in London, which opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Imperial College London, King’s College London, the Medical Research Council, University College London and the Wellcome Trust. With 1,250 scientists and an annual budget of over £100 million, the institute is the biggest single biomedical laboratory in Europe. The Institute actively develops and promotes new partnerships with the broader scientific and medical community, bringing together the best minds from research, academia and industry.

As of September 2018, the level of office construction activity across central London totalled 11.8 million square feet, 73% being new builds. In the six months up to September 2018, there were 32 new office builds. Overall, London office availability saw another uplift to 16.2 million square feet by the end of Q3 2018, up by 5% year on year.

The Mayor of London supports innovation and access to finance directly though several flagship programmes. See infographic.

There are also business support opportunities available through the LEAP – the local enterprise partnership for London, such as the London Growth Hub: this is an online signposting tool helping connect London’s entrepreneurs, microbusiness and SMEs with the support that is available to help them start, sustain and grow. It brings together the capital’s vast business support offer into a single online resource which is supplemented by a programme of face-to-face business support, including business to business mentoring, a Meet the Buyer programme and a Property Advice Service.

Other strategic and funding initiatives led by LEAP to support London’s businesses include the overseeing of £160m in investment to fund businesses, encourage innovation and support and deliver regeneration.

LEAP also provides funding.

— Good Growth Fund: this is a £70 million regeneration programme to support growth and community development in London. The fund is currently open to applications and will support projects that are inclusive, innovative and which demonstrate an outstanding approach to challenges faced across London, focused on driving regeneration.

— Business Air Quality Fund: LEAP has invested £1m to establish the Mayor’s Business Air Quality Fund, which will provide grants of up to £200,000 to businesses/business groups to deliver Business Low Emission Neighbourhood to reduce pollution on high streets, around offices or within retail parks.

— Digital Talent Programme: this £7m programme will offer training opportunities for young people and will focus on supporting women’s and ethnic minority groups to gain the skills needed to find employment within London’s digital, technology and creative sectors.

— London Co-Investment Fund: this is an £85m fund to support more than 150 science, technology or digital companies based in London and demonstrably committed to creating jobs in the capital.