Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Tuesday, 09 December 2014

BBC News

• Thanet Council's Manston Airport purchase report 'unfair'A US firm interested in buying Manston Airport has said it is disappointed a compulsory purchase could be dropped.
• Motorway SOS phones out of actionDrivers are warned that the motorway SOS phones network across Northern Ireland will not be available until Thursday morning.
• Strikes disrupt transport in BelgiumTransport services in Belgium have been severely disrupted by strikes protesting against government austerity measures.

Financial Times

• Uber banned in New DelhiLatest woes pose major questions for company’s business model

The Guardian

• Bus firms not required to force parents with buggies to move for wheelchairsAppeal court says wheelchair users should demand change in law after ruling in case where woman refused to move pushchair

The Independent

• First Bus wins appeal meaning drivers won't be legally required to ask parents to move buggies from bays for wheelchair usersBus companies will not be legally required to compel parents to move their children’s buggies to make way for wheelchair users, following a judgement at the Court of Appeal today.

The Telegraph

• Prams on buses court case prompts new wheelchair rowBus companies are not required to enforce policies giving wheelchair users preference over parents with buggies, says Court of Appeal
• Parents will wave off children to school in driverless cars, says ministerTransport minister Claire Perry outlines vision of school run driverless car, but warns 'cyber hacking' of vehicles is key barrier to new technology

Daily Record

• Transport boss handed nearly £5million in subsidised bus contracts to his son's firm ERIC STEWART failed to disclose that his son Neil was Henderson Travel's transport manager when the contracts were awarded.

Mail Online

• Anger as judges put wheelchairs on buses on a par with baby buggies and say disabled passengers have no legal priority Disability campaigners yesterday demanded new laws for wheelchair users after judges ruled they have no legal priority to use reserved areas on a bus.
• Bus companies DON'T have to force parents with buggies to make way for wheelchair users, court rules It comes after an appeal by operator First Group, which had been ordered to pay £5,500 damages to wheelchair user Doug Paulley, 36, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire.

This is Money

• New car sales set to reach highest level in a decade - we round up the top motors of 2004 New car sales have soared in the last year and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said last week they are on course to be at the strongest level since 2004.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• WATCH: New Airbus passenger airliners fly in formationSee footage of the A350XWB, with wings made in North Wales, in a five ship formation flight over southern France

Liverpool Echo

• Mersey Tunnel toll increase in 2015 would be 'justified' by economic growth: Merseytravel reportReport warns that 'improving economic growth is such that a further increase in cash toll is justified' on the Mersey Tunnel which is used by 25 million motorists each year

London Evening Standard

• ID fraud victim tells of four-year ordeal over Tube fines A woman has told of a four-year battle to clear her name after receiving court summonses and demands for more than £1,500 in Tube fare evasion fines after her identity was stolen.
• Jailed: Cyclist who pulled bus driver out of cab and assaulted him for beeping his horn A cyclist who dragged a bus driver out of his cab and assaulted him on a pavement during a road rage row has been jailed.
• Letters to the editor: Rein in these spiralling rail fares Consecutive governments have deliberately forced up rail fares and it needs to stop. The cost of a Brighton to London season ticket is going up £100 next year, and has gone up by a massive £745 since 2010.

Burnley Express

• New traffic lights in Burnley to cause more chaos EXASPERATED motorists in Burnley had been praying for the end of major roadworks at the town's busiest roundabout - only for the arrival of new traffic lights to cause chaos.

East Anglian Daily Times

• People are fed up with the excuses now Ipswich MP Ben Gummer criticises Network Rail after latest morning of travel chaosFollowing today’s rail chaos which prompted commuters and passengers to vent their anger, Ipswich MP Ben Gummer has claimed “people have lost patience with the excuses now” after describing the disruption as “incredibly frustrating”.
• Network Rail boss apologises for over running engineering work but says he can’t guarantee it won’t happen againA rail boss has said his company’s contingency plan for engineering work which overran – causing another day of chaos on the region’s rail network – wasn’t sufficient.

Reading Evening Post

• Reading West MP backs call for safe crossing for older folkAlok Sharma is backing a campaign for a pedestrian crossing in Park Lane, so people living in Pegasus Court – some of whom are in their 90s, can safely cross from the bus stop on the other side of the road

Other Regional Press

• Extra patrols on county rail network reassures passengersExtra officers were deployed across Lancashire’s rail network this weekend as high visibility patrols took place at key stations.
• Dangers of unlit roads exposed in new reportThe AA has highlighted the dangers facing drivers travelling on unlit roads.
• Rail users facing a bleak ChristmasRail travellers are facing major disruption over the Christmas period due to engineering works on the West Coast main line.
• Manston airport: RiverOak slams 'misleading' report against compulsory purchase order which it says is 'full of inaccuracies'Official recommendations for councillors to abandon plans to buy Manston airport have been slammed by a group which wants to reopen the runway.

Airportwatch

• Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye - Globalisation means 'no' to GatwickAs London's new runway battle heats up, MT asks the boss of what may soon be only the world's second busiest airport where he thinks it should go. Guess what he said?

Bus and Coach.com

• Major Enviro500 order and new Ontario plant for ADL
• Euro 3s can be cleaner than Euro 5s, says Ricardo
• Super-Connected Cities funds free York wi-fi
• Franchising is back on the agenda
• Tower Transit buys Whippet
• Western Greyhound seeks new owner
• Testing the potential of EVs in MK
• IRU honour for Ron Whittle
• Short Elite i batch for Coastrider service
• New Routemasters on trial in Dundee

Railnews

• Keolis, Amey take over on Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway concession has passed to a partnership of Keolis and Amey after eight years with Serco. Control changed yesterday morning, and the new operator, known as 'KeolisAmey Docklands', is now set to hold the contract until at least 2021.

Aviation Industry

• American chases Delta air with $2 billion onboard-amenities pushAmerican Airlines Group Inc. is chasing rivals led by Delta Air Lines Inc. in updating passenger amenities with a plan to spend $2 billion on new seats, in- flight entertainment and onboard power outlets. A year into the US Airways merger, American is embarking on upgrades more visible to fliers after emphasizing the basics of meshing operations.
• Easyjet boss McCall earns £7.7m pay packageAirline’s annual accounts show bumper pay packet for CEO
• Alitalia appoints new management teamAll appointments are effective from January 1 2015
• Qantas expecting return to profit in 2015Australian airline forecasting pre-tax profit of A$300m – A$350m

Other News Sources

• Mother's fury with Highways Agency after M25 pothole 'ruined' her holidayHighways Agency reveals 51 claims from motorists whose cars were damaged by the M25 pothole
• Disabled campaigner loses bus case - but 'battle not over'A disabled man says he will continue his fight for wheelchairs to be given priority over buggies on buses, despite losing his case at the appeal court.
• Delhi government bans Uber after rape claimTaxi-booking service banned from Indian capital following alleged rape of young woman