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

Friday, 19 December 2014

BBC News

• City centre to be pedestrianisedParts of Birmingham city centre are to be pedestrianised in a radical rehaul of the city's roads.
• Free bike applications acceptedApplications are being accepted for Birmingham residents who want a free bike as part of a £24m scheme to encourage cycling.
• VIDEO: A night on the SOS busThe bus that deals with drunk people on the worst days of the year
• VIDEO: Transport CommitteeMPs hear evidence on the failure of air traffic management systems.
• Council to reduce gritter fleetHighland Council is reduce its number of gritters as part of a modernisation of the fleet which will help it save £600,000.
• Aer Lingus rejects bid by BA ownerBritish Airways owner IAG says that Irish carrier Aer Lingus has rejected its takeover offer.
• Boris flight passenger admits assaultAn airline passenger who was calmed down by Boris Johnson on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Heathrow admits assault and being drunk on an aircraft.
• Bus drivers vote for strike actionLondon bus drivers vote in favour of strike action over pay disparities among the capital's 18 bus companies.

Financial Times

• Bidders revealed for UK stake in EurostarSNCF could use pre-emption purchase rights to prevent certain groups from participating in process
• Walsh sets sights on Aer Lingus potentialIAG boss will have an eye on lucrative Heathrow slots and routes to US
• Aer Lingus rejects bid from IAGShares in Irish airline soar as takeover offer rebuffed

The Herald

• Passengers urged to plan ahead as Christmas getaway begins AIRPORTS and train operators are urging passengers to plan ahead as they prepare for the busiest time of year with hundreds of thousands of travellers embarking on the great Christmas getaway.
• Treasury predicts further reductions in petrol prices as it calls on airline industry to pass on falling fuel costs to passengers.MOTORISTS can expect further big falls in petrol prices into the New Year, the UK Government has predicted, as it called on Britain's airlines to pass on reductions in its fuel costs to passengers.

The Scotsman

• 43% of drivers back zero drink drive limitNEARLY half of UK motorists back a “zero tolerance” drink drive limit, according to a poll published today by road safety charity Brake.

The Telegraph

• Low petrol prices could cause Christmas chaos on the roadsThe RAC said plunging fuel prices meant 12 million cars are expected on the roads over Christmas, which could cause disruption
• David Cameron says Europe's block on sharing passenger data is 'frankly ridiculous'Prime Minister warns that Brussels is puttting airline passengers' lives at risk with delay on legislation for sharing data

The Mirror

• Petrol price crash will fuel a high street spending spree as it saves drivers £3.3MILLION The average fall at the forecourts from 122.93p a litre to 116.32p from mid November to mid December is one of the largest cuts in 25 years

Birmingham Mail

• 'Boris' Bikes coming to Birmingham in council cycling schemeRaleigh wins contract to supply 5,000 'Big Birmingham Bikes' to city council in the new year as part of city's Cycle Revolution
• Traffic chaos feared as Spaghetti Junction and Paradise Circus road works beginCommuters set for huge disruption as £11.4 million road improvements get underway

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Anglesey Council plans to axe school bus routes as part of transport overhaulIsland authority will also introduce controversial 'no pass, no travel'  as school transport services cut in bid to save cash

Derby Telegraph

• CarolineJones published Christmas traffic 2014: M1 to be among UK's worst-affected roads...JOURNEY times on major roads across the UK will take more than twice as long this Christmas compared to other times of the year, according to forecast data. Transport information provider Inrix said the busiest days for drivers would be Friday, December 19, Tuesday, December 23 and Saturday, December 27. It said there could be up to 20 million cars on the roads throughout the Friday afternoon, as drivers leave work early or set off to spend the festive season away from home. Inrix said...

London Evening Standard

• Bus drivers in London set for strike action in 2015 Bus drivers in London could be going on strike in the new year in a dispute over pay.

This Is Local London Network

• Delayed Boris backs life-sciences hub in Sutton as travel hold up pushes case for trams A new life science hub, with upgraded transport connections to the centre of London, is both important and a

Yorkshire Post

• Santa’s new high-tech transport is snow jokeFather Christmas has joined the technological age with a new £200,000 high-tech sleigh courtesy of a Pontefract company.
• Tumble in petrol prices ‘carries warning’PETROL PUMP prices in Yorkshire fell by 6.5p last month as the cost of filling up on fuel across the nation witnessed one of the biggest falls for 25 years.

Blackpool Gazette

• Concern grows over threats to Fylde bus routesSavage cuts being considered across taxpayer funded bus routes in Lancashire mean eight Blackpool services face an uncertain future.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 compensation scheme launch delayed A compensation scheme for residents affected by the route of the planned HS2 high speed rail link will now not be launched until the new year.

Burnley Express

• Christmas rail travellers advised to avoid West Coast linePassengers are being advised to avoid the West Coast main line and to check before they travel over the Christmas period as Network Rail continues its programme of investment and improvements.

Northamptonshire Telegraph

• Yuletide Express steam train due to visit KetteringAn historic steam train will puff through Northamptonshire this weekend.

Other Regional Press

• CitizenNews published Great Christmas getaway could plunge Gloucestershire roads into...It's set to be a perfect storm tomorrow in what is being dubbed the Great Christmas getaway.Travel experts INTIX predict 20million will be hitting the roads on the same day as thousands of workers will be hitting the bars of their respective towns and cities for a pre-Christmas livener.Schools across the county are due to close for the holidays, and a number of factories will begin their festive period shutdown.The Highways Agency will be suspending, or will have completed, almost 400 miles of...
• Essex Chronicle published Promise to invest in Essex's 'underfunded' railwaysIMPROVEMENTS to the region's rail network could bring an extra £4.1 billion into the economy by 2026 and a further £1.3 billion of capital investment with the creation of 48,000 jobs.In Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement, the Government took on all the recommendations of the Great Eastern Main Line Taskforce that was set up to get more funding for the region's rail network.These improvements include an additional service per hour along with other timetable changes, plus...
• Work to resurface Watford ring road to begin in the New Year Hertfordshire County Council will plough £500,000 into resurfacing the A411 Exchange Road and Beechen Grove.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Changes to school transport proposed for Northern IrelandA highly anticipated report into government provision of school transport in Northern Ireland has been published by the Department of Education. The Independent Review of Home to School Transport is aimed at cutting the cost of providing transport for Northern Irish schoolchildren, which currently stands at around £100 million per year. The present system provides free transport for all children whose nearest school is over two miles away for primary pupils, or three miles away for secondary pupils. They are eligible regardless of whether they attend their nearest school or not. The ...

Aviation Industry

• Regus launches ‘Workpods’ at Gatwick airportWorkspace offers travellers an ‘office at the airport’
• Heathrow Holdings completes airports saleAberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton sold to Spanish consortium
• Ground handlers threaten pre-Christmas strikeTwo days of action planned at Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick airports

Green Miscellany

• Brompton bonanza: Folding bicycle sales up 28%Sales of Brompton, the definitive folding bicycle, have soared by 28 per cent. Over 44,000 of the folders were sold last year, three quarters of which were exported. Brompton is not only a success in British manufacturing, but has revolutionised the way bicycles can be used in this country; its clever folding mechanism allows thousands of commuters each day to bypass…

Other News Sources

• New link ‘answer to road nightmare’, Blackburn residents told ANGRY residents living near an industrial estate have been told a £3 million link road could end their air quality, noise and road safety nightmare.

EIN News Subscription

• Four million Britons will head overseas for Christmas with those left behind facing travel chaos … jammed roads and disrupted rail journeys. Estimated by travel association Abta, the … higher than the number who travelled abroad for Christmas last year … heading off on the high-speed trains of Eurostar. Abta said top winter … work on the Thameslink Those travelling within Britain will have to …
• Many drivers want 'zero tolerance' on drink driving, a survey for road safety charity Brake shows … of 1,000 drivers by road safety charity Brake and insurance company … has some of the safest roads in the world, but there … off the top of the European road safety rankings, and without critical progress … after any amount of alcohol.â€� Road Safety Minister Robert Goodwill said: “Britain …
• Clash of the Irish titans as BA owner launches Aer Lingus bid … his country would have the budget airline as their first taste of … . Ryanair has been thwarted by EU regulators in its efforts to …
• to break record for customers travelling home for Christmas … possible." Ends For further information, please contact the easyJet Press … at Europe's 50 largest airports. easyJet carries over 64 million passengers … than a passenger on a traditional airline, flying the same aircraft on the …
• Airport braced for Christmas getaway as more than 370,000 set to jet off from Manchester … itself. On Monarch airlines alone, 30,087 passengers will travel through Manchester … place for safety reasons. Traffic information company Inrix is forecasting tomorrow … spots, romantic European cities and Spanish seaside resorts. Airport number crunchers have …