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

Wednesday, 27 May 2015

BBC News

• VIDEO: Ryanair: 'We've listened and improved'Budget airline Ryanair has reported a 66% rise in profits for the year to the end of March of €867m (£614m; $948m)
• Hyundai offers Google Android in carsSouth Korea's Hyundai becomes the first carmaker to offer Google's Android Auto system in its Sonata model.
• Ireland to sell Aer Lingus stakeThe Irish government agrees to sell its 25% stake in Aer Lingus to IAG, the owner of British Airways.

Financial Times

• Cameron weighs in on London cabbies clashHigh quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c3227d2c-03b8-11e5-8585-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3bKqXxmEe David Cameron has weighed into the row between London’s black cab drivers and Uber, after parts of the capital were brought to a standstill by a protest by cabbies against so-called “e-hailing” apps.
• Ryanair: Ryan highPremium services and a premium rating. What sort of budget airline is this?
• Ireland approves Aer Lingus sale to IAGDublin backs €1.4bn offer from BA owner

The Guardian

• Uber ordered to discontinue Pop service in ItalyMilan court rules that allowing users of company’s smartphone app to order a ride from an Uber driver creates ‘unfair competition’A judge in Milan has shut the door on Uber’s ride-sharing business in Italy, dealing a major blow to the $41bn (£26.6bn) US company’s ambitions in Europe.Tuesday’s ruling that Uber’s Pop service creates “unfair competitionâ€� effectively holds the private company to the same standard as a public taxi service. Related: 'Uber protest' by black cab drivers brings traffic chaos to Westminster Continue reading...
• 'Uber protest' by black cab drivers brings traffic chaos to WestminsterCabbies stage demonstration outside TfL headquarters in ongoing dispute over activities of unlicensed firms and new app-based taxi-booking companiesHundreds of black cab drivers brought traffic in the streets around the House of Commons to a halt in a protest against unlicensed taxis in London.Drivers staged a demonstration outside the headquarters of Transport for London (TfL) in Westminster on Tuesday in an ongoing dispute over the activities of unlicensed firms and new companies such as Uber. The protesters from United Cabbies Group claim TfL is not doing enough to enforce rules that ensure...
• Inquiry into how Air France plane narrowly missed African volcanoFrench accident investigators examine manoeuvre that put Boeing 777 with 37 people on board on course to hit 4,040-metre-high Mount CameroonFrench accident investigators have opened an inquiry into a near accident involving an Air France Boeing 777 which narrowly missed one of Africa’s highest volcanoes with 37 people on board.An automatic “pull upâ€� alarm went off when the plane, travelling from Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, to Douala, Cameroon’s largest city on 2 May, diverted from its normal route “to avoid stormsâ€�, the BEA accident investigators said. Continue reading...
• IAG given clearance by Irish government for Aer Lingus takeoverBritish Airways owner offers extended guarantees about routes to Ireland from Heathrow in deal that values Dublin-based flag carrier at €1.4bn The owner of British Airways is set to take over Aer Lingus in a deal that values the Dublin-based flag carrier at €1.4bn after the Irish government agreed to sell its stake to International Airlines Group.Paschal Donohue, Ireland’s transport minister, confirmed that the sale of the former Irish state carrier to IAG can now go ahead. Continue reading...
• When poor people can’t get on due to lack of public transportAs in many US cities, LA’s lack of affordable bus and train links leaves the poorest people out in the cold. Investment would make economic sense and improve social mobilityIf I mention using buses or the LA metro to get around in the city, the reaction from friends and acquaintances will be something like: “Wow, you use public transport?â€� Or in jest: “There’s a metro?â€� In a city notorious for its car-dependency and clogged freeways, this reflects how people value their cars and are correspondingly reluctant to use public transport, but beneath the surface there’s something else going on.When ...

The Herald

• HS2 a multi-billion pound bridge too far for the rest of BritainBefore Scotland's referendum, we heard now and then that HS2, the high-speed rail link, would be among the benefits of Union put in peril if there was a vote for independence.
• Irish government's green light for BA takeover of national airlineBritish Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) looks set to take over Aer Lingus after the Irish government gave the green light to a £1.03 billion bid.
• CalMac parent firm to run military port in south of EnglandMINISTERS are under pressure to explain why a ferry company owned by the Scottish Government is set to share in the management of an army-run port on the south coast of England.

The Scotsman

• Mhairi Black hits back over airport champagne claimMHAIRI Black, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, has been a welcome addition to Scotland’s political sphere since comprehensively defeating Douglas Alexander in the general election.
• Commuters face worst rail disruption in decadesPASSENGERS face the biggest disruption to the Scottish rail network for decades when a two-month project on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line gets under way this weekend.

Times Online

• Ryanair boss is in rude health [Subscription]That’s more like it. Just when everyone’s sick of Michael O’Leary being so nice, guess what? Up pops the Ryanair boss with hints of a return to form.
• Brace yourself for battle of the sexed-up flight safety videos [Subscription]It used to be the part of the flight where passengers stared blankly ahead, flicked through the remnants of a newspaper or bickered with their children.
• Free transport for friends and family of wokers costs millions [Subscription]Up to £22.2 million is being spent every year giving free travel to friends, flatmates and relatives of transport workers, the Tories claimed yesterday.

City AM

• Aer Lingus is cleared for BA boss’ takeover as Ireland agrees to sellTHE IRISH government last night agreed to sell its 25 per cent in Aer Lingus to British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) after many setbacks. The Irish airline’s board recommended IAG’s proposed €1.36bn (£961bn) offer in February, but it still needs support from the other main shareholder, Ryanair, which has previously voiced its support for earlier bids. If the deal completes it will bring Aer Lingus back under the leadership of Willie Walsh, IAG’s chief executive. Walsh was boss at Aer Lingus from 2001 until 2005. “Acquiring Aer Lingus would add a fourth comp...
• Same train, different name... and cheaper fares to EssexESSEX commuters will be the first to benefit from London’s Crossrail train service, with fare cuts of up to 40 per cent introduced this weekend. Although the east-west London line will not be travelling through the capital’s newly-dug tunnels until 2019, some services between Liverpool Street and Shenfield will be run as TfL Rail from Sunday, and operated by Hong Kong firm MTR. Transport for London (TfL) has promised to charge the same fares for Crossrail as for the rest of the London Underground network. So a peak fare from Romford to Oxford Circus will fall 30 per cent, from £7.60 to £...

Daily Record

• West Lothian women launch petition calling on bus route linking area to Glasgow to be restoredDisgruntled public transport passengers have raised a petition calling on bus bosses to restore a withdrawn route linking West Lothian to Glasgow city centre.
• Joan McAlpine: Super-fast trains are on the wrong track for a united BritainSCOTS having to contribute almost £5bn towards super-fast trains that will never reach Scotland is hardly putting us on the right track for a United Kingdom, says JOAN MCALPINE.

Mail Online

• The buzzing steering wheel that could help save lives: Cockpit cameras that read drivers' faces will alert them if they are falling asleep or take eyes off roadA shaking steering wheel could soon be used to remind distracted motorists to keep their eyes on the road.
• Cyclist crashes into a bus after racing through red traffic light in Manchester The video, which has clocked up more than 500,000 views on YouTube, shows the cyclist hurtling past a set of traffic lights in Manchester city centre before colliding head-on with a bus.

The Mirror

• Ryanair readies for take-off in its bid to replace easyJet as Britain's biggest airline The Irish carrier has a 16% share of the market and is determined to become the first European operator to carry 100m passengers a year
• Bizarre footage shows naked man screaming and jumping on passing cars in middle of motorway The naked man is shown standing next to his car and throwing some of his clothes at one vehicle before leaping on another one

Birmingham Mail

• Angry MP tells black cab drivers he's switching to Uber after protest jams London roads An MP tells cabbies he's going to use their competitor in future after their protest leaves him stuck in traffic for more than two hours

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover breaks new profits records with £2.6bn announcement Manufacturer says record profits mark fifth successive year of ‘solid growth, robust financial results and continuous investment in its future'
• 1,600 caught using mobile phones behind the wheel in West Midlands Police warn drives still flout law every day on the region’s roads – and back a driving ban for those who continue to flout the law

Daily Post (North Wales)

• 'Old and unsafe' tube trains could be used on North Wales railway linesDiscarded trains from the London Underground could soon be dumped on tracks in the region, prompting “serious safety concerns” from the rail union

Lincolnshire Echo

• Plans for £25m Lincoln transport hub move a step closer as council exec approves next stage Plans for a £25m transport hub in Lincoln have moved a step closer as the City of Lincoln Council's executive approve the next stages of the development.

London Evening Standard

• Conservatives want to scrap free travel perk for friends of TfL staff, claiming it costs £22m each year A free travel perk for families and even flatmates of Transport for London staff should be scrapped because the cost will hit £111 million by 2020, it was claimed today.
• Illegal minicab drivers jailed for 16 months for forging licence Two illegal minicab drivers who forged their Transport for London licences have been convicted of fraud.
• Letters to the editor: Private train firms on wrong track Your leader [“TfL runs railways betterâ€�, May 21], drawing attention to the benefits of TfL taking over trains on the West Anglia line and reducing almost all fares, has a wider lesson you might be less enthusiastic about: a publicly-run system is better than one run by a privately-owned firm.

Manchester Evening News

• Bus lanes: Should most of them in Manchester and Salford be scrapped?Salford Tories call for them to be suspended in the city pending a review - but their demand is labelled 'irresponsible and outrageous'
• Huge cloud of smoke over Tyldesley after fire breaks out near Leigh Guided BuswayBlaze involving plastic pipes breaks in Tyldesley out close to the site of the 14-mile transport route

Sheffield Telegraph

• Almost £6million to be spent on fixing 233 Derbyshire roadsMore than 150 miles of Derbyshire’s roads are to be repaired in a £5.7million project.

Blackpool Gazette

• Bungling DVLA send driving licence to wrong house... twiceA nurse has hit out at bungling DVLA officials... for sending her someone else’s driving licence documents - twice.
• Dangerous cycling summonsA cyclist has been reported for summons by police after a young child was knocked down in Blackpool.

Bucks Free Press

• Stunning laser photography project depicts HS2 planned route through the Chilterns An award-winning landscape photographer has embarked on a groundbreaking laser project showing the planned HS2 route through the Chilterns.

Crewe Chronicle

• Bike shop 'pops up' in Crewe town centreCC Cycles, which promotes the Big Bike Revival, is the first pop-up shop to fill a vacant unit in the run-up to the proposed redevelopment

Doncaster Free Press

• New Isle bike ride routes this summerSky Ride Local is back bigger and better than ever before with 20 FREE bike rides taking place in the Isle and across North Lincolnshire starting from June 7 2015.

London24

• ‘Flea infested’ seats on Abellio Greater Anglia trains, customers claimAbellio Greater Anglia is to spend £30m cleaning its trains after customers sent in photos of flea bites they claim were received on board AGA services

Reading Evening Post

• Lineside fire causes trains to be blocked between Reading and WokinghamRail passengers faced major disruption on Tuesday night due to a blaze near Winnersh

Other Regional Press

• Abellio Greater Anglia announces temporary peak timetable for June Rail commuters to the capital are set for fresh rush hour misery as Abellio Greater Anglia announces more disruptive work will be carried out next month
• A railway campaign group has spoken of early indications that serious overcrowding problems on the Overground through Waltham Forest may not be resolved for another three years Overcrowding on trains which has already led to fights and injuries in Waltham Forest could be set to continue for up to three years, according to a railway campaign group.
• Mid Sussex MP chairs parliament meeting over “unacceptable” rail service SIR Nicholas Soames has led crunch talks over the poor rail service in East Grinstead and the surrounding area. The Mid Sussex MP chaired a meeting of 10 Members of Parliament including Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs), Jeremy Quin (Horsham), Nusrat Ghani (Wealden), Maria Caulfield (Lewes) and others today.
• Commuter’s anger over rise in car parking permit feesA commuter from Milton Keynes to London who pays £74 a month for a parking permit only to find he can’t always get a space is outraged by the increase in fees.
• Lincoln council approves £858k extra funding for Lincoln Transport HubMembers of the City of Lincoln Council’s Executive have approved the next stages of development for the Central Lincoln Transport Hub project at a meeting on May 26.
• New bus donated by Stagecoach in South WalesSTAGECOACH in South Wales has donated a bus which will be housed at the former National Welsh bus garage in Barry.
• Bus driver up for national award after just two years in jobSharon Davidson, who works at Hounslow Heath bus garage, has been short-listed as driver of the year. Sharon Davidson, who works at Hounslow Heath bus garage and drives the number 285 between Heathrow and Kingston, has reached the finals of the 2015 FTA everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards.
• Residents angry over felled treesRESIDENTS in Jericho have claimed noise from a railway line has been worsened by tree clearance work.
• Image revamp boosts Ryanair profits Irish no-frills carrier posted post-tax profits of 867 million euros (£614 million)

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Solar Impulse awaits 'moment of truth'It will be a test of man and machine. The Solar Impulse project is waiting to undertake its greatest challenge yet: flying non-stop from Nanjing in China to Hawaii in the Central Pacific. For a passenger airliner, the 8,000km could be completed in 10 hours or so. But for this solar-powered, prop-driven, experimental aircraft, it could take 5-6 days and nights of continuous flight. The plane will need the weather on its side, which is why the team is currently sitting tight in Nanjing, looking out for a sizeable, favourable window. So far on its epic round-the-world quest to promote clean te...
• Ryanair reports big rise in profitsIrish airline Ryanair has reported a big increase in full-year profits. Net profit for the year to the end of March rose 66% to €867m (£614m; $948m), slightly ahead of analysts' expectations. The airline's
• Exhibition shows off future Tube Station designsThere will be an opportunity next month to visit the architects working on a new set of designs for London Underground tube stations. Studio Egret West’s new studio and showroom  will be open for four days to let the public in and discuss the past, present and future of the tube network. The installation, just up the road from Farringdon Station, will show off the work Studio Egret West have been undertaking with London Underground to develop a design guide that will apply to future refurbishments, and covers every aspect of station architecture and ambience, from pavement to plat...
• DB Schenker to charter from Etihad for new US freighter serviceDB Schenker has revealed it is chartering an aircraft from Etihad for its new weekly freighter service from China to the US. The forwarder, through its JetCargo division, this week announced it had launched a freighter service travelling between Hong Kong, Chicago and Houston. A company spokesperson told Air Cargo News it was a fully dedicated service using a Boeing 747-8 freighter chartered from Etihad. The service will target the oil and gas, automotive and industrial sectors with freight moving from southeast China to the US southwest, Gulf of Mexico and northern Mexico. As is the curre...

Rail Magazine

• TIMELAPSE VIDEO: Abbey Wood station re-development projectThe new station will have a bigger ticket hall, step-free access and improved connections with local bus services.

Railway Gazette

• Industry calls for co-ordinated European action on metal theftEUROPE: A joint statement calling for EU-wide action against metal theft was issued on May 26 by a...

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair net profit up 66% in 2014-15Irish budget carrier Ryanair has posted a 15% net profit margin for 2014-15, after generating €867 million ($944.5 million) in net income, up 66% from €523 million in the prior year. read more
• Lufthansa evaluates task force on random cockpit crew checks Lufthansa is considering setting up a task force to evaluate implementing random medical checks of pilots to improve safety in the cockpit, Lufthansa spokesperson Barbara Schaedler told ATW in an email. read more
• Virgin America sees California market as ‘untapped potential’The intra-California market represents “untapped potentialâ€� for its network, Virgin America told investors in a presentation. read more
• Russia’s Far East subsidy program grows in AprilRussian airlines have carried 51,800 passengers within the framework of the Far East routes subsidy program since April 1. read more
• Ryanair profits jump 66%Irish carrier’s charm offensive helps passenger traffic growth
• Malaysia Airlines to axe thousands of jobs in major restructuringFinancially-troubled carrier in administration
• IAG edges closer to Aer Lingus deal25% sale of stake in Irish carrier could be approved this week

Other News Sources

• MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STAGECOACH IN SOUTH WALES TO RETIREStagecoach in South Wales Managing Director John Gould is to retire in August after a 40-year career in the UK bus industry, the company announced today (27 May 2015).
• Keyline strengthens rail division with senior appointmentKeyline has appointed Paul Clunn as rail manager south and will be the focal point for Keyline’s customer relationships across the region.
• Use of car parking fees to support other services 'unlawful'North Dorset DC contravened the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
• Angry residents call for halt on 'money wasting' bus stop work ANGRY Alresford residents and business owners are calling for 'money wasting' bus stop work to be stopped.
• Southern performance 'extremely disappointing' says MPSam Gyimah has said he will be seeking compensation for rail commuters after some were fined while standing in first class
• PM close to backing Gatwick expansion DAVID Cameron is warming to the idea of a second runway at Gatwick, according to sources close to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister could be close to backing the idea amid fears expansion at Heathrow would cause excessive pollution and noise in Greater London. The news emerged as a delayed consultation on expansion was due to close on Friday. The report, due to be published in June or July, will recommend which site should be expanded to increase airport capacity in the south east. While the government is not bound by the report, Mr Cameron is beginning to favour Gatwick in a bid to...
• Diversity Travel wins university purchasing group contractDiversity Travel has secured a contract to provide business travel management services to the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC).
• Europcar plans to raise €475m with Paris stock listingMoney used to cut company debt