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

Thursday, 27 April 2017

BBC News

• Aberdeen cycle path's £200,000 repair work questionedAn investigation begins after Aberdeen City Council admits £200,000 of repairs were ordered to a cycle path without proper approval.
• Northern rail strike to go ahead after talks failRail, Maritime and Transport union members will walk out on Friday in a row over the role of guards.
• RMT members stage rail protest outside ParliamentThe union is in dispute with three rail companies over staffing and the operation of train doors.
• Glasgow Airport drop-off charge comes into forceDrivers dropping passengers off at the airport will now have to pay £2 for a stay of up to 10 minutes.
• Airbus chief in Eurofighter fraud probeThe dispute stems from Austria's 2 billion-euro (£1.7bn) Eurofighter warplane purchase more than a decade ago.

Financial Times

• Flying car contenders taxi for take-offMagnificent nerds and their new electric flying machines face battery-life problems
• Wizz, Wow and Scoot are no joke for long-haul rivalsNew wave of aggressive low-cost airlines add to the problems for traditional carriers
• United offers more cash to passengers to give up seatsAirline acts to repair its reputation after violent removal of passenger

The Guardian

• TfL to spend £18m on preparing London for new electric black cabsUpgrade of capital’s power grids will enable energy companies to install 300 fast-charging stations by 2020Transport for London is spending £18m on upgrading the capital’s power grids to charge the first generation of battery-powered black cabs.From 1 January 2018, all new black cabs will have to be battery-powered electric models by law as part of TfL’s effort to reduce toxic pollution from diesel engines.
• The government just announced a gamechanger for cycling in England – Sam JonesThe new cycling and walking investment strategy is the first legislation of its kind to legally bind the government to long-term funding for cycling and walking provisionUnless you’re an avid transport campaigner, it’s likely that among the rush of government announcements made last week, you will have missed one very important one: the publication of the cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS),The government’s intention to launch a CWIS was first announced in January 2015. It took more than two years, but we now have the first legislation of its kind in England to bind the government w...

The Huffington Post

• Uber Has Made It Much Easier To See Your RatingUber has put ratings front and centre in the latest version of its app in a bid to encourage “better rider behaviour”. Previously, users had to navigate a maze of menus to find out how drivers had scored them, but ratings have now been elevated to the the app’s main menu. Product managers Mike Truong and Ronak Trivedi said they hoped the move would remind users that mutual respect is an “important part” of Uber’s guidelines. “Drivers do their best to make Uber enjoyable and safe for their riders, and we expect that riders do the same for drivers,&...

The Telegraph

• BA offloads British couple at military base over business class row
• United Airlines raising limit on payments to bumped flyers to $10,000 as it deals with fallout from PR disaster

Times Online

• Green light for Southern Rail operator [Subscription]Ministers will not strip Go-Ahead Group of the lossmaking and deeply troubled Thameslink-Southern rail franchise as they fear it would cause even more chaos for millions of commuters.

Daily Record

• Watch how Glasgow Airport's new pick-up and drop-off point will work as new charge comes into force The new multi-million pound pick-up and drop-off point opposite the main terminal opens tomorrow and the new charge will allow drivers to stay for 10 minutes.

Mail Online

• M6 naming rights to be sold AA president Edmund King said sports teams, supermarkets and tech firms are among the companies who could purchase the naming rights of major roads to reduce taxes.

The Mirror

• Scandal-hit United Airlines to offer passengers $10,000 to give up seats after doctor violently dragged from overbooked flight The announcement came as United attempted to repair its reputation following a string of controversies
• 'Beat traffic jams by using Manchester United M6': Now our motorways could be sponsored in bid to cut costs The Man United M6, Morrisons M1, the Microsoft M4 and the Adidas A1 would help to tackle traffic jams, says Edmund King, president of the AA

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus secures $6bn Chinese deal for jet....that can take off like this China Southern Airlines has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for 20 A350-900s

London Evening Standard

• Homeowners living near HS2 route could be eligible for �22,500 payoutThe rail link will bring Birmingham within an hour's reach of the capital by 2026, but those affected by the noise of the trains can claim compensation now

Manchester Evening News

• Thousands of cars are being clamped in Manchester since road tax went paperless Ten cars a day are being clamped in the region - but last year it was just five. Is scrapping tax discs to blame?

Wales Online

• Charging points for electric cars could be made available across South West Wales More charging points could be made available across South West Wales to cater for an increase in electric cars

Crewe Chronicle

• Virgin Trains in partnership bid for HS2 Ltd franchise Operator in 20% bid for high speed rail project with French giant SNCF and UK based Stagecoach

East Anglian Daily Times

• First Group takes over Ipswich park and ride in July with fewer busesFirst Eastern Counties is to take over Ipswich’s park and ride service on July 3 – running a service with a smaller subsidy but fewer buses than at present.

Reading Evening Post

• Part of the Thames Path in Reading could become an official cycle route Walkers would share Thames-side path with cyclists

C.N.N.

• The 10 things United is doing to avoid another dust-up, drag-out passenger fiascoIn the wake of the forcible removal of a passenger from one of its regional flights earlier this month, United Airlines on Thursday acknowledged four failures at the airline and released a list of ten initiatives aimed at preventing a repeat of the incident that sparked a global public relations disaster.

Buying Business Travel

• British Airways reveals New York JFK T7 revamp plansImages show what the terminal will look like following a �52m investment

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Uber plans to test on-demand flying cars network by 2020 Uber has unveiled plans to partner with plane manufacturers to develop and test a network of flying cars by 2020. The ride-sharing company said it will run trials in the US city of Dallas and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The flying electric taxis are being developed with aviation companies including Embraer and Bell Helicopter. While the technology is largely unproven, Uber believes the service will eventually cost about the same as its car rides. Expanding on ideas first published in a white paper last October, the company said the electric vehicles will take off and land verticall...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Two Full-Mission Driving Cab Simulators for Abellio East Anglia's Flirt Trains Transurb has been appointed as supplier for the two full-mission driving cab simulators dedicated to the training of Abellio East Anglia drivers by STADLER Bussnang last week.
• DfT to introduce new risk transfer mechanism on selected franchisesThe government has claimed that plans to introduce a new risk transfer mechanism, the Forecast Revenue Mechanism (FRM), on selected franchises will help ensure that franchising remains attractive to bidders while securing a good deal for taxpayers. Responding to the transport select...
• Strike to go ahead on Northern as RMT talks break downDiscussions between Arriva Rail North and the RMT union have broken down once again, confirming that strike action will go ahead on Friday this week. The TOC expects to run around 40% of its normal service during the 24-hour industrial action. The news comes the day after the RMT confirmed that...
• PwC economist joins Hansford Review panelRespected economist Daniel Hanson has today been appointed to the Hansford Review panel. The investigation, being led by Professor Peter Hansford, is examining contestability in the UK rail market and looking into options for third-party investment and infrastructure delivery on the national...

Aviation Industry

• Italy arranging emergency bridge loan to keep Alitalia flyingItaly is preparing an emergency bridge loan to keep Alitalia going, in hopes of finding a buyer, after employees derailed the carrier’s turnaround plan by rejecting a labor agreement. read more
• United CEO tells senators flight 3411 “will never happen again”United Airlines’ CEO has provided US lawmakers with a detailed account of events leading up to and during the incident that notoriously ended up with a passenger being brutally dragged off an aircraft to make way for a United regional airline employee. read more
• American pilots & flight attendants to get peer-standard pay raisesAmerican Airlines is offering mid-term pay raises to its pilots and flight attendants so they are compensated in line with their peers at Delta Air Lines and United Airlines - a voluntary move almost unprecedented in US airline labor history. read more

Other News Sources

• Calls for transformation under Wales and Borders FranchiseThe North Wales and Mersey Dee (NW&MD) Rail Taskforce which leads the Growth Track 360 campaign has renewed calls for key improvements to be delivered by the new Wales and Borders Franchise. The calls come as the preferred bidders, Abellio, Arriva, KeolisAmey and MTR, put forward their bids for the franchise, which will be awarded in early October 2018.
• NW&MD Rail Taskforce renews calls for service improvements in WalesNorth Wales and Mersey Dee (NW&MD) Rail Taskforce has renewed calls for major improvements to be delivered by the new Wales and Borders Franchise.