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

Friday, 16 February 2018

BBC News

• Britain's bus coverage hits 28-year lowSome rural areas have even gone as far as setting up their own replacement bus services.
• Why we drive our own busesWhen their local bus services were cut, one group of people decided to set up their own bus company.
• Bombardier reports 57% rise in profitsThe train and planemaker at the centre of a row between the US. the UK and Canada sees profits jump.
• Airbus takes new €1.3bn hit on A400M troop carrierThe aerospace group has now written off a total of €8bn in losses on the military transport plane.
• Renault asks Carlos Ghosn to stay on as chief executiveThere had been some speculation the carmaker boss would relinquish his role as head of the French firm.

Financial Times

• Uber chief executive says group about more than car transportDara Khosrowshahi offers expanded vision by which company will be the Amazon of rides
• Norwegian Air makes bigger than expected net lossBudget carrier struggles to control costs as it rapidly expands into long-haul arena
• New TfL rules put further brake on Uber’s ambitionsPrivate-hire operators will be forced to limit the time their drivers work

The Guardian

• Airbus incurs €1.3bn charge for delay in delivering military transport planesAerospace and defence firm delivers profit despite losses on military aircraft project

The Scotsman

• ScotRail forced to halve carriages on some Edinburgh-Glasgow trains Passengers on ScotRail’s busiest rail route face major overcrowding because some of its busiest trains are to lose half their carriages, The Scotsman has learned.

The Telegraph

• Bombardier turnaround on track as it puts Boeing battle behind itThe turnaround at Bombardier appears to have taken flight with the Canadian manufacturer reporting a sharp improvement in cash flow last year.

Times Online

• Ministers condemned over delay to projects [Subscription]The government has been condemned by its own infrastructure commission for delaying a host of crucial construction projects.
• Airbus profits ease its troop carrier worries [Subscription]Airbus has taken a further €1.3 billion provision on its A400M military transport plane project as it reported that last year’s profits were better than expected.
• £2,500 ‘fines’ for daytime roadworks to minimise disruption [Subscription]More roadworks will be done overnight under plans to charge utility companies and council contractors up to £2,500 a day to dig up streets at peak times.
• Driverless cars may take over if humans are drowsy [Subscription]The scene: a drizzly and dark M4 in the near future. A semi-autonomous truck is nearing its turn-off and the driver is alerted that he needs to take control.
• Uber hails its own move from taxis to public transportUber is seeking to take control of bus, bike and underground train networks as part of its goal to become the dominant source of urban transport.

City AM

• Uber chief executive wheels out expansion plans involving bikes and busesDara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s new chief executive, has revealed he wants to drive ahead with a new expansion plan using buses and bikes.
• TUI reveals 30 per cent pay gap as more men occupy pilot and manager rolesTravel giant TUI has reported a pay gap among its workforce of more than 30 per cent in its UK business.

Belfast Telegraph

• Bombardier profits soar by 57% in wake of trade dispute victoryBombardier has announced a huge 57% rise in profits as an independent US trade body says rival Boeing did not lose out on sales when a US airline placed a multi-billion pound order for its part-Belfast made planes.

Birmingham Post

• How council plan to ease traffic flow in £1.2m town centre scheme Improvements will be made to the Mellish Road roundabout in Walsall
• Rail college and conservatoire make RICS 2018 shortlist Host of development and regeneration projects across Birmingham feature in shortlist for prestigious regional awards

Bolton News

• Bus network shrinks by 7.8 million miles — that's 312 trips around the equator!GREATER Manchester’s bus network has shrunk by almost eight million miles since 2014, it has been revealed.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• West Yorkshire's bus network shrinks by more than nine per cent in four years WEST Yorkshire’s bus network has shrunk by almost a tenth in four years, new figures have revealed.

London Evening Standard

• Kennington station: Northern Line commuters set for four months of disruption as engineering works hit servicesCommuters are set for months of disruption in south London while work is completed on a key Northern line interchange.
• Waterloo station delays: South Western Railway commuters caught up in huge crowds at UK's busiest hub after track faultRail commuters were caught up in huge crowds at the UK's busiest station after a track fault sparked delays.

Manchester Evening News

• Bus services are being cut across Greater Manchester - and on the doomed number 88 you can see the very real human impactThe number 88 is another bus route being cut - but passengers who rely on the service say they are being forgotten about

East Anglian Daily Times

• ‘Get on with it and get off the highway’ - Suffolk highways insists single lane option for Woods Lane was not possibleHighways bosses have insisted their refusal to keep a single lane open during a long-running east Suffolk road closure was in the interests of safety and a speedy resolution.

North Wales Live

• Merseyside bus miles fall - but transport bosses vow to get people back New ECHO figures reveal scale of decline in bus journeys

Other Regional Press

• OPINION: Back Heathrow chief says it's 'Time to Deliver'Last week I visited one of the 40 local consultation events that Heathrow is running in the communities around the airport. I would encourage you to visit one if you haven’t done so already.
• Argus-backed pressure group, which successfully campaigned over bus safety, marks 25 year milestone todayAN ARGUS-BACKED pressure group which campaigned for all minibuses and coaches to have specially designed seatbelts for children is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
• Plan to start charging Oxford businesses for their parking spaces is delayed PLANS to consult the public on workplace parking charges and other congestion-busting measures have been postponed until the autumn.
• Plan to start charging Oxford businesses for their parking spaces is delayed PLANS to consult the public on workplace parking charges and other congestion-busting measures have been postponed until the autumn.
• How to travel back in time at Huddersfield railway stationHistoric artfects relating to locations "along the line" have gone on display at Huddersfield railway station

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Registrations decline in 2017 following 2016 growthThe UK’s new bus and coach market fell in every quarter of 2017, according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Following a period of strong growth in 2015 and 2016, last year saw registrations decline by 12.7% to 7,666.
• A bus renaissance?At the annual UK Bus Summit, everyone from the Minister to council leaders promised a bus revolution as they struggle to tackle congestion. But they were told they are making fundamental errors. Mark Williams was there

Buses Magazine

• Borders Buses tests Irizar i4HAs part of its continuing vehicle evaluation programme, West Coast Motors-owned Borders Buses has been trying the Irizar i4H hybrid coach on its Edinburgh-Galashiels service.
• Damory goes for 70-seaters to fit Dorset schools’ shrinking budgetsGo South Coast’s Damory Coaches has responded to the financial pressures facing schools in Dorset by introducing significantly larger coaches to its fleet in the shape of six Caetano Levantes cascaded from National Express work and reconfigured for their new role.
• Transdev to make Harrogate Britain’s first low emissions bus townPlans to create Britain’s first ever low emissions bus town in Harrogate were unveiled today by Transdev’s The Harrogate Bus Company

Buying Business Travel

• Alaska Airlines reaches tentative merger agreement with flight attendantsAnother step in integrating Virgin America

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• £30 million investment in revolutionary V2G technologies New technology which will unlock the potential for electric vehicles to help power people’s homes is being boosted by almost £30 million in government funding. Through the Industrial Strategy the government is committed to becoming a world leader in shaping the future of mobility and in the design and development of the clean technologies of the future. This investment will help deliver on that ambition, supporting vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies that could enable electric cars and other vehicles to deliver electricity back to the smart grid, to light homes and power businesse...

New Civil Engineer

• Row brewing over Heathrow access plans, warns TfLThe government could be in line for a lengthy legal battle with Transport for London (TfL) over the non-disclosure of information about future traffic levels for the Heathrow expansion, a senior director at the transport body has warned.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Northern line extension: TfL warns of 5-month disruption to Bank branch servicesTfL has cautioned passengers on the Northern Line about upgrade works which mean Bank branch services will go for a 5-month period without stopping at Kennington. Starting on 26 May and finishing in mid-September, the work is part of the organisation’s plans to extend the Northern Line...

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• DfT publishes consultation into S19 and S22 Changes afoot for use of Section and Section 22 permits, according to consultation published last weekThe Department for Transport (DfT) released its consultation into the future of Section 19 and Section 22 permits on 8 February. It spells significant change in England, Scotland and Wales.
• Alpine scales peaks - Coach tourism is dead. Long live coach tourism!With a new livery, young people coming into the business, and a strong mix of work, Alpine Travel is a business in a good place for its future
• ArrivaClick is go… Sometime in 2018 with commercial routesArrivaClick - the demand-responsive, luxury minibus between Kent Science Park and Sittingbourne station - has proved successful and is poised to be expanded as a commercial venture to other parts of the country.

Green Miscellany

• Electric barges to tackle ‘hidden’ pollution from shippingOver 50,000 ships ply the world’s oceans to carry an estimated 90 per cent of everything we buy, sell and consume. And yet shipping remains a ‘hidden’ polluter – the only sector of the European economy not covered by the EU’s existing emissions reduction target, which is surprising given emissions from international maritime transport have grown by 70% since 1990. There… The post Electric barges to tackle ‘hidden’ pollution from shipping appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• London’s weekly railway news [Blog]... Heathrow Southern Railway executive director Graham Cross has said tunnelling is his preferred option for the new 13km long “missing link” railway line connecting Heathrow Airport to the local network in the South East. Heathrow Rail
• Bus journeys: Almost 5 million miles lost from LancashireBUS companies have been hit by Government cuts, a study reveals.
• Heathrow Airport expansion plan would be 'a travesty' for Stanwell according to protesters But supporters of the expansion say the area will benefit from expansion
• Heathrow Airport crash: Health and Safety Executive to assist police investigation into fatal taxiway collision An airport worker died following a serious collision involving two vehicles on Wednesday morning (February 14) which left another man with a suspected broken shoulder