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

Monday, 07 July 2008

BBC News

• City to use rickshaws - York [Video]A council is due to decide whether to licence the use of rickshaws to help ease city centre congestion.
• Road charge consultation beginsA public consultation exercise to determine whether to press ahead with plans to introduce a congestion charge in Manchester is being launched later.
• Work starts to improve ring roadNew bus and cycle lanes are being created in Nottingham as part of improvements on the city's ring road.
• The Conservatives are proposing changes to the way fuel duty is calculated which they say would let government "share the pain" of rising prices.Tories propose fuel duty changes
• Air France eyes move to railwaysAir France confirms it is in talks with French group Veolia about launching a high-speed rail service.

Financial Times

• WORLD NEWS - G8 SUMMIT: Brown ready to warn peers against biofuelthe European Union's 10 per cent target for biofuel use in transport by 2020, which Prof Gallagher believes could worsen food shortages...is consumed because of inadequate processing, storage and transport.
• Road hauliers face pollution tollEuropean Union member states will for the first time be able to charge road hauliers for harm caused to the environment, under “green transport” proposals to be announced on Tuesday.
• New Thames bridge pleaAlmost half of businesses in the London end of the Thames Gateway back the contentious plan as the single infrastructure scheme that would most benefit their trade
• Ministers to 'call in' plan for new runway and terminal at StanstedMinisters are expected this week to
• Tory plan to 'share pain' of fuel risesFuel duty would rise and fall in step with global oil prices under a proposal put forward by the Conservatives but dismissed by the Treasury as a 'dishonest' stunt
• Ministers to call in Stansted runway planMinisters expected to call in controversial project to build a second runway and second terminal at Stansted airport

The Guardian

• Business travellers back airport-style security for railNetwork Rail and train operating companies should increase their expenditure on security and bring the rail network's anti-terrorist measures in line with the aviation industry, according to business travellers.
• Road schemes go £700m over budgetBusiness & money: Campaigners argue public would receive better return if invested in trains, buses and cycle routes

The Herald

• M74 extension ‘breaches’ green objectivesTHE GOVERNMENT'S plan to extend the M74 into Glasgow will undermine targets to cut air pollution and combat climate chaos, according to secret advice given to ministers.
• Hi-tech aircraft coating could cut carbon emissionsScottish inventors have developed a way to reduce the airline industry's carbon footprint by making paint lighter.
• Laxey takes over TDG for £203 millionLogistics company TDG has promised it is

The Independent

• Gravy train goes deluxe for MEPs' Strasbourg tripsA gleaming new, high-speed train solely for MEPs launches today. The service, linking Brussels with the French city of Strasbourg, is being inaugurated by France in the hope of stamping out criticism of the "travelling circus"

The Scotsman

• Lobby groups unite for London rail linkSCOTTISH business groups are planning a joint campaign to back plans for a £30bn high-speed rail link between London and Scotland.
• The planetNone of the G8 nations has come close to fulfilling its pledges to fight climate change, despite announcements to the contrary, according to a report published by the WWF last week.
• Freight on the water 'viable'THE Union Canal has been identified as a waterway suitable for carrying freight in a new study by the Department for Transport.
• High prices fuel car sharingCAR-SHARING in Scotland has risen by 50% in the last year as motorists change their commuting habits due to soaring fuel prices.

The Telegraph

• Airline passengers face threat of more risesAn average family faces the threat of nearly £45 being added to the cost of a holiday if the European parliament rubber stamps a plan for green curbs on airlines this week.

Times Online

• Forth Ports races to find new ferry operator to EuropeThe port operator is searching for a replacement for the Rosyth to Zeebrugge route
• Congestion charge could be limited to busiest hours Boris Johnson is considering watering down the congestion charge scheme in London, a move that may have national implications for road pricing.
• Virgin is among three funds created to fish for the bottom of the market Three separate funds are being created to exploit investment opportunities in the battered aviation, hotels and property sectors, The Times has learnt, in a sign that some investors are calling the bottom of the market.

Transport Briefing

• Low Emission Zone rules extended to include busesBuses and coaches driving through London must comply with new anti-pollution rules or risk a penalty charge from today (7 July).

Bolton News

• New transport spokesperson appointed for Bolton A new Bolton spokesperson for Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) has been appointed.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Anger over tram power wires lettersTRANSPORT chiefs have come under fire in their bid to get homeowners' permission to fix overhead wires to buildings along the tram route.

Journal Live

• Tories under attack over stance on student travelCONSERVATIVE councillors have come under fire for questioning a decision to axe controversial transport charges for Northumberland A-level and college students – after strongly supporting the move in their recent election manifesto.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Security stepped up through £2m airport projectSecurity at the north-east™s flagship airport is to be stepped up as part of a £2million project.

This Is Local London Network

• EPPING: Call to reinstate Tube serviceIt closed 14 years ago after huge losses, but the Epping to Ongar branch of the Central Line has now attracted a petition supporting its reinstatement.
• HOUNSLOW: More trains at Turnham GreenPlans to extend the number of Picadilly line trains stopping at Turnham Green station may soon become a reality following a meeting between TfL and members of the Piccadilly Stop Campaign.
• WALTHAM FOREST: Brain op survivor's Tube map for disabledA man left with learning difficulties after a brain operation is helping to design a Tube map specifically for disabled people.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Car tolls option at eco-town amid Whitehall doubtsA CONTROVERSIAL eco-town in Yorkshire will have to Overcome "highly significant" concerns at Whitehall over elements of the scheme to win approval and radical ideas could include charging motorists.

Aviation Industry

• Virgin seeks to block American Airlines triple allianceAn alliance of British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia should be blocked, competitor Virgin Atlantic said Thursday, amid reports that the trio are close to applying for U.S. antitrust immunity to form a ...

Other News Sources

• British government pushes for bargesBarges are already used to transport waste along the Thames but the government has just discovered that they could be used for freight.
• A new era for zeppelins?As the cost of fuel soars and the pressure mounts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, several schemes for a new generation of airship are being considered by governments and private companies.
• Department for Transport secures financial dataGovernment agency hires a security consultancy to ensure data security of its main financial platform
• Transport for London plans to open Oyster scheme to contactless credit and debit cardsTransport for London (TfL), local government body responsible for the transport system throughout Greater London in England, reveals that London’s commuters can soon pay for rides with London underground rail network, buses and trains utilising their Visa payWave, MasterCard PayPass or other contactless banking cards and also with NFC-enabled mobile phones.
• Freight Inland Waterways maps to help business go greenA report and supporting set of maps highlighting the key inland waterways suitable for freight have been published by the Department for Transport today.
• STOBART CHIEF JOINS DOWNING STREET FUEL THINK-TANKStobart Group chief executive Andrew Tinkler has been summoned to Downing Street to help a Government think-tank come up with ways to cut fuel wastage.
• Stobart adds to its cold chainUK cold chain distributor Innovate Logsitics has been acquired by the Stobart Group after being placed into administration following the decision of its previous parent, Icelandic shipping group Eimskip, to write-off its interest in the company.
• No mercy for price fixersAir cargo carriers will get no mercy from the European Commission when it completes its cartel price-fixing investigation, in spite of the huge fines already levied in the US.