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

Monday, 04 August 2008

BBC News

• MPs sceptical over car tax riseA committee of MPs disagrees over government plans to increase car tax for
• Airlines 'must face queue fines'Airlines which fail to check in most passengers within 15 minutes should face fines, the Lib Dems say.
• BA close to American allianceBritish Airways says it is close to agreeing a tie-up with its largest US rival American Airlines.
• Lufthansa resolves wage disputeGerman airline Lufthansa reaches a deal to end a five-day pay strike, but warns flights will continue to be disrupted.
• Qantas faces special safety probeAustralian aviation authorities announce a special review of airline Qantas, after three safety scares in eight days.

The Guardian

• London must pour more money into the tube, says upgrade firmThe firm responsible for maintaining some of London's busiest underground services, Tube Lines, has predicted severe consequences for the network if it is starved of investment, amid warnings from the capital's mayor that funds must not be hijacked by the £16bn Crossrail project.
• Panel of MPs backs green car taxGovernment plans to impose green vehicle excise duty rates on previously purchased cars have been endorsed by a Tory-led environmental audit select committee.

The Scotsman

• Car tax changes not enough - MPsThe proposed changes in vehicle excise duty (VED) car tax rates have been "poorly explained and communicated" and do not go far enough, a report by MPs has sai

The Telegraph

• Green taxes on air travel exceed carbon costsAirline passengers now pay more in green taxes than is needed to cover the cost of environmental damage they cause, the Government has admitted.
• British Airways: Passengers face 'inevitable' price rises and flight cutsAirline passengers face "inevitable" further fare rises and cuts in services as the industry struggles with soaring fuel prices, British Airways has warned.
• UK drivers say no to metric road signsBritain's drivers are opposed to the introduction of metric road signs, a poll has shown.
• Richard Bowker is happy driving National ExpressRichard Bowker is happy driving National Express but neatly parries Andrew Cave’s questions about his past traumas
• Government's green car tax plans in disarrayTreasury plans to impose £2 billion of green taxes on 13 million motorists have been savaged by an influential group of MPs.

Times Online

• Raising tax on dirty cars ’won’t cut CO2 Plans to raise vehicle excise duty for the most polluting cars will not cut carbon dioxide emissions as much as hoped, a cross-party committee of MPs will say today.
• British Airways seeks to seal alliance with American Airlines BRITISH AIRWAYS will make a third attempt to seal an alliance with its US partner American Airlines within weeks.

Reuters News

• Lufthansa to cancel more flights after strikeFRANKFURT, Aug 3 (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa AG expects to cancel around 130 flights on Monday and will not resume its full flight schedule for two weeks after a strike last week, a spokesman said. Checks to aircraft had backed up during the strike over pay, which trade union Verdi ended on Saturday after reaching a wage deal with the airline on Friday.

Daily Express

• Profit-hit BA cuts spending by 𧴜mBRITISH Airways has cut its spending plans by 𧴜million as it prepares for a bumpy ride from the global economic downturn and soaring oil prices.

Mail Online

• MPs call for 'retrospective' road tax rises to be reversedTo add to Gordon Brown's misery, MPs will say today that proposals to hit millions of drivers with backdated car tax increases of up to £245 should be reversed.
• Rail passengers forced to pay £200 more for tickets over Bank Holiday after operators withdraw cheapest faresTens of thousands of train passengers are being forced to pay more than £200 extra for their tickets because of summer and Bank Holiday chaos on one of Britain's busiest rail lines.

Bristol Live

• Water tops the list of 500 tonnes worth of airport seizuresAbout 500 tonnes of fluids are being confiscated from passengers' hand luggage every month at Bristol International Airport.
• Airport aims to improve green credentialsBristol International Airport is finalising plans for a wind turbine, the Evening Post can reveal.
• Lorries to be diverted as Bristol M5 route closedTwo stretches of road in Avonmouth will be closed next month while new gantries and better street lighting are installed.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Petrol prices fuel change in travel optionsA POLL by the operator of the East Coast Main Line has revealed almost two-thirds of travellers are considering using public transport to save on fuel costs.
• Axed buses on road for reprieve in £300k planSOME of the city's under-threat bus services could have a temporary reprieve under plans being considered by council chiefs.
• Bus pram ban legal studyTHE legality of Lothian Buses' ban on carrying prams is to be explored by council officials.
• Bike rental plan wheels a step closerPLANS to make 800 bicycles available in the city centre and Leith for people to hire have moved a step closer.
• Tram works 'turned street into a river' claim residentsTRAM works have been blamed for severe flooding on Shandwick Place after the street was turned into "a river" amid this week's torrential downpours.
• There's no two ways about it . . that's one sign too manyIT'S enough to drive any motorist round the bend. Drivers entering a street in Sighthill are confronted with two competing speed limits after a 20mph sign was put up beside a massive 30mph order painted on the road.

Journal Live

• Government pays £98m for fourth Wear bridgeTRANSPORT Minister Rosie Winterton opened the way for a fourth bridge over the River Wear as she announced £98m in Government funding.
• Metro update gets back on right trackA £400m North East transport payday has been secured after Government spending chiefs were told it was “time to back the region”.
• Modern tribute to the age of steam puffing into the futureRAIL buffs in the North East could be forgiven for letting off steam yesterday.

Liverpool Echo

• Isle of Man ferry holed in stage crashURGENT repairs were today being carried out on the Liverpool Isle of Man fast ferry after it was holed when it crashed into the landing stage.

London Evening Standard

• 30 new police teams to patrol Tube and trainsRecord numbers of police will patrol Tube stations and trains, Boris Johnson has said

Manchester Evening News

• C-charge 'good for us'CONGESTION charging has been good for the economy and had positive social effects everywhere it has been introduced, an academic claimed today.

Metro

• Car tax rises will hit poor hardestHard-up drivers of the most polluting cars must be helped to meet a planned tax increase, a report by MPs has said.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Team up to sort out transportIF ever there was an opportunity for joined up thinking on Leeds's transport problems it is now.
• Council deny bus blunder as stops keep on movingA BUS stop farce has left the residents of a Leeds estate bemused and confused.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Cost of improving A43 set at £100mAn estimated £100m would be needed to make the most dangerous road in the county a dual carriageway “ and improvements would not be finished until the middle of the next deca

West Sussex Gazette

• Green fueld bid slated as 'change by stealth'A GREEN light has been given for green fuel production at a farm near Chichester “ in the face of strong local opposition.

Washington Post

• At $4 a Gallon, the Price Is Right LOS ANGELES
• Bus travel grows as fuel soars, airfares leap NEW YORK -- It's a tale of two cities: Nikita Bernstein, 29, a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker with a business in Boston, was in need of a cheap way to travel between his two homes. And a place to plug in his laptop, store his bike and stretch his legs along the way.
• Howard's Move to Hybrids More Foresight Than Fad Some naysayers scoffed when Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (D) announced last year that the county would, whenever possible, replace cars in its fleet with hybrid equivalents.

Railnews

• Road and air tax could fund railway future, says CleggPLANS to build a UK high-speed rail network paid for by emissions-linked charges on road freight and internal flights have been unveiled by the Liberal Democrats.
• Government’s Rail Strategy Already Running LateTHE Government's strategy for drawing up a long-term transport strategy has already fallen behind timetable, Ruth Kelly has admitted.
• China starts very high-speed train serviceWHILE the debate continues in Britain whether to build another high-speed line beyond HS1 (the Channel Tunnel rail link), China has opened its first very high-speed line, allowing trains to run at 350 km/h (217 mph) — 30 mph faster than Eurostars.

Aviation Industry

• Two rail links cutTwo rail-link services that started under the tenure of GNER are to be cancelled by the end of August. The first, Stagecoach-operated Hampton Taxibus, was withdrawn on 25 July after GNER's successor, National Express East Coast, failed to reach agreement on terms for an extension to the contract, which also saw financial support from Peterborough City Council.
• Transport schemes shortlistedTwo schemes in Exeter have been shortlisted for a share of £200m in Government funds to improve transport.

• Metroline Becomes The First UK Bus Company to Deploy GreenRoad Safety CenterGreenRoad Technologies, a world leader in driver safety technologies, today announced that Metroline is the first UK bus company to deploy GreenRoad Safety Center in its fleet. The technology is installed in more than 100 buses based at its Perivale garage in West London.
• Plea over bus pass fundingDevon MPs are being asked by county councillors to ensure equality of access to the concessionary bus pass scheme for people of all abilities.

• Driving Theory Test Changes for U.K. Bus, Coach And Lorry DriversImproving standards for professional drivers and increasing road safety measures mean that bus, coach and lorry drivers will have some additional theory test questions from August 4. From August 4 drivers will be tested on 100 questions and need to correctly answer 85 of the100 to pass the multiple choice part of the test. Currently drivers get 60 questions and need to score 51 out of 60 to pass. The number of hazard perception clips will also increase from 14 to 19 and the pass mark will increase from 50 out of 75, to 67 out of 100.
• Ryanair reports on UK Air Traffic Control equipment failureToday (31 July) UK Air Traffic Control equipment failure is causing widespread and serious delays to passengers across the UK.
• [restructuring transport] some vision, some willpower, some moneyA £500m revamp of Britain's ageing canal network has been unveiled. The two-stage scheme by British Waterways will restore or build over 300 miles (480 kilometres) of canals and waterways.
• Cost model airport terminalsUK airport operators need to make substantial investments in infrastructure to prepare for continuing long-term demand for domestic and international flights. Simon Rawlinson of Davis Langdon reports
• DfT figures support c-charge, say businessesTraffic figures released by the department for transport (DfT) prove why a congestion charge is necessary in Greater Manchester, it has been claimed. 

• Bike commuters having a two-wheel revolution [Philadelphia]David Lipow, a lawyer, used to take the train from Exton to his office in Center City every day.
• Bush Administration's proposed transportation policy doesn't properly address freight transport, coalition saysEarlier this week, the Bush Administration unveiled a proposal for a new national transportation policy that incorporates several transit program reforms.
• Details of BA winter capacity cutsBritish Airways will axe a number of routes and flights this winter as it grapples with the soaring cost of aviation fuel.
• Manchester out of favour with SIASIA cuts capacity at Manchester, adds frequencies to Heathrow.

Other News Sources

• Aviation experts from around world to visit SussexUP to 1,000 aviation experts and clinicians will touch down in Sussex for the prestigious AirMed World Congress in 2011.
• All change for railway stationThe tourist industry in Diss is on track for a major boost, after plans were announced to revamp the town's train station.
• Oyster Card absence branded a disgraceHAVERING's London Assembly member has blasted National Express for confusion over pre-paid Oyster Card usage on the Liverpool Street to Shenfield line - which lands thousands of confused travellers with fines.

• Cycle helmet campaign launchedA SCHEME to reward children wearing helmets while riding their bikes, has been launched both nationally and locally.
• Marley Eternit builds on partnership with WincantonBuilding materials company Marley Eternit, part of the Etex Group, has awarded Wincanton a five-year contract to distribute roofing products from its UK sites in Glasgow and Reading.
• Tarmac Trupak adopts weight-saving trailersTarmac Trupak, the aggregates supplier, has announced that it is to replace its entire fleet of trailers. The Transport News Network reports that the company sought a solution that could save weight and reduce fuel consumption.
• Iveco Stralis boost for haulierHaulage company Brocklehurst Transport has expanded its fleet through the addition of the latest Iveco Stralis.
• Ceva Logistics joins quality management initiativeThe International Air Transport Association has welcomed the latest company to join its Cargo 2000 initiative.
• Get to Brussels before 9am with EurostarA Eurostar route starting December 14 takes passengers from London St Pancras to Brussels via Ashford.
• Travel dot to dot with new shuttle serviceA new shuttle bus links central London™s Liverpool Street station with Heathrow.