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

Friday, 17 October 2008

BBC News

• Bendy buses plan 'to cost £60m'London Mayor Boris Johnson's plan to scrap bendy buses will cost £60m and is against Transport for London's (TfL) advice, opponents have claimed.
• Liberty pledge 'to stop terror'Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon says he is prepared to go

Department for Transport

• Pioneering 'green' Government transport agency wins National Environmental AwardGovernment Car and Despatch Agency's success in creating an environmentally-responsible transport service has been recognised this week by the judges of the Energy Saving Trust's prestigious Fleet Heroes Awards. The awards celebrate organisations that show their commitment to minimising their impact on the environment by cutting carbon emissions from business travel.

Financial Times

• Air India seeks to cut 15,000 jobsAir India, India's state-owned carrier, is seeking to pare its bloated workforce by up 50 per cent, as state oil officials accused India's two biggest private airline of defaulting on $21m in jet fuel bills
• Southwest reports first loss in 17 yearsSouthwest Airlines, whose hedges against rising oil prices have helped stave off losses, saw its 17-year streak of profitability end after a stunning reversal in commodity prices forced the carrier to mark down the value of some contracts

The Guardian

• Ryanair calls on OFT to investigate BP fuel charge hikeRyanair chief Michael O'Leary revealed today that he has referred BP to the Office of Fair Trading for trying to hike fuel charges by 50% at Belfast City and Prestwick airports.
• Electric car manufacturer hit by financial crisisOver the past five years Tesla Motors has gained some high-profile fans including George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the founders of Google.

The Independent

• Brown: Petrol firms must lower fuel prices or face OFT inquiryGordon Brown has threatened petrol companies with an inquiry under competition laws if they refuse to pass on lower oil prices to motorists.
• Loophole in minister's new emissions targetEd Miliband announced a tough new target for cutting Britain's greenhouse gas emissions yesterday – but excluded aviation and shipping.
• Hoon defends plans for 'Big Brother' databasePlans to create a giant database of mobile phone and internet records were defended last night by the Transport Secretary, Geoff Hoon, who said critics of the scheme were

Times Online

• Dublin Bus picks up 740% state rideSTATE support for Dublin Bus has increased by more than 740% in a decade, while its passenger numbers increased by just 7%.

Mail Online

• Every traffic light in London to be re-programmed in drive to cut jams All traffic lights in London are to be rephased in a drive to get the city moving again, transport chiefs have revealed.
• Government accused of delaying EU pollution cuts to allow Heathrow expansion Ministers are planning to water down EU pollution curbs in order to allow Heathrow airport to expand, Whitehall documents have revealed.

ATOC

• ATOC comments on NAO report on rail franchisingThe Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) broadly welcomed the report published today by the National Audit Office: œThe Department for Transport: Letting Rail Franchises 2005-2007.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Sestran backs move to improve rail linksREGIONAL transport group Sestran has backed plans to improve rail links north of the Capital.
• Leith Walk in line for break in tramworksLEITH WALK is set to get its first break from tram roadworks in 18 months under plans being considered by transport chiefs.

Journal Live

• Downturn could derail East Coast train serviceTHE worsening economy could hit the company running East Coast trains – and taxpayers may have to pick up the bill, experts yesterday warned.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Station footbridge row concessionsA SERIES of concessions have been announced as part of controversial plans to install ticket barriers on Sheffield train station's footbridge.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Far north folk up in arms over bus reroutingLong-distance bus passengers in Caithness are up in arms after finding that about an hour has been added to the scheduled return trip to Inverness.
• Warning on safety at junctionROAD safety auditors believe the design of a key junction on the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route could cause accidents and skidding, it was revealed yesterday.
• Bypass ignores other public transport issues “ claimAn oil industry engineer yesterday compared Transport Scotland™s approach to constructing the proposed Aberdeen bypass to building a pipeline without considering the need for a processing plant.

The York Press

• Opening round in five-day airfield expansion plan fightTHE opening shots have been fired in the five-day battle of Elvington.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• High-speed link to new life for North [Letter]The Conservative Party proposals to create a new high-speed rail link between Leeds and London are to be greatly welcomed.

Daventry Express

• No supermarket petrol station fuels high pricePETROL costs more in Daventry because there is no supermarket filling station, says the AA.

Reading Evening Post

• Cyclists ride into dawn of new eraA plan to start to join up cycle routes in Reading to give cyclists a better ride was approved by councillors.

The Economist

• GM and Chrysler: Follow the moneyMerging the two sickly car firms makes little sense—except for one thingOBJECTIONABLE, but necessary. The description by Hank Paulson, America’s treasury secretary, of the federal rescue package for America’s banks, is a mantra that may soon be repeated in boardrooms across the land as recession-hit firms survey their dwindling options for survival. Few areas of the economy have been battered harder or for longer than the car industry, especially Detroit’s Big Three. So the news which surfaced at the end of last week that General Motors (GM) and Cerberus Capital Managem...

Railnews

• News: Rail watchdog and train company release ticket machine research New research reveals what passengers like and dislike about using ticket machines to pay their fare.
• News: NAO report supported by Passenger Focus Passenger Focus has broadly agreed with the National Audit Office (NAO) report released today.

Transport for London

• MBE for Tube Station ManagerEmbankment Group Station Manager to receive MBE today for services to public transport.

Aviation Industry

• New airport link to west LondonStansted Airport, the UK's number one airport for public transport use, received a further boost today with the launch of a new coach service linking the airport to west London...
• Southwest Airlines loses $120M in 3Q on fuel chargeThe words
• Walsh meets Alitalia investorsBA œwill not invest in the airline
• Airlines sign international partnership dealRussian carrier to expand in Europe
• Bmi signs distribution deal with SabreFull content agreement for three years

Other News Sources

• Disabled travellers could get network of specialist agentsA network of independent travel agents to drive sales and specialist service to disabled travellers could soon be a reality
• British commuter trains to get closer to can of sardinesBritish commuter trains may soon resemble Mumbai's overcrowded suburban services, if new passenger capacity rules are any indication.
• Volvo's new wind tunnel testVolvo invests in a wind-generating chamber that simulates on-road airflow around and under a car™s body. Siobhan Wagner reports
• Channel Tunnel truck use drops in wake of fireA serious fire in the Channel Tunnel meant the number of trucks using the facility in the three months to the end of September fell by 14%.
• MEPs call for end to self-employed WTD exemptionThe European Parliament has called upon the European Commission to swiftly propose reforms to the European Union's (EU) working time directive so that self-employed drivers are included from March 2009.
• Ireland puts new limit on load heightThe Road Safety Authority in Ireland has drafted new legislation which provides for a national maximum vehicle and load height limit of 4.65m.
• Government increases climate emissions target to 80 per cent - as Miliband backs financial incentives for small-scale renewable energyFriends of the Earth has welcomed the Government's decision today (Thursday 16 October 2008) to increase its target for cutting UK emissions to 80 per cent but warned pollution from planes and ships needs to be dealt with in law.
• Beijing trials six month car banCar-owners in China’s capital are taking part in a six month trial to reduce traffic on the city’s roads. Every driver in Beijing is banned from driving for one day per week, reducing the number of cars on the roads by one fifth - 700,000 cars per day. The legislation applies to all business and privately owned [...]
• EU weighing compromises to clinch climate dealAmid a worsening global economic slowdown, EU leaders say they will reach a deal on ambitious CO2 reduction laws before January 2009. But the rules could be significantly watered down in order to make concessions to reluctant member states.
• Manchester Airports Group chairman resignsAlan Jones, the chairman of Manchester Airports Group, has resigned in order to pursue his other interests, it was announced today.
• Norfolk cycle lanes opened to trucksTrucks travelling to and from a consolidation centre in Norwich will be permitted to use bus and cycle lanes as part of a new trial.

Other Subscription Services

• Shipping's best of the best honoured at Lloyd's List Asia AwardsASIA'S maritime top brass put the global economic crisis out of mind for a few hours at the Lloyd’s List Asia Awards in Singapore last night.