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

Monday, 20 October 2008

BBC News

• Council bids for £154m for roadsA £154m bid to fund proposed transport schemes in Somerset has been agreed by the county council.
• Lower ferry fares pilot to startLow-cost ferry fares are to be piloted on all routes to and from the Western Isles from Sunday.
• Congestion fee question draftedThe wording of the referendum question on the introduction of a congestion charge for Greater Manchester has been drafted.
• Pilot arrested over alcohol fearsThe 44-year-old, who works for the US carrier United Airlines, was arrested after giving a breath test to police at Terminal 1 on Sunday morning.
• Shock tactics for road campaignSecondary school pupils in Aberdeen and Moray will been shown
• Minister fined over motorbike taxNorthern Ireland's Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has been fined £40 for riding one of his motorcycles without tax or MOT.
• 'Look out!' - Near miss with UFO remains unexplainedA passenger jet en route to Heathrow Airport had a near miss with a UFO, Ministry of Defence files reveal.
• Disabled car badge misuse tackledA major crackdown on the illegal use of blue disabled parking badges is expected to be announced by the government.

Financial Times

• Geely aims to electrify black cabsGeely, the Chinese automaker that co-owns the company that produces black London taxis, has met UK government officials about bringing electric-powered cabs to the UK capital.
• Jet in U-turn on plans to axe staffIndia's Jet Airways has reversed course and abandoned plans to lay off 1,900 workers after coming under heavy pressure from the government and powerful state labour unions

The Guardian

• Crunch puts M25 revamp in jeopardyVital PFI schemes face battle to secure funding

The Independent

• Geoff Hoon: You Ask The QuestionsThe Secretary of State for Transport answers your questions, such as 'What's green about enlarging Stansted?' and 'What will you do about train fares?'

Times Online

• Former BP chief Lord Browne speaks against alarmism on biofuels Biofuels can play a key role in global efforts to tackle climate change, but “media alarmism and misinformation” are damaging their potential, according to Lord Browne of Madingley.

Transport Briefing

• Edinburgh opens sixth park and ride site at StraitonA new park and ride site providing free car parking for 600 vehicles has opened at Straiton in Edinburgh.
• Galleries bus station opens by Washington retail centreWashington's new Galleries bus station has opened, replacing a low metal and concrete shed described as 'Dickensian' by Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority chairman Cllr David Wood three years ago.
• Crossrail issues first property acquisition noticesLondon's Astoria music venue and 12 other properties have been issued with compulsory purchase orders to allow the sites to be redeveloped as part of the Crossrail project.
• Manchester road pricing referendum question unveiledThe question for the Greater Manchester Transport Referendum - which will dictate whether or not a congestion charge is introduced in Manchester - has been revealed.

Birmingham Post

• £500m plan to boost West Midlands transport networkRail, tram and bus services in the West Midlands could be in line for a £500m boost following an agreement between business leaders and councils.
• Adonis slams Tory plans to scrap Heathrow runwayConservative plans to scrap a third runway at Heathrow in favour of a high speed rail line from London to Birmingham and Manchester have been condemned as “total nonsense” by the Government.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Business park staff will saddle up to deliver 500 per cent green travel boostA MARKED increase in green travel was among the findings of the latest employee travel survey by a city business park.
• Land is set aside for bus or tram routeREGIONAL transport body Sestran has approved plans to set aside land in West Fife for a possible bus or tram link to Edinburgh.
• Car parking nets council £20m from motoristsEDINBURGH'S parking rules and regulations have handed the city council a record-breaking £20 million from motorists.

Manchester Evening News

• C-Charge: The questionTHE question to decide whether Greater Manchester gets a congestion charge will make no direct mention of the charge - or the transport improvements of almost £3bn it would unlock.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Villagers in battle to ground airfield expansionHIRING Britain's best paid lawyer could be the price of keeping the peace in the skies above some of the sleepiest villages inYorkshire.

Washington Post

• As Fuel Prices Fall, Will Push For Alternatives Lose Steam? Just four months ago, a conference here on electric cars drew four times as many people as expected. District fire marshals ordered some of the crowd to leave, and the atmosphere was more like that of a rock concert than an energy conference. A brief film depicted an electric car owner driving off with a beautiful woman to the strains of

Aviation Industry

• High-speed rail link should run to ScotlandSpeaking after the SNP conference supported a topical motion backing a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland to cut short haul flights, Lothians SNP MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville - a member of the Scottish Parliament's Transport Committee - criticised the Tories' plans that such a link would only go as far as Leeds.
• Downtown, transbay bicycle parking facility with showers [USA]f you read about the Chicago Bike Station, you learn that the facility provides the following wonderful amenities for folks who bicycle into downtown Chicago: 300 secure bicycle parking spaces, Lockers, showers, and towel service, Bicycle repair shop, Bicycle rentals, Guided bicycle tours of Chicago
• Taiwan's bicycle makers riding high on global crisisTAIPEI (AFP) — For the past six months Wayne Hsu has been cycling 45 minutes to his office every day, which he says gets him off to an energetic start and, more importantly, slashes his monthly petrol bill.

Other News Sources

• FRESH PLANS TO REVAMP AIRPORTAirport manager Richard Gordon hopes the revised plans will avoid the need for a public inquiry. He said: “The new application is materially different although its ultimate objectives are the same – to create a new base for the Eddie Stobart and Stobart Rail operations in Kingstown.
• 565 JOBS AT RISK IF NEW CARLISLE AIRPORT PLANS ARE REJECTEDCarlisle Airport will probably close in 2011 if new plans to develop it with offices and warehousing are turned down, the city council has been told.
• Station project has come off the railsPLANS to develop Filey station for the benefit of the community have come off the rails – temporarily, at least – following the recent closure of the station cafe.
• Rail fares are up againMilton Keynes South West MP Dr Phyllis Starkey called for the parliamentary spotlight to be turned on London Midland's recent hike in off-peak charges
• National Express losing noisy crockeryBritain's National Express railway line says it will no longer offer its traditional crockery to passengers because of complaints it's too noisy.
• Optimism at National ExpressNational Express is on track to deliver the improved services it promised when it bid for the prestigious GNER East Coast rail line - since renamed National Express East Coast - following its successful tender last year.
• Liverpool in UK first for bus bankcard paymentsBus passengers in Liverpool are to be the first in the UK to be able to use a bankcard to make on-board payment for travel, Stagecoach, MasterCard and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced today (20 October 2008).
• New ITF office in Italy to crack down on substandard shippingA brand new ITF office opened last week to tackle poor working conditions on board flag of convenience vessels across three Italian ports.
• Qantas puts its first A380 into serviceAustralia's Qantas Airways has put its first Airbus A380 into commercial service, becoming the third operator of the ultra-large type.The Oneworld...