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

Monday, 25 May 2009

BBC News

• Car-free Times Square in New YorkNew York's iconic Times Square is getting a major makeover, with city officials banning cars from stretches of Broadway.
• New sustainable transport drivePeople will be urged to get on their bikes as part of a £1.4m council initiative to encourage environmentally-friendly transport.
• Passengers get say on rail worksRail passengers are to be given a greater say over planned engineering works, Transport Minister Lord Adonis says.
• Fiat improves bid for GM's OpelItalian carmaker Fiat has improved its bid to buy Opel and its UK brand Vauxhall from General Motors.

The Guardian

• Payouts to rail operators set to soarAccording to analysis by stockbroker Blue Oar Securities, franchises could receive £100m from the government this year under the terms of so-called "cap and collar" clauses. First Great Western (FGW), First Capital Connect (FCC) and National Express East Anglia are among the franchises that qualify for extra support from the government under the cap and collar provisions.
• Are rail fares unreasonably high?Yes says Ashwin Kumar, Director of independent rail watchdog Passenger Focus

The Herald

• Opec to meet amid fears over falling crude demandOil ministers of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meet later this week amid concern about falling demand for crude and growing evidence that the cartel's members are cheating on production quotas agreed earlier this year.

The Telegraph

• £500,000 Government report: commuters want trains to run on timeThe biggest-ever study of overcrowding and the punctuality of trains, commissioned by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), has been condemned as "an astonishing exercise in rehashing the blindingly obvious".

Times Online

• Cycle Guy: Parliamentarian who got on his bikeWhatever you think of David Cameron, he has at least made it mainstream for MPs to ride bikes. When I was first elected in 1997, I cycled up to a meeting at a county council establishment in Lewes, my constituency. I arrived to find a parking space coned off for me, but nowhere for anyone to put their bike.
• The world's coolest bus stopFeast your eyes on this: a new interactive bus stop designed for the city of Florence. Unveiled earlier this month and designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology architects and engineers working with city officials and transport experts, the EyeStop is a thing of beauty.
• London-Sunderland: a train service that worksPunctuality, politeness and enjoyment are just the ticket on a new Grand Central train trip
• The romance of railway travel is well and truly overNever mind the fat controller, our trains are now run by the thin accountant

Mail Online

• Two years, £500,000 and 178 pages to tell us that we want our trains to be on time and uncrowdedIt was the biggest-ever study of overcrowding on Britain’s railways, taking two years and costing the taxpayer £500,000 as commuters were secretly filmed as they struggled in to work.

The Mirror

• Fury at rail report that cost £500kRail passengers like somewhere to sit and prefer trains to run on time, says a "blindingly obvious" report costing taxpayers £500,000.

Birmingham Post

• Union's strike plans set to cause chaos at Birmingham AirportTour operator Monarch faces the prospect of strike action at the height of the holiday season as civil aviation union Unite prepares to ballot more than 600 cabin crew members over pay, the union said today.

Bristol Live

• Fears fare upgrades will hurt Bristol rail usersRail passengers who want to upgrade their journey to first class may have to pay more from today following the introduction of a new pricing system.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Campaign puts off rail trespassersMEASURES to educate young people about the hazards of trespassing on Peterborough's railways have been credited for a 40 per cent drop in inciden

Forbes

• Not Your Father's Diesel Diesel's dirty history will be a thing of the past if the Germans have anything to do with it.

Aviation Industry

• Commuter airlines' underpaid pilots are plain scary: Connie SchultzMost of us who fly want to rocket through the sky with well- rested pilots who are reeeeally happy with their jobs.

Green Miscellany

• Bottletop technology could slash aviation emissions by a fifthA team of British researchers reckon they have hit on a way of cutting airline fuel bills by up to a fifth by harnessing the same principle that applies when you blow across the top of a bottle to make a sound.

Other News Sources

• IATA Tells Governments To Reduce Aviation Emissions"Air transport is a global industry with a good track record and ambitious targets for environmental performance. But to achieve them, we need governments to take a global approach," said IATA's director general and chief executive officer, Giovanni Bisignani in a statement to the World Business Summit of Climate Change in Copenhagen Sunday.
• Glasgow Airport Rail Link moves a step closerThe Glasgow Airport Rail Link has taken a step forward as preparatory work on the track has been completed. The seven-month project to replace overhead power line equipment on part of the existing two-track line between Glasgow Paisley has finished.
• New concerns over rail servicesA group representing East Suffolk train users has written to transport minister Lord Andrew Adonis raising its fears that the direct service from Lowestoft to London might be reduced or even withdrawn.
• Anger as train station travel centre is axedA CHORUS of disapproval has greeted the closure of Bournemouth railway station’s travel centre. South West Trains closed the open-plan office and will replace it with a set of ticket windows.
• Cycle route vision moves a step closerA PLAN to create a pedestrian and cycle route across Scunthorpe is officially under way..
• Wheels fall off cycling schemeA SQUEEZE on resources is forcing police to axe a cycle training scheme for youngsters.
• Bus stop row reaches end of the roadBUS PASSENGERS from Filey will soon be using a new bus stop and shelter opposite Scarborough railway station.
• Rail crime down for second year runningCrime on the rail system in the North East and Yorkshire is down for the second year running, new figures have revealed.
• Twenty-year franchises for train operatorsA Conservative government would revolutionise the railway system by allowing train operators to run franchises for 20 years