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

Monday, 26 October 2009

Financial Times

• Standard change risks rocking the boatThe dispute about efforts by some German shipbrokers and banks to introduce a new method of ship valuation revolves around how to value a vessel such as the Santa Giulietta
• Antitrust threat to Atlantic air allianceEuropean regulators have told British Airways, American Airlines and Spain's Iberia that they could be forced to give up valuable take-off and landing slots if they want their long-planned transatlantic tie-up to go ahead
• Ship valuation method sparks inflation fearsConcerns have been raised about whether big shipping banks will start inflating the value of billions of euros of their assets after two endorsed a new valuation method producing ship values well above market rates
• Businesses fear Tory delay on infrastructureThe CBI and executives from the UK energy and construction industries have given warning that Tory plans to reform a new planning system being implemented could create uncertainty for developers and investors
• Air alliance runs into turbulenceBrussels™ competition concerns about the planned alliance between American Airlines, British Airways and Spain™s Iberia comes at a critical time for the carriers

The Observer

• Green taxes 'under threat'¢ Influential thinktank the Green Fiscal Commission calls for fuel duties to be tripled over next 10 years¢ New report, The Case for Green Fiscal Reform, has backing of Lord Turner and cross-party supportGreenpeace and other development agencies have written to the prime minister calling on him to exercise authority over the Treasury and stop it blocking vital climate change initiatives.The call comes ahead of a report to be published tomorrow by the Green Fiscal Commission (GFC), which will call for a dramatic £150bn shake-up in the country's fiscal system “ including a £3,300 tax on new cars...

The Scotsman

• Report to recommend green taxesGreen taxes could be the key to shifting Britain onto a lower carbon lifestyle and meeting international targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a new report is due to su

Times Online

• Four-wheel drives finding new lease of life away from Britain They are hated by environmentalists and increasingly shunned by cost-conscious drivers, but many of Britain’s 4x4s are finding a new lease of life abroad. Foreign buyers are targeting these gas-guzzling workhorses and shipping them — and their CO2 emissions — to countries with lower fuel taxes and poorer roads, where their off-road ability is more useful than in Central London.
• Businesses turn to pay-as-you-go car clubs to cut costs Thousands of drivers are turning to pay-as-you-go car clubs as businesses hit by the recession scrap their company fleets.
• ’Streetcar offers flexibility on a budget to get around London’ Emily Koti and her husband joined Streetcar last month after spending a decade using her parents’ car to get around London. “I used to share the family car with six or seven adults. We don’t use the car that much, so Streetcar gives us the flexibility we need,” she said.
• Keeping the city street smart to attract touristsOut-of-date, weathered and tatty posters on lampposts and bollards are a bugbear of Ros Weatherall, pedestrian, cyclist and a keen member of Oxford Civic Society. Rusting bicycles abandoned on railings and months-old council planning notices strung on to traffic lights are also on her hit list.

Reuters News

• Phase stimulus out carefully - ByrneLONDON (Reuters) - The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne told Sky News on Sunday the country's economic stimulus should be phased out carefully, adding the same kind of stimulus seen during the recession will not be needed once growth returns next year.

Network Rail

• HARWICH BRANCH LINE: PASSENGER SERVICES SUSPENDED UNTIL MONDAY 9 NOVEMBER

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Arriva train to Manchester Airport (from North Wales) could be derailed by English operatorsA BID to run direct trains from North Wales to Manchester Airport could be derailed by rival train operators in England. 

International Herald Tribune

• Downturn Opens Doors for Low-Cost AirlinesThe financial problems facing long-established airlines are creating opportunities for discount competitors.
• Campaign Against Emissions Picks NumberActivists did thousands of demonstrations centering on 350 parts per million, which some scientists call the upper limit for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Design: The Electric Car and the Road Not TakenDesigners of electric cars are wasting a unique chance to rethink the way we drive.

Wall Street Journal

• Safety Costs Chafe RailroadsRailroad operators are seeking to scale back proposed rules that would mandate billions in safety hardware, warning that the burden could lead to cuts in service.

Washington Post

• The Navigator: Airline passengers' rights overshadowed by tarmac fight The approach of cold-weather season reminds me of tarmac delays.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• SMMT raises car sales predictionsThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revised its predictions for new car registrations following the positive effect of the scrappage scheme.Yesterday saw the initiative extended with the introduction of a further £100 million in funding from the government and the industry body has added another 100,000 units to its forecast.This means it expects 1.93 million models to be purchased over the course of the year, a 9.6 per cent fall on figures from the previous year.Van sales are projected to be down 36.9 per cent at 182,800 and Paul Everitt, chief executive of the ...

Other News Sources

• Southwest to tier Wi-Fi prices, details Internet trialSouthwest Airlines will use tiered fees to sell in-flight connectivity when the carrier finalizes pricing for Row 44's high-speed Ku-band-based Internet...
• Heathrow joins TwitterHeathrow's 67 million customers have a new voice to call on as they travel through the airport with the launch of a new Twitter feed...
• Report to recommend green taxes
• Focusing on the Dangers of Distracted DrivingIssues related to distracted driving are receiving a great deal of attention as lawmakers begin to understand the prevalence of this problem and the full extent of the consequences.
• Longer trailers cause market confusionA project to look at increasing trailer lengths has been slammed by a leading trailer builder for causing confusion in the market, says Laurence Marshall, managing director at Lawrence David Trailers.
• BA pins hopes on US transatlantic link-upBritish Airways is quietly confident that US transport officials will this week allow it to form a transatlantic joint venture with American Airlines
• Call for uniform air traffic control systemDOHA: The opening session of Doha Civil Aviation Summit has called for a uniform air rraffic control system in the GCC region. The growing number of fleets and the increasing traffic load in the regio...