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

Tuesday, 08 December 2009

BBC News

• Edinburgh's new tram lines knock cyclists off trackCyclists are to be given classes on how to navigate Edinburgh's roads since tram tracks were unveiled in the city centre.
• MPs 'unsure' on Stansted runwayThought should be given to building an extra runway at Gatwick rather than Stansted airport, a report by MPs suggests.
• UK aviation 'needs room to grow'Heathrow can expand and people can fly more without ruining carbon targets, the UK's official climate watchdog says.

The Independent

• Tax rebate plan for 'green' drivers and homeowners Tax rebates for people who

The Observer

• Calls for tax on flying to help climateWatchdog says air travel cannot continue to grow unchecked if UK's emissions targets are to be metHeavy taxes on passengers and a ban on expansion at regional airports will be needed to curb Britain's insatiable appetite for air travel, a climate change report will say today .But it will still be possible to build a third runway at Heathrow, add second runways at Stansted and Edinburgh and permit an extra 140 million journeys a year by 2050 without breaking the UK's commitment to cutting carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Committee on Climate Change.However, that 60% increase in air tr...

The Scotsman

• Brown wants 30% Euro emissions cutGordon Brown has called for deeper cuts in European Union carbon emissions as negotiators started hammering out a new agreement on climate change in Copenhagen.
• UK curb on aviation growth urgedThe UK must significantly limit its growth in flying if it is to meet the Government's pledge of keeping aviation emissions to 2005 levels by mid century, the Committee on

Times Online

• International rail compensation brought into line with air travel Business travellers travelling on international rail services now have stronger rights when it comes to delays and cancellation. On 3 December, the European legislation governing cross-border rail services in the European Union were brought into line with those governing air services in the region.
• Green lobby insists carbon figures don™t allow Heathrow expansionThe green lobby had long assumed that today™s aviation report from the Committee on Climate Change would finally slay the demon of a third Heathrow runway.
• Copenhagen summit: Europe turns on US and China over weak emission targetsThe European Union has rejected the new carbon emission targets tabled by the United States and China and said they were much too weak to prevent catastrophic climate change.
• Heathrow™s third runway passes the carbon testClimate change advisers have decided that an extensive building programme at Heathrow ” including the construction of a third runway ” can proceed without jeopardising the Government™s carbon emissions targets.
• Richard Branson unveils Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwoA ticket costs more than 200 times the price of a round-trip flight from London to Los Angeles.

Daily Record

• Exclusive: Drink drivers risk having their cars crushed under cops' tough new planBOOZED-UP drivers could have their cars crushed or sold by the courts in a major festive blitz.

The Mirror

• UK curb on aviation growth urgedThe UK must significantly limit its growth in flying if it is to meet the Government's pledge of keeping aviation emissions to 2005 levels by mid century, the Committee on Climate Change said.

Liverpool Echo

• Free bus travel for redheadsA MERSEYSIDE bus company is offering free tickets to passengers with red hair.

Metro

• Brown wants 30% Euro emissions cutGordon Brown has called for deeper cuts in European Union carbon emissions as negotiators started hammering out a new agreement on climate change in Copenhagen.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Travel Information for TfL services over Festive Period The Festive Travel Guide was published last week by the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). The Guide has full details of Tube, London Buses, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Tramlink, London Overground and Riverboat services as well as the operation of the Congestion Charge throughout the entire festive period, from Thursday 24 December 2009 to Friday 1 January 2010.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Hampshire County Council to challenge bus injunctionHampshire County Council is preparing to have an appeal against the Fareham to Gosport Bus Rapid Transit scheme quashed.

The York Press

• York bus drivers face 20mph limit COUNCIL officers are to ask bus drivers to drive at no more than 20mph in York after hearing claims of aggressive bus handling.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds-Bradford Airport wants daily flights to New YorkBosses at Leeds Bradford Airport have launched a campaign to offer daily flights to the United States which they say will create 400 new jobs and bring an extra £10m to the re

Peterborough Telegraph

• Case for extra runway not convincing, say MPsThe Government should consider building an extra runway at Gatwick Airport rather than Stansted, a report from MPs has said.

Sunderland Echo

• Wear getting green buses A fleet of electric buses linking up Sunderland city centre, visitor attractions and university sites is heading to Wearside.

International Herald Tribune

• Driven to Distraction: Promoting the Car Phone, Despite RisksIndustry pioneers have long been aware of the risks of multitasking behind the wheel, but still marketed cellphones to drivers.

Washington Post

• Virgin Galactic unveils commercial spaceship LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A spacecraft designed to rocket wealthy tourists into space as early as 2011 was unveiled Monday in what backers of the venture hope will signal a new era in aviation history.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government pledges additional funding for green busesThe government has announced it is allocating £30 million to local authorities and bus operators to encourage them to purchase low-carbon vehicles.Designed to boost the manufacturing and sustainable transport sectors, the Green Bus Fund will provide successful applicants with grants to buy around 350 buses by March 2012.Under the Department for Transport (DfT) scheme, as many as 1,000 jobs will be protected by the scheme and 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be prevented from being released into the atmosphere.Available for vehicles in both urban and rural areas, the funding has b...

Railnews

• News: High Speed rail 'imperative' for major airports, say MPs A new report on aviation from the House of Commons Transport Committee says high speed rail links to major British airports are 'imperative'. However, it warns that new high speed lines cannot completely replace domestic flights in the UK.

Transport for London

• First roadworks permit scheme in UK to start on 11 January 2010Permit scheme to be introduced on London's busiest roads. Scheme will help to reduce traffic disruption across the Capital.

Aviation Industry

• Millionaire unveils first commercial spaceshipVirgin Atlantic on Monday unveiled the first commercial passenger spaceship, a sleek black-and-white vessel that represents an expensive gamble on creating a commercial space tourism industry.

Other News Sources

• High speed train research agreement signed GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation and the Göttingen-based aerospace research centre Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt have signed an agreement to co-operate in the development of high speed trains.
• Rail bosses attacks Bristol's 'woeful' lack of services Bristol suffers from a "woeful" lack of rail services and the area is failing to attract the funding it should, a Network Rail boss has told MPs. Mike Gallop is the western region route enhancement manager for the publicly-owned company responsible for developing and maintaining the rail network. Called to give evidence to a House of Commons committee investigating transport issues in the South West yesterday, Mr Gallop told MPs the train network was inadequate and the city also suffered from the lowest proportion of public transport per person of any urban area in the UK.
• Feature: What does the Copenhagen summit mean for aviation? (December 7 2009)As the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) gets under way, Jenny Southan assesses how the talks will affect the airline industry With delegates from 192 countries congregating in the Danish capital for two weeks of debate on how to tackle the problem of climate change, the travel industry is watching with interest to see how it will affect the future of flying. The last time global targets were agreed for reducing greenhouse gases was at the 1997 conference in Kyoto, but the airline industry was not included.
• Shipping balks at EU goalTHE EU said today it wants all industrialised nations to match its target of a 30% cut in carbon emissions by 2020, a figure far beyond the goal set by the shipping industry.
• Brown calls for deeper EU emissions cuts Gordon Brown has called for deeper cuts in European Union carbon emissions, as negotiations continue in Copenhagen.Related StoriesCameron hits out at Brown's 'petty' class warClimate change talks kick off in CopenhagenWhat's on the table at Copenhagen?UK's 2009 Afghan death toll hits 100PM to unveil first internet safety strategy
• Aviation cuts 'vital' to reducing emissions The UK must limit its growth in plane flights to meet the Government's pledge on emissions, according to the Committee on Climate Change.Related StoriesDoctors want Kelly probe reopenedClimate change talks kick off in CopenhagenTreasury 'considering super-tax on bankers'What's on the table at Copenhagen?Branson to unveil 'first commercial spacecraft'
• Heavy truck registrations plummet, while vans stabiliseCV registrations continued to plummet in November, with a drop of 36.1% compared with the same month last year, as weak business confidence continues to hit the sector.
• Lib Dems formulate transport policy for electionCompany insolvencies in the haulage business rose sharply in 2008, it was confirmed in Parliament last week.
• Confusion over DfT's road responsibilitiesTransport minister Lord Adonis has admitted that there are stretches of road in the UK that the Department for Transport (DfT) is unable to authorise improvements for, no matter how pressing the need from a safety point of view.
• Heathrow can expand if growth cappedLONDON (Reuters) - Britain could go ahead with a new runway at London's Heathrow airport if the growth in passenger numbers between now and 2050 is limited to 60 percent, the government's chief climate change adviser said on Tuesday.