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

Thursday, 01 July 2010

BBC News

• Transport for London plans to scrap 145 traffic lights' Plans to scrap 145 traffic lights in a bid to ease congestion have been criticised due to safety concerns.
• London drivers asked about the level of parking fines Motorists in London are being asked how much they should pay for parking fines.
• Underground DART applicationIrish railways will lodge an application on Wednesday to build an underground service to link-up the Dublin's transportation system.
• New £1 drop off charge at airportBelfast International Airport has unveiled plans to charge £1 for those dropping off or picking up passengers.
• Summer schemes' partial reprieveFree transport for special needs pupils during summer schemes is restored by three education boards, following an outcry.
• Bus crime 'falls by 8%' in a yearThe number of crimes on London's buses drops by 8% in 12 months, Transport for London says.
• Bus firm secures £7.4m ordersBallymena bus builder Wright Group secures contracts worth £7.4m for its new StreeLite bus design.
• EU Airbus aid illegal, says WTOThe EU paid illegal subsidies to aircraft giant Airbus, the WTO rules, in the latest twist in a long-running dispute.
• Cable puts brakes on car industryBusiness Secretary Vince Cable says the government will rein in financial support for the UK motor industry.

Department for Transport

• Car clubs are set to benefit from an extra £40,000 of Government funding, Transport Minister Norman Baker announced today. The money will be used to support car club development in the UK. Membership of car clubs allows access to low carbon vehicles for short periods of time, often by the hour, on a pay-as-you-go basis. The clubs have increased massively in popularity with the number of members increasing from just 22,000 in 2007 to more than 127,114 members to date.

Financial Times

• Flag-waving pilots could crowd the BA-Iberia cockpitThe protocol is clear: if the captain hands the aircraft over to the co-pilot, he says
• Restructuring helps Northgate recoverThe largest van rental company in the UK and Spain, which was assailed by difficulties during the recession, reports a pre-tax profit of £9.6m and says it will 'concentrate on doing simple things well'
• BA and Iberia agree holding structureAirlines agree legal details in latest step towards merger, with shareholders due to vote on transaction in November

The Guardian

• Blimps could replace aircraft in freight transport, say scientists Helium-powered ships could be carrying freight – and even passengers – in as little as a decade's time

The Independent

• Mike Brown: New London Underground boss gets his hands on the controls at last The Business Interview: He is now master of the Tube's upgrade plans after the demise of the public-private partnership

The Telegraph

• Ryanair to sell £5 tickets for standing-room only flights Ryanair is planning to run flights where passengers stand during the journey at a cost of just £5 per ticket.
• Ryanair's Michael O'Leary says increasing passenger duty is 'insanely stupid' The chief executive of Ryanair has blamed BAA's high charges at Stansted and the Government's £11 Air Passenger Duty for his decision to base fewer planes in Britain this winter.

Daily Express

• STAND UP AND FLY FOR A FIVER PASSENGERS with budget airline Ryanair could soon be able to fly standing up for just £5 as the company vows to revolutionise air travel.

Birmingham Mail

• Charging points for electric cars are installed in Birmingham city centre FUTURISTIC electric car drivers have been given a boost – as charging points for their eco-friendly vehicles have been installed in Birmingham city centre.
• Birmingham man blasts airport law over turban searches A BIRMINGHAM man has blasted new airport security measures which allow staff to search turbans by hand.
• West Midlands has 'safest roads' The West Midlands has some of the safest roads in Britain, a major report has revealed.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram consultants: 'With £350m spent so far many will scoff'THE bad news never seems to end on the trams “ and neither does the flow of public money out of the project.
• Trams firm pays out £1m to consultants in three monthsTRAM bosses have spent more than £1 million on lawyers and private consultants in the last three months, new figures show.

Liverpool Post

• Ryanair flight tax protest will lead to route cuts at Liverpool JLA BUDGET airline Ryanair will slash its winter schedule at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) in a protest at Air Passenger Duty (APD) charges.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Elderly resident felt ˜cut off™ when bus service axedAN ELDERLY resident of a remote Moray village has described how she felt stranded after a rural bus service was cut by the council.
• Watchdog objects to plans to replace ageing bridgeEnvironmental watchdogs have objected to an Aberdeenshire Council plan to tear down and replace a œdangerous
• Sabbath will return to being a day of rest at portThe Sabbath will return to being a day of rest at a Highland harbour after councillors turned down an application for operations on six Sundays a year to continue.
• Inexpensive improvements could make roads saferDrivers in Scotland are facing œunacceptable risks on roads which could be made safer with a few simple, inexpensive improvements, according to the authors of a new report.

The York Press

• Anger at Number 13 bus route changes COUNCILLORS have reacted with anger to a decision by First York to shorten the route of one of its bus services.
• Clifton Green junction troubles 'were not foreseen' TRANSPORT chiefs did not predict the traffic problems caused by a controversial York cycling scheme when it was designed, a report revealed today.
• Taxi drivers split over ownership and renting of hackney plates A GROUP of taxi drivers has broken ranks with fellow cabbies in a landmark dispute that could cost dozens of people tens of thousands of pounds in investments.
• Yorkshire road safety record is condemned ROADS across Yorkshire are among the worst in Britain, a national road safety charity claimed today.
• New jobs hope for Jarvis workersMORE Jarvis workers could be re-employed as Network Rail is about to renegotiate two further Jarvis Rail contracts.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Yorkshire and the Humber roads 'among most dangerous in country'Yorkshire and the Humber has some of the most dangerous roads in Britain, a major report has revealed.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Support for council's aviation apprenticeships Strong support has been shown for an aviation apprenticeship scheme in Essex. Aviation industry representatives backed Essex County Council's apprenticeship scheme, which is offering 30 new apprenticeships in the aviation industry as part of its pledge to create 1,750 apprenticeships over the next two years.

Other Regional Press

• Electric Mini drivers are maximising fuel savings SCIENTISTS at Oxford Brookes University have calculated that the new electric Mini could save up to £1,400 on the cost of fuel over a year.
• First Bus bosses ban sweltering bus drivers from wearing shorts BUS drivers are getting all hot and bothered in Huddersfield.
• £1500 spent repairing East End road to nowhereCouncil says work is part of £12m project

Railway Gazette

• RENFE unveils Class 112 high speed trainSPAIN: National operator RENFE unveiled the new Class 112 high speed train at its future home, the extended Santa Catalina rolling stock maintenance facility in Madrid, on June 29. A total of 30 Class 112s have been ordered from Talgo and Bombardier for the Madrid - Valencia high speed line which is due to open later this year. The 200 m long Class 112 has two power cars and 12 trailers, offering a total of 365 seats compared to the 316 of the Talgo/Bombardier Class 102 for RENFE from which it has been developed. There are now only two classes, tourist and club, with the number of tourist sea...

Other News Sources

• Whalsay ferry service to be patched up as councillors opt for fixed links in distant future Councillors have decided to patch up the ailing Whalsay ferry infrastructure in the hope that external funding becomes available in the distant future for fixed links to all the large islands.
• Bombardier wins contract for Delhi metro system MONTREAL - Bombardier Inc. will build more Movia subway cars for Delhi's rapidly expanding network. Its European-based Transportation unit has won a $101 million U.S. contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corp. for 74 metro cars for delivery late next year, plus 40 options.
• IATA slams UK aviation tax plans The coalition government has come under fire for the devastating impact its planned taxation of aviation will have on the economy.
• Transport Secretary increases powers to tackle dangerous vehicles Increased powers to crack down on dangerous trucks and coaches were set out today by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.
• RMT's Bob Crow calls for 'generalised strikes and community direct action' to resist ConDem Government assault on jobs, living standards and public servicesSPEAKING TO delegates at transport union RMT's annual conference in Aberdeen today, General Secretary Bob Crow will issue a 'call to arms' to the entire Labour and Trade Union Movement and communities under attack for a 'sustained campaign of generalised strikes across both the public and private sectors and community direct action to defend public services in the teeth of the fiscal fascism being unleashed by this ConDem government.'
• London Assembly Conservatives call for driverless Tube trainsLondon Assembly Conservatives Group transport spokesman Richard Tracey has called for the Underground to become driverless.
• Repair roads and save £18bn, say expertsImproving Britain™s worst roads could save up to £18bn annually on the cost of emergency services, hospitals and long term care for the disabled, the Road Safety Foundation (RSF) said this week.
• Name a train and win a family rail ticket to LondonHERE'S a Grand idea we hope you can help us with.
• Lib Dem transport promises hit by cutsLocal transport minister Norman Baker admits that manifesto pledges on rail expansion and bus regulation now seem unfeasible
• Local bus services under the spotlightConservative MP Iain Stewart has highlighted concerns regarding a new bus network and timetable in his constituency.

News from Europe

• Court ruling challenges Ryanair victory THE RIGHT of workers and trade unions to engage in collective bargaining with employers is now firmly back on the agenda – with a bang.