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

Tuesday, 06 July 2010

BBC News

• Winter roads cost councils dearPotholes cost Scotland's councils thousands of pounds in compensation after the coldest winter in decades.
• BA passenger demand hit by strikeBritish Airways sees an 11.1% fall in passenger numbers in June, in the wake of weeks of industrial action.

Department for Transport

• £15m Government funding for green busesOver 150 new low carbon buses will join fleets throughout England saving around 50,000 tonnes of CO2 thanks to £15m of additional Government funding, Transport Minister Norman Baker announced today.
• British Transport Police Authority “ MembershipTransport Minister Theresa Villiers announced today the appointment of Elizabeth France CBE to the British Transport Police Authority, and the reappointments of Jeroen Weimar and Lew Adams OBE.  All three appointments are for four years from 1 July 2010.

Financial Times

• Unions rebuff call to repeal shipping lawUS maritime unions and politicians have rushed to defend strict domestic shipping legislation after claims that these are hampering the clean-up of the Deep­water Horizon oil spill
• Alitalia joins transatlantic accordItaly's relaunched flag-carrier enters the transatlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM and Delta as executives from the airlines report improvements in traffic numbers
• Bulk shipping groups fear fall in profitabilityOwners of dry bulk ships and tankers face sharp falls in profitability after rates for the largest ships at least halved since May on fears about ship oversupply and weak demand

The Guardian

• When can kids cycle on their own? A couple of parents have been criticised for letting their young children cycle a mile to school

The Telegraph

• Persuading pensioners to pay their own bus fares is no way to reduce the deficit [Letters]SIR – Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, suggests that better-off over-60s should not use their bus passes but pay their fares (report, July 5). The better off do not use the wretched bus, they drive. In our village we only get four buses a day, so it is not exactly the preferred method of transport.

Press Association

• Minister backs transport investment A Government minister spoke out in defence of transport investment as Whitehall departments prepared to make budget cuts of up to 40%. Earl Attlee, a Government whip and transport spokesman, told peers: "Investment now in transport is an investment in our recovery, renewed growth and our children's prosperity."

Daily Express

• Ryanair soars ahead with passenger rises in JuneBUDGET airline Ryanair yesterday reported a sharp rise in passenger traffic in June, outpacing British -Airways which suffered a drop as services were affected by strike action.

The Mirror

• BA cabin crew to vote on strikes British Airways cabin crew will start voting on a new offer aimed at averting fresh strikes in their long-running row with the airline over cost-cutting.

Network Rail

• 200 RAIL APPRENTICES GET TRACK TO WORK
• AIRDRIE STATION IN LINE FOR IMPROVEMENTS

London Evening Standard

• BA cabin crew to vote on strikesBritish Airways cabin crew will start voting on a new offer aimed at averting fresh strikes in their long-running row with the airline over cost-cutting.
• Boris Johnson looks for £25m to fund Thames cable carMayor will hold talks with firms including AEG Europe, which runs the O2, to raise £25 million for a cable car across the Thames

Sheffield Star

• Bus gate relaxation to stay despite concernsBUS bosses are protesting after Sheffield Council officials recommended a trial relaxation of operating hours at Hillsborough bus and tram gates should continue - even though

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Drivers hit brick wall on pothole payouts North-east and Tayside local authorities have settled only a handful of the hundreds of claims made by motorists whose cars have been damaged by potholes or from people hurt in accidents during the harshest winter for decades.

Burnley Express

• Clarets chief backs call to open Todmorden Curve A Clarets boss is backing calls to reinstate a vital section of rail track and open up Burnley™s horizons to Manchester and beyond.

Reading Evening Post

• Transport chief orders review of all traffic lights A full review of all traffic light junctions in Reading has been ordered by the town’s new transport boss.

Other Regional Press

• MetroDay - all-day bus travel for just £5New on-bus ticket now available.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Privatising trunk roads to fund bypasses is political suicide5 July: Ever since the recession hit, think tanks have been falling over themselves to persuade us to privatise the road network. It's not the panacea they think it is. read more

Other News Sources

• Parents take to cars in bus cuts protestHUNDREDS of extra cars flooded onto roads in Camberley on Monday morning as parents at a secondary school staged a four-wheeled protested at planned school bus cuts.
• Bus firms given £330,000 to fund loss-making routes A fleet of buses that operates on loss-making routes in and around Glasgow has been given the green light to continue.
• Bus firms given £330,000 to fund loss-making routes A fleet of buses that operates on loss-making routes in and around Glasgow has been given the green light to continue.
• New fund will help bus companies go green A new £3.4m fund has been set up to encourage bus operators to replace their old vehicles with ones that are more environmentally-friendly.
• Capital spending review may favour transportA fundamental review of all capital spending could see new schools and hospital projects axed in favour of transport schemes.
• Collapsing roads leave pothole in public fundsVIDEO: Thousands claimed as a result of damage to cars and injuries in harsh winter.
• RMT sounds safety alarm over 40% transport cutsTRANSPORT UNION RMT today raised serious safety fears over rail maintenance as it emerged over the weekend that the transport budget is being lined up for cuts of up to 40% as the ConDem government tightens the screw on public spending.
• Developer scraps St Helens rail freight plansA developer has scrapped plans for a proposed rail freight distribution hub in St Helens. ProLogis made the announcement on Friday, two months after it released a revised masterplan for the scheme, planned for the former Parkside Colliery site.
• Mayor unveils plan to link Olympic venues by cable carPlans have been unveiled by mayoral agency Transport for London over plans for a cable car system crossing the River Thames.
• £15m 'green' buses funding announcedMore than 150 'green' buses are being placed in service following an additional £15m of funding, the government has announced.
• American launches mobile boarding passes for UK passengers Two years after the airline launched mobile boarding passes on domestic routes, American Airlines (AA) passengers can now use the technology to check in for flights at Heathrow.

News from Europe

• SNCF cracks down on fare-dodgers THE SNCF has launched a new campaign to target the million fare-dodgers each year who refuse to pay their fine. The rail operator is looking at new ways of handing out fines and automatically checking that a passenger's address is correct.
• Alstom, SNCF Well Placed for $12.6 Billion Saudi Rail Contract, Echos Says Alstom SA and partner Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais are well placed to win a Saudi Arabian contract for a high-speed rail link between Medina and Mecca, Les Echos reported, without citing anyone.
• Railway cargo scheme gets on track Swiss Federal Railways has announced plans to create a new international cargo business in cooperation with the Swiss firm Hupac.