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

Saturday, 23 October 2010

BBC News

• Get on bus for work says ministerWork and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith tells people in Merthyr Tydfil they have become static and should get on a bus to seek work in Cardiff.
• Bus firm goes into administrationNorthern Ireland's largest independent bus company Chambers goes into administration.
• Union cancels Tube overtime banUnion bosses call off an overtime ban in London Underground's maintenance section.
• BA to reinstate some crew perksBritish Airways says that it will restore basic travel concessions to cabin crew who went on strike earlier this year.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:

Financial Times

• SE Asia rolls out rail renaissance The first leg of Cambodia's refurbished railway line has been formally opened, marking the beginning of a south-east Asian rail renaissance, with projects planned across the region

The Guardian

• How train firms' fare-dodging policies turn commuters into criminals Amid the timetables and rail replacement service notices at London's Euston station you will find a list of passengers, complete with addresses and ages, who have been found guilty in a magistrates court of fare dodging. It is part of the line's naming and shaming policy.

The Herald

• Fitch expects bus firms to weather spending reviewThe Chancellor of the Exchequer™s comprehensive spending review (CSR) is unlikely to threaten current credit profiles of UK bus and rail companies, Fitch Ratings said yesterday.
• Petrol prices to rocket, warns motoring groupPetrol pump prices have risen sharply after falling back during the summer, prompting fresh warnings from motoring organisations over the impact of increased costs for drivers.

The Scotsman

• Work finishes on spaceport's runwayVirgin Galactic's Sir Richard Branson and prospective astronauts have gathered in the southern New Mexico desert to celebrate the completion of the runway at the world'

Daily Express

• Ferrovial trims its stake in BAASPANISH infrastructure firm Ferrovial plans to sell a tenth of airport operator BAA to finance new investments and pay off debt.
• Ferrovial trims its stake in BAASPANISH infrastructure firm Ferrovial plans to sell a tenth of airport operator BAA to finance new investments and pay off debt.

Birmingham Mail

• Police clampdown on bus fare dodgers in Birmingham MORE than 120 bus users were fined for not paying fares during a police crackdown on crime on a notorious bus network in Birmingham.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Fuel prices in Wales are highest in UK FUEL prices in Wales are the highest in the UK, and have been on the rise since the summer, new figures have revealed.

London Evening Standard

• Tube chief in crisis talks after 'week of hell' for passengersLondon's Tube boss was today locked in talks to solve a crisis that has left hundreds of thousands stranded or walking through pitch black tunnels
• Plain-clothes parking wardens used by ’underhand’ councilLondon council branded 'underhand' for using unmarked cars and undercover wardens to issue parking tickets

Metro

• Airbag for cyclists unveiled in SwedenAn incredible alternative to the bicycle helmet was unveiled in Sweden on Thursday.

Wales Online

• Passengers in water as freight ship hits ferry A passenger ferry has capsized and several people are believed to be in the water after the vessel was struck by a freight ship in a canal near Amsterdam today.
• Minister attacked for 'get on a bus' idea A Government minister was today accused of making a “disgusting insult” to the unemployed after he suggested they should “get on a bus” to look for jobs.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus service shake upTransport giant First is risking the wrath of its passengers with a second bus timetable shake-up in just over two months.

Reading Evening Post

• £851m Reading station revamp is safe Transport minister Theresa Villiers visited yesterday to confirm the £851 million project to redevelop Reading Station will go ahead.

Other Regional Press

• Kent is road crash capitalMore people were killed or injured on Kent's roads last year than in any other county in the UK.
• Kent MPs fight fare hikeKent MPs have called for a cap on rail fares in the county - defying plans set out in the government's Spending Review.
• Shocking cuts hit Huddersfield First Bus services - is your bus affected? FIRST Bus has announced an eye-watering series of cancellations to Huddersfield services.
• More petrol price rises ahead for Huddersfield motorists MOTORISTS in Huddersfield can expect further fuel price rises, a petrol retailer has warned.
• Council backs bid to boost rail servicesAn MSP™s fight for better rail services from Cumbernauld to Glasgow and Edinburgh has won council support.
• Experts warn of pothole and gritting crisisRoads experts have warned Glasgow motorists that another winter of misery lies ahead.
• Bad weather delays road repairsA MILLION pound road project was today delayed due to bad weather.

Campaign for Better Transport

• 80% of Britons oppose rail fare hikesOctober 22: The eye-watering fare rises announced on Wednesday are the single most hated policy announced in the spending review. read more

Railway Gazette

• Business confidence growsINTERNATIONAL: Business confidence in the rail sector has improved significantly, and is close to the levels recorded before the economic downturn, according to the latest quarterly results in the Global Rail Index survey undertaken by SCI Verkehr. None of the companies surveyed were unhappy about the current business market, and the majority were more optimistic in their expectations for the next half year. According to SCI's third-quarter review, 46% of the companies rated their current position as good, and 20% believed that things had improved since the first quarter of 2010. Orderbooks h...

Other News Sources

• News from Caroline Pidgeon: Mayor is insulting Londoners by trying to bury details of stealth fare rises 21 October 2010 Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor™s fare announcemnt on Bus, Tube and Tram fare rises, which include plans to hike the cost of One Day Travelcards by up to 74% said: "The Mayor was insulting Londoners by burying bad news like this on the day the Comprehensive Spending Review was announced. 360-house-thumb.jpg Yes
• Assembly™s Budget Committee Chair responds to Mayor™s fares decision 21 October 2010 Responding to the Mayor™s fares decision for 2011, John Biggs, AM, Chair of the London Assembly™s Budget and Performance Committee said:  œWe are pleased that the Mayor has taken on board the Committee™s recommendation that bus passengers using Pay-As-You-Go and bus season tickets, who are often on low incomes, should not bear the brunt of next year™s fares rise.  œWe urged the Mayor to ensure these passengers, who saw fares increase by 20 percent earlier this year, were not hit disproportionately by ano...
• Assembly wants answers and assurances about Tube disruption 22 October 2010 The Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee has written to the Mayor of London seeking detailed explanations for a series of recent incidents on the Tube that have caused major disruption for passengers. The Committee is also seeking assurances that Transport for London (TfL) has taken steps to prevent problems that have seen passengers having to walk along the tracks to escape stalled trains; severe delays because of signal and track failures; and a number of faulty trains taken out of service. Val Shawcross AM,...
• Cheap flights to Belfast available from UK regional airportsLow-cost flights to Belfast from a number of UK regional airports make it an ideal weekend destination, it has been claimed. Fiona Ure, communications executive at the Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau, explained that the Northern Irish city offers a range of accommodation to meet all budgets, and recommended people book early to get the best prices. She added that once people arrive they can use public transport to visit the cities major tourist destinations, saving themselves even more money. "Belfast is a compact city, easily navigated on foot - and visitors using public trans...
• Transport ringfence riles councilsNew fund for local sustainable transport projects protected
• More UK drivers monitoring fuel consumption, survey finds
• Congestion charge in Western Extension ditched The congestion charging for the Western Extension zone is to be scrapped after a public consultation run by Transport for London.
• Mersey Gateway gets £80m funding boostChancellor George Osborne has now confirmed the funding proposals for the £430 million Mersey Gateway bridge project.
• Train fares hiked despite manifesto promiseCommuters face a rise in rail fares following cuts to the transport budget despite promises in one coalition partner's manifesto. A Liberal Democrat MP tells Channel 4 News the hike is

Other Subscription Services

• Midland Metro gets new trams and line extensionWork to extend Birmingham's tram line and build facilities for a new tram fleet will get underway next year following Wednesday's comprehensive spending review.Chancellor of the Exchequer George...
• Underground lines face conversion to light railConversion of London Underground lines to light rail operation forms one of the conditions of Transport for London's funding settlement over the next four years.Transport secretary Philip Hammond...