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Saturday, 19 November 2011

BBC News

• London Assembly: 'Wave and pay for buses must be fair' Customers without bank cards must not miss out on cheap fares when Transport for London introduces its new payment system, the London Assembly has warned.
• London 'glues' pollution to roadsLondon Mayor Boris Johnson stands by his scheme glueing pollution to roads
• Suzuki seeks mediation in VW rowSuzuki Motor announces that it will seek arbitration if German carmaker Volkswagen does not sell back its stake in the Japanese company.
• Diesel-petrol price gap wideningThe gap between the average price of diesel and petrol has grown to its widest level since 2008, the AA says.

Department for Transport

• Transport Statistics: Blue badge scheme statistics: 2010/11The Department for Transport published the following Transport Statistics:· Blue badge scheme statistics: 2010/11 see:http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/blue-badge-scheme-statistics-2010-11

Financial Times

• Golden Ocean axes dividend amid tough marketDry bulk shipping group moves to 'protect the current strong cash position'
• Estuary airport plan climbs up agendaThe idea of a new hub airport on reclaimed land is being taken increasingly seriously by senior figures in the coalition
• Robin Hood airport sets its sightsRobin Hood airport near Doncaster aims to have 10m passengers a year by 2030
• Thames airport plan backed by Downing StThe idea of an airport in the Estuary is being seen as a visionary way to solve Britain's aviation capacity crunch
• Airbus's discomfort in DubaiQatar Airways threatens to pull an order with the manufacturer

The Guardian

• Transport for London's plans for contactless tickets 'unconvincing,' says committee London assembly's transport committee says that there are doubts about whether the business case for 'wave and pay' ticketing is robust enough

The Herald

• Davidson questions rail change FLEDGLING Tory leader Ruth Davidson achieved a decent hit on only her second outing at First Minister’s Questions, spotting in the Transport Scotland consultation document that constitutional change could hamper the tendering process.
• More carriages for busy train routeSCOTRAIL will introduce the longest daytime diesel train in Scotland next month, doubling the number of seats on the Aberdeen-Inverness route, following complaints of overcrowding.
• Motorists facing hikes in city parking chargesMOTORISTS face higher charges at city centre car parks after plans to increase parking fines up to £100 were dropped by the Scottish Government, leaving councils struggling to pay for enforcement measures.
• End of an era as Stranraer ferry sails for new watersON Sunday at 7.55pm, HSS Voyager will leave the dock at Stranraer and edge into Loch Ryan on its way to Belfast for the last time.
• Ferry service under fire for performanceA CONTROVERSIAL new ferry service has not managed to fulfil a complete schedule in any week since it started five months ago and cannot provide a safe service unless the weather is œcomparatively calm, it has been claimed.

The Scotsman

• Transport delight Charles Kennedy MP says terminating train sleeper services to and from the Highlands would end a vital connection to the capital, cut the region off from the rest of the nation and force people to drive and fly. These claims are ludicrous.
• Forth Bridge privatisation plans meet with anger A DECISION to privatise the management of the Forth Road Bridge after almost 50 years has been greeted with anger. Transport minister Keith Brown ordered the scrapping of FETA, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, which maintains the structure and is responsible for traffic operations.

Belfast Telegraph

• Take new route to transport reform Many people were disappointed by the Irish Government's announcment that it would not pay out the £400m promised to upgrade the Monaghan-Londonderry A5 road. Given that Dublin cannot even afford some prestige projects in its own jurisdiction, the withdrawal of funding for a project on this side of the border was no great surprise, no matter whose feelings here may have been hurt. While there is still talk of a commitment to the project and officials have been tasked to draw up a new funding and implementation plan, the reality is that it will be a long time before the necessary money will be forthcoming

Birmingham Mail

• Civil Aviation Authority has stepped in to fly home airline's stranded Birmingham passengers Skyjet, which sold tickets for Comtel flights between Birmingham and India ceased trading yesterday afternoon.

London Evening Standard

• Parking fees will hit West End, says Queen of ShopsRetail guru Mary Portas has revelealed her concerns at the impact new parking charges will have on the West End
• Drivers' rules eased to get Tube ready for OlympicsCity Hall will rewrite the Tube rule-book in a bid to fix the system in the build-up to the Olympics, the deputy mayor for transport says

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published Bus company's rethink on double buggiesArticle

The York Press

• Hauliers claim fuel hike ˜will hit us all™ HAULIERS in York and North Yorkshire have called on the Government to scrap a 3p a litre fuel duty increase which they say is threatening their livelihoods.
• Rail safety concerns over Copmanthorpe gate A YORK man has spoken of his concerns about a gate leading on to the high speed East Coast train line after seeing children nearly walk on to the tracks.

Yorkshire Post

• Exclusive: Hopes of extra high speed rail station for region YORKSHIRE could get a third high-speed rail stop – while a debate rages over the location of one of the stops the region has already been promised, the Yorkshire Post can reveal.

Other Regional Press

• MSP wants people to have their say on rail travel ANGUS South MSP Graeme Dey is urging local people to speak up and give their views on the future of rail services.
• Low Moor Rail Station consultation underwayConsultation event on new rail station at Low Moor gets off to busy start.
• Cash will ˜roll in™ if tram plan gets the green lightA businessman behind plans to re-establish a tramline in Preston believes wealthy backers are queuing up to fund the project.

Bus and Coach.com

• TransLinc to May GurneyTransLinc, the former transport operation of Lincolnshire county council, has been bought by infrastructure services business May Gurney for £34.
• Assembly concerns on cash card ticketingThe London Assembly says that Transport for London must guarantee that its plans to introduce contactless ticketing with credit or debit cards will not disadvantage people who choose to stick with the existing Oyster smartcard.
• Manchester announces first QBPA Quality Bus Partnership is to start in Greater Manchester next April.
• BM Coaches gets cut and warningHigh-profile Middlesex operator BM Coaches has had its vehicle authorisation cut from 40 to 30 by the south-east traffic commissioner.
• Harrison Holidays in administrationHarrison Holidays and the associated Harrison Coach Services businesses, based in Kings Lynn, have called in administrators.

Global Rail News

• Santa to travel with NXEA to Southminster & WickfordOn Sunday 4 December Santa will be travelling with National Express East Anglia from Southminster to Wickford and back on the 11.05 and 13.05 services. Santa ...
• Southeastern publishes Olympic & Paralympic timetablesToday saw the publication of the Olympic and Paralympic timetables, following approval from the Department for Transport, after consultation with key stakeholders including MPs, London TravelWatch, ...
• c2c™s Twitter successNational Express train operator c2c has recently begun using Twitter to give customers up-to-the-minute train service information and early indications show the use of the social ...
• Your chance to cut rail red tapeRail passengers and businesses are set to benefit as Rail Minister Theresa Villiers recently pledged to crack down on unnecessary red tape. Nearly 200 rail transport ...
• The Hague orders 40 Siemens Avenio tramsThe Siemens Rail Systems Division will manufacture 40 four-unit low-floor Avenio trams for the HTM Materieel B.V. operator in The Hague. With this contract, the seat of ...
• More carriages on Aberdeen-Inverness trainsScotRail™s longest-ever daytime diesel train will be launched next month on the Aberdeen-Inverness line. The seven-carriage train will run during the evening peak-hour as the 17.18 Aberdeen-Inverness service ...
• 80 metres of rail cable stolen in HumbersideBritish Transport Police (BTP) officers are appealing for information after 80 metres of cable was cut and taken from the rail line close to Hull station ...

Railnews

• Train orders vital to Bombardier's survival in Derby The outgoing chairman of Bombardier in the UK has warned that two potential orders are vital if the company's train-building works in Derby are to survive. The plant at Litchurch Lane is the last of its kind in the country, but it's running out of work.

Aviation Industry

• Download your Glasgow Airport Christmas leaflet todayFilled with lots of special money offers vouchers. Pick up a special gift for a loved one, at a magical price.
• UK airlines seek to evade taxationWhile both EU and non-EU airlines have been complaining noisily about the modest amount they will be required to pay for emissions permits from 2012 under the EU ETS, four UK and Irish airlines this week had a go at Air Passenger Duty “ the only tax in the UK levied on flights. Ryanair, Easyjet, [...]
• New extension to Gatwick North Terminal unveiledFormer Prime Minister Sir John Major has officially opened Gatwick™s latest £73 million development
• Gatwick given œnew lease of life with new ownersAirport seen as œproblem second child under BAA, says Gatwick boss
• Winners of controversial public sector contract confirmedHRG will manage all central government's global travel, while Redfern will look after domestic bookings

Green Miscellany

• iPhone app squeaks if bicycle is stolen A new iPhone accessory allows users to attach a series of GPS trackers the size of luggage tags to key chains, bags, bicycles or any item that risks being stolen or mislaid.read more

Other News Sources

• Mayor and TfL accused of ignoring experts' recommendations on cycle safety at Bow roundabout Transport for London ignored recommendations that Bow roundabout needed to be made safer for cyclists by experts it commissioned over a year before two cyclists were killed there it has been revealed by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC). The LCC is now demanding to know why TfL and the Mayor ignored their own experts' findings?
• Silver jubilee for Mervyn's buses IT was 25 years ago that the first Mervyn™s Coaches bus service from Micheldever arrived in Winchester.
• News from John Biggs: Boris and TfL agree urgent safety review of Bow Roundabout 18 November, 2011 Local London Assembly Member John Biggs today secured a commitment from the mayor and TfL to conduct an urgent safety review of Bow Roundabout, where two cyclists were recently killed. At an urgent meeting called by John Biggs, the mayor and his transport officials agreed to report back within a week on how they intend to improve safety at the junction. The new commitment comes after John Biggs' two-year campaign to increase safety at the roundabout. 360-house-thumb.jpg ...
• Plans from TfL for ˜wave and pay™ unconvincing, says Assembly 18 November, 2011 - 09:30 Transport for London must guarantee that its plans to introduce ˜wave and pay™[1] on the capital™s transport network will be fair to all passengers and not disadvantage those who choose to stick with the Oyster card, the London Assembly says today. 360-house-thumb.jpg Yes read more