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

Sunday, 29 April 2018

BBC News

• Hemel Hempstead autopilot Tesla seat switch driver bannedA 39-year-old driver has been banned after putting autopilot on and moving into the passenger seat

Times Online

• How is Bjorn Kjos keeping Norwegian airlines flying? [Subscription}The founder of Norwegian Air is flying into turbulence
• Norwegian Air boss Bjorn Kjos helps short-sellers [Subscription]The boss of Norwegian Air is believed to have been lending some of his shares in the airline to traders betting on a downturn in its fortunes.
• Letters to the Editor: Renationalise: it’s the only way to save our railways [Subscription]Your article “Rail pain piles up as five operators totter” (News, last week) is a reminder of how precarious our system of rail franchising has become. Now that the UK’s worst-rated operator, Southern, has bought out its liability for future performance, it is clear to commuters that decision-making at the DfT is not fit for purpose.
• Direct fast train to Bordeaux opens up grape expectations [Subscription]Lovers of a fine claret should raise a glass: a new direct high-speed rail service could connect London to the vineyards and chateaux of Bordeaux.
• Passengers crammed in as GWR’s £5.7bn ‘ghost trains’ close half their carriages [Subscription]New intercity trains bought as part of a £5.7bn programme are travelling long distances with half their carriages locked and empty while the other half are crammed with passengers.

Mail Online

• Revealed: Roads in Scottish towns and cities are set to become the slowest in Europe with a new 20mph speed limitRoads across Scotland are set to become the slowest in Europe under a £5 million plan to impose lower speed limits in areas where 30mph currently applies. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5670077/Roads-Scottish-towns-set-slowest-Europe-new-20mph-speed-limit.html#ixzz5E2qIATds Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
• Range Rover, BMW and Volkswagen knew vehicles were a security risk The full extent of the cover-up by car makers who failed to warn drivers of a major security flaw can be revealed today.

This is Money

• Used diesel car prices are rising, Auto Trader figures reveal Car buyers expecting to be able to pick up a second-hand bargain amid the crackdown on diesel could be in for a shock. Prices are on the up.
• Need a seven-seater car? Here are the better value options The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have switched to a seven-seater Land Rover Discovery, but there are cheaper options such as the Peugeot 5008 and Skoda Kodiaq we've tested.

Bolton News

• Why rail electrification has caused so much trouble in BoltonTHE Transport Secretary has voiced his frustration at delayed railway upgrades which have caused severe disruption across Bolton.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• College awarded funding to encourage more staff to cycle to workBRADFORD College has secured funding to encourage more members of its staff to cycle to work.
• Site once earmarked for £350 million development could now become a car parkA CITY centre plot of land that was once chosen to be the centre of a proposed £350 million regeneration scheme is now the subject of plans for a pay and display car park.

London Evening Standard

• Shocking moment Tesla driver turns on autopilot and moves to passenger seat while driving on motorwayThis is the moment a Tesla motorist had switched on "autopilot" while driving on the M1 before moving into the passenger seat, leaving the steering wheel and foot controls unmanned.

Northern Echo

• The Land Rover that goes on rails as well as roadVISITORS to a historic railway will be able to see a converted off-road vehicle on the tracks this weekend.
• Community bus service could be scrapped – just a year after being gifted two new minibusesA CHARITY may scrap its Tees Valley-wide community minibus service amid funding and volunteer shortages – just a year after taking delivery of two new buses.
• Council urged to do more to promote disabled parking charges A COUNCIL has been urged to do more to promote disabled parking charges after unsuspecting motorists were hit with fines.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rescuers are back afloat after major donations for summer boat fuel costsA rescue service which was forced off the sea because it could not afford its running costs will be back on the water for the summer season thanks to a series of generous donations.
• Roadworks to take place over the coming week along the A12 and A14 in Suffolk and EssexThere’s a series of road closures and work set to be carried out over the coming week on the A14 and A12 routes in Suffolk and Essex.

Other Regional Press

• Here we go again - 'grim' traffic predicted when Access to Headington resumes MOTORISTS will face another round of delays from May 14 as a delayed £16m road project finally gets underway.
• Transport Secretary launches formal review into South Western RailwayGovernment ministers have launched a formal review into South Western Railway's operation following a spate of poor performance.
• Video: Driver filmed relaxing in passenger seat on busy M1 while car was driving itself A driver who was filmed leaning back in the passenger seat while his car was in autopilot on the M1 has been banned from the road.
• ELECTIONS: Focus on transport and planning policy This week, we have laid out each party's vision for certain key policy areas in Swindon. Today, in their own words, the parties outline their plans for transport and planning
• Developer backs down over West Way amid public pressure A DEVELOPER appears to have backed down amid public pressure over plans to change car park and access routes to the West Way scheme in Botley.
• Here we go again - 'grim' traffic predicted when Access to Headington resumes MOTORISTS will face another round of delays from May 14 as a delayed £16m road project finally gets underway.
• Which route is best? Oxford to Cambridge expressway 'in chaos' over 3 options THE process for selecting a route for the £3.5bn Oxford to Cambridge Expressway has descended into 'chaos' with councils in disagreement and calls for more information.
• Biker gangs 'terrorising' community - but residents are fighting back FURIOUS residents on a Southampton street are making a stand against a biker gang who they say have been “terrorisingâ€� their community.
• Police team up with Southampton bus companies in battle against nuisance bikersPOLICE have teamed up with two of Southampton’s biggest bus operators as they continue their crackdown on nuisance motorcyclists.
• Rail users set for “biggest shake-up in historyâ€� as new timetable loomsWe’re three weeks away from the new Great Northern timetable being rolled out – which operator Govia Thameslink Railway is hailing as the “biggest timetable shake-up in UK rail history.”

Wall Street Journal

• States That Raise Tolls and Taxes Will Have an Edge in Getting DOT FundsStates and cities that raise taxes and tolls will have a better chance at winning federal money for roads and bridges, part of a Trump administration strategy to have states carry a bigger part of infrastructure spending.
• Trump Administration May Eliminate Increases in Fuel-Economy StandardsFederal transportation regulators want to halt plans to keep increasing fuel-economy standards, likely escalating a brewing fight with California that could end the state’s sweeping powers over the auto industry.

Other News Sources

• Rail service branded ‘totally inadequate’ Management of train services by the Government, operator Govia Thameslink and Network Rail have been branded “completely inadequateâ€� and “a multi-faceted shamblesâ€� in an extraordinarily damning Parliamentary report.