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

Friday, 31 May 2019

BBC News

• Flybe cuts routes from Cardiff Airport in winter scheduleRegional airline Flybe has announced it will cut six routes from Cardiff Airport under its winter schedule plan.
• Caddington bus shelter sit-in delays demolitionVillagers have gathered in an old bus shelter, vowing to stay there "day and night" to stop it being torn down. Workers arrived on Thursday in Caddington to demolish the shelter, which Central Bedfordshire Council says blocks drivers and attracts graffiti.
• Planes narrowly avoid collision at Edinburgh AirportThe passenger planes got too close to each other at Edinburgh Airport as one came into land as the other took off
• FirstGroup to sell Greyhound buses in USIts UK bus network may also be spun off and its rail franchises reviewed, as it fights activist investor.
• Boeing admits it 'fell short' on safety alert for 737Boss Dennis Muilenburg says the US aircraft maker is now fixing the problems.

The Guardian

• The dream of free buses still lives onLet’s give them a free-to-use bus service as was intended by a visionary authority in 1974, writes Mike Smith of South Yorkshire Freedom Riders

The Telegraph

• Wizz Air targets profit growth despite 'challenging' times for airlines [Subscription]Wizz Air is “optimistic” over future profit growth but warned it faced rising costs and "challenging" conditions in the aviation industry.

Times Online

• First Group bows to calls for break-up [Subscription]One of Britain’s biggest transport groups has capitulated to investors’ demands and proposed breaking itself up.
• Uber losses top $1bn in first quarter [Subscription]The world’s largest taxi-hailing company has posted a loss of $1.01 billion in its maiden results after a lacklustre flotation earlier this month.
• All change as boss says it’s time to hit the road [Subscription]First wants to focus on US buses as it struggles to make a success of its operations in Britain
• Chinese may profit as bidders back out of HS2 running [subscription]When George Osborne was running the Treasury, his love-in with the People’s Republic led some to suggest that in a perfect world he wanted the Chinese to fund, build and operate the £55 billion HS2 line between London, Birmingham and the North.

City AM

• TfL awards £1bn Silvertown Tunnel contract to Aberdeen Standard-backed consortiumA consortium comprising Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), Cintra and Macquarie Capital will build the £1bn Silvertown tunnel under the river Thames.
• Uber loses $1bn in first quarterly results since stock market floatUber has reported a $1bn (£790m) loss in its first quarterly financial report as a public company, despite revenue rising by one-fifth.

Sky News

• Delays expected as UK airspace prepares for busiest ever dayThousands of football fans jetting off for the Champions League final in Madrid could ensure UK airspace endures its busiest day ever.

Edinburgh Evening News

• There’s still hope for hovercraft services in Scotland – Alastair DaltonWill Scotland ever embrace the hovercraft as a form of transport, wonders Alastair Dalton after its latest rejection by the authorities as an option for the Levenmouth area of Fife.

Liverpool Echo

• Manchester Airport increasing parking charges for picking up passengersAirport defends move by saying "it's the first increase in two years"

London Evening Standard

• £1bn Silvertown tunnel will slash Blackwall traffic and air pollution, say transport chiefsThe new Silvertown tunnel under the Thames will “effectively” eliminate congestion and slash air pollution around London’s worst road bottleneck, transport chiefs said today.
• South Western Railway strike: staff plan five-day walkout during Royal Ascot over train guards disputeWorkers on South Western Railway are to strike for five days next month in the long running dispute over guards on trains.
• Extinction Rebellion activists plan to use drones for 10-day Heathrow Airport 'shutdown' this summerExtinction Rebellion activists are planning to

Other Regional Press

• Hundreds of Stagecoach bus drivers in Preston and Chorley to strike for FIVE more daysHundreds of bus drivers are set to the continue their strike action across Lancashire with five further walk outs on the horizon.

Coach and Bus Week

• Transport for the North introduces ‘Disruption Messaging’Partnered with Ito World, Transport for the North (TfN) is introducing a ‘Disruption Messaging’ solution, ready for release in early 2020.
• Making MetrobusAfter winning the Top National Depot at the UK Bus Awards, Crawley’s Metrobus depot is thriving. Madaline Dunn took a trip to Crawley to find out more about its story and the team behind its success
• ADL state of the nationManufacturer launches the BYD ADL Enviro400EV at its Scarborough production facility as its senior leadership team recaps 2018 – the most successful year in the company’s history. James Day reports
• Courtney Buses move from Market Street depotCourtney Buses has been at the Market Street depot in Bracknell since 6 July 2016. At that point the fleet numbered 57 vehicles; Courtney Buses’ website now lists 62 vehicles.

Railway Gazette

• FirstGroup concerned about UK franchise risk and rewardFIRSTGROUP: ‘We have concerns with the current balance of risk and reward being offered’ by UK passenger rail franchises, warned FirstGroup Chief Executive Matthew Gregory when presenting the train and bus operator’s annual results on May 30.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Zenobe Energy offers £120m funding for electric busesA private battery storage company is offering £120m of funding to accelerate the roll-out of commercial electric vehicle fleets.
• New privately-funded bNew bus stop signs (commonly called flags) have been erected in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire by volunteers after the local authority had no money available to replace them themselves.
• TfL’s new on-demand service to help ‘boost’ public transportTransport for London (TfL) will work with Go-Ahead and ViaVan to deliver a 12-month ‘on-demand’ bus trial in Sutton.

Aviation Industry

• BAA Training of Lithuania adds six full-flight simulatorsIndependent aviation training provider BAA Training of Lithuania is expanding its facilities in Europe and Asia with the acquisition of six new full-flight simulators (FFSs), representing a preliminary investment of €60 million ($67 million). read more
• US House Dems urge Delta to ‘immediately cease’ anti-union campaignA group of 73 US House Democratic lawmakers have also sent a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian calling on the Atlanta-based carrier to “immediately cease all effortsâ€� to dissuade their ramp agents and flight attendants from joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). read more
• United Airlines overhauls Avianca management structure United Continental Holdings has indicated plans to extend a loan to Bogota-based Avianca Holdings SA, after the two companies agreed on a leadership reshuffle that involved a loss of voting rights for Avianca’s largest shareholder. read more

Other News Sources

• Two thirds of people still see cycling as too dangerous despite government ambitions Government plans include an increase in cycling and walking - but people are still too scared to take to two wheels
• BRITISH CYCLING STATEMENT: SAFER STREETS BILLBritish Cycling Policy Manager Nick Chamberlin has today expressed his disappointment at the decision of Holyrood’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee not to recommend approval of Scotland’s Safer Streets bill, and urged British Cycling members to join in one last push to encourage MSPs to support the campaign.
• Airbus Celebrates 50th AnniversaryAirbus has launched a global campaign celebrating the company’s 50 years anniversary, by showcasing key moments of pioneering progress throughout the past five decades.