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

Tuesday, 17 March 2020

BBC News

• Waterside Totton and Hythe railway line plan back on trackPlans to reopen a freight railway line near Southampton to passenger trains have taken a step forward.
• Coronavirus: Airport staff face temporary lay-offs and pay cutsThe group operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports.
• Coronavirus: Flexibility needed over train firms, says ShappsThe government will show flexibility over rail firms' franchise agreements during the coronavirus outbreak, the transport secretary has suggested. Grant Shapps said he would be meeting rail bosses this week to determine how to "sustain" services amid falling passenger numbers.
• Coronavirus: More flights cancelled by Virgin, Ryanair and othersVirgin Atlantic, BA-owner IAG, Ryanair and EasyJet are taking drastic measures to survive the pandemic.
• Coronavirus: Vauxhall factories to shut down over pandemicIts parent company said staff at Ellesmere Port and Luton will be paid during the temporary closure.
• Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study findsThe Leeds University study looked at 86 countries and came to broadly the same conclusions about the rich.
• US airlines used up spare cash buying back sharesUS airlines ask for $50bn in aid but figures reveal they spent most of their cash buying back shares.

Financial Times

• Airlines/Tui: world’s biggest bridge loan neededSurest stimulus must come via government underwriting of viable businesses’ debts
• Private jets: fear and loathing at 40,000 feetSmaller outfits and highly leveraged groups may find the going exceptionally bumpy

Times Online

• Transport groups’ shares plunge as passengers stay at home [subscription]Shares in train and bus operators tumbled yesterday after figures showed that passenger numbers have plunged because of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Clean air for all: Lampposts to charge electric cars [subscription]An “electric avenue” has been developed where lampposts have been converted into chargers for battery-powered cars.
• Love is in the air: skywriting to take off again after 60-year ban [subscription]It was invented by British airmen in the skies over the Western Front when they used paraffin oil to create smoke trails, signalling to troops below.

City AM

• We need a carbon border tax to get Britain to net zeroLater this year, the eyes of the world will be on the UK as it hosts COP26.  While delegates won’t The post We need a carbon border tax to get Britain to net zero appeared first on CityAM.

Bristol Live

• 'We demand speed cameras on South Bristol Line Road' Drivers are regularly flouting the 30mph limit

London Evening Standard

• 'Powers needed to curb menace of discarded hire bikes in London'Councils are asking for powers to stop hire bikes cluttering London's streets this summer as it emerged five new start-ups want to launch amid a pay-as-you-ride boom.
• Tube chief in emergency talks to keep trains running during coronavirus outbreakCoronavirus: the symptoms Follow our live updates here
• 'Fit' Tube staff urged to work amid coronavirus crisis as boss tells them: London needs youCoronavirus: the symptoms

Northern Echo

• Group of youths target Arriva bus on Haughton Road in Darlington A GROUP of youths whose actions left a service bus blocking a busy Darlington road have been described as having a complete 'disregard for their own safety.'

Cambridge News

• Stansted Airport staff to be temporarily laid-off and have pay cutThe CEO of MAG called the outbreak 'the greatest threat the UK’s travel sector has ever faced'

East Anglian Daily Times

• Stansted owner warns of lay-offs due to lack of demand due to virusBosses at Stansted Airport have announced staff may be temporarily laid off as demand for air travel has nosedived amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Other Regional Press

• Business as usual at Teesside Airport despite coronavirusNewcastle Airport has seen flights to Spain, France, Poland and Czech Republic all cancelled
• Stagecoach in Oxfordshire is to increase some of its bus faresSTAGECOACH in Oxfordshire has announced it will be increasing the cost of some fares and ticket prices on its services from Sunday, March 29.
• Anxious waits at Pool Meadow Bus Station as travellers make last-gasp trips to airports'We don't know what to expect, our countries are in lockdown' - travellers make way to some of the last flights out of the UK

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Starship robots expand into Central Milton Keynes delivering lunch to 180,000 workersAs Starship Technologies begin to celebrate two years of commercial operation in the UK, they have announced the rollout of its hugely popular robot delivery service in central Milton Keynes (MK). The expansion was prompted by the demand and success of the company’s service in other areas across MK, including Monkston, Emerson Valley and Bletchley, and is the first time that robot delivery has been made available in the centre of a UK town. Since April 2018, Starship has made over 100,000 deliveries across MK, with some residents making up to 200 orders per year! In that time, Starship h...
• Transport for London update on financial impact of coronavirusTransport for London (TfL) has issued an update on how the Covid-19 virus has affected its passenger numbers and how it intends to utilise its reserves to manage the forecast initial financial impact. This assessment has been based on Government scenarios for the impact of the virus on households over a number of weeks.  An underlying softness in demand and passenger revenue, largely caused by economic uncertainty, had been experienced by TfL since October 2019, with both Tube and bus revenues trending at around 2 per cent below the previous year. During February, TfL’s revenue was...

Railnews

• Shapps confirms franchise contracts could be eased for virus emergency Transport secretary Grant Shapps has signalled that he is ready to consider easing franchise contracts, to help operators hit by sharply falling demand. Big London stations are much quieter than usual, reflecting a fall in passenger numbers which is said to be not far short of a fifth, although this has yet to be confirmed by the industry. Mr Shapps is holding meetings with franchise managers this week to see how services could be kept running for essential users.
• Railway suppliers urged to help with coronavirus ventilators Companies in the railway supply chain are being urged to help with the manufacture of coronavirus ventilators. The urgent appeal has come from Rail Forum Midlands, which is asking its railway industry members if they can help. The move follows the news that the government is seeking suppliers who may be able to contribute by making Covid-19 ventilators or parts for them.

Other News Sources

• Major airlines cancel flights and lay off thousands of staffThere has been another day of markets plunging across the globe as central banks battle to deal with the fallout from the pandemic.
• Brighton Taxi drivers can still take cash only for journeys CABBIES will be allowed to insist on being paid fares in cash in Brighton and Hove after the rules were discussed by councillors.