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

Thursday, 11 June 2020

BBC News

• Edinburgh Airport chief criticises UK travel quarantineEdinburgh Airport chief executive says the UK's 14-day coronavirus quarantine will have a profound economic impact.
• Coronavirus: Metrolink to increase trams as shops reopenA new ticket introduced on Monday will offer tram users
• Coronavirus: Renewed push for 'travel corridors'Business and university groups want more people to be able to travel without facing quarantine.

The Guardian

• Airline job losses could be on scale of 1980s mining industry, report warnsReport says 70,000 jobs immediately at risk in next three months due to coronavirus pandemic

The Herald

• Coronavirus: Car trips up by a third despite Sturgeon threat to driversSCOTS are continuing to ignore Government pleas to curb their driving as the coronavirus lockdown is eased, with car use elevated up for a second week.
• Coronavirus: Social distancing ferry restrictions 'completely unsustainable' for island lifeAN ORGANISATION representing 900 west coast tourism businesses has told Scottish ministers that ferry services having to keep to two-metre social distancing rules “wipes out any tourism season for 2020” - warning that the “restrictions are completely unsustainable for island life”.

Times Online

• Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port car factory closed till September [Subscription]More than a thousand workers at the Vauxhall factory at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire will not return to work until September.
• Elon Musk ready to mass produce Tesla Semi electric trucks [Subscription]Elon Musk, the West Coast entrepreneur who is shaking up the electric car market, has declared that it is time to do the same for the lorry.
• BA unions take fight over Willie Walsh’s ‘fire and rehire’ to Brussels [Subscription]A campaign against British Airways’ controversial “fire and rehire” treatment of its staff is being taken to the European Commission.
• Bonuses for Wizz Air bosses who took Bank cash [Subscription]Wizz Air has handed its management share bonuses potentially worth millions of pounds, despite making a thousand staff redundant, using the government’s furlough scheme and borrowing hundreds of millions from the Bank of England’s emergency funding line.
• Coronavirus: Arrival of million by sea adds to quarantine doubts [Subscription]More than 1.1 million people have arrived in the UK by sea since the start of the year without being forced to self-isolate as concerns mount over the government’s quarantine policy.

Reuters News

• UK pilots union welcomes 'fire and rehire' debate in clash with BABritain's biggest pilots union welcomed a lawmaker's attempt to ban companies from forcing employees to accept inferior terms through

City AM

• From airships or supersonic jets, air travel is about to change foreverThe phrase “a perfect storm” is frequently overused. But when it comes to aviation, it is no exaggeration.  Indeed, the The post From airships or supersonic jets, air travel is about to change forever appeared first on CityAM.

The Mirror

• Most UK virus cases traced to France and Spain after airports not locked downJust 0.08 per cent of the UK's cases came directly from China where Covid-19 originated - with the majority coming from the likes of Spain, France and Italy - all holiday destinations favoured by Brits, a study shows

This is Money

• Union battles British Airways owner over its £890bn bid for Air EuropaUnite has informed EU Commissioner for Competition Magrethe Vestager that it intends to act as a third party to oppose the deal, which was struck between Iberia and Air Europa last year.

Birmingham Post

• Airbus rules out further production cuts at this stage and expects 'relative stability'The aerospace giant cut production levels by a third in April

London Evening Standard

• More Boris bikes and hubs to be built after surge in cycling in LondonAn extra 1,700
• Taxi and bus drivers to be given coronavirus tests even if they aren't showing symptomsTaxi and bus drivers will be given tests for coronavirus even if they do not show symptoms, Boris Johnson announced this afternoon in a move to reduce the death toll among vulnerable workers.
• World's largest aircraft lands in Ireland with vital personal protective equipment from ChinaThe world's largest aircraft landed safely in Ireland today, carrying with it the single largest consignment of personal protective equipment to be flown into the country on a single flight.
• British Airways to sell artworks worth millions by major British stars in bid to save costs during covid meltdownAirline has hired Sotheby's valuers for an imminent sale, say sources

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Update on roadworks at one of Newcastle’s busiest junctionsCompletion of the controversial project to reduce congestion around the bottleneck junction had already been pushed back from early 2020 to September before the Covid-19 pandemic hit

Cambridge News

• Highways England announce update on A428 improvement plansOnce complete, the multi-million pound scheme will save commuters up to an hour and a half on their journeys each week

Reading Evening Post

• Exact date controversial cycle lanes on Reading Bridge will openCritics say a dedicated cycle lane will cause "massive disruption", but the council believes it will encourage social distancing

Other Regional Press

• New cameras to fine drivers in Oxford bus lanesNEW cameras will help catch and punish drivers straying into bus lanes in Oxford from next week.
• Plans to install 'warning beacons' and CCTV in bus shelters across city It is part of a plan to make shelters and stations in West Yorkshire safer
• 240 lorries will go through village every dayA total of 240 lorries will head through a village every day causing a "severe" impact on the road network after a council judgement.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Temporary changes to Older Person’s Freedom Pass and 60-plus Oyster cardChanges are in accordance with the funding and finance agreement between TfL and Government and will help conserve space on public transport for people who have to use it to return to work. TfL has set out details of the temporary changes affecting users of the Older Person's Freedom Pass, 60+ Oyster photocard and English National Concessionary Scheme in London as part of the response to the pandemic. The temporary changes, to take effect from Monday 15 June, are being introduced as part of the recent funding and finance agreement with Government. They will mean that all passengers with an O...
• UK new car sales down -89.0% in May as ‘click and collect’ sparks hope ahead of showroom re-openingUK new car registrations fell -89.0% in May, according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Some 20,247 cars were registered in the month, as ‘click and collect’ services, allowed from mid-month, saw some movement in the market. However, with 163,477 fewer registrations than in the same month last year, the performance still marked the lowest May since 1952. Private buyers accounted for the lion’s share of registrations at 63.7% of the market, equivalent to 12,900 units, while 6,638 cars went to fleets. There were severe declines acro...
• Go-Ahead launches new unique AI based technology to help bus customers plan their travelThe Go-Ahead Group is rolling out its innovative ‘When to Travel’ tool for customers nationwide. Along with social distancing, wearing face coverings, enhanced cleaning and hygiene, it aims to give confidence to use buses as customers return to work and school. 'When to travel' is being launched today in Newcastle and will be rolled out next week in other cities including Manchester, Oxford, Norwich, Brighton, Crawley, Southampton, Bournemouth, Salisbury and Plymouth. Designed in collaboration with tech partner CitySwift, it provides a dynamic colour coded online timetable tool to...
• South Wales and London now closer than ever as electric railway now running through historic Severn TunnelLondon and south Wales are now closer than ever as rail passengers are benefitting from an electrified railway from capital to capital as Network Rail has successfully completed the electrification of the Severn Tunnel. It means for the first time ever an electric railway will run from Cardiff and Newport in south Wales, through the historic Severn Tunnel and all the way to London Paddington. Electrification has resulted in thousands of extra seats, more frequent services and quicker and greener journeys for passengers as they travel to and from south Wales on GWR’s Intercity Express T...
• TfL sets out expansion plans for Santander Cycles scheme to keep up with unprecedented demandTransport for London (TfL) has set out plans to expand the Santander Cycles scheme to keep up with unprecedented demand. TfL data shows that cycling in the capital has increased significantly in recent weeks, with thousands of Londoners using bikes more often for both leisure and essential travel. Last month was the best May in London’s cycle hire scheme’s 10 year history, with 1,120,620 hires. Last month also had the highest ever number of hires in a single week – with 362,925 hires made between 25 and 31 May – and the highest ever number of hires in a weekend, with 13...
• Liverpool and Hull to trial new pedestrian crossing designsLiverpool City Council has been awarded £196,253 by the Road Safety Trust to deliver an innovative project intended to reduce the number of pedestrians who are killed and injured on their roads every year.   The project is being delivered in partnership with Hull City Council, their respective Road Safety Partnerships, leading behavioural science company So-Mo and data analysis company Agilysis.    Liverpool and Hull have some of the highest rates of adult residents injured as pedestrians in the UK – Liverpool at 48 resident pedestrian casualties per 100,000 people a...

Railnews

• Train operator warns of ˜no guarantee™ over distancing A train operating company has warned that social distancing for its passengers cannot be guaranteed. It™s the first time that a TOC has admitted that the government™s 2-metre social distancing advice will not be achievable as railway passenger numbers rise.

Other News Sources

• Bus patronage was falling before coronavirus crisisAnalysis of bus use statistics for the last quarter before the COVID-19 crisis does not bode well for the industry’s post-lockdown future, writes Chris Cheek   Bus demand in Great Britain maintained its downward trend in the quarter ended December 31, 2019, falling by 2.7%, according to statistics published by the Department for Transport. The third successive quarterly fall followed a short-lived upward movement last winter. Though the numbers have been overshadowed by subsequent events and therefore seem less relevant, it’s important to note that the stagnant economy and the acceleratin...
• Russians bypass coronavirus travel ban via BelarusRussians are using Belarus as a springboard to travel abroad as their country’s international borders remain largely closed as part of efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, transport sector sources say.

EIN News Subscription

• The latest Ryanair, EasyJet and TUI plans - as travel ban expected to be lifted by July … be adopted elsewhere in Europe, with countries such as … host of popular destinations in Europe such as Barcelona, Mykonos, … Liverpool and Edinburgh. The budget airline is however expected to offer … to resume flights across Europe later this month, though …