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

Friday, 19 June 2020

BBC News

• Coronavirus: 'Bike shops told me my order wouldn't arrive til 2021'Cyclists tell of late-night scrambles to buy bikes as firms struggle to meet a surge in demand during lockdown.
• Coronavirus: Masks to be compulsory on public transportFace coverings will be required in taxis, buses, trains, aircraft and enclosed areas on ferries.
• Coronavirus: Who should wear a face mask or face covering?Face coverings are compulsory for people using public transport in England.
• The strict new rules for air travel after lockdownHow airlines are keeping passengers safe after lockdown.

Financial Times

• DHL chief warns of increase in air freight costsFrank Appel sees ‘advantage’ in fewer passenger flights squeezing cargo capacity
• Politicians must not waste chance to end slo-mo rail crashGovernment must find better ways to keep rail system rolling; Taylor Wimpey raises cash for land bank

The Herald

• Pupils travelling by car to school ‘reached highest level on record in 2019’ The proportion of pupils travelling to school by car reached its highest level in Scotland in 2019, according to new research.

The Telegraph

• Travellers can pre-book an airport security slot to help with social distancing

Times Online

• Coronavirus: National Express will turn away passengers with fever [Subscription]Passengers with a fever will be prevented from boarding National Express coaches under plans to resume operations next month.

Daily Express

• Space travel breakthrough: Start-up set to send ‘cruises’ into the stratosphereA NEW space start-up is ready to launch adrenaline seekers up to 10,000 feet inside a pressurized capsule attached to a massive balloon.

Mail Online

• DVLA extends driving licence photocards expiry dates by seven monthsAny photocards that have expired since February 1 are now part of a seven month of extension. It comes after lockdown slowed the DVLA's capacity to process applications.

This is Money

• New cars are 5% less fuel efficient than official figures suggestWhat Car? tested 56 different cars currently on sale in showrooms today, finding that some were up to 20% less fuel efficient than manufacturers' brochures claim, including the Volvo XC40 (pictured).
• We reveal the most reliable hybrid and electric cars you can buy todayThinking about buying an electrified car - be it a standard hybrid, plug-in hybrid of pure electric model? These are the examples you might want to consider and avoid based on reliability...

Birmingham Post

• New tech that tackles leaves on the line and frozen platformsLeicestershire firm working on 5G infrastructure among winners of DfT and Innovate UK competition
• First passenger flights since lockdown returning to East Midlands AirportA total of 16 Ryanair flights to and from EMA are scheduled until the end of June
• New direct cargo flight from China to East Midlands AirportNew weekly link, launched by DHL Express from Hong Kong, is response to growing demand as Asia markets reopen

Bolton News

• CYCLOPS bike lane at Newport Street and Trinity Street in BoltonWORK on the £2.4m transformation of a major Bolton junction is under way.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• People can get vehicles sanitised at former leisure centre from Monday AN
• Platform extensions and road schemes - 'priorities’ for post lockdown recovery proposed EXTENDING a Bradford rail platform and bringing forward road improvement plans will be deemed “prioritiesâ€� in the region’s economic recovery from lockdown.

Bristol Live

• Only half of bus passengers are complying with new law to wear face masks“People are simply refusing to put the masks on"

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan considered hiking London C-charge to £25 a day among radical options to cut traffic levelsHiking the congestion charge to £25 and enforcing it 24 hours a day were proposed as radical options to tackle rising levels of traffic in central London, it can be revealed.

Northern Echo

• Pictures show Teesside Airport's drastic new social distancing measures A NORTH-EAST airport has unveiled its social distancing measures as it gears up to reopen to the public on Monday.

The York Press

• National Express unveils destinations when services restart A RAFT of safety measures are being introduced to give customers the confidence to travel when National Express restart services from July 1.

Cambridge News

• Cars banned from major Cambs road as part of sweeping new changes More than 90 changes have been approved to encourage walking and cycling in the county

Leeds Live

• Traffic chaos expected as Lofthouse Interchange to close for two monthsHighways England are carrying out some refurbishment work at the junction connecting the M61 and M1
• Green light for £22 million White Rose train station in LeedsIt could be up and running by 2024

Other Regional Press

• We can't make passengers wear masks on buses, says Stagecoach STAGECOACH says it can't force its passengers to wear masks on its buses, even though it's the law.
• Eaton aerospace business plans more Hampshire redundanciesMORE than 100 aerospace jobs are being cut at a Hampshire factory – on top of a round of voluntary redundancies.
• Southampton Airport safety measures during coronavirus pandemic SOUTHAMPTON airport has enforced a number of safety measures to protect its staff and passengers.
• Airbus in Stevenage wins European Space Agency contract to build rover to retrieve samples from MarsAirbus Defence and Space in Stevenage has won a contract from the European Space Agency to create a rover that will bring rock samples back from the surface of Mars.
• Emergency travel funding could be lost, warns group of councillorsCHANGES to make Oxfordshire's roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians after the lockdown need to be ambitious to make sure the county does not lose out on further funding.
• What Teesside Airport will look like after Covid-19Passengers must abide by six safety steps before they are able to board their flight
• North Dorset railway improvements pass halfway point Work to deliver improvements for passengers across Dorset and Somerset has passed the half-way point as Network Rail engineers continue to work around the clock to repair and upgrade the railway following last year’s landslip.
• Hundreds petition to stop Cov's first segregated cyclewayAlthough a pro-petition has attracted more than double the signatures

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• 6,000 new UK jobs as DPD scales-up to meet ‘new normal' demand from online retailersLeading parcel delivery firm DPD has announced 6,000 new UK jobs and a major infrastructure investment in response to the unprecedented boom in online shopping caused by Covid-19. The firm, which delivers for many of the UK's leading retailers, will invest £200m this year to expand its next-day parcel capacity, including £100m on vehicles, £60m on 15 new regional depots (10 more than originally planned in 2020) and the remainder on technology.  The new jobs will include delivery and HGV drivers, warehouse staff, management positions and support staff, including mechanics...

Coach and Bus Week

• Stagecoach in South Wales praises COVID-19 ‘heroes’A number of staff from Stagecoach in South Wales have been named as ‘heroes’ due to their outstanding efforts during the pandemic. Stagecoach staff can nominate their colleagues for going the extra mile to help other workers or customers.

Other News Sources

• Bus passenger figures struggle to grow as restrictions liftData released by the Department for Transport (DfT) shows that bus passenger figures in Britain outside London are rising at a slower rate than car usage as the country starts to recover from the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
• New Stagecoach Connect trial begins in Hull‘We are pleased to widen the trial of the Stagecoach Connect app to help support our brilliant NHS staff with getting to and from their shift’   The ‘Stagecoach Connect’ app enables NHS staff to ‘pre-book’ their travel to and from work for free   Stagecoach East Midlands has widened the trial of its new app, Stagecoach Connect, to help NHS key-workers in Hull to travel to their workplace, on a bus service that is fully compliant with current social distancing guidelines. The trial of the ‘Stagecoach Connect’ app, which enables NHS staff to ‘pre-book’ their travel to and f...
• Concerns raised over pedestrianisation plansLasting impact feared after key corridors are closed to buses in Manchester and Aberdeen   Since May 30, from 6am to 6pm every day, Aberdeen’s Union Street, a key thoroughfare for buses, has been closed to all traffic between Market Street and Bridge Street   Concerns have been raised over pedestrianisation schemes that exclude buses from key corridors in Manchester and Aberdeen. Governments across Great Britain are backing the rapid implementation of wider pavements and pop-up bike lanes to enable social distancing as lockdown restrictions are eased. They want people to walk o...

EIN News Subscription

• UK flights are slowly returning but Brits warned ‘you’re still at risk’ … talk of ‘air bridges’ to Europe and domestic flights resuming across … as well as services within Europe. All cabin crew and passengers … to wear masks, and the budget airline is also not selling food … start looking at short-haul European flights for the next …
• Travel’s new world: Manchester Airport trials pre-booked security slots … inform passengers about the new measures, the airline has launched an information campaign … Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport has implemented European Union Aviation Safety Agency … they require airports to introduce are adapted to changing data and medical …
• Air freight rates head back to earth as virus-driven boom cools … further declines * Airlines have used empty passenger jets to haul … surging, leading many airlines to fly empty passenger jets as freighters … Accenture data, but capacity is rising as passenger flights return. Air … and May and China-Europe rates were at more …