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

Friday, 27 November 2020

BBC News

• M4 congestion: Spend £800m on public transport, report says£800m should be invested in public transport to help ease traffic jams on the M4, a report has recommended. A commission was set up after Welsh ministers scrapped plans to build a £1.6bn relief road around Newport.
• London Tube whiteboard messages 'make people less alone'The two station assistants who began posting poems anonymously have now written a book.

Financial Times

• Those who get vaccinated deserve more freedomAirlines and employers that ask for proof of coronavirus immunity will be acting in the public interest
• Delta and Alitalia to launch quarantine free flights from US to ItalyAirlines open first travel corridor between the two continents since Covid rules were introduced

The Guardian

• Green bus, rail and cycle network 'should replace axed M4 extension in Wales'Government commission calls for sustainable alternative to ease congestion between Cardiff and Severn Bridge. A sustainable network of additional rail stations, rapid bus routes and cycle corridors should be built in south-east Wales to replace the scrapped M4 motorway extension, a government commission has said.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• First Bus app recognised at virtual awards ceremonyGreater Manchester is preparing to hold a further consultation on its proposals to reform the bus market following work to understand the potential impact of Covid-19

Birmingham Post

• County Durham electric car charging firm signs £1.5m investment dealElmtronics, which creates software used in charging stations, has received the investment from investment manager Ingenious

Bolton News

• 'Forget cycle lanes, make cyclists pay to use the roads' It is strange how the council spends our council tax. Cutbacks everywhere and yet a fortune has been spent on the town hall, totally unnecessary in these times; road schemes to put cycle lanes around the town eg Trinity Street junction and now on the horizon the Bridgeman Street/St Peter’s Way junction is going to get the same treatment.

London Evening Standard

• Hope for Hammersmith bridge with plans for ‘double decker’ temporary crossingCrossing could reopen with traffic on upper level and pedestrians below
• Book train tickets early to avoid Christmas chaos, rail passengers warnedRail passengers hoping to visit loved-ones over Christmas are being urged to book “as early as possible” to avoid travel chaos.
• Sort out Crossrail to put London back on trackFunding plea: the Elizabeth line will cut journey times and increase capacity

Wales Online

• Six new train stations proposed to solve M4 congestion after relief road scrappedA report has highlighted the urgent need to alternatives to the M4 in south Wales

Other Regional Press

• Lord Burns on Transport Commission plan for NewportNEW proposals to invest in the region's public transport network could lead to a regeneration of Newport, bringing job opportunities and residents back to the heart of the city.
• What You Said: Cyclists share their experiences on Oxford roadsOn Saturday, the Oxford Mail published a story about cyclists and their experiences of life on the road.
• Cycle and bus infrastructure part of work on A40WORK to improve a stretch of the A40 with new cycle and bus infrastructure is set to get under way next month.

Business Live

• The £840m plan to reduce congestion on the M4 in South WalesA commission has recommended huge investment in bus, rail and cycle infrastructure and services to reduce car journeys

Coach and Bus Week

• Oxford Tube begins £13m fleet overhaulA fleet replacement programme for Stagecoach in Oxfordshire’s 24/7 express service is about to go live
• Optare celebrates fifth Metrodecker EV orderOptare has announced that Go-Ahead London has placed an order for 17 Metrodecker EVs for route 200 in London. This route will operate out of the company’s Merton garage, making it the first electric route to run from this depot. This order marks the third order for the Metrodecker EV in London, the fifth to date, and will bring the total number in service to 108 by May 2021.
• Government re-affirms plans for 4,000 new green busesAs part of its drive to embrace its legal obligation to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Government has reaffirmed and updated its 10-point plan to decarbonise the economy and help deliver its net-zero goal.
• Oxford Tube begins £13m fleet overhaulA fleet replacement programme for Stagecoach in Oxfordshire’s 24/7 express service is about to go live

New Civil Engineer

• Alternatives tabled to replace canned £1.4bn M4 relief roadThe South East Wales Transport Commission has recommended a ’Network of Alternatives’ solution to reduce congestion on the M4 motorway.

Railway Gazette

• Rail enhancement proposed as the ’backbone of an alternative’ to road spending in southeast WalesUK: Investment in a ’comprehensive and co-ordinated’ programme of railway enhancements, rapid bus routes and active travel instead of road construction has been recommended by the South East Wales Transport Commission.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• First Bus app recognised at virtual awards ceremonyFirst Bus and its app partner Future Platforms have been declared victorious in the Travel App of the Year category at the UK App Awards.
• Four more London routes to go zero-emission double-deckA further four routes in London are to be converted to operation by zero-emission double-deckers after new contracts commence in 2021, Transport for London has announced.
• UrbanThings announces new joiners as growth plannedUrbanThings, the London-based intelligent mobility provider, has announced recent hires as part of its future growth plans.
• Spending Review draws mixed response from CPTDetails of the Spending Review 2020’s impact on the coach and bus sector have attracted a mixed response from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT). While welcoming some aspects of the Review, CPT has called on the government to do more to support the industry through its recovery from coronavirus COVID-19.
• Plaxton Leopard now offers room for four wheelchair users in HaveringThree accessible Plaxton Leopard coaches supplied to the London Borough of Havering are the first of their type to provide space for up to four wheelchair users on each vehicle, Alexander Dennis has announced.
• Green bus, rail and cycle network 'should replace axed M4 extension in Wales'A sustainable network of additional rail stations, rapid bus routes and cycle corridors should be built in south-east Wales to replace the scrapped M4 motorway extension, a government commission has said.
• DVSA welcomes Loveday Ryder as its new Chief ExecutiveThe Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has appointed its new Chief Executive, Loveday Ryder. She will take over the role from incumbent Gareth Llewellyn on 1 January 2021.

Other News Sources

• MPs set out vision for net-zero Northern Powerhouse Conservative MPs representing the North of England believe that the Government's Ten Point Plan and the net-zero target can contribute to a levelling up agenda that would create thousands of green jobs in the North.
• Cars are a necessity not a luxuryON REFLECTION I feel I have the right of reply to Mr Steve Waters' letter in The Argus on November 23. Incidentally, are you related to Mr Eric Waters, a regular contributor to the letters column.