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

Saturday, 20 February 2021

BBC News

• No Covid variants found on London Tubes, buses and stationsThis does not mean none is circulating or commuters can let down their guard, the researchers say.
• Maersk: Consumers can foot shipping's climate change billFrom footwear to medical equipment, shipping can be a big part of any product's carbon emissions.
• Holidays: Travel industry begs for 'route out of crisis'Industry figures have urged the prime minister to provide a

Financial Times

• Pets grounded by pandemic as flights are cut and costs soarWith flight numbers halved and essential cargo prioritised, pet transport companies are struggling to reunite animals with owners
• Uber loses landmark UK battle as court rules drivers are workersDecision a major blow to ride-hailing company in one of its biggest markets

The Guardian

• Pub and travel bosses demand plan for easing lockdown in EnglandAngry publicans withdraw from weekly talks with officials citing 'lack of interest and respect' Coronavirus - latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePub and travel bosses have demanded that the prime minister produce a detailed roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions in England, amid mounting friction between the government and business leaders.Ahead of an update on the government’s plans, due on Monday, increasingly irate pub executives urged Boris Johnson to mend fences with the industry by offering clarity about the way forward. Continue reading...
• End of UK lockdown may mean a rise in bike theftsUK police services to launch national cycle crime partnership while pushing theft preventionBike theft is a perennial problem – and a pandemic-induced cycling boom inevitably means more targets for thieves. However, last year there was a 16.3% drop in cycle theft, according to police data from Opal (the serious organised crime unit), partly because more people and their cycles were at home. Across the transport network theft dropped by 60%. Perversely, the main exception seems to be thefts from key workers such as hospital staff. Continue reading...
• A tunnel linking Scotland and Northern Ireland? Fantasy has replaced British modesty | Ian JackThe proposed route stirs memories of a lost, romantic train journey and is stoking the imaginations of politiciansGalloway, as John Buchan wrote in The Thirty-Nine Steps, is 'the nearest wild part of Scotland', by which he meant the nearest to England, and in this particular context to the London railway terminus of St Pancras, where his hero, Richard Hannay, boards a train on a morning some time before the first world war, a fugitive from a foreign enemy and English law. He heads north, and changes at Dumfries to the slow Galloway train that “rumbled slowly into a land of little wooded glens ...
• Manchester council loses legal fight to build car park next to schoolCampaign group Trees Not Cars says victory exposes 'hypocrisy' of council's approach to air pollutionA group of women from Manchester have won a legal battle with the city's council, which wanted to build a 440-space car park next to the city centre's only primary school.Campaigners said the victory exposed the 'hypocrisy' in the local authority's approach to addressing air pollution and global heating. Continue reading...
• Nasa scientists hail Perseverance rover's arrival on Mars with stunning imagesCar-sized vehicle designed to seek signs of life is pronounced 'healthy' after dramatic descent to surface of the red planetNasa scientists have said the Perseverance Mars rover is 'healthy' and is beaming back many stunning new images from the surface of the planet, promising significant scientific discoveries ahead. Related: Perseverance's mission to Mars – in pictures Continue reading...

The Huffington Post

• Uber Drivers Should Be Classed As Workers And Given Workers' Rights, Supreme Court Rules

The Independent

• Vaccine passports: the magic bullet for summer holidays or a moral headache?The notion of the introduction of vaccine passports is a complex one, whether to facilitate activities within the UK or international travel.

Times Online

• Electric buses arrive in time for Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow [Subscription]Tens of thousands more people will travel around Scotland by electric bus this year as a leading transport company is buying 35 new vehicles.
• Action stations as Asda owners set to control fuel market [Subscription]Concerns about a petrol price rise and dominant market share are issues for the regulator
• Drivers to receive £3,000 credit for taking their cars off the road [Subscription]Motorists will be paid up to £3,000 to give up their cars under new plans designed to improve air quality in built-up areas, The Times has learnt.

Mail Online

• Part of tunnel at Euston HS2 protest COLLAPSES on bailiff in latest eviction attemptThe protesters, who have been underground for more than three weeks, are trying to stop HS2's plans to replace the green space outside Euston station in central London with a temporary taxi rank.

This is Money

• BA-owner IAG to lay bare toll coronavirus took in 2020Analysts expect the airlines conglomerate to post a loss of £4.9billion. This compares with profits of £2.6billion in 2019. The City's main questions will be around current trading and what happens next.

Sky News

• Travel industry calls for vaccine passports and relaxation of travel advice as part of easing lockdown restrictionsThe travel industry has called on the government to introduce vaccine passports and relax its travel advice as part of the government's roadmap out of lockdown.

Belfast Telegraph

• Floods and heavy rains forecast for several parts of BritainWeather warnings remain in place for several parts of Britain amid heavy rains which threaten flooding and travel disruptions across the weekend.

Birmingham Mail

• Drivers could be fined for not washing car enough in lockdownDrivers are being warned they face eye-watering fines for leaving their number plates dirty as lockdown continues

Birmingham Post

• Why all businesses must take note of today's Uber rulingHelen Snow, a senior associate for Employment with the Cardiff-based law firm Geldards, explains the implications the High Court ruling will have on all businesses

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Have your say on plans for major road scheme between Bradford and HuddersfieldRESIDENTS and businesses are being asked to give more feedback over plans to improve the A641, a key route through Brighouse linking Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees.
• Campaigners want Government to halt Leeds Bradford Airport expansion AN anti-airport expansion campaign group is asking the Government to
• 'Serious concerns' over Government cut to road repair funds THE Government has been criticised after funding to fix potholes and maintain roads in West Yorkshire has been slashed by 22 per cent.

London Evening Standard

• Fuel prices soar by £4 a tank in two months and could reach record levelsDrivers are being warned fuel prices could reach record levels after the cost of filling up a tank soared by £4 in two months.
• What does the UK Supreme Court ruling on Uber mean for the gig economy? Business and legal experts react
• TfL confirms Battersea Bridge safety changes after campaign following death of jogger Jack RyanOn Friday Transport for London set out a plan it said would 'reduce road danger in the area'.
• HS2 wins legal ruling to force protesters out of Euston Square GardensHS2's lawyers have won an injunction to force protesters out of tunnels dug beneath Euston Square Gardens.
• Travel companies call for vaccine passports as government announces care home visits The travel industry has called on Boris Johnson to introduce vaccine passports and relax travel restrictions as part of his roadmap out of lockdown.

Northern Echo

• Full steam ahead for major North Yorkshire Moors Railway projectA HERITAGE railway line has received almost £300,000 to restart a wide-ranging project paused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The York Press

• £31 million railway station plans put to the public in Selby RESIDENTS have the chance to have a say on plans to improve the railway stations in their towns.

Reading Evening Post

• Drivers warned of M4 closures this weekendSmart motorways work is continuing

Other Regional Press

• Honda plant's closure will have massive impact on Swindon and supply chain around UKTHE Honda plant's closure will have a massive ripple effect on businesses in and around Swindon - and the UK as a whole, one employee argued.
• On Yer Bike: Why do so few women in Oxford cycle?Annette Pattinson looks at a new scheme encouraging women go get on their bikes.
• 'Super' bus stops coming to NuneatonThey form part of a plan to change bus use across the town

The Economist

• Volkswagen’s boss lays out his electric plansBut he will not kill the internal combustion engine
• Why China’s Didi can succeed where Uber has struggledTo glimpse the future of the ride-hailing business, look east

Railnews

• RMT strike ballot is 'wrong', says ScotRail A strike ballot of ScotRail conductors has been launched by the RMT in a dispute over pay, but the company has condemned the vote, saying that such a move 'is wrong for staff at a time of financial crisis for the railway'.

Other News Sources

• Vaccine passports for foreign holidays are coming...but ethical standards need to be met Covid-19 vaccine passports that would allow people to go on foreign holidays are 'feasible' but a lack of a set standards across countries means they cannot be introduced yet, experts have said.
• Old Shoreham Road cycle lane usage data questioned COUNCIL claims about the popularity of a temporary cycle lane, which formed part of a bid for millions in government cash, have been called into question.

EIN News Subscription

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• Airbus Lost 1.1 Billion Euros in 2020, Less Than in 2019 … loss in 2019. The European group's losses … billion euros. Revenues for commercial aircraft plunged 37 percent to € … respect to the single European currency and the revaluation of … provision for its A400M military transport aircraft. Nor did it consider …
• Ryanair to appeal EU Court rulings on Air France and SAS state aid … 1136 Ryanair appealed the European Commission's approvals of … for air transport, underpinned by the principle of a common EU airline licence … . Ryanair is a truly European airline. We have no rich … Justice will overturn the European Commission's approvals of …