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

Thursday, 31 March 2022

BBC News

• Bus shake-up could see one network across WalesPrivate firms would bid to run services, overhauling the a system dating back to the 1980s.
• City of Derry Airport to get £3m Stormont support packageThe airport's managing director says the money helps secure its
• P&O Ferries: New ferry pay rules won't work, warn portsThe trade body representing the UK's main ferry ports says they are not the right bodies to enforce pay rules.

Financial Times

• Biggest jet leasing group lodges $3.5bn claim for aircraft stuck in RussiaAerCap's move sets stage for protracted battle between industry and insurers
• P&O/UK employment law: flexibility is no excuse for poor enforcementFailures not only harm workers but put good employers at risk of being undercut by bad ones
• Shapps fails to win industry support for plan to hit P&O FerriesUK transport secretary's proposed measures are not suitable, says British Ports Association
• BA flights disrupted and cancelled at Heathrow after IT failurePassengers report being stuck on planes and missing connections in latest mishap for airline

The Guardian

• UK ports industry dismisses plans to block ferries that employ underpaid crewsProposal in response to outrage over P&O Ferries sacking of 800 workers has been called "unworkable"The UK ports industry has described as "unworkable" ministers" plans to ask port operators to block ferries with crews paid less than the minimum wage, the government"s signature policy response to outrage over the sacking of 800 workers without consultation by P&O Ferries.The transport minister, Grant Shapps, told parliament on Wednesday that the government would write to the operators of British ports telling them to refuse access to companies that did not pay the UK minimum r...
• Beat the petrol price hike! Could hypermiling be the answer to soaring fuel costs?Hypermiling - driving for maximum fuel efficiency - used to be a niche pursuit. But with high petrol prices, Guinness World Record winner Kevin Brooker thinks we can all learn something from it. Here are his tips Kevin Booker fell into hypermiling. Or perhaps he coasted gently downhill into it, hypermiling being the art of driving in a way to maximise fuel efficiency. Anyway, he's an accidental hypermiler; it started as something to relieve the boredom of the daily 70-mile commute, from Swansea to Brecon, where he works for National Parks. 'It was almost a way to gamify it, to get the fuel I w...
• Grant Shapps' response to P&O Ferries won't get its sacked workers their jobs back | Nils PratleyNew powers will block ferries that pay crews below minimum wage from UK ports, which P&O will probably find acceptableGrant Shapps sounded terribly pleased with his nine-point response to the P&O Ferries debacle, but it is hard to see how any of the transport secretary's measures will force the company to reinstate the 800 workers it sacked without consultation a fortnight ago, which seemed the government's aim only a few days ago.The toughest new policy will create powers to block ferries with crews paid less than the minimum wage from British ports. The Harbours Act of 1965 w...
• Ghost flights from UK running at 500 a month, data revealsExclusive: MPs criticise 'climate-degrading' and 'nefarious' practice of flying near-empty planes to retain landing slotsAlmost 500 “ghost flights” a month departed from the UK between October and December 2021, data has revealed.The information, obtained through a freedom of information request by the Guardian, shows Heathrow, Aberdeen, Manchester, Stansted and Norwich were the top five airports for such flights during the period. Continue reading...

The Herald

• 'SNP need to embrace radical transformation of Scotland's rail network'The trains need to go where people want, when people want and at a reasonable price. This in essence is our approach to rail travel and should surely be the “mission statement” of those in charge of it.

The Independent

• Passengers left 'stranded' for days at Heathrow by technical glitch'I'm stranded at Heathrow with no accommodation and a flight two days away,' one woman told PA.
• British Airways: Cancellations continue after latest IT meltdown at HeathrowPilots, cabin crew and aircraft are out of position, with several planes on the ground at Gatwick rather than Heathrow after they were diverted

Times Online

• P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite is unfit to lead a firm, Grant Shapps tells watchdog [Subscription]Grant Shapps has written to the boss of the Insolvency Service arguing his “firm belief” that the chief executive of P&O Ferries is “unfit to lead a British company”.
• Cathay Pacific plans world’s longest passenger flight to avoid Russia [Subscription]Cathay Pacific will operate the world’s longest passenger flight as it seeks to avoid Russian airspace after the invasion of Ukraine.
• British Airways passengers are stranded again by IT meltdown [Subscription]British Airways suffered an IT failure yesterday, resulting in long delays and cancelled flights.

Mail Online

• Grant Shapps vows new law to BAN P&O Ferries from British portsGrant Shapps told the Commons he wanted to impose the tough rules 'as quickly as possible' amid the bitter row over the firm's mass sackings.
• E-scooters pose risk to ALL road users without tough regulations controlling their use, insurers sayThe Association of British Insurers called for coherent standards on e-scooter construction and safety, including whether wearing helmets is made mandatory.
• British Airways customers hit with delays as 'technical issue' grounds flights in HeathrowKnock-on effects from the tech outage were due to stretch into this morning with planes in the wrong place and passengers whose flights were cancelled yesterday scrambling to rebook.

Birmingham Mail

• Council leaders and mayor to call for nationwide road-charging schemeRoad-pricing is essential to cut car use - but it must be introduced nationwide, West Midlands leaders believe

Birmingham Post

• Plans to make P&O Ferries 'fundamentally rethink' sackings unveiled by Grant ShappsThe Government will urge ports to refuse access to boats carrying seafarers paid below the minimum wage
• Manchester Airport co-owner pledges £3bn boost as Australian energy giant set to create over 1,000 jobsIFM Investors holds a 35.5% stake in Manchester Airports Group

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Horseshoe Pass speed reduction sparks anger over 'anti-car agenda' in WalesThe lowering of the speed limit on the famously twisty road has divided opinions among motorists and local residents

Northern Echo

• Pressure for a blanket ban on North York Moors green lanesCAMPAIGNERS pressing for green lanes to be protected from damage caused by recreational motorists have urged national park bosses to support legislation to ban off-road vehicles from all unclassified roads in national parks.
• Millions awarded to turn Harrogate's bus fleet electricHARROGATE Bus Company and North Yorkshire County Council have been awarded £7.8 million as part of a joint bid to make the firm’s fleet all-electric with the delivery of 39 zero-emission buses.

The York Press

• York's roads policy is completely insaneRECENTLY I received the latest edition of 'Our City' magazine from City of York council - a really nicely presented publication.

Wales Online

• All the Transport for Wales train delays and cancellations planned over the Easter holidaysA lot of work will continue over the next few weeks to aid the delivery of the South Wales Metro

Other Regional Press

• Sheffield City Council raked in £700,000 from bus lane fines as almost 50,000 drivers stungOne council in Yorkshire is getting a weekly income of more than £500, on bus lane fines alone.
• Radical plans to make all of A5 in Warwickshire a dual carriagewayMPs say a major upgrade to the A5 would unlock the Midlands' economic potential and make the road safer
• Oxford's small businesses reveal Zero Emission Zone fearsPlans to extend the Zero Emission Zone to most of the city centre 'another stress'.

Railnews

• Passenger figures bounce back to 80% The latest figures from the Department for Transport show that railway passenger figures made a strong recovery in March. The peak day was 18 March, when passenger figures reached 80 per cent of pre-lockdown levels, but the totals during the rest of the month were mostly more than 70 per cent.

Other News Sources

• BTN BikeShare scheme to go electric with new operatorA BIKE share scheme is set to go electric when it re-launches next year.