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

Monday, 25 April 2022

BBC News

• Bristol Airport called on to reverse bus route decisionCampaigners have called on Bristol Airport to reinstate free bus travel for elderly travellers.
• P&O forced to reverse attempt at pay cutFerry company P&O has been forced to reverse an attempt to pay its new, cheaper seafarers less money.
• Airlines should be fined for refund delays, MPs sayPassengers hit by international travel disruption should be better protected, a report concludes.

Financial Times

• Balfour Beatty chief predicts decade of UK ‘infrastructure growth’Leo Quinn says transport, defence and energy projects are set benefit from potential government-funded boom
• Live news updates: Nissan shares fall on reports that Renault is considering selling-down stake
• Shipping boss urges Nato to provide naval escorts in the Black SeaV.Group chief says military alliance should ensure trade can flow from region of huge importance to global food supplies
• UK travel rules to curb Covid were ‘disproportionate’, say MPsTransport select committee calls on ministers to help ease hiring crunch in airline sector

The Guardian

• Italian train conductor who issued 5,000 fines wrongfully dismissed, court rulesFrancesco Bonanno was accused of terrorising passengers by working with ‘uncommon zeal’
• Electric car cost advantage over petrol grows amid energy market turmoilExclusive: Research finds fuel price surge due to war in Ukraine means it now costs £600 less to drive an electric car for a yearRussia-Ukraine war: latest updatesDriving an electric car for a year costs almost £600 less than its petrol equivalent after fuel prices surged more than electricity costs, research by the comparison website Compare the Market has found.Electric vehicles were already cheaper to run, according to figures shared with the Guardian, but the gap has widened significantly amid turmoil in global energy markets caused by the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

The Independent

• Covid travel restrictions were ‘disproportionate, confusing and damaged industry’ MPs sayTravel restrictions that were “disproportionate to the risks to public health” caused severe damage to the UK’s aviation industry, the Transport Select Committee has said.

Times Online

• Norwich’s place on the road to petrol-free future [subscription]Gridserve is pumping £1 billion into a UK network of filling stations for electric cars
• Why no sackings for CalMac ferry debacle, asks Lord McConnellMinisters and civil servants should have been sacked over Scotland’s ferry “debacle” and police must investigate missing documents, a former first minister has said.

City AM

• MPs say UK’s Covid restrictions on air travel were ‘disproportionate’The UK government’s restrictions on air travel during Covid-19 were “disproportionate to the risks to public health” and led to a severe shock to the aviation sector, according to a Westminster committee. A new report from MPs on the Transport Committee also said the restrictions regime for international travel was “not transparent or consistent, nor [...] The post MPs say UK’s Covid restrictions on air travel were ‘disproportionate’ appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Self-driving vehicle will take to the roads for trial on famous Forth bridgeIn the pilot, five single-decker autonomous buses will operate over the Forth Bridge between Fife and Edinburgh ahead of an expected wider rollout in the coming years.

The Mirror

• UK's first driverless buses take to the road - and will soon have passengersThe UK’s first full-size driverless buses, operated by Stagecoach, will take to the road this week in Scotland and could be carrying passengers by summer

Birmingham Post

• Tyneside tech firm building artificial intelligence 'night watchman' to make train journeys saferWord Nerds is developing a prototype tool that it hopes will be adopted by train operators who want to give passengers confidence
• Flying taxis above Coventry as new electric 'vertiport' showcasedDemonstration launches today to showcase ground-breaking technology which could become the future of green transport and logistics
• Construction firm Keir wins £460m deal for A417 upgradeThe project could see the installation of four miles of new dual carriageway in the West Country

Bristol Live

• Bristol's college students demand free bus travel but it is not looking likely"It offers young people a feasible alternative to owning a car"

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• P&O accused of trying to cut pay for new cheap foreign crewCheaper foreign agency staff who were taken on by P&O Ferries after 800 seafarers were fired over Zoom have reportedly been offered even less wages in a new contract. Unions claim staff who were taken on a month ago have been offered new contracts with lower rates of pay.

The York Press

• "Can schools remind pupils NOT to cycle on the pavement"

Kent Online

• P&O Ferries accused of trying to slash wages of already low-paid agency workersP&O Ferries has been accused of trying to cut the wages of its already low-paid workforce. The ferry operator sacked 800 members of staff via Zoom last month in a bid to save money and instead replaced them with cheaper agency workers, many from overseas.
• How do I buy cheap train tickets in The Great British Rail Sale and when and where can I travel?One million half-price train tickets are available to buy in the first ever Great British Rail Sale. Passengers can claim travel savings of up to 50% on rail routes across the UK - but how exactly does the deal work and where and when can you claim it?

North Wales Live

• Refurbished Pendolinos return to the rails as part of UK's biggest ever train upgradeAvanti West Coast customers promised an improved onboard experience

Other Regional Press

• Plans could see new bridge built over the River Wharfe in IlkleyThe new bridge will be next to the current single lane bridge connecting Denton Road to the A65

Train Operators

• Southern and Gatwick Express MD becomes permanent GTR Operations ChiefManaging Director of Southern and Gatwick Express Angie Doll has been appointed as Govia Thameslink Railway’s Chief Operating Officer

C.N.N.

• All-private SpaceX astronaut mission on its way home after a week of delaysThe first all-private mission to the International Space Station began its return trip Sunday evening after a string of delays dragged the mission out for a week longer than expected because of weather and other inopportune circumstances.

New Civil Engineer

• Data breakthrough ‘could save DfT billions’Transport chiefs could save billions of pounds through a newly developed smart data platform, the group behind it has claimed. The Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy (TIES) Living Lab programme believes its Intelligent Infrastructure Control Centre (IICC) could create substantial efficiencies for client bodies.

Other News Sources

• The Great British Rail Sale is open!There are two types of tickets included in the Great British Rail Sale, both of which must be booked at least 1 day in advance (Standard Class or First Class where available):