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

Friday, 19 August 2022

BBC News

• New operator found for at-risk bus routeA bus route connecting Sutton-in-Ashfield to Nottingham will continue after a new operator was found.
• Coventry's green transport schemes in £115m funding boostPlans for a light railway in Coventry have moved closer after more than £115m was awarded to city transport projects.
• Driverless cars: Experts warn no easy answer to how safe they should beIt might not be enough for self-driving cars to be safer than usual cars as people expect more, experts say.

Financial Times

• RMT boss warns of indefinite rail strikes without pay settlementLynch calls on ministers to help resolve long-running dispute as UK prepares for more transport walkouts
• P&O Ferries parent DP World reports record profits Figures for Dubai-based group come from same period as sackings of crew on UK services
• Soaring rental car costs make taxis a better travel optionCustomer patience is being put to the test by high prices and outdated technology

The Guardian

• How Transport for London plans to build 20,000 new homesraeme Craig is poring over plans for one of London’s biggest new housing developments. The models show a mix of low and high rise buildings, 4,500 homes, alongside cultural venues and parks, which will rise from the rubble of the now demolished Earls Court exhibition centre.
• P&O Ferries owner reports record-breaking profits after mass sackingDP World called corporate gangster after announcing half-year profits of £600m. The Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries has been accused of behaving like corporate gangsters fter celebrating record-breaking profits just months after sacking 800 of its UK-based workers without notice.
• Rail union chiefs say dispute will go on as long as it takes amid further strikesStrikes planned in London on Friday and across UK on Saturday as battle over pay and conditions remains unresolvedRail union leaders have warned the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions will continue “for as long as it takes” with further strikes taking place in London on Friday and across the UK on Saturday.Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members on London Underground and London Overground, and some bus drivers in the capital with Unite, will take industrial action on Friday. Continue reading...

The Independent

• Rail use rises by almost half in Germany after introduction of €9 unlimited train ticketsShort-distance train travel in Germany has increased by almost half after the country introduced a new ticket that allows unlimited train journeys for a whole month for just
• Train strikes – live: National Rail services severely disrupted as commuters warned not to travelMany cross-UK train routes will see their last service at 3.30 or 4pm today

The Scotsman

• ScotRail's plans for all electric or hydrogen train fleet are exciting, but we still need to keep our feet on the ground – Scotsman commentFor decades, catching a train in Scotland came with the risk of being caught by an acrid blast of diesel exhaust.

Times Online

• Self-driving car campaign steps up a gear with new £100m plan [subscription]Self-driving cars could be on Britain’s roads as early as next year under a £100 million government plan to make autonomous vehicles safe.

The Sun

• SIGNAL FAILURE I’m a travel expert – there’s a reason why Britain’s railways are a mess and only going to get worse and more expensiveWHEN the railways were privatised 25 years ago, Prime Minister John Major said that it was to stimulate competition on the tracks.

Sky News

• More transport misery as London Underground and bus staff begin latest walkoutWorkers on the London Underground are staging a 24-hour walkout in a continued row over jobs and pensions.

Birmingham Post

• Manchester Clean Air Zone decision will have to wait for new Prime MinisterCAZ charges were paused after backlash

Bolton News

• Manchester Airport: Bolton taxis welcome cut in waiting feesTaxi drivers and passengers going from Bolton to Manchester Airport are about to see big changes made to waiting costs.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• £5 million transport hub plan for Keighley's heritage railwayTHE BRADFORD district's world-famous steam heritage railway could become a major transport hub and commuter route as part of a £5 million scheme.
• Councillor hits out at 'anti-cycling' proposals suggested by Transport SecretaryAn announcement that cyclists could soon be required to display number plates has been described as an “expensive folly” by a Councillor.

Sheffield Star

• Campaigners calls on South Yorkshire politcal leaders to take over failed bus firm Powell’sCampaigners have called on political leaders in South Yorkshire to buy out a failed private bus operator in order to continue running services.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Vintage rail service offers passengers first class from London to Wolverhampton £60 cheaper than 2022 pricesTrain passengers can travel back to a time before privatisation, eye-watering high prices and weekly strikes with a new retro service from London Euston to Wolverhampton and Stafford.

Kent Online

• 'Reckless' bus cuts in Kent postponed after Tory rebellionPlans to axe dozens of bus services across Kent have been postponed after a Tory rebellion.

Other Regional Press

• Bus march organised for Saturday to protest against route cutsFURIOUS bus drivers and passengers will march the route of the 24 bus to Trafalgar Square on Saturday in protest against cuts to services.
• Falkirk Council: Petition launched over bus timetable changesA petition has been launched by residents in Bo’ness following a reduction in the number of buses serving the town.
• Lancaster group slams transport minister Grant Shapps over cycling plansA Lancaster cycle campaign group has said transport minister Grant Shapps is "avoiding the real issues" by announcing radical plans for cyclists.
• Huge ScotRail train orders in pipeline to create all-green fleetScotRail is to place orders worth hundreds of millions of pounds to transform its trains into a green, zero-emission fleet.
• Take-off! Airport plans get green lightManston Airport is set to reopen after the government once again gave it the green light.
• A31 work boss on how the road build is progressingWITH the multi-million-pound A31 redevelopment some three months from completion, the man at the helm has answered some burning questions.

New Civil Engineer

• 172-year-old bridge replaced in Huddersfield for Transpennine Route electrificationA 172-year-old footbridge has been replaced with a thinner and taller bridge to make way for electrification of the railway beneath it.

Railnews

• Union accuses DfT of blocking rail pay deal for political reasons The RMT has accused the government of preventing agreement in the long running rail disputes because of its political agenda. Staff are walking out again today at Network Rail and most train operators, and only one in five trains are expected to run, with many lines closed entirely. Operators have been urging their passengers not to try to travel. Although ScotRail and Transport for Wales staff are not striking, most trains will not run in England, Scotland or Wales because Network Rail signallers will be absent. There will be a further London Underground strike tomorrow and another National ...

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• First Bus names leaders of new regional structureFirst Bus has confirmed changes to its regional organisation structure and named the leaders of the newly formed local business units that will result.
• Switch EiV 22 double-decker launched for Indian marketSwitch Mobility has continued to make headway in the Indian market for battery-electric buses with the debut of the EiV 22 double-decker. It has been designed and developed in India and will also be manufactured there.
• Diamond Bus WM cuts threat recedes after LA supportThe threat of wholesale service cuts in Worcestershire by Rotala subsidiary Diamond Bus West Midlands has receded after “significant funding” from Worcestershire County Council (WCC) was found to support continued operation.
• Eurotunnel coach policy change impact is highlightedThe impact of a heavily criticised change of policy towards coach bookings by Eurotunnel has been underlined in findings from research conducted by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT).
• NX: Zero-emission white coach hope ’within two years’National Express UK Coach aspires to having a pilot zero-emission coach in its livery and carrying passengers in demonstration service “within two years, and hopefully sooner,” Managing Director Chris Hardy has told routeone. 
• National Express coach ’coming back strongly’, says MDScheduled coaching was hit hard by COVID-19. But it is now coming back rapidly; patronage in some cases is above what it was in 2019, while zero-emission operation – already evident in Scotland – is set to become more prominent over the coming years.

Other News Sources

• Newport Council declines to comment on termination of Fflecsi bus serviceNewport Council has declined to comment on the termination of the Fflecsi bus service, despite some residents viewing it as an essential service.
• Bus and coach market remains below pre-Covid levelsThe UK's new bus and coach market grew during the second quarter, according to the latest figures, but the sector remains below pre-pandemic levels.
• Free rides offered as driverless bus service introduced in cityThe trial service of the Navya, an electric vehicle boasting 'zero emissions', will run until next March to gauge its popularity.
• Firms need 'cultural shift' to achieve transport decarbonisationJust half (53%) of commercial fleets have a “robust” strategy to meet net zero transport goals, according to a study.
• UK Government number plates for cyclists proposal 'pointless' and 'absurd' say criticsCycling UK brand latest plans laid out by transport secretary as ’impractical and unworkable’