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

Thursday, 08 September 2022

BBC News

• E-scooter trial extended until May 2024More than a million people have made e-scooter rides since the scheme began, a report says.
• Group tried to manipulate ULEZ consultation - MPLewisham East MP Janet Daby has criticised Fair Fuel UK's campaign to give negative feedback.
• Avanti West Coast: Government considers withdrawing rail operator's contractA transport minister tells MPs that Avanti West Coast's contract could be withdrawn.

Financial Times

• Airlines pay their biggest ever premium for jet fuel Willie Walsh warns that high cost of fuel ‘ultimately gets reflected in ticket prices’
• Threat of hard landing hangs over soaring shipping industryRisk of crash after ‘once in a lifetime’ profit surge

Times Online

• Drivers at risk as Britain’s cars get older, warns Halfords chief [subscription]Britain’s ageing car fleet is posing a risk to road users, with the cost of living crisis pushing up the average age of vehicles and the price of repairs, the chief executive of Halfords has said.
• Avanti’s woe exposes wider rail failings [subscription]Disruption to services embodies bigger issues that are afflicting Britain’s network

London Evening Standard

• Reversal of Avanti West Coast timetable cuts ’absolute priority’, says ministerTransport minister Trudy Harrison was heckled by Labour MPs over the failure to offer concrete details about Avanti West Coast services.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Calls to dual A1 in Northumberland reignited after Berwick MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan becomes transport secretaryA campaign to dual the A1 has been running for decades

Other Regional Press

• Arfon MP slams Avanti’s cancellation of North Wales to London servicesPLAID Cymru MP for Arfon, Hywel Williams, has urged the new transport secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, to strip Avanti of the West Coast Main Line franchise for its service to commuters in north Wales.
• Pressure put on new Transport Secretary to deliver A1 dualling in NorthumberlandNewly-appointed Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has been warned ’there will be no hiding place’ if she fails to deliver the dualling of the A1 in Northumberland.
• Barrow MP calls on new transport secretary to ’get a grip’ of rail travelTHE Barrow MP has called on the new transport secretary to ’get a grip’ of rail travel. Simon Fell has urged newly-appointed Secretary of State for Transport Anne-Marie Trevellyan to ’get a grip’ of the current disruption on the region's railways.

New Civil Engineer

• Edinburgh to tax visitors to fund infrastructure projectsScottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced proposals for a tax to be placed on visitors who stay the night in the city. Sturgeon claims the scheme could bring in an extra £15M annually for Edinburgh to help fund local infrastructure projects and services.
• TfL funding provides relief but comes with tricky strings attachedThe thorny issue of funding for Transport for London (TfL) has been a flashpoint between City Hall and the Government for more than two years. Over this time, with repeated up-to-the-wire negotiations, we’ve seen more nail-biting cliff-hangers than a daytime soap. Now, after an agreement was finally reached, has peace broken out?
• Who is new transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan?Prime minister Liz Truss has officially appointed MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed Anne-Marie Trevelyan as the new transport secretary, replacing Grant Shapps and putting her in charge of major planning decisions related to roads, rails, airports and more – but what do we know about her?

Railnews

• Liz Truss tells Shapps to leave transport post The new Prime Minister Liz Truss has replaced Grant Shapps as transport secretary with former international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan. Mr Shapps, MP for Welwyn Garden City, is returning to the back benches. The cabinet reshuffle has also seen rail minister Wendy Morton leaving the Dpartment for Transport to become Chief Whip.

Transport Infrastructure News

• Technology halts traffic for cycling pupils in GlasgowA small device capable of influencing traffic signals at busy junctions is being used to improve road safety for a convoy of children and their parents as they cycle to one school in Glasgow.
• Bus champions push mode’s climate benefitsBritain’s new Government has been urged to start promoting sustainable modes of travel such as buses more vigorously in order to meet transport carbon emission reduction targets.
• Chris Boardman calls for continued cycling certaintyActive Travel England’s commissioner Chris Boardman has called on Liz Truss to ensure a “continuity” of investment in cycling and walking in her new Government, carried forward from the previous administration.

Transport Scotland

• The future of ferriesThe Scottish Government will fund the provision and maintenance of weather monitoring equipment at harbours owned by third parties to increase resilience.

Transportxtra

• Trevelyan replaces Shapps as transport secretaryInternational trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is new transport secretary, following the sacking of Grant Shapps by newly appointed prime minister Liz Truss.

Other News Sources

• The AA: 10 big asks for the new transport secretaryThe AA motoring has set out a 10-point action plan for the UK's new transport secretary - making calls for action on big issues such as road safety improvements.
• Southdown Buses axes parts of regular Surrey routes as 'dreadful' road surfaces are damaging vehiclesDiversions will remain in place until repairs are made
• Waterloo station masterplanning contract awardedGrimshaw will create a strategic masterplan for London's Waterloo station and its surroundings, having been awarded a publicly tendered contract by Lambeth Council.

News from Europe

• Europe's growing transport demand increases emissions from heavy-duty vehiclesGreenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles — trucks, buses and coaches — have increased in the European Union (EU) almost every year since 2014, mainly due to increasing demand for freight transport. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, efficiency improvements have not been enough to stop growth in total emissions and a shift to greener transport modes is needed.