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

Friday, 16 September 2022

BBC News

• Buses to be reviewed as routes still below pre-Covid levelsBus services in Nottinghamshire are being reviewed as passenger numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels.
• Former Royal train manager says it has a future with new KingA man who worked on the Royal train for 33 years said he was confident of its future under King Charles III.
• Ulster University: Plan to ban cars from outside new buildingIt would mean only buses, blue badge holders, bikes and emergency vehicles could use part of road.
• Queen's funeral: Heathrow cancels flights on MondayThe UK's biggest airport said it is altering its schedule to ensure the skies over London fall quiet during the proceedings.

ITV News

• Channel Islands' bus companies sold to new owner Tower Transit
Libertybus in Jersey and CT Plus in Guernsey have been sold by their parent company, the HCT Group, for an undisclosed fee.

Financial Times

• Schiphol airport chief resigns over flight disruptionDick Benschop the most senior casualty of travel crisis after criticism of staff shortages
• Biden secures deal to avert US rail strikeAgreement follows months of negotiations between unions and America’s largest carriers

The Guardian

• Uber investigating computer network breach “ reportA hacker apparently compromised an employee's Slack messaging app and was able to gain access to other internal company systemsUber said on Thursday it is responding to a cybersecurity incident

The Independent

• Heathrow cancels 200 flights to avoid aircraft noise during Queen’s funeralAbout 35,000 passengers due to fly to and from Heathrow airport on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are learning that their flights have been cancelled or re-timed. Around 200 flights are expected to be grounded, the vast majority on Monday.
• Ryanair cancels 420 flights ahead of French air-traffic control strikeThe controllers' union says members are suffering a real-terms pay cut

Times Online

• Mourners with no way home stay in empty trains [subscription]Empty trains have been used to house stranded mourners at some stations in central London.

Mail Online

• Rail bosses allow mourners trapped in London overnight to sleep in empty trains parked up at stations if they miss the last service homeMourners left stranded overnight after visiting the Queen's coffin have been sleeping in empty 'welfare' trains in central London after missing the last service home.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Just a quarter of people feel safe on Leeds roads - study findsOnly a quarter of people say they feel safe using Leeds’ roads, with those who walk or cycle more likely to feel in danger.
• Two new public transport routes in Bradford among first to be developedTWO routes linking Bradford with other West Yorkshire centres will be included in the first wave of a new mass transit plan.

Bristol Live

• Four cancelled Bristol bus services saved by arrival of solar-powered operatorFour bus services cancelled when their operator ceased trading have been saved by the arrival of a transport firm with a solar-powered fleet. The 505, 506, 515 and 516 routes were axed when Bristol Community Transport shut down on August 26.

Kent Online

• Green Party councillors call for £35m bus plans not to be 'micromanaged by Westminster' in open letterThe Greens have told the Department for Transport let Kent County Council spend the millions how it sees fit rather than 'micromanaging' from Westminster

Other Regional Press

• Portsmouth's bus pass holders could have the hours they can use them extendedHOLDERS of older person bus passes in Portsmouth are set to have the time they can be used extended by the city council.

Business Live

• Tyneside train supplier Petards cites rail market challenges for 28% revenue dropThe security tech specialist says firms could be reluctant to place big contracts until the Great British Railways model is under way

Coach and Bus Week

• Bus Users looking to strengthen Trustee BoardBus Users UK is looking for new Trustees with the energy and drive to make public transport more accessible. The charity campaigns for inclusive, accessible transport and handles complaints, promotes active and sustainable travel and strives to improve bus and coach services for everyone. Its Trustees are pivotal in guiding this work and it is now seeking new members to broaden and strengthen its Board through skills, knowledge, diversity and lived experience.

New Civil Engineer

• What can the UK rail network learn from European rail systems?As the government looks to reform the rail industry and bring infrastructure and services under the new body Great British Railways, it could look across to Europe to see how to manage the sector going forward.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• National Express coach travel demand ’unprecedented’National Express says it is seeing “unprecedented demand” for scheduled coach travel to and from London over the national mourning period.
• Imanol Rego named Irizar Group CEOIrizar Group has named Imanol Rego as is its incoming CEO. He will take up the position on 26 September and succeeds Rafael Sterling, who has left to for the position of Chief Commercial Officer at Spanish train builder Talgo.
• Zeelo to provide free coach transfers to Euro Bus ExpoSmart bus service company Zeelo will provide free coach transfers for attendees of Euro Bus Expo, to be held at the NEC Birmingham on 1-3 November. 
• Transdev Blazefield to adopt Freeway tech across fleetTransdev Blazefield is overhauling its maintenance operation with the fleet-wide rollout out Freeway technology. The supplier’s platform will ultimately connect 700 mobile devices and a series of operational management systems to provide centralised control of the operator’s 550 buses. 
• EU drivers’ hours relaxed for Operation London BridgeThe Department for Transport (DfT) has temporarily relaxed the enforcement of retained EU drivers’ hours rules for those involved in the delivery of Operation London Bridge during the national mourning period following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 
• National Express and Megabus partner with Uber TravelReservations for scheduled coach services may now be made via Uber Travel after Megabus and National Express became partners with the platform. The development means that Uber app users will be able “to centralise all their domestic travel bookings,” the three businesses say, with rail journeys additionally now bookable via Uber.

Other News Sources

• Liberal Democrat outrage after ’vital’ bus services cut in HeswallA LIBERAL Democrat campaigner from Wirral has expressed her outrage after three Heswall bus services have been reduced.
• Brighton and Hove buses run Sunday service for Queen's funeralYET MORE public services are to be stripped back as the city prepares for the Queen’s funeral next week.