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

Friday, 23 September 2022

BBC News

• Rail strikes: New date set for 40,000 workers to walk outIt will come a week after an even bigger strike when just 10% of UK train services will run.
• Tesla ordered to recall more than a million US carsThe US car-safety watchdog says a window glitch is affecting all four Tesla models.
• 737 MAX: Boeing to pay $200m over charges it misled investorsUS regulators said the firm and its former boss misled investors following two fatal crashes.

Financial Times

• London’s transport chief quits after just two yearsAndy Byford will return to the US next month after tenure defined by ‘almost nonstop’ funding talks
• Boeing to pay $200mn penalty over misleading investors about 737 MaxFormer chief Muilenburg also fined by SEC after statements on pair of deadly crashes

The Guardian

• Boeing to pay $200m to settle charges it misled investors over 737 Max crashesCompany and former CEO made misleading statements about the jets involved in two crashes that killed 346 peopleBoeing and its former chief executive have settled an investigation by the US’s top financial regulator into allegedly misleading statements the planemaker and its then boss made about its 737 Max jets, involved in two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.Boeing will pay $200m to settle charges that it misled investors and the former Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg has agreed to pay $1m. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Rail strikes: Mick Lynch’s RMT and Aslef hail ’positive’ talksThe transport secretary and the leader of the RMT met for the first time yesterday in what was described as a positive encounter. Anne-Marie Trevelyan invited Mick Lynch, the union’s general secretary, to the department’s HQ in a marked change in approach to the old regime under Grant Shapps.
• Boeing settles charges over Max crashes [subscription]Boeing has agreed to pay $200 million to US regulators to settle charges that it made “materially misleading public statements” following two fatal crashes of its bestselling 737 Max aircraft.

City AM

• Which? calls for EV infrastructure improvement as drivers dissatisfied Consumer champion Which? has called on the government to urgently improve the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. This includes ensuring that the network is reliable on an average of 99 per cent of the time. According to a research published today, 74 per cent of EV owners are disappointed with public infrastructure, citing availability [...] The post Which? calls for EV infrastructure improvement as drivers dissatisfied appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• UK rail: Huge train strike planned for OctoberRMT union barons will grind Britain to a halt again next month as it announced that 40,000 staff from Network Rail and 15 train operators will stage a walkout on October 8.

Sky News

• Three out of four electric vehicle owners unhappy with UK's public charging systemAlmost three-quarters of electric vehicle (EV) owners are unhappy with the UK's public charging system, a new survey has found.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport relaunches security express lane - with price hikeBHX suspended its express lane at the start of May after the service became oversubscribed

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Kex Gill re-alignment one step closer as contractor appointedAN engineering company which was involved in the delivery of the 2012 London Olympics and the capital’s Crossrail project has been selected to carry out the re-alignment of the A59 at Kex Gill.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Call to nationalise West Coast Mainline rail services between North Wales and LondonGrowth Track 360 partnership want the UK Department for Transport to remove Avanti's contract

Manchester Evening News

• How do you feel about the Bee Network plans?The new buses will be rolled out in Wigan and Bolton in September 2023

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield bus services: Stagecoach announce wave of timetable changes set to begin within weeksA number of changes to Stagecoach bus services in Sheffield are set to come in on October 2, 2022.

The York Press

• Scrapping York to Leeds Cityzap bus service will be 'disaster', says campaignerThe scrapping of the fast Cityzap bus service between York and Leeds is a “potential disaster” for people with disabilities, a campaigner has said.

Cambridge News

• Cambs mayor 'urgently' searching for operators to fill Stagecoach's cancelled bus routes'In my time so far as mayor, no issue has evoked as strong a response as this announcement by Stagecoach'

Plymouth Herald

• Ned Boulting urges Plymouth to become a 'cycling city'Cycling commentator Ned Boulting said there are no downsides to making streets safer for people to get around on their bikes.

Wrexham.com

• Business and council leaders urge UK Government to remove contract from “failing” Avanti West CoastNorth Wales business and local authority leaders are calling on the UK Government to remove the passenger contract from Avanti West Coast.

Other Regional Press

• ’Fighting with one hand tied behind our backs’: Senior councillor blasts latest Arriva cuts and calls for bus services to be returned to public controlA senior councillor has blasted Arriva’s latest round of cuts to bus services across the Wakefield district.
• People urged to use Oswestry's free bus serviceCatch the Bus Month is the ideal time to try out Oswestry's free Saturday Town Service, say councillors.
• Rail campaigners lobby Transport Secretary for restored Oxford to Cambridge Varsity LineRail campaigners are urging the Govetnment to stick to its pledge to improve rail links between Oxford and Cambridge by restoring the 'Varsity Line'.
• New bus gates in Oxford will be like roadblocks and divide city warn tradersTraders across Oxford are being urged to protest against proposals to install six new bus gates, following claims they are 'roadblocks'.
• World Car Free Day: How car free was OxfordToday, cities across the globe marked World Car Free Day but how car free has Oxford actually been?

Coach and Bus Week

• Shuttle Buses sold to its staffKilwinning-based Shuttle Buses, the largest independent bus and coach company in Ayrshire, has been sold to its staff

Construction News

• New rail minister appointedMP for Torbay, Kevin Foster (pictured), was appointed as minister of state for transport – a junior ministerial role that includes the rail portfolio.

New Civil Engineer

• Business leaders make case to save East West Rail from axeBusiness leaders across the Cambridge to Oxford corridor have come together to make the case for East West Rail.

Railnews

• London transport commissioner Andy Byford resigns London transport commissioner Andy Byford has resigned, and will be returning to the United States. He will leave Transport for London at the end of October. His interim successor will be chief operating officer Andy Lord.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Transport for London Commissioner Andy Byford to departLondon’s Transport Commissioner, Andy Byford (pictured), is to step down in October and return to the United States, Transport for London (TfL) has announced. 
• Coach and bus ’turnkey’ hydrogen driveline progressingZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Freudenberg e-Power Systems have expanded their collaboration to a “turnkey” hydrogen fuel cell-electric driveline that will capture the coach and bus sector.
• David Cutts named next Managing Director of Go-Ahead LondonDavid Cutts (pictured, left) is to become Managing Director of Go-Ahead London in the new year, The Go-Ahead Group has announced.
• BYD ADL and Yutong in First Bus Scotland 74 EV orderFirst Bus has confirmed receipients of orders for 74 further battery-electric single-deck buses for its remaining fleets in Scotland. 
• Continental showcases green bus tyre conceptContinental has showcased a new concept tyre designed for electrified buses. The Conti Urban, presented as a prototype this week in Hanover, is manufactured from 50% renewable and recycled materials according to the manufacturer. Special attention has been paid to energy efficiency and noise reduction. Rolling resistance has been reduced by 7% over the existing Conti Urban, and tyre life has been extended.
• 18 routes to go as Stagecoach East realigns networkThe decision by Stagecoach East to withdraw a group of underperforming routes that have been losing an average of £12 per passenger journey, and up to £80 per individual user in the worst cases, has led to a renewed call for reregulation of buses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by elected Mayor Dr Nik Johnson.

Transportxtra

• Traffic reduction at heart of Greenwich Transport StrategyGreenwich Council has drawn up plans to improve the network of roads, cycle routes and public transport services across the London borough. The Transport encourage walking and cycling, improve air quality and encourage

Other News Sources

• Multimillion-pound investment in electric buses for West YorkshireA multimillion-pound investment is being made in a new fleet of electric buses to serve West Yorkshire.
• Edinburgh bus service 'hopper fare' to encourage more public transport useThe ticketing scheme which lets passengers use multiple services for the price of a single fare could boost passenger numbers, but would also 'result in ticket prices going up'.
• Improvements ahead for cyclists, pedestrians and bus passengers on A259Construction starts soon on a package of Active Travel improvements for cyclists and pedestrians on the A259, between Bognor Regis and Chichester.
• First Aberdeen order £8.1million fleet of 24 new electric buses for the cityThe new buses will save around 1,451 tonnes of CO2 each year and will replace older diesel buses.