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

Friday, 04 November 2022

ITV News

• Cost of Living: Future Generations Commissioner calls for free public transport for young peopleThe Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, has called for free public transport for all under-25s. It is part of a five point plan, released on Thursday (November 3), to tackle mounting financial pressures due to the rising cost of living.

The Guardian

• Row over Germany’s public transport ticket jumping from €9 to €49Germany plans to replace its successful €9-a-month local public transport pass with a €49 version, a move that is drawing criticism from charities and social care groups who say the new price tag will freeze out millions of Germans suffering under the cost of living crisis.

Times Online

• Tube use at highest level since Covid. [subscription]London Underground passenger numbers have reached their highest levels since the start of the pandemic as workers return to the office.
• Deutsche Bahn rail boss rips up gender uniform rules. [subscription]Germany’s national rail operator is to allow its 43,000 train drivers, ticket inspectors and other frontline staff to decide whether they wish to wear skirts or trousers and neckerchiefs or ties, irrespective of gender.

City AM

• Scrimping and saving by culling more transport investment will hurt all of us  If ministers think HS2 doesn’t work in its current planned form, why not work out a way in which it does, rather than simply abandoning it as a white elephant? The post Scrimping and saving by culling more transport investment will hurt all of us  appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Get back on track! Ministers are urged to sort out rail strikes as think-tank says summer walkouts have cost economy £600millionMinisters were under mounting pressure last night to solve the rail strikes crisis as analysis showed walkouts have blown a £600million hole in the economy since summer.

Birmingham Mail

• Solihull HS2 car parks approved and they're deliberately 'unattractive'The rooftops of the of the car parks, being built on the old Stonebridge Quarry, have been approved with specific conditions to protect Solihull's birds

Birmingham Post

• E-scooter firm Voi removes Russian investors as shares soldThe West of England’s metro mayor previously warned the Swedish firm it could lose out on the operating contracts for Bristol and Bath’s e-scooter hire schemes unless it ended ties with Russian shareholders
• £100K BEIS funding for Wrexham firm in bid to switch from diesel to hydrogen powerIf successful, it could pioneer fuel switching to help all UK industries transition to net zero
• Green light for new £95m HS2 car parkPlanners back multi-storey project in Solihull which will support the new Interchange station
• 'Kids believe it more than adults': What's next after Cornwall's first space launchAs Cornwall Spaceport prepares for the UK's first ever satellite space launch, Hannah Finch talks to Spaceport boss Melissa Thorpe about how this one giant leap is set to be the first of many

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• First Bus pulled off route due to vandalismANOTHER service in Bradford was diverted on Wednesday evening due to ongoing vandalism.
• Major Bradford transport schemes likely to be 'paused' due to rising inflationTRANSPORT schemes across West Yorkshire, including some multi million pound projects in Bradford, are likely to be “paused” due to spiraling inflation costs.

Bristol Live

• Bristol MP slams 'unthinkable' plans to delay railway station amid new arena 'travel chaos'The station was initially due to be completed in 2024 but has been pushed back

London Evening Standard

• Get ready for festive fun aboard the Heathrow Express Christmas carriageComing to London in just over a month is Heathrow’s new Christmas Carriage. So, if you’re hopping aboard the Heathrow Express between December 5 and 7, you can enjoy festive fun to get you in the holiday spirit before your travels, or lift your spirits when you return from holiday.

Wirral Globe

• New Brighton train station closes ticket office for refurbishmentCustomers are now being advised to purchase tickets at their destination because of the current changes.

Other Regional Press

• Two major Huddersfield A629 improvement plans on hold due to costsTwo projects will be affected
• £10 million Transport Hub in Hereford will create an attractive environment for commuters and visitors says Herefordshire CouncilDocuments shared ahead of a Herefordshire Council cabinet meeting on Thursday 27th October, show that the proposed Transport Hub at Station Approach in Hereford, could end up costing around £10 million.
• Aberconwy MP calls for a new name for the West Coast Main Line franchiseON TUESDAY (November 1), Aberconwy MP Robin Millar asked the minister of state for rail, Kevin Foster MP, if the UK Government agreed that the name of the West Coast Mainline franchise should be changed to reflect the strategic importance of the North Wales Main Line.

British Trams Online

• In Pictures: Track and bridges on WMM Dudley extensionA lot of the news recently on the West Midlands Metro extension from Wednesbury to (eventually, subject to funding) Brierley Hill has been about the “re-phasing” of the project which has seen the section from Dudley to Brierley Hill delayed due to a lack of funding. But the section which is scheduled to open in 2024 – from Wednesbury to Dudley Town Centre – has also been seeing some significant progress with track continuing to go down in Dudley whilst as we reported earlier this month a new bridge is being installed on Sedgley Road. This update with photos from Andy Walters shows some of the more recent work which has been taking place.

Bus-News

• Equipmake Presents Electric New Routemaster at Euro Bus ExpoEquipmake has unveiled its latest electric bus technology, showcasing a zero-emission version of the New Routemaster double-decker bus at Euro Bus Expo.
• Mellor Showcases Electric Sigma 8 at Euro Bus ExpoUK bus manufacturer, Mellor has presented its new electric Sigma 8 bus for the first time at Euro Bus Expo.

Coach and Bus Week

• £34m investment in electric fleet begins at Nottingham City TransportNottingham’s historic Trent Bridge bus garage, once home to horse drawn trams, now has a new zero carbon future as Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has ordered its first electric single-deck buses and appointed Zenobē Energy as the delivery partner for the electrification of a fleet of 78 buses.

New Civil Engineer

• Plans for UK’s longest road tunnel labelled ’too distant a prospect’Transport for the South East’s (TfSE) proposals for the longest road tunnel in the UK have been branded "too distant a prospect" by Adur and Worthing Council.
• How HS2 is internally cutting costs to save taxpayer moneyHS2 Ltd is fighting against inflationary cost pressures through measures such as collaboration between contractors, procurement efficiency, working with universities on innovation and resource sharing, among others.
• Fury as government rows back on Northern Powerhouse Rail promiseNorthern leaders have reacted furiously to claims prime minister Rishi Sunak is likely to revoke the promises for a full Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) promised by his predecessor Liz Truss.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• New Routemaster battery-electric repower makes debutEquipmake has repowered a Wrightbus New Routemaster with a battery-electric driveline, with the vehicle making its debut at Euro Bus Expo. 
• Driver shortage extent and solutions explored by CILT95% of coach and bus operator representatives that responded to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) are experiencing a driver shortage, while the average age of those business’s drivers is over 50, results have shown.
• Zipabout offering ethical travel platform free to LAsZipabout has provided Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) with what it describes as “pioneering ethical technology” via its Local platform. It is to help the local authority (LA) achieve its Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, which includes encouragement of public transport use and active travel, and forms part of a Zipabout offer to all LAs of the platform free-of-charge.
• Vectare expands Peterborough presence in contract winVectare is continuing its growth with an expansion of its presence in Peterborough. From 31 October it took over two services under contract to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) that were previously provided commercially by Stagecoach East.
• Opportunity charging ’key’ to London ZE bus transitionOpportunity charging will form a “key step” in the Transport for London journey to a wholly zero-emission bus fleet, the body says. 

Other News Sources

• Brighton Bricycles on Kingsway in Hove cycle laneA curious thing happened when I started to blog and tweet about making Brighton and Hove’s streets safer for cycling.
• Transport for Greater Manchester launches multimillion pound creative reviewTfGM has announced an invitation to tender for its multimillion pound creative services. The organisation is seeking creative, media, social, video and PR agencies as part of its new framework agreement.
• Northern and Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver accessible toilets at Stockport's rail stationsIn Stockport, pod toilets will be introduced at Gatley, Heaton Chapel, Romiley and Rose Hill Marple
• Transport professions want better route planning to reduce costsAt this year’s Microlise Transport Conference, over 60% of the transport professionals in attendance said better route planning and optimisation is more likely to improve efficiency and reduce costs than other management solutions such as driver performance, safety, and anti-fuel theft.
• London’s New Routemaster bus goes all-electric with ’repowered’ retrofitNorfolk based Equipmake reveals a conversion kit for the New Routemaster that makes diesel-hybrid bus fully-electric