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Friday, 18 November 2022

BBC News

• Autumn Statement recommits to East-West Rail projectThe government has recommitted to the £5bn rail project linking Oxford and Cambridge. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt backed the East-West Rail link in his Autumn Statement after cuts to the scheme had been suggested in recent weeks.
• Tolls on Irish roads to rise to 'maximum level'Motorists using the main Belfast-to-Dublin route will see the charges rise from January next year.
• Smart motorways: System technology failed for hours, data showsData shows the technology behind smart motorways did not work properly for 21 hours in September.
• London Underground step-free projects at risk due to funding issuesTransport for London says its
• Prestwick Airport profits from military fuel salesThe Scottish government-owned airport reports turning a profit for the third year in a row.
• Taxing electric cars 'short-sighted' say manufacturersCar makers have expressed dismay over plans to make electric cars subject to vehicle excise duty, in line with petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow Airport ground handlers begin three-day strike over pay

Times Online

• The government must stand firm on levelling up. [subscription]Local leaders are used to being marched up hills. Over the past decade, councillors and business leaders have drawn up local industrial strategies, negotiated devolution settlements, put forward proposals for freeports, and signed up to town deals, city deals, and local growth deals.
• Loss of tax exemption for electric vehicles ’will drive customers away’. [subscription]The imposition of road tax on previously exempt electric vehicles will drive motorists away from buying zero-emission cars before a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, according to industry experts.

City AM

• Tesla tax? We need a road pricing scheme for a modern congestion-free future Given the plethora of misery that accompanied yesterday’s Autumn Statement, it might have been possible to overlook a significant measures namely that electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2025. This is a glimmer of good news. It reveals something deeply encouraging as half of new vehicles will be [...] The post Tesla tax? We need a road pricing scheme for a modern congestion-free future appeared first on CityAM.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Still no sign of Government's promised pavement parking policyA REPORT on how to tackle pavement parking in Bradford has been delayed yet again due to long promised Government guidance failing to materialise.
• Bradford CAZ: Transport Minister Jesse Norman visits cityA GOVERNMENT minister said he was “pleased to see Bradford taking a lead in tackling air pollution” on a visit to its Clean Air Zone team.
• Bradford MPs speak on budget, Northern Powerhouse Rail, HS2, and moreBradford's MPs have lashed out at the Government's autumn budget and scrap investment in a new Bradford train station.
• Northern Powerhouse Rail latest as Government promises 'core' lineThe plans would see a new high-speed NPR line built between Leeds and Manchester, via Bradford.

Bristol Live

• Clean Air Zone sees stretch of South Bristol road removed but only for 230 yardsIt depends on where you've come from and where you're going
• Bristol Cycling Campaign helping police to catch dangerous drivers on cameraThey hope by taking action they can save lives
• First Bus just cancelled 1,450 Bristol bus services a week until at least AprilFirst don't have enough drivers to meet its own timetable
• Huge protest over how Bristol and South Gloucestershire buses are run to take place next monthThey are calling for buses in the West of England to be brought under public control

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Key Birmingham to Shrewsbury rail scheme placed under government funding reviewThe region's transport body, Midlands Connect, is seeking £15 million in government funding for work that would see faster trains on the Birmingham to Shrewsbury line through Wolverhampton.

Other Regional Press

• Several Forest bus routes saved by new providersSEVERAL Forest of Dean bus routes that were set to be withdrawn by Stagecoach have been saved by new providers, the county council has announced.
• £350k investment sees five-month lifeline for three bus servicesThree bus services that were recently cut will welcome residents back on board later this month thanks to a temporary reprieve that will see £350,000 invested.
• West Yorkshire Mayor warns £2 maximum bus fares are at risk due to ’chaos’ at WestminsterWest Yorkshire Mayor Tracey Brabin has warned that the £2 bus fare cap is at risk due to 'chaos' at Westminster.
• Council finds alternatives for 70% of the bus journeys cut by StagecoachGloucestershire County Council says its decisive action has saved 70 percent of the bus services which were recently axed by Stagecoach.
• Under-performing Arriva Click service in Watford 'will never work'The owner of a taxi company says he finds it “amazing” that an on-demand minibus scheme is still operating in Watford – and believes it is doing more harm than good.
• Jeremy Hunt warned not to raise fuel duty as petrol prices rise againThe RAC said the average cost of a litre of petrol rose by 4p in October while diesel was up 10p

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• CILT gives evidence at Transport Select Committee on self-driving vehiclesCILT (UK) appeared before the Transport Select Committee today regarding its request for evidence on self-driving vehicles. Ian Wainwright FCILT, Chair of Freight and Logistics Policy Group at CILT(UK) responded to a call from government on matters concerning Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).    Ian Wainwright FCILT, Chair of Freight and Logistics Policy Group at CILT(UK) said:   “The one issue which emerges time and again is safety – of everything from IT systems through to the vehicle users, and pedestrians and bystanders. This issue dominates nearly all ...

Coach and Bus Week

• CBT suggests better ways to spend on transportA green shake-up of transport priorities could save the country almost £20 billion, cutting the entire budget deficit by half, Campaign for Better Transport says. The transport charity says that cancelling five road-building schemes could save £16 billion; taxing fuel for domestic flights, not including lifeline flights such as those to Scottish islands, could raise £0.6 billion; introducing a pay-as-you-drive scheme which charges electric vehicles a small amount per mile from 2025 could raise £0.6 billion, and; not renewing the temporary cut to fuel duty when it ends in March 2023 could save £2.4 billion.
• Stagecoach orders 200 double-deckers from ADLStagecoach is investing around £50m in 200 new low-emission diesel double-deck buses from Alexander Dennis for fleets across the UK
• Wrightbus promises ’world class’ supportA new one-stop shop fleet support service aiming to help fleet operators in their journey towards zero emissions has been launched by the team behind manufacturer Wrightbus. AllServiceOne, based in Oxford, has been developed to extend the existing capabilities of Wrightbus’ existing aftersales business. With buses as the foundation, the business is now developing to support fleets across a range of industries, servicing all makes, all models and all technologies.

Intelligent Transport

• Coventry’s demand-responsive bus services set for trial mergerThe trial merger of West Midlands Bus On Demand and Ring & Ride will run throughout 2023 and will provide customers of both services with access to more vehicles, longer hours of operation and wider coverage.

New Civil Engineer

• Opening of new railway station in Bristol delayed until 2023The opening of Bristol's first new railway station in 95 years has been delayed due to setbacks in the completion of the car park and last minute additions needed for the main building.
• HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and East West Rail to go ahead as plannedThe country’s three biggest rail projects will progress as planned after surviving spending cuts announced in today’s Autumn Statement.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Long-term bus funding call ahead of fiscal statementBus industry representative bodies have called upon Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to deliver a long-term funding settlement to support the industry in England outside London as part of his autumn fiscal statement on 17 November. 
• Mellor Sigma 7 makes Swedish debut with NobinaMellor has delivered four Sigma 7 low-floor battery-electric buses to Swedish customer Nobina for use in Gothenburg. They represent conquest business for the Rochdale firm.
• Tyneside CAZ grant applications open on 21 NovemberApplications for grants to upgrade vehicles including coaches and buses that do not comply with the Tyneside Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will open on 21 November. That is ahead of the introduction of a £50 daily charge for non-Euro VI examples little more than two months later on 30 January 2023.
• First Bus to deploy Prospective.io AI scheduling platformFirst Bus has signed an agreement with Prospective.io to deploy the supplier’s automated scheduling platform across five of its regional operating companies.
• Bus Fare Cap Grant to use per-operator funding offerBus operators that have already declared an interest in participating in the Bus Fare Cap Grant (BFCG) – which will distribute the £60m allocated to the £2 flat fare scheme planned in England outside London for January to March 2023 – look set to be offered a fixed funding allocation in early December, before they need to confirm whether they will take part. 

Aviation Industry

• Tackling Greenwashing in the Aviation IndustryHow can campaigners, the public and policy makers go about identifying what is greenwashing and what are genuine attempts to decarbonise the industry?  Many of the green initiatives that are marketed … The post Tackling Greenwashing in the Aviation Industry appeared first on Aviation Environment Federation.