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Friday, 12 May 2023

BBC News

• 'World first' self-driving buses ready for roads in ScotlandThe Stagecoach autonomous bus service is launching for passengers over the Forth Road Bridge on 15 May.
• £50 Oyster card credit offer before ULEZ expansionResidents of a west London borough can also get rental car credit and free cycling programmes.

Financial Times

• TransPennine Express stripped of contract after months of poor serviceUK train operator will move into government hands after one in six services were cancelled in March

The Guardian

• The government has had to take over yet another railway and yet it still balks at full nationalisation | Christian WolmarThe Conservatives are on a TransPennine Express to nowhere by insisting that private companies can run the railways It should not really have taken Einstein to work out that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Nonetheless even this basic truth seems to be lost on the Conservative government and its relationship to the railways.
• Rail passengers face weekend of strike disruption across BritainAslef and RMT unions deny targeting Eurovision final in Liverpool with stoppages in long-running pay dispute Rail services across Britain will be severely disrupted on Friday as train drivers stage the first of the latest wave of planned strikes in a long-running pay dispute.

Times Online

• Red signal for FirstGroup as it loses rail contract. [subscription]irstGroup’s shares went into reverse after the government stripped the transport group of its contract to operate the poorly performing TransPennine Express (TPE).
• The Times view on rail reform: Shunted into the Sidings [subscription]orthern rail travellers have become inured to second-class service. For years, they have been forced to endure slow journeys on unmodernised track, riding in cast-off trains let go by southern operators. Few who have ridden a Pacer diesel unit on a rainy Lancashire night will forget its refined level of discomfort. A bus cabin perched on a rail chassis, it was meant to be a stop-gap but remained in service for 37 years, the last of these dreadful judderers being laid to rest only in 2021.
• Ministers told to speed up e-scooter law. [subscription]Britain is lagging behind the rest of Europe in making e-scooters legal, according to a new report.
• TransPennine Express nationalised after ’continuous cancellations’. [subscription]Rail services run by TransPennine Express (TPE) will be nationalised after months of “continuous cancellations”, the transport secretary said.

City AM

• Heathrow vs airlines “ dispute continues as parties given permission to appeal price cap Heathrow Airport and three major airlines have been granted permission to appeal the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s decision on the Heathrow price cap this afternoon. The airlines, which are Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Delta Air Lines, have been locked in a fierce dispute with Heathrow over the amount the airport can charge per passenger. 

Daily Record

• UK's first driverless bus service launched over Forth Road BridgeScotland's Transport Minister Kevin Stewart was one of the first to strap in for the short journey between Ferry Toll, near Inverkeithing in Fife, and Edinburgh Park on Thursday.

Bolton News

• Bus driver recruitment campaign coming to BoltonA bus driver recruitment campaign is kicking off in Bolton at the end of the month with residents invited to attend the official launch.

Other Regional Press

• 'Sheer misery' is over as TransPennine service nationalised say Kirklees politiciansContinuous cancellations were said to be the reason behind the move

Airportwatch

• Rolls-Royce ’moving at pace’ after transformation programme. [subscription]The chief executive of Rolls-Royce claimed yesterday that the aero-engine maker’s new strategy was “moving at pace” and its financial performance was improving.

Coach and Bus Week

• National Express West Midlands introduces UK’s largest on-bus ticket scanning programmeNational Express West Midlands has introduced what it says is the UK’s largest on-bus ticket scanning system to read and validate mobile tickets (m-tickets), in partnership with Masabi and INIT. The operator says the new technology provides it and its customers with a quicker, safer and simpler way to travel, reducing fraud, speeding up boarding times and reducing wait times by providing a more efficient contactless experience.

New Civil Engineer

• New Irizar and Mercedes-Benz coaches for Scottish Citylink routesScottish Citylink has this month introduced new luxury vehicles worth around £2million to three of its routes across Scotland.
• Rail sector needs to take bolder steps in using innovative design technologyThe railway sector is traditionally slow to embrace new and evolving technologies and working methods but things are changing.
• Welsh MPs: HS2 has taken £5bn of vital funding away from Wales’ rail infrastructureThe classification of High Speed 2 (HS2) as an England and Wales project is a disbenefit to Wales that is depriving it of £5bn of vital investment in its rail network, according to Welsh MPs.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Coach and bus to be promoted during first Better Transport WeekCampaign for Better Transport has launched its first Better Transport Week, which is set to promote public transport, shared mobility, walking and cycling on 12-18 June.
• CAVForth autonomous bus service gets official launchScottish Transport Minister Kevin Stewart helped launch the UK’s first autonomous bus service today ahead of CAVForth’s first passenger service on Monday 15 May.
• Coach Hire Comparison’s game-changing online portalFounders of Coach Hire Comparison (CHC), James and Laura Stokes, used their previous experience and knowledge of the coach hire industry to create this niche in marketing and advertising for coach hire companies.
• Bus Enhanced Partnership gains pace of delivery adviceLocal transport authorities (LTAs) in England that are engaged in Enhanced Partnership (EP) work with bus operators should ensure that measures that form part of EP rollout are not introduced overly rapidly. Failure to do so could have consequences via the mandatory competition test, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned.
• Wrightbus and Bramble Energy receive funding for bus projectsMore than £25m in government and matched industry funding has been awarded to Wrightbus and Bramble Energy for zero-emissions bus projects.
• Speed-assistance technology rolled out on Cambridgeshire BuswayStagecoach East has begun rolling out intelligent speed-assistance (ISA) technology to automatically regulate speed on its Busway service in Cambridgeshire.
• NEWM ’Tap and Cap’ breaks £5 million barrierMore than £5 million has been saved by passengers due to National Express West Midland’s (NEWM) contactless capping scheme since its introduction in July 2021, the operator has announced.

Green Miscellany

• Encouraging more women to cycle: “It’s the infrastructure, stupid”New research from Australia suggests that barriers to cycling for women are near universal. Dr Lauren Pearson from Monash University’s Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research Group noted that twice as many  men cycle as women and the reasons are depressingly familiar. Cycling infrastructure suitable for all The university’s survey noted that physical separation from motor traffic ’may support more women… The post Encouraging more women to cycle: “It’s the infrastructure, stupid” appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• TransPennine Express services brought under Government controlTrain services run by TransPennine Express (TPE) will be brought under Government control due to continuous cancellationsâTransport Secretary Mark Harper said.
• TransPennine Express nationalisation ˜victory for commuters in north, West Yorkshire mayor saysWe spoke to Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, who says the nationalisation of the TransPennine Express is a chance to reset he troubled rail line.