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

Wednesday, 28 June 2023

BBC News

• More than half of bikes in Greater Manchester hire scheme vandalisedA spate of vandalism has taken 564 of the 943 bikes in Greater Manchester's scheme off the roads.
• Ex-Audi boss Stadler avoids jail in VW emissions scandalRupert Stadler is given a suspended term and a fine for fraud and negligence over Dieselgate.
• New scheme sees Stoke-on-Trent bus fares slashed by halfA year-long programme to cut the cost of bus travel in Stoke-on-Trent is being introduced.
• Climate Change Committee says UK no longer a world leaderGovernment backing for new oil and coal, airport expansion plans and slow progress on heat pumps show that the UK has lost its leadership on climate issues, a government watchdog warns.

ITV News

• Cuts to community transport 'devastating' as decision over future expected in 'next few days'Families of vulnerable young people say that proposed cuts to community transport would be 'devastating.'

Financial Times

• European airport boss calls for scrutiny of rising airfaresTicket prices have shot up thanks to a combination of huge demand and a shortage of aircraft

The Guardian

• UK has made ’no progress’ on climate plan, say government’s own advisersThe government’s plans to hit net zero have been comprehensively criticised in a withering report by its own advisers that warns targets are being missed on nearly every front.

The Independent

• Watchdog bans Hyundai and Toyota car ads over ‘exaggerated’ claimsIn both cases, the Advertising Standards Authority found that the ads made misleading claims about the speed of recharging

The Scotsman

• Cycling Scotland: ’Dramatic’ increase in adults wanting to learn how to ride a bike – including Glasgow City Council transport convenerBike for Good and Cycling Scotland among bodies helping to boost training

The Telegraph

• Train ticket offices across country face closure under modernisation plans. [subscription]The Telegraph understands rail operators are drawing up lists of offices they intend to close, with hundreds set to be put forward

Times Online

• Ban on hybrid cars could be brought forward to meet climate targets [subscription]Britain is less likely to meet its 2030 climate change goal than it was a year ago, according to government advisers who are “very worried” about ministers’ efforts to cut emissions.
• Cabinet minister accused of having ’no idea’ on key roads’ upgrade. [subscription]Mairi McAllan pressed on when A9 and A96 dualling between Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness will be finished
• The Times view on the SNP’s transport failures: Road to Nowhere. [subsciption]Delays to dualling the A9 reveal how Highlands constituencies are being let down
• Berlin mayor rides into trouble after blocking cycle lane plan. [subscription]Newly elected Kai Wegner faces legal action for freezing ’anti-car’ schemes

Parliament

• Comment: Climate Change Committee’s 2023 report to Parliament on progress in reducing emissions’?Reacting to the Climate Change Committee’s 2023 report to Parliament on progress in reducing emissions, Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said:

Daily Express

• Hyundai and Toyota car ads banned over misleading charging claimsIn both cases, the Advertising Standards Authority found that the ads exaggerated the speed with which the advertised electric cars could recharge

Daily Record

• Airport working on contingency plans as strike date set at Paisley transport hubStaff at OCS – the company charged with helping people with mobility problems navigate the airport and get seated on planes – will undertake a 24-hour strike next month as part of an ongoing dispute over pay.
• Edinburgh trams inquiry branded 'farcical' as report could be delayed yet againEXCLUSIVE: The inquiry, which was established in 2014, said it hoped to publish its long-awaited report by September.

i News

• Government’s climate plans have gone backwards say its own advisersThe Climate Change Committee (CCC) said ministers had wasted opportunities over the last year and that action could not wait until after the coming election.

Mail Online

• Hybrid cars produce much more greenhouse gases than claimed by manufacturers, report reveals The Climate Change Committee says plug-in hybrids - which can run either on electric or on petrol/diesel - have performed up to five times worse than expected.

Network Rail

• Virtual reality to teach Midlands school children railway safetyVirtual reality headsets are to be used in West Midlands schools to teach children about railway safety to reduce the number of trespass incidents.
• Thanet to London in 70 minutes: new station gets ready to open for businessThe new Thanet Parkway station will open to passengers on 31 July, improving rail connectivity between East Kent, London and the wider region by providing access to mainline and highspeed train services.

Sky News

• Government progress on net zero 'worryingly slow', report saysThe Climate Change Committee says a "key opportunity to push a faster pace of progress has been missed".

Bristol Live

• Free birthday buses in Bristol region falters as passengers unable to apply for passesPeople living in the West of England will be able to travel for free during the month of their birthday

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham City Transport confirms £2 bus fare cap will continue until OctoberBus operator Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has announced it will continue the £2 Government single fare cap until the end of October this year. The £2 cap - subsidised by the Government - offers an 80p discount on the usual adult single fare for NCT journeys in Nottingham.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• New Transport Secretary vague over A9 and A96 dualling timescalesAnger is growing over delays to dualling trunk roads connecting Inverness with Aberdeen and Perth.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Bridgnorth Cliff railway owner 'yet to sign for wall repair work as costs rise'The owner of the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway has yet to sign legal documents to allow continued work to repair a damaged retaining wall that saw the attraction close before Christmas, the town council has said.

Wrexham.com

• First Minister: Current rail service offered by Transport for Wales is not acceptableThe First Minister has said Keir Starmer is ’in no doubt’ over a view that “HS2 is not a scheme that benefits Wales” and thus should have returned a Barnett consequential. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Yorkshire Post

• 6,000 green buses needed to address regional transport inequalityNearly 6,000 extra green buses are needed by 2030 in English regions outside London in order to achieve net zero ambitions and support levelling up, according to new research.

Bucks Free Press

• Marlow Film Studios: Developers unveil controversial transport plansMarlow Film Studios developers unveil final plans for proposed transport infrastructure, as local campaigners continue to voice their dissent.

Doncaster Free Press

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Why hellish Snake Pass journey makes case for a SY airportRecently, I drove across the Snake Pass to Manchester Airport from Sheffield.

Other Regional Press

• Call for ’radical action’ to improve Wakefield district bus servicesCouncillors in Wakefield are being urged to back calls for a major shake up of the district’s bus network.
• TfW's pledge to improve Wrexham to Bidston train serviceA PUBLIC-PRIVATE partnership to improve North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester has welcomed the Welsh Government’s commitment to improve services on the Wrexham to Bidston line.
• Criticism over lack of bus routes taking advantage of 'magnificent' £2.3m Biggleswade transport interchangeOnly one thing appears to be missing from a “magnificent” new £2.3m transport interchange next to Biggleswade railway station – some bus services to justify the project, a meeting heard. The original development proposals were criticised by town councillors, with one labelling it “a glorified bus stop”.
• Further delays to new 'flexible' Stagecoach bus services but 'discussions are ongoing'The number 1 and 2, which will be operated by Stagecoach, is being held up by still waited-for clearance from the Traffic Commissioner's office
• Hundreds of tonnes of asphalt laid as work on 'vital' mile-long Teesworks link road gets underwayThe 1.6km route will include footpaths and a cycleway as well as a single-carriageway road
• Would Eurostar still be stopping in Kent if we hadn't sold our stake?As the campaign to restore Eurostar services in Kent continues, what happened to the £757 million the government was paid for selling its stake?
• Heathrow third runway expansion opposed by Labour, Conservatives and Lib DemsThe Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates all appear to agree
• Bournemouth Airport business park expansion will go aheadFull planning permission has now been given for two business parks to be built north of the airport at Aviation Business Park.

Airportwatch

• Stop new road-building projects to reduce pollution, Government urged [Subscription]Climate Change Committee says the 2030 goals for cutting emissions are further away than they were a year ago

Coach and Bus Week

• YorBus cancelled but ’will shape future transport provision’Lessons learnt from North Yorkshire’s on-demand bus service will be key in developing a long-term transport strategy for rural areas as the service ends, says North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC). The ’pilot’ YorBus service was launched by NYCC in July 2021 to operate in the Ripon, Bedale and Masham area with the aim of offering passengers low-cost journeys on demand.

New Civil Engineer

• National Highways seeks solutions to develop self-monitoring, self-maintaining bridgesNational Highways believes the future of bridge maintenance includes the structures being able to monitor and maintain themselves and it is currently on the hunt for “cutting-edge” technology to develop them.
• Climate Committee calls urgently for clearer policies to reduce emissions in road building, aviation, industry and moreThe Climate Change Committee’s (CCC’s) confidence in the UK meeting its decarbonisation and net zero goals post-2030 is “markedly less” than it was a year ago and it has pointed out a wide range of holes in the government’s policies for achieving them.

Rail Advent

• Trespass dangers exposed in ’brutal’ Transport for Wales pop-up exhibitionThe exhibit can be seen at St David's Centre in Cardiff and aims to raise awareness of the additional dangers of electrified Overhead Line Equipment in Wales.

Transport Scotland

• Ferry fares freeze extendedA fare freeze on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry networks has been extended for a further six months.

Aviation Industry

• Halt airport expansion, say Government's climate advisorsThere should be no further airport expansions in the UK until the Government has developed a ’capacity management framework’ for aviation, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said today. 

Other News Sources

• Council steps in to provide support for local bus servicesKey bus routes that serve local communities in York have received support to continue short term, thanks to City of York Council and funding from the Department for Transport [DfT].
• British Airways owner eyes TAP Air PortugalBritish Airways and Iberia owner IAG has set its sights on TAP Air Portugal if conditions are right.
• Warning over hike in European airport chargesThe head of Europe’s airports trade body has issued a ’user pays’ warning on charges amid an ongoing post-pandemic cost crunch.
• 2023 Progress Report to ParliamentThis year saw the release of new detail on the Government’s plans for Net Zero with the publication of the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (CBDP) prompted by last year’s High Court judgement. But policy development continues to be too slow and our assessment of the CBDP has raised new concerns. Despite new detail from Government, our confidence in the UK meeting its medium-term targets has decreased in the past year. The increased transparency embodied in the CBDP is welcome, but a key opportunity to raise the overall pace of delivery has been missed.