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

Tuesday, 29 August 2023

BBC News

• Somerset Council to subsidise bus services until springFour bus services will be financially supported by a council to safeguard their future until spring.
• Ukrainians in Herefordshire to get £500 transport grantsTransport grants worth £500 will be offered to Ukrainian refugees across Herefordshire aged five and above due to a lack of public transport.
• Ulez expands across London as older car owners face £12.50 chargeUlez - the Ultra Low Emission Zone scheme - has expanded to cover all of Greater London
• Ulez: Criticism as home counties refuse road signageKent joins Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Thurrock councils in rejecting permission.
• Translink: Bus timetable changes as school starts back after summerTranslink advises Metro/Glider, Ulsterbus and Goldliner passengers to check their timetables.
• Ulez: Drivers fined after using scam copycat websitesDrivers mistakenly paying charges on websites run by copycat scammers are receiving fines from TfL.
• Airlines warn of UK flight delays over air traffic control faultAir passengers are hit by severe delays and cancellations - with warnings some disruption could last for days.

ITV News

• What is London’s ultra low emission zone - ULEZ - and how does it affect drivers?The expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) will affect many drivers in the capital.

Financial Times

• UK air traffic control fault fixed but hundreds of flights still affectedAirlines warn of continued delays after five-hour ‘technical issue’ led to severe restrictions across the country
• Network Rail refuses bonuses for staff who went on strikeRMT anger as state operator says it warned of consequences of walking out

The Guardian

• Government to use Ulez expansion to attack Labour over ’war on motorists’The government is to use the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to go on the attack over what it has called “Labour’s war on motorists”, part of a wider battle against green policies it hopes could prove popular with voters.
• The Guardian view on London's low emission zone: doing the right thing | EditorialSadiq Khan deserves credit for pressing ahead with a scheme to improve the capital's air. Everyone who cares about public health and environmental regulation should welcome the expansion of London's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), which launches on Tuesday.

Times Online

• Ferry cancellations ’cost Outer Hebrides companies millions’Uist and Benbecula businesses lost £3 million worth of trade when CalMac withdrew the Lochboisdale to Mallaig service, a survey found
• UK air traffic control meltdown: disruption to last until FridayMisery continues after UK systems failure grounds flights across Europe
• London Ulez expansion up and running. [subscription]Mayor Sadiq Khan hails ’landmark day’ as controversial clean air zones come into force

Mail Online

• British Airways customers fuming as flights are cancelled following network chaos - with some forced to wait a WEEK for a new trip home while others claim BA's website is 'unavailable'Travellers have said they fear being stranded abroad, with many claiming that BA flights are booked up for the next week and calling on the carrier to cover them flying with other airlines.
• Sadiq Khan's £1 billion blitz on the motorist begins as the unpopular Ulez expansion comes into force TODAYSadiq Khan has resisted pressure from charities, Labour-supporting union bosses, and even Sir Keir Starmer to delay or ditch altogether the expansion during the cost of living crisis.
• Did blunder by French airline spark air traffic meltdown? Officials probe if a single badly filed travel plan caused UK's entire flight-control system to collapse in worst outage for a decade - with 1,000 flights cancelled and chaos set to last DAYSToday's UK air traffic control mayhem happened on one of the busiest days in the year, when more than a million people were due to fly out of or land in the UK.

The Mirror

• 'Closing train ticket offices would be unforgiveable and hit disabled and elderly'Our revelations today strengthen the case for keeping open facilities that are used and valued instead of axing what is clearly a vital cog in the public transport service
• UK air traffic control meltdown 'blamed on single airline's wrong travel plan'There are fears that flights may continue to be affected for days with hundreds of flights estimated to have been cancelled already

The National

• CalMac plans to limit ferry disruption to about a week at a timeCALMAC plans to limit disruption on individual ferry routes to around a week at a time, according to new documents.

Network Rail

• Final phase of railway enhancement work begins at Dunblane stationNetwork Rail is carrying out the final phase of enhancement works at Dunblane station to help improve service reliability on Scotland’s Railway.

Sky News

• Expanded ULEZ comes into force - and will now cover every London boroughThe controversial ultra low emissions zone have been extended to London's borders with Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey - with drivers of non-compliant vehicles charged £12.50 a day.
• Hundreds of passengers left 'stranded' in 'absolutely shocking' conditions after air traffic control faultHundreds of Ryanair passengers have been left "stranded" on a Spanish island after a technical fault affected air traffic control.
• Heathrow warns services will 'remain significantly disrupted' after UK air traffic control faultHeathrow Airport has said its services will "remain significantly disrupted" on Tuesday after air traffic controllers across the UK experienced a technical fault.

Birmingham Mail

• Flight chaos will last DAYS after UK air traffic fault with passengers issued urgent warningAirport has warned the significant disruption could linger and linger
• Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester Airports issue fresh statements with air traffic chaos set to last daysNational Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it had “identified and remedied” the technical issue which was affecting air traffic control systems.
• Jet2, BA, Ryanair, EasyJet, TUI issue fresh statements with air traffic chaos set to last daysMajor UK airlines such as Tui and BA warned of "significant delays" for passengers amid changes to schedules.

Wales Online

• The three major changes a transport expert says the Welsh Government should have made to its 20mph rolloutThe transport expert has raised concerns about the impact of the Welsh Government's new default 20mph speed limit

South Wales Argus

• South Wales bus cuts could cause isolation for residentsVulnerable and elderly people could be at risk of increased loneliness and isolation if reductions to public services continue.

New Civil Engineer

• Network Rail will invest £71M on 500 engineering projects this bank holiday weekendNetwork Rail is gearing up for a big August bank holiday weekend of engineering works as it will invest £71M on more than 500 projects aimed at enhancing the UK’s railway network.
• Sisk heading to court in ’high seven figure’ dispute over designs for bridges over DLR and Jubilee lineBerkeley Homes and John Sisk & Son (Sisk) could be going to a High Court dispute over alleged omissions and errors in designs in bridges over the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Jubilee line with a value of “high seven figures” attached.

Other News Sources

• Global Rolling Stock Market Forecast 2023-2032 – Market Size, Drivers, Trends, And CompetitorsThe Business Research Company’s “Rolling Stock Global Market Report 2023” is a comprehensive source of information that covers every facet of the rolling stock market. As per TBRC’s rolling stock market forecast, the rolling stock market size is predicted to reach a value of $72.67 billion by 2027, rising at a significant annual growth rate of 5.5% through the forecast period.
• New m.connect bus service officially launched in MorayScottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing, Economy, Fair Work and Energy, Neil Gray MSP, has officially launched Moray’s newest bus service, m.connect.

News from Europe

• The future is digital: from roads to cloudsWhat is the future of digitalisation in EU commercial road transport, inside and outside the vehicle?