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

Saturday, 25 November 2023

BBC News

• Nissan to lead £2bn investment in UK electric car plantThe Japanese firm will build three EV models at the Sunderland factory, securing 6,000 jobs.
• Carnival UK withdraws 'fire-and-rehire' threatCarnival UK says it will not pursue the controversial strategy which could have affected 900 crew.

Financial Times

• Cathay Pacific offers cheap flights to help Hong Kong's 'patriots only' voteAirline discounts for residents in China intended to boost turnout in election after pro-democracy candidates banned

The Guardian

• Motor emissions could have fallen by over 30% without SUV trend, report saysGlobal fall averaged 4.2% between 2010 and 2022 but would have been far more if vehicle sizes stayed sameEmissions from the motor sector could have fallen by more than 30% between 2010 and 2022 if vehicles had stayed the same size, a report has found.Instead, the size of the average car ballooned as the trend for SUVs took off, meaning the global annual rate of energy intensity reductions - the fall in fuel used - of light-duty vehicles (LDV) averaged 4.2% between 2020 and 2022. Continue reading...
• Cruise firm Carnival UK withdraws threat to fire and rehire more than 900 staffOperator of P&O Cruises and Cunard fleets agrees to consult with seafarers' union over any proposed changes to employment contractsCarnival UK has committed not to fire and rehire its cruise ship staff, after it was revealed that the company had made provisions to potentially dismiss and re-engage more than 900 seafarers on its P&O Cruises and Cunard fleet.The cruise operator's Bermuda-based employment firm last week notified authorities including the UK Insolvency Service of a consultation to vary the terms and conditions of 919 maritime workers across its 10 UK-based ships. C...

The Herald

• Lord Robertson: Taxpayers ’robbed’ by overbudget ferry constructionThe construction of two delayed and overbudget ferries has “robbed taxpayers”, Lord Robertson claimed as he criticised the Scottish Government’s handling of island issues.
• Westminster must share ferries blameIt sometimes seems that, like death and taxes, frustration with the problems that beset Scotland’s ferry services will always be with us – on our Letters Pages at any rate.
• 20 years since supersonic: A history of Concorde through the Times archive [subscription]Faster than the Earth’s rotation and able to travel at twice the speed of sound, Concorde was an aviation marvel. On Sunday it will be 20 years since the world’s first supersonic airliner turned off its engines for the last time.

The Scotsman

• Airline-style train seats that convert into a bed can't come soon enough – Scotsman commentTrying to sleep in an ordinary train carriage is a singular challenge
• Airline-style train seats that convert into a bed can't come soon enough – Scotsman commentTrying to sleep in an ordinary train carriage is a singular challenge

Times Online

• Taxpayers robbed by ferries fiasco, says Robertson [subscription]A former Nato secretary-general has accused Scottish ministers of “robbing taxpayers” with the delayed construction of two over-budget ferries.
• Harland & Wolff knocked back in bid for Scilly ferry operator [subscription]Harland & Wolff has been rebuffed in a takeover bid for the company that operates transport to the Isles of Scilly.

City AM

• Sharp cut in fuel prices after retailers given 'good prod' by regulator CMA 'It's amazing what happens when the competition watchdog gives the fuel trade a good prod

Mail Online

• Bentley recalled cars because accelerators were getting stuck two years before Niagara Falls crash that killed Kurt and Monica Villani in their 2022 Flying SpurThe car maker issued the recall in the summer of 2021 for Continental GT and Flying Spur models built between 2018 and 2021.
• Boost for motorists as fuel prices fall sharply after intervention by markets watchdog, the AA reportsA Competition and Markets Authority report published on November 8 accused retailers of not reflecting a decline in wholesale costs.
• P&O cruise passengers furious after their ship was refused entry to New Zealand for one very mundane reasonThousands of passengers aboard a P&O cruise ship have been left angry and disappointed after their two-week journey around New Zealand was thrown into chaos when the vessel was abruptly denied entry.
• Rishi Sunak hails Nissan's plans to boost electric car production in Britain with £1bn investment at Sunderland factoryRishi Sunak yesterday hailed Nissan's decision to invest more than £1billion to build electric cars in Sunderland as a 'massive vote of confidence' in Britain.
• Sadiq Khan is ridiculed after heralding the return of HMV with 'London is back' by voters who accuse him of ruining the capital though his 'wrecked TfL' and much-hated Ulez chargeSadiq Khan has been criticised after heralding the return of HMV's store on Oxford Street with a ' London is back' message. Critics claimed the city has 'more issues now than ever'

This is Money

• Car tax to rake in billions of pounds extra for the Treasury within years - here's why...We've dug into the numbers buried in the OBR's report to see how much the Government thinks it could earn from taxing drivers in coming years.

Bolton News

• Jet2 launches Christmas market getaways from UK airportsJet2 and Jet2CityBreaks have launched a winter programme with flights and holidays to European Christmas markets destinations.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• How much has Bradford's CAZ generated since September 2022?Bradford's Clean Air Zone has generated over £10 million since being introduced in September 2022.

Northern Echo

• Explained: Nissan £2bn investment into Sunderland fectoryCar giant Nissan has announced they will be investing £2bn in its Sunderland factory in the North East as part of electric car production.

Cambridge News

• Peterborough drivers could pay new parking feesThe national parking payment scheme, in its pilot stage, is backed by the Department for Transport (DfT) and intended to encourage competition between different suppliers

Get Surrey

• Free Woking EV charging points to be shut down for an upgradeWoking's council said new software will allow a tariff to be applied

South Wales Argus

• Ebbw Vale line to double rail services in 'exciting plans'TRANSPORT for Wales has spoken of its “exciting plans” to almost double the number of services on the Ebbw Vale line.

Other Regional Press

• Abbey Line set to get no trains for a whole weekCommuters have blasted a rail company after it was revealed a Watford line is set to be out of service for a whole week.
• Oxfordshire: Electric car charging rose by more than quarterThe number of public electric vehicle charging points in Oxfordshire has risen by more than a quarter over the past year, figures show.
• £5,000 fine for driving in gloves, coats, scarves warningWearing gloves, coats and scarves could impact your driving, and put you at risk of receiving a fine

Other News Sources

• Review of the new Hereford City Zipper bus serviceReview of the new Hereford City Zipper bus service.
• Jump in pay-outs due to potholes in Herefordshire's roadsPayouts to drivers in Herefordshire for pothole damage to their vehicles have shot up this year after a four-year lull.