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

Thursday, 30 November 2023

BBC News

• Design choices for Sandwell's new youth buses unveiledThe vehicles will be used as a mobile youth provision following a £700,000 investment.
• Great Western Railway: Broken rail disrupts trains in west LondonA defect is found in the Hayes & Harlington area where trains transfer from one track to another.
• London Underground thefts rise by 83% in a yearData from Transport for London shows crime across all of its services is up 30% in a year.
• E-Scooters: over half of casualties are outside trial areasIt is illegal to ride e-scooters on public roads except in areas selected for trials.

Financial Times

• Sweden's Tesla strikes pit Elon Musk against European labour idealsWave of action over US carmaker's rejection of collective bargaining risks spreading beyond Nordic country
• EU to lobby for tax on aeroplane fuel at COP28'We tax everything alive but not aviation', says climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra

The Guardian

• EU hatches backup plan to lessen impact of 10% Brexit tariff on EVsExclusive: 'Cushion' for carmakers facing looming tariff under deal for vehicles traded between EU and UK from start of 2024The European Commission has hatched confidential Plan B proposals to 'cushion' the impact of a looming 10% tariff on imports and exports of electric vehicles, the Guardian has learned.The proposal was presented to member states on Monday in response to pressure from carmakers to amend some of the conditions imposed when the UK left the EU in January 2021. Continue reading...

The Independent

• Watch live: Cop28 climate summit opens in Dubai as Sunak and Cameron each take own private jets to travel Watch live as the Cop28 climate summit opens in Dubai on Thursday (30 November).
• UK car production increases againMore than four in five cars were shipped abroad, with export growth driven by a 58% rise in shipments to the EU, the SMMT said.
• Road users told to be wary of icy conditions as yellow weather warnings issuedSnow and ice forecast for large swathes of Scotland, eastern England, the South West and Northern Ireland.

Times Online

• GM says settling strikes has cost it $9.3bn [subscription]General Motors said new labour deals after a long US strike will cost it $9.3 billion even as it announced a $10 billion share buyback and a 33 per cent dividend increase.
• Ferrovial’s Heathrow deal was a passport to profit [subscription]Seventeen years at Heathrow. The passengers know how that feels. Ferrovial’s taken almost as long to depart as some of them. The main difference? The Spanish infrastructure group is jetting off with £2.4 billion cash: the result of two deals to flog its one-quarter stake, 15 per cent to private equity outfit Ardian and the rest to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
• UK car production continues to accelerate [subscription]Car production in the UK has increased for the eighth month in a row, with more than 91,000 vehicles built in October.
• Uber urges users to let train take the strain [subscription]Ad campaign promotes service to rail passengers

Bolton News

• Bolton Council: Key vote on £1.2M NCP debt write off planBolton Council has voted to reject controversial plans to write off £1.2million worth of debt owed by car parking company NCP.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Newcastle Clean Air Zone: Upgrade cash rules to change after drivers struggle to get grantsSome small businesses and taxi drivers have complained that they have been unable to get help in upgrading their vehicles to cleaner models that aren't affected by the anti-pollution tolls

The York Press

• LNER advising people to check ahead of travel this weekendLondon North Eastern Railway is advising people intending to travel to scan ahead if they plan to use its routes the weekend of December 2 and December 3.

Cambridge News

• Mayor's plan for 'modern transport system' in Cambridgeshire finally gets green lightPeterborough City Council's support sees the Mayor's Local Transport and Connectivity Plan get approval, but some in the county argued it was a 'war on motorists'.
• Cambridgeshire changes to train services over Christmas period include bus replacements and reduced timetablesNetwork Rail has advised passengers that there will be changes to services over the Christmas period for planned engineering works

Other Regional Press

• Roadworks on vital M5 link in Somerset delayed until end 2024The scheme has been repeatedly delayed since this announcement, with the funding being taken forward into the new Somerset Council when it set its first budget in February 2023.
• Business parking charge announced in new Oxfordshire budgetOxfordshire County Council has released the first draft of its budget for next year.
• Teesside International Airport voted among best for leisure travel at British Travel AwardsTeesside International Airport was voted as the Best small UK Airport for Leisure Travel in the British Travel Awards
• Plans for long-awaited A2 slip-road unveiledA new slip-road off the A2 could finally be built as fresh plans for the £8.8 million project have been unveiled.
• Bournemouth Airport: Theme park hails its own parking schemeA THEME park offering cheap airport parking is celebrating huge success since launching in a bid to make travel more affordable.

Railnews

• Union urges end to Underground 'austerity' as crimes rise The number of crimes committed on London Underground rose by more than a third in the six months from April to September this year, pushing the crime rate for each million passengers up from 13.7 to 18.6. There is particular concern about thefts and robberies, because thefts were up by 83 per cent and robberies by 107 per cent. The RMT has called for an end to 'austerity' measures which can potentially reduce the deployment of staff on duty.

Other News Sources

• Northern and Network Rail bosses confirm new faster Middlesbrough to Newcastle service for revamped Hartlepool stationRail bosses say new services will be ready to call at Hartlepool station’s new platform as soon as a £12million upgrade is complete.
• 'Carelessness and impatience' is ruining lives on Surrey's roadsIn a two year period 2,030 people were killed or seriously injured in collisions in the county

EIN News Subscription

• EU to Improve Passenger & Traveller Experience by Strengthening Their Rights … Currently, the EU has a passenger rights framework covering air, rail, ship … carriage or through multimodal passenger hubs. Airlines are also obligated to … travel information services and a common European mobility data space. This will enhance passengers …
• European airlines look to flight path reform to help cut emissions … fly says Adina Vălean, EU Transport Commissioner. The Single European Sky (SES) reforms have stalled spectacularly. European airline bosses complain there has been … , Aviation Advocacy The International Air Transport Association earlier this year said …