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

Wednesday, 02 October 2024

BBC News

• Air traffic services head made airport directorThe head of air traffic services at the Isle of Man Airport has been appointed its interim director.
• Rail firm to roll out sign language announcementsA rail company operating across the north of England will introduce sign language announcements on all of its services.
• Bus company warns public over social media scamA warning has been issued over an online bus travel scam in Sussex and Kent. Brighton and Hove Buses (BHB) said it had been made aware of a social media scheme that offers free bus travel for six months with a key smartcard
• Free bus travel for young people leaving careHundreds of young people in Hull and East Yorkshire are to receive six months of free bus travel to support them as they leave care, Hull City Council has said.
• Bus lane plan paused by council pending reviewA multi-million pound plan to install bus lanes along a major route into Leicester has been put on hold, the city council has said.

Department for Transport

• New regulations come into force to improve accessibility on local buses and coachesLocal bus and coach services will have to provide real-time onboard route and stop information.

Financial Times

• Harold Daggett, the union boss who has brought US ports to a haltThe powerful longshoremen president has shuttered eastern and southern US docks in an attempt to keep automation at bay
• Hungarian investors accuse Spain of breaking EU law over rail deal vetoMadrid blocked sale of Spanish trainmaker Talgo for political reasons, says Ganz-MáVag chief

The Guardian

• Treasury asking ministers to draw up billions of pounds of infrastructure cutsExclusive: departments asked to model cuts of up to 10% despite Rachel Reeves? vow to invest in growth

The Telegraph

• Disabled BBC journalist Frank Gardner forced to crawl through plane to use toilet. [subscription]It is not the first time the security correspondent has suffered discriminatory treatment while travelling by air.

Local Government

• Record number of passengers using bus to get around North East LincolnshireThe number of people taking the bus to get around the borough is at record levels post Covid-19. Passenger numbers have increased by almost 5% in the last year, with many taking advantage of the discounted schemes and passes.
• A thousand free bus tickets snapped up in one day through 'secret billboard'Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has given away up to 1,000 free four-week bus tickets to people who followed social media clues to a unique billboard advert.

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan to strike optimistic tone on HS2 Euston link as he urges more transport investmentSadiq Khan will strike an optimistic tone in a speech on Wednesday night about the prospect of the High Speed 2 rail line reaching Euston.

Manchester Evening News

• Senior Conservative says the North is not 'entitled' to cash for public transportLord Moylan, who is a Tory transport spokesperson, rowed back on comments in which he questioned whether the North has enough people to justify investment in public transport

Northern Echo

• Teesside Airport's future questioned amid financial concernsThe future of Teesside Airport has been questioned amid concerns about its viability and whether it is good value for money.

Wales Online

• Transport for Wales staff considering strike actionMembers of one union are being balloted over potential industrial action

Yorkshire Post

• Senior Tory suggests the North doesn't have enough people to warrant rail investmentA senior Tory has suggested that there are not enough people in the North to warrant investment in rail infrastructure.
• Conservatives 'send signal' by appointing Yorkshire MP as first ever shadow minister for transport in NorthShadow Transport Secretary Helen Whateley announced that she had appointed Sir Alec Shelbrooke, the MP for Wetherby and Easingwold in West Yorkshire, to the brief.

Kent Online

• Fears relocation of Folkestone bus station will lead to anti-social behaviour and drug taking in new park at Bouverie SquareFrustrated residents say plans to relocate a town centre bus station and replace it with a new park would encourage drug users and anti-social behaviour.

Other Regional Press

• Belfast International Airport marks Busiest August on record and launches new winter scheduleBelfast International Airport, member of VINCI Airports, has launched seven new routes with 400 flights per week for passengers as part of its winter schedule.
• Disgruntled commuters slam 'annoying messy' development outside Leeds Train StationDisgruntled commuters have slammed the 'annoying' development which has been outside Leeds Train Station for more than a year, and isn't due to be completed until January 2026.
• Shrewsbury MP meets rail bosses and pushes for improvements to Shropshire's train servicesRail bosses visited Shrewsbury station with the town's MP this week to look at a raft of potential improvements to train services and to the station itself.
• Boost to Bromsgrove railway links as MP learns about Midlands Rail HubBROMSGROVE'S MP has met with transport chiefs at the town's railway station to discuss how plans for the Midlands Rail Hub could benefit the constituency.
• Cornwall bus fares rocket as one fumes 'just buy a car'Cornwall Live readers have voiced their concern following a recent bus fare increase, marking the second such rise in four months. This hike has particularly troubled parents who depend on public transport for their children's journey to school.
• Sadiq Khan doesn't rule out fusing two express London bus routes into one ahead of Superloop 2Sadiq Khan has not ruled out fusing two Superloop London bus routes together in an effort to improve services. It comes after Transport for London (TfL) admitted that some of its express bus routes - which stop fewer times - have encountered issues.
• Surface rail usage surges by 175% in Yorkshire, defying declines in other public transportNewly released data from the Department for Transport has revealed that, since 2002, surface rail in the Yorkshire and Humber region is the only mode of public transport that has seen an increase in the average number of trips per person per year, while other modes of public transport have experienced a decline.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Oxford Bus completes electric roll outOxford Bus Company has completed its roll out of electric buses in Oxford.

Rail Business Daily

• Transport NGOs say 'it's time to get a shift on' to advance sustainable travelEight national NGOs working to advance sustainable, inclusive transport and travel have produced a new briefing to shine a light on the huge social, economic and environmental benefits of shifting away from car-dominated travel and car dependency.

Rail Magazine

• Tap-in tap-out comes to more stations near LondonTicketless travel will be available from almost half of main line stations in and around London from September 23, as the government pushes on with its £20 million Project Oval scheme.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• RHA adds to calls for Matlock Bath coach parking to returnRHA has added its weight to calls for coach parking spaces in Matlock Bath to be returned to their intended use.
• Oxford Bus Company completes fleet electrificationOxford Bus Company (OBC) has reported that the final of its 104 battery-electric buses has been put into service.

Sustainable Bus

• 81% of all Europeans use public transport for day-to-day travel, according to GART / UPF study presented at EuMo81% of all Europeans use public transport for day-to-day travel, making it the leading mode of transport in urban environments. However, there are differences between the capitals when it comes to the type of transport used, accessibility, and incentive measures.

Transport Action Network

• Lower Thames Crossing Failings Exposed in Expert ReportWith the UK Government imminently expected to take crucial decisions on the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), Transport Action Network (TAN) today released a devastating independent report into the legacy Conservative scheme which it has submitted to Labour's Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP.

Other News Sources

• National Highways accused of overreachAn anti-road-building campaign group has accused National Highways of breaching its licence by spending public money on lobbying government.
• Millions of pounds approved for transport infrastructure schemes across Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester's Bee Network Committee has signed off several millions of pounds worth of investment in transport infrastructure across the city region.

News from Europe

• Creating a Single European Rail Area 'we have the vision, now it's about implementation', says TravainiInnoTrans 2024, Europe's leading trade fair for transport technology, was held in Berlin at the end of September. Euractiv spoke with Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director of EU-Rail, about his goal of creating a Single European Rail Area.