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

Friday, 28 November 2025

BBC News

• Council agrees to borrow £57m to reopen airportCouncillors have agreed to take out a £57m loan to help reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
• Cross border electric car drivers ask for EV tax 'detail' The chair of the Electric Vehicle Association of Northern Ireland says the new tax is "really premature".
• Prestwick Airport remains in public hands as bidder pulls outPrestwick Airport has been owned by the Scottish government since 2013.

Department for Transport

• New national standards on taxi licensing proposed to protect passengersStandards will see all drivers, vehicles and operators subject to robust checks and requirements on safety and accessibility across the UK.

Financial Times

• Venezuela bans six airlines amid US tensionsCaracas revokes operating rights for groups including Iberia and Turkish Airlines after they heeded regulators’ security warnings

The Guardian

• Per-mile EV tax is just the first stop on the road to vehicle taxation reform | LettersTaxing EVs on the amount of electricity they use is fairer than the per-mile system outlined in the budget

The Telegraph

• Holidaymakers risk higher air fares after airports hit by business rates rise [subscription]Chancellor's 'short-sighted move' adds to Britain's highest property tax bills
• Is there space in London's sky for 1,000 more planes a day? [subscription]The perfect storm of expansion and new runways at three of the UK's biggest airports leaves airspace experts facing a very real problem

Times Online

• Heathrow could face £145m rise in business rates [subscription]Bills for airports set to increase after Rachel Reeves imposed a 'super multiplier' for premises valued at more than £500,000, alongside revaluation
• Electric cars will need annual checks under Reeves's new rules [subscription]Under the chancellor's pay-per-mile scheme motorists would have to have mileage officially verified each year
• Sobering rail stats don't bode well for full nationalisation [subscription]A majority of train companies are now under Whitehall control and their costs and subsidies are rising

Daily Express

• Electric car drivers face maddening regular checks in nightmare pay-per-mile tax shake-upElectric vehicle drivers are bracing for a controversial new mileage tax, sparking fears of a chaotic system. Could this be a nightmare in the making?

Mail Online

• Electric car owners will now have to pay twice to drive abroad under Labour's new pay-per-mile schemeMotorists with EVs will also have to organise annual MOT-style checks on brand-new cars under plans announced by the Chancellor.

The Sun

• Major UK airport may get tram line for new £1.3bn terminal as bosses prepare for 8million more flyers over next 5 yearsA MAJOR UK airport may get a tram line for a new 31.3billion terminal as bosses prepare for eight million more flyers. Manchester Airport has revealed the latest plans for their multi-billion Terminal 2 renovation.

Local Government

• Full Council backs financial support to help reopen airportFull Council has supported the financial borrowing requirement to progress the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Birmingham Mail

• Mayor hits back at 'dangerous' calls to torpedo HS2 railway projectReform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice branded HS2 as "ridiculous and wasteful" and wants it scrapped
• New bus route serving Birmingham hospital is announcedThe number 98 will go from Solihull to Heartlands Hospital

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Ryanair adds more than 6,000 extra seats from Leeds Bradford AirportRyanair has announced more than 6,000 extra seats to and from Leeds Bradford Airport as part of its Christmas week schedule.
• Use of electric bikes and scooters 'a growing concern' for Bradford policeElectric scooters and e-bikes have become “a significant concern” for police teams in Bradford – a new report has claimed.

London Evening Standard

• Blow to two major London transport projects as they miss out on funding at BudgetWhilst the DLR extension was given the green light by the Chancellor, there was no mention of funding for the Bakerloo Line or delivery of the West London Orbital

The York Press

• New tourism tax could fund improved transport links to WhitbyFunding from a new tourist tax on overnight stays could be used to improve transport links to the coast, North York Moors, and Yorkshire Dales.

Wales Online

• Cardiff's new train station and business park project given huge boostThe final cost of Cardiff Parkway, with its four platforms, will depend on further design work. However, it is likely to be north of £130m.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• 'People deserve more than soundbites': West Midlands mayor hits back at Reform deputy's call to ‘scrap HS2’Calls to scrap the HS2 project have been branded ‘reckless’ by the Mayor of the West Midlands.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Million fewer bus journeys made in Leeds after fares increased, meeting hearsAlmost a million fewer bus journeys were taken in Leeds in the three months after fares were last increased, a report has found.

Other Regional Press

• New M25 tunnel Lower Thames Crossing construction to start in 2026 - when it could openThe Lower Thames Crossing is on track to open in the early 2030s, Rachel Reeves has confirmed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer committed a further £891m to the long-awaited project as part of The Budget, eight months after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander approved the final plans.
• Rail minister: City growth must fund Cambridge East stationThe government expects growth in Cambridge to fund a new railway station in the east of the city, as part of the East West Rail project.
• New A38 'park and bus' facility will open before ChristmasTaunton's new 'park and bus' facility, serving a major housing development on the A38, will be up and running by Christmas, a senior councillor has promised.
• Bicester MP shares update on fight to keep London Road openCampaigners fighting to Keep London Road Open in Bicester are urging East West Rail and the Government to back an underpass solution, rejecting plans for a pedestrian bridge.
• Town could get e-scooter and e-bike 'network' under new transport plansAn e-bike and e-scooter network could be introduced to Bicester, Oxfordshire under Oxfordshire County Council's new plans to 'improve' local transport.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• TfGM approves funding for 220 further Bee Network electric busesRelease of £59.1m CRSTS money will fund incremental difference between diesel and electric

Aviation Industry

• Bournemouth Airport celebrates record-breaking summer as passenger numbers soar 28%Bournemouth Airport has recorded its busiest summer ever, with year-on-year passenger numbers up 28% to 1,084,629 in the seven months between 1st April and 31st October 2025.
• What impact will the UK Budget have on aviation?The UK aviation sector is evaluating the implications of this week's Budget, which confirmed future increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) and did not introduce new financial measures related to pilot training. The announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves have prompted a mixed response across aviation industry groups.
• Aviation Groups Protest UK Air Passenger Duty ChangeAviation groups have protested at the UK government's decision to apply a previously-proposed higher rate of air passenger duty (APD) to aircraft weighing 5.7 metric tonnes (12,540 pounds) or more from April 2027. The tax ruling announced in an annual budget statement on Wednesday is a change in policy since during a consultion process concluded in January, the government had indicated that the higher rate would apply to aircraft weighing 20 metric tonnes or higher with fewer than 19 passenger seats.

Other News Sources

• Air traffic growth jeopardises European aviation's climate mitigation efforts despite the substantial potential of hydrogenThe European Union recently adopted ReFuelEU Aviation as a regulation to stimulate the use of alternative aviation fuels. We explore how this affects the climate impact of European aviation and its alignment with notions of successful climate change mitigation.

EIN News Subscription

• ‘Fat Thursday’ as airport sees flights peak, braces for new recordGrantley Adams International Airport recorded its busiest day of the year so far for air-to-sea cruise flights on Thursday – dubbed “Fat Thursday” – with more than 11 planes on the tarmac at once. But chief executive Hadley Bourne predicted an even busier day is on the horizon on December 20, when Seawell expects more than 50 flights just five days before Christmas.