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

Friday, 03 April 2020

Government

• Almost £400 million to keep England’s buses runningGreater funding to keep bus routes running during the coronavirus pandemic.

BBC News

• Government bails out bus firms to keep routes openA £167m fund will cover the losses of bus companies to keep essential services running for key workers.

Financial Times

• Bus companies in England to receive rescue fundingGovernment commits £167m to keep services running for key workers during coronavirus pandemic 

The Guardian

• Bus firms get £400m bailout to maintain servicesBus companies in England will receive a £400m bailout to ensure that services needed by frontline workers such as NHS staff can keep running.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Bus companies halt Gwynedd routes because of coronavirusThe 12 route between Caernarfon and Pwllheli is among those suspended

Manchester Evening News

• Bus firms get fast-tracked £5.6m taxpayer boost - on condition they don't axe key worker routesTransport bosses have fast-tracked payment to Greater Manchester's bus operators - and asked in return that they keep running routes for key workers.

Other Regional Press

• ‘No longer viable’: Bus operator cancels all coach services due to coronavirus pandemicOne of the UK’s biggest bus operators has cancelled all of its coach services as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Bus stop transformed into tiny shop for NHSKind-hearted villages have transformed a bus stop into a tiny hub for donations for NHS workers.
• National Express to suspend all bus servicesTravel advice has been given to anyone with a ticket to ride after April 5

Coach and Bus Week

• A Lerwick legendAfter over 100 years in business, one of Shetland’s best known operators will close its doors at the end of the summer season. Jonathan Welch visited to hear the history of the respected family firm
• Real people, real resultsWho better to talk about what life is like as a bus driver than an actual bus driver? Recruitment campaigns increasingly include this opportunity – but Brighton & Hove/Metrobus has taken this a step further by creating an innovative, eyecatching film involving drivers talking about their daily life.
• Bus manufacturers halt productionAlexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has announced that it has suspended production at its UK manufacturing facilities.
• Secretary of State: bus-specific deal is comingAmongst a number of questions about the bus and community transport sectors, Grant Shapps MP says a deal for buses should arrive ‘in the next few days’

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• ATF Operators Association calls for delegated MoT testingThe Authorised Testing Facility Operators Association (ATFOA) has stepped up its campaign for the immediate introduction of delegated MoT testing responsibility.
• Operators pull together for key workersMorebus and Yellow Buses have partnered during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic to ensure key workers can travel across Bournemouth and Poole.
• Oxford Tube suspended by StagecoachStagecoach in Oxfordshire has announced that its Oxford Tube coach service between the university city and London will be suspended until further notice after operation on Sunday 5 April.
• Public funding supports bus operatorsVarying packages of funding have been confirmed for bus operators in England, Scotland and Wales as politicians acknowledge the crisis brought on the industry by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
• National Express scheduled coaches to be suspendedThe entire National Express scheduled coach network will be suspended from midnight on Sunday 5 April. The operator says the move is being made as it is no longer viable to continue operating a limited number of services.

Other News Sources

• The exact parts of London Underground's Jubilee line with 4G connection in tunnelsStations on the eastern Jubilee line section now have 4G access in tunnels and on platforms
• From the Frontline - MAN Truck & Bus UK MD Thomas Hemmerich discusses how COVID-19 has impacted his businessMAN Truck & Bus UK was well prepared for the Coronavirus outbreak, and consequently is operating at full capacity today.