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

Friday, 12 April 2024

ITV News

• Carlisle: Minister bids to change rules for young bus driversA proposal to tackle cancelled bus journeys and the closure of local routes has been launched in Carlisle.

Department for Transport

• New proposals just the ticket for getting young people into transportProposals could improve job opportunities for people aged 18 to 20, ease driver shortages and provide more reliable bus and coach services across England.

The Guardian

• UK government to relax rules to get 18-year-olds driving busesIt’s not just police officers: bus drivers will be officially getting younger under government plans to relax laws on 18-year-olds behind the wheel.

Labour Party

• Steve Rotheram: ’Mayors are paving the way now for Labour’s bold bus plans’Pick up any paper or turn on the news on any given day and you’re bound to be hit with a story about transport. Take your pick: the repeated broken promises on HS2, government inaction to avert rail strikes, or the Prime Minister’s predilection for helicopter rides to avoid public contact.

Bristol Live

• Labour pledges to 'take back control' of bus services and accelerate franchisingLabour has pledged to end the "postcode lottery" of bus services by speeding up the franchising process

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Terrified residents say they're 'nearly run over' by buses driving by their front doors on Welsh street'They continue to drive at speed past the houses, that close to the door...We’ve even had a double decker do it as well'

Other Regional Press

• Bus driver recruitment top of agenda as minister visits CarlisleThe challenges of recruiting young people to become bus drivers was the focus of a ministerial visit to Stagecoach in Carlisle.
• Nottingham’s new electric buses start carrying city passengersThe first of Nottingham City Transport’s (NCT) brand new electric buses entered service and started carrying their first passengers this week.

Coach and Bus Week

• RHA partners with ABTA to offer new coach benefitsTravel association ABTA and RHA Coaches have launched a new partnership which aims to enhance the benefits received by coach travel companies within each organisation’s membership, and amplify the voice of the coach travel sector.
• Pulhams invests in new appWebsite and app specialist Passenger and Go-Ahead have launched a new Pulhams Coaches app as part of the Cotswolds operator’s effort to make travelling easier for passengers.
• Snapper partners with Hayden AI to enhance data analysisData analytics and transport intelligence specialist Snapper Services has partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) and spatial analytics specialist Hayden AI to enhance data analysis for public transport providers and tackle sources of delays
• Scottish Citylink adds more journeys in new summer timetableScottish Citylink has launched its 2024 summer timetable, introducing more direct services, and a higher service frequency across the country. The timetable, which runs from March to September, adds extra services and additional journeys adding up to around 10,000 extra seats per week.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Southern section of Cambridgeshire Busway reopensThe southern section of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has reopened after completion of work to increase safety.
• VDL deal for Van Hool goes ahead as first T coach delivered in UKPurchase of the Van Hool coach and bus activities by VDL has been agreed, with remaining Van Hool employees having been informed of that progress late on 10 April. It comes as hopes of a strong future for the Belgian marque in the UK grew, with the first example of a T range coach for a buyer here having been handed over on 11 April.
• DfT set to partially remove 50km limit on youngest PCV driversThe Department for Transport (DfT) has opened a consultation on proposed changes to restrictions on vocational drivers that include partial removal of the 50km, regular service limit that is imposed on the youngest PCV licence holders.
• Labour: Expansion and simplification of bus franchising in EnglandLabour has again pledged to give “every community” in England outside London scope to roll out franchising of bus services and says that under its plans for overhaul, reregulation could be delivered in “as little as two years.”
• Stagecoach to start Dover Fastrack BRT with ’interim’ fleetStagecoach South East will commence operation of the Dover Fastrack bus rapid transit corridor from this summer, Kent County Council (KCC) has announced.
• Industry flagship event set for strong returnEuro Bus Expo back on 12-14 November with strong demand and curated seminar line-up

Other News Sources

• It’s electrifying: Bus depots and EV charging infrastructureAs public transport operators around the UK introduce more and more electric buses, so the need for extra charging infrastructure has grown.

News from Europe

• Europe’s truck and bus CEOs launch manifesto for zero-emission vehicles as EU inks deal on CO2 reduction rulesBrussels, 11 April 2024 – Truck and bus CEOs step up call to Europe’s law makers as EU signs off on ambitious CO2-reduction targets.