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

Saturday, 07 October 2017

BBC News

• Driverless cars: 'Removing humans' from delivery servicesDriverless cars could soon be able to deliver parcels to people’s homes, says William Sachiti, founder of a robotics company.
• Driverless cars could be tested on new roads, Ken Skates saysDriverless vehicles on Wales' streets could cut the number of car owners, an expert predicts.
• Married Lancashire police officers sold road crash dataNigel Mungur is jailed for five years, while his wife Nicola receives a conditional discharge.
• On the buses: Free drawings helps artist raise awarenessLiz Atkin uses newspapers to create art and gives it to the travelling public for free.
• 'Like a communist regime'A pilot says colleagues are leaving the airline in a mass exodus due to a
• University of Cambridge solar car crashes before raceThe University of Cambridge team's solar-powered Mirage car rolled and crashed during testing.
• County Antrim Wrights Group bus firm makes £11m profitThe profit was achieved on turnover of £264m, which was down by more than £10m compared to 2015.
• Bus firm tells politicians: 'We are not the enemy'Greenock-based firm McGill's says politicians need to
• Ryanair boss offers pilots better pay and conditions to stayMichael O'Leary's offer comes after the airline cancelled thousands of flights in recent weeks.
• EasyJet sees record passenger numbersThe airline's full-year profits are expected to be £405m-£410m, at the upper end of estimates.
• First head rolls at Ryanair after pilot scheduling fiascoThe airline will bid farewell to operations manager who had ultimate responsibility for pilot rosters

ITV News

• Ryanair pilot tells ITV News flight cancellations could continue in 2018A current Ryanair pilot has told ITV News that flight cancellations could continue next year.

Financial Times

• Airbus braced for ‘turbulent’ spell over fraud caseAircraft maker’s chief warns staff of potential for ‘significant’ penalties
• US orders new tariffs on Bombardier jetsTrump administration elevates trade dispute with Canada and UK
• EasyJet flags upbeat profits despite hit from sterling
• Monarch customers at frontline of fallout from airline collapseHardest hit are those who booked flights with debit cards directly with carrier
• EasyJet posts record passenger numbers over summerProblems at rivals help low-cost carrier push profits to upper end of range
• European airlines: size is not everythingPicking a viable niche is a key factor, as demonstrated by smaller specialist operators
• Ryanair chief operations officer to leaveMichael Hickey departure follows rostering debacle at low-cost carrier

The Guardian

• The collapse of Monarch: inside the doomed airline in its last daysAs managers scrambled to save the firm, there were few clues anything was awry – it was even still holding recruitment daysIn the week running up to the collapse of Monarch Airlines, one crew member noticed that something was awry. The soap had run out on a flight back to Gatwick and a request to replenish supplies was left unanswered. A few days later, on Monday this week, Monarch was no more: almost 2,000 staff would be laid off and the travel plans of 860,000 passengers would be disrupted.Her concerns about toiletries aside, Shelley Matthews didn’t notice serious problems at the carrier, de...

The Herald

• British plane parts exporter faces 300 per cent tax on US importsAIRCRAFT parts manufacturer Bombardier is facing a 300 per cent levy for plane exports to the US, it has emerged.

The Huffington Post

• Bus Driver Launches 'Appalling' Tirade Against Disabled Passenger Trying To BoardA London bus driver has been filmed in a remarkable altercation with a disabled man trying to board her vehicle. Chris Stapleton, 60, told HuffPost UK the tirade was so abusive he is going to report it as a hate crime. He said: “What I was asking for here was that the wheelchair space be cleared, not that I absolutely had to get on the bus but I wanted her to fulfil her obligation to at least ask so I would have a chance.” Instead the driver gets increasingly irate, culminating with her calling him “ignorant and selfish”. Pointing to the wheelchair, she adds: “No ...

The Telegraph

• George Osborne says he was ‘shocked and stunned’ after being targeted by moped gang who stole 103 mobiles in 18 days
• 16 die after train collides with broken down bus
• Royal Navy could lose 'beach-landing' ships in next round of defence cuts

Times Online

• O’Leary says sorry to Ryanair pilots[Subscription]Michael O’Leary has written a personal apology to Ryanair pilots after he suggested their job was “easy” and offered incentives in an effort to prevent further defections to other airlines.
• Uber can use Apple app to record customers’ screens [Subscription]Apple has given Uber unprecedented and “disturbing” privileges that would enable the company to record customers’ phone screens and access their data without their knowledge, experts have warned.
• British Airways ‘misled’ customers on Atol travel protection [Subscription]Airlines including British Airways have been accused of misleading passengers by exaggerating the protection offered to stranded travellers.
• Government held Monarch bailout talks [Subscription]Government officials discussed a multimillion-pound bailout for Monarch days before the airline collapsed, The Times has learnt.
• Self-driving trains will run every 2½ minutes on main lines [Subscription]Self-driving trains will operate on the mainline rail network for the first time under plans to increase the number of services at packed city centre stations massively.
• Bombardier slapped with second tariff [Subscription]The trade dispute threatening 4,200 jobs in Belfast intensified last night as the US government hit Bombardier with a new punitive tariff.

Mail Online

• Royal Navy operator fired torpedo at nuclear sub dockyard A newly released file shows the misfire at Devonport Naval base, Plymouth, occurred after the operator failed to follow written safety instructions during tests in March 2014.
• George Osborne almost robbed by teen London moped gang George Osborne (left), 46, escaped being robbed by a notorious teenage moped gang outside the BBC's Broadcasting House. Claude Parkinson (right), 18, and two others were convicted.
• Police spotted chasing motorbike thieves through London The dramatic photos, taken in Notting Hill this afternoon, show officers in their vehicle pursuing the thief who had stolen a silver Suzuki motorbike by cutting off its disc brake with an angle grinder.
• Father faces court after not paying free car park's fine A driver faces court after refusing to pay a fine imposed by a south London car park when he accidentally hit zero instead of the letter O on the parking machine.
• Car sales down by a fifth as drivers shun diesels Just over 426,000 new cars were registered in September, down 9.3 per cent on the same month last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Birmingham Mail

• More than 1,800 people sign petition against car parking charges at Cannon Hill Park Petition organiser seeks compromise over car parking charges
• Bad parking is blocking a FIFTH of Birmingham's parking spacesResearch shows THOUSANDS more parking spaces could be freed up if cars were parked properly

Birmingham Post

• A raft of new speed cameras coming to the West Midlands Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Wolverhampton could be set for cameras
• These are the airlines vying for Monarch's airport slots Jet2, the latest airline to enter the fray, announced on Friday it would add more than 550,000 summer seats to meet increased demand

Bolton News

• Planned bus drivers strike called off A PLANNED strike by drivers on First busses has been called off.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Network Rail accused of taking too long to address poor condition of stationA TOWN’S former mayor has welcomed news that repairs should start soon on the town’s railway station – but asked why the building had been neglected for so long.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Welsh Ambulance Service to add 90 new vehicles to its fleetFive new specialist Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) vehicles are also included as part of a new investment package
• Coach driver filmed 'doing paperwork' on mobile phone while driving passengers at over 60mph Horrified passengers filmed driver Sean Davies using his phone, taking his eyes off the rain-soaked road for periods
• Liverpool airport firefighters tackle blaze as smoke seen billowing close to Easyjet plane Video shows fire crews trying to extinguish blaze on or close to an Easyjet plane at Liverpool John Lennon Airport
• Free bus travel for young people promise from Welsh Conservatives Scheme would follow similar one run by Labour Welsh government that started in 2015 but was cut after 18 months

London Evening Standard

• Ryanair boss sends pilots letter pleading for them not to leave, offering bonuses and better contracts​The boss of Ryanair has apologised to pilots, offering them incentives to stay with the carrier in a personal letter.
• Terrifying footage shows Airbus A380 drifting across the runway as it is caught by gusts mid-landing in GermanyThis terrifying footage shows the moment an Airbus superjumbo drifts across the runway at a sharp angle as it is caught by a huge gust of wind during landing.
• Driver in angry confrontation with wheelchair user as he tries to board London busA wheelchair user caught on video the moment he had an angry confrontation with the driver of a London bus.
• The best commuter bike kit to invest in for autumn and winterIt's tough out there on the road- make sure your reinforcements are up to scratch by investing in some high quality kit

Manchester Evening News

• Fire breaks out next to plane at Liverpool Airport Manchester holidaymakers watched on as a ground power unit went up in flames on the apron at around 6.50pm

Northern Echo

• Drivers warned to expect serious delays in Durham today as gas repair works take placeDRIVERS are being warned to expect serious delays today during emergency gas repair work on one of the region’s busiest roads.
• Solar car team sets out on 3,000km drive across AustraliaA TEAM of students are setting off on a 3,000km drive across Australia in a solar powered car.

Wales Online

• Thieves stole a bus and a minibus worth £100k and then torched them They were taken during early morning raids in Aberbargoed
• The closest ambulance to a road crash was '30 minutes away', because it's claimed some vehicles have no-one to drive them A paramedic has claimed vacant shifts are not being filled

Bucks Free Press

• Access to hospital 'maintained at all times' as next phase of roadworks get underway Access to Wycombe Hospital will be “maintained at all timesâ€� when work on the latest phase of the town centre masterplan gets underway this month, the county council has reassured residents.

North Wales Live

• John Lennon Airport fire: 'All we could see was the smoke and flames' Passengers have described the moment they were told to hurry off easyJet plane after a fire broke out just feet away

Reading Evening Post

• Little girl left 'petrified' after getting trapped in the door of Reading bus Isla Snarey got trapped in the doors of a number 5 bus as she tried to get off

Other Regional Press

• Minibus and bus worth £100k stolenA BUS and a minibus worth more than £100,000 were stolen from Aberbargoed yesterday. 
• Cyclists warn of 'accident waiting to happen' at Folly Bridge roadworks junctionA CENTRAL Oxford junction is a 'disaster waiting to happen', cycling campaigners have warned.
• New 20mph speed limit in city centre can't be enforced, say police PLANS to extend a 20mph zone and reduce parking spaces in Woodstock Road are set to be approved despite an Oxford college's fear it could cause an accident.
• Weekend advice on hospital transport service in BedsThe clinical commissioning groups in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Luton, together with the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST), have continued to make good progress to put in place a reliable transport service for patients that use the service.
• This sinkhole's been here four months - why aren't council looking into it? Anger in Slaithwaite over 'forgotten' hole in the road

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• CILT and RSA merger puts rail sector on the right trackThe Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), is pleased to announce the successful merger with the Railway Study Association (RSA), with effect from 6th October 2017. CILT and RSA will be joining forces to create an industry-leading forum for the rail sector, which will allow individuals and organisations to share best practice, knowledge and opinions relating to all aspects of the rail profession.  The merger will bring extra weight to CILT’s influence across the profession and RSA’s important and significant membership can join CILT. RSA members who become CILT...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Griffiths: Future of northern transport hinges on HS2 links with NPRThe future of transport in the north will be defined by how HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will work together, Paul Griffiths, managing director of HS2 Phase 2 has argued. During an informative address to delegates at the TransCityRail North conference in Manchester yesterday, Griffiths...
• NR to start 'conscious shift' of spending away from large companiesNetwork Rail is not interested in taking a traditional approach to rationalising its supply chain, but rather wants to maintain the same number of suppliers in the industry whilst shifting spend away from bigger companies and into SMEs. Speaking at the TransCityRail (TCR) North conference...
• Bring in the disruptors to drive rail innovation, NR tells suppliersA key decision-maker in Network Rail has called for a seismic shift in the way the rail industry approaches its supply chain and asked for “disruptors” in SMEs to be put at the forefront of projects in order to drive change and innovation. Speaking at the TransCityRail North...

Railway Gazette

• Bombardier Transportation opens Italian maintenance facilityITALY: Bombardier Transportation has officially opened a locomotive and rolling stock maintenance...

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair bids to retain pilot workforceRyanair, rocked by rostering errors that have forced the Irish LCC to cancel thousands of flights over the next five months, has appealed to its pilots to stand by the company. read more
• Aer Lingus slams Dublin ‘infrastructure shortcomings’Aer Lingus COO Mike Rutter has strongly criticized facilities at the Irish flag carrier’s home base airport, saying they threaten the airline’s expansion. read more

Other News Sources

• Corrupt Heathrow baggage handler from Surrey admits key role in £9m cocaine smuggling plot Joysen Jhurry, from Banstead, placed suitcases flown in from Brazil and filled with cocaine onto domestic luggage carousels, for couriers to pick up