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

Friday, 05 August 2022

BBC News

• ScotRail strike threat as union rejects 5% pay offerMembers of the RMT working for ScotRail voted against the deal 60% to 40%.
• Cost of living: Small garages want petrol prices cut at chainsIndependent fuel sellers say supermarkets are not reflecting wholesale costs at the pump.

ITV News

• London Underground's future is driverless says Transport Sec Grant Shapps as Tube deal drags onLondon Underground trains won't need drivers in years to come meaning fewer frustrating strikes for commuters, according to the Transport Secretary.

Financial Times

• Lufthansa forecasts profits boost from wealthy passengersGerman airline bullish despite union disputes and recession fears as net profits rise

The Guardian

• Two more unions to join rail strikes across Great Britain in AugustThousands of TSSA and Unite members to join RMT in Network Rail strikes on 18 and 20 August

Times Online

• Hybrid Air Vehicles gets a lift from the taxpayer’s Future Fund schemeThe developer of a hybrid airship nicknamed the “flying bum” is among the latest batch of companies the taxpayer has taken a stake in through the government’s Future Fund scheme.
• Foreign firms’ increased bid signals change at rail operator Go-Ahead [subscription]An operator of commuter rail and bus routes in London is set to be taken over by two overseas companies with no experience of the British market.

City AM

• UK ahead of EV adoption curve but charging accessibility lags behind The UK is currently ahead of the Climate Change Committee’s electric vehicle (EV) adoption curve by more than 100,000 cars. According to figures by Volkswagen Financial Services UK, there were 833,000 EVs in the UK as of March – up 71 per cent on last year’s levels.  At the same time, registrations of battery-electric vehicles [...] The post UK ahead of EV adoption curve but charging accessibility lags behind appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• ScotRail strike looms after union members reject latest pay deal RMT organiser Mick Hogg said failure to reach a better deal during meetings next week could result in a ballot for strike action.

Liberal Democrat Party

• Welsh Lib Dems call for free train travel as cost of living crisis bitesThe Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh government to take a leaf out of Spain’s book on public transport. The party is calling for the Welsh Labour government to consider introducing a scheme similar to the one introduced this month in Spain which will see free train journeys for commuter and medium-distance trains between 1 September and 31 December.

Birmingham Post

• Transport body casts doubt on Government's Yorkshire rail pledgeA Parliamentary committee has become the latest body to question how a rail scheme to cut journey times between Bradford and Leeds would work.
• Aviva announces one-off payment to staff and removes car park charges as cost of living crisis bites'We hope this one-off payment goes some way to helping a large number of our colleagues this winter'

Bucks Free Press

• New bus service from High Wycombe to Marlow proposed as film studio protests continueRecent protests against the proposed plans for a new film studio next to Westhorpe junction centered around potential traffic problems the development could bring.

Other Regional Press

• Fears cut price rail scheme won't improve West Yorkshire journeys after government scraps major new lineIt was supposed to be one bright spot in the plan that ditched much of the other promised investment
• Calls for Wales to follow Spain’s example and offer free train journeys to combat cost of living crisisThe Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to take a leaf out of Spain’s book on public transport.
• Swansea Bay Metro: Ideas for regional transport improvements discussedEarly ideas on potential rail and bus service improvements for passengers throughout the Swansea Bay City Region have been discussed.
• New Aberdeen to Glasgow bus service set to be launched with tickets costing 99pA new Aberdeen bus service to Glasgow is set to be launched next week, with tickets costing as little as 99p. The buses will be run by German company FlixBus, one of Europe's leading coach companies.
• TfL system for Essex would transform local bus services, council chief saysBus services will improve if Essex gets the same powers similar to Transport for London, the leader of the county council has said. Councillor Kevin Bentley told Essex County Council’s Corporate Policy and Scrutiny Committee on July 28 bus timetables could be co-ordinated centrally should more devolution come to the county.

New Civil Engineer

• Blockchain trial by Amey aims to slash cost of rail worksAmey is to trial a technology based on cryptocurrency trading sites in a bid to improve the efficiency of rail works. The firm’s engineering advisory arm will implement a blockchain platform on a railway upgrade project in Wales.
• Assessment of bridges must focus on quality, not just quantityOnce again, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is browbeating Network Rail over timely delivery of assessments as though going through processes were the important issue.
• ORR raises concerns over HS1 asset renewals deliveryThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR)'s annual assessment of High Speed 1 Ltd (HS1 Ltd) has highlighted concerns over how the company is managing its asset renewals.

Rail Business Daily

• “High Speed Rail essential to levelling up Britain”The High Speed Rail Group has released its latest report – High Speed Rail: Levelling Up Voices – bringing together influential voices from across politics, business and academia to make the case for the benefits of rail infrastructure investment, which include:

Railway Gazette

• National Train Control Systems framework aims to develop UK signalling marketUK: Network Rail is planning to establish a multi-supplier National Train Control Systems framework for the delivery of major enhancements and renewals, including ETCS and conventional signalling.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Yellow Buses to close as NatEx in for Yellow CoachesBournemouth Transport Ltd, which trades as Yellow Buses, will end the operation of all services beyond Thursday 4 August after administrator Milsted Langdon was unable to find a buyer for the troubled business. 
• Team Pennine marks positive first year under TransdevTransdev Blazefield has marked the first anniversary of its Team Pennine operation – the former Yorkshire Tiger business – by announcing that it has invested £2.5m so far in overhauling the undertaking “with more to come.” 
• ‘Wake up call’ for coach industry via consumer researchInsurance broker McCarron Coates has issued what it calls as “a wake-up call” to the coach industry via the publication of findings from consumer research that it commissioned. Those results suggest that the sector should alter its marketing strategies “and align itself with what the current customer wants if it is to survive,” the supplier claims.
• HCT Group seeks to terminate operations in YorkshireHCT Group is seeking to terminate its operations in Yorkshire, the transport social enterprise has announced. It has blamed difficult trading conditions and rising costs for the decision.

Other News Sources

• UK mega-project Northern Powerhouse Rail back on track?A project to connect major cities in the north of England with a dedicated high-speed railway, vastly increasing capacity for freight and passenger traffic, could be back on the agenda, but only if members of the Conservative Party vote for the right leader. That is the intriguing – or preposterous – state of affairs, depending on your political point of view.
• Metrolink tram route from Oldham to Bury has date setA new deadline has been set for the completion of a tram route from Oldham to Bury via Rochdale and Heywood.
• Hyundai Reveals Futuristic Smart City With Automated TransportHyundai Motor Group has presented a dramatic vision for a smart city of the future where all the transport is automated.
• Transforming transport in the Liverpool City Region through the Green Bus Routes programmeMatt Goggins, Assistant Director for Bus at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, provides Intelligent Transport with exclusive insight into the region’s Green Bus Routes programme, which is set to better prioritise buses; significantly improve the passenger experience; and encourage modal shift.
• Council working to save bus routes following more cutsNorth Somerset Council is looking at ways to continue local services in response to the latest announcement of further cuts proposed by commercial bus company First.