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

Thursday, 15 June 2017

BBC News

• Future Energy: Will buses be run on coffee?Green entrepreneur Arthur Kay wants the red buses that have become a landmark of London to run on fuel generated by coffee waste.
• Apple's Tim Cook confirms self-driving car plansTim Cook says he views Apple's project as being a
• Deaths on Scotland's roads rose last yearThe number of fatalities and serious injuries were up despite overall casualties falling to a record low.
• VW 'to address diesel fix concerns but offer no compensation'VW will offer a two year guarantee for cars that have had modifications done to emissions cheating devices.
• New group starts work fighting Bristol's transport woesThe mayor of Bristol has vowed to improve traffic flow in the city with a new congestion task group.

ITV News

• Mayor takes on Bristol's traffic issuesThe Mayor of Bristol has set up a Congestion Task Group to make recommendations on how to tackle the city's traffic problem.

Financial Times

• Reality of subsidies drives Norway electric car dreamNorwegians are the world’s leading buyers of electric vehicles but politicians are reviewing the incentives
• Five tips for travelling at the back of a planeHow to make flights easier in an age of on-board austerity
• At Uber, counting the costs of winner take allAn out-of-control corporate culture is not the product of one man

The Guardian

• UK car insurers saw losses of £3.5bn in 2016 due to new compensation rulesCut in the Ogden rate, which affects compensation for serious injuries, will see insurance premiums rise, with young drivers the worst hit, says a reportBritain’s car insurers suffered combined losses of £3.5bn last year due to controversial new compensation rules for serious injuries, according to a report which predicts further sharp rises in insurance premiums, especially for young drivers.Consultancy EY said the new Ogden formula led to significant underwriting losses for the motor insurance market in 2016. The unexpectedly deep cut in the Ogden rate, from 2.5% to -0.75%, prompted a furiou...
• Side street routes to avoid city pollution can cut exposure by halfClean air signposts and online walking maps to sidestep diesel fumes would benefit public health, finds study
• Street wars 2035: can cyclists and driverless cars ever co-exist?Driverless cars appear unstoppable – except of course you can simply walk in front of one and force it to brake. Could this conundrum eventually mean a return to a dystopian world of segregated urban highways?
• Air pollution is killing wildlife and peopleMeasures to cut air pollution need to be extended beyond urban areas, say representatives of six wildlife organisations. Plus Dr Richard Carter warns that avoiding main roads won’t protect you from small particulates
• The Passengers That Took On the Train Line review – fascinating journey to inevitable disappointmentThe Passengers That Took On the Train Line (BBC2). In 2016, with the contract for Southeastern trains – which, like Southern, is run by the UK’s busiest rail operator, Govia – due to expire in six months, Peretti found five dissatisfied commuters (it didn’t take long) and followed their bid to take over the franchise

The Independent

• Heathrow baggage crisis sees passengers departing without their luggageLight flight: Heathrow services are arriving and departing on time, but planes are taking off without luggage

Times Online

• Apple says it is working on self-driving car technology [subscription]Apple has admitted for the first time that it is developing self-driving vehicle technology.

City AM

• Forget Heathrow, it's time to take Luton airport seriouslyThe latest tourism figures show that London’s popularity remains high, while a recent British Chamber of Commerce survey showed that over a third of UK SMEs are planning to invest more in selling abroad over the next five years.

Mail Online

• Airlander takes test flight following a crash last year Hundreds of people gathered to watch the 20-tonne Airlander 10 perform aerial manoeuvres in a four-hour flight taking off from Cardington, Bedfordshire.

The Mirror

• Grandfather, 71, filmed being knocked out cold by United Airlines employee for 'asking for new boarding pass' Frequent flier Ronald Tigner is now suing the airline for $1million in scenes his lawyer says are reminiscent of the Dr David Dao overbooked flight scandal

The Sun

• CHIP AND PALM Swedish commuters are paying for train journeys with a microchip embedded in their HANDImplants that are hidden underneath the skin double up as a Swedish version of the Oyster card

Birmingham Post

• Diesel scrappage scheme call on National Clean Air Day West Midlands Mayor lobbying Government to get diesel cars off the road reduce choking pollution in Birmingha

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Toxic traffic fumes will pose risk in Bradford until at least 2021, campaigners warn TRAFFIC-POLLUTED air in parts of Bradford will remain at illegally toxic levels until at least 2021, new analysis of Government data shows.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Warning Metro users: Line closures announced for summer as �20m upgrade gets underway The closures are set to run over much of the summer to allow for major track work and the replacement of the Killingworth Road Metro bridge

Yorkshire Evening Post

• On the move! Leeds transport masterplan is set to get green light from councilCivic chiefs got the go-ahead from Whitehall in April to invest £173.5m in a package of schemes including a bus-rail link to Leeds Bradford Airport and new train stations at the White Rose Shopping Centre and Thorpe Park.

North Wales Live

• This is why Merseytravel shouldn't axe the number 101 bus Residents who blocked bus station in angry protest explain why they want to keep the service

Other Regional Press

• One million passengers use new rail link in first six monthsALMOST one million passengers have passed through the barriers at Bicester Village Station in the six months since the new line to Oxford Station opened.

Rail Magazine

• Swanage services resume after 45 yearsTimetabled passenger trains run between Swanage and Wareham for first time since January 1972.
• Edinburgh-Glasgow wiring delayed until October, says NRNetwork Rail confirms EGIP delays.
• Vivarail main line testingD-Train main line testing ahead of Rail Live passenger debut
• Edinburgh Trams scores highly in light rail surveyEdinburgh Tram passengers are the most satisfied light rail users according new research from Transport Focus
• Higgins: HS2 is ‘not a political football’HS2 Chairman: “It’s important to recognise that we had bi-partisan support, and that HS2 has never been a political football.
• Crossrail 2 needs more workMore work was needed in order to secure approval for Crossrail 2 from the new Government
• Adonis shrugs off election impact on infrastructure Lord Adonis plays down fears General Election result poses threat to planned major infrastructure projects, including construction of HS2 and Crossrail 2.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Trams now 'benchmark for excellence' for passenger satisfaction in rail The tram network is setting the bar for passenger satisfaction across the UK rail industry according to consumer champion Transport Focus, which has found that people are very satisfied with the performance of light rail operators. In its latest Tram Passenger Survey (TPS), Transport Focus found...
• GWML electrification progresses with completion of Wiltshire worksElectrification work on the Great Western Main Line has taken a step forward today as Network Rail announced it had successfully upgraded the railway in Swindon and Royal Wootton Bassett. Engineers worked over the weekend of 10 and 11 of June to lower the track beneath Hunts Mill Bridge in...

Railnews

• Tram passengers give thumbs up in survey Passengers on trams outside London are more likely to be happy with their journeys than people using trains or buses. The findings are published today by watchdog Transport Focus in its latest Tram Passenger Survey, which says trams scored an overall satisfaction rating of 93 per cent. Some individual systems did better still, with Edinburgh Trams reaching 99 per cent. However, Transport Focus sees some possible sources of dissatisfaction, particularly as the result of disruption caused by building tramway extensions.

Railway Gazette

• Beer train launchedBELGIUM: Rail freight operator Lineas ran a pilot service carrying Jupiler beer from AB InBev’s...

Aviation Industry

• Icelandair CEO: Transatlantic business remains a challenge Icelandair continues to grow on transatlantic routes, but the carrier’s expansion is affected by capacity limits at its Reykjavik hub and increasing competition from low-cost carriers (LCCs). read more
• Qatar Airways CEO Al Baker asks ICAO to step inQatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has called on ICAO to step in to the diplomatic rift between Qatar and the Gulf states that have closed their airspace to Qatar Airways. read more

Green Miscellany

• Turn your bicycle into a cargo bike transformerThe latest bike concept to become a reality thanks to crowd funding is TreGo, a modular design that promises to turn any bicycle into a cargo bike. While it might look like the�marriage between the urban bicycle and a porter’s trolley, the TreGo is full of hidden surprises. According to its makers, the TReGo has the benefits of a traditional… The post Turn your bicycle into a cargo bike transformer appeared first on ETA.
• Volvo sees electric buses as future of public transportVehicle manufacturer Volvo has reiterated its commitment to electric buses as the ‘future of urban public transport’ at a summit in London.

Other News Sources

• MEET THE 89-YEAR-OLD REINVENTING THE TRAIN IN HIS BACKYARDON A CLEAR, sunny day at a vineyard in the northern California town of Ukiah, a most unusual train chugs through a field of barely budding syrah grapes. Well, it doesn't chug so much as whoosh because this train—actually, a one-sixth scale train—doesn't rely upon a diesel engine or electricity to get around. It uses vacuum power and heavy duty magnets.