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

Friday, 19 August 2016

BBC News

• Tay Road Bridge marks 50th anniversary of its openingArchive footage shows the Tay Road Bridge since its inception through to the present day.
• Routes unveiled for Sheffield-Manchester road tunnel planFive possible routes for a road tunnel between Sheffield and Manchester are unveiled.
• Harley-Davidson in $12m emissions penaltyHarley-Davidson is paying US authorities $12m (�9m) to settle allegations its motorcycles polluted the air at higher levels than allowed.
• Uber to deploy self-driving cars in PittsburghRide-sharing firm Uber will begin allowing users to hail a self-driving car in a US city later this month, it confirms.

Financial Times

• Uber and Volvo to make self-driving carsRide-sharing app and Swedish premium carmaker announce $300m partnership to make cabs and cars

The Guardian

• Uber riders to be able to hail self-driving cars for first timeRide-sharing firm to trial autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh as it also announces tie up with Volvo to develop driverless carsUber passengers in Pittsburgh will be able to hail self-driving cars for the first time within the next few weeks as the taxi firm tests its future vision of transportation in the city.The company said on Thursday that an unspecified number of autonomous Ford Fusions will be available to pick up passengers as with normal Uber vehicles. The cars won’t exactly be driverless – they will have human drivers as backup – but they are the next step towards a fully automated fle...
• DVLA disputes £400m revenue loss following abolition of tax discFreedom of information request reveals huge drop in vehicle excise duty but agency calls the figure ‘misleading’The decision to scrap paper car tax discs cost the government more than £400m in revenue in the first 12 months after the change came into effect, official figures suggest.Data obtained by the Financial Times through a freedom of information request shows that in the 12 months following the abolition, from October 2014 to September 2015, the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency collected £5.71bn in vehicle excise duty (VED). This was a reduction of around £412m on the previous 1...

The Telegraph

• 370 miles of roadworks to be stopped over August Bank Holiday in boost for drivers
• Britain’s longest road tunnel could feature palm trees and fake clouds to keep drivers calm

London Evening Standard

• Uber is ‘wasting taxpayers’ money’, rival company claimsThe boss of a black-cab hailing app today accused Uber of “wasting taxpayers’ money” by launching a legal challenge to tough new private hire rules.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Trans-Pennine tunnel’s benefits highlighted in government studyFive potential routes for the Manchester-to-Sheffield Trans-Pennine tunnel have been outlined after a new study verified the tunnel’s safety and economic benefits. The project to build a tunnel beneath the Pennines has been labelled the UK’s most ambitious road scheme since the first motorways were built in the late 1950s. A government-led study launched in autumn 2015 has concluded that the tunnel would halve journey times between the two northern cities, and could provide safer, faster and more reliable journeys for motorists travelling, as well as an economic boost for both cities and the s...
• Options for Oxford-to-Milton Keynes link road outlined in DfT studyA new link road between Oxford and Milton Keynes would improve journey times by up to 30 minutes and support local economic growth, so says a new study published by the Department for Transport (DfT). The report suggests three possible road routes connecting the two cities, passing by Aylesbury, or Bicester and Buckingham. A sub-route linking Bicester and Abington has also been suggested. DfT claims that the new expressway would benefit commuters and businesses in Cambridge, Oxford and Milton Keynes - some of the fastest growing areas in the UK - but also have a wider positive impact on Britai...

Other News Sources

• M25 collapsed manhole causes trouble for rush-hour motoristsQueues are stretching back for four miles while emergency repairs are being carried out on the M25 clockwise near Clacket Lane Services
• DfT figures prove road freight industry is more efficient than everDepartment for Transport (DfT) figures out today show continued improvements in the effi-ciency of HGV, helping meet the growing demand for ...