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

Thursday, 06 August 2026

BBC News

• Why phones on loudspeaker may become just another noiseMost days on my commute, I am treated to the contents of strangers' phones.
• Victorian station set for £600k restorationA Victorian railway station building is set to benefit from a £600,000 restoration project.
• Bus operators to be invited to bid for franchisesBus operators are to be invited to tender to run routes across parts of the West Midlands network as the next step in introducing a franchised system gets under way.
• Robotaxis granted licence to operate in LondonSelf-driving taxis have moved a step closer after Transport for London (TfL) granted private hire licences to a fleet of autonomous vehicles - on the condition that a human driver is present.
• Decision due on using parking fees to subsidise busesA council committee will decide whether subsidised off-peak bus travel will continue for another three years in a town.
• Venues fear demolition amid city rail upgrade planThe Night Owl music venue and The Warehouse, home to Birmingham Friends of the Earth, are among properties potentially affected by the £1.75bn Midlands Rail Hub project between Birmingham Moor Street and Bordesley stations.

Financial Times

• Uber pledges $10bn to win robotaxi raceUber has pledged to spend more than $10bn expanding its robotaxi network, arguing its financial strength and more than 200mn customers will give it an edge...
• Can the UK's newest rail station escape the problems of HS2?At Old Oak Common, a semi-industrial area of west London known for its old rail depots

The Guardian

• "Leicester Square, please guv": Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets 'later this summer'Wayve Uber wins first minicab licence for autonomous cabs from TfL but vehicles will have a safety driver (at first)

The Herald

• New Scottish train station is priority for company chiefJohn Hamilton, chief executive of Winchburgh Developments Ltd (WDL), heads a single-purpose vehicle leading the delivery of at least 3,800 new homes through the expansion of a historic West Lothian village, 10 miles west of Edinburgh.

The Scotsman

• ScotRail reveals how many £10 minimum fares issued to passengers since new penalty introducedThousands of ScotRail passengers have been charged £10 minimum fares for not buying a ticket before travelling since the penalty was introduced a month ago, The Scotsman has learned.

The Telegraph

• The £400m bill for Britain's rail failures [subscription]Pandemic-era measures left the taxpayer on the hook for every late train and it never switched back

Times Online

• Hundreds of pilots sue Ryanair over 'withheld holiday pay' [subscription]Lawyers said a Court of Appeal ruling last year on a contract worker at the budget airline was central to the new lawsuit
• UK's largest rail firm curbs digital ticket sales to foil fare dodgers [subscription]The operator of Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express will not issue mobile tickets at certain stations in a trial to tackle 'quick scanning'

City AM

• 'Social value' procurement rules are an absurd waste of time and moneyProcurement is not a sexy topic, but stay with me here. The public sector spends around £400bn a year buying goods and services from the private sector. You can imagine the scale: NHS equipment and Ministry of Defence gear, police cars and IT infrastructure, immigration processing centres, security guards, construction projects and fax machines.

The National

• Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn sets out priorities for governmentTransport Secretary Stephen Flynn, in an exclusive interview, discusses his priorities for improving Scotland's public transport system, including roads, ferries, tunnels, and airports.
• The 'unique' Scottish bus operator transforming public transportIN the race to make public transport more climate-friendly, one small operator is revolutionising Scotland's bus network.
• Stephen Flynn sets target date for integrated ticketing on Scottish public transportAN integrated system allowing Scots to use a single ticket across different modes of public transport will be in place before the next Holyrood election, Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn has pledged.
• I visited a country with free public transport. Can Scotland do the same?Earlier this year, I left my friend's house and stepped straight into a bus that was not only spotless and turned up on time.

Local Government

• KCC steps in to keep communities connected after bus service withdrawalsKent County Council (KCC) has stepped in to protect vital bus links after a number of commercial services run by local bus companies were withdrawn, ensuring communities remain connected and children can continue getting to school.
• Report proposes continued support for Ipswich's subsidised bus servicesIpswich Borough Council's Executive will consider proposals to continue funding a number of subsidised bus services that help keep communities connected across the town.

Sky News

• Uber robotaxis set for London debut after getting minicab licencesA number of autonomous pure electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles were approved for private hire vehicle licences by Transport for London.

Bristol Live

• New bus service announced and £7 tickets across the WestA new bus service that will connect the South Bristol suburb of Stockwood with Keynsham for the first time in years, has been announced by the West of England metro mayor.

Leicester Mercury

• Value for money concerns raised over Leicester Railway Station revamp amid £10m boostA multi-million pound revamp of Leicester Railway Station has been challenged by opposition councillors who say taxpayers deserve answers before the project goes ahead.

London Evening Standard

• Fleet of London self-driving 'robotaxis' given minicab licencesA fleet of self-driving cars to be used as 'robotaxis' by Uber in London have been granted minicab licences.

Metro

• London Euston named the capital's worst station for toiletsIf you've ever used the toilets at London's many train stations, you may have had some rather mixed experiences.

Nation. Cymru

• Transport for Wales to install new technology at seven railway stationsNew technology is to be installed at seven railway stations across the Wales and borders network over the next three months.

The York Press

• Delay in replacing Fulford Road bus stop shelters slammedPassengers waiting for buses on a busy York route have been exposed to all weathers since shelters were removed six months ago and plans to replace them quickly were scuppered.

Oxford Mail

• Major changes coming to Oxford buses to begin this monthBus passengers in Oxford are set to see multiples routes changed in a major shakeup.

Peterborough Telegraph

• New Peterborough bus depot and rollout of electric buses coming soon as land purchase officially completeThe Combined Authority will now commence work to bring the facility in use for a modern bus fleet. Tyrrell Park is currently home to a number of premises formerly operated by car manufacturers.

Other Regional Press

• Winslow Railway Station faces further potential delays after latest disputeA fresh dispute between the company overseeing the East West Rail project in Aylesbury Vale and a national union could further delay the opening of a train station.
• Council's Cabinet agrees to review of road layout outside Shrewsbury stationShropshire Council's Cabinet has agreed to commission a comprehensive review of the road layout outside Shrewsbury railway station, paving the way for a final decision on a preferred alternative later this year.
• Scottish government provides funding to save Loganair's lifeline Sumburgh-Kirkwall-Inverness serviceThe Scottish government has provided funding to save the lifeline Sumburgh-Kirkwall-Inverness service. This comes amid growing political pressure to save the flights.
• Swindon's Heidi Alexander welcomes Gatwick runway expansionThe Swindon South MP and Transport Secretary approved a £2.2 billion plan for Gatwick Airport's second runway in September, and the project will now move forward after the Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge against it.
• Digital screens and better shelters for bus passengersNORTH Ayrshire's bus passengers are set to benefit from a major upgrade to electronic timetables and shelters, with long awaited real-time information screens being rolled out across the area.
• Basingstoke MP slams 'misguided' Hampshire bus pass cutsDISABLED bus pass cuts in Hampshire are 'wrong' and failing to reflect how people with disabilities actually live, Basingstoke's MP has warned, as he criticised the decision to strip free travel before 9.30am while spending up to £500,000 on a legal challenge over council reorganisation.

Train Operators

• Alice Shimali appointed Communications Director at GBR AngliaGBR Anglia, which brings together the leadership of c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia under a single, unified structure, has announced the appointment of Alice Shimali as its new Communications Director.

Bus-News

• First Bus Purchases Mercedes-Benz Vehicles for Anderson TravelFirst Bus has announced new investments of almost 1 million GBP into a set of Mercedes-Benz vehicles for Anderson Travel.

New Civil Engineer

• Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy StatementThe debate around Heathrow expansion following the publication of the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement has been focused on airport capacity, economic growth and international competitiveness.

Rail Magazine

• How Anglia learnings can help other Great British Railways business unitsIntegrated Business Units (IBUs) still have a lot to learn, according to Jamie Burles, Managing Director of Great British Railways (GBR) Anglia.
• City authorities not consulted over Avanti West Coast summer service cutsThe Department for Transport (DfT) has admitted that it didn't consult local authorities in the North West and West Midlands before announcing summer cuts to Avanti West Coast services.

Rail UK

• AECOM to deliver depot and sidings feasibility study for Transport for London's Bakerloo Line UpgradeThe appointment serves as one of the first steps towards the rollout of a new fleet of trains on the Bakerloo line, replacing the existing fleet which currently operates with trains that are more than 50 years old

Railway Gazette

• Transport Scotland working group explores options for international Caledonian Sleeper servicesUK: The Scottish government's delivery body Transport Scotland has begun exploring the possibility of launching direct overnight passenger services to and from destinations in continental Europe, in line with a commitment made by the government in its most recent election campaign.

Trafnidiaeth Cymru [Transport for Wales]

• Transport for Wales rolls out new technology at seven stations this summerNew technology is set to be introduced at seven stations across the Wales and borders network this summer to improve accessibility, customer support and station operations.

Other News Sources

• Views sought on plans for landmark Derby office building shortlisted to become Great British Railways' headquartersThe public is being invited to have their say on plans for a headquarters office building in Derby totalling more than 100,000 sq ft. The site has been identified as one of two final shortlisted locations for the home of Great British Railways.
• Bristol Temple Meads to trial multilingual train announcements in Auracast and AI pilotStation announcements at Bristol Temple Meads are to be made available in multiple languages, through a new pilot combining Bluetooth's Auracast technology and artificial intelligence from the tech company XRAI.
• Behind the scenes of the engineering takeover at Charing Cross stationThe usually packed Charing Cross station is very quiet at the moment to allow for a once-in-40-year major track-replacement programme.
• BCP Council and Morebus praised by Department for Transport for 'award-winning' partnershipWe can reveal that passenger satisfaction for those who use buses in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole has risen to 85%
• Road transport operators turning to technology for protection against fuel theft riskThere is mounting unease within the road transport sector regarding the risk of diesel theft, says technology specialist Brigade Electronics, as organised criminal gangs look to exploit the high costs caused by fuel price volatility. According to the company's Global Telematics Lead Engineer, James Tyrrell, these concerns have driven a significant increase in enquiries during the past six months from hauliers seeking anti-theft solutions to combat the growing threat.
• Community transport to replace Shropshire bus serviceNow, Councillor Sam Walmsley, who represents Clun, has confirmed that the transport service will be in place, starting from September 2.
• Upgrades will keep boosting this transport tech playAfter years of bolt-on dealmaking, internal investment and a smart reading of technological convergence, and the developing needs of its customer base, its increasingly international offering now extends to passenger interfaces, infotainment and infrastructure protection.
• SpaceX aims to use rockets to quickly transport cargo across the Earth and into orbit moves that would expand the global cargo systemYou might think about rockets as powerful vehicles that blast astronaut crews and robotic missions off into space. But what if they could be used to send cargo from one side of the Earth to the other, in a fraction of the time it would take a plane? The company SpaceX recently announced a project that aims to use its rockets to do just that.