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

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

BBC News

• Three years of GDPR: the biggest fines so farBritish Airways has received the largest fine issued so far under European data protection laws.
• How France is testing free public transportIn France, more towns and cities are introducing different forms of free public transport. But could fare-free policies ever be rolled out to major cities like Paris?
• £300m investment to fuel electric car take-upEnergy regulator Ofgem has approved funding for infrastructure needed to support more charging points.
• UK airlines told to avoid Belarusian airspace after journalist arrestBritain says carriers should by-pass Belarus after a flight was diverted to Minsk and a journalist held.

ITV News

• Borrow a bike in Birmingham as city joins West Midlands Cycle Hire SchemeThree hundred new bikes have appeared on streets across Birmingham today as the city joins the West Midlands Cycle Hire Scheme.

Financial Times

• EU agrees sanctions on Belarus for forcing down flight Brussels bans state airline as White House demands inquiry into dissident’s detention
• FirstGroup/Coast: activist should not brake US bus saleTiming is more important than Coast admits

The Guardian

• Train network proposals destined to go off the rails | LettersReaders respond to the government's plans to restructure the railway industryI do not agree with much of what Simon Jenkins says on the plans for a part-nationalised, part-privatised rail network
• EU imposes new economic sanctions on Belarus over hijacked flightJoe Biden welcomes EU moves as father of opposition blogger Roman Protasevich says video confession appears forcedEU leaders triggered new economic sanctions against Belarus and punitive measures against its national airline as a dissident taken from a hijacked Ryanair flight was paraded on the country's television news apparently confessing to crimes against the state.

The Telegraph

• EU cuts air links with Belarus over forced plane landing [subscription]Roman Protasevich appears 'under duress' with black marks on his face in 'confession' video

Times Online

• Call to stop e-scooter trials until rules are clear [subscription]Ministers have been urged to ban e-scooters until manufacturers and retailers make them safe and the public understands the law.
• Flights to Spain triple in two weeks despite amber Covid warning [subscription]The number of flights between England and Spain has more than tripled in a fortnight as holidaymakers appear to ignore government warnings against travelling to amber countries.
• Facial recognition and biometric technology to end airport passport queues [subscription]Queueing at passport controls could become a thing of the past under plans for fully automated border checks.

City AM

• Coast Capital renews campaign against First Group EQT salePrivate equity firm Coast Capital has today doubled down on its campaign against the sale of First Group’s two American businesses.

Mail Online

• Australia's first poo-powered SUV - nicknamed 'Number Two' - makes its road debutMove over petrol - Australia has officially launched its first 'poo-powered' SUV. Dubbed the 'Number 2,' the Hyundai Kona runs by electricity generated by mass human waste.
• Boris Johnson urged to protect Britain's vintage car industry as '100,000 jobs could be at risk' Boris Johnson is today being urged to save Britain's world-leading historical and classic car industry from green regulations and bureaucracy as a new alliance is formed.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Survey highlights taxi driver's opposition to Clean Air Zone planA NEW report looking at Bradford’s Clean Air Zone further highlights the opposition to the plans from many of the city’s taxi drivers.
• Network Rail to remodel track layout at Leeds StationWORK gets under way later this month on a major project to upgrade the track layout at Leeds Station, which will bring more reliable services for passengers.

Manchester Evening News

• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps instructs UK airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace to 'keep passengers safe’The move is in response to the 'state-sponsored hijack' of a Ryanair flight to enable the arrest of a prominent critic of Alexander Lukashenko’s regime

The York Press

• First York offers free York Gin G&Ts to bus app users buying group tickets FREE gin and tonic is being offered at two bars in York in celebration of the easing of restrictions.

Wales Online

• Details of ambitious transport, housing, retail and arena development for Cardiff Bay revealedConstruction is due to start on the new arena in Cardiff Bay next year and full details of the designs will be revealed in August.

Yorkshire Post

• Indian variant in Yorkshire: Only travel in and out of Kirklees if essential, say GovernmentThe Government has been accused of “incompetence” after advising against all but essential travel in eight areas of England where the Covid variant first identified in India is spreading fastest.

Bucks Free Press

• Greg Smith on the worries Luton Airport expansion could cause A councillor and MP would welcome a potential u-turn of London Luton Airport's plans for an expansion.

Other Regional Press

• Loganair's first Bristol flight jets off from Teesside AirportIt's the fourth service the airline has launched from the airport as restrictions continue to ease
• Nearly £7m grant funding awarded to transport projectsA huge range of transport improvement and active travel projects are to be carried out in Pembrokeshire, thanks to a £6.928m grant funding awarded to Pembrokeshire County Council from Welsh Government.
• East West Rail: Campaigners construct tower to show ‘Great Wall’ heightRupert Pearce Gould, of Harston Residents’ Group EWR Working Party, said: “This tower represents the height of the railway line as it curves around the south side of Harston.

Forbes

• The Future Of Road Transport Is Electric, But How Are We Going To Pay For It?The state of California has unanimously approved a regulation that will force all drivers of ride-hailing vehicles and the companies that operate them to transition to electrification over the present decade: by 2030, 90% of the distance traveled by them in the state must be electric.
• ‘Mobility As A Service’ Concept Promises To Revolutionize Transport AccessibilityNot everybody may have heard of the term ‘Mobility as a Service’ or MaaS, as it is referred to in the transport sector but if you’ve taken an Uber of late or even a regular taxi, there may be some familiarity with the basic concept.

Bikebiz

• Chris Boardman appointed Greater Manchester’s first transport commissionerMayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has appointed former cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman in an expanded role as Greater Manchester’s first transport commissioner.

Business Live

• £100m rail upgrade could see direct links return between Coventry and stations in Leicester and NottinghamPolitical leaders have welcomed plans that could see direct rail services return between Coventry and the East Midlands for the first time in 20 years.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Network Rail joins leading railway organisations from across the globe in further commitment to tackling climate changeIn another landmark on Network Rail’s journey to provide a better and greener railway for all, Britain’s rail infrastructure operator has joined railway organisations from around the world in signing the International Union of Railways (UIC) Climate declaration. The UIC Climate declaration sets out a pledge for members to communicate their support and ambition, and brings together a global community of sustainability leaders working collaboratively to cut carbon emissions and make rail travel greener. In becoming the latest signatory, Network Rail has committed to reduce energy co...

New Civil Engineer

• Civil engineers invited to join the space race as UK Spaceport plans outlinedTransport secretary Grant Shapps has hailed an announcement today as a “pivotal moment” in the mission to launch rockets from the UK.
• Government finds the cash to unlock major Devon road schemeThe Department for Transport said the cash would allow construction of the final stage of a programme of works on the A382 corridor between Stover Country Park and Newton Abbott.
• Highways England defends smart motorways in inquiry evidenceHighways England has defended smart motorways in its submission to the transport select committee’s smart motorways inquiry.
• Crossrail bosses identify the 140 staff ‘critical’ to completing the projectCrossrail bosses have pinpointed 140 “critical” workers needed to get the mega project across the line.

Railway Gazette

• FirstGroup agrees National Rail Contracts for SWR and TransPennine ExpressUK: The Department for Transport has finalised the first of the National Rail Contracts under which formerly franchised passenger services are to be operated over the next few years.

Other News Sources

• 'A27 is an even worse mess than the A23'I HAVE just read the article Tory Talk, written by Steve Bell in Saturday’s Argus.
• Brighton bus held up amid attempt give smoker a fine AN environmental enforcement officer held up a bus full of passengers in an attempt to dish out a fine.
• Abandoned Aylesbury garage to become HS2 baseAn old car showroom in Aylesbury could be taken over by HS2. The company wants to use the old Stratstone garage on Buckingham Road as its North Chilterns base whilst the line is built.
• Better shops and public transport top Swindon wishlist in 'levelling up' surveyA think tank’s survey revealed that around one in five people in the South Swindon constituency believe that having better retailers is the most urgent issue in the area while a similar percentage of those surveyed in North Swindon said the same