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

Friday, 24 September 2021

BBC News

• Stagecoach workers balloted over strike actionUnite claims bus routes across Scotland
• £30bn greenprint for GlasgowGlasgow City Council reveals an ambitious plan to rejuvenate the city and reduce its carbon footprint.
• BP closes some sites due to lorry driver shortageThe oil firm said only

Financial Times

• BA axes plans to create low-cost subsidiary at GatwickPilots’ union refuses to back short-haul initiative but says it remains ‘open to future negotiations’
• BP service stations close as driver shortage hits UK fuel suppliesPumps at between 50 and 100 forecourts understood to be offline at any one time because of delivery delays

The Guardian

• UK petrol stations warn over fuel shortages due to lack of HGV driversBP is forced to shut some stations and Esso says deliveries to some Tesco forecourts are affectedNils Pratley: Shortages should force a rethink of visa rules Three of the UK’s biggest operators of petrol stations have warned of fuel shortages at some forecourts across the country, with the severe lack of lorry drivers nationwide now disrupting fuel supplies.BP said yesterday that up to 100 of its forecourts were short of at least one grade of fuel, with several forced to close entirely due to problems with supplies. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Halewood factory in the frame for Ford’s electric drive [subscription]Merseyside plant is frontrunner over Germany to make transmissions
• Trade unions warn National Express of industrial unrest at Stagecoach [subscription]National Express could be driving into a storm of industrial disputes in its planned takeover of Stagecoach, trade unions have warned.
• BP to ration fuel amid delivery driver shortage [subscription]At least 50 petrol stations affected as Esso also reports problems
• Fedex to launch self-driving trucks in pilot with Silicon Valley start-up [subscription]“This is an exciting, industry-first collaboration that will work toward enhancing the logistics industry through safer, more efficient transportation of goods,” Rebecca Yeung, vice-president of advanced technology and innovation at FedEx, said.

City AM

• Uber calls for ride-hailing rivals to offer cross-industry pensionSeven months after a long-running legal battle between Uber and its UK drivers culminated in the Supreme Court ruling that The post Uber calls for ride-hailing rivals to offer cross-industry pension appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Express

• 'Not an immediate ambition' Boris Johnson to delay Irish Sea tunnel until after HS2BORIS JOHNSON has told journalists the proposed tunnel connecting Northern Ireland to Scotland will be delayed until after HS2 is complete, following push back from the Treasury.

Daily Record

• Drivers and passengers attacked on busy Scots bus route as services haltedMcGill's chiefs have pulled the 752/26A through Love Street in Paisley after a series of incidents in the past week.

Mail Online

• HS2 will be delayed by a DECADE: 'Loss making' project will not be completed before 2041 - as budget swells to more than £106bnThe HS2 high-speed rail line is a 'loss-making' project, which will not be completed before 2041, a Conservative MP has told the Commons.

Birmingham Post

• Andy Burnham, levelling up and Shaun of the Dead - what we learnt from Manchester's biggest business event since Covid-19The event was staged at Manchester Central and saw 4,000 people attend
• Town deal pilot authority chief backs levelling-up call for devolved five-year infrastructure budgetsNew compact sought 'between Whitehall and town hall' with £6b figure for outside London projects stressed to government
• Freeports are at the centre of the levelling up agenda - Humber ABP director Simon BirdNew status to boost global trade and UK manufacturing flagged alongside role in decarbonisation

Bolton News

• 'A silly plastic stick in the middle of the road is just daft' - Readers reacts to scrapping of 'poorly received' Bolton cycle lane planRESIDENTS have reacted to the news that a controversial cycle lane plan along one of Bolton's key routes will not be implemented in full.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Three quarters of Bradford's bus fleet now meets greener targetsNEWS that three quarters of Bradford’s bus fleet meet greener emission standards has been welcomed, but some Councillors fear neighbouring areas are being left behind.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby train firm drops competition prize because public's ideas were so rubbishA train company serving Derby railway station has been criticised after it withdrew a competition prize due to the poor quality of entries from the public. East Midlands Railways (EMR) had offered £5,000 to passengers who suggested the best ideas for improving train journeys in its "Build Back Better" competition.

London Evening Standard

• ‘Loss-making’ HS2 to be delayed by a decade, says Tory MPThe HS2 high-speed rail line is a “loss-making” project, which will not be completed before 2041, a Conservative MP has told the Commons.
• Government insists there is ‘no shortage of fuel’ as BP closes some forecourtsBP said a ‘handful’ of its filling stations are closed due to delivery issues.

The York Press

• £800k of York cycling cash 'at risk' over delays, campaigners warnTRANSPORT campaigners have warned York risks losing some of the hundreds of thousands of pounds of government funding it has been given to improve cycling routes if the council doesn’t start delivering on the schemes.
• York outer ring road A1237 dualling gets residents backingPLANS to dual York's outer ring road have been given overwhelming backing from residents.
• Grant Shapps gives green light to close Leeman Road in YorkPLANS to close a major artery through York have been given the go ahead by the Government.

Yorkshire Post

• West Yorkshire's bus network is 'broken', warns mayor Tracy BrabinThe West Yorkshire Combined Authority is currently in the process of investigating the potential of bringing bus services back under public control in a franchising model already due to be introduced in Greater Manchester from 2023.
• no clear end in sight” for HSMPs warn there is 'no clear end in sight' to HS2 delays and MPs have warned there is “no clear end in sight” for HS2 as there are ongoing concerns about rising costs and delays.

Cambridge News

• Jet2 Stansted Airport: Airline launching flights to Turkey as country leaves red listJet2 will restart flights and holidays to Turkey from London Stansted Airport today

Other Regional Press

• First Bus Glasgow launches tech to charge a double decker in four hoursFIRST Bus is now able to fully charge its electric buses in four hours at what is set to be the UK’s largest Electric Vehicle (EV) charging hub.

Coach and Bus Week

• Stagecoach electrifies Scottish routesStagecoach announces new sustainability strategy aiming to deliver a greener, healthier and fairer Scotland
• Leeds launches UK’s first solar-powered park and rideLeeds has opened its third park and ride site, at Stourton to the south of the city and served by a fleet of battery-electric ADL double-deckers operated by First Leeds, as part of efforts by West Yorkshire Combined Authority to decarbonise the transport sector and to reduce congestion and commuting times.

New Civil Engineer

• Jacobs: ‘Insufficient time for Crossrail target dates to be met’ Train testing failures and late station handovers have put Crossrail’s entire schedule at risk, according to the project’s representative (PREP) Jacobs.
• Network Rail calls in choppers to help repair remote ventilation shaftNetwork Rail has called in helicopters to help engineers go “down under” and carry out essential repairs to one of the UK’s deepest ventilations shafts in the Peak District.
• Bristol Airport expansion plans lose political backingThe regional combined authority overseeing the West of England has withdrawn its support for Bristol Airport’s expansion plans due to concerns over its climate impacts.

Railnews

• New board to be set up for Welsh railways THURSDAY BRIEFING: New board to be set up for Welsh railways ++ Rail freight back to pre-pandemic levels
• ScotRail ticket examiners vote to continue strikes FRIDAY BRIEFING: ScotRail ticket examiners vote to continue strikes ++

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• UK’s first solar-powered park and ride service launched in StourtonThe UK’s first solar-powered park and ride service has been launched in Leeds, using five battery-electric Alexander Dennis (ADL) BYD Enviro400EV double deckers.
• RATP Dev and Tower Transit to form West London JVRATP Dev UK and Tower Transit have announced a joint venture (JV) in West London that will be effective from December. RATP Dev Transit London will operate 115 routes from 10 depots. RATP Dev will be the majority partner and Tower Transit will hold a 12.5% interest.
• Coalition calls on government to speed up zero-emission bus rolloutSignatories of a letter sent to Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke have called on the government to use the forthcoming Spending Review to set out a road map to accelerate the introduction of zero-emission buses and infrastructure.
• Equipmake reveals Jewel E battery-electric double-deckerEquipmake has revealed its Jewel E battery-electric double-decker bus. The model will be produced in partnership with Spanish coachbuilder Beulas and it will offer a maximum of 543kW/h of onboard energy storage.
• Big range promises for Wrightbus GB Kite single-deck ZE modelsWrightbus has promised an up to 640-mile range for its new hydrogen fuel cell-electric GB Kite Hydroliner single-decker and an up to 300-mile range for the battery-electric GB Kite Electroliner. The range will debut at the Cenex-LCV2021 event, to be held at UTAC Millbrook on 22-23 September.
• National Express confirms consideration of bid for StagecoachNational Express has confirmed that it is considering making an offer to buy Stagecoach. If completed, the deal will deliver “significant operational efficiencies across the combined networks” and accelerate the expansion of National Express’s key growth sectors, including into the corporate, shuttle and private hire coach market, it says. Combination of the two groups would also position the resulting business well in an evolving bus industry landscape.
• Messaging key to patronage recovery, Senedd Committee toldRebuilding long-term custom with the aid of positive messaging from senior politicians is the absolute priority for the coach and bus industry in Wales, the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee was told by sector representatives on 16 September. 

Other News Sources

• ‘No alternatives’ to reducing car use, says Go North West MDReducing car travel is the only option to meeting global emissions targets, a senior bus industry official has said.
• Children in Chester village made to take three-hour round trip every day as school bus is axedThe Government funding for the school bus service has been pulled, leaving children as young as 11 needing to get multiple public buses
• A ridiculously low number of London buses take way longer to show up than the countdown timer saysLondoners love using public transport in the city. According to TfL, London's buses carry around 6.5m passengers a day. That's more than the whole population of Scotland.