Stagecoach sees bus revenues at 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels October 9, 2020 Bus operator Stagecoach said that revenue on its regional bus services had recovered to up to 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. However, due to the continued uncertainty over new coronavirus restrictions in the UK, it said that its full year outlook was unchanged from June. The announcement sent shares down four per cent in [...]
Time running out for TfL to secure emergency government funding October 9, 2020 Time is running out for Transport for London (TfL) to secure emergency central government funding, with cash from its last bailout set to dry up in nine days. TfL is in negotiations with the Department for Transport over the funding settlement, with mayor of London Sadiq Khan asking for £5.65bn over the next 18 months [...]
Railway passenger numbers fall to lowest levels since mid-1800s October 8, 2020 The number of people using the UK’s railways fell to the lowest levels in almost 200 years between April and June as the coronavirus lockdown decimated passenger demand. Just 35m journeys were made in the three month period, down more than 400m on the same quarter in 2019. According to the Office of Road and [...]
Uh-oh, spaghettio: Could Italy be next in line on UK quarantine list? October 8, 2020 Italy could be the next country to be added to the quarantine list after the number of coronavirus cases surged past the UK’s threshold for reimposing restrictions. Over the last seven days, the number of cases per 100,000 has ticked up to 31.0, according to travel consultancy the PC Agency. Transport secretary Grant Shapps has [...]
Stelios slams Easyjet ‘scoundrels’ over Airbus plane deal October 8, 2020 Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has relaunched his crusade against the airline’s board on the back of today’s warning that the carrier might record its first ever annual loss. Back in May, shareholders voted down a set of proposals from the Greek-Cypriot businessman that would have ousted the airline’s management. The spat emerged over Easyjet’s [...]
London Southend boss: Airport testing NOW is the only way to make passengers feel safe and get UK flying again October 8, 2020 The chief executive of London Southend airport has said that the country’s airlines will only begin to recover when passengers are confident enough to fly again – and that means the government must impose a coronavirus testing regime now. Aviation leaders had hoped that ministers would announce plans to put in place an airport testing [...]
Get e-scooter trials rolling in London, ministers urged October 8, 2020 A group of e-scooter firms have joined forces to call for the government to roll out a capital-wide trial of the new transport option. In an open letter to ministers co-ordinated by think tank the Centre for London, firms such as Lime, Spin, and Voi said e-e scooters could “help create a low carbon, inclusive, [...]
Easyjet on track for first ever full year loss October 8, 2020 Easyjet announced this morning it is in line for a pre-tax loss of up to £845m for the full year, the first time the budget carrier will have reported an annual loss. In a trading update, the carrier said passenger numbers for the full year had halved, falling to 48m as a result of the [...]
UK examining how to reduce travel quarantine period using tests October 7, 2020 The UK is urgently looking into ways to reduce the 14-day travel quarantine period which applies to some passengers arriving in the country, transport secretary Grant Shapps said. Shapps said that a mixture of Covid-19 testing and self-isolation was promising, and announced the formation of a Global Travel Taskforce to open up international travel, which [...]
Guest opinion: Too many infrastructure projects have been dropped or delayed October 7, 2020 So, another “big vision” speech from the prime minister. After weeks of criticism over the Government’s poor handling of coronavirus and Brexit the call to arms at the Conservative Party’s online conference came straight out of the Johnson playbook. Boost infrastructure investment and productivity. Build a better country. Look ahead to a bright future. It’s [...]