Brabin to take control of West Yorkshire buses
15/03/2024 West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin has confirmed that she will take forward proposals for bus franchising from 2027 onwards. |
City Hall hails ‘dramatic’ air quality improvements
12/03/2024 Air quality in the capital has improved ‘much faster’ than in the rest of the UK because of policies introduced by the London mayor, according to a report. |
Combined authority set to approve £45m transport scheme
12/03/2024 A multi-million-pound transport scheme is set to transform the centres of Harrogate, Selby and Skipton. |
LTNs popular and effective, leaked report says
11/03/2024 Low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) are popular and effective, a leaked report from the Department for Transport (DfT) has found. |
Lambeth scraps LTN
08/03/2024 A low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) trial in Streatham has been suspended with immediate effect following disruption to bus services and ahead of construction work. |
Sunderland autonomous shuttle prepares for launch
05/03/2024 Self-driving shuttles have arrived in Sunderland and are set to transport passengers around the city this spring. |
Councils near Gatwick raise alarm over runway plan
27/02/2024 Local authorities near Gatwick have raised concerns over the potential increase in noise and air pollution if the airport brings another runway into use. |
Councils should be given more flexibility over fund, says LGA
27/02/2024 Councils should be given more flexibility over funding, a senior councillor has said in the aftermath of reallocated funding from HS2. |
Chancellor urged to provide funding certainty for urban transport
27/02/2024 Transport authorities have called on the Government to prioritise long-term funding certainty for public transport and active travel in city regions in next week’s Spring Budget. |
£4.7bn local transport cash to support 'smaller cities and towns'
26/02/2024 Local authorities in the North and Midlands have been given a capital boost under a £4.7bn Local Transport Fund, and have a year to prepare plans. |
Work begins on Oxford traffic filters
26/02/2024 Work has started on a number of streets in Oxford to prepare the way for six traffic filters as part of a trial aimed at reducing traffic in the city. |
£34m council land sale set for High Court
20/02/2024 The High Court will consider whether to review Hertfordshire County Council’s sale of a former airfield to a rail freight company. |
February most dangerous month for ‘pothole prangs’
13/02/2024 Motorists have been warned that February is the most dangerous month for ‘pothole prangs’ as research reveals a dramatic rise in pothole damage claims. |
Council chiefs call for powers to fight pavement parking ‘scourge’
12/02/2024 ‘Long-overdue’ powers to ban pavement parking should be extended to all areas across England now, the Local Government Association (LGA) has argued. |
Councils 'have tightened pothole payout criteria'
05/02/2024 Compensation paid by councils for damage caused by potholes has fallen by more than a half, with some giving out ‘next to nothing’. |
Nearly 70% of EV owners unhappy with public chargers
01/02/2024 Nearly 70% of electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicle owners who have used the UK’s public charging network have said they are unhappy with it. |
London’s Regent Street set to become more cyclist friendly
01/02/2024 Regent Street is set to undergo a radical transformation as Westminster City Council seeks to make it more cyclist and pedestrian friendly. |
Newcastle CAZ generates £2.4m
31/01/2024 The Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone (CAZ) brought in more than £2.4m in its first 11 months of operation. |
Edinburgh first to enforce pavement parking ban
29/01/2024 Edinburgh City Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to enforce a ban on pavement parking. |
Devon and Torbay devolution deal announced
25/01/2024 Devon County Council and Torbay Council are set to enter a level 2 devolution deal with the Government. |
Councils get new steer on motorbikes in bus lanes
23/01/2024 The Department for Transport (DfT) has updated its guidance for councils on allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes. |
Nine in 10 women cycling in London face abuse
19/01/2024 A new report has highlighted the extent and toxicity of abuse experienced by women cycling in London. |
Stoke-on-Trent council plans to stop ‘sledgehammer’ CAZ
18/01/2024 A team from Stoke-on-Trent City Council is working on a plan to stop a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) being implemented in the city. |
First-of-kind tool links road casualties and deprivation
12/01/2024 Transport for London has launched a dashboard which shows how deprivation is linked to higher levels of death and injury on the capital’s roads. |
Potholes: the drivers’ biggest pain
10/01/2024 Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, discusses the scourge of potholes and what councils should do to fix the local road network. |
Pothole claims up record 40%, insurer reveals
09/01/2024 The number of pothole-related claims increased by a record 40% last year when compared to 2022, the latest data from Admiral Car Insurance has revealed. |
EVs only ‘part of the solution’, public health directors warn
03/01/2024 Directors of public health have welcomed the Government’s zero emission vehicle mandate but warned electric vehicles are ‘just part of the solution’. |
BCP Council extends successful bike scheme
02/01/2024 A bike scheme in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council area has been extended for five more years. |
Transport planners take on 'hotly contested' parking debate
15/12/2023 A report from the Transport Planning Society argues that current parking practice promotes car use and outlines policy recommendations to lower carbon travel. |
Mayor Burnham criticises fee-paying clean air zone
14/12/2023 Public investment in buses and taxis will improve air quality in Greater Manchester faster than a fee-paying clean air zone (CAZ), Mayor Andy Burnham says. |
Mayor of London criticised for Saudi ads
13/12/2023 Mayor Khan has been criticised after Saudi adverts appeared on the TfL Network despite advertising restrictions on countries with poor human rights records. |
Government axes Brum's £2.7bn PFI deal in shock 'betrayal'
01/12/2023 Birmingham City Council's leader has accused the Government of 'betrayal' by axing the authority's £2.7bn highways Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, in a move that could lose the authority more than £500m of roads investment. |
Portsmouth CAZ ‘not enough’ as legal limits still breached
01/12/2023 A government-mandated clean air zone (CAZ) in Portsmouth is not enough to reduce emissions, with pollution on three sites continuing to breach the legal limit, the city’s council has said. |
Million more public transport commuters needed, think-tank says
29/11/2023 The largest cities in Britain should aim to boost the number of public transport commuters by nearly one million to reduce congestion and pollution, a think-tank has said. |
Edinburgh to spend £55m to make fleet LEZ compliant
28/11/2023 Edinburgh City Council is set to spend £55m replacing obsolete vehicles and ensuring its fleet complies with new environmental rules. |
Campaigners warn of ‘silent war’ on bus services
28/11/2023 Bus services have seen a dramatic decline over the past 15 years, with provision decreasing by more than 60% in 80 local authority areas, research reveals. |
Autumn Statement: Level 4 devolution unveiled
22/11/2023 More powers will be offered to areas with a level 3 devolution deal, the Government has announced as part of the Autumn Statement. |
Levelling Up Fund allocated
20/11/2023 The third round of the Levelling Up Fund has been awarded to unsuccessful bids from round two. |
Autumn Statement 2023: Where does all the HS2 money go now?
20/11/2023 Jessica Bowles, director of strategic partnerships and impact at Bruntwood, discusses the future of Northern Powerhouse Rail. |
Councils call for emergency school transport funding
20/11/2023 ‘Spiralling’ transport costs for children with special educational needs are threatening the financial stability of England’s largest councils, according to a report. |
Council ‘saddened’ by proposed job cuts at rail factory
16/11/2023 A council leader has urged ministers to commit to the industrial sector after the UK’s largest rail assembly factory announced 1,330 jobs are at risk in Derby. |
New Bradford station 'one step closer' with £400k award
14/11/2023 The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded Bradford Council £400,000 ‘to kickstart master planning’ on a new railway station. |
Places must adapt for ageing population, says Whitty
13/11/2023 Places and infrastructure must be adapted to support an ageing population, particularly in rural areas, according to England's chief medical officer. |
Councils sign cross border partnership
13/11/2023 Two English councils, Herefordshire and Shropshire, and two Welsh county councils, Monmouthshire and Powys, have signed a partnership agreement. |
Bus firm 'must roll up sleeves' to resolve strike
09/11/2023 A North East transport boss has slammed a bus company for its response to a long-running industrial dispute, which he said is causing real harm to people across the region and damaging its bus network. |
Councillors ‘powerless and penniless’ on clean air
09/11/2023 Elected members do not believe that councils have the powers or budgets to make meaningful change on air quality, research has found. |
‘Nothing for local government’ in King’s Speech
07/11/2023 Councils have expressed disappointment that the King’s Speech offered no commitment to improving local government finances or furthering devolution. |
DfT teases more detail on multi-billion roads spending plans
03/11/2023 The Department for Transport has given fresh detail on the £8.3bn of ‘additional’ local highway maintenance funding due to HS2 cuts. |
MPs criticise ‘disappointingly slow’ progress on active travel
03/11/2023 The Government is not on track to meet its active travel targets, with funding uncertainty hampering councils’ efforts, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said. |
Khan hails ULEZ compliance as revenue doubles
31/10/2023 London mayor Sadiq Khan has welcomed new data showing that compliance rates in the new outer London part of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) have nearly caught up with those in inner London. |
Costain named strategic partner on Bradford's £250m investment plan
30/10/2023 Costain has been reappointed as Bradford Council’s strategic delivery partner, in a contract worth up to £5m with an initial run of two years. |
Air quality rules continue to trouble Bath area
27/10/2023 A council that had ‘officially passed a government milestone’ for cleaning up toxic air breached legal limits as traffic returned after the pandemic, according to recent data. |
Demand responsive buses won't fill gap, CCN says
25/10/2023 Three in four large rural councils in England are rolling out demand-responsive transport (DRT) bus services but councils have warned that they are not financially sustainable or a substitute for government bus service subsidies. |
Council seeks HS2 compensation over 'levelling down'
25/10/2023 Cheshire East Council is pursuing compensation over the Government’s decision to scrap HS2 north of Birmingham. |
Firms want clarity as DfT hands out £150m for buses
23/10/2023 Bus operators have expressed frustration over the Government’s pledge to allocate £1bn of redirected HS2 cash for bus improvements in the North and Midlands. |
Concern over state of roads hits record high
20/10/2023 Half of drivers say the state of local roads is their top motoring concern – a record high since the RAC began asking for motorists' views on road conditions. |
Health outcomes ‘largely absent’ from housing guidance
19/10/2023 Health outcomes are ‘largely absent’ when it comes to local government guidance on housing supply and transport policies, new research has revealed. |
Government approves plans to increase Luton Airport capacity
17/10/2023 Plans by London Luton Airport (LLA) to increase its passenger cap by one million a year have been approved by the Government. |
£1.3bn local road upgrade pledge unravels
12/10/2023 Doubts have arisen over the Government's pledge that it will deliver 70 local authority road schemes |
Exclusive: DfT drops self-assessment process
10/10/2023 The Department for Transport has ended the highways self-assessment process, removing the incentive element of local maintenance capital funding. |
New travel concession for London care leavers
09/10/2023 Care leavers aged 18-25 will receive half-price bus and tram travel in London, mayor Sadiq Khan announced today. |
15 minute cities 'don't exist'
09/10/2023 Civil servants are battling to explain to ministers that concepts like ’15-minute cities’, said to restrict people’s ability to shop, ‘don’t really exist'. |
Liverpool to 'take back control' with franchised buses
06/10/2023 The Liverpool City Region will bring its buses back under public control, mayor Steve Rotheram announced today. |
Battery-powered trains hit tracks in UK first
06/10/2023 The first UK passenger trains to run using battery technology have been launched in the Liverpool City Region. |
Sunak confirms HS2 Manchester leg axed
04/10/2023 Rishi Sunak has confirmed the cancellation of the HS2 north of Birmingham but has said that the high speed rail line will still go to Euston. |
Sunak launches fight for motorists
02/10/2023 The Government has announced plans to discourage English councils from bringing in 20mph and traffic reduction measures. |
Government to restrict use of 20mph speed limits
29/09/2023 Local leaders have responded critically to reports that the Government is set to restrict the ability of councils to impose 20mph speed limits on main roads. |
Bradford claims success from watered-down CAZ
29/09/2023 Bradford Council has celebrated questionable success in its struggle to demonstrate compliance with the legal limit for toxic air pollution. |
£80m bus funding confirmed
29/09/2023 The Government has confirmed the funding allocations of £80m to support local authorities’ bus service improvement plans (BSIPs) in 2024-25. |
Newcastle clean air zone brings in £500k
27/09/2023 Newcastle City Council’s clean air zone (CAZ) has brought in over £500,000 in the first six months of its operation, new figures from the council reveal. |
Charity calls for pavement parking crack down
25/09/2023 A charity for the visually impaired has urged the Government to do more to crack down on pavement parking. |
Liverpool looks to significantly improve services
22/09/2023 Liverpool City Council has set out a four-year plan to significantly improve the quality of services in the face of ‘complex’ issues. |
Call for bus franchising powers for councils
22/09/2023 Local authorities need more powers, including to introduce franchising, to end a 'spiral of decline' in bus service delivery, a new report has said. |
Tower Hamlets to remove LTN road closures
21/09/2023 Tower Hamlets has decided to remove its low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) road closures despite the majority of affected residents supporting the measures. |
PM delays new petrol and diesel ban to 2035
21/09/2023 PM Rishi Sunak has delayed the Government's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 to 2035. |
Optimism about Greater Manchester’s economy ‘badly misplaced’
21/09/2023 Greater Manchester should expand its city centre, improve connectivity, and build 126,000 more homes to boost its productivity, the Resolution Foundation says. |
‘Levelling up? my a**e’: HS2 faces new axe threat
15/09/2023 Contractors have reacted furiously to reports that ministers are considering cancelling the second phase of HS2, which is due to take the high speed rail line to Manchester. |
London to expand 20mph limits
12/09/2023 Transport for London (TfL) has announced 65km of new 20mph speed limits to be introduced across eight London boroughs by the end of the year. |
Wales to consider funding bids straddling English border
11/09/2023 Wales’ economy minister has said he would consider funding bids from a new council partnership that crosses the Welsh and English border. |
Mayors call for Northern ‘New Deal’
11/09/2023 Mayors and business leaders are set to urge the main political parties to put the North of England at the heart of their 2024 general election manifestos. |
Newcastle approves new taxi design to improve safety
08/09/2023 Plans to rebrand Newcastle’s black cabs to make them ‘instantly recognisable’ have been approved by the city council. |
Newham to review hundreds of rejected freedom passes
07/09/2023 Following an ombudsman investigation, the London Borough of Newham will review more than 200 applications for freedom passes it rejected. |
Suffolk’s essential service funding ‘not sustainable’
06/09/2023 Suffolk County Council has forecast it will spend £22.3m over its budget this year, with the costs of school transport and looking after children in care making up two thirds of the overspend. |
Manchester charges forward with 200 EV connectors
05/09/2023 Plans to install 200 electric vehicle charging connectors in Manchester are gathering pace as the city council looks to help residents switch to cleaner cars. |
EXCLUSIVE: Mayors press for trailblazer devolution powers
04/09/2023 Mayors are pressing for devolved powers currently reserved for their trailblazer counterparts in ongoing talks with the Government. |
Street diverts £40m BSIP cash to subsidise bus firms
04/09/2023 West Midlands mayor Andy Street is to spend nearly half of the region’s bus service improvement cash on subsidies to private sector operators, following a deal with ministers. |
Newcastle axes LTN
04/09/2023 A trial low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in Newcastle will not be made permanent, the city council has announced. |
South East Councils to consider devolution of vehicle excise duty
01/09/2023 The devolution of vehicle excise duty (VED) will be among the options expected to be considered by a London Finance Commission-style investigation. |
Birmingham’s clean air zone less effective than previously thought
31/08/2023 Birmingham’s clean air zone (CAZ) has been less effective at reducing the levels of nitrogen dioxide gas than was previously thought, new research suggests. |
Welsh and English councils announce new partnership
30/08/2023 Councils on either side of the border between Wales and England are set to join a partnership in a bid to seek Government funding. |
RAC urges councils to install ULEZ signs
29/08/2023 Local authorities surrounding London have been advised to install signs warning drivers of today’s expansion of the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). |
Worcester endorses 20-year transport strategy
25/08/2023 City councillors in Worcester have endorsed a new 20-year transport strategy which is aimed at delivering a more sustainable transport system. |
Gloucestershire to roll out 1,000 EV chargers
24/08/2023 Gloucestershire County Council is set to begin the rollout of 1,000 electric vehicle charging points at the end of this month. |
Vehicle emission schemes raise £418m
24/08/2023 More than £400m in fees and penalties has been generated from vehicle emission schemes in England, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed. |
Orkney requests help replacing £800m ferry fleet
22/08/2023 The leader of Orkney Islands Council has called on the Government to help fund the replacement of Orkney's ferry fleet, which could cost up to £800m. |
City Hall accused of countering science on ULEZ
22/08/2023 Sadiq Khan’s office has been accused of trying to counter scientists who suggested London's ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) had little impact on pollution. |
Wet July sees rise in pothole-related breakdowns
21/08/2023 This year is set to be one of the worst on record for damage caused by potholes, according to the AA, after July saw pothole-related breakdowns up a fifth. |
Khan tells neighbouring councils to ‘put politics aside’ over ULEZ
18/08/2023 London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire county councils to ‘put their politics aside’ and allow the installation of ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) infrastructure. |
Six-in-10 drivers support ‘noise cameras’
18/08/2023 The majority of drivers want to see cameras installed to catch drivers who rev their cars unnecessarily or whose vehicles have illegally loud exhausts. |
DfT faces Court of Appeal challenge over kerb heights
16/08/2023 A disability campaigner has won the right to take her case to the Court of Appeal in battle over the Department for Transport's minimum kerb height guidance. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.