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found 335 stories.
Business
Duncan Tift BusinessDesk 25 Feb 11
Transport group National Express has said it expects to take a £5m hit to its bus revenue next year as a result of the Government cutting a grant to bus operators.
In its Comprehensive Spending Review last year, the coalition announced a 20% reduction in the Bus Service Operators Grant from April next year. The announcement also included a review of the concessionary reimbursement scheme and a cut in local funding for transport…
Business
Duncan Tift BusinessDesk 24 Feb 11
National Express made a 38% improvement in pre-tax profits last year with the transport group claiming the recovery was ahead of schedule.
The Birmingham based group said pre-tax profits rose to £160.5m, from £116.2m in 2009, based on revenue of £2.12bn – down 22% on 2009′s £2.7bn…
Business
Dunccan Tift BusinessDesk 18 Feb 11
Chiltern Railways is to delay the launch of its much heralded Mainline service between Birmingham and London following fears about overrunning engineering works disrupting services.
The service, which follows a £250m investment in the Mainline, had been due to begin in May and the company even held a ceremony at Moor Street Station earlier this month to unveil a clock counting down the 100 days until the launch of the fast train link…
News PR
Centro 15 Feb 11
People in Wolverhampton and west Walsall are being urged to have their say as part of a review of local bus services.
Centro, the region’s transport authority is working with Wolverhampton City Council, Walsall Borough Council and local bus companies to look at the network and see what can be done for existing and prospective passengers.
The aim is to build on the already strong transport network in the area to provide services that better serve modern travel patterns while also bringing improved buses, waiting facilities and information.
The review covers all of Wolverhampton and all or part of the following postcodes in west Walsall: WS2, WS10, WV12, WV13, and WV14.
People who visit, work and live in these areas are being urged to attend exhibitions throughout February and March to give their views on what works well and what would make bus services in the area better.
Centro also wants to establish if people would like to see the re-introduction of the Wolverhampton city centre bus.
This information, along with other research, will then be used to make improvements and ensure bus services are taking people where they want to go, when they want to go.
The work forms part of Centro’s vision to Transform Bus Travel, which focuses on improving the quality of bus travel in the region and provide people with an attractive alternative to the car.
Changes are due to come into effect during the summer in line with the opening of the new £21m Wolverhampton bus interchange.
People who want to have their say can go to any of the following exhibitions…
News PR
Centro 11 Feb 11
A trial bus service linking a Walsall estate to the town centre has proved so popular that transport chiefs have given it a four month extension and laid on extra trips.
The number of people using the 360 community bus running between High Heath and Walsall has almost doubled since the service was launched in September by transport authority Centro and local charity Walsall Community Transport.
The trial service was initially set to run for six months until March but the increased demand has seen that date extended to July.
The service, which provides a vital link to the Rushall Medical Centre, has been operating three times a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but that will now increase to four trips. An extra stop has also been added in the town centre at stand WD on Hatherton Road. The additional journey is being subsidised by Walsall Community Transport, which is operating the service.
Stan Taylor, Chair of Trustees at Walsall Community Transport, said: “We were delighted to have been invited to become involved in the initiative and feel rewarded by the tremendous response from local residents who have been instrumental in the service achieving the growth in popularity achieved.”
The new timetable has been drawn up following consultation between Centro, Walsall Community Transport and the High Heath and Shelfield Residents Association, to ensure it best serves the needs of local people.
Centro stepped in with taxpayers’ money to launch the trial service in September to bridge a gap in connections between Walsall and High Heath after a commercial service on the route was withdrawn by the private bus company running it.
Passengers can get further details and times for the service by contacting Walsall Community Transport on 01922 685555.
News PR
Walsall Council 8 Feb 11
A £30 million scheme to rebuild key roads through Darlaston and Pleck that will help employment sites to create thousands of jobs has moved a step closer.
Roads will be upgraded and resurfaced and improvements made to junctions and bridges to tie in with plans to unlock the potential of key sites for job creation if the council is successful with the bid.
Walsall Council’s Major Scheme Business Case for the Darlaston Strategic Development Area Access Project has been approved by the Department for Transport to move forward to the next stage. More detailed plans will now be drawn up in conjunction with the Department for Transport (DfT) ahead of a final funding decision later this year.
The roads and junctions to be improved are:-
Bentley Road South, including the junction with Heath Road
Bentley Mill Way, including the junction with Darlaston Road
Junction of A4038 Darlaston Road and A4148 Bescot Road
Junction of A4148 Bescot Road and Wallows Lane
£1.2 million advance works to replace the canal bridge on Bentley Road South have already been completed with a major contribution from the council’s funds. Previously the size of vehicles using the road was limited and this work is a significant early step forward in the bid to open up the area’s employment potential…
Comment
The Stymaster Pig Blog 5 Feb 11
My last post, mentioning the plans to sell off our forests, set me thinking about the other things that have been sold off in our time by people that had no right to do so.
I’ve already set out my views on ownership of essential utilities and public services. People of other political viewpoints will disagree, saying that the public sector stagnates things, causes inefficiencies, and that competition is good for the market.
That last point is what I’d like to explore a bit further.
First, I’ll pick on an industry I know well as a professional user: Telecoms…
News
Brett Gibbons B'ham Mail 4 Feb 11
A former West Midlands transport chief has challenged train operators to step in and rescue a service which links the north of Birmingham and the Black Country with London.
Richard Worrall, the former head of West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, said he was keen to see if any of the major rail firms would fill the void left by the axing of the Wrexham & Shropshire service, which called at Tame Bridge Parkway in Walsall…
News
Express & Star 31 Jan 11
More than 4,800 campaigners have signed a petition to reinstate an axed rail service that served commuters to London from Tame Bridge Parkway station in Walsall. Wrexham & Shropshire operated its last direct service to Marylebone, London, on Friday.
Public transport campaigner and former Walsall Mayor, Richard Worrall, was among the last passengers to use the route on its last day…
News
Nick Horner Advertiser 27 Jan 11
Half-hour walk to replace service
A vital school bus route linking a popular grammar school in Walsall with Sutton Coldfield is to be axed, angering parents in Streetly.
National Express West Midlands confirmed it is withdrawing the 379 school service at the February half-term holiday due to the “long term decline in patronage”.
The service links Sutton town centre, Mere Green, Four Oaks and Streetly with Queen Mary’s Grammar School, Sutton Road, near Walsall town centre…