Figures from British Transport Police reveal that over 400 people were ejected from stations across Wales during the festive season, as part of a joint operation with Transport for Wales to keep passengers safe. Focused mainly on Fridays and Saturdays over the Christmas period, Operation Genesis saw an increase in high-visibility patrols on trains and at stations, as well as covert policing to … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 December
Holiday motorists are expected to clock up 3.2bn Christmas miles to see family and friends, according to a poll of 2,500 drivers conducted by the RAC. With weather forecasts pointing to the possibility of strong winds, rain, sleet and even snow for some in time for the 25th, the fears of bad Christmas driving conditions shared by 59% of drivers might turn out to be true. Most car buyers fail to … [Read more...]
Clean air targets will not be achieved
Europe is expected to miss new clean air targets over the next few years. New T&E analysis finds that the emissions reduction trajectory proposed by the European Commission sets a far too generous emissions budget for 2021-2030. Weaknesses in the Regulation mean that, by 2030, emissions in the Effort Sharing Regulation sectors would not be cut by -40%, as envisaged by Fit for 55, but by a … [Read more...]
Welsh police step up breath-tests
Drivers in Wales are far more likely to be breath tested in December than any other month. Analysis of Home Office data by personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense shows that in December last year 4,551 motorists were stopped by Police across Wales on suspicion of drink driving. This was nearly a fifth of the total for the entire year. North Wales led the way with 1,906 tests, followed by South … [Read more...]
Train-safe campaign launches for Christmas season
British Transport Police and Transport for Wales has launched a joint operation this Christmas to keep passengers across Wales safe during the festive season. Operation Genesis will see extra officers and rail staff out across the network throughout the month to help anyone who needs it. With emphasis on Fridays and Saturdays during December, the operation will see an increase in … [Read more...]
Write-offs are worrying more drivers
Almost one in three (32%) UK drivers have had a car written off by an insurance company (men 35% and women 30%) and 8% twice or more. London drivers are the most likely to have written off a car, with almost half (48%) having had a car written off by an insurance company. This is almost twice as high as other regions including Wales (23%) and the West Midlands (24%). In the Opinium survey of … [Read more...]
Transport for Wales breaks the law – again
Welsh Government managed Transport for Wales is breaking its own legal requirements for passengers to wear face masks on its services after hundreds of rugby fans were seen squeezed onto trains after the Wales v Australia match. It follows similar incidents on rugby and soccer fans' trains operating across South Wales in recent weeks and opposition Senedd members have again said Transport for … [Read more...]
Nextbike suspend SWales operations after crimes
Nextbike is suspending its sharing scheme in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan after months of vandalism, thefts and threats to staff. Nextbike’s UK managing director said the levels of vandalism seen in the Labour-run Cardiff is unlike anywhere else across the UK. Since being introduced in 2018, more than 300 bikes have been stolen with 130 of them taken since August this year. Another 260 … [Read more...]
Is your driving licence up to date?
Co-op Insurance is urging motorists not to delay in renewing their driving licence as figures obtained from the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency show that a huge 2.5 million motorists will see their driving licence expire before 31 August 2022 – over 6% of the total 40,666,276 licences in operation today. What’s more, data shows that over 450,000 driving licences expired during the past … [Read more...]
Newslines 25 October
The latest RAC Report on Motoring shows that 49% of drivers commuted five days a week before the pandemic but just 32% expect to in the future. In addition, three-in-10 drivers (30%) now expect to commute between one and four days a week with the average number of commuting days in future standing at three per week, down from four before Covid-19 hit. Petrol prices have hit 142.94p a … [Read more...]