Posts tagged ‘Transport’
Transport: Aviation policy for Northern Ireland
Monday, April 18th, 2011Westminster asks for local views on aviation’s future but rules out devolving powers over flight. Northern Ireland “will always be heavily dependent on air links” and needs good flight connections within the UK, according to a Coalition Government paper launched in March. ‘Developing a sustainable framework for UK aviation’ is the first step in drawing up a new national aviation strategy. Comments can be sent to the Department of Transport up to 30 September. A draft strategy will then be published next March and adopted in March 2013. The Government says that the current...[full story]
Transport: The Power of a Passport
Monday, December 6th, 2010As the Giant’s Causeway starts to feature on British passports, agendaNi finds out about their history and purpose at home and abroad. Famous around the world as a symbol of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway (above) is pictured on new UK passports in circulation since October. Designs for Dover’s White Cliffs, Ben Nevis and the Gower Peninsula in Wales have also been weaved in. The main changes, though, are security upgrades e.g. moving the chip inside the front cover and including a second image of the holder on the observations page. For the delayed plane passenger needing...[full story]
Transport: Time to speed up rail
Friday, December 3rd, 2010Reg McCabe puts the case for a faster Belfast-Dublin railway, with two stops, and predicts that a continental-style rail link is possible. The current service fails to compete with quicker road journeys. On 20 October last, the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) transport sectoral meeting discussed progress on the Dublin-Belfast rail link including a submission jointly prepared by the Centre for Cross Border Studies and the Joint Business Council that dealt with future development of the service. NSMC officials were asked to discuss the issues raised with the two operating companies...[full story]
Transport: The road to reform
Friday, July 9th, 2010agendaNi unpacks the plans for a new public transport agency to oversee the province’s sector. Chief among the new recommendations for reform is that a new public transport agency should be set up, reporting to the DRD. Consultation took place between November 2009 and February this year and a Bill was introduced into the Assembly on 21 June to legally provide for the new proposals. The new agency will be charged with forming the overall strategy and will also act as a watchdog by regulating the system through public transport contracts. According to the DRD, the agency is essential...[full story]
Transport: Towards sustainable transport
Friday, May 14th, 2010Reversing spending on roads and making a determined focus on the alternatives is the way to green the province’s transport, John Barry suggests. With the impact of the Icelandic volcanic ash grounding most flights in Europe likely to live long in our collective memories, it is perhaps appropriate to focus our attention on transportation and mobility within Northern Ireland. The Executive estimated that the disruption cost Northern Ireland around 120,000 passengers and cost the local tourist industry around £1 million a day. To state the obvious, transportation and mobility are therefore...[full story]
Transport: Pumps, prices & projections
Friday, May 14th, 2010‘Black gold’, the most sought after commodity on the planet, has long been the subject of controversy and conflict. Meadhbh Monahan examines the worldwide and national factors affecting the price of fuel at our pumps. Crude oil was pumped from the ground in China over 2,000 years ago, used by native Indians as medicine and war paint, and first extracted from under the sea with drilling apparatus in 1955. Since then, the production and consumption of oil has risen to such a level that the main oil producing countries, governments, energy watchdogs and scientists are locked in a debate...[full story]
Transport: Time to change direction
Friday, May 14th, 2010Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy puts forward his priorities for transport and outlines the main steps being taken to make the system more sustainable. As minister responsible for transport, my focus is on ensuring the delivery of high quality transport and travel infrastructure and services which effectively support the economy of the region and help promote social inclusion in all areas, whether urban or rural. I have on a number of occasions outlined my commitment to set out a new direction for transport and travel. Most recently, I had an opportunity in March to host a...[full story]
Transport: Driving for safety
Friday, May 14th, 2010‘Driver error causes most crashes’ is the message as the province’s road safety strategy is updated. “It is fundamentally important that people get the message that driver error is the cause of most accidents,” said Environment Minister Edwin Poots as he announced a consultation on the new road safety strategy. The draft 2010-2020 strategy includes 170 proposed action measures which cover: continuing to reduce the number of road deaths and serious injuries (specifically focusing on improving safety on rural roads); working to protect young drivers and motorcyclists; and reducing...[full story]
Transport: The route ahead
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010Draft plans to reform public transport are moving forward, centred around a proposal for a new agency and more competition for Translink. Bus and rail services in Northern Ireland are due to move in a new direction over the next two years. In the department’s own words, its stated aim is to provide “a customer focused, high quality integrated public transport system, which is sustainable, provides good value for money, enhances competitiveness, helps sustain economic growth, promotes regional development and contributes to equality and social inclusion.” A new public transport...[full story]
