On July 21 EBRD approved a sovereign loan of up to €10m to support a €35·3m project to acquire up to 15 new trams for Sarajevo operator GRAS. This is expected to improve the reliability of public transport and contribute in addressing the city’s ‘severe‘ air quality issue.
The UK government’s Getting Building Fund is to provide £12·4m for the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley and £1·8m for Coventry’s Very Light Rail project.
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has announced changes to its security department’s use of force policy, which Chair Nathan Fletcher. said were ‘another step in our effort to comprehensively restructure our approach to transit safety’. Significant updates include banning carotid restraints and choke holds, including the prohibition of using knee pressure on the neck, throat or head; requiring use of force to be proportional to the seriousness of an offence; a duty to intervene if witnessing excessive force by another employee; requiring de-escalation tactics when feasible; requiring a warning prior to use of force.
A review of light rail switch and crossing maintenance regimes is to be funded by industry group UKTram and the Light Rail Safety & Standards Board, who will work with Huddersfield University.
On August 4 Japan International Cooperation Agency and the government of Bangladesh signed a record of discussions for a 30-month project which would see a Japanese team provide training for future metro Line 6 operator Dhaka Mass Transit Corp to support the preparation of safety related manuals and to establish a safety management system.
Transport authority Nexus has secured £20m of UK government funding for Tyne & Wear Metro infrastructure renewal works once the current £350m Metro All Change programme ends in March 2021. ‘The £20m for next year represents a down payment on what will hopefully amount to further investment, which is essential for the continuation of our capital programme through to 2025’, said Director of Finance & Resources John Fenwick.
Sheel Kumar Mittal has been appointed as Director (Finance) of Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corp with effect from July 31, having previously been General Manager (Finance). Arvind Singh has been named as Project Director, Kanpur Metro, and Arvind Kumar Rai as Project Director, Agra Metro.
The Uber app can now be used to pay for travel on Thames Clippers ferry services in London, using QR ticketing technology from Masabi which has provided mobile ticketing for Thames Clippers since 2014 and is Uber’s mobile ticketing partner in Ohio, Denver and Las Vegas.
The San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission has launched a pilot means-based fare programme, offering discounted single fares for passengers whose household incomes are no more than twice the federal poverty level. ‘MTC has a long history of serving low-income residents through community-based planning and other programs’, said MTC Chair Scott Haggerty. ‘Clipper START is really expanding that commitment to make transit more affordable to a wider group of people. We’re excited to see how many will take advantage of this pilot.’