Category Archives: Transport

NSW closes loophole to stamp out fires caused by substandard lithium-ion batteries in ebikes and scooters

Posted on by

New rules declaring the popular devices a form of transport mean the batteries must meet strict international product standards

New South Wales is cracking down on the sale of some ebikes and e-scooters in a nationwide first aimed at reducing the scourge of battery-related fires, while pushing for a nationally coordinated approach to the growing problem.

Low quality ebikes and e-scooters have contributed to a spate of fires across the country, with lithium-ion batteries now the fastest growing cause of fires in the state.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Too high for comfort’: transport costs rising at almost three times rate of inflation, data reveals

Posted on by

Households ‘hurting’ as people forced to spend more of their income on driving, petrol, tolls and public transport fares

Australians are being forced to spend more of their income on transport, with spending on driving, petrol, tolls and public transport fares growing at almost three times the rate of inflation, new data reveals.

In the 12 months to 30 June, transport costs rose by 10.5% across the board, well above the CPI increase of 3.8% over the same period, the latest Australian Automobile Association’s (AAA) transport affordability index showed.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australians shunning petrol-powered cars for hybrid vehicles as bowser prices rise

Posted on by

Trend also reflects concerns over range and a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles, experts say

Australians are buying more cars than ever but are increasingly choosing hybrid vehicles over petrol-powered cars due to rising costs at the bowser, new data by the Australian Automobiles Association shows.

Quarterly vehicle sales data released on Monday revealed a further uptick in demand for hybrid vehicles, a trend the industry believes reflects both the rising cost of living, as well as range anxiety and concerns over a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

One of Australia’s most expensive commutes becomes the cheapest, as Queensland’s 50c public transport trial begins

Posted on by

Operators not predicting a large influx of new customers right away, with patronage still well below pre-Covid levels

In an Australian-first trial of super-cheap public transport, Queensland bus, train and ferry fares are set to drop to just 50 cents this week.

Train tickets in the sunshine state had been among the country’s most expensive – up to $31.10 for a single adult paper train ticket.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Coalition claims Labor education reforms a ‘school funding war’; NZ bushwalker’s body recovered from Tasmania hiking trail

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

Murray Watt says advice needed from administrators to determine government support amid administration

Murray Watt, the newly-appointed minister for workplace relations, also weighed in on the Rex Airlines administration on ABC RN just earlier.

In terms of equity stakes or other financial government support, we’ll make those decisions once the situation becomes clearer through the administrator.

This would only be activated if the company is unable to repay entitlements to any workers who are retrenched, and let’s hope it may not get to that.

But also, our department would be providing employment support to workers who do lose their job to ensure that they can get back into work as quickly as possible.

Continue reading...

As many as 360 workers sacked at Rex with hundreds more jobs to go

Posted on by

Employees reportedly told the airline will no longer operate flights between capital cities

As many as 360 staff at Rex Airlines have been sacked already and hundreds more are on the chopping block after administrators were called in to run the embattled carrier, with remaining staff told they may not get paid until a new buyer is found.

It comes amid speculation that Asia-based private equity firm PAG, which funded Rex’s $150m expansion to jet operations, was considering becoming the airline’s new owner out of administration.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Rex has entered voluntary administration. What happens next to the embattled regional airline?

Posted on by

Virgin Australia has offered to rebook Rex passengers due to travel on now-grounded capital city flights on an equivalent Virgin service free of charge

There is uncertainty about the future of Rex – Australia’s third-largest airline – after it entered voluntary administration and grounded all of its flights between capital cities.

The Albanese government held crisis talks with Rex on Tuesday and appeared willing to step in to save parts of the airline’s operations.

Continue reading...

Rex airlines enters voluntary administration with all flights between capital cities grounded

Posted on by

Federal government says Rex ‘will have a future’ with minister suggesting Labor will step in to save troubled company

All Rex flights between capital cities have been grounded and the airline has entered voluntary administration just hours after the Albanese government suggested it would intervene to ensure the nation’s third-largest carrier didn’t collapse.

Late on Tuesday, EY – formerly known as Ernst & Young – announced it had been appointed as administrators of the company, and that the airline’s Boeing 737 operations between capital cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane had been grounded, with Virgin Australia stepping in to offer impacted passengers rebooking “free of charge”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Plan ahead’: thousands of Sydney commuters to face travel chaos as opening of new metro line delayed

Posted on by

Revised launch date yet to be announced as NSW government awaits go ahead from Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator for new $21.6bn subway line

Thousands of Sydney commuters will have their travel plans thrown into disarray from next week due to a delay to the planned opening of the $21.6bn Metro project.

The transport minister, Jo Haylen, on Tuesday apologised to passengers as she confirmed the government was yet to secure approval from the national rail safety regulator and had not determined a new start date for the metro service.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Rex forced into trading halt amid questions about the airline’s future

Posted on by

The carrier promises to respond to reports that it has called in turnaround experts as Anthony Albanese says the airline is ‘important’

Turbulence at Rex Airlines appears to be deepening after the carrier requested a trading halt following speculation it would appoint consultants to turnaround its financial woes.

On Monday, the ASX announced it had suspended trade in the airline’s shares after it had requested the move pending an announcement related to a news article published on Saturday, understood to be a report in the Australian that the airline had appointed turnaround experts from Deloitte.

Rex’s request suggested an imminent related announcement, with the halt in place until the commencement of trade on Wednesday.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said an airline running into trouble was a weekly occurrence in the tough, global industry.

Continue reading...

Further Eurostar cancellations hold up Paris 2024 passengers

Posted on by

The rail operator has pulled four of 15 trains from its Saturday schedule, affecting more than 3,000 people

Eurostar passengers hoping to catch the start of the Paris Olympics have continued to face difficulties after an arson attack in France caused train cancellations.

People travelling by Eurostar from London to Paris on Friday were asked to postpone trips if possible after the rail operator cancelled one in four trains over the weekend as a result of arson attacks that lead to widespread disruption to France’s high-speed rail network hours before the start of the Olympics.

Continue reading...

London Eurostar passengers asked to postpone journeys after arson attack

Posted on by

High-speed rail services have been disrupted, hours before Olympics opening ceremony, by ‘acts of malice’

Eurostar passengers travelling from London to Paris on Friday were asked to postpone trips if possible, with trains delayed and cancelled after arson attacks took place on high-speed rail lines hours before the start of the Olympics.

Most services were leaving St Pancras International station on time but journeys were expected to be prolonged by at least an hour in France. Two afternoon departures have been cancelled.

Continue reading...

EasyJet forecasts record-breaking summer as profits jump

Posted on by

Strong results follow drop in European airline stocks this week after Ryanair reported profit plunge

The budget airline easyJet is predicting a record-breaking summer of travel after profits jumped 16% in its most recent quarter of trading.

The bumper figures come only two days after the rival no-frills carrier Ryanair reported a plunge in earnings and a poor outlook for the holiday getaway season, pushing down many European airline stocks.

Continue reading...

US ‘committed’ to Aukus regardless of who is president, admiral says – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

‘Tumultuous’ coverage must not worsen post-3G, farmers say

Telcos face the ire of rural Australians if the 3G network shutdown goes awry and are being warned they will be held publicly accountable for any fallout, AAP reports.

Continue reading...

Luxury ute tax loophole costs Australians $250m a year, researchers say

Posted on by

The Australia Institute says tax exemption on ‘commercial vehicles’ with no testing requirement is incentivising people to buy utes instead of EVs

A loophole in Australia’s tax law is in effect subsidising the price of luxury utes such as Ram and Chevrolet SUVs, costing taxpayers more than $250m a year in forgone revenue, an analysis has found.

The research from the Australia Institute centres on the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) – introduced in 2000 for imported cars partly to protect the domestic industry that existed at the time – and an exemption that applies to certain utes.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sydney commuters face travel woes all week as light rail workers strike for better pay

Posted on by

All inner-Sydney light rail lines are due to grind to a halt during peak hours from 8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm from Monday to Friday

Sydney commuters are expected to face major peak-hour disruption for an entire week with light rail workers shutting down tram services over pay and conditions.

All inner-Sydney light rail lines are due to grind to a halt during peak hours from 8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm, from Monday to Friday, after the union decided to ramp up its industrial action.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Bedlam’ in UK as air and rail travel hit by global IT outage

Posted on by

More than 3,000 flights cancelled worldwide after problem affecting Microsoft Windows

Passengers have described “bedlam” at UK airport check-ins after a global IT outage on what was due to be the busiest day for flying since the start of the Covid pandemic, while train networks have also been disrupted.

More than 3,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide after Microsoft Windows operating systems used by airlines, airports and some air traffic systems were affected.

Continue reading...

Uber told to pay banned Sydney driver $10,000 after failing to prove passenger’s complaint

Posted on by

Exclusive: Rideshare company failed to gather evidence that driver with near-perfect rating had breached its code of conduct, tribunal finds

Uber has been ordered to pay $10,000 in damages to an Australian driver after it permanently banned him from working due to a passenger complaint but failed to gather evidence that he had breached its code of conduct.

The ruling from the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal related to Uber’s conduct when terminating the driver’s account af a trip in last August.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

EU biometric checks for foreign travellers delayed again

Posted on by

Digital border system that will require fingerprint and facial scans postponed until November

The date for the introduction of the EU’s new entry-exit system has been pushed back again until November, allaying fears of long queues at the border during the October half-term holidays.

The launch of the new biometric checks for foreign travellers, including Britons, entering the EU, has been delayed from 6 October until at least 10 November, with many smaller airports yet to have facilities in place.

Continue reading...

Cabin crew had to scoop human waste from toilets after AFL team’s plane ran out of water, union says

Posted on by

Transport Workers Union outraged at conditions on National Jet Express flight to Perth chartered by Fremantle Dockers

Cabin crew were forced to scoop human waste out of onboard toilets and other passengers were left to urinate directly into basins, a union says, after a charter flight carrying an AFL team ran out of water, making flushing impossible.

The National Jet Express (NJE) plane was chartered by the Fremantle Dockers to fly the team to Perth after their loss to Hawthorn in the Tasmanian city of Launceston on Saturday. It reportedly ran out of water just 30 minutes into the four-hour flight.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...