PIE IN THE SKY OR A DREAMBOAT

The incredible mile-long floating CITY - complete with schools, a hospital, parks and an airport for its 50,000 residents

• The Freedom Ship is 25 storeys high and would feature a casino, an art gallery, a park and a shopping centre
• The concept, designed by a Florida-based company would cost $10billion if was commissioned to be built
• The vessel could house 50,000 people but it would contain additional space to hold an extra 30,000 visitors
• The ship would constantly sail around the world - doing a full circuit every two years - but would be too large to enter any ports

Seasick sufferers look away now. A Florida-based firm has designed a floating city called Freedom Ship that would spend its entire time at sea.
The vessel is a mile long, 25-storeys-high and has enough room for 50,000 permanent residents.
It features schools, hospitals, art galleries, shops, parks, an aquarium, casino and even an art gallery as well as an airport on the roof and a docking bay at the rear. 

Designed by the Florida-based Freedom Ship International, the floating city, concept pictured, is set to cost $10 billion and weigh 2.7 million tonnes - making it too large to ever dock. The ship would spend the whole time at sea, circling the globe once every two years, powered by solar and wave energy

THE FREEDOM SHIP IN NUMBERS

Width: 750ft
Length: 4,500ft
Height: 350ft
Weight: 2.7 million tones
Capacity: 50,000 permanent residents with room for an extra 30,000 daily visitors, 20,000 crew and 10,000 overnight guests.
Cost: $10 billion
Buildings: Accommodation, schools, hospitals, businesses, parks, promenades, an art gallery, a shopping centre, casino and airport

The designs also include a shopping centre covering 1.7 million square foot.
Designed by Freedom Ship International (FSI), the vessel is set to cost $10 billion and would weigh 2.7 million tonnes - meaning it would be too big to ever enter a port.

This means the ocean community would spend the whole time at sea, circling the globe twice a year.
During this time, FSI claim the ship would spend 70 per cent off the shore of major cities and 30 per cent moving between countries.
The route would take the ship from the east coast of the U.S across the Atlantic Ocean into Europe, passing Italy before looping back and sailing around Africa, across to Australia, heading north into Asia before spending the end of the year on the west coast of America and into South America.  
In addition to the permanent residents, the Freedom Ship would also have room for an extra 30,000 daily visitors, 20,000 crew and 10,000 overnight guests.

Visitors and residents would be able to leave the ship, either by plane or by boat thanks to a dock at the rear, concept pictured, to visit cities and countries where the ship will also pick up supplies as and when needed

The Freedom Ship, concept pictured, is a mile long, 25 storeys high and features schools, hospitals, businesses, parks, promenades, an art gallery, a shopping centre, casino and airport on the roof

The planned route, pictured, would take the ship from the east coast of the U.S across the Atlantic into Europe, passing Italy before looping back and sailing around Africa and across to Australia. It would then travel into Asia before spending the end of the year on the west coast of the U.S and South America

The airport, on the ship’s top deck, would serve private and small commercial aircraft carrying up to 40 passengers each.
The whole ship will be 750ft wide, 350ft tall and 4,500 ft long - four times longer than the Queen Mary II cruise ship.
Roger M Gooch, director and vice-president of Freedom Ship International said: ‘The Freedom Ship will be the largest vessel ever built, and the first ever floating city.
‘This will be a very heavily capitalised project and the global economy in the last few years hasn't been too inviting for unproven progressive projects like ours.

 

In addition to 50,000 permanent residents, the Freedom Ship would also have room for an extra 30,000 daily visitors, 20,000 crew and 10,000 overnight guests

The airport, on the ship's top deck, pictured, would serve private and small commercial aircraft carrying up to 40 passengers each. It could also be used to fly supplies to the ship. Aircraft could land and takeoff even when the ship is moving

This drawing shows a cross section of the ship. If built, the whole vessel would be 750ft wide, 350ft tall and 4,500 ft long. This would make it four times longer than the Queen Mary II cruise ship

‘Happily, though it has experienced a hiatus, the Freedom Ship now looks as if it is a live project again.
‘In the last six months we're getting more interest in the project and we are hopeful we will raise the $1 billion to begin construction.’
Power for the vessel would come from various sources including wave and solar power and on-board generators.
Visitors will be able to leave the ship, either by plane or boat, to visit cities and countries where the ship will also pick up supplies as and when needed.

The vessel, concept pictured, is just an idea at the moment until the Florida-based designers can raise at least $1 billion to start construction. The company said following a hiatus, and a drop in the global economy, it has started receiving interest in the ship again and hopes to raise this funding soon

New Versas Replace ex London Bendy Buses

New Go North East Versas are hitting the streets of Tyneside and in doing so are kicking out the ex London Bendy Buses that have been used extensively on the Cross Tyne route 58.

The new buses have a striking new orange livery as seen below.

The 58 route has latterly been operated by bendy buses cascaded from London following the election promise by Boris Johnson to eliminate them from the streets of London.

 Go North East Mercedes Citaro BP57 UYF seen in Newcastle on July 25th 2013.  Whilst in the Go Ahead London fleet it was allocated fleet number MAL 114.

 An earlier Mercedes Citaro BX54 UCW previously MAL 72 in the London fleet

All of the Citaros from route 58 have now disappeared from the route and been replaced by the Versas. The Citaros have been traded in to Optare against the new vehicles and were last seen heading for Yorkshire. Stagecoach are pleased to see the back of them as they frequently blocked city centre bus stops.

Sister vehicle MAL 72 back in July 2007 when in daily service with London Central on route 12 at Piccadilly Circus

COUNCIL BOWLED OVER AS FIRST DUMBS DOWN IN PLYMOUTH

Anger at "old bangers" on Plymouth park-and-ride route

 

 

PARK and ride operator First has been slammed for putting “old bangers” on a prestigious city commuter route.

Council bosses say they pleaded in vain with First to bring back state of the art buses bought partly with taxpayers’ cash in 2006 on the George park and ride service.

The original buses were transferred to First’s operations elsewhere in the country and eventually replaced with models used at the 2012 London Olympics.

But, in the latest blow for park and ride customers, the company has now transferred these buses to its Tavistock route and replaced them with older models.

Since October 27 buses on the George park and ride service have run every 12 minutes during the daytime compared to every 10 minutes.

Cllr Mark Coker, the city’s Cabinet member for transport, said: “We are very dissatisfied with First lowering the quality of vehicles and reducing the frequency of buses on the city’s park and ride routes.”

“We are now arranging a meeting with the new managing director of First Devon and Cornwall to express our extreme disappointment and try to find a more acceptable way forward.”

Reader Frank Biscoe from Widewell, who drew The Herald’s attention to the move, said: “If the council and the people of Plymouth fail to make their voices heard, our state of the art, eco-friendly park and ride facility will become just another run of the mill bus station served by First Group’s less comfortable old bangers which have been to the moon and back.”

Alex Carter, director for First Devon and Cornwall, said: “As a commercial operator, we carefully review the supply and demand for our services and try as best we can to allocate our vehicles where there is greatest demand.

“The buses now operating on the PR1 George services, which we operate on a purely commercial basis with no public funding, are good quality double deck vehicles.

“Indeed they are of a comparable age and similar quality to the original fleet to which Mr Biscoe refers.”

The company spokeswoman said they were all 2006 or 2008 Alexander Dennis double deckers.

A council spokeswoman said some of the original 2006 buses were paid for with Department for Transport grant funding and others were paid for by First.

“The council had the choice of taking the grant-funded buses back at the end of the contract in 2010 or allowing First to buy them, which it did.”

The commercial operation has saved the council about £390,000 in subsidy costs over the past three years.

“We expected First to see the commercial benefits of retaining the park and ride buses, with their distinctive branding, on these routes,” a council spokeswoman said. “Unfortunately, First decided to move them elsewhere in the country.

“It was only after the council intervened, by protesting to First’s chief executive, that the company brought in the 2012 vehicles.”

These too have now been taken off the park and ride services and are competing with Citybus on the Tavistock route.

Cllr Coker said: “The council’s chief executive and I wrote to Tim O’Toole, chief executive of First Group, asking for the changes to be reversed but our request was rejected. In the meantime we are in discussions with First about re-introducing a clear branding on park and ride services.”

Report from the Plymouth Herald

Go North East responds to Quality Contract Scheme Proposals

Following the recent response from Stagecoach on the Tyne & Wear Proposed Quality Contract we now list below the response from Go North East.

GO NORTH EAST SAYS BUS CONTRACTS SCHEME NEEDS ONLY BE ONE PER CENT OUT TO FAIL

Go North East has expressed serious concerns about the risks and costs built into Tyne and Wear’s proposed bus Quality Contracts Scheme and recommended partnership working as a quicker and more effective way of improving bus services in the region.

In its formal consultation response, Go North East highlighted multiple flaws in the scheme, which if implemented would be the first experiment of its kind in the UK and would transfer the financial risks and costs of operating services to local taxpayers. These include:

·         Higher risk – with local councils exposed to the danger of falling revenue,  deepening a deficit which has to be met by local taxpayers;

·         Higher costs for fare payers and taxpayers – with the contracting system itself creating a new layer of costly bureaucracy which is not needed either under the current system or under the partnership proposal;

·         Inflexibility – Nexus setting up long term contracts which eliminate competition for up to 10 years at a time, and which make it impossible to respond quickly to new public requirements for new routes or new bus technology.

Go North East managing director Kevin Carr said: “Nexus' calculations of bus revenue under the QCS need only be 1 per cent lower than forecast for the scheme to be unaffordable to the tune of £11 million.

 Go North East operate a number of services for
Nexus, including Quaylink.

“Costs need only be one per cent higher than forecast for the funding shortfall to be another £13.3 million.”

In contrast, the partnership proposal from the North East Bus Operators’ Association (NEBOA), of which Go North East is a member, would provide real benefits including:

      
A new Bus2Busticket enabling passengers to interchange between operators;
       
 A new discount ticket for 16-18 year olds;
         
District partnership boards giving local communities a direct say in changes to services.

Mr Carr said: “Independent surveys show that bus passengers in Tyne and Wear are the most satisfied of any UK Metropolitan area.  Go North East has spent 26 years responding to what customers want - routes direct to city centres, fares that suit all needs, and branded modern buses.

“The Nexus scheme will freeze progress for up to 10 years, increase fares for bus passengers in some areas by over 20 per cent, and expose local taxpayers to the risk of fare revenue not meeting the cost of the scheme.  The partnership proposal offers the service improvements that passengers want, without unnecessary delay, and will give Nexus the benefit substantial cost savings. It’s a far superior option for the people of Tyne & Wear.”

HIGHS & LOWS FOR BORIS

Boris Johnson's 'pitiful' £60m cable car used by just four regular commuters

Boris Johnson’s £60m cable car was branded “pitiful” today as it was revealed that it is being used by just four regular commuters.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed the “Emirates Air Line” service between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks attracted just four Oyster card holders using it more than five times a week, triggering the regular users’ discount.

The figures, obtained by 853blog.com, also show that the number of weekly users in the second week in October were 23,000 compared to 42,500 for the same week last year.

On Sundays - the cable car’s busiest day - users dropped to 6,300 from 16,200, suggesting the cable car’s novelty as a tourist attraction is fading.

On top of the four regular Oyster commuters, just 18 multi-trip passes – allowing users to pay in advance for 10 journeys across a year – were sold, compared with 41 last year.

Travelcards and Freedom Passes are not valid on the cable car, with Oyster card-carrying passengers charged £3.20 each way to use it.

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, said: “The cable car is attracting a pitiful number of regular commuters.  For people that need to cross the Thames every day there are clearly cheaper and quicker options open to them.   Quite frankly if you have a Zone 3 Travelcard why pay again to use the cable car when the DLR is a far better way to get to work?

“In addition to not attracting regular passengers it is also clear that the cable car can’t generate enough passengers and income from one off visitors, including tourists.  Clearly fundamental questions now have to be asked about its ticketing strategy. Having poured so much public money into the cable car the Mayor should now finally accept that the only way it will generate a reasonable number of regular passengers is by becoming an integral form of public transport. People with a Freedom Pass or a Travelcard should not be charged at all and the standard fare for a person with an Oyster card should be the same as a bus fare. Pretending that nothing has to change is no longer an option for the Mayor and TfL”.

Transport for London said in a statement: “Passenger numbers fluctuate due to a wide range of factors from week to week, however overall numbers this year are in line with forecasts. Since opening in June 2012 the Emirates Air Line has carried nearly three million people and as a vital new crossing in east London it continues to play a key role in attracting investment to this strategically important part of the capital.”

London Underground in 24-hour plans as ticket offices shut

Boris Johnson reveals the Night Tube map

London Underground will run weekend services 24 hours under plans that also involve ticket office closures and up to 750 job cuts.

The Night Tube will provide services on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central, Jubilee and Northern lines.

But Transport for London (TfL) said every ticket office would close by 2015, resulting in the job cuts.

The RMT union said it had "not ruled out" strike action in the run-up to Christmas over the "lethal" cuts.

Three-week process

For action to take place the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport Union) would have to hold a two-week ballot and give TfL seven days notice.

In a tweet the BBC's transport correspondent Richard Westcott said: "RMT just told me they haven't ruled out calling for strikes b4 Christmas on the #londonunderground"

The transport authority is facing a budget reduction of about £78m in the financial years of 2013 and 2014 and said the plans would help it save more than £40m a year.

TfL says six major central London stations will have special customer points to help tourists and that every station will be staffed while the tube is running, with workers moved out of ticket offices into station booking areas. 

It is also promising:

Closing all ticket offices is one of the most radical changes to the Tube in its history - it's up there with electrification and the Oyster card.
And it will be a huge sell for London Underground and the Mayor.
We knew cuts were looming but what they have done is bundle 24hr weekend running of the Tube into the same plan.
Cynics would say London Underground are trying to undermine the unions position by sweetening the pill for the travelling public. A later running tube will be very popular. They've also said there will be no compulsory redundancies.
The unions have already said they'll use everything at their disposal to head this off. They would not want their members at stations in outer London on their own at 3am with just an iPad for company.
They will not want job losses even if the promise is all stations will be staffed. It's difficult to not see the first tube-wide strikes in four years.
Ultimately, you suspect this will be decided in the court of public opinion of the Tube's passengers.

The initial plans for the 24-hour Night Tube include overnight trains on Friday and Saturday, with plans for it to expand over subsequent years.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, said: "This is just the first stage in an opening up of the tube network to become 24 hours.

"For 150 years the Tube has been the beating heart of London, its tunnels and tracks providing the arteries that have transported millions of people and helped to drive the development and economic growth of our great city."

London Underground will now go into a 90-day consultation on its proposals but says there will be no compulsory redundancies and has promised that every member of staff who wants a job and who is "ready to be flexible" will have one.

The managing director of London Underground Mike Brown, said: "All Tube stations will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available to customers."

 

 

London Mayor Boris Johnson said it was time to take the Tube "to the next level"

But the RMT, which represents most of the station staff who would be affected, has said it would "fight these plans with every tool at our disposal and that includes political, public and industrial campaigning on an unprecedented scale".

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the "proposed cuts will decimate staffing levels and hit the most vulnerable users" of Tube services.

He said: "The mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash a thousand jobs and still run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already been cut to the bone while passenger demand continues to rise.

"Throwing in the plan for night time operation at the weekends is just a smokescreen to try and camouflage the real issue which is a savage cuts to jobs, access and safety."

Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association rail union, accused the mayor of being the "hypocrite of the decade".

950 London Underground staff to lose their jobs in Tube ticket office shake-up

Some 950 staff of London Underground’s 5,740 ticket hall personnel will lose their jobs in a move that will save Tube chiefs £270m in salaries over next five years.

With 200 new posts on the planned Night Tube, net job losses amount to 750, LU said.
In a major-shake of the Tube, most ticket offices will be shut and with some of the lucrative floorspace let to retailers.
There will be an extra 150 ticket machines with full automation in place by 2015.
LU said they were phasing out ticket offices as they have become obsolete since the introduction of Oyster and are used in just three per cent of journeys. LU insist no station will be left unstaffed from the first train to the last.
Passengers will instead benefit from an enhanced experience with back-office staff redeployed to the frontline.
They will each by armed with tablet computers to assist in a variety of “customer care” roles in a move that will revive the distinctive magenta uniforms worn by Olympic volunteers.
A third more staff will be on duty at six “gateway” stations - Euston, Heathrow, King’s Cross St Pancras, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Victoria. These, with a seventh at Piccadilly Circus, will boast “Visitor Information Centres” - a larger version  of the temporary booths for the benefit of Olympic visitors and the only remaining place to buy a ticket over the counter .
At the 125 smallest Tube stations, the headcount will be cut with a supervisor responsible for six local stations.
Mike Brown, managing director of the London Underground, said: “My commitment is that all Tube stations will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available to help customers buy the right ticket, plan their journey and keep them safe and secure. We will continue to make the Tube more accessible and provide assistance at stations for all our customers who need it.”
Mr Brown claimed that job cuts to be made by Easter 2015 would be achieved entirely through voluntary redundancy due to a large number of staff approaching retirement age.
Tube unions got their retaliation in early by threatening to  strike over the cuts before the detail was announced today.
The last industrial action came in a series of four one-day strikes in 2010.
  
Tube statistics

• In 2012/2013 1.2bn passengers carried
• Length of network: 249 miles (402km)
• Total staff 19,000
• Stations managed: 260

 AND FINALLY

 

Standing room only: Plan to rip the seats out of commuter trains to ease overcrowding... but tickets would only be 20% cheaper

• Trains could replicate Ryanair and easjet in offering no-frills travel
• Removing seats would create more room for passengers to stand
• Plan would be cheaper than spending billions on new lines and stations
• Institute for Economic Affairs calls for high-density 'economy class'

Seats should be ripped out on the most overcrowded train services to create cheaper ‘standing only’ carriages, ministers have been urged.

The railways should follow the model of budget airlines like Ryanair and easyjet who offer cheap, no-frills travel in contrast to the high-end services run by the likes of British Airways or even private jets.

Passengers in the new economy class carriages would pay up to 20 per cent less than those sitting in standard class, under plans drawn up by the Institute for Economic Affairs.

Future: Boris Johnson stands on a London Overground train, which could be used as the model for seatless economy class services

It is claimed that a return to third-class travel for the first time since 1956 would be a cheaper way to ease crowding than spending billions on new lines and stations.

Transport expert David Starkie, who wrote the report for the IEA, argues rail commuters should be given more choice about the quality of service and the price they pay.

‘An additional high-density “economy class” section could be introduced on commuter trains, access to which would be priced during the peak at a large discount to current fares.
‘From the resource cost point of view, there would be more passengers on a standard-length train without the recourse to high levels of taxpayer-funded investment in expensive new infrastructure.’

CLASSES APART

• Third class travel first became an option in 1838. Six years later an act of parliament forced train companies to provide a roof in third class.
• The 1844 Railway Act stipulated that all third-class passengers should be carried in covered accommodation. Railway companies also began providing lighting in third-class carriages. However, whereas there were several oil lamps in the first class carriages, third-class carriages only had one.
• In 1844 the railways introduced Parly & Gov class for government workers.
  
• The Pullman car, introduced in Britain in 1874, created a new level of comfort.
• Midland Railway abolished second class travel in 1875, upgrading third class passengers to second class standards. Other railways followed the example.
• Second class disappeared from fare tables until 1956, when third class was renamed second. British Rail later renamed this standard class.

Passengers already crowd at the front of trains arriving at the final destination, even if there are empty seats at the rear, because they want to beat the crush at ticket barriers.
The report proposes introducing an ‘additional high-density section to commuter trains’ of three carriages which would be 20 per cent cheaper than the standard peak price.
‘A discount of this amount would place the price of “economy class” about mid-way between the standard class rail fare and the fare for commuter coaches,’ the report said.
The discount could be less for shorter journeys and more for longer commutes.
The carriages could be modelled on London Overground trains service, with flip-down seats running down the edge but with most room giving over to standing space.
It would mean trains could carry more people without investing in additional rolling stock or lengthening platforms.
It could even be cheaper to run the new trains. ‘Stripped of seat furniture train carriages would be lighter,’ the report said.
It would also be ‘substantially’ quicker for passengers to board and get off the train, with the potential to improve service reliability.
It is claimed all passengers would enjoy the benefits of the new third class service. Those choosing the economy class would save money, while those opting for a seat would ‘enjoy higher service quality not having to share their space with standing passengers’.
It could mark the return of the drinks trolley to standard class carriages if overcrowding in the aisles was reduced.
The report suggests the discounted ticket should not cost train companies money, because more passengers would be able to board each service.

Crush: The Institute for Economic Affairs argues that too many people are already forced to stand in carriages where seats take up too much space

 
Last month the Department for Transport insisted it was not planning to reintroduce  third-class travel after leaked plans to re-privatise the East Coast main line from London to Aberdeen included proposals for three different classes of travel.
Ministers have suggested it could be an additional class of travel between the existing first and standard classes – broadly equivalent to a 'premium economy' class on airlines.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin also proposed stripping out first class carriages from busy routes to make more room for standard ticket holders.

More New StreetLites in Tyne & Wear.

Go North East have converted another of their routes to operation by new Wright StreetLites.

DREAMLIFTER

We have take off! Huge Dreamlifter jet finally reaches destination after mistakenly landing at tiny Kansas airport where it was stuck for hours 

 

A Boeing 747 jumbo jet that mistakenly landed at a tiny Kansas airport recently took off and landed at its intended destination after hours grounded while officials figured out how to negotiate the small runway.

The 235ft Dreamlifter jet landed at Jabara Airport in Wichita - which is considered 3,000ft too small for the large craft - instead of McConnell Air Force Base, which is about eight miles away.

Although differing in size the two airports have a similar runway configuration and it is believed the pilot landed there by mistake.

According to air traffic control recordings of the flight, the aircraft was cleared to land at its intended airport and the crew confirmed its clearance back to the controllers at McConnell AFB.

More than ten hours after the mix-up an airport official confirmed they had managed to turn the plane on the tiny runway and determined it could take-off.

Close call: The huge Dreamlifter jet takes off from Jabara with little runway to spare. The 235ft craft normally needs a 9,100ft strip to take off from - the Jabara runway falls 3,000ft short of that.

Lift off!: The plane puts some distance between it and the runway as the pilot successfully navigates the huge jet off the tiny Kansas runway after mistakenly landing there hours before

On its way!: The Dreamlifter was cheered on by crowds as it finally cleared the tiny runway at Jabara and made its way to McConnell, eight miles away

Officials shut down a highway nearby the airport and surrounding roads as a safety precaution before the takeoff.

A crowd gathered by Jabara to watch the plane take off from the 6,100-foot-long runway, which was about 3,000 feet shorter than is ideal.

However, the take-off went without incident as onlookers cheered and the craft landed at its intended destination fifteen minutes later.  

Stuck: The Boeing 747 LCF Dreamlifter sits on the runway after accidentally landing at Jabara airport in Wichita, Kansas on Wednesday night

Mix up: According to air traffic control recordings of the flight, the aircraft was cleared to land at its intended airport and the crew confirmed its clearance back to the controllers at McConnell AFB

Spectators: A woman tries to take a photo of the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter which mistakenly landed at Col James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas

The 747 aircraft, one of the biggest cargo planes in the world, touched down at Jabara at 9.38pm on Wednesday night - eight miles from its intended destination.

Upon landing, the crew of the plane radioed in and told them they had landed at Beech Factory Airport, another small landing base about six miles away.

The had to be told by controllers they were actually at Jabara airport.

Atlas Air spokeswoman Bonnie Rodney declined to answer questions and referred inquiries to Boeing.
"We are working with Atlas Air to determine the circumstances," Boeing said in a written statement.

Attention attractor: It is thought the 235-foot long plane was too large to take off from the small runway and Boeing had dispatched a tug to turn the jet around

Wrong airport: The plane landed at Jabara when it was bound for McConnell. There are three airports in close proximity, including Beech, which is believed to have caused the pilot confusion

The Federal Aviation Administration planned to investigate whether the pilot followed controllers' instructions or violated any federal regulations.

The pilot sounded confused in his exchanges with air traffic control, according to audio provided by LiveATC.net.
"We just landed at the other airport," the pilot told controllers shortly after the landing.
Once the pilot says they're at the wrong airport, two different controllers jumped in to confirm that the plane was safely on the ground and fully stopped.

The pilot and controllers then went back and forth trying to figure out at which airport the plane was. At one point, a controller reads to the pilot the coordinates where he sees the plane on radar. When the pilot reads the coordinates back, he mixes up "east" and "west."
"Sorry about that, couldn't read my handwriting," the pilot said.
A few moments later, the pilot said he thinks he knows where they are. He then asks how many airports there are to the south of McConnell. But the airports are north of McConnell.
"I'm sorry, I meant north," the pilot said when corrected. "I'm sorry. I'm looking at something else."
They finally agree on where the plane is after the pilot reports that a smaller plane, visible on the radar of air traffic control, has just flown overhead.

No damage was reported or injuries to the two-person crew.

'Whoa', Wichita city officials said in a statement posted early Thursday on the city's official Facebook page. 'The plane is too large for the runway and will need help departing.'

Inside the aircraft: One of the Boeing company's Dreamlifter cargo aircraft sits on the tarmac at their factory in Everett, Washington, with the tail of the plane opened to reveal the vast storage space within

Belly of the beast: Boeing employees wait to unload the super freighter 'Dreamlifter' aircraft. The tail of the specially designed 747 freighter swings open for huge payloads that are unloaded using one of the largest cargo loaders in the world.

The modified 747 is one of a fleet of four that hauls parts around the world to make Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The "Dreamlifter" is a 747-400 with its body expanded to hold whole fuselage sections and other large parts. If a regular 747 with its bulbous double-decker nose looks like a snake, the bulbous Dreamlifter looks like a snake that swallowed a rat.
According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, this particular DreamLifter has been shuttling between Kansas and Italy, where the center fuselage section and part of the tail of the 787 are made.
McConnell is next to Spirit AeroSystems, which also does extensive 787 work. The nearly finished sections are then shipped to Boeing plants in Everett, Wash., and North Charleston, S.C. for assembly into finished airplanes. Boeing is on track to make 10 of them per month by the end of this year.
Because 787 sections are built all over the world - including wings made in Japan - the Dreamlifters are crucial to the 787's construction. Boeing says the Dreamlifter cuts delivery time down to one day from as many as 30 days.

Although rare, landings by large aircraft at smaller airports have happened from time to time.

STAGECOACH FESTIVE COACH SERVICES

Stagecoach plans to keep Britain moving by running coach services throughout the festive season for passengers across the UK.

The Perth-based transport group will run its megabus.com, Scottish Citylink and Oxford Tube coach services during the festive period, helping people travel across the country to enjoy seasonal festivities.

Stagecoach's market-leading budget coach service megabus.com will again run services on Christmas Day this year, serving 14 locations across England and Wales including London, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff, Cwmbran, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Swindon.

 

 

On all other days throughout Christmas and New Year, including New Year’s Day, megabus.com will operate a near-normal service on most routes across the UK. Passengers are, however, advised to double check the times of their specific journeys as there may be slight changes to some routes or timetables compared to other times of the year.

The company’s megabus.com Europe services will operate virtually as normal throughout the festive season, including on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

megabusGold.com overnight sleepercoach services will also continue to run throughout the majority of the festive season with the exception of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve.

In Scotland, Scottish Citylink has announced that it will once again run special coach services for people travelling home from the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations.

The coach operator, which is a joint venture between Stagecoach and international transport group ComfortDelGro, will run coaches from the Scottish capital to 13 locations across Scotland after the official New Year celebrations have ended in Edinburgh.

And on 1 January 2013, Scottish Citylink will also operate a limited service to a number of towns and cities across Scotland including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Kinross, Dundee, Forfar, Aberdeen, Aviemore, Inverness, Stirling and Falkirk.

   

Europe’s most frequent express coach service The Oxford Tube – also part of Stagecoach Group – will operate its services between Oxford and London throughout the festive period. On Christmas Day, the coach provider will divert some services to call at Heathrow Airport, providing a vital public transport link to the airport.

And on New Year’s Eve, a special Oxford Tube timetable will operate for people attending New Year celebrations in London, with additional coaches operating throughout New Year’s Eve as well as services running after midnight and throughout the night.

Elizabeth Esnouf, Managing Director of Stagecoach’s UK Coach division, said: “Christmas and New Year is a busy, and costly, time of year for many people. We are pleased to again be able to provide our good value, reliable coach services throughout the festive period to make it easier for people to visit family and friends across the country and into Europe.”

Tyne & Wear Quality Contract - Stagecoach Response

Following an extension of time allowed for responses to the proposed Quality Contract in Tyne & Wear, Stagecoach NE Managing Director Phil Medlicott has submitted a response letter that can be viewed on line.

The following press release has also been issued

STAGECOACH CONSULTATION SUBMISSION EXPOSES FLAWS IN NEXUS TYNE AND WEAR BUS CONTRACTS PLAN

• Nexus proposals unaffordable and fail to meet mandatory Government tests
• Independent economists reveal £157m shortfall over 10 yrs in authority plan
• Fares need to rise by 5.3% above inflation every year to make strategy affordable
• Proposals could see bus passenger journeys fall by 83million over a decade
• Partnership expected to deliver more for passengers at less cost to taxpayers

Transport operator Stagecoach today (22 November 2013) submits its full response to proposals by Nexus to introduce bus contracts in Tyne and Wear, exposing how massive flaws in the plan will impact on living standards for bus passengers and taxpayers.

A detailed review by independent economic experts Oxera of the proposals by the transport authority in Tyne and Wear has established that the plans are fundamentally flawed, unaffordable and fail to meet key mandatory Government tests. It concluded bus operators’ partnership proposals were the better way forward to improve bus services.

The news comes just a week after more than 7,000 passengers and bus employees across the region signed a petition opposing the Nexus proposals. They are concerned about the impact of the plans on bus fares, council tax bills, bus workers' jobs and pensions.

Tyne and Wear currently has one of the best used bus networks in the country, with customer satisfaction at 85%. Around 90% of the bus network in Tyne and Wear is provided commercially by bus operators, with Nexus currently spending £10million a year on direct support for socially necessary but otherwise unviable services.

Analysis by Oxera has now revealed that, despite attempts by Nexus to manipulate the business case for bus contracts, there is a funding shortfall of £157million over 10 years. The deficit is even after accounting for use of £78million in contingencies set aside by Nexus.

Oxera has calculated that, for Nexus’s plans to be affordable, fares would have to rise by 5.3% above inflation every year. The only other options to close the gap would be huge council tax rises or cuts to services.

Oxera has found that the level of fares increases needed to make the bus contracts scheme affordable would lead to 83million fewer bus trips being made in the region over a 10-year period than if the current system were to remain in place. The analysis also shows that Nexus has overestimated the bus patronage forecast in its proposals by 149million passengers over a decade.

Stagecoach commissioned Oxera to provide an independent economic assessment of both the bus contracts scheme (QCS) from Nexus, and the alternative partnership proposals (VPA) put forward by the North East Bus Operators’ Association (NEBOA).

A local transport authority seeking to introduce a bus contracts scheme must demonstrate that the scheme will be affordable and will meet five public interest criteria. This includes its impact on bus use, quality of service, meeting local transport policies in an economic, efficient and effective way, as well as the effect on bus operators and people in the area.

Oxera - which has advised companies, government departments, competition authorities and regulators across the world – concluded that the bus contracts scheme failed on virtually every measure. It also identified "a number of weaknesses" in the modelling used by Nexus to underpin its proposals, highlighting inconsistencies, omissions and a lack of transparency. Nexus had also failed to use the mandatory Government tests in assessing the case for a contracts scheme.

In an authoritative assessment of the financial basis of the bus contracts plan, Oxera said “there are a number of substantial deficiencies in the numerical modelling undertaken by Nexus, which means that it is not possible to have confidence in the results”.

Oxera found that Nexus had understated costs, its economic forecasts were “not consistent with the historical pattern” and it had also overstated the impact on school services and tendered bus services of not proceeding with a bus contracts scheme.

An estimated 2,500 bus drivers - as well as around 680 support and ancillary staff – are employed at 17 different bus operators across Tyne and Wear. Nexus has failed to appreciate the complex pensions and TUPE implications for bus workers, who could face cuts of up to a third in their future pension benefits.

Phil Medlicott, Managing Director of Stagecoach North East, said: “The Oxera report is a damning independent analysis of a scheme that has already seen hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money squandered and not one single bus improvement put in place.

“It backs up 100% what customers, bus workers and operators have all said about the Nexus proposals. These misguided plans would hit living standards for ordinary people in Tyne and Wear and damage the bus network.

“I hope the transport authority will now fully understand the widespread objection to the contracts proposal and instead work in partnership with bus operators on improvements and investment that we want to start delivering for people right now.”

Bus partnerships are in place in most other metropolitan areas in England, with operators and transport authorities working together to improve services. In South Yorkshire, the award-winning voluntary Sheffield Bus Partnership has helped transform bus use since it was launched in October 2012. Reliability of services is around 99%, customer satisfaction is up and complaints down by 30%. Recent figures show adult fare-paying passenger numbers have risen by 14% compared to last year. Operators have invested millions of pounds in new greener bus fleets, while the partnership has also secured additional Government funding. Further investment in Sheffield’s bus network and roads - including enhanced bus stops, real-time information and improvements for all traffic at key junctions - will begin in January 2014.

Bus operators in Tyne and Wear have proposed a similar comprehensive and updated package of improvements to services. It would deliver all the benefits passengers want, without unnecessary costs and delay, and would save Nexus money.

Under a proposed partnership with the transport authority, customers would benefit from:

• smartcard multi-operator ticketing and better value fares.
• commitments on investment in extra buses and new low carbon vehicles.
• better information, on-board facilities, and a formal customer charter
• financial savings for taxpayers.
• a better voice for customers and local communities in their bus network

Oxera found the partnership proposals were affordable, more likely to boost bus use, improve the quality of bus services through investment, save public money, and meet the objectives of the transport authority’s bus strategy in an economic, efficient and effective way. It concluded: “The VPA is a preferred policy option to the QCS, as it results in higher patronage, lower costs to local taxpayers and lower fare rises”.

The consultation on the Nexus bus contracts proposals closes today (22 November 2013) and members of Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority are expected to decide on its preferred way forward in March 2014.

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/uploads/stagecoachconsultationresponsecoverletter-22november2013.pdf