Latest news with #Park&Ride
Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Major UK airport scraps buses from car parks with £14m futuristic alternative
Millions of passengers will soon be whizzed over from long-stay car parks to their terminal in a sleek new fleet of futuristic vehicles following a £14 million sustainability investment One of the busiest UK airports is ditching gas-guzzling buses as part of a huge £14 million investment. Last year, London Gatwick Airport - which is owned and managed by VINCI Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners - handled a whopping 43.2 million passengers. Many of these travellers will have used the hub's Park & Ride, which allows customers to park their vehicle at a designated car park outside of the airport and then take a shuttle bus to the terminal. It's often much cheaper to use this option than using the roll-up parking, which can total up to a whopping £75 per day. But passengers using Park & Ride will soon be whizzed over to the airport in a futuristic tram powered solely by electricity. Gatwick has confirmed it has signed a contract with Irizar e-mobility to bring 14 new electric tram-style buses - all of which are 18 metres long - to transfer passengers from the long-stay car parks to the terminals. The move is expected to save 17.7 tCO2e in carbon emissions per year, and is part of the airport's sustainability efforts to decarbonise the aviation industry. The Irizar ie trams, which are known for their futuristic and minimalistic design, will all be equipped with luggage racks inside for 'greater comfort and functionality'. The vehicles use the latest generation Irizar batteries and are charged using an ultra-fast pantograph system, which can do a full charge in less than six minutes. "In addition, with the goal of improving safety, the new buses will be equipped with digital vision cameras, which significantly improves the front, side and rear visibility," Irizar said in a statement. "In this way, Irizar e-mobility is expanding their electromobility solutions in the United Kingdom, where more than 50 Irizar electric buses are already operating in several cities." The Mirror was told the electric buses won't be deployed until around Christmas time this year. Steve Kelso, Head of Engineering at London Gatwick added: "We're excited to have 14 new electric tram busses coming to London Gatwick. We are playing our part to decarbonise the aviation sector and as we grow, we must do it sustainably. "The electric buses are part of our transition to a fully electric vehicle fleet and just one example of our Decade of Change sustainability strategy in action." Last week (July 9), Gatwick celebrated another landmark after its first-ever electric flight landed at the hub, as part of the VINCI Airports Network Elektro Tour. The 50-flight leg tour, an early-stage proof of concept, coincides with the delivery of 47 new electric vehicles at London Gatwick, including airside operations and engineering cars. This is part of the airport's mission to upgrade its 300-strong vehicle fleet to fully electric by 2023 to support its broader £250m decarbonisation programme to achieve net zero for its own emissions in the next five years. Mark Johnston, chief operating officer at London Gatwick said: "We're pleased to welcome the VINCI Airport's Elektro Tour team to the airport, this might just be the smallest aircraft to ever land at London Gatwick! "We're proud to be playing our part in supporting wider efforts to decarbonise the aviation sector. Our vision is to be the airport for everyone, whatever your journey, and as we grow, we must do it sustainably. Our transition to an electric vehicle fleet is just one example of our Decade of Change sustainability strategy in action."
Global News
30-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Crews break ground on Edmonton's Capital Line south LRT extension
The City of Edmonton is marking a milestone for transit in the city on Thursday, putting shovels in the ground for the Capital Line LRT south extension. It comes as the city deals with a growing population. Edmonton transit users at Century Park, like Penelope Siame, are eagerly awaiting the expansion of the transit system. 'I live in Allard, which is quite far (south), so it really takes a long time to get to school and get home,' said Siame. Other transit users like Isabel Luzio say taking multiple buses can make for a long commute. 'It would definitely make it easier. Currently, it's a lot more difficult with all the construction, it's not very organized,' said Luzio. That construction is work on the Capital Line South LRT extension. Story continues below advertisement The Capital Line South will run from Century Park to the Derochers/Allard neighbourhood. The 4.5-kilometre extension will run from Century Park to the Desrochers neighbourhood. Stops include Twin Brooks, the Heritage Valley park and ride, and in the Allard. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The city says the south was prioritized, as it's the fastest-growing area in the city. 'This is where we see the growth, this is where we see the largest increase in planned ridership. I think it will probably be around 15,000 people a day when we open it. It will continue to grow,' said Bruce Ferguson with the City of Edmonton. The project's budget is $1.38 billion, which includes $365 million from the provincial government. Phase 1 will build two overpasses, one underpass and two new stations. The high-floor LRT extension will run along the west side of 111 Street from Century Park station to the future Heritage Valley North station at the Heritage Valley Transit Centre and Park & Ride. Story continues below advertisement 'We are growing as a city, we have had over 140,000 people move here in the last three years. We're gonna be a city of 1.25 million people, projected by the end of this year. We can't stop building transit; we can't stop building ways for people to move,' said Edmonton city councillor Michael Janz. 1:52 Edmonton Transit Service adding 50,000 bus service hours, 20 new buses The construction is expected to take four or five years. Coun. Janz and the construction company, Ledcor, say getting the project completed on time is a priority. 'We have to keep building, but we need to do it in a way that clearly communicates to people what you can expect, where closures are going to be. We need to make it easier and more accessible for people to plan their trips so they can plan detours, plan alternatives. It's not just what we are doing, the construction, it's the how we are doing it,' said Janz. Story continues below advertisement And transit riders say they hope to see the work finished as soon as possible. 'I feel like it will make my transit shorter and I wouldn't have to take as many buses,' said Siame.
SoraNews24
28-05-2025
- SoraNews24
Traveling to the the World Expo in Osaka with a baby? We've got survival tips for your family
Here's our parent-to-parent advice for anyone visiting the Expo with small children in tow. Our Japanese-language correspondent Haruka Takagi recently went to the 2025 World Expo in Osaka with her husband and five-month-old baby. While they had a great time, there were certain challenges involved in taking a tiny human with them. She'd like to share her advice to try to make the trip as smooth as possible for other visiting parents. ● Transportation Traveling there, Haruka strongly recommends going by bus, taxi, or car for two reasons. The first reason is that you can use the Expo's relatively uncrowded West Gate. While the East Gate mainly serves visitors arriving via the Osaka Metro, the West one serves those arriving via automobile. An official report on May 20 determined that the West Gate welcomes only one-third the number of visitors as that of the East one. Anyone arriving via car must park in the reservation-based Park & Ride lots in nearby Maishima, Amagasaki, or Sakai and then board a shuttle bus that takes about 15 minutes to get to the Expo. On the day of her visit, Haruka and her husband had purchased a 10 a.m. entry ticket, arriving at their parking lot (Maishima E) around 9 a.m., waiting for a short time, and then taking the shuttle to arrive at the Expo around 9:30 a.m. Even though they still needed to wait a little bit before entering, there was plenty of space to walk around and calm down a potentially fussy child. ▼ The below photo of the West Gate was taken at 9:30 a.m. on a weekday. The second reason is that taking a car greatly reduced her and her husband's overall stress when coming and leaving. They didn't have to worry about the inevitable crowds that they would have encountered on the metro or when transferring lines while carting a baby stroller around, especially during peak commuting times in the morning and evening. Plus, the Park & Ride shuttle requires a reservation, so they had peace of mind knowing that they'd find seats without a hassle. Finally, having a car is great for all of the baby gear they carry around these days as well as souvenirs they expected to buy. Their overall parking fee was 6,000 yen (US$42), which included the round-trip shuttle service, plus a 500-yen early morning fee. During busy periods and weekends at the Expo, please note that additional fees will likely apply–so consider carpooling with more friends to reduce the overall cost per person. At 9 a.m., the parking lot was only about 20-percent full, so they were able to find a spot very close to the shuttle stop and walk over without rushing. All of the staff stationed nearby were very helpful and immediately lowered the incline for their stroller to easily get onto the shuttle. ● Liquid Formula There's a relatively small number of 'baby care rooms' at the Expo relative to the total number of visitors (more on that later). On top of that, not all of the rooms have water heaters for preparing baby formula. In any case, Haruka knew that it would take a while to prepare a bottle and cool it down enough for her baby to drink. That's where ready-to-drink liquid formula comes in. Haruka recommends two brands, both of which you can purchase easily on Amazon Japan: Hohoemi's Raku Raku Milk, which comes in either 120 or 200-milliliter (4.1 or 6.8-ounce) bottles, or Icreo's Akachan Milk, which comes in 125-milliliter (4.2-ounce) bottles. ▼ Hohoemi's Raku Raku Milk It's super easy being able to stash one of these in your bag as opposed to lugging around bulky baby bottles and formula mix ingredients. All you have to do is pop the bottle open and it's ready to be drunk anytime, anywhere. Haruka strongly recommends bringing a couple of these bottles to minimize your stress and hassle. This might also be a good time to share that drinks (of the canned or bottled variety) are not allowed to be brought into the Expo and won't be confiscated at security. This rule doesn't apply to baby milk or baby food, however, so you and your baby can rest easy. ● Baby strollers The Expo grounds are vast and a stroller is a must. Thankfully, strollers can be rented for free if you're not able to bring one yourself. Haruka would like to share some tips for preventing overheating in your baby in a stroller, especially now that temperatures are beginning to soar. For starters, she and her husband installed a cooling seat liner and an electric fan on their stroller. They also made a point of staying out of direct sunlight as much as possible by traversing the grounds under the Expo's giant wooden outer ring structure. Luckily the venue is right next to the sea so there's plenty of air circulation, but once midsummer comes, you might need to take even more drastic measures such as attaching ice packs in front of the electric fan. Certain pavilions might be hard to navigate with a stroller, so wearing some kind of baby sling or pack is ideal for these areas. In particular, Haruka didn't expect the Expo Commons area, a space developed in collaboration with several countries and regions, to be quite as crowded as it was on the day of her visit. Unlike inside of the individual country pavilions, which typically have designated flows of traffic, this space was basically a free-for-all with people moving in all different directions. It was much easier to weave in and out of passerby with her baby tucked closely against her chest in this landscape. ● Baby care rooms Lastly, the number one thing that vexed Haruka and her husband was the relative lack of baby care rooms. There are only 18 of them in the entire venue, as well as only 33 total diaper-changing stations and 35 nursing rooms ('baby feeding rooms'). Some areas have only one private baby care room or separate diaper-changing station (e.g., it's only inside a nursing room). That meant that she and her husband often found themselves waiting for previous families to finish using a facility before it was their turn. Furthermore, the staff didn't always have a strong grasp of the situation and couldn't easily share where the nearest amenities were. Once, it even took someone over ten minutes to locate a place on the map for them. The lack of baby-care facilities at this world-class event was surprisingly inconvenient compared to the typical amenities found at regular shopping malls. At the moment, it doesn't appear that an English-language guide to baby-care facilities exists, but please see pages 4 and 5 of this document in Japanese for a full list of what to expect. The relevant Japanese text to look for is ベビーケアルーム (number of baby care rooms), おむつ交換台 (number of changing tables), 授乳ソファー/チェア (number of nursing sofas/chairs), 調乳器 (formula dispenser), and under 授乳室 (nursing rooms) the number available for woman only (女性専用) or for men and women (男女兼用). Regardless of the above challenges in navigating the Expo with a baby, Haruka and her husband were still quite pleased with their Expo experience. Some pavilions, particularly those of foreign countries or those with stairs at the top, even gave priority to families with babies. In general, the staff and other visitors were also extremely pleasant and tried their best to help in different ways (e.g., some people offered to push elevator buttons for her). A real trip overseas is probably still a far way off for Haruka's family, but for now, she felt like she was able to take a pseudo trip abroad thanks to the Expo. For more of our tips on navigating the Expo to find the best places to buy souvenirs and food, see this piece here. All images © SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
When will the Ballard Road overpass close? Here's what to know about Interstate 41 construction
While construction along Interstate 41 between Grand Chute and De Pere isn't expected to impact traffic headed to and from the NFL draft April 24 to 26, that doesn't mean work isn't progressing — or aiming to kick off some additional closures next week, after the draft is in the history books. The I-41 Project will expand the interstate to six lanes between Grand Chute and De Pere, giving drivers a consistent experience from Oshkosh all the way to Green Bay. It will also replace several interchanges with roundabouts, diamond and diverging diamond intersections, and add collector-distributor roads and auxiliary lanes, like those seen along the interstate in the greater Green Bay area. The project began construction last year, and is scheduled to continue through 2030. Here's what's currently under construction — and what closures are coming up — along the interstate, its interchanges and overpasses. Projects are listed in order from south to north, west to east. Southbound traffic on I-41 cannot exit at Wisconsin Avenue in Grand Chute. The exit closed on March 3, and will remain closed through summer. This closure will result in an auxiliary lane between the Wisconsin Avenue and Northland Avenue interchanges, and will add dual turn lanes on the southbound off-ramp, with bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's project website. For the time being, drivers can still enter I-41 at this interchange. The closure of the northbound on-ramp to the interstate isn't expected until 2026. A majority of the on- and off-ramps in the Northland Avenue interchange in Grand Chute are closed now, or will close soon. The Northland overpass over I-41 closed in February, was demolished, and is the process of being rebuilt. The cloverleaf on-ramp to I-41 southbound also closed in February, and will remain closed until fall. The off-ramp from I-41 southbound is partially closed, allowing for right turns only, though it is expected to fully close this summer. The northbound on-ramp to I-41 closed April 16, and the northbound off-ramp from I-41 is expected to close May 19. Both are slated to reopen in the fall. This interchange will be redesigned, resulting in a diverging diamond with bike and pedestrian accommodations and crash investigation sites, according to the department. The Ballard Road overpass over I-41 in Appleton is expected to close as early as April 28. The same is expected for the southbound off-ramp and the portion of Ballard between the interstate and the Ballard Road Park & Ride, as well as the Park & Ride itself. The remaining three on- and off-ramps at this interchange will close in mid-May, according to the department. All four ramps expect to reopen by late summer, with the overpass expecting to reopen in late fall. When it reopens, the Ballard Road interchange will be a diverging diamond, with bike and pedestrian accommodations. Improvements will also be made to the Park & Ride facility. More: Appleton utility work prepares for reconstruction of Interstate 41-Ballard Road interchange This project will also impact a portion of the neighboring Capitol Drive, between Commerce Court and Ballard, which will close from late summer to fall. The overpass in Little Chute will close June 2, and is expected to reopen in late fall. The new overpass will be wider, and safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to the department. The bridge's new piers will also allow for the expansion of I-41. The overpass in Little Chute closed on March 24, and is expected to reopen in late summer. The new overpass will be wider, and safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to the department. The bridge's new piers will also allow for the expansion of I-41. The County J overpass over I-41 in Kaukauna is expected to close May 12, with the closure of the interchange's on- and off-ramps to follow in late June. The entire interchange is expected to reopen in late summer. The improvements will include replacing pavement, building bicycle and pedestrian accommodations and improving the roundabouts to accommodate oversized and overweight vehicles. The layout of the interchange will not change, according to the department. The Wisconsin State Patrol's new Northeast Region Headquarters is under construction at the site of the department's Safety and Weight Enforcement Facility off I-41, just south of exit 154 in Wrightstown. According to the department, the new building will be two stories, with a 400-foot communications tower and a 70-foot auxiliary tower. Construction on this facility began last fall, and is expected to complete next summer, according to the department's overall construction timeline. For more information on the I-41 Project, visit Taima Kern is editor of The Post-Crescent. Contact her at 920-993-7104 or tkern@ This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Interstate 41 expansion to close overpasses at Ballard, Holland roads
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Crash leads to major delays on city route
Drivers are facing long delays on a major route in Nottingham following a crash. The A612 Daleside Road East has been closed in both directions, with motorists forced to divert. Nottingham City Transport said several of its services were facing "severe disruption" as a result of the crash, which it said happened between the Park & Ride site and Toby Carvery. The BBC has asked Nottinghamshire Police for more information. Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.
