IN THE NEWS
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Stuart Thomas gives us his regular round-up of the way the newspapers have covered the world of transport this week,
"Bloody swine" squealed the Daily Star last week. Not a newspaper to let gravitas get in the way of grabbing attention, the fun loving red top told us how an "evil traffic warden" slapped a parking fine on a blood donor van, while shock, horror volunteers were inside giving blood!
And just in case you thought the ticket attendant was vaguely human and had perhaps just made a bit of an error, the paper was on hand to drive a stake through that assumption. The money-grabbing warden demanded a permit from the local council in Sutton. And when the driver failed to provide one -the parking monster wrote a ticket."
The Evening Standard also reported the incident, this time with the emphasis more on blood than bile, which took place right outside CM'S ivory tower.
However, in an effort to pour water on the heated reports our very own press spokesman announced: It was an unfortunate incident which got blown up out of proportion. The ticket was rescinded before the press got hold of the story" Er, that would include most of the people roiling up their sleeves in the blood van, then.
A curious casualty of the Working Time Directive, unforeseen by the unions and trade associations, was highlighted by The Guardian. Bus operators in rural areas travelling a route of more than 31 miles are classed as longdistance truck drivers, and therefore have to limit their working week, just like their haulage counterparts.
Stagecoach has sportingly decided to avoid any problems by simply axing longer services, include the 32-mile route between Winchester and Portsmouth. Stagecoach South MD Andrew Dyer summed up the National news stuation with EU rules
LOODY SWIN
Ion Maas ticket an transfusion van