FirstGroup CCO Martin Bould believes his group is leading the way on harnessing technology The First Bus app has improved vastly over the past three years The future of First Bus is uncertain. It was the acorn from which the towering FirstGroup oak grew, but it has now been branded “non core” by a...
Bus operators welcome commitment to invest in improved infrastructure – ‘it is fantastic to see buses at the heart of the Scottish Government agenda’ First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with pictured Scottish bus operators ahead of the PfG announcement The Scottish Government this week announced a “landmark investment” of £500m to improve bus infrastructure across...
10 years ago a small start-up had a vision to transform ticketing. Today Ticketer is the bus industry’s largest ETM supplier John Clarfelt (right) and First West of England’s James Freeman volunteering at this year’s ImberBus event 10 years ago this weekend, a revolution began in UK transport ticketing when a group of entrepreneurs...
Having learned lessons from other markets about deregulation of rail services, Sweden offers an interesting model back to the world Transdev’s Snälltåget The railway industry across Europe, and in many other places around the world, is slowly, but steadily moving from a model of state backed monopolies of infrastructure and services to a...
Prime minister Boris Johnson declared his love for buses during a speech in Manchester and pledged to support delivery of ‘London style bus system’ Prime minister Boris Johnson declared local bus services to be among his government’s domestic priorities in a speech in Manchester last month. Johnson told an audience at the city’s...
Go-Ahead plans to double the number of women working at its bus operations, backed by initiatives including a new ‘Women in Bus’ group Initiatives aim to encourage women into bus sector Go-Ahead has launched a new campaign that aims to encourage more women to apply for jobs in the bus industry. The group...
Stability and local control has provided the basis for this unique city region railway operation to push on and create a success story All Merseyrail stations are now being prepared for the biggest change to the network in years – new rolling stock “Liverpool, surreal. Liverpool, sardonic. Liverpool battered dignity. Liverpool, flotsam of...
Decision makers are waking up to the important role that buses can play. We must make the most of this window of opportunity Everyone is talking about buses. Could it be that we have a window of opportunity to do something transformative for our most essential mode of public transport? Prime minister...
Transport was put on ice during Theresa May’s tenure, but there are big decisions to make that won’t be easy for the new prime minister So Boris Johnson is our new prime minister. I can hardly believe I am writing that, and my fingers are definitely meeting resistance from the keyboard. Are...
HS2’s chief executive officer, Mark Thurston, is ready to make the case to Boris Johnson’s team Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2 Mark Thurston is not concerned by the prospect of the HS2 high speed rail link being reviewed by prime minister Boris Johnson’s incoming administration. Since joining HS2 as chief executive officer in...
Company appoints Deloitte to advise on investment options Ballymena-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus has appointed financial advisors Deloitte to find potential investors. It is understood that this could also ultimately lead to a sale. A number of turnaround funds have been approached to canvas their interest in ploughing tens of millions of pounds into...
Firm partners with EasyMile to launch trial in Australia The BusBot pilot will last for 22 weeks Demand responsive technology firm Via has expanded its operations with the launch of its first autonomous vehicle. The company’s first autonomous vehicle trial, dubbed BusBot, is now fully operational, serving a community in New South Wales,...
Sweden’s rail market – a model for the UK?