Out now: Issue 326 of Passenger Transport

Out now: Issue 326 of Passenger Transport

Issue 326 of Passenger Transport is published on November 29. Contents include:     LEAD STORY Vision for integrated transport is unveiled Transport secretary launches new strategy aimed at joining up England’s transport networks and invites others to contribute to her vision   NEWS More will share latest round of...
Vision for integrated transport is unveiled

Vision for integrated transport is unveiled

Transport secretary launches new strategy aimed at joining up England’s transport networks and invites others to contribute to her vision   Haigh cited Greater Manchester’s Bee Network as a domestic integrated transport leader   On the day before she resigned as transport secretary, Louise Haigh set out her vision for...
Bus ridership on the up but challenges linger

Bus ridership on the up but challenges linger

New statistics reveal strong passenger growth, but there is some way to go before the bus industry surpasses patronage recorded before the pandemic   BY Andrew Garnett New statistics from the Department for Transport reveal that the number of local bus passenger journeys in Great Britain reached 4.04 billion in...
NCT crowned Bus Operator of the Year

NCT crowned Bus Operator of the Year

Council-owned operator won coveted prize at ceremony in London this week, but Stagecoach topped the ‘medal table’ with 12 winners in total   Winners on stage at the 2024 UK Bus Awards   Nottingham City Transport was named UK Bus Operator at this week’s UK Bus Awards in London. The...
ROSCOs are rolling in it - so why not act?

ROSCOs are rolling in it – so why not act?

  Renationalisation of the TOCs is at the heart of the government’s strategy for rail – but what about the far more lucrative ROSCOs?   One mystery of the new Labour government’s rail policy is why it seems so uninterested in rolling stock issues.  Public control has been the driving...
Ribeiro eyes UK after Jersey success

Ribeiro eyes UK after Jersey success

  Having made a success of franchising in Jersey, Samuel Ribeiro and his Tower Transit colleagues are seeking further opportunities   LibertyBus – a franchising success story   When I look back on my 2024 by some distance the highlight was my first ever trip to the Channel Islands, which...
Ownership has become a distraction

Ownership has become a distraction

  A fixation on whether public services should be privatised or nationalised misses the larger, more impactful considerations   It has happened! The failed delivery model whereby a public sector authority specifies the services it wants and then contracts private firms to deliver them is over! Hooray for rail renationalisation....
RIP JP - a true transport visionary

RIP JP – a true transport visionary

  John Prescott, who died last week, took transport policy in a revolutionary direction during New Labour’s first term in office   John Prescott pictured at the wheel of a bus outside the first Bus Summit in November 1999 (PA Images / Alamy Stock)   When the editor of this...
Latest entries
‘Take the time to get nationalisation right’

‘Take the time to get nationalisation right’

Long-serving rail boss Dominic Booth warns against overloading ‘woeful’ DOHL and calls for a phased approach to taking franchises in-house   Dominic Booth: ‘quick fixes are rarely sustainable’   The government has been urged to take a phased approach to rail nationalisation rather than taking franchises back in-house at the earliest opportunity. That is the...
Franchising theme at Euro Bus Expo show

Franchising theme at Euro Bus Expo show

Bus franchising emerged as a key theme amongst speakers and suppliers as zero-emission electric buses dominated the biennal Birmingham show   Delegates poured into the Birmingham NEC for Euro bus Expo this week   Euro Bus Expo returned to Birmingham’s NEC for the first time in two years following the cancellation of Coach & Bus...
Partnering to drive better bus services

Partnering to drive better bus services

We spoke to Matt Carney, CEO of Go-Ahead Bus, about partnering with CitySwift to boost bus reliability and user experience in the UK and Ireland   A bus driver at Go North West   Last month, transport group Go-Ahead Group and technology firm CitySwift announced a ground-breaking UK and Ireland-wide partnership. In the wake of...
‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint’

‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint’

  Dominic Booth is right to warn that taking too many franchises in-house too quickly won’t help passengers and could backfire   Dominic Booth, CEO of Transport UK   After generally a ‘free pass’ from significant criticism since presiding in the public sector, train company Northern recently received a stinging rebuke from Greater Manchester mayor...
The detail is very much up for grabs

The detail is very much up for grabs

  We now know the direction of travel that the new government wishes to take but it’s not yet clear how we are going to get there   Chancellor Rachel Reeves and transport secretary Louise Haigh during a visit to Greater Manchester this month   It’s too early to predict in detail how the new...
Work progresses on inclusive cab design

Work progresses on inclusive cab design

Women in Bus and Coach and Transport for London initiative has visited eight garages while National Express West Midlands launches seating trial   With a shortage of bus drivers in the industry, a review into the bus cab design is vital   The Women in Bus and Coach and Transport for London Inclusive Bus Cab...
Budget brings relief - and disappointment

Budget brings relief – and disappointment

Chancellor faced criticism for raising England’s bus fare cap from £2 to £3 and increasing rail fares by 4.6% while retaining the 5p fuel duty cut   Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her first budget this week   Rachel Reeves delivered her first budget this week with some positive news for public transport, including investments in...
Employees are owners of Stephensons parent

Employees are owners of Stephensons parent

Bus industry entrepreneur Bill Hiron has sold Eastern Transport Holdings, the parent of bus operators Stephensons and NIBS, to an employee trust   Bill Hiron: ‘the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea’   Eastern Transport Holdings, the parent company of bus operators Stephensons of Essex and NIBS Buses, has been...
Moving beyond the budget

Moving beyond the budget

  We must now start to look towards the spending review in Spring and make a compelling case for investment in public transport   We rely on good bus, rail and tram services and walking and cycling infrastructure   I have just returned from a two-week break spent travelling through rural Western America in a...
Don’t dismiss the ‘dinosaurs’

Don’t dismiss the ‘dinosaurs’

  Our youth-focussed world overlooks the talent and experience of older workers, but right now we need them more than ever before   Not long before Covid kicked off, I spent some time with a very amiable pension advisor who kindly pulled together several pensions I have during my unremarkable but transient career. I’ll be...
Not as bad as feared - but will it work?

Not as bad as feared – but will it work?

  Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her first budget. There was some good news for public transport but disappointment too   Chancellor Rachel Reeves on budget day   So there we have it, Rachel Reeves’s first budget, and altogether rather less gloomy than what had been heavily signalled almost since the day Labour took office...
A stronger future for drivers

A stronger future for drivers

Fiona Guthrie of RATP Dev Transit London was named ‘Best Project Manager’ at the pan-European Talent in Mobility Awards last month for her work on the Garage Life Programme. She explains how the project has helped new drivers feel quickly at home and boosted retention rates   New drivers who completed the GLP programme had...