Out now: Issue 219 of Passenger Transport
Issue 219 of Passenger Transport is published on October 18. Contents include: LEAD STORY Bamford on brink of deal to save Wrightbus Following a breakthough in talks last week, a team has been resident in the bus manufacturer’s factory in Ballymena, preparing to restart production NEWS: Consultation reveals Manchester bus plans First...
Bamford on brink of deal to save Wrightbus
Following a breakthough in talks last week, a team has been resident in the bus manufacturer’s factory in Ballymena, preparing to restart production Frozen in time: A glimpse inside the dormant Wrightbus factory At the time of writing the last stage in lifting Wrightbus more or less intact out of administration was awaiting...
Mr Williams, I urge you to read this book
My friend John Nelson has drawn on his 50 years of experience to write an insider’s story of Britain’s railway through privatisation to the present day Hold the front page, Keith Williams, don’t press ‘Send’ on your review just yet. There’s a new book in town, Losing Track, written by one of the...
What’s the strategy for Go North West?
It’s the question everyone is asking. So we asked Nigel Featham, the new boss of Go-Ahead Group’s Greater Manchester operation Nigel Featham joined Go North West a month ago after 10 years with Arriva Eyebrows were raised when it was confirmed in February that the Go-Ahead Group had agreed terms to acquire First...
Is this the sad end of a 73-year-old story?
A short time now exists for someone to lift Wrightbus out of administration, saving a valued supplier and hundreds of jobs The loss is being most firmly felt in Ballymena, where thousands of jobs have already gone At the time of going to press old established bus manufacturer Wrightbus was on the brink of...
It’s time we talked about modal shift
Modal shift to a revitalised public transport system is the way to deliver our social, economic and environmental objectives Road traffic levels increased by 29% between 1990 and 2018 while over the last five years the number of bus journeys taken has plummeted by more than 300 million Modal shift is the concept...
Van Hool to present three world premieres
Fuel cell-powered tram-bus for the French city of Pau is among the innovations being exhibited In 2017 the French city of Pau placed an order with Van Hool for eight Exqui.City18 FCs Belgium will host the world’s largest bus and coach show in Brussels later this month, Busworld Europe, an event that attracted 37,000...
‘New Rail’ must listen to passengers
It is vital that the post-Williams railway is responsive to the ultimate customer – the people who travel by trains for work or leisure ‘New Rail’ must listen and respond to passengers “Maybe there should not be so many fingers in the pie and maybe a specific person, body, group, that if there...
Bold new vision for a billion more bus users
The Confederation of Passenger Transport’s plan contains a range of new commitments from the industry and desired actions from government Bus operators have unveiled a bold new strategy to improve services in England, help tackle climate change and get a billion more passenger journeys by bus by 2030. It contains a range of...
Getting beyond the MaaS hysteria
City regions will have a key role to play in determining whether Mobility as a Service succeeds and makes a positive contribution A visualisation of Mobility as a Service. Source: Urban Transport Group ‘MaaS Movement: Issues and options on Mobility as a Service for city region transport authorities’ I don’t know about...
Mental health – are we making things worse?
We must work to ensure that we don’t negatively impact the mental health of our staff. It’s the right the thing to do, and it’s good for customers Mental health has definitely been one of the big discussion points of 2019. Even those with absolutely zero interest at the beginning of the year...
What is the scope for boosting bus use?