Virgin’s journey ends as the age of Avanti begins
New owners FirstGroup and Trenitalia this week unveiled the brand for the new Intercity West Coast franchise, ending Virgin’s 22-year tenure A visualisation of a Pendolino with the new Avanti West Coast brand Avanti West Coast was this week unveiled as the brand for the new Intercity West Coast rail franchise, which begins...
‘Immigration reform risks labour shortage’
Existing plans would require future migrants to show that their job pays more than £30k – shutting off opportunities to work in the bus industry Plans to introduce a £30,000 annual salary threshold as part of a future immigration system risk a shortage of workers across the bus and coach industry, the Confederation...
Wrightbus delivers buses under new ownership
The first 36 units of a 55 bus order have been delivered to FirstGroup Left to right: Buta Atwal, chief executive at Wrightbus; Jo Bamford, executive chairman at Wrightbus; Jon Harman, head of fleet at FirstGroup UK Bus and John McLeister, sales and business development director at Wrightbus Wrightbus has completed its first...
Electric cars in bus lanes? N0 TH4NK5
Dismay at Department for Transport’s suggestion that electric vehicles with green number plates could get cheap parking and access to bus lanes Access to bus lanes and cheaper parking could be offered to motorists to encourage uptake of zero emission electric vehicles. This suggestion was put forward by the Department for Transport last...
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...
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...
Translink networks record patronage boost
Passenger numbers have increased across Northern Ireland’s public transport networks according to new figures released by Translink With the introduction of Glider services connecting East Belfast to West Belfast and to Titanic Quarter, Metro passenger journeys grew to over 30 million Belfast’s Metro bus services recorded a 7.1% increase in passenger journeys last...
Scotland to spend £500m on bus priority
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...
Boris Johnson – I will transform bus services
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...
Wrightbus reviews its options for the future
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...
Go-Ahead to spend £3m on Manchester operation
Group sets out priorities for Go North West David Cutts, left. David Brown, right Go-Ahead has announced plans to invest £3m in its recently acquired bus operation in Greater Manchester. Formally launching the new Go North West operation at a special stakeholder event this week, group chief executive David Brown committed to the...
Virgin brands UK rail market ‘uninvestable’
Group explores open access opportunities in Spanish rail market Virgin is expected to hand back the keys to the West Coast franchise next year Virgin Group says it intends to explore opportunities outside the UK following the collapse of its bid to operate the West Coast Partnership franchise with Stagecoach and SNCF. It...
