‘It’s the congestion, stupid’
Managers at Britain’s municipal and independent bus operators were asked to identify the main challenge facing the bus sector… 40% said ‘congestion’ What is the main challenge facing the bus sector? ‘Congestion’ is the most likely response from managers at Britain’s municipal and independent bus companies. Two-fifths (40%) gave this answer in...
FirstGroup break-up likely after Apollo bid
Although group rejected initial takeover bid as ‘opportunistic’, major changes are expected – especially at under-performing UK bus division The break-up of FirstGroup is being predicted by City analysts and in the transport industry following a preliminary takeover bid from North American private equity investor Apollo Asset Management. Although First rejected an initial...
Is this the home of the mobility revolution?
The West Midlands is hosting the UK’s first trial of ‘Mobility as a Service’, launched this month with help from a creative three-storey marketing ploy The Nordic micro-house in Brindleyplace is the size of a parking space “The birthplace of the industrial revolution is now the birthplace of the mobility revolution,” declared Chris...
TOCs want action to limit reputational risk
Concerns follow furore over the collapse of the East Coast franchise, which saw Stagecoach/Virgin ‘unfairly’ accused of receiving a taxpayer ‘bail out’ The issue was raised during the furore over the forthcoming collapse of the East Coast franchise Train operators have asked the Department for Transport to review its approach to publicising rail...
Where have the passengers gone?
Just a blip, or the start of a trend? We look at what’s causing bus and rail patronage to decline The number of people travelling by public transport in Great Britain is declining, with patronage falling on both bus and train services in 2017. The trend is by no means universal, with some...
Gilbert – ‘congestion is a national issue’
Reading Buses boss urges government to support councils Martijn Gilbert: ‘[Congestion] is the single biggest driver of dissatisfaction, and we need to crack it’ Reading Buses chief executive officer Martijn Gilbert has called upon central government to take a greater role in addressing traffic congestion. Speaking at the publication of the Autumn 2017 Bus...
Full vertical integration among HS2 options
Transport secretary Chris Grayling says that a range of operating models will be explored for the forthcoming West Coast Partnership contract “An integrated railway operation, in charge of both its infrastructure and its services, akin to some Japanese high-speed lines” Transport secretary Chris Grayling has indicated that full vertical integration will be among...
Survey shows challenge of increasing diversity
Published for International Women’s Day, a survey for RDG has found that four-fifths of women in Britain have never considered a career in rail Staff at train operator Greater Anglia have formed a group to focus on gender equality issues, with over 100 colleagues joining up A survey for the Rail Delivery Group...
Patronage slumps on Britain’s bus networks
DfT finds England’s buses lost 79 million passengers during 2017 Tobyn Hughes: ‘We are working together to pool research and evidence’ Bus demand across Great Britain has continued to decline according to the latest patronage statistics published this week by the Department for Transport. The figures reveal that for the full year ending...
First will lead UK’s first driverless bus project
Transport group will lead goverment-backed ‘MultiCAV’ project, offering autonomous pods for journeys to and from high-tech hub near Didcot FirstGroup has already trialled CAVs in the US FirstGroup will lead the first mainstream use of fully connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in the UK. The government announced its approval for the scheme last...
Go-Ahead cites impact of changing behaviour
Changes in lifestyle and working patterns are suppressing travel David Brown: ‘There is a whole range of issues’ Go Ahead-Group has highlighted the impact of changing travel patterns across the UK on transport companies’ finances in its half-year results. Despite patronage falls at the group’s regional bus division and Southeastern rail franchise, half-year...
TfGM spends £11.5m on franchising probe
Devolution agreement funds used to explore bus franchising options Burnham to decide on franchising Transport for Greater Manchester is pressing ahead with plans to introduce bus franchising in the Greater Manchester region with £11.5m set aside for 2018/19 to progress the plans. It says that the funding will be utilised in order to...
