Passenger share of rail income reaches 59.2%
New ORR data shows a further increase in the proportion of rail industry income coming from rail users, as government’s share falls below a third Britain’s rail passengers continue to provide a rising share of railway income, according to figures for the past financial year released by the Office of Rail Regulation this week....
Abellio secures Greater Anglia direct award
Dutch-owned group gains direct award to extend franchise The Department for Transport has concluded a direct award contract with Dutch-owned transport group Abellio covering an extension of the Greater Anglia franchise for 27 months. The franchise had been due to expire in July this year, but the new agreement will see Abellio continue to...
Bus user satisfaction reaches record 88%
Bus Passenger Survey shows significant improvement in satisfaction scores.‘These are very positive results,’ says transport minister Baroness Kramer The percentage of bus users who are satisfied with the service they receive has reached a record 88%, according to the fourth Bus Passenger Survey from Passenger Focus – up from 84% last year. Speaking at...
Lothian Buses customers are the most satisfied
96% of users are satisfied with operator’s service Lothian Buses was the highest rated operator of the 36 bus operators included in the 2013 Bus Passenger Survey. The survey, which is undertaken by Passenger Focus, is usually restricted to operators in England, outside of London. However, council-owned Lothian was one of two Scottish operators...
Stagecoach legal threat over WG’s ‘brutal’ cuts
The biggest bus operator in Wales has issued an April 1 ultimatum to the Welsh Government over plans to slash spending on concessionary travel Stagecoach has given the Welsh Government a deadline of April 1 to re-think its decision to set a new rate at which bus operators are reimbursed for providing concessionary travel, which...
DfT lined up to lose rail franchising and projects
In-depth review of Department for Transport’s Rail Group finds severe weaknesses and supports creation of arms-length Rail Delivery Authority Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced a restructuring of the Department for Transport’s Rail Group designed to pave the way for the creation of a new arms-length Rail Delivery Authority (RDA) staffed by rail professionals rather...
First concedes defeat at Stagecoach incursion
First Scotland East has announced that it is to scrap services between Queensferry and Edinburgh after Stagecoach launches competing route First Scotland East has surrendered a key West Lothian bus route just days before Stagecoach East Scotland launched its own competing services on the Queensferry to Edinburgh city centre corridor. The Stagecoach subsidiary revealed...
Storm damage to rail network hits £100m
As severe weather disrupts railways, transport secretary calls meeting with bus and coach operators to assess response to ‘unprecedented’ situation The passenger transport sector is grappling with the effects of severe weather across the country. Network Rail estimates that storm damage has caused £100m of damage to the national rail network in the past...
‘New Bus for Leeds’ is alternative to NGT
FirstGroup has proposed a vehicle concept based on the New Routemaster as an alternative to “outdated 100-year-old” trolleybus technology FirstGroup has revealed a radical alternative to controversial plans for the introduction of trolleybuses in Leeds. Its own scheme would see 200 vehicles, modelled on London’s New Routemaster, deployed on routes across the city. In...
Heathrow Express plans Reading service
New rail service is in response to Crossrail competition threat Heathrow Express is to lobby the Department for Transport to operate on the proposed Western Rail Access link from the Great Western Main Line to Heathrow in competition with the next Great Western franchise or as the DfT’s preferred operator. The move will form...
Tube showdown over TfL’s technology push
London mayor Boris Johnson says world has changed since he pledged to keep London Underground ticket offices open – but unions stage walkout Tube services in London were severely disrupted this week by the first of two 48-hour stoppages by the RMT and TSSA unions. The industrial action is over plans to close all London...
First’s new chairman to review operations
Investors are expecting FirstGroup’s new chairman, John McFarlane, to have a material impact on strategic direction over the coming months FirstGroup’s new chairman John McFarlane is expected to undertake a wide ranging review of the company’s operations to establish whether aspects of its businesses should be pared back and how improved financial performance can be...
