Ministers strip TfN of responsibility for NPR
In a move branded ‘inconsistent with the government’s devolution agenda’, Transport for the North will no longer be paid to develop East-West links Ministers have removed funding and powers from Transport for the North after it dismissed the government’s Integrated Rail Plan for the North and the Midlands as “woefully inadequate”. TfN was...
Franchises ‘will ensure bus staff are well paid’
Following a series of strikes, the Welsh Government says bus franchising will safeguard workers’ pay and conditions. Rhodri Clark reports Ebbw Vale’s deserted bus station during this month’s strike by some Stagecoach employees The Welsh Government says that future bus franchises will safeguard workers’ conditions and ensure staff are well paid. Legislation to...
Don’t ‘COP out’ and rely on electric cars
Sustainable Transport Alliance uses COP26 to warn that solely focusing on electric vehicles would ignore their social and environmental drawbacks Transport secretary Grant Shapps posed with an electric car at COP26 The UK’s leading sustainable transport NGOs this week appealed to world leaders to recognise that technology alone cannot reduce transport emissions. Instead,...
Transport sector plays role in COP26 summit
Event offers chance to showcase success and raise awareness Stagecoach partnered with ADL BYD to provide a fleet of electric double deckers to transport world leaders, including prime minister Boris Johnson (pictured), at this month’s COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow The passenger transport sector used this month’s COP26 climate change summit in...
Next stop, Net Zero – COP26 offers showcase
The passenger transport sector is selling itself as part of the solution to climate change ahead of COP26, but the government is being urged to do more to encourage modal shift With global leaders preparing to gather in Glasgow next week for the COP26 climate summit, the UK passenger transport sector has been...
‘Give us a road map for zero emission buses’
Treasury announces additional £355m of funding for zero emission buses, but the bus industry says pledge to deliver 4,000 vehicles is still at risk Tom Randall, Conservative MP for Gelding (left) and Buta Atwal, CEO of Wrightbus The bus industry welcomed news of additional funding for transport schemes in this week’s Autumn Budget,...
£7bn transport funding bonanza for city regions
Ahead of this week’s spending review, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the seven ‘metro mayor’ city regions will share £7bn over five years Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham hailed the funding announcement as a demonstration that regional leaders and Whitehall were at last now more aligned in their thinking Ahead of this week’s...
Concerns mount over growing driver shortage
The bus industry is short of 4,000 drivers and there are fears this could do untold damage to the future commercial viability of the sector The Confederation of Passenger Transport estimates there is a national shortage of 4,000 bus drivers BY ANDREW GARNETT There are deepening concerns in the bus industry about the...
NEG/Stagecoach merger talks: The end of an era
Stagecoach and National Express are in merger talks. The new combined group would operate one third of Britain’s buses outside of London Stagecoach is synonymous with Britain’s privatised public transport sector. But with that industry now evolving into one where the public sector will play a much greater role, the group looks set...
‘Operators should not rush back to normal’
New research by Transport Focus concludes that operators need to keep up additional Covid-19 measures and communications to reassure passengers Wearing a face mask is the key safety measure for more nervous passengers Although restrictions have eased and passenger volumes continue to recover, public transport operators have been warned not to “rush back...
‘Governments need to get real’ – Stagecoach
Launching group’s new sustainability strategy, boss Martin Griffiths called for ‘radical behaviour change and incentives to reward the right choices’ Martin Griffiths: We need to be more honest about the scale of the challenge Stagecoach has issued a blunt warning to governments to turn warm words on greener travel into practical actions that...
Railway urged to share data on Covid risks
London TravelWatch wants RSSB to publish data that predicts potential deaths from Covid caught on trains, but safety body insists that ‘risk is low’ London TravelWatch is urging the rail industry to release its data on the risks of catching Covid on trains. The watchdog says it is “irresponsible” to launch a campaign...
