News
6,000 extra green buses needed to hit net zero

6,000 extra green buses needed to hit net zero

IPPR think-tank calls for £2.5bn investment in new zero emission buses and urges levelling-up to end ‘deep-rooted regional unfairness’ on buses     More than 5,800 extra green buses are needed by 2030 in English regions outside London to reach net zero and support the levelling up agenda, according to a new report from think-tank...
Go-Ahead London to run Kent’s Fastrack

Go-Ahead London to run Kent’s Fastrack

Group sees 15-year deal to operate Bus Rapid Transit system as springboard for further expansion into Kent, and plans to build a new all-electric depot   Go-Ahead is in talks to deploy a fleet of 28 brand new Irizar ie Trams on the network   Go-Ahead Group has plans to develop a network in Kent...
Intercity TOCs lead post-Covid recovery

Intercity TOCs lead post-Covid recovery

East Coast intercity operator LNER was among four TOCs to exceed 2019 patronage levels in the first quarter of 2023, but others are lagging behind   LNER, which has topped the table for franchised operators for two years running, carried 111% of the passenger numbers it did during the same period of 2019   East...
Schreyer admits Brexit impact

Schreyer admits Brexit impact

Post-Covid recruitment hindered by EU exit   Schreyer: ‘We need to attract more talent and then retain that talent’   Go-Ahead Group chief executive Christian Schreyer emphasised the effect Brexit had had on the group’s operations in the UK at last week’s UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Barcelona. He said transport operators faced similar...
Net Zero targets ‘offer huge opportunities’

Net Zero targets ‘offer huge opportunities’

Transport analyst Chris Cheek sees opportunity for enormous growth as efforts to reduce car use prompt modal shift towards public transport   Each 1% of modal shift from car to bus could bring an 1.3 billion extra bus passenger journeys   Net Zero targets offer huge opportunities for bus operators from modal shift. That was...
UK Bus Awards 2023 open for nominations

UK Bus Awards 2023 open for nominations

Nominations now open until late July for 23 awards recognising outstanding skills in planning, promoting, and delivering exceptional bus services   The 2023 winners will be announced at Troxy, London in November   The UK Bus Awards 2023 has officially launched, opening its doors for entries until late July. Nominations are now invited to compete...
£500m of new support for England’s buses

£500m of new support for England’s buses

In response to warnings that up to 15% of the bus network could be at risk, the government has extended recovery funding and the £2 bus fare cap   Prime minister Rishi Sunak: Buses play a vital role in growing the economy   The government this week announced £500m of additional funding to support local...
Cost of preventing bus service cuts is ‘tiny’

Cost of preventing bus service cuts is ‘tiny’

Go-Ahead’s Martin Dean tells parliamentarians that £260m a year to keep networks at pre-pandemic levels is ‘barely enough to build a mile of HS2’   Martin Dean   Bus services need continued post-Covid support and in terms of the Department for Transport’s £3bn annual budget the amount of money required to maintain a comprehensive network...
Labour would presume in favour of franchising

Labour would presume in favour of franchising

Take Back Control Act would streamline path to greater bus powers with a presumption in favour of franchising for all local transport authorities     The Labour Party has announced plans to take significant steps to reform bus services in England if it wins the next general election, claiming that “decades of failed deregulation have...
FlixBus launches major network expansion

FlixBus launches major network expansion

‘We are here to build the largest intercity coach network’   McGill’s has added 18 high specification Volvo 9700 coaches to its FlixBus services, in addition to the existing seven vehicles   FlixBus launched its expanded Scottish network last week with celebrations and free cake at Edinburgh bus station. The move comes not long after...
TUC proposes £9.9bn net zero transport plan

TUC proposes £9.9bn net zero transport plan

New report aims to address ‘gaping hole’ in the government’s recently published net zero strategy – a plan for achieving modal shift away from cars   TUC general secretary Paul Nowak: ‘Investing in public transport will help us meet net zero targets’ Photo: ©Jess Hurd   A new report released by the Trades Union Congress...
‘Scotland may miss bus infrastructure target’

‘Scotland may miss bus infrastructure target’

Transform Scotland warns on flagship Bus Partnership Fund   Plans to reallocate road space on parts of the motorway network around Glasgow to high-occupancy vehicles such as buses have made little progress’   The Scottish Government’s commitment to investing over £500m in bus priority infrastructure has yet to be fully realised, according to a report...