The transport secretary appears to have developed an enthusiasm for bringing franchises back under public control – but will it help? Grant Shapps It was interesting for me as an amateur Kremlinologist with a ministerial background to listen to transport secretary Grant Shapps addressing the annual parliamentary reception for the Campaign for...
Grant Shapps has stripped Arriva of the Northern franchise, blaming the management. But I think that responsibility for its problems lies elsewhere – writes Alex Warner Chris Burchell Grant Shapps got what he wanted, so too did Andy Burnham, the trade unions and the media – because Arriva being stripped of the Northern...
The Joe Wood Scheduler of the Year Award, sponsored by CitySwift Schedulers play a vital role in the UK bus industry, but they rarely get the recognition they deserve. That’s why Passenger Transport has teamed up with CitySwift, the data-driven bus scheduling and business intelligence platform, to launch a new award for 2020 –...
Public Transport 2.0 – the future of travel This publication focuses on how public transport is evolving to meet our mobility needs, harnessing new technologies and commercial models. We hope you find it an interesting read and we welcome all feedback. Click on the image above to view the supplement. If you are viewing the...
Transport secretary Grant Shapps says Department for Transport will now consider options, which include calling upon the Operator of Last Resort First and MTR Corporation have operated SWR since August 201 The Department for Transport may decide to terminate the current South Western Railway franchise, replacing it with a short-term term management contract...
Bristol bus boss warns that flagship service risks being ‘entirely discredited’ if services are bogged down in ‘areas of increasingly chronic congestion’ The northern section of the m1 route It is marketed as “a modern public transport system for the greater Bristol area”, but users of the flagship Metrobus network are facing “appalling...
Transport group claims rail franchising regime is in crisis as High Court trial gets under way probing government’s decision to disqualify group from bids Virgin and SNCF have joined Stagecoach in its action Lawyers for Stagecoach blasted the Railway Pensions Scheme as a “basket case” and claimed rail franchising was in crisis in...
The Prime Minister wants other UK cities to enjoy the kind of integrated transport system that London has. Can he deliver it? New Merseyrail trains and bus reform could give Liverpool city region a single, modern and fully integrated network Boris Johnson wants transport in the rest of the UK’s metro areas...
Ahead of next month’s UK Bus Summit in London, buses minister Baroness Vere says that ‘fantastic opportunities’ have been created to grow bus use Baroness Vere: ‘2020 will prove to be an exciting year for buses’ 2020 will be “a transformational year for the bus network”, says buses minister Baroness Vere. In the...
UK Bus Summit Review 2020, a publication devoted to the UK’s main mode of public transport. This publication has been produced by Passenger Transport, in association with Transport Times Events, to co-incide with the sixth annual UK Bus Summit. This event will be held in London at the QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, on February 6...
Critics claim peer shows ‘disgraceful ignorance’ of project Lord Berkeley has published an alternative to the Oakervee review into HS2 Lord Berkeley has published a new report into the troubled HS2 high speed rail project that suggests it is “the wrong and expensive solution” to improving connectivity in the Midlands and North of England. In...
The New Year will bring change for Britain’s railways, a green light for HS2 and a greater focus on transport in the North of England The Labour government under Tony Blair had progressed a tram system for Leeds, only to cancel it The good people at Passenger Transport have once again asked me...
‘Taking back control’ could bite Shapps