Event will mark the end of an era for Stagecoach co-founder at a time when he sees a reduced role for entreprenuers in the public transport sector

 
Sir Brian Souter ‘remains passionate about public transport’

 
Sir Brian Souter is thanking his former Stagecoach colleagues by inviting them to Istanbul next month for a three-day retirement party. This event will mark the end of an era for Stagecoach’s co-founder, who also believes that we are witnessing the end of an era for public transport with a reduced role for entrepreneurs.

Souter, 68, and his sister, Ann Gloag, founded Stagecoach in 1980 and built it into one of the largest transport providers in the UK. According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, Souter and Gloag are worth £730m.

Souter served as the Perth-based group’s CEO and latterly as chairman before stepping down on January 1, 2020. He remained as a non-executive director of the group until its sale to DWS Infrastructure two months ago.

Souter is now able to devote more time to his family and his other interests. These include Souter Investments and the Souter Charitable Trust, which has awarded more than 15,000 grants totalling over £104m.

Sir Brian wanted to say thank you to all key managers and many others who have retired and who all made a contribution to the Stagecoach story.

The retirement party will take place on September 2-5. A spokesperson for Souter told Passenger Transport this week: “After the sale of the company [Stagecoach], Sir Brian wanted to say thank you to all key managers and many others who have retired and who all made a contribution to the Stagecoach story. It has been an amazing 42 years and this is his way of saying thank you to everyone who were part of the Stagecoach phenomenon.”

Istanbul was chosen as the venue for the party because Souter knows it well from his involvement with IDO, one of the world’s largest passenger ferry operators. Souter Investments purchased IDO from the Istanbul Municipality in June 2011 and sold it in October 2020.

“He wanted a unique place for what will be a special event,” the spokesperson explained. The city will also host the Souter Investments and Souter Charitable Trust triennial conference a few days afterwards.

Souter and his colleagues built Stagecoach on the back of bus and rail privatisations in the UK and he has long advocated a lead role of entrepreneurs in the public transport sector. He has vehemently opposed moves that constrained the commercial freedom of bus and rail operators or reversed bus deregulation, but the policy-makers have been moving in that direction. For example, the Bus Services Act 2017 made it easier to introduce bus franchising in England and the 2021 National Bus Strategy for England, Bus Back Better, compels bus operators to enter Enhanced Partnerships with local authorities.

The pandemic, which struck soon after Souter stepped down as Stagecoach chairman, has meanwhile left public transport dependent on additional government funding while passenger numbers recover.

Sir Brian believes that we are witnessing an end of an era in public transport that will be difficult but not impossible to sustain a commercial model in the future. He believes the age of the entrepreneur is coming to an end

Commenting on what retirement would mean for Souter, the spokesperson said: “Sir Brian believes that we are witnessing an end of an era in public transport that will be difficult but not impossible to sustain a commercial model in the future. He believes the age of the entrepreneur is coming to an end and whilst he believes the industry will have a good future in the long term, as we move towards net zero this will probably need significant changes to existing models to deliver outcomes. He believes this is the right time for him and his family to exit the industry.”

Reflecting on Souter’s long career, the spokesperson added: “He has enjoyed every minute of what has been a 50-year journey starting as a bus conducor in 1972. It is impossible in this short space to pick a few highlights but it has been very rewarding and great fun. He remains passionate about public transport and will follow future events with great interest.”

 
This story appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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