Issue 324 of Passenger Transport is published on November 1.
Contents include:

 

 
LEAD STORY

Budget brings relief – and disappointment
Chancellor faced criticism for raising England’s bus fare cap from £2 to £3 and increasing rail fares by 4.6% while retaining the 5p fuel duty cut

 
NEWS

South Yorkshire lifts lid on bus franchising plan
Major investments, but consultation warns of potential deficit

Employees are owners of Stephensons parent
Bus industry entrepreneur Bill Hiron has sold Eastern Transport Holdings, the parent of bus operators Stephensons and NIBS, to an employee trust

Euston improvement plans move forward
Trial of early boarding of services commences as summit convened

Burnham backs ‘Buy British’ bus policy
Greater Manchester mayor backs UK firms during Mellor visit

NXWM sees profits wiped out in 2023
Recently filed accounts for the year ending December 31 2023, reveal National Express West Midlands experienced a decline in profitability

Groups enthusiasm for coaches continues
Transport Scotland is working on a process as a matter of priority

Misbehaviour will see free travel withdrawn
Punctuality has improved by 8.1 percentage points

Megabus axes Welsh and English networks
Patronage woes influence decision after network changes

 
NET ZERO

Hitachi helps First Bus move towards 2035 goal
Seven depots receive Hitachi ZeroCarbon technology

 
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Go-Ahead rolls out use of CitySwift platform
Partnership aims to optimise service performance

 
COMMENT

Norman Baker: Not as bad as feared – but will it work?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her first budget. There was some good news for public transport but disappointment too

Jason Prince: Moving beyond the budget
We must now start to look towards the spending review in Spring and make a compelling case for investment in public transport

Alex Warner: Don’t dismiss the ‘dinosaurs’
Our youth-focussed world overlooks the talent and experience of older workers, but right now we need them more than ever before

Nick Richardson: Make information truly accessible
New requirements for audio-visual passenger information on buses and coaches will be beneficial but may face a few problems

Great Minster Grumbles: We all talk about ‘lessons learnt’
Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the DfT

 
FUTURE OF BUS

Britain’s buses in a new era
Chris Cheek has researched and written a new book about the future of Britain’s bus industry and the risks and opportunities that lie ahead. Here he shares some of his reflections

Decarbonising the UK’s buses
The UK has been leading the way on zero-emission buses, but we must keep up the momentum

Thorpe makes case for BYD’s UK plans
Frank Thorpe, the MD of BYD’s UK bus business, makes the case for Chinese manufacturer in the face of calls to ‘Buy British’

A stronger future for drivers
Fiona Guthrie of RATP Dev Transit London was named ‘Best Project Manager’ at the pan-European Talent in Mobility Awards last month for her work on the Garage Life Programme. She explains how the project has helped new drivers feel quickly at home and boosted retention rates

 
CAREERS

Cutts joins Transport UK as London bus MD
Appointment follows restructuring at London bus operation

David Martin rejoins Arriva
Former group chief executive rejoins as executive chairman following departure of Mike Cooper

 
RECRUITMENT

Engineering Director – Stagecoach West

 
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Out now: Issue 322 of Passenger Transport