What’s been going well in public transport in 2025 and where is greater attention required? It’s time for my half-term report
Over the last month, I’ve made twice-weekly trips with Avanti and each time the service just gets better and better
It’s hard to believe midsummer’s night has been and gone and it’s all downhill now with the evenings’ drawing in. Before we know it the leaves will be on the line. It’s time for my customary half-term report, with some hopes and fears for the remainder of 2025 thrown in for good measure.
Mellors’ magic!
We’ll start on a high and I pay tribute to Avanti West Coast who, on my travels, continue to shine. Over the last month, I’ve made twice-weekly trips and each time the service just gets better and better, with attentive staff building a rapport with customers, meticulous announcements during slight service disruption beyond their control and an impressive on-board catering experience. I feel sorry for Avanti because they are often unfairly compared to LNER, who I also think do a very decent job. But, if you push me, I think the service is actually now better on the West Coast. I write as I find and I cannot recall ever having a bad experience on FirstGroup-owned Avanti. Well done managing director Andy Mellors and his gang!
Council chiefs usurp corporates
Over the years, I’ve occasionally taken the rise out of local authorities, inferring they lack commercial ingenuity by comparison with operators and their transport teams are run by stuffy blokes with dodgy hairdos, wearing brown suits. I take it all back, and since their rise into the ascendancy, helped by BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan) funding and increasing regulation of bus services, I’ve had exposure to some top-notch folk who know their networks intimately and think in a customer-centric manner.
Offices back in vogue
Talking of fun, there’s also been a gradual return to working out on transport networks, as well as in offices. I’ve always advocated balance, I don’t think it’s binary, either ‘WFH’ or ‘at HQ’, there’s many tasks that can be more productively and cost-effectively undertaken in isolation at home. However, I think we are seeing a shift back towards face-to-face contact and I’ve experienced it first hand on an assignment for 10 weeks that has involved me spending a fair proportion of time commuting to an open plan office. I’m sure my loud voice, untidy desk, poor dress sense and munching chocolate and slurping Red Bull, whilst working has really grated on colleagues, but it’s been actually really enjoyable to be collaborating and working as a team with the widest range of employees and consultants that I think I have ever come across. Now onto the less impressive characteristics of 2025, which could go either way as we move into the second half of the year…
Cautious optimism now unfolds
Last month, my local train company South Western Railway transferred from private to public ownership as First handed in the keys to DfT Operator Limited (DFTO). As I’ve oft remarked, I think First did a good job, understatedly so, whereas the track record of DfT’s in-house operations has been mixed to date. I’m not sure a legacy of sparkle and innovation has been achieved on any of the operators under their control, though some, such as South Eastern and LNER have done better than the others. As we move into the new era under Great British Railways (GBR), it will be interesting to see how the leadership approach and general management of the operators develops. In the appointment of Lawrence Bowman as managing director, South Western Railway – a talented, hugely intelligent and affable leader in the prime of his career – they have got it right and this bodes well for the future.
I think the service is actually now better on the West Coast
The integrated management set-up that is emerging at operators under DFTO stewardship and as part of the transition to Great British Railways is being lauded (by themselves and the Department for Transport) as creating a step change in improvement. It will be interesting to see how much of this is genuinely down to structural changes, management capability and leadership and if it bodes well for the future. I’m becoming more confident, but it’s a crucial six months ahead.
Revenue protection gets harder
I’m hearing more and more noise around revenue protection these days. I hate to say ‘I told you so’ but during the pandemic and the 12-18 months that followed, the grip (if ever it existed) was lessened and it’s felt nigh on impossible to wrest control. With society becoming more violent, it’s more challenging to recruit Revenue Protection Officers, particularly as assaults are going up. Ticket gates are increasingly supine, with more ‘jumpers’, ‘tailgaters’ or those who just push them open. Staff numbers have dropped such that whole swathes of the network never have ticket checks, static or mobile. I also get a sense of entitlement among some fare evaders, particularly as more of the train companies come under public ownership, that the actions taken by the current government in terms of tax rises and benefit cuts render it ‘fair game’ to take back by not paying for a ticket. A similar situation in terms of folk decriminalising in their minds shoplifting is also apparent in recent times. Meanwhile, I heard last week that the DfT is not in favour of undercover, targeted activity and with the relentless rise in digital ticketing, ticketless travel is more complex to detect and address than ever before. Fraud is taking place not just on the network but being created online in homes and offices across the country, by clever and determined individuals.
Amazing Album, terrific Transdev
I’ve never witnessed such widespread disgruntlement with life in the big owning groups as during the first part of 2025. It’s the usual gripes, ranging from a breakdown in leadership, a lack of customer-focus, or realisation that focusing on local markets is key and not grasped by their gaffers, through to rancour about over-prioritising of ‘woke causes’. What’s interesting, though, is that the grumbles feel more passionate than ever. Never before have so many senior individuals not giving two hoots for their employer.
It was so refreshing, therefore, to present last month at the ALBUM Conference, comprising of companies that aren’t part of the owning groups. Every year, the pride, passion and sense of engagement burns stronger and deeper than ever, under the stewardship of highly competent, entrepreneurial and skilled MDs – no fancy dans or show boaters there. This lot, who I might add, stick around in their roles, are by far the finest leaders in the industry. It’s little wonder they’ve created happy and successful businesses in stark contrast to the miserable, toxic cultures that have emerged in many places elsewhere. Another member company of ALBUM, but also part of an owning group is Transdev Blazefield, which, also showcases the very best of transport in my view, with its progressive mentality, innovation and the way it brings people and communities with it.
Jobs for the boys and girls?
It’s all gone a bit quiet on the GBR front. When it was set up initially in shadow, transition form, there were lots of conferences, speeches and bold statements emanating from their team, be it from the impressive Lord Hendy, Andrew Haines, Anit Chandarana and Rufus Boyd. Of this quartet, only Haines remains in his current role and he’s retiring in three months, so maybe this is a reason behind the more circumspect, less visible demeanour of GBR. Or maybe it’s getting on with the real work, even if it still feels another era away (2027) before it is up and running properly.
I’ve never witnessed such widespread disgruntlement with life in the big owning groups
It will be interesting to see what roles will emerge in GBR, how will they be recruited and whether the rates of pay will be competitive in the new public sector set-up. Will there be proper due diligence on appointments to avoid very odd recruitment decisions in recent months that have caused complete bemusement in many parts of the transport sector? Will there also be a place for quirky, innovators of all ages and backgrounds, not afraid to tell it how it is or will it be those in a clique or just ‘yes folk’ who end up in positions of influence in the industry? It would be a shame if this was the case, but you’d hope that all will be revealed before the year is out.
Scruffy staff set no standard
Have you checked out how untidy some railway employees look on the network lately? I know I’m a proper old school suit and tie geezer, but I realise that life moves on and maybe that attire has less appeal these days. However, I don’t think I’ve seen an era where uniforms have looked so faded, dishevelled and lacking any brand identity or even standing out and with ungroomed staff with greasy, uncombed hair and protruding stubble.
Their demeanour isn’t helped by the faded nature of their uniform or, like many train companies, they seem to pack into them all sorts of apparatus, including, in some cases, what looks like body cameras (a sad reflection of today’s society). Other operators resort to wearing hi-vis vests in non safety critical situations and this, along with the range of agency staff on stations, creates a messy, almost hostile environment as if every day and every place on the network is managing some kind of major event or is waiting to react to adversarial situations involving customers.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if the railway could revert to an era where the attire of staff is akin to those in a restaurant or hotel, having a touch of class and creating a customer-centric brand personality? We can dream.
Pay-as-you-don’t-go
Over the years, I’ve sat through many a presentation about pay-as-you-go (PAYG) mechanisms on public transport. I’ll be honest, I’ve always found them boring. Lots of promises around Big Brother detecting your movements and charging you the cheapest fare and no one really explaining the holy grail of a scenario where you can literally use one bank card to travel across the entire nation on buses and trains, hopping on and off. A multi-modal mindset is still beyond most of the so-called brainpower in the transport sector, despite all the highfalutin presentations and babble.
A few months ago they introduced contactless at my local station, Shepperton, and I’ve started using it almost daily. I confess it’s easy, but I just don’t trust it. Every day my bank statement shows a different fare, in many cases for the same journey and when I oscillate between National Rail and Transport for London territory, there’s times I don’t know when to tap in or out – and sometimes at Shepperton at the end of the journey, I forget to do so when exiting our one-platform, ungated station. Then, there’s scenarios like when I tapped in at Vauxhall and our train was cancelled. I didn’t know if by tapping back out to sit in the pub and have a coke until the next train I would be charged. It’s a minefield.
We also have the issue of railcards. You can’t use them on PAYG. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of years when tap-in, tap-out is genuinely universal, that they use this impossibility of the technology as an excuse to get rid of railcards. You can just see that ruse being plotted now by out-of-touch, penny pinching, dim-witted bureaucrats salivating at the prospect of telling their boss they’ve saved the railway millions of pounds, when in reality they’ve made travelling by train less attractive than ever.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of transport technology business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
Avanti and ALBUM shine in my report
by Passenger Transport on Jun 26, 2025 • 1:54 pm No CommentsWhat’s been going well in public transport in 2025 and where is greater attention required? It’s time for my half-term report
It’s hard to believe midsummer’s night has been and gone and it’s all downhill now with the evenings’ drawing in. Before we know it the leaves will be on the line. It’s time for my customary half-term report, with some hopes and fears for the remainder of 2025 thrown in for good measure.
Mellors’ magic!
We’ll start on a high and I pay tribute to Avanti West Coast who, on my travels, continue to shine. Over the last month, I’ve made twice-weekly trips and each time the service just gets better and better, with attentive staff building a rapport with customers, meticulous announcements during slight service disruption beyond their control and an impressive on-board catering experience. I feel sorry for Avanti because they are often unfairly compared to LNER, who I also think do a very decent job. But, if you push me, I think the service is actually now better on the West Coast. I write as I find and I cannot recall ever having a bad experience on FirstGroup-owned Avanti. Well done managing director Andy Mellors and his gang!
Council chiefs usurp corporates
Over the years, I’ve occasionally taken the rise out of local authorities, inferring they lack commercial ingenuity by comparison with operators and their transport teams are run by stuffy blokes with dodgy hairdos, wearing brown suits. I take it all back, and since their rise into the ascendancy, helped by BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan) funding and increasing regulation of bus services, I’ve had exposure to some top-notch folk who know their networks intimately and think in a customer-centric manner.
Offices back in vogue
Talking of fun, there’s also been a gradual return to working out on transport networks, as well as in offices. I’ve always advocated balance, I don’t think it’s binary, either ‘WFH’ or ‘at HQ’, there’s many tasks that can be more productively and cost-effectively undertaken in isolation at home. However, I think we are seeing a shift back towards face-to-face contact and I’ve experienced it first hand on an assignment for 10 weeks that has involved me spending a fair proportion of time commuting to an open plan office. I’m sure my loud voice, untidy desk, poor dress sense and munching chocolate and slurping Red Bull, whilst working has really grated on colleagues, but it’s been actually really enjoyable to be collaborating and working as a team with the widest range of employees and consultants that I think I have ever come across. Now onto the less impressive characteristics of 2025, which could go either way as we move into the second half of the year…
Cautious optimism now unfolds
Last month, my local train company South Western Railway transferred from private to public ownership as First handed in the keys to DfT Operator Limited (DFTO). As I’ve oft remarked, I think First did a good job, understatedly so, whereas the track record of DfT’s in-house operations has been mixed to date. I’m not sure a legacy of sparkle and innovation has been achieved on any of the operators under their control, though some, such as South Eastern and LNER have done better than the others. As we move into the new era under Great British Railways (GBR), it will be interesting to see how the leadership approach and general management of the operators develops. In the appointment of Lawrence Bowman as managing director, South Western Railway – a talented, hugely intelligent and affable leader in the prime of his career – they have got it right and this bodes well for the future.
The integrated management set-up that is emerging at operators under DFTO stewardship and as part of the transition to Great British Railways is being lauded (by themselves and the Department for Transport) as creating a step change in improvement. It will be interesting to see how much of this is genuinely down to structural changes, management capability and leadership and if it bodes well for the future. I’m becoming more confident, but it’s a crucial six months ahead.
Revenue protection gets harder
I’m hearing more and more noise around revenue protection these days. I hate to say ‘I told you so’ but during the pandemic and the 12-18 months that followed, the grip (if ever it existed) was lessened and it’s felt nigh on impossible to wrest control. With society becoming more violent, it’s more challenging to recruit Revenue Protection Officers, particularly as assaults are going up. Ticket gates are increasingly supine, with more ‘jumpers’, ‘tailgaters’ or those who just push them open. Staff numbers have dropped such that whole swathes of the network never have ticket checks, static or mobile. I also get a sense of entitlement among some fare evaders, particularly as more of the train companies come under public ownership, that the actions taken by the current government in terms of tax rises and benefit cuts render it ‘fair game’ to take back by not paying for a ticket. A similar situation in terms of folk decriminalising in their minds shoplifting is also apparent in recent times. Meanwhile, I heard last week that the DfT is not in favour of undercover, targeted activity and with the relentless rise in digital ticketing, ticketless travel is more complex to detect and address than ever before. Fraud is taking place not just on the network but being created online in homes and offices across the country, by clever and determined individuals.
Amazing Album, terrific Transdev
I’ve never witnessed such widespread disgruntlement with life in the big owning groups as during the first part of 2025. It’s the usual gripes, ranging from a breakdown in leadership, a lack of customer-focus, or realisation that focusing on local markets is key and not grasped by their gaffers, through to rancour about over-prioritising of ‘woke causes’. What’s interesting, though, is that the grumbles feel more passionate than ever. Never before have so many senior individuals not giving two hoots for their employer.
It was so refreshing, therefore, to present last month at the ALBUM Conference, comprising of companies that aren’t part of the owning groups. Every year, the pride, passion and sense of engagement burns stronger and deeper than ever, under the stewardship of highly competent, entrepreneurial and skilled MDs – no fancy dans or show boaters there. This lot, who I might add, stick around in their roles, are by far the finest leaders in the industry. It’s little wonder they’ve created happy and successful businesses in stark contrast to the miserable, toxic cultures that have emerged in many places elsewhere. Another member company of ALBUM, but also part of an owning group is Transdev Blazefield, which, also showcases the very best of transport in my view, with its progressive mentality, innovation and the way it brings people and communities with it.
Jobs for the boys and girls?
It’s all gone a bit quiet on the GBR front. When it was set up initially in shadow, transition form, there were lots of conferences, speeches and bold statements emanating from their team, be it from the impressive Lord Hendy, Andrew Haines, Anit Chandarana and Rufus Boyd. Of this quartet, only Haines remains in his current role and he’s retiring in three months, so maybe this is a reason behind the more circumspect, less visible demeanour of GBR. Or maybe it’s getting on with the real work, even if it still feels another era away (2027) before it is up and running properly.
It will be interesting to see what roles will emerge in GBR, how will they be recruited and whether the rates of pay will be competitive in the new public sector set-up. Will there be proper due diligence on appointments to avoid very odd recruitment decisions in recent months that have caused complete bemusement in many parts of the transport sector? Will there also be a place for quirky, innovators of all ages and backgrounds, not afraid to tell it how it is or will it be those in a clique or just ‘yes folk’ who end up in positions of influence in the industry? It would be a shame if this was the case, but you’d hope that all will be revealed before the year is out.
Scruffy staff set no standard
Have you checked out how untidy some railway employees look on the network lately? I know I’m a proper old school suit and tie geezer, but I realise that life moves on and maybe that attire has less appeal these days. However, I don’t think I’ve seen an era where uniforms have looked so faded, dishevelled and lacking any brand identity or even standing out and with ungroomed staff with greasy, uncombed hair and protruding stubble.
Their demeanour isn’t helped by the faded nature of their uniform or, like many train companies, they seem to pack into them all sorts of apparatus, including, in some cases, what looks like body cameras (a sad reflection of today’s society). Other operators resort to wearing hi-vis vests in non safety critical situations and this, along with the range of agency staff on stations, creates a messy, almost hostile environment as if every day and every place on the network is managing some kind of major event or is waiting to react to adversarial situations involving customers.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if the railway could revert to an era where the attire of staff is akin to those in a restaurant or hotel, having a touch of class and creating a customer-centric brand personality? We can dream.
Pay-as-you-don’t-go
Over the years, I’ve sat through many a presentation about pay-as-you-go (PAYG) mechanisms on public transport. I’ll be honest, I’ve always found them boring. Lots of promises around Big Brother detecting your movements and charging you the cheapest fare and no one really explaining the holy grail of a scenario where you can literally use one bank card to travel across the entire nation on buses and trains, hopping on and off. A multi-modal mindset is still beyond most of the so-called brainpower in the transport sector, despite all the highfalutin presentations and babble.
A few months ago they introduced contactless at my local station, Shepperton, and I’ve started using it almost daily. I confess it’s easy, but I just don’t trust it. Every day my bank statement shows a different fare, in many cases for the same journey and when I oscillate between National Rail and Transport for London territory, there’s times I don’t know when to tap in or out – and sometimes at Shepperton at the end of the journey, I forget to do so when exiting our one-platform, ungated station. Then, there’s scenarios like when I tapped in at Vauxhall and our train was cancelled. I didn’t know if by tapping back out to sit in the pub and have a coke until the next train I would be charged. It’s a minefield.
We also have the issue of railcards. You can’t use them on PAYG. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of years when tap-in, tap-out is genuinely universal, that they use this impossibility of the technology as an excuse to get rid of railcards. You can just see that ruse being plotted now by out-of-touch, penny pinching, dim-witted bureaucrats salivating at the prospect of telling their boss they’ve saved the railway millions of pounds, when in reality they’ve made travelling by train less attractive than ever.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of transport technology business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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