Issue 312 of Passenger Transport is published on May 3. Contents include: LEAD STORY Taking control Six metro mayors in England – representing 11.6 million people – were elected last week having pledged to take back control of local bus networks NEWS EXTRA: Metro mayors Metro mayors...
If metro mayors deliver on their manifesto pledges, almost three-quarters of bus journeys in England will be on publicly-controlled bus networks From left: Pete Bond, TfWM director of integrated transport services, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and Cllr Stephen Simpkins, leader of City of Wolverhampton Council and WMCA Board...
Group plots return to High Wycombe 24 years after sale Go-Ahead’s Carousel Buses operation will step in on most of the routes Arriva is proposing to withdraw Go-Ahead looks set to benefit from a rival operator’s retrenchment following the news that Arriva is consulting on proposals to close...
It’s time for bold and fresh thinking about how we design public transport to best serve a changed market in changing times There is nothing ‘off the shelf’ about the interiors of the new Danish IC5 trains A draining Covid epidemic and the ungainly pirouettes of government...
We keep hearing that the railway is short of money, but have we made the most of the commercial opportunities in front of us? Are we making the most of our amazing station infrastructure? I’m getting a little tired of hearing that the UK rail industry has...
The latest ORR figures on rail usage are surprisingly good because the railway suffers from brakes on progress. Here are five of them Rail usage is up 14% year-on-year Industry, politicians, and civil servants will doubtless be taking some quiet satisfaction from the upward trend in rail usage reported by the regulator,...
Happy New Year to you all. To ring in the new dawn, here are some of the things I hope to see or fear we will see in 2024 Bring back NRPS! Remember the National Rail Passenger Satisfaction Survey (NRPS)? It was a very simple, quarterly customer survey with a decent sample size....
The UK Bus Awards 2023 presentation ceremony took place in London in November, and you can read all about the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in this official Souvenir Brochure. Click on the image below to view The Big Book of Big Winners 2023. If you are viewing the site on a tablet or...
London’s buoyant retail and hospitality sectors has spurred public transport recovery in the capital. Outside of London, bus groups reveal ‘very encouraging’ year-on-year passenger growth of 5-10% Bus use is up by 8% in London The festive period has brought encouraging signs of continued recovery in public transport passenger volumes. Transport for London...
Open access operator plans Edinburgh-Cardiff service GUT’s Cardiff to Edinburgh services could use Class 222s Grand Union Trains is seeking access rights to run the first open access passenger services which would exclude London. It says its proposed services between Cardiff and Edinburgh via Birmingham would provide a much-needed uplift in capacity and...
Capital investment in transport across English cities is welcome, but we must not forget London. Its success must be maintained 50 year old Bakerloo line trains being maintained I am writing this column after our work Christmas party, which was held in Manchester. Unfortunately, the Urban Transport Group team didn’t get invited...
For almost 25 years Anthony Smith has represented transport users. He’s about to move on and leaves behind a strong legacy Anthony Smith received the ‘Lifetime Contribution to Transport’ award at this year’s National Transport Awards The internet was just a novelty, text messaging was starting to replace pagers, compact disc players...
First Bus has set the groundwork to enter 2024 with strong momentum, and continued investment Janette Bell: ‘We’re on a mission to get more people to use the bus’ By Janette Bell At First Bus, we’re on a mission to get more people to use the bus – so unsurprisingly this has been...
Britain’s big cities should significantly increase public transport commuters to catch up with European counterparts, says Centre for Cities think tank The UK’s big cities outside of London are outliers and would need nearly one million (963,000) additional workers taking public transport to work to bridge the gap with other cities overseas The...
Rail Reform Bill, aimed at legislating rail reforms, was included in last week’s King’s Speech but concerns linger about the pace of the process Winners celebate on stage at last week’s UK Bus Awards in London Go South Coast was named UK Bus Operator of the Year at this week’s UK Bus Awards...
Event at House of Commons saw industry leaders and MPs from all parties hear from members, supporters and allies of the new national initiative Members, supporters, and allies of the ‘Women in Bus and Coach’ initiative in Parliament last week Women in Bus and Coach, the initiative to support women in the bus...
With the government focussed on defying the odds and clinging to power, and Labour being cautious, transport is in the long grass The prime minister Rishi Sunak hosting a Cabinet meeting last week And so the long run into the general election has begun. It is the period of a Parliament when...
Five brakes on rail’s growth potential