Author Archive
A legacy that helped to shape the city

A legacy that helped to shape the city

  Rob Jones, managing director of Stagecoach Manchester, reflects on a 25-year record of connecting communities   Stagecoach hosted a special lineup of heritage livery buses ahead of the changeover to the Bee Network   For over 25 years, Stagecoach Manchester has been at the heart of the city’s transport network, playing an essential role...
Budgeting for Britain’s buses

Budgeting for Britain’s buses

  Public transport is back on the political agenda – but the financial ammunition to make bus services better remains in short supply   Transport secretary Heidi Alexander visited Greater Manchester’s Bee Network this week. Those who take back control of buses will face the same pressure to balance the books as commercial operators  ...
Project Manager - Bus Reform - SYMCA

Project Manager – Bus Reform – SYMCA

  Project Manager – Bus Reform Hours: 37 hours Contract: Permanent – Full Time (up to 4 posts) Salary: £40,221 – £43,421 (pending pay award) Location: Sheffield (Hybrid Working or Onsite)   The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) brings together the local authorities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield and to serve the communities...
Project Support Officer - SYMCA

Project Support Officer – SYMCA

  Project Support Officer Hours: 37 hours Contract: Permanent – Full Time Salary: £29,269 – £31,364 (pending pay award) Location: Sheffield (Hybrid Working or Onsite)   The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) brings together the local authorities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield and to serve the communities and businesses of South Yorkshire. From...
UK Bus Awards 2024 ‘Big Book of Big Winners’

UK Bus Awards 2024 ‘Big Book of Big Winners’

The UK Bus Awards 2024 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 2024.   If you are viewing the site on a tablet or...
Welsh SMEs will have post-franchising role

Welsh SMEs will have post-franchising role

Transport for Wales has been instructed to develop an approach that attracts a range of bus operators and retains a role for smaller operators   Skates: ‘We’ll offer various types of franchising contracts’   Small and medium-sized bus operators will continue to play a role in providing local bus services in Wales once franchising has...
New bus fund replaces Scotland’s £500m BPF

New bus fund replaces Scotland’s £500m BPF

The Scottish Government’s draft budget includes a new Bus Infrastructure Fund, but the value of this fund is unquantified   The launch of the £500m Bus Partnership Fund in 2019. Only £26.9m was spent   BY Rhodri Clark The Scottish Government’s draft budget for 2025/26 restores capital funding for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and heralds...
Let’s put railways before rhetoric

Let’s put railways before rhetoric

  Louise Haigh targeted ‘hobbyists who really, really love trains’ when our main problem is politicians who are addicted to bluster   Louise Haigh’s ‘can do’ mentality felt like the dose the rail industry needed to emancipate it from its seemingly interminable stupor   Well, the moral of the story of the past fortnight is...
A year of transport in transition

A year of transport in transition

  As the end of the year approaches, let’s celebrate and champion the progress being made in some key policy areas of transport   Louise Haigh was photographed with seven English metro mayors at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in September   On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…...
It’s time to change the narrative on rail

It’s time to change the narrative on rail

  NSAR’s 2024 Workforce Survey reveals the urgency of addressing the skills shortage in UK rail – and the sector’s image problem   Women now represent 17.4% of the UK rail workforce   UK rail plays a central role in holding the country’s social fabric together. Not only is it of critical importance economically –...
Buses have an image problem

Buses have an image problem

Buses are the answer to so many challenges but they are often overlooked. How can we change that?   LadBible is amenable to bus stories and recently covered Stagecoach’s autonomous bus trial   BY Andrew Clark An ultra-modern convention centre in Brussels. Eurocrats in button-down shirts nibble croissants and drink espresso. The topic for discussion...
Assistant Director of Transport Projects - SYMCA

Assistant Director of Transport Projects – SYMCA

  Assistant Director of Transport Projects Hours: 37 hours Contract: Permanent Salary: £70,959 – £78,605 (pending pay award) Location: Sheffield (Hybrid Working or Onsite)   The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) brings together the local authorities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield and to serve the communities and businesses of South Yorkshire. From transport...