Yorkshire’s shame – are we the same?
It’s vital that those of us who work in public transport don’t think that what occurred in cricket isn’t happening in our own backyard Yorkshire County Cricket Club is facing the biggest crisis in its history now that the allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq have reached the public domain. Officialdom...
TfW and CitySwift pilot to optimise buses
Partners embark on an AI-driven bus strategy to optimise public transport services in Wales using data and machine learning. Left to right: Marina Donohoe, Director UK and Northern Europe at Enterprise Ireland, Transport for Wales CEO James Price, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and CitySwift COO Alan Farrelly ...
Ministers strip TfN of responsibility for NPR
In a move branded ‘inconsistent with the government’s devolution agenda’, Transport for the North will no longer be paid to develop East-West links Ministers have removed funding and powers from Transport for the North after it dismissed the government’s Integrated Rail Plan for the North and the Midlands as “woefully inadequate”. TfN was...
Franchises ‘will ensure bus staff are well paid’
Following a series of strikes, the Welsh Government says bus franchising will safeguard workers’ pay and conditions. Rhodri Clark reports Ebbw Vale’s deserted bus station during this month’s strike by some Stagecoach employees The Welsh Government says that future bus franchises will safeguard workers’ conditions and ensure staff are well paid. Legislation to...
Reid’s career offers us lessons for today
With our industry transitioning back to a more centralised set-up, George Muir’s book on Sir Robert Reid is essential reading Sir Robert Reid ‘There’s just not the characters left in the game anymore’ is a phrase oft-used to describe a less interesting sporting landscape and it’s a comment that could be levied...
How Boris scored a £96bn own goal
Unveiled last week, ‘the biggest ever public investment in Britain’s rail network’ was almost universally slated. So what went wrong? Boris Johnson toured the North of England to coincide with the announcement of the Integrated Rail Plan The most striking element of last week’s Integrated Rail Plan was the reception it received....
Don’t ‘COP out’ and rely on electric cars
Sustainable Transport Alliance uses COP26 to warn that solely focusing on electric vehicles would ignore their social and environmental drawbacks Transport secretary Grant Shapps posed with an electric car at COP26 The UK’s leading sustainable transport NGOs this week appealed to world leaders to recognise that technology alone cannot reduce transport emissions. Instead,...
Transport sector plays role in COP26 summit
Event offers chance to showcase success and raise awareness Stagecoach partnered with ADL BYD to provide a fleet of electric double deckers to transport world leaders, including prime minister Boris Johnson (pictured), at this month’s COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow The passenger transport sector used this month’s COP26 climate change summit in...
Funding and a finely balanced future
The Comprehensive Spending Review heralded good news and not-so-good news for public transport. Tough decisions are needed Boris Johnson at the launch of the National Bus Strategy for England in March Now that the dust has settled from Comprehensive Spending Review, it’s becoming easier to see through the smoke and mirrors and...
My 10-point plan for rail replacement
During the transition to GBR, it’s important that the age-old challenge of rail replacement provision doesn’t get forgotten This is how many people feel about rail replacement services – and something must be done to change it The Department for Transport’s excellent market engagement day to start the process towards the procurement...
Destination Net Zero: Decarbonising Transport
Welcome to Destination Net Zero: Decarbonising Transport. This special publication considers the scale of the Net Zero challenge for transport and examines the work that is being done by different organisations to reduce the impact of our mobility needs on the environment. It has been produced to co-incide with COP26, the 2021 United...
Waters isn’t willing to go with the flow