£3bn multi-year spend boosts England’s buses
Local authorities are being offered the freedom and the certainty they need to respond to local needs, with CPT declaring: ‘The time for buses is now’ Heidi Alexander: ‘After years of decline, better buses are finally on the way’ The government has announced a £3bn boost for bus services and infrastructure in England....
A budget to ‘rebalance transport costs’
Public transport sector welcomes the end of the fuel duty cut in due course, a new distance-based electric vehicle charge and a rail fares freeze Rachel Reeves outside Number 11 ahead of the budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves tilted the scales in favour of public transport in her budget this week by freezing rail...
First Bus to quit Cornwall
Group to withdraw from Cornwall after years of retrenchment. Andrew Garnett reports Be my Valentine? First Kernow will close on February 14 First Bus has announced plans to cease all operations in Cornwall by mid-February 2026, bringing to an end more than a decade of significant investment, restructuring and ultimately contraction in a market the...
Blackpool wins Bus Operator of the Year
Council-owned bus company won the best operator prize and Go-Ahead Group headed the medal table at this week’s UK Bus Awards in London The winner’s at this week’s UK Bus Awards Blackpool Transport was named UK Bus Operator at this week’s UK Bus Awards in London. The council-owned company was named the winner of the...
Improved integration offers ‘huge’ benefits
Centre for Cities report says improved transport integration in six English cities can offer easy access to city centres to an additional 1.2 million people Increasing public transport use would boost national economic output by an estimated £17.4bn per year Delivering more integrated transport networks in six of England’s big cities will give...
Cross-Channel comeback?
Landmark depot decision by regulator puts Virgin on track to launch a new international rail service Virgin plans to launch services in 2030 Virgin is one step closer to making a return to the rail sector after the Office of Rail and Road this week confirmed that it can move ahead with plans to...
Minister frustrates Scottish bus operators
As Scotland heads into an election year, bus operators and local authorities used this week’s CPT Scotland Conference in Edinburgh to call for change Fairlie was press by operators on the need for more spending on bus priority measure There was an air of frustration at this week’s CPT Scotland Conference in Edinburgh, with...
‘Bus is best’ towns and for cities in Scotland
Scotland’s minister for connectivity says the bus and coach sector will play a key role in delivering the first minister’s four priorities for government Fairlie: ‘The climate emergency is our single greatest challenge’ Buses are a vital tool for achieving the Scottish Government’s priorities, according to the country’s minister for connectivity. In an article...
TfL makes bid to take control of GTR route
TfL makes formal application to run Northern City Line TfL’s proposals cover services between Moorgate in the City of London, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City Transport for London has formally applied to the Department for Transport to take over services on the Northern City Line between Moorgate and Hertfordshire, which are currently operated by...
Likely bidders revealed for Weaver Network
Major groups and SMEs line up to bid for contracts as West Yorkshire Combined Authority presses ahead with plans for bus franchising Weaver Network to launch in 2027 The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has confirmed the list of operators that have registered to compete for contracts under its forthcoming Weaver Network bus franchising...
Bus driver pay has soared post-pandemic
Weekly earnings for bus and coach drivers, including overtime, rose by 29.4% between 2021 and 2024, outstripping increases for other workers Bus driver earnings exceeded that of other shift workers such as police officers Bus and coach drivers across the UK have received a typical pay rise of nearly 30% over the last three...
‘The bus industry in Britain is on the rise’
There was an upbeat mood at last week’s UK Bus Summit in Manchester, with speakers expressing enthusiasm about the industry’s future Andy Burnham speaking at last week’s UK Bus Summit Last week’s UK Bus Summit, organised by Transport Times in partnership with Passenger Transport, was the seventh to have taken place – but...
