Welsh operators hope Bray can be saviour
Former director of the Urban Transport Group will chair panel of experts, and bus operators hope he make case for funding Jonathan Bray will chair an expert panel on Welsh bus policy By Rhodri Clark. Welsh bus operators are pinning their hopes on Jonathan Bray, who will chair an expert panel on Welsh...
Bus strategy progress ‘too slow, too piecemeal’
Greater support and more consistent funding is needed to deliver vision of the Bus Back Better strategy, Transport Committee tells government Iain Stewart:’many of the strategy’s ideas were on the right track’ Two years on from the launch of the National Bus Strategy for England, MPs on the Commons Transport Committee have expressed...
Everitt: Bee Network will transform GM
Vernon Everitt, Greater Manchester’s Transport Commissioner, believes that the Bee Network will transform the city region’s transport system Everitt: ‘Bee Network about delivering growth’ Vernon Everitt, Greater Manchester’s transport commissioner, told Transport Focus board members last week that the region was on the cusp of “something genuinely transformational” as it moved to begin...
Centre of Excellence to boost bus sector skills
The UK Government has launched a Bus Centre of Excellence, aimed at improving local authorities’ ability to deliver better bus services Richard Holden announced the Bus Centre of Excellence and additional ZEBRA funding during a visit to Leicester A new initiative to upskill, recruit and retain a new generation of bus professionals, alongside...
Burnham – make fares a general election issue
Greater Manchester mayor wants more recognition of the huge societal benefits that public transport offers, and the case for providing subsidy Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham at this week’s Transport for the North annual conference in Newcastle Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has urged all political parties to make the cost of using...
Liverpool City Region pushes franchise plans
Combined authority members ratify plans by mayor Steve Rotheram to launch a consultation over the summer into plans to franchise region’s buses It is proposed the first franchised bus services could commence in September 2026 Members of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority last week approved a formal public consultation launch after May’s...
Hunt is urged to show public transport love
Coalition of 15 charities, business and transport group writes to chancellor to make case for bus, rail and active travel ahead of next month’s budget Alice Ridley and Michael Solomon Williams deliver the letter A coalition of 15 charities, business and transport groups has written to chancellor Jeremy Hunt to urge him to...
Waters wanted £1 bus fare to sugar roads pill
Minister wanted to offer a flat fare to counterbalance his radical reshaping of roads policy, but says ‘the Truss budget has blown that out of the water’ Welsh bus passengers are witnessing further service contraction, including the loss of the C8 in Cardiff in April Lee Waters, the Welsh Government’s deputy climate change...
Operators don’t favour ‘integrated contracts’
MPs told suitable regulatory tools are already available Graham Vidler, chief executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said he felt there was a greater role that central government could take in defining the minimum standards people could expect Transport operators rejected suggestions from MPs on the Parliamentary Transport Select Committee last week...
Levelling Up Fund gives £645m to transport
26 transport projects, including bus and rail schemes, received support from the second installment of the government’s Levelling Up Fund Prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt highlighting levelling-up investment last week Initiatives to improve public transport were among the beneficiaries of up to £2.1bn of levelling up funding announced by the...
One in 10 buses lost as further cuts announced
Research has found that almost one in 10 bus services were axed last year as authorities in Kent and the West of England revealed plans for more cuts Kent County Council has scrapped some its its feeder services launched in 2019 Research by The Guardian that was published this week has found that...
£2 fare cap already used for millions of journeys
Government-backed fares initiative has been embraced by more than 130 bus operators and is proving especially popular on some inter-urban routes Stagecoach promoting the £2 fare cap Bus users in England have already benefitted from the £2 fare cap to make millions of bus journeys following the launch of the scheme on January...
