All change as franchise winners are revealed
Go-Ahead subsidiary Go North West has been named as the winner of the first two major contracts to franchise bus services in Greater Manchester Andy Burnham reveals the first franchise winners The first step towards dismantling deregulation in Greater Manchester took place on December 23 when Andy Burnham, the region’s mayor, announced the...
Go-Ahead set for GM bus franchise success
London-based group is understood to be a big beneficiary from the first round of contracts that will see Greater Manchester’s buses franchised The introduction of the first franchised bus services in Wigan, Bolton and Salford is expected to take place on September 17, 2023 As Passenger Transport went to press, it was understood...
Southampton retreat could be a ‘watershed’
Decision by First Bus to close its loss-making operation in the city is seen as a sign that the post-Covid era is forcing operators to act differently First Bus is no long willing to tolerate CityRed being in the red The announcement this week by First Bus of its intention to close its...
Stagecoach avoids penalty with free buses
£190k penalty results from staff shortages and reliability issues West of England traffic commissioner Kevin Rooney has ordered Stagecoach South West to provide free travel in Exeter for two weekends before Christmas at a cost of £120,000 and make provision for staff to assist and maintain information displays at the city’s bus station...
Relief as Hunt commits to transport spending
The worst fears of transport professionals did not materialise this week when chancellor Jeremy Hunt made his cost-cutting Autumn Statement Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will not be “cutting a penny” from the UK’s capital budgets over the next two years There was tangible relief in transport circles this week when chancellor Jeremy Hunt avoided...
Blackpool wins Bus Operator of the Year
Council-owned operator wins coveted prize and Stagecoach tops the medal table as UK Bus Awards returns for first in-person presentation since 2019 Koli Begum, of Go-Ahead London was the gold winner for the Luke Rees-Pulley Award for Top London Bus Driver, sponsored by The Luke Rees-Pulley Charitable Trust and TfL Blackpool Transport is...
Anxiety as DfT asked to find spending cuts
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warns that ‘decisions of eye-watering difficulty’ lie ahead with all government departments required to identify spending cuts Transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said she would fight to retain the £2 fare cap across England from January to March The public transport sector is braced for deep spending cuts after all government...
Scotland braced for bus cuts after funding ends
Emergency support ended on October 9, despite warnings As October 9 approached, transport minister Jenny Gilruth made clear that the government would not provide a further tranche of temporary support Widespread cuts to bus services are predicted after the Scottish Government’s emergency support for the sector to recover from the pandemic came to...
Nine bidders in line for first GM bus franchises
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham announces 50-bus order as bids from nine operators are evaluated ahead of award of first franchises Bee Network will launch on September 17, 2023 Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced an order for 50 new double deck electric buses and revealed the Bee Network brand that will...
Uber gets on board UK public transport
Having transformed taxis, Uber has teamed up with National Rail, National Express and Megabus to ‘take the hassle out of booking travel’ Uber users who make coach or rail bookings on the Uber app will receive 10% of the cost of their booking back as Uber Credits Uber has this month integrated UK...
Taking public transport in a new direction?
Boris Johnson put public transport at the heart of his domestic agenda. Liz Truss and her new transport secretary are being urged to keep up support Anne-Marie Trevelyan, pictured at the wheel of an Alexander Dennis bus at last year’s COP 26 climate summit Anne-Marie Trevelyan was this week appointed as secretary of...
McGill’s buys First Scotland East business
UK’s largest independent bus group expands again McGill’s was already the largest independent bus operator in the UK First Bus has agreed to sell its First Scotland East business and all its routes in the region to McGill’s Group. The sale, which will complete later this month, includes all First Bus depots in...
