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...
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...
