Dubai will host the UITP Summit on April 21-23. We spoke to UITP’s secretary general, Mohamed Mezghani, about the event and what visitors can look forward to Mohamed Mezghani: “For me, the Summit is about people” Mohamed, the UITP Summit is heading to Dubai in April, less than...
What’s inside the latest edition of Passenger Transport: LEAD STORY NPR rail improvements ‘will actually happen’ More than a decade after the Northern Powerhouse Rail project was first proposed, the government has unveiled a three-phase plan for its delivery NEWS Cornwall probes bus regulation options Market engagement...
More than a decade after the Northern Powerhouse Rail project was first proposed, the government has unveiled a three-phase plan for its delivery The plans would see Manchester Piccadilly expanded A three-phase plan for the long-promised Northern Powerhouse Rail project was unveiled by the government this week. The...
Labour has pledged an enhanced bus offer for Wales if it wins this May’s Senedd election, but will this be matched funding? Rhodri Clark reports Welsh bus fares for adults aged 22 to 59 would be capped at £2 Labour has pledged 100 more bus routes in Wales...
A new report by CMAC has shed light on an often overlooked but frequent aspect of the railway’s customer service proposition 2026 has already brought two major shocks. FA Cup holders, my beloved, Crystal Palace, being knocked out of this year’s tournament by non-league Macclesfield, 117 places below...
Those taking decisions should always put themselves in the shoes of the passenger and ask whether what they will think reasonable Average bus speeds in central London are now down to 7.4mph (picture: Shutterstock) It was interesting to see the latest figures for bus passenger numbers (PT351)....
The Scottish Government’s draft budget includes a new Bus Infrastructure Fund, but the value of this fund is unquantified The launch of the £500m Bus Partnership Fund in 2019. Only £26.9m was spent BY Rhodri Clark The Scottish Government’s draft budget for 2025/26 restores capital funding for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and heralds...
Louise Haigh targeted ‘hobbyists who really, really love trains’ when our main problem is politicians who are addicted to bluster Louise Haigh’s ‘can do’ mentality felt like the dose the rail industry needed to emancipate it from its seemingly interminable stupor Well, the moral of the story of the past fortnight is...
As the end of the year approaches, let’s celebrate and champion the progress being made in some key policy areas of transport Louise Haigh was photographed with seven English metro mayors at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in September On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…...
NSAR’s 2024 Workforce Survey reveals the urgency of addressing the skills shortage in UK rail – and the sector’s image problem Women now represent 17.4% of the UK rail workforce UK rail plays a central role in holding the country’s social fabric together. Not only is it of critical importance economically –...
Buses are the answer to so many challenges but they are often overlooked. How can we change that? LadBible is amenable to bus stories and recently covered Stagecoach’s autonomous bus trial BY Andrew Clark An ultra-modern convention centre in Brussels. Eurocrats in button-down shirts nibble croissants and drink espresso. The topic for discussion...
Transport secretary launches new strategy aimed at joining up England’s transport networks and invites others to contribute to her vision Haigh cited Greater Manchester’s Bee Network as a domestic integrated transport leader On the day before she resigned as transport secretary, Louise Haigh set out her vision for joined-up transport networks led by...
New statistics reveal strong passenger growth, but there is some way to go before the bus industry surpasses patronage recorded before the pandemic BY Andrew Garnett New statistics from the Department for Transport reveal that the number of local bus passenger journeys in Great Britain reached 4.04 billion in the year ending March 2024,...
Council-owned operator won coveted prize at ceremony in London this week, but Stagecoach topped the ‘medal table’ with 12 winners in total Winners on stage at the 2024 UK Bus Awards Nottingham City Transport was named UK Bus Operator at this week’s UK Bus Awards in London. The council-owned company was also named...
Renationalisation of the TOCs is at the heart of the government’s strategy for rail – but what about the far more lucrative ROSCOs? One mystery of the new Labour government’s rail policy is why it seems so uninterested in rolling stock issues. Public control has been the driving force of their approach. They...
Having made a success of franchising in Jersey, Samuel Ribeiro and his Tower Transit colleagues are seeking further opportunities LibertyBus – a franchising success story When I look back on my 2024 by some distance the highlight was my first ever trip to the Channel Islands, which I made in June to...
A fixation on whether public services should be privatised or nationalised misses the larger, more impactful considerations It has happened! The failed delivery model whereby a public sector authority specifies the services it wants and then contracts private firms to deliver them is over! Hooray for rail renationalisation. Unless, of course, you’re a...
John Prescott, who died last week, took transport policy in a revolutionary direction during New Labour’s first term in office John Prescott pictured at the wheel of a bus outside the first Bus Summit in November 1999 (PA Images / Alamy Stock) When the editor of this publication asked me to write...
Let’s put railways before rhetoric