What’s inside the latest edition of Passenger Transport: LEAD STORY 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 NEWS EXTRA First Bus to quit...
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...
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...
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...
Over more than two decades with Stagecoach and then Go-Ahead, Rupert Cox has been obsessed with understanding local markets In an era of transport showboating fancy-dans, dressing themselves up in their own over-inflated, celebrity-style, personal brands, those who get on with the job, low-key style, sticking around and...
The government has published its Railway Bill – what’s proposed, and what needs to be addressed? Paul Cooper reports CILT (UK)supports the creation of GBR and the goal of a more integrated network that brings track and train operations under unified leadership The Chartered Institute of Logistics and...
The North must go further and faster on rail connectivity. Expanding open access can unlock the region’s full potential, says Lumo and Hull Trains managing director Stuart Jones When Hull Trains launched in 2000, there was just one direct train a day between Hull and London When I...
Train operators transferring into public ownership have haughtily been told ‘earn the right’ to carry a brand hasn’t delivered anything “Operators must meet rigorous, bespoke standards to earn the right to be called Great British Railways, so we can rebuild a world-class public service”. What? You’re having a laugh, surely? Yes, in the...
Welcome to Scotland’s Buses 2025. This special publication from Passenger Transport places the spotlight on Scotland’s bus and coach industry and its partners, celebrates their achievements and considers the challenges they face. Published in association with CPT for an eighth time, this year’s edition incorporates the official Conference Workbook for the 47th annual CPT 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 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...
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...
We might not have all the pieces, but we have enough to make a very good start. Let’s begin transforming the UK rail industry On 15th September 1830, a journey between two neighbouring cities took place and changed the world. The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, though marred by the tragic...
The Hatfield disaster – which took place 25 years ago – is a telling history lesson, particularly during this period of structural change It’s not difficult to think that the rail industry is caught in a ‘rinse and repeat’ cycle, like the children’s TV show The Magic Roundabout, particularly as it lurches through...
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...
Women in Bus and Coach holds third summit in Birmingham First bus driver Michele Elliot won the Best Woman in Bus Award Women in Bus and Coach held its third annual summit at lead sponsor BT’s state of the art event facility in Snowhill Birmingham this week, bringing together industry leaders, stakeholders, frontline operators...
Incidents of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) occur every day on public transport. What are we doing to prevent it? Kayleigh Ingham BY Kayleigh Ingham, First Bus Buses and trains are lifelines that connect people to work, education, healthcare, and their loved ones. But for too many women and girls, their journeys...
An apathetic population is no longer making trips that were once routine. What does this mean for public transport operators? Another week of travelling around the UK has made me realise just how market forces are conspiring against whole swathes of our landscape at the moment. I don’t know why I am surprised...
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...
Earning the right to become GBR?