Stagecoach has been selected to operate the franchised bus network based in St Helens while Go-Ahead will operates services in Wirral Mayor Steve Rotheram: buses aren’t a ‘nice to have’ – they’re a lifeline Stagecoach and Go-Ahead Group have been selected as the first operators to run the...
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)....
Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the DfT I know we are entering the festive season, which is meant to be a time of good cheer, but I fear I have to end the year on a cautionary, if not...
Two groups agree all-share merger, creating worldwide transport group worth £1.9bn Deal creates worldwide group with 40,000 vehicles and 70,000 employees The Boards of National Express Group and Stagecoach have announced they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share combination of the two groups. The two groups have been in...
The government’s spending review offered £2.1bn to improve bus services in England but Bus Service Improvement Plans have requested £7.2bn Graham Vidlier: “Current funding is likely to be able to transform bus services in only a small number of places” The funds made available by the government to transform bus services fall drastically...
Welsh deputy minister for climate change seeks ‘alternative axis’ Lee Waters, deputy minister for climate change in Wales Transport policy in England is increasingly at odds with the other nations of the UK, and even with its own regions, according to Lee Waters, deputy minister for climate change in Wales. Waters explained his...
Lee Waters, the deputy minister for climate change in Wales, is supporting bold changes rather than ‘responsible’ inertia Lee Waters became deputy minister for climate change in Wales last May Small countries can do big things on transport – look at the public transport paradise of Switzerland. And when Rhodri Morgan was...
It’s vital that those of us who work in public transport don’t think that what occurred in cricket isn’t happening in our own backyard Yorkshire County Cricket Club is facing the biggest crisis in its history now that the allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq have reached the public domain. Officialdom...
Partners embark on an AI-driven bus strategy to optimise public transport services in Wales using data and machine learning. Left to right: Marina Donohoe, Director UK and Northern Europe at Enterprise Ireland, Transport for Wales CEO James Price, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and CitySwift COO Alan Farrelly ...
In a move branded ‘inconsistent with the government’s devolution agenda’, Transport for the North will no longer be paid to develop East-West links Ministers have removed funding and powers from Transport for the North after it dismissed the government’s Integrated Rail Plan for the North and the Midlands as “woefully inadequate”. TfN was...
Following a series of strikes, the Welsh Government says bus franchising will safeguard workers’ pay and conditions. Rhodri Clark reports Ebbw Vale’s deserted bus station during this month’s strike by some Stagecoach employees The Welsh Government says that future bus franchises will safeguard workers’ conditions and ensure staff are well paid. Legislation to...
With our industry transitioning back to a more centralised set-up, George Muir’s book on Sir Robert Reid is essential reading Sir Robert Reid ‘There’s just not the characters left in the game anymore’ is a phrase oft-used to describe a less interesting sporting landscape and it’s a comment that could be levied...
Unveiled last week, ‘the biggest ever public investment in Britain’s rail network’ was almost universally slated. So what went wrong? Boris Johnson toured the North of England to coincide with the announcement of the Integrated Rail Plan The most striking element of last week’s Integrated Rail Plan was the reception it received....
Sustainable Transport Alliance uses COP26 to warn that solely focusing on electric vehicles would ignore their social and environmental drawbacks Transport secretary Grant Shapps posed with an electric car at COP26 The UK’s leading sustainable transport NGOs this week appealed to world leaders to recognise that technology alone cannot reduce transport emissions. Instead,...
Waters isn’t willing to go with the flow