LCR selects Stagecoach and Go-Ahead

LCR selects Stagecoach and Go-Ahead

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...
Public transport’s ‘global family gathering’

Public transport’s ‘global family gathering’

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...
Out now: The latest issue of Passenger Transport

Out now: The latest issue of Passenger Transport

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...
NPR rail improvements  ‘will actually happen’

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   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...
100 more bus routes in Wales and £2 fare cap?

100 more bus routes in Wales and £2 fare cap?

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...
Let’s get on and fix rail replacement

Let’s get on and fix rail replacement

  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...
Putting customers front and centre

Putting customers front and centre

  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)....
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From Point A to B, with a bit of poetry

From Point A to B, with a bit of poetry

  Transport authorities fought hard to bring trams back to our cities. How can we insulate light rail against Whitehall’s mood swings?   The caff sits in the centre of the turning circle outside the station. A tram moves forward to pick up passengers heading into Lviv’s centre   Leeds 1953 Leeds was one of...
£226m to aid recovery of England’s buses

£226m to aid recovery of England’s buses

‘Final’ tranche of emergency funding for bus operators in England will offer greater flexibility to adapt services to meet changing travel patterns   Baroness Vere: ‘Buses are the lifeblood of our communities’   England’s bus operators will receive £226.5m of government funding to support their recovery as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, transport minister Baroness Vere...
What my transport journey taught me

What my transport journey taught me

  After nine enjoyable and rewarding years in the transport industry, I’m moving on. But before I go, I want to offer some observations   We must persuade more people to leave their cars at home   As I prepare to bid farewell to The Go-Ahead Group, this month marks the end of a stint...
Flexible season tickets ‘a missed opportunity’

Flexible season tickets ‘a missed opportunity’

Commuters in England will be able to purchase paperless tickets that offer travel on any eight days within a 28-day period – but some are disappointed   Transport secretary Grant Shapps: “They give us greater freedom and choice about how we travel, simpler ticketing and a fairer fare.”   New flexible rail season tickets, reflecting...
‘Boris in Wonderland’ plan will ‘end in tears’

‘Boris in Wonderland’ plan will ‘end in tears’

Bus entrepreneur Julian Peddle offered his own bleak and controversial assessment of the National Bus Strategy for England at a meeting last week   Prime minister Boris Johnson at the launch of Bus Back Better in March   The National Bus Strategy for England is flawed and “will all end in tears”, bus entrepreneur Julian...
Root and branch? This is twig and leaf

Root and branch? This is twig and leaf

  This week’s announcement on flexi-tickets for rail travel falls short of what is required. We must continue to press for reform   The key test is whether what has been put in place will encourage more people back onto the train   We’ve all been waiting on the platform for ages – years in...
NX and CitySwift start three-year partnership

NX and CitySwift start three-year partnership

Andy Foster explains how CitySwift’s products suite will help National Express West Midlands optimise its network through the Covid recovery   NXWM first tested CitySwift’s platform back in November 2019   National Express West Midlands and data specialist CitySwift have announced a three-year technology partnership to optimise bus routes. Covid recovery presents a daunting and...
Beginning the Bus Revolution

Beginning the Bus Revolution

Welcome to Beginning the Bus Revolution: Building on the National Bus Strategy for England.     “I love buses, and I have never quite understood why so few governments before mine have felt the same way,” wrote prime minister Boris Johnson in the foreword to the government’s National Bus Strategy for England, Bus Back Better....
Leisure drives public transport bounce-back

Leisure drives public transport bounce-back

With many Covid restrictions still in place, there are encouraging signs of bus and rail patronage recovering – especially among leisure travellers   Scarborough’s Beachcomber buses   Recent statistics confirm that leisure travel is driving a post-pandemic resurgence on public transport, with the last Sunday in May seeing buses outside London carry 80% of the...
‘Time is running out’ - Vere urges action

‘Time is running out’ – Vere urges action

Transport minister Baroness Vere offered new insights into her thinking on buses at an online meeting of the Young Bus Managers Network last week   Baroness Vere   With a few notable exceptions we’ve seen some pretty unenthusiastic buses ministers over the years. Baroness Vere is not one of them. It has now been more...
I tried to stop a rail privatisation

I tried to stop a rail privatisation

  Our high profile campaign failed to prevent rail privatisation. In the end it collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions   I was the coordinator of the ‘Save our Railways’ campaign   Since the Williams-Shapps rail plan was published it seems like everybody has been telling their story of rail privatisation. So I’m...
Will we really let GBR ‘get on with it’?

Will we really let GBR ‘get on with it’?

  Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the DfT     When I listened to the Transport Select Committee take evidence on our Rail White Paper the other week, I was hoping to hear some information on how, exactly, the reforms proposed...