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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Oyster-style ticketing ‘essential' for Midlands

Oyster-style ticketing ‘essential’ for Midlands

Could be up and running in some areas as soon as 2022, and implemented region-wide by 2024, if the chancellor provides funding   ‘Swift’ in the West Midlands is the UK’s second biggest public transport payment system after London’s Oyster scheme   MPs have urged the government to invest in a Midlands-wide ‘tap and cap’...
First fleet all set for Bath’s Clean Air Zone

First fleet all set for Bath’s Clean Air Zone

Bus operator all set for March 15 introduction of CAZ   First has used a combination of new buses and retrofit technology to existing vehicles to comply with the Bath scheme   Bath’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) comes into operation on March 15 and local bus operator First West of England is working towards ensuring...
Go North West staff to stage all-out strike

Go North West staff to stage all-out strike

Outdated working practices risk closure of business, company claims   Company has offered drivers an upfront payment of £5,000 to accept new terms   Bus drivers at Manchester-based Go North West have announced they will commence an all-out continuous strike from February 28. The Unite trade union says staff are walking out “as a result...
Brutally clear messaging for public transport

Brutally clear messaging for public transport

  Recent government advice has been ill-advised   The messaging for passenger transport users has been brutally clear   Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK government has managed to undermine everyone who deals with passenger transport. This has taken the form of an instruction – do not use public transport – rather than informed advice....
Transport m-ticketing up 200% says UrbanThings

Transport m-ticketing up 200% says UrbanThings

UrbanThings m-ticketing usage rises 200% as Covid-19 creates a catalyst for smart travel   Smart transport platform provider UrbanThings has published a new white paper discussing the future of public transport and smart cities   Smart transport platform provider UrbanThings has reported a 200% rise in bus mobile ticketing use in Q4 of 2020 compared...
Welsh rail franchise now in public ownership

Welsh rail franchise now in public ownership

The move, which was announced in October 2020, comes in the face of a significant reduction in passenger numbers   A subsidiary of Transport for Wales is now operating the Wales and Borders rail services   The Welsh Government has taken the Wales and Borders rail franchise into public ownership “to protect services, safeguard jobs,...
What will the post-Covid railway look like?

What will the post-Covid railway look like?

John Nelson and Richard Davies consider what the future patterns of rail demand might look like in the mid 2020s – and pose a number of questions about the rail industry’s future     The pandemic has been with us now for just over nine months. Its impact on the country’s economy and social life...
Bus services shouldn’t be a secret

Bus services shouldn’t be a secret

  If bus operators want customers, then they need to provide the right information     This not a new topic but one that remains resolute despite being a basic requirement – the lack of reliable information about bus services. Getting it right is not a technical challenge given the digitisation of data but the...
myTrip helps smaller bus operators with BODS

myTrip helps smaller bus operators with BODS

Passenger’s app for smaller operators can be used to upload SIRI-VM (AVL) feeds or TransXChange data to BODS   Heat map of myTrip operators AVL data   2020 was a challenging year for the bus industry, with constantly changing operational concerns and new open data regulations introduced in England through the Bus Open Data Service...
HS2 workers to use social distancing technology

HS2 workers to use social distancing technology

Technology profiled on BBC’s The One Show to be introduced across EKFB’s area central route   Helmet-mounted devices accurately monitor how close workers are to each other   A technology start-up that joined the HS2 Covid-19 Innovation Challenge last Spring has secured a major deal to supply work site social distancing technology to one of...
Keolis trials autonomous mobility solution

Keolis trials autonomous mobility solution

Group trials autonomous electric vehicles in the city of Gothenburg     Keolis has launched a trial of autonomous electric vehicles in the city of Gothenburg on behalf of local public transport authority Västtrafik. This service, which is integrated into the regional public transport network, will serve industrial and residential sites for a four and...
Go-Ahead is 'most admired' transport group

Go-Ahead is ‘most admired’ transport group

Group tops table of 11 UK transport companies in independent ranking on community and environment     Go-Ahead has been recognised as the ‘most admired’ transport company in the UK in terms of community and environmental responsibility according to an influential report. Britain’s Most Admired Companies (BMAC) studies corporate reputation as judged by competitors and...