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)....
Latest entries
What's in a name?

What’s in a name?

  Avoiding ambiguities in common transport parlance   George Shillibeer provided the first omnibus service in London in 1829   We still create confusion about some of the key means of transport simply because of the nomenclature we use. Everyday descriptions such as ‘bus’ conjure up different images to different people, some of which may...
Governments working on Eurostar deal

Governments working on Eurostar deal

French transport minister makes commitment to struggling operator   Eurostar patronage has slumped by 95%   Reports suggest that the French and UK governments will step in to provide financial support to troubled cross-Channel rail operator Eurostar. Eurostar has seen passenger numbers slump by 95% since the start of the pandemic and it now operates...
Reading Buses suspends services

Reading Buses suspends services

Changes reflect national lockdown   Green Line 702 services into central London will be suspended   Council-owned Reading Buses has announced the suspension of a small number of their services over the next couple of weeks. The operator says that with the current lockdown it makes sense to make the changes due to significantly fewer...
New faces join Trentbarton

New faces join Trentbarton

Key appointments in commercial operations and marketing and communications   Matt Holton and Ross Hitchcock have joined Trentbarton   Two key managers have joined bus operator Trentbarton to lead the bus company’s commercial operations and its marketing and communications. Ross Hitchcock has joined as commercial manager and Matt Holton is the marketing and communications manager....
First completes air quality retrofits

First completes air quality retrofits

Retrofit programme has made 1,000 buses cleaner   Driver Grahame Stott left, with engineering manager Kevin Farricker at the Oldham depot, where 33 buses have undergone the retrofit procedure   First Bus has announced that it has reached a significant milestone in its air quality retrofit programme, completing the refit of 1,000 buses across its...
Scotland moves ahead with free travel plan

Scotland moves ahead with free travel plan

Draft legislation will facilitate free bus travel for young people   Matheson: ‘Not only is this good news for young people, it’s good news for bus operators’   The Scottish Government is making preparations to extend free bus travel to all young people under the age of 19 who reside in Scotland. Once the scheme...
Oxford Bus Company reveals lost and found list

Oxford Bus Company reveals lost and found list

Firm reveal thousands of items lost by bus passengers   Did you leave a novelty animal head on the bus?   The Oxford Bus Company has revealed the unusual items which were left on services by passengers last year. Among the items left on buses and coaches in 2020 were a pair of Bermuda shorts,...
TfL action on face coverings

TfL action on face coverings

Hard line taken against minority flouting face covering regulations   Around 1,700 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued to those who have travelled on the network without a face covering and who are not exempt   Transport for London has stepped up its enforcement of face coverings seven months after the measure became mandatory on...
First Bus names new West of England MD

First Bus names new West of England MD

Former Addison Lee director to succeed James Freeman   Doug Claringbold   First West of England has announced that Doug Claringbold will succeed James Freeman as managing director of the company when Freeman retires on March 31. Claringbold bas a background in the ground transport sector and was latterly global services director at London-based PHV...
Former colleagues remember Brian Cox

Former colleagues remember Brian Cox

Former Stagecoach director was ‘one of the good guys’   With over 30 years’ public transport experience before his retirement in 2002, Cox was one of the few people to have worked in both buses and trains under nationalised and privatised regimes.   Former colleagues of Brian Cox have paid tribute to the former Stagecoach...
Passenger Transport: We will be back soon

Passenger Transport: We will be back soon

  WE WILL BE BACK SOON We regret to announce that Passenger Transport will suspend print publication for the next three issues. We were scheduled to return from our festive break on January 22. However, having reflected upon the reintroduction of lockdown restrictions, we have decided to postpone this by six weeks. We will now...
We must not repeat the SRA’s mistakes

We must not repeat the SRA’s mistakes

  It makes sense having a strategic body overseeing the rail industry. The concept should have worked last time, but it didn’t. Why?   Established in 1999, the SRA was placed on a formal legal basis in 2001. It was abolished in 2006   In early December, it will be the 20-year anniversary of the...