What’s inside the latest edition of Passenger Transport: LEAD STORY £3bn multi-year spend boosts England’s buses Local authorities are being offered the freedom and the certainty they need to respond to local needs, with CPT declaring: ‘The time for buses is now’ NEWS Bus patronage recovery led...
The UK Bus Awards 2025 presentation ceremony took place in London in November, and you can read all about the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in this official Souvenir Brochure. Click on the image below to view The Big Book of Big Winners 2025. If you are viewing the...
Local authorities are being offered the freedom and the certainty they need to respond to local needs, with CPT declaring: ‘The time for buses is now’ Heidi Alexander: ‘After years of decline, better buses are finally on the way’ The government has announced a £3bn boost for bus...
Leon Daniels has produced his ‘Lunch with Leon’ podcast, in association with Passenger Transport, since 2020 – but this time he faced the questions Leon Daniels Since he launched his popular Lunch with Leon podcast five years ago, transport expert Leon Daniels has interviewed more than 100 guests....
It’s not easy being a salesperson. The pressure to deliver and the constant rejection requires resilience. Here’s my survival guide Spare a thought for a few commercial folk in transport right now, as Christmas beckons and with it the bearer of good or bad tidings. At the time...
After weeks of leaks, the chancellor revealed her budget last month. There was good news for transport, but questions remain Chancellor Rachel Reeves on budget day last month (picture: Simon Dawson / No10 Downing Street) You can sometimes come across situations which, if written into a situation...
The government has started to deliver the tools we have asked for: meaningful devolved control and long-term funding certainty Liverpool City Region has a multi-modal vision For years, the transport sector has presented its wish list to successive governments with the perennial optimism of a true believer. At...
After years of uncertainty, the bus sector is regaining momentum. Visionary leaders and diverse teams are needed to take it forward Stagecoach CEO Claire Miles brings a broad commercial perspective Across the UK, buses are making a remarkable comeback. Once dismissed as the “poor relative” of public transport,...
In his campaign to become mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani promised free buses. Can – and should – it be done? Zohran Mamdani’s offer to New Yorkers A new day has dawned in New York City. So says Zohran Mamdani, the newly minted mayor-elect who...
Yes, Portsmouth received a big sum of money – but its industry-leading success stems from its collaborative, one-team approach Winners at the UK Bus Awards BY Paul Walker, Portsmouth City Council In a recent LinkedIn comment about an article highlighting the success of the Portsmouth Buses programme, someone remarked,...
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 this week by freezing rail...
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 contraction in a market the...
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 named the winner of the...
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 grafting hard on behalf of...
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 Transport has closely monitored rail...
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 think about the North’s future...
Centre for Cities report says improved transport integration in six English cities can offer easy access to city centres to an additional 1.2 million people Increasing public transport use would boost national economic output by an estimated £17.4bn per year Delivering more integrated transport networks in six of England’s big cities will give...
The Generation 2 Electroliner offers dramatic improvements to range, charging speed, battery life, systems and warranty Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales with the new Electroliner StreetDeck By Robert Jack “We have regained our crown,” Jean-Marc Gales declared at a briefing of the trade press in Ballymena this week. The Wrightbus CEO was speaking at...
Great British Railways is emerging – but details are still in short supply. Despite some of my misgivings, I’m cautiously optimistic Last week’s heinous stabbing incident on the LNER train from Doncaster to London and the derailment at Shap on the Avanti service two days later showcased, in adversity, the very best of...
Bus networks across the country will transition to public control over the coming years. What’s the best way to make that journey? Greater Manchester’s Bee Network has proved the doubters wrong on every point It was tough getting the powers to franchise. Well worth the struggle though. The success of public control...
Data guides franchising decisions, but local knowledge brings them to life, says CitySwift CEO and co-founder Brian O’Rourke Greater Manchester was the first area in the UK to introduce bus franchising Across the UK, the conversation around bus franchising has shifted from if to when. Greater Manchester has led the way, with other...
Change is coming. We are asking bus operators to help us build a network that sets a new standard for public transport in the UK, says Matt Goggins Currently private bus operators determine routes, frequencies and fares, often with limited coordination and minimal public accountability In March this year the mayor of South...
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