3. Chamberlink May 51-72.qxp_Chamberlink 29/04/2021 09:45 Page 54
Sector Focus
Business Travel
Business bouncing back
Sector Focus The latest news from the sectors that matter to business
National Express buses keep Brum on the move
Getting back to work: There are now more buses on the roads of the West Midlands
The region’s biggest transport company, National Express West Midlands, has been running buses safely all through the past year, but as Birmingham starts to come out of lockdown, the operator is doing everything it can to encourage people out of their cars and onto public transport. As part of its efforts, the company has increased the number of buses in service across the region, alongside other initiatives, according to commercial director Chris Gibbens. He said: “National Express is ready when our customers want to join us back on the bus - or if people’s circumstances have changed and they’re trying out the bus for the first time. “As of 18 April 2021, we’re increasing the number of buses we’re running - in fact, we’re putting more buses out in service than we usually would to make sure everyone can travel while safely social distancing. “We’re still carrying out our enhanced cleaning regime that focuses on touchpoints, and cleaners will be jumping on board at town centres and bus stations to 54 CHAMBERLINK May 2021
give buses an extra wipe down mid-service. “And our cleaners ‘fog’ every bus every night with aerosol disinfection that contains a highperformance antiviral solution.” National Express has worked with a Dublin technology start-up company to create a handy little online tool to show the times of day when buses are at their quietest - for people who can choose when to travel.
‘To make bus travel even greener, National Express is investing millions in zeroemission vehicles’ The big question in the world of work is whether people will go back to the office. According to a Transport for West Midlands survey, a fifth of people don’t know whether they would continue to work from home over the next three months, go back into their workplace, or do a mixture of both. National Express West Midlands has created new flexible bus tickets for people who aren’t going into
their workplace five days a week at the moment. And the bus company has worked out that for many people, it makes no financial sense to run a car any more - even ‘Top Gear’s’ reasonably priced one. The famous red Vauxhall Astra 1.6 - raced around the track by celebrities on the popular BBC show - costs £3,083 a year to run. That’s £257 a month. Yet even For people working three days a week, the new National Express Flexifare provides 13 days’ travel a month for £45. That’s a saving of over £2,500 a year compared to your reasonably priced car. Daljit Kalirai, sales director at National Express Bus, said: “National Express works with hundreds of companies in the West Midlands - including many Chamber members and patrons - to provide discounted bus travel via a bespoke online page which pushes tickets directly onto qualifying employees’ mobile phones. Our new flexible fares are included in this deal. “For employers, making a travel plan and encouraging your staff to get the bus in to work is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to hit your company CSR goals.
“And with Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone coming in June this year - and the city’s target for becoming carbon net zero set as 2030 - now is the time to make that commitment.” To make bus travel even greener, National Express is investing millions in zero-emission vehicles. Mr Gibbens added: “In February 2020, National Express pledged never to buy another diesel bus. We also promised that our entire 1,600strong fleet of buses will be zeroemission by 2030. We already run 19 fully electric double deckers every day between Birmingham and Solihull via Hall Green, and we’re very excited to be operating Birmingham City Council’s 20 hydrogen buses when they arrive later this year. We are also working closely with Transport for West Midlands to bid for Department for Transport funding for hundreds more hydrogen buses and the refuelling infrastructure that goes with them. “We are extremely keen to get these out in service in time for the Commonwealth Games next year and are doing everything we can to make that happen. What a way to welcome the world to Birmingham in 2022.”
