Passenger Transport: January 26, 2024

FO EV RT ER NI Y GH T

ISSUE 305 26 JANUARY 2024

NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS FOR A SECTOR ON THE MOVE

Labour - ‘No more tinkering on the edges’

With a general election drawing closer, shadow transport minister Simon Lightwood addressed bus and coach operators in London last week An incoming Labour government would use simplified and extended franchising powers to grow public transport, and provide the sector with greater certainty. That was the message from shadow local transport minister Simon Lightwood at last week’s CPT Conference in London.

Lightwood told delegates: “No more tinkering around the edges ... Labour’s bold industrial strategy, together with our ambitious plan for communities to take back control of their transport system will allow the sector and the economy to thrive.”

Simon Lightwood at last week’s CPT Conference

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Go-Ahead to run Stockholm Metro Connecting Stockholm joint venture with ComfortDelGro wins 11-year contract Connecting Stockholm, a joint venture between The Go-Ahead Group and ComfortDelGro, has been awarded a contract to operate and maintain the Stockholm Metro network, known as the Tunnelbana.

Awarded by the Traffic Committee in Region Stockholm, the contract will be for a term of 11 years starting from May 2025. Connecting Stockholm will operate and maintain metro services across three lines comprising 100 stations, six depots

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and 106km of track.

Connecting Stockholm is 55% owned by UK-based Go-Ahead and 45% owned by Singapore-based ComfortDelGro, bringing together the two companies’ complementary

“It underlines our ambition to expand in rail operation” Patrick Verwer

strengths in rail, urban transport and infrastructure.

Under the terms of the contract, Connecting Stockholm will be responsible for customer service, the planning and delivery of rail services, fleet and stations maintenance, as well as depot facilities.

Commenting on the award, Go-Ahead rail CEO Patrick Verwer, said: “This is an exciting contract, and it underlines our ambition to expand in rail operation.”

NEWS

LNER backs off minimum service rules

07

Operator declines to use new legislation

NEWS

£500m Bus Partnership Fund paused

13

CPT Scotland seeks assurances

NET ZERO

All-electric fleet launches in Oxford

15

£82.5m project will deliver 159 new buses

COMMENT

Municipal and entrepreneurial

18

Jonathan Bray takes a look at Lothian

COMMENT

Why walking is a public transport ally

20

Alex Warner meets Go Jauntly’s founder

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CONTENTS

PASSENGER TRANSPORT PO Box 5496, Westbury BA13 9BX 020 3950 8000 editorial@passengertransport.co.uk

Labour must offer buses more than just franchising Thousands of bus services have been lost over the past decade but without the hard work of bus operators and local authorities it could have been much worse. The situation in parts of the country is so perilous that perhaps you need a bit of dark Robert Jack humour to keep going. Faced with spiralling costs, Managing Editor uncertain funding, slower traffic speeds and the challenge of decarbonisation, at least one bus operator jokes with their local authority that they want to throw in the towel for the relative security of a franchise. The response is always, “No thanks!”

Unless the political winds change direction soon, it looks likely that Labour will form the next government and shadow local transport minister Simon Lightwood outlined his party’s approach to buses at last week’s CPT Conference. Front and centre is the simplification and extension of bus franchising powers. This has some bus operators banging their heads against the wall, especially those SMEs who fear that decades of hard work and investment could be struck off by a pen on a franchise agreement. The large groups now take a neutral stance on franchising - but all are agreed that it’s not a silver bullet.

For example, greater clarity and consistency is required on future funding for the bus sector. While recognising that money is in short supply, a core budget, even a modest one, is essential. Without it buses will continue to struggle - with or without a change of control.

Buses require a much broader policy agenda than just franchising.

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IN THIS ISSUE 11

‘WHOEVER WINS, PLEASE GIVE US CLARITY’

17

TRANSDEV TO LAUNCH ALL-NEW APP AND WEBSITE

With a general election expected some time this year, Jason Prince, director of the Urban Transport Group, hopes that the next government will offer greater certainty to those who plan and provide public transport services.

ORGANISATION

PAGE

Alexander Dennis 8 Arriva 8, 12 ASLEF 7 Bath Bus Company 8 Cardiff Council 13 ComfortDelGro 1 CPT 1, 11, 13 CT4N 8 Go-Ahead Group 1, 9 Go North East 5 Greenline 8 GWR 7 Hampshire County Council 5 Hitachi Rail 7 HS2 6 KeolisAmey 10 Liverpool City Region CA 10 LNER 7 London Transit 9 London Sovereign 9 Lumo 6 McGill’s Bus Group 13 Metroline 9 Metrolink 10 Newbury & District 9 Nottingham City Council 8 RMT 7 Rotala 10 Thames Travel 9 Transdev Blazefield 17 Transport for Greater Manchester 10 Transport for London 6, 9, 11 Transport for West Midlands 4 Transport North East 5 TUC 7 Tyne and Wear Metro 5 Urban Transport Group 11 West Midlands Combined Authority 4

North of England bus operator Transdev has revealed plans for an allnew customer app and retail website to make bus travel simpler and easier.

Transdev has signed up Bexley-based Rise Digital Media to develop and maintain the channels.

22

ARE BUSES DEPENDENT ON THE GOVERNMENT?

25

HISTORY MAY BE REPEATING ITSELF

With a variety of funding streams from government now supporting the bus industry’s day-to-day operations, could the sector be on the verge of losing its independence? “There is a strong parallel here with the railways,” says Nick Richardson.

Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the Department for Transport.

“The problem for Labour is that its plans are, in all practical senses, the same as the Conservative Party’s.”

REGULARS NEWS NET ZERO INNOVATION & TECH COMMENT GRUMBLES CAREERS DIVERSIONS

04 15 17 18 25 26 28

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NEWS ROUND-UP

West Midlands probes bus ‘municipalisation’ West Midlands Combined Authority examines options to acquire local bus operators alongside its on-going assessment of bus franchising REGULATION

The West Midlands Combined Authority is examining options for the delivery of bus services that could see it potentially opt for bus franchising or the more radical option of actually acquiring local bus operators.

In an update to members last month, Steve Hayes, head of network transformation at Transport for West Midlands outlined progress on ongoing work to consider future options for delivering bus services in the region. These options include an assessment of the existing Enhanced Partnership scheme with local operators, undertaking a full franchising assessment, and considerations relating to public ownership and operation of buses.

In early 2022 the combined authority had concluded that franchising would allow greater control and certainty over the delivery of the authority’s Vision for Bus - a strategy which established long-term objectives for better bus services in the West Midlands.

The assessment of delivery options concluded that greater regulatory control would enable better value for money and greater transparency over expenditure.

It also recognised the risks associated with franchising, but weighed these up against the not unsubstantial risks and significant commitments necessary for delivery through a negotiated partnership with operators in the 04 | 26 January 2024 PT305p04-05.indd 4

Could West Midlands operators end up in public ownership?

existing deregulated environment.

The combined authority then pressed ahead with a full franchising assessment which also considered how the Vision for Bus objectives could be met through other delivery approaches. These are municipalisation and an enhanced partnership.

Hayes explained to members that the Bus Services Act prevents local authorities from establishing new municipal bus operations, but there are other options open to the combined authority to achieve public ownership and operation.

“It could be possible for the

“It could be possible for the authority to acquire an existing bus company”

authority to acquire an existing bus company and operate it as an arms-length business, however under the existing regulatory framework such a company would be competing ‘on the road’ with the private sector.”

He added that if the combined authority subsequently decided to press ahead with bus franchising, it could not automatically award contracts to the municipal company without undergoing a thorough competitive process through which the private sector could also bid successfully for bus franchising contracts.

Hayes continued: “As part of an options assessment, the authority can give consideration to whether the presence of a municipally owned bus company might help delivery of the region’s objectives in relation to bus, both in a deregulated or franchised regime.”

Despite the options of franchising and municipalisation,

Hayes noted that TfWM and its predecessor Centro, have a long history of partnership working to deliver positive outcomes for passengers. Enhanced Partnerships were designed by government to try and embed the West Midlands methodology of productive working between authorities and bus operators within a legal framework.

“This continues to be the region’s chosen approach to delivering bus services, with the latest iteration of the region’s Enhanced Partnership scheme adopted in 2023,” he added.

Hayes said work on the franchising assessment is ongoing and it is intended that the combined authority board will consider the franchising assessment in July 2024 for a decision on whether to proceed with an external audit of the assessment alongside public consultation.

“Should a decision be taken to proceed with franchising it is likely that the process to complete the groundwork, develop service specifications, undertake procurement and mobilise contracts will take up to three years,” said Hayes.

“With commercial bus revenues impacted as a result of lifestyle changes following Covid, coupled with the resulting inflationary pressure impacting industry costs, TfWM continues to work closely with operators, utilising both local and central government funding resources, to secure a largely stable network until January 2025.

“However, there remains significant uncertainty around how challenges may be addressed beyond that date, but any interventions will be considered with an eye to how they might support the long-term objectives for improved bus delivery, serving the region’s citizens.” www.passengertransport.co.uk

24/01/2024 15:46

Hughes reveals toll of Go North East strike Dramatic fall in bus patronage reverses post-Covid gains PATRONAGE

The impact of the prolonged bus driver strike at Go North East last autumn has been laid bare in new figures from Transport North East, the North East Joint Transport Committee’s transport delivery organisation.

Staff at the Gateshead-based bus operator walked out on October 28 in an all-out continuous strike that was only resolved several weeks later.

Drivers returned to work on December 2 after accepting a new pay deal from management.

Now the toll on local bus patronage has been revealed in a report to the joint committee’s members by Tobyn Hughes, managing director of Transport North East about recent public transport patronage trends in the region.

GNE SEEKS UP TO 200 NEW DRIVERS Recruitment campaign aims to attract elite staff RECRUITMENT

Gateshead-based bus operator Go North East has expanded a recruitment campaign in a bid to hire up to 200 drivers through its newly created Elite Bus Driver Academy.

The ‘Be an Elite Driver’ campaign uses fighter pilot-style uniforms and imagery. “This is a ground-breaking recruitment campaign to match the huge scale of change that we’ll be helping to deliver,” said Go North East MD Nigel Featham. www.passengertransport.co.uk

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“During the strike, bus patronage was at 63% of the same time during 2022,” he revealed.

“This is a shortfall in boardings of approximately 5,630,000 throughout the course of the strikes when compared with the same time period in 2022.”

Hughes went on to reveal that despite a growing number of performance issues on the Tyne and Wear Metro light rail network as a result of the system’s increasingly antiquated rolling stock, passenger numbers there were estimated to be 92% of those recorded in 2022.

“Bus passenger numbers may be affected by industrial action,”

“During the strike, bus patronage was at 63% of the same time during 2022” Tobyn Hughes

he added. “Overall, through November 2023 traffic levels across Tyne and Wear were around 1% higher than November 2022 levels. The number of cyclists passing a sensor at Wearmouth Bridge is around 35% up year to date compared to 2022.”

Meanwhile, Hughes said that recent analysis of Department for Transport bus statistics has shown that the North East (including the Tees Valley) has seen a loss of 39 million bus miles over the past 18 years. He said this represented a 37% cut to the overall local bus network.

When broken down further and excluding the Tees Valley, the figures show a 31% reduction since 2010 and a 12% reduction in the 12 months leading up to March 2023.

“Furthermore, the statistics do not include the significant impact that Go North East industrial action had on the region’s bus services at the tail end of 2023,” warned Hughes.

HAMPSHIRE PLOTS BUS CUTS

Council places subsidised services under scrutiny BUS CUTS

Hampshire County Council has launched a wide-ranging public consultation on plans to make significant spending cuts in a bid to tackle a £132m budget shortfall by April 2025.

The implications for bus services within the Future Services Consultation document is stark Hampshire plans to scrap funding for the 58 local bus services that it subsidises. “We currently spend around £800,000 from our budget each year to support these bus routes,” said the council. “We also receive a £1.1m grant from central government which we use to further subsidise the bus network.”

A further 35 local services receive funding from other sources, such as housing developers, other local authorities and the school transport budget. The council added: “Combined, these 93 services provide around 9% of bus journeys in Hampshire. The other 91% of journeys are made on commercial services, which do not receive funding via the county council.”

The council said it recognises the risks associated with ending funding for the 58 subsidised routes. It admitted it “could lead to a number of bus services being removed by operators as there could be insufficient numbers of passengers travelling for operators to run these services on a commercial basis”.

Hampshire also recognised there could be impacts on other elements of council spending, such as school transport and social care.

Meanwhile, the council also plans to save £75,000 by ending the discretionary elements of the local concessionary travel scheme.

In future it would only offer the statutory minimum.

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NEWS ROUND-UP

HS2 safeguarding lifted but purchases continue Mark Harper lifts restrictions on West Midlands to Crewe HS2

Transport secretary Mark Harper has formally lifted safeguarding directions on land which will no longer be protected for the cancelled Phase 2a section of HS2 between the West Midlands and Crewe.

The transport secretary said the move provides certainty to communities along the proposed HS2 alignment and will ease development processes as HS2 Ltd will no longer object to proposed developments within the previously safeguarded areas.

However, to allow the first phase of HS2 to connect with the West Coast Main Line, Harper said he would continue to safeguard land close to the village of Handsacre in Staffordshire.

KHAN FREEZES FARES AGAIN £123m funding will support freeze in 2024 FARES

London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced Transport for London fares will be frozen for 2024 in a move that aims to alleviate the cost of living crisis for Londoners.

Khan is proposing £123m of additional funding to TfL, identified as part of the GLA budget setting process, to freeze fares for a whole year. The government’s publication of the provisional local government settlement just before Christmas enabled Khan to confirm that the freeze is affordable within the GLA’s 06 | 26 January 2024 PT305p06-07.indd 6

This will facilitate an upgrade of Handsacre Junction which will allow more HS2 trains to reach key destinations north of Birmingham. It will also allow journey times between London and Manchester to be reduced to 100 minutes.

For areas where safeguarding has been lifted, Harper concurrently announced the closure of the Rural Support Zone, Extended Homeowner Protection Zone, and Homeowner Payment schemes.

Existing applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The Need to Sell scheme remains open for now as a safety net, for those who meet the criteria and have a compelling need to sell, until the blighting effect of HS2 has fully receded.

Meanwhile, Harper confirmed that safeguarding for Phase 2b will be amended by summer 2024 to

accommodate any safeguarding requirements for Northern Powerhouse Rail. “I can confirm that this work is underway and I will set out further details regarding those areas that will come within the scope of these new safeguarding directions in due course,” he added.

Meanwhile, at a transport select committee evidence session on January 10, HS2 Ltd executive chair Sir Jon Thompson confirmed that his organisation was continuing to complete property purchases along the alignment of the now cancelled section of HS2.

“We have continued to purchase, because in some cases people still want to sell,” he told MPs. “We are obliged under the compulsory purchase powers, in my understanding, and safeguarding powers to purchase, so we have done so.”

annual budget.

Meanwhile, new analysis undertaken by City Hall suggests that TfL fares set by the mayor in 2024 will be 14% lower than if they had risen in line with National Rail fares, and 21% lower than if they’d risen in line with RPI since 2016.

Khan previously froze all TfL fares from 2016 until 2021 as part of his first mayoral manifesto.

City Hall also claimed that many public transport users in the capital were switching from Travelcards to pay-as-you-go methods. The latest figures suggest 80% of London Underground journeys and 74% of bus journeys are now made using pay-as-you-go.

“The cost-of-living crisis continues

to hit Londoners hard,” said Khan.

“That’s why I’ve decided to step in again to freeze TfL fares. Not only will this put money back in people’s pockets, making transport more affordable for millions of Londoners, but will encourage people back onto our public transport network. This will help to boost London’s culture, retail and hospitality sectors.

“While people across the country face another hike in their rail fares, I simply wasn’t prepared to stand by and see TfL customers face a similar hike. This is the fifth fares freeze I’ve done since becoming mayor, making transport in our city 21% cheaper than it would have been had fares risen by inflation. This shows that whenever I can freeze fares, I do so.”

Return journey between Newcastle and London planned

LUMO EXPLORES EXTRA JOURNEY Newcastle to London could add 250,000 passengers OPEN ACCESS

Open access operator Lumo has announced it is exploring plans to operate an additional return journey each day between London and Newcastle.

The FirstGroup subsidiary said the proposals are for a new early morning service from Newcastle to London, with an additional evening return journey from the capital.

Approval would enable Lumo to carry up to an additional 277,000 passengers between the cities each year and could represent a 15% increase in its capacity.

Lumo has submitted the proposals as part of the East Coast Main Line timetable review exercise, which is taking place with all train operators on the route. It currently operates five return services a day between London, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Lumo managing director Martijn Gilbert said: “Looking at this option to expand our services will deliver more great value and sustainable journeys to our customers, as well as even faster journey times across some of the rest of our timetable.

We have played a significant part in encouraging more people to travel by train between some of the UK’s largest cities, bringing substantial environmental benefits while boosting the economy.” www.passengertransport.co.uk

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“We encourage ASLEF to work with us to find a way to end this long running dispute”

LNER steps back from minimum service rules ASLEF cancels planned action in response to move INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Train operator LNER has allegedly stepped back from using new minimum service levels legislation during a strike

by ASLEF members planned for February 2.

The move has prompted ASLEF to withdraw plans for a further five days of strike action at LNER. They had been called in response to the train operator’s decision to use the controversial new minimum service level legislation. However, LNER drivers still plan to strike on February 2, as part of a separate row over pay and conditions.

The train operator has not publicly confirmed it will not use the minimum service legislation in the ASLEF dispute. However, the change of heart throws the new legislation into doubt. Many

transport figures have already suggested minimum service levels could be unworkable and risk irreparably damaging relations with trade unions and members of staff.

In a statement LNER said: “We welcome news that the threat of extended disruption to our services has been lifted.

“We encourage ASLEF to work with us to find a way to end this long running dispute which only damages the rail industry.”

The planned walkouts by ASLEF, scheduled on various days between January 30 and February 5 across different train operators in England as part of their pay dispute, will proceed as originally announced. At present none

“Unions will keep fighting this spiteful legislation” Paul Nowak

Hitachi Rail dispute at GWR and LNER Claim that current pay offer is a ‘real-terms pay cut’ Rolling stock engineers and fitters employed by Hitachi Rail Ltd at Great Western Railway and LNER are set to strike from January 27 to February 1 in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Unite and RMT unions who work as technicians, maintenance crews and engineers at Hitachi Rail maintaining Intercity Express

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Trains were offered a 5.5% or 6.0% increase. The unions argue that these reflect a real-terms pay cut when inflation is taken into account. The pay anniversary for Hitachi workers was in April 2023, when RPI was 11.4%.

“These workers are highly skilled and perform a safety critical role and yet are being chronically undervalued by their

of the affected operators have indicated that they are planning to use the new legislation and none have started the consultation process ahead of issuing notices to staff that they are obliged to work.

Minimum service levels require some drivers to work during the strike period, and run a minimum 40% of the usual timetable. Ministers have indicated it will be up to individual train operators to decide whether to use the new minimum service level legislation.

The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “No decent employer would force workers to work during strikes - and threaten them with the sack if they fail to comply. We are clear. The full force of the union movement will stand behind any worker disciplined or sacked for exercising their right to strike.

“Unions will keep fighting this spiteful legislation. We won’t stop until it is repealed.”

employer,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

“Hitachi need to know our members won’t stand for such penny pinching as they head to the picket line.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Workers at Hitachi Rail do a range of highly skilled work. This sustained action by Hitachi Rail workers will send a clear message to the company that we will not rest until we get a negotiated settlement on pay, that rewards our members sufficiently.”

IN BRIEF RAIL FARE SALE RETURNS The Great British Rail Sale has returned for a second year, offering up to 50% off more than one million rail tickets for travel between January 30 and March 15. Tickets must be purchased by January 29 and will be available to destinations across England and Wales, as well as on crossborder trips into Scotland. The Great British Railways Transition Team estimates that the first Great British Rail Sale in 2022 saw passengers save around £7m on rail tickets and encouraged around 70,000 adults who had not travelled by train since the Covid-19 pandemic to take a trip.

LNER’S SIMPLER FARES PILOT Train operator LNER is launching another fares pilot that aims to build on the successful rollout of its single-leg pricing trial. The Simpler Fares Pilot will see the removal of complicated ticket types and replacement with three options - Advance, 70-minute Flex and Anytime - on services between London King’s Cross and Newcastle, London and Berwickupon-Tweed and London and Edinburgh. 70-minute Flex is a new semi-flexible ticket that will offer passengers the flexibility to travel on other LNER services, which can be 70 minutes before or after their original booked journey.

WHICH? PROBES FARES A new report by consumer organisation Which? has found some ticket vending machines overcharge for some journeys, with cheaper fares often elusive.

Which? said three out of four fares purchased online were cheaper, and that travel on the same day cost an average of 52% more when purchased at a TVM.

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NEWS ROUND-UP

Council’s Section 114 puts buses in spotlight Nottingham City Council moots cuts in bid to balance books FUNDING

Nottingham City Council has announced a number of emergency cost saving plans in response to effectively declaring itself bankrupt in November when the local authority was forced to issue a section 114 notice.

The council faces a £23m budget shortfall for the current financial year, and a separate £53m gap for the year beginning April 2024.

The damage to council coffers is such that this week it asked the government for “exceptional financial support” worth £65m for both financial years.

Meanwhile, the government has announced it is minded to appoint commissioners to run the council, a move the council said would reduce democratic accountability in the city. A final decision on that by levelling up secretary Michael

ARRIVA RENEWS LUTON 757 ROUTE New five-year contract promises investment COACHES

Arriva has renewed its contract to operate its Greenline 757 coach service between Luton Airport and central London. The new deal with airport operator London Luton Airport Operations Ltd will start in March 2024 and will run for the next five years, with a potential two-year extension to seven years.

The current service has been operating for more than 40 years with its 27 staff based at Arriva’s 08 | 26 January 2024 PT305p08-09.indd 8

Park and ride sites and Medilink bus route under threat

the Easylink demand-responsive service scrapped and the Linkbus subsidised bus network reduced in size and scope to provide a minimum level of service to areas which otherwise have no access to public transport, but no regular service is planned to places of employment and education.

These proposals would save Nottingham City Council £583,000 in 2024-25 and £717,000 in 2025-26. Reducing provision to only provide accessible bus stops, switching off the city’s real-time passenger information display system and removing funding for Victoria bus station and the two park and ride sites at the Racecourse and Wilkinson Street would create further savings of £500,000 by 2025-26.

A meeting of the council’s executive board was convened just before Christmas to discuss Nottingham’s plans for cuts.

At it members noted that the city has high deprivation and low levels of car ownership. It is therefore likely that reductions in bus provision will have a major impact, particularly elderly and disabled people who will be socially isolated.

Gove is due soon.

Nottingham’s proposals for cuts could result in some significant impacts for local transport. They could see two bus-based park and ride sites closed and the removal of the council’s contribution towards the cost of the Medilink service that links the city’s two major hospitals up to every 10 minutes.

Over half of the funding for

the Medilink service, which is operated by community transport operator CT4N, comes from the council with the balance funded by the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the service carried 1.1 million passengers each year with a significant number of them being NHS employees who travel for free.

A further proposal would see

Luton bus depot.

“The 757 route is well-established and we review it regularly to make sure it’s meeting the needs of airport customers,” said Chris Burley, Arriva South’s commercial director. “It’s good to see that the airport appreciates the consistency and reliability of the service and it’s something we’re proud to run.

“Over the course of this renewed contract period, we also plan to actively explore and trial new technologies, which can make the service even better, especially for the environment as our ambition is to make public transport the best option for passengers.”

LIFT-OFF FOR AIR DECKER Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis has supplied a new Enviro400 double decker to RATP Dev subsidiary Bath Bus Company for use on its Air Decker route linking Bath and Bristol Airport.

The vehicle features extra luggage space and upper deck ‘social seating’. www.passengertransport.co.uk

24/01/2024 15:47

BSIP refresh will probe past funding successes Update aims to probe past successes and foundations to 2029 BSIPS

The Department for Transport has requested Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) in England provide a thorough update of their original 2021 Bus Service Improvement Plans by June 12 as a condition to release funding planned for 2024-25.

In a guidance note published this month, the DfT notes that the move will allow local authorities to take account of funding plans for the forthcoming financial year while also “refining and updating the vision and ambition set out in the 2021 BSIPs and setting out improvement proposals for 2025/26 and beyond”.

The DfT has also outlined other planned changes to the BSIP process. The Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP+) scheme launched in May 2023 has now been renamed BSIP Phase 2.

Meanwhile, funding diverted from the cancellation of future phases of the HS2 rail project to the new Network North initiative has been renamed BSIP Phase 3.

“As a result, all LTAs now have dedicated funding for delivery of their BSIP,” adds the DfT. The key themes for the 2024 BSIPs are: Updating the baseline to 2023/24: revisiting the 2021 BSIP to reflect the current situation; Setting out the improvement programme in financial year 2024/25: to reflect the known funding envelope of BSIP funding and all other funding sources; and

Getting ready for 2025 and beyond: refreshing the plan’s ambition and content to set out a high quality and flexible pipeline of prioritised proposals up to 2029.

“The purpose of the 2024 BSIP is to set out a realistic and attractive plan which explains clearly what will have been delivered by the end of 2024/25 and also sets out a ‘shop window’ of ambitions and proposals for the years after 2025,” said the DfT. It adds the 2024 BSIP serves as both a delivery plan for the upcoming funding year and a report on past achievements.

While not a bidding document, it may also influence future government funding decisions.

The DfT notes that a further BSIP update is likely in 2025 with the process then repeated on a less than annual basis.

NEW ROUTES ARE READY FOR TAKE OFF Reading Buses’s Newbury & District operation has launched new express routes linking Basingstoke, Frimley, Camberley, and Bagshot with Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. The Flightline 730 and 731 routes are a new commercial venture that has been developed with input from Heathrow Airport. Both routes are aimed at travellers and staff alike, with the first arrival at Heathrow at 4am and the last departure after midnight. www.passengertransport.co.uk

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IN BRIEF BE A SPEAKER The Euro Bus Expo show, which will return to NEC Birmingham on November 12-14 is inviting presentation proposals for its popular free-to-attend Masterclass Theatre. Presentation proposals are invited under eight broad programme themes. For more information about the programme and themes, and to apply to present, visit www.eurobusxpo.com.

THAMES TRAVEL DEAL Go-Ahead subsidiary Thames Travel has renewed its partnership with the Milton Park science, business and technology park near Didcot. It will see frequency and capacity enhancements on Thames Travel’s services to the park, building on the 18% increase in patronage since the pandemic on these routes.

LONDON TENDER RESULTS Transport for London has announced Metroline has retained Route 17 (Archway-London Bridge) and captured Route 28/ N28 (Wandsworth-Kensal Rise) from RATP Dev London Transit.

RATP Dev London Sovereign has retained Route 395 (Westway Cross-Harrow). The contract for Route 17 commences on July 20 with Route 28/N28 starting on May 2. The contract for Route 395 commences on September 7.

All of these contracts have been awarded on the basis of using exisiting vehicles.

IMBERBUS BACK FOR 2024 The organisers of the annual Imberbus event have announced 2024’s Imberbus will take place on August 17 this year.

Further details will be posted at www.imberbus.org in due course.

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NEWS ROUND-UP

KeolisAmey extends Metrolink contract Contract extension aims to strengthen customer experience CONTRACTS

The KeolisAmey consortium has secured a three-year extension to its contract to operate Greater Manchester’s Metrolink light rail network until July 2027.

The new contract has an increased emphasis on operational performance together with more planned network improvements, while also committing more frontline staff to tackle fare evasion and antisocial behaviour.

Since assuming the role of Metrolink operator in 2017, Transport for Greater Manchester said KeolisAmey, had achieved a number of notable milestones.

These include improved performance, the introduction of

LCR SHIFT BUS SPENDING PLANS Move follows launch of the nationwide £2 fare cap SUBSIDY

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has signalled a shift in spending as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding allocation awarded in 2022.

The move is in response to the introduction of the nationwide £2 bus fare cap in England.

The allocation of £12.2m over a three-year period aimed to support the delivery of the region’s BSIP, with the flagship scheme being the reduction of all commercial adult fares to a maximum of £2 starting from September 2022. The total cost of this scheme was anticipated to be 10 | 26 January 2024 PT305p10-11.indd 10

TravelSafe officers and fostering a stronger partnership with Greater Manchester Police and other agencies to enhance security.

Patronage is also on target to exceed pre-Covid figures this year. The system has also been recognised as one of the top 20 most improved organisations nationally across all sectors by

the independent Institute of Customer Service. KeolisAmey has also introduced an additional 27 new trams and launched services on the Trafford Park line in 2020.

Extension of the contract aims to strengthen customer service with a heightened emphasis on operational performance,

Representatives from Amey, Keolis and TfGM sign the new agreement

£11.2m until 2024-25.

Additional allocations included £600,000 for retaining the MyTicket day ticket for young people, £345,000 for ticketing reform, including the introduction of a ‘tap and go’ fare cap scheme, and £119,000 for other unspecified ticket incentives, promotions, and customer enhancements in the first year of the BSIP. However, changes unfolded after the introduction of England’s nationwide £2 fare cap, initially on a temporary basis in January 2023 but later extended by the government until at least the end of 2024.

In a recent report to the combined authority’s overview and scrutiny committee, Richard McGuckin, LCR’s executive director - place, revealed that in November 2023 the

region’s bus operators withdrew from the local £2 fare cap scheme reimbursement arrangements and opted for the national scheme instead.

McGuckin said the decision by operators grants the combined authority greater flexibility in allocating future BSIP funding.

It is anticipated that the remaining £5.1m of BSIP funding for 2024/25, along with BSIP+ funding of £3.1m for the same year, will be used to continue to fund the retention of MyTicket. It will also be redirected to support the rollout of ‘tap and go’ ticketing by reducing revenue risk and sustaining existing bus services.

“An additional BSIP allocation of £8.8m will be used to sustain and where possible improve the network,” McGuckin added.

a focus on revenue protection and security, plans for further investment and “refreshed social impact ambitions to maximise its support of the local community”.

“Since coming on board with us KeolisAmey Metrolink have become an invaluable partner to TfGM,” said Danny Vaughan, TfGM’s head of Metrolink.

“Together we have shown that we are committed to enhancing the Metrolink service for the benefit of our customers, whether that’s investing in the network or delivering excellent levels of reliability and punctuality.”

Alistair Gordon, chief executive of Keolis UK, Middle East and India, added: “The team at KeolisAmey Metrolink has worked with our partner TfGM to put the customer at the heart of our shared continuous improvement approach.

KeolisAmey is committed to delivering a high-performance network that continues to add value to the communities of Greater Manchester.”

ROTALA NOW IN PRIVATE HANDS High Court approves accelerated purchase ACQUISITIONS

Rotala’s transition from listed company to private ownership was completed on January 17. The move follows an acceleration of the planned acquisition process which was approved in the High Court on January 15. The deal valued Rotala at around £23.5m.

Rotala Group Ltd is wholly owned

by Rotala chief executive Simon Dunn, his father Bob Dunn, who is also managing director of the group’s operations in the north west of England, and non-executive chairman John Gunn, together with other family members and interests. www.passengertransport.co.uk

24/01/2024 16:28

Prince: ‘Whoever wins, please give us clarity’ Urban Transport Group director wants longer term thinking POLICY

With a general election expected some time this year, the director of the Urban Transport Group hopes that the next government will offer greater certainty to those who plan and provide public transport services.

Speaking to Leon Daniels for the Lunch with Leon podcast, which is produced in association with Passenger Transport, Jason Prince said: “It’s incumbent on national government to set the operating environment. Fundamentally they need to provide that clarity of what the operating environment is, whether it is local authorities or combined authorities, or whether it’s businesses. And I would argue that at the minute ... there is not that clarity there.

He continued: “All I would ask is give us clarity. Net zero for

‘NO MORE TINKERING’

Continued from Page 1 “This government has presided over the managed decline of our nation’s bus network,” he said.

“The stats speak for themselves - 300 million fewer bus miles last year compared to 2010.

Thousands of bus routes lost over the last decade.”

He said the pledge to introduce 4,000 new zero emission buses was “woefully off-target” and he attacked prime minister Rishi Sunak for suggesting that cars www.passengertransport.co.uk

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transport is a really good example.

There is a huge opportunity ... to be gained from investment in ZEBs [zero emission buses] and net zero in transport. However, is it 2030? Is it 2035? What is the operating environment? What is the pathway to get us there?

“We need operators, we need private investors - if we want public transport to be successful it needs a mixed market. But if that market of investors and operators don’t have confidence that they know what they are operating in then they ain’t going to come.

Jason Prince

“So that’s my ask today. I would hope that whoever wins the next [general] election would help provide that greater clarity of longer term thinking, because that would do us all a favour basically.”

Daniels, who previously worked as managing director surface transport for Transport for London, agreed with Prince about the need for consistent core budgets for highways, railways and public transport.

“I’m especially worried that we have the opposite of that at the moment,” he said. “I see some of the major consultancies laying off people at a phenomenal rate just now, which is pushing your whole load of talented people back into the pool ... Some long-term commitments that are reliable I think is so important.”

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW leondaniels.co.uk/ podcast

could be allowed in bus lanes.

Labour’s remedy is primarily focussed on the simplification and extension of franchising powers to all parts of England under a new Take Back Control Act. He said: “Labour’s plans are nothing short of the biggest, most ambitious reform to the bus network in 40 years.”

Lightwood argued that reversing deregulation of buses was in the interests of bus operators: “The stability of franchise contracts will provide the certainty the sector needs for strategic, long-term investment in the business.”

Outlining his vision of the

future, he said: “Public transport will be absolutely key for economic growth in our towns and cities ... and key in also achieving our carbon targets.

So I see very much the future as working hand in hand with you guys to grow your businesses, to grow your passenger numbers.”

However, Lightwood warned that expectations need to be managed because “we won’t be able to deliver everything we want to deliver as quickly perhaps as we would like”, and he would not commit to providing the UK bus sector with a five-year funding settlement as demanded by CPT.

NEXT GOVERNMENT ‘MUST PRIORITISE BUS AND COACH’ CPT launches manifesto ahead of general election POLICY

CPT has announced its priorities for the next UK Government, with the launch of its manifestos for bus and coach, at its 2024 conference held last week in London.

Driving Britain Forward sets out six key points to unlock the economic, net zero and social wellbeing potential of buses (see below), while Access All Areas outlines how the next Government can help to unleash the full potential of the coach network.

Commenting on the launch of the manifesto for the UK bus sector, Alison Edwards, CPT’s director of policy and external relations, said: “With a general election looming, as well as numerous mayoral elections in May, CPT will continue to keep the pressure on current and future politicians to help us deliver more of the vital bus services that can revitalise local economies, keep communities connected and minimise the impact of travel on the environment.”

DRIVING BRITAIN FORWARD calls on the next government to implement: A five year funding settlement for the UK bus sector.

Targeted measures to keep fares low when the national cap ends.

National and local targets to increase bus speeds.

A new statutory, funded definition of essential bus service.

A long-term governmentindustry partnership to drive the transition to zero emission buses.

A workforce strategy led by industry, supported by government.

26 January 2024 | 11

24/01/2024 16:46

Arriva amends Welsh timetables for 20mph Bus operator’s most significant changes are on inter-urban routes, many of which now have longer end-to-end journey times after speed limit cut OPERATIONS

Arriva has changed timetables on many of its Welsh routes to reflect the large increase in roads limited to 20mph last September, when the law was changed to reduce the default speed limit in built up areas.

Arriva’s most significant changes this month are on inter-urban routes, many of which now have longer end-to-end journey times.

Frequencies are reduced on some routes, but on several others Arriva has inserted an additional bus to maintain the previous frequencies.

Some detours off the main roads have also been removed.

There is a mixed picture for users of Arriva’s service 12, between Llandudno and Rhyl. On Mondays to Saturdays, off-peak, end-to-end journey times are generally the same since the timetable change on January 14. Some morning peak services are given between one and seven additional minutes.

On Sundays and bank holidays, buses are given up to seven minutes longer. This appears to be an insurance policy for the main tourism season, when the caravan parks and resorts along the coast generate large increases in car traffic, causing congestion in places.

When the impact of the proposed 20mph default limit was assessed in 2021, Transport for Wales said this route would see a two-minute (3.3%) off-peak journey time increase. The forecast appears to be about right, despite fewer roads being excepted from 12 | 26 January 2024 PT305p12-13.indd 12

the 20mph limit in Denbighshire and Conwy - the two authorities where service 12 operates - than anywhere else in Wales.

Opposition politicians in the Senedd highlighted that the Wrexham to Denbigh service no longer goes into the small village of Llandegla before retracing its route back to the main road.

A spokesperson for Arriva Wales said: “The withdrawal of this service in Llandegla is due to the impact of 20mph on the 51 and X51 services.

“This is not to say that Llandegla and its speed limits are the issue but now the service overall is taking longer to operate due to reduced speeds across the network.

“The consequences of this change in speed has been severe and has caused increased lost mileage and reduced punctuality.

We have been open in raising our concerns with Transport for Wales, the Welsh Government and local authorities. There have also been press statements and

“We want to understand the impacts, and we want [Arriva] to engage with their local authorities”

Lee Waters, Welsh deputy climate change minister

Some morning peak services on Arriva’s service 12, between Llandudno and Rhyl, are given between one and seven additional minutes

questions raised in the Senedd about this on the basis of our concerns and the consequences.

“As a response to reducing speed of buses there are these options to reduce frequency: speed up buses by withdrawing the service from an area or increase the amount of resource in the bus service.

This service is already operating at a low frequency and there is no funding to support increased resource going into services, so we have had to amend the route with the time saved by not operating in the village. This time has been reinvested into the service to help it operate to time.

“These changes have taken place based upon a review of patronage and estimated time savings.”

Welsh deputy climate change minister Lee Waters defended the government’s 20mph policy and said councils in North Wales had been particularly cautious about excepting roads to retain the 30mph limit. In Denbighshire only 0.6% of roads were excepted and 0.8% in Conwy, compared with 10% in Swansea and Bridgend.

Waters said he was keen to engage with Arriva and see the data. “We want to understand the impacts, and we want them to engage with their local authorities,” he said.

“The local authorities in North Wales have had the ability to create exemptions, and they’ve chosen not to. It may well be that’s what’s causing some of the difficulties for Arriva and a more nuanced, granular approach would be better. That is able to be fixed.

That is something where we can work with them and they can work with the local authorities to apply some common sense.”

He said it would not be a straightforward judgement to restore the 30mph limit on arterial bus routes, even where vulnerable road users mixed with traffic. www.passengertransport.co.uk

24/01/2024 15:48

“The weak link was always going to be getting local authorities to act”Ralph Roberts

Bus Partnership Fund pause disappoints CPT Scottish Government pledged £500m - but has spent only £26.9m FUNDING

Formally launched in November 2020, Scotland’s Bus Partnership Fund was hailed as a “landmark long-term capital investment of over £500m for bus priority measures”. But with the Scottish Government having “no plans” to make money available to the fund in the next financial year, there are fears over its future.

As recently as last October, Scotland’s minister for transport, Fiona Hyslop, told Passenger Transport that the Bus Partnership Fund was “a key area of investment”. However, the initiative has now been halted with only £26.9m of the £500m spent.

The largest project to have received funding saw the introduction in August 2023 of bus gates in Aberdeen. On a recent

SECOND CHANCE FOR CARDIFF P&R New bridge will offer links with existing services PARK AND RIDE

The poorly used Cardiff East park and ride facility will get a second chance to prove its worth when the site is redeveloped and a new river bridge installed.

The facility at Pentwyn was built with almost 1,000 car parking spaces in 2009. It is adjacent to the A48, used by traffic travelling westwards towards Cardiff from the M4. However, the X59 bus which connected Cardiff East to the city centre was withdrawn last year as www.passengertransport.co.uk

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visit to the city, Hyslop saw how the new bus gates have resulted in faster and more reliable journeys for bus users. Meanwhile, major operators have reinvested the savings they have made and are offering free weekend travel across the region in January.

Representing bus operators, CPT Scotland has written to Hyslop to seek assurances on the future of the Bus Partnership Fund in 2024/25 and the Scottish Government’s long-term commitment to investing in bus priority infrastructure.

“The Bus Partnership Fund was a landmark announcement, demonstrating the Scottish Government’s commitment to

supporting bus and growing bus use,” said CPT Scotland director Paul White. “It could still be the catalyst for partnerships across Scotland, facilitating bus priority projects that deliver social and economic benefits, as well as contributing to wider government objectives.

“Over the past four years, operators and authorities have invested heavily in developing fund bids, 17 of which are ready to commence. To pause the fund at this stage, is counter to the government’s National Transport Strategy priorities and leaves partnerships across the country in limbo, to say nothing of the impact on bus users.

“[This decision] leaves partnerships across the country in limbo, to say nothing of the impact on bus users” Paul White, CPT Scotland municipal operator Cardiff Bus made post-Covid economies.

The site is still used by the NHS’s H59 bus shuttle to the nearby University Hospital of Wales. This was introduced in 2018 to ease the burden on the limited parking facilities at the hospital campus.

Cardiff Council has now given permission for a developer to create commercial buildings on the site, with associated parking, while also re-providing park and ride facilities.

Only 440 park and ride parking spaces would remain, but the plans also include construction of a river bridge south of the site. This will connect the site directly to the suburb of Llanrumney, enabling

existing bus services between Llanrumney and the city centre to serve the park and ride site.

Unusually, the council has placed a planning condition on the bridge, requiring it to be closed to all vehicles except buses during peak times. “It is considered essential that vehicular access across the bridge is controlled at morning and evening peaks to encourage modal shift in line with the council’s transport objectives and targets,” said council officers in a report for the city’s planning committee.

Users of the park and ride will also be offered complementary food and drink at one of the new cafés on the site, which is currently a bleak,

“CPT will continue to press the Scottish Government to reconsider this decision, or to set out how partnerships continue productively through this financial year in the absence of any national funding support.”

Ralph Roberts, CEO of McGill’s Bus Group, played a key role in securing the commitment from the Scottish Government to invest £500m in bus infrastructure. He had asked Michael Mathieson, who was then secretary for transport, infrastructure and connectivity for £1bn over 10 years to transform bus travel and free up buses from congestion.

Reflecting on the Bus Partnership Fund, he said: “The Scottish Government responded exceptionally well. This £500m that they provided was well targeted and would certainly have done the job had we managed to get schemes into place.

“The weak link was always going to be getting local authorities to act. None of this was going to please car users so wasn’t going to be a vote winner, regardless of being the right thing to do.”

fenced-in open expanse of tarmac and concrete with no waiting facilities except standard bus shelters.

If Cardiff East does receive bus services through extension or diversion of existing routes, it will follow in the footsteps of Swansea, which had three bus-based park and ride sites before one of them closed in 2016. In 2019 the other two sites lost their bespoke buses to the city centre as Swansea council sought to reduce operating costs. Serving the sites with small diversions to other services resulted in users having buses direct to a wider range of places, including two university campuses and two hospitals, as well as the city centre.

26 January 2024 | 13

24/01/2024 15:48

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24/01/2024 16:21

NET ZERO

Major all-electric fleet launches in Oxford 82.5m project will deliver 159 new buses and charging hubs ZERO EMISSION BUSES

Oxford this week launched what will be one of the biggest UK fleet of electric buses outside London.

The £82.5m project will deliver 159 new battery buses onto the streets of Oxford - the first of which have already gone into service. It has also funded two associated electric charging hubs at the city’s bus depots.

It has been funded via a collaboration between Oxfordshire County Council and bus operators Oxford Bus Company, owned by The GoAhead Group, and Stagecoach West. The council was awarded £32.8m from the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and contributed £6m directly, while bus operators invested £43.7m.

The project is a huge boost to Oxford’s vision of creating a more sustainable, decarbonised public transport system and improving air quality.

FIRST BUS PARTNERS WITH OPENREACH

Broadband provider will use bus depot chargers COLLABORATION

First Bus has announced a significant collaboration with the UK’s largest telecommunications network, Openreach, granting it access to its rapid Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at bus www.passengertransport.co.uk

PT305p15.indd 15

Oxford Bus Company will deliver 104 electric buses into service and Stagecoach 55.

Working with fleet electrification specialist Zenobe, Oxford Bus Company has installed 104 charging points at its Cowley House depot, with Stagecoach also installing 55 chargers at the the Network Oxford site. The charging hubs are powered by EDF Energy’s Oxford Superhub network, providing enough electricity to charge all 159 buses, and for each bus to drive up to

200 miles per day.

To celebrate the historic development key stakeholders gathered for a launch event at Divinity School in Oxford city centre on October 15 where some of the new electric buses were showcased and key representatives delivered speeches.

Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company managing director, said: “This is a historic moment in our journey towards transforming our city services to electric...

The project involves two bus operators and two bus manufacturers

depots nationwide.

The deal sees Openreach join the ranks of DPD and Police Scotland, plugging into this shared infrastructure initiative. The initial phase of the partnership will see up to 30 Openreach electric vehicles charging at First Bus depots in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Leicester while buses are in service. This enables Openreach engineers to cover more ground, reduce their environmental impact, and dedicate more time to their customers.

Currently, Openreach has more than 3,000 electric vehicles in its fleet - but it is aiming to convert all its diesel fleet to zero emissions by 2031.

Faizan Ahmad, decarbonisation programme director at First Bus, said: “We’re excited about this collaboration, showcasing the power of teamwork to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in the communities we serve ... We are offering a smart, community-friendly solution that’s simple, effective, and benefits everyone.”

Decarbonising buses is an exciting project - and we have demonstrated that with the right strategic partnership working between the public and private sector, we can unlock investment to make it happen.”

Rachel Geliamassi, managing director, Stagecoach West said: “As a business we are fully committed to operating a zeroemission bus fleet by 2035 so the introduction of these electric vehicles onto the roads today is a big step towards this vital goal.

Oxfordshire was one of only 12 local authorities to win ZEBRA funding. The Oxford Bus Company vehicles have been manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland, with the Stagecoach vehicles built by Alexander Dennis in Scotland.

Oxfordshire County Council has committed to help reduce bus journey times by at least 10% in the city to ensure the investment is viable for bus operators.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport management, commented: “Together with policies such as traffic filters to hugely increase bus efficiency, we are delivering on our vision of a better future.

This is an exciting and important moment for us all.”

Significant collaboration

26 January 2024 | 15

24/01/2024 15:56

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24/01/2024 16:50

“Our all-new Transdev Go app will offer a simpler ticket purchasing experience”

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Transdev to launch all-new app and website

TfL APPOINTS MERCEDES-BENZ AND SOPRA STERIA

Rise Digital Media will develop and maintain new platforms APPS AND WEBSITES

North of England bus operator Transdev has revealed plans for an all-new customer app and retail website to make bus travel simpler and easier.

The company launched its ‘Transdev Go’ app in 2017 and it is now the first choice for up to 40% of customers buying tickets before travel. The bus operator says the time is right to build on its success with a switch to a new app and website planned for this Spring.

Transdev has signed up Bexleybased Rise Digital Media to develop and maintain its new Transdev Go app and website, replacing previous supplier Passenger. Rise already provides its fully integrated ‘BusHub Mobility Platform’ app and web-based products for Rotalaowned Preston Bus and Diamond, Leicester-based Centrebus and

E-TICKETS FOR C2C CUSTOMERS New and more flexible ways to travel TICKETING

c2c has introduced e-ticketing to its range of ticket and payment options, meaning customers can now buy and present their rail tickets direct from a mobile phone or smart device. e-tickets, also known as QR codes, barcodes and m-tickets, can be purchased from the c2c app and website - up to just five minutes prior to travel - saving customers’ time and the need to visit or queue at www.passengertransport.co.uk

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Berkshire’s White Bus. Transdev commercial manager Matt Burley said: “We’re delighted that Rise Digital Media, which has built a positive reputation for high quality and innovation in the public transport sector, is to design and maintain an exciting new online retail and information hub for us from this Spring.

“Our all-new Transdev Go app will offer a simpler ticket purchasing experience with new ways to pay, while placing a clearer emphasis on our well-established and popular brands with an even

New app launches in spring

ticket offices and ticket machines to buy or collect tickets. c2c’s commercial director, Eleni Jordan, said: “Following months of work and rigorous testing, and a successful trial period during December, I am delighted to announce that we are now retailing e-tickets across our network.

“This is an exciting digital development for our customers, providing them with even greater choice and flexibility when planning and paying for their trips with c2c.”

Over 30,000 tickets were sold during the December trial period, and early signs indicate that the

easier path for our customers to find their ideal ticket and journey.

“Our bold and innovative plan for a new customer app and website shows our commitment to improving our digital information portals, while paving the way for an industry-leading customised retail experience.

“We know how important it is in today’s tech-driven marketplace to continually improve our online presence, and we’re looking forward to developing new ways to communicate with our customers in new ways to improve their journey from planning to completion.”

Rise Digital Media CEO Scott James commented: “Seamlessly connecting passengers with schedules, booking options and real-time updates, we’re committed to enhancing convenience and accessibility in travel. We look forward to a close working relationship with Transdev for many years to come.”

flexibility and instant availability of e-tickets mean they are going to be extremely popular with customers.

In addition to smartcard and ticket payment and collection options via ticket machines and ticket offices, customers planning and purchasing their travel through the c2c website or app can now receive an e-ticket direct to their phone, app or email.

Jordan added: “As part of our ongoing commitment to making c2c a more attractive and accessible railway, the introduction of e-tickets will make buying and presenting tickets quicker and easier for our customers than ever before.”

New Innovation Collaboration Framework COLLABORATION

Transport for London has announced that Mercedes-Benz AG and Sopra Steria have been successfully appointed as partners on its new Innovation Collaboration Framework.

The four-year framework will look to directly address key transport challenges such as achieving sustainability, making public transport safer and helping services become more efficient and reliable.

Mercedes-Benz AG is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of luxury passenger cars. Within the company, the Mercedes-Benz data initiative develops, bundles, and distributes innovative data solutions related to Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Sopra Steria is a purpose-led digital transformation specialist.

Its expertise within the transport sector includes partnering with TfL to provide a range of innovative services, such as London’s worldleading traffic management system.

Through the framework, TfL and the innovation partners will work together to create new concepts and products to help improve how people move around and to make the city a better place to live.

Thomas Ableman, director of strategy and innovation at TfL, said: “TfL has ambitious goals to make London a more sustainable city. Neither Londoners nor the climate crisis will wait, so we need to move faster than ever before.

The Innovation Collaboration Framework is a completely new way for us to work with the innovation marketplace and we’re really excited to welcome Mercedes-Benz AG and Sopra Steria as partners on this exciting new journey.”

26 January 2024 | 17

24/01/2024 15:58

COMMENT LOTHIAN BUSES

JONATHAN BRAY

Lothian - municipal and entrepreneurial Edinburgh is a city where every kind of person uses the bus and where everyone owns their local bus company, Lothian Buses It’s good to be in the warmth of the great value Lothian Buses cafe at their Shandwick Place TravelHub. Outside a pitiless January morning wind has chased the buses down nearby Princes Street. The commuters on board the buses are happy to be cocooned (for just that little bit longer) against the cold, behind mostly steamed up windows. They leave the windows steamed up as they’ve seen the views before, and there aren’t too many visitors aboard keen to see the brazen theatricality of the Edinburgh skyline imprint itself on the winter dawn. At this time of year this is an Edinburgh as free of tourists from exotic places as it’s ever going to be. The exotic (to the non-local) can instead be found in the mysterious sounding origins of some of the bus routes: Hunter’s Tryst, The Jewel, Silverknowes.

Sitting in the Lothian Buses liveried cafe, decorated with pictures of the forebears of the buses passing outside, it seems a good place to reflect on the chat I’d had with Lothian’s MD, Sarah Boyd, the previous day and to write my ode to Lothian Buses. So why should we love Lothian Buses? Well, let me count the ways.

Edinburgh is a city where every kind of person uses the bus. There isn’t the stigma that’s attached to bus travel in many other parts of the country. Quite the opposite; using buses is a social norm in Edinburgh. It’s easy for a city to lose the habit of using the bus, and once that habit is gone it’s very hard to get it back. Pre-Covid Lothian was doing one better and growing the habit (patronage went up 18 | 26 January 2024 PT305p18-19.indd 18

from 109 million to 124 million in the 10 years to 2019). One way that Lothian has kept all social classes on board is by ensuring that the buses are clean and well maintained. As Sarah told me, you should ask yourself - would you want to sit on that seat? I’ve travelled, under sufferance, on plenty of grubby buses in my time, but never in Edinburgh. Well maintained is also easy to do if you buy higher end buses in the first place, which Lothian tend to do.

Whilst we are covering off the basics of what a good urban bus network should do, let’s also tick the box marked simplicity.

Lothian has bucked an industry trend of seeking to make buses stand out on the streets through branding that aims to sell the attractions of the service, or route,

Sarah Boyd

with the aim of tempting non-users across the threshold. Branding that also seeks to challenge pre-conceptions. There’s a case for this, when done well. But it can also look shouty and confusing when there are lots of buses looking to stand out in urban centres.

It can also end up positioning the bus as something akin to a mid-market supermarket.

Lothian Buses doesn’t look it’s trying to be Sainsbury’s on wheels. It looks like what it is: a public service done well that belongs to the city it serves. The livery keeps it simple - as do the simple contactless flat fares, the audiovisual announcements, the stop information, the app. It all means that someone unfamiliar with the city can have the confidence to give the buses a go - and not be let down when they do. And with the leisure market emerging from Covid far more strongly than commuting, having a service that visitors feel comfortable using really matters.

As Sarah Boyd told me, Lothian is also a company that isn’t afraid to try new things (or to pull out of them if they don’t work).

New things like the tri-axle ADL/Volvo leviathans that can hoover up more than a hundred passengers at a time whilst making a statement about who these city streets are for. Or the expansion (the Lothian Country and East Coast Buses networks) beyond the city’s borders to move into more semi-urban and rural territories largely abandoned by the private sector both east and west of the city.

In some ways Lothian (with over a century of municipal ownership behind it) is reminiscent of the responsible but enterprising municipally and locally-owned operators that are common in countries like Switzerland and Germany.

As a municipal, Lothian’s future is bound up in the future of the city it serves. Ask people about Lothian Buses and many will say its biggest problem is reliability because of the congestion on the roads. Most people look up at the skyline and the buildings when they are in Edinburgh but look down at the streets and you can see street clutter, battered roads and too much space for too many cars. The tram extension down Leith Walk shows how new public transport infrastructure can be the catalyst for fixing tired and car-dominated streetscapes in a way that is sensitive to the city’s historic built environment.

The city council has a target of reducing car traffic by 30% by 2030 and a battery of www.passengertransport.co.uk

24/01/2024 16:02

“The city council has a target of reducing car traffic by 30% by 2030” An initial fleet of 50 new Volvo BZL electric double deck buses will enter service in the spring

strategies at various stages of development designed to support this goal - including a city centre movement strategy and a public transport strategy. A city centre Low Emission Zone is already in place and will start to be enforced from June. But, as Sarah says, there is no single silver bullet that will fix everything across the network - it’s about having a targeted package of measures which benefits the bus network as a whole.

Edinburgh is also a place where people want to be and this creates twin challenges of recruiting and retaining staff in a competitive labour market whilst ensuring that the bus network keeps pace with a city that’s growing. This includes serving from the start developments like West Edinburgh where there are plans to build 11,000 new homes. One of the things that has been holding Lothian back (which is currently getting 90% of pre-Covid patronage on 80% of the pre-Covid network) is a shortage of drivers. In response Lothian has combined a competitive package of pay and benefits with www.passengertransport.co.uk

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a streamlining of the process of getting new recruits qualified to drive vehicles (the time it takes to get an applicant into class has been reduced from four weeks to one week).

The next big challenge is the decarbonisation of the fleet which will require the transformation of both fleet and depots between now and 2035. A sign of things to come will be in the spring when, the first of an initial fleet of 50 new Volvo BZL electric double deck buses enter service.

Meanwhile, away from the buses the success of the well put together Newhaven extension of the Edinburgh tram has drawn the sting from the saga of the botched procurement of the initial route (where an interminable public inquiry has now firmly bolted the door after that particular horse left the stable). This opens the way for the next stage to emerge from the shadows (a north-south link from Granton to Dalkeith). Edinburgh is also criss-crossed by a dense network of former, freight and mothballed railway lines which could play a part in this extension, and more besides, in the

future. All of which opens up the prospect of giving Scotland’s capital more of the integrated bus, tram and rail network that it needs.

It’s time to come back to the present and venture out of the cafe and into the cold again.

Outside, a constant flow of buses (the green country buses reminiscent of London’s former Greenline network) is punctuated by the bass and treble notes of the rumbling trams and their bells. Time to explore more of the UK city where the buses are used by everyone.

And where everyone owns them too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR For decades Jonathan Bray has been at the forefront of making progressive change happen on transport - from stopping the national roads programme in its tracks in the 1990s to getting buses back under public control in the 2020s.

He is an advisor to the Welsh Government on bus franchising and an independent advisor. www.jonathan-bray.com

26 January 2024 | 19

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COMMENT

ALEX WARNER

Walking and public transport are allies

Walking is good for our mind and body, our environment and public transport. Hana Sutch of Go Jauntly wants to make it easy I’ll be honest, before the pandemic I had zero interest in walking for fun. But then, apart from model railways and Netflix, walking was all we could do, and now I’m counting down the days till retirement and having the time to spend just going for jaunts for pleasure. I’ve seen how it’s helped the mental health of old buffers I know, and it will be one of my top hobbies to keep me sane and healthy. I’ve told ‘Er Indoors that I’ll take up gardening too, maybe jigsaws even, but she can’t see it happening.

Spending time with Hana Sutch, the founder of curated walking and wayfinding app provider Go Jauntly, and her energetic team has helped me recently. In setting up my business, Great Scenic Journeys, Hana was recommended to me by bus legend and McGill’s top dog Ralph Roberts - no stranger to a good walk himself in the beautiful, but underrated, part of the Firth of Clyde where he hangs out.

I caught up with Hana last month and was reassured that, contrary to my own perception, those Johnny or Joanna-Come-Latelies who latched onto walking during Covid, have stayed loyal to the hobby. Okay, numbers haven’t risen but they’ve held strong, despite ‘normal life’ having resumed. Go Jauntly helps fuel interest and makes a trot outdoors relatable and reachable, not just to hardcore hikers but particularly so to someone like me, a fair weather, unadventurous stroller.

Go Jauntly’s USP is they can find beauty in anything. Even a walk within a stone’s throw of Millwall Football Ground on matchday is 20 | 26 January 2024 PT305p20-21.indd 20

something they’ll market as an exhilarating, peaceful, scenic retreat from the rigours of modern life. It’s not all about lochs, mountains, cathedrals and beaches. Even my mundane walk from our house to my Chinese takeaway in Shepperton High Street has been transformed in their app to take in a circular that includes the posh, leafy, Broadlands Avenue.

I empathise with Hana and it’s something we’ve been working on at Great Scenic Journeys, convincing transport companies to realise the potential of their seemingly run-ofthe-mill journey, which if you delve deep has some good places to visit, interesting titbits and half decent scenery out of the window which might help folk’s mental wellbeing and stimulation. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Hana Sutch

and Hana’s gang see good in everything.

Having worked in design with flagship clients Google, Nike and Xbox, Hana set up Go Jauntly in 2018 as an offshoot from her own agency Furthermore, which still thrives today.

“I created Go Jauntly out of frustration of not being able to find places to walk despite living in London, where 47% of it is ‘green space’,” she explains. “I wanted to break down barriers to walking, such as it being hard to find parks and green places nearby. Often, if you have a busy work schedule or young families and don’t like the gym, you’ll find walking a palatable alternative, but there can be barriers to doing this - like not knowing if the terrain is muddy, if there are toilets or refreshments.

“There were apps, but they were targeting hikers, not those who might want to bring their family - including a pram - or those with mobility issues. We saw a gap for a joyful, user-centric platform to help people walk more and for £2.99 a month, or £29.99 a year, folk can take out a premium subscription with even more walks and features. We’re also paid by partners who ask us to create new walks, or the digitalisation of old walks. Quite often, we’re asked to create walking and step challenges, such as ‘walk to school’ and so on.”

I’ve been working with Go Jauntly to create greater integration with public transport and walks - 90% of the 200 walks within the Great Scenic Journeys collection appear on our website with one of Hana’s curated walks and we’re looking at providing for a few lucky transport companies, very detailed itineraries that integrate with specific schedules on bus and rail routes.

Go Jauntly has been in transport pretty much since its inception, most particularly with Transport for London where it won the “Mayor of London Civic Challenge” in 2018, with a remit to increase walking between stations and the digitalisation of walking across the entire London network of 450 miles - in digital segments, free on their app.

The Capital Ring was created which is 78 miles across 15 separate sections - “Folk are incentivised to complete each by receiving a digital badge - a popular prize!”

With TfL being in revenue crisis it feels incongruous to encourage walking between stations, but Hana contests there’s no evidence of abstraction. Most walks are too long to do from home and require public transport at www.passengertransport.co.uk

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“I created Go Jauntly out of frustration of not being able to find places to walk”Hana Sutch the start or the end. Meanwhile, Go Jauntly also works with Transport for Wales, creating 37 new walking routes that start and end at railway stations, with the intention to be “hyper local to get local people out”.

Walking and bus routes are particularly attractive as mutual friends. Bus travel is particularly local, and the £2 fare cap in England offers great value. This means, in Hana’s view, that this has a distinct appeal to those who might be your less adventurous newcomers to walking, as well as hikers.

I’ve long believed that a bus journey for fun gives a glimpse of scenery and natural beauty for those who are, like me, a bit cautious about walking too far, for fear of getting stranded, lost, puffed out or hungry. So too, integrating a manageable circular walk from one bus stop, just to be able to have a brief but manageable exercise and insight into the landscape, post a snap or selfie so your fans are fooled into thinking you are some kind of intrepid explorer, is just what my doctor ordered. This is something that many of the Go Jauntly walks achieve and with a bit of further research can be intricately dovetailed into many bus timetables.

It’s no secret, I got into public transport to spot trains, rather than as part of a high falutin mission to save the planet. Back then, few in the sector gave two hoots about the environment and it was never really in the public’s consciousness that catching a bus or train helped protect and nurture nature.

I’ve belatedly swallowed the pill but I still quickly turn over the pages of articles about our carbon footprints - they always seem too technical, intellectual and dry. I daren’t admit this to Hana. I can, though, confess that she made me sit up and listen when she reeled off a few compelling stats, such as The Natural Capital Account for London calculating that residents avoid £950m in health costs due to walking, and wider research showing that walking for pleasure helps folk have pro-nature conservationist behavioural tendencies.

Hana sprints off on her quest to convince me of the benefits of walking. 80% of car journeys last under 2km which could be walked in less than 30 mins and, get this, you are 9-12 times more polluted in a car than outside.

“We are choking ourselves to death”, she bemoans, with more than a little sense of impending apocalypse. “There’s a proven link between cancer, dementia and toxic air. www.passengertransport.co.uk

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Obesity costs health and social care £19bn pounds a year! It really is everyone’s citizen duty to walk, helps tackle depression and as the NHS has shown, walking helps burn calories, make hearts better, reduces feelings of isolation, connects with the community, makes us visit High Streets more. Stats show that people who walk spend 40% more in shops than those that come by car, thus creating thriving High Streets, building communities and reducing feelings of isolation.”

All these stats and facts make the case for walking a walk in the park, but if that isn’t compelling enough, Leeds Beckett University have produced research that shows that every £1 spent on health and nature projects gives a £6.88 return! Not bad considering that walking is a pursuit that’s free! It’s one of the few untouchables that rapacious governments and capitalists haven’t tried to charge for.

Hana’s piqued my interest, but I’m still more fixated with how she makes humdrum walks interesting. No route is dull, she contests, in much the same way I can scientifically demonstrate that the Cat 9 bus from Warrington to Northwich most definitely is very interesting and worthy of being in our Great Scenic Journeys collection. Like us, Hana’s app showcases destinations and things to do en route and also, like us, she has folk testing each walk - a whole band of ‘mystery shoppers’, or ‘curators’. It’s also very much about not just having the stunning Atlantic Coaster or Jurassic Breezers in her collection but shorter ones too - one in 300 of the walks that are downloaded are ‘community walks’.

“We’re designing brand-new routes all the time to meet different customer needs, in much the same way as you would differentiate in transport companies by customer type.

We’re creating step-free walks, history of art tours, nature rambles and there’s a really cool feature driven by AI that creates green circular walks in the least polluted way - we think this will scale globally.”

Hana continues: “There’s really no such thing as a boring walk. It’s how you bring them to life. Are you imaginative in making something dull interesting? It depends what you want to get out of the walk.”

In our conversation, Hana frequently used the phrase “re-wilding” - apparently, we need to “re-wild cities”, make them like one of her favourite places, Amsterdam, with its wide

cycle lanes and footpaths, boats on canals, trams, buses and trains and “where the smell is so fresh, you notice it immediately”. Closer to home in SE1, the game-changing concept of “re-wilding” is “all down to Ada Salter, the mayor of Bermondsey (and first female mayor in London), who around a century ago ‘re-wilded’ the slums in Bermondsey, advocated hearty walks, planted 10,000 trees and gave plant pots to the residents of Millwall”.

Heaven knows what Salter would have made of the X-Box generation or AI, but Hana is confident it’s reached a peak - “AI is not engaging enough to stop you leaving the house.

To be honest, Alex, my main concern is there are places across the globe where it’s now too hot to walk in the daytime, including Paris and Barcelona, and we need policy to do more to prevent climate breakdown, such as street trees and rainwater gardens to stop flooding adapting the public realm is really important.”

Before she walks off, I discover that Hana has a car, but only to take her son to football matches at remote playing fields - “this will be the last car my husband and I have”. Her favourite walk is The Big Chirk Tour: “An exhilarating experience, my first time walking six miles solo in the countryside and a walk that included a beautiful aqueduct, zig-zags across the Anglo-Welsh border and back, herons, sheep, a massive castle, pub.” I proudly tell her that it can be reached fairly easily on the T5 Traws Cymru bus, which in itself is a very pleasant journey between Wrexham and Machynlleth. Walking and public transport are, as Hana rightly says, “deeply compatible”.

Like no one else, she’s convinced me that a key priority is for transport companies to build marketing strategies around the joys of a good walk. That many are already doing so shows we’ve entered transformational territory - and thankfully it’s a long walk back from here now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of recruitment business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys).

He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration and chair of Surrey FA.

26 January 2024 | 21

24/01/2024 16:10

COMMENT

NICK RICHARDSON

Are buses dependent on the government?

With a variety of funding streams from government now supporting the industry, will the bus sector lose its independence?

The UK bus industry has certainly seen ups and downs over the past few years. Focusing on the facts rather than politics, what was seen as a private sector-led activity has become more and more dependent on government funding in various forms. This could be leading to a period of stronger centralised control in which government decides where and when buses operate and contracts out the actual operations. This is planned for Wales under a franchised arrangement but it could spread to England and Scotland. There is a strong parallel here with the railways, for which the Department for Transport decides how trains operate and, through a series of management contracts, invites private sector operators to provide services. For the railway, the franchised network has run its course and much-anticipated change is expected. But for buses, it seems to be going the other way.

Previous arrangements While the history of the bus industry will be familiar to many, a whistle-stop review may be helpful to those who have more recent experience, bearing in mind that the biggest change occurred nearly four decades ago. The era of the National Bus Company and Scottish Bus Group highlighted some gross inefficiencies and stifled innovation.

There was a common identity but many local brands were suppressed or eliminated to the detriment of that vital relationship between provider and consumer. All was far from 22 |26 January 2024 PT305p22-23.indd 22

perfect, but with adequate funding, flexibility and better oversight, it could have been much better. This nationalisation was in part due to declining demand for bus services but also reflected government thinking of the time.

Then followed upheaval amid a whirlwind of selling off public assets including utilities, which can hardly be regarded as a success apart from the returns to investors; benefits can be assessed in different ways, but the consumer has paid a heavy price and customer service has plumbed new depths.

This swing of the pendulum also enveloped the bus industry so that government could divest itself of what was regarded as a liability because buses were not of sufficient profile or interest to attract government support.

Beyond the 1970s oil crisis and the 1980s fervour for privatisation, bus use continued to decline and the mid-1980s reached a turning point for which all bus operations were privatised or ‘deregulated’, the latter being a misnomer given the huge amount of regulation that persists. Essentially, most aspects of buses went to the private sector.

Looking dispassionately at privatisation offers some hints to the benefits or otherwise of franchising, partnerships, centralised or decentralised control. The concept that new entrants would join the bus market to compete and offer a better deal for the consumer fell by the wayside for a multitude of reasons.

With the majority of the market now under the control of a handful of large businesses, it’s

clear that all has not been as intended. Much the same has happened with train operators, where entry requirements for new operators are very challenging with no guarantee of success. For bus services, we have had innovation and the lesson learned has been that good customer service underpins growth in demand, but poor customer attitude results in failure. Many areas continue to experience a decline in the number of bus users and services.

Controlling agencies The relationship between bus services and central and local government is complex.

Devolution in the form of Scottish and Welsh Governments and Combined Authorities has created variations in the way services are planned, managed and provided. Meanwhile, the face of local control, municipal operators, have declined in number but continue to offer some high quality services. The biggest anomaly is London where services have been funded and contracted out to private operators while benefitting from unified control and marketing. Even here demand is falling and the number of buses in the fleet can be expected to reduce. In some places beyond, monopolies have emerged as competition has given in to economic circumstances. A monopoly is fine if the operator is a good one, but disastrous where the operator abuses its monopoly to the detriment of its customers.

Now we have franchising. In the vanguard is Greater Manchester with other areas expected to follow (but not smaller areas unless government approves). This emulates the London experience and is reliant on sufficient revenue being generated to fund better services and cover financial risks. This will be a challenge but with coordinated transport policies that are multi-modal, there is hope that franchising will be successful.

Elsewhere, without constraints on car use, passenger transport doesn’t stand much of a chance without massive investment. Rising costs and the absence of a credible transport strategy means that more of the same is inevitable without major intervention. Wales has proposed franchising throughout, not too far-fetched when half the network has some sort of funding support already; a difficulty is retaining local influence within a larger overseeing framework. www.passengertransport.co.uk

24/01/2024 15:52

IN ASSOCIATION WITH: www.ciltuk.org.uk Tel: 01536 740100 @ciltuk

Greater Manchester has opted for franchising, but it is reliant on sufficient revenue being generated to fund better services and cover financial risks

Changing circumstances The current financial challenge has a variety of components, but the reality is that rising costs are not being offset by rising revenue. The privatisation hope that the market would address deficiencies without intervention has not proved to be the case, and unless action is taken, the market will largely fail. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the problem and now we have direct government support for some services, new vehicles and fares. This has been welcome and necessary but it represents more government control than ever before. The promised funding for England falls a very long way short of being transformational, especially as it turned out to be less than announced.

Service provision is drifting towards government dependency to a point where any withdrawal of funding will be inconceivable – cue partial nationalisation by the back door.

At last we have recognition by government that bus services are valuable to society but the price could be lack of local control unless local www.passengertransport.co.uk

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authorities take the risk. Many authorities are not in a position to take any financial risk so that leaves devolved and central government in control. For the current government, paying to keep both trains and buses running is the opposite of what their ideology suggests, but that is where we are.

A way out of this is to devise and commit to a coherent strategy that defines the role of bus services, how they are funded and how they relate to other transport options. This means getting off the fence of trying to please everyone and instead properly support access to places and areas by passenger transport.

That would be a useful role for a centralised approach, leaving local organisations to determine the details in response to local needs and priorities. Over many years, bus services have tried most things and we know what would be a good idea and what is not – allowing ideas and experience to shape services and networks would be good if funding was directed in the appropriate way. If government support becomes the norm, then local control

must prevail or we end up with the type of remote micro-management that plagues the railway.

Perhaps the principle that services cannot continue without government intervention and funding is now firmly established; the next step is to devise a transport strategy that works i.e. one in which passenger transport and active travel are prioritised over car dependency. We will wait to see what an incoming government will do in choosing between a trajectory towards an equitable and sustainable outcome or more of the hopeless norm.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nick Richardson is technical director at transport consultancy WSP and chair of CILT’s Bus and Coach Policy Group and is a former chair of the Transport Planning Society.

In addition, he has held a PCV licence for over 36 years.

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24/01/2024 16:27

“The government’s hesitancy on proceeding at pace is becoming one of life’s great mysteries”

GREAT MINSTER GRUMBLES

History may be repeating itself

Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the DfT

I confess to being surprised by our minister of state’s comments at the Railway Industry Association’s annual parliamentary reception the other day when he called on Labour to work with the government on the prelegislative scrutiny of the draft Rail Reform Bill - which apparently, he said, would be coming “very soon”! This struck me as very odd, for two reasons. First, Labour has already said it supports the creation of Great British Railways (GBR), which is largely all that the Bill does.

So, Labour is hardly going to cut up rough during the pre-legislative scrutiny process.

Second, since when has an incumbent government ever needed the cooperation of the opposition to help with any pre-legislative scrutiny of a draft Bill? It’s nonsense. Still, at least we will apparently see this draft Bill “very soon”, which I guess is good news, although we have waited so long for it now I suspect it will be something of an anti-climax once it’s published. And when we do finally get to see it I suspect we’ll be even more perplexed as to why the government has seemed so reluctant not only to publish it as a draft Bill, but even just to crack on with it and simply introduce it into parliament. The government’s hesitancy on proceeding at pace is becoming one of life’s great mysteries.

Meanwhile, our prime minister has given the green light for the opposition to start formal engagement with the civil service to discuss its policies should it form the next government. I say “should”, but I doubt there is a single soul www.passengertransport.co.uk

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in the country that thinks the outcome of the general election isn’t a foregone conclusion!

When the shadow secretary of state for transport, Louise Haigh, and her colleagues in Labour’s shadow transport team do start to talk to us, I have a hunch that they will discover, if they don’t know this already, that their policies for bus and rail are rather similar to the current government’s!

In a New Year’s message Louise Haigh said that Labour would “fix“ the UK’s “broken bus system”. But the only way to “fix” the bus system is to throw a rather large sum of money

COMMENT

at it, money which I doubt a Labour chancellor will let her have. The problem for Labour is that its plans for bus and rail are, in all practical senses, the same as the Conservative Party’s.

So all this talk about fixing the bus system, or sorting out the railways, is just political hot air. Of course, I am quite sure that Keir Starmer, Louise Haigh and many others in the party know this. But they are trapped by the nature of our political system which obliges the opposition parties to say they have plans to “fix” government public transport policies when they take over, even if these plans are no different or won’t make any difference.

As I say, I’m sure Louise Haigh knows this.

My hunch is that she is therefore praying that when the Labour Party forms the next government Keir Starmer doesn’t actually appoint her as the secretary of state for transport. There is nothing she can say or do that will, for example, make the trains run more efficiently. There will still be train delays - and lots of them, not least because Network Rail has already said that the settlement for Control Period 7 means there will inevitably be a degradation in the quality of the rail infrastructure. And we all know what that means. Louise Haigh is actually in danger of raising expectations which can’t be fulfilled.

While on rail, I was taken aback to see Richard Bowker, the former chair and chief executive of the failed Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), appear before the Transport Select Committee in early November to give evidence on the government’s decision to scrap HS2 Phase 2b. He was there alongside Nigel Harris in their joint capacity as co-hosts at Green Signals podcast - whatever that might be. My God, I thought, does Richard Bowker’s ghost still haunt the railways? It made me wonder if he is hankering after some kind of comeback.

Is he, I thought, hoping to be appointed as the first chairman or chief executive of GBR should Peter Hendy or Andrew Haines decide they really don’t want that job, thanks very much.

My blood ran cold at the thought. Richard Bowker’s tenure at the SRA was not a happy one and his relationship with this department and with Labour ministers at the time was, well, fraught. It was Richard Bowker’s approach to dealing with this department that led to the then secretary of state for transport, the late Alistair Darling, abolishing the SRA. I wonder if history may be repeating itself!

26 January 2024 | 25

24/01/2024 15:53

CAREERS

CALL NOW TO ADVERTISE 020 3950 8000 or email sales@passengertransport.co.uk

First’s focus on inclusivity ‘First Connections’ advocate network aims to foster diversity in the FirstGroup workforce FirstGroup has launched First Connections, a new employee network designed to bring together participants of its personal development programmes. It signifies a concerted effort by the Aberdeenbased group to foster diversity and inclusivity within its workforce.

Specifically tailored for women and ethnically diverse colleagues, the initiative aims to create a supportive community where individuals can connect, network, and extend career development guidance to one another.

Participants in FirstGroup’s personal development programs gain access to the First Connections network, providing a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge, and professional opportunities. The network is envisioned to evolve into a dynamic forum where advocates host regular webinars, offering insights and promoting initiatives such as job shadowing and

The First Connections launch event was held in London

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mentoring.

The network’s launch event, held in central London and attended by over 150 people, featured programme alumni, senior leaders from various business sectors and external speakers with expertise in diversity and inclusion.

FirstGroup’s personal development programmes focus on women and ethnically diverse colleagues who are aspiring to advance their careers. These initiatives aim to build the capabilities and confidence of individuals seeking roles as team leaders, experienced managers eyeing ‘Head of’ positions, or equivalent opportunities.

Additionally, FirstGroup runs a separate development programme for high-performing women identified as having the potential to move into more significant and complex senior leadership roles within the business.

Since the launch of these personal development programmes in 2018, over 500 individuals have completed them.

Impressively, 40% of participants, on average, have progressed to larger roles within First.

“Our personal development programmes play a vital role in retaining and developing talent from under-represented groups within our business, and this new network will be key in helping people stay connected as well as inspiring others,” said FirstGroup chief executive Graham Sutherland.

APPOINTMENTS GWR Great Western Railway has announced the appointment of Rachel Geliamassi to the new role of customer services director.

Geliamassi (pictured) joins GWR in March from Stagecoach where she is managing director of its bus operations in the west of England and Oxfordshire. She has more than 15 years’ experience in customer service and operations management in transport.

In her new role she will be responsible for leading the customer services teams across its stations and trains and ensuring GWR continues to provide the highest level of customer service to its passengers.

PULHAMS The Go-Ahead Group has announced the appointment of Alex Chutter as area director for Pulhams Coaches, the Cotswoldbased bus and coach operation that forms part of the group’s Oxford Bus Group subsidiary.

Chutter (pictured) was latterly operations director at Brighton & Hove and Metrobus and has held other roles with the group at Poole-based Go South Coast.

He has previously overseen the process of integrating recentlyacquired bus businesses into Go-Ahead businesses, including Southdown PSV which was acquired by Brighton & Hove Buses in February 2023. He also has significant coaching experience from his time working at Go South Coast, and from looking after Brighton & Hove’s Spirit of Sussex coach business.

NORTHERN Northern Railway has announced the appointment of Matt Rice as its new chief operating officer.

Rice (pictured) is currently a route director at Network Rail and is set to join the train operator later in the spring. He will succeed Tricia Williams who was announced as Northern’s new managing director in August 2023.

She will step into that role when the incumbent, Nick Donovan, leaves in the spring.

A graduate of Aberystwyth University, Rice joined Network Rail as a management trainee and went on to hold a diverse range of roles in UK rail. After a period with railways in the Middle East, he returned to the UK, where in 2019 he was appointed as route director for the north and east route of Network Rail.

VAN HOOL Belgian bus and coach manufacturer Van Hool has announced the appointment of Marc Zwaaneveld as co-chief executive officer.

Zwaaneveld (pictured) will work alongside current CEO Filip Van Hool accelerating and intensifying the business’s recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Like many manufacturers, Van Hool says it has experienced a sharp decline in demand for some of its products.

Following the appointment of Zwaaneveld, Van Hool will be able to focus more on managing the day-to-day activities, while Zwaaneveld will focus on the process of accelerating recovery of the business. He will remain in post until that process is completed.

www.passengertransport.co.uk

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DIVERSIONS

Railway uniforms get streetwear look

from the young students.

The project, named ‘Culture Vulture’, challenged them to create a new streetwear label, combining the themes of youth subculture and uniforms to produce a hybrid,

original and unexpected collection.

Students not only developed a new brand and logo, but designed the entire new range complete with a ‘Lookbook’, packaging, marketing strategy, launch party and photoshoot, all in just five weeks.

Their clothing designs had to combine a cultural element with an industry that wears uniforms.

The imaginative combinations that the students came up with included ‘Samauri Warrior with Ballroom Dancing’, ‘Heavy Metal with the Navy’ and ‘Majorettes with 20s Flappers’.

Who knew a Samurai could tango so well, or that heavy metal could set sail with the Navy?!

Passenger trains aren’t due to start until June, but it seems that rail bosses have got steamed up over whether or not a vintage train should be brought in for the reinstated railway’s grand opening ceremony.

Minutes of the ScotRail board’s October meeting reveal that Transport Scotland had requested a steam train for the launch event, no doubt recalling the use of a ‘kettle’ for the successful launch of the Borders Railway in 2015.

In that case the famous A4 steam locomotive Union of South Africa

was brought in to transport the great and the good to the opening ceremony. However, much has changed since 2015, and the board noted that Transport Scotland had made no additional funds available to ScotRail for the festivities surrounding the reopening of the railway.

“It also considered that ScotRail must comply with its value for money obligations, brand, and operational capability,” the minutes record. Put another way, the board members were not in any way chuffed!

ld uniforms upcycled with a new look by students Corporate uniform designer and manufacturer Jermyn Street Design has collaborated with the Fashion Retail Academy to give students a unique project to upcycle old railway uniforms into a new range of streetwear.

A number of JSD clients, including train operators Great Western Railway and Eurostar, donated the clothing and the result is an inspired collection demonstrating skill and knowledge

Chuffed at the Borders Railway

STEAMED UP AT LEVENMOUTH The Levenmouth rail link will reopen fives miles of railway in Fife, Scotland, reconnecting the town of Leven with Edinburgh Waverley via the Fife Circle Line.

A non-uniform new look

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28 | 26 January 2024

Social media is a marvellous thing, particularly for transport enthusiasts as it’s become a forum where they can exchange news, views and the latest pictures.

Popping up on the Kent & South East Independent Bus Enthusiasts Facebook group recently were some snaps by group member Sam of some of the vehicles deployed on a recent rail replacement service between Faversham and Gillingham.

However, our attention was drawn to Sam’s final words: “Please do ignore the police wrestling someone to the ground in the last picture.” Cripes!

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24/01/2024 16:16