Developing best practice and skills at heart of BCoE’s mission to deliver better bus services

Stelios Rodoulis is Head of the Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) formed two years ago. Here he talks to LTT’s Deniz Huseyin about the challenges facing the bus sector, closing the knowledge gap, bringing together LTAs, operators and suppliers, and his key aims over the next year.

When was the Bus Centre of Excellence set up and why?

The Bus Centre of Excellence was set up in 2023; its creation was recommended in the National Bus Strategy (2021) to enable the delivery of a long-term programme of activities and support to the bus sector. 

Funded by the DfT and delivered by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), BCoE works closely with sector stakeholders to deliver an asset that is run by the industry for the industry. 

At BCoE, we aim to raise capability and share best practices among all those involved in the delivery of bus services and infrastructure; share knowledge and provide know-how for a new generation of bus professionals; and promote buses’ role in a net zero transport system. Our purpose is to bring together local transport authorities (LTAs), operators and suppliers, to develop and promote best practice and build the necessary skills to deliver better bus services across England. 

What is your role at BCoE?

I am the Head of Bus Centre of Excellence; I lead a small, tight-knit team responsible for setting up, managing and hosting our events, training courses and networks. My background is in urban and transport planning and have worked as a consultant at Jacobs and as the Rural Mobility Lead at Essex County Council.  

What is the structure of BCoE?

BCoE is governed by a Project Board and an Advisory Board. The BCoE Advisory Board is chaired by Leon Daniels OBE, who has world-class experience, expertise and knowledge of public sector transport in the UK, Europe and Far East and ex-Managing Director of Surface Transport for Transport for London, and is made up of key bus sector stakeholders operating at a senior level within local authorities, operators, advocacy groups and independent experts. The Advisory Board was set up so that the industry could feedback on BCoE’s work and help set the direction of travel.

The BCoE Project Board provides strategic oversight of the BCoE and is composed of senior representatives from the DfT and CIHT. 

The BCoE Project Team is made up of three full-time members of staff: Digital Engagement Officer Harriet Awofisan, Bus Policy and Engagement Officer Annalucia Bellisario and myself. We work together to plan and deliver webinars and events, manage networks, maintain the BCoE’s website content and all training and membership services.

How many members does BCoE have?

We currently have over 1,500 active members, growing organically at a stable rate.

Is membership free?

Yes, membership to the Bus Centre of Excellence is free and includes access to free events, webinars and conferences, and free or heavily discounted training courses. As part of our membership offering, you can also access our networks for free (according to professional interests and/or relevance to your job). 

What training does BCoE provide?

Members get access to free and heavily discounted learning modules available on CIHT Learn platform. As part of the BCoE membership, members can access the eight key learning modules listed below for free:

• Introduction to Bus Transportation - A Beginner's Guide

• Introduction to Bus Scheduling

• Creating a Public Realm for All

• Stakeholder and Public Engagement

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Understanding Disability

• Designing highways and transportation for blind and partially sighted people

• Designing highways and transportation for people with dementia

You can also purchase more training courses at 90% discount in bundles of nine or 15 courses. 

We also have two new e-Learning courses under development: Bus Franchising and Bus User Priority LTN 1/24 that we aim to deliver by Autumn 2025. 

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the bus sector?

Funding, Funding, Funding!

Alongside this, there’s the issue of bus service reliability – or rather, the lack of reliability due to worsening traffic congestion, roadworks etc. Managing road works and its impact on buses is a major challenge. 

Other challenges include attracting, hiring and retaining bus professionals at local transport authorities, and anti social behaviour and violence against women and girls on public transport.

What progress have you made so far in bringing together LTAs, operators and suppliers?

Depending on industry needs, we run specialised events bringing together LTAs, operators and others (such as advocacy groups and suppliers). For example, we run two in-person events focused on Enhanced Partnerships (EP) with the aim to collect insights and best practice examples – and these were fed into the DfT EP Review.   

The Bus Knowledge Sharing and Incident (Bus KSI) Network, hosted its inaugural Bus Safety Conference in May 2025 for professionals dedicated to improving bus safety. The conference was fully booked and brought together bus safety professionals, bus manufacturers and operators together, and provided an opportunity to engage, network, and learn from industry leaders as we explore innovative solutions, best practices, and strategies for enhancing bus safety.

BCoE runs four specialist Networks where members can come together to collaborate, exchange insights in a safe space, and collectively tackle industry challenges: 

• Franchising Network (open to all members): our latest and biggest network, meets every eight weeks and aims to educate, inform and expand the expertise of bus professionals who are actively engaged in or aspiring to engage in bus franchising.

• Bus Knowledge Sharing & Incident Network (open to all members): The Bus KSI Network was established to lead the improvement of bus safety in across the country, by bringing together industry experts, safety specialists, and bus professionals to share knowledge, develop best practices, and shape policy and regulatory advancements in bus safety.

• Public Sector Members Network (exclusive to public sector professionals): meets every two months to explore the challenges faced by public sector bus professionals and share best practice. 

• Zero Emission Buses Drop-in Sessions with the First Bus Decarbonisation Team (open to public sector professionals and bus operators only): these are monthly, ask-us-anything sessions around bus decarbonisation.

These networks fulfil a convening role and enable conversations between LTAs, operators and others, to happen in a safe space; these conversations would otherwise not be happening. 

In general, we bring the industry together through our events, and the conferences in particular. 

How is the BCoE supporting the role, retention and recruitment of drivers?

We did a few events specifically on driver recruitment in 2023/24 – the issue of driver recruitment is still there but not as bad as it used to be three to four years ago.   

We collaborate closely with Women in Bus & Coach to attract more female drivers in the industry.

We also hosted a one-day Bus Safety Conference in May 2025; one of the themes was driver safety.  

Safe, happy drivers = happy passengers = more patronage

Where are the biggest gaps in knowledge within the sector and how do you plan to address this?

Gaps in knowledge within the sector vary according to geography and size of organisation. Rural and urban areas have different needs and have different gaps in knowledge. We try to cater for both urban and rural areas, large and small LTAs - and address these challenges through our webinars, events, conferences and networks. 

Learning from national/international experience too. 

General gaps in knowledge include: 

• Knowledge, skills and expertise to set-up and manage a bus franchising, regardless of model chosen.

• How to maximise the benefits of an Enhanced Partnership 

• Bus Network re-development  

• Integrated ticketing (see below) 

How is the BCoE accelerating innovation in transport?

I wouldn’t say we are accelerating innovation; rather, we try to disseminate best practice and help to avoid replication and re-discovering the wheel. 

What progress has been made in developing an integrated, region-wide smart ticketing system?

Integrated ticketing has the potential to truly unlock the benefits of Franchising and EPs – and increase patronage.  

Integrated ticketing is complex, but Project Coral is leading the way and will deliver a flagship ticketing scheme in the Midlands and then roll-out elsewhere.  

We will be launching a series of webinars on ticketing later in the year, aiming to bring together ticketing experts, operators and LTAs  – stay tuned! 

How are you tackling issues facing bus services in rural areas?

We run various webinars specifically on rural bus services, and hosted a full day conference on rural bus services on 17 July. https://www.qualityruralbus.uk/conference 

We also explore rural mobility issues through our Networks. For example, the main topic in a recent Franchising Network meeting was rural franchising models.  

What impact has the BCoE had so far? Can you give examples of how you have made a difference?

Earlier this year BCoE carried out a survey of its members. The overall rating of BCoE was 8 (with 10 being the highest score and 0 being the lowest score) and 96% of members said they would recommend BCoE to other bus professionals. 

Here are examples of responses we received from members:

46.5% of respondents feel that the BCoE programme of events, training, and other resources has somewhat better enabled them to deliver bus reforms. 

20.8% said that it enabled them significantly.

12.9% showed limited impact, answering ‘not really’

 2.9% reported no impact and 16.9% found the programme not relevant to their work. 

Meanwhile, 29.7% of respondents feel that being a BCoE members significantly contributed to their professional development.

52.5% of respondents feel that being a BCoE members somewhat contributed to their professional development.

16.9% feel that being a BCoE member has ‘not really’ contributed to their professional development. 

Less than 1% reported no impact of BCoE .

What are your key aims over the next year?

Based on feedback from our members and stakeholders, our overall priorities for the next 12 months will be: 

• New website & booking process: we will transition to a new and improved website to better serve the needs of our community and improve the booking process for events.

• More in-person events and conferences: build on the success of previous conferences

• Training courses: we will expand our training and learning offering, which will include a new course focused on bus franchising and LTN1/24.

• Webinars and Networks: we will continue with our programme of webinars and network meetings.

Meet Stelios and team at Quality Bus, hosted by Portsmouth City Council on 23-24 September https://www.qualitybus.uk