Sir Peter Hendy , Commissioner of Transport for London is set to become the new president of UITP, The International Association of Public Transport. Hendy’s nomination will be confirmed at the UITP’s biennial congress taking place in Geneva at the end of May. He will succeed Ousmane Thiam from Dakar, Senegal, the first African President of the Association who took over from  Alain Flausch when he was selected in 20111 as the new Secretary General of UITP. Hendy has held the

Edwina Hart has taken over the lead transport responsibility in Wales from Carl Sargeant in a ministerial reshuffle,  adding it to her existing economy portfolio. But, in a surprise move, walking and cycling have been taken out of transport and passed to the minister for culture and sport, John Griffiths who will have responsibility for taking forward the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Bill.

From popular media and political comment, it sometimes seems that fare levels are a really critical issue for public transport, but in fact the role of detailed pricing policies and the wider funding equation are arguably far more important in delivering what users want and growing the market. Analysis of demand elasticity for metro networks worldwide (Anderson, 2011) actually shows that demand is more sensitive to change in level of service than to change in price. It shows, in particular, th

The potential use of existing public transport electricity supply infrastructure for future multimodal electric urban mobility schemes has been considered at an event organised by UITP, The International Association of Public Transport in Brussels. The move towards more electric mobility in urban areas will require major investment in the supporting electric grid and charging infrastructure, and existing systems used by trams, metros and railways could potentially be leveraged for wider benefi

D espite having historically one of the most comprehensive of the world’s urban and commuter rail systems, London has been playing catch up to Paris, and indeed other cities with S-Bahn-type railways, on its rail network development. While Paris has a mature cross city rail network in the form of its five RER lines, and is now moving on to developing its Grand Paris Express network of orbital super metro lines, London is trying to do both at once, and coming from a long way behind. Thames

Could Germany be on the brink of war, facing invasion by Britain, Poland and France? We’re talking coaches, and it’s an intriguing possibility brought on by the recent liberalisation of Germany’s long-distance public transport market, and the arrival of Britain’s National Express Group. Until a few months ago, state railway operator Deutsche Bahn held a monopoly over long distance transport in Germany. Wherever DB operated a long-distance rail corridor, no competition wa

The city of Bristol’s newly elected mayor George Ferguson (pictured) has named a panel to advise him on transport matters. Ferguson, an architect by profession, has campaigned for a more comprehensive approach to the city’s planning and design and a review of existing projects including a Bus Rapid Transit scheme. Members of his panel are John Grimshaw, the founder of Bristol-based cycle route promoter Sustrans; Pip Sheard, of the Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance; former Badge

The  UK Department for Transport has appointed new directors of local transport and rail as part of a major internal re-organisation. Director of local transport, John Dowie, moves to become director of a new strategic roads directorate, overseeing the Highways Agency, and is replaced by Graham Pendlebury (pictured above), previously director of the Department’s greener transport & international directorate. The strategic roads and local transport directorates will be part of a

At the EU level the significance of transport policy has continued to grow and with it the implications for those who operate and plan it at national and local levels. The importance of transport commissioner Siim Kallas is obvious, hence his appearance in our top 12 people, but is closely followed by that of Brian Simpson, chair of the European Parliament transport and tourism committee. Matthias Ruete heads the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) in the European Commissio

Across the transport sector there are certain individuals whose activities stand out either as beyond the significance of their own specific role within an organisation, or for introducing new ideas from an inventive technological or entrepreneurial standpoint. In an era of rapid change to the way transport services are managed, marketed and paid for it is not surprising that a group of such people feature amongst our power list. Elaine Rosscraig, Stagecoach’s head of bus customer insigh

A group of individuals hold significant power in their role defining regulatory frameworks and supervising transport industry activities. Following last year’s Competition Commission inquiry into the local bus market, headed by Jeremy Peat, that disappointed some with its rejection of any new regulation, MPs on the transport select committee called for greater resources to be given to the traffic commissioners in order for them to supervise the proposed new bus operators’ code of con

The economic circumstances of 2012 gave added impetus to a range of lobbyists and protestors, harnessing public support against cuts in spending on transport, or the need to raise additional revenue through fares rises. RMT union general secretary Bob Crow showed his ongoing old fashioned union power to win concessions for his members through threatened and actual industrial action, notably in gaining supra-normal bonuses for rail staff working during the Olympics, but also as he positions hims

UK transport is heavily influenced, as elsewhere, by political leaders. Transport problems and challenges exist at both a national and local level and it is Boris Johnson Mayor of London who New Transit believes has continued to be most significant in his interventions in transport over the past year and hence included in our top dozen power people. He faced an election last year against his old adversary Ken Livingstone, which he narrowly won, and then gained the reflected glory of both the Oly

A group of fifty leading senior executives and managers form this year’s New Transit UK passenger transport providers Power List. There are several changes from last year as new appointments have lifted individuals into positions of greater responsibility and others have moved out. Four of the most senior UK passenger transport group heads are featured in our overall top 12 people listing on the previous pages- David Martin at Arriva, Sir Brian Souter at Stagecoach, Tim O’Toole at F

Alain Flausch, Secretary General UITP Why is he on the list? The International Union of Public Transport has become a big hitter in discussing, presenting and promoting a positive future for public transport. Flausch’s appointment as General Secretary from his previous presidency and leading role in Europe as the head of Brussels Transport has lifted it to an even higher level. What kind of year has he had? Productive. Detailed work on policies has set benchmarks through a range

Siim Kallas, EC Transport Commissioner Why is he on the list? He is responsible for the wider framework of much of Europe’s transport system, and is restless and interventionist in pursuing a customer-focussed agenda. What kind of year has he had? Combative. SNCF and DB have been especially opposed to Kallas’s Fourth Railway Package, which is intended to open up the rail markets of the EU by requiring open tendering of subsidised railway operations, and complete separation

Extending the proposed London-West Midlands high-speed rail line on to Manchester and Leeds will drive regeneration and transform travel patterns, says the UK Government, which sees the project as a cornerstone of its bid to kick start economic growth and modernise British transport infrastructure. All the political heavyweights in the Coalition were on hand to unveil the phase two extensions of the existing project to open Britain’s second high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham

European Commission vice president for transport Siim Kallas has been forced by France and Germany to accept a watered down version of his long awaited plans for the EU’s Fourth Railway Package. The new framework designed to encourage greater competition and innovation in rail services has now accepted single-company infrastructure and train operators as a way for countries to organise their railways. Throughout the formulation of the Fourth Railway Package, published in February, Kallas

Crossrail 2, the plan for a new south-west to north-east line under London, is to be promoted as a regional rail scheme rather than a London-focused metro. Business lobby group London First, Transport for London and Network Rail have all been examining the options for the project which has been on and off the drawing board for more than half a century. It was once known as the Chelsea-Hackney link, living in the same scheme pool as the Victoria Line crossing London from Brixton to Walthamstow w

As a youngster, I used to run for the bus to go to school, and when I got to the stop on time, I often couldn’t get on board because it was full. I didn’t feel I could count on the bus. Actually, I didn’t really understand how the system worked at all. The timetable at the bus stop never seemed to reflect the reality! This meant that I never knew if I was waiting in vain, and if I’d be better off running to school. I have to admit I ended up running a lot! The funny thi

Operators, infrastructure and technology suppliers, passenger representatives and a wide range of other stakeholders gathered at the Travel 2020 event to discuss how technology is driving change in the transport sector. Much of the discussion revolved around the importance of achieving a customer-focused approach by listening to passengers and putting their needs at the centre of future developments. This revolutionary idea of listening to the customer might sound like a statement of the mind-

Smart Links - the range of short distance, often automated transport modes - have begun to shake up long-held models of what public transport is, and what it can do, over the last decade. Yet they are still only just beginning to show their true utility. This fledgling sector could well be in a position similar to the early years of railway development, when pioneering lines showed the potential, but it took several years before the rest of the world caught on and railway mania exploded. If so

The concept of coach-train, or Car à Haut Niveau de Service (CHNS), is being explored as an interurban public transport solution in several locations in mainland Europe. But there are some agitators who believe that even the schemes proposed so far have barely scratched the surface of the potential for coaches. Leading the charge is transport data management company ITO World’s chief executive officer Peter Miller, who runs the Coachways UK blog, which is a focus for ideas in the

There were lively debates  on the future of smart ticketing and payment at two key sessions in the Travel 2020 conference. Transport Minister Norman Baker, and Jenni Borg, his senior civil servant responsible for the topic, both came under pressure to move away from current commitments to a single smartcard technology solution and embrace new options for the EMV bank card and mobile phone payments already being implemented within TfL and some train and bus operators. The first indications

T he UK led the way in franchising of passenger train operations, but its experience has hardly become the ‘How To’ guide for the rest of Europe. The abandonment of the West Coast franchise is just the latest round of franchising that has fallen apart in the harsh light of reality. The problems, blamed on a flawed assessment process, but also raising questions about staffing resources within the Department for Transport (DfT) and bidders’ ability to predict revenues over the 1

A report into what went wrong with the UK Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) attempt to refranchise the intercity West Coast operation this summer makes highly uncomfortable reading for the Department. A lack of transparency in the bidding process, published guidance not being complied with, inconsistencies in the treatment of bidders, and technical flaws in the model used to calculate the amount of risk capital bidders were asked to provide, are all identified in the independent rev

Patrick McLoughlin  has been appointed the new Secretary of State for Transport in the UK prime minister’s cabinet reshuffle replacing Justine Greening. His appointment has been accompanied by speculation that it presages a change in policy on expanding Heathrow airport to which Greening was opposed Former chief whip McLoughlin is the third transport secretary since the formation of the coalition government two years ago. Derbyshire Dales MP McLoughlin was made a junior transport m

We need to work together to get the best out of the passenger transport system. The key issue in this is trust, and an ability to cooperate even where transport operators are working in a strongly commercial context. We want to also help improve the relationship operators have with their customers - on both areas of difficulty when things go wrong, and in establishing much more creative customer-supplier dialogues. As the voice of the passenger we want to facilitate this process and add dimensi

Repositioning the passenger transport business through partnership building, delivering an integrated offer and a culture change to put the customer at the centre of thinking are key themes for this year’s Travel 2020 conference and exhibition which will take place on the 10th & 11th October 2012 at Kia Oval, London. A total of eight topic areas are being addressed by the event in two days of wide ranging discussion about the future of passenger transport service and system developme

A trio of 11m-long Optare Versa EVs now entering service with Travel De Courcey in Coventry are the largest battery-powered electric buses currently running in the UK, with a passenger capacity of over 50. They are being supported in service by two ABB Terra 51 fast-charging stations, designed to charge their batteries to full capacity in under two hours. The system offers the company the ability to recharge the batteries during the day during a layover, as well as overnight. This provides the

The UK Department for Transport has awarded a £1.9m contract to design, develop, implement and manage a Rail Passenger Counts Database (RPCD). Capita Symonds has been appointed to develop the database, to collate, manage and report on rail passenger figures for the 23 train operating companies which have contracts with the DfT. The contract covers an initial year of development, followed by four years hosting and support. The RPCD will identify hotspots and trends across the network to b

We’ve all been stuck on a station platform or at a bus-stop at one time or another, and there’s nothing more frustrating than having no idea about when your transport is actually going to turn up. Recent research carried out by Passenger Focus showed getting this information during delays is passengers’ fifth highest priority for improvement, behind the most obvious needs of value for money, punctuality, frequency and being able to get a seat. That’s why we have spent

The release of both scheduled and real-time travel information by the UK rail industry as open data is raising the quality of service advice to customers and offers a prospect of new national and regional multi-modal journey planners interfacing the rail and equivalent bus systems.  The key is the rail industry’s DARWIN national real-time database. The railway operates to a timetable and from this it should be possible to derive data that is capable of being fed to all users who pro

The specification has emerged for the new longer franchises at Great Western (currently operated by First) and East Coast (currently operated by state-owned Directly Operated Railways after National Express’s withdrawal from the route in the face of unaffordable premium payments). The government is meanwhile seeking to protect its new franchises from Open Access competitors to further improve their financial performance. The Great Western franchise’s Invitation to Tender was issued

Legal action, petitions, pleas to the UK Parliament, and plans for competing flights by dissapointed rival Virgin have followed the naming of First as the new operator for the West Coast train operating franchise between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland. The franchise is the first of a significant batch to be re-let, embodying new government thinking on the running and development of the UK rail system. But it has raised questions of forecasting demand and how to ensure that an over

The future of public transport in Britain will be more electric, the UK government has decided, as it begins the process of catching up with mainland European thinking on public transport power supply. It has given the go ahead to substantial electrification works on the country’s rail network, and a commitment to fund plans to reintroduce the first electric trolleybuses in the country, since the last one was withdrawn from Bradford in 1972. While European mainland railways are electrifi

The Chair of Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, Cllr David Wood, has been elected as Chair of the group of six UK transport authorities which cover the largest city regions outside London. The appointment comes as the group have flexed their muscles about taking greater control of local transport services in their areas. At the group’s AGM the authorities expressed their strong support for those Integrated Transport Authorities that are progressing plans for the option of the c

Metro, the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, has agreed a £7 million plan to implement a smartcard ticketing system for bus users in Bradford and neighbouring districts. The green light follows a successful joint bid by Metro and bus operators to the Department for Transport (DfT) for almost £5 million of funding. Plans include fitting alround 400 vehicles run by smaller operators with smartcard readers, to bring them into line with those of Transdev Keighley and Arriv

The term ‘smarter choices’ is increasingly used to describe the development and promotion of sustainable transport, both in terms of the decisions by users about their travel choices, and by transport system providers about their service offer. However,  care is needed managing these programmes as smart language does not does not necessarily imply practical outcomes. One of the critical issues is the distinction between marketing and promotion, known as ‘soft measures&rs

The announcement by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) that it is to press ahead with a long-mooted pilot scheme to test the Tram-Train concept in South Yorkshire finds it hard to explain why the government really thinks a trial of an already proven technology is necessary. After all, systems where the line between a tramway and a suburban railway has been blurred to achieve a new form of connectivity are now well established in Europe, and even in the UK. Perhaps the British project has less

The public transport industry makes surprisingly little numerical play on its carbon credentials, but carbon calculators can demonstrate to potential users that by taking public transport they are doing something virtuous. Some public transport websites do provide personal carbon calculators which allow users to compare the carbon impact of their journey with that of the same car journey. Both the UK Department for Transport’s Transport Direct website and Germany’s DB travel inform

Having spent his first term modifying the congestion charge, delivering the London cycle hire scheme and ordering prototypes for his new London bus, Boris Johnson is turning his attention more heavily to rail having secured his re-election as London Mayor in May. He is seeking to address the problem of strikes and poor reliability on the London Underground, and to extend his responsibility for suburban rail services. Giving evidence to the London Assembly, Johnson said he had set Transport for

West Yorkshire’s Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) members have voted to support the introduction of England’s first Quality Contract framework for bus services. Their move reflects a growing frustration that the UK is failing to achieve the benefits of genuine operator/local authority partnership in passenger transport provision since the introduction of privatisation and deregulation outside London. But the authority has looked to Sweden rather than London for its model of colla

With the Competition Commission’s review of Britain’s bus market now complete, the Government has launched its formal new bus policy statement. As expected there are no radical changes to the deregulated framework that has now been in place for some 25 years, or moves to bring franchising into play outside London, though Local Transport Minister Norman Baker kept the door open for English local authorities to pursue bus Quality Contracts with a measure of formal control, whilst usin

The UK Department for Transport has published a new rail demand forecasting framework developed by consultants Oxera and Arup that suggests current industry expectations of passenger responses to price and journey time changes may be wrong. It adds to an emerging understanding that the old principles and practices of revenue management are increasingly out of date. Commissioned by the DfT, Transport Scotland and the Passenger Demand Forecasting Council, the ‘Revisiting the elasticity-base

­It is a truth more or less universally acknowledged, that a French city mayor seeking re-election must be in want of a tram. In France the tram represents more than just an urban-friendly, bang on trend mode of transport. Much more is riding on it. In a word: votes. The thinking here is along the lines of ‘give the people a tram and they’ll vote for me.’ Brand new tramways, or line extensions, or the introduction of new trams, are typically inaugurated prior to city elec

The elections in May were significant in so many ways. For me, they were particularly notable  as I was elected onto Kirklees Council to represent Golcar ward in the Colne Valley in West Yorkshire. This small blip on the political radar as many English authorities turned ‘red’ with Labour’s sweeping gains across the country may have been missed by most New Transit readers. They were probably more interested in the bigger picture in Britain and Europe – and the big ci

Momentum has appeared to be building inexorably in the UK towards following the European example of devolving much greater responsibility for local rail services to local or regional government. In setting out the practical implications, the Department for Transport’s much delayed Command Paper responding to the original McNulty review recommendations from last May has acted as something of a reality check. The benefits devolution could bring in terms of making informed decisions, local

­T­­he UK Government has issued its consultation paper on options for decentralising local and regional rail services within England. It’s a hot topic and the suggested options include some potentially radical stuff, but my suspicion is that we face a fairly tortuous journey to any new responsibility framework, with an uneven response, reflecting the lack of effective regional or sub-regional government in Britain. The UK does not have a clear federal structure like the USA

When I was doing management training some years ago a frequent theme in college lectures was the difference between supplier-led and consumer-led organisations. Our lecturer had clearly identified the fact that many passenger transport operators were then still in the former camp. Whilst I instinctively knew he was right, it required quite a major effort of will to bend one’s thinking to see things through the eyes of the customer, particularly when the surrounding culture was generally no

Plans in the UK government’s rail Command Paper for retailers close to stations, and potentially high street libraries, post offices and supermarkets, to sell rail tickets could draw on technology developed for Merseyrail’s MtoGo concept. The first MtoGo combined convenience store and ticket sales outlet was opened in 2006 at Liverpool’s Moorfields, and has since been extended to a further seven stations. The concept was enabled by a ticketing system developed by Fujitsu wh

A project involving the Association of Train Operating Companies has begun to consider building on the UK’s Rail Settlement Plan philosophy to offer payment reconciliation across all modes of transportThe project – South East Fares and Ticketing (SEFT) – was launched following the announcement in the Chancellor’s November budget that £45m would be provided as part funding for implementation of ITSO smartcard rail ticketing across the south east. While SEFT began

There is a new kind of transport enthusiast, the “app collector”. I recently realised that my own collection of travel apps looks small when compared with that of an avid collector. There is an increasing range of apps that address similar travel information challenges in different ways. How many do I actually need? Looking on the Android store for “bus London”, for example, there are 31 apps that give bus departures in London and all have at least 3 stars, with mo

Peter Huntley, 55, who died in a fall in the Lake District on 9 February, was a widely admired, energetic and innovative professional in the UK transport world who was about to embark on a further adventure in a multi-dimensional career. A keen cyclist, walker and climber, Huntley was in training for a gruelling 16-day trek to the North Pole in April in aid of charity Transaid, which tackles poverty in the developing world by providing better transport. Born in Hartlepool, Huntley entered the

The insurance industry isn’t often looked upon as a paragon of retail virtue, so you might think it a bit odd if I suggest that those in the passenger transport business could learn a thing or two from that sector. But let’s see if I can persuade you. The proposition is my recurring concern: the reward from genuine customer focussed thinking. Once a year I fill in a form for my car insurance. It asks me to confirm some things about me (age, length of driving licence, etc), the vehi

Rail Minister Theresa Villiers has announced the transport operators shortlisted to bid for the next Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside rail franchises. They are: Great Western: FirstGroup, Arriva/DB UK Investments, National Express and Stagecoach These bidders will receive the Invitation to Tender in May 2012. It is anticipated that the successful bidder will be announced in December 2012, with the contract commencing in April 2013. The length of the franchise term will be 15 y

Why is he on the list? The International Union of Public Transport has become a big hitter in discussing, presenting and promoting a positive future for public transport. Flausch’s appointment as General Secretary from his previous presidency and leading role in Europe as the head of Brussels Transport has lifted it to an even higher level. What kind of year has he had? The UITP had a highly successful congress in Dubai, with a further strengthening of its mission to double public tra

Neil Scales is leaving MerseyTravel as chief executive and director general to take over as chief executive of TransLink, the public transport authority in Brisbane, Australia, in March. Scales has spent 15 years at MerseyTravel. He said: “For me this is a challenge to make a real difference on the other side of the world and an opportunity of a once-in-a-lifetime experience Down Under.” Chair of Merseytravel Mark Dowd said: “I have worked with Neil Scales for 15 years, and h

­T­­he ‘rail product’ is only as strong as its weakest link, and that link is often the station. So it’s good to see some real positives emerging on the station front. Both big and small. I had a heart-warming start to 2012 when I travelled on a local train, in the ‘investment-starved’ North of England, and stopped at a brand new and impressive station. It’s called ‘Buckshaw Parkway’, located between Leyland and Chorley in Lancashire,

The early ‘Wild West’ days following UK bus industry deregulation are most often characterised as a period of destructive bus wars and cost cutting.  Yet it is a period that Stagecoach chief executive Sir Brian Souter believes has some still-relevant lessons for the way the industry should develop over the next decade. In many respects the late 1980s were a period of innovation and product development as well as competitive excesses, he believes. Initiatives included new high f

The Travel 2020 event at the beginning of November featured two days of cutting edge information exchange and debate about the future of passenger transport service provision, information and payment systems and the management of customer relationships. The tone for discussions amongst the audience of transport and travel professionals was set by the first morning’s  plenary presentations by transport minister Norman Baker and Stagecoach chief executive Sir Brian Souter. Baker outlin

­T­­he concept of ‘localism’ is one that’s set to have an increasing impact on the way transport is planned and managed. In Britain, the agenda is gathering momentum in several Government departments, and the Localism Bill received Royal Assent recently. There’s nothing in there specifically about transport, but that’s not the point. There’s a growing commitment to a culture of ‘localism’ which stretches well beyond the UK Coalition Gov

The Department for Transport’s Command Paper on reducing costs and reforming the structure of the rail industry has been delayed by new Transport Minister Justine Greening. The Paper, which had been scheduled for publication this month to take forward some of the recommendations in the McNulty review,  will now be published until early 2012. Greening said the delay would “allow time for greater consideration of issues central to the question of rail reform” and enable the

Manchester and London are vying to become the UK’s smartphone public transport commuter capital with new schemes to deliver high quality real time information to users. Working with technology service company Logica, Realtime information  specialist Vix-ACIS and First Manchester buses, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) plans a 2012 rollout of a ‘personal satnav’. It follows on from the Technology Strategy Board co-funded 18-month Empowered Traveller project, whic

­I­­t seems slightly self-indulgent to use this ‘opinion’ column to go into the ins and outs of my local train service in the South Pennines, but hey – it is my opinion, and current plans perfectly highlight some of the dillemas surrounding the age-old question of what railways are for. I live in the large Yorkshire textile village of Slaithwaite, about four miles west of Huddersfield in the Colne Valley, on the busy Huddersfield to Manchester Trans-Pennine route.

Chair of the Department for Transport’s Directly Operated Railways,  Elaine Holt, is to leave at the end of December to take up a new ‘senior post’ within the industry. Holt was appointed in mid-2009 to take over the running of Intercity East Coast from National Express. It is believed she had been in negotiations to remain, but was unable to agree terms. Holt said:  “We’ve achieved a huge amount  and we’re just starting to see the benefits of

New multi-modal transport information and ticketing services which are expected to become available over the next decade are likely to have a profound impact on transport authorities’ role in delivering timetable and journey planning services to the public. While the public sector currently has a primary role in providing local service information to the public through its statutory responsibilities, Tim Rivett, head of information technology at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executi

The rail industry has put delivering a major capacity enhancement scheme in Manchester and further electrification projects at the top of investment priorities for the next five-year spending plan. Delivering the full £500m Northern Hub project in Manchester, and electrifying the trans-Pennine route and Cardiff Valley line commuter network, are among investments proposed in the rail industry’s Initial Industry Plan for Network Rail’s next five-year control period (CP5), coveri

UK Train passenger numbers have jumped 5.3% in the period June to September, according to the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). This would confirm that the railways are set for their busiest peacetime year since the 1920s with more than 1.3bn journeys expected to have been made by train by the end of this year. ATOC said one of the reasons behind the rise in rail travel is the increasingly high price of petrol, leading more leisure travellers to switch from road to rail on summer

Three months ago, Arriva pulled one of its most highly rated managers, Jonathan May, from his role as managing director of its North East bus business, to head a new company, Arriva Transport Solutions (ATS). May, who had been working part time on setting up ATS for the previous six months, is now full time in his new role which is dedicated to finding innovative ways of working with local authorities. The aim is to provide better value for money from all vehicles and resources operated by both

In early 2010, Arriva announced that it would be implementing a new strategy designed to position its UK bus business as local authorities’ partner of choice. A survey of 21 local authorities had been carried out, and while it showed that Arriva’s operational performance was well regarded, councils felt the company needed to take more account of their strategic aims, and wanted a greater level of engagement. “I think that what local authorities crave is a discussion with opera

­I­­t’s easy to under-estimate how unfamiliar many people are with using public transport.  A lot of the population simply don’t ever take the train or bus- so have little conception of how the system works. Last year, a community group did some research in my neighbourhood about people’s awareness of local transport and it revealed a huge lack of understanding. We seem to very often assume that people somehow ‘know’ that there’s a train and b

The UK Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has appointed three new non-executive directors — Mark Fairbairn, Stephen Nelson and Ray O’Toole. The appointments will run until until September 2015. Mark Fairbairn has been at National Grid since 1998. From 2003 to 2007 he was chief operating officer UK distribution and since 2007, executive director gas distribution. Stephen Nelson held a range of roles at drinks company Diageo from 1996 to 2003. He then worked at J Sainsbury’s bef

The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) has appointed Alain Flausch (pictured) as new secretary general. He will take over at the end of year from Hans Rat, who will retire after 13 years as head of the UITP. Ousmane Thiam, most senior vice-president, will take over from Alain Flausch as president of the UITP. Flausch has been chief executive of the Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB), the public transport company in Brussels, for the last 1

The sole service to have so far taken advantage of EU law to open the market for cross border rail services is a joint venture between Deutsche Bahn, Austrian state-owned operator OBB and Italian regional operator LeNord,  on the Munich-Innsbruck-Verona route. The operation began last year when Italian national operator Trenitalia pulled out of, or according to some reports was dropped from, the Eurocity  joint venture with OBB and DB. OBB/DB then used the new European regulations to

There is a need to remove the inconsistencies and to have a symmetrical market operating across the 27 countries, ”Johann Metzner DB’s Head of Transport Policy told this summer’s House of Lords inquiry into European rail services.“ In some cases the independence of national regulators has even been called into question, while in others, the lack of effective separation between infrastructure and operations has  led to suggestions that questionable mechanisms are bei

This summer, a series of announcements by Deutsche Bahn, Eurostar and SNCF underlined the fact  that the major European rail  operators are beginning to prepare for a new era of international competition. Deutsche Bahn has already applied to run services from Frankfurt and Amsterdam to London through the Channel Tunnel from December 2013, while Eurostar has announced plans to serve a series of new destinations beyond Paris and Brussels, possibly as soon as 2014. Destinations in the Ne

FirstGroup’s announcement that it will skip a technology and introduce contactless bankcard payment across its English bus fleet from next year, is just the latest step in a revolution that is gathering pace. The past few weeks have also seen the UK’s Association of Train Operating Companies all but admit that operators have plans to close nearly 700 station ticket offices due to the growth in new ticket retailing technology, much of it used by customers well away from the station, a

Merseytravel transport chief Mark Dowd has been elected to chair the Integrated Transport Authorities Special Interest Group for the Local Government Association. The ITA SIG brings together all six Integrated Transport Authorities (ITAs) in England. Dowd, who is chair of Merseytravel, said: “It is the responsibility of the ITAs to work together to ensure the best possible public transport service for the travelling public.” Bootle councillor  Dowd has worked in transport sinc

Nexus has launched an interactive teaching pack to warn children across Tyne & Wear about the dangers of trespassing onto rail lines. Nexus, which owns and manages Metro, will be using the package during visits to more than 200 schools over the coming year. The package — devised by Nexus youth liaison officer Rebecca Ditchburn working with design agency Graphic Ad — allows youths to use a touch screen smart or ‘white board’. “The interactive nature of the software

Passengers in Poole, Dorset, can now check bus times by touching their smartphones to tag readers installed in ‘magic bus stops’. The system, developed by AZO Consulting, has been trialled at 10 bus stops since January, and Poole council plans to roll it out to 800 bus stops later this month. Nick Phillips, accessibility team leader at Poole Council, predicts that 100,000 passengers will use the service in the first year. The system is also due to be installed in Weymouth for Dorset

­T­­he writings of Chopra admittedly don’t figure strongly in any university transport planning syllabus. He is a leading writer on spirituality, interpreting the Vedic tradition for modern-day life. He has a lot to say about the meaning of ‘co-incidence’, and my argument is that you can always find meaning and resonances if you look for them. It’s good to think out of our usual boxes, or carriages, and let destiny take control and ‘co-incidence’ m

The fallout from the decision to name Siemens rather than Bombardier  as preferred bidder for the £1.6bn contract to supply and finance new rolling stock for Thameslink cross-London services shows no sign of abating. On the face of it, the selection of German conglomerate Siemens rather than Canadian conglomerate Bombardier was just another element of the global market at work. However, the fact that Bombardier’s Derby factory has lost out and faces a major reduction in its wor

In March, the merger of French groups Transdev and Veolia brought another new player from Continental Europe onto the UK transport scene. State-owned, Paris-based  RATP received the London United and Bournemouth Yellow Buses businesses as part payment for its stake in Transdev, and chief executive Pierre Mongin immediately announced an aggressive UK expansion policy. This month, Mongin showed that RATP’s ambitions should indeed be taken seriously, with the acquisition of the remainin

Rail fares across franchises in England and Wales will rise by an average of 8% in January with rises on some routes as high as 13%. The increases will come as a result of the Department for Transport’s new formula for setting regulated fares which has been changed from RPI+1% to RPI+3% in order to reduce rail subsidy. The increase is based on July’s inflation figures, which were released today, and showed RPI of 5%. Flexibility given to train operators means that on some routes, far

The government has been accused of failing to monitor or understand the impact of last year’s comprehensive spending review on bus services by a cross-party of group of MPs. In its report on bus services after the spending review, the Commons Transport Committee concluded that the industry faces its “greatest financial challenge for a generation” as a result of current cuts to local authority grants, concessionary fare reimbursement, and planned cuts to Bus Service Operators&r

The long-term strategy for developing the rail network in London and the south-east has been published. With the number of passengers travelling into London, especially at peak times, set to grow significantly by 2031, Network Rail’s London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy identifies ways to boost capacity, improve journeys and increase connectivity across the region. Produced in partnership with the rail industry, the Department for Transport and Transport for London, the strate

Direct rail services from London to cities in Germany and Holland could be in operation by 2013 if a formal application by Deutsche Bahn (DB) to run trains through the Channel Tunnel is approved. The German train operator is the first continental rail company to express an interest in competing with Eurostar on the line since it was opened up to other operators in January 2010. If the application is approved, London’s St Pancras International will be able to serve passengers to Rotterdam

The International Union of Public Transport has just produced a position paper challenging it 3,000-plus member authorities in 92 countries, to consider becoming “real mobility providers,” and promoting the joint mobility of public transport in combination with other modes like car-sharing, taxis and cycling. It is a significant moment for traditional public transport companies, as they decide where their future business prospects lie. If they do not rise to this challenge, there i

Why aren’t taxis treated as a serious part of the public transport mix? It’s surprising that this question hasn’t been answered because taxis, and derivatives from them, bridging the gap between conventional public transport and the private car, offer a unique contribution to efficient and sustainable mobility. In 1999 a conference was held in Birmingham entitled “Taxis: the Cinderella method of transport” at which speakers including Steven Norris, then the Minister

Transport consultant Steer Davies Gleave is working with the West of England Partnership office — comprising Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils — to seek funding from the Department of Transport for rapid transit routes. Funding is available for major transport schemes across the country. The new routes would provide services that link residential areas, shopping, work, leisure and district centres, as well as helping to t

People moving to Greater Manchester can find out the journey time between new workplaces and homes by checking an online interactive map. Mapnificent, by IT developer Stefan Wehrmeyer, will allow users to check how well-connected their workplace is to public transport services. The free online tool will offer useful guidance to BBC staff relocating from London to the new Mediacity in Salford Quays. The map shows that Sale, Timperley, Irlam and Swinton or all within a 30-minute journey by public

Cambridgeshire County Council is to review controversial plans to phase out its £2.7m annual support for all tendered bus services by 2014/15 as part of its developing vision for the Cambridgeshire Future Transport initiative. The initiative would involve combining the £34m currently spent by public services on transport into a package for new community and business based schemes. If given the go-ahead by the council’s cabinet, no further bus subsidy reductions will be made u

Stations are as much a part of our nation’s history as they are the shop windows of the railway. They feature in films and in novels and are often focal points within our towns and cities. As these towns and cities grow and change, so must their stations. But the changes needed to cope with the growing popularity of the railway are rarely the same. Britain relies on rail, and the railway is nearly full. Major programmes like Crossrail and Thameslink are increasing capacity in London an

The Department for Transport’s review into reducing the costs of the UK railways led by Sir Roy McNulty (pictured)  has involved a research programme that moved far beyond the often insular perspective of the UK rail industry. It took in comparisons with similar systems in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland Denmark, the USA, Hong Kong and Australia. It also examined lessons that could be learned from other sectors including energy, air, water, automotive and defence

One of the great achievements of UK Government transport policy in the late 1960s was the creation of the passenger transport executives (PTEs) in metropolitan areas outside London. Well-funded and politically accountable, they achieved great things in developing integrated passenger networks from previously fragmented elements. The last few years have seen some of that momentum slipping away in Britain, whilst their European equivalents have flourished. It’s a long time since the PTEs ow

Network Rail has revealed how Manchester Victoria station could look in less than five years time. A brand new, state of the art roof will flood the station with natural light and encapsulate the historic building. It is likely to be made of ETFE – the material used at Piccadilly station and the Eden Project. The £20m cost is to be split between Network Rail (£16m) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) (£4m). The improvements will also future-proof the station, a

The tens of thousands of passengers using Clapham Junction every day are benefitting from improved access, less congestion and improved facilities following the official opening of the new entrance and nine new lifts at the station on 19 May. The upgrade — funded by Department for Transport, South West Trains, Wandsworth council, Transport for London, Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Trust — also includes new ticketing facilities, travel information screens and toilets in a fu

The British government prompted Competition Commission inquiry into local bus services may not have been billed as a means of creating a new framework for the bus industry to better meet public policy objectives. But there is no doubt this was its subtext. After 16 months of investigations, the Commission’s provisional findings have come no closer to success  than the politicians who have been berating ‘profiteering’ operators for the past two decades since de-regulation a

Virgin Trains and the Department for Transport have reached an agreement for the first of the new West Coast Pendolino trains to enter service this summer. Previously, the inability to agree commercial terms for the introduction of the new train had seen the DfT threaten to use it on the East Coast Main Line, where its Directly Operated Railways subsidiary operates, prior to the new West Coast contract starting. The new contract had been scheduled to start in May 2012 but has been put back to Ja

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has warned the rail unions that they must make a commitment to significant improvements in productivity if the rail industry is to have a secure future. Speaking at a conference ahead of the publication of Sir Roy McNulty’s value for money report on the rail industry, Hammond said that one of the most striking aspects of the work was its analysis showing that rail industry earnings had significantly outstripped those in other sectors. He considered that

Both bus operators and the Passenger Transport Executive Group have claimed victory from the Competition Commission’s inquiry into the local bus market, while making conciliatory noises that the commission’s report could lead to an era of more co-operative relations between the two sides. The Confederation of Passenger Transport was able to point to the commission’s conclusion that moderated free market competition rather than regulation should be seen as the primary bluepri

Surplus light rail vehicles from Edinburgh’s troubled tram scheme could be sold off to finance the ailing scheme, but any sale would require permission from the Scottish Government, it has emerged. Up to 20 trams would be surplus to requirements in the reduced tram scheme should the line be built only as far as St Andrew Square. The city council has indicated that is exploring “all sensible options” to help recoup public funds in the truncated light rail scheme. One possible

Professional. Positive. Innovative. Ambitious. Those are some of the words that would best describe the atmosphere that was experienced by the 2000 delegates at this month’s UITP global gathering of the public transport industry in Dubai. And a true gathering it was, involving  those at the sharp end of provision in 80 countries. If for no other reason, those attending had the substantial benefit of sharing the feelings and approaches of fellow professionals addressing similar chall

There was a distinct air of confidence about the future of public transport at the 59th UITP World Congress and Exhibition held in Dubai at the beginning of April. Whilst the 2000 delegates from 80 countries were hearing presentations relating to the Congress theme of ‘PT x 2’- the aim of doubling the public transport market share worldwide by 2025- there were many examples of innovation and imagination in vehicles, equipment and operational and marketing support systems to be seen

Women are the ‘great unseen’ in transport decision- making. Yet they make up the majority of bus users in Britain, and account for 46% of rail travellers. They are hugely under-represented in management, in many ‘front-line’ jobs such as drivers, and in policy and planning roles. Over the years a small number of determined campaigners and academics have produced plenty of evidence that women are losing out in transport provision and service delivery because their perspect

Merseytravel Passenger Transport Executive has taken the first steps to replacing the 30-year-old Merseyrail train fleet by launching a market testing exercise for potential suppliers. The PTE is currently preparing a business case to replace its 177-carriage fleet of Class 507/508 rolling stock when the lease for the vehicles expires either in 2015, or in 2018 should Merseytravel exercise an option to extend the lease. An OJEU notice has been issued asking for expressions of interest from pot

The Department for Transport has announced how its £46m Green Bus Fund has been distributed. The fund will result in 542 new hybrid and electric low carbon buses being introduced in England by March 2012. With the money paid to 20 operators and six local authorities as part payment for the vehicles. “Low carbon buses emit around 30 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than standard diesel buses and use around a third less fuel – that is why it was so important to kick-start

The UK government has made £200m of additional investment available for rail schemes, chancellor George Osborne announced in the Budget. The projects that have been given the go-ahead are the £85m Ordsall Chord scheme, linking Manchester’s Victoria and Piccadilly stations, which will significantly reduce journey times between Liverpool and Leeds. The other large new project to be funded is the Swindon to Kemble redoubling scheme, which will alleviate a notorious bottleneck on t

Remember the railway Push-me Pull-you? Its classic format had two passenger carriages in the middle, with a small steam engine at each end. Each engine points away from the carriages. There was no physical interconnection between the two engines, and no radios or mobile phones in those days. The drivers signalled  to each other with toots on their whistles. The passengers sitting in the carriages trusted the drivers to get them there and do it safely, despite the seeming conflict in visions

The shortlists for the East Anglia and West Coast rail franchise contracts and the latest London bus tender results illustrate that the UK transport market is now attracting the most intense levels of competition in its 20 year history of being an open market. In the case of the rail franchise shortlists, the interesting thing is not who made them (see panel), but the companies that did not. They include the Spanish and Italian state railways, who were making their first forays into the UK, Deut

Dealings between rail franchise holders and their tendering authorities are a potentially hazardous area for operators to negotiate. Key risks must be allocated skilfully, but as importantly, there are a whole range of behavioural niceties to be aware of. Failure to acknowledge them is costly, as the recent experience of two major operators demonstrates. For Deutsche Bahn, the bill associated with its ownership of  UK ill-fated open access rail operator WSMR has grown another £500,00

No, the title question is not a joke. I’ve not come on board the New Transit contributing team to take a few cheap pops at those working at the sharp end of public transport and their sense of purpose. It’s a serious question, with important ramifications, and (I think) not asked often enough. My perspective is that of a non-operator; specifically, a mathematician turned engineer. I’m interested in systems – how, why or if they work, and how well. I willingly nod my du

Transport for London has set out plans to make an extra £2.6bn of efficiency savings before 2018 in order to protect investment in frontline services. Total efficiencies are now expected to deliver savings of £7.6bn during the period. Major cost reductions highlighted by TfL in its new business plan include: £400m from ticket office changes driven by a reduction in 800 management and operations roles £375m from efficiencies in IT systems £460m in bu

Transport operators will benefit from tax changes announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the budget. A 1p cut in fuel duty has been announced with immediate effect and the fuel duty escalator, which would have seen duty rise by inflation plus 1p/litre, will be abolished. However, Simon Posner, chief executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said that the change would not have a significant impact on easing pressure on bus companies. “Despite this change, our bus services r

The government has made £200m of additional investment available for rail schemes, chancellor George Osborne announced in the Budget. The projects that have been given the go-ahead are the £85m Ordsall Chord scheme, linking Manchester’s Victoria and Piccadilly stations, which will significantly reduce journey times between Liverpool and Leeds. The other large new project to be funded is the Swindon to Kemble redoubling scheme which will alleviate a notorious bottleneck on the G

The ‘open data’ agenda – the drive to make information more freely available and accessible to the public – is not exactly new for the public transport sector. In Victorian Britain, when there was a largely uncoordinated rail network and some 150 rail companies, one man, George Bradshaw, aggregated and reformatted a mass of data from all these sources, in multiple and different formats.  This point was made by Christopher Osborne, development director, ITO World,

How should a modern consumer industry set its objectives for providing its users with the services they want, retaining business and winning new custom? The passenger transport industry has its own well-established way:  find out what matters most to existing customers, measure performance in delivering it, and get that performance right. This has led to punctuality and reliability taking centre stage, coming through in survey after survey as the most important issue to passengers, and the

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has given the go-ahead for a £4.5bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP) and £704m plans to electrify the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Cardiff, Bristol and Didcot. The announcement means that the IEP procurement programme will now be resumed with  the Agility Trains (Hitachi and John Laing) consortium replacing 30-year old intercity high speed trains. Although the project has been sharply reduced from the original 1400-train, £7

Network Rail’s new chief executive David Higgins has announced that the company is to devolve powers from London to its regional offices. The aim is to enable Network Rail to make quicker local decisions which are more focused on the needs of train operators and passengers rather than Network Rail’s corporate requirements, and to work collaboratively with operators. Network Rail’s regional organisations will now become fully-devolved businesses run by managing directors with

Why is he on the list? Campaign for Better Transport (previously Transport 2000) is the leading transport NGO. Joseph has been executive director of the organisation since 1988. What kind of year has he had? Headed by Joseph, CBT’s small team of campaigners are fighting hard for a pro-public transport agenda at a time when the government is slashing transport funding and the new transport secretary has expressed a desire to “end the war on the motorist”. It’s a big cha

Why is she on the list? As chair of the House of Commons’ transport select committee, Ellman’s role is to scrutinise the Department for Transport. What kind of year has she had? Power in Westminster may have changed hands in 2010 but the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside was re-elected to her post as chair of the Commons transport select committee. The second half of the year saw the committee publish reports on the performance of the Department for Transport and London Undergroun

Why is he on the list? Scales has headed Merseytravel, which co-ordinates public transport in Merseyside, for 11 years. In addition, he chairs three industry bodies: ACT TravelWise, which promotes sustainable travel; ITSO, the integrated smartcard organisation; and RTIG-INFORM, which aims to maximise the effectiveness of technology in passenger transport. What kind of year has he had? As chief executive of Merseytravel and chair of PTEG (a role he has now relinquished), Scales fought for co

Why is he on the list? The traffic commissioner is one of the bus industry’s regulators. They are responsible for ensuring that services are safe and reliable. What kind of year has he had? Balancing the need to secure the fundamental guarantee of the independent role that traffic commissioners perform in the unique context of their regulatory and judicial functions as a tribunal is an issue which Brown believes has been addressed robustly during 2009-10. What’s coming up in 2011

Why is he on the list? ATOC represents Britain’s passenger rail companies. ATOC has 140 staff and a £75m budget. What kind of year has he had? Generally very successful. ATOC has got its way on almost everything it asked for in the new franchising policy package with the government confirming that operators will get longer franchises and new responsibilities such as control over some stations. Set against that is the disastrous PR surrounding the January fare rises. What’s

Why is she on the list? The Garston and Halewood MP holds the transport brief in  Labour’s shadow cabinet. What kind of year has she had? At the start of 2010 Eagle was minister of state at both the government Equalities Office and the Ministry of Justice. She was previously a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions and the Northern Ireland Office. After the 2010 general election Eagle became the Shadow Solicitor General but on October 8 she was announced as the shadow se

Why is he on the list? A former Marine who served in the Falklands, Brown is Scotland’s new transport minister. His responsibilities include transport policy and delivery, public transport, roads, rail services and infrastructure, and air and ferry services. What kind of year has he had? Brown was serving as Scotland’s minister for skills and lifelong learning before taking on the transport brief in December. He took over from Stewart Stevenson, who resigned the post following cri

Why is he on the list? Smith is the independent chairman of ATOC, which represents the country’s train operating companies. What kind of year has he had? Smith has been interim chairman of ATOC since June 2009, carrying out the role in addition to his duties as managing director - rail development at the Go Ahead Group. However, he left Go Ahead on December 31 after securing the ATOC chairmanship on a permanent basis. What’s coming up in 2011? The Oxford graduate will need to dr

Why is he on the list? Passenger Focus is the public body set up by the government to protect rail and bus passengers. What kind of year has he had? What a difference a year makes. In 2009, Passenger Focus was handed the role of representing bus passengers in England (outside of London), in addition to its existing role as rail users’ champion. However, Smith and his colleagues spent much of 2010 with an axe hovering over their heads. The watchdog was one of the ‘quangos’ th

Why is he on the list? Morgan and his business partner, Brian King, have turned East Midlands bus operator Trent Barton into one of the world’s most admired local bus companies. And as the new chairman of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, Morgan also represents the bus industry in the corridors of power. What kind of year has he had? Morgan is now Trent Barton’s “semi-retired” non executive deputy chairman, but he’s still very much in the thick of the ac

Why is she on the list? The Chipping Barnet MP Villiers is the transport minister responsible for rail, London (including Crossrail) and aviation. What kind of year has she had? Mixed. Villiers will have been delighted to become a minister but the moment must have been tinged with disappointment at missing out on the top job at the Department for Transport. Villiers served as shadow secretary of state for transport for almost three years prior to last year’s election, but it was Philip

Why is he on the list? Inskip heads Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, which promotes and develops public transport across the region, and PTEG, which represents England’s six PTEs. What kind of year has he had? Geoff Inskip was number two at Greater Manchester’s PTE before he got the top job at Centro. The beginning of this year saw him take on an additional responsibility as the new chair of PTEG, taking over the role from Merseytravel boss Neil Scales. W

Why is he on the list? The Brussels machine is having an increasing influence on UK transport and Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, is the EU’s transport commissioner What kind of year has he had? The opening up of Europe’s railways to competition has been a major focus of the commission. How will it be regulated, and how can investment be attracted? What’s coming up in 2011? The European Commission is drawing up new rules on the award of service concessions th

Why is he on the list? Lewes MP Norman Baker is a transport minister. His responsibilities include regional and local transport, buses and light rail. What kind of year has he had? Eventful. At the start of 2010 few would have predicted that the Lib Dem’s transport spokesman would be a minister within months. However, the formation of a coalition government saw Baker become one of the Lib Dem’s frontbench team. Some said he would struggle to work with his new Tory colleagues, but

Why is she on the list? This month saw Lin Homer replace Robert Devereux as permanent secretary of the Department for Transport. What kind of year has she had? Homer spent the year as chief executive of the UK Border Agency, and she leaves at a time when the organisation is under fire. A critical report by the Commons home affairs select committee says that UKBA is still failing to meet expectations - 60,000 asylum seekers appear to have been lost without trace. The report also said the sa

Why is he on the list? Hammond is responsible for delivery of the coalition government’s transport commitments. What kind of year has he had? It was a surprise when the former shadow chief secretary to the Treasury was handed the transport brief by the new coalition government last year, and there were groans when he pledged to end the “war on the motorist”. However, Hammond was regarded as one of the ‘winners’ in last Autumn’s Comprehensive Spending Revie

So, my time at the Department for Transport has come to an end. Having joined as a director general in 2002 it was clearly time for me to move on - although whether moving back to Works and Pensions is really “moving on” is a moot point I guess! Still, I’ve had a pretty good time at transport even if my achievements may not be quite as dramatic as I might wish. After all, it takes so long to get things done, and because transport affects everybody’s daily lives and every

A new report has been published by watchdog Passenger Focus in partnership with Milton Keynes Council that has investigated what stops residents of the Buckinghamshire new town from using buses and what steps need to be taken in order to encourage them to do so. The Barriers to bus use in Milton Keynes report, which was produced by consultancy Outlook Research, has found that punctual buses, finding bus stops and obtaining information about services are the main factors that deter local residen

Sir Roy McNulty, chairman of the Rail Value for Money Study, may be a class act, but like every other leader of a "what is wrong with the railway" review, he started off by complaining about leadership, complicated tickets, lack of innovation, misaligned incentives: all the usual guff. It is enough to make you a cynic, but after nine months work, the study is now getting somewhere. In September, ATOC set out some very sensible proposals in a document called ‘Better alignment of

1993-1994 - Management Trainee, British Rail After graduating from the University of Wales with a BSc in International Transport, Goggin went through BR’s Management Training Scheme. 1994-1997 - Railtrack & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Merseyrail Electrics 1997-1998 - Business Analyst, MTL This role saw Goggin investigate the feasibility of setting up a bus business in Pakistan while providing policy advice to MTL’s two rail franchises. 1998-2004 - Various roles, Rail

We have called this ‘The People Issue’.  And there’s certain plenty of people and leadership-related material within our pages for the first issue of New Transit in 2011. Our annual Power 50 List has again spotlighted those who are at the core of shaping and running the UK’s public transport system. Top of our list this year is Brian Souter, the ever-energetic and always influential chief at Stagecoach. His career has rarely been without controversy, and he has had

New figures published by the Association of Train Operating Companies show that the rail industry has bounced back strongly from the recession. In 2010, passenger journeys rose 6.9% to 1.32bn. Growth was highest in the summer months, which saw a year on year rise of 8%. Year on year demand also grew strongly during the final quarter of the year despite two heavy bouts of snow in December that caused disruption across all forms of transport throughout the country. ATOC said that the growth was

Consultancy TAS Partnership has quantified the impact of cuts in government spending on bus services outlined in the Comprehensive Spending Review. The analysis shows that bus service levels can be expected to fall by 8% across the country as a whole with rural and interurban services the worst affected. In addition TAS predicts that a 15% real terms increase in fares can be expected, although that would not compensate operators’ wholly for lost income. The calculations are contained in

The government has made major changes to rail franchising policy including new requirements on train operators to reduce crowding and improve service quality, and longer contracts of between 15 and 22.5 years. Operators will be expected to provide investment in the network in return for longer franchises. Growing concerns over crowding levels will be addressed at many franchises through contractually binding requirements to manage crowding. On long distance franchises, the government’s a

Scottish first minister Alex Salmond yesterday appointed Keith Brown as Scotland's new minister for transport and infrastructure. Brown takes over the post following the resignation of Stewart Stevenson from the government at the weekend. The beleaguered minister resigned over his handling of the travel chaos experienced in Scotland during the recent extreme winter weather. Snow brought much of Scotland's central belt to a standstill earlier this week with the main M8 motorway between Edinbur

Transport secretary Philip Hammond this morning revealed that the Department for Transport intends to continue consulting on possible changes to the rail franchising system in parallel with a value for money review of Britain's rail network. However, he added that franchising reform needs to be coordinated with the review of infrastructure manager Network Rail. This will result in a short-term contract for the operation of the Greater Anglia franchise being let in 2011, with much longer contr

Sir Roy McNulty's review of the rail industry has suggested that significant cost savings could be made around the network through more effective partnership working. The value for money review of the nation's railways has reached, what transport secretary Philip Hammond termed, "some important interim conclusions". McNulty's report has found: The railway is costing more than it used to and more than it ought to. Greater efficiency would realise savings of between £600m

Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell has announced the appointment of Lin Homer as the new permanent secretary at the Department for Transport. body Homer, who has been chief executive of the UK Border Agency since 2005, was chosen following an open competition.

Reading Transport this week launched its first Alexander Dennis Enviro 400H hybrid buses and revealed new branding for its Premier Route 26. “It is a revolutionary vehicle and we are excited that our first six will be in service on Monday December 13,” said James Freeman, chief executive officer of the council-owned bus operator. They are among an order for 20 to be purchased by Reading Transport with assistance from a grant awarded to the company as part of the first phase of the

The Welsh Assembly Government has confirmed that it has signed a new four-year contract with Isle of Man-based Manx2 and partner carrier FLM Aviation to provide the north-south air service in Wales. The two firms currently provide the service between Cardiff and Anglesey on a temporary basis with two flights a day in each direction from Monday to Friday. Manx2 and FLM Aviation were appointed on an interim basis in May this year following the demise of the previous airline Highland Airways. An

Intercity rail operator East Coast has revealed that it is currently carrying more than a third more passengers than at the same time last year as a result of the current cold snap. The company says that it will continue to run a special timetable between Edinburgh and London across the weekend, as staff keep work hard day and night to keep trains on the move. Statistics released today showed the extent to which airline passengers between Scotland and London have switched to the train during t

Transport secretary Philip Hammond has launched an urgent 'audit' into how Britain's transport infrastructure has coped during the current cold weather. David Quarmby, the chairman of the RAC Foundation, will conduct the audit. "We took urgent action during the summer which means we're better prepared for severe weather than last year - a national strategic salt reserve exists for the first time," said Hammond. "But I share the frustration of the travelling public and we need t

Kent’s big transport priorities and significant new funding opportunities to pay for them were revealed this week in Growth without Gridlock, KCC’s landmark transport delivery plan for the county. The plan calls for an additional Thames Crossing, road improvements and the development of a new Parkway railway station to support economic regeneration in Thanet. Speaking at the launch to transport partners from across Kent, KCC Leader Paul Carter stated: “Today we set out our pr

The delivery of the Crossrail project has moved forward with the news that the procurement process to purchase new trains for the route has got under way. To deliver Crossrail services to the 37 stations along the route, around 60 new trains will be required, boosting London's rail capacity by 10%. Each train will be will be around 200 metres in length and able to carry up to 1,500 passengers. A notice has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union covering the combined procu

Stagecoach confirmed today that it is to invest around £2.3m in a fleet of 17 state-of-the-art greener hybrid diesel electric buses for use at the group's bus operations in Scotland. It follows the award of around £1.5m in support funding from the Scottish Government’s Green Bus Fund, the largest successful bid. Stagecoach is expecting the new vehicles to be delivered in late summer 2011 and the investment will involve: Nine single-deck vehicles running on the flagship St

Fifty new low carbon vehicles will soon join Scotland's bus fleet thanks to £4.4m grant funding awarded this week to six bus operators across Scotland. Stagecoach Scotland West, Stagecoach Scotland East, Lothian Buses, MacEwens Coach Services, First Glasgow and COLCHRI will all benefit from the Scottish Green Bus Fund which provides help with the up front costs of buying new low carbon vehicles. This mix of both large and small bus operators will result in the new low carbon buses

The secretary of state for transport has announced plans for a major investment in Britain's railways. Philip Hammond has confirmed the full completion of the Thameslink and Crossrail programmes and announced plans for the procurement of 2,000 new carriages for use across the network. However, Hammond revealed that the delivery of the Thameslink programme will be "re-profiled" to achieve completion in 2018. In a written statement issued this morning, he said that delivery of the or

New figures released by Centro, the West Midlands PTE, have revealed that public transport is continuing to gain ground against the private car. Public transport's modal share now accounts for more than half of morning peak trips - 57.8% - into Birmingham city centre, the highest public transport share recorded in the West Midlands and a 1% rise on the previous year. In 1995 the figure was 42%. Rail use is now 51% than it was a decade ago, while bus travel remains the favourite public transp

Transport minister Philip Hammond is this week expected to approve plans for the replacement of Britain's High Speed Train fleet. The move will see funding released to allow the continuation of the stalled Intercity Express project which was placed on ice earlier this year by then transport secretary Lord Adonis. Hammond is understood to be keen to approve plans for the project as part of wider moves to preserve vital infrastructure projects. A source close to the transport secretary said tha

A public consultation has been launched into proposals close the Mosley Street Metrolink stop in Manchester city centre. Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority has asked the Department for Transport for permission to close the stop following a report to the Authority's Capital Projects Committee earlier this year. The department has assessed the proposal and, as part of the statutory process, launched a consultation on the plans today (Wednesday) that will end on February 9, 2011.

The UK bus industry celebrated another year of delivery and enterprise yesterday, despite the continuing challenges of the economic situation, the squeeze on public spending and uncertainty over future regulation - as the UK Bus Awards were presented to the best performing people, projects and organisations from around the country. Over 630 of the industry's movers and shakers gathered at London's prestigious Hilton Hotel to witness the 15th annual presentation of the awards, which are designed

George Osborne came of age on October 20. Whatever one may think about the rights and wrongs of the spending review, I could not but help admire his performance in the Commons when he delivered his statement. In many respects it was nakedly political, with the objective seemingly to taunt and goad Labour rather than to rise above party politics for a spending review that is one of the most severe in living memory. George Osborne has shown his political street fighting abilities, in spades. Stil

For supporters of smartcard ticketing, progress towards introducing it on local bus services has been painfully slow. However, the last month saw new smartcard ticketing initiatives launched in England, Scotland and Wales. And Stagecoach has become the first major UK bus operator to complete the installation of government-standard smartcard ticket machines on its entire UK bus fleet outside London. All 7,000 vehicles in Stagecoach’s regional bus operations are now ready to move forward w

New technologies for operational control and customer service in passenger transport are opening up new management challenges and areas for specifying and sourcing cost-effective systems. Real time passenger information provides a significant boost to the quality of the customer experience. But it also means defining and operating a robust data capture and information transfer regime. Mobile telecommunications have been the key to unlocking this capability – and that world has its own se

There is a revolution underway in Manchester which will affect how transport and most other things in that city are provided in future. Though there is a lull in activity now, things will heat up soon, and what is happening is very interesting. But first, a question: what sort of leadership do you want to see in a major city? On the one hand, I can offer you a handsome smoked glass door; on the other, a bicycling Boris. Not an easy choice. The latter we know well, and will see around for a whi

The Big Society has become one of the cornerstones of the coalition government’s policies. It was at the heart of the Conservative Party’s 2010 election campaign and has been endorsed by their Liberal Democrat partners. The Government has said that “we want to give citizens, communities and local government the power and information they need to come together, solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want” (‘Building the Big Society’, Cabinet Of

The introduction of England’s free concessionary fares scheme has led to a significant increase in bus use. However, research undertaken by ITS Leeds shows that uptake of the free bus pass is inconsistent. In Lancashire 56% of eligible people don’t use it. Conversely 2.5% of passholders account for 25% of trips. During the conference, a debate was held to discuss whether the scheme is delivering its intended outcomes and providing value for money. Andrew Meaney, Head of Transport,

Operators, consultants and local authorities have painted an apocalyptic vision of the impact on bus networks from forthcoming changes to the English concessionary fares regime. The new system, which will come into effect in April, has been billed by the Department for Transport as a means of simplifying negotiations between operators and local authorities over reimbursement rates. However, at a conference sponsored by New Transit in early November, the DfT was warned that its primary impact w

When Labour came to power in 1997 it was John Prescott who was handed the transport brief. Prescott was enthusiastically pro-public transport but soon found himself under fire for being “anti-motorist”. The current transport secretary, the first to be installed by the new coalition government is the polar opposite, and the transport world got to know him a little better at October’s Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. While Prescott pledged to transform the bus from &

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has warned that rail users contending with overcrowding on trains face continuing capacity issues in the coming decade. MPs added that they are concerned that the "already unacceptable levels of overcrowding will simply get worse and ever more intolerable". Committee members have warned that Department for Transport plans show that all the relevant targets for increasing the number of passenger places on trains by March 2014 will be mis

Two Canadian pension funds have clinched a £2bn deal to acquire the High Speed 1 rail route. The government announced the sale of the line, which was completed in 2008, in June as part of efforts to reduce national debt. Transport secretary Philip Hammond this morning announced a consortium comprising Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will pay the government a total concession value of £2.1bn to operate the line for the next 30 years. The consortium

The first phase of Stagecoach Yorkshire’s £10m investment in bus transport in Sheffield has been marked with the launch of fifteen new double deckers for the city. They were unveiled by group chief executive Brian Souter at a special event at the City Hall and will spearhead three new Stagecoach routes in Sheffield, which represent a 30% increase in the company’s city area operations Costing £2.5m, the 80-seater Scania Enviro400s are the first double deckers Stagecoa

Directly Operated Railways, the state-owned operator of the East Coast intercity rail franchise, today published its first Annual Report which reveals that the firm made a profit after tax of £1.2m between its incorporation in July 2009 and March 31 2010. The firm has also revealed passenger growth of 3% over the period. Turnover for the nine months to March 31 2010 amounted to £233.8m, mainly reflecting ticket revenue earned from passenger services at East Coast and associated inc

Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority has taken delivery of the first of a fleet of up to 66 Optare hybrid buses. Jim Sumner, chief executive of Optare, handed over the first of the buses to Councillor David Sandiford, chair of the GMITA Bus Network and GMPTE Services Committee. Sumner said that he was very pleased to be handing over the buses in line with GMITA’s requirements. “This has been a major project for Optare and it emphasises our significant lead in the des

David Mackay, the chairman of Transport Edinburgh, Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams has today made public his decision to step aside, with immediate effect, from his position at all three organisations. His design to resign follows continuing problems with the troubled Edinburgh Tram project. Last month local councillors iapproved plans to truncate the city’s first tram line because building the whole route is unaffordable. The tram line was supposed to link Edinburgh Airport with Ne

Nexus, the Tyne & Wear PTE, has awarded framework agreements with five major construction companies to deliver its £385m all change programme for the Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system. The light rail system, used by 41 million passengers a year, will be modernised over the next 11 years, with tracks, power lines, signalling, stations and trains renewed. The five companies awarded framework agreements to date are Balfour Beatty Rail Limited, BAM Nuttall, May Gurney, Serco and Morg

Network Rail faces a £3m penalty after it breached its licence for failing to run an effective and efficient timetabling process for Britain’s rail network, the Office of Rail Regulation announced today. The proposed financial penalty follows confirmation in September 2010 that Network Rail had breached its licence after problems arose from the introduction of the Integrated Train Planning System for the May 2010 timetable. System faults left some operators temporarily unable to p

The Department for Transport this week reminded interested parties that its consultation into reimbursement arrangements for England's national concessionary bus travel scheme closes soon. It launched an eight-week consultation exercise in late September on changing reimbursement arrangements for concessionary travel. The Department's best estimate is that the changes will reduce the amount of reimbursement paid to operators by between £68m and £132m a year. About £1bn a yea

Transport secretary Philip Hammond has announced funding for 16 transport schemes in the wake of last week's Spending Review. However, the DfT has warned that the level of funding required for schemes already under construction is such that it is unlikely that any new schemes in a new 'development group' will be able to begin construction before 2012/13. The move will impact a number of projects including Bus Rapid Transit schemes in Leeds, Bath, Bristol, South Essex and South Yorkshire.

Stagecoach has become the first major UK bus operator to complete the installation of ITSO smartcard ticket machines on its entire UK bus fleet outside London. All 7,000 vehicles in Stagecoach’s regional bus operations are now fitted with the equipment, with over half already accepting ITSO smartcards in live schemes.  In London, all of the company’s 1,400 buses, operated by the recently acquired East London business, accept Transport for London’s Oyster card. The mile

Prime minister David Cameron today announced the publication of the UK’s first ever infrastructure plan, identifying the scale of the infrastructure challenge and the major economic investment that is needed to underpin sustainable growth in the UK over the coming decades. For transport the plan backs rail projects such as high speed rail, the Midland Metro light rail system, the construction of Crossrail and upgrades to the East Coast Main Line. Speaking at a CBI conferen

Growth in demand for rail travel during the summer months has risen to levels witnessed on only a handful of occasions in the last decade, according to new analysis published this week. The figures from the Association of Train Operating Companies show that passenger journeys grew by 8% in Quarter 3 of the calendar year of 2010 when compared to the same period last year. From late June to late September there were 298.6 million journeys on the railways compared to 276.4 million in the same per

Although it was not mentioned in yesterday's Comprehensive Spending Review announcement, Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, believes that its proposed NGT trolleybus scheme meets the government’s stated aims of supporting public transport and sustainable low carbon transport initiatives The PTEanticipates that Philip Hammond, the secretary of state for transport, will now make a positive announcement about the scheme next week. Metro chair Chris Greaves said: "We have already reduce

Although the Department for Transport is expected to make a more detailed announcement next week, it has already provided a more detailed analysis of some if its spending priorities. Tees Valley Bus Network For buses the Department says that it will accelerate the agreed funding for the Tees Valley Bus Network so that the scheme can be delivered to a quicker timescale. Concessionary fares Meanwhile, it will seek make savings in the region of 28% from local transport funding. The England-wide

Although the Department for Transport is expected to make a more detailed announcement next week, it has already provided a more detailed analysis of some if its spending priorities. Rail ticketing For rail the biggest announcement from the DfT is that the cap on regulated rail fares will increase from the current RPI+1% to an average annual increase of RPI+3% for three years from January 2012. In a statement it added that due to the impact of relatively high inflation at present the governm

London mayor Boris Johnson has welcomed vital investment to improve London's transport network and safeguard the capital's future announced in the government's Comprehensive Spending Review. Speaking at a City Hall press conference yesterday afternoon, Johnson said Transport for London's funding settlement had secured the future of a number of transport projects in the capital. The projects that will now go forward are the continued upgrade of the London Underground network and Crossrail. Mean

The rail industry has reacted to news of the Comprehensive Spending Review by broadly welcoming plans for a number of rail schemes. "The Department for Transport seems to have come out with a smaller cut to its budget than many other departments, and train companies and passengers will welcome the Chancellor’s support for a number of rail schemes across the country, including Crossrail," said ATOC chief executive Michael Roberts. “However, we will need to see the full

The bus industry has broadly welcomed the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review. However, Simon Posner, chief executive of industry trade association the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK expressed disappointment at plans to cut the Bus Service Operators Grant. From 2012/13, the Department for Transport today announced plans to make a reduction in the subsidy paid to bus operators by reducing the rate at which subsidy is paid by 20% as part of the Spending Review. The incentiv

There has already been criticism of plans to increase rail fares by RPI+3% for three years from January 2012, announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. Stephen Joseph, the chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "The chancellor’s statement focuses on large-scale transport projects but the reality is cuts in funding for everyday transport. These projects should not be used as a smokescreen to cover up service cuts and rocketing fares on our buses and

Chancellor George Osborne has now delivered the coalition government's Comprehensive Spending Review and the impact for transport is starting to emerge. The Department for Transport will reduce overall spending by 15% in real terms, making savings of 21% from its resource budget and an 11% reduction in capital spending. However, a number of capital projects have gained approval. The CSR document reveals that the capital allocation for the Department has been relatively protected; in 2014-15

Reports this morning suggest that transport investment in London will escape major cuts in the government's Comprehensive Spending Review. BBC London has revealed that Transport for London has been told to reduce its budget by at least 6% every year for the next four years - reducing it by £2bn in total. However, funding for local transport schemes and road safety projects will face cuts, but bus and Tube services in the capital will largely be protected. The Crossrail and Thameslink

After the long wait since the election of the coalition government in May, today will see chancellor George Osborne finally announce the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review. Some of the headline figures are already known - £83bn of public spending cuts overall up to 2015 and £29bn of tax rises over the same period. Meanwhile, Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury was yesterday photographed in his official car reading a secret document that revealed 500,00

In the four years since the government introduced free bus passes nationally for senior citizens, local authorities and operators have been caught up in acrimonious debate about reimbursement. The principle that reimbursement rates should leave operators no better off and no worse off sounds eminently sensible. However, the need to speculate on what would have happened without the concession has been a cause of numerous rows, not helped by the lack of decent quality data to determine additional

The Department for Transport has announced the winners for the second round of the Green Bus Fund. The scheme aims to encourage and help bus operators and local authorities to buy new hybrid and electric buses and the new round of funding will allow the purchase around 170 vehicles which will enter service by March 2012. The funding will help towards the additional up front cost of buying low carbon buses and provides the capital investment required to bring down costs for operators. Local

Ahead of next week's Comprehensive Spending Review announcement, The Passenger Transport Executive Group has today made public the case that it put to the Treasury as part of the spending review process. In the document PTEG called on the Treasury to ensure that the regional dimension is factored into the transport spending review - to ensure that the already lower levels of local transport spending outside London don’t take a disproportionate hit. The paper also calls for bus subsi

The number of passengers using the North's rail system is set to soar over the next ten and twenty years, according to a new report published by Network Rail. 30 - 45% rises by 2019 could see hundreds of thousands more people a year arriving in cities like Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield at peak times, according to the operator and maintainer of Britain’s rail network. The report makes a series of recommendations for targeted investment in the railways of the nor

In the four years since the government introduced free bus passes nationally for senior citizens, local authorities and operators have been caught up in acrimonious debate about reimbursement. The principle that reimbursement rates should leave operators no better off and no worse off sounds eminently sensible. However, the need to speculate on what would have happened without the concession has been a cause of numerous rows, not helped by the lack of decent quality data to determine additional

I  know it is thoroughly juvenile and unfair but the mental image of the TUC Conference in Manchester as Jurassic Park is completely irresistible. It is not that the beasts are dumb or benign, I am quite sure they are not. Bob Crow is an uncompromising Tyrannosaurus Rex - you eat what you kill, as the bankers say - but it is a different world, surrounded by verdant hills and accessible only by air. It is not the only place accessible only by air; there’s Sarah Palin’s politics

When the Northern Rail franchise was formed in December 2004 with the amalgamation of the First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern companies, it was against the backdrop of a review which was expected to lead to some significant service cuts, fare rises or both. In virtually the same breath as the contract was awarded to the Serco/Abellio joint venture, the Strategic Rail Authority initiated a study which was designed to find ways to reduce the £2.4bn subsidy Northern had been grante

The Association of Train Operating Companies has set out a route map for train operators to gain greater control over the day to day running of the railway. The plan envisages large sections of the network ultimately becoming vertically integrated franchises, and Network Rail being reorganised into regional businesses prior to the company being broken up and sold off. It reflects ATOC’s submissions to both Sir Roy McNulty’s cost cutting review of the rail industry and the government&

The whole country is bracing itself for the impact of savage cuts in public spending, but there can be few more anxious than transport professionals in the North of England. The North is expected to suffer more than most regions of the UK, and transport is one of the sectors that is likely to face the most dramatic cuts. Once the implications of this month’s Comprehensive Spending Review become clear, transport providers, local authorities and PTEs in the North of England will have to ma

The decision by government in the spring of 2010 to confirm Programme Entry status to the first phase of the planned New Generation Transport (NGT) trolleybus network in Leeds was very reassuring to businesses in the city. It showed that there is support for developing the transport infrastructure in Leeds to support growth. The £235m allocated by HM Treasury for Phase 1 would fund a north-south link, giving local residents and Park & Ride users fast and reliable public transport links

The boundaries which govern the provision of transport in the North of England do not always reflect the region’s economic geography. The Merseyrail Electrics network has been successfully expanded outside of the Merseyside county boundary, to Chester, Ellesmere Port and Ormskirk, but there is clearly scope for further expansion. Peter Huntley, a resident of Preston, Lancashire, experienced this for himself in August. “I did a cycle tour around North Wales and went round the coast,&

Few would consider a trip to a fancy dress shop before a major industry conference, but Hull-based EYMS Group chairman Peter Shipp did just that. As the boss and sole owner of one of the two former National Bus Company subsidiaries that remain in independent ownership, the other being TrentBarton, Shipp was the target of Brian Souter, Stagecoach’s expansion-minded chief executive back in 2006. The Scot expressed frustration - and perhaps a hint of admiration - at the stubborn refusal of s

A pioneering Green Transport Charter was signed in the West Midlands last month in a move that aims to help cut carbon emissions and flight climate change. The charter, which is being spearheaded by transport authority Centro, has seen the region’s transport industry sign a pledge to work together in support of the environment. Companies have agreed a course of actions aimed specifically at tackling climate change. Those signing up have pledged to: • reduce carbon emissions and oth

A NEW report by the Campaign for Better Transport has revealed England’s least and most car dependent cities. The study has named Nottingham as Britain’s most public transport friendly city. The 2010 Car Dependency Scorecard ranked England’s 19 largest cities or conurbations in eight regions, plus Cambridge and Milton Keynes to balance out the high levels of commuting in the South East. Each area was then scored against 17 indicators, derived from a variety of governmental and

In a statement issued this morning, National Express Group has revealed that it has received a six-month extension of its East Anglia rail franchise. The decision marks a u-turn on the decision by former transport secretary Lord Adonis to deny the group an extension of its franchise until 2014 as a result of it defaulting on the East Coast intercity franchise. The group says that the Department for Transport has called a seven period extension under the East Anglia rail franchise agreement.

New Transit’s scene-setting preview for the Travel 2020 exhibition and conference At present, the way public transport is sold and services publicised remains more akin to a nineteenth century experience than the twenty-first across most of the country. The scene at large railway stations during peak times as passengers queue in slow moving lines to pick up paper tickets from booking office clerks hardly reflects the fast-moving, customer service-led private sector enterprises which passe

This month will see the start of the party conference season and the case for supporting public transport will be put forward at fringe meetings in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. The tone is different from previous years. Public transport faces huge spending cuts and its supporters are keen to remind those in power of the important job it plays, both as an employer and as a facilitator of economic growth. But they also wants to highlight the green credentials of bus and rail. As part of

Government-owned train operator East Coast is negotiating to take delivery of one of the new Pendolino trains being built to increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line. East Coast would run the train on London-Edinburgh services from next July for nine months. The set would then be returned to the West Coast for the start of the next franchise which is scheduled to begin in April 2012. The train is one of four new 11-car units which are due for delivery next year but will be held in storage

My first encounter with real time passenger information (RTPI) was during family holidays spent in Europe. Most of the major cities I visited already had electronic signs at bus and tram stops which gave an indication of when the next service would arrive. When the opportunity to project manage procurement and delivery of a RTPI system for Edinburgh arose in 2001, I jumped at the chance. The project offered similar improvements to public transport, for bus passengers and operators, to those in E

A new report produced by the Passenger Transport Executive Group aims to set out the lessons for the UK from the “public transport laboratory” of the Netherlands. PTEG says that the document, produced by Dutch consultants Inno-V, lifts the lid on the development of Dutch public transport networks over the last decade since the widespread adoption of franchising models for bus and, in some cases, rail networks. It adds that it is the first time that transport policy makers in the UK h

So, the press is fixated at the moment of an analysis of the coalition’s first 100 days. Overall, you would have to say they have not done a bad job, although there has been the odd hiccup along the way. Here at transport I’m feeling rather pleased with myself and my team. We’ve managed to keep transport pretty much out of the headlines, although there has been the odd rumble on rail fares - isn’t there always - and high speed rail has raised its ugly head from time to ti

Even on holiday, someone would lean across the table, retsina in hand, wine dark sea behind, the perfume from hot thyme in the air and say, “the mistake you made was to separate running the trains from managing the network”. “No,” I would say, “you’ve got to break bulk somewhere and the train-track split is as good a place as any; besides, it’s European law. But look, look, over there, there’s a party going on, let’s go and join them.&rdquo

To achieve its budget the Department for Transport has two tools - cutting costs and increasing revenue. Almost all the attention so far has been on cuts, but there are many opportunities available to increase revenue. With automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) based enforcement the rate of road tax evasion amongst the 22 million motors on British roads has dropped from circa 7% to 2%. Centralised databases of motors with valid insurance and current MOTs already exist, so with the number of

The Treasury’s May announcement of Department for Transport cuts of £683m gives some clues. Popular concessionary bus fares will stay but eligibility may be tightened and charges for card issue introduced. 61% of UK local bus service support goes to Transport for London who may raise fares rather than cut the network as bus use growth continues. Outside London, local authorities will cut bus service support, perhaps impacting rural services while some Park and Ride services could b

Longer rail franchises would save significant mounts of money, both for the Department for Transport and for train operating companies, simply by reducing the number of occasions when the re-letting process has to be gone through. Where we need new stretches of motorway, we should consider private financing and toll roads, and where we need to widen motorways we need to make much more extensive use of Active Traffic Management (ATM). This has already been proved to be a much cheaper solution th

A team of ladies from the Scottish bus industry has raised more than £7,000 for a rescue centre for girls in Kenya. The four ladies and their friends climbed Glas Tualaichean, one of Scotland's 283 Munros, to raise money for Walk for Water on August 1. The ladies were recruited for this challenge by the Balcraig Foundation, which was founded in 1992 by Ann Gloag, co-founder of Scottish transport group Stagecoach. By reaching the 1,051-metre summit, the walkers received sponsorship totali

Government-owned train operator East Coast is negotiating to take delivery of one of the new Pendolino trains being built to increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line. East Coast would run the train on London-Edinburgh services from next July for nine months, and it would then be returned to West Coast for the start of the next franchise which is scheduled to begin in April 2012. The train is one of four new 11-car units which are due for delivery next year but will be held in storage unti

Trains used on Arriva Trains Wales mainline service are to be upgraded thanks to a funding deal reached by the Welsh Assembly Government and the train operator. Welsh ministers are providing £7.5m to the improvement programme which will take place over the next 18 months, with trains in ATW’s fleet undergoing a complete upgrade. This will include new seating, a state of the art Passenger Information System and improved luggage storage facilities, additional space for wheelchairs, as

A significant increase in demand for rail travel during the first six months of 2010 has seen a return to growth in passenger numbers on the railways not witnessed since before the recession. Analysis published by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) shows that October 2009 marked a turning point when demand on the railways began to recover and that since the start of 2010 overall demand for rail travel has begun to grow significantly. The research reveals: During the fi

As pressure grows on the railway to tighten its belt, train operators will seek to reduce staff numbers at stations, including those in ticket offices. Train operators will claim that their customers can instead purchase tickets at ever more sophisticated and user-friendly ticket vending machines or TVMs. These machines have colour, touch-screen displays and can accept payment by cash or by credit or debit card. The problem is, as new research shows, that many passengers simply don’t like

A cross-party group of MPs have come together to establish a new all parliamentary group to promote investment in rail in the North of England that supports economic growth. The new group will initially focus on: New commuter trains for the North (growth in rail passengers has been much faster in the North than the rest of the country and currently the North has some of the worst, oldest and most over crowded commuter trains in the country); Modern, fast and freque

From the classroom to the boardroom? Anything seems possible for IRO student Andrew Dickinson, whose hard work has earnt him a degree in Railway Operational Management. Already a station manager for First Great Western at just 25, Dickinson joined 16 other dedicated learners for a special graduation ceremony held in Glasgow on July 7 and staged by the IRO and its delivery partner, Glasgow Caledonian University. The event saw eight students awarded the IRO diploma in Railway Operational Manageme

It’s always rather amusing to read an article which argues with a case you have made, only to find that the person is arguing with something he thinks you said rather than what you actually said. It’s also occasionally frustrating, because it becomes clear that the people doing the arguing have not understood the argument you were making. Such is the case with the last edition of New Transit, in which a Pedro Abrantes, an economist with PTEG, has taken issue with the evidence TAS su

It was in early 2004 when the Department for Transport instigated a review of Britain’s railways that Transport for London first proposed taking control of the capital’s suburban rail network. While many of these aspirations appear have fallen by the wayside, the review did result in part of the then Silverlink rail franchise transferring to TfL control, leading to the birth of the London Overground network in 2007.  The previous Silverlink Metro network had gained something o

Brighton’s bus users have been revealed to be the most satisfied in a new survey investigating bus user satisfaction undertaken by watchdog Passenger Focus. The survey casts light on the attitudes and perceptions of local bus services by more than 18,500 passengers in a mix of 14 areas of England - a mix of metropolitan, urban and rural areas to reflect the different types of journeys that passengers make. It reveals that 92% of those questioned in Brighton are satisfied with the service

We’ve all known for a long time that cuts to transport spending will come but the shape of those cuts is still not clear. What has become apparent more recently is that it will be revenue spending that will face the biggest immediate threat compared to capital projects. That means that support for bus and rail services will be most under pressure and both the rail and bus sectors need to justify the value of their services to the economy, society and the environment. Campaign for Better T

I’d like to share some experiences I’ve had looking at how buses and trains interact with each other (or don’t, more to the point). I’ll focus on a particular route - ‘somewhere up North’. I’m not going to tell you where it is, as it’s unfair to the bus and train operators, and local authorities along the route. I don’t believe it’s much better anywhere else. However, if you do guess the line I’ll award you a Grand Central pen as

Bus operators have often pondered the conundrum of reducing bus stop dwell times in order to speed up their networks, but a research project undertaken by Swedish bus manufacturer Volvo could lead to fundamental changes in vehicle design that will assist this process. The research project is being undertaken as part of the UITP-led European Bus System of the Future programme that was launched in Rome in September 2008. The scheme is being funded by the European Union and has 47 project partners

Stagecoach launched the first of 56 new hybrid vehicles at its Oxford bus operation last month as ministers in Westminster and Holyrood announced further funding to support the introduction of low carbon buses in England and Scotland. The Perth-based group is introducing 26 hybrid vehicles at its Oxford operation, with a further 30 buses expected to be introduced at Stagecoach Manchester in November. Stagecoach chief executive Brian Souter said that the introduction of the new vehicles represen

The new coalition government has claimed that rail franchises will no longer be awarded almost solely on the basis of price. Instead it intends to put greater emphasis on operators’ proposals to invest in the railway and improve service quality, and the benefits that will bring to passengers and the wider economy. The proposals set out by the Department for Transport would also see control over rail services pass substantially from civil servants to train operators, with contracts contai

The final composition of the parliamentary transport select committee has been revealed. It will continue to be chaired by Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman. Members include Ealing Central & Acton MP Angie Bray, who was previously a member of the London Assembly Transport Committee during her time as a Conservative member of the London Assembly. Meanwhile, former rail minister Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South, has also been appointed. The remainder of the committee comprises

The modernisation of how customers pay for their bus and train travel has take a long time to arrive. A very long time. Stephen Morris, external affairs officer at Bus Users UK, recalls a visit to Harrow bus station in north west London where he saw the first trial of smartcard technology - back in 1994. Think how much the technology that shapes our everyday lives has changed since then. We have bid farewell to telephone boxes and magnetic tapes and we have embraced mobile phones, MP3 players an

The final composition of the influential parliamentary transport select committee has been revealed after their appointment by the House of Commons. It will continue to be chaired by Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman. The committee includes Ealing Central & Acton MP Angie Bray, who was previously a member of the London Assembly Transport Committee during her time as a Conservative member of the London Assembly. Meanwhile, former rail minister Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South,

Bus user watchdog Passenger Focus has published new research that reveals the attitudes of over 18,500 passengers in 14 areas of England towards their bus services. The report is the biggest single survey of bus passenger views ever to be published in England. Brighton (92%), Swindon (91%) and West Yorkshire (91%) scored the highest for overall satisfaction, while Greater Manchester (84%), Stoke-on-Trent (84%) and Shropshire (85%), despite achieving good scores, were rated lower. The work i

Bus operators have called on the government to retain the Bus Service Operators Grant, noting that its withdrawal could lead to significant problems within the industry in the future. The Confederation of Passenger Transport says that the grant plays an important role in lowering the cost of providing services, resulting in lower fares, a more comprehensive network of services, less congestion on our roads and a better and healthier living environment in our communities. "The axing of BSO

A complete revision of the way the rail industry is structured and operates is being considered by the Department for Transport's team investigating how to bring subsidy and costs down to an affordable level. A  scoping study published last month by the DfT's best value review team states that there will be "no no-go" areas in its future work, and transport secretary Philip Hammond has made it clear that current rail service levels are under threat if savings can not be achieved.

As we enter a period of austerity, it is clear that investment in public transport is going to dry up. There will be less money for new infrastructure and new vehicles, and this is causing anxiety throughout the sector. However, little or no mention has been made of the threat to one of the most important investments made in public transport - it’s management. Public transport requires a wide range of skills. It requires people skills: even junior managers in this labour-intensive industr

A restructuring programme at Centro, the West Midlands PTE, has seen Stephen Rhodes, the organisation’s bus and highways director take on the new position of passenger services director. The restructuring has also seen the creation of a new strategy and commissioning directorate, led by former policy & strategy director Tom Magrath and a new corporate services directorate led by Steve Chatwin, the former organisation, change and development director. James Aspinall, formerly financ

In his article on open access Paul Salveson argues that it adds value to today's railway. He presses the right buttons about competition, supposedly-neglected towns and little companies against the big boys. He declares his interest. I declare mine, as a railwayman who questions where the public interest lies. It is time for some counter-propositions. The article ignores concerns about differing access charges for franchised and open-access operators; the problem that open-access business model

Recent visits to the Continent have once again underlined to me the substantial difference in approach that exists in the way transport is provided, and decisions made about its design and development. Since deregulation and privatisation the UK industry has maintained a suspicious, and relatively detached, attitude to what is going on in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Scandinavia and beyond. It is as though there is a ‘them’ and ‘us’ approach and ‘we’ are

What drives competition in local bus markets? Some have argued that it is lack of profitability rather than lack of regulation, that is holding back the development of a more competitive and efficient bus sector. They contend that operators’ strong desire for growth would tempt them away from reaping excess profits even in what have effectively become monopolies of local bus markets. This is at the core of the recent submission to the Competition Commission by consultants TAS, which sugges

Most great and effective leaders seek control - Reagan didn’t but war leaders from Stalin to MacArthur did, and Wellington had a microscopic knowledge of and control over his forces. So, coming rapidly down to earth, we should not hold Iain Coucher’s mania for centralisation against him. What separates the great and effective from the failures is not about style, it is about being right, and it is about working with, and not against, the grain of events. The story of the Coucher ye

In its latest results presentation published last month, Stagecoach revealed that revenue at SWT and East Midlands Trains was £125m below the target in their combined bids, due to the effect of the recession. However, the impact had been largely offset by the creation of what chief executive Brian Souter described a “new low cost model” that has been introduced at the UK rail division. In the past year, costs have been reduced by a higher than expected £70m, substantiall

Thetrainline.com, the UK’s leading rail ticket retailer, has signed a deal for a mass-market mobile ticketing purchase and delivery system. The system will allow users to buy and display UK rail tickets direct from their mobile phones for any route on the National Rail network without having to visit ticket offices or ticket machines. The system is already in development with a rollout expected later in 2010. While it has been possible to purchase tickets online for some time, the Masabi

The cash-strapped Greek government is investigating the possible privatisation of a number of public assets in a move that aims to reduce the country’s crippling debt burden. The Hellenic Railways Organisation is amongst the assets, including two water companies, the Post Office and several casinos, that are slated for either full or partial sales. However, finance minister George Papaconstantinou revealed that the rail operator is currently losing more than 1bn Euros each year and that

Despite uncertainty surrounding pre-election pledges by the Conservatives to scrap Quality Contracts and greater moves to regulate the deregulated bus industry outside London and Northern Ireland, South Yorkshire PTE is continuing to take forward plans for improvements to local bus services within its area. Last month the PTE launched a consultation exercise with residents in Sheffield and South Rotherham over plans to take greater control of local bus services. As part of the move, it has draw

The deadlock of a contractual dispute over construction of Edinburgh’s tram scheme appears to remain unresolved in the wake of a council meeting that investigated a number of solutions to problem plagued scheme. Transport Initiatives Edinburgh, the arms-length tram delivery company, and contractor Bilfinger Berger, who have not undertaken any work on on-street sections since last autumn, are currently locked in dispute over the slow pace of work and the spiraling costs of the scheme. I

Bagshaw joined Arriva Trains Wales in 2005, initially as performance and planning director. The key challenge at the time was to improve operational performance. With performance now significantly improved, his focus, as commercial director, is growing passenger numbers and working with the Welsh Assembly Government on their investment programme for rail in Wales. Bagshaw’s railway career started 20 years ago when he worked part time in the telephone enquiry bureaux at Reading station for

Hebditch leads the CBT’s work on local transport and promotes links with parliamentarians and political parties while leading the campaign team. Previously he worked for Living Streets, which campaigns on behalf of pedestrians, where he was head of policy and communications. Before that he served as senior policy adviser in the Cabinet Office’s Office of the Third Sector. He has also worked for an MP at the House of Commons and has volunteered for a number of campaign groups. Commen

Hoggarth’s role at Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, encompasses rail strategy and delivery, planning (including the Local Transport Plan, the Leeds City Region Transport Strategy and the proposed Leeds NGT Trolleybus scheme). Hoggarth has worked for Metro for nearly 12 years. His previous roles with the PTE include rail services manager and assistant director, development. Hoggarth has an MSc in transport planning from the University of Newcastle and worked for JMP Consultants and the City

Hughes joined Nexus, the Tyne & Wear PTE, two years ago as director of strategy. He had previously been employed by Leyland and then British Airways, where he was a pricing manager. Hughes is responsible for Nexus’s strategic and business planning process, setting high level objectives and aims for the organisation and overseeing their delivery through the Corporate Business Plan. He promotes large-scale funding bids to government, and sponsoring high impact projects to improve public

Jamie Ross impressed Stagecoach boss Brian Souter in 2005 when he gave a presentation to the CPT’s annual Scottish Conference. Ross, who was then head of strategy at the Scottish Executive’s transport division, urged bus operators to develop more ambitious growth plans. “I don’t know what somebody with so much energy and ideas is doing wasting their time at the Scottish Executive,” said Souter, who joked that Ross might consider the vacancy that existed at the time

Despite recent progress in developing the new generation of managers, barriers still remain to making public transport a career of choice for the most talented graduates. The industry’s image is one of the most significant. Adrian Thomas, Network Rail’s head of resourcing acknowledges that work needs to be done to change perceptions of the railway which he says is still perceived by many as “old fashioned, akin to the old steel and coal industries, when the reality is that it i

Stations have always been the poor relation to trains on Britain’s railways. The last few years have seen major investment in new rolling stock across much of the network, but improvements to stations have been patchy at best. The much-heralded Better Stations report by Chris Green and Sir Peter Hall had lots of useful suggestions – and some damning descriptions – but it’s looking like the promised £50m investment to address some of the report’s recommendation

There was little mention of transport in today's (Tuesday) emergency budget, but chancellor George Osbourne said that the coalition government would not make the mistakes of previous governments by cutting capital spending. To that end, Osbourne revealed that a number of previously announced rail schemes will go ahead. Planned upgrades of the Tyne & Wear Metro, the extension of the Manchester Metrolink system, the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station and improvements to the rail

Transport minister Theresa Villiers has announced that the Department for Transport is to suspend the Greater Anglia and Essex Thameside rail franchises competitions in order to allow a review of rail franchising to take place. Villiers said that the consultation will provide the rail industry with the opportunity to comment on the government’s approach to rail franchising and whether bidders for longer franchises would be able to offer investment in improvements to trains and services.

Stagecoach chief executive Brian Souter has received a major European award for a career of service to public transport. The co-founder of Stagecoach, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, was honoured in Paris for transforming the perception of public transport and attracting people from all social backgrounds to get on board buses and trains. Judges at the inaugural Talent in Mobility awards praised Brian Souter's commitment to innovation and his leading role in encouraging car us

The coalition government today revealed the salaries of 172 civil servants whose salaries are higher than that of the prime minister (£150,000). The list reveals that a number of civil servant high earners in the transport sector. Topping the list is Dr Mike Mitchell, the former FirstGroup executive who is the Department for Transport's head of national networks. The government's document, which was revealed by the Cabinet Office this morning, discloses that Mitchell earns between £

Optare has won 100% of Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority’s order for up to 66 hybrid buses in the face of stiff competition. The order is worth up to £13m. It is the largest single order for hybrid buses so far to be placed with help from the government’s Green Bus Fund, which encourages low emission bus use. GMITA has secured over £3m from the Fund and £1.3m from other funders, including Wigan Council, to assist in the purchase of the buses. The

Alexander Dennis is forging ahead with production of the first large-scale orders for hybrid buses in the UK. The move follows confirmation that ADL is the first manufacturer supplying the British market to have its double deck hybrid offering - the Enviro400H - certified at Euro5. In effect, ADL is the first bus producer to meet the strict, new low carbon emission guidelines set for hybrids by the Department for Transport and “policed” by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. As a r

“We’ve waited 40 years for this! What took you so long?” the owner of Brighouse’s  station café joked with the driver of the first train to London for decades, on the morning of Sunday, May 23. Lots of people from the town came along to wave off Grand Central’s 08.18 to London King’s Cross. A few days earlier MPs, councillors, business people and community groups had travelled on a special from Bradford down to London. One Halifax politician co

Neither. We are concerned that it’ll cost far too much, both in terms of initial costs and operating costs. The open platform concerns us: it belongs to a bygone era. It led to more personal injuries for passengers, and that’s where nostalgia runs out in our view. Of course London TravelWatch did contribute to the development of the bus. Our Bus Design Panel submitted a series of comments about staircase design, handrails and better identification of priority seating which we hope

The TV cameras have fled College Green. A brooding Gordon Brown has retreated to Fife, possibly for a new life as a primary school teacher. Meanwhile, that nice young man, David Cameron, married Nick Clegg in a sun-dappled Westminster garden. All cynicism is banished and men of good faith rule the land. What does all this mean for transport? The election provided few meaningful clues. The ‘debate’ about spending was essentially about whether to cut the enormous budget deficit by a

It’s going to be fascinating to see what the chemistry is between Philip Hammond, the former Tory shadow chief secretary to the Treasury who has been appointed as secretary of state for transport, and Norman Baker, his Liberal Democrat junior minister. The Sunday Times quickly identified the pair as one of the “ministerial odd couples” of the new coalition government. Baker, 52, is regarded as a leading member of the Commons “awkward squad” and has no qualms about

Change was the buzzword in run-up to May’s general election, and change is what is now going to happen. The world of public transport is no stranger to major upheavals. The bus industry experienced its fair share of them following privatisation in the mid-1980s, and it was the rail industry’s turn a decade later. But now, in 2010, we appear to be at the beginning of a new era. A combination of factors are coming together to create a new formula for the future. Perhaps the most obvio

Construction work to redevelop Wolverhampton Bus Station into a new £21m facility got underway last month, with demolition work to clear the site that will allow new building work to start. Project partners Wolverhampton City Council, Centro and National Express West Midlands closed the old bus station on Easter Sunday, with all services now picking up passengers from temporary bus stops on city centre streets. It is expected that the new bus station will open for public use by the end of

Prime minister David Cameron has announced the appointment of the Philip Hammond, the MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, as secretary of state for transport. Prior to his election to the parliament in 1997, Hammond followed a business career in small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing, consultancy, property and construction and oil and gas, both in the UK and abroad. In recent years, Mr Hammond has held a number of shadow portfolios, most recently as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury

Network Rail’s redevelopment of King’s Cross station reached another crucial milestone today with the official opening of Platform 0 by transport secretary Philip Hammond. The addition of the new platform means Network Rail can begin refurbishing the station’s existing platforms, which will be taken out of service on a rolling basis, without affecting services. Built on what was for many years a taxi rank at the eastern side of the station, Platform 0 will provide greate

The coalition between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives has announced its 'Programme for Government', a move that prime minister David Cameron described as one that would provide "Strong, stable government". The transport element of the programme are a mixture of the two parties policies and express a firm commitment to take forward plans for a high speed rail network, support for Crossrail and further electrification of the rail network. The coalition also plans to refor

Punctuality and improved trains must be core to plans for the East Anglia franchise if passenger satisfaction is to improve, says watchdog Passenger Focus. Passengers using current East Anglia services are among the least satisfied in Great Britain, according to Passenger Focus’s National Passenger Survey. Passenger Focus has asked more than 3000 passengers currently using National Express East Anglia rail services their priorities for improvement. The watchdog has used that feedback to m

Next week's railway timetable change will see improved connections and more rail travel opportunities across Scotland. Services between Glasgow and Carlisle via Kilmarnock;  Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts; Edinburgh to Dunbar and the Kyle of Lochalsh line, will be enhanced with the introduction of additional early morning and evening services. These changes will allow passengers better connections for onward journeys, as well as more rail travel opportunities. Transport minister Stewar

Theresa Villiers has been appointed minister of state at the Department for Transport the day after being overlooked for the transport secretary role in favour of Philip Hammond. Villiers, the MP for Chipping Barnet, had been shadow transport secretary for three years, but is now effectively Hammond’s deputy. Her failure to land the top job at the DfT had been widely predicted by lobbyists and Westminster observers, who saw her as having done a decent but unspectacular job in opposition

The era of easy public money is over, Philip Hammond, the newly-appointed secretary of state for transport, warned today (Thursday). Hammond held a press briefing at Great Minster House this afternoon after attending the first cabinet meeting of the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative government. Hammond was handed the transport brief after Lib Dem MP David Laws was named as chief secretary to the Treasury, the role which he used to shadow before the election. This role required Hammond to scru

Train operator Northern Rail has confirmed that it has secured a two-year extension to its franchise as a result of beating performance targets. The Department for Transport has confirmed that operator, which is owned by a joint venture of Serco and Abellio, will now run the franchise until September 15 2013. Northern has improved the punctuality of its train services from 83.7% in the 12 months to December 2004 to 91.6% in the last 12 months, meaning that on average 200 more trains arrive on

Prime minister David Cameron has named Philip Hammond as the new secretary of state for transport. The Conservative MP was previously shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, a post that has been filled in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition by Lib Dem MP David Laws. A philosophy, politics and economics graduate of Oxford, Hammond first stood for Parliament in Newham North East in 1994. Having been defeated in that by-election, he was elected in 1997 for the Surrey constituency of Runny

The final winding up of London Underground’s PPP maintenance agreements signals the end of perhaps the biggest and disappointingly underreported transport fiasco of our time. Its demise on the 7 May was certainly a good day to bury bad news from both Labour and Conservative perspectives. Transport for London (TfL) was established in 2000 but control over the London Underground was not transferred to it until 2003. In the interim £455m (according to the NAO) was spent on setting up

London mayor Boris Johnson and a number of London business leaders have today called for any incoming government administration to protect funding for improvements to the capital's transport networks. The group, whose letter was published in the Guardian this morning, includes City of London policy chairman Stuart Fraser, Jo Valentine, chief executive of London First, and Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It sends a united message that building

As we speak David Cameron and Nick Clegg are trying to work out whether they can form a coalition government. Transport is not the key to this agreement, but transport policy will be influenced by its outcome. So what would a Tory-Lib Dem "coalition for change" mean for transport? A glance at the manifestos of the two parties reveals plenty of common ground. Both are committed to high speed rail. Both want longer rail franchises with less micro-management from government. Both want Ne

It would be an unusual election if transport featured prominently, but the 2010 contest has produced some interesting commitments from each of the three main parties, not least on rail policy and scope for not-for-profit solutions, including co-operatives. There is a consensus that rail is a ‘good thing’ and needs strong government backing; this in itself is a major breakthrough. Both Tories and Lib Dems talk about re-opening disused lines. High speed rail is naturally the big issue

Regional airline Manx2.com, along with its partner carrier FLM Aviation, has been appointed as the new operator for the North-South Wales air link, the Welsh Assembly Government has announced. The Cardiff to Anglesey service will resume on Monday May 10 and passengers will be able to make bookings shortly. Deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: "I am pleased to announce that Manx2 will be running the north - south air link from 10 May. This is a vital service which helps to secure ec

Perhaps unsurprisingly, bus passengers have revealed that their overwhelming priority for improvement from local operators is that buses operate on-time or within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time, according to new research produced by watchdog Passenger Focus. Passengers also say that more frequent services and the ability for all passengers to have a seat, no what matter the journey length, are key concerns. Bus Passenger Priorities for Improvement was produced by transport consul

Ian Morgan stepped back from the day-to-day running of TrentBarton last year, but his “semi-retirement” as non-executive deputy chairman of Wellglade, TrentBarton’s parent group, does not appear to allow him much time in the garden. He remains a key figure in both the UK bus industry and the East Midlands business community. Last year he represented bus operators as president of the Confederation of Passenger Transport. Having completed his term he is now set to fulfill the sam

Centro has used powers in the Local Transport Act to set up a quality partnership in north Walsall which will see bus operators co-operate rather than compete. It has been billed as the first multi-operator agreement in a metropolitan area. The partnership has seen Centro, Walsall council and bus operators Arriva Midlands, Midland, Midland Rider and National Express West Midlands redesign the bus network so that services now run at even intervals on jointly operated routes. A phased introducti

The Association of Train Operating Companies has slated the government’s proposals to reform franchise contracts as a missed chance to reduce the railway’s subsidy. ATOC claims the DfT has ignored suggestions it has put forward which would create savings of hundreds of millions of pounds. “In a time of financial stringency, a prize of this size is simply too big to ignore,” ATOC added. ATOC’s proposals involve train operators determining strategies to deliver targ

The Campaign for Better Transport compiled questions it wants each party to answer, and New Transit put them to the each party’s transport spokesman. Below are their responses LABOUR: LORD ADONIS 1. None of the parties has suggested ring-fencing transport funding, which implies significant cuts in transport spending. What are your priorities and what methodology would you use to decide which schemes to fund and which to cut? Labour’s manifesto commits to continued investment in p

All three of the main political parties in Britain have pledged investment in a high speed rail network in manifesto commitments ahead of May's general election. Conservatives The Conservatives have pledged to begin work immediately if elected on a high speed rail line connecting London and Heathrow with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Under the plans construction would commence in 2015, as the first step towards our vision of a national network joining up cities across England, Scotland a

Five new Optare Solo single decker buses costing almost £500,000 have been introduced in Barnsley by leading operator Stagecoach Yorkshire. The 27-seaters takes the number of new vehicles since the company took over from Yorkshire Traction to 67 and an investment of £7m. Paul Lynch, Stagecoach Yorkshire managing director, said: “This further investment underlines our commitment to Barnsley’s travelling public and to making their journeys as comfortable as possible. &ld

The Confederation of Passenger Transport, the trade association of the bus and coach industry in the UK, has launched its transport manifesto that aims to inform prospective councillors, MPs and ministers about the key issues affecting the sector. The document looks to explore ways to build on the successes of the industry and improve the services it offers to passengers. It concentrates on six specific areas: Improving bus services; The needs of the coach passe

Scottish traffic commissioner Joan Aitken has branded FirstGroup's bus operations in its home city of Aberdeen as "dire" with buses operating consistently late. The move comes as all three of First's Scottish bus operations are under the spotlight of the traffic commissioner in the coming weeks. Speaking at a public inquiry convened by Aitken to investigate First Aberdeen's problems on Tuesday, Aitken said: "Something has got to be done to make buses better in Aberdeen, as they

Government proposals to reform the way that rail services are run would do little to improve services for passengers and miss an opportunity to reduce the burden on taxpayers, train operators have said. In its response to a government consultation on the future of franchises, the Association of Train Operating Companies says that the proposals set out by the Department for Transport in January fall well short of what is needed and in some cases represent a backwards step. ATOC has written to t

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to open thousands of miles of new railway in their election manifesto, funded by £3bn Rail Expansion Fund. The fund would allow councils and transport authorities to bid for funding to pay for rail improvement and expansion projects. Lib Dem transport spokesman Norman Baker said that funding would come from cuts made to the roads budget. "The Liberal Democrats will transform the railways with the biggest expansion since the Victorian age,"

At present, the situation facing the UK’s public services is akin to a phoney war. Central government spending has continued to rise in an effort to bring the country out of recession, but shortly after the election decisive action will have to be taken to rectify the country’s £170bn budget deficit. To date the government is working on the basis of halving it by 2014. The day when change comes is fast approaching. Over the past year, transport has been one of the beneficiarie

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Transport for London welcomed the news on Friday that the parliamentary transport select committee’s confirmation that the London Underground Public Private Partnership contracts are “flawed” and have “failed to prove” value for money, as they reaffirmed their view that the PPP is simply not delivering for Londoners and taxpayers. The committee’s report said: “We reiterate once again our judgement that the PPP scheme

High Speed Rail Have pledged to provide a comprehensive high speed rail network that would serve all parts of Britain. The Lib Dems claim that they are the only party that has been clear about how they would pay for high speed rail. They propose to introduce a new lorry road user pricing scheme, which they claim would bring in around £2bn per year, even after the cost of running such a scheme is taken into account. Railways Would introduce 22-year franchises to encourage investment in r

High Speed Rail Would give the go ahead for a new high speed rail line linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. This would later be extended to Newcastle and Scotland with further new lines connecting other cities across the country to our high speed rail network. If they win the next general election, they would target construction to begin in 2015, with full completion of the network by 2027. Railways Will make 15-20 year franchises the norm to encourage investment in new trains an

High Speed Rail A 250mph network from London to Birmingham with a western branch to Manchester and an eastern branch to Sheffield and Leeds. Connections onto existing tracks would allow direct high speed services to cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Liverpool. Heathrow would initially be served by a connecting Crossrail interchange at Old Oak Common, but a station at the airport itself will also be examined. Railways New franchise policy includes standard franchise term of 10

The Department for Transport has announced plans for further changes to the regulatory framework for local bus services in England. The move could lead to a raft of legislation that could see local authorities in England and Wales gaining powers to set maximum bus fares as well as making changes to way bus services are registered. The consultation, Improving Bus Passenger Services Through Regulatory Reform, notes that EU regulations passed in 2007 permit authorities to set maximum fares below t

Jonathan Findlay has been elected as the new chairman of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Findlay, who is a councillor for Drumchapel/Anniesland ward in Glasgow, was nominated and voted in by a majority vote of 14 for and six against at a meeting of SPT’s partnership in early March. At the same meeting Denis McKenna was elected as vice chair. Their appointments follow the resignations of Alistair Watson and David McLachland, who stood down recently in the wake of the expenses scand

Technology is driving the future of travel. The danger is that innovation and the radically new will arrive from an unexpected direction, and potentially completely change the rules of the game. For decades the technology of transport was synonymous with the design, styling and operation of vehicles. And certainly the changing shape of trains, buses and planes was an undeniable feature of the 20th century. But how significant was that part of the mix compared with other less obvious technologi

It didn’t take long for the project to return trams to the streets of Edinburgh to be dubbed ‘Holyrood on wheels’. Scots have not forgotten how construction of their new parliament building was initially priced at £40m, but when it opened in 2004, three years late, the bill was £431m. The Edinburgh tram project has also suffered from delays and spiralling costs. In 2003, the scheme’s promoters believed they could build two lines for £473m. By 2006, this

For most of the last two years there has been absolute confidence that the Tories would win the general election, and that Theresa Villiers would be the new transport secretary. The narrowing of the polls since the new year has thrown that into doubt, bringing excited talk of a hung Parliament. But the betting exchanges (always the best guide) and most pundits back a Conservative win – albeit with a small majority – and for now I agree. So what will face the new, Conservative, secre

Britain has a network of over 60 community rail partnerships, each bringing together train operators and Network Rail with local authorities and community groups. They have proved remarkably successful in safeguarding the future of local railways and have helped drive up ridership as well as bringing in external investment. They have worked wonders on small budgets, mostly based on contributions from local authorities and train operators. Most community rail partnerships have paid staff &ndash

One fact that pollsters always report, and which fascinates me, is that as a nation we love our free-on-delivery health policy, but we don’t like the way it is delivered, until, that is, we have need of it ourselves, when our view changes and becomes significantly more positive. Whether that’s true or not (and my recent experience would certainly tell me otherwise), it may also explain that equally baffling phenomenon in which unelected public officials opine that bus services offer

For over 15 years the subject of achieving partnership working in one form or another between local authorities and bus operators has been a high profile and problematic issue. One would be hard pressed to find someone who would stand up and say they don’t believe that more can be achieved by operators and councils working together, rather than each ploughing their own separate furrows. So why has achieving successful partnership proved so elusive? For any partnership, be it personal or b

Despite privatisation dating back to 1996, there remains much debate about how to package and manage UK rail franchises in order to get the best deal for rail passengers and taxpayers. Over the years, different approaches have been tried with varying franchise lengths, flexibility, and contractual arrangements. The Department for Transport’s recent paper on ‘The Future of Rail Franchising’ (published on January 20) suggests a number of changes to the current franchising arrange

So many transport secretaries have achieved very little during their time in office, so why single out Alistair Darling? One reason it that he made so much time to make a difference, but he failed to make use of it. Darling served for almost four years as secretary of state for transport. Over the last half century only two people have had more time in charge of the nation’s transport provision - Ernest Marples (1959-1964) and John Prescott (1997-2001). Barbara Castle, one of his predec

As the general election approaches it’s a good time to consider the impact that individual politicians with vision and sheer force of will can have on a sector like transport. And few, if any, have had a greater and more positive impact than Barbara Castle. The fiery left winger was at first disappointed to be offered the role of minister of transport in December 1965, but later said that she had enjoyed it more than any of her ministerial posts. Prime minister Harold Wilson told her that

Over the past 13 years we’ve seen good progress in London, but outside of London it has been a story of disappointment. In London, the 1999 Greater London Authority Act has provided real powers to the mayor. As a result we’ve seen modal shift from cars and real investment in public transport. These have been real achievements. On rail there has been constant change. Rail - both passenger and freight - now has a greater market share. But this has happened on a background of constant

Inconsistent and often incoherent. We have seen the creation of the Strategic Rail Authority and its abolition; a push for road pricing but no implementation; indifference on rail electricification to sudden announcements of new large scale schemes; vacillating between long or short rail franchises; pushing through the fuel duty escalator (which was achieving what it was meant to), abandoning it, to effectively reintroducing it; promoting major tram expansion to quashing virtually very proposal;

Answer, from a railway perspective: a lot better than it might have been - no retro renationalisation, and not much meddling either. Post-Hatfield chaos could have led to any number of silly restructuring but instead the 2004 White Paper, Alistair Darling’s creation, set out a rational and centre stage role for government and properly defined roles for Network Rail, the TOCs, ORR and the safety inspector to the extent that it is now possible to do railway planning. While this was going on

Very disappointing, especially in railways. There’s the 10-year transport plan, now in pieces and almost officially denied. The disastrous creation and, three years later, deserved abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority. The political assassination of Railtrack on unsound legal grounds. The incremental renationalisation of rail, including the creation of Network Rail, the Department for Transport’s tightening grip on franchisees, and an ill-judged assault on the rolling stock leas

They tried to do too much and as a result achieved too little. More time should have been spent prioritising objectives before the tidal wave of cash was released. Local authorities and the devolved assemblies received truck-loads of ‘free money’ from Westminster to pursue high cost, low impact capital projects and got away with ducking unpopular demand management policies. The London Congestion Charge is a real achievement, but the political decision to punish Railtrack and spend b

Passenger Focus is calling for the rail industry to put adopt tighter punctuality performance measures. Currently, the industry’s Passenger Performance Measure logs trains as ‘on time’ if they arrive at the final station within five or 10 minutes (depending on journey length). However, research by the rail consumer watchdog suggests that a high PPM score is not always accompanied by happy passengers. With the help of National Express East Anglia, Passenger Focus has undertaken

Stagecoach has proposed a radical strategy to revitalise bus services in Sheffield over the next decade with a far reaching public-private partnership. The move comes as bus operators in the city unveiled plans for improvements to bus services in order to head-off growing calls for bus industry regulation from members of South Yorkshire’s Integrated Transport Authority. Last month Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Auckland, an ITA member and Sheffield’s cabinet member for transport,

The Department for Transport last month announced £81m in funding towards the £127m cost of extending the Midland Metro light rail system from its current terminus at Snow Hill across Birmingham city centre to New Street Station. The funding will also assist with the procurement of a new fleet of trams for the network. However, the funding is conditional on “some additional work being undertaken by the promoter in the short term”.  

Train travel at speeds of 225mph between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds could become the norm if the government’s plans published last week for a high speed rail network can be turned into reality. It won’t happen overnight: ministers envisage construction of the network beginning only after the completion of Crossrail in 2017. The first section of line from London to Birmingham would open in 2026 with extensions to Manchester and Leeds following in subsequent years. The

Norman Baker Party: Liberal Democrat Occupation: Transport spokesman for the Liberal Democrats since December 2007 Experience: Was leader of Lewes Council before being elected as MP for Lewes in 1997 - the constituency’s first non-Conservative MP since 1874. Age: 52 The longstanding Liberal Democrat transport spokesman is admired for his knowledge of his brief and well informed arguments. Often likes to light heartedly portray the Liberal Democrats as a visionary party whose policies

Theresa Villiers Party: Conservative Occupation: Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since July 2007. Experience: Before being elected MP for Chipping Barnet in 2003 Villiers served as an MEP. She has also worked as a barrister and as a lecturer at King’s College London. Age: 42 Regarded as having done a decent, though not spectacular, job in opposition. Not seen by many as likely to last long as secretary of state should the Conservatives win the election, if she gets the job a

Lord Andrew Adonis Party: Labour Occupation: Secretary of State for Transport since June 2009 Experience: First appointed to the government following the 2005 general election. He was previously an academic at the University of Oxford, then a journalist. Age: 47 A class political act. Recognised as one of the cleverest people in politics, and one of the few politicians with a genuinely impressive legacy having founded City Academies. Also likely to take much of the credit for putting moment

Passenger Focus assumed its new role as passenger champion for bus users in England outside London at the end of February. The watchdog has been covering the bus brief in shadow form for some time, however it now has statutory responsibility for the role. Speaking at an event to mark to move in Oxford, transport minister Sadiq Khan said: “Passenger Focus already has a strong reputation for securing benefits for rail passengers through evidence-based campaigning and advocacy. I am confide

The government has announced new proposals that aim to make bus travel in England safer, more efficient and easier to use. The plans - which have been published in a consultation paper - outline a range of measures to improve services including a ban on the consumption of alcohol on buses and a requirement for operators to provide more advanced warning of changes to services. Also included in the consultation are proposals to allow local authorities to set maximum ticket prices for all, or c

Construction work on new Metrolink extensions in Tameside and South Manchester has been given the green light by the Department for Transport. Transport Minister Sadiq Khan announced the government’s full approval of plans to extend the Metrolink from Droylsden to Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside and from Chorlton to Didsbury in South Manchester. A further eight new trams will be ordered to serve Greater Manchester’s expanding Metrolink network, six of which will be funded by the DfT.

Construction work on the new East Manchester Metrolink line is progressing well, with the first sets of tracks being laid on Ashton New Road. Councillors from Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority and Tony Lloyd, MP for Manchester Central, have been inspecting the latest sections of construction work on the line. Piling rigs have recently been in use to create the retaining walls of a new underpass under Great Ancoats Street, and the first sets of tracks have been laid on Ashton Ne

Plans for a new fleet of intercity express trains appear to be on the brink of collapse after transport secretary Lord Adonis announced the suspension of the programme in the run up to the forthcoming general election. Adonis also announced an inquiry into the cost effectiveness of the plans, a move that many within the industry speculate could kill the programme entirely. The new intercity express procurement programme was launched three years ago, with Agility Trains, a consortium made up of

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has announced two new appointments made in the wake of the Regional Transport Partnership's expenses scandal. Jonathan Findlay has been elected as the new chairman, with Denis McKenna elected as vice chair. Findlay, who is a councillor for Drumchapel/Anniesland ward in Glasgow, was nominated and voted in by a majority vote of 14 for and 6 against at a meeting of SPT on Friday. He said he welcomed the role and said he would take the challenge of running SPT

The arrival of French transport groups, Keolis, Veolia and Transdev, in the UK over the past decade has brought with it its fair share of legendary Gallic shrugs. The two countries may only be separated by 20 miles of English Channel, but the environment French transport professionals are used to in their homeland and the systems they have encountered in this country can often seem as though they are from a different planet. In the UK, promoting competition, minimising subsidy and proving the v

Ask any motorist what the worst thing is about driving, and you will get a list. Parking will be there, poor signing probably, and almost certainly the congestion and confusion caused by roadworks. One of the great strengths of the bus, by comparison, is that the product offers the antidote to all of these frustrations. The worse the driving experience becomes, therefore, so the bus product becomes relatively more attractive. Uncertainty caused by poor or imprecise road signing is replaced by a

1980 Coach Driver Epsom Coaches After a decade as a carpenter and joiner, Whiteway fulfills an ambition to become a coach driver. 1986 Supervisor Epsom Coaches Health issues see Whiteway step away from the wheel and start work in the operations office. 1995 Director Epsom Coaches 10 years later and Whiteway becomes a director of Epsom Coaches, the first outsider to join the board of the family-owned business. 2010 President Confederation of Passenger Transport In January Whitew

It’s a busy time at Surrey bus and coach operator Epsom Coaches, with work on a £2m project to rebuild its head office and depot facilities now almost reaching its conclusion. Commercial director Steve Whiteway admits to taking a hands-on approach to the work. While other senior managers would be happy to let architects and builders get on with such a major project, Whiteway has a more unique approach. “I’ve been planning this work in my mind for years and so I did all t

I was interested to read the last edition of New Transit (February) in which the cover story questioned the levels of communication between local authorities and their transport operators. Partnerships are indeed key to successful project implementation and there are indeed many worthy of mention from around the United Kingdom. One such example is Hertfordshire County Council. HCC became a pilot for greater partnership working between the authority and its local transport operators back in 1999

While the Versement Transport demonstrates the pro-public transport approach of the French government, NATA, the Department for Transport’s cost benefit analysis for appraising transport schemes, displays the very different approach adopted in the UK. Instead of promoting public transport and sustainability, NATA (New Approach to Appraisal), which was first introduced in 1998, does the opposite. It penalises schemes that lead to a reduction in fuel duty revenues - i.e. ones that get peopl

Investing in public transport is vital for local economies, but this is something that we have failed to recognise in the UK. If our city regions want to fund improvements to public transport they must go cap in hand to Whitehall and make their case. They often return empty handed. It’s a different story in France. The French regions have the power to raise substantial sums of money to fund improvements to local transport. They can require employers to pay the Versement Transport (transpo

The country’s second Statutory Quality Partnership Scheme to deliver better bus services was signed at Barnsley Town Hall in February. The SQPS for Barnsley Interchange, Town Centre and A61 Wakefield Road has been formally signed by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority/South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive - but no bus companies.  This is only the second SQPS in England under the powers given by the Transport Act 2000, the

In the last edition of New Transit we examined the level of dialogue between bus operators and local authorities. One of the issues that emerged was the misalignment that can exist between local authority boundaries and the reporting lines of the countries major bus groups. Arriva has recognised this problem and has this month announced plans to put it right. Speaking earlier this year at a conference on partnerships, John Henkel, director of passenger services at Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE,

Stagecoach last month ­began trials of a Dutch-built amphibious bus on the River Clyde that could eventually lead to the start of an innovative new cross-river service. The Perth-based group staged two days of test runs on the Clyde with the £700,000 vehicle between existing slipways at Renfrew and Yoker. It is anticipated that if approved, Stagecoach would introduce a new service linking the north and south bank of the Clyde. It would operate on roads between Braehead and the Renfrew

A wide-ranging report has called on the government to boost spending on public transport in the UK in order to mitigate the ever increasing economic effects that will be felt as the global supply of cheap oil begins to run out. The Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil &?Energy?Security was set up by a group of business leaders, including Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson and Stagecoach chief executive Brian Souter, two years ago to highlight government inaction over the issue of peak oil.

French towns and cities are responsible for funding public transport from local taxes and fares revenue, with minimal state contribution. Funding for the 22 French Regions and the 96 Departments is provided by state grants. The Regions are responsible for commuter, interurban and rural rail services while Departments are responsible for school transport and public transport, mainly coaches, outside of urban areas. Towns and cities are responsible for subsidising and investing in bus and light ra

It has emerged that Ron Culley has resigned as chief executive of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport with effect from today (Thursday). It follows the resignation of SPT chairman Alistair Watson on Monday following the disclosure of the expenses claims of senior members and executives at the organisation. Audit Scotland has been called in to investigate after it was revealed that members and senior managers claimed over £100,000 on foreign trips and taxi fares. Culley announced

The economic and social benefits of extending the Midland Metro through the heart of the Black Country have been endorsed in a high level report by MPs. The concept behind plans by regional transport authority Centro to reopen the disused Walsall to Stourbridge freight line, incorporating it into the Metro network, should become a cornerstone of Government rail policy according to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee. In their Priorities for Investment in the Railways report, the in

Two bus operators in Hampshire have launched a partnership in co-operation with Eastleigh Borough Council. Bus users in Hedge End and Botley will in future benefit from co-ordinated timetables and integrated tickets after discussions between Go Ahead subsidiary Bluestar and Eastleigh Borough Council over planned changes to the Bluestar 3 bus service linking Botley and Hedge End, which will take effect on 21st February. Eastleigh Borough Council were able to bring local independent operator V

It has been confirmed that the chairman of Scotland's largest transport partnership has resigned citing health problems. Alistair Watson will formally step down from his role at Strathclyde Partnership for Transport amid reports raising questions about the expenses claims of senior members and executives at the organisation. It is understood that Glasgow City Council, who appoint the chair of the RTP, believed Watson's position was untenable amid the news that senior officials claimed a tota

Following a competitive tender process, the Olympic Delivery Authority today confirmed that Aberdeen-based First Group has been named as the preferred bidder to provide hundreds of buses and coaches to transport spectators during the London 2012 Games. The ODA expects that for journeys to the Olympic Park, around 10% of spectators will use direct coach services, with a further 11% likely to use park and ride services. The contractor will provide: Around 500 buses and coaches for venue s

Rail passengers worried about their safety want abusive and rowdy passengers stopped from catching the train and more visible police and staff readily available for help. The majority of passengers are generally satisfied with their personal security at the station (64%) and on the train (73%), but of those passengers not satisfied, the anti-social behaviour of others was their primary worry. Watchdog Passenger Focus has asked passengers what they are most annoyed by when it comes to anti-soci

More than 550 RMT members at First's ScotRail franchise are set to stage strike action on February 20, March 1 and March 13 after voting overwhelmingly for action against plans to introduce driver-only operation on a new rail route. The dispute centres on plans to introduce driver door operated trains with ticket examiners on the new Glasgow to Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate route which is due to open in December. In the ballot that closed today, members of the union voted for action by

Network Rail has unveiled a £2.5m plan to upgrade Swansea's railway station in a move that it says will create  a bright, accessible, clean and secure station fit for the 21st century. The upgrade will also help boost Swansea’s public transport network as the scheme sits alongside ongoing works to refurbish the city’s Quadrant bus station, as well as improving the user experience for the station's 1.6 million annual passengers. The scheme, which is part of the Depart

The transformation of New Street station took a major step forward today as the design was given the stamp of approval by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee. The Gateway project will turn New Street into the world-class station that passengers deserve with more light and space, additional entrances, easier access to platforms and a stunning new exterior. Work is expected to start in the station later this year and has been planned to minimise the impact on passengers. All trai

The majority of rail passengers across Great Britain are satisfied with the overall service they receive on the railway, the National Passenger Survey has revealed today. Commenting on the findings of Great Britain’s largest passenger survey, Passenger Focus welcomed improvements to London Midland (87%), First TransPennine Express (89%) and Virgin Trains (89%) overall satisfaction scores.?? Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, said: “The investment in faster and more freq

A groundbreaking new agreement is being signed in Barnsley today which will result in improvements to the quality of the town’s bus services. The Statutory Quality Partnership for Barnsley Interchange, Town Centre and A61 Wakefield Road is formally signed by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (SYITA)/South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE). This will be only the second SQP in England under the powers given by the Transpo

The government has confirmed today it will award Tyne & Wear PTE Nexus around £580m to modernise and operate the Tyne & Wear Metro light rail system. Most of the money, up to £350m, will be spent on the Metro: all change modernisation programme over the next 11 years. A further £230m will support Metro’s running and maintenance costs over the next nine years. The funding package is by far the biggest in Metro’s 30-year history and secures the future of the

The Rail Safety and Standards Board has published its annual rail safety report for 2009 that reveals further improvements in safety on Britain’s railways during last year.  Overview of Safety Performance 2009 reveals that during 2009 there were no passenger or workforce fatalities in train accidents - the fourth year in the last five with no such fatalities - and passenger fatalities at stations equalled 2008 at five, which was the lowest passenger fatality total ever recorded.

Mid December brought the ministerial statement on the future of subsidy to the bus industry, followed swiftly three festive and snowy weeks later by the announcement by the Office of Fair Trading that it is to refer the market to the Competition Commission. At one level, then, the year has started with two major policy uncertainties being clarified, but actually not so. The bus industry remains in a state of uncertainty, and will do so for some years, as a result of either one of these announc

Partnership is the key to making local bus services successful in Britain. There is little that can be achieved without an ongoing dialogue between bus companies and local authorities. ln too many areas, however, this dialogue is not occurring. There is either silence, or worse, public discord. Why? The examples of strong partnerships are well known. Brighton, Oxford, York and Cambridge all benefit from the continuous dialogue between their bus companies and local authorities. So what’s h

A number of figures within the transport industry have received gongs in the New Year’s Honours List. Stuart Baker, deputy director, national projects, rail and national networks at the Department for Transport has been awarded an OBE, as has Heidi Mottram, the outgoing managing director of Northern Rail, who is to leave the TOC in the coming months to join Northumbrian Water as chief executive. MBEs have been bestowed on Peter Roberts, the chairman of the Association of Community Rail P

It’s not surprising that Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, is planning to implement bus Quality Contracts in its area. People want a bus network that is stable, simple to understand and use, with affordable fares and network-wide travelcards. This is the situation in continental Europe (and indeed in London), and is long overdue in our provincial towns and cities.  Bus companies such as First West Yorkshire should not complain. They have had years in which to implement improvements usin

Few, if any, public transport information projects have been more ambitious than the Transport Direct website. Its origins lie in John Prescott's 10-year transport plan, which set out a vision for a multi-modal, door-to-door, journey planner incorporating information on public transport and car travel updated in real time. The idea was that by typing in any origin and destination, Transport Direct would provide details of how to make any journey the length and breadth of the country, including

1994-2000 Regional Manager, Gas Consumers Council After 10 years with AA Insurance Services, Sidebottom joins the Gas Consumers Council where he became north west regional manager. 2000-2006 Regional Director, Energywatch 2000 sees Sidebottom join watchdog Energywatch as north west regional director. 2006-2010 Passenger Link Manager, Passenger Focus Sidebottom joins Passenger Focus after being impressed by its evidence-based approach. 2010 Bus Passenger Director, Passenger Focus Fr

April will see Passenger Focus finally take up its role as the champion for England’s bus users. It’s a move that David Sidebottom, the watchdog’s recently appointed bus passenger director, says he relishes. “I can’t wait to get started!” he says with genuine enthusiasm. “There’s a lot more for Passenger Focus to do as we build upon the great start we’ve had developing our knowledge and experience of how we can make a real difference for bus

We wouldn’t disagree that overall public transport fares are far too high in this country. That is an institutional thing that affects all modes. The evidence that lack of competition is the factor driving up bus fares is flaky, and it should be remembered that better fare deals are available through day tickets and return fares. These are both undermined when a multiplicity of operators provides a service, so while single cash fares may be higher, the overall travel package may well be

It can hardly be a surprise to anyone that the competition authorities are going to take a long hard look at the way a market which has been divided up by large companies is operating. The OFT has also set out some clear examples of how local monopolies can be detrimental for fares and the costs of tendered services. The big question now is what remedies the Competition Commission might apply. Attempting to trigger more on-street competition would be a cure that’s worse than the disease.

January’s big freeze saw council workers working hard to keep roads clear with, in many cases, minimal equipment, and they should be quite rightly thanked for their endeavors. However, they were let down by the poor planning of their employers, the multitude of local authorities, and the application of an overall approach to what is a shared position. As a result, grit and salt supplies, the very tool needed to clear roads and ensure the country didn’t grind to a halt, began to run

In July, transport secretary Lord Adonis vetoed a deal being discussed between National Express Group and Department for Transport civil servants which would have seen NEG’s stricken East Coast franchise bailed out with a new management contract. Facing losses running into hundreds of millions of pounds as a result of its failure to meet ambitious growth targets, NEG was forced to hand back the franchise to the DfT. For only the second time since privatisation a train operating company was

Passengers want to see more station toilets, waiting rooms and better information on train arrival-times prioritised in works to improve small and medium-sized stations, according to a survey carried out for Passenger Focus and Network Rail. The national passenger watchdog has asked passengers their views on what improvements should be made to small to medium-sized stations as part of planning for the five year National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP). NSIP has been designed to improve f

The debate about the appropriate level of ‘bus subsidy’ began well before New Labour took office in 1997 and looks like it will out-last the government itself. The recent ministerial announcement on BSOG (Bus Service Operators’ Grant) ended some of the uncertainty, but also leaves many issues hanging in the air. Whilst a great deal has changed in the bus world since Things Can Only Get Better, the fundamental laws of economics haven’t, so it might be useful to set out som

Two business parks in Tyne and Wear reveal a lot about which kind of partnership delivers the most when working with a private sector bus company. Go North East operates bus services to both of them, but the arrangements are very different, as managing director Peter Huntley explained at a recent conference. Huntley did not name the business parks, instead referring to them as Development A and Development B. Development A is in North Tyneside and sells itself as the UK’s largest office p

Transport secretary Lord Adonis announced today proposals to change to the rail franchising process that will see longer franchises to encourage investment. Currently the majority of rail franchises are let for around eight years but, under the proposals, all future franchises will be offered on a 10-year basis and bidders will be given the opportunity to present the case for a longer contract which includes additional investment. Future franchise specifications will also be designed to allow m

The Office of Fair Trading has referred UK local bus services, excluding London and Northern Ireland, to the Competition Commission.  This decision follows consultation on the results of an OFT market study into the industry. The study found evidence that limited competition between bus operators tends to result in higher prices and lower quality for bus users and may represent poor value for money for taxpayers. The study identified a number of features of local bus markets that could pr

Rail passengers will be given a chance to have their say on proposals to introduce a new tram offering a regular service between Watford and St Albans with the launch of a consultation this week. body The plans would enable passengers to travel between St Albans and Watford on a regular half-hourly tram and allow for the possibility of an even greater frequency of three trams per hour on the route. The consultation, launched by the Department for Transport and Hertfordshire County C

Why is he on the list? ATOC represents Britain's passenger railway. ATOC has 140 staff and a £75m budget. What kind of year has he had? ATOC has put out some effective papers on reforming the franchise contract and electrification. However, PR on fares has been disastrous. Roberts has not been successful in his remit of promoting the industry to the public more effectively, but is seen as an effective administrator. What’s coming up in 2010? Rumoured to be seeking a safe Tory se

Why is he on the list? The MP for Wimbledon has been shadow minister for transport since December 2005. What kind of year has he had? Hammond has been busy preparing for government. With the Tories performing strongly in the polls the shadow transport team has been setting out what they would do if they get into power. Tory plans include building a new high speed railway line, lengthening rail franchises, getting rid of Quality Bus Contracts and requiring longer notice for changes to local bu

Why is he on the list? Khan is minister of state for transport. His responsibilities include city and regional networks, including London and Crossrail. What kind of year has he had? Bus driver’s son Khan was appointed as a transport minister in June 2009. Soon after his appointment he was forced to reassure transport professionals that the government is committed to encouraging people to reduce their car use after the Department for Transport suggested that the impact of ‘smart

Why is he on the list? As director general of the Department for Transport’s National?Networks Group, former bus and rail industry executive Mitchell is the chief railway advisor to ministers and provides leadership to the industry. His team sets the strategy for rail and awards and manages rail franchises. What kind of year has he had? Mitchell has overseen the transfer of the East Coast intercity franchise from National Express to the government’s own in-house train operator - D

Why is she on the list? Villiers has been shadow secretary of state for transport for two and a half years. The former barrister and lecturer in law at King’s College, London, was promoted to the role by David Cameron in his first reshuffle in July 2007. Villiers is MP for Chipping Barnet. What kind of year has she had? With the Tories flying high in the polls Villiers enjoyed a higher profile in 2009. She has won fans in the rail sector for pledging to build a new north-south high spe

Why is he on the list? Adonis is responsible for the delivery of the government’s transport commitments. What kind of year has he had? Very good. He has somehow managed to keep his own party, the industry and the press on side. The opposition even like him. How has he done it? Adonis has devoted much of his energy to pushing forward plans for a new high speed rail network in the UK. It has the backing of all the main political parties, and it plays well in the press. What’s comi

Mind That Elf Bus passengers in Manchester got a little surprise over the Christmas season when a flock (is that the right term we wonder?) of elves descended on bus stations in the city as part of a safety awareness campaign. The elves, in full costume, gave passengers gifts of candy canes as well as leaflets reminding them to take extra care when using bus stations. “Our safety campaign is a fun, friendly, eye-catching way to get the message across to travellers of all ages, and we hop

He has yet to turn 40 years of age but Alex Warner has already experienced life in all corners of the public transport sector There are few people in public transport with a CV as varied as Alex Warner. The 38-year old has worked for London Underground, British Airways, the erstwhile Strategic Rail Authority, four train operating companies and FirstGroup’s UK bus division. To add to this modal mix, in 2009 he was appointed managing director of FirstGroup’s new Greyhound UK coach o

The Department for Transport has announced the winners of its £30m Low Carbon Bus Fund initiative. The scheme will enable the purchase and introduction of almost 350 low carbon buses over the next year. The fund will enable bus operators and councils in every region across England to fund the up-front cost of buying low carbon buses. As more low carbon buses are produced and sold, costs will reduce enabling economies of scale that will stimulate demand for low carbon buses. Announcing th

Workington North opens to connect flood hit town Network Rail last month opened Workington North station, a new temporary station planned and constructed in record time to reconnect Workington after floods led to the collapse of the town’s two road bridges. After four days planning and construction work, the station opened allowing the introduction of a free shuttle service between Workington and Maryport on the Cumbria Coast Line. The line is the only way of crossing the River Derwent w

Nexus inks a deal that will allow it to retain ownership and unlock £300m in funding Nexus, the Tyne &?Wear PTE, has surprised the industry with the news that it has awarded the multi-million pound contract to operate the Metro light rail system to Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB?Regio. The German rail giant beat off competition from rival operators, including an in-house Nexus bid from Metro’s management. The new concession will begin in April 2010 for a length of between seven

The New Transit ‘Power 50’ list shows the most powerful and influential people in public transport. As with any assessment of the most powerful people, companies and institutions, it will inevitably provoke an array of questions. Do the ‘Big Five’ transport groups wield more power than the government? Do ministers or civil servants hold the whip hand in the Department for Transport? Do local government’s representatives or the negotiators from the transport indust

Local authorities throughout England will be given tough new powers to determine routes, timetables, fares and other aspects of bus services, transport minister Sadiq Khan announced today.  New legislation, which will come into force in January, gives local authorities greater freedom to put in place Quality Contracts Schemes. The new powers will put passengers first by allowing local authorities to decide which bus services are required locally before entering into contracts with opera

Stagecoach says that it is hopeful that it will win a £100m dispute with the Department for Transport over revenue support payments at its South West Trains franchise. Speaking yesterday Stagecoach finance director Martin Griffiths assured investors that the group's balance sheet was strong and that it would not default on the troubled franchise should it loose the dispute. The group is arguing for revenue support from the department from April 2010, but the DfT maintains that operators

Chancellor Alistair Darling has confirmed plans for further rail electrification schemes in this morning's Pre Budget Report. He also revealed that the government will respond to plans for a new high speed rail route between London and the West Midlands and on to the North and Scotland early next year. Darling said that public sector investment in infrastructure has reached a 30-year high. "This year public sector investment reached a 30-year high and has delivered over 70 road and mot

Nexus, the Tyne & Wear PTE, yesterday evening announced the name of a preferred bidder for a contract to operate trains and stations on the Tyne & Wear Metro on its behalf. It will now finalise contract details with the bidder, Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio (Tyne and Wear) Ltd, to agree an operating concession of seven to nine years to begin on April 1 2010. DB Regio beat off competition for the contract from an in-house Nexus bid led by Tyne & Wear Metro management. Conclud

The Department for Transport this morning (Thursday) announced funding for 349 new buses as part of the Green Bus Fund. The vehicles will all enter service before March 2012 and industry estimates are that up to 1000 jobs will be safeguarded as a result of this investment. Most of the buses that will be funded by the scheme will feature diesel-electric hybrid propulsion, but the fund will also support the purchase of at least 55 new electric buses. Greater Manchester will be a major benefi

Network Rail has pledged to reduce the need for rail replacement bus services with new plans to divert trains on 20 key routes in the future. The new plan, which has been devised in partnership the Association of Train Operating Companies, with support from Passenger Focus, aims to keep passengers on trains rather than have their rail journey interrupted by a bus journey. The partners believe that the introduction of diversionary routes will be a significant step towards the industry&rsquo

Nottingham bus operator YourBus has blasted plans for a Statutory Quality Partnership in the city. Last month Nottingham City Council announced it was consulting on plans for an SQP covering much of Nottingham city centre. The council said it was making the move in order to protect significant investment on its part if bus infrastructure in recent years. It is expected that the scheme will become operational next May. However, Scott Dunn, who formed YourBus with his father Bob Dunn earlier thi

There is no doubt that transport is a major ‘problem child’ in the government’s strategy to counter climate change. It is the only significant sector of the UK economy where CO2 emissions are still growing and now accounts for 21% of all emissions. Reversing this trend will be crucial to meeting the government’s climate change targets for the UK as a whole. By 2020 the target is for UK emissions to have fallen 34% compared to 1990 levels. In 2050, the target is for an 80%

WINNER Southern Vectis, for the Really Green Car Scrappage Scheme While the government extends and trumpets its car scrappage scheme, the fact remains that it only replaces old cars with new. While commentators mull over the environmental benefits of building more new cars to replace older ones, and the financial barrier of having to buy a new car to qualify, there’s a new option being launched on the Isle of Wight. The island’s bus operator, Southern Vectis, has introduced the &

There are plenty of industries who must have felt seriously challenged over the past couple of decades when looking at how they measure up against the growing clamour to tackle climate change and be sensitive to changing consumer beliefs and values. Profligate energy producers burning away fossil fuels, water companies leaking vast amounts of precious liquid, and industrial-style chicken farmers lashed by the criticism of TV chefs. All these sectors, and others, realised they had to be seen to

Nexus, the Tyne & Wear PTE, has announced that tickets on the Metro light rail system are to be frozen in 2010, including singles, returns, monthly, annual, child and student fares. The PTE's plans for its ticketing strategy in 2010 were approved yesterday (Thursday) at a meeting of the Tyne & Wear Integrated Transport Authority. The adult Metro single ticket will stay at £1.40, off peak returns stay at £1.90 and the annual MetroSaver pass stays at £450 - offering unl

Following a structural review, the Confederation of Passenger Transport has announced that Stephen Smith has been appointed to the newly created role of operations director. Smith has 37 years’ experience of the passenger transport industry and has already led on a number of key issues for CPT. Meanwhile, John Burch will remain as deputy director - operations. He will now also be free to undertake a number of special projects on behalf of CPT throughout the coming year.

While transport secretary Lord Adonis conducted his own tour of Britain’s rail network from the comfort of the train, the noble Lord has now despatched underling, sorry, transport minister Sadiq Khan to conduct his own national tour. By bus (shock! horror!). Fresh from his non-appearance at this year’s UK?Bus Awards, Khan announced last month on social networking site Twitter, of which it would seem he is a fan, that he was “at Kings Cross about to catch train to Darlington as

Keith Ludeman claimed that the modal shift from car to bus or train occurs where public services have “quality attributes”, and are “convenient and reasonably priced” He is talking to government about the policies that would cause the public to shift to modes with lower CO2 emissions. In my opinion the policies that will be required would need to make the car less attractive. Assuming that it might not be long before we have a Conservative government it was interesting

Casually scanning New Transit during a journey to Lyon, Peter Stonham’s reflections following his attendance at yet another major UITP event graced by few UK delegates set me thinking. How much can UK public transport really learn from our overseas neighbours? Once public transport in the UK could claim to lead the world. Come to that, Transport for London under a management team with a sizeable American contingent, bent on delivering the vision of a US-style maverick mayor has restored Lo

It is normal at this time of year to reflect on the year past, and to look forward to the next. As we have seen in the Queen’s Speech, posturing is perhaps a more appropriate way to describe it than to be looking forward. And nowhere is this more so than with the green agenda. December was meant to be a key month in the global fight back against climate change, but instead the media-savvy world leaders are spending their time lowering our expectations of what they will achieve at the Cope

While the Dutch were announcing their radical plans to cut carbon emissions from transport through the introduction of a nationwide road user charging scheme, our own transport secretary, Lord Adonis, was offering his own vision of a greener future. Giving a speech about low carbon transport at an event organised by Campaign for Better Transport in London, Adonis charmed another audience with his grasp of the transport brief, and passion for it. However, he dodged the issue of achieving modal sh

Transport secretary Lord Adonis has travelled all over the world to discover what Britain can learn from foreign countries. The carbon he has generated while studying low carbon transport initiatives must have melted his own weight in polar ice, but Adonis will be forgiven if he can put what he has learnt to good use and give Britain a better transport system that also produces much less carbon. Perhaps his next trip should be to return to The Netherlands. The Dutch government understands the i

The decision to take a stake in National Express Group has proved a costly experience for the Cosmen family. When they sold their Alsa coaching business to National Express Group in December 2005, the Cosmens received a 10% holding in NEG worth £140m as part payment. Since then they have spent £115m building their stake up to 19.7%. As New Transit went to press, the Cosmens’ stake in the company was worth £105m - a loss of £150m on sharedealing and the shares acqui

ScotRail has announced plans for a rolling stock cascade from September 2010 after the introduction of a new fleet of trains on its routes in Ayrshire and Inverclyde. The first of the Transport Scotland-funded Class 380 trains are currently under construction at Siemens' factory in Germany and their introduction will add 9,000 seats to the Scottish rail network. Meanwhile, from December 2010, trains will once again run on the Airdrie to Bathgate rail line, with new stations created, others

Transport secretary Lord Adonis has informed National Express Group that it will terminate its East Anglia rail franchise in early 2011 without extension. The franchise will now end on March 31, 2011. NEG could have won a franchise extension until 2014 had it not defaulted on its East Coast franchise that was taken into public ownership earlier this month. The future of the group's other remaining rail franchise, London to Essex operator c2c remains under consideration. NEG said in a stateme

While the Greener Journeys campaign has highlighted the impact major initiatives could have in reducing car travel and growing bus use, there remains considerable potential for large patronage increases from lower cost measures to raise awareness of public transport. Jacqui Wilkinson, formerly head of sustainable travel at the Department for Transport, says that too often basic information on bus services is not provided and the industry needs to ensure that it “puts its own house in order

Although vehicle technology in the car industry has made great strides in reducing emissions, it has been slow to have a significant impact on the bus industry. Trials in London show that emissions from hybrid diesel electric buses are 30-40% lower than for standard buses. However, at present fuel savings do not compensate for the price. The £230,000 cost of hybrid buses is £80,000 more than a standard diesel bus, and they are viewed by operators as unaffordable. Apart from the 56 h

The Confederation of Passenger Transport and the Passenger Transport Executive Group has today published a series of joint statements which will act as the basis for more effective voluntary partnerships to improve bus services. The statements set out what both sides agree are a sound legal and policy basis for the negotiation of local voluntary partnerships between operators and PTEs. Pilot areas for the application of the principles set out in the statements have also been agreed for each of

The ranks of the council-owned bus operators in the UK have been further reduced with the news that Go Ahead has agreed to buy Plymouth Citybus from Plymouth City Council. The move means that soon just 11 British towns and cities will retain ownership of their local bus operations and follows the recent decision by Caerphilly County Borough Council to sell its Islwyn Borough Transport business to Stagecoach Wales. Go Ahead will pay £20m to buy the 180-vehicle business that operates a subs

The tram-train concept is one that many believe has considerable potential. It will be tested for the first time in the UK between Sheffield and Rotherham. The Department for Transport had intended this trial to take place on the Penistone line between Sheffield and Huddersfield, but critics questioned the logic of this choice as the line has no connection with a tram line. Instead, it was announced last month that the trial will be switched to an existing freight-only line between Rotherham Cen

Rail fares will rise by an average of 1.1% in January, well below the expected rate of inflation next year and the lowest increase since privatisation, according to analysis released this week. The figure, published by the Association of Train Operating Companies, when applied to the current average price paid for a single rail journey, would mean the average cost of a train journey will rise by 6p in January from £5.05 to £5.11. The 1.1% rise will be below the rate of RPI inflatio

Cambridgeshire County Council has been forced to delay the opening of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway yet again. Finishing works to the St Ives to Cambridge route have not yet been completed which means the route cannot open at the end of November. The council says that as with all building projects construction inspections take place once work is mainly complete to identify final tasks that need to be completed. Much of the work identified from inspections has already been done, but there ar

Transport secretary Lord Adonis has launched a new £50m fund for improvements to ten key stations in England as he warmly welcomed the independent Station Champions’ report on the state of facilities for passengers across the country. body He supports the Champions’ call for a comprehensive list of minimum standards for all stations, aimed at improving the daily travelling experience of passengers and attracting more passengers onto the railways. More than £3bn is

Eurostar has released new research findings on the eve of its fifteenth anniversary which reveal the impact that Eurostar has had on the UK’s relationship with the continent. 97% of respondents? believe that Eurostar has brought Britain closer to France and Belgium and 87% are of the view that our lives have been significantly enriched by the social and cultural exchange that Eurostar provides. Over half the people surveyed said that the speed and easy access of Eurostar for day trips, sh

Rail firm pledges £12m for station improvements Rail services operated by National Express East Coast will, from just before midnight tonight, transfer to East Coast Main Line Company Limited (East Coast), the new operator of the service. East Coast has pledged continuity of service but also improvements to the service over the next two years while it rests in public hands. It is expected that the operator will remain in state ownership for around two years. Transport secretary Lo

Cancelling the Crossrail project next summer would cost the public purse over £1bn it has been revealed. Liberal Democrat shadow transport minister Norman Baker asked transport minister Sadiq Khan what the cost to the taxpayer would be if the scheme was cancelled in June 2010. Khan responded that the government remained fully committed to delivering the Crossrail project and that good progress has been made since the launch of the main construction works in May this year. However, if th

Transport secretary Lord Adonis has found train operator London Midland to be in breach of its franchise agreement after it was forced to make cuts to weekend services following a shortage of drivers. The TOC was forced to cancel around 1,000 services in September after drivers refused to volunteer for work on Sundays, for which they are not obliged, en-masse. Similar circumstances led to significant cancellations at First Capital Connect last weekend. In a written statement to parliament, Ado

Northern Ireland transport minister, Conor Murphy has this week launched a public consultation on proposals to reform the arrangements for the planning and delivery of public transport. Murphy said: “I want to make public transport people’s first choice, not last resort. Our public transport legislation is outdated – it is over 40 years since the last major revision. These significant reform proposals will ensure the provision of a customer-focused, high quality, integrate

It has been confirmed that control of the East Coast intercity rail franchise will pass from beleaguered National Express Group to state control at one minute before midnight on November 13. The new publicly-owned operator, East Coast Main Line Company Limited which will trade as East Coast, will be a headed-up by former First Capital Connect chief executive Elaine Holt. East Coast is a subsidiary of Directly Operated Railways Ltd, a company that is ultimately owned by the Department for Transp

‘Key to the ongoing sustainable development Leeds and its City Region,’ is how environment minister and Leeds MP Hilary Benn described the city’s proposed trolleybus network today. Joined by Stuart Archbold, chairman of Leeds-based Archbold Logistics and the city’s Integrated Transport Partnership, and Chris Greaves, deputy chairman of Metro, which coordinates West Yorkshire’s transport services, Benn was at Leeds City station to see the bid documents safely on the

London TravelWatch, the watchdog for transport users in and around London, has criticised the decision to cut back on work being undertaken to upgrade the Tube and make it accessible. Transport for London announced in its updated business plan last week that work would in future be targeted at key strategic stations such as Green Park and Bond Street to ensure it would benefit as many passengers as possible. Budgetary pressures are behind the move. Sharon Grant, chair of the watchdog, said:

A plan to expand the electrified network that would increase capacity, improve journeys while reducing costs and carbon emissions was unveiled today following a year-long study by Network Rail. The study concludes that the electrification of the Midland Main Line - the main route from London St Pancras to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield - has an extremely attractive business case and could, over the course of 60 years, pay for itself with the savings made from cheaper running costs and mainte

The joint inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group and the Passenger Transport Executive Group this week held its first inquiry session. The select committee style inquiry into the prospects for modern trams in the UK and how barriers to tram scheme development and implementation can be tackled, was first announced in early September. The Inquiry, Light Rail and the City Regions: A 21st Century Mode of Transport, is made up of a cross-party group of parliamentarians and will co

“Bus stops with no buses serving them are what you are going to get when you have a bus industry structure that allows private sector operators to stop and start services at will,” said Metro chairman Cllr Ryk Downes on Friday. Downes was responding to a local case, which attracted fierce criticism in both local and national press, where shortly after a replacement shelter was ordered, the local operating company changed its route, which meant buses no longer served the stop. The sh

New rail timetables introduced in December last year show that the services which cover the East of Scotland, from Edinburgh, through Fife and Dundee to Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland have resulted in many services seeing a significant increase in passengers, in some cases by almost 30%.   The timetables were redesigned to improve journey times and connections on key routes serving the major cities, as well as to enhance links for local stations. This has included addition

GMPTE has submitted an application to Rochdale Council for detailed planning consent for a new interchange on Smith Street, next to the River Roch, in Rochdale town centre. It will replace the existing bus station in the town centre and will also be next to the proposed town centre Metrolink stop. Michael Renshaw, GMPTE’s interim bus & rail director, said: “Rochdale’s new transport interchange will be a vast improvement for both passengers and bus operators, who currently

According to some commentators, the Conservative Party are a shoe-in for next year’s general election - although they also said that Hilary Clinton was a dead cert for the Democratic Party nomination and we all know what happened there. With this in mind, this month’s Conservative Party conference in Manchester was followed with some interest. How would Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, address the country’s major transport issues? Transport in the UK has been

Award-winning bus operator TrentBarton has been rated one of the best bus companies in the United Kingdom by watchdog group Bus Users UK. The ‘voice’ of the country’s bus passengers carried out a mystery audit of the business, and the customer service of TrentBarton was given high marks. But after highlighting an issue with litter on buses late in the day, the company’s management has pledged to increase the number of in-service cleans. The watchdog said: "TrentBar

Research released by independent watchdog Passenger Focus, shows that 45% of Kent-based passengers are considering using high speed services when the full timetable is introduced in December 2009. However, 36% believe that the high speed service to St Pancras will be less convenient than their current London destination, and additionally passengers have also raised concerns about the high fares the service will command. The independent passenger watchdog asked passengers their views on rail se

Whilst I’m all for better public transport, I’m not sure the “Campaign for Better Transport” are helping that much. I refer to CBT’s survey of Britain’s most expensive bus journeys which saw “extortionate bus fares” cast as “Villains” in the September edition of your magazine. It’s easy to find some isolated examples of what seem like expensive bus fares. In my home city of Nottingham, if you were so minded, you could travel less

At the Conservative Party conference in Manchester last week, I was impressed to discover that, despite the economic downturn, train passenger numbers continue to grow in the North West at an extraordinary rate. In the year up until July, the route from Liverpool into Manchester Victoria achieved 17.1% growth. I accept that this is not the case everywhere, but the long-term trend is clearly this: demand for public transport will continue to grow. We should not be seeking to contain this growt

Globalisation is a key feature of our time. Borders are being broken down as commerce takes advantage of the liberalisation of markets, and public transport is not immune. Britain has tended to be relatively relaxed about foreign companies buying up its assets and entering its markets. The French have acquired UK power and water companies, while the Spanish own phone company O2 and BAA, the operator of six UK airports. Just as your energy, water and telephone services may be provided by a foreig

Trams are quiet, environmentally friendly, and efficient. Unfortunately, they are all too scarce. While there are towns of 50,000 people with tram systems in Germany, we have several cities 10 times that size without one. If we are to get trams moving, the major obstacles to overcome are a lack of political will, funding problems, and a lack of incentive for private firms to invest in trams. As long ago as March 2000, the DfT suggested that funding would be available for up to 25 new trams a

Central government must set out a clear policy framework encouraging low carbon public transport schemes. A review of local government structures is required, with the creation of city regions, run by elected mayors, and having fund-raising powers to include a French-style ‘versement transport’ with proceeds dedicated to public transport. There must be a speeding-up of planning and Transport and Works Act procedures, and the costs of schemes must be reduced. Do we really need to mo

To a large extent, the performance of major companies reflects the character of their chief executives. This is particularly true in public transport where the men at the top have been instrumental in building their businesses virtually from scratch, and have been part of the leadership team, in some cases chief executive, for decades. Stagecoach, under Brian Souter, has consistently led the industry into new markets and pioneered innovation, sometimes impetuously, sometimes brilliantly. First

The role of flying the flag for genuinely innovative thinking and new practice in British public transport has not had that many takers over the years. Neither the Confederation of Passenger Transport or the Association of Train Operating Companies have been at the forefront of promoting radical thinking, often seemingly held back by their less progressive members, and acting merely as ‘moaning minnies’ for what they feel is a misunderstood sector. That’s not the approach of J

The Department for Transport recently published statistics that reveal that public perceptions towards rail travel are changing and becoming more favourable. It also finds that rail use amongst adults is increasing, with 30% of those questioned having travelled by long distance train in the year preceding the 2009 survey. This is an increase from 25% in 2006. The Attitudes to Rail Travel report found 71% of respondents rated short distance services as good (compared with 63% in 2006) and 12% a

Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, and Leed City Council last month approved plans for the New Generation Transport scheme for the city. The milestone meant that plans for the trolleybus network were due to be submitted to the Department for Transport as a Major Scheme Business Case as New Transit went to press. A decision on the scheme by ministers is due before the end of the year. It is expected the NGT would start in 2015 if approved.  

The contract to operate the Tyne & Wear Metro under a new operating concession is down to two bidders after PTE Nexus rejected a bid by NedRailways, the overseas arm of the Dutch state railway, in favour of submissions from Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio and Nexus’s in-house bid team. The successful bidder will go on to win a concession of between seven and nine years from?April next year. They will be responsible for day-to-day delivery and management of Metro train services and

Alliance Rail Holdings has called on the Office of Rail Regulation to develop a new process for judging open access applications. Potentially, a new approach could enable Alliance to bring hundreds of millions of pounds of new investment to the rail industry. Ian Yeowart, a director of Alliance, says his aim is to turn open access from a small scale business, which is generally seen as an irritant by the industry, into a major player capable of delivering investments that would be unlikely to b

Scotland's transport minister, Stewart Stevenson, has stressed that he wants to see the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow served by public transport. Stevenson, speaking to SPT members at the Scottish National Party's annual conference in Inverness, said the 2014 Games were not about providing vast amounts of car parking at the venues, but about getting people there sustainably. The minister also said he wanted to engage with SPT on proposals to modernise the Subway in Glasgow and looked forward t

Proposals to electrify up to 400 miles of railways, to fill in the network’s ‘missing links’ and provide better connections between some of the UK’s biggest cities are set out today by train companies. The Association of Train Operating Companies is keen to see work done which prepares for the electrification in the long term of a relatively small number of strategic routes, bringing significant benefits to the UK economy. The proposals would cut carbon emissions and

Leeds City Council’s Executive Board yesterday approved the city’s £27m local funding contribution required for the proposed Leeds trolleybus system to be submitted to the Department for Transport. With the approvals from the City Council and Metro in place, plans for the 14km New Generation Transport network can be submitted to the DfT as a Major Scheme Business Case by the end of October. Discussions with DfT officials have indicated that Ministers will decide whether to gi

The opening of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has moved forward with the announcement that the two bus operators who will operate services along the route have both registered services to commence by the end of November. Busway contractor BAM Nuttall say they are confident that they will be able to hand over the completed northern section of the busway by the end of October, and all the necessary construction certificates will be in place by opening. An agreement is now being finalised betwe

Nexus, the Tyne & Wear PTE which owns, manages and is modernising the Tyne & Wear Metro system, today announced the names of the final two bidders shortlisted for a contract to operate trains and stations on its behalf. Nexus will now seek to establish the ‘best of the best’ by asking each to revise and confirm their proposals over the next two months. Creating an operating concession of the highest quality will unlock more than £300m of government capital funding - a

Cerdyn Cymru concessionary pass holders are to continue to benefit from free rail travel on a number of Welsh rail routes. Pass holders from Conwy and Gwynedd are to continue to receive free travel facilities on the Conwy Valley Line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno. Meanwhile, passholders from Flintshire and Wrexham will continue to enjoy free travel on the Welsh section of the Wrexham to Bidston Line The Cambrian Coast scheme reopens on 4th October 2009 for eligible Gwynedd pass ho

The Association of Train Operating Companies has hit out at trade union calls for the East Coast rail franchise to remain in public ownership. Beleaguered National Express is expected to hand back the franchise to the Department for Transport next month. Transport minister Lord Adonis confirmed this week that he anticipated the franchise will remain in pubic hands for around two years under a management team headed-up by former First Capital Connect managing director Elaine Holt. However, tr

Clackmannanshire passengers have been taking advantage of the new direct morning and evening rail services between Alloa and Edinburgh – with around 4,000 trips made to and from Alloa on these services alone since their introduction in May this year. Passenger services returned to Alloa for the first time since 1968 when the new Alloa station opened on 15 May 2008. The Alloa – Stirling – Glasgow Queen Street service has proved very popular since its launch last year,

Train operators yesterday called on all political parties to ensure that investment in the railways continues beyond the next election, arguing that passenger rail is essential to Britain’s future economic success. Passenger rail – the way forward, launched by the Association of Train Operating Companies, says: Rail makes a significant contribution to the economy and Government must continue to invest in rail. Trains are used by 64% of British businesses, with business t

British Airways today launched long haul flights from London's City Airport with a new business class-only service to New York's JFK Airport. The service will utilise two Airbus A318 aircraft that have been specially configured to seat just 32 passengers in a move that aims to link the hearts of the world's two biggest financial centres. Willie Walsh, British Airways' chief executive said: "Our long tradition of delivering world-beating and innovative new services continues with the launc

As a proportion of the passenger transport sector, aviation is relatively small. Of the 7.7 billion journeys made by passenger transport in the UK in 2007/08 only 0.3% were made on domestic flights (22 million journeys). With international flights this figure climbs to 200 million journeys a year. However, this is still tiny when compared to the 1.2 billion journeys made each year on the national rail network, the 1.1 billion on the London Underground and the massive 5.1 billion on buses. And

if cvc capital Partners succeeds in its bid for National Express Group, Stagecoach’s “agreement of principles” with CVC puts the Perth-based group in pole position to take control of National Express’s 1,900-vehicle UK bus operation and the Midland Metro light rail system. It’s a prize that Stagecoach chief executive Brian Souter will relish getting his hands on. It will see Stagecoach’s UK bus division reach a fleet size of around 9,000 vehicles, placing it

National Express has already handed back the keys for its East Coast intercity franchise. However, it appears that its remaining East Anglia and c2c franchises will be part of deal that sees National Express acquired by new owners. The Department for Transport is said to have indicated that it will allow the franchises to change hands as part of a takeover deal, in return for a fee. Stagecoach has first refusal on the franchises should the bid by CVC Capital Partners succeed and it is reported

Transport is a brief that fails to whet the appetite of many politicians. In cabinet reshuffles, it’s a spare post that is given to test someone on the way up or appease someone on the down. That wasn’t the case when Labour came to power in 1997. Deputy prime minister John Prescott was handed the transport brief and he brought a new momentum. He championed public transport and he set out a vision for an integrated and sustainable transport network, but the momentum was lost. Prescot

There’s no doubt that access to airports is an emotive topic, provoking myriad opinions, many of which are in conflict. If you’re catching a flight, even the most seasoned traveller is anxious to arrive in good time. If you’re travelling in the vicinity of an airport you may be frustrated by the airport-bound traffic. If you’re a bus operator, a potentially unsustainable service routed via an airport becomes a viable prospect. Planning access to an airport is also a maj

A primarily VFR trip to Australia gave me ample opportunity to think about airport access as we transferred to and from domestic flights to central area hotels or rendezvous. Two of Eddington’s three strategic priorities refer to airports: the report comments: “Surface access routes to ports and airports are critical parts of international journeys and often these routes and networks are shared with large volumes of urban traffic and the more limited levels of inter-regional traffic&

When FirstGroup announced that Andrew Haines had left his job as head of its rail division last December it was a genuine shock. But the sense of surprise in the industry was, if anything, exceeded by Haines’s re-emergence as the Civil Aviation Authority’s first chief executive in August. It was not as if Haines was short of options to continue his career on the railway, where he was regarded as among the next generation of industry leaders. During the six months gardening leave he

Tyne &?Wear PTE Nexus has unveiled final designs for the transformation of Sunderland’s railway station as work on the project enters its final phase.  Completion of the £7m upgrade of the station’s platform areas is currently expected in May 2010. Nexus has commissioned artist Jason Bruges to create a 140-metre animated ‘light wall’, with an ever-changing display powered by thousands of individual LED units.  

The much anticipated Glasgow Airport Rail Link has become a victim of spending cuts with the Scottish Government taking the axe to the £100m scheme in a bid to ease pressure on the public purse after the cost of the project significantly increased. Scottish finance secretary John Swinney announced that the SNP-led government was ditching the project as part of its austerity budget to cover the first fall in public spending since the advent of devolution in 1999. “The government mu

It’s not often that you see Sir Moir Lockhead and Brian Souter on the same platform. The respective chief executives of FirstGroup and Stagecoach have been bitter rivals for well over a decade. Their companies compete in arenas as diverse as the streets of Sheffield and inter-city coach routes in the USA’s Mid-West. One thing that they agree on, however, is that the UK government risks missing key carbon reduction targets by failing to maximise the potential of buses and coaches.

IT was 12 months ago that Theresa Villiers addressed the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham and pledged support for a new high speed rail line in place of a third runway at Heathrow. Since that announcement, the momentum for high speed rail in the UK has gathered pace in this country, with support from politicians across the spectrum. “We have long had the technology and it now looks as if we finally have the political commitment,” Villiers told last month’s High Sp

Lord Adonis was preaching to the converted when he extolled the virtues of high speed rail to a railway audience at September’s HSR Summit in London. However, he believes that it’s no longer a case of ‘if’ Britain should build a new High Speed 2 rail line, but ‘when’. The political consensus behind HSR is growing and the transport secretary says it will be vital to making this vision a reality. His opposite number, Theresa Villiers, restated her support for H

Airline industry opinion The airline industry generally accepts that HSR operation has an environmental advantage over air, however, its scale is disputed. Short haul airline VLM has described rail industry claims as “often unaudited, and based on questionable logic”. It quoted research by the Sustainable Aviation Network Europe showing the latest generation of regional aircraft such as its Fokker 50s may actually be more environmentally friendly than rail, emitting 95g of CO2 per

PTEG and the All-Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group announced a select committee-style inquiry into the prospects for modern trams in the UK and how barriers to tram scheme development and implementation can be tackled. They will begin taking evidence this month and it must be hoped that they speak to somebody from Edinburgh. Although the funding package for the £500m-plus Edinburgh Line One light rail scheme is not yet secured, construction has been taking place on the famous Princes S

Crossrail not a key priority for us, warns Vince Cable Crossrail's future was thrown into unprecedented doubt today as its all-party support appeared to unravel. In an exclusive interview with the London Evening Standard, Liberal Democrat economic spokesman Vince Cable became the first political heavyweight to warn that the £16 billion east-west rail scheme for London was unlikely to be a "key priority". Read more

UK bus and coach operators today warned the government that it risks missing key carbon reduction targets by failing to maximise the potential of buses and coaches to help tackle climate change. Operators First and Stagecoach joined forces to unveil a blueprint to meet the challenge of climate change by aimed at taking one billion car journeys off the country’s roads. The move is part of the Greener Journeys campaign, which was founded by the 'big five' groups and which launched a manife

The Association of Train Operating Companies have rejected the RMT's assertions following their opinion poll claiming seven out of ten people want to see the railways renationalised. ATOC's chief executive Michael Roberts said: “The mindset behind commissioning this opinion poll is steeped in the past. Rather than talking about an irrelevant issue like renationalisation, we must focus instead on releasing the full potential of private sector train operators through the future of the fra

News that the Office of Fair Trading has found evidence that there might, just might, be circumstances in the UK bus industry that creates a tendency to higher fares and contract prices is completely unsurprising; show me an industry in which that is not the case. At a wedding the weekend after the news came out, a distant relation who works in the City commented “for heavens sake, they must have bigger fish to fry”. Of course they have, but they have had a thing about buses for a co

There are few things as closely tied to the quality of life in this country as our ability to move around. As soon any one of us leaves their front door, we are reliant on a network of roads, buses, trains, planes, and pavements to enable us to get where we need to go. Our transport network provides the veins and arteries of our economy and is a daily experience - a necessity - for nearly everyone in Britain. The quality of that experience is in decline. It has been for more than a decade.

The day after National Express Group announced its intention to hand back the keys to its East Coast franchise, transport secretary Lord Adonis was quizzed by industry executives on the implications of the debacle. Did it expose issues with franchising policy, or indeed with that particular franchise that need to be addressed, he was asked. After all, it was the second time in three years that the Department for Transport’s East Coast franchise had collapsed. It was a question Adonis was

Bristol’s chance to develop a light rail system disappeared in 2004 following the repeated inability of South Gloucestershire and Bristol City Council to agree the details of the proposed Bristol Supertram. The city has been paying for it ever since. The council is currently seeking a director of transport and the job description states that traffic issues generate the biggest criticism of Bristol as a city. The council estimates that congestion costs the city around £300m a year i

The government is placing its bets on public transport. In the midst of the worst economic crisis for a generation, ministers appear to have decided that there is a strong case for investing in bus, tram and rail schemes to help stimulate the economy, hasten the recovery and meet environmental obligations. A number of projects of varying sizes have been given the green light at a time when public finances are under increased pressure. So, is this strategy a sure bet or a big gamble? Recent mont

ROBERT Jack (New Transit Issue 2) hits the nail on the head when he says “there is a schizophrenia amongst politicians and the industry itself about whether the [passenger transport] sector is a truly commercial marketplace, or still in part a public utility”. Other sectors do not seem to suffer the same difficulty. Take food retailing – surely a more vital public service than transport. This is a thriving commercial sector, and needs no government support. Indeed, the publ

The integrated ticketing strategy needs to send some clear messages that simple, unified and integrated ticketing systems delivered by smartcard are what passengers want and what they should get. Following on from Oyster card in London the next logical step would be to do the next tier of major city regions - which are the Met areas covering a population of 11 million people. Once London and the city regions are covered then you can build from there to cover the whole country. There is now a gol

How much do you think it would cost to take a family on a return trip by bus from Elgin to Rothes? This journey through rural north east Scotland takes just 15 minutes each way, and yet it costs Stewart Henderson and his family of three an eye-watering £14.80. Ouch! At least Henderson can help restore the family finances with the £50 voucher he has received for winning a competition to find the UK’s most expensive bus fare. His journey with Stagecoach Bluebird beat contenders

Cyclists and public transport have not always had an easy relationship. Bus and train operators have traditionally viewed them as a nuisance (some, perhaps, still do), but there are signs that attitudes are changing. Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach, has a reputation for being able to predict which way the market is going. He believes that cyclists are a key market for the future of public transport. “Cyclists are not the enemy,” Souter told a bus industry conference in S

In the UK, cities are playing catch up with continental rivals in introducing tram systems. Nowhere is this more apparent than in comparison with France. All 10 of France’s largest cities have tram systems with the exception of Toulouse, which has a 27km Val Metro system instead, and a tramway under construction (see table below). Tram networks in French cities are also generally supplemented by other modern forms of rapid transit or urban railways. In the UK, only half the 10 largest cit

At a time when so many people are experiencing financial hardship it is inevitable that there will be increased scrutiny of bus and rail fares. So, there was welcome news in August when the government announced that “the majority of regulated rail fares, including most commuter fares, will fall in January.” This is because train operators are prevented from increasing regulated fares by more than 1% above RPI, and RPI is now -1.4%. Therefore, regulated fares will fall in absolute te

Tyne and Wear PTE Nexus, which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has acted to close down a Facebook newsgroup aimed at tracking the movements of its ticket inspectors.   Facebook agreed on August 20 to close down the newsgroup, which had attracted several hundred members in the last two weeks, after Nexus complained that it broke the website’s guidelines.   Nexus is also seeking the closure of two further Facebook newsgroups which contain malicious comments and threat

Passenger Focus has criticised plans by First Great Western to introduce new restrictions on its cheapest off-peak tickets which will mean many passengers travelling to and from London will see their fares rise by 20%. On September 6, FGW will replace its Off-Peak ticket with a new Super Off-Peak fare at the same price but with much tighter time restrictions.  A 20% more expensive Off-Peak fare will be introduced to cover times excluded by the new Super Off-Peak rules.  Off-Peak singl

Contractors BAM Nuttall have advised Cambridgeshire County Council that they expect to hand over the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway route between St Ives and Cambridge at the end of October. This news means that, provided BAM Nuttall achieve this date, Cambridgeshire County Council will be able to open the busway within a month of the handover once final testing and trials are complete. However, the October date is significantly behind schedule, with construction of the scheme having been hamper

Award-winning Western Greyhound, Cornwall’s largest independent operator, has won a significant number of additional Cornish trunk routes in a major retendering exercise by the new unitary Cornwall Council. Most have historically been operated by First Devon & Cornwall, although some routes were previously operated by Truronian prior to their takeover by First. Routes which will be taken over at the end of September include the 22 St Austell to Truro (Mondays to Saturdays), 24 St Aust

Transport secretary Lord Adonis has approved plans for the £695m upgrade of London's Victoria tube station. The move follows a three-month public inquiry, which ended in January this year. Used by more than 80 million passengers each year, Victoria Underground station is at the heart of London's transport network. However, severe congestion during the morning rush hour often makes it necessary to stop passengers coming into the station for several minutes, to avoid overcrowding on the T

Extensions to Nottingham's light rail system have moved a step closer thanks to £530m of government funding transport minister Sadiq Khan announced today. The scheme, which has received initial government approval, will see two new tram lines - one to Chilwell and Beeston and the other to Clifton. The extensions build on the success of the existing line, which carried over 10m passengers last year, and will be funded through private finance initiative credits. It will also allow easi

The quality of service passengers using ScotRail trains and stations have experienced in the past year is illustrated in the latest annual performance review, published yb Transport Scotland today.  The Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) is one the toughest regimes of its kind in the UK and is used by Transport Scotland to monitor the train operator’s performance.The regime is designed to drive quality improvements in rail services and deliver customer service benefits for

The recovery of London businesses risks being undermined by GLA plans to move ahead with funding Crossrail using a Business Rate Supplement, according to the British Retail Consortium. Reacting to the GLA’s Initial Prospectus for Crossrail, published today, the British Retail Consortium said that while Crossrail is much needed and long overdue - retailers will contribute far more than they will benefit from the scheme. The plans call for a BRS of 2p to business properties with a rateab

Concessionary fares are proving to be an overwhelming success but senior citizens and disabled passengers have concerns about using their pass outside their local area. Bus passengers across England, including those who don’t hold a pass, have thrown their support behind the concessionary fares scheme which gives free travel to passengers aged 60 and over and passengers with an eligible disability. Passenger Focus has now published its full results looking at England-wide concessionary b

Merseytravel chair Cllr Mark Dowd has been named as the new chair of the Integrated Transport Authorities Special Interest Group. The group brings together leading Councillors from the six English Integrated Transport Authorities. Commenting on his new role, Dowd said: "I’m very pleased to take on the role of Chair of the ITA Special Interest Group again. Among the issues I will be raising with ministers on behalf of the six ITAs is the need to ensure that all ITAs continue to be ade

Passenger Focus has lent its support to the parliamentary transport select committee's findings on fares and franchising. The committee today published a report that branded the current rail franchising process "a mess", and called on the government to act over recent fare increases, service reductions and staff cuts within the industry. Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, said: “Passengers tell us in no uncertain terms that they find the fares and ticketing syste

A  new report from the parliamentary select committee suggests that rail franchising remains a mess where private operators can abandon their obligations when times get tough. It adds that the time has come for fundamental reform of the franchising system. In its report on rail fares and franchises, the committee concludes that the fare increases, service reductions and staff cuts seen in 2009 are unacceptable practices which the government must take steps to prevent. Fare rises of more th

A government decision to financially support plans to run Midland Metro trams through Birmingham and Wolverhampton city centres, was yesterday welcomed by Centro, the region’s transport authority. The proposed light rail extensions were among a series of major transport improvement schemes for the metropolitan area between now and 2014 that the West Midlands had asked the Department for Transport to help support with £154 million of funding. Transport minister Sadiq Khan said the g

I have been told that the ministerial team at transport now changes more often than at any other department of state. Whether or not that’s true, it certainly seems that way. The 2008 Local Transport Act was steered through parliament by an unprecedented succession of ministers, and is all the worse for that lack of consistency. Before the ink dried on the new act, the department was up to its tricks changing the basis of central government funding on which the industry works (see below).

I have never seen transport as merely being about the quickest route between two points on a map. In my view, you can tell as much about the values of a society from its transport system as by its schools and hospitals. I therefore reject the dialogue of despair that says we just have to grin and bear congestion; that we in Britain are incapable of carrying through long-term infrastructure projects; that you will never get people cycling on British roads; and, that our engineers simply aren&rsqu

Few people better embody the ethos of a consummate passenger transport professional than Giles Fearnley. Confident and impressive on the national stage, dealing with big picture business and policy issues, he is also entirely at home at the grassroots level, delivering high quality services attuned to needs of local communities. He is unassuming when asked how he thinks he got to this status, and his new engagement as the first chairman of the Confederation of Passenger Transport - a unique rol

The first of a new fleet of trams for Manchester’s Metrolink light rail system arrived in the city last month after an overland journey from manufacturer Bombardier’s factory in Vienna. The new look yellow and silver vehicle is the first of a new generation of trams for the expanding Metrolink network, which is being transformed by a multimillion-pound investment programme. A total of 40 new trams have been ordered to provide more room on existing services and to cater for passenger

The government has announced plans for a new £30m scheme that will subsidise the purchase of around 700 low carbon buses. Bus operators and councils will be able to bid for the money which they can then use towards the additional up front cost of buying low carbon buses. Transport minister Lord Adonis said that the move would be a boost to bus builders and would also help kickstart mass production of hybrid vehicles by reducing initial acquisition costs. He added that the move would als

Plans for an advanced bus system in Leeds have taken a step forward with scheme promoter Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, holding a series of public events to create awareness about the project. In July, Metro and Leeds City Council hosted the events about the proposed system that is being developed as part of the city’s  New Generation Transport (NGT) project. Visitors to the events were able to view an exhibition about the scheme as well as ask questions of the NGT team and feed bac

Award-winning bus operator TrentBarton aims to find out how good its business really is with the news that passenger lobby group Bus Users UK is to undertake a thorough audit of the operator’s customer service. Officers from Bus Users UK will travel throughout Trent Barton’s network and produce mystery travel reports about all aspects of the service they receive, from quality of bus stop infrastructure and information, to the customer service skills of drivers and comfort found onbo

In late June transport secretary Lord Adonis announced that £5m of funding was to be provided to 10 rail terminals to enable them to upgrade their bicycle facilities. The list of the 10 stations to benefit from this cash is due to be announced later this summer. This announcement came less than one week after the government and public transport operators had launched their national station travel plans initiative. 24 pilot plans encompassing 31 stations across the country will, it is ho

The elderly and young people under the age of 25 remain key markets for the bus industry according to survey data investigating public attitudes to bus travel that was released by the Department for Transport last month. The data reveals 51% of 16 to 24-year olds use the bus at least once a week, the highest out of all of all age groups, closely followed by those aged over 75, 38% of whom use the bus at least once a week. However, a significant number of age groups remain unconvinced by the me

Bus and light rail journeys across the UK?fell during the first three months of 2009, with a noticeable slide in the English shire counties, Scotland and Wales according to the latest figures published by the Department for Transport last month. Meanwhile, patronage in the previously booming London market remained static from the Autumn quarter. The statistics reveal that between January and March this year, bus and light rail patronage was down just under 1% in the English shire counties. The

Internal Department for Transport figures obtained by New Transit show that capital spending on transport is expected to be cut by around a third in the eight years to 2018/19 compared to pre-recession figures projected following the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. The total reduction is £29bn, and throws doubt over the DfT’s ability to fund major infrastructure upgrades such as Crossrail and large rail schemes for which funding was committed in Network Rail’s 2009-14 settl

Are we on the verge of a new era of collaborative partnership between transport operators and local authorities prompted by the 2008 Local Transport Act? Or a greater focus on ensuring that local transport provision is characterised by much more head-to-head competitive activity between different providers? It’s as clear as mud! Weary observers of the scene point to a long running stand off between two government agencies. The Department for Transport advocates integrated transport and co

West Midlands PTA Centro, National Express West Midlands and Birmingham City Council have drawn up a package of proposed improvements for south Birmingham’s extensive bus network, to meet the needs of several major developments including the city’s new Super Hospital. The three organisations have been assessing the existing network as part of the strategy set out in Centro’s ‘Transforming Bus Travel’ document, published late last year. The vision aims to deliver

As the government revises its major scheme business case guidance, Campaign for Better Transport and PTEG have called for an end to what they have called a discrimination against trams. The organisations this week asked transport minister Sadiq Khan to put trams on a level playing field with buses and road schemes. Neil Scales, the chair of PTEG, said: "Current guidance doesn’t put trams on an equal footing and changing this must be a small, but significant step towards making m

Buses in Hampshire are to display a new logo to raise public awareness of the importance of the successful quality bus partnerships that exist between the bus operator and Hampshire County Council.  Andrew Dyer, managing director for Stagecoach in the south, whose company operates the largest fleet of vehicles exceeding 300 from depots in Winchester, Basingstoke, Portsmouth and Aldershot and Andover, joined Councillor Geoff Hockley, vice chairman of Hampshire County Council’s envi

West Midlands PTE Centro partnership with National Express West Midland, and also Diamond Bus Company means that bus routes in Bilston, Coseley, Sedgley and Tipton which were under threat, will now be saved. The 546 service and Monday to Saturday daytime services on the 545, linking Wolverhampton and Dudley via the four centres, were set to be withdrawn at the end of this month because low passenger numbers meant they were losing money.   In a new Transforming Bus Travel vision unveile

Lord Adonis will be asked to explain himself to the chairman of a parliamentary committee amid concerns that he may not have given MPs the full picture over his decision to strip National Express of its East Coast rail franchise. Louise Ellman, the chairman of the House of Commons Transport Committee, said yesterday that she would be asking the Transport Secretary to clarify comments he made at a hearing on June 17. It follows an admission by the Department for Transport, in response to a fr

BERWICK MP Sir Alan Beith has condemned the government for its role in the collapse of the National Express franchise to run the east coast main railway line. The Lib-Dem, who uses the train to travel between his constituency home in Berwick and Westminster, says the government must stop looking at the route as a cash source. He said: "We cannot go through the pantomime again of having an operator walk away from or be unable to continue the franchise. Click here to read the original st

The RMT has said that one of the four approved bidders for the privatisation of Tyne and Wear Metro – MTR Rail from Hong Kong – has pulled out of the process leaving just the in-house operation and two private companies still in the frame. The RMT has also calculated that around £1m of tax payers money has been spent on an in-house tender for a privatisation that the overwhelming majority of people are opposed to, money that could have been invested in improvements to Tyne a

National Express intends to defy transport secretary Lord Adonis by extending one of its two remaining rail franchises to 2014, the company's acting chief executive has told the Observer. Ray O'Toole also insisted that the £72m penalty that the company will pay for handing back its £1.4bn contract to operate the east coast franchise was set at a "sensible level". He said National Express was well on track to hit all of its performance targets on its East Anglia fran

Trade union Unite has criticised London bus operators claiming that drivers have been unable to switch off the saloon heating of many vehicles during the current heatwave. Temperatures on some vehicles in the capital exceeded 45 degrees earlier this week. Unite regional industrial officer, Peter Kavanagh, said: “Many of our members are being unfairly targeted by angry passengers who can not understand why the heating on the buses can not be switched off during the summer. “The bus

Transport minister Lord Adonis has announced that Elaine Holt, until recently the managing director of First Capital Connect, has been appointed as chief executive of the new government-owned company that will take control of the East Coast rail franchise from National Express later this year. Holt left FCC in April in a surprise move and had led First’s successful bid for the franchise. She was subsequently appointed managing director in 2006 following the Aberdeen-based group's successf