Issue 289 of Passenger Transport is published on May 19.
Contents include:
LEAD STORY
£500m of new support for England’s buses
In response to warnings that up to 15% of the bus network could be at risk, the government has extended recovery funding and the £2 bus fare cap
NEWS
TransPennine moves into state ownership
Transport secretary Mark Harper steps in to take control of beleaguered operator TransPennine Express after months of poor performance
CBT campaign week launched
Better Transport Week aims to highlight sustainable transport
Rotheram reveals £300m franchise plan
Significant investment in new buses and depot facilities are at the heart of the Liverpool City Region’s plans to franchise the local bus network
‘CMA competition test should not deter EPs’
CMA says competition concerns should not deter bus partnerships
Stagecoach denies kicking out FlixBus
Group rejects rivals claims about Aberdeen bus station expulsion
National Express Group becomes Mobico
Move aims to solidify group’s presence as international player
Enterprise hits 20-year high amid funding woes
Passenger growth is encouraging but realities of budget standstill mean that Translink cuts are under consideration. Rhodri Clark reports
Rail industry calls for clarity on reform plans
RIA urges Sunak to press ahead with modernisation plans
Cost of preventing bus service cuts is ‘tiny’
Go-Ahead’s Martin Dean tells parliamentarians that £260m a year to keep networks at pre-pandemic levels is ‘barely enough to build a mile of HS2’
Tender costs quadruple in rural Welsh county
Local authorities and operators warn of potential collapse
NET ZERO
ScotZeb Phase 2 aims to assist on Net Zero
New phase expands eligibility to community transport and coaches
TransPennine is first to be Carbon Literate
The accreditation, awarded by the Carbon Literacy Trust, is internationally recognised and demonstrates recipients are prioritising climate crisis
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
The experiment begins: CAVForth is in service
The ground-breaking AB1 autonomous bus service is now carrying passengers on a 14-mile route from Fife to the Edinburgh Park interchange
ScotRail finds barcode fraud
Operator removes short-hop barcode tickets after discovering abuse of system by fare evaders
COMMENT
Jonathan Bray: Fares are firmly on the political agenda
Fares are no longer just about balancing public transport’s books. The sector must recognise this shift and become more proactive
Alex Warner: We’ve lost our way with transport maps
Maps are in decline and where they do exist they are hidden or diluted in value, but they are a great way to communicate our offer
Nick Richardson: Could transport cope with Covid 2.0?
While Covid-19 never really went away, could there be a resurgence of the pandemic and what would be the response?
Nafisa Nathani: Rethinking mental health support
We need to change our models of mental health support to be more accommodating to the needs of a diverse workforce
Great Minster Grumbles: Rail privatisation is slowly unravelling
Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the DfT
SPECIAL REPORT: CitySwift
Simulations will be a ‘game changer’
The addition of simulations to CitySwift’s Evolve module allows bus operators to analyse the predicted impact of various runtimes
CAREERS
Go North West expands team for franchising
Martyn Walsh joins operator as head of engineering
RECRUITMENT
Head of Operations – Stagecoach East Scotland
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The post Out now: Issue 289 of Passenger Transport first appeared on Passenger Transport.