\u00a0 \u00a0 Launched last month, Women in Bus and Coach is supported by representatives from across the profession, and celebrates and encourages women and allies working in the bus, coach and community transport industry across the whole of the UK. <\/p>\n A wrapped Women in Bus and Coach bus was also displayed at Parliament to commemorate the House of Commons event. The wrapped bus can be seen servicing London bus passengers on route 94 for a short period, running from Acton Green to Charles II Street, travelling past iconic landmarks including Marble Arch, Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus.<\/p>\n During the exclusive event, the attendees, who included prominent senior leaders in the bus and coach industry, together with MPs and political figures from across all parties, heard from members, supporters, and allies of the \u2018Women in Bus and Coach\u2019 initiative. The speakers provided an insight on how they will work with operators, manufacturers, community associations and other key stakeholders in the bus and coach industry to effect real change that will encourage, represent, and support more women to work in the bus, coach and community transport industry at every level. This will help deliver a more inclusive profession and services that better meet the needs of women.<\/p>\n The initiative is made up of industry leads and will provide a collaborative forum to share expertise and develop solutions to make sure a career in the bus, coach and community transport industry is attractive to women of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. <\/p>\n It will also work with bus and coach companies to challenge and eliminate barriers currently faced by women in the profession, creating a more inclusive service that is representative of customers. The organisation wants women, whatever their background, to have equal access to a career in the industry and a workplace designed around their needs.<\/p>\n At the launch of Women in Bus and Coach at an event in Birmingham on November 8, key stakeholders signed up to the Charter \u2013 agreeing to challenge industry policies and practices that do not adequately support women, and to set, review, and publish targets for women in all roles throughout the industry. <\/p>\n Today\u2019s event was a unique opportunity to both gain cross-party support for the Women in Bus and Coach initiative and showcase how we\u2019ve made significant progress in recent years in recruiting more women into the industry<\/p>\n Louise Cheeseman, director of buses at Transport for London, and chair of Women in Bus and Coach, said: \u201cToday\u2019s event was a unique opportunity to both gain cross-party support for the Women in Bus and Coach initiative and showcase how we\u2019ve made significant progress in recent years in recruiting more women into the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have a lot of work to do to challenge and eliminate barriers currently faced by women in the profession, I can\u2019t wait to continue working with the bus and coach sector to achieve both a professional environment and culture, and a bus and coach service that works for a wealth of diversity \u2013 we are better together.\u201d<\/p>\n The group\u2019s corporate members are: Abellio, Alexander Dennis, Arriva, Brighton & Hove, BYD, Dawson Group, First Bus, Global, Go-Ahead, Lothian, McGill\u2019s, MCV Bus and Coach, Metroline, National Express, RATP Dev, Stagecoach UK Bus, Transport for London, Uno, Volvo and Wrightbus. <\/p>\n Find out more, including how to get involved, at: www.womeninbusandcoach.org.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n You can follow Women in Bus and Coach on LinkedIn and X\/Twitter at @WminBusandCoach<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0 Candice Mason, director of business at Tring-based Masons Minibus & Coach Hire has explain why the Women in Bus and Coach initiative is very close to her heart. <\/p>\n Mason initially joined her family-run business on a year-long sabbatical from work to help her husband, but is still there 10 years later. Speaking to Leon Daniels, formerly of Transport for London, for the Lunch with Leon podcast<\/a>, which is produced in association with Passenger Transport, she said: \u201cI\u2019ve absolutely loved it, but\u00a0the downside is I was the only woman in my business for a very long time and I think that you do need a mix of different diversities within a business in order to get a full range of opportunities out of the business. Different people approach things very differently.<\/p>\n I really had to earn my place. I had to earn the respect of male counterparts within the industry, and I just don\u2019t think that that is the future I would want for my daughter<\/p>\n Mason added: \u201cI really had to earn my place. I had to earn the respect of male counterparts within the industry, and I just don\u2019t think that that is the future I would want for my daughter.<\/p>\n Mason points out that women have different needs. \u201cThis month a female driver of mine had a miscarriage and Meanwhile, she revealed that she has experienced \u201csemi-abusive communications\u201d from men within the industry: \u201cI\u2019ve grown a bit of a thick skin and I am capable of standing up for myself.\u00a0Well that\u2019s great, but that isn\u2019t OK for that to be the case.\u201d <\/p>\n \u00a0 DON\u2019T MISS OUT \u2013 GET YOUR COPY! \u2013\u00a0click here to subscribe!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The post Women in Bus and Coach visit Parliament<\/a> first appeared on Passenger Transport<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200b\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Event at House of Commons saw industry leaders and MPs from all parties hear from members, supporters and allies of the new national initiative \u00a0Members, supporters, and allies of the \u2018Women in Bus and Coach\u2019 initiative in Parliament last week \u00a0 Women in Bus and Coach, the initiative to support women in the bus and coach industry, were welcomed by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Members, supporters, and allies of the \u2018Women in Bus and Coach\u2019 initiative in Parliament last week<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWomen in Bus and Coach, the initiative to support women in the bus and coach industry, were welcomed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Road Passenger Transport Industry at an event hosted at the House of Commons last week.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nMason: \u2018I really had to earn my place\u2019<\/h5>\n\n
\nthat is so difficult,\u201d she said. \u201cUnless you have got other females within a business that is really difficult for a male to empathise with, to understand what they are going to need and how to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article appears in the latest issue of\u00a0Passenger Transport<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n