More than £100 million is being invested in improving public transport and encourage economic growth in Wales. Wales’ 22 local authorities were invited to submit proposals to the Welsh Government for local transport improvements in their areas that will help to deliver the priorities and ambitions of Wales’ Transport Strategy – Llwybr Newydd. Among the developments being invested in are bus corridors and real time bus information for stops. Additionally, there is funding for the Haverfordwest bus interchange, investment in route safety in Llanidloes and support for bus corridors in Cardiff ..read more

This year’s ALBUM conference proved a great opportunity for delegates to link up with industry suppliers. Here is a breakdown of some of the great products and services on show during the event. Pelican Yutong displayed a U11DD electric double-decker at the ALBUM conference An outdoor vehicle display area had a Yutong U11DD double-deck electric bus on display. It was joined by the new generation of electric buses from Alexander Dennis: the Enviro100EV and Enviro400EV. The next generation of electric buses from Alexander Dennis: the Enviro100EV and Enviro400EV An MCV eVoRa-bodied Volvo B8RL ..read more

Wrightbus has won a milestone deal to provide 46 hydrogen buses to Germany – taking a demo bus from Belfast to showcase its reliability and range. The buses ordered by Cottbusverkehr GmbH will serve the city of Cottbus, the second largest city in the state of Brandenburg, and in the western part of the district of Spree-Neiße. It follows a landmark announcement by the German government to implement a €350 million scheme to support the production of renewable hydrogen. The Cottbus order for the Kite Hydroliner buses follow deals in Germany with West Verkehr, Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK), and ..read more

Berlin trade exhibition Bus2Bus gathers together a who’s who of bus and coach manufacturers, with a focus on future technology and sustainable solutions in the industry. Bus and Coach Buyer was there to report on the main developments and news from the show. Here we have a gallery of images ahead of our full feature on the event in our next issue of Bus and Coach Buyer (3 May 2024, 1676). Click the image above to see the gallery.  The post IN PICTURES: Bus2Bus 2024 exhibition appeared first on Bus & Coach Buyer ..read more

The backlash against Low Traffic Neighbourhoods being implemented increasingly in our cities is, perhaps, the first gasp of anguish at major change. Most LTNs involve closing one end of a residential road so that it cannot be used as a ‘rat run’ by through traffic. The theory is that residents can access the street – albeit with a detour – but overall, there’s a huge traffic reduction which makes the street safer and reduces the pollution on that street. In general, they have been well received by residents in LTNs. Not so much the non-residents, whose habit of using those streets has had to c ..read more

The Coach Tourism Association (CTA) is inviting member coach operators to attend its CTA Spring Networking in Oxford on 19 and 20 May. The event will give coach operators the potential to develop business by enhancing their trip and tour programmes, and will also provide the latest digital marketing insights, says the CTA. CTA’s Spring Networking event will include an expert-led, artificial intelligence (AI) marketing for tourism seminar, plus a zero-emission pathway update seminar. These sessions will take place alongside a Supplier Showcase, exclusive fam trips, plus business networking. Bl ..read more

The UK’s first bus depot to offer consumer electric vehicle (EV) charging is now open to the public, at First Bus’ new purpose-built hub at Summercourt depot in Cornwall. The Summercourt charging hub is the first-of-its-kind for the bus industry, providing direct access for the public to rapid electric charging infrastructure for electric cars and vans. The site is easily accessible in a key location along the A30 corridor, a key tourist route into Cornwall, helping ease electric vehicle drivers’ EV range anxiety as they travel through the county. The new site can also play a key role in suppo ..read more

Entrepreneur Andy Scott investment firm REL Capital has continued its acquisition drive within the coach sector, having purchased three more operators by way of retirement sales, with two further acquisition in the pipeline in the coming months. Lewis Coaches based in East London was first established in 1919, and is the oldest coach company in London, covering all of London, North West Kent and South West Essex with its modern fleet of 20 vehicles. Included In the sale is a separate business of a large MOT station, trading as ‘MOT Factory’ which will continue to service the fleet and third pa ..read more

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to create a publicly-owned London to compete for contracts as they expire. In the build-up to the 2 May Mayoral elections, the Mayor has fallen into line with Labour policy, which is to clear the way to the creation of more municipal bus companies and introduce bus franchising more widely, along the lines of Mayor Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Bee Network. Labelling the policy his ‘next-generation transport programme,’ Khan said the policy would depend on his new company being able to deliver value but that, as contracts expire, to bid for them. He ..read more

A survey by trade union Unite has found 82% of its bus driver respondents were subject to abuse last year. The study also suggested the same percentage of participants reported the incidents negatively impacted their mental wellbeing. Over half of those questioned said they did not report incidents to their employer. Those that did were not satisfied with the response, according to the study. The research follows the union’s demands for stronger legal protection for bus drivers after a fatal assault in Scotland last month. Since then, Unite has repeated its calls for legislation to be enacted ..read more