Welcome to The ALBUM Report 2024, a publication from Passenger Transport devoted to Britain’s independent and municipal bus companies. Returning for an eighth year, this year’s report also incorporates the Conference Workbook for the ALBUM Conference 2024, hosted by Warrington’s Own Buses at Carden Park Hotel on April 23-24. We hope you find it an interesting read and we welcome all feedback.   Click on the image above to view the supplement. If you are viewing the site on a mobile or tablet device, tap here to read the supplement. The post Read our supplement: The ALBUM Report 2024 firs ..read more

Issue 311 of Passenger Transport is published on April 19. Contents include:     LEAD STORY Labour vows to fast-track bus franchisingParty says that its plan will allow 250 million more bus passenger journeys a year, but ‘it will require no additional central government spending’   NEWS ‘Franchise your bus network to save money’Andy Burnham claims Bee Network costs are a third cheaper West Mids frontrunner pledges bus franchisingPolls suggest Labour’s Richard Parker will win mayoral election Elizabeth Line order could plug Derby gapOrder for 10 new trains could solve Alstom ord ..read more

Party says that its plan will allow 250 million more bus passenger journeys a year, but ‘it will require no additional central government spending’   Labour launched its plans in the West Midlands. Left to right: Angela Rayner, Richard Parker and Louise Haigh   Labour has promised to help local authorities to introduce bus franchising “in as little as two years” if it wins power at the next general election. Labour’s shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh has set out the party’s plans for a better bus network across England, with a promise to allow every community across the countr ..read more

Polls suggest Labour’s Richard Parker will win mayoral election   Labour’s launch event was hosted by National Express West Midlands   Labour’s candidate in next month’s West Midlands mayoral election has pledged to bring bus services back under public control if he wins power on May 2. The Labour Party chose the West Midlands as the location for the launch its plans for a better bus network across England on April 11. Labour’s mayoral candidate, Richard Parker, joined shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh at the event. Opinion polls show that Parker has a substantial lead on the c ..read more

The Scottish Government’s Fair Fares Review has grabbed headlines but it cannot address the biggest transport challenges   The launch of the £500m Bus Partnership Fund in 2019. It has now been paused   BY Paul White “Continued delays to the updated climate change plan and further slippage in promised climate policies mean that the Climate Change Committee no longer believes that the Scottish Government will meet its statutory 2030 goal to reduce emissions by 75%. There is no comprehensive strategy for Scotland to decarbonise towards Net Zero.” These are the damning conclusions of the ..read more

Issue 310 of Passenger Transport is published on April 5. Contents include:     LEAD STORY Metroline wins £422m Bee Network growthLondon subsidiary of Singapore-based ComfortDelGro has won four Tranche 3 bus franchises in Greater Manchester, boosting its size by 30%   NEWS Metroline cleans up in final franchise roundLondon bus operator wins three of the four large franchises in the third and final round of bidding for Greater Manchester’s new Bee Network Government reveals winners of ZEBRA 2West Sussex wins largest allocation from funding stream Rail industry reports continuing ..read more

London subsidiary of Singapore-based ComfortDelGro has won four Tranche 3 bus franchises in Greater Manchester, boosting its size by 30%   Metroline’s contracts are worth £422m and comprise a total of 232 services, 420 buses and over 1,350 employees   Metroline has been revealed as the big winner in the third and final round of Greater Manchester Bee Network contracts. The company, which is a subsidiary of Singapore-owned ComfortDelGro, has been awarded contracts to operate four bus franchises by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. It is a major expansion for ComfortDelGro, wh ..read more

Former Virgin executive Will Whitehorn tells Lunch with Leon podcast why he believes that Britain’s railway is ‘back in a mode of managed decline’ Whitehorn says there is no doubt that Virgin’s tenure of the West Coast route was a success Will Whitehorn, a close colleague of Sir Richard Branson throughout the nineties and much of the noughties, has warned that Britain’s railway will suffer from managed decline and a lack of innovation under public control. Whitehorn served as an official spokesman for Branson as his Virgin Group sought to transform intercity rail services on the West Coast Mai ..read more

  There’s nothing new about the concept of avoiding traffic by travelling overhead, but flying taxis could take this to another level   What impact will air taxis have?   Congestion: here is an issue to unite everyone from the extreme petrol heads through to the greenest environmentalist. Nobody benefits from this, not the motorists sitting alone in their far too large SUVs, nor the passengers on a bus boxed in by cars and vans going nowhere. And certainly not the economy. Data published by the Inrix Global Traffic Scorecard showed that congestion cost the UK economy £8bn in 20 ..read more

  The Your Bus Journey survey of bus users by Transport Focus provides insights and a league table we should all care about Levels of bus users satisfaction were high in East Yorkshire   Who was surprised by the Transport Focus ‘Your Bus Journey’ scores? I certainly wasn’t and felt faintly reassured by the results as it proved the merits of a mix of my many mystery shops across the UK’s bus network, alongside gut instinct and a glimpse into some of the internal workings of companies. I could have predicted some of those topping the tables and maybe also those languishing in and arou ..read more