In this week’s issue, B&CB visits the community of bus dismantlers and recyclers just outside of Barnsley. It was, above all else, humbling. Carving buses apart with a cutting torch is a hard business. Even in snow, the work goes on; tough men working in the grime of smoke, grease, oil and mud to reduce […]
While the council had been presented with a ‘softer’ option of gradual introduction of higher emissions limits, it plumped for the most aggressive, essentially on the basis that Oxford has got away with it for years. Operators will, of course, cope with this but the losers will be bus passengers, who will at best see […]
The ‘commute’ to suggest the daily trip to work is among the more modern words in the English lexicon. Until the end of the 19th century, the commuter didn’t exist, and then came public transport and, eventually, cars. Now, we discuss commuting as if it’s an inevitable part of going to work, and by commuting, […]
The vehicles chosen for rail replacement are certainly variable. When National Express is called in, the quality is excellent, but I have seen coaches at Peterborough which don’t even have a full complement of windows. Though I have no doubt that most coaches provided are serviceable and legal, a great many are out on school […]
It’s a mess, and the panic whipped up by the DfT’s new guidance for Section 19 and Section 22 Community Bus Permits shows little sign of abating until March, when Secretary of State for Transport, Jesse Norman MP, says consultation with stakeholders will be finished. Suffering seasonal dyslexia, the DfT had promised this consultation in […]
As you will read here, the Transport Select Committee has now heard evidence from a number of key figures on the subject of the impact of the new guidelines for using S19 and 22 bus permits. Before that hearing, a number of parties responded to a consultation exercise, putting their point of view. It’s actually […]
This weekend, we will fall silent, as did the guns on World War One’s battlefields in 1918, and remember our losses in conflict. There are many among us who abhor politicians who have given spurious reasons to go to war over the last 100 years, but none of us who do not value those who […]
By day two of the Coach and Bus UK exhibition, I was becoming aware of my age – these legs, each heading towards 60 years old, ain’t what they used to be. For the ‘little’ show, Coach and Bus UK seemed to be quite big, with plenty to see and, especially on day one, a […]