Optare Plc has appointed Tim Matthews as its UK Retail Sales Manager, a role that will see him report to UK Sales Director, John Horn. Tim’s involvement in the bus industry began in 1993 with Autobus Classique, which was purchased by Optare in 1996. Tim was the manufacturing team’s Materials Manager, responsible for all purchasing […]
New annual crime figures from the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police (BTP) show that crime on TfL’s transport system fell 11.3% compared to the year before. The figures cover 2013/14 (1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014). They show there are now 7.7 crimes per million passenger journeys on the transport system, down […]
On 5 June, the European Union’s Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council of Ministers reached agreement on revised weights and dimensions for commercial vehicles that will pave the way for a new 19.5 tonne GVW for two axle buses and coaches across Europe. It is being introduced so that they can benefit from existing environmental improvements […]
Winners of the National Express Operator Awards have been announced at the Windmill Village Hotel in Coventry. Gloucester based Bennett’s Coaches won the overall Network Operator of the Year and the High Achiever Award, E Stott & Sons won the Best Fleet Award, while Julia Humby, also of Bennett’s, won the Driver of the Year […]
Bus technicians have been competing in the IRTE Skills Challenge in Bristol recently. The event is now in its fourth year and according to the organisers is growing steadily. It sees technicians from operators across the country showcase their abilities in a series of electrical, bodywork and mechanical tests. Some 60 technicians and apprentices from […]
King Long Italy, the Italian branch of the Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry bus and coach builder headed by Stefano del Rosso, is currently undergoing a process that will see it acquire the ailing Italian manufacturer, BredaMenarinibus, according to press reports. Under the new deal, the Chinese concern will own the majority of the […]
An independent report has said the Cardiff Airport Express bus service is ‘providing the fast and frequent service to the city that passengers expect and has made a good start in securing its share of passengers’. The statement comes after criticism that bus service was running what the press described as a ‘ghost train’ during […]
Minibus converter, Mellor Coachcraft, has provided a mobile library for Shropshire Council. The company the local authority usually used to supply these vehicles had gone out of business. A chance conversation between Mellor’s Geoff Hudson and the council’s Commercial Vehicle Manager, Andy Maiden, set minds to work, not just on replacing the original vehicle but […]