Martijn Gilbert to head Reading Buses
Martijn Gilbert has been appointed Reading Buses’ new CEO. He takes over the role from James Freeman, who is taking up a managerial role at First Bristol and West of England. Martijn is currently ‘Business Director’ of Arriva’s Yorkshire Tiger business. He will take up the appointment on 1 November but will be spending time with James both before and after that date to make sure there is a smooth transfer of responsibilities. Martijn has been with Arriva for over seven years in a mix of bus and rail senior management roles, most recently heading up its Yorkshire Tiger bus business operating 125 vehicles in West Yorkshire. He re-launched the company with a new brand and marketing strategy, delivering a new approach to larger group bus operations. Prior to working for Arriva, he managed bus operations in Surrey and south west London for a further seven years, including running his own business. He started his career in the transport industry in the London Underground scheduling department.
Martijn said, ‘This is a fantastic opportunity to join a well respected, innovative and award winning business. I’m honoured to be chosen to follow in James’s footsteps and I look forward to continuing and building upon his great work. These are exciting times for both Reading and its buses with considerable regeneration, further investment and forthcoming improvements to transport connectivity across the region. Buses have a key role to play as part of an integrated and sustainable transport system that’s easy to use, as well as being a key enabler in the local economy and I shall be eagerly taking on the challenge of leading the excellent team at Reading Buses to deliver this.’
Chair of Reading Buses, David Sutton, said, ‘I am really delighted that Martijn has agreed to join us. We both know that he will be joining an extremely strong and successful team, but he will bring his own new ideas too, which will reflect his high reputation within the bus industry. I am very much looking forward to working with him.’