In a period suffering a substantial loss of passengers due to the pandemic restrictions, FirstGroup revenue amounted to £3,101.6m in the first half of its 2020 financial year, falling £838.2m or 23.8% compared to the same period last year. First reported an adjusted operating profit of £10.4m despite significant fall in revenue during the period, […]
Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) has announced that Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) has unveiled the first of an initial batch of 100 Alexander Dennis Enviro400ER plug-in hybrid buses and has ordered a further 180 of these zero-emission capable buses for delivery in 2021. The orders form part of a five-year framework agreement for a total […]
Despite high concern from MPs for the coach sector, no sector specific support for the industry was confirmed during a Government debate yesterday (10 December 2020). However, the conversation on the topic is still ongoing, according to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Rachel Maclean. The Westminster Hall debate was lead by Grahame Morris, MP […]
Coaches are due to be debated at 3pm today in Parliament. Heading the debate will be Labour MP for Easington, Grahame Morris, who has spearheaded MP’s push for greater financial support for the sector. Speaking to Bus and Coach Buyer, Grahame said: “The basic problem is, in the public generally, people do not appreciate the […]
Two Department for Transport representatives found themselves in a war of words with operators in an on-line meeting this week (9 December) as they explained the Bus Open Data Service (BODS). The on-line forum which began with an explanation of how bus operators can contribute timetable, ticket and bus location data to BODS quickly transformed […]
Last Wednesday’s briefing with project leaders from Bus Open Data Service was only inches short of a car crash. We have covered this here and here. In my conversations with CPT members and staff, I am aware that, although the CPT was caught out by the sudden inclusion of registered home-to-school services in BODS – […]
Scottish coach companies and tour operators are to receive a share of £6m. The money has been made available through a new £185 million package of targeted coronavirus (COVID-19) support. The package was announced by Scotland’s Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes. Businesses can expect to apply for all the new grant schemes in January. CPT Chief […]
Morley and Outwood MP, Andrea Jenkyns, has met with bus and coach insurance broker, McCarron Coates, to listen to the concerns of campaigners asking for support for the coach sector. McCarron Coates welcomed Andrea Jenkyns to its offices to provide a briefing about their high-impact ‘Wish You Could Hear’ campaign, created to support in-crisis coach […]