Optare has appointed Stephen Walsh to the position of Regional Sales Manager for Scotland and East of England. Stephen joins Optare from exhaust-system specialist Eminox where he spent over a decade, with his most recent role in the Service and Aftersales department. Stephen brings a wealth of bus knowledge having been the project manager of a […]
Qualification awards body, OCR, has decided to stop offering qualifications in the transport sector. It will no longer provide CPC qualifications after December 2021, including the Transport Manager CPC. OCR is no longer accepting any new CPC centres. It will accept new candidates up to and including March 2021. A statement from OCR said: “We’ve […]
Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) has welcomed the first round of the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme. The project sees the country’s government’s provide £7.4 million funding package aimed at helping bus operators invest in ultra-low emission vehicles and infrastructure. It will see 41 ultra-low emission buses supported across five bids, 35 of which will be […]
Despite the impacts of the pandemic, National Express’ recent trading update said the company is trading ‘slightly above’ its expectations. National Express reports it is pleased with passenger growth in its bus businesses in recent weeks. In the West Midlands it is running 103% of last year’s service and carrying 58% of the patronage. In […]
With the Government’s furlough scheme drawing to an end after October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced plans to continue aiding workers. A six-month job support scheme has been set up that will see staff having to work just a third of their hours to receive a top-up from the Government. The Government will support jobs […]
Go-Ahead has been significantly impacted by COVID-19, according to the company’s annual financial results for the year ended 27 June 2020. This is particularly the case in its regional bus operations, where operating profit in this segment was £20.5m (2019: £44.5m). Government support has enabled a break-even performance since March. It describes its London and […]
Wales’ bus industry is to receive an additional £84.6 million of Welsh Government funding. The money is aimed at helping companies meet the challenges of coronavirus and run more services. In August, £10 million was confirmed to help transport more people to school, college and work. Today’s funding announcement is the largest of its type […]
After reporting a positive fortnight of new deliveries, Rotala has also added a new Deputy MD for its north western bus operations. After joining the Rotala team in February 2018, Matt Rawlinson has worked closely with MD, Bob Dunn, as the North West regions Operations Director. Among other functions, this included operational responsibility for Preston, […]