National Express has been named preferred bidder for a contract to operate buses in Porto, Portugal. The bid was led by National Express’ Spanish business, ALSA, who will run the services. The contract will run for ten years and is expected to generate revenues of around €500m/£368.96m over the life of the contract. National Express’ […]

Otokar Europe has completed a delivery of 62 buses to Malta, bringing the total of new midibuses on the island from the brand up to 142. They are all Vectio C RHDs and are operated by Malta Public Transport. The buses are being used to increase the overall performance of the island’s bus network, helping […]

Efforts to reduce the backlog of people waiting for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance have been called for by trade union GMB. DBS clearance is required for anyone working with children and vulnerable adults, including PCV drivers working on school contracts. GMB says that allowing this backlog to develop is ‘inexcusable’ on the part […]

Stagecoach in Cumbria is to convert its X4/X5 service to its premium ‘Stagecoach Gold’ standard. The route runs between Workington, Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith. The operator has invested in five Scania Enviro400s and two Scania Enviro300s (both Euro5) for the service, which are to go into service on 4 October. Each bus has Italian designed […]

Extra buses were put on in Birmingham by Centro, the West Midlands’ transport authority, during the recent ‘Big Weekend’. The two days saw a number of events that were expected to draw unusually high amounts of public transport usage, including the first weekend of trading for the Grand Central shopping centre and John Lewis department […]

First Glasgow is making passengers aware of a number of diversions it is to make during the Great Scottish Run in the city on 3 to 4 October. It is keeping customers informed through its website and Twitter feed (@firstinglasgow). MD of First Glasgow, Fiona Kerr, said, ‘First Glasgow buses will follow route diversions with […]

Scotland’s Minister for Transport, Derek Mackay, has launched what has been described as the ‘best buses in Scotland’ at the University of Stirling. The new ADL Enviro400 Euro6 hybrid double deckers for First Midland Bluebird’s university fleet feature Flywheel hybrid technology for reduced emissions. They also have the Gyrodrive system, which harvests energy from braking […]

First Midland Bluebird’s launch of the ‘Stirling City Pass’ has been hailed a success by organisers. It was launched this summer in support of tourism body, Destination Stirling, in partnership with the city’s top attractions. Using technology pioneered in York, where 11,000 similar passes are sold each year, the Stirling City Pass has been described […]