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News update 23 June

1. IPPR North has announced that it will unveil a blueprint for a new National Bus Company (NBC) which looks to accelerate the rollout of zero-emission buses across the UK and aims to provide bus services and boost local economies as a whole.

2. The ORR quarterly figures, from January to March 2025, show a 7% increase in passenger journeys made from April 2024 to March 2025, compared to the previous year of April 2023 to March 2024. Total passenger revenue was also trending upward totalling £11.5 billion in the latest year, with an 8% increase on the previous year. Additionally, statistics from the DfT show passenger numbers for May at a record monthly high average of 104% per day compared with pre-pandemic levels. Freight growth is also positive, with Network Rail revealing a 5.1% growth in the volume of rail freight from April 2024 to March 2025, compared to the previous year.

3. Cheshire West and Chester was announced as an area which would be involved in the trial, receiving a share of £750m in government cash to improve bus services. Cheshire does not currently have devolution powers and an elected mayor, but it is in talks with the government over a potential devolution agreement.

4. Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham has announced plans for the city region’s Bee Network to become a fully electric, zero-emission public transport system by 2030. This will include 1,000 new electric buses, alongside trams powered by renewable energy and e-bikes for hire.

5. The Transport Secretary has announced that all recommendations from the James Stewart review into HS2 will be accepted.

6. Most Stagecoach bus services in Dumfries and Galloway will be scrapped after the bus operator could not agree a new contract with the local council, due to concerns regarding a liability clause. The current contract ends on 6 August. Only two Stagecoach services, the 79 Dumfries to Carlisle and the X74 Dumfries to Glasgow, are set to continue operating.

7. A new report titled, Transport resilience in a changing climate – The case for investment, outlines how targeted, forward-thinking investment can safeguard infrastructure, reduce long-term costs, and deliver more reliable, equitable transport systems in the face of climate change.
Ref: https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/interchange/transport-resilience-changing-climate#report 

8. Researchers at the University of Surrey say public transport in Southern England has failed to keep up with the digital age and that "simple innovations", such as easy payment systems, e-ticketing, and mobile applications, could improve ridership and passenger satisfaction, adding that these tech-driven changes could increase the number of people on buses by more than 30%. Their findings also highlighted several critical issues that undermine bus usage, including inconvenient payment processes, a lack of clear information about bus routes and fares, and concerns about reliability and security.

9. A free electric bus service that carries passengers around Leicester city centre will continue to run into 2026 after securing more government funding. The authority has been awarded £9.3m from the DfT to invest in bus services. Part of the funding will allow the £426,000-a-year service to run until at least March. The funding will also be used to buy 48 new electric buses to serve other routes in the city.  

News update 16 June

1. Children under the age of 16 will be able to travel for free on buses in the west of England during the school summer holidays in a move benefiting about 150,000 young people. The West of England combined authority (Weca) – covering Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire – plus North Somerset will allow children aged from five to 15 to travel for free with no bus pass or registration required.

2. The TfGM Bus Priority Programme has delivered quicker journey times, safer roads, higher levels of passenger satisfaction and a boost to local economies. Developed and delivered between 2007 and 2017 by TfGM in partnership with Wigan, Manchester, Salford and Rochdale councils, the programme focused on three key routes connecting to Manchester city centre including the Leigh Guided Busway, Rochdale Road and Oxford Road. The bus priority scheme has delivered significant reliability and journey time benefits for bus passengers in the Wigan, Salford and Manchester with average morning journey times between Leigh and Manchester reduced by over a quarter – from 65 minutes in 2013, to less than 50 minutes.

3. Figures from the County Councils Network (CCN) reveals bus services have decreased by 18% in areas covered by county and unitary councils between 2019 and 2024: the biggest decline in England. National Bus Strategy funds amount to £2.1bn in BSIP money from successive governments but have been focused mainly on urban areas. County and rural councils have received £31 per person, compared to £58 per person for councils or combined authorities which cover England’s large cities and towns. Portsmouth City Council has received £252 per person for bus improvements, but neighbouring Hampshire County Council received £14 per head. Stoke-on-Trent council received £157 per head, but its county neighbour, Staffordshire County Council, has been given £20 per person. Warrington received £100 per person, but neighbouring Cheshire East received £23 per person. Luton received £109 per person, more than treble its neighbour Hertfordshire County Council (£35 per person).
Ref: https://www.countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk/one-in-five-rural-bus-routes-have-vanished-despite-pledges-of-a-bus-revolution/ 

4. Transport for London (TfL) bus fleet now includes more than 2,000 zero-emission buses that fully operate 107 routes and service a further 30 on a partial basis.

5. 98 new electric buses will operate across nine services in Bristol and North Somerset following a £59m installation of rapid chargers at two depots in Hengrove and Weston-super-Mare. The first 24 new electric buses are already operating from the Weston-super-Mayor depot, while the Hengrove depot in Bristol will receive 74.

6. East Midlands Railway (EMR) has created a new series of Accessibility Maps to help customers get around its stations. The maps offer detailed, user-friendly information about station facilities and accessible features, helping customers with additional needs plan their journeys with greater confidence.

7. The Metroline bus depot in Ashton-under-Lyne has become the first depot on the Bee Network in Greater Manchester to transition to a fully battery-electric fleet. 83 Volvo BZL double-deckers are in use, supported by 27 dual chargers that allow 54 buses to draw power at one time.

8. The Chancellor announced that the £3 bus fare cap will remain until at least March 2027.

9. The Chancellor announced £15.6 billion funding in total by 2031-32 for local transport projects in England’s city regions and £2.3 billion from 2026-27 to 2029-30 for local transport improvements outside of these nine regions. Additionally, a further £2.5 billion to connect Oxford and Cambridge through the continued delivery of East-West Rail and plans to take forward work on Northern Powerhouse Rail in the coming weeks & funding to deliver upgrades to Cardiff Central station; reduce journey times between Manchester and Leeds through continued investment in the TransPennine Route Upgrade; and to progress the delivery of Midlands Rail Hub, enhancing connections from Birmingham across the West Midlands and to other regions.

10. York and North Yorkshire will be among the first places to build the foundations for a working rural bus franchising model. Announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review yesterday, the pilot will be led by a handful of trailblazing areas funded with a share of around £750 million per year. It aims to deliver a better bus service for areas that currently see only one bus per week. As part of the pilot, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority will lead studies into how bus services operate across urban, rural, and coastal communities, setting the agenda and leading the way for other rural areas.

11. The Chancellor has announced funding for a Midlands Rail Hub, a transformation rail scheme set to deliver improvements in connectivity which will add up to 300 additional trains and 20 million extra seats on the rail network per day into or out of Birmingham and provide faster, more frequent or new rail links for over 50 locations including: Nottingham, Leicester, Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford and Cardiff and creating nearly 13,000 construction jobs.

12. TransPennine Express has partnered with East Midlands Railway to bring customers savings of nearly £50 when travelling to and from Lincolnshire. A new advance purchase and connections ticket lets customers travel seamlessly between Lincolnshire and major cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Edinburgh, and Glasgow – all on a single, great-value ticket valid across both train operators. The offer also applies to and from Preston and Carlisle. Lincolnshire stations included in the new fares are Barton-On-Humber, Barrow Haven, New Holland, Goxhill, Thornton Abbey, and Ulceby.  

News update 9 June

1. Thousands of bus passengers who rely on “lifeline” routes to get to work, school or the doctors’ will be protected from sudden cuts to services. The Bus Services Bill, which last night passed a key stage in the Commons, will tighten requirements for cancelling bus routes. Under the legislation, local leaders will be given more power to ensure residents’ needs are prioritised when planning bus routes. Councils will identify local services that are necessary to the community and will work with bus operators to put in place strict rules before these routes can be changed or cancelled.

2. Political leaders in the North of England are calling for significant investment in the region’s railway stations to make them accessible to all users. Research from Transport for the North (TfN) highlights that most stations in the North are difficult or impossible for too many people to use. It found fewer than half the stations in the North have step-free access; more than six-in-ten stations don’t have fully accessible waiting shelters; & nearly a quarter have no public address systems. Analysis shows that at current rate of investment the North’s rail stations would not all be step-free until the 22nd Century, which is holding back the economy – making it difficult for those that live and work in the North to access jobs, education and training, services and opportunities. 

3. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is recommending improvements to how the rail industry handles revenue protection, making it more consistent, fairer and effective after concerns were raised about how rules are enforced. The in-depth review, commissioned by government, reveals the current system needs to work better for passengers, train operators and taxpayers alike. Ref: https://www.orr.gov.uk/independent-review-train-operators-revenue-protection-practices

4. In 2024 Firstgroup acquired Grand Union Wcml including track access rights granted by ORR to run open access rail services from London Euston to Stirling. The current track access agreement runs until 2030 and includes four return services a day (three on Sundays) and an additional, fifth daily return service between Preston and London, seven days a week. Firstgroup has subsequently entered into rolling stock leases for the duration of the current track access agreement, for five Class 222 six car diesel trains with Eversholt Rail, with a total seat capacity of c.340 standard class seats per service, representing c.447m annual seat miles when fully operational. Services are currently expected to commence mid 2026 following the delivery of the trains and staff training.

5. Monday 2 June marked the first anniversary of the official opening of the Levenmouth railway – which reconnected local communities with rail for the first time in more than 50 years. Since being opened by First Minister John Swinney MSP, around 300,000 journeys have been taken with ScotRail, both to and from Leven and Cameron Bridge stations. 

6. A new website has been launched to help anyone who lives in, works in, or visits Oxford to find alternatives to travelling around the city by car.

7. Greater Manchester is set to deliver the UK’s first fully integrated, zero-emission public transport system by 2030 thanks to a £2.5 billion government funding boost from Transport for the City Regions funding. Mayor Andy Burnham said that further progress on the next phase of the Bee Network will now be delivered at an unrelenting pace. Greater Manchester will:

Create an all-electric local public transport network: A thousand new EV buses will form a 100 per cent electric fleet serving its communities. 

Bring rail into the Bee Network: Local rail lines will be integrated with the Bee Network, with Greater Manchester communities the first outside London to be served by fully joined-up bike, bus, tram and train travel by the end of the decade. 

Deliver major projects to drive green growth: A pipeline of transport projects – including a tram line to Stockport and tram-train services connecting Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood and Bury, new Metrolink stops and modern new interchanges – will support the delivery of thousands of new homes, skilled jobs and green growth.

8. The Chancellor has announced £15.6 billion of funding for local transport projects in England’s city regions. Trams form the backbone of the investment plans, with Greater Manchester getting £2.5bn to extend its network to Stockport and add stops in Bury, Manchester and Oldham, and the West Midlands getting £2.4bn to extend services from Birmingham city centre to the new sports quarter. There will also be £2.1bn to start building the West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme by 2028, and to build new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield.

9. First Bus is to make minor service updates to 25 routes across Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire from Sunday, June 15 as its new AI-driven timetables continue to improve reliability for passengers across the city. The bus operator said that previous changes using AI-driven software have led to an average 8.5 per cent improvement in punctuality across over 60 routes.

10. TransPennine Express has completed the installation of life-saving defibrillators across its fleet of 51 Class 185 trains.

11. From Friday 6 June, thousands of passengers across the North and East Midlands will have a chance to volunteer to take part in a new digital ticketing trial. Backed by government funding, the trials will use GPS based technology to track train journeys, ensuring passengers pay the best fare for the journey they take.  The trials being operated by East Midlands Railway (EMR) and Northern Rail will run along these routes: Leicester – Derby – Nottingham; Harrogate – Leeds; Sheffield – Doncaster; Sheffield – Barnsley.

12. FirstGroup plc has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open access rail service between Hereford and London to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which would provide two return journeys a day (one on Sundays) between London Paddington and Hereford, calling at Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction as well as providing direct London services at Cwmbran, Pontypool & New Inn and Abergavenny.

13. Train operator Northern has announced the launch of a new service that provides information and guidance for anyone who needs a helping hand when travelling by train. 

News update 2 June

1. TransPennine Express (TPE) has reduced cancellations by 75%, increased customer journeys by 42%, and grown revenue by 54% since transferring into public ownership in 2023. Last financial year, TPE generated £1.4 billion in economic value, delivering more than £8 in return for every £1 of public subsidy. Stakeholder satisfaction has soared from 5% to 94%.

2. DfT has released a summary report by the National Centre for Social Research on the evaluation of the Inclusive Transport Strategy and whether the strategy met it’s objectives. Ref:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bddd96b0d253f92e213c67/inclusive-transport-strategy-evaluation-summary-report.pdf 

3. Various models for bus franchising in rural areas are set to be explored by the Department for Transport (DfT) by means of government-supported pilot schemes. DfT seeks to work with interested local transport authorities to develop bus franchising outside of the mayoral authorities and would “contract external commercial and legal support to produce template documents and best practice for future LTAs to adopt and follow”. Tools and learnings from the pilot schemes would be made available in real time through the Bus Centre of Excellence.

4. Customers travelling with Northern can now ask more members of staff for a Radar key if they need it to use an accessible toilet.

News update 27 May

1. An overarching Weaver Network identity will be used on locally controlled public transport in West Yorkshire, including franchised bus services in the region from 2027. The green-based brand was unveiled on 12 May and will be deployed gradually, starting with existing replacements at bus stops and stations. Following introduction on franchised services, it will be included on a planned West Yorkshire tram system, for which construction will begin during 2028.

2. Lord Blunkett has published a phased plan for Yorkshire’s railways, which could assist the Government’s growth mission. The review of rail connectivity has found that train services regularly fail to meet the needs of passengers and businesses through poor performance and reliability due to the ageing infrastructure. West Yorkshire Combined Authority agrees that the plan sets out an affordable package of investment in new and accessible stations, modern rolling stock, improved services in the short term, upgrades at key stations to unlock capacity, development of strategic schemes to transform connectivity between the North’s major centres in the long term, as well as investment for housing, jobs and growth. The report calls for increased powers as part of the devolution agenda to drive change.

Ref: https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/media/dc1kmwkh/yorkshires-plan-for-rail-accessible.pdf 

3. The Great Northern ‘Northern City Line’ to the City of London has become the UK network’s first-ever commuter railway to operate without signals at the side of the track, heralding a major milestone in the national deployment of cutting-edge digital technology. These signals were removed from the system on17/18 May as part of the Government-funded £1.4bn East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).

4. A brand-new platform at Bradford’s Forster Square Station has opened, facilitating five additional services a day between Bradford and London.

5. Trenitalia c2c has fitted each of its 26 stations with life-saving, community-accessible defibrillators.

6. Details have been released of operator beneficiaries of the £38 million in additional funding for battery-electric bus procurement in England involving successful local authority (LA) bidders to the second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA 2) scheme. A claimed further 319 such examples will be delivered as a result of the extra money, according to DfT.

7. An ambitious vision to deliver an integrated, high-frequency public transport network for North Wales, with frequent metro services at its heart, has been unveiled. Network North Wales is a bold passenger-focussed programme of work to better connect communities, with more rail and bus services and greater integration. It aims to maximise opportunity and unlock the economic potential of North Wales and the cross-border region.
Ref: https://www.gov.wales/metro-go-network-north-wales 

8. First MTR South Western Trains Limited transfers to public control under the DfT Operator (DfTO) on 25 May, in line with the Government’s policy and as announced in December 2024. FirstGroup and MTR have been operating SWR since that year, connecting communities and providing commuter, regional and long-distance services to customers in South West London, the southern counties of England and the Isle of Wight. During that time, passenger volumes increased to a pre-pandemic high of 216m and have recovered to more than 165m today. 

9. Grimsby will get more buses at the evenings and on Sundays as part of a timetable shake-up. Stagecoach East Midlands says it is making changes to "improve punctuality and offer more flexible travel options" with new evening and Sunday services introduced in partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council, with funding from the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). There will also be changes to routes in a bid to offer better connections on cross town journeys.