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1 week ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
The achievements of Jill Viner, who in 1974 became the first woman licensed to drive a London bus in passenger service, have been recognised with a new display at the London Transport Museum. The blue plaque replica was unveiled at a recent event jointly hosted by the Museum and Women in Bus and Coach (WiBC). The original plaque was installed in December 2024 at Kingston’s revamped Cromwell Road bus station, where route 65 — one of Jill’s first driven routes — still operates.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
The Association of Local Bus Company Managers (ALBUM) has said it is seeking to establish a “consistent message” around the importance of SME bus operators in South Yorkshire following confirmation that franchising will be pursued in the region. The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) confirmed on 18 March that bus services there would move to a franchised model.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
The government will work closely with the coach and bus industry to design the mandatory driver training measures laid down in the Bus Services (No.2) Bill in England that are aimed at safeguarding women and girls, tackling anti-social behaviour and supporting disabled passengers, Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood has confirmed.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
In January, Portsmouth, grappling with a park-and-ride whose patronage had been slow to return post-pandemic and which suffered with funding challenges and insufficient promotion, announced a reimagining of the service to meet the challenges of a changed urban landscape. Park-and-ride comes firstSmoother experience‘One-team’ workingAn evaluation and relaunch has broken what was described as a ‘cycle of declining awareness and commercial viability’ by council representatives.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
In January, Women in Bus and Coach founder Louise Cheeseman approached routeone to reveal she had become chair of a new charity trying to address what some call âthe remaining tabooâ on equity, diversity and inclusivity (EDI). The charity, the Rebuilding Futures Alliance (RFA), has a mission to encourage ex-offenders into meaningful careers within transport. The benefits of doing so are manyfold.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
As an industry we are by now well accustomed to the language of decarbonisation. Among the policy signals and good intentions we hear, a standout was Zemo Partnership’s recent call for a firm end-of-sale date for new non-zero-emission coaches, highlighted both in Claire Haigh’s recent routeone column and at her presentation at the UK Coach Operators (UKCOA) Conference. Those kinds of binding targets are seemingly the obligation put upon the current generation.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
Claire Haigh, Managing Director of Zemo Partnership, has urged government and industry to recognise the unique challenges facing the coach sector in transitioning to net zero, and has highlighted the need for a targeted policy, financial support and clear long-term strategies — including clarity on the end-of-sale date for new non-zero-emission coaches and buses.
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1 month ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has confirmed that bus services across the region will move to a franchised model following one of the largest public consultations on bus reform in the UK to date. Mayor Oliver Coppard announced the decision today (18 March) after receiving majority public backing. More than 7,800 people responded to the 12-week consultation, with 87% “either strongly supporting or partially supporting” plans to bring buses back under public control.
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2 months ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
The coach industry must consider its approach to PSVAR compliance and work with campaigners to highlight good work already being done to ensure that accessibility measures are applied in a practical, proportionate manner. Those are comments made by Richard Bamber, Managing Partner of Runcorn-based Anthony‚Äôs Travel, in response to recent headlines warning of a ‚Äėlottery‚Äô when it comes to accessible coach travel.
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2 months ago | 
route-one.net | Alex Crawford
Reviving a historic model name on a new vehicle taps into many things buyers enjoy: Nostalgia, brand recognition, and customer loyalty. Itâs also more cost effective than trying to market an entirely new one. Wrightbus is the latest to revive a name from its past with the Contour, last seen circa 1987 on the chassis of a Volvo B10M. The company debuted its new vehicle to a select group of press and customers on 5 March.
