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Friday, 08 January 2021

BBC News

• National Express to suspend all servicesThe firm says tighter Covid restrictions and falling passenger numbers have prompted the decision.

The York Press

• National Express suspends services as lockdown takes holdNATIONAL Express has announced that it will fully suspend its scheduled coach services from midnight on Sunday.

Bucks Free Press

• National Express to 'fully suspend' all services from Sunday after passenger numbers fall National Express is suspending all its services from Sunday.

Other Regional Press

• Thames Travel confirms new buses in Oxfordshire from January BUS passengers will see 'improved and maintained' services in the New Year, Oxfordshire County Council vowed.
• National Express suspend all servicesA coach service will stop all of its journeys including those in Kent following the third lockdown.

Coach and Bus Week

• Wish you were here?At the time of writing, there was still no sign that operators in England would receive any kind of financial assistance, and many were still fearful for their survival. Jonathan Welch speaks to some of those involved in the Wish You Could Hear campaign.
• Go North West buses in Greater Manchester now offer hand sanitiser as standardAll of Go North West’s 170-strong bus fleet operating across Greater Manchester are now fitted with a hand sanitiser dispenser in a safe area for customers to use as they board and leave the bus.
• FirstGroup leads industry on Green ReportingFirstGroup plc has become the first UK-based transport operator to sign up to support the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), agreeing a new green governance framework to drive progress against the TCFD’s recommendations.
• Marching through the mireWe all know 2020 was extremely tough for anyone involved with passenger-carrying vehicles – especially coaches – thanks to the small matter of a global pandemic. But it’s easy to overlook how many strides were made last year in the industry despite this adversity. For CBW’s review of 2020, Peter Jackson focuses on the positive stories that kept the sector on its feet (just), and promises not to mention Covid-19 (phew!)
• RHA launches new membership category for coach operatorsThe RHA is bringing together its expertise and the knowledge gained from supporting operators of commercial vehicles for over 76 years to introduce a brand-new membership designed specifically to support coach operators.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Manchester bus franchising plans come under renewed attackBus franchising proposals in Greater Manchester have come under renewed attack from a group of operators in the region.
• Claire Haigh steps down as Greener Journeys CEOClaire Haigh has stepped down as CEO of Greener Journeys. The change will allow her to pursue a wider role in the decarbonisation of transport, with a further announcement of what that will entail set to follow.
• Coventry and Oxford set for All Electric Bus Town triumphCoventry and Oxford are set to be victorious in the Department for Transport (DfT) All Electric Bus Town competition.
• Go-Ahead pursuing ‘Europe’s largest order for hydrogen buses’Go-Ahead Group is in discussions over “what has the potential to be Europe’s biggest ever order for hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses.” If completed, it will see up to 52 such vehicles delivered to its Metrobus subsidiary for use on routes in Crawley and to Gatwick Airport.
• National ExpressNational Express is to introduce a second full suspension of its network of scheduled coach services. The pause will come into effect from 2359hrs on Sunday 10 January and it is expected to last for seven weeks.