Latest news with #ConfederationofPassengerTransport
The Independent
16-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The bargain £4 bus tickets for travel to 80 destinations around the UK
Looking to get the wheels rolling on a UK staycation? A coach company has tickets to travel across the country for just £4 this Easter. FlixBus is offering passengers a promotional bus price to celebrate its fourth anniversary, with £4 tickets up for grabs from now until next Tuesday (22 April). The travel provider has a network of over 80 destinations, including London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Bristol and Cardiff, for travellers to explore. From 17 April, brand new locations such as Cheltenham, Gloucester, Swindon and Norwich will be available to book with FlixBus as the operator expands across the UK. The less-than-a-fiver tickets are also on offer for travel on new routes to Bath, Chippenham, Newquay, Weston-super-Mare, Bournemouth, Southampton and Poole, which launch in mid-May. FlixBus said it will also boost service frequency between cities as its network expands, with over 200 green buses on the road in England, Scotland and Wales by summer. Andreas Schorling, senior managing director of FlixBus UK, said: 'Travel is fun and should be for everyone. FlixBus is making it so easy to enjoy trips across the country to see loved ones and explore new places on the smallest of budgets.' The bargain bus rides are valid for travel between 23 April and 30 June 2025. Schorling added: 'We have come so far in four years, and we're incredibly proud of the network we're delivering for our passengers and the economic impact we have on local communities. The popularity of our services has been nothing short of phenomenal and we continue growing to meet demand.' In January, councils were told to stop putting coach stops in the worst areas of town. It came after an industry body claimed passengers are often dropped off in 'dingy' areas. Graham Vidler, chief executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), said many locations designated for coaches are 'not a great advertisement' for towns or cities. Speaking at the organisation's annual conference in London, he said: 'If you go to many towns and cities across the country, they haven't really thought through what to do with coaches and coach passengers when they come.' He added: 'It's not a great experience for coach passengers.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bus satisfaction in England increases after ‘positive changes'
Passenger satisfaction with buses in England outside London increased last year after 'positive changes', according to a survey. Watchdog Transport Focus said overall satisfaction in 2024 was 83%, up from 80% in 2023. It said 'significant' investment' as part of bus service improvement plans and a fares cap 'appears to be having an impact'. Both policies were introduced under the Conservative government. Passengers in the Derby City area were the most satisfied with their journey, with a score of 92%. Those in West Yorkshire were for the least satisfied (77%) for the second year in a row. East Sussex and Warrington were two of the most improved areas, both up eight percentage points to 87% and 85% respectively. Transport Focus surveyed 41,000 passengers across 39 areas in England outside London, covering issues such as the onboard experience, punctuality, value for money and journey times. Louise Collins, director of Transport Focus, said: 'The positive changes seen across bus services in England have boosted overall passenger satisfaction. 'The changes show how Government funding, hard work from local authorities and operators, and listening to what passengers want can improve journeys. 'The wide variation in scores at a local level in the survey shows that some passengers still aren't getting the bus service they should.' Local transport minister Simon Lightwood said the survey shows that 'councils are putting bus service funding to good use'. He went on: 'Our Bus Services Bill will hand control back for local leaders to operate services, and it's great to see areas like Nottingham where councils operate their own services, scoring higher than average satisfaction rates. 'Alongside nearly £1 billion to enhance service frequencies, improve bus stop infrastructure and boost the comfort and accessibility of services, we're backing our buses like never before, and I'm excited to see how this will continue to grow customer satisfaction and make our bus services even more attractive.' Graham Vidler, chief executive of Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus and coach operators, said: 'It's fantastic to see bus passenger satisfaction on the rise – a testament to the excellent partnerships between bus operators and local authorities in many parts of the country and the dedication of everyone working in the industry. 'We want every passengers to be satisfied with their journey and with significant changes ahead for the bus industry, including the Bus Services (No.2) Bill and the impact of Government spending decisions, we urge policymakers to prioritise passengers, ensuring even greater satisfaction and better services in the year ahead.' The Labour Government increased the cap on single bus fares in England from £2 to £3 on January 1. Funding for bus services comes from many different pots of money, including some available for operators and others set aside for local authorities.
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Utility firms abusing emergency powers to dig up roads, MPs told
Utilities companies are abusing their emergency powers to dig up streets, causing major disruption for drivers and public transport, MPs have been told. Emergency powers allow works to be carried out with little or no notice in certain circumstances such as gas leaks or a burst water pipe. Giving evidence to Transport Committee, Keith McNally, from the Confederation of Passenger Transport which represents bus operators, said his members felt these powers were sometimes being used for non-emergencies. However, Clive Bairsto from Streetworks UK, the trade association for utilities companies, said there was no evidence of abuse of powers. MPs on the Transport Committee are conducting an inquiry into street works - the work carried out by utilities companies to install, repair or maintain services such as broadband or water. Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, told MPs that the average number of holes being dug by utility firms in England outside of London had jumped from 13,250 per local authority in 2018 to more than 17,200 last year. He said improving broadband and rolling out charge points for electric vehicles were contributing factors but added there "is also more evidence of just general works going on from utilities companies". McNally said a surge in roadworks was making route planning and timetabling increasingly difficult - pointing out that during the day some bus services have to repeatedly loop past the same excavations causing further and further added that unlike other road users, buses can not simply divert down routes of their drivers' choosing because passengers need to be collected at specific whether the emergency permit to "open up roads" was being abused, McNally said he believed it was."The number of works undertaken on an emergency basis seems to have increased."I'm not sure about the overall volume but our members are saying to us that a very high proportion seem to be on an emergency basis."Cousens questioned why more works by different companies could not be done at the same time to prevent repeat disruption to roads."The gas company seems to be in one week, they go away, then the water company get in the hole, then they disappear. "Then the broadband company get in the hole and they fill it back up and they disappear and somebody else comes in."And we have this horrible cycle of roadworks that never seem to end that then create lots of other problems with the road surface with potholes ruining the structural integrity of our roads."The Transport Committee was told there are over 200 different organisations which have rights to open up the road said it was normal practice to try and co-ordinate works - with some local authorities even having "champions" to do just a debate at the beginning of the year, Transport Minister Lillian Greenwood said her department had "examined Street Manager data and spoken to industry representatives and found no evidence of misuse".
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Workmen ‘abusing emergency powers' to dig up Britain's roads
Workmen are abusing emergency powers to dig up roads across Britain, frustrated transport bosses have claimed. A clause allowing workmen from gas, electric, water and telecoms suppliers to descend on a site at little or no notice is being exploited to avoid submitting more formal plans, MPs were told on Wednesday. Keith McNally, from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which represents bus operators, said its members were experiencing a surge in emergency roadworks that gave them no time to prepare for lengthy traffic jams. He told the Commons transport select committee: 'Our members are saying that a very high proportion seem to be on an emergency basis. 'Those are the ones where they get little or no notice. The first they know is when they turn up at a site where there are street works. 'It's the unpredictability. That's an issue for our members who are trying to run to a timetable.' Journeys that should take 10 minutes along a particular road can easily increase to up to 50 minutes, MPs were told. Delays can then grow longer still when a bus passes the same spot again and again, throwing its schedule completely out of kilter. Asked whether the emergency status was being abused to accommodate non-critical roadworks, Mr McNally said: 'Our members feel it is.' He said that even when companies do provide advanced notice of disruptive roadworks, they often fail to stick to the specified schedule. Mr McNally added: 'A really big frustration is when bus or coach operators make provision for a closure on a particular day, then the day comes and the road is completely clear. 'Likewise, at the end of scheduled works, they continue when we had expected it [the road] to return to normal.' The average number of road 'openings' by utility firms in England outside of London jumped from 13,250 per local authority in 2018 to more than 17,200 last year, a 30pc increase, according to industry figures. Across England and Wales overall, the tally for the year was more than 2.4m. Jack Cousens, the head of roads policy at the AA, said that while it was galling for drivers to have roadworks springing up without warning, the impact could be reduced if companies co-ordinated to minimise disruption. He said motorists were instead subjected to a 'horrible cycle of roadworks that never seem to end'. Mr Cousens added: 'The gas company is in one week, they go away, then the water company get in the hole, they disappear, then the broadband company, they fill it back up and disappear, and somebody else comes in. 'Joined-up thinking is what's desperately needed.' Mr Cousens said that more than 200 companies and agencies have a right to dig up Britain's roads. He said the number had been swollen by initiatives such as Project Gigabit, which aims to improve broadband coverage across the UK, along with efforts to boost the number of electric vehicle charging points. Such works are not only disruptive to traffic flows but are also 'ruining the structural integrity of our roads,' creating potholes that in turn require further closures to repair, Mr Cousens added. Till Sommer, the head of policy at the Internet Services Providers' Association, told MPs that the public should look beyond disruption caused by broadband-related roadworks and consider the 'digital dividend' for Britain. Clive Biarsto, the chief executive of Street Works UK, a trade association, said utility firms were responsible for about 60pc of roadworks but were to blame for no more than 7pc of traffic disruption. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
