This year I attended as I always do the Bus and Coach show. However this year for me was even more important then previous years, why? Because quite simply this year I had an important task to do. To elaborate in September I was elected to be a board member and Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). I have been an active member since I started my career as a Senior Management Trainee of the National Bus Company in 1983. Since 2008 I have been the Chairman of the Bus and Coach Forum, and been the Chairman of the Busmark benchmarking club since its inception in 2015. However this year I was a man on a mission, why because I used the show as an opportunity to re- launch the Bus and Coach Forum, so at 10:30 sharp I attended the official CILT stand (no 399) where in front of a small but very senior audience I gave my presentation. It was in reality a 7 point plan that was going to reinvigorate the bus and coach community within the Institute.
The plan was simple:
1. Re-launch the bus and coach forum
From January 1st 2025 and recruit members old and new to become part of the new community, to shape the Forum strategy, direction, and vision.
2. Launch Busmark Lite:
A new version of the original Busmark benchmarking club, this would involve 4 “hot topic” survey’s per year, selected by the members, we will also introduce the weekly bulletins penned by Chris Ruanne, Helen Hardy, and myself. We will also freeze the membership to the club at £300.00 and we will-introduce sponsors, to keep the cost of membership as low as possible, the first gold sponsor I am delighted to report will be uTrack. Busmark Lite will from 2025 onwards sit within the Bus and Coach Forum.
3. Engage closely with the UK Bus Centre of Excellence:
There are many synergies to be had already around the qualifications, forums, and mutual activities that both the Centre and Forum presently offer. At present Leon Daniels chairs the Centre, he is also a Vice Chairman of CILT, in addition Austin Birks sits on the UK bus centre of excellence advisory board, so the connections are already strong.
4. Promote the brand new CILT Bus Service Commissioning and Operations (BSCO) Practitioners Certificate.
I can honestly say that it is the best qualification that I have ever seen in my career. It has been 2 years in the making and has been designed by some of the best people in the business. It is very useful for Local Authority staff as well as Bus Company staff and industry suppliers, check it out on the CILT website. In addition two further equally excellent qualifications are also on the way, The advanced Practitioners Certificate and the Professional Diploma in Bus Service Commissioning and Operations. They have been designed by CILT/ATCO/and CPT, and they will enhance and evolve the skills of the industry to a whole new level.
5. Engage with Local Authorities and their staff.
There was a time when LA staff and Authorities were positioned at the very heart of CILT and now that franchising is very much on the horizon, we have never been better positioned to engage than we are right now, they need CILT and CILT needs them.
6. Public Relations.
Focus magazine and Social Media. We have not really been very good at celebrating our significant achievements and it time that we addressed this short fall so we will work closely with both the trade and national press to celebrate best practise, hot topics, etc. We will also be working a lot closer with modern social media channels, again an area we have really embraced as much as we should.
7. CILT Bus Policy Group
This exceptionally use full and highly regarded group have been adding expert witness at the highest levels of Government, Lee White QC, the vice Chair of the Bus and Coach Forum has recently taken over as the Chairman after Nick Richardson recently stepped down. If you are not involved with the group it is worth getting involved.
8. The return of the Corporate Membership Package now known as Network Partnerships.
The highly successful and popular package will be available for members to select whatever suite of options best suits whatever benefits they require from the broad range that the Institute offers. From educational qualifications, to hosting events as well as individual membership options from Affiliate to Fellow. The team in Corby Chris Ruanne and Tracey Young with 37 years experience between them will tailor the Partnerships to whatever best serves the Companies needs, to ensure that members get real value from their membership.
So there it is, as Baldrick from Blackadder once famously said a cunning plan designed to energise a great industry, I will do my very best to lead the charge and just see how much value we can add to the Industry, the Institute and most importantly our customers, because without them we have nothing.
Written by Austin Birks
