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Our latest post about the transport industry and technology
Captain Peter Shipp: A Fantastic Contribution To The Bus Industry!
It was announced today that East Yorkshire Motor Services had sold the Company to the Go Ahead group,this brings to an end a three generational family business that was established in 1927, for me EYMS has always been synonymous with one man. That man is a true...
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Birmingham Bus Lanes ; The Promised Land!
As a resident of the West Midlands and a daily commuter into the City. I was delighted to learn that Transport For The West Midlands, have today announced that on the back of introducing Clean Air Zone changing for certain polluting vehicles, they will also be...
read moreCILT Annual Conference; A Really Good Doo
The rather lovely rural setting of the The Cheslyn grange Hotel in leafy Warwickshire was the host of this years excellent CILT conference. I have been to several of these events over the years, but this really was excellent with a spell binding collection of...
read moreFirst Group Is This The Beginning Of the End?
The recent unsurprising departure of Mr Tim O'Toole frankly surprised very few, sadly when the dust of history has settled it will not reflect well on his time as the man at the helm of the SS Firstgroup. Some on social media have been happy to gloat and taunt and the...
read moreConnected Cities The Importance Of Change And Innovation
There is no doubt about it, the UK infrastructure is creaking and groaning, the media have been savage about the recent debacle around recent timetable changes on the railways around London and the North of the UK. Interestingly Mr and Mrs Angry of Tunbridge Wells...
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Driver Well Being Why It Is So Important…..
I remember when I was at young there used to be a novel that was on my reading list when I was at secondary school. It was called "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" I was always intrigued as why exactly long distance running should assume people to be...
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The King Is Dead (Tim O’Toole)…… Long Live The King……
So, the story has broken and a historic day in the history of First Group has come to pass with the news that the Chief Executive Officer Tim O'Toole has decided to leave the Company. In a press release it was announced that following huge losses with a swing of £479...
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Britain’s Most Scenic Bus Route……They Shoot Horses Don’t They?
I was delighted to read that the 840 Bus route between Leeds and the lovely seaside resort of Whitby, has been voted the most scenic bus route in the UK, the "Coastliner" route as it is known beat off stiff competition from across the United Kingdom to be crowned the...
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The Times They Are A Changing…..
Bob Dylan famously sand back in the nineteen sixties that the times are indeed a changing, and indeed they most certainly were, indeed the song was captured by the anti Vietnam war movement,as a protest song across the Collages and campuses across the USA before the...
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Journeys From Hell…..Whizz, Din, Wallop!
Normally I have to admit, I actually enjoy the whole traveling experience, nine times out of ten it is un-eventful and easy(ish). However, just now and again the God's conspire to make the whole thing a real challenge where your very humanity , patience, and temper,...
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Buses In Wales…..A Real Success
There is no doubt in my mind that the bus industry in the UK is under real threat at the moment. For some obscure reason it is being attacked at all levels. Increased congestion in our major towns and Cities has seen average journey times plummet. For example in...
read moreCILT Bus And Coach Forum, A Force For Good In Troubled Times!
One of the great things about chairing the Bus and Coach Forum is the fact that we actually get to make a difference when it comes to the really important things that matter to this great industry. I have seen myself over the last eight years that I have chaired the...
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An “Oasis” Of Fashion And Faux Pars….Nostalgia Is Not What It Used To Be!
I am not exactly sure at what age in life you suddenly realise that maybe, just maybe you are getting old. I only ask because today I enjoyed a rather enjoyable and unplanned trip down memory lane, that brought back a whole raft of memories from bygone years. On...
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Viva Las Vegas….Or Should That Be Blackpool
It was an interesting experience being at the UK Coach awards last week, the venue was a new one, and compared to the Mercure Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester, the VIVA in Blackpool, nestling in the shadow of the mighty Blackpool tower as you can imagine conjured up a...
read moreUK Coach Awards 2018, Are You Ready Blackpool
So, I have dusted off my suit, polished my shoes and been exercising my fingers so that I can open the gold coloured envelope that will tonight reveal the winner of the UK's top Coach driver. As selected by an expert panel after what was, I can tell you a very hard...
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The Mighty Ribble; A Most Enjoyable Trip Down Memory Lane
One of the joys of slowly getting older is the simple fact that over the years there is a tendency to forget a lot of things that you have done or indeed experienced in the past. This is not surprising given the wealth of things that happen in a single week, these...
read moreNew Legislation; Where Did That Come From?
It was really strange that DVLA decided to announce without any consultation or discussion with the Bus and Coach community that the period of time that commercial bus routes need to register a service in the UK has gone up from 30 days to 70 days. There was no...
read moreI Think That I will Just Get My Head Down……zzz
When I was a student in the leafy splendour of Hopwood Hall, at the campus of De La Salle College , Middleton, Manchester, one of the many nicknames that I picked up was the above. Apparently, I was uber fond of sleeping anytime, anyplace, and this was duly noted by...
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