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Friday, 15 November 2019

BBC News

• Cashless payments overtake cash on FirstGroup busesMore passengers paid with contactless and mobile apps rather than cash on local bus routes for the first time in FirstGroup's history, the company has said.

Times Online

• First Group is hobbled by £124m charge at Greyhound buses [subscription]Losses at First Group have widened after it booked a £124 million charge on the struggling American coach service that it is seeking to offload.

City AM

• First Group shares sink as losses widen after Greyhound chargeFirst Group’s share price sank today as it fell to a £187m half-year loss as transport charges hobbled the firm while doubts weigh over the future of its West Coast Rail franchise.

Belfast Telegraph

• Wrightbus hiring 200 staff as rebuilding drive kicks into actionThe new owner of Wrightbus has confirmed it is hiring 200 staff but admitted it would not reach former workforce numbers in the near future.

Coach and Bus Week

• Volvo to launch double-decker coachVolvo Buses has announced that it will launch a new express coach to supplement its latest 9000 range. The new arrival will be a double-decker with a body built by Carrus Delta OY of Finland.
• CPT and bus operators set out priorities for the next government“We want to hear parties talking about their plans for buses and the millions of people who use them each day,” Graham Vidler comments
• Sampling Oxford bus services with SmartzoneOxford’s bus network is extensive and is operated by Stagecoach in Oxfordshire and Oxford Bus Company, along with subsidiary Thames Travel. One ticket option that makes it easy to around the city is the multi-operator Smartzone product. Richard Sharman visited Oxford to see just how flexible Smartzone is
• Wrightbus begins recruitment driveWrightbus has announced it has begun recruiting staff again, following the acquisition by Bamford Bus Company last month. Local recruitment agencies Grafton and Industrial Temps have been appointed to assist in the speed of the process, moving to a comprehensive recruitment campaign for permanent contracts.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Bristol City Council approves CAZ plansBristol City Council’s Cabinet has approved a plan for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) which has now been submitted to government.
• Purple Tuesday supported by Go-Ahead companiesBrighton and Hove and Metrobus supported the international Purple Tuesday on 12 November by offering disabled concessionary card holders free travel for a ‘plus one’ of their choice.
• Stagecoach environmental impact continues to dropStagecoach has announced a major reduction in its corporate environmental impact as it works to develop a sustainability strategy for 2020 and beyond in partnership with the Carbon Trust.
• First Cymru receives £20,600 penaltyFailures to operate several local services in accordance with timetables has resulted in First Cymru Buses being ordered to pay a penalty of £20,600 by Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Anthony Seculer at a Swansea Public Inquiry (PI).