Saturday 18 February 2023

Mid-February 2023 Transport News Round-Up: UK Government Extends £2 Bus Fare Till June, New DLR Trains Unveiled, TfL Fare Rises From March, All-Electric Bus Towns for Athlone, Ireland & Inverness, Scotland, Ensignbus Sells to First Group and More

Since I haven’t posted an article for a month. I’ve decided to post a round-up of various transport news stories that happened during this month and last month (January).

Firstly, here’s the news recently published by the Department for Transport extending their £2 bus fare scheme in England till the end of June 2023.

From Department for Transport

£2 bus fare cap to be extended and bus services protected with new funding

Funding to help passengers save money on fares, get more people on the bus and protect vital bus routes.

Millions of passengers across England will benefit from £155 million in government support to cap bus fares at £2, maintain services and ensure people can travel affordably.

The Transport Secretary today (17 February 2023) confirmed £80 million from 1 April to 30 June 2023 to protect vital bus services people rely on for work, education, medical appointments and shopping.

The government has also announced plans to provide up to £75 million so that bus operators can continue to cap single bus fares outside of London at £2 until the end of June, saving passengers money and encouraging more people back on the bus. With the average single local bus ticket costing £2.80, passengers can save almost a third of the ticket price. Bus operators that are continuing the £2 fare cap scheme will be confirmed in due course.

Read more

You can view the list of bus companies and their bus routes, which are part of the £2 fare cap scheme, on the Government website.

New Transport for London (TfL) fares to start from 5th March 2023.

Low-paid transport workers to receive free travel on TfL services.

New Docklands Light Rail trains unveiled at Beckton Depot

TfL board papers for 1st February 2023 meeting.

Former London Underground District line trains to appear on Greenford branch line in West London.

From Great Western Railway

Fast-charging battery trial to resume after GWR agrees deal to purchase Vivarail assets

Great Western Railway has completed the purchase of a number of assets from emission-free battery and hybrid trains manufacturer Vivarail, which entered administration last December.

GWR has agreed contracts to buy intellectual property, rolling stock and equipment relating to the development of high-performance battery and FastCharge technology designed to support wider introduction of battery-powered trains on the UK’s rail network.

The deal secures the future of planned trials of the technology in a real-world environment, which GWR was supporting between West Ealing and Greenford.

The company has also employed nine former Vivarail staff to support the trials and project development.

Read more

First Bus to expand bus operations in Thurrock by acquiring Ensignbus.

From First Bus

First Group PLC Agreement to Acquire Ensign bus company

• Agreement to purchase Ensign Bus Company Limited (‘Ensignbus’)

• Ensignbus is a high-performing business with strong positions in business-to-business (‘B2B’) and regional commercial bus operations in Essex, with a vehicle refurbishment and re-sale operation, and a high value depot

• Completion of the acquisition is anticipated in the next few months subject to customary regulatory review

FirstGroup plc has signed an agreement to purchase Ensign Bus Company Limited.

The acquisition of the Essex-based business is anticipated to be completed over the next few months subject to customary regulatory review.

Ensignbus is a high-performing business with strong offerings in regional commercial and business to business bus operations in Essex, as well as a well-established vehicle refurbishment and re-sale operation.

Ensignbus’ commercial bus operations comprise a local bus route network complementary to First Bus’ operations in Essex and two B2B segments that include rail replacement and private hire contract operations.

The business has a young vehicle fleet of 55 buses that will be part of the sale, but the Ensignbus specialist heritage fleet is excluded from the transaction.

The acquisition of the Ensignbus business will both enhance FirstGroup’s existing local commercial bus operations in Essex as well as providing a number of growth opportunities in the B2B and bus vehicle dealership markets.

Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer, said:

“The acquisition of Ensignbus, a long-established, high-performing business, will allow us not only to grow our B2B offering but to also enhance our operational footprint in Essex, and we look forward to welcoming Ensignbus employees to the Group. This is a strategically and financially accretive growth opportunity for us, and one that is fully aligned to our balanced capital allocation policy.”

Peter Newman, Ensignbus Chairman, said:

“I want to thank all of our employees at Ensignbus for their ongoing hard work to deliver great service for our passengers across all of our communities in Essex, and we will be supporting them fully as they move to their new employer. We’re pleased that First Bus, with their reputation for customer service, innovation and sustainability, will take the Ensignbus business forward as a going concern and we wish them a successful future. We will continue to serve our communities and operate our network as usual until the completion date.”

During the day of the announcement, Ensignbus tweeted a letter to all drivers announcing the purchase by First Bus.

All-electric bus town for Athlone in Ireland.

Stagecoach launch UKs first fully-electric city bus network in Inverness, Scotland.

From Stagecoach Group

• £10.8m investment in public transport in Inverness
• 25 new zero-emission buses will operate on all city centre routes
• 159 new electric buses are planned to be introduced across the UK in 2023
• £40m total investment in new vehicles and infrastructure in the Highlands by end of 2023

Stagecoach celebrated the launch of the UKs first fully-electric city bus network in Inverness today (Thursday 2nd February), where they were joined by Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth MSP.

25 brand-new zero-emission Yutong E10 buses are now operating on all city centre routes. The vehicles can operate from morning to evening on a single daily charge, and feature USB charging points at each seat, interior LED lights and contactless payment facilities. With no engine noise or vibration, passengers can look forward to a relaxing experience.

The £10.8m investment was supported by the Scottish Government’s Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB). Charging infrastructure was successfully installed at the Inverness depot ahead of the launch. Stagecoach use 100% renewable electricity across the business.

Stagecoach will launch two further fully-electric city bus networks in Perth and Dunfermline in the coming months.

Read more

A council-owned bus company ‘Warrington's Own Buses’ to fully replace their bus fleet with new zero-emission buses.

Warrington Borough Council’s Cabinet has given the green light to amended plans for the town’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme.

Cabinet approved the plans at its meeting of Monday 13 February, meaning the council can now move ahead with the project to replace Warrington’s Own Buses’ entire fleet of buses with electric vehicles.

Warrington will deliver 105 buses during 2024, which remains one of the highest number of electric buses to be introduced by any town or city in the UK, replacing the whole fleet.

The council was successful in securing the largest funding award made from the Government’s ZEBRA scheme in 2021, to support the replacement of Warrington’s Own Buses’ fleet of diesels with new electric buses, as part of the work to introduce greener and cleaner transport options throughout the borough.

The council is also making a significant financial contribution to the ZEBRA scheme, with its funding commitment supporting the vision to transform bus travel in Warrington.

The current economic climate has posed challenges to the project, and the council, working with the Government and the bus company, has responded to this with the remodelled scheme. This includes the adjustment of the number of buses to 105 to match the post-Covid requirement, and an increase in the overall budget to deliver the scheme, which is needed due to price increases caused by the current high rate of inflation.

With Government content with the remodelled plans, and approval granted by Cabinet, Warrington can now move forward with the project to deliver a fleet of buses fit for the future.

Read more

Ireland’s National Transport Authority publishes Transport Strategy for Greater Dublin Area.

New buses for Reading Buses for their Green Line service.

UK Government funding helps launch the world’s first self-driving bus.

A selection of Freedom of Information releases from the TfL website:

Reduction in PVR for the bus network on a route by route since 2018

Request ID: FOI-2666-2223
Date published: 07 February 2023

We can supply the total Peak Vehicle Requirement for the end of each year for the whole network – which are as follows:-

31/3/18 - 8,031
31/3/19 - 7,913
31/3/20 - 7,863
31/3/21 - 7,809
31/3/22 - 7,591

The next set of data is due on 31/3/23, however the current figure is 7,446.

Improvements to London bus services as part of ULEZ Greater London expansion

Request ID: FOI-2789-2223
Date published: 16 February 2023

According to the Mayor of London's news release from last year, it says:

"New services and improvements, that will see over one million further kilometres added to the bus network, are also planned to support growth areas in a number of other outer London location. This is part of the biggest ever expansion of the bus network in outer London. Examples include:

• Improved links between Harold Hill and Upminster in Havering

• New and improved services at Brent Cross in Barnet

• Improved services in Southall

• Bus improvements in the Harrow & Wealdstone area

• New routes to serve the Haringey Heartlands development at Wood Green

• Better bus links in Wanstead, including to and from Whipps Cross Hospital"

Will the bus service improvements start on the same date as the ULEZ expansion?

We will be consulting on the changes outlined in the press release in stages (by area) over the coming six months. Full details of the proposed route changes will be published, including maps and background documents. These particular improvements will start later than the ULEZ expansion, however there are likely to be increases to frequencies on some bus route before the ULEZ date, again full details and dates are still to be confirmed.

Would you be able to provide more information about your bus service improvements, including new routes in different areas, new transit schemes, new zero-emission bus types, new bus interiors with new seats, new information screens, etc. as part of your Bus Action Plan, and the government's Bus Back Better and Bus Service Improvement plans?

To improve the customer offering, including safety and overall experience, we are looking at how we can improve the interior of the buses. This includes reviewing and implementing new seat materials, flooring and lighting, which will shortly be trialled on the route 358 Irizar (also referred to as tram buses). The introduction of new electric buses will have leather seating and high back seats, in addition to digital screens displaying next stop information, along with wooden flooring and improved lighting. Some of these features are also being trialled on route 63, which were the electric buses introduced in 2022 which has on board bus screens to provide customers with more accurate and detailed information, in addition to USB charging devices for mobile phones and a panoramic roof on the top deck. We will be looking to adopt more of these features on new zero-emission buses in a cost effective way, by working with manufacturers and London bus operators.

London currently has over 900 zero-emission buses in the fleet including single and double deckers. Zero-emission bus technology types include hydrogen fuel cell buses, fully battery electric buses and more recently electric ‘opportunity’ charged buses, which are currently operating on route 132, and will soon be on route 358. Details can be found in a TfL press release. A range of zero-emission bus technology types are vital in helping TfL meet it’s 2034 goal for a zero-emission bus fleet.

Route 63 - https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/february/new-green-productivity-boosting-buses-introduced-but-no-more-will-be-delivered-until-a-long-term-funding-deal-is-secured

Route 132 & mentioned 358 - https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/october/new-rapid-wireless-bus-charging-technology-introduced-as-part-of-the-capital-s-journey-to-zero-emission

Here’s the selection of Tweets to include on my article.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.

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