It took scant time for a Labour government to be confirmed on 5 July, and calls from coach and bus upon that administration were as rapid in coming. Collaboration and how the industry has a big contribution-in-waiting for many flagship policies are key.
That is the strategic position. But as the head of one operator was just as quick to point out, local political engagement is equally important.
MPs are a diverse bunch and their willingness to sit down is similarly variable. But the new intake’s size, and how close coach and bus is to policy, suggests that many will have a keen ear.
Talk of private sector investment by the new administration will be largely seen as a positive despite the ongoing black hole of how bus franchising aspirations will be paid for by Keir ‘fully costed’ Starmer.
Conveying locally the fiscal implication of franchising is one of the bus industry’s biggest tasks beyond work around funding and the £2 fare cap future.
Meanwhile, it is little coincidence that scheduled coach service providers are staging brand campaigns around election time and putting the mode in front of the masses. Coach operators by default are local employers. That, combined with the mode’s other strengths, gives a platform to engage with those in office.
Investment required to do so is often minimal. As Adam Keen notes: It may be a couple of hours’ time and a round of coffees. Not a bad shout when seen against the potential payback.
