Peninsula Transport has published a Coach Action Plan. The subnational transport body (STB) in South West England says such an approach will help to elevate the role of the coach regionally and nationally, and identify and deliver “simple, quick and effective actions” that will pay back through increased spending locally.
Cornwall Council, Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council, Somerset County Council and Torbay Council are constituent authorities of Peninsula Transport.
“The aim of the Coach Action Plan for the Peninsula region is to support change and speak on behalf of the region so that, together with our partners, we drive investment in coaches, and more widely, public transport, and provide a better integrated transport offer for everyone who lives, works and visits the region,” the document states.
It forms part of the STB’s overarching Peninsula Transport Strategy to 2050, with the four aims as part of that wider work each capturing coaches:
• A connected peninsula
• Completing the transport network
• Easier journeys
• Going electric.
An early quick win is identified as creating a single Peninsula-specific information portal for the coach industry. Beyond that, the Plan aims to pinpoint short-, medium- and long-term actions for coach that align with the region’s Transport Strategy, including accreditation of locations with Coach Friendly status by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT).
Incorporating coach into the wider strategy will ensure that the mode “is considered as a vital part of the fabric of the Peninsula, allowing movement and economic benefits, and providing a regional resource to be coordinated and integrated with other transport options,” Peninsula Transport says.
The STB notes that importance must be placed on coaches fulfilling a different service to buses, with a focus on long-distance scheduled connections, tourism, and local group travel. Home-to-school is also identified as being part of the overall coach consideration.
It is thought that coaches bring around 4.9 million tourists into the Peninsula Transport region each year, with those visitors contributing over £250 million to local economies.
A need to develop the Coach Action Plan considers what the document says is a tendency for coach to “sometimes be a forgotten mode, left to operate in its largely commercial environment and not actively considered when we discuss integration and modal shift at a regional and national level.”
In an indication that significant coach industry engagement has gone into preparing the Plan, it includes observations on accessibility in coaches and the nationwide economic impact of the mode, as laid out by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) during 2024. A need for better coach facilities including parking is also highlighted
As a researcher, facilitator and influencer around coach travel in its area, Peninsula Transport says that an early objective is to establish a virtual Peninsula Coach Forum.
That will enable industry partners – including local and visiting operators, local authorities and tourist bodies and attractions – to collaborate with each other and the STB to deliver early actions “and develop the forward-looking agenda for coach.” The forum will trigger task-and-finish working groups to address key issues.
“With so much to offer, coach can and should play a more important role in delivering the Peninsula’s wider Transport Strategy and vision for a connected and sustainable public transport network,” the document adds.
Read the Peninsula Transport Coach Action Plan here.
