The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has announced the dates for its second virtual UK Bus and Coach Conference. The members-only event will take place on 25 and 26 January 2022 with a wide variety of speakers, including Under-Secretary of State for Transport Baroness Vere (pictured).
Sponsored by Backhouse Jones, the two-day conference will address various issues that impact the coach and bus industry. Among those will be recruitment and retention of staff, growing domestic tourism and delivering bus services to ‘left behind’ communities.
Lady Vere will outline the government’s vision for the coach and bus sector, while on day two, Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon will detail what the industry could expect from a Labour government.
Speakers from sectors including tourism, behavioural economic and local government also form part of the line-up. CPT says they will “bring insight that will challenge delegates to think about how they could do things differently to create improved services and thrive in a post-COVID-19 world.”
Comments CPT Chief Executive Graham Vidler: “We will again hear from coach and bus industry experts, and we will also be joined by experts from outside the sector, who can share their experiences from their own industries to see if their lessons learned can be applied here.
“The 2022 conference is a chance for operators to tackle current issues head on and be challenged to think about how they can do things differently to ensure they are playing their part to deliver better bus services for passenger and achieve the UK’s ambitious climate change targets.”
Adds Backhouse Jones Director Jonathon Backhouse: “We are thrilled to be the headline sponsor at this forthcoming conference. The speaker line-up is very impressive, with a fascinating range of topics dedicated to helping both the coach and bus sectors to navigate the road ahead as hopefully the pandemic begins to have less impact over the coming year.
“Post-COP26 and as the UK embraces a greener future, this conference among other issues will discuss what the industry can do to assist in tackling the climate change agenda. Backhouse Jones is fully supportive of this initiative and we look forward to connecting with delegates across the two days.”
2022’s UK Bus and Coach conference from CPT will follow a similar virtual event on 1 December that will look at decarbonisation in the coach industry, including the transition to zero-emission fleets. Lady Vere will also address delegates there.