The former Young Bus Managers Network has been rechristened Young Bus Professionals in a move that the organisation says reflects the bus industry’s evolving landscape.
It hopes to encourage more members from public sector bodies and the consultancies that support them, in addition to its established involvement from bus operator representatives. A first conference under the new brand will be held in Glasgow on 21-22 March.
Speaking about the news, Young Bus Professionals Co-Patron and McGill’s Bus Group Managing Director Alex Hornby says: “As times change, so must we, and our rebrand comes at a very deliberate time to ensure that we welcome new members to join us at conferences from across the public sector and consultancies alongside our many regular faces from bus operators.
“The industry’s future will rely on such partnerships across these important tiers of our profession going forward and we will reflect the evolving model, enabling educative debate, learning, and best practice exchange.
“Our Young Bus Professionals conferences will be the place where all emerging talent across our great industry can meet, interact, and learn, just as the Young Bus Managers Network events have achieved for so many bus industry leaders over nearly two decades.”
The Young Bus Managers Network has brought together hundreds of members of the industry, with Mr Hornby adding that it helped to support those individuals during the early parts of their careers and personal development.
The Glasgow conference on 21-22 March will be held at the Glynhill Hotel and Spa near Paisley. It is to include speakers from the public and private sectors in the same vein as the most recent conference in Liverpool during autumn 2023.
Bookings for the gathering are now open via the Young Bus Professionals website, with early bird discounts available until 1 March. Speakers confirmed already are:
- McGill’s Bus Group CEO Ralph Roberts for the after-dinner address
- First Bus Chief Operating Officer Andrew Jarvis
- Stagecoach West Scotland Managing Director Fiona Doherty
- Interim Head of the Bus Centre of Excellence Sharon Kindleysides
- Scottish Citylink and Megabus Managing Director Simone Smith
- Portsmouth City Council Transport Development Manager Peter Shelley.
A visit to McGill’s depot at Johnstone, home to battery-electric buses, is also part of the agenda.
