NEBOA alliance relaunches with public event and strong commitments
The North East’s bus operators – including Go North East, Stagecoach North East and Arriva North East – have relaunched their association as NE Bus.
The alliance, which also includes Stanley Travel, A-line Coaches and L&G Coaches, was previously called the North East Bus Operators Association (NEBOA).
NE Bus was officially launched with a family-friendly public event and conference at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The speakers included Arriva North East’s Nick Knox, Stagecoach North East’s Steve Walker, Stanley Travel’s Andrew Scott, and Dawn Badminton-Capps of Bus Users UK.
In a report called ‘Successful Buses for a Successful Region’, distributed at the event, NE Bus has set out its commitments. They include:
- Greater transparency and accountability
- Further investments
- Improved ticketing
- Better customer service
- Enhanced communications
- More collaboration.
The report also sets out what bus operators need to be successful – including bus priority measures, supportive car parking policies, more park-and-ride sites, supportive stakeholders, and a longer-term vision for public transport.
NE Bus Chair Martijn Gilbert, MD of Go North East, says: “Delivering high quality, sustainable public transport is a shared responsibility between operators, local authorities and central government.
“No one party has all the solutions, so if buses are to be truly successful then they need greater support from stakeholders, especially with matters such as tackling some of the worst congestion which can undermine the delivery of reliable services and adds to costs.”
He adds: “We need to get buses on a better footing when we talk about them, celebrate successes and encourage more people to give them a try.”
