Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) President Ian Luckett talks to the supply side of the industry, and notes the rapid pace of change in technology
Well it has been quite a month, hasn’t it? Since my last column the Bus Services Act 2017 is now, as predicted, on the statute books and the Government’s consultation on measures to improve air quality has been published.
Both throw up challenges to the bus and coach sectors, but also opportunities. With the general election just a few weeks away we will not see any further policy announcements on any of these issues.
The Act will be largely in force by the end of June with more activity on the secondary legislation to come. And regardless of who gets the keys to No 10 in the early hours of 9 June, we can expect the new Government to press ahead with proposals to clean up our air.
Not working in isolation
I know the UK Coach Awards took place a while ago now, but this is my chance to say a very big well done to all the worthy winners. As with all awards, we quite rightly celebrate those who take home the trophies. But everyone nominated in each category is a winner. They have all been recognised as doing something exceptional. And behind every winner and nominee there is a team of people who have made it happen.
None of us who find ourselves at the helm of our companies work in isolation. We all have fantastic and loyal staff supporting us, without whom our businesses simply would not function.
While I was in Manchester I took the opportunity to catch up with some of CPT’s supplier members, and had fascinating discussions about some of the new innovations likely to come our way in the next few months. I was amazed to see how far those products that were seen as market-leading just a year ago had developed.
It really is an exciting time for us all in the passenger transport industry, but a challenging one too. More and more the way we operate is governed by technology. Promoting our product, how customers book their ticket and provide valuable feedback to us, testing our vehicles, right down to the administration of our companies.
Grasp opportunities
As company managers we have to make sure we grasp the opportunities this new way of working offers. And if you think about it, the rate of change is nothing short of startling. Think back to the way you did business in 2000 – not actually that long ago. Who knows how we will be communicating with one another, our staff and our customers in another 15 years.
Areas which are developing rapidly in the bus sector concern ticketing, particularly contactless technology. The data being captured becomes ever richer and understanding where, how and why people travel is vital as we look to drive up standards and provide our passengers with the type of services they want, and frankly deserve.
Technology can also help us improve the way we work, releasing us from the more mundane and labour-intensive paper-based systems – digital walk-round check systems for example.
Embracing anything new can be challenging, but technology marches on and we have to adapt – or get left behind.
