Happy new year. I wish all those working in the coach and bus industry a positive start and hope that you can embrace the many changes that are taking place; both those that are beneficial to you and your organisation, and those that may be more challenging.
I have been reflecting on the Integrated National Transport Strategy (INTS) which is due to be launched ‘early in 2026’. This is something which, in principle, I very much welcome, as I see the movement of people and goods using a series of different modes — both public and private — as ideally interlocking, to make the transfer from one to another as seamless as possible.
Transport providers have always been challenged by the effective provision of the first and last mile of any journey (for example, getting from a place of residence to a railway or coach station) as well as making sure that interchange between modes en route (i.e., from bus to rail, or coach to aeroplane) is effective and convenient.
In my mind this needs the setting of an overall strategy, but also, at a local level, and very simplistically, a series of interventions which would make transfer between modes (or even from one bus to another) less stressful.
At the start of the new year, I was making a journey with luggage by rail in West London that involved an interchange at Clapham Junction to get to Denmark Hill. Sadly, the Windrush Line, part of London Overground, was out of action, but I didn’t worry as I knew there was a bus alternative. I just couldn’t remember the location of the bus stop I needed to wait at. I didn’t want to get my phone out, as I had luggage, and it was a crowded area.
Frustratingly, neither at the station exit I used nor on any bus stop I passed was there any information as to which stop the bus I needed would depart from. In the end, I had to get out my phone and check.
Two days later, as part of the same journey, we needed to interchange at Truro from train to bus. However, the railway station is at one end of the town, and the bus station is at the other. There was information in the rail ticket hall about onwards travel, but that was not easy to access with luggage, so, as the journey was downhill, we walked.
This is all detail. But it is important if, ultimately, we are going to encourage more passenger journeys to be made by public transport. The jigsaw pieces need to interlock if we are going to see the full picture. Will there be responsibility at both a national and local level to see that this is thought about, and to proactively look for opportunities to improve? I hope so.
A recent study by the Confederation of Passenger Transport revealed that 450 million journeys a year are made by coach, but that 97% of people have never heard a politician mention coach travel. I also hope that coaches are seriously considered as part of INTS. The UK Coach Operators Association commented that, for certain journeys, a scheduled long-distance coach may be more effective and/or direct than using rail, but online resources don’t always make that clear. Then, at a local level, how can we ensure that home-to-school services are promoted as part of an integrated transport solution where appropriate?
I hope we all take the opportunity to ensure that the INTS initiative, when launched, is embraced by everyone, at all levels.
