Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) President Ian Luckett reflects on various meetings this month, and gives thanks for the industry’s political engagement
The past few weeks have been quite busy on the Presidential front.
I was invited to CPT regional meetings in both Yorkshire and the North West, and I have to say that both were really interesting and well worth attending. It was great to have an opportunity to put faces to names and also to catch up with some industry colleagues I haven’t seen for some time.
Part of the role of CPT President is to deliver some wise words to those in attendance at regional meetings – probably the bit I least look forward to – and I would like to thank all those who have listened to what I have had to say. The meetings were a couple of days apart, so rather than travel all the way back ‘down south’, I stayed on patch and used the opportunity to pop into some members and check on ‘the pulse of the industry’.
‘Part of solution’
There are undoubtedly many challenges facing us all over the coming months and years. By the time you read this column Parliamentary business will be winding up for the General Election, and we can expect the Bus Services Bill, barring exceptional intervention, to be heading for the Statute Book.
The story doesn't end there, and there is a huge amount of work to be done on the secondary legislation. CPT will continue to work very hard to ensure that the various regulations, orders and guidance will actually work in practice.
I should pass on the industry’s thanks to those individuals and CPT members who have devoted so much time and effort in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the industry.
The next major issue facing operators is the introduction of Clean Air Zones planned for many places around the country. CPT will respond to the various consultations taking place, and is awaiting sight of the Government’s clean air strategy document, which is expected any day now.
Whatever emerges from these various policy documents, CPT is already engaging at the highest levels to ensure that those making the decisions understand that our sector is part of the solution to air quality, not simply one of the causes.
Get involved
One of my messages to operators over the past couple of months has been ‘get involved’. You are paying your annual subscriptions to CPT so it’s really important that you get the most out of your membership. Turning up for meetings can sometimes be a bind, and we can all find some other job or reason as to why we can’t go. However, just turning up for one meeting a year will give you a great insight into what is happening in our industry as a whole.
On chairing a recent meeting of CPT Council I learned that long-standing member Les Warneford of Stagecoach has announced his retirement from CPT committees. I would like to thank Les for all his hard work and contributions over the years.
I would also like to send our best wishes to Peter Shipp, Managing Director at East Yorkshire Motor Services. Peter is currently at home recovering from illness. We all wish Peter a very speedy recovery.
