What does UKCOA seek of the new Labour government?

As I write this the new government has been elected and Sir Keir Starmer is in the process of appointing his cabinet.

I have been thinking for a while now what the ‘asks’ of the coach industry may be for the new government, and while I suspect that these are not anywhere near the top of its pile, perhaps the challenge is that somehow, by working collectively, we can achieve at least some of them in the next five years.

Perhaps the biggest ask of all is to have, either locally or nationally, representatives that are charged with championing the coach industry. Over the past few years, I have met many individuals in local and national government, both politicians and civil servants/local authority officers, who genuinely understand the contribution that the coach industry makes to the economy and its role in the wider transportation sector. However, there is no dedicated strategy that has been formally adopted by politicians, despite the efforts of the Confederation of Passenger Transport and others in undertaking that work for them.

I would like to find a way to collect data on the activity of the coach industry that minimises the efforts from coach operators in providing it, but that nevertheless gives local and national government a much clearer idea of what the industry does day in, day out, as well as the number of people carried on a daily, monthly and annual basis. This has always been a stumbling block, and despite valiant attempts by trade bodies and consultants, most of the figures produced up to press are grossed up relatively small amounts of data.

Once we have this, ideally it would then be incumbent on local authorities to contain in their transport strategies a section on the provision of coach parking, set-down and pick-up points outside schools, leisure centres, theatres, and other principal coach orientated destinations, all designed to allow a lift to be deployed. Medium-term, this could also include facilities for electric vehicle charging.

I would also like to see some joint working groups set up, developing from those initiated by Zemo Partnership, to have a proper road map to achieve low or zero emissions, with electricity, green hydrogen and biofuels all being seriously considered. This should not just be zero emissions ‘at tail pipe’ but consider the production of the fuel and its use within the vehicle.

Finally, let’s make sure that coaches are designed in the long term to include appropriate facilities for those  they carry and what they are
being used for, not just to fit around what is being proposed for the bus and truck industry. I am sure that, with a greater understanding of those who use the coach, there would be more enthusiasm to ensure that the industry is not burdened with legislation that is inappropriate, but is provided with a framework for ensuring that the coach remains a modern, effective means of transportation.

I am sure that there are many other asks that come to mind for those reading this, and I would be interested to hear from you via the Editor of this magazine. As a final thought, what can we do to ensure that this all happens? How can we persuade Louise Haigh, the new Secretary of State for Transport, and her soon to be announced team, to sit around a table and achieve what we have written here? I know I will be doing my best, through channels that already exist, to do just that. Will you join me?