25/06/2002

Tough decisions must be taken by local authorities to promote bus use and break the gridlock in Britain's towns and cities, according to one of the country's biggest transport operators.

Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Keith Cochrane will tell an audience of politicians and transport experts today (25 June 2002): "We need a clear strategy, innovative bus operators, strong partnerships, more urgency and, above all, brave politicians to save our towns and cities from the stranglehold of traffic and pollution.

"Transport affects us all, and the threat to our environment and quality of life is not going to go away. We have the solutions, but bus companies are not highway authorities and we can't do it on our own."

Mr Cochrane will put forward Stagecoach's partnership with local authorities in Cambridge, which has delivered passenger growth of nearly 20% in around six months, as the way ahead.

"We believe Cambridge is a model for others," he will say. "Where politicians are strong and take brave decisions, our passengers see improved services and more people choose to travel by bus; where politicians don't act, people stay in their cars and our buses are handcuffed by congestion.

"There is a danger Local Transport Plan projects that will bring real benefits to passengers are put at the back of the queue. Despite funding being allocated, a lack of political will can mean schemes are behind schedule or gather dust unimplemented."

Mr Cochrane is due to speak at the 5th UK Chairs of Transport Conference - the centrepiece of the transport calendar for transport professionals in the public and private sector - in Leeds today (25 June 2002).

Last November in Cambridge, Stagecoach invested £4.5million in 40 new low-floor buses and a new city network with buses running up to every 10 minutes, backed up by better information provision and simplified ticketing.

It was part of a long-standing partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridge City Council, which has delivered bus priority measures and infrastructure improvements, as well as a park and ride network serving a million passengers a year.

Mr Cochrane will also reveal that Stagecoach is part of a consortium with advanced plans to devise a new rapid transit system for the Cambridge area, which could become the world's biggest guided busway.

Detailed plans for the superCAM system - planned to run on a 17-mile route from St Ives through Cambridge to Trumpington, south of the city - are expected to be lodged in a few months. If approved, the system is expected to be in operation by 2006.

Mr Cochrane insists the bus industry is delivering on its pledges and exceeding the targets set by the Government when it drew up the 10-year plan. Investment has outstripped profits for the past 12 years and bus operators are investing £3 for every £1 invested by local authorities, he says.

Regulatory stability, he says, is also essential for bus operators to deliver the 10% increase in passengers targeted in the Government's 10-Year Transport Plan.

Mr Cochrane adds: "As an industry, we are not frightened of change. However, more than ever, we need a period of stability within the industry to allow these partnerships and relationships to deliver."

He is also expected to stress that bus operators are also making a major contribution to the Government's social inclusion agenda. "Social inclusion is at the core of our business. Reducing social exclusion is as much, if not more, about accessibility to bus services for the far large numbers of people on low incomes in urban centres and small towns as it is for people living in rural areas."

But Mr Cochrane will maintain that buses are not always the best way of delivering the social inclusion agenda and more innovative tailored solutions, such as demand responsive services, would often better meet the needs of more rural communities.

Notes to Editors:

• Stagecoach Group is one of the world's biggest rail and bus groups, with 20,000 vehicles and more than 40,000 employees worldwide, and revenues last year of more than £2 billion.
• In the UK, Stagecoach is a major bus operator. The company's 7,000 vehicles operate in nearly 100 major centres - including London, Manchester and Newcastle - and every year carry more than 700 million passengers.
• Organised by the Centre for Transport Policy, the conference theme is "Working in Partnership".