Bus Ambassador

Stagecoach is bringing 64 shiny new electric buses to the streets of Coventry and Warwickshire, all part of a bold £140m project to make Coventry the UK’s first fully electric bus town or city. That’s right—this isn’t just about a few green buses here and there; it’s a major leap forward for the Coventry Electric Bus City scheme.

Good news for festive travellers! National Express is boosting its network just in time for the Christmas rush, adding a whopping 16,000 seats a week across popular intercity routes from the 4th of December. This festive season, they’re offering more options than ever to travel between cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester and even to major airports like Heathrow.

If you’re spotting giant poppies on First buses around Yorkshire, it’s not your eyes playing tricks – it’s First Bus proudly showing its support for Remembrance this November. With 300 buses decked out in the iconic Royal British Legion poppy, First Bus North & West Yorkshire are adding welcome tribute to their fleet, honouring veterans and their families. And they’ve backed it up with a generous £3,350 donation to this year’s Poppy Appeal .

Greater Manchester is swarming into action, assembling a fleet of shiny yellow Bee Network buses as it gears up for full control of the local bus network come January. With the buzz building, an impressive army of new vehicles is getting ready to hit the streets, bringing a fresh wave of improvements to public transport across the region.

Greater Manchester’s Bee Network has brought the buzz to Wigan, launching the brand-new 615 route and reconnecting the town with Middlebrook retail park – just in time for some festive shopping. Plus, the 132’s had a boost too, now running every half hour between Wigan and the Trafford Centre instead of just once an hour.

Ticketer, the leading supplier in real-time information, fleet management and smart ticketing for the UK’s bus and coach industry, has just hit a mega-milestone—its 8 billionth ticket sale. The lucky ticket? Sold on an Arriva Merseyside bus no less. This milestone not only marks Ticketer’s deep-rooted partnership with Arriva but also its ongoing impact on the entire industry since it launched in 2009.

In a significant move to transform public transport, the UK Government has pledged more than £1 billion to safeguard essential bus routes and ensure affordability with a capped fare of £3 for single journeys across England (excluding London). This long-term investment, which covers both metropolitan and rural areas, aims to prevent price hikes, protect crucial services and provide more reliable public transport options, particularly for communities where buses are often the primary travel option.

In light of recent media reports suggesting that the £2 bus fare cap in England may be scrapped in the upcoming Budget, Graham Vidler, Chief Executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), has voiced his concerns about the potential implications for bus passengers and the industry as a whole. Update at 12:07pm on 28/10/2024: The bus fares cap in England will be raised to £3 in the upcoming Budget, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

Following last year’s partnership , Hitachi and First Bus are charging ahead, with seven of First Bus' depots now powered by Hitachi’s ZeroCarbon battery and charging management technology. This is a significant step for the UK’s leading bus operator towards its ambitious 2035 net zero target.