Translink progressing with full-fleet Wheely-Safe rollout
Northern Ireland operator Translink says it is in the process of completing a full-fleet rollout of Wheely-Safe technology across its 1,400 coaches and buses.
The product, which received an Innovation Challenge Gold Award at Euro Bus Expo in early November, is an in-motion wheel loss detection system that combines brake and hub temperature monitoring with an intelligent tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
As installed by Translink, the Wheely-Safe product has external TPMS sensors replacing the conventional valve cap. They auto pair with an in-cab receiver and work alongside a pair of wheel loss sensors on each wheel. Diagnostic software built into the receiver confirms that all sensors are working and paired correctly.
Translink signed a contract with Wheely-Safe in 2021. The operator's General Manager Engineering David Barnett says rollout of the technology is "another important part of our ongoing process to install industry-leading health and safety standards across our fleet."
Mr Barnett adds that a trial was completed before completing the order. It "confirmed all the positive reports we had previously heard about the product. Having one system in place that alerts our drivers to a drop in tyre pressure, brake or hub overheating or a wheel nut loosening gives us real peace of mind."
Comments Wheely-Safe Group Managing Director Gary Broadfield: "This is a significant contract, one of the largest since we first brought the technology to market. It is great to know our latest generation technology is now protecting Translink's entire bus fleet, and all its customers in Northern Ireland."
Euro Bus Expo 2022 - A triumphant return
A triumphant return for Euro Bus Expo as it brings the bus and coach industry together after three years
Visitors turned out in their thousands for Euro Bus Expo 2022, the bus and coach industry’s largest gathering in over three years, last week (1-3 November) – a show that visitors and exhibitors are calling the “most successful show” they have attended.
Held at the NEC Birmingham, the event brought together bus and coach operators, transport planners, local authorities, stakeholders, and decision-makers from across the industry. Over 200 exhibitors showcased their innovations, solutions, services and insights, including over 80 of the latest vehicles.
Helen Conway, event director, says:
“We're overwhelmed with the feedback we have received. It's clear from the sheer volume of business done at the event that the industry is well along its path to recovery. We're so pleased to be a part of that."[/dt_quote]
Thousands of visitors
Visitors to Euro Bus Expo 2022 comprised representatives from prominent bus and coach operators, including; Arriva; Aston Manor Coaches; Bakers Dolphin Coach Travel; Bibbys of Ingleton; Brighton & Hove and Metrobus; Cardiff Bus; Daish’s Coaches; Donegal Coach Hire; Edwards Coaches; First Bus; Go Ahead Group, Golden Boy Coaches; Grant Palmer; Gwyn Jones & Son; Johnsons Coaches; Lothian Buses; Mainline Coaches; Metroline; National Express; Nottingham City Transport; Oxford Bus Company; Prospect Coaches; Skills Motor Coaches; Stagecoach; Stanley Travel; trentbarton; Uno Buses; York Pullman and many more.
Local authorities, community transport providers, transport specifiers, and partnership coordinators from across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland were also well represented.
Sharing challenges and solutions
Visitors were the first to hear from England’s new minister for bus and coach, Richard Holden MP, who addressed the industry for the first time, following his appointment as Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 28 October. This address highlighted work completed so far and what is still to be done.
The Masterclass Theatre was a hive of activity throughout the show, with visitors enjoying presentations and roundtable discussions from an impressive line-up of industry experts.
Graham Vidler, CEO of trade association and show partner, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), opened the show. He welcomed the industry back after a pandemic-induced event hiatus and looked ahead to the future.
Alex Hornby from Transdev Blazefield, Richard Grey from Greys of Ely, and Scott Rattle from Passenger Plus took to the stage in a panel session on ‘Tackling the Driver Shortage’. Says Alex Hornby:
“This was perhaps none more so in the Masterclass Theatre where we were able to remind ourselves of the challenges and solutions we all can share.”[/dt_quote]
Towards net zero
Attendees heard about the findings from CPT’s first Zero Emission Coach Taskforce at its ‘Identifying the Challenges to Destination Zero’ session. This covered the biggest challenges facing the coach industry on its transition away from diesel.
Ian Luckett, Chair of the Zero Emission Coach Taskforce, led a roundtable to examine possible solutions to these challenges, alongside Taskforce members including Dan Hayes from Zemo Partnership, Hafsa Ameen from Zeelo, Sukky Choongh and Will Reeves from SMMT. During the session, Ian Luckett invited more stakeholders to contribute to the discussion process over the next two months.
“It is important for electric vehicle operators to share their tachograph data with CPT so the Taskforce can see what’s actually happening,” he said. “If you want us to get where you want us to be, there are several challenges to be met. Everyone needs to be part of it.”
ALBUM members Jane Cole from Blackpool Transport Services, and Austin Blackburn from Go-Coach, discussed the challenges SMEs face as they transition to zero-emission vehicles.
“It was great to be back at Euro Bus Expo 2022, meeting colleagues and suppliers across the industry, particularly at a time of challenge and change for many of us,” says Jane Cole. “Presenting on the impact of ZEV was an event highlight for me – the difference between operators is so variable.”
Operators heard about the key considerations of transitioning to zero-emission fleets in a panel session on ‘Infrastructure of the Future’. Speakers included Dan Hayes from Zemo Partnership; Daniel Hilson from Evenergi; Mike Kent from Enel X and Neil Madgwick from UK Power Networks.
Dan Hayes said: “Understanding your power supply is crucial in developing your plan to move towards EV implementation. Location and space are important, as is disaster resilience.”
Hot Topics for Operators
Visitors heard from Jeff Counsell, MD of trentbarton and Kinchbus, and Deborah Oddy from Derbyshire County Council, who revealed how they secured £47m through the National Bus Strategy.
Senior Traffic Commissioner Richard Turfitt provided an update on compliance issues, including the ongoing move to digital self-service, the importance of full control over maintenance practices, and matters relating to Transport Managers and the Bus Open Data Service in England.
Josh Miles from CPT Cymru led a panel session with Ember Core’s Keith Bradbury, Zipabout’s Daniel Chick and Optibus’ Dave Joshua, who shared insights into how data has been built into their businesses, and speculated how it could continue to impact passengers and services.
Visitors also saw seminars from Phillip Hesketh, Expert on Psychology of Influence and Persuasion, on persuading modal shift. Plus, Kate Chidzik, owner of Kachi Marketing, talked about how to engage with different demographics, particularly Gen Z.
Fleets of the future, today
Euro Bus Expo 2022 visitors were among the first to see a host of vehicle launches across the show, including: ADL’s Enviro400FCEV hydrogen fuel cell-electric double deck bus; a MOBIpeople Premium 350 from BASE Coach Sales; the electric repower of the new Routemaster bus operated by Metroline from Transport for London and Equipmake; EVM’s Grand Toro and Visigo midicoaches and the Novociti Volt battery-electric bus; the Irizar e-mobility ie tram in right-hand drive format; Mellor’s Sigma 8 UK debut; the revised DAF LF-based Turas 900s in PSVAR compliant format from Noone Turas; Scania (Great Britain)’s new battery-electric bus chassis; battery-electric products from Switch Mobility; Temsa’s HD13 coach; and a Volvo 9700 coach from Volvo Group (UK).
Plus, the latest models from eVersum Solutions, GM Coachwork, Harris Bus & Coach UC, Illesbus Automotive, Irizar UK, London Hire, Pelican Bus and Coach, PHVC Minibus & Fleet Suppliers, TBC Conversions, Treka Bus, and Van Hool.
The new Zero Emission Zone, sponsored by ESP Utilities Group and Enel X Way, gave visitors the opportunity to experience the newest vehicles designed to decarbonise passenger travel first hand.
Innovation Challenge: The results
The latest product launches were in abundance, with several competing in the Innovation Challenge.
The Challenge was introduced to highlight the industry’s best recently launched initiatives. Following an initial round of visitor voting, 10 finalists (from 24 entries) went on to pitch their products to a panel of judges before the winners were announced on 3 November.
Wheely-Safe Ltd took home the Gold Award. Its in-motion wheel loss detection system incorporates brake and hub temperature monitoring with an intelligent tyre pressure monitoring system. The results are as follows:
Gold Award
- Wheely-Safe – Wheely-Safe Ltd
Silver Award
- Driver’s Mate – DriveTech (UK)
- Journeo Portal – Journeo
- TM Guide App – EOS Training
Bronze Award
- Evolve – CitySwift
- Scenic Buses – Mangopear Creative
- Stratio Predictive Battery Analytics – Battery Cortex Project
- The Connected Workshop – Freeway Fleet Systems
- Ticketer’s Smart Gateway – Ticketer
- TransXChange Studio – Elydium
Judges included Phil Hitchen from Belle Vue Coaches; Chloe Leach-O’Connell from Leach-O’Connell Consultancy; Chris Remnant from Abellio London; Tom Morgan from trentbarton; and Josh Miles from CPT Cymru.
For full details about all the entries and winners, visit click here.
A ‘must-attend’ event
For thousands of bus and coach professionals, Euro Bus Expo is firmly established as the place to experience the latest vehicles, discover innovations, network, and learn from industry thought leaders.
“Euro Bus Expo is a must-attend event that should be a permanent feature of any local authority's calendar,” says Rob Fryer, RTI officer at Derbyshire County Council.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet industry colleagues as well as suppliers, old and new” says Chris Owens, managing director at Alpine Travel.
The show is highly regarded by operators of all business sizes. Martin Bryant, director of Bryant Travel says it’s “an eye opener” and “puts fears aside for smaller operators believing they can't compete against the big companies”. He recommends smaller businesses attend to “find your full potential”.
Leah Tuckley from Shellard Travel agrees: “it’s the “perfect event to start up or expand your business”. Ian Hobson, director at Hobson Travel also agrees. “It’s the highlight of our year” he explains, and it “makes your business stronger with everything it has to offer”.[/dt_quote][ultimate_spacer height="10"]
Connecting key players
Over 200 manufacturers and suppliers exhibited, seeing it as the perfect opportunity to connect with all the key people in the industry. Many have commented on the sales opportunities generated, and visitors’ intent to make purchase decisions and specify orders.
Ilesbus says it is has been the most successful show for the firm. Its director, Gary Johns explains: “The number of vehicles we’ve sold on the stand is amazing. We sold our first vehicle as soon as the doors opened on day one and sold a further 58 over the three days! Aside from the sales, it was great to see current and new customers.”
Likewise, Equipmake says Euro Bus Expo 2022 “exceeded” its expectations. Jasmine Bishop from Equipmake adds: “It was a fantastic event to unveil and showcase our latest projects and technology.”
“Switch had a brilliant few days at Euro Bus Expo. We’ve received such positive feedback on our approach to design and our technology offering – it’s great to be able to spend quality time listening to the needs of our customers and colleagues in the industry,” says Martin Brailey.
“The show goes from strength to strength. It gives us the perfect platform to showcase our products and services to visitors, whether that be existing customers or new,” says John Shier from London Hire.
“We had an excellent show and met many new operators who expressed an interest in working with us,” says Gary Trotter from First Travel Solutions.
Penny Moore from PHVC Minibus & Fleet Suppliers, says: “We really enjoyed reacquainting with many people within the industry, receiving fabulous feedback regarding our vehicles, and meeting new and current customers. There was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the show.”
Says Dirk Snauwaert from Van Hool: “We had some doubts prior to Euro Bus Expo given the industry’s landscape. By the end of day one, considering the number and the quality of the visitors and the orders signed, all initial questions and doubts were far behind us. At Euro bus Expo, we instilled a lot of confidence for our future in the UK market.”
“Euro Bus Expo gave us the opportunity to reconnect with existing customers and meet new ones. Most pleasing though was actually writing business with those new clients,” says Steve Low from Mistral Group.
Says Tommy Morris from Antenna and Cables (part of the Bridge Group of Companies): “We were delighted with the response at our stand. No doubt we will be back. It was great to showcase our bus antennas and cable assemblies and get feedback from visitors.’
Awarding excellence
The routeone Awards for coach, bus, and minibus operators coincided with Euro Bus Expo. Held on the evening of 2 November at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, the black-tie event was a remarkable celebration, with 19 of the industry’s high achievers and pioneers rewarded in front of a record-breaking audience, with 820 tickets sold.
To see the winners, please visit www.routeoneawards.com/winners.
Save the date for Coach & Bus UK 2023
Stands are already filling up for next year’s event – Coach & Bus UK. It returns to the NEC in Birmingham on 8-9 November 2023. Euro Bus Expo will return the following year in 2024. For further information, please visit www.coachandbusuk.co.uk.
About the Organisers
Diversified Communications UK Ltd (Diversified UK) is a fast-growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton. Diversified UK’s transport & travel portfolio includes Euro Bus Expo; Coach & Bus UK; routeone magazine; routeone Awards; the British Tourism & Travel Show; and the British Coach Tourism Awards. For more information, visit: www.divcom.co.uk.
Diversified UK is part of Diversified Communications, a leading international media company with a portfolio of face-to-face exhibitions and conferences, online communities and digital and print publications in over 15 industries. Established in 1949 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, USA with divisions and offices around the world, Diversified Communications remains a privately held, third generation, family-owned business.
For more information, visit: www.divcom.com.
New DRT service "The Robin" reaches people in rural areas
Over 6,000 households which have no access to a car in Gloucester now have access to buses on demand.
A new on-demand bus service, ‘The Robin’, launched in mid-October, offers rural residents in the Forest of Dean and Cotswolds new access to public transport.
The new service will serve over a hundred small towns, villages and hamlets that have no public transport links or services with extremely low frequencies. These areas also include a large number of households with no access to a car: 5,000 households in the Forest of Dean and 1,600 household in the Cotswold area. Lack of transport options means that thousands of local people have very limited transport options – and may be dependent on friends or family to access essential services, jobs, education and go shopping.
The Robin will cover two areas. One minibus serves the southern area, the Forest of Dean, covering an area about 23 miles long, with the village of Huntley in the north and the small town of Chepstow in the south. The service can be booked from 70 villages and hamlets across the area, from over a hundred ‘virtual stops’. Two minibuses cover the northern section – the Cotswolds area, from Chipping Campden in the north to Windrush, 20 miles south, serving over 50 villages and hamlets. The service runs from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday.
Users can book the service by phone, app or online and tickets can be bought online and in the app or with cash or card payment on the bus. The trips cost £2.50 for up to 7 miles and £4.00 over 7 miles, concessionary pass holders are free and children travel at reduced fares. The 16-seat minibuses are fully accessible by wheelchair and the wheelchair space is reserved on booking.
The service’s areas were designed to improve connections for people who have few or no public transport links close to their homes. As demand is difficult to predict in sparsely populated areas, fixed-line services can be difficult to run efficiently. DRT services run when people need them and the ability to book in advance offers certainty for people requiring onward connections. The new service is aimed at ensuring people can get where they need to go – including connecting them to fixed-line bus and rail services. People can book upto two weeks in advance and upto an hour before they want to travel. The DRT platform designs and optimises routes to ensure that people reach their destinations on time. The algorithm ensures that the service cannot be booked in competition with fixed route buses when are running – ensuring that any existing services are not undermined.
The Robin service is a two-year trial designed by Gloucester County Council, which was awarded £1.35 million funding by the government’s Rural Mobility Fund. Buses are operated by local bus operators, using the Padam Mobility DRT platform.
Data generated by the platform will help shape the services and inform future planning to meet the needs of Gloucester residents beyond the end of the trial.