European Bus Forum 2015 – Show Preview

Back in Manchester by popular demand, the 2015 European Bus Forum will present leading figures from the European bus industry, who will come together to debate everything of critical importance to the development of Europe’s bus networks. Taking place on 2 July 2015, the event has attracted a great deal of interest and support within the industry, and over the next few pages, you can read about who is involved and why this looks set to be Intelligent Transport’s best bus event to date.

There are five billion journeys made by bus each year in Great Britain. That’s more than three times the number of journeys undertaken by rail and four times the number of journeys on the London Underground. Buses take 2.5 million people to work every day, many of whom would not otherwise be able to participate in the labour market; a further one million commuters rely on the bus as an essential back-up. Overall, bus passengers are estimated to contribute £64 billion to economic output and deliver around £27 billion of retail and leisure spending directly into town and city centres.

Buses therefore have a significant role to play in reducing climate change and other environmental objectives, in reducing congestion where they lead to modal shift and in contributing to social inclusion by delivering accessibility, particularly for vulnerable groups. In this 2015 election year, the bus industry is at the brink of potentially massive changes to the running of its networks with the debate over reregulating its market looming and funding options under review dependant on who comes out on top in May (read our election overview on page 5).

The European Bus Forum held on the 2 July 2015, looks set to become our biggest event yet. Bringing together the knowledge and expertise of more than 40 senior leading industry experts to share their visions, ideas and new technologies, and to discuss the most pressing issues currently facing the European bus sector this should be the most important bus conference in your 2015 diary. Our opening presentations include EBSF Project Director, Umberto Guida, Stephen Joseph from Campaign for Better Transport, Claire Haigh, CEO at Greener Journeys, plus our Host Jon Lamonte, Chief Executive at Transport for Greater Manchester, who will share with us what the future holds under its new plans for a regulated system. Alongside this are our focused breakout groups including Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), Smart Ticketing and Payments, Alternative Fuels, RTPI and New Technologies, Making Bus the Mode of Choice and Vehicle Specification and Accessibility.

And don’t forget our beautiful Gala Dinner on Wednesday 1 July 2015, held at the Manchester Museum, raising money for school buses in Kenya (read our Gala Dinner overview on page 9)…