Restoring public trust in buses: Meeting the needs of passengers
Ahead of Trapeze Group’s webinar on 28 September 2021, Paul Attenborough, Programme Director at Trapeze, sat down with Intelligent Transport to discuss some of the key learning points of the webinar and to offer some insight into the challenges that the bus industry is facing post-pandemic.
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the public transport industry. What challenges are currently being faced by the industry following the pandemic?
Obviously there has been a huge ridership impact, which affects both bus operators and regional authorities. Bus passengers are returning, and I expect that this trend will continue over the coming months, but we all know that it will take time for ridership to fully recover to pre-COVID-19 levels. And that is without fully understanding any longer-term behavioural impacts, such as the acceleration of home working trends.
However, I think that the challenge before us is not merely to position the bus industry for post-pandemic recovery; it is to present the bus as the dominant mobility solution for the next 20 years. We must evolve and enhance the bus proposition, ensuring that it is as convenient, safe and reliable as possible. In this way, we will deliver mobility that is in-line with modern passenger expectations and avoid the catastrophe of a car-led mobility future.
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the public transport industry. What challenges are currently being faced by the industry following the pandemic?
Obviously there has been a huge ridership impact, which affects both bus operators and regional authorities. Bus passengers are returning, and I expect that this trend will continue over the coming months, but we all know that it will take time for ridership to fully recover to pre-COVID-19 levels. And that is without fully understanding any longer-term behavioural impacts, such as the acceleration of home working trends.
However, I think that the challenge before us is not merely to position the bus industry for post-pandemic recovery; it is to present the bus as the dominant mobility solution for the next 20 years. We must evolve and enhance the bus proposition, ensuring that it is as convenient, safe and reliable as possible. In this way, we will deliver mobility that is in-line with modern passenger expectations and avoid the catastrophe of a car-led mobility future.
www.intelligenttransport.com
