MDs and senior directors from the big five – Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach along with coach operators from across the country – attend their industry show.
Coach & Bus UK proved a big hit with the nation’s coach, bus and mini-vehicle operators last week, welcoming 5,672 attendees from across the UK to the NEC Birmingham over 2-3 October.
Key innovators, influencers, buyers, specifiers and senior decision makers – the who’s who of the multi-million-pound domestic coach and bus industry – were out in force. Notably, around a third of visiting operators were owners, partners, CEOs or MDs. That’s a 5% rise in senior executives at the show (compared to 2017).
Richard Crump, MD of Pelican Bus and Coach Yutong, called it ‘outstanding’. “The quality of visitors has once again been first rate,” he says.
Among the attendees this year were representatives from: Abellio, Alfa Travel, Arriva, Bath Bus Company, Big Bus Tours, Blackpool Transport Services, Bluestar & Unilink, Brighton & Hove Buses, Bournemouth Transport – Yellow Buses, Bus Eireann, Bus Feda, Centrebus, Department for Transport, Diamond Buses, Edwards Coaches, First, Go Ahead, Greys of Ely, HTC Group, Johnsons Coaches, Kearney’s Coaches, Leger Holidays, Lothian Buses, Lucketts Group, McGill’s Buses, Megabus, Metroline, National Express, Nottingham City Transport, OneBus, Oxford Bus Company, Passenger Plus, RATP Dev, Reading Buses, Reays Coaches, Rotala, Scottish Citylink, Selwyns Travel, Sharpes of Nottingham, Shearings, Stagecoach, The Kings Ferry, The Travellers Choice, Tiger Coaches, Tower Transit, Translink, Transport for London, TrawsCymru, Trentbarton, Transdev, Uno Buses, Warrington’s Own Buses, Woods Travel and York Pullman Bus Co.
Local authorities, community transport providers, transport specifiers, and partnership coordinators – from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, were also well represented.
Event director Helen Conway says: “Coach & Bus UK is where the industry does business. Once again, it was buzzing with networking, deals, launches and big reveals – as customers, suppliers, friends and colleagues came together to enjoy all the best and latest developments at their industry show.
“This year, there were 192 exhibitors and 88 vehicles on display – filling over 16,000 sqm at the NEC. The Theatre drew standing room only crowds looking to hear insights, strategies and advice from business leaders from the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT), Stagecoach, Transport for London, and more.
“Our show features were very well-received and busy throughout – including the miniplus Area, and new additions: the Innovation Challenge and Zero Emissions Zone – with ride on demos of some of the most environmentally-friendly fleet vehicles in the market (thanks to Alexander Dennis and BYD, London Hire and Pelican Bus & Coach / Yutong for taking part), and, of course, the first public demo of the UK’s first full-size autonomous bus. The Enviro200, developed by Fusion Processing, Alexander Dennis and Stagecoach Group, was certainly one of the stars of the show.
“Huge thanks, as always, must go to all our exhibitors, visitors, speakers and media partners. And we’re particularly grateful for the continuing support of our event partner – CPT. We look forward to seeing you all at Euro Bus Expo next year.”
An unmissable show
For those visitors who came in their thousands, Coach & Bus UK is ‘essential’ for keeping up with the latest innovations, solutions, and insights. While for the show’s 192 exhibiting companies, it was the perfect opportunity to connect with all the key people in the industry in one place.
An excellent show, and a great opportunity to network with existing contacts, and meet new businesses – all under one roof,” says Jon Harman, head of fleet at First UK Bus.
“Coach & Bus UK 2019 was an essential part of our supply chain and market engagement process. It provided valuable insights into emerging technologies, topical industry themes and product innovations, specifically in regard to emissions and clean air developments,” says Mark Osmer, group fleet procurement at Translink.
“Coach & Bus UK was a useful event to see first-hand recent developments in vehicle specs, to ‘touch & feel’ the features emerging in the sector that will support the NTA’s advancement of the public transport customer experience,” says Tim Gaston, director of public transport services at National Transport Authority (Ireland).
“I found the show very helpful to meet with a range of suppliers in a short space of time, and to inspire purchasing choices over the next year,” says Robert Williams, chief executive officer of Reading Buses.
“Coach & Bus UK continues to provide the basis for great networking opportunities while showcasing all the latest innovations and improved technology within the industry,” says James Horseman, company director at Horseman Coaches.
“Coach & Bus UK is always a great reminder of why it’s such an exciting time to be a part of this industry. It’s a great chance to be able to see what innovative ideas are out there and what opportunities there are for us to keep moving forward,” says Hayley Russell, head of National Express UK private hire at National Express.
Innovation Challenge – The results
Freeway Fleet Systems and Ticketer struck gold at Coach & Bus UK, winning the show’s first ever Innovation Challenge. Their new innovations — Freeway’s Fleet In Your Pocket management app and Ticketer’s multi-operator passenger app Kazoot — were awarded gold, while nine other finalists took home silver awards.
The Innovation Challenge was launched to recognise and reward the industry’s best new developments of the last 12 months (including passenger transport tech, vehicle accessories, and workshop equipment etc). Following an initial round of visitor voting on opening day, 11 finalists (from 19 entries) went on to pitch their products to a panel of industry judges on Thursday 3 October. The results are below:
Gold Awards
- Freeway Fleet Systems – Fleet In Your Pocket
- Ticketer – Kazoot
Silver Awards
- 21st Century – Journeo™ Transit
- Affinity – School Bus Tracker
- Alliance Transport Technologies – E400HX Service Exchange Hybrid Battery Pack
- Firetrace Ltd – Firetrace Automatic Fire Suppression System for Electric Vehicles
- INIT – eMOBILE
- INSO – INSO Digitally Printed Flooring
- Phoenix Seating – All Buckled Up
- Premier Pits – BrakeMate
- UrbanThings – Ticketless
Judges included Phil Hitchen, MD of Belle Vue Coaches; Chloe Leach-O’Connell, MD of Leach-O’Connell Consultancy; Jon Eardley, engineering director UK Bus at Abellio; Tom Morgan, service delivery director at trentbarton; and (head judge) Graham Vidler, CEO of CPT.
Of course, innovation wasn’t limited to just one area at the show – it was up and down every aisle. Visitors were among the first to see: Pelican Bus and Coach / Yutong’s TCe12 zero-emission full electric coach; Temsa’s new MD9 midicoach and full-size HD12 luxury touring coach (on the Arriva Bus and Coach stand); Ilesbus’ Calista midicoach built on a Mercedes-Benz Atego chassis; MAN MOBIpeople Explorer’s 3.6m high floor option from B.A.S.E; Harris Auto’s Crusader minicoach and minibus range; Donegal Commercial Vehicles’ new luxury Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minicoach; and the UK debut of BKM’s first right-hand drive E4200P electric bus (the occasion was marked by a show visit from Sergei Aleinik, Belarus’ Ambassador to the UK).
Plus, the latest models from Dawsongroup Bus and Coach, EVM Direct, GM Coachwork, Irizar UK, Mellor Coachcraft, Moseley (PCV), Noone Turas/Brian Noone, Nu-Track, PHVC Minibus & Fleet Suppliers, Stanford Coachworks, TBC Conversions, Treka Bus, UNVI Bus & Coach, and Volvo Bus.
For information about the vehicles at the show, visit: www.coachandbusuk.co.uk/vehicle-guide.
To view this year’s photo gallery, visit: www.coachandbusuk.co.uk/show-news/coach-bus-uk-2019-photo-gallery
Save the date for Euro Bus Expo 2020
The next event – Euro Bus Expo is already 65% sold out of exhibition space over a year before doors open. It returns to the NEC in Birmingham on 3-5 November. Coach & Bus UK will take place the following year, in October 2021.
For further information, please visit www.coachandbusuk.co.uk or www.eurobusxpo.com.
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Media enquiries & photo requests to:
Emma-Louise Jones, Head of PR
t: +44 (0)1273 645134
e: [email protected]
Website: www.divcom.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DiversifiedUK
Jacqui Trayford, Marketing Executive
t: +44 (0)1733 405749
e: [email protected]
Website: www.coachandbusuk.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/coachandbusuk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/coachandbusuk
Event Director:
Helen Conway
e: [email protected]
Exhibitor sales enquiries to:
Martin Laverton, Sales Manager
t: +44 (0)1733 405735
e: [email protected]
Notes:
Show images are available to download via this link (more on request): www.coachandbusuk.co.uk/show-news/coach-bus-uk-2019-photo-gallery
Diversified Communications UK Ltd (Diversified UK) is a fast-growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton, Peterborough, Nailsworth and London. Diversified UK’s transport & travel portfolio includes Coach & Bus UK; Euro Bus Expo; routeone magazine; routeone Awards; miniplus; British Tourism & Travel Show; British Coach Tourism Awards; CDC News; and CDC Tourism Yearbook. 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. As producers of these market-leading products Diversified Communications connects, educates and strengthens business communities in over 15 industries including: food and beverage, healthcare, natural and organic, business management and technology. 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.