Sarina Mitchell

On top of the really good insights from Transport Focus on the Your Bus Journey results last week new figures show bus passenger numbers in Portsmouth are up 17% on last year which is true testament to the great partnership without partners Stagecoach (South) Limited and FIRSTBUS (SOUTH) LIMITED. Showing that true, open partnership is at the forefront of passenger growth.

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The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has implemented a more efficient, remote approach for evaluating transport operators throughout Great Britain, called Desk-Based Assessments (DBAs). As DBAs become more common, it's crucial for transport operators to understand their purpose, the reasons they may be initiated, and how to respond appropriately. Being proactive and well-prepared can mean the difference between passing without issue and facing significant regulatory consequences. If you would like more details on our DBAs support service please contact Craig on 07949 577250 or email at [email protected] Visit our website www.hgvcompliancecsg.co.uk

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Yesterday’s NashTech Supply Chain resilience round table was a dynamic and thoughtful discussion. A sincere thank you to our keynote speaker, Vice Admiral Andy Kyte CB FCILT CB FCILT, Chief of Defence Logistics, for sharing his candid and insightful perspectives. And an equally heartfelt thank you to West Midlands Region (WMR) - CILT(UK) a vibrant and active collective, for driving and championing these important sessions that are shaping the face of collaboration. Richard Atkinson CBE expert hosting and facilitation ensured all the voices were heard. After 8 months at Babcock International Group I am still joining the dots and conversations I had with Rebecca Ryan and Luke Myring pointed me in the direction of activity in Babcock - Land sector and Babcock - Marine sector that is relevant to Babcock - Nuclear sector and I look forward to those follow up conversations. My key takeaway was Andy Kytes framing “what do we mean by resilience” and it is here I will be suggesting we focus some energy. By defining and agreeing what we mean by Resilient Supply Chains, a challenge perhaps best suited to independent impartial bodies such at the CILT (UK) King's College London and Aston University supported by the network, we can collaborate with purpose, that purpose being to improve resilience . There is much to do, but the body of experts invested in improving the status quo suggests this shouldn’t be an arduous, lengthy task. We all want to meet our #Net_Zero_Targets and apply new technologies to address the aging workforce and skills gaps. So why not work on them together, smarter, faster, more efficient. Thank you to everyone concerned for a great session and I look forward to us collectively achieving -#Supply_Chain_Resilience #SupplyChainResilience #Collaboration #Logistics #CILT #Leadership #IndustryInsights

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The Traffic Commissioners have today issued guidance relating to independent compliance audits and what an ‘acceptable’ audit looks like. Read more in my latest blog. #JMW #roadtransport #compliance #psv #hgv #trafficcommissioner #audit Scott Bell James Harvey Rachel Airriess JMW Solicitors LLP

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Changes to Driver CPC 🚚🚌 Being an HGV, bus, or coach driver in the UK requires a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). In 2023, the government consulted on making significant changes to this qualification, aimed at making it more flexible for drivers who operate solely within the UK. From 3 December 2024, the way drivers can stay qualified is evolving. These changes are designed to offer more adaptable options for maintaining your professional status. Additionally, from 1 February 2025, the process for returning to professional driving will become more straightforward, easing the transition back into the industry. These changes are not about scrapping Driver CPC but rather enhancing flexibility and accessibility. Stay updated and make the most of these new opportunities to keep your career on the road. Link is in the comments of the changes, What are your thoughts? #TransportNews #DriverCPC #UKLogistics #HGVDrivers

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Following a very thought-proviking Podcast 'Beyond Bias: Mastering inclusive recruitment by #womenintransport . It is great to see Northernrail, have put in place more inclusive ways in their recruitment process, supporting equity for Neurodiversity in Transport. 👏 Catch the Women in Transport podcast here https://lnkd.in/eXRjUeeX

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CrossCountry Trains [XC] are ordered by the UK government to produce an improvement plan. This article from the Railway Gazette explains that the SoS for Transport Louise Haigh MP has written to XC to demand improvements. 👇 https://lnkd.in/eDnfGcS4 XC provide Sheffield's hourly services from Plymouth via Birmingham to Edinburgh. It also ordinarily would provide an hourly Reading/Birmingham/Sheffield/Doncaster/Newcastle service, but this is currently suspended. This government announcement really makes me laugh out loud. Why? XC is underperforming - agreed - but government could do no better short term, if the service was brought into full public control. XC already have a recovery plan. The previous government took away 5 high capacity trains from XC and made them spread their Voyager jam more thinly. The previous government then allowed them to lease 12 extra Voyagers [3 have arrived so far]. Tell me what more XC can do with the resources at its disposal over what it is already doing? The truth: this is political opportunism. The government wants full control of the railways and, if I were XC, I would just hand in the keys right now. What will then happen is that government will suddenly find a magic money tree to improve XC services because, if it didn't, then it would face criticism for the poor service and, in particular, horrendous shortage of seats on many XC services, leading to sardine conditions. The book would stop with government rather than being blamed on the operator, so money will have to be invested. Let's be honest with ourselves. XC's problems are mostly caused by government's failure to invest and its constant demands for cuts to operating costs. Yes, XC has not helped itself by failing to take action earlier, with, for example, a significant crew shortage in Birmingham. For the record, and I say this regularly, I have no preference for how the rail service is operated in Great Britain. I just know that XC is a victim of government policy and could run a much better service with the required investment. It will not get that investment from Louise Haigh MP because she wants XC into full public ownership.

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Kicking off this year’s Rail Safety Week at the Rail Safety Week Conference in Manchester. Some thought provoking content this morning covering communication, performance vs safety, investigations, and communication. Today at Lumo and Hull Trains we are highlighting to our colleagues the importance of reporting adverse events. We are including tips on how to write a strong, factual report to enable our investigations to identify cause and opportunities for improvement. #RSW24 #BuildingSafetyTogether

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Kicking off this year’s Rail Safety Week at the Rail Safety Week Conference in Manchester. Some thought provoking content this morning covering communication, performance vs safety, investigations, and communication. Today at Lumo and Hull Trains we are highlighting to our colleagues the importance of reporting adverse events. We are including tips on how to write a strong, factual report to enable our investigations to identify cause and opportunities for improvement. #RSW24 #BuildingSafetyTogether

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Here is the Salary Survey form for the Transport Planning industry outside of London and the South East. We are also including EDI questions so we can run some hopefully useful analysis on this. These questions are optional and all responses are anonymous. Please take the time so that I can provide some insights across the UK transportation discipline. Thanks #transportplanning #transportmodelling https://lnkd.in/ekA3R6M5

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The DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness has been updated this week (Link below) with further changes expected in April 2025. This is an essential document for vehicle operators, and you can expect some tough questions from DVSA and the Traffic Commissioner if your maintenance procedures don't align with this guide. An independent audit can assess your level of compliance and provide feedback and guidance so you can take action before DVSA arrive at your door. Get in touch for further information. #Compliance #TransportManager #ComplianceAudit #FleetOperator #Transport #Haulage #FleetComplianceServices https://lnkd.in/ecTMnWGf

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RFG is delighted to have launched its third Cross-Member Mentoring Programme. This exciting and popular scheme encourages knowledge sharing and career growth within the UK's rail freight sector. It is free to members and aimed at anyone working within rail freight and at any stage of their career. Some 69 mentees were supported with a mentor partnership in the 2023-2024 cohorts, with an average of 27 different organisations being represented, providing people in freight the opportunity to develop new skills and expand knowledge of the many different areas of rail freight over a 12-month period. Click the link for details on how to get involved and read more testimonials for past mentors and mentees. https://buff.ly/4f3cHnr #railfreight #mentoring #logistics #supplychain #rail #railways

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I have slightly amended this so that we can also look at EDI within our industry. All optional and anonymous, but hopefully will provide some useful insights. It is anonymous, so please take the 8 seconds it will take you to fill it in. This is for London and South East. Another regional one will come out shortly. Please share too. TIA! #transportplanning #transportmodelling #transporteconomics

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Well my post from yesterday may already be redundant. Apparently the missing piece of secondary legislation has been signed and we are still on track for 28 October! Extract from the TPP .gov website: "We are working towards a ‘go-live’ date for the new regime of 28 October 2024. The Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No.3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024, which legislatively set out the go-live date of 28 October 2024 by specifying the date on which the substantive provisions of the Act will come into force, were signed on 23 May. The commencement regulations are not subject to a prescribed parliamentary procedure and can be viewed on legislation.gov.uk." #PA23 #procurementact #tpp #procurementreform

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UK charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and its volunteer-led Sight Loss Councils (SLCs), have marked the end of Catch the Bus Month with the launch of a new approved training resource for bus and coach drivers.  The package is designed to help drivers provide best practice customer service to blind or partially sighted (BPS) passengers. The training, ‘Vision Impairment Awareness for Bus Drivers’, has the potential to impact all bus and coach drivers. Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has approved the materials for member use and the package is now available in the CPT Compliance Manual. (See Chapter 12). Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has also confirmed that the content is suitable for use in Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) training. Blind and partially sighted volunteers created the training using first hand, lived experience of bus travel and worked closely with CPT member Brighton and Hove. The training is narrated by Paralympic Gold Medallist, Lora Fachie OBE.   The training resource aims to build confidence and inform bus and coach drivers on how best to support blind and partially sighted customers. Research by the TPT showed 65 per cent of BPS people cite access to public transport as a key issue that matters to them the most (Listening Month, 2022). Those with vision impairments are often very reliant on buses, and some simple examples of how drivers can help include stopping when they see BPS people at the bus stop, speaking to the BPS passenger, giving the bus number and destination, and offering support such as locating a spare seat and announcing their arrival stop.

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Some very interesting insights discussed during our 1st webinar. Great to be involved. #publicsectorprocurement #procurementbill #SMEs #publicsectorframeworks #logisticsandfulfilment

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It’s Bus Users UK’s ‘Catch the bus month’. This is not a post about one of their fantastic foam hands to promote bus use (I don’t have one currently.) Although this is a great campaign which TravelMaster® is supporting and you may see posts about soon. However, if you are ever wondering why you should catch the bus or why I ‘harp on about it’. Then this report from Confederation of Passenger Transport gives a great overview of why the bus is great for the economy. Link in comments to more detail👇 #catchthebusmonth #cpt #catchthebus #passengertransport #publictransport #travelbybus #economy

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📢Opportunity Alert Our 2025 apprentice programme is now open across the UK. The World Economic Forum estimates that at least half of all employees globally will need reskilling by 2025. According to global research by PwC, 39 per cent of workers around the world think their job will be obsolete within five years, but 77 per cent are willing to retrain. Apprentice Programmes are a fabulous way to professionalize or refocus your career. Take a look.

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