Adrian Morton attends the second Annual Summit of the Women in Bus & Coach collaborative held in Manchester
Monday 8 October saw me travel the relatively short distance from my home in Knutsford to what is probably Manchester’s most iconic hotel: the Midland Hotel. A very grand and impressive structure, it opened in 1903 and was built by the Midland Railway to serve Manchester Central station.
Facing onto St Peter’s Square, it was designed by Charles Trubshaw in Edwardian Baroque style and is now a Grade II listed building. It has very recently undergone a multi-million-pound refurbishment and transformation, which was clear from the moment I stepped through the doors.
Sadly, Central station no longer exists, which meant a 15-minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly. I think to work in this industry you need to be a huge advocate of public transport, hence me taking the train to Manchester.
Our bus service provision in the town is extremely poor but the trains, when they work, are most convenient for Manchester. Thankfully, on this occasion, on both outward and return legs, Northern didn’t let me down, something which is currently sadly quite rare.
My reason for being there was the second annual Women in Bus & Coach (WiBC) summit, the previous, its launch event last year, being held in London. It aims to bring together industry leaders, stakeholders, front-line operators and advocates to celebrate the contributions of women in all roles across the bus, coach and community transport sector.
The event was attended by many key industry individuals, including the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, the Minister for Local Transport Simon Lightwood MP, the current Managing Director of Lothian Buses Sarah Boyd, recently appointed COO of Transport for London Claire Mann and the Chief Transformation Officer for Transport for Greater Manchester, Anne Marie Purcell.
What is WiBC?
WiBC’s mission is to build, unite and support women working in the bus, coach and community transport sector. The launch, as recently as 2023, set out the organisation’s National Charter. which enshrines the belief that WiBC is about providing a platform for all the women and allies the industry already has and to give them a safe and collaborative space to shine. Rather fittingly, in the first year, the focus has been on the people in our profession; the organisation has showcased women and allies who work in bus, coach and community transport through its ‘Spotlight On’ and ‘Allyship’ campaigns. It has also developed the inaugural WiBC Awards. WiBC has grown significantly as an organisation in a short period of time, and is rightly pleased and proud of its achievements but as volunteers, says it has been challenging to keep up with demand. Highlights so far include over 12,000 website visits and over 2,200 LinkedIn followers.
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