Louise Cheeseman will join TfL on 2 August as its new Director of Buses.
Louise moves to TfL from Hull Trains, where she has been Managing Director since 2018 and is credited with achieving improvements in both performance and customer experience, while overseeing the introduction of a fleet of new, more environmentally friendly trains. Louise started her career in transport as a train guard for Hull Trains in 2001. Before starting her role as Managing Director of Hull Trains, Louise held key operational and safety roles at Serco Docklands and the Metrolink tram network in Manchester.
Gareth Powell, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said: “I’m thrilled that Louise will be joining us to lead the decarbonisation of London’s buses while helping this iconic form of transport support London’s sustainable recovery.
“Louise’s proven track record of success in operations and people leadership stood out in a high-calibre field of candidates. I’m very much looking forward to working with Louise at such an important time for the city.”
Louise said of her appointment: “I am immensely proud to be joining TfL — an iconic organisation I have long admired. The opportunity to run the London bus network, the beating heart of the capital’s transport system, is enormously exciting and I can’t wait to get started.”
Before the pandemic, London’s buses supported more than 6 million trips a day, and the network operates more than 500 electric buses, giving TfL has one of the largest electric bus fleets in Europe.
With sustained financial support from the Government, TfL says it could look to bring forward its deadline to achieve a fully zero-emission bus fleet from 2037 to 2030, to reduce carbon emissions and address the public health emergency caused by dirty air.
