Keynote speaker Transport Minister Baroness Vere revealed further details about the future of PSVAR and zero-emission coaches at the ITT Hub-hosted UKCOA event
At its annual general meeting and conference on Tuesday 8 March, held in association with ITT Hub, the UK Coach Operators’ Association (UKCOA) heard from speakers including Baroness Vere, Leon Daniels and Westway Coaches’ David West. Held at Farnborough International, it offered members the first time to gather in person since the Association was relaunched in January 2021.
During the event, Baroness Vere laid out plans to give the coach industry the opportunity to have its voice heard over the end of sales of new diesel coaches and on issues around the infrastructure needed for zero-emission coaches.
In a move welcomed by the UKCOA, she told the conference that the Department for Transport (DfT) would be looking at each vehicle type and consulting with the sector to work out what is feasible and achievable, to enable it to set realistic targets before deciding on a realistic end date. This is however expected to be by 2040, by which date the Government plans to ban the sale of all new vehicles which are not zero-emission. The Minister had previously stated that a call for evidence is to be issued to coach operators in the near future prior to consultation, and urged operators to start considering their responses.
“I’m very interested in what hydrogen might be able to do, in terms of quicker refuelling, more range. But we’re also slightly at the behest of how technology develops as well,” she told the conference, adding that the industry must work together to develop a plan that understands that uncertainty and provides the flexibility whilst ensuring the industry is working towards a common goal.
The call for evidence will also now be considered in parallel with a review of PSVAR regulations, she said, to help allay fears that operators will have to invest significant sums twice in a short time-frame.
PSVAR is set to be reviewed by end of 2023 to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose, but the Minister warned that operators should not expect that they will suddenly disappear.
