Following the return of the Young Bus Managers Conference held in Portsmouth last October, the next conference has now been announced, and will be held at the Holiday Inn in Cardiff city centre on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 April.
The keynote speaker will be Carla Stockton-Jones, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, who will speak to delegates about her views of the bus industry in the UK today and look ahead to its prospects.
Hosted by Cardiff Bus, the Wednesday will give participants a chance to see the recently-unveiled fleet of 36 electric buses that the operator recently introduced, as well as some ‘controversial’ bus lane removals in the city. The after dinner speaker will be James Price, Chief Executive of Transport for Wales (TfW), who will give his insight into the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in Wales.
On the Thursday, following Carla’s address, there will be presentations from within the Young Bus Managers Network team. Participants will also learn about TfW’s experiences with Fflecsi, its demand-responsive service, and there will be a ‘Dragons’ Den’-type session in which a team of industry experts, including Margaret Everson and Andrew Sherrington from TfW, Bev Fowles (Managing Director of South Wales Transport and Vice Chairman of the Coach & Bus Association Cymru, or CaBAC), Transdev’s Alex Hornby and Go-Ahead’s Martijn Gilbert, will listen to presentations from participants who will have been working on the industry’s road to net zero.
The event will close with a 30-minute presentation by well-known designer Ray Stenning of Best Impressions.
