CPT and UKCOA join forces to form Coach UK representative body
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and the UK Coach Operators Association (UKCOA) have joined forces to create a new Coach UK body that will represent businesses in the sector.
It will be part of CPT and have more than 500 members with 10,000 vehicles. The Confederation says that Coach UK will be run by operators, for operators, and bring the coach industry together “to create a stronger, deeper community” that supports those businesses and provides practical advice.
CPT Chief Executive Graham Vidler notes that the amalgamation has been under discussion for some time. “We knew from the start that it made sense to provide a single, stronger voice for the coach industry,” he says.
The body will raise the influence and profile of coach operators in each of the market segments they serve, CPT notes. Those include scheduled duties, home-to-school travel, tourism-related services and international work, and local trips.
Priorities for Coach UK include mitigating high fuel costs, keeping regulation at a proportionate level, and pushing for a roadmap to decarbonisation. Facilities for coaches and ensuring that the sector is part of discussions with local, regional, devolved and national governments are also highlighted.
Overseeing Coach UK will be a board of directors. Its members will be drawn from the CPT Coach Commission and the UKCOA board. A first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 14 October.
That board will set policy direction, while a dedicated Coach UK team within CPT has been established. It includes existing Coaching Manager Andy Shaw along with Stephen Spendley, who moves to the Confederation from the role of UKCOA Director of Operations.
Mr Vidler has confirmed that the UKCOA identity will be retired as part of the change. UKCOA Managing Director Peter Bradley will remain in place for a transitionary period before leaving at the end of November.
Coach UK will draw on wider policy, public affairs and communications experience within CPT, the Confederation adds. Members will continue to use regional managers or devolved nations teams as their first point of contact. Mr Vidler notes how the CPT regional manager structure was strengthened earlier in 2026 and that it may be so again.
Subject to approval by CPT members, the Confederation will add a third coach industry figure to its board as part of the overhaul. That is planned to be Stephen Telling, long-serving President of UKCOA. He will sit alongside Holmeswood Coaches MD Duncan Aspinall and Chalkwell Coach Hire MD Roland Eglinton as coach representatives there.
Members of CPT and UKCOA were informed of the change on 6 October. Those within UKCOA will be welcomed to CPT, Mr Vidler explains.
Mr Telling (pictured top, left) has embraced the move. He says: “We live in challenging times, and the coach industry needs a strong advocate. By bringing UKCOA and CPT’s coaching arm together, we create an association that will be agile and respond to those challenges as they arise.
“There has never been a better time for coach operators across the UK to join a trade body, and Coach UK is the ideal solution for them.”
Adds CPT President Kathryn Pulham (pictured top, right): “This is an exciting moment for the coach industry. Coach UK brings together dynamic, entrepreneurial businesses from across the country to create a single, united voice.
“Coaches are the hidden backbone of passenger transport, delivering vital connections between communities. Coach UK will stand up for the interests of coach operators, and we will fight for our members with energy, purpose and ambition.”
Coach UK will be represented at Euro Bus Expo at the NEC Birmingham on 3-5 November, for which visitor registration is open.