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About Speaker

Robert Montgomery has filled Managing Director positions with major bus operating businesses in the UK, Ireland, Western Europe and the Middle East since 1983. He has a deep knowledge of how the bus industry works and has been involved in numerous initiatives over the last 40 years to successfully generate patronage growth on urban bus networks.

Currently, through busreinvented.com, he is focused on the wide ranging challenge facing the bus industry in delivering its share of the modal shift from cars to meet the UK’s commitment to delivering Net Zero. It requires much more than simply delivering a zero emission fleet.

About Speaker

Adam Leishman is founder and Executive Chairman of Ascendal Group, responsible for leading international public transport operations in four continents, with the vision of bringing cities to life.

Adam has a proven track record of delivering transformations to bus systems in some of the world’s leading cities, including London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney and has transported over 1.8bn passengers in the last ten years across his operations.

About Speaker

Over the years James has been an experienced CEO and MD of many organisations with a diverse range of disciplines. James is currently the MD of Turning Factor and is also a Director of Don’t Travel Empty and has been in the coach travel industry for 15 years.

He was recently instrumental in the establishment of the Coach Travel Group, an innovative consolidation of seven of the UK’s leading regional coach operators, to create a new National group. His role in Turning Factor is primarily to work with leadership teams in many sectors, specialising in behavioural and organisational change to improve productivity through mentoring and training, and where needed advising on decisions such as re-structures.

About Speaker

Andrew founded BluMarbl, an Energy and Transport consultancy expert and leader in transitioning buses and coaches to zero emissions.

BluMarbl is a crucial contributor to the ZE Coach Taskforce and heads up the CPT’s industry data-gathering project. They provide toolsets for operators to manage their ZE buses and coaches, and their data-based feasibility studies in Scotland recently obtained funding for operators to buy many electric coaches as part of the Zenobe consortium. BluMarbl also powers the first Coach-specific charging network platform that caters to industry-specific needs such as charger reservation.

About Speaker

Luke Marion is the Managing Director of Go-Ahead Group's Oxford division, incorporating Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel, Carousel Buses, Pulhams Coaches and City Sightseeing Oxford.

Luke is a chartered accountant, and in addition to his 12 years spent in the bus industry has gained further experience of supporting the energy transition through a non-executive role with local social enterprise Low Carbon Hub.

Over the past year Luke and his team have successfully introduced a fleet of 104 electric Wrightbus vehicles to the Oxford Bus Company and City Sightseeing Oxford fleets, including installing one of the UK's largest EV charging hubs at the company's Cowley depot site.

About Speaker

Julia is a Director of Business Development on the EV fleet team at Zenobē. Julia’s career has included a range of senior roles at mission-driven start-ups and scale-ups.

Prior to joining Zenobē she was Head of Business Development for a UK social enterprise bus operator, Chief of Staff at a microfinance organisation in China, and co-founder of a social investment resource. She has an MBA from London Business School. Recently leading the successful ScotZEB consortium bid, Julia and the rest of the Zenobe business development team works with bus and coach operators across the sector to define their electric fleet requirements and then deliver them. This includes providing financing, technical expertise and operational support.

About Speaker

Tim is Editor of routeone, the leading trade title for coach and bus. Having begun his career in the sector at 18 with bus operator First Potteries, he later spent almost 10 years in the road haulage industry before a period of study led to him becoming a journalist in 2013.

Tim has been Editor of routeone in 2018 and has now spent almost 10 years with the publication. Ably assisted by a capable team, he has led the editorial transition of the title from one built largely around print into a multiformat outlet that maintains an ever-growing web presence. Tim also co-presents the annual routeone Awards, which are widely recognised as the coach and bus industry’s Oscars.

About Speaker

Tim is Editor of routeone, the leading trade title for coach and bus. Having begun his career in the sector at 18 with bus operator First Potteries, he later spent almost 10 years in the road haulage industry before a period of study led to him becoming a journalist in 2013.

Tim has been Editor of routeone in 2018 and has now spent almost 10 years with the publication. Ably assisted by a capable team, he has led the editorial transition of the title from one built largely around print into a multiformat outlet that maintains an ever-growing web presence. Tim also co-presents the annual routeone Awards, which are widely recognised as the coach and bus industry’s Oscars.

About Speaker

Gary Jacobs has worked in the electrical industry for over 12 years, providing electrical solutions to the generation, industrial, and manufacturing markets. In his previous role at Schneider Electric Gary worked with the DNO and nuclear markets, securing £56m+ in contracts, whilst leading the digital transformation of energy management and automation.

His work with customers including EDF, GDF Suez, Eon, RWE Npower, RES, Green Frog Power and major electrical equipment manufacturers, has proven his success at helping clients secure the best value for money for their business. At Vattenfall Networks, Gary supports clients needing new and upgraded grid connections, freeing up capital, whilst helping them navigate the transition to zero carbon.

About Speaker

Phil is the Director of eBus at EO Charging and has been responsible for managing some of the UK’s largest bus operators, leading the infrastructure development as they look to decarbonise the fleet and is an expert in bus electrification. Prior to joining EO, Phil spent many years at Alexander Dennis as Programme Lead on the development of its e-bus offering for the UK, in collaboration with BYD, and North American markets. He joined the EO team in December 2021 to help accelerate its growth e-bus infrastructure division.

About Speaker

Steve Wood joined Heliox in 2021 as the Country Lead for UK and Ireland. With over 6 years of experience in the e-mobility sector, he has overseen the delivery of over 1000 DC charge points across 20 towns and cities in the UK and Ireland.

Most notable achievements include the largest e-bus depot in the UK, located in Glasgow, Scotland, the first all-EV bus depots in the Republic of Ireland, and more recently, chargers for refuse collection vehicles in London. In Scotland, Heliox has deployed chargers to dual-use ebus depots in Glasgow and Aberdeen, and are currently commissioning the most powered public chargers in Scotland located in Dundee. Heliox specialises in the electrification of e-buses, e-trucks, and heavy-duty vehicle fleets. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Heliox operates globally with local presence in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Scandinavia, and the United States.

About Speaker

Spencer has been with DVSA for over 20 years, starting as an enforcement examiner before moving to the Enforcement Policy team. Spencer and his team develop and oversee policies concerning public service vehicle and heavy goods vehicle operator licencing, accessibility, and Bus Open Data.

Spencer is a board member at the Confederation of Organisations in Road Transport Enforcement and a trainer for Euro Control Route.

With his extensive experience and expertise, Spencer contributes to promoting safety and compliance within the road transport industry.

About Speaker

James Backhouse is a specialist lawyer with over 30 years' experience in the road transport sector. His firm, Backhouse Jones, is renowned for representing the bus and coach industry. James has been involved in high-profile cases, including European Court of Justice references and a House of Lords appeal.

He also leads the firm’s training division, BACK Academy, delivering operator-specific courses and webinars. Between 2022 and 2024, 12,000 listeners registered for their webinars. Additionally, Backhouse Jones has achieved DVSA Accredited Training Status, underscoring their commitment to industry education.

About Speaker

Prior to joining CPT Graham worked in a wide variety of roles in financial services, most recently as Director of External Affairs for the workplace pensions trade body, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. He has also worked as a researcher in both the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament, led the policy team at Which? and, as Director of Communications, was a member of the start-up team which created the UK’s largest pension scheme, NEST.

About Speaker

In his role as CPT Operations Director, Keith has responsibility for engaging with a range of Government and industry stakeholders and for representing CPT on a wide variety of strategic operational matters, as well as leading the Operations Team in providing operational & technical support to CPT members.

Prior to joining CPT, Keith worked for two multinational travel and transport organisations in a variety of roles that included managing bus operations, strategic planning and managing major projects. His experience covers European and Australian, as well as UK transport operations.

Keith is an Economics & Geography graduate of Trinity College Dublin.

About Speaker

Chris is an established writer, editor and marketeer with experience of working across a range of industries, including interior design. A frequent user of public transport he is passionate about improving passenger experience and accessibility. In recent years Chris used his role at Altro to raise awareness of the benefits of considered design to the bus industry and is a frequent commentator on evolving trends in vehicle interiors.

About Speaker

Managing Director of Chalkwell Coach Hire, with 55 vehicles based in Sittingbourne, Kent. Chalkwell is diverse business providing local bus services, special educational needs transport and coach hire for private groups and organisations.

Roland is the third generation to run the family business, which was established in 1931 by his grandfather, Harry Eglinton. Whilst taking a break from the family business, Roland spent four years in Australia, mainly planning bus services for Queensland Government, covering an area seven times the size of the UK.

In recent years Chalkwell has invested in accessible transport, and expanded considerably.

About Speaker

Barclay became Bus Users UK Director for Wales in 2018 having joined as Deputy Officer in 2004. Barclay has a background in the banking and cooperative sectors where diversity and engagement with communities was a key focus. A passionate advocate of passenger rights, Barclay works closely with Welsh Government and operators to ensure the needs of passengers and communities are properly considered when developing services. Barclay was awarded an OBE in 2022 for services to Public Transport.

About Speaker

Phil has over 40 years of experience working in the coach and bus industry holding positions at all levels of operational, commercial and general management.

Since 2021, Phil has been CPT’s UK Coach Manager and has led for the organization on key issues that affect its coach members such as mounting a nationwide coach marketing campaign to help the sector bounce back following covid, highlighting the impact of EU Border reform on international coach operations and developing the Coach Friendly product that encourages key destinations served by the sector and its passengers to ensure that facilities like coach parking, passenger toilets and coach driver benefits are available.

About Speaker

Samantha studied law and languages and initially worked in the Magistrates Courts before moving into insurance claims with Norwich Union Insurance and then RPC Solicitors. In 2004 she joined the Travel & General Group as Personal Assistant to the Managing Director and CEO. After 12 years of compliance, procedural and regulatory support across the Group, her knowledge of all things PTRs and insurance bonding provided a perfect fit to take on the Membership Secretary role for ABTOT in 2016, moving to the role of Membership Director in 2018.

As Membership Director, Samantha is the primary point of contact for ABTOT and the ABTOT ATOL Franchise. In 2024 ABTOT has over 350 Members, including a dedicated coach package holiday operator scheme (BCH), an ATOL Franchise and 3 merchant acquiring schemes. Samantha is responsible for overseeing the annual Membership renewals, dealing with day to day Membership enquiries, monitoring and declaration and reporting submissions. Samantha works closely with other Industry Associations and the ABTOT Associates, presenting at internal and external events and conferences.

About Speaker

Mark has more than 40 years’ experience in the travel industry, having started at Thomas Cook immediately after leaving school. He moved into the groups and travel trade industry with Swallow Hotels, Cedar Court Hotels and as Director of Travel Trade for Best Western, before starting his current role at Continuum Attractions as Groups and Trades Manager in March 2022. He oversees UK and overseas group and trade bookings for its eight-strong portfolio throughout the UK, including the Coronation Street Experience, Emmerdale Village Tour, The Loch Ness Centre and Spinnaker Tower.

About Speaker

In his role as CPT Operations Director, Keith has responsibility for engaging with a range of Government and industry stakeholders and for representing CPT on a wide variety of strategic operational matters, as well as leading the Operations Team in providing operational & technical support to CPT members.

Prior to joining CPT, Keith worked for two multinational travel and transport organisations in a variety of roles that included managing bus operations, strategic planning and managing major projects. His experience covers European and Australian, as well as UK transport operations.

Keith is an Economics & Geography graduate of Trinity College Dublin.

About Speaker

Martin is responsible for overseeing the performance Go-Ahead’s UK bus companies outside London, stretching from Devon and Cornwall to the north-east of England. With more than three decades of experience in transport, he is also chairman of the bus trade body, the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

He was previously head of business development for Go-Ahead, where he was successful in identifying new business opportunities, both domestically and internationally which included leading the Group’s expansion into Manchester in the UK, Singapore, and the Republic of Ireland overseas.

About Speaker

Louise, born and educated in Hull in the UK, began her transport career as one of the few female front-line staff in rail. She has since become a senior leader with experience across tram, light rail, heavy rail, bus, and coach sectors. A passionate advocate for public transport’s role in addressing environmental challenges, Louise spent four years as Managing Director of Hull Trains, launching the Hitachi Paragon Fleet and navigating the business through the pandemic. Former Director of Bus at Transport for London, she is also the founder and Chair of Women in Bus and Coach, promoting diversity and skills development in the industry.

About Speaker

In her role as Operations Director for Realise, Louise leads the team in delivering high-quality apprenticeship training to new recruits across four large operators. She has also worked closely with local authorities to tackle the national driver shortage by developing and implementing the 'Route to Success' program. This initiative promotes the industry and provides essential training for individuals to obtain their PCV licence free of charge, allowing them to choose between joining a small or large operator.

About Speaker

Sam Wharfe, a forward-thinking entrepreneur, is the CEO and Founder of C9 Recruitment, one of the UK’s most recognised and fastest growing recruitment agencies specialising in the bus and coach sectors. Born in North London, Sam’s expertise spans recruitment, payroll solutions, and workforce technology. Under his leadership, C9 Recruitment has grown extremely quickly, becoming a trusted partner in addressing the industry’s driver shortage, and now offering engineers too, providing tailored recruitment and compliance solutions to key players nationwide.

A dedicated advocate for innovation in workforce management, Sam also developed Attendly, a SaaS platform designed to simplify compliance and payroll for temporary workforces, positioning C9 Recruitment as a leader in modern recruitment solutions for the transport industry.

About Speaker

Prior to joining CPT Graham worked in a wide variety of roles in financial services, most recently as Director of External Affairs for the workplace pensions trade body, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. He has also worked as a researcher in both the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament, led the policy team at Which? and, as Director of Communications, was a member of the start-up team which created the UK’s largest pension scheme, NEST.

About Speaker

Andrew founded BluMarbl, an Energy and Transport consultancy expert and leader in transitioning buses and coaches to zero emissions.

BluMarbl is a crucial contributor to the ZE Coach Taskforce and heads up the CPT’s industry data-gathering project. They provide toolsets for operators to manage their ZE buses and coaches, and their data-based feasibility studies in Scotland recently obtained funding for operators to buy many electric coaches as part of the Zenobe consortium. BluMarbl also powers the first Coach-specific charging network platform that caters to industry-specific needs such as charger reservation.

About Speaker

Mike Newman is founder and Managing Director of b2me Tourism Marketing which has run since 2003. He is an expert in travel industry engagement and has worked with destinations across the UK on strategy and development of travel trade readiness.

Mike’s domestic tourism experience includes 8 years as marketing and communications manager for the Group Travel Organisers Association (now known as AGTO) and he has worked extensively in the domestic coach market.

Currently Mike is working across regions including the North East of England, the Cotswolds and with Birmingham City Council to support international and domestic travel trade engagement.

About Speaker

Duncan Aspinall is a Director of Holmeswood Coaches Ltd, a family company that operates over 100 coaches and buses from five depots in the North West of England. The company has been involved with CPT and its predecessors since they began with both Duncan and his father before him being Chair of the North Western region on a number of occasions. Duncan has recently stepped down as Chair of the Coach Commission and is a member of the CPT Board. With their mixed fleet Holmeswood undertake a complete mix of work from School and Colleges to tours in the UK and Europe.

About Speaker

Paul is Managing Director of Dawsongroup Bus and Coach limited, a position that he has held since 2002, is a member of the Dawsongroup plc Advisory Board and has a career in transport spanning almost 40 years. From an operational background in distribution and logistics Paul joined Dawsongroup Truck and Trailer as a management trainee in 1987, was appointed a director in 1997 and held a variety of leadership positions with the company, finally moving permanently into passenger vehicles in 1998. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2024 (their highest accolade) and a member of the Institute of Directors.

Paul has just concluded his term as Global President of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and is a past-President, and still a Vice-President, of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK). He is a Board member of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, Chair of their Suppliers Commission, and member of their Governance Committee. Paul is both Secretary and Advisory Board member of the ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group for Bus and Coach, and a Board Director of ‘The Institute of Couriers’ and ‘Women in Bus and Coach’. He is also the Judge of the Transport and Infrastructure section of the ‘We are the City - Rising Stars’ Awards which promotes the female talent pipeline.

About Speaker

Simon Lightwood was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport in the Department for Transport 9 July 2024. Previously Simon was Shadow Transport Minister, appointed first in October 2022 and re-appointed in September 2023 with an expanded portfolio.

Simon was first elected as MP for Wakefield in a by-election in June 2022 and was re-elected as MP for Wakefield and Rothwell in July 2024.

Prior to being elected, Simon was a proud NHS worker, a Labour councillor and cabinet member for public health. He studied theatre acting at Bretton Hall College in Wakefield after moving to the city in the late nineties.

About Speaker

Bill is a key figure in the bus industry known for his leadership and dedication. He's the boss at Eastern Transport Holdings, which includes Stephensons of Essex and NIBS buses.

Bill spent a decade on the board of CPT, where he worked to improve things for both bus companies and passengers.

As ALBUM's Chair (since 2018), he's at the forefront of discussions that shape the future of local bus services. He brings his wealth of experience to the table, driving initiatives to improve the quality and accessibility of public transportation for everyone, including working with government bodies to represent SME’s.

About Speaker

Appointed OBE in the New Year's Honours list 2002 for services to public transport, Tony is a passionate and practical campaigner with an international reputation for 'connecting the unconnected', and inspiring individuals and organisations to work together.

Tony's dedication and advocation to the transport industry include roles as Managing Director at Blackpool Transport and Director for Transport Policy at Arriva amongst a raft of NED and Board level positions within various transport-related bodies and organisations, including CPT and more recently Policy Advisor for The Association of Local Bus Company Managers (ALBUM).

About Speaker

Now operating his own company, Future Zero Emission Ltd., giving advice on the operation and maintenance of zero-emission buses and coaches, David Yorke’s zero emission experience started in 2009 when he worked for a London bus operator where he managed the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell buses. This included the setting up of the associated fuelling station, workshop, plus overseeing the daily operation thus incorporating zero emission buses as part of the overall bus fleet. Alongside his experience in hydrogen vehicles, David is also a leading authority on other low and zero emission technologies and their operation.

About Speaker

Shane joined Kent County Council from Transport for London as a bus network development specialist to lead on implementing the next generation of Fastrack BRT. His work has included leading Kent’s ZEBRA funded electrification project as well as analysing future technologies and methodologies for enhancing buses prominence as a mode choice.  Beyond his bus development work in Kent & London, Shane has also worked with bus companies on the operational side and retains a keen interest in this aspect, keeping close to the day to day running of Fastrack, carefully monitoring operational data and customer satisfaction metrics to inform decision making.

About Speaker

Tim is Editor of routeone, the leading trade title for coach and bus. Having begun his career in the sector at 18 with bus operator First Potteries, he later spent almost 10 years in the road haulage industry before a period of study led to him becoming a journalist in 2013.

Tim has been Editor of routeone in 2018 and has now spent almost 10 years with the publication. Ably assisted by a capable team, he has led the editorial transition of the title from one built largely around print into a multiformat outlet that maintains an ever-growing web presence. Tim also co-presents the annual routeone Awards, which are widely recognised as the coach and bus industry’s Oscars.

About Speaker

Dr. Grant Charlesworth-Jones is uniquely qualified as both a GP and a Barrister, bringing a wealth of experience from the medical, legal, and occupational health fields. His diverse background inspired him to create D4Drivers, now the UK's largest provider of driver health assessments.

Driven by a passion for improving road safety, he also spearheaded the Driving Better Health charity, which has garnered widespread industry support. In collaboration with Loughborough University, the charity is leading groundbreaking research into how occupational driving impacts the health of professional drivers. Through these efforts, Dr. Charlesworth-Jones is dedicated to advocating for more proactive and regular driver health interventions, making a strong case for improved safety regulations on the road.

About Speaker

With over 32 years of industry experience, Dal brings a profound understanding of the transport sector. Renowned as a visionary in transport ticketing, she pioneered cutting-edge mobile and contactless roll-outs long before they became mainstream, significantly impacting the success of National Express and the broader bus industry while enhancing the travel experience for the public. In 2021, Dal took on a leadership role within the Women in Transport volunteer board, spearheading the West Midlands Hub. Today, she serves as interim CEO and the co-chair of the D&I Bus Group, passionately advocating for diversity and inclusion within the sector. Dal is a frequent speaker at events, using her platform to champion the empowerment of women across the industry.

About Speaker

Ross Lockett (CMILT) has dedicated over 30 years to the logistics and transport industry, gaining extensive experience in driving, supervision, fleet control, and management across various sectors. Since 2017, he has focused on studying driver habits and fitness to drive, which led him to become a Mental Health First Aid Trainer. In this role, he has trained numerous other trainers and regularly trains hundreds of drivers. In 2019, Ross became the CEO of the Association of Trainers (ASOT) Ltd., where he plays a key role in expanding the organisation’s profile, particularly in driver and manager courses. He places a strong emphasis on mental health, prioritising the wellbeing of all staff in the logistics industry. Ross is proud to deliver courses that significantly benefit the workforce, ensuring their overall health and productivity.

About Speaker

Caroline is the founder of JAW Consultants where she draws on a wealth of highly-transferrable capabilities, managing organisational change and building top-performing teams to achieve successful measurable objectives.

With 30 years of experience in the bus industry, which culminated in her leading, developing and supporting over 5000 colleagues across London, she has always been a pioneering force for inclusion.

She supports and leads the D&I Bus Group, part of Women in Transport, and is a passionate advocate for women’s advancement in the industry. She is the co-designer and founder of the Inclusive Employment Journey, a web resource for the Bus & Coach Industry www.the-iej.org.uk

About Speaker

Ian Downie works for Pelican Bus and Coach, as Head of Yutong UK, responsible for the sales of zero emission vehicles. Having worked in the industry for 42 years, he started as an apprentice at Leyland Vehicles. He moved to Volvo Bus after their purchase of Leyland Bus, and reached Director level before the age of 30. He held a number of Director roles, including Finance, Coach Sales, Dealer Development and Product Director. As the latter he was responsible for introducing Euro 5 and 6 bus and coach product, as well as the hybrid product portfolio. He moved to Wrightbus as Managing Director of Sales and Customer Care in 2014, with responsibility for the Sales and Aftermarket support of their portfolio, including the Routemaster, mild hybrid, electric and hydrogen single and double deck product ranges.

He joined Pelican in 2017, and has been responsible for launching the Yutong zero emission product range in the UK, with over 800 orders received to date.

About Speaker

Rachel founded Surbon Consulting in 2013, supporting the public transport industry with business development and sustainability services working across the UK and Middle East. She has designed and implemented social value plans for a range of clients such as Stagecoach and Go-Ahead, most recently finishing work in Manchester. Rachel holds a BA (Hons) in Geography from the University of Oxford and the inaugural masters in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh. A Fellow of Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics, she’s passionate about giving back and has raised over £37,000 for Maggie’s Centre through long distance swimming challenges.

About Speaker

Sue Walnut has over two decades of transport industry experience across Bus, Coach, and Rail, and is passionate about driving results for transport operators and passengers through the creative application of technology and data analysis. As Product Director at Vix, Sue is responsible for developing ticketing solutions and ITS and RTI products. Before joining Vix in 2020, Sue held a number of senior technology roles at National Express Group. Hailing from the US, where she gained a degree from Cornell University, Sue now resides in the UK. She is an active member of Women in Transport, and teaches Taekwon Do.