Transport User Voice – April 2023 – Our Board meeting in Manchester

30 March 2023

Watch it back

A trailblazing devolution deal is set to give Greater Manchester more control over its transport than ever before. How will this make a difference for transport users in the region? 

Our Board meeting in public in Manchester provided an opportunity to discuss significant upcoming changes to public transport and roads across the region.  

We were joined by senior industry figures including Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Vernon Everitt, Stephen Rhodes, Transport for Greater Manchester Director of Bus, and the Managing Director of KeolisAmey Metrolink, Guillaume Chanussot. 

The meeting showcased the exciting developments across public transport in Greater Manchester with the new Bee Network and challenges of delivering an integrated transport network for passengers.  

Making a difference for Avanti, Northern and TransPennine Express passengers 

Board and members of the public in attendance also quizzed the managing directors of Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express (TPE) and Northern on poor performance.  

Unprecedented delays, confusion and cancellations have made life miserable in recent month for Avanti and TPE passengers. Avanti’s newly appointed managing director issued a public apology to passengers and went on to suggest the operator company had ‘turned a corner’ after months of frustration. 

Board members also asked TPE how it intends to restore passenger trust and improve day-to-day performance after passengers rated it as the worst performing operator in Transport Focus’s latest Rail User Survey.  

The operators responded to a range of questions about current cancellations and customer service, and talked about how they intend to improve rail services for passengers in the coming months. 

 Watch it back in full here. 

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