Sector Focus


Business Travel


Business bouncing back Sector Focus The latest news from the sectors that matter to business


National Express buses keep Brum on the move


Getting back to work: There are now more buses on the roads of the West Midlands


The region’s biggest transport company, National Express West Midlands, has been running buses safely all through the past year, but as Birmingham starts to come out of lockdown, the operator is doing everything it can to encourage people out of their cars and onto public transport. As part of its efforts, the


company has increased the number of buses in service across the region, alongside other initiatives, according to commercial director Chris Gibbens. He said: “National Express is


ready when our customers want to join us back on the bus - or if people’s circumstances have changed and they’re trying out the bus for the first time. “As of 18 April 2021, we’re


increasing the number of buses we’re running - in fact, we’re putting more buses out in service than we usually would to make sure everyone can travel while safely social distancing. “We’re still carrying out our


enhanced cleaning regime that focuses on touchpoints, and cleaners will be jumping on board at town centres and bus stations to


54 CHAMBERLINK May 2021


give buses an extra wipe down mid-service. “And our cleaners ‘fog’ every bus


every night with aerosol disinfection that contains a high- performance antiviral solution.” National Express has worked


with a Dublin technology start-up company to create a handy little online tool to show the times of day when buses are at their quietest - for people who can choose when to travel.


‘To make bus travel even greener, National Express is investing millions in zero- emission vehicles’ The big question in the world of


work is whether people will go back to the office. According to a Transport for West Midlands survey, a fifth of people don’t know whether they would continue to work from home over the next three months, go back into their workplace, or do a mixture of both. National Express West Midlands


has created new flexible bus tickets for people who aren’t going into


their workplace five days a week at the moment. And the bus company has worked out that for many people, it makes no financial sense to run a car any more - even ‘Top Gear’s’ reasonably priced one. The famous red Vauxhall Astra


1.6 - raced around the track by celebrities on the popular BBC show - costs £3,083 a year to run. That’s £257 a month. Yet even


For people working three days a week, the new National Express Flexifare provides 13 days’ travel a month for £45. That’s a saving of over £2,500 a year compared to your reasonably priced car. Daljit Kalirai, sales director at


National Express Bus, said: “National Express works with hundreds of companies in the West Midlands - including many Chamber members and patrons - to provide discounted bus travel via a bespoke online page which pushes tickets directly onto qualifying employees’ mobile phones. Our new flexible fares are included in this deal. “For employers, making a travel


plan and encouraging your staff to get the bus in to work is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to hit your company CSR goals.


“And with Birmingham’s Clean Air


Zone coming in June this year - and the city’s target for becoming carbon net zero set as 2030 - now is the time to make that commitment.” To make bus travel even greener,


National Express is investing millions in zero-emission vehicles. Mr Gibbens added: “In February


2020, National Express pledged never to buy another diesel bus. We also promised that our entire 1,600- strong fleet of buses will be zero- emission by 2030. We already run 19 fully electric double deckers every day between Birmingham and Solihull via Hall Green, and we’re very excited to be operating Birmingham City Council’s 20 hydrogen buses when they arrive later this year. We are also working closely with Transport for West Midlands to bid for Department for Transport funding for hundreds more hydrogen buses and the refuelling infrastructure that goes with them. “We are extremely keen to get


these out in service in time for the Commonwealth Games next year and are doing everything we can to make that happen. What a way to welcome the world to Birmingham in 2022.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72