Category: Uncategorised

Roads across London to be made safer with 28km of new 20mph speed limits on TfL roads in Camden, Islington, Hackney, Haringey and Tower Hamlets from Friday 31 March.

The 20mph speed limits will be introduced on sections of the A503, A501, A41, A1, A10, A11 and A1203, and will help to make a large area of London safer and more attractive for people in these communities to live and work, encouraging more people out of their cars and to walk, cycle and use public transport more often. Enabling more people to use healthier and more sustainable forms of travel will be vital to reducing congestion and air pollution.

 More information is on the TfL website

The UKCOA 2023 Annual Dinner, AGM and Conference in Warwick was a great success. Delegates enjoyed socialising and networking combined with a conference agenda that was useful for their business.

The event started with a fantastic dinner at the Chesford Grange Hotel on Sunday 12 March as well as networking and catching up with industry friends / colleagues old and new. Thank you to Industry Partner DH Team for sponsoring the wine.

Thank you also to Industry Partner Volvo for hosting the conference at their offices  on Monday 13 March and for sponsoring a superb networking lunch.

There were over 50 people in the room. As well as Members and Industry Partners, the UKCOA was delighted to welcome a number of guests to the Conference. Delegates were welcomed by UKCOA President Stephen Telling; and  Volvo MD Domenico Bondi gave the opening speech.

And of course, thank you to the speakers who gave up their time to talk about PSVAR, Zero Emission, Earned Recognition and Regulatory updates.

A key feature of the Conference was giving delegates the opportunity to have their questions answered. There was an excellent Question and Answer Session with a panel made up of the guest speakers and chaired by UKCOA newly elected Chair Anthony Marett from Marett’s Chariots.

The subject of Tachographs was a hot topic and the UKCOA is planning a separate event dedicated to this subject later in the year.

Weekend closure of the A4 Great West Road at Chiswick will take place from 22:00 Friday 24 March until 05:00 Monday 27 March 2023 as follows:

Eastbound
Full closure from M4J2 to Hogarth Roundabout

Westbound
One lane closed Hogarth Roundabout to Chiswick Roundabout

Please note when planning diversion routes, the A40 is reduced to two lanes in each direction (one of which is narrow) between  the Polish War Memorial and Greenford.

It can be difficult knowing what records to keep when you’ve not been driving. For information to help you please see the  DVSA website.

Industrial action will affect some DVSA vehicle services during March 2023. See the  DVSA website for more information.

From Monday 20 February until mid-June works will be commencing at Euston which will have lane closures and an impact on journey times in the area and on the approach to the works in each direction.

• Details of these works can be found here: TfL – HS2 Works
• In addition there is a traffic impact map: TfL – Traffic Impact Map

As part of these works coach/commercial services stops AZ (eastbound) and CH (westbound) will be closed. Alternative stops are below:

• Eastbound – Euston Square bus stop Q (prior to North Gower Street)

• Westbound – Euston Square bus stop P (after Gordon Street)

The UK Coach Operator Association (UKCOA)  are delighted to announce the official launch of the UKCOA Driver Academy on Monday, 27th February at the National Driving Centre, The TA Barracks, Mitcham Road, Croydon CR0 3RU.

The event will be launched by Emma Gilson and Richard Jackman from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). UKCOA Board Members Mark Anderson and Andy Palmer will also say a few words of welcome and give a brief presentation on what is like to be a coach driver.

The event will also be attended by Laurence Bolton from our partner training provider The National Driving Centre, who will go through actual training programme, from medical to theory to practical to CPC.

Finally, there should be a number of prospective clients who are keen to become coach drivers, who will be able to listen to the introductions and look over some vehicles supplied by members.

It is hoped that once launched, the UKCOA will be able to hold regional events around the UK.

There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get this off the ground. Mark Anderson and Andy Palmer have led the working group with assistance from the other UKCOA members and Industry Partners who have been involved.

 

In March 2020, TfL introduced a  20mph speed limit on all of its roads within the central London Congestion Charging zone as part of its Vision Zero commitment to eliminate death and serious injury on the capital’s roads by 2041. Currently over half of London’s roads have a 20mph speed limit. TfL is now working to lower speeds on 220km of its roads by 2024.

Since the lower speeds were introduced, TfL have been monitoring their effectiveness and have now released new data that shows a significant reduction in the number of collisions. In summary, the number of collisions has reduced by 25 per cent (from 406 to 304), and collisions resulting in death or serious injury have reduced by 25 per cent (from 94 to 71).  Collisions involving people walking have decreased by 63 per cent (from 124 to 46).

Will Norman, London’s Walking & Cycling Commissioner, said: “Sadly more than 4,000 people are killed and seriously injured on London’s roads every year. Lowering speeds is one of the most important things we can do to reduce road danger and make it easier and safer for people to walk, cycle and use public transport, creating a safer, greener London for everyone.”

The UK Coach Operator Association (UKCOA) is proud to be supporting the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Road Passenger Transport Industry (RPTI) appeal for buses and coaches for Ukraine.

The RPTI have recently established contacts with a group organising the transportation of bus and coach vehicles to be converted into mobile medical centres to support those injured and in need of medical attention in Ukraine. However, there is an urgent need for sufficient vehicles to be donated to allow the conversions to take place. Transportation to Ukraine is being organised by Network Rail.

Peter Bradley, Managing Director of the UKCOA said “We have sent out an appeal to our members to support this cause. If any operator has a bus or coach that they are preparing to dispose of, we would be grateful if they could consider donating it to this cause. There are many many people in Ukraine who are in need or urgent medical care, and can no longer access it because buildings and equipment have been destroyed”.

Paul Sainthouse, Managing Director of Dawsongroup bus and coach and convenor of the RPTI said “We are grateful to the UKCOA for their support. This is a great way for the bus and coach industry to show its solidarity with the people of Ukraine who find themselves caught up in this conflict. We have worked long and hard to come up with a plan that will work in getting these vehicles modified, equipped and transported to Ukraine. All we need now are some vehicles to work on”.

Any operator who has a vehicle they can donate, please contact Peter Bradley at [email protected] in the first instance.

From the 20 February 2023 the City of London are running an experiment in Chancery Lane to reduce through traffic between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday.

• Map of the affected area
• More details of the scheme and how to take part in the consultation are available at  the City of London website.