Coach & Bus UK 2023

Known for his inspirational leadership and strong customer-focused approach, he’s been an integral part of the British transport giant for over 20 years (he was appointed CEO in 2013 and, prior to that, was finance director from 2000). Under his leadership, the multi-modal operator continues to spearhead ground-breaking new technologies to ‘progress and improve’ operations for their 2.5m passengers every day.

Heads up the show’s Theatre line-up, appearing in an exclusive opening day Keynote. Member of the Greener Journeys advisory board. Has spearheaded First Bus’ industry-leading approach to operating cleaner and more fuel efficient vehicles. Over the past five years, the company is reported to have invested almost £370m in more than 2,000 new buses (including a record £73 million order for 355 EURO VI buses in 2016), and now operates the largest fleet of DfT certified ‘Low Carbon Buses’ within the UK.

Having previously held key roles at TfL, he became managing director of surface transport in December 2017. He’s responsible for the capital’s bus services, as well as the road network, the DLR, and much more – including implementing the new Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) four months ago.

Former MD of Epsom Coaches. Will be sharing practical advice garnered from his 37+ years in the coach travel sector. Looking forward to speaking about how to maximise business as a coach operator at no cost.

He and his team look after the biggest fleet of electric buses in the UK (their 100% electric bus garage in Waterloo is Europe’s largest and was also the world’s first outside of China). According to Mr McKeown: if the ‘correct infrastructure’ is already in place then ‘the day-to-day operation of an electric fleet is nothing to be daunted by’.

Will be drawing on examples from Stagecoach’s recent marketing campaigns (such as sponsoring Sci-Fi day at Children’s Week in Torbay earlier this month) to illustrate how mutually beneficial external partnerships can help promote public transport to a wider audience; and the next generation of passengers.

Will be giving an update on LowCVP’s recent activities, including a preliminary evaluation report on the UK coach market. He’ll outline how carbon and air quality are finally being addressed in unison, touching on the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme to be used for vehicles to gain access to Clean Air Zones.

First panellist to be announced for day two’s opening session, which will focus on profitability and business growth in the coach travel sector. Well-known for his tech-savvy approach – leading the way in adopting the latest innovations on the market (like big fast-charging electric buses and smart telematics). Under his leadership, Travel de Courcey recently won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of Sustainable Development.

CEO of Women In Transport. She’ll be at the show on Thursday 3 October talking about ‘Accelerating Diversity – Enhancing Performance’ in the coach and bus industry.

MD of Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus. He will be part of the session 'Accelerating Diversity – Enhancing Performance'.

She’ll be discussing ‘Integrating electric mobility in cities’ in the show’s closing session. The session will examine how electric vehicles can be integrated into the distribution grid, and their impact on local infrastructure, load profiles and demand.