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Transport Minister Norman Baker MP speaking at the event in MarchMarch 21/22 2012, Brighton & Hove

The first two-day gathering of 2012 was hosted by Brighton & Hove Bus & Coach Company, with a theme of technology.

We were delighted to welcome two distinguished high profile speakers, Mike Cooper and Norman Baker MP.

Norman is the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, as well as being local MP for Lewes; he is a passionate advocate of public transport and we were delighted to welcome him to our event, when he spoke about the industry's prospects and what the Coalition was trying to do to help, and stayed to answer detailed questions.

Speaking ahead of the Government's White Paper on the future of the bus industry, Norman said that he hoped to have “achieved the impossible of keeping the bus industry happy and local authorities happy” with the proposed changes.
 
“I hope that we’ve come up with a package which you will think is good for the industry and certainly the intention is to get more people on buses and to take the bus centre stage,” he added.

Mike Cooper, Arriva’s UK Bus Managing Director, was our keynote speaker from the industry. He was able to offer his personal experience of running one of Britain’s biggest bus operators and to explain the group's philosophy, including such developments as mobile ticketing. Mike joined the industry after holding senior positions with easyJet and others and was able to offer an insight into his career and the differences between the industries and companies he has been associated with.

Arriva's Mike Cooper addressing delegates in BrightonThere was a panel discussion on emerging engine and vehicle technologies, including low-emission buses, featuring representatives from both operators and manufacturers, including FirstGroup and Volvo.

A behind-the-scenes visit to experience Brighton & Hove’s Real Time Information and Vehicle Positioning system  also featured, as will a presentation from Brain Higbee of Trapeze to discuss the future of RTI and passenger information.

And, as we were in Brighton, there was an opportunity to travel along some of the most powerful bus priority networks in the UK, hosted by Brighton & Hove’s Managing Director Roger French.

The first evening featured a pub quiz style event, and we also enjoyed a repeat of the successful and engaging workshop discussion at the conclusion of the entire seminar, led once again by James Freeman.