Leeds, 23/24 October 2012

The second YBMN event of 2012 took place on 23 and 24 October, and was based at the Novotel in Leeds. As before, there was an evening get together on 23 October, followed by a day session on the 24th with a visit, workshops and debates.The evening of Tuesday, 23 October saw a record 75 delegates sit down for dinner and then enjoy the popular team ‘pub quiz’, followed by a chance to network and enjoy the evening together.

We were delighted to welcome Les Warneford, the highly respected Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, He agreed to speak to us during his final few months in his current role: a lifelong busman, he has worked his way up the career ladder, leading one of the UK’s best performing, largest bus operators for over a decade. An enthralling talk took us from the start of his career in Bradford via Leicester and Grimsby to Midland Red North at the time of privatisation. Back to Grimsby as MD, Les found himself part of the Stagecoach group, and the rest is history. Les also spoke about his trenchant views on the plans of some to impose Quality Contracts on the industry.

Dr Bob Tebb led the visit to the Guided Busways in the city aboard one of First Leeds' hybrid vehciles, and then gave a fascinating account of their development and potential.  Nigel Eggleton, Marketing Director of Transdev Blazefield, spoke about the innovative projects that he and his team have been pursuing in Yorkshire and Lancashire. We were also delighted to welcome David Young, Director of Customer Experience at South Yorkshire PTE, talking about the delivery of the Quality Partnership in Sheffield.

Joint YBMN patron James Freeman once again led a fast-paced and fascinating workshop session to round off the event.