Rare and previously unpublished photographs documenting the city's buses during a period of great change.

Buses are a key local service, but usage has been in decline since the 1950s. The Transport Act 1985 introduced deregulation, but that has failed to reverse that decline. The report examines the particular problems local authorities face in developing and implementing effective bus strategies. It is clear to the Committee that, for many areas, including all major metropolitan areas outside London, the current regime is not working. The Committee recommends more flexibility, and is particularly attracted by Quality Contracts. These would replace open competition with a licensed regime. Operators bid for exclusive rights to run bus services on a route or group of routes, on the basis of a local authority service specification. Independent Traffic Commissioners are another development that the Committee welcomes, and would like to see them have a higher profile and more resources and powers, especially to enforce Quality Contracts and penalise operators who do not meet their obligations. Others areas covered in the report are: securing socially necessary services outside the PTAs; congestion and bus priority; concessionary fares; and the image of the bus.

Road passenger transport management is an important role, involving the planning and coordinating of passenger transport operations, including routes and schedules. Managers ensure that passengers reach their destinations safely, on time and in the most cost-effective way. Road Passenger Transport Management covers all the essential tasks a transport manager is expected to master. Road Passenger Transport Management provides tips and tools for working with customers, planning routes and scheduling delivery times, as well as managing a team of supervisors, administration staff and drivers. The authors include guidelines for coordinating staff training and arranging vehicle maintenance, MOTs and tax payments, as well as organizing vehicle replacements and managing contracts and developing new business. This is a contributed book, with expertise shared from well-known academics and practitioners who have spent many years in the passenger transport field. The tools and case studies in this vital new guide will enable readers to learn new skills or build on existing expertise. Online supporting resources include sample performance reports and target assessment forms.

The Transport Committee reports that extensive cuts to rural, evening and weekend bus services are damaging the ability of many people - especially the old, young or disabled - to participate in employment, education or voluntary work and to access vital services such as healthcare and retail facilities. In a review of England's bus services (outside London) after the Spending Review, the Committee warns that even deeper cuts in bus services are likely in 2012-13, as local authorities struggle to deal with budgetary reductions, and calls for the concessionary travel scheme to be preserved so that the elderly and disabled continue to enjoy free bus travel. The Committee also concludes that the concessionary fares scheme was 'discriminatory' because it did not apply to most community transport providers - usually independent charities that provide transport such as dial-a-ride bus services. It calls on the Department for Transport to monitor the extent of service cutbacks made this year and to review service provision again after BSOG (Bus Service Operator Grant) grant cuts take effect in 2012 - 13 so that it can analyse and draw conclusions about the wider costs and benefits of its policy changes to the country as a whole. The Local Government Association should identify and disseminate information about good and bad practice in the delivery of cost effective, flexible services including community transport and/or area-based transport integration. And local authorities and commercial operators must consult more widely where services are being changed

For the European traveler whos visiting several countries but skipping Eastern Europe. This book does, however, cover Prague and Budapest, as well as the Dalmation Coast and destinations in Northern Europe.

Authoritative and accessible, 'Smith & Wood's Employment Law' provides detailed and well-explained coverage on the core areas and key case law. Critique and contextual treatment engages students and helps them to develop a well-rounded and deep understanding of the subject.