How bus travel can help Yorkshire's economy, environment and society recover, according to First Bus MD Paul Matthews

The weekend interview Paul Matthews has spent a lifetime working in the bus industry. Now seven years into leading First Bus, he is more optimistic than ever, writes Mark Casci.

Moments into our interview, Paul Matthews makes no hesitation in describing himself as “career bus man”.

With more than 40 years experience around the country, Mr Matthews has spent the entirety of his working life in the field, having started his career in West Yorkshire.

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He joined First Bus nine years ago as managing director in the West of England before heading to take the same role for the West Yorkshire division.

Paul Matthews has spent his whole career in buses.Paul Matthews has spent his whole career in buses.
Paul Matthews has spent his whole career in buses.

And while there have been myriad changes in the industry, he still identifies a common theme from the start of his career.

“To some extent getting a bus out on the road and delivering what customers want is no different,” he said.

“It is how you do that that has changed quite significantly.”

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While the pandemic has made life tough for the public sector industry, Mr Matthews repeatedly strikes an upbeat mood during our conversation.

Paul Matthews - First BusPaul Matthews - First Bus
Paul Matthews - First Bus

Part of this lies in the prominence of the good old-fashioned bus in public discourse.

In the Spring, the Government unveiled its long-awaited Bus Strategy, pledging an additional £3bn in ring-fenced funding for the sector.

Mr Matthews and his team are currently drawing up its funding proposal for this investment.

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“Having been in the industry for such a long time I am not aware of a period when buses have been so high profile, with senior politicians and even the PM talking about buses,” he said.

Mr Matthews thinks the sector can look forward to a prosperous future.Mr Matthews thinks the sector can look forward to a prosperous future.
Mr Matthews thinks the sector can look forward to a prosperous future.

“The devil is in the detail of how the funding is allocated and in what way it will be allocated.”

The fresh impetus into public transport comes after a torrid time for the industry during the pandemic.

With citizens actively advised to avoid public transport, its user level has taken a blow.

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Referring to the “inherent unhelpful message” that this put across, Mr Matthews on more than one occasion stresses strongly how safe buses are and says that the pandemic will have actually improved passenger experience.

“It has been a rollercoaster,” he says, referring to the last 18 months.

“We did sink down to very low levels during the first lockdown. But since September we have recovered. It has been fairly static over the last month at 65 per cent of where we would expect numbers to be. And it does vary by sector.

“Concessionary travel for those over 65 have been quite slow to come back. Commuting travel has been slow to come back. Children’s leisure trips have been very resilient, back to 80 to 90 per cent.

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“We are really waiting for September return of schools, shortly followed by universities to really set the benchmark for where we are at. I would like to think that the return to work would make a difference.”

He added: “What we have been able to do during the pandemic is significantly improve customer offering digitally, both in terms of ticketing but also in terms of information. And we have done that at pace because we have had to.

“Knowing how full the bus is because of social distancing.

“That will be a legacy of the pandemic, customers will know not only if the bus is on time but whether it has any space for them. They will have this before they leave the door.

“The access that passengers have to tickets and information has changed beyond all recognition.”

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Mr Matthews says he is hopeful of being back to 80 to 90 per cent by the end of the financial year.

But what of actually getting back to pre-pandemic levels or beyond that?

“It is doable,” he said.

“I mean it is not doable within nine months, but it is doable within perhaps a two to three-year window.

“The market will change but I think there will be an increase in leisure traffic, there will be non-users who have access to a car and decide they don’t need it and will head to public transport.

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“The market will recover to at least 100 per cent and hopefully more than that. But it will take some time and it will need some other interventions.”

By this Mr Matthews is referencing matters such as bus prioritisation, wherein buses have access to their own lanes and are therefore less likely to become stuck in traffic, and car restraint measures such as increased parking charges and even congestion charging.

However, Mr Matthews said his focus was very much on his firm and his industry’s side of the bargain.

“We need to improve the alternatives first before we discourage people from using cars,” he said.

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“Having public transport that people make a choice to travel on is an important part of the recovery.

“I strongly believe they will be even more important because of their sustainability.”

Another area Mr Matthews expresses robust opinion is the comparison of public transport in the North, specifically West Yorkshire, with that of London.

Some 190 new buses have been rolled out in Leeds with more to come in Bradford, all offering an improved customer experience.

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He is at pains to point out myths over costs and ticketing and, while he accepts that improvements are needed, he points out that prior to the pandemic bus usage in his patch was increasing as opposed to parts of the capital where it was falling.

His challenge now is getting that situation back, post-Covid.

“The actual level of car traffic has gone back to normal levels whereas the levels on buses hasn’t,” he said.

“We do have to work harder and harder to attract new users and lapsed passengers.

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“We can stress the reasons that you need to get back on the bus, for environmental reasons, as well as economic and social reasons.”

He added: “And, of course, in terms of the recovery, the fact that children are turning to buses with more vigour than other sectors of the economy fills me with positivity.”

The career bus man sounds like he is just getting started.

Leadership

First Bus is one of the main sponsors of the first Business Leadership Summit hosted by The Yorkshire Post.

Business leaders from across the region will come together digitally on September 24 to discuss their role in the future of Yorkshire business, creating a green recovery and developing a skilled workforce in a post-Covid landscape.

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This free event is being hosted online, with fully interactive chat elements and Q&A sessions.

The Leadership Summit is being supported by Community Partner LNER and sponsors First Bus and DAC Beachcroft.

To sign up please visit www.ypleadershipsummit.co.uk