Coach
Coaches are a vital yet often overlooked part of the transport network. They connect people and places, reduce congestion, and offer a more sustainable way to travel. But there are challenges facing our Western Gateway region’s coach sector, including connectivity gaps, poor facilities and driver shortages. We need to work collectively to develop a financially sustainable, socially inclusive and efficient coach network.
The Western Gateway Coach Strategy sets out a clear vision for improving coach services across the region—from Gloucestershire to Dorset—unlocking the full potential of coaches for passengers, businesses, and communities.
Strategies
Coach Strategy
The Western Gateway Coach Strategy provides the first comprehensive review of the coach sector across our region, spanning major towns and cities such as Bristol, Bath, Bournemouth, Poole, Salisbury, and Cheltenham.
Coaches play a crucial role in transport, but coaches lack a national strategy and consistent data. This strategy maps out the current state of coaches, highlighting key challenges, and setting out a roadmap for improvement.
This strategy identifies opportunities to improve connectivity and create a more efficient and sustainable coach network. Aligned with the Strategic Transport Plan, this strategy outlines clear interventions to support operators, improve services, and strengthen the role of coaches in the region’s future.
Engagement
Join our Coach Forums
A key recommendation of the strategy is to establish a South West Coach Forum, which brings together public and private stakeholders to take forward the interventions identified in the strategy.
We were the first STB to create a Coach forum.
Our upcoming coach forums:
- Tuesday 11th March, in-person event
If you’d like an invite to the next coach forum, drop us an email.
