Institute of Transport Administration

Northampton and Daventry bus lane enforcement action announced

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

West Northamptonshire Council will begin bus lane enforcement at three sites in Northampton and Daventry, with warning letters issued from Monday before £70 penalty charge notices start on 6 July.

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Changes to the Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) maximum service charges

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

DVSA is increasing the maximum service charge that Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) can make in connection with MOT tests for heavy vehicles.

The change is intended to help maintain a stable and sustainable testing network so you can continue to access reliable MOT testing services for your buses, coaches, HGVs and trailers.

The maximum charges from Monday 6 July will be:

• Bus/coach: £90 (up from £70)*

• HGV: £70 (up from £55)*

• Trailer: £50 (up from £40)*

ATFs will continue to set their own charges, up to the maximum permitted level.

Why the changes are happening

Maximum service charges for ATFs have not increased since 2010.

Their aim is to ensure you continue to benefit from accessible, consistent and high-quality testing services through a reliable ATF network.

*New prices will be updated from 6 July 2026.

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Celebrating the people, businesses and vehicles that keep the UK moving.

This year’s campaign will run under the theme ‘The road that connects everything’.

Some 85% of the UK's freight is moved by road and National Lorry Week will highlight the vital role road transport plays in supporting the economy, supply chains and everyday life across the country.

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Solaris, VDL Bus & Coach, Hess and Beulas have asked the European Commission to give European bus makers stronger protection in public transport contracts.
They say non-European companies, especially Chinese manufacturers, now have over 30% of the market and receive state support that gives them an unfair advantage.

Protect transport spending

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Government are seeking views on the draft statement of safety principles for automated vehicles.
The statement of safety principles is required under The statutory statement of safety principles will guide the Secretary of State for Transport in decisions on whether an automated vehicle can be deployed on UK roads.
It will provide guidance on the behaviours the Secretary of State expects to see from vehicles in meeting the self-driving test of travelling safely and autonomously.

Consultation documents here:

Aftermarket devices can help protect vulnerable road users, but vehicles must stay compliant to avoid enforcement.

VRU signs

VRU signs are third-party devices fitted to reduce incidents involving cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

Operators, manufacturers and installers should follow current DVSA guidance.

Key requirements for compliance include:

You can use the devices:

Devices must be fitted correctly and meet legal requirements.
A flashing red VRU sign may get an advisory notice; a protruding, unsafe sideguard device would fail.

Decorative LED light displays

Digital LED displays, messages, emojis or visible cab lighting can distract other road users.

Action can be taken even if lights are off, so avoid fitting decorative LED lights.

Blue warning beacons

DVSA is seeing more HGVs fitted with blue warning beacons, which police may act on.

Blue warning beacons are illegal except on emergency vehicles.
Blue lights signal emergency vehicles; misuse can lead to fines, licence points or prosecution.

Do not fit blue lights to non-emergency vehicles; remove any before road use.

Further information:

Paua has integrated Fleete’s electric HGV charging hub at the Port of Tilbury into its network, providing fleet operators with access to one of the UK's largest dedicated truck charging sites.

The site, which is now available to Paua customers, has been designed specifically for electric HGVs and is located at a key logistics hub serving London and the South East.

Fleete opened the new hub earlier this year as the first in a planned network of shared commercial vehicle charging hubs in the UK.

The charging facility features 16 dedicated HGV charging bays, charging speeds of up to 360kW, a 5MW grid connection and 24-hour access for fleets.

Unlike many public charging locations originally designed around passenger cars, the Tilbury site has been built to accommodate commercial vehicle operations, with larger charging bays, high-power chargers and freight-focused access.

The integration means truck and van drivers using the Paua platform can access, charge and pay at the site through a single account, removing the need for multiple charging cards, apps or payment systems.

Further information:

Operators struggle with fuel price crisis

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Only four in 10 transport operators are confident they can survive the current onslaught on fuel prices as the Iran conflict drags on.
A survey by the RHA found prices have soared by 35% since the war began three months ago, leaving many hauliers fighting for survival.
Average diesel prices are more than 182p per litre and motorway service areas are pushing almost 200p, according to latest RAC figures.
The RHA said an essential user rebate was now crucial as a targeted measure that would help transport firms cut the cost of moving goods and ease the pressure forcing prices up for customers.
Home-to-school transport for thousands of children is at risk through inflated diesel costs that are imposing an additional bill on the coach industry in England alone of £3 million per month for that work, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has warned.

Over 600,000 children are taken to and from school by coach each day in the UK.

38% of coach operators have told CPT that they are likely to hand back home-to-school transport contracts due to rising outgoings that are not being matched by rates paid.

In May, a £100 million support package for the bus industry in England was announced.

Anecdotal feedback from a selection of local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales suggests that few, if any, have offered any direct financial support to operator contractors.

Police Appeal following theft of 6,000 litres of fuel from plant vehicles

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:30:46 +0000

Police are appealing for information following the theft of thousands of litres of fuel from a construction site in Cheltenham.

It reports that 6,000 litres of petrol were taken from plant vehicles assisting with the construction at junction 10 of the M5 last month.

The theft is believed to have taken place over the late May Bank Holiday, between 5pm on Friday, May 23, and 7am on Tuesday, May 26.

The thieves, which broke into the site near Boddington, Cheltenham, syphoned off the fuel from within a secure compound.

Officers have carried out CCTV checks and forensic investigations, and they are now appealing for anybody with information to come forward.

They would like to speak to anybody who may have witnessed any people or vehicles acting suspiciously in the area.

Anyone with information is asked to provide it through the website below, quoting occurrence 53260040774.

New four-year MTEs from PSVAR for closed-door home-to-school

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

New four-year medium-term exemptions (MTEs) from PSVAR will be introduced for in-scope closed-door home-to-school transport from 1 August, Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood has advised trade bodies representing the coach industry.
They will follow the current round of MTEs for those services and rail replacement duties, all of which expire on 31 July.

At the same time, the minister has confirmed that rail replacement services will see no more exemptions from PSVAR and must comply from 1 August.

To continue in the home-to-school field from 1 August will be a requirement that operators holding MTEs maintain a minimum proportion of compliant coaches in their fleet, aligned with existing MTE stipulations, to ensure that there are sufficient compliant coaches in the market.

A key element of the future MTEs regime will require operators holding them to provide compliant coaches for home-to-school duties on request without charging a premium.

Details of how to apply for exemptions from 1 August are awaited, but one source close to the matter has suggested that movement will come soon given the less than eight-week window until expiry of existing MTEs and the likely volume of applications.

The Confederation notes that via the current medium-term exemptions, the proportion of compliant coaches has reached around 25% of vehicles used to transport children.

RHA Managing Director Richard Smith notes how the position outlined by Mr Lightwood “shows [how] ministers increasingly recognise that making coach travel fully accessible is a complex challenge that needs to focus on more than the vehicle.

Autonomous HGV study points to hub-to-hub trunking as UK’s best early use case

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

A UK-backed study into autonomous heavy goods vehicles has identified hub-to-hub motorway trunking and intermodal shuttle operations as the most viable starting points for early deployment in the UK freight sector.
The findings were presented by the eFREIGHT Autonomous consortium at Voltempo’s Autonomous conference in Birmingham on 18 May, bringing together operators, OEMs, technology firms and government representatives to discuss the future of autonomous freight.
Led by Voltempo alongside Connected Places Catapult and Berkeley Coachworks, the consortium secured funding in 2025 through the CAM Pathfinder Feasibility Studies competition, backed by the UK Government and delivered by Innovate UK and Zenzic.
Over the past nine months, the consortium has engaged with fleet operators, government departments and every major European truck manufacturer to assess how autonomous freight could be introduced into UK logistics operations.
The report concludes that autonomous freight is moving beyond pilot projects internationally and towards early commercial operation, while the UK edges closer to implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024.

Further information:

HGV charging hub to open at Magna Park

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

An HGV fleet charging facility will open at Magna Park Lutterworth later this year, as part of a country-wide £500m investment.
Investment firm Guardian Smart Infrastructure Management (GSIM) said it would build, own and operate the logistics fleet electric charging hub in partnership with Keoma and the network would launch in October.
The partnership will feature high-capacity HGV chargers delivering up to 400kw per charge point and serving 179 lorry bays.
The facility will be digitally enabled with Bosch booking systems and is intended to be scalable across UK and European parks.
Following his retirement, Miles will continue to support the work of the Traffic Commissioners as a Deputy Traffic Commissioner and will be deployed to assist in the West of England Traffic Area.

To ensure continuity of service, the Senior Traffic Commissioner will deploy Traffic Commissioner Tim Blackmore, who is currently serving in the North East Traffic Area, to the West Midlands Traffic Area.

The Senior Traffic Commissioner has made these deployment decisions to ensure that all traffic areas remain supported by experienced commissioners and that tribunal functions continue to be delivered efficiently.

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A lorry driver that sounded their horn at a police officer working on the hard shoulder of the M40 now stands to lose their licence after he was pursued down the motorway.

Road traffic officers from Thames Valley Police were taking part in Operation Treacher last month, which targets all vehicles on the roads to detect and deal with traffic offences such as drug or drink driving, no insurance and using a mobile phone at the wheel.

The driver failed a roadside drugs wipe and was taken into custody, which “may well lead to them losing their driving licence,” according to Thames Valley Police.

New mass transit taskforce to reshape the future of transport in towns and cities

Thu, 28 May 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The group, which includes leading experts from the world of transport, industry, finance and academia, will identify the biggest hurdles facing the introduction of mass transit systems across the UK and how to overcome them.

Mass transit encompasses networks of trams, light rail and high-frequency buses that move large numbers of people quickly across towns and cities, and has transformed urban life in places like Greater Manchester, Nottingham, the North East and the West Midlands.

The Bus Services Act, which became law in October 2025, marked a new era for bus travel – making it easier for local authorities to take control of routes, protecting passengers from sudden cuts and lifting the ban on councils running their own bus companies.

Currently, factors like planning processes, fragmented funding arrangements and difficulties in acquiring land get in the way of delivering these systems, and the taskforce will seek to overcome these by identifying practical reforms to planning, financing and delivery models, and making targeted recommendations to government.

Further information:

Autonomous rigid prototype truck

Wed, 27 May 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Electric vehicle specialist Voltempo is developing a 15.

The concept aims to extend a rigid lorry’s length and capacity beyond the current maximums of 12 metres, 32 tonnes and four axles to 15.

It will be the same length as a coach and the lack of a cab will free up weight and space for greater load capacity, creating what Voltempo founder and corporate development officer, Michael Boxwell, describes as a “smart trailer”.

Berkeley Coachworks is building the body, and a well-known truck manufacturer will supply the electric drivetrain.

The prototype is due to be completed by September 2027, and trials are expected to start later that year at an autonomous vehicle test track in South Wales.

Further information: