Updates and opinion on the world of public transport - from CitySwift

CitySwift today announces the world’s leading international public transport association, UITP, has elected Alan Farrelly, CitySwift Chief Commercial Officer and Co-founder, as National Ambassador for Ireland until June 2027.

Investing in data and improving governance are widely recognised as the keys to closing the performance gap in franchised bus networks. But knowing what's needed and knowing how to operationalise it are two different things.

CitySwift's new product offering, Contract & Performance Management, helps authorities - whether looking to franchise, already franchised, or managing subsidised services - effectively automate contract oversight.

Traditional contract management has long been a manual, fragmented process of siloed data. After extensive collaboration with key stakeholders, we’re excited to introduce a new solution that transforms how authorities and operators establish an agreed commercial source of truth.

As UK transport authorities move from theory to practice of running franchising bus networks, a key question is emerging: how can they ensure franchising actually delivers better services for passengers?

How well a bus network is performing is often judged by a few metrics, like punctuality, Excess Wait Time (EWT), or operated mileage. But a truly high-performing network is built on more than any one measure. It depends on balancing multiple, often competing, operational levers.