Nus Ghani, the MP for Wealden and Minister for Buses in the Department for Transport, visited the Arriva bus depot in Tunbridge Wells to congratulate Arriva for its work and investment, and to discuss future plans for the bus industry.
Nus had a tour of the bus depot, meeting engineers and employees, and discussing ways through which support for the bus industry from local and national governments can generate vital community connections.
While at the depot, Nus also discussed future training and apprenticeship investment in the bus industry, as well as openly encouraging diversity, and welcoming the idea of championing more women into the bus industry, including through apprenticeships.
Nus has been working with the sector to champion bus patronage and the use of new tech to inform passengers of timetables and greener bus journeys, and the visits builds on the announcement of £48 million of extra funding aimed at driving down bus emissions across the UK, providing an additional 263 ultra-low emissions busses.
Nus Ghani, MP for Wealden, said: “I was pleased to pop over the border in my constituency to visit the Arriva bus depot in Tunbridge Wells and see the investment they are making in transport across the South East.
“They recently surpassed 100,000 rides using their ArrivaClick service, which allows passengers to request journeys via an app, and it’s great to see investments like this, as well as green depots and contactless payments, proving such a success for my constituents and passengers across Kent and East Sussex.
“As the Minister also for Engineering in the Department for Transport I’m also pleased that they are supporting engineering in the UK by rolling out and encouraging people to take up apprenticeships in the bus industry.
“Bus services are a vital service for many of my constituents in Wealden and I’ll continue to work with Arriva and other operators to ensure that investment in our area continues to grow.”
