Simon Lightwood MP
Minister for Local Transport

Simon Lightwood was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport in the Department for Transport 9 July 2024.

Previously Simon was Shadow Transport Minister, appointed first in October 2022 and re-appointed in September 2023 with an expanded portfolio.

Simon was first elected as MP for Wakefield in a by-election in June 2022 and was re-elected as MP for Wakefield and Rothwell in July 2024.

Prior to being elected, Simon was a proud NHS worker, a Labour councillor and cabinet member for public health. He studied theatre acting at Bretton Hall College in Wakefield after moving to the city in the late nineties.

His wider interests involve spending time with his husband and two young children and supporting his local Rugby League team, Wakefield Trinity.

Steve Rotheram
Mayor of Liverpool City Region

One of eight children, Steve was born and raised in Kirkby to a stay-at-home mum and forklift truck driver dad. After leaving school with few formal qualifications, Steve began a bricklaying apprenticeship and went on to study as a mature student at LJMU in 1994. He went on to run his own building company before working for the Learning and Skills Council.

Since then, Steve has served communities across the Liverpool City Region in a variety of public roles: he was elected as a ward councillor for Fazakerley in 2002; served as Lord Mayor of Liverpool during the city's year as European Capital of Culture in 2008; elected as the MP for Liverpool Walton in 2010; and became Mayor of the Liverpool City Region (opens in a new tab) in 2017.

Steve has campaigned on issues affecting local communities, including justice for the Hillsborough families and survivors, support for blacklisted workers, compensation for people suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis and a change in the law on the use of old tyres on buses and coaches.

Oliver Coppard
Mayor of South Yorkshire

Born and raised in the region, Oliver took office as Mayor in May 2022 on a platform of restoring the pride, purpose and prosperity of South Yorkshire. He was re-elected in May 2024 when the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner was brought under the remit of the South Yorkshire Mayor.

Since graduating from Leeds University, Oliver has worked for a range of organisations including Barnsley Council where he worked on low carbon regeneration projects, in Parliament and the US Congress, South Yorkshire's Local Enterprise Partnership and the charity BookTrust. He was Chair of the Board at Sheffield Hallam Students' Union and has worked on a number of high-profile political campaigns, both within the region and abroad.

As Mayor, Oliver is working on delivering his manifesto pledge to fight for a better deal for South Yorkshire. In line with another of his pledges, to improve transport in the region, Oliver has already brought the tram network back under public control.

Jason Prince
Director
Urban Transport Group.

Prior to joining UTG in July 2023, Jason was Head of Public Affairs for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for over three years and he also worked for Transport for Greater Manchester for four years. During both roles, Jason was actively involved in working with partners on buses, specifically the Bus Services Act (2017) and its impact on the future of transport in Greater Manchester, supporting the early development of Greater Manchester's Bee Network and rail projects including HS2, and on innovation and devolution.

Before joining TfGM in 2016, Jason worked for a Member of Parliament, supporting on key policy areas of transport and energy.

Prior to working in politics, Jason held a variety of positions in the private and third sector. He was a business development manager in the field of welfare to work for nearly five years. He was also an operations manager for a third sector organisation across the North of England.

Leon Daniels OBE
Chair of Advisory Board
Bus Centre of Excellence

Possessing an exceptional record of delivery and performance at the highest level of private and public sector organisations, Leon Daniels is recognised for his world-class experience, expertise and knowledge of public sector transport in the UK, Europe and Far East.

With extensive knowledge and experience of traffic and streets management, bus transport, urban rail, cycling, road safety, river operations, the taxi and private hire industry, policing and enforcement, highway engineering and major project delivery, Leon works at the highest level of central and local Government.

Leon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Couriers and a Member of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Carmen.

Miki Szikszai
Chief Executive
Snapper Services

Miki Szikszai has served as CEO of Snapper Services since February 2009. Miki has over 25 years of experience in developing and commercialising innovation for the benefit of customers. He also serves as a Board member at B2B SaaS companies Spotlight Reporting (Independent Director) and vWork (Chair).

Under Miki's leadership, Snapper continuously seeks to improve public transit performance, focusing on customer needs and developing innovative services that meet those needs to improve Authority, Operator, and passenger experiences.

Miki oversees Snapper's continued investment in innovative services with the Mosaiq platform. Mosaiq is designed to improve the quality of public transit data, making it easier for Transit Operators and Authorities anywhere to understand and work collaboratively to improve the performance of transit networks.

Snapper's first services were in New Zealand, with an ambition for positive global impact. Snapper has since proven itself as a trusted service provider in the UK and EU region for almost a decade. Miki is responsible for leading the company into new markets and regions with its transit data focus.

Ben Plowden
Chief Executive
Campaign for Better Transport

Ben has worked in the transport and charity sector for over 30 years. Prior to working at Campaign for Better Transport, Ben was an Associate at PA Consulting and worked at a senior level at Transport for London for almost 20 years, holding a number of senior positions in TfL, including programme sponsor for Surface Transport's multi-billion pound investment programme, founding Director of the Smarter Travel Unit, MD of Corporate Communications and Director of Borough Partnerships.

Before working at TfL, Ben was a leading environmental campaigner, including being the founding Chief Executive of the national charity Living Streets and Senior Campaigner on Energy and Natural Resources at the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England. Ben is also a visiting professor at University College London and a Senior Associate at the London School of Economics.

Martijn Gilbert
Managing Director - UK Bus
Arriva

Martijn joined Arriva in August 2025 as Managing Director of its UK Bus business unit, with responsibility for the growth and development of both London and regional bus. He is also a member of the Arriva Executive Committee.

Prior to joining Arriva, Martijn was Managing Director for FirstGroup's Open Access rail operators, Lumo and Hull Trains, as well as for Transport for London contracted businesses First Tram Operations (Croydon Tramlink) and First London Cableway (the London Cable Car). Before this he was Managing Director for The Go-Ahead Group's regional bus operations, Go North East and East Yorkshire, which included being Chair of the North East Bus Operators Association (NEbus) working with local authority partners to secure England's largest Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) settlement. Martijn spent four years as Chief Executive of council-owned Reading Buses from 2014 and spent some of his early career at Arriva across both its bus and rail divisions.

Michael Hart
Chief Revenue Officer
Vix Technolgy and Kuba

Michael has committed almost two decades to driving growth in the mobility and technology sectors. As CRO of Vix Technology and Kuba, he propels the business forward, leading sales, marketing, and revenue generation. Michael is passionate about driving the right outcomes for customers – and their passengers. With a sharp focus on innovative, customer-centric solutions, he is helping to shape a bright future of efficient, accessible urban mobility around the world.

Laura Hadzik
Chair
Women in Bus and Coach

Laura Hadzik is a specialist road transport solicitor advising operators across the coach, bus and haulage sectors throughout the UK and Europe. Recognised as a leading expert in commercial vehicle licensing and regulation, she is widely regarded as a go-to lawyer for coach and bus operators.

Her work covers operator licensing, public inquiries, DVSA investigations, criminal proceedings, and international transport matters, alongside leading compliance training and auditing.
Laura is a regular speaker and contributor to RouteOne magazine. She chairs Women in Bus and Coach and is ranked by Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 as a leader in her field.

Sandeep Shingadia
Executive Director
Transport for West Midlands

Sandeep has over 28 years' experience in the transport sector and currently serves as Executive Director at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM). He has responsibility for all transport functions, spanning major investment programmes, frontline operational services and transport assets.

Sandeep leads an experienced directorate to improve regional connectivity, delivering transport investment under a trailblazer devolution agreement with central government.

Working closely with public and private sector partners, Sandeep focuses on delivery transport that supports wider investment, economic growth and the creation of inclusive and vibrant places. His work helps residents and businesses benefit from improved, sustainable transport connectivity across the region.

Alongside his role at TfWM, Sandeep is Vice-President of METREX (The Network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas), Board Director for Colmore Business Improvement District, Board Director at European Metropolitan Transport Authorities (EMTA) and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Sarah Boyd
Chief Executive
Lothian Group

As Chief Executive, Sarah Boyd leads the organisation working closely with the company's senior team to deliver strategy, direction and leadership.   Enthused by public transport and with over 20 years in the bus industry, Sarah joined Lothian in 2013 as Head of Operations, later taking on the roles of Operations Director then Managing Director. Following the decision to integrate Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams, Sarah was appointed Chief Executive for the Lothian Group in 2025.

Sarah believes that people are at the heart of transport and it is under her leadership that Lothian strive to deliver a world-class, sustainable public transport service for Edinburgh and the Lothians.

She is passionate about the role that buses and trams play within the communities they serve and is proud to lead a diverse, inclusive and progressive people led culture that is at the forefront of evolving technologies and practices.

Previously 2-times Scottish Chair of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, Sarah is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.

Brian O'Rourke
CEO & Founder
CitySwift

Brian O'Rourke is CEO and co-founder of CitySwift, an Irish-based performance optimisation platform that helps public transport authorities and operators to deliver dynamic services that are ultra-efficient and reliable. CitySwift's customer base features some of the world's largest public transport bodies, including Go-Ahead Group, Transport for Greater Manchester, National Express Group, Translink, and Bus Éireann.

Neil Chapman
Product Design Director, Europe & UK
Bauer Media Outdoor

Neil leads product design and development across 12 European markets at Bauer Media Outdoor, with nearly 25 years of experience in innovation and technology.

He specialises in sustainable infrastructure, smart city solutions and reducing the environmental impact of Out of Home environments.

Alison Edwards
Director of Policy and External Relations
CPT

Alison is the Director of Policy and External Relations at the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), the UK's leading trade association for the bus and coach industry. She leads the organisation's strategic campaigning and advocacy, working closely with government officials to secure supportive policies, funding, and infrastructure improvements for public transport.

Alison joined the CPT in 2019 following a distinguished decade-long career in the UK Civil Service and policy roles within the charity sector, including with the consumers' association Which?. A prominent and respected voice in the transport sector, she was named to the prestigious Women in Trade Associations (WiTA) Powerlist in 2024 for her leadership and impact.

Kara Wood
Head of Franchising
Liverpool City Region

With over 30 years' experience in public service and transport, Kara began her career working in Local Authority, followed by over 23 years at Network Rail, before moving into her current role in the transport team at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Her experience spans operational, leadership and strategic roles, giving her a strong track record in delivering complex, customer-focused transport programmes.

Now leading the transformational bus franchising programme at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Kara is focused on creating a more integrated, reliable and accountable public transport network. She cares deeply about the role transport plays in people's everyday lives and is committed to building systems that communities can depend on, improving connections, expanding opportunities and supporting wider economic and social growth.

A people-focused and purpose-driven leader, Kara is passionate about supporting others to grow and creating inclusive, collaborative environments where people can thrive. Known for her authenticity, resilience and down-to-earth approach, she brings both realism and a positive, can-do mindset to the challenges of delivering transformational change in public transport.

Cllr Karen Shore
Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Transport
Cheshire West & Chester Council

Karen Shore has served as a councillor since 2015 and has been Deputy Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council for the past seven years. She currently holds the Transport and Highways portfolio and has played a leading role in transport, highways, environmental policy and devolution across the region. Karen is also lead member for Health, Inclusion, Skills and Employment within the Cheshire and Warrington Joint Committee.

Alongside a number of regional transport and flood resilience roles, Karen previously served as Labour's parliamentary candidate in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election. Before entering politics, she worked in education across schools and the charity sector, with a strong focus on lifelong learning, skills and improving opportunities for local communities.

Robert Davis
Head of Active & Sustainable Travel
Trueform

With twenty years' experience in the transport infrastructure and street furniture sectors, Robert has worked closely with Councils, PTEs, architects, consultants and contractors across the UK, and globally. Trained in product design & digital modelling, Robert has used this technical design background to assist clients in the specification, design and commercial aspects of hundreds of transport infrastructure projects for the likes of TfL, TfGM, SPT, New York DoT, JC Decaux, BT and many more. Robert recognises and champions the benefits of high quality infrastructure, and the importance this plays in the public transportation experience.

Edward Thomas
CEO
ComfortDelGro United Kingdom & Ireland Bus and Coach

Edward Thomas leads ComfortDelGro's UK & Ireland Bus and Coach businesses including Metroline, Metroline Manchester, Adventure Travel, Westbus, Scottish CityLink and Irish CityLink. He is also responsible for further business growth and opportunities in the wider European area.

Edward has over two decades of experience in high-level executive roles in the transport industry in UK, Australia and India, delivering integrated, efficient and accessible urban mobility solutions. He has worked both in rail and bus, overseeing significant business developments as CEO at Transdev Melbourne, leading operations at Yarra Trams, as MD at Keolis Hyderabad Mass Rapid Transit System and as CEO at CDC NSW with ComfortDelGro Australia. Edward's experience spans key themes shaping the sector today, including network optimisation, multimodal integration and the role of bus and coach services in decarbonising cities and improving connectivity.

Nigel Featham
Managing Director
Go North West

Nigel joined Go-Ahead in 2019 to establish Go North West. He has a strong record of leading change across UK bus operations, with a consistent focus on growth, innovation, and high performance. During his career, he has led three bus businesses to be recognised as UK Bus Operator of the Year and also spent three years leading Go North East alongside his role at Go North West.