Guy Dangerfield, road user director for Transport Focus, visited highways service provider A-one+ last month.
This was Guy’s first visit to a highways contractor since starting his job at Transport Focus, the independent transport user watchdog previously called Passenger Focus.
Already representing rail users throughout Great Britain and bus, coach and tram users in England outside London, in April this year the body was renamed Transport Focus with extended responsibility to include the interests of all users of the strategic road network.
A team from Area 7 which included A-one+ general manager, Doug Coutts; customer community relations manager, Bruce Martin; inspection manager, Grant Bosence; Mike Fargher, Stuart Danks and Georgette Foster-Bell (all from Highways England); welcomed Guy to the Nottingham based office which covers the East Midlands.
The introduction incorporated a brief presentation about A-one+ and the work it carries out on behalf of Highways England, the network covered in Area 7, the remit of the contract and its challenges and successes.
Dangerfield said of the visit: “How satisfied road users are with the motorways and trunk roads is key to Highways England’s success. My visit gave me a strong sense that A-one+ thinks about road users already but is keen to go further. I hope my message to focus ruthlessly on what is right for road users, where necessary challenging historic practices, was helpful to Highways England and the A-one+ team.”
A-one+ is a joint three way venture partnership between Costain, Colas and CH2M and maintains the networks for Area 12 and 14 as well as Area 7.
Doug Coutts, A-one+ general manager for Area 7, said: “Transport Focus will play a pivotal role in developing and delivering aspirations for road users across the networks over the coming years. It is imperative that we work together pro-actively, economically and with longevity improving our road network alongside the customer needs and expectations. We are confident that collaborating in this way will benefit road users and the industry for many years to come.”
Pictured from left to right: Mike Farger – Highways England, Stuart Danks – Highways England, Grant Bosence – inspection manager, A-one+, Doug Coutts - general manager, A-one+, Guy Dangerfield – road user director for Transport Focus, Bruce Martin – customer and community relations manager, A-one+ and Georgette Foster-Bell – Highways England.
