Ascendal Group

Join our Founder and CEO Adam Leishman at next month’s EURO BUS EXPO 2024 in Birmingham. On Tuesday 12th November, Adam will be sharing his bus franchising experience in the Masterclass Theatre. In 2015, Adam won the first tendered bus contract in Singapore under the government’s franchising framework—becoming the first non-Singaporean company to successfully enter the market when he led Tower Transit. Many say Singapore is now considered the best bus contracting model in the world. Is this true? And how has it fared nine years after the reform was implemented? Adam’s talk will offer insights into international bus contracting structures and highlight the key takeaways that authorities and operators need to consider to ensure their franchising plans are a success. Tickets to #EuroBusExpo are free. Register now to secure your ticket and attend Adam’s talk: https://lnkd.in/eYaDyyBP

Our CEO and Founder Adam Leishman is speaking at next month’s EURO BUS EXPO 2024 in Birmingham, sharing experience gained over more than a decade of managing international bus franchising models.  London’s bus network sees around 5 million journeys made every day. In his previous business, Adam was responsible for running 450 buses under contract to Transport for London from 2013 to 2018, and turned around the performance at one of TfL’s legacy operators. With further franchising experience in Singapore and Hong Kong, Adam will share case studies from the three cities—comparing international bus contracting structures and highlighting their pros and cons—providing valuable insights and learnings for both authorities and operators. Register to attend #EuroBusExpo for free, and secure your spot at Adam’s talk on Tuesday 12th November: https://lnkd.in/eYaDyyBP

🔥 Exciting insights shared today at #APTATransform! 🌟 Five top Public Transportation CEOs, including Andy Lord from Transport for London and Dottie Watkins from CapMetro (Austin), discussed everything from career highlights to managing transit without subsidies like in Hong Kong. 🌟 Special thanks to our superstar guests: - Andy Lord Commissioner at Transport for London - Dottie Watkins, CEO, CapMetro (Austin) - Dwight A. Ferrell, CEO, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (Detroit) - Shawn M. Donaghy, MPA, CEO, North County Transit District - Adam Leishman Executive Chairman, Ascendal Group (Hong Kong) 🚆🌏 Don't worry if you missed the panel - catch the highlights on the Transit Unplugged podcast and TV next month! Stay tuned for more valuable insights from these industry leaders. 🎧📺 Vontas Modaxo #PublicTransportation #CEOs #TransitLeadership #IndustryInsights

Delighted to have launched Ascendal Group's first battery electric coach service, in partnership with Flix, operating between Cambridge and London. Unlike launching a diesel coach service, long-distance battery electric operations involve a significant number of new operational challenges, including access to charging infrastructure. With no publicly available bus charging facilities available in Central London, Whippet Coaches has scheduled our operation to run individual return trips from Cambridge to London, before returning to our Cambridgeshire-based depot to be charged. By utilising Yutong Bus & Coach's latest TCe14 model, kindly loaned to us by Pelican Engineering Company (Sales) Limited, and with telematics provided by Zenobē, we look forward to gathering significant real-world operating data to support our future efforts at deploying zero emission bus and coach operations. Special thanks to Ed Cameron, George Douglas (AMCIHT), Scot Nicholetti MCIHT and Sarah Bartlett for making yesterday's launch event such a success. It was also great to have the ongoing support of Anna Smith, Andrew H. and Campbell Ross-Bain who continue to show their unwavering support for further improving bus services across the region. Press release: https://lnkd.in/esYvYdSP

More electric than ever ⚡ Launching our second electric, zero-emission service for the UK was a truly powerful moment yesterday! 🔌This has been a joint ambition for us and long-term operator partner Whippet Coaches. MD Jonathan Ziebart FCILT FCIHT, Ed Cameron and the team have a fantastic approach to decarbonising travel. 🤝A top-spec zero-emissions vehicle was made possible thanks to collaborations across the industry, with support from Pelican Engineering Company (Sales) Limited and Zenobē. 💚 Anna Smith, Deputy Mayor of the Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough Combined Authority said this was 'a real game changer' for transport Flix leading the way for sustainable technology innovation for #Cambridge, #London, across the UK and globally! Read more in routeone Magazine: https://lnkd.in/edQXwCax

Ascendal Group is looking to grow. Know anyone who might be interested in this senior UK-based role?

Listen to our Founder and Executive Chairman, Adam Leishman, in interview with Paul Comfort, presenting the challenges, opportunities and best practices learnt from our bus operations in Hong Kong.

Ascendal Group's UK Managing Director, Jonathan Ziebart FCILT, has this week been appointed as a Board Director at The Association of Local Bus Company Managers, following their annual conference and AGM. In this voluntary role, Jonathan will be bringing international best practices to the UK market, gleaned from his extensive experience from our Group's current and former international transport operations, including but not limited to Hong Kong, Chile, USA and Singapore. #BusFranchising #ZeroEmissionBuses

Interested in learning more about sustainable funding models for public transport? Come listen to a panel discussion on the topic, where UK and international approaches are discussed. I’ll be addressing some of Ascendal Group’s recent projects, from launching the UK’s first privately-funded battery electric bus network, to developing business cases for zero emission coach deployment.

Last year I ran the Cambridge Half Marathon faster than we're able to run peak time buses across the city. Effective solutions need to be found for bus priority if we're serious about model shift and making our city a better place to be.