Lunch with Leon

In this episode of Lunch with Leon, our host talks all things Net Zero with Glenn Bemment, who is the Head of Sustainability for SMEs and Mid Corporates businesses at Lloyds Bank. A key focus for Glenn is how Lloyds can help their clients transition to the low carbon future we need. Throughout the episode, the discussion revolves around the latest research Lloyds commissioned across more than 1,000 SME businesses, to understand the importance of sustainability and the key hurdles businesses face when putting sustainability initiatives into action. Glenn covers both the opportunities this presents, and some key actions businesses can take to get started on their journey. You can access the research and read it for yourself here: From Now to Net Zero: A Practical Guide for SMEs | Lloyds Bank

In this week’s Lunch with Leon, Leon heads to the Northeast of England to visit Beamish - and meet with various members of the museum team.  

To start off, Leon learns about the development of the museum since its founding in 1970 - inspired by open air museums around the world which spotlight how life used to be and how life has changed as a result of technology and innovation. Beamish Museum is designed to tell the story of life in the Northeast throughout the years - utilising communities and residents to shroud every exhibition and story in real experiences. 

Leon is also given a chance to find out about the transport used in and around the Beamish Museum - which factors old and resorted buses and public transport into the museum to really provide visitors with an immersive experience from start to finish. 

An unrivalled look at Beamish Museum and all it has to offer visitors. 

This week's episode sees Leon sitting down for lunch in the North East of England, with Martijn Gilbert from Go North East.During this episode, the two discuss investment in the brand-new local bus depot, the rollout of new express buses across key routes in the North East, and the rise in electric buses.How has the negative perception of public transport during Covid-19 impacted the bus industry? And what is being done to revolutionize and update key messaging? Listen to this episode to find out!

This week sees Leon sitting down for lunch with Christian Wolmar - a noted railway historian who has appeared on TV, Radio, and is a celebrated author to name just a handful of his accolades and achievements.
In this episode, Leon talks to Christian about his latest book release on Crossrail and its inner operational workings - introducing the motivation behind the book and just some of the projects and releases which are explored in the pages. If you've ever wondered about the £19 billion project to revolutionise the railway in the United Kingdom, this is a great listen for you.

In this week’s episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon is on a whirlwind trip to Dublin to meet with the Managing Director of Aircoach. Dervla McKay was appointed MD of the company following a bright career which started back in 2005 when McKay joined First Group as a graduate trainee. Since then, her experiences have seen her working across public transport usage in England and Ireland, with her focus now on navigating the post-Covid and post-Brexit public transport market.
Things are moving forward for Aircoach with Dervla McKay at the helm - pun 100% intended!

In this week’s episode of Lunch with Leon, our host sits down with Roger French. Roger may be retired from the day-to-day world of public transport but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still in touch with his industry roots - sharing his thoughts on the pending funding and service changes in the public vehicle sector, the rise of low-emission buses, and the changing of peak transport requirements as a result of the pandemic.

Once the Managing Director of Brighton and Hove, Roger shares his own experiences with Leon as the two make their predictions on what’s coming and how the bus and rail industry could adapt to meet changing demand in the coming months and years.
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In this first episode of 2022, host Leon sits down with a handful of special guests as he makes his way around ITS America.

Leon’s first conversation is with Chief Executive Officer of one.network, James Harris, who shares his experience of launching a data company in the USA market and provides insight into his time at the ITS America show.

The second guest on Lunch with Leon is the President and Chief Executive of ITS America, Laura Chase, who discusses some of the key insights being shared across the show and reveals that the next ITS America show will be held in September 2022 in LA at the World Congress.

Later guests in this special episode include a senior transportation engineer who discusses traffic control, road users, and the impact of AI on transport; a director of connected and automated vehicle services who talks about whether autonomous vehicles are here to stay; and an automated transportation program manager who shares just some of the opportunities open to those who attend a show like ITS America.

In this Lunch with Leon - which actually started life as a dinner in Scotland during COP26 - host Leon Daniels OBE chats to Ian Constance, who is the CEO of the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (and if you don’t know what that is, then it’s a good thing you’ve found your way to this episode!)

Picking up from where their conversation over dinner left off, this episode provides insight into the reality of climate change, talks about the campaign work of Greta Thunberg, and uncovers some of the project work being done by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK to bring innovative solutions and products to the market through funding. 

Education, convenience, and understanding are at the centre of this episode - with Ian and Leon discussing just some of the ways that industries can and are bringing customers and consumers on board with their work to support the environment in a positive way. 

Fresh from attending COP26, Leon Daniels OBE has lunch with Ben Plowden, formerly of Transport for London, who is one of the country’s leading minds on urban planning, the environment and ensuring a sustainable lifestyle.

They chat about Independence Day and State of Fear, and why the climate emergency doesn’t feel like an emergency, in the way that Covid did last year. And, why COP26 was a partial success.

They chew over what’s happening in British Columbia – a wealthy industry country – that’s been knocked sideways, and why it’s a manifestation of change that’s already here.

A very different approach to low-carbon cities and public transport, is what sets GoAscendal apart. The difference for the global mobility advisory company founded by Ascendal Group and GoMetro, is that they are consultants who have real-life experience of running public transport.

Now they are harnessing the potential of data technology, by using their Cambridgeshire coach operation as a ‘living lab’, enabling new technology to be tried out in a real operating environment.

Justin Coetzee and Graeme Inglis chat with Leon Daniels OBE about how GoAscendal Labs’ 12-week programme will help sort out what works and what doesn’t.

https://goascendal.com/