Catherine Mason
Delivering a high quality public transport system

Catherine Mason was appointed Group Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), including its operating subsidiaries (Translink which comprises Metro, Northern Ireland Railways and Ulsterbus) in 2008. She was formerly the UK Marketing and Customer Services Director for Arriva Bus UK, following a career in marketing for a number of companies including Grand Metropolitan, SmithKline Beecham, Dairy Crest and United Biscuits. Catherine is a Chartered Marketer and an elected Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She holds a Certificate of Professional Competence in National Passenger Transport Operations and is a PCV holder.

Gerard McCleave
Public transport as part of an integrated transport strategy

Gerard McCleave is Director of Strategy and Regeneration at Ilex, the Urban Regeneration for Derry/Londonderry. He has responsibility for leading and managing the implementation of the social and economic components of regeneration for the Derry City Council area. Specifically his role involves the creation and promotion of the co-ordinated regeneration of the area and to facilitate its implementation in co-operation with key stakeholders. Prior to joining Ilex, Gerard was Director of Public Sector Consultancy at BDO Stoy Hayward. He has previously held senior posts in local economic development, his earlier career being in central government.

Antoinette McKeown
Creating a public transport system to meet the needs of consumers

Antoinette McKeown joined the Consumer Council as Chief Executive on 6 July 2009. Prior to that she was Head of Policy and Development with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and has a background in public policy and strategy and in children’s rights. Before joining the Equality Commission, Antoinette was Chief Executive of PlayBoard. She also worked in London, developing new legal policies and public services for children and their families to meet the standards and requirements of new childcare legislation.

Sue Miles
The South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH) case study: Co-operation to deliver local public transport

Sue Miles is the Co-ordinator of the South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH) and enjoys balancing the transport needs and aspirations of four diverse Local Authorities. She has extensive local government experience in public transport, traffic management and transport policy and planning and is a keen supporter of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Wales.

Conor Murphy MP MLA
Implementing a modern, efficient and well-managed public transport system

Conor Murphy, MP, MLA is the Minister for Regional Development, taking up the portfolio following the restoration of devolution in May 2007. His responsibilities as Minister include strategic planning, transportation strategy, ports and public transport, roads and water policy and providing and maintaining roads. He is Sinn Féin MP and MLA for Newry & Armagh and is a former councillor on Newry & Mourne District Council.

Stephen Patterson
Integrating sustainability into public transport planning

Steven Patterson has been the Sustrans Director for Northern Ireland, since he established the Belfast office in 1995. With a background in civil engineering, Steven has also worked as a freelance journalist and media trainer. He was born and bred in Belfast and is a commuting cyclist and keen walker. Steven is a member of the Northern Ireland Cycling Forum and is Chairman of the Forum’s Infrastructure Directorate. Sustrans, which stands for Sustainable Transport, is responsible for developing the National Cycle Network, Safe Routes to Schools, Active Travel, Bike it, Travelsmart.

Malcolm Reed
The Scottish experience in public transport

Malcolm Reed has spent most of his career in transport planning and administration in Scotland. From 1990 to 1996 he was the Assistant Chief Executive of Strathclyde Regional Council responsible for transport and other infrastructure services, and then spent eight years as Director General of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive. From 2005 until he retired earlier in 2009 he was Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, a new government agency set up to oversee railways, trunk roads, and concessionary travel in Scotland. He was appointed CBE in 2004 for services to the transport industry.

Steven Salmon
EU briefing: European public transport policy

Steven Salmon is Director of Policy Development for the Confederation of Passenger Transport (UK), the industry’s trade association. He joined CPT in 1997 and prior to this he worked in bus and coach management for the National Bus Company, Tillingbourne Bus Company and Drawlane/British Bus. He is the Vice President of the International Road Transport Union’s Social Affairs Commission and a member of its Passenger Transport Council. He is also a member of the employers’ delegations for European social dialogue in the road transport and urban transport sectors.

Professor Austin Smyth
Public transport as a driver of economic growth

Professor Austin Smyth is the Head of the Transport Department at the University of Westminster, London and Professor of Transport Economics at the Transport Research Institute in Edinburgh. In 2006 he completed his term as Director General at the National Institute for Transport and Logistics (NITL) in Dublin. He is a Fellow of the CILT and has 25 years experience in transport consultancy and research worldwide.

Chris Watt
Bridging the gap: The role of integrated ticketing in the future of Northern Ireland’s public transport system

Chris Watt works as part of PwC's Advisory practice, based in Belfast, and is one of the firm's leading experts on smart ticketing. Chris supported the early stages of Transport for London's Prestige Project (Oyster Card), Hong Kong's Octopus Card Scheme and many similar projects around the world. Prior to joining PwC, Chris ran his own company specialising in mobile ticketing and communications solutions for the mass transit industry.