Lunch with Leon

In this episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon speaks with Rose McArthur, Director of Transport, Highways, Infrastructure and Climate Change at Cheshire West and Chester Council. Rose reflects on the recent Rural Bus Conference in Chester and the social value of community transport, traces her career from London 2012 and the Commonwealth Games to 20 years in private consultancy, and shares the financial...

In this episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon speaks with Andrew Sherrington, Head of Strategic Development at Go South Coast and General Manager for Swindons own Buses and Salisbury Reds. Andrew reflects on his career spanning First Bus and Transport for Wales before turning to the pressing challenges facing the bus industry today – from electrification and depot power supplies to road congestion, fra...

In this episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon speaks with Geoff Cross, Managing Director of Centrad – the UK's leading telematics and CCTV business. Geoff traces his journey from teenage bus operator to transport technology entrepreneur, and discusses how AI-powered fleet management platforms are helping bus operators tackle rising insurance costs, driver fatigue, and risk management.

Transport may well suffer as the UK Government once again is distracted by internal issues. Is democracy itself even threatened?

This month, Leon speaks with accomplished rail professional Anna-Jane Hunter, Chair of CILT UK's Board of Trustees and Partner at railway consultancy Winder Phillips. Their conversation spans the evolution of CILT and the valuable role it plays for the industry, and gets into the nitty gritty of rail reform, including the movers and shakers behind it and the challenge of fares and public trust. 

In the latest episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon speaks to historian Sam Mullins, the former director of the London Transport Museum and author of the new book Every Journey Matters , which commemorates 25 years of Transport for London (TfL). Sam shares his career journey from curating community museums to transforming the London Transport Museum, with the conversation also exploring TfL's history s...

Leon delves into the world of active transport in this week's episode, joined by cycling journalist and co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast, Laura Laker. Laura, who has forged a career focused on cycling and urban transport, discusses how she first fell in love with cycling, the success of the cycling lobby in persuading city mayors to allocate road space for cyclists and the challenges of implem...

Leon’s guest is Gareth Williams, General Secretary and Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer at Eurostar. After a twenty-year career in government, including prominent leadership roles at the Department for Transport, Gareth joined Eurostar almost fifteen years ago. In this episode, he and Leon discuss how Eurostar bounced back after COVID (despite a lack of government funding), its upcoming double...

This week, Leon Daniels speaks with Marie Daly, Chief Operating Officer for Transport for Wales and Chair of Women in Rail. Marie covers a range of topics, from her non-traditional career path into transport from telecomms and energy, to crisis management during severe weather and the "one network" vision for Wales. The pair also discuss the upcoming transition to Great British Railways, and the e...

Previously broadcast on Thomas Ableman's Freewheeling podcast, Leon and Thomas discuss progress towards the Buses Policy document originally announced by Boris' government

In a special Christmas edition of Lunch with Leon, Leon Daniels is in the hotseat! Guest host Simon Lederman grills Leon on his 40+ years in the transport industry, with Leon sharing some stories from throughout his career and his hot takes on topical transport issues. He also answers some listener questions (some of whom have been special guests on the podcast themselves!). 

Ahead of the UK's Autumn Budget, Leon explores the UK's somewhat gloomy economic situation with eminent transport expert David Leeder. With soaring national debt squeezing essential transport budgets, David shares his insights on the potential impact on the transport industry and his crucial advice for local authorities on quickly securing promised settlements and tapping into private sector fundi...

In this episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon speaks with Karen Dee, CEO of Aiports UK, the trade association representing the interests of UK airports. The conversation covers growth in the aviation market, the challenge of decoupling emissions from demand, tackling the transport-wide skills crisis, leveraging high-value air freight and the critical role of retail revenue in supporting low-cost carrie...

In the latest episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon pops his head out of the transport bubble and speaks with a transport-adjacent guest: Paul Whitnell, president of the British Irish Trade Alliance (BITA), a trade and commerce business organisation who describe themselves as "people that know people who help people". Paul shares more about his philosophy when it comes to business and the BITA organisa...

Leon learns more about the diverse career of transport leader Andreas Schörling, Senior Managing Director of Flixbus UK. Andreas, who lead the launch of Flixbus in the UK in 2021, discusses the company's ambitious plan to build the largest intercity coach network in the UK. The episode also touches on the evolving perception of coach travel, the transformative impact of AI on the transport industr...

In this episode of Lunch with Leon, rail veteran Nigel Holness reflects on his 40-year career, from his early days as a signalling consultant on the London Underground to his current role as a leading transport consultant, advising on major global projects. Leon and Nigel discuss TfL's evolution, their experiences of the 7/7 London bombings, 2012 Olympics, and the establishment of the Elizabeth li...

Leon speaks with nutritionist Anna Earl about the challenges that transport workers face maintaining nutrition, hydration, and wellbeing. Anna shares her advice for workers on how to overcome these challenges and develop a healthier lifestyle. 

In the latest episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon talks with Richard Smith, Managing Director of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) about the key issues facing the road freight industry, including the challenges of transitioning HGVs to Net Zero, the deteriorating condition of road infrastructure and the broader implications of AI. There's also plenty of good career advice from these two transport le...

In the latest episode of Lunch with Leon, Leon speaks with Ben Plowden, the new Chief Executive of the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT). This lively conversation covers various hot topics in the transport industry - the potential softening of the green agenda, rail nationalisation and rail fare debates, the importance of regional connectivity and how to address car dependency. Leon also picks B...

Leon Daniels talks to David Astill, the new chairman of of ALBUM, the Association of Local Bus Managers (and Managing Director of Nottingham City Transport), just after their successful annual conference in Nottingham. David shares some of his highlights from the conference, as well as discussing the impact of local elections on transport policy, the importance of local ownership and management in...

Ahead of the organisation's conference on 12-14th May, Leon is joined by former ALBUM chair Bill Hiron MBE to discuss his extensive career in the bus industry, from his days at Thamesway and First Group to owning Stevensons of Essex. The conversation also explores the evolution of London's bus tendering system, Bill's view on the Buses Bill, and his seven-year chairmanship of The Association of Lo...

Leon speaks with Sophie Bancroft, HR Director at Network Rail, about her career so far - including various previous roles at Transport for London. The discussion also explores attitudes to rail reform, Sophie's love of the Metropolitan Line and running transport during the London 2012 Olympics - including the tactical use of fake road works! Listen out for nods to several other great transport ind...

On episode 102 of Lunch with Leon, Leon meets Shravan Joshi MBE, Chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee for the City of London, to discuss key transport priorities for the Square Mile, from the successful pedestrianisation of Bank Junction, to the evolution of the vibrant seven-day city ecosystem. The two transport leaders also discuss significant planned office developments in the Eas...

For this episode we're taking to the water, as Leon catches up with Sean Collins, CEO of Thames Clippers. Twenty five years ago, Sean co-founded the now iconic riverboat service that has transformed London's river transport and carries 5.3 million passengers annually up and down the Thames. He chats with Leon about recent innovations such as the forthcoming electric ferry, Uber coming on board as...

The Lunch with Leon podcast is back for 2025, and we’re kicking off the year with episode 100! To mark the occasion, we have secured a suitably impressive guest: Lord Peter Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE. Currently serving as Minister of State for Rail, Lord Hendy is one of the country’s foremost transport leaders and a passionate advocate for the industry, having previously served as Commissioner for...