Roy Wicks, Director General of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) and Chair of pteg, will retire next March after 10 years working in South Yorkshire and 40 years in the public sector.
Over the last decade Roy has transformed SYPTE into a dynamic, innovative, forward thinking Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) which was recently crowned Passenger Transport Authority of the Year at the prestigious National Transport Awards.
Some of the projects SYPTE has achieved under Roy’s leadership include:
improving public transport infrastructure through projects such as the refurbishment of the award winning Sheffield Station, the opening of the state-of-the-art Barnsley Interchange – one of the most modern interchanges in the country - and the opening of Doncaster Frenchagte Interchange – the first public transport PFI-financed project in the UK.
- developing the public transport network by proactively looking at innovative ways to improve bus services, many of which have not been tried or tested by any other PTA or council in the UK. These include Voluntary Partnerships, Statutory Quality Partnerships and Quality Contracts.
- providing enhanced public transport information through the introduction of Travel South Yorkshire – a unified customer facing brand which encompasses everything to do with public transport in South Yorkshire. Also through the introduction of Connect Sheffield – the UK’s first integrated wayfinding system, linking public transport, vehicle and pedestrian and the roll out of YourNextBus – an interactive service providing timetable information direct to your mobile phone.
- delivering Customer Services through the introduction of the Transport Academy, which offers all public transport workers access to a wide range of training, both vocational and leisure based. Also through the development of a public transport educational programme which is delivered in both secondary and junior schools. This programme has been used as best practice in other areas of the country
- providing efficient and attractive ticketing through the introduction of a range of integrated TravelMaster tickets which can be used on buses, trains and trams and the introduction next year of the Yorcard smartcard ticket
- improving South Yorkshire’s tram and rail network.
Speaking about his career Roy said: "I have loved working in the public transport industry and I am proud of my last 10 years at SYPTE. My time in South Yorkshire has been exciting, but also challenging, and I believe this hard work and determination has helped put SYPTE on the public transport map.
"Next year will see the enactment of the Local Transport Bill – a change we have lobbied for and supported. It provides a great opportunity for a further step change in South Yorkshire's public transport provision. It also provides a sensible point for me to step down and hand over to someone else to take those challenges forward."
Roy has also been chair of pteg (the Passenger Transport Executive Group) since April 2006 and in January will hand over this role to Neil Scales, Chief Executive of Merseytravel.
Roy became the Director General of SYPTE in November 1998 after moving from West Yorkshire. His background is a Chartered Civil engineer and his experience ranges from involvement in South Yorkshire’s low fares initiatives in the 1980s, to major project development and implementation, including Leeds/Bradford electrification, and light rail projects in Leeds and Sheffield.
If you would like any more information about Roy Wicks’ career or would like a one-to-one interview with him please contact Julia Price, Senior Communications Officer on 0114 221 1413 or email juliap@sypte.co.uk