He had an interesting career path. Though grounded in the bus industry, few grandees can claim to rise to the top from a consultancy and, before that, local government. But Peter Huntley did all that before his 2006 appointment as managing director of Go North East. And, after a tragic accident on Sunday, he is now dead.
Indeed, Huntley left Lancashire council in 1989 to found The TAS Partnership. As a consultancy, it was and still is unique. The bus industry can call upon any number of consultants but none of them, of any size, focuses solely on public transport. TAS’ early work was in assisting operators through the jungle that was deregulation, with viable networks and growth opportunities. TAS enjoyed a solid reputation but occasionally would manage to brass off a client. Not that TAS was alone in that. And, as a columnist in Old Transit, sometimes Huntley would not always endear himself to some of his clients, either. But he spoke his mind and it would be foolish if you failed to listen.
Correct me if I’m wrong but Huntley remained a shareholder of TAS upon his Go North East appointment but his shares were blind. When in Gateshead, he applied his knowledge and expertise to GNE, giving the company a new impetus. His passion, his ambition, was branding but not branding for its own sake. It had to be a business decision that would lead to growth and profitability. And it did. His outlook was diametrically opposed, for example, to Giles Fearnley’s First rebranding. Yet both are deregulation people rooted in the same ground.
Just don’t mention the Competition Commission allegations of collusion with Arriva in the north east. Huntley felt that the evidence was “sexed up” and that he had the best interests of GNE at heart that resulted in increasing business & passengers. No one could argue about that.
It was somehow ironic that Huntley died on the Lake District’s High Street Fell, given that he spent his entire working life in support of the wider high street that buses can serve well. We will miss his tight-lipped & sometimes lop-sided smile. But that wasn’t his best feature, by far, as those who knew him professionally will attest. We offer our condolences to his family upon the loss of a deregulation trooper.
I don’t normally do obits but I thought I'd make an exception given (a) Huntley’s age (mid-50s) and (b) his profile: we can all name the MD of our local and neighbouring operators but how many people can do so for one 350 miles away? Angel image c/o Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Death of an Ambition
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8 comments:
Very sad news...Peter will be very much missed. A great asset to our industry
I agree this is very sad news. I only had one exchange with Mr Huntley, about bus maps of all things. Somehow he'd seen a comment I'd made and responded directly with a promise to make sure a Durham bus map appeared. Needless to say it did appear.
I didn't know Peter Huntley personally, but he's seemed to me, as an interested observer, a fixed part of the industry during the de-regulation years, always with something interesting to say. His impact at Go North East must surely count as an important part of his legacy.
Always sad when someone dies so young.
RIP Peter, we will miss your straight talking and inspirational leadership. He was always very clear about what he wanted and Go North East's transformation under him speaks for his vision of what a bus company should do.
Peter's consultancy, TAS has also given a number of young industry people a good start and grounding in the bus industry with many of those youngsters, myself included, moving onto other companies. I am sure this was continued by Adrian @ TAS after Peter had taken a back seat in the business.
We have lost a great asset to the industry and we are the poorer for his passing. I very much hope that his influences and vision will live on through the work of others.
Stephen Oxbrow
Bon voyage, mate!
I know it's a hackneyed phrase but this is indeed a very sad loss.
I never met Peter, but I'm shocked by the news. I've long admired his work- a true champion of the modern bus industry, a man who brought about a revolution on the streets of the North East with the desire to do something different- perhaps how it should be done.
RIP Peter
Just don’t mention the Competition Commission allegations of collusion with Arriva in the north east. Huntley felt that the evidence was “sexed up” and that he had the best interests of GNE at heart that resulted in increasing business & passengers. No one could argue about that.
I did argue about the allegations of collusion between Go North East and Arriva, and as such I am strongly in favour of franchise agreements if it can eradicate this practice. Bus companies or any other businesses for that matter operating as alleged cartels are illegal. Consequently, it was no coincidence when Peter Huntley and the commercial director of Arriva North East vacated their respective positions within the bus companies when the allegations come to the fore.
As regards Mr Huntley himself, it was a shock and very sad day when I heard about his untimely death. I had many dealings with him both on the Go North East Open Line and directly by email. Whilst we didn't always see eye to eye with each other, I nevertheless found him to be an affable person and a true gentleman.
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