Euro Bus Expo 2026: franchising puts bus data in the spotlight

Last week the Mosaiq by Snapper Services team spent three days at the Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham. We met operators, local authorities, and partners from across the UK and beyond, and the conversations on the stand were some of the best we've had at the show.

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Questioning real networks, live on the stand

One theme we see repeatedly in the bus industry is a lack of time - and teams often working to make critical decisions under pressure. The need for evidence-backed insights is strong, but operators and authorities are also facing more raw data than ever. Everyone we spoke to shared that the sheer volume of data networks produce in 2026 is just too overwhelming.

With Ask Mosaiq, visitors at our stand could ask their own questions about real networks and get evidence-backed answers on the spot. It was exhilarating to see operators - who might usually be drowning in spreadsheets or scattered analysis tools - uncover key insights in just a few quick questions. And it reinforced that we’re on the right track in our mission to make transit intelligence easy for everyone.  

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It also kept the laptops busy. Unique in the industry, Mosaiq Insights offers a totally free plan, so you can analyse open data networks with no strings attached. Throughout the three days, visitors were signing up there and then. If you were one of them, welcome aboard - we'd love to hear what you find.

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Better together: GreenRoad and Optibus

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On the opening morning of Euro Bus, we announced our new partnership with GreenRoad, bringing safety data and network performance data together in one view. GreenRoad’s AI learns from billions of miles of real driving data to predict driver risk three to five days before an incident, and coaches drivers in the cab to turn risky habits into safe ones. Together, we’ll bring GreenRoad’s driver risk and safety insight alongside the network performance data operators already explore in Mosaiq. GreenRoad were exhibiting just round the corner from us, which made it easy to celebrate in person.

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We also joined our partners Optibus on their stand for a joint demo: Head of Customer Success, Danielle Hashemipour, demonstrated how Mosaiq Insights pinpoints where delays recur and how running times vary trip to trip, and Optibus showed us how they turn that detailed history into Predictive Runtimes and better timetables. Thank you to the Optibus team for hosting us, and for a great Public Transport Leaders Gathering and evening at the routeone Awards.

What we heard from transport professionals

A few themes came up again and again, on the stand and in the Masterclass Theatre.

Franchising is raising the bar for evidence

With franchising moving ahead across the UK, both sides of the relationship - authorities and operators - want better data. As Grant Fraser, Head of Business Development, put it:

"It was clear that we have authorities that want us to help manage their operators, and who want better data for their discussions with authorities."

The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK opened the Masterclass Theatre with a session on the road ahead for bus and coach, and the mood was optimistic. Much of that optimism centred on having Andy Burnham as Prime Minister, given his record of championing bus franchising as Mayor of Greater Manchester, and what his government’s priorities could mean for public transport.

Data is everywhere, and hard to make sense of

Most operators we spoke to aren't short of data. It's spread across ticketing, Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), scheduling, and Bus Open Data Service (BODS) feeds, and joining it up takes time most busy teams don't have. BODS and data quality came up in almost every conversation, and it’s clear that most people haven’t found an easy solution.

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‍AI that helps people do their jobs better

The "AI in coach and bus: what's real and what's next" session was one of the busiest of the show. The message from the practitioners was clear: AI won't replace the industry's experience, but it can run accurate analysis at a scale that people rarely have time for. That's exactly how we think about Ask Mosaiq.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand, put a question to Ask Mosaiq, or shared what's keeping them up at night. The follow-up conversations have already started, and we're looking forward to working with many of you in the months ahead.

If we didn't get to talk at the show, it's not too late. Sign up to Mosaiq Insights for free and put your own questions to Ask Mosaiq, or get in touch and we'll show you around.

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