Here to make a difference

It is with great sadness that TAS has to announce the tragic death of our Chairman, Peter Huntley. He was killed in a fall from High Street Fell in the Lake District on Sunday 19 February.

Peter, a cyclist, climber and walker, was planning a trek to the North Pole in aid of the transport charity Transaid in April.

TAS managing director Adrian Grant said, "We are all deeply shocked by this tragic accident. Peter’s leadership was an inspiration to us all, and we shall miss him very much indeed."

TAS director Chris Cheek commented, "In the 22 years I have known and worked with Peter, he has maintained his total belief in the future of high quality public transport in the UK. Whether writing in the trade press, advising clients or running a bus business at the sharp end, his commitment was total, and he never wavered from his passionate commitment to serving the customer."

Peter’s long standing colleague and TAS director John Taylor was with Peter when the accident occurred. "Peter slipped and fell near the summit of High Street, and fell approximately 700 feet. It was a tragic accident, and our only consolation is that he was doing something he loved on a beautiful day, full of plans and optimism for the future."

Peter Huntley, 55, founded the specialist public transport consultancy The TAS Partnership in 1989 after a career in transport operations and planning with Grampian Regional Council and Lancashire County Council. He relinquished day to day involvement in TAS in 2005 and was appointed Managing Director of Go North East in April 2006, a post from which he stepped down at the end of 2011. As chairman of TAS, he led the company’s transition into an employee-owned business in the autumn of 2009.

Peter co-founded Local Transport Today magazine with Peter Stonham in 1989 and was a regular columnist in Transit magazine and Buses magazine. With his colleague Chris Cheek, he co-founded the UK Bus Awards in 1995.