The tsunami caused devastation. Let us have your comments on the Asia Bus Response initiative.
email info@asiabusresponse.co.uk

On behalf of Stock Transportation, I would like to thank you and your team for your perseverance and commitment to the Asia Relief cause. For most of the world, 11 months feels like a long time ago and memories fade. However, for the people so horribly impacted by the tsunami, their lives must surely still be in turmoil and in need of continued support by people and associations like yours.
I am sorry our Canadian buses were not accepted by the governments you work with. Please know that you can depend on Stock for future support when matters are resolved. Stock retires buses on an annual basis and will be happy to contribute to your cause again in the future.
Keep up the great work.
Louise Dyer, Purchasing Manager, Stock Transportation Ltd, Canada

I have been following the progress of Asia Bus Response with admiration and wish to congratulate, on behalf of Hanover Coaches, everyone involved in making this brilliant project a reality. Well done.
Salim Somji, CE, Hanover Coaches Ltd

“Like everyone else I was shocked when I heard of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.  When I realised  the devastating effect on the region in terms of sustaining life in the immediate and medium term future, I wondered how best Trent Barton could help in practical tangible terms.
“Asia Bus Response provides the answer to that question. This is a collective bus industry response to the transport needs of a region where mobility is desperately needed to help people re-establish their lives and rebuild their economies. I commend this initiative and I am very pleased to pledge Trent Barton vehicles to the initiative.
Brian King, Managing Director, Trent Barton

The Asia Bus Response has been a hugely generous and brilliantly innovative initiative by the UK Bus and Coach sector. Islamic Relief is proud to be associated with this project and is very grateful to the organisations concerned for their generosity and support. Asia Bus Response is a fine example of the British public’s solidarity with the victims of the tsunami catastrophe.
Islamic Relief is now starting the reconstruction phase in the affected areas. The buses donated through Asia Bus Response will be central to our mid to long term plans, to get the victims back on their feet by helping them to rebuild their homes and their livelihoods. On behalf of the governments and peoples of Indonesia and Sri Lanka, Islamic Relief offers heartfelt thanks.
Waseem Yaqub, UK Manager, Islamic Relief

What a good idea Asia Bus Response is! The importance of buses in less developed areas can't be underestimated. They're vital in the infrastructure of the local area, used to transport people and their produce everywhere, to markets and trading centres.
The best of luck with the appeal.
Paul Hughes, Equador

The UK bus and coach sector has already given generously to the appeal in both vehicles and money, but this has been a catastrophic disaster and we need to ensure this generosity continues.
I would urge transport operators, local authorities and parts suppliers to dig deep and release the resources that will mean so much to help recovery. Demand for vehicles, spares and equipment is going to grow fast as roads that were swept away are re-built and vast areas become accessible once again.
We cannot begin to comprehend the devastation that has hit transport infrastructure. Without these vehicles it will be impossible for whole regions to get back to normal life. I urge you all to be as generous as you can.
Prof. David Begg, Chair, Commission for Integrated Transport

As with any natural disaster there is great danger that, after the initial outpouring of support, memories fade and the world loses sight of the long term consequences.
Although the DEC and charities encouraged cash donations, money must be converted into tangible goods and human effort. By the provision of buses and coaches, Asia Bus Response is offering not only a practical response but is also helping the region to re-establish it's infrastructure.
The freedom of movement of people and goods not only assists in the rebuilding of the region but the ability to move around by bus or coach will also give a boost to the morale of those who have suffered so much.
Barry Prior, Senior Partner, Wedlake Saint Solicitors

A little help is worth the world to those desperately in need. Asia Bus Response is not only a highly practical appeal, but serves to bring together a whole industry in support of a single humanitarian goal. I hope everyone will take this appeal seriously and support it with the enthusiasm it deserves.
Gwyneth Dunwoody, MP; Chair, House of Commons Transport Committee

Transport is the lifeblood of any community. No community needs life more than those that have suffered in the tsunami. We owe it to them to help them rebuild their lives.
Sir Bill Morris, Secretary General, Transport & General Workers Union, 1991-2003

The tragic events of Boxing Day have left us all thinking , "what can I do to help?"  The bus industry has responded magnificently to this challenge by providing real practical assistance to these stricken areas.
Baroness Ros Scott, LGA & CfIT

One couldn't help but be moved by what we saw on television over the Christmas and New Year period. I believe it is beholden on those of us who live in more fortunate areas of the world to do what we can to assist those people whose lives have been effected by the utter devastation of the tsunami, to get back on their feet.
John Owen, Managing Director, Thamesdown Transport

With so many lost and so many left suffering by the Asian tsunami, it is natural to want to help. I, like many others, have made a financial contribution but am left wanting to do more. We are lucky to work in an industry where people come first and this characteristic has allowed Asia Bus Response to be created. I can't think of a more practical and selfless way to assist the people most affected than by giving them a bus and seeing them use it to help re-build their communities.
Robbie Watson, Transport Information Development Manager, Essex County Council

Until a couple of weeks ago a tsunami was something I had only read about in my daughter's geography school project work. As television coverage has unfolded we have all learned something of the power of nature and the almost unbelievable scale of the resulting devastation. No-one can fail to have been moved by the graphic scenes, made all the poignant by their coincidence with Christmas.
Transport is at the heart of economic and social activity anywhere in the world, and if the UK bus industry can provide equipment to help re-establish viable communities and begin the process of reconstruction, will be delighted to do so.
Chris Moyes, Chief Executive, Go-Ahead Group plc

It took a few days for the scale of awfulness to register; the tsunami was beyond my comprehension and so totally indiscriminate. I made a financial donation - who didn't?, but the awfulness got worse as numbers of dead rose across so many countries, and the grief and suffering became at times unbearable. I kept asking myself what else I could do. How could I practically help some of the people who had lost all they had and everything they loved? Then I realised I had friends in the bus industry who felt the same way, and Asia Bus Response was created.
Mitch de Faria, Director, The Event Makers
PR & Event Manager, The Bus Industry Awards

We were all shocked by the events of Boxing Day 2004 and many of us feel we should do more to help the situation in Asia. By working in partnership, the bus industry and local authorities can help in a unique way to get economies moving again. Transport is the lifeline of all communities throughout the world and we must do what we can to help rebuild them.
Andrew Varley, Info & Marketing Group Manager, Transport Policy,
Lancashire County Council