Who we are

SUSTRACO (The Sustainable Transport Company), a transport umbrella organisation based in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Hong Kong.

We are a member of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and are a pledge signatory of their Sustainable Development Charter.

We promote, develop and install sustainable, environmentally-sound public transport systems utilising Ultra Light Rail technology to provide intelligent, cost-effective answers to the movement of people both within the urban and rural environment. SUSTRACO is a leading consultancy in this field and has tailored its services to meet the needs of developed and developing countries alike by providing solutions dependent on customer needs and funding.

Our consultants have many years' experience in the areas of operations, planning, management, administration, marketing services and transport economics. SUSTRACO is an independent company and has the ability to investigate the marketplace in order to provide the best cost option. We undertake this in conjunction with companies worldwide that have developed or are developing, cost-effective, innovative, sustainable and environmentally-sound solutions to the increasing problems associated with road traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and energy security.

James Skinner Chairman - Is an environmental economist with wide international business experience, especially in Africa and the Middle East. He owns two companies (Sustraco Ltd and Bristol Electric Railbus Ltd – BER) established specifically for the purpose of carrying out research, development and demonstration of affordable transport vehicles and systems designed to provide clean, attractive, energy efficient, zero emission urban public transport as a means of addressing the critical problems of energy security, congestion, pollution and climate change. He is also a director of Aggrowgas Ltd, a new company specialising in the installation and operation of low-cost, flexible-capacity, Anaerobic Digestion plants for the production of biomethane from organic wastes. He is a Trustee of the Organic Research Centre and the New Economics Foundation.	Colin Jefferson, Technical Director - is a chartered electrical engineer and has, over the past 20 years specialised in the design of hybrid power systems for urban transit vehicles. From 1997 to 2001 he worked on a European Project to develop a hybrid power system for a 30t light rail vehicle. He had particular responsibility for potential end-user liaison which gave him significant insight into the needs of public transport operators throughout Europe. The vehicle was successfully demonstrated in Alsace in 2001. He has since directed the research and development activities of the company, which have included, with funding from the Carbon Trust, a project to demonstrate the economic and technical feasibility of a zero emission, energy efficient, fuel cell hybrid light rail vehicle for urban transit operations.	Renshaw Watts, Director -Before becoming a Director of Sustraco and BER Renshaw was a Director at Prudential Property Investment Managers Limited, one of the UK’s largest institutional property investors. Renshaw spotted the advantages that ULR can offer the property industry and the environmental benefits. He has extensive experience in asset management with particular expertise in adding value to property. He is actively promoting a zero emission public transport system as an alternative to less environmentally friendly means of transport and an opportunity to create added-value in property as well as economic and environmental benefits to the community.He is currently founder and director Revera Limited, offering comprehensive property consulting on behalf of a portfolio of established organisations. Clients include: Swiss Re Life & Health, Mercantile & General Reinsurance Company Limited, Prudential Limited and CityReach International, together with a number of private and other corporate clients.
Clive Hinchcliffe, Business Development Manager (Europe) - has over 37 years experience in transport operations and railway management with London Transport. Backed by a multidisciplinary team leadership approach, Clive has given new dimensions to training, crew and station management by enhancing their working practices. An Associate of the Institute of Railway Operators, Clive manages projects, provides training in logical frameworks, monitors, and evaluates design systems in a constant change management environment. Using participatory approaches, Clive works with key stakeholder groups within the industry and communities to plan acceptable solutions (both technical and organisational) at project implementation stage. Working in a safety related culture, incident management and recovery techniques have been the underpinning factor for a move to the Track Safety Team where he was commended on his risk assessment skills and his personal recommendations for one of the Underground’s tunnel strengthening projects. Clive has also acquired control room and service control management experience following the introduction of a new management structure within one of the Underground’s Business Units. He founded Passenger Transit Systems (PTS) in 1994 to develop and promote the introduction of sustainable transport systems. PTS became part of a network of organisations working in partnership under the auspices Sustraco. In his current role as Sustraco Business Development Manager (Europe), he represents the companies’ interests with the EU, UITP, and the many NGOs based in Brussels.	Robert Chard (Bob), Associate - Bob Chard has qualifications in town planning, architecture, environmental science and geography. He has over 40 years experience working as a town planner in UK and overseas; in local government, as a consultant and teaching in polytechnics and universities. For the last 20 years he has worked mainly on major transport infrastructure developments in London and south east England, with particular responsibilities for town planning and environmental aspects or project development and evaluation. He has particular expertise in evaluation and consents procedures for railway, light rail and busway projects; planning and transport legislation, and government policies and advice to project promoters. Between 1997 and 2007 he worked as a Principal Transport Planner for the London Borough of Greenwich where he had special responsibility for the management and co-ordination of the Council’s responses and inputs to proposals for 10 major transport infrastructure projects which will involve over £2 billion of investment in new transport infrastructure in the Borough Between 1989 and 1996 he was town planning and consents adviser to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project. Bob is also an Associate in Temple Group town planning and environmental consultants.	Robin Wolfendale, Technology Consultant, Associate - Since 1997 Robin has been actively engaged, both as a principal and as a consultant, in the development and project management of innovative technologies with an increasing focus on those that are rail and civil engineering related. Clients have included Halcrow, Mott MacDonald, Balfour Beatty, Huntsman Chemicals and GrantRail. Projects completed include the development and proving of non-metallic reinforcement for reinforced concrete construction, working alongside Halcrow, including the establishment of a processing plant for its manufacture in the Middle East, and the development of an innovative railway track system using advanced polymeric materials in collaboration with Balfour Beatty Rail Limited, one of the largest railway construction and maintenance companies in the world. He also was appointed Project Director for the Centre for Environmental Research and Technology Transfer, a government funded project which aims to leverage out environmental technologies from Universities and into small to medium size enterprises. In 2002 he secured a UK DTI SMART Award to fund the development of assembled Embedded Rail system for cost-effective track construction. This system has now secured grant of a patent and has been applied in the UK and Italy. A further development of this system has also been installed in South Africa. More recently Robin has been retained as Business Development Manager for ALH Rail Coatings with the remit to broaden the application of advanced polymeric materials to railway track construction in particular for embedded rail. ALH Rail Coatings Limited is a joint venture between GrantRail Limited (a VolkerWessels company) and Dow Hyperlast (part of the Dow Chemical Company).

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