Charles Roberts was born in Wirral, Merseyside, and worked in the bus industry in London, the Midlands and the North East. From 1989 until 2017, he lectured in transport and logistics subjects at Liverpool John Moores University, latterly heading the MSc and BSc programmes in Maritime Management and Logistics. A keen and much-travelled transport enthusiast and photographer, he is currently the Chairman of Online Transport Archive, and has co-authored a range of books based on material held by the Archive.