Corporate Responsibility Report 2009
‘Green’ driving moves up a gear
Introduction
Go-Ahead London comprises London Central, London General, Blue Triangle and Docklands Buses.
Together we represent over 15% of the London bus market and account for approximately 365 million bus journeys each year. Our buses travel nearly 90 million kms on nearly 100 day and night routes.We operate approximately 1,400 buses and employ over 4,500 staff from 13 sites in the capital. The companies operate in a regulated environment under contract to Transport for London (TfL), with contracts being awarded for five or seven years via a rolling tendering programme.We also operate a small number of routes for Surrey and Essex county councils.
London Central runs 570 buses in southeast and central London from Bexleyheath, Camberwell, New Cross and Peckham garages. London General operates a fleet of 735 vehicles in southwest and central London from garages at Mandela Way, Merton, Putney, Stockwell, Sutton,Waterloo and Waterside Way. Blue Triangle operates 55 buses from a site in Rainham whilst Docklands Buses operates 50 vehicles from a site in Silvertown near London City Airport. About the Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead London is part of the Go-Ahead Group. Go-Ahead is a major provider of transport services across the UK, employing over 27,100 people. Each year, the Group’s companies serve over a billion passengers.The Group’s operations span bus, rail and aviation services, and are defined by a belief that local people make the best decisions about running local services. Each of Go-Ahead’s subsidiary companies is run as an autonomous business in tune with the local market.
About this report This report describes the corporate responsibility performance of Go-Ahead London in the 12 months to 27 June 2009.
We have structured our report this year around the three key themes of Partnership, Performance and People, to reflect our focus on these areas. Each section describes our main impacts in this area, and our approach to meeting these challenges responsibly:
Mandela Way Waterloo
Docklands
Rainham
Stockwell New Cross Bexleyheath
Camberwell
Putney
Peckham Waterside Way Merton Sutton
This report is structured around the following key themes to reflect our focus on these areas:
Partnership how we work with others including Transport for London, local police, schools and community organisations
Performance the reliability, convenience and punctuality of our services, environmental performance, safety and security, and accessibility performance
People the health and safety of our employees, training and development and promoting diversity
As part of our annual business planning, we have set targets and goals to improve our social and environmental performance for 2009/10.
We have placed more information on our new Group Corporate Responsibility website which will be available from November 2009.You can find this at www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility
Corporate Responsibility Report 2009 Go-Ahead London 1
Managing Director’s statement
Q
What are Go-Ahead London’s main responsibilities as a leading bus operator in London? London’s transport services are regulated byTfL and so one of our main responsibilities is to work in partnership with them to deliver a high quality service. Partnerships are an important aspect of the way we work, whether withTransport for London, local authorities, police or community groups.We have to perform to a high standard if we’re to meet the needs of our stakeholders.This means providing reliable, convenient and punctual services that are accessible to all.We have to operate safely and in an environmentally responsible way. It is also our responsibility to look after our employees.This year we have structured our report around the three key themes of partnership, performance and people to reflect our focus on these areas.
Q
How do you work with Transport for London? TfL awards contracts to operate bus services for five to seven years via a rolling tendering programme. It plans routes, specifies service levels and monitors service quality.We are fully committed to the standards set byTfL and many of the activities described in this report come about through our relationship with them.At the same time, we’re strong believers in going beyond minimum standards and we’re keen to be industry leaders. Our work to trial hybrid electric buses is just one example of this.
Q
What were Go-Ahead London’s notable achievements during the year? Highlights this year include the launch of electric-powered vans making us the first bus operator in London to operate electric support vehicles, and a driver training programme which has promoted safer driving techniques and achieved 7% saving in fuel consumption.We’ve also worked with local organisations to help vulnerable people use buses and reduce underage drinking amongst young people.
Q
How can Go-Ahead London contribute to a ‘greener’ London? London’s bus network is at the forefront of helping to make the city less polluted and congested. Buses are more environmentally efficient than cars, emitting fewer carbon emissions per passenger journey and they also help to reduce traffic congestion. We can encourage Londoners to choose bus travel rather than cars by providing an excellent service.
Q
Go-Ahead London also has a pioneering environmental programme ‘Go Green’, with initiatives ranging from investment in hybrid and electric vehicles to training our drivers in more fuel-efficient techniques.
What are some of the key challenges Go-Ahead London faces? How do you balance competing interests for example investment in improving corporate responsibility performance versus profitability? Many companies in London, including ourselves, have been affected by the economic downturn over the past year. Maintaining profitability has to be a priority. But we don’t believe corporate responsibility is incompatible with this. In fact it adds to our business success! By fulfilling the responsibilities I described earlier, we can increase passenger numbers and revenues, and also drive efficiencies through our environmental programme.
Q
Looking ahead, are there any areas where you would like to improve performance? Having made real progress in reducing our energy consumption, the next challenge is looking at how we can reduce water usage.We’re also very excited about the regeneration opportunities that the 2012 Olympics will bring to parts of London and we’re exploring how we can be a part of this. As ever, we value any feedback we receive from our stakeholders. Please get in touch with me if you have any comments on how we can improve. John Trayner Managing Director
2 Go-Ahead London Corporate Responsibility Report 2009
Partnership
London’s bus network is one of the largest and most comprehensive urban transport systems in the world.
We believe working closely with others, whether TfL, local authorities, the police or community organisations, is essential to delivering a high-quality service that meets the particular challenges of operating in one of the world’s great cities.
One of the company’s many routes serving the heart of London.
Our approach: working with TfL London’s bus market is regulated by TfL who set the framework for running operations and award contracts to individual bus operators for five or seven years.TfL specifies service levels and monitors service quality in a range of areas including reliability, punctuality and smoothness of journey, as well as environmental criteria. Performance across London bus operators is published in comprehensive quarterly league tables, which compare results against minimum performance standards, benchmarks and industry averages. We work closely with TfL and are strong advocates of the performance standards they set for operators. Some of the initiatives we describe within this report come about as a result of our relationship with TfL. There are specific areas for which TfL have sole responsibility, for example the setting of fares. Rather than simply meeting the standards set by TfL, our aim is to exceed them.
Our approach: partnerships in the community We support communities by providing a vital service. People use our buses to get to work, visit their family and friends, go shopping and access essential services such as hospitals.Through working in partnership with the police, schools and local organisations, we can bring wider benefits to the communities in which we operate.
Passengers boarding a Route 11 in central London.
Corporate Responsibility Report 2009 Go-Ahead London 3
We work closely with the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport Teams in Sutton and Bexleyheath to understand and tackle problems specific to these local areas. One of the schemes we have focused on this past year is tackling underage drinking in Bexleyheath. Our work with the Safer Transport Teams has helped to reduce anti-social behaviour both on our buses and in the wider area.
One of our safety ‘roadshows’ run in Bexleyheath.
This year we launched a sponsorship programme with Reed’s School in Surrey to offer a scholarship and potential university fellowship to talented 16 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds.The scheme provides an excellent educational opportunity for selected students as Go-Ahead London pays for tuition fees and provides an opportunity to pursue a career with the company.The students who are awarded the scholarship are encouraged to develop skills in core business operations relevant to Go-Ahead London and are offered mentoring and work experience with us.
We also offer in-kind and financial donations to local charities and community groups.This year we held a Go-Ahead London charity football tournament to raise money for the Neo-Natal Unit at St. George’s Hospital in Tooting and Macmillan Nurses.
Our plans for the future We will continue to work hard to surpass the standards of operation set by TfL. In doing so, we will continue working with a range of stakeholders including the police and community groups.We will also sponsor another A-level student this year, through our sponsorship programme with Reed’s School. We are involved with a number of organisations in the Stratford area in connection with preparations for the forthcoming Olympics.
Community spend (%)
4 23
73
£17,838 6.6% of total Group spend (£269,720)
•Cash •Gifts in kind •Employee and management time
4 Go-Ahead London Corporate Responsibility Report 2009
Performance
Our aim is to continue to win contracts through the TfL tendering process and to increase passenger numbers across our network as we have done over the past year. We have to provide services that are reliable, convenient and accessible to all. Our passengers, drivers and the general public need to feel safe using our services and it is important that we are leaders in promoting bus travel as an environmentally efficient alternative to car use. Our approach: reliability, convenience and punctuality Go-Ahead London companies continued to appear in the top quartile of the performance league tables published by TfL throughout the year.The tables provide comprehensive information against minimum performance standards, benchmarks and network averages in areas such as reliability, presentation and staff attitude.The latest performance tables are available at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/businessandpartners/ busoperators/1232.aspx. In addition to monitoring by TfL, we conduct Mystery Traveller and other surveys to gather feedback from passengers.The survey results are reviewed by management performance teams to identify areas for improvement. The investment in new iBus technology across our fleet has delivered real passenger benefits. The technology uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide passengers with more accurate real-time information. In addition, we have fitted new cooling systems to address the problem of excessive heat on the top decks of our buses during the summer months.
Our approach: accessibility Millions of Londoners use our buses every day and their needs are diverse. As a result of our on-going investment programme, all of our buses operating on TfL routes are low-floor and fully accessible to passengers with impaired mobility.The new iBus technology, which is now fitted on every bus, provides audible stop-notifications to help visually-impaired passengers. Drivers are trained to identify and assist passengers with disabilities or health conditions. Our Putney garage is working in partnership with TfL and the London Borough of Wandsworth to run a programme to give vulnerable people greater confidence in using buses.The programme has helped 30 people so far.
We value feedback from passengers and do what we can to respond to suggestions they make. Following feedback from one elderly passenger who had recently undergone knee replacement surgery, we have repositioned the hand rails on our new buses at our Sutton garage to benefit all passengers with impaired mobility.
Our approach: safety and security All vehicles on TfL routes are fitted with CCTV to act as a deterrent and help secure prosecutions. We have also introduced new wireless networking systems to enable a faster response to incidents. Crime and anti-social behaviour is more effectively tackled in partnership with others, including the police, Community Support Officers and schools. Our work with the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport Teams at Sutton and Bexleyheath to tackle underage drinking is an excellent example of these partnerships in action. Over the past year we have liaised closely with the newly established TfL Workplace Violence Unit to investigate assaults on bus drivers and employees. The safety of passengers and other road users is an important issue and we have clear procedures for reporting and investigating any incidents or accidents. Over the past 12 months, risk assessments were performed for all TfL routes. Investment in new Telematics ‘black box’ technology on our buses has promoted even higher standards in safe and smooth driving.The technology is designed to monitor fuel efficiency and is complemented by a driver-training course focusing on fuel-efficient and safe driving techniques.
Our approach: environmental performance Buses are more environmentally efficient than cars, producing fewer carbon emissions per passenger journey.They also help to ease the pressure on London’s congested roads.We can bring environmental benefits to London by encouraging more people to use public transport and ensuring that our services are as environmentally efficient as possible.
7%
Corporate Responsibility Report 2009 Go-Ahead London 5
Fuel savings due to driver training
Investment and innovation are at the heart of our environmental programme. Last year we were the first London bus operator to introduce an electricpowered fleet of support vehicles.The vans, which emit zero carbon emissions when in use, are virtually silent and the majority of the components used in their manufacture are recyclable.We also operate six double decker hybrid buses, which emit around 30% fewer carbon emissions, and we continue to invest in vehicles with the latest Euro 5 engines.
During the year, we fitted all of our vehicles with ‘black box’Telematics technology to monitor fuel use. The on-board equipment is backed up by a special training course to encourage smooth, fuel-efficient driving techniques.We have also introduced the ‘Go Green Drivers’ Club’, a reward scheme to recognise drivers’ fuel efficiency. Early results have been encouraging with fuel savings of up to 7%. We have installed new energy saving equipment at our garages, including movement detection lighting and thermostatic zone radiators that only provide heating where it is required. Engaging our employees on environmental issues is crucial to the success of the programme and we use our internal newsletter Go Green to help us do this.
This year Go-Ahead became the first UK transport operator to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard, an independent certification recognising our achievements in tackling climate change.We are also members of Green 500, a London Development Agency initiative, which works with organisations to help set a global standard in environmental excellence. Our plans for the future We are looking forward to introducing our first bus route operated exclusively by hybrid vehicles. This will be in March 2010 on Route 360 (South Kensington to Elephant & Castle).The route will use 13 fully hybrid buses.We will continue to engage employees on energy reduction initiatives and will look at ways to decrease our water consumption.
From spring 2010 the Route 360 will be 100% hybrid.
365m
Passenger journeys (to the nearest 5m) 360m 07/08 Bus engine environmental standards (%) Fleet with Euro 2 engines or above 08/09
100
07/08
100
06/07
99.8
Fleet with Euro 4 and Euro 5 engines* 19.9
08/09 12.8
07/08 7.3
06/07
* Euro 4 – latest European diesel emissions standard. Euro 5 – European diesel emissions standard became mandatory in September 2009.
CCTV on bus fleet (%) 08/09
98
07/08
98
06/07
97
6 Go-Ahead London Corporate Responsibility Report 2009
People
We employ over 4,500 people and all of them play a vital role in the success of our business.
Our responsibility is to provide a safe and supportive working environment that rewards commitment and promotes loyalty to the company.The right training is essential to help our drivers and staff respond to customer needs and maintain our leading position in TfL’s performance league tables.
Our approach: staff turnover and retention There is no doubt that this has been a challenging year for many businesses, including our own. Despite the recession, we have had no compulsory redundancies within the company. Instead, we have redeployed staff between locations and sought additional contract work when possible, to maintain stability.The economic downturn has had the effect of helping to reduce staff turnover and reducing the need to recruit new staff. Our approach: health, safety and wellbeing All employees receive comprehensive health and safety training and we promote a safety conscious environment at our sites.The theme for this year’s annual garage competition was ‘Working Safely’, raising awareness of how to report and deal with near-miss accidents.We also ran a Healthy Living poster campaign throughout the company and trialled ‘Fitbug’, a free online health monitor, at our Putney Garage. Employees were given pedometers to encourage them to stay active, and many have reported losing weight and feeling fitter.
Our approach: training and development This year, we have focused heavily on training and this is reflected in the increase in our training spend and the number of training days.We offer continuous training to improve standards and to make the most effective use of our new systems. An excellent example has been the driver training course related to the new Telematics ‘black box’ technology, which has led to smoother and more fuel-efficient driving.
MP hails new technology: John Trayner pointing out the Telematics screen to Joan Ruddock, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Climate Change, who launched the technology at New Cross Garage.
Corporate Responsibility Report 2009 Go-Ahead London 7
ÂŁ4.2m Training spend
Offering career development opportunities helps us to retain good people. In Autumn 2008 we introduced an in-house management training scheme, to develop future leaders of the company. Three employees were selected for the 18-month programme, which includes a four-day leadership course run by the Army.We currently have 25 young people on our apprenticeship scheme, developing the skills they need to pursue a career in engineering. Our approach: promoting diversity We have always led the industry in promoting diversity, particularly looking at ways to recruit women. As well as being active supporters of theTfL-sponsored Women in the Bus Industry programme, we continue to run our own internal working group to challenge the perception that the bus industry is only for men. Our commitment to this area includes family-friendly policies and mentoring schemes for new women starters.As a result of our efforts, we now have the highest recruitment rate for women amongst all London bus operators.
Lawrie, Darren and Rachel during their army-run leadership course at Pirbright.
The launch of the company’s first electric stores delivery van attended by David Brown, Managing Director, SurfaceTransport atTfL (left). See p5 for details.
Looking ahead We will be focusing on improving customer care through driver training next year.
All drivers will undertake the new Certificate in Professional Competence (CPC) training and we will also refresh our BTEC driver training programme. We will follow the progress of our three management trainees who complete their courses in the coming year. A company-wide safety week will take place in October 2009.
Number of employees
Employee turnover rate (%)
08/09
4,506
07/08 06/07
4,611 4,160
08/09 07/08 06/07
15.5 16.9 16.8
8 Go-Ahead London Corporate Responsibility Report 2009
Data table
Passenger vehicle kms travelled (million) Passenger journeys (to nearest 5 million) Bus fleet size at year end Average age of fleet (years) VOSA PSV pass rate (%)
08/09 88.32 365 1,444 6.1 99.5
07/08 86.78 360 1,466 5.9 99.6
06/07 75.16 315 1,376 5.4 99.7
Fleet with Euro 2 or above (%) Fleet of Pre-Euro to Euro 3 with CRT (%) Fleet with Euro 4 and Euro 5 (%) VOSA emissions pass rate (%) CO2 process ppj (kg) CO ppj (g) NOx ppj (g) PM ppj (g) HC ppj (g)
100 90 20 100 0.35 0.06 2.98 0.01 0.01
100 99 13 100 0.36 0.05 2.98 0.01 0.01
100 97 7 100 0.37 0.05 3.10 0.01 0.01
Fleet with low floor (%) Fleet with CCTV (%) Bus scheduled km operated (%)
98 98 97.4
99 98 97.7
97 97 97.8
4,506 7.7
4,611 8.1
4,160 7.3
43 57 8/6 15.5 3.4
46 54 7/11 16.9 4.0
46 54 8/0 16.8 4.4
17,838
3,616
16,500
Number of employees Women employed (%) Diversity by ethnic group (%) – Asian, black and other ethnic group – White Average length of service (years/months) Turnover rate (%) Absence rate (%) Charitable giving and investment (£)
Summary independent assurance statement Go-Ahead Corporate Responsibility Report Go-Ahead London is part of The Go-Ahead Group plc. Members of the Group run bus services (in the South of England, London and the North East of England), commuter train networks, aviation ground handling and parking services.
Summary IndependentVerification Statement from BureauVeritas UK Ltd Bureau Veritas has been engaged by Go-Ahead Group plc to provide an independent opinion on the corporate responsibility (‘CR’) key performance indicator (‘KPI’) data contained within the Go-Ahead Group plc’s 2009 Corporate Responsibility Reports (‘the Reports’). Scope & Methodology The information and data reviewed for this verification process relates to the period from 29 June 2008 to 27 June 2009. We have verified the CR KPI data that is contained on page 5 of the Go-Ahead Group plc Report, some of which also appears in this Operating Company Report.
The verification process involved a series of interviews with CR data owners at Group level and at a sample of four operating companies (Go-Ahead London, Oxford Bus Company, Southern Railway and London Midland) to understand the process for managing, collating and reporting data.
At Group level, we conducted a review of Enablon, the Group software for collecting, reporting and managing CR data and the central Group contracts for energy supplies and waste management. At operating company level, Bureau Veritas also conducted a review of documents; inspection of internal and external records; interrogation of databases and associated management and reporting systems, in order to challenge and substantiate the CR KPI data presented in the Report.The integrity and accuracy of aggregated data was tested by tracking sample data back to its source. The methodology for data collection, estimation and aggregation was examined and tested for accuracy and robustness.
Opinion of the verifier Based on our verification activities it is our opinion that:
• The reported CR key performance indicators provide a fair and accurate representation of Go-Ahead’s CR performance for the defined period; • No significant omissions were identified which could affect stakeholders’ ability to make informed judgements on Go-Ahead’s CR performance for the defined period.
A full verification statement including further details on our scope and methodology, basis for our opinion, recommendations, limitations and a statement of Bureau Veritas independence can be found on the Go-Ahead Group plc’s website (www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility). Statement of independence, impartiality and competence Bureau Veritas is an independent professional services company that specialises in quality, health, safety, social and environmental management advice and compliance with over 180 years history in providing independent assurance services. Bureau Veritas has implemented a code of ethics across its business which ensures that all our staff maintain high standards in their day to day business activities. Our verification assignment did not raise any conflicts of interest. September 2009 Bureau Veritas UK Ltd corporateresponsibility@uk.bureauveritas.com
Go-Ahead Operating Company Corporate Responsibility Reports
• Aviation Services (Aviance UK, Plane Handling and Reed Aviation)
• Bluestar • Brighton & Hove Bus Company • Go-Ahead London
• Go North East • London Midland • Meteor
• Metrobus • Oxford Bus Company • Southeastern
• Southern • Southern Vectis • Wilts & Dorset
Find out about Go-Ahead London on our website www.go-ahead-london.com and for more information on how we manage our corporate responsibilities visit www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility
If you have any comments, views or ideas on how we might improve, or have any thoughts on other issues that we should address in this report, please write to: John Trayner Managing Director Go-Ahead London No. 18 Merton High Street London SW19 1DN Tel: 020 8545 6100 Email: john.trayner@go-ahead-london.com
This report was put together by The Go-Ahead Group with help from Corporate Citizenship and CR Consulting (Newcastle) Limited, and designed and produced by Rare Corporate Design, London.
Printed by The Midas Press using environmental print technology which minimises any negative environmental impacts resulting from the printing of this document.We include the use of vegetable based inks, recycling 85% of dry waste, 85% of cleaning solvents and use 100% renewable energy. Printed on Revive 100 Uncoated which contains 100% post consumer waste and is FSC certified.