Keeping people moving & communities prospering 2017/18 a focus on Greater Manchester
Introduction from
the MD
A warm welcome from First Manchester on behalf of myself and the team of 2000 colleagues who helped provide nearly 65m passenger journeys in 2017/18. Our bus services open up opportunities and experiences and help to create strong, vibrant and sustainable local economies. We work hard to deliver for our customers although 2017/18 was not without its challenges, driven in part by changes in customer retailing together with increasing congestion and road-works across many key corridors. In 2017/18 we saw further growth in the use of mobile tickets providing a more convenient way for customers to pay for travel and helping speed up journeys. Together with investment in services and customer apps, we continue to make using the bus a more modern and convenient option. As we move forward we continue to invest in our business, services and people and have already introduced further improvements. These include new ticket machines that are providing smarter travel solutions including contactless payment. We will continue to work with partners in delivering improved, sustainable bus travel and supporting the Region’s economic, environmental and social objectives. Ian Humphreys Managing Director
Greater Manchester 2017/18
Improving our customer offer Technology
16%
of customers use mTickets The use of mobile ticketing continues to grow as customers take advantage of this convenient and better value channel option. Our aim is to reach 80% of commercial payments 'off-bus' within 5 years helping speed up journeys and improving the experience for customers. This year we’ve also upgraded the First Bus Travel App so customers always know which bus to catch and where to catch it. It also gives real-time information on all local bus operator services. Most of our buses now have free Wi-Fi and our fleet of 25 Vantage buses have USB charging pints and e-leather seats.
Satisfaction
81%
Overall satisfaction* We welcome comments from customers which are used to help improve our services. This year we’ve introduced ‘Tell First Bus’, an online feedback channel so customers can leave instant feedback about their journeys using a short survey. The popularity of the Vantage Busway service between Leigh & Manchester continues to grow with an overall satisfaction score of 92% (source: TfGM) * Transport Focus Bus Passenger Survey
Supporting service delivery for our customers Staff & training
2000 staff We employ 2000 staff across our business in our depots at Oldham, Queen’s Road, Bolton & Rusholme. We invest in our staff through continuous training and development and undertook over 86,000 hours of driver training in 2017/18. Challenges are brought to life by our ‘Journey Makers’ training programme which is supporting a one-team culture, working together for our customers.
Our buses
583 vehicles Our fleet of 583 buses operated nearly 23 million miles in 2017/18 Our engineering team work hard to set the highest standards and over 21,000 hours are spent cleaning our buses All our vehicles are fitted with GreenRoad telematics helping reduce emissions and provide customers with a smoother journey. Buses are key to tackling congestion and improving air quality: a double deck bus can take up to 75 cars off the road.
Greater Manchester 2017/18
Focus on performance Dedicated to safety Safety will always be our number one priority. That’s why we have a ‘Be Safe’ culture in our business, which ensures all our staff are thinking and acting in a safety conscious way. We continue to introduce robust safety plans across all depots and target zero injuries and zero fault collisions. We have also introduced our PAWS (Pull Away When Safe) campaign to raise staff awareness of customers who may have mobility difficulties. Successful partnerships such as those with the Greater Manchester TravelSafe Partnership tackling vandalism and anti-social behaviour is also achieving results.
Reliability
89.2% journeys ran on time
We always aim to operate every journey in our network to schedule, although we have had challenges to overcome across our network in the form of congestion and an intensive roadworks programme in recent times. With our Journey Planner app, customers can track their buses in real-time and are kept up to date with arrival times or delays. We continue to work closely with our transport partners to tackle congestion and improve service punctuality for customers.
Strengthening our partnerships Community
£1.5million
raised for Prostate Cancer UK
Along with our colleagues from across FirstGroup, we have raised over £1.5m in the past three years helping Prostate Cancer UK fight a disease which kills a man every 45 minutes. Our new Charity of Choice, as voted for by FirstGroup employees, is Action for Children - a UK children’s charity committed to helping vulnerable and neglected children & young people and their families, throughout the UK.
Journeys
64.8
Staff have engaged with many local primary schools to talk about bus safety and the environment, as well as the importance of local bus services to the area.
million journeys
Between April 2017 and March 2018, we welcomed nearly 65 million passengers on our buses. More people commute to work by bus than all other forms of public transport combined, and the bus has the largest market share (one third) of retail/expenditure trips to city centres.* The bus plays a crucial role in supporting the local economy and our local communities. We’re absolutely committed to driving customer growth through attractive services by working together with all our stakeholders. *Greener Journeys
Greater Manchester 2017/18
First Manchester Ltd
Contact us First Manchester Ltd Wallshaw Street, Oldham, OL1 3TR Twitter: @FirstManchester Facebook: @FirstManchester Customer Services phone number: 0345 646 0707 Customer Services opening times: 0700-1900 Mon-Fri 0900-1700 Weekends and bank holidays Or visit firstgroup.com/greater-manchester and select ‘Help and Contact’ Traveline number: 0871 200 2233 0700 - 2200 Daily
www.firstgroup.com
Our numbers in summary
81% Overall
Customer Satisfaction
64.8 million
passenger journeys a year
22.5 million
miles operated a year across our region
2000 employees A total of 583 buses Reliability of 89%
number of journeys that started on time
16% of customers using mobile ticketing
First Manchester Ltd is part of FirstGroup Plc. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world... keeping people moving and communities prospering.