BUS TALK 07 December 2011

No.7 • December 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

CHALLENGING TIMES AHEAD FOR US ALL

MESSAGE FROM THE MD

T

HIS year has been one of the toughest that I have ever experienced, driven partly by the recession that has gripped much of the world.

Around 35 per cent of our network was put up for competitive tender during the year and, unfortunately, we didn’t win all of it. Consequently, for the first time ever we had to TUPE out of the business a group of drivers. I wasn’t happy about

this but I had no choice in the matter and hope the transition was smooth for all those involved.

There was also the sad loss of Carlos Foster, which must be particularly difficult for his family at this time of the year.

Our CPC training has been going well and we have recently completed our 10,000th day of training – you can read more about this on page 6.

Everybody is delighted with the rebuild at Camberwell. The facilities are now really modern and up-to-date, helping people at the garage to do their jobs even more efficiently.

Looking to next year, David Brown will be returning to the Go-Ahead Group as chief executive. It will be good to work with David again on a strategy for Go-Ahead London’s bus operations.

While we are not out of the recession yet, I do believe we are coming out of the other side. While next year will be quieter, there will be opportunities to grow again and bid for new business.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for all your hard work and wish you and your loved ones a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

John Trayner Managing director

A GALLANT PERFORMANCE in the Drivers’ World Cup: p6

FACE TO FACE with Jon Edwards: p4

ON TRACK with the kart racers: p8

JOHN’S NIGHT TO REMEMBER at the UK Bus Awards: p7

INSIDE: TRIBUTE TO OUR LONG SERVERS AND NVQ ACHIEVERS p4-5

Hannah takes top ops role at Merton

Looking forward to a new challenge – Hannah Self.

WITH seven years’ bus industry experience to her credit, Hannah Self is relishing her new challenge…

She has just become operating manager at Merton garage having joined Go-Ahead London on October 4.

Hannah started with First Group in 2003 as a graduate trainee and worked in various departments before gaining her PCV licence.

She worked in operations in Hampshire and Yorkshire before returning to London in 2005 where she became project manager for the first UK bus simulator.

She was then appointed panel staff manager for Greenford and Hackney depots before becoming general manager at Hayes garage.

Hannah was then seconded to Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police Service’s Workplace Violence Unit (WVU).

Hannah said: “I’m really pleased to be back in bus operations and the team at Merton has been very welcoming.

“I’d visited a number of companies during the WVU roadshows and I realised that I would like to work for Go-Ahead London.

“I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and to working with the Merton team.

“I’m also using my links with TfL and the Metropolitan Police to build further relationships with Merton garage and its employees.”

Hannah has a degree in Sociology and Economics from the University of York and is currently studying for an MBA with the Open University.

How you can save on childcare costs IF YOU are paying for childcare, did you know that Go-Ahead London offers all permanent staff the opportunity to save tax and National Insurance on at least some of the cost?

Known as a salary sacrifice scheme, you give up part of your income and the company provides you with vouchers (or more often these days, an electronic account) to the same value, which you then use to pay your childcare costs. Because the cost of the vouchers is deducted from gross pay your tax and National Insurance is lower,

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which helps to reduce the actual cost to you.

The scheme is open to all Go-Ahead London employees, women or men, who are paying for childcare. New and current employees who would like to join the Childcare Voucher Scheme are advised to do so as soon as possible.

This is because changes are being proposed on April 6, 2011, that will put new limits on the amount of income associated with childcare vouchers where an employee’s earnings and taxable benefits are liable to tax at the higher or additional rate. This is to ensure that the income tax

savings for higher paid employees are limited to that available for employees whose earnings and taxable benefits are liable to income tax at the basic rate.

Comparison weekly allowances pre and post April 6: Current (per parent) n Basic (20 per cent) taxpayer.

Allowed £55 worth of vouchers a week, maximum annual gain £890 n Higher (40 per cent) taxpayer.

Allowed £55 worth of vouchers a week, maximum annual gain £1,170 n Top (50 per cent) taxpayer.

Allowed £55 worth of vouchers a week, maximum annual gain £1,460

Joiners after April 5 (per parent) n Basic (20 per cent) taxpayer.

Allowed £55 worth of vouchers a week, maximum annual gain £920 n Higher (40 per cent) taxpayer.

Allowed £28 worth of vouchers a week, maximum annual gain £610 n Top (50 per cent) taxpayer.

Allowed £22 worth of vouchers a week, maximum annual gain £590.

Anyone already in a scheme by April 5, 2011 will not be affected by these changes as long as they remain within the scheme. If you would like any further information speak to your manager.

Garage closes to protect business A REVIEW of the business has led to the difficult decision to close Mandela Way garage in May 2011.

The company has lost a considerable amount of work in the past year and this has led to a need to assess costs to make the business more competitive.

If the company is successful in retaining the double-deck contract for Route 453 (Deptford Bridge to Marylebone) then this route will be transferred to New Cross.

Route 1 (Tottenham Court Road Station to Canada Water Station) and the N1 (Tottenham Court Road Station to

Thamesmead Boiler House) will also transfer to New Cross.

It is envisaged that Route 171 (Holborn Station to Catford bus garage) will transfer to Camberwell garage at the same time.

Operations director David Cutts said: “The decision to close Mandela Way garage was

not taken lightly and it in no way reflects on the excellent performance that all staff have given over the past three years.

“The decision was made to protect the jobs of employees and ensure that the company is in the best shape possible to face the challenges ahead.”

Docklands wins the ‘risk’ award

David Brown to take over as Keith retires KEITH LUDEMAN, Group chief executive of Go-Ahead, is to retire on July 4 2011.

He will be succeeded

by David Brown, who is currently TfL’s managing director, surface transport.

Keith has spent 15 years with Go-Ahead, five as Group chief executive, and has served the transport industry for 40 years.

Business MD John Trayner presents the awards to representatives from Docklands garage.

A PROACTIVE approach to health and safety ensured Docklands garage was the winner of this year’s risk competition.

Mandela Way was the runner-up.

The winners were announced at an awards event on November 9 at Westminster Kingsway College and all safety team members were invited to attend.

This year’s competition theme was driving safely and various thoughtprovoking activities were organised during safety week from September

27 to October 1.

Docklands had arranged a number of events including a bus safety awareness visit to St Joseph’s Primary School. At the garage, an NHS no-smoking session took place as well as a cycle safety competition to win a bicycle. Drivers were also given tips on safe and economical driving.

Mandela Way held a number of safety quizzes and competitions and hosted a London Buses

roadshow, which included a cycle awareness session with a TfL cycle manager. A nurse hosted healthy eating and fitness events and members of Age UK visited the garage to speak to drivers about the safety of elderly passengers.

Risk and safety manager Andrew Smith said: “I’d like to congratulate all the teams on the events they held during safety week. All the activities proved a great way to continue promoting health and safety awareness.”

Before joining Transport for London, David was chief executive of GoAhead’s London bus business from 20032006.

Prior to this he held the positions of operations director and then managing director of Go-Ahead London. David’s career in the transport industry has so far spanned 27 years.

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Salute to th In our Face 2 Face column, we chat to Jon Edwards, who is a running shift supervisor at Blue Triangle, and has worked for the company for five years. We ask Jon 10 light-hearted questions.

Q: What snack do you like to eat in front of the TV? A: Last night it was a bar of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut. Q: What’s your favourite TV show of all time?

A: Only Fools and Horses.

Q: What is your favourite season of the year and why?

A: Summer, because I don’t like going to work and coming home in the dark.

Q: What was your childhood ambition?

A: To be a mechanic.

Q: If you were Mayor of London for the day what would you do?

A: Stop all the buses for a day so the bus drivers and engineers could have a day off.

Q: Who or what makes you happy?

A: My wife and kids – and money!

Q: Where would you most like to visit in the UK? A: The Scottish Highlands or Great Yarmouth.

Q: If you could have a super power what would it be?

A: I would be able to make Belcher and Artur (my managers) disappear!

Q: Who is your sporting hero?

A: Trevor Brooking.

Q: What is your favourite area of London?

A: Carnaby Street.

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...and congratulations to the NVQ achievers A TOTAL of 15 more Go-Ahead London engineers have obtained an NVQ in Transport Engineering and Maintenance at Levels 2 and 3.

They are: Level 2 – Anthony Bonner, Richard Conn, Steven Hawkins, Laurence Hughes and Anthony Mount.

Level 3 – Nasir Abidi, Godfrey Dunbar, Ron McIlroy, Ireneusz Molenda, Tim Nelson, Stephen Norrington, Keith Sykes, Terry Tamplin, Paul Walker and Boyd Wayne.

Their achievement brings the number of engineers, including former apprentices, in Go-Ahead London with NVQ qualifications to more than 80. There are also another 23 apprentices studying for Level 3.

“We’re absolutely delighted to see

these guys achieve their NVQs because they’ve all worked really hard,” said joint engineering training manager Ian Saich.

RIGHT: Group engineering director Phil Margrave presented the successful candidates with their certificates. Left to right, back row: Richard Conn, Nasir Abidi, Ireneusz ‘Eric’ Molenda, Anthony Mount, Laurence Hughes, Paul Walker, Keith Sykes, Ron McIlroy and Godfrey Dunbar.

Left to right, front row: Boyd Wayne, Tim Nelson, Phil Margrave, Anthony Bonner and Terry Tamplin. Steven Hawkins and Stephen Norrington were not able to attend.

he long servers EMPLOYEES attending the Victoria Park Plaza Hotel on November 19 all had two things in common – their dedication and loyalty to the bus industry.

They had gathered together to celebrate their commitment to the company at Go-Ahead London’s annual long service event.

Any employee who had achieved the milestone anniversaries of 25, 35 and 40 years’ service was eligible to attend the ceremony.

Managing director John Trayner paid tribute to each employee and Group chief executive Keith Ludeman presented the certificates to recipients.

A dinner and a disco completed the night’s entertainment.

Congratulations to the following on their achievement: 25 years Edward Askew, New Cross driver David Bryer, Camberwell driving instructor Tony Chambers, Waterside Way driver John Dickinson, Merton driver James Drake, Camberwell driver

Emmanuel Iungano, Merton senior vehicle engineer Evon Nelson, Stockwell driver.

35 years Martin Cook, New Cross satellite manager Bob Hollier, Camberwell driver Mark Leader, New Cross senior vehicle engineer Donald McFarlane, Bexleyheath driver Gerry May, Camberwell workshop manager Olsen Miller, Putney driver Keith Molloy, Bexleyheath regulator Dave Morton, Bexleyheath senior garage administrator Keith O’Shea, New Cross regulator Joaquim Rodriques, Merton driver Gurdip Singh, Camberwell driver Mark Stevens, Merton service centre manager Gill Tynan, general manager service quality John Valler, Sutton driver Jack Ward, Stockwell satellite manager.

40 years Dave Bareham, retired quality auditor Stephen Lacey, New Cross driver.

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THREE LIONS SPIRIT SHINES THROUGH AS THE team representing Go-Ahead London in the Bus Drivers’ World Cup departed Stansted Airport early on September 24 for Baden Baden in Germany, the question was how they would fare without recognised goalkeeper Mark Bolton, cruelly ruled out due to a last-minute illness.

On arrival in southern Germany their hosts gave them a short tour of their local bus depot, followed by breakfast, after which a cable car journey took the eight-man squad some 668 metres above Hausberg for a high altitude lunch.

Arrival at the hotel and an afternoon siesta was rounded off with some final training at the VIP bar.

Saturday morning, and the day of reckoning, arrived all too quickly. The squad was taken to the ground of FC Varnhalt for the five 15-minute matches that would determine their fate.

The first match against SG Rathaus soon showed the effects, rather than benefits, of the final preparations the night before. Star strikers weren’t shining, and midfield dynamos weren’t buzzing,

but the team managed a credible draw. Two wins and another draw saw the unbeaten GoAhead London team go head to head with the tournament winners in their final match. Italian outfit TS Tang, (effectively an indoor five-aside team), had won their four previous games.

Team manager, and stand-in goalkeeper, Nigel Wood’s cunning tactics of consistently putting the ball out of play, and regrouping, paid dividends as this broke down the Italians’ pattern of play. Then, an unexpected counter attack produced a shock goal for Go-Ahead London. Neither side was quite sure who was more surprised…

Removing the strikers and packing the defence to try and see out the final eightminute onslaught, almost paid off, until an

unfortunate equaliser was conceded in the final seconds.

Nevertheless the team finished runnersup and were unbeaten, which was good enough reason, if one was needed, to celebrate with the other players in the club lounge afterwards.

A sightseeing tour of the local town on Sunday preceded the return trip home with heads held high, after some spirited performances against the odds.

Drivers right on track with the training target

GO-AHEAD London is now well on track to ensure all drivers who need to complete their first block of 35 hours by 2013 have the requisite numbers of hours of periodic training.

The company’s rolling programme of CPC training has already welcomed its 10,000th attendee since it began in late 2008 and more than 500 employees have already attended the IMPACT course this year.

IMPACT, which stands for Incident Management, Preventing Accidents and Cycle Tolerance, focuses on the importance of receiving and exchanging the correct details from a third party following an accident. It also gives drivers 6

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Thumbs up from employees for IMPACT course an insight into cycle tolerance, allowing them the opportunity to have a go on a bike.

Previous CPC courses have covered vehicle checks and fuel-efficient driving.

Resources manager Keith Wood said: “The vast majority of our drivers now have at least 14 hours of the 35 hours of training required to ensure their licence is valid by September 9 2013 and we will endeavour to

provide seven hours’ training each year.

“What’s good is that we’re able to adapt our training programmes each year to cover new legislation and raise awareness of new initiatives that are going on in the industry, such as the Cycle Superhighways.

“We’ve also been running other courses alongside the CPC to ensure employees have the right knowledge and skills to do their jobs.

“Feedback from employees has been really pleasing. Those who have attended the current IMPACT course have given very positive feedback with many saying they found the course interesting and an eye opener.”

Obituary Marilyn will be sadly missed STAFF across Go-Ahead London have been sad to learn that head office employee Marilyn CliffordCarroll has sadly died.

Marilyn had been receiving medical treatment, but the swiftness of her death on December 2 was a surprise to all.

She had worked at head office since October 2003 and was Pat Mahon’s assistant. She also worked closely with the garages and knew a number of employees in the operations teams.

Marilyn’s funeral was due to be held on 13 December at North East Surrey Crematorium, just as Bus Talk was going to press.

She will be missed by all, especially her husband Bob, daughter and two sons.

Accolade for John in UK Bus Awards

A proud day for John Tebuseke, centre, as he receives his certificate at the UK Bus Awards.

IT WAS high acclaim for Sutton driver John Tebuseke when he was announced as joint runner-up in the UK Bus Awards’ Top London Bus Driver category on November 16. The announcement was made at a prize ceremony at the London Hilton Hotel, Park Lane.

Eddie Bainbridge, from Camberwell, and Daniel Notley, from Putney, also received praise from the judges and

were highly commended in the same award category. In a successful afternoon, Bexleyheath garage scooped the runner-up spot in the TfL Surface Transport Award for London Bus Garage of the Year, while Bexleyheath road manager Sandra McKinley and her team were highly commended in the TfL Surface Transport London Service Quality Award category.

Stockwell apprentice scoops runner-up prize DANNY GUNTHER is the number two engineering apprentice in the country.

The Go-Ahead London employee was runner-up in the apprentice of the year award for transport engineering and maintenance sponsored by training provider GoSkills.

He received his prize at the Go for Excellence Awards at the Birmingham Motorcycle Museum on December 2. Danny achieved the accolade for his work throughout the year at the College of North West London and with Go-Ahead London.

The former Royal Marine said: “I am disappointed not to have won the top prize, but coming second is

pretty good and I would like to thank everyone at Go-Ahead London for having the confidence to put me forward for the competition.”

COMMENDATIONS BEXLEYHEATH n DRIVER John Waller is praised by Miss S. HeywoodBarber for “going out of his way” to reunite her with the purse she had left inadvertently on his bus.

BLUE TRIANGLE n Matthew Gentry has been thanked for showing extremely good conduct and courtesy to Mrs O’Driscoll and her party.

CAMBERWELL n Neville Aaron has been commended for being “very polite, helpful and patient” by Route 42 customer Mrs A. Daly.

Mrs Daly says Neville is an “asset to the company” and that he smiles and greets customers as they board his bus. She also thanked Neville for his assistance in providing additional journey information.

DOCKLANDS n DRIVER Paul Howell is thanked by Ms C. Faint for being “helpful and kind”. Ms Faint is blind and was travelling with her dog.

NEW CROSS n “HELPFUL, kind and considerate” is how Mrs C. Crump describes driver Olufemi Adedibu.

Mrs Crump praises Olufemi for allowing passengers to be seated before driving off and she says “it was a pleasure to ride on his bus”. n DRIVER Daniel Erridge is described by James Thornton as “very helpful” to passengers when the Blackwall Tunnel was closed. n PASSENGER Richard Graham praises driver Natasha Vassell for a “perfect bus ride”.

PECKHAM MS O. AMON watched driver Michael Sterling carry out a safety check on his bus before taking on new customers at Surrey Quays stand. She congratulated him on his work when she boarded.

PUTNEY n LOCATING a lost purse has led to a commendation for drivers Pierre Bruwer and Lucy Callixte. Ms S Peele was really grateful for their help. n GARAGE administrator Ana Oliveira has been applauded for her professionalism by Mr John Karayiannis.

He explained that his daughter had left her schoolbag on a number 22 bus and he’d been pleasantly surprised to find Ana so helpful when he reported the bag missing.

“I use the number 22 a lot and think the service is excellent. This is no doubt due to the dedicated and hard working staff who obviously care about the passengers,” wrote Mr Karayiannis. n MRS J. FOWLER was with her companion, who uses a wheelchair, when she caught Shaun Smith’s bus.

“Your driver was very polite and very patient … I have never come across such commendable service,” says Mrs Fowler. n DUNCAN Cumming has received a letter of praise from customer Marie Powell-Blanche.

She was very impressed with the service Duncan provided, commenting on his smooth driving “with no jerking or swerving”. Ms Powell-Blanche said she heard a number of other customers saying how nice Duncan was and that he was “exceptionally polite, helpful and informative”.

STOCKWELL n EXCELLENT customer service from Garry Battman impressed a Route 170 passenger. The customer wanted to thank Garry for providing helpful information when the bus was diverted. The passenger also said that Garry had waited for a woman at the stop before pulling away, making sure that she was not left stranded. n DRIVING skills described as “sympathetic” plus helpful information from driver Roy Lambe were appreciated by passenger Peter Kendall and others on a Route 11 bus.

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Pedal to the metal in memory of a colleague

WHEN staff from Camberwell Training School, and a few close relatives, decided to go karting in memory of much-respected driving instructor Dave Jones, they did so in some style.

The team of budding racers elected to go to Surbiton Raceway, a 700m professional circuit with a course that would challenge even the most experienced of drivers. Driving 200cc karts capable of speeds in excess

of 50mph left no place for the fainthearted.

Competing in a 1½ hour endurance event, in teams of three, teamwork was essential as drivers had to work together, swapping track time to fight for overall position. The racing was very competitive and very spirited, but also highly enjoyable for everyone involved.

Emerging as winners, and the first recipients of the Dave Jones Memorial Shield (pictured above right), was driving instructor John Grey’s team,

followed home by the team of manager Paul McKenzie. A close evening’s racing produced a joint third finish between the teams of examiner Steve Orr and interviewer Dave Weller.

However, no-one lost sight of the reason for the event, as Dave Weller said: “I’m sure Dave Jones would be looking down on us laughing and joking because anyone who knew him would know that’s how he was in life.”

After such an enjoyable and successful event employees unanimously decided to go karting again next year, but probably in the summer.

Christmas Competition Talking WHETHER you’re shopping, listening to the radio or dining out during the festive season you’ll no doubt hear the old familiar jaunty tunes playing out across the airwaves.

Our December competition invites our readers to fill in the missing words on 10 well-known Christmas carols. We’ve given you 10 words and all you need to do is work out in which gap they should appear in the 10 listed carols. There is one word for each carol.

If you match all 10 words to their correct carol you could stand the chance of THE 10 CAROLS ARE Hark! The .................... Angels Sing Away in a ....................

O Come .......... Ye Faithful O .................... Town of Bethlehem I Saw Three ....................

While Shepherds ....................

Ding Dong .................... on High Good ............ Wenceslas Once in ............... David’s City .................... Night 8

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winning £50 Marks and Spencer vouchers.

Send your completed entry form to Christmas Competition, Ruxley Communications, 81 High Street, Waltonon-Thames, Surrey KT12 1DN. The sender of the first entry selected at random on January 14, 2011 will win the prize. Only Go-Ahead London employees are eligible and the judges’ decision is final. ...................................................................

The 10 words to match are: all, herald, king, little, manger, merrily, royal, ships, silent, watched.

Name ........................................................................................

Work place ...............................................................................

Home address . ........................................................................ .................................................................................................. ..................................................................................................

Postcode ..................................................................................

Tel no. .......................................................................................

over the best way ahead SENIOR figures from Go-Ahead London’s management team and the trade unions met to discuss the way forward for the company at the end of October.

Held over two days at Eastbourne, delegates focused largely on the reduction of costs and the company’s competitiveness in an increasingly fierce commercial climate.

Among the most important topics discussed were competitive tendering, the reduction of fuel consumption, the financial and human costs of accidents and the Driver CPC programme.

Published by Go-Ahead London. Produced by Ruxley Communications, Walton-on-Thames. Printed by Evolve Print Solutions, Rickmansworth.