Bus Talk 13 - December 2011

No.13 • December 2011

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

HIGHS AMONG THE LOWS MESSAGE FROM THE MD

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his year has been one of the toughest we have ever had, not only because of the economic recession but the competition for winning and retaining routes has been as fierce as I can remember. Added to this, the amount of road works and congestion we have had to cope with has led to our highest level of traffic lost

mileage and, finally, our claims costs following accidents on the road exceeded £11 million.

The good news is that we are coping with all these challenges and looking forward to 2012. Next March will see the introduction of a number of new contracts followed in the summer by the biggest sporting event in the world – the Olympics, in which we will play a key part in moving the Olympic family around the various venues.

In November this year we said goodbye to the last of our articulated routes and converted them to double deck operation, some of which are the latest, greenest hybrid technology that is available. Today our fuel consumption remains one of the

biggest challenges which we have to continually champion, and I am proud to say we now have 85% of our drivers in the green on RIBAS, which is helping.

We also launched this year the Go-Green website and this will continue to be developed as we go forward as a communication tool for everyone in the company, so if you want to know what’s going on or ask me a question please visit the website.

So finally, a big thank you to every one of you, your contribution to our success is greatly appreciated, and I wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

John Trayner Managing director

OZ BECKONS FOR STEVE: p6

SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE: p7

Merton drives the standards up As featured previously in Bus Talk, the Institute of Advanced Motorist (IAM) scheme at Merton has been a resounding success with over 100 drivers taking part in the last 18 months. The IAM were rightly proud of the joint venture and entered the scheme into the ‘Driving for Work’ category at the Prince Michael International

Road Safety Awards. The work started by accident prevention manager, Graham Oliver, supported

by Colin Langford (Merton’s former general manager) and Merton’s trade union representative Richard Skeet was placed on the shortlist.

John Trayner, managing director accompanied Graham, Colin and Richard to the awards

ceremony held at the Savoy on 6 December, and although they didn’t win they were highly commended.

Merton’s scheme has seen a huge rise in driving standards and a reduction in the amount of discipline in the garage as a result of the reduction in accident rates.

The IAM scheme will be introduced by Graham

at New Cross in the new year and newly selected mentors are soon to be working with drivers to further extend their driving skills.

The programme is purely voluntary and no outside management structure is involved.

The mentors selfmanage the programme, working with drivers without interference.

Tony and Audrey’s wedding joy: p7

INSIDE: A TRIBUTE TO OUR LONG SERVING EMPLOYEES p4-5

Phones for a good cause GO-AHEAD London is calling on friends and colleagues for their help.

The company is asking for just one thing: for colleagues to donate old personal or company mobile phones that are no longer being used.

The phones will be used to help raise funds for a colleague’s grandchild, who has recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

So far, kind colleagues have donated more than 50 phones for this worthy cause.

Asperger’s Syndrome is a disorder that is related to autism and is characterised by difficulties in social interaction and repetitive patterns of behaviour or interests.

If more than 190 mobile

phones are collected, then Go-Ahead London will be able to fund the purchase of a touch screen pad that will assist in tackling some of the areas that this syndrome affects.

However, there is still more work to be done. Have a rummage around at home and donate your unused handsets to help make a difference.

Any donations can be sent to Erica Harris, director’s secretary, Go-Ahead London head office, No. 18 Merton High Street, London, SW19 1DN. Erica said: “I am really delighted with the response.

If you get a new phone for Christmas, I would be pleased to receive your old one.”

Richard’s up for the challenge

Jasmin strikes gold

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ICHARD Harrington has begun his new role as engineering director, having been promoted from his previous position as chief engineer on 1 December.

For nearly five years Richard had been chief engineer, working very closely with the previous engineering director Phil Margrave, who has now become more involved with his group responsibilities.

Richard has been in the industry for over 27 years having started as an apprentice in 1984 before taking on a number of roles including managing the New Cross accident centre, engineering training manager and engineering manager at Peckham garage.

Two previous generations of Richard’s family have served more than 30 years each within the London bus industry so it is certainly in his blood.

“It’s a big move up but I am very pleased to be stepping into the boots that were filled so efficiently by Phil,” said Richard.

“I don’t think there’s really anything that needs drastically changing, it’s more about maintaining the high standards that the 2

BusTalk l December 2011

CONGRATULATIONS to Merton driver Jasmin Morrison who won an iPhone 4 in the GoGreen website’s golden pump competition.

Entrants had the whole of September to find a golden pump hidden on the website and then answer a taxing question. Managing director John Trayner picked the winner and presented Jasmin with her prize on 5 December.

The industry is in Richard’s blood – two previous generations of his family have worked on the buses. engineering department have previously provided. There will certainly be some challenges ahead but I am looking forward to tackling them head on.”

STOP PRESS

DRIVERS at Blue Triangle and Docklands garages, as well as supervisory and administration staff at London General, have reached an agreement in the latest round of pay talks.

Garage taps into a winning green idea

The Merton team beat off tough competition to scoop the trophy.

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O-AHEAD London’s annual health and safety competition took place recently and it was Merton who emerged victorious, despite stiff competition from all involved.

The teams were asked to come up with ideas on safety themes with this year’s subject being ‘Safety and Environment’.

Key to Merton’s success was a 50 per cent reduction in water usage by trialling an automatic tap in engineering and a 69 per cent reduction in accidents as a result of driver feedback on problems and issues being raised with London Buses and the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport Team, as well as other accident reduction initiatives within the garage.

Web page is a whole lot better A NEW section has been added to the Go-GreenLondon website to make it easier for everyone to view current job vacancies.

Previously, jobs were advertised on notice boards in garages, but the website will now act as a centralised area where all vacancies in the company can be viewed.

“Advertising the jobs on notice boards meant that sometimes not everyone saw them and I definitely think doing it online is the future,” said communications manager Sheldon Malcolm.

“It has been very successful so far and we have already had a good number of applications as a result of the change. I would encourage everyone interested in furthering their career with Go-Ahead London to visit this section of the website regularly to keep up to date on the latest vacancies within the company.”

If you would like to see the new section on the GoGreen-London website for yourself just visit www.gogreen-london.com.

The winning Merton team was composed of Hannah Self, Scott Horney, Andy Sheead, Avril Skyrme and Glenn Woodman.

Stockwell garage was runner up with the idea of monitoring the idling time on buses and introducing a structured plan to improve RIBAS amber drivers into the green, resulting in a 50 per cent improvement.

Camberwell and Bexleyheath were also highly commended by the judges for their entries into the competition. The prize presentation was held at the Vincent Rooms and was attended by managing director John Trayner, with risk and safety manager Andrew Smith and business development manager Frank Thorpe acting as judges.

There were also special guests from London Buses in the form of operations director Mike Weston and safety support manager Frank Williamson; and Stephen King and Steve Dimond from Go-Ahead’s health and safety consultants PHSC. “The garages came up with some good initiatives which have brought about some real improvements,” said Andrew. “We will be making use of the work they have done and putting it in place at other garages which will result in further safety and environmental improvements.”

YOUR CHANCE TO MEET THE DIRECTORS THE OPEN forums known as ‘Meet the Directors’ that are taking place at every GoAhead London garage have so far been a success.

Managing director John Trayner hosted a forum at Putney on 20 October and operations director David Cutts took the lead at Waterloo on 19 October and New Cross on 22 November.

The ‘Meet the Directors’ initiative gives colleagues the opportunity to field any questions to do with the business to directors.

“So far the response has been fantastic and I am glad to have seen so many people choosing to attend,” said communications manager Sheldon Malcolm.

“I think the meetings are really good as they help give the directors of the company more of a face behind the name.”

The next two forums will be hosted by David at Sutton on Thursday, 15 December and by John at Blue Triangle on Wednesday, 21 December, both starting at 11.30.

Emma’s chartered success

THE NEW head of Go-Ahead London’s payroll team has added another string to her bow.

Emma Bilclough has recently become a chartered member of the Institute of Payroll Professionals, through the completion of her degree in payroll management.

Emma who, graduated at the London Barbican on 14 October, was appointed payroll services manager for Go-Ahead London in July, a role she is enjoying immensely.

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Thanks for being

In our Face 2 Face column we chat to Barbara Skinner who is a road operations supervisor at Peckham and has worked for Go-Ahead London for 12 years. We asked her a series of lighthearted questions.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?

A: Becoming a bus driver at 44 years old.

Q: Who is your favourite actor?

A: Patrick Dempsey from Grey’s Anatomy.

Q: What’s your favourite crisp flavour?

A: Ready salted.

Q: What character trait do you most admire in others?

A: Honesty.

Q: What was the first car you ever had?

A: A Morris 1100 I bought in 1976!

Q: What do you most enjoy about your job?

A: The day-to-day challenges and, of course, the money!

Q: What is your favourite dessert?

A: Banoffee pie.

Q: Which country would you most like to visit and why?

A: I’d love to visit India to see just how different our cultures are.

Q: What is your favourite pastime?

A: Spending time with my grandchildren.

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The loyal long-servers proudly display their awards celebrating some impressive milestones, ranging fro

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O-AHEAD London once again paid tribute to the loyal commitment of their employees at the long service awards.

The ceremony was held on 18 November at the Victoria Park Plaza with more than 100 guests in attendance.

Managing director John Trayner hosted the event and thanked each colleague for their dedication. Group chief executive David Brown handed out the awards to the recipients.

The long service awards event celebrates colleagues’ milestones of 25, 35 and 40 years of service.

Colleagues who have celebrated more than 40 years of service were also in the audience on the evening.

The evening began with dinner followed by presentation of the awards. The celebrations ended with a disco.

Congratulations to the following 25 years BEXLEYHEATH: Ronald Holland CAMBERWELL: Michael Bannell, Derek Barker, Reynolds Benn, Collette Connolly, Steven Essex, Albert Miller, Reginald

Phillips, Parmajit Sokhal HEAD OFFICE: David Cutts MERTON: Brian Cooper, Stephen Kelleher, David Kenny, Christopher Leach NEW CROSS: Michael Alcide,

Paul Bo Kingsley Winfield STOCKW Maureen Williams

High-flying Rob now h

g on our journey

Tender news from across London All routes have been retained by the existing operator.

om 25 years to 40 years.

following for their long service achievements

diam, Philip O’Reilly, y Sutherland, Stephen d, Joseph Wright WELL: Version Brown, n Williams, Edmund s

SUTTON: David Maslin, 35 years MERTON: Steven Humphreys PECKHAM: Barrington Evans NEW CROSS: Milverton Miller, Andrew Todd

STOCKWELL: Russell Latimer, Dave McNicoll SUTTON: David Weller 40 years HEAD OFFICE: John Lewis, Phil Margrave

has a more grounded role NEW CROSS, Belvedere and Bexleyheath recently welcomed new engineering manager Rob Garrard to the company when he took up his new role on 24 October.

Rob previously worked in the rail industry as well as spending time in the bus industry working on refurbishments.

His love of engineering stems from his time spent in the army, during which he worked as an engineer fixing and maintaining helicopters.

Rob was impressed with how well organised the engineering department was when he arrived and is looking forward to getting his teeth stuck in to a new set of challenges.

“I’ve always been very interested in engineering and even spend my free time building and restoring classic cars,” said Rob. “Go-Ahead London is a breath of fresh air compared to some of the previous companies I have worked for.

Everything seems to be set up well and everyone really knows what they are doing.

“Our current challenge is the introduction of new hybrid-technology buses to replace the ‘bendy bus’ fleet.

I am also keen to improve the way we maintain our buses and develop staff to reach their full potential.”

Rob takes over the role from previous engineering manager Chris McKeown, who has taken up a new role at Metrobus.

• Metroline: Route 4 (Waterloo-Archway Station) from 29 September 2012 (double deck buses, 18 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 43 (London BridgeFriern Barnet) from 4 February, 2012 (double deck buses, 33 PVR).

• London United: Route 81 (HounslowSlough) from 28 July 2012 (double deck buses, 14 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 82 (VictoriaNorth Finchley) from 31 March, 2012 (double deck buses, 25 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 90 (Feltham-Northolt) from 1 September, 2012 (single deck buses, 15 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 113 (Marble ArchEdgware) from 31 March, 2012 (double deck buses, 18 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 134 (Tottenham Court Road Station-North Finchley) from 4 February 2012 (double deck buses, 30 PVR).

• Arriva London South: Route 197 (Peckham-Croydon) from 1 September, 2012 (double deck buses, 14 PVR).

• Stagecoach Selkent: Route 208 (Lewisham-Orpington) from 28 July, 2012 (double deck buses, 14 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 214 (Liverpool Street Station-Highgate Village) from 18 August, 2012 (single deck buses, 18 PVR).

• London United: Route 222 (HounslowUxbridge), from 15 September, 2012 (double deck buses, 19 PVR).

• Metroline: Route 271 (Highgate Village-Moorgate) from 29 September, 2012 (double deck buses, 12 PVR).

• Arriva London South: Route 289 (Purley-Elmers End) from 1 September, 2012 (single deck buses, 10 PVR).

• Stagecoach Selkent: Route 314 (Eltham Station-New Addington) from 1 September, 2012 (single deck buses, 15 PVR).

• Abellio: Route 490 (RichmondHeathrow Terminal 5) from 25 August, 2012 (single deck buses, 14 PVR).

• First London West: Route 607 (White City-Uxbridge) from 7 April 2012 (double deck buses, 20 PVR).

• Metroline: Route E6 (Greenford-Bulls Bridge) from 26 May 2012 (single deck buses, 12 PVR).

• Metroline: Route W7 (Finsbury Park-Musgrave Hill) from 18 August, 2012 (double deck buses, 16 PVR).

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Double shortlist success at this year’s UK Bus Awards G

O-AHEAD London came up trumps in the shortlists for the UK Bus Awards held on 29 November.

Not only was Putney garage shortlisted for London Bus Garage of the Year, but Merton driver Stephen Appiah was also shortlisted for Top London Bus Driver.

The awards were held on 29 November at the London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane and representatives from operators across the country were in attendance.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker, was present at

on course for promotion ANOTHER pre-promotion course has just concluded with Camberwell driver Matthew Burt coming top of the class, winning a secondment of his choice.

Over the course of seven weeks, culminating in an exam that took place on 15 November, colleagues learnt about the overall structure of Go-Ahead London and gained a better insight into how the company is run. Matthew said that while the course was hard work, the enjoyment he got out of it more than made up for it.

Insight “It was an excellent course and it gives you a far greater insight into the workings of the company than you might expect,” said Matthew.

“There is a lot of work to do, but you don’t mind as the course is very interesting and you know there is potentially a fantastic prize waiting at the end of it.”

Matthew has chosen to spend his secondment working on route controlling, citing an interest in providing the best service possible for customers as his motivation.

He said: “I really loved learning about the iBus and also have a great interest in working on keeping routes running to time so route controlling seemed like the obvious choice. I am really looking forward to starting my secondment and I would thoroughly recommend the scheme to any driver.”

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the ceremony as key-note speaker and BBC newsreader Jane Hill was compere. Bus Users UK chairwoman Gillian Merron presented the

awards.

Putney garage was nominated as London Bus Garage of the Year because of the enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism of its employees as well as its high performance record.

Stephen won Go-Ahead London’s Bus Driver of the Year competition in July and was a strong contender in the national finals of Bus Driver of the Year held in September.

His driving skills and professionalism ensured him a rightly deserved place in this prestigious category.

STEVE’S OFF FOR A WIZARD NEW LIFE IN OZ! AFTER 31 years of loyal service, operations engineer Steve Ambury has left Go-Ahead London to start a new life in Australia.

Steve’s first job in the industry was as an apprentice fitter/turner in 1980 and he has enjoyed many different roles since then, including 18 years at Stockwell as a fitter.

After visiting friends and family in Australia Steve caught the travelling bug and decided he wanted to move there permanently when he returned to England. “We had to think about it and I decided to apply for my visa, which I eventually got,” said Steve. “I took on the role of operations engineer at Go-Ahead London for some time after that but I was still keen to return to Australia. Out of the blue a friend of a friend who has a business over there said he was looking for a workshop manager and after a phone interview he offered me the job.”

Steve moved to Canberra on 6

n Steve fell in love with Australia during a trip there.

December, having worked his last day for Go-Ahead London on 2 December.

“Apart from the awesome weather what I really love about Australia is the difference in culture between our two countries,” added Steve. “Sometimes it feels as though they work to live whereas we live to work. That’s definitely not to say I didn’t have an amazing time at GoAhead London – I certainly enjoyed every one of my 31 years with the company.”

Spreading the word about the unthinkable S

TOCKWELL organised an awareness day to provide advice and make colleagues more aware of the dangers of prostate cancer.

Organised in conjunction with the Prostate Cancer Charity, the aim of the awareness day was to educate employees by using a volunteer provided by the charity and handing out various leaflets and practical quick guides about the disease.

The first day took place on 8 November with the second taking place a week later on 14 November.

The charity is also keen to run the initiative at other garages to spread awareness of the cancer further afield.

The turnout for the awareness day was positive, with many staff engaging with the volunteer and taking the free advice available.

‘Encouraging’ “It was really encouraging to see so many people getting involved and taking an interest,” explained operating manager Paul Coyle.

“There were free leaflets, booklets and quick guides on offer with clear, useful information and a volunteer who was on hand to answer any questions and speak about people’s experiences with prostate cancer.

“I think it’s really important that we organise days like this wherever we can. We certainly do not want to have one of our colleagues becoming seriously ill with this disease.”

Getting the message over at the awareness day.

Sunny start for newlyweds Tony and Audrey A WEEK long honeymoon proved to be the perfect start to married life for Tony Bull and his new wife Audrey.

The couple married at Sutton registry office on 28 October before enjoying their reception at Coombe Lodge in Croydon.

Commercial operations manager Tony and his new wife have been together for four years but knew each other long before that.

“Audrey used to work for Go-Ahead London,” said Tony. “She began her career as a driver in 1990 and finished with us in 2000 as a senior traffic clerk.”

The couple spent a week in Tunisia to celebrate their marriage.

“It was an absolutely marvellous day,” added Tony. “We enjoyed every moment. Even the weather was good, so we were lucky on that front.”

THANKS FOR YOUR loyal SERVICE BEST wishes to the following who have already retired or are due to retire in the coming weeks: • Raymond Sparkes is retiring this month (December) from New Cross garage after nearly 35 years of dedicated service as a vehicle engineer.

• New Cross is bidding a fond farewell to Alan Paul Youseman who is retiring after 33 years of service as Broomhall. a night shift vehicle engineer.

• After 24 years of service with Go-Ahead London, Pat Glover is taking a step back from driving and will work part-time to take advantage of having a few extra days off. Pat started with the company in 1987 and has been a valued member of the private hire panel, founded in 1992, for much of that time.

• Farewell to Stockwell driver Emmanuel Egbenoma who has recently retired after 14 years of service. Emmanuel was also the union chairperson for the garage.

COMMENDATIONS BEXLEYHEATH n THE “helpful information” provided by George Salter was welcomed by Miss Mace who had lost her phone on a bus. n MICHAEL Gilbert has been praised by a visually impaired passenger for his “excellent service” when she boarded and departed his bus. n A RELIEVED Mr Middleton has written to “express his gratitude” to Mark Saunders and the lost property team for helping return his son’s wallet which he had lost on a bus.

BLUE TRIANGLE n MISS EMERSON described David Tumber as a “calm and professional driver” for his actions when a young child ran out into the road. She wanted to pass on her thanks and says he may well “have saved a child’s life”.

CAMBERWELL n A GRATEFUL customer has thanked Baber Himmet “for his polite and helpful” manner during her journey.

DOCKLANDS n COMING to the aid of new mum Ms Taylor has earned Jason Shield a commendation. Jason “was very patient and friendly” when the customer needed to fold up their pram to get on the crowded bus. n RICHARD Cudjoe has been commended by Ms Carmichael for his “very friendly” attitude and she has asked that he “keeps up the good work”. n A GRATEFUL Ms Vernon described Stephen Roberts as “extremely helpful” for the assistance he provided when she had a fall on his bus.

PUTNEY n A CUSTOMER has written in to thank two drivers for their help.

Dennis Augustus and Fanuel Biba teamed together to help return the customer’s lost luggage and were described by him as “assets to the company”.

SUTTON n TRACEY Lucas has been praised by Mrs Olsson-Hildick for waiting for her to get to the bus stop even though she was a reasonable distance away.

The customer described her as “a star” who displayed great “consideration and kindness”. n A CUSTOMER has written to thank Keith Digenis for waiting for her at the bus stop. The passenger described Keith as “very kind and considerate”.

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Charity conker contest was a big hit

Well done, Sophie Sophie, the 15-year-old daughter of Merton’s Stephen Appiah, was able to convert his ideas into the winning drawing in our ‘design a Christmas greeting’ competition. Stephen was delighted to be told their entry had won.

He and Sophie share a £100 gift voucher as their prize.

The excited school pupils get on board for their guided tour.

Singing the praises of Stockwell garage

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SERIES of tours for local residents took place in November at Stockwell ahead of its 60th anniversary next year.

The initiative, known as ‘Our Hut’, involved the local Women’s Institute and five classes from local schools being taken on a guided tour of the garage.

Stockwell garage originally opened in 1952 and is listed as a Grade II building because of its importance to post-war architecture and engineering.

The local children not only got a chance to walk round the garage, but also got to take a ride through the bus wash, sit in a driver’s cab, look at buses used on a day-today basis and spend time drawing the garage’s roof.

Booklets were also handed out 8

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All around our hut ...!

to the children, which featured iconic images from the garage on them as well as spaces for them to write and draw.

“I think ‘Our Hut’ is a great thing for the garage and a great thing for the local community as well,” said engineering manager Nick Rouse.

“We laid on some light refreshments for everyone and spoke to them about the quite extensive history of the garage itself.

“With the 60th anniversary coming up next year we are also hoping to repeat the initiative as part of our celebrations in 2012.”

COLLEAGUES at Mandela Way reverted back to their childhood in a bid to raise money for charity.

Throughout October, staff at the garage took part in a conker competition to raise money for Macmillan Nurses.

For a £1 entry fee, competitors were provided with a conker and through a series of matches battled it out to be crowned winner. A special cup was awarded to the delighted winner, driver Piotr Kuziw.

The money was raised in honour of former manager, Trevor Pirks, who passed away two years ago after a battle with cancer. Macmillan Nurses helped to care for him in the final weeks of his life.

Nearly everyone at the depot joined in and drivers raised £220 from the competition and the union donated another £50.

Go-Ahead London doubled this amount, bringing in a substantial amount of money for the charity.

Senior garage administrator Karl Tyson said: “At the announcement that the garage was staying open, we decided to hold a charity competition to get the staff smiling again.

“We thought, what would have made Trevor laugh, and the Mandela Way conker competition was born.”

obituary STOCKWELL tragically lost team member Anthony Lett on 31 October when he was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident.

Anthony first started working as a bus driver for Go-Ahead in 2009 and was a hard working and valued colleague. Not only was Anthony willing to lend a hand wherever needed but he was also well liked by all his colleagues and will be sorely missed.

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