Focus on Go South Coast n In our look at another company in the Go-Ahead Group, we turn the spotlight on Go South Coast. n The company is responsible for a fleet of 750 buses and more than 1,400 employees.
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HE Go-Ahead Group first ventured into south coast operations with the purchase of Wilts & Dorset and its subsidiaries in 2003. In the following years, the company continued to expand, purchasing Southern Vectis in 2005 and Hants & Dorset Trim in 2006. Once the purchase of coach company Marchwood Motorways was completed that same year, the companies were then consolidated into the Go South Coast we know today. The company has a turnover of more than £80 million a year and facilitates 45 million passenger journeys. Alistair has just completed his secondment with Go-Ahead London, working at Camberwell as an assistant operating manager.
n We sat down with Go South Coast’s Alistair Strong n Alistair is a graduate management trainee who has just completed a threemonth secondment with Go-Ahead London. Prior to coming to London, he spent time with Go South Coast finishing his driver training, driving 'in service', aiding supervisors, assisting the operations team, working with the commercial team and even working on a website launch. This experience has helped him identify a number of similarities between the two companies. “Policy and practices, and the way in which drivers are managed are similar between Go-Ahead London and Go South Coast,” he said. However, Alistair said: “In all honesty, it’s the differences between London and the South Coast that are more immediately apparent. “Go South Coast is not a small company by any means, but the scale of operations in London is staggering. “It really is a 24-hour industry and you always need to be on the ball; it can be unpredictable and I have fully embraced and enjoyed working with everyone at Camberwell. “Because of TfL, mileage and its
Graduate management trainee Alistair Strong.
Policy and practices are similar between Go-Ahead London and Go South Coast subsequent auditing is of greater importance in London than it is elsewhere. “You also hear stories about incidents that have happened on buses and with drivers that you would never imagine happening outside of the city!”
Go South Coast is made up of the following operations:
more bus – operates throughout Poole, Bournemouth and surrounding areas providing both school transport and local bus services.
Salisbury Reds – provides services across Salisbury and Wiltshire with a landmark service serving Old Sarum and Stonehenge – The Stonehenge Tour (above).
Bluestar – offers high quality services to the residents of south Hampshire, with a strong focus in and around the Southampton area.
Southern Vectis – works closely with the Isle of Wight Council to provide a comprehensive and high frequency network. It also operates tourist-focused services across the island.
Damory and Tourist Coaches – operate local and school bus services in and around Dorset, linking rural communities and they provide coach and bus hire services.
Hants & Dorset Trim – an industry leader specialising in vehicle refurbishment and repair, from re-upholstery through to major repairs.
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