MX for News Oct 2009

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: NEWS, VIEWS AND FEATURES ABOUT YOU AND YOUR COMPANY

No.2 OCT 2009

REACHING FOR THE TOP ON P4

Aim to help claims…

One lucky driver will be the proud owner of THIS car

Drivers issued with new bump cards

with Michael Gabriel

‘500 Challenge’ reaches final stages!

Denise is in the PINK at New Cross!

See back page for your chance to bid for an exclusive RM print…

End of the bendies A BRAND new fleet of 50 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses have arrived at Go-Ahead London marking the beginning of the end of the bendy bus.

The 12-metre Citaros – 44 of which are based at Waterloo and six of which are based at Mandela Way – replace 31 bendy buses, which have now been decommissioned.

All are running on Route 507 (Victoria to Waterloo) and Route 521 (London Bridge to Waterloo).

Waterloo Base manager Rashid Short said: “The staff are enjoying driving the new buses and have received type training alongside their training for the Driver CPC. “The new Citaros are running well and I’m pleased to say the transition went ahead smoothly.”

In service: A new Citaro at Waterloo Station.

Welcome to East Thames colleagues THE transfer of routes, vehicles, staff, premises and equipment operating from East Thames’ garages at Belvedere and Mandela Way took place earlier this month (October).

Operations director David Cutts said: “We would like to take this opportunity to welcome the 460 staff from East Thames Buses who have transferred to Go-Ahead London. I am sure that they will make a valuable contribution to the business and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

Got a story for MX For News? Then give our reporters a call on 01932 243400 or email go-ahead@ruxley.co.uk.

We’re always keen to include news on employees’ hobbies and achievements.

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New accident cards aim to help with insurance claims ALL DRIVERS have now been issued with an accident bump card to help the company improve the way it follows up accident claims from third parties.

Now, when a Go-Ahead London driver is involved in an accident with a third party he or she is required to fill out an accident bump card and submit it to the supervisor, together with an accident form.

The card is divided into two sections – the first section is for the driver to fill out and the second section is to be handed to the third party. This second section contains details about the driver, the vehicle and the company.

On the back of the card, there is also a suggested procedure should the Go-Ahead London driver be at fault. For example, the company can assist in arranging repairs to the third party vehicle and can, if required, organise a hire car.

Stockwell Accident Prevention Manager Cliff Frost said: “The introduction of the Accident Card avoids the difficult situation which drivers are commonly faced with and that is the obtaining of third party details. Some vehicle

Accident prevention manager Cliff Frost with the new bump card.

owners are reluctant to give their details but if our drivers supply the necessary information on the card then the third party are usually willing to oblige in providing theirs. It saves the driver having pieces of paper with details on, then on return to the garage find they have been misplaced.”

“We’re asking drivers to help us keep costs down by filling

out the bump card correctly (that includes writing down the telephone number of the third party) and handing the section, detailing the offer, to the third party.

“It’s early days, but already the initiative is proving successful.

The accident bump cards are being sent back by drivers with their accident report forms. It’s an encouraging start.”

Top twenty head for the finals TWENTY of Go-Ahead London’s most efficient drivers are poised for the last stage of a competition to win a car.

On October 27, the finalists will undertake a series of gruelling driving tests staged at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedford. The tests are designed to find the person who drives in the most fuel-efficient manner.

At the end of the day, Go-Ahead London’s ‘green’ driver of the year will be revealed and they will receive the star prize of a new Fiat 500, widely acclaimed for its green credentials.

The competition was open to all drivers working full-time on TfL routes who had acquired more than 1500 green miles between June 1 to August 31. In the next round, all qualifying drivers were monitored for their ability to drive in the green for a sustained period of time. As MX For News was going to press, the top 20 drivers were beieng short-listed.

Drivers Bob Longley and Cliff Smith admire the Fiat 500 at a recent roadshow.

Teamwork on show at soccer tournament GO-AHEAD London’s soccer stars were right on target this autumn as they came together once again to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

The annual football tournament attracted teams from Merton, Sutton, Stockwell, Putney, Blue Triangle and New Cross and was in aid of the Neo-Natal Unit at St George’s Hospital in Tooting and Macmillan nurses.

A committee consisting of Merton driver Scott Horney, his wife Danielle, general manager Nigel Wood, group procurement manager (bus division) Jenny Turner, and Merton drivers Andi Richards and Jeanette Lillington organised the event, which also included a tombola, a raffle and children’s games and activities.

The final was played out between Merton A and Sutton, with Merton winning 1-0 (the goal scorer was Ricardo Barros).

The evening entertainment included a raffle, an auction of signed football items from Arsenal, a trophy presentation, a food buffet and disco.

Scott said: “The whole event raised more than £5,500, which means we’ve now collected more than £14,000 for

Charity champions: The tournament winners Merton A. charity since 2006.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to all the committee members, all the suppliers who donated the raffle prizes and all employees who helped out on the day.

“Next year we are looking for a representative from each garage to help us make it bigger and better than ever before.

We hope to get more teams involved, sell

more tickets and set up more games on the day for the supporters.”

On September 24, a combined Merton/ Sutton team played a visiting team from Baden Baden. A return trip to Germany is planned for September 2010, during the town’s celebrations for 100 years of public transport.

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EXCITEMENT MOUNTS FOR A GROUP OF GO-AHEAD LONDON EMPLOYEES AS

REACHING FOR On 12 November, the 2009 award winners will be announced at a glittering ceremony at the London Hilton in Park Lane.

Employees who have made a difference to the company or the industry or who have gone the extra mile in their work have been nominated by Go-Ahead London in a range of categories.

In our Face2Face column, we chat to engineer Michael Gabriel who is based at Sutton garage and has worked in the bus industry for 29 years. We ask 10 lighthearted questions.

Q: How would your friends describe you?

A: Horrible.

Q: What was the best day of your life?

A: My boy being born.

In this special feature we spotlight the people the company believes stand out from the crowd.

GO-AHEAD London put forward eight drivers for the Top London Bus Driver award category – two have now made it onto the short list.

The winner will be the person who has best demonstrated excellent performance from the customer perspective in the 12-month period

Introducing our two short-listed drivers…

Bob Wiltshire, Bexleyheath

Q: What is your favourite season and why?

A: Winter – I enjoy snowboarding.

I’m quite chuffed and honoured to have been short-listed for the award.

I’m now into my 45th year in the bus industry – I’m due to retire next March – and it’s great to have the recognition.

I still enjoy the job and like to think that I get on well with the customers. Just the other day, I was called into the manager’s office and was told that a good mystery traveller report had been submitted about me.”

Q: Who was your childhood hero?

A: My uncle Jack. Top man.

Q: What is your favourite pastime?

A: Watching the Arsenal and snowboarding.

Q: What is your favourite film?

A: Love, Honour and Obey.

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

A: The Rocky Mountains.

Q: Which celebrity would you like to have round for Sunday lunch?

A: Jeremy Clarkson.

Q: What would you feed him?

A: A good old roast.

Q: What would you do with £1,000,000?

A: Buy a huge house in the Rockies.

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to the end of June 2009. Driver monitoring assessments, accident records, public commendations, mystery traveller reports and DSA reports are all being taken into consideration, as well as drivers’ customer service skills.

Stephen Winfield, New Cross This is the first time I’ve been nominated for an award and I’m really honoured. It’s a proud moment in my 23-year career in the bus industry.

I enjoy providing a service for the public and I do like to give good customer care. I’m always willing to help and often offer to work the garage’s standby duties.”

THEY AWAIT NEWS FROM THE UK BUS AWARDS JUDGES…

R THE TOP! INNOVATION AWARD GO-AHEAD London’s Go Green initiative has made the shortlist in the ‘innovation’ category of the UK Bus Awards.

Key to the initiative is Telematics technology, which has now been rolled out to all Go-Ahead London’s 1500 buses. As well as fuel savings, there have been a reduction in road accidents and passenger falls. Improving passenger comfort and meeting the higher standards of QICS2 are also major benefits of the technology.

The Go-Green initiative was officially opened by Joan Ruddock MP, Minister for Climate Change, during a visit to New Cross Garage in December, 2008.

As well as Telematics technology, the initiative includes a package of other energy saving projects designed to make Go-Ahead London one of the most environmentally responsible organisations in the capital.

Back row: Brian Shephard, Richard Hobson, Steve Shorland. Front row: Ron McIlroy and Lawrence Hughes.

LONDON SERVICE QUALITY CONSISTENTLY going the extra mile to provide top-quality service to customers is the reason why the Putney engineers have been nominated for the London Service Quality award.

It was engineering manager John Hanby who nominated the Putney engineers as he believes they ‘always do a great job’ and together they achieve excellent performance, especially when it comes to mileage operated.

“If they won the award it would be a reflection of the whole team’s efforts – that’s Putney’s drivers and controllers, too.

“They deserve recognition for all they achieve,” said John.

LONDON BUS GARAGE EXCELLENT performance at Waterloo has led to it being short-listed in the London Bus Garage of the Year award category.

As the clock ticks, employees at the location eagerly wait to hear if their location has won the prestigious title.

With only six garages making it onto the final short list, it’s already a great achievement for Waterloo and is a credit to the entire team’s efforts.

Judges will be considering driver quality monitoring data, results from a customer satisfaction survey and mystery traveller survey results, lost mileage, quality of service indicators and engineering standards.

The best garage will be rewarded with a cash prize to be used on facilities, which will benefit the entire garage.

Pat Mahon, general manager – operations, left, with his Waterloo colleagues.

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Go-Ahead chief executive Keith Ludeman presents Tamas with his certificate.

Tamas joins the exclusive Go-Green Drivers’ Club A BADGE, certificate and occasional corporate gifts are just a few of the benefits of membership to the Go-Green Drivers’ Club.

Membership to this club is only available to drivers who achieve three months of continuous green band driving, as recorded by the RIBAS system.

New Cross driver Tamas Koroknai has been with London Central for a year and is a member and was presented with his certificate and badge by Go-Ahead chief

executive Keith Ludeman.

Tamas said: “I was really pleased to hear that I had become a member of the GoGreen Drivers’ Club. I always try to drive in an environmentally friendly way and put into practice what I learnt in the training school.

“The key is not to rev the engine too much and to drive at a nice, steady pace.

Not only does it help to save on fuel, but it means the passengers get a comfortable ride as well.”

Retirement for two long servers DONALD WILSON’S passport could be seeing a bit more action these days now that he has plenty of time for travel.

The Sutton driver closed the chapter on a 44year career in August and is now enjoying the freedom of retirement.

“I do miss the job, but it’s great being retired,” said Donald.

He first joined London Transport as a driver at Wandsworth garage. He transferred to Sutton around about 1985.

“I’ll pop back to Sutton garage from time to time to see my former colleagues, but now I’m looking forward to visiting the West Indies and the United States,” said Donald, who was born 6

Mx l October 2009

Wedding bells!

LOVE is in the air at Go-Ahead London as several couples return to work following their weddings.

MX For News caught up with just two employees to hear about their special days…

It’s certainly been a case of ‘love on the buses’ for risk and safety assistant Veronica DouglasVeronica and Mark.

Lewis and New Cross driver Mark Lewis, who is a driver at New Cross who tied the knot on August 8 at St Michael of All Angels parish church in Lower Sydenham.

New Cross driver Azzedine Khennouf had the honour of driving Veronica to the church while the bridesmaids were driven by Barry O’Grady.

The reception was held at Ten-em Bee Football club on the Old Bromley Road, Downham.

“We spent a few days by the seaside after the wedding, but we hope to enjoy our honeymoon in the West Indies next year,” said Veronica.

Assistant risk and safety manager Tom McGlew married his partner Carol at a ceremony at Lake Tahoe in the United States.

Lake Tahoe is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountains and on the border between California and Nevada.

Tom said: “I’d proposed to Carol on Valentine’s Day this year and we’d already planned a three-week trip around the south west of the United States so we decided to marry while we were out there. It was a fantastic wedding and our honeymoon was an amazing 3,000-mile Tom and Carol. road trip.”

in Jamaica.

Walking, trips to the gym and spending quality time with his six children and 12 grandchildren are also on Donald’s agenda.

ENJOYING life at home with the family and helping out in the community are top of Joseph Gill’s ‘to do’ list now that he has retired.

The Sutton driver waved farewell to his colleagues on August 20 after nearly 48 years in the bus industry.

Joseph says he’s gradually adjusting to his new way of life, but that he misses seeing his customers and colleagues.

“I worked as a driver on Route 93 for 35 years

so I saw several generations of customers’ families grow up – first their children and then their grandchildren! I do bump into some of my old customers now and again and they ask how I’m getting on,” said Joseph.

He spent his entire career at Sutton garage, having first joined as a conductor. He carried out this role for 11 years before switching to driving.

“I’m now keeping busy by spending time with my wife Carlotta and our three children and seven grandchildren. I’m also doing some community work with the West Indian Family and Friends Association on behalf of Merton Council,” added Joseph.

Ron’s on his bike for hospice RON HOLLAND’S been gearing up for his latest cycling challenge, which is all in the name of charity.

As MX For News was being printed, Ron was planning to follow the course of the River Thames to raise money for the Greenwich and Bexley Hospice.

The 24-mile adventure will begin in Erith and end in Greenwich.

To ensure he was fully prepared for the event, Ron began cycling to and from work during September to get in shape.

The Bexleyheath driver’s motherin-law was a patient in the hospice before she died five years ago and now Ron is keen to support the hospice all he can.

“This will be by fifth fundraising event I’ve arranged and this time I’d love to collect the magic £1,000 in sponsorship money.

“I’m really grateful to my colleagues for all their donations over the years and it would be great to give

the hospice another big cheque in 2009,” said Ron, who has worked in the bus industry since 1986.

Dressing down for a good cause THE COLLECTION tins have been rattling at the Go-Ahead London head office as part of ‘Jeans for Genes Day’. Louise Larman and her colleagues jumped into their denims on October 2 to raise £82 for the charity.

COMMENDATIONS: WE SALUTE GO-AHEAD PEOPLE MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE BEXLEYHEATH PASSENGER Mrs C. Edwards thanks driver Adriano Lucas.

She says he is “friendly” and “very helpful”.

DRIVER Katie Dolan has been thanked for coming to the aid of a young girl, who recently started secondary school. The girl had got on the bus on the wrong side of the road, but Katie was ‘helpful and kind’ and made sure she carried on her journey in the correct direction.

PASSENGER Miss J. Cornforth thanks driver Trevor Stedman.

The customer says she suffers from cerebral palsy and that Trevor should be commended for his patience.

BLUE TRIANGLE A PLEASANT nature, outstanding manners and an excellent driver – just a sample of the plaudits for Richard Gedge from passenger Deri-Jane Somerset-Liquorish.

THE honesty of driver Oluwole Sofola has led to a commendation from an impressed customer, who had left her handbag on the 368 bus.

Luckily, Oluwole had found the item of lost property and kept it safe. Miss A.J. Lewis said: “Words cannot express my relief and gratitude…I was overjoyed to see Mr Sofola produce my handbag with a beaming smile.”

CAMBERWELL A WARM welcome and a friendly farewell from driver Phillip Sharpe are noted by passenger Mr R. Taylor. He also says that if Phillip had not waited for him when he was running for the bus

he would have been late for an appointment.

DRIVER Richard Caesar has been thanked for reuniting a lost suitcase with its owner.

Mrs L. Hussey said her daughter had arrived in the UK from Australia and had accidentally left her suitcase on the bus.

Richard went out of his way to track down the case and he also offered some kind words to the passenger, who was upset by the incident.

DOCKLANDS BLIND passenger Mrs C. Faint thanks driver Tariq Mahmood for his courtesy. Tariq apologised for pulling up a few yards away from the stop because it was blocked by a car. He also told Mrs Faint when he had reached her stop.

MERTON PASSENGER Karen Carden praises driver Richard Burton for the way in which he helped a blind woman with a guide dog.

“He spoke to her with kindness and dignity, establishing exactly where she wanted to go. He also left the cab to guide her to a part of the bus in which she wanted to travel.”

ARTIST Leonard McComb, a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, praises Derildene Cowan for the professional way she drives, describing the bus as having a “gentle flowing movement”.

MS V. KOO praises Solomon Micke for waiting while an elderly passenger made her way slowly to the bus. Solomon also waited for her to sit down before driving off.

A PASSENGER has applauded driver Kevin Lynch for patiently helping an elderly customer, who was blind and physically infirm, off the bus. Kevin also ensured the man was guided in the correct direction for his onward journey.

DRIVER Denis Cuddihy has been thanked for helping to recover a scooter belonging to the grandson of Mr J. White. The scooter had been left on the bus during a family outing and Mr White was thankful to Denis and his Merton colleagues for finding the scooter and keeping it safe.

NEW CROSS THANKS from passenger A.M. Marray for driver Geoffrey Partridge who “provided a welcome moment of calm in an otherwise hectic day, he was polite and fair to everyone who got on his bus”.

MS L.Y. ALVERANGA describes Raymond Stowers as “a polite and smooth driver”.

SENIOR citizen Ruth Garcha and her three elderly friends from the Indian subcontinent thank driver Clive McElkenny for his friendliness and “going out of his way to help”.

STOCKWELL TANYA CAMPBELL “used her mirrors, drove smoothly and was considerate to her passengers”, writes passenger J. Ley. “THIS driver really knows how to drive a bus properly” – so says passenger Michael Hayes of Lochinvar Burke. Mr Hayes says Lochinvar “didn’t throw people all over the bus”.

DRIVER Stewart Robertson has been praised for providing “a pleasant and comfortable service” by Diana Granger-Taylor.

The road had been blocked by five fire engines, but Stewart had taken this in his stride and acted very professionally – informing passengers what was happening, cooperating with the firefighters and then reversing his bus out so that they could continue on their way.

THE approach and attitude of driver George Richards is admired by Mrs S. Robertson.

She wrote to the company to say George had acted politely and professionally when another passenger tried to travel without having the correct ticket.

Driver Michael Brown helped Medina Allen’s daughter to be reunited with a suitcase and house keys accidentally left on a Route 170 bus. Medina writes to say thank you.

SUTTON DRIVER Ian Stone “deserves a star”, says passenger Mrs D. Olsson-Hildick. The customer said that Ian was very helpful and had “such a cheerful and courteous manner”.

A MR BROWN praises driver Andrew Hemper for sorting out an unpleasant incident on his bus.

A woman was being abused by three teenage girls.

Andrew sent the girls upstairs and then ensured the woman was all right before seeing her safely on to another bus.

Mr Brown says: “It was good to see the driver cared about her.”

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Mx : social scene

IN THE PINK AT NEW CROSS BAKER, auctioneer and fundraiser – Denise Baker has been a busy lady this autumn…

The New Cross driver and her colleagues have been hard at work ensuring they collect hundreds of pounds for charity.

It’s the third year in a row that the team has collected money for Breast Cancer Campaign and this time they’re hoping to have a bumper year.

Their efforts will culminate in ‘Wear it Pink’ day on 30 October when New Cross staff will be invited to turn up to work wearing one item of pink clothing. In return, they will donate some loose change to the charity (Breast Cancer Awareness guideline is £2).

To get everyone into the fundraising spirit, Denise baked small cakes during September and her colleagues helped sell them over the counter at New Cross garage for 25 pence each.

Denise is also running a sealed bid auction for Breast Cancer Campaign – the highest bidder will take home a Robbie Macgregor sketch art drawing that

Denise bought at auction several years ago. The picture, which has been framed and measures 17 inches wide by 22 inches deep, shows an RM, taxi and policeman passing St Paul’s Cathedral.

Denise said: “It’s a really nice print of a sketch drawing made with a fine ink pen. The picture has also been hand-washed in colour,” “I’d like to invite all Go-Ahead London employees to join in the auction.

“All they have to do is send their bid through internal mail either to myself or Jeanette Morton at New Cross or via e-mail admin. nx@londoncentral. com (the starting bid is £50), together with their name, garage and contact number.

The highest bidder will get the picture. The closing date for entries is November 30.”

The garage will also hold a tombola, using gifts kindly donated.

Good cause: Denise Baker and her New Cross colleagues.

Golfers bag top prizes

Above: Stuart Beaton, Tony Moffett, Adrian Hollands and Colin Ferguson.

Left: Shaun Young receives his longest drive prize from managing director John Trayner.

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GO-AHEAD’S hot shots swung into action this autumn for the company’s annual golf tournament.

Drivers, engineers and head office staff joined managing director John Trayner on the course at Mitcham Golf Club on September 11.

Employees formed teams of four to compete for a whole host of prizes and trophies.

The winning team was from Bexleyheath and consisted of Adrian Hollands, Colin Ferguson, Tony Moffett and Stuart Beaton.

Ray Utting, Dominic Anderson, Matt Jones and Jeff Handford made up a Mandela Way team and they took the runner-up spot.

The highest placed individual was Chris Leach from Bexleyheath/ Peckham and he also scooped the nearest the pin prize.

Dominic Anderson from Mandela Way was second in the individual competition.

The longest drive on the day was executed by Bexleyheath’s Shaun Young.

The event was organised by commercial operations manager Tony Atkinson and retired head office employee Jeff Handford.

Tony said: “It was a great day of golf and this was rounded off with a buffet and a prize giving ceremony hosted

by MD John Trayner.”

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