The ALBUM Report 2017

brought to you by

BRITAIN'S MUNICIPALLY-OWNED AND INDEPENDENT BUS SECTOR

in association with

THE AL BU M REPO RT 2017

I N CORPORATIN G

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RE PO RT 2017

WELCOME Welcome to the album rep ort 2017, a publication from passenger transp ort devoted to Britain's independent and municipal bus companies. Big ger and better than last year's inaugural publication, this year's repor t also incor porates the official Conference Workbook for the 2017 album Conference, hosted by bl ackp o ol transp ort on May 9-10.

We hope you find it an interesting read and we welcome all feedback.

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BEN CO LSO N

H IGHL I G HTS

As he prepares to step down, ALBUM’s chairman reflects on a time of change in the bus industry

Some of the main highlights amongst the membership since the last ALBUM Conference

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B LAC K P O O L T RAN S PORT

F INANCIAL PE RFO RMANCE

MD Jane Cole explains her vision to transform the councilowned bus and tram operator

Chris Cheek reviews the financial performance of 20 municipal and independent bus companies

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ALEX AN DER DENNIS (ADL)

TICK ET I N G

Building buses that meet the aspirations of bus operators, passengers and city dwellers

Parkeon and Ticketer on the latest ticketing solutions available to the UK bus industry

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SOFTWARE/IT

CCTV

The latest developments from EP Morris & Company and Omnibus

The complete picture: Timespace Technology’s digital video recorders and software

T H E AL BU M CO N F E R ENCE WO R KBO O K

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WELCOME

TH E CO NF E RENCE

TH E E XHI B I T I ON

Jane Cole of Blackpool Transport welcomes you to the ALBUM Conference 2017

Details of the two-day conference programme, including speaker biographies

The floor plan for the exhibition, including profiles of 62 exhibitors

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RE PORT 2017

A TIME OF CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY ben colson is stepping dow n as album chairman and he has a farewell message for his industr y colleagues. He spoke to robert jack his is the third and final time that I’ll sit down for a pub lunch with Ben Colson and interview him in his capacity as chairman of ALBUM, the Association of Local Bus Company Managers.

Having represented the interests of Britain’s municipal and independent bus operators for the past two and a half years, Colson will be stepping down at association’s AGM this month, which will take place alongside the ALBUM Conference in Blackpool. His successor will be announced at the same event.

Colson might be moving on but he’s as lively as ever. And, in characteristic fashion, he’s got a few things to say, especially in relation to England’s Bus Services Act and the government’s approach to the bus industry.

“My view, formed over my 50 years in the industry, is that it has rarely been at such a low ebb, with investment being systematically undermined by central and local government funding cuts,” he says.

Colson believes that there is “an air of crisis” in the industry outside of the city regions, and it’s not being driven by falling demand. This sets the current crisis apart from previous ones, especially those in the 1970s, when the industry was hemorrhaging passengers.

“We have to find a way through this morass or, courtesy of government in its widest form,

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we’ll die,” he concludes.

Radical new approaches should be considered, says Colson, including the removal of many UK and EU regulations which currently put the brakes on buses.

The Bus Services Act, which received Royal Assent last month, won’t help the industry with its problems. Instead, he says, it will contribute to them.

During its passage through parliament, the Bus Services Act has dominated Colson’s tenure as ALBUM chairman. He took on the role in August 2014 when James Freeman left the industry’s SME sector and crossed over to the corporate world, taking charge of FirstGroup’s bus operation in the West of England.

The role was a perfect fit for Colson. He knows the SME sector very well and is passionate about it. Having worked in the corporate side of the business with the National Bus Company for 15 years, then Stagecoach for two decades, he bought a small West Norfolk bus and coach company with just three vehicles in 2002.

Over time, Norfolk Green steadily grew in size, building up a fleet of over 70 vehicles, and reputation, winning the Bus Operator of the Year title in 2010.

But, in 2013, Colson and his colleagues sold the business to Stagecoach, leaving him semi-retired and with plenty of time on his hands. So, unlike Freeman, his ALBUM predecessor, who had to combine his role as chairman with his day job as chief executive of local authority-owned

Reading Buses, Colson could devote a lot of time to the role.

And that’s exactly what he has had to do following the conception, gestation and delivery of the Bus Services Act - the first piece of bus-specific legislation in many years.

The Act was conceived on November 3, 2014, when George Osborne, who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer dropped a bombshell during a visit to Greater Manchester. He announced that the region would get its own directly-elected mayor and that he or she would have “responsibilities for franchised bus services”. The pledge, which would require new legislation, was the first time that a senior Tory had backed a reversal of bus deregulation, which was introduced under Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s.

While the intent and the objectives of the Bus Services Act are laudable, Colson says the route to achieving them is controversial - especially the measures to make

it easier to introduce franchising (directly-elected mayors will be able to do so without permission from the secretary of state for transport).

This, he argues, gives local authorities the opportunity to interfere in the market “up to the level of effectively forcing you out of business”. If a bus operator in Greater Manchester, for example, fails to win a contract under a new franchising regime, it will no longer be able to run services in that area. Its buses will have to come off the road.

“That is pretty controversial stuff,” he says. “I'm pretty sure that it's never been done before in this country in peacetime without compensation.”

Colson has led ALBUM’s response to the new legislation, from Osborne’s opening pledge to Royal Assent. He praises the contribution made by CPT. He says that CPT and ALBUM can jointly take much of the credit for moving the legislation from “straight, socialist dogma”, as one

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“On the same topic, whilst our views might not differ very much, the emphasis put on aspects will be different, and I would have thought from government's point of view, getting both views is actually quite helpful.”

He praises the Department for Transport for “trying to make a decent meal out of a dog’s breakfast”, and for balancing franchising with other aspects, such as new partnership models and open data provisions. So does Colson see any positive developments in this new legislation?

“It's a question I really struggle with," he says, pausing for thought. “If you think about what Osborne said, he didn't say 'we're going to have a system that will be better for passengers' or 'we'll offer a range of different tools to deliver better bus services' ...

No, what he said is 'I'm going to give Manchester's politicians their buses back. Colson suspects that buses were a negotiating pawn traded by the Chancellor in order to get politicians in Greater Manchester to sign up to his vision for a directly-elected mayor.

"This is nothing to do with transport policy,” he says. “It's all to do with politicians making a legacy for themselves."

The open data element of the Act is the most positive and exciting development, in Colson’s view. The Act includes powers to mandate the release of information on local bus services such as fares, routes, timetables and real time information, in order to deliver a step change in the information available to passengers. But Colson believes that a working group could have achieved this outcome, without the need for legislation.

Norfolk Green opened up some of this information voluntarily a decade ago, although he concedes that the larger groups have been slower to act.

ALBUM members face multiple challenges, such as local the government funding cuts, stagnant local economies, traffic congestion and the shift to online shopping.

But the Bus Services Act won’t help deal with them, he says, it will simply add to their problems.

ABOVE: Ben Colson, formerly of Norfolk Green. BELOW: The instigator of the Bus Services Act, George Osborne, pictured on the day he announced Greater Manchester's new deal

government-party MP described it to him, to something more measured.

He believes that ALBUM has been able to offer a unique and important perspective. Whereas CPT represents businesses in a market where around 80% of services are provided by large corporate concerns, ALBUM represents SMEs. A further distinction is that ALBUM is “a people organisation”, composed of

individual managers at municipal and independent bus companies.

“It means that we can chisel down to the view of people on the front line,” says Colson.

“I think that’s the big difference because CPT’s contributions to the debate will inevitably be driven by corporates distant from the front line. Our responses to the same consultations will be driven by people who are right slam bang there.

“You need this Act like a whole in the head when you've got all these other factors weighing against you.”

Colson believes that less, or amended regulation is the answer - not more regulation.

The government should look to remove rules and requirements which inhibit the provision of creative solutions to transport problems.

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union offers enormous potential to change bus regulations for the better, he says.

But he is not convinced that there is a vision to influence this change and achieve the best outcomes.

ALBUM recently surveyed its members on what they would like to see and the most popular response was to have the 50km rule withdrawn, whereby a bus driver working on a route of more than 50km (31 miles) is classified alongside long haul lorry drivers and prevented from working more than nine hours a day.

This rule is considered particularly problematic in rural and isolated areas, where buses typically cover longer distances. Ditching this rule could save the taxpayer money by making it more economic to provide local bus services, he argues.

Meanwhile, Colson believes tacking the rural accessibility and mobility problem is going to become a major political issue.

There is, he says, a gap in the regulatory structures between mainstream and community transport, and this is not helping in these more marginal areas. He has experienced the problems in his current role as a trustee of West Norfolk Community Transport, which has a fleet of 55 vehicles.

He wonders whether a new hybrid model could emerge whereby part of a timetable is at fixed times, with infill demand responsive. He cites the Transport Focus research last year which found that a straight move to demand responsive always causes passenger loss. His recent experience shows that by moving demand responsive to fixed timetable has increased passengers in a rural area. “There must be ➢

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DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS ALBUM chairman Ben Colson is urging SME bus companies not to ignore digital developments, such as contactless ticketing.

The UK Cards Association, largely bank owned, is leading on contactless ticketing, viewing it as a means to make the UK cash free by next decade.

“They are making progress; the number of contactless hits in the UK already is staggering and well exceeds other European nations with similar populations,” says Colson. “It is clearly in our business interest to align with this development and to start weaning our customers off cash transactions.”

The big bus groups have announced plans to have universal contactless ticketing, with price capping, by 2022, and ALBUM members risk being left in the wilderness if they turn their backs on what the technology offers. “Much better that we go willingly and enthusiastically to this than be forced by local authorities to accept yesterday’s outdated solutions,” he says.

The big issue for ALBUM members is the cost of enabling the ticket machines and the back office. ALBUM has been talking to Transport for the North (TfN), the organisation formed to transform the transport system across the North of England, which is developing a region-wide back office facility. ALBUM hopes that TfN will seek government funding and approval to extend it to become a pan-UK back

THE BIG QUESTIONS Those attending the UK Bus Summit in London last February were invited to answers big questions about the future of the industry. Here’s how Ben Colson responded to them: UK bus patronage Q Will be higher in 10 years’ time? overwhelming A The majority (71%) of those who responded at the UK Bus

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office. This would not be free for operators to access, but it would be less expensive than going individually to commercial suppliers. Talks are at an early stage, but they have started.

Thinking more broadly about digital developments, Colson is also imploring his ALBUM colleagues to think outside the box. Two years ago, Stagecoach chairman Sir Brian Souter warned the 2015 ALBUM Conference about the threat posed by disruptive technology. “This has the potential to sweep us all away,” Colson says. “The key, therefore, is to harness the technology.”

He adds: “If you want an example of how the new technology has rapidly replaced the old, look at Megabus in Germany which were rapidly ousted by the fledgling and youthful Flixbus, which now operates into the UK too. Flixbus is a group of entrepreneurs who knew little about transport, but a lot about technology and how to harness it for different sectors, and with equity management investment support. That will come to UK buses for sure and it has the potential to come soon, so we must be ahead of the game.”

Stephensons of Essex: independent Shire county operator and ALBUM member

Germany's Flixbus is an example of an operator that is driven by technology

a compromise between these two,” he says.

“Imagine that scenario and ask yourself whether the regulations now, or likely in the future, are fit for purpose - and there is only one answer which is NO,” says Colson.

He is sceptical that the large bus groups will want to break down these barriers, rather than, as in Kent, innovate within them.

So, instead, it is ALBUM members who must lead the change.

“The only way to break [the impasse] is to address this in post-Brexit regulations, and that means the industry needs to start one of those awful things, in politico-speak, ‘a conversation’, before the die is cast for more of the same,” he says.

“For the sake of those living in middle England, we have to nail this irrational regulatory difference once and for all, otherwise before long you can kiss goodbye to social inclusion, community dividends and all the other ‘goods’ that buses deliver.

“Brexit gives us the opportunity.

However, we have to think beyond the niceties of the 50km rule, and instead think of the operating and commercial landscape of, say, five years hence, and start to plan to align regulations now to that landscape.”

It is clearly a time of change, with the industry facing tough headwinds, new legislation, Brexit and of course the growing impact of digital technology (see panel left).

Colson, however, is handing over the ALBUM baton. He hopes to still do “a bit of this and that” in the bus industry, but his only remaining regular duty will be the two days a week he works for HM The Queen as a tour guide at her Sandringham country retreat, close to his Norfolk home.

But even there he can’t completely escape buses. One afternoon he was addressing a group and he heard a voice say “ah, that's what you do when you retire from being a bus operator”.

He looked up and saw a former ALBUM member! Q

Summit said they thought patronage would be lower, but Colson disagrees.

“You'll see growth in urban areas because, more than anything else, congestion and air pollution will convert people to buses,” he says, pointing out that most bus journeys are made in these areas. “But, in rural areas, buses in a few years time could almost be a thing of the past.”

He believes that moves to introduce franchising in city

regions will end internal cross subsidy within the bus groups, which sees profits from the city regions used to help prop up less profitable operations elsewhere.

If operators are forced to slash their profit margins to win franchises in the city regions, he fears that they will be forced to abandon rural areas.

“Operator surpluses going into Manchester’s pockets is money coming out of the shire counties.

It is a zero sum game,” he says.

“It won’t happen overnight but I believe that over time there will be significant cutbacks in the more rural shires.” the bus industry facing Q Is structural decline?

(67%) of those A Two-thirds who responded at the UK Bus Summit said ‘yes’ and Colson agrees with them. Why? “I think the changed working arrangements, more and more people self-employed ... linked with more and more people

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MEMBERS

Album has members from the following operators: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Abus; Bristol Avon Buses; Birkenhead Blackpool Transport; Blackpool Borderbus; Beccles, Suffolk Cardiff Bus; Cardiff Central Buses; Birmingham Centrebus; Leicester Chalkwell Bus and Coach; Sittingbourne, Kent 9 Compass Travel; Worthing, West Sussex 10 Cumfybus; Southport, Merseyside 11 D&G Coach & Bus; Stoke-on-Trent 12 Delaine Buses; Bourne, Lincolnshire 13 DRM; Bromyard, Herefordshire 14 E&M Horsburgh; Livingston, West Lothian 15 Edwards Coaches; Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd 16 Emsworth & District MS; Southbourne, West Sussex 17 Ensign Bus Services; Purfleet, Essex 18 EYMS; Hull 19 Go-Coach Hire; Sevenoaks, Kent 20 Halton Borough Transport; Widnes, Cheshire 21 Harrogate Coach Travel; Tockwith, York 22 Hornsby Travel; Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire 23 Huyton Travel; Liverpool, Merseyside 24 Ipswich Buses; Ipswich 25 Isle of Man Transport; Douglas, Isle of Man 26 JMB Travel; Newmains, Lanarkshire 27 Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire; Morecambe, Lancashire 28 Lothian Buses; Edinburgh 29 Lynx; King's Lynn, Norfolk 30 Marshalls Coaches; Sutton-onTrent, Nottinghamshire 31 Mass Bright Bus; North Anston, Sheffield 32 McColl's Coaches; Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire 33 McGill’s; Greenock, Inverclyde 34 Midland Classic; Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire 35 Network Warrington; Warrington

buying online. That’s the combination,” he says.

He believes that we’ll see strong areas for buses become moderate, moderate areas become peripheral and peripheral areas disappear off the map. And he predicts that the Bus Services Act will accelerate the decline. is the main challenge Q What facing the bus sector? says Colson, A “Regulation,” without hesitation. It’s an answer that was provided by just

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Newbury & District; Newbury Newport Bus; Newport NIBS; Wickford, Essex Norse Commercial Services; Norwich 40 Nottingham City Transport; Nottingham 41 Nu-Venture; Aylesford, Kent 42 Reading Buses; Reading 43 Reliance Motor Services; Suttonon-the-Forest, York 44 Rosso (Rossendale Transport); Haslingden, Lancashire 45 Safeguard Coaches; Guildford, Surrey 46 Sanders Coaches; Holt, Norfolk 47 Scarlet Band Bus and Coach; Ferryhill, County Durham

48 Somerbus; Paulton, Bath and North East Somerset 49 Southdown PSV; Copthorne, West Sussex 50 Stephensons of Essex; Rochford, Essex 51 TM Travel; Sheffield 52 Tappins Coaches; Didcot, Oxfordshire 53 Travel de Courcey; Coventry 54 Trentbarton; Heanor, Derbyshire 55 Uno; Hatfield, Hertfordshire 56 West Coast Motors; Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute 57 Whitelaws Coaches; Stonehouse, Lanarkshire

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A BOUT A L BUM

Q ALBUM membership is by individual employed in the relevant sector of the industry, and is therefore not corporate.

Q Its members represent the operation of some 5,000 buses, and it therefore constitutes an important provider of services in what is essentially a series of very local markets.

Q The principal work of ALBUM is to ensure that the voice of the SME companies in the bus industry is heard in government, in which it works alongside the industry’s trade association CPT. Q ALBUM organises a successful annual conference, this year in Blackpool, at which the organisation’s AGM is held.

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long before the officers resurrect the idea.

ALBUM lobbied (unsuccessfully) for the Bus Services Act to include a sunset clause to franchising arrangements, so that once the idea has been examined, and rejected, it could not return for eight years. This moratorium, he argues, would give operators confidence to invest in their businesses.

Which locations does Colson

8% of the respondents at the UK Bus Summit. They identified congestion (30%) and council funding cuts (26%) as the main obstacles.

For Colson, the threat of re-regulation is one that never goes away. He says that plans to introduce franchising almost always emanate from council officers, not elected members. And when members make a decision not to pursue franchising, he says that it is not

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think will employ the new franchising powers to take back control of buses? “Obviously Manchester, I think after that we will see a lull until about 2021, and then I think we’ll see one or two more,” he says.

He continues: “I think it will be Liverpool and I think it will be the North East again [after the failed attempt to introduce Quality Contracts in 2015]. I don’t believe it will be West Yorkshire.”

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H IGH L IGH TS

The promenade at Blackpool was awash with new buses on April 9 when Blackpool Transport officially launched 25 new Enviro400 City buses, manufactured by Alexander Dennis

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2016/17 Some of the key events amongst the membership since the last album conference J ULY RE A DI N G BUS ES

R E A DI N G BU SE S U N V E I L S V I SION OF T H E F U T U R E

Council-owned bus operator Reading Buses announced a vision for the future at a special event for local stakeholders on July 1. The strategy, called Future Forward, is about setting the agenda for the next generation of bus travel in the town.

The strategy has been informed by the Reading 2050 project, which aims to deliver a strategic, long-term vision that will support Reading’s growth and prosperity

in the future. “We want to support that vision for a smart, sustainable Reading,” said Martijn Gilbert, chief executive of Reading Buses.

“But Future Forward doesn’t give the answers; it is a starting point for further discussions.”

Those discussions aim to support a region that is “on the cusp of a transport revolution”.

With significant investments being made to the local rail network, the arrival of Crossrail, and new park and ride sites, plans have also been announced for Reading MRT, a bus-based mass rapid transit corridor operated by sophisticated trambuses along the A33 corridor.

Supporting these investments are the six key themes of Future Forward: personalised customer experience; onboard ambience; guided driving; connected networks; digitised vehicle maintenance and support; and people and partnerships.

AUGUST LOTH IAN BUSES

L OT H IA N L AU NC H E S N E W E AST C OAS T OP E R AT ION

Threatened bus service provision in East Lothian continued thanks to a rescue package put

together by East Coast Buses Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lothian Buses Ltd. Earlier in the year, First Scotland East Ltd announced it was to close its operations and withdraw services from August 14.

An agreement was reached which saw East Coast Buses purchase the company’s Musselburgh and North Berwick properties with all staff having the opportunity to be transferred over to East Coast Buses Ltd under TUPE. East Coast Buses promised significant investment to improve services, including refurbishment works to Musselburgh garage, increasing the number of ➢

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vehicles and deploying a new fleet of buses.

Richard Hall, managing director of Lothian Buses, said: “This deal will protect key bus services and jobs but the benefits go much further than that. The residents, workers and businesses of East Lothian rely on buses for their daily lives and well-being.

We are pleased to be in a position to take on and continue providing these vital services and be part of the local economy.”

N OV E M B E R NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT

N C T C ROW N E D BU S OP E R ATOR OF T H E Y E A R

Nottingham City Transport was crowned Operator of the Year at the UK Bus Awards in London on November 23. The local authorityowned company took home the coveted prize just two years since it last won the top honour.

NCT fought off competition from last year’s winner, Reading Buses, which took the ‘silver winner’ of the competition after winning gold in the shire operator category. Scottish operator Prentice Coaches was named the ‘bronze winner’ of the competition after taking gold in the independent operator category.

Judges were particularly impressed by NCT’s close attention to detail in a number of areas and, in particular, efforts to tackle traffic congestion issues due to roadworks by instigating a roadworks consultation regime that ensures the operator is involved at every stage in planning street works.

“The company clearly ticks lots of boxes with investment in new vehicles and facilities for passengers such as next stop announcements and free Wi-Fi across the whole fleet,” said judges.

They also commented on the way drivers are looked after with extensive training in customer service skills and offering the highest pay rates for drivers in the region.

The ALBUM grouping of companies topped the ‘medal table’ at this year’s UK Bus Awards, with a total of 12 medals - ahead of

RE PORT 2017

Go-Ahead Group (8), Stagecoach (5), National Express Group (4), Arriva (4) and FirstGroup (1).

operator’s fleet.

Volunteers are able to use their Visa and MasterCard debit or credit cards to make contactless payments on three routes - Kinchbus 2 linking Loughborough, Charnwood villages and Leicester; Kinchbus 9 between Loughborough and Nottingham; and the Skylink route linking Derby, Loughborough and Leicester with East Midlands Airport.

Participants in the Kinchbus trial simply need to tap their contactless credit or debit cards on the reader when they get on and off the bus; overnight the cards are charged with the cheapest possible fare for the exact journey or journeys made. Customers can check what they’ve paid for

KIN CH BUS

K I NC H BU S T R IA L S U K ’ S F I R ST C L OU D PAYM E N T S

In November, bus users in the East Midlands began trialling the UK’s first cloud-based contactless payment system that guarantees the best fare on every trip.

Kinchbus, part of the Derbyshirebased Wellglade Group which also owns bus operators Trentbarton and TM Travel, recruited customers to join the ongoing trial which, if considered successful, could lead to contactless payments being implemented across the

ABOVE: Nottingham City Transport was crowned 'Bus Operator of the Year' in 2016.

BELOW LEFT: Reading Buses' future vision. BELOW RIGHT: Kinchbus contactless trial

their travel via an app or a secure customer website.

Alex Kerr, general manager at Kinchbus, said: “We believe this is the first of its kind on buses in the UK. It’s as simple as touch on, touch off, and the system works out the best value travel for our customers.”

MCGILL’S

£2M INVESTMENT F OR B R A N D N E W M E RC E DE S BU SE S

McGill’s, Scotland’s largest independent bus operator, took delivery of 10 brand new, low emission buses from Mercedes Benz in November.

They represented a further £2m investment by the company in its Greenock depot fleet and will play an integral part in the company’s continuous development plans for its popular ClydeFlyer 901 & 906 routes, from Largs to Glasgow.

“The new ‘Euro 6’ Mercedes Citaros will provide a high degree of comfort for our customers on these busy routes” said McGill’s managing director, Ralph Roberts.

He added: “The new ClydeFlyer fleet, will replace 10 of the current two-year-old Mercedes Citaros on the route, and will ensure ongoing delivery of the very high quality bus travel that our customers on this flagship route enjoy. All the great features that our ClydeFlyer customers have come to expect, including free Wi-Fi, extra comfort seats, internal temperature management and a super quiet journey will continue.”

The last fleet investment on these routes was made by the company in 2014, when it invested £2.8m in 14 new Mercedes Benz Euro 6 Citaros. This investment will now allow McGill’s to convert the popular X7 route from Greenock to the Mercedes Citaro quality that the ClydeFlyer customers enjoy.

JANUARY EYMS

E YM S I N V E S T S , BU T WA R N S ON F U N D S

Council-owned Lothian Buses launched its new East Coast Buses operation in August

Six new double deck buses went into service with EYMS in January

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on routes running between Withernsea and Hull. They represent over £1m out of a total investment of £1.6m in 10 new buses for the EYMS Group fleet.

The new double deck buses, based on Volvo B5TL chassis and with MCV EvoSeti bodies equipped with on-board free Wi-Fi, are based at the EYMS depot in Withernsea.

The other new buses are four ADL E200 30-seat single deck midibuses for Scarborough town routes which were built locally at the Plaxton factory in Scarborough.

EYMS chairman Peter Shipp commented: “Times are extremely tough for bus operators at the moment, particularly independent private operators such as EYMS, mainly due to central and local government funding cuts and the damaging effect of ever increasing traffic congestion.

“But we still need to do as much as we can afford to update our fleet ... To this end I can now announce that we have just placed orders for 17 similar buses - five ADL E200MMC and 12 Volvo/MCV double decks - for delivery later this year”.

ABOVE: EYMS acquired six Volvo/MCV double deckers as part of its fleet investment.

BELOW: McGill's MD Ralph Roberts marks the firm's £2m investment in 10 Citaro buses

Council-owned operator Reading Buses became the first in the world to take delivery of a fully gas-powered double deck vehicle, with a special presentation ceremony held in the Berkshire town in January.

Martijn Gilbert, chief executive of Reading Buses, said he was excited and proud that the company was launching the world’s first Euro 6 double deck bus that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG). A further four have since joined the fleet.

He said: “We have worked closely with the manufacturers in pioneering the introduction of the first modern era gas double deck buses anywhere in the world.

“Scania has had to think ‘outside

READ ING BUSES

M I N I ST E R L AU NC H E S C ON TAC T L E S S PAYM E N T S

RE A DI N G BUS ES

WOR L D F I R ST AS R E A DI NG I N T RODU C E S G AS DE C K E R

the company. The purchase has seen the 85-vehicle business incorporated into Go-Ahead’s existing Poole-based Go South Coast operations. The group acquired the council’s full shareholding and the freehold of the operator’s depot which is less than a decade old.

“We were one of the few local authorities in the country to still own a local bus company, but the council is operating in a really challenging financial climate at the moment and we do not have the resources to continue to support Thamesdown Transport as we have been doing in recent years,” said David Renard, Swindon Borough Council’s leader.

the box’ to ensure the gas storage is safe without impacting customer capacity on-board.”

This sees the CNG tanks installed under the staircase and under the rear seats, instead of in the familiar roof pod used on the single deckers which the company was the first to introduce back in 2013.

The innovative double deck buses are the latest addition to the company’s greener gas fleet with the five new buses joining the 34 single deck CNG-powered buses currently owned.

They all operate on compressed natural gas bought from a sustainable source which means they effectively run on cow dung.

They produce no particulates - soot - no hydrocarbons, are virtually zero carbon and drastically reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide emitted, by as much as 55%.

F E BRUARY THAMES DOWN

THAMESDOWN IS LATEST MUNICIPAL TO BE SOLD

The ranks of Britain’s councilowned bus operators diminished further in February with the sale of Swindon-based bus operator Thamesdown Transport to Go-Ahead Group for an undisclosed sum.

Swindon Borough Council made the decision to sell the business after incurring “heavy losses over the past five years due to difficult trading conditions”.

Over that period the council said that it had extended financial support to the business in order to ensure its continued viability.

Following a competitive process Go-Ahead’s bid was assessed as offering the best value to the council, which wholly-owned

Transport minister Andrew Jones MP visited Reading Buses on February 27 to launch a new contactless payment option for bus travel on the operator’s services in and around the Berkshire town.

As the main bus operator in the town, it formed the UK’s first town-wide contactless bus network outside of London which means all residents in the borough will be served by a bus accepting the bankcards.

Reading Buses is also the first independent - non PLC - operator to go 100% contactless.

In another first, Reading Buses was the first operator using the Ticketer system to go contactless with an integrated card reader for all card types, whether contactless bankcard, ENCTS concessionary pass or other ITSO smartcards, as well as Apple and Android pay.

Other contactless schemes have required separate card readers on the buses.

Reading Buses chief executive Martijn Gilbert said: “Once again we are delighted to bring a number of firsts to Reading. We have been working hard and investing in upgraded ticketing systems, with our supplier Ticketer and payment services provider CreditCall, to get contactless launched across our entire Reading town network.” ➢

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M A RCH BO R DE RS BUS ES

£3.5m INVESTMENT I N B OR DE R S BU S OP E R AT I ON

Campbeltown-based West Coast Motors completed its acquisition of First Scotland East’s operations in Midlothian and the Borders in March, and announced plans to invest over £3.5m in the operation.

The acquisition of the operations added 116 members of staff based at Galashiels depot and outstations at Hawick, Peebles and Kelso, plus 42 vehicles. The business is trading as Borders Buses.

This acquisition triggered an investment of £3.5m by West Coast Motors in 30 new vehicles, customer real time information and ticketing systems. The new vehicles include Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and Optare MetroCity single deckers and Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double deckers.

Colin Craig, managing director of West Coast Motors, said that the investment was a clear demonstration of West Coast’s on-going commitment to the Borders area and beyond, with expansion planned.

He said: “Whilst exciting, it’s important to add we do not underestimate the challenges which lie ahead. [The] Borders Railway has had a significant impact on the local bus network, but represents an opportunity for local bus services to be adapted to complement and enhance the public transport network in and around the Scottish Borders.”

RE PORT 2017

customers can then log-on to their account to choose and pay for any of the company’s GoZone tickets.

Colin Napier, McGill’s head of service delivery said: “McGill’s GoSmart card is a flexible and convenient way for customers to travel with us. Customers can create their own GoSmart account and purchase tickets whenever it suits them. Next time a customer travels with us, they simply tap their GoSmart card on the ticket machine and the product bought online is added to their card.”

“For those customers who prefer not to pay on the bus, the GoSmart card is an excellent alternative to our very popular mobile ticketing”.

TRE NTBARTO N

THE BEST DRIVERS IN ENGL AND

Trentbarton drivers were rated as the best in England in the Autumn 2016 Bus Passenger Survey, published in March by Transport Focus.

The survey, which ran across the final four months of 2016, saw Trentbarton’s drivers given the highest rating - 91.5% - of all the 53 bus companies surveyed in England.

Ratings for driver appearance, greeting, attitude and overall satisfaction all exceeded 90%.

Trentbarton’s drivers also ranked top for smoothness of driving and safety, while customers felt more

AP RIL BL ACKPO OL TRAN S P O RT

N E W BU SE S ROL L I N TO B L AC K P O OL

ABOVE: TrentBarton drivers got the highest rating in England's Bus Passenger Survey.

BELOW LEFT: Borders Buses. BELOW RIGHT: McGill’s launched its GoSmart card in March

MCG I L L’S

N E W G O SM A RT T IC K E T L AU N C H E D

McGill’s launched its GoSmart card in March, the company’s firstever network-wide commercial smart ticketing product. The GoSmart card offers a flexible and convenient way for customers to choose and pay for their McGill’s tickets and is the newest ticketing initiative from the company.

The GoSmart card is available free to all customers who register via the company’s website. Once the GoSmart card is dispatched,

secure on Trentbarton’s buses than other operators’.

Commenting on the survey’s findings, Trentbarton managing director Jeff Counsell said: “We are absolutely delighted that our drivers have been judged the best in the country. We put a huge amount of effort into getting our recruitment and training right and this is reflected in our drivers being scored incredibly highly by our customers.”

Among ALBUM member companies, Trentbarton achieved the joint highest rating for overall passenger satisfaction, 93%, along with Reading Buses. Nottingham City Transport was close behind, with a 92% rating. The average score for all companies was 87%.

World first: Reading Buses took delivery of a fully gas-powered double decker in January

The promenade at Blackpool was awash with new buses on April 9 when Blackpool Transport officially launched 25 new Enviro400 City buses, manufactured by Alexander Dennis. These buses are the latest investment by the company in the last three years and at a cost of over £5m they significantly bolster the existing fleet.

Blackpool Transport carried out a unique celebration of their latest investment, parading all 25 of the buses in convoy along the world famous Blackpool Tramway. The buses were officially unveiled on the Blackpool Festival Headland later in the day, with 15 of the buses on show for the general public to enjoy.

Commenting on the new arrivals, Jane Cole, managing director of Blackpool Transport, said: “The delivery of these 25 vehicles, which are supplied by British manufacturer Alexander Dennis, fulfils my commitment to boost our fleet year on year.

My vision is to ensure no bus in Blackpool is older than five years by 2020, and with 54 buses out of a fleet of 140 now finished in the high grade Palladium specification we are well on our way to delivering on our promises to our customers.” Q

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TH E AL BUM

RE PORT 2017

GET TING IT RIGHT BESIDE THE SEASIDE It is just over two years since jane cole joined bl ackp o ol transp ort w ith a v ision to transform the council-ow ned bus and tram operator, which is this year’s host of the album Conference. andrew garnet t repor ts ransport binds together Blackpool’s famous Golden Mile. It is here in 1885 that the modern tramway was born when the town’s corporation helped initiate an electric tramway service on the Promenade linking the north and south shores. It’s now the oldest electric street tramway in the world and it benefitted from substantial investment several years ago that has rejuvenated the service, creating a modern light rail-style operation. Today the trams are still in council-owned hands, albeit now operated by Blackpool Transport Services, an arms-length company wholly owned by Blackpool Council that was created as the bus industry was deregulated in 1986.

But there are not just trams. The corporation’s transport department first started operating buses in the 1920s. With the tram network cut back to the core coastal service between Starr Gate and Fleetwood in 1962, the bus network expanded significantly over the following decades. This also saw the formerly council-owned municipal bus operation in neighbouring Lytham St Annes acquired in 1993.

The Blackpool of today has changed dramatically in recent years from the resort’s heyday in the early to mid 20th century.

While visitor numbers are down on that golden era, thanks to competition from the foreign package holiday, tourism remains the lifeblood of the local economy.

It supports thousands of small local businesses and directly employs more than 24,000 people.

Efforts to reposition the resort,

T

is) also an active member of the Blackpool Business Leadership Forum. Cole describes how she was excited to be named as Blackpool Transport’s first female MD, but agrees there was much to do.

“When I arrived here, the bus profile wasn’t good,” she admits candidly. “We had a very, very aged fleet, so we put together a proposition to the council to work to rejuvenate the business, to almost reinvent it. We wanted to turn the fleet over, invest heavily, get the product right and create a proposition that would be attractive enough to work as a transport option for residents and visitors from cradle to grave.”

She says that on her arrival at

backed up by a number of high profile regeneration projects, are paying dividends with visitor numbers in recent years increasing.

Footfall survey work suggests just over five million people walked along Blackpool’s famous prom between April and December last year. Blackpool still draws more than 17 million visitors each year, but tourism is not the be all and end all of the local economy; there are also some significant employers in the local area, including National Savings & Investments and defence giant BAE Systems.

The glue for this diverse economy is Blackpool Transport.

Today it operates a network of high frequency bus and tram services across the Fylde coast with 140 buses, 16 modern light rail vehicles and a fleet of heritage trams. In the driving seat is managing director Jane Cole, who joined the councilowned business in autumn 2014.

Cole is an experienced transport manager with more than 35 years’ in the rail industry. Originally from Manchester, progression in her career first brought her to Blackpool in 1989. After joining British Rail’s Intercity division in 1990 following a management promotion, she ended up as a senior manager with Virgin Trains with a brief that took in customer service, operations, commercial and marketing.

It is in that role that Cole built some strong links with the resort.

A former member of the board of the North West Lancashire Chamber of Commerce as well as Visit Lancashire, she was (and

Blackpool Transport, it was clear that the customer experience was not being placed at the forefront of business objectives. Customer expectations were not being met either and that had to change if declining patronage was to be arrested. The first steps in investing in the business saw 10 high specification Mercedes-Benz Citaro single deckers arrive in 2015. These introduced the new ‘Palladium’ brand that aims to reposition the bus as mode of choice for visitors and residents alike. Cole says that the name was chosen to evoke a premium brand – one that symbolises the company’s big plans for the future.

Meanwhile, as part of a wider partnership with manufacturer Alexander Dennis, a total of 35 Enviro400 City buses, to the same Palladium standard, have entered service in two batches in 2016 and 2017. This close partnership aims to end the ‘dolly mixture’-style approach to vehicle procurement that characterised Blackpool Transport over recent decades. As one of Cole’s colleagues comments, it felt at times as though the company operated “one of everything”. “We want to make it simple,” he adds. “By streamlining

The Blackpool Transport team with some of the operator's new ADL vehicles

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BL ACKPO O L TRANSPO RT

the fleet it means our staff have a deeper knowledge about the vehicle product and that makes the fleet easier to maintain.”

There have also been developments on the tramway.

Following the multi-million pound upgrade that saw the tramway reopen in April 2012, in the year to April 2017, more than five million passengers took a trip on the trams - that’s the highest number of passengers since 1994 and almost one million up on 2014/15. Cole says that her team worked hard over the last two years to redesign the operation around the needs of its users.

TREVOR WHELAN

There has been significant investment in the tramway (below left) and bus fleet (above).

The operator won the Vision of the Year Award at the Global Light Rail Awards (below)

While enhancements, particularly improvements to customer service, have been made to the core light rail-style service between Starr Gate and Fleetwood, improvements have also been made to the heritage tram tours operation. What was previously a highly seasonal business now operates year-round, tapping into a growing nostalgic interest in the tramway from visitors and transport enthusiasts alike. Cole pays tribute to the heritage operation, in particular the volunteers who go out of their way to help operate and conserve the historic rolling stock for future generations. They have also helped to push the tramway to the top thing to do in Blackpool on TripAdvisor, the travel review website.

Meanwhile, it is hoped that the core ‘light rail’-style operation will be extended to Blackpool North railway station from April

2019. This short extension will renew a tram link that was lost in the 1930s with a new junction at Talbot Square facilitating frequent services towards Bispham in the north and Pleasure Beach in the south of the existing route. In preparation for the extension opening, two additional Flexity trams have been ordered from Bombardier, which will be delivered later this year.

“I’m really excited about the opportunities that extension will offer not only to us but to the wider economy of the town too,” says Cole. “But the bus offer has to complement it, so we have to make the bus offer attractive.” She returns to the theme of investment.

Key to making the bus more attractive is working to rebuild patronage. Cole comments that previous new vehicle purchases were targeted on routes serving the resort’s key visitor market, but this emphasis has changed in the last

couple of years. Now new buses are targeted at the core market. “That core market should not have handme-downs,” she says. “They are our bread and butter and a market that should be nurtured.”

Cole returns to the theme of customer experience and how this can help improve the lives of that core market. Training programmes aim to provide staff with the skills to relate with and assist all segments of the community. Such is the success of these programmes that the Department for Transport has recognised the company’s disability awareness training.

Meanwhile, she is also keen to enhance Blackpool Transport’s corporate social responsibility work by immersing the company in the community in a bid to develop a greater understanding of the social needs of customers.

Closer to home, the company’s board has been restructured to improve corporate governance with non-executive directors that represent not just the council, but the wider local business community.

This vision has won the support of the council; it is deeply supportive of Cole’s investment plans, the next phase of which call for more new buses that will provide Blackpool Transport with a unique opportunity: later this year, the town’s main rail link between Blackpool and the West Coast Main Line at Preston will be severed in order to allow Network Rail to completely modernise the infrastructure and electrify the line. Cole and her team are pitching to operate an intensive rail replacement service with a fleet of new buses to the same high quality Palladium standard.

“What we’re doing is futureproofing the business,” says Cole.

“We’re innovating with investment in fleet, with a new website and customer app that aims to make bus and tram travel even easier.

We were also the first transport operator in the UK to offer a truly 24-hour day ticket. All those things are about making the customer experience the best it possibly can be. I hope that at the end of our five-year strategy you will find a company that has been completely transformed and renewed.” Q

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TH E AL BUM

RE PORT 2017

Reading Buses delivers a high quality service and pays its council owner a dividend larger than it could earn on the money markets

QUALIT Y STILL PAYS THE DIVIDENDS chris cheek has been rev iew ing the financial per formance of 20 leading municipal and independently ow ned bus companies and finds that it is still possible to turn a profit from running buses – prov ided you do it well ooking back on it, the period since the 2010 General Election has been one of the most extraordinary periods in the bus industry’s history since the War. We have had the most savage cuts in public expenditure ever achieved. We have experienced some of the most volatile fuel prices we have ever known, and all this has taken place against the background of extraordinary and rapid social change, driven largely by the technological revolution ignited by the internet in the late 1990s and then given a huge boost

L

fourth, successful commercial operation - and the clever, highquality independent operator could build a successful business resting on these four.

In the teeth of the spending review, it seemed as if at least two, if not three, of those pillars had been kicked away by the politicians. Meanwhile government was intent upon thrusting responsibility downwards through its localism agenda, whilst denying councils the grants or the revenueraising powers to fund those responsibilities. That element of the picture has not changed,

by the arrival of the smartphone in 2007. Meanwhile, the regulatory screw keeps on turning - pensions reform, new accounting standards, new emissions standards, the living wage and most recently the apprenticeship levy.

It would have been amazing if all these issues had not affected the financial performance of the bus industry, and of course they have. In many areas, particularly outside the major cities, the business model rested on four pillars: local authority contracts and concessionary reimbursement helped by fuel duty rebate (BSOG), could underpin and reinforce the

witness the crisis that has emerged in social care and now appearing in the education service.

In the face of these changes, the bus industry has suffered: as measured by our Bus Industry Monitor database, profits dipped sharply - with operating margins falling from 9.7% in 2010/11 to 7.2% two years later, though recovering slightly to 7.6% in 2014/15. There has been a series of failures and takeovers in the independent sector, with high profile names such as Western Greyhound, BakerBus, Norfolk Green and GHA disappearing.

Contracted service mileage has shrunk by 40% since its peak in 2009/10 - and this includes cuts of 47% in Wales, and 43% in the English shire areas. The PTE areas have seen cuts of 36% and Scotland 27.5%.

Not all has been gloom: opportunities were created from some local authority cuts, so that commercial mileage has actually risen in the English Shires by over 9% since 2009/10. In Wales it has remained steady, though falling in Scotland (by 9.3%) and the PTE areas (4.1%).

Above all, we should remember that, for all the noise about service cuts and the “failure” of deregulation, bus service mileage in the Shire areas of England in 2015/16 was still 19% higher than it was in 1985/86. The same is true of Scotland (15%) and Wales (9%).

The only fall is one of 10% in the PTE areas. That is little consolation to those communities which have lost their bus service over the last five years, but is interesting nonetheless.

Meanwhile, demand for services has resumed a downward trend.

This is driven by a toxic cocktail of adverse trends, including the rapid fall in oil prices from 2012 until the middle of last year (which has reduced the cost of motoring), reductions in demand for travel for shopping and personal business, and continuing falls in concessionary travel. The latter is being driven by the same changes in behaviour, but also by the change to qualification criteria in England outside London. One suspects that the demonisation

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT MONITOR

of the diesel bus in the air quality debate is not helping either.

So, the question is whether the recent small improvements in profitability could be sustained into 2015/16 and beyond, and one has to say that the signs are not good. Amongst our 20 independent and municipal operations, cash profits fell by 5.5% during the year, as turnover barely moved (up 0.8%) whilst operating costs were 1.3% ahead.

Overall, therefore, operating margins moved downwards from 6.6% to 6.2%. Across the 20 companies, return on capital also fell back, from 13.8% to 10.8%, below current estimates of the cost of capital for the industry, which stand at around 12.5%. (Return on capital is calculated as operating profit over capital employed. Capital employed is defined as shareholders’ funds plus long term liabilities.)

The total turnover of the 20 businesses is around £570m, so that between them they represent approximately 15% of the total market outside London.

The results, in order of profitability, are shown in the table.

As always, there is a large amount of variation between the performance of the various companies, ranging from the small operating losses recorded in Blackpool and Newport to double digit margins earned by four of our leading independent operators, plus the Wellglade group, owners of Trentbarton. Wellglade is one of only two National Bus Company management buyouts still in the same ownership. The other is EYMS Group, which fared less well, earning 3.7% from its core East Yorkshire business, having disposed of its operations in Manchester and Worcestershire over the last couple of years.

Five of the top six saw profits increase during the year, only the Perryman’s business (which now includes Borders Buses, following its acquisition of further routes from First Scotland East) saw profits slip slightly. Four of the top six also achieved revenue growth of one sort or another.

Interestingly, some of the top performers also operate what at first sight might seem unpromising

territory, including areas such as West Scotland and the Borders where others have struggled to make money in the past and the market remains extremely tough.

Interestingly, the majority of the companies in the table saw revenue fall during 2015/16, with only nine of the 20 seeing any growth.

Twelve of the companies also saw a fall in operating profit, with only eight recording any increase.

Fifteen of the 20 companies saw returns on capital fall.

Amongst the municipallyowned companies, there are three clear leaders in terms of profitability - Lothian, Nottingham

20 Leading UK Owned Non-PLC Bus Companies, 2015-2016: Operator

Perryman's

Turnover (£m)

Operating Costs (£m)

Operating Profit (£m)

Operating Margin

Operating % Margin Revenue Change Change

3,974

3,514

460

11.6%

-2.4%

-2.4%

Wellglade

66,687

59,104

7,583

11.4%

0.3%

1.7%

McGill's

38,707

34,437

4,270

11.0%

0.1%

8.5%

3,668

3,275

393

10.7%

0.5%

3.6%

Safeguard West Coast Motors

17,548

15,732

1,817

10.4%

2.0%

7.0%

Rotala

50,889

47,280

3,609

7.1%

0.2%

-1.5%

Lothian Buses

142,453

132,955

9,498

6.7%

-0.5%

5.3%

Nottingham City Transport

53,183

49,851

3,332

6.3%

0.3%

-0.8%

Reading Buses

29,660

28,381

1,279

4.3%

-0.4%

0.9%

EYMS Group

30,232

29,118

1,114

3.7%

-0.8%

7.0%

Rosso (Rossendale Transport)

9,477

9,196

281

3.0%

-0.5%

-14.0%

Compass Bus

7,531

7,314

217

2.9%

-2.4%

-4.5%

Ipswich Buses

9,391

9,129

262

2.8%

-0.6%

3.1%

Thamesdown Transport *

10,829

10,544

285

2.6%

0.1%

-1.9%

Cardiff Bus

30,978

30,313

665

2.1%

0.7%

1.6%

Network Warrington

10,512

10,309

203

1.9%

-1.9%

-5.6%

Centrebus

15,071

14,819

252

1.7%

-2.0%

-5.4%

Halton Borough Transport

6,365

6,267

98

1.5%

-1.2%

-1.7%

Newport Transport

10,004

10,040

(36)

-0.4%

-0.3%

3.6%

Blackpool Transport

22,627

22,820

(193)

-0.9%

-2.5%

-5.5%

* Subsequently acquired by Go-Ahead Group, February 2017

The sale of Thamesdown Transport in February could be a harbinger of things to come

and Reading. Of these, the two largest experienced differing fortunes: Lothian Buses saw profits slip very slightly, whilst Nottingham managed to improve its. However, in revenue terms, Lothian achieved growth, whereas Nottingham fell back as services were affected by the opening of phase two of the city’s light rail system in the summer of 2015.

In any case, of course, the local authority-owned businesses have in the past tended to operate to a different financial remit and tend to have a lower risk profile. Increasingly, though, cash-strapped councillors are looking for improved financial performance as well as seeking to retain the “social dividend”.

This is said to derive from public ownership - though in practice this has rarely been precisely defined or quantified. Looking ahead, the pressures on managements may be expected to increase - and Swindon Council’s decision to sell its under-performing Thamesdown business in February this year has been taken as a possible harbinger of things to come.

In fact, both Lothian and Nottingham are achieving a return on capital of around 10%, sufficient to pay the authorities a dividend larger than they could earn on the money markets. Reading was not far behind on just short of 9%, but may well have achieved more in the following year: the accounts analysed here are to September 27, 2015, and much has happened there since.

All three companies, alongside Wellglade’s subsidiaries, are at the forefront of innovation and development and have achieved sector-leading market growth over a sustained period of time. All are multiple award winners in the UK Bus Awards across a range of categories. Perryman’s is a former runner up in the UK Bus Awards contest for Top Independent Operator, whilst Safeguard was category winner in 2015.

What this analysis suggests, then, is that despite all the tough times the industry is enduring, the message remains emphatically the same: quality pays. Q

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RE PORT 2017

RAISING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS The album conference theme ‘Driv ing the Customer E xperience’ resonates strongly w ith the focus of alexander dennis limited (adl). A range of initiatives and developments not only drives the experience of adl’s customers – bus operators – but also of their ow n customers: passengers.

ADL has a close partnership with this year's ALBUM Conference host Blackpool Transport to renew the operator's fleet within five years

SM A RT PAC K DE M ON S T R ATOR ALBUM will be the first outing for a new ADL Enviro200 demonstrator. This midibus prominently displays the efficiency and environmental credentials of SmartPack and other driveline accessories that are available across the Enviro200 and Enviro400 ranges.

ADL continues to improve its diesel buses and has built upon

cooler. Zero energy is used when there is no cooling requirement, and there are less hydraulics.

SmartPack brings together a range of innovative smart accessories that match auxiliary charging events from the alternator and compressor with deceleration periods when the engine is not drawing fuel.

Stop/start technology, which ADL pioneered, is a further option on the Enviro200 and part of the Enviro400’s LCEB

the Euro 6 engine emissions standard to deliver ever cleaner buses with improved fuel economy. A range of solutions can be specified to achieve the Low Carbon Emissions Bus (LCEB) certification that qualifies operators for higher Bus Service Operators Grant rates.

E-cooling replaces a single hydraulic fan with multiple electrically powered fans that enable independent cooling control of radiator and charge air

aving undergone a major model change programme in recent years, ADL’s updated Enviro200 and Enviro400 products are established more firmly than ever as Britain’s best-selling buses.

They are integral to fleets around the country, from major groups and ALBUM members to independent operators. Offering what the manufacturer promises to be lowest total cost of ownership and supported by ADL’s class-leading aftermarket care, the Enviros’ success speaks eloquently of its economic benefits to bus companies.

Designed for reliability and ease of maintenance, and with an assembly line set up to produce large volumes at consistent high quality, the Enviro historically did not always lead the pack when it came to interior ambience.

However, ADL has made great strides to change this, as managing director - UK sales, Arthur Whiteside explains: “We are committed to building the best buses for all our stakeholders – first and foremost remain the benefits to bus operators, but we are just as determined to make the buses work for passengers as well as city dwellers.”

This focused approach has been heralded most visibly by the sleek Enviro400 City demonstrator the manufacturer unveiled last autumn, which it is showing to ALBUM conference delegates in Blackpool.

The City demonstrator is fitted with the Passenger Plus specification pack which brings together a wealth of passengerfocused features all designed to

H

package. It stops the engine when the vehicle is stationary and the doors are opened, cutting noise and emissions as well as improving fuel economy.

With hundreds of Enviro200 and Enviro400 buses built with e-cooling, SmartPack and stop/ start technology in service since late 2015, ADL has a proven track record of delivering low emission Euro 6 diesel buses, and the manufacturer continues to work on their further refinement.

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VE H ICL ES ADL

enhance the appeal of bus travel.

Where the executive-style seats are arranged airline style, individual passenger amenities have been integrated into seatbacks. These include wireless bell pushes, USB power sockets, dimmable LED lap lights, coat hooks and folddown tables. On the upper deck, single seats next to the staircase maintain passengers’ privacy while making it easy to move around this potential pinch point. The absence of vertical hand rails gives the upper saloon a spacious, airy

Social seating areas on the Enviro400 City

appearance that is enhanced by the deep side windows. Social seating areas are grouped around tables, with those at the rear of the top deck offering an unrivalled feeling of space thanks to the wrap-over window that complements three wide, glazed roof panels along the length of the vehicle.

“We have been absolutely bowled over by just how positive the response has been and we’re delighted to have taken customer orders for this exact package,” Arthur Whiteside says.

“This confirms our approach and without saying too much I can reveal that we are working on bringing a number of comprehensive specification packs to market later this year, which will

suit different requirements and operating environments.”

At the same time, ADL remains committed to working with individual operators to deliver bespoke arrangements that tie in with existing brand propositions. This is exemplified by their partnership with ALBUM conference host Blackpool Transport. The first batch of 10 Enviro400 City buses, built last year, were already tailored to the operator’s Palladium brand and both parties have collaborated to further refine the spec for this year’s follow-up delivery of 25. These benefit from the inclusion of social seating around tables and USB ports in the upper saloon.

While ADL works to redefine the passenger experience, there is no sense that the bus builder is losing sight of the demands of its other stakeholders.

ADL offers the market’s widest range of low and zero emission buses. Hybrid, biogas and full electric technologies not only reduce the strain on the environment by bringing down CO2 output, but also benefit local residents by cutting out locally harmful pollutants and minimising noise.

But it is operators’ demands which remain most firmly in ADL’s sights and which make reliability the top focus, as Arthur Whiteside concludes: “We are doing our bit for passengers and for the environment, but it is just as important to us that our buses will always remain dependable workhorses that run reliably every day, deliver excellent fuel economy and don’t put a strain on the balance sheet.” Q

The Enviro400 City demonstrator that pioneered ADL's Passenger Plus interior package

A W I N N I NG PA RT N E R SH I P ADL and Blackpool Transport have teamed up with The Blackpool Sixth Form College to help shape the future of customer-friendly transport.

At a special local event, Travel and Tourism students from the college gave their feedback on ADL’s Enviro400 City demonstrator, fitted with the Passenger Plus specification package. Results will be presented via video at the ALBUM conference.

Blackpool Transport and ADL have been working in partnership as the operator rolls out its vision of a fleet in which no bus is older than five years.

The latest buses entering service this spring feature group seating on the upper saloon which means that families, children and adults alike can make better use of their travel time with seats arranged sociably around three tables.

Blackpool Transport is evaluating the comprehensive

The new ADL Enviro200 demonstrator will have its first outing at the ALBUM Conference

Passenger Plus specification package of ADL’s demonstrator vehicle with a view to potentially introducing some of the features on upcoming vehicles.

To ensure that the voices of future customers are heard in the decision-making process when designing Blackpool’s buses, the survey invited the students from Blackpool Sixth Form College to learn about ADL’s strategy before being treated to a test drive of the demonstrator vehicle and given the chance to share their reactions and suggestions.

Keith Watson, customer development director at ADL, led the engagement for the manufacturer: “We are delighted by the opportunity to hear from young bus users about how we can make our buses even more responsive to their needs. Building on our proven track record of working with all stakeholders to build Britain’s best buses, we are proud to develop the buses of the future together with their future passengers.”

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VE H ICL ES Q 'STRAINT

SAFET Y MAT TERS q’straint’s Quantum wheelchair securement system prov ides new levels of safety and accessibility magine the scenario, you are driving a crowded bus, which includes a passenger in a wheelchair. They are in the wheelchair space and have followed all your instructions to activate their brakes and are holding onto the grab rail. How can you be sure that brakes of the wheelchair are enough to stabilise the passenger? If the wheelchair moves it could potentially endanger the user and the other passengers surrounding them.

Q’Straint has addressed this with Quantum. The revolutionary product which was developed by combining transportation insight, intelligent technology and a pioneering new approach to securement. After boarding a bus, Quantum allows wheelchair and scooter passengers to position their chair and by simply pushing a button to secure themselves in a stable and safe rear-facing position without driver assistance. The process takes under 25 seconds.

“The Quantum ensures the highest level of passenger safety whilst also giving wheelchair users the independence to automatically self-secure without driver assistance.” Explains Andy Cumming of Q’Straint, “It provides

I

Q’Straint invited Helen Dolphin MBE to trial the Quantum in situ on an actual bus route. "I felt completely safe and secure," she said.

ground breaking new levels of safety and accessibility”.

herself, Dolphin was able to give an insight into the issues that wheelchair users face when using public transport as well as share her thoughts and feelings on the Quantum. Dolphin knows only too well that an extremely important issue for disabled people travelling on a bus is safety. “I have often found myself nearly tipping over in my manual wheelchair when a bus has taken a corner a bit sharpish,” she said.

The journey began with Dolphin seamlessly boarding the bus, backing in to the wheelchair space and securing herself by “pressing a large flashing green button”, within 20 seconds two arms were securely holding her wheelchair in place. Dolphin reported: “I tried my best to escape from the arms securing me but my wheelchair did not budge. This

experiencing quantum Q’Straint invited Helen Dolphin MBE to trial the Quantum in situ on an actual bus route. Being an occasional wheelchair user

Quantum enables users to secure themselves in a stable and safe rear-facing position

bus could have driven a slalom course and I would have remained exactly where I was locked in.

I felt completely safe and secure.” industry benefits Operators will benefit immediately and profoundly with more secure passengers. Quantum puts an end to challenging securement manoeuvres that upset passengers and put drivers at risk of personal injury.

By safely securing wheelchairs and scooters, Quantum ultimately reduces liability exposure for injuries to mobility passengers as well as to seated or standing commuters who could be injured by unsecured mobility devices. Q For more information see www. qstraint.co.uk or view the Quantum blog at www.thequantumleap.com

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Parkeon 186x134 Digital Ad.qxp_Layout 1 18/04/2017 14:29 Page 1

Unlocking the power of digital Contactless EMV

Account-Based Ticketing

Connect with us

Our new architectures will make ticketing truly seamless for users through a fully integrated platform that bundles apps, payment options and automatic ‘best-fare’ functionality into one holistic solution.

Our operator pathway will drive back office, payments, hosting and inspection requirements along with analytics to sharpen marketing activity and improve scheduling decisions... helping organisations to become more customer-centric.

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At Parkeon, we’re taking the power of data and digital technology to the next level.

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If you found this interesting, we would love to hear from you – please contact us on 01202 339 339 or email transportUK@parkeon.com

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TICKE TING PARKEO N

HARNESSING THE POWER OF DIGITAL

OP T I M I SI NG P E R F OR M A N C E T H ROU G H DATA

Contactless EMV pay ments are grow ing and parkeon outlines its v ision for how operators w ill reap benefits from new digital pay ment technologies travel easier for individuals than ever before, it will also enable them to tailor the services they receive to meet their individual requirements, for example through account-based ticketing and personalised travel information.”

In addition, Parkeon’s digital pathway for transport operators will integrate back office, payments, hosting and inspection requirements while simultaneously providing bespoke analytics to sharpen marketing activity and

OV E R 1 0 0 M R E AS ON S TO B E R E A DY F OR C ON TAC T L E S S

circulation – and these accounted for over £3bn in spend in December 2016 alone.

“Contactless technology not only makes travel more convenient for customers, it also opens up significant operational and marketing opportunities for bus operators,” says Gavin Trimnell, Parkeon’s Head of Sales and Marketing.

“Data collected by contactless payment methods can be

F

Parkeon is helping bus operators prepare for the contactless revolution as customer enthusiasm for this easy payment option continues to grow.

According to the UK Cards Association, there are now over 100 million contactless cards in

improve scheduling decisions.

Parkeon has a rich heritage of working with ALBUM group members over many years, including the development of contactless payment strategies.

Says Griffith: “Bus operators are on a digital journey that will enable customers to access services more easily. The use of contactless bank cards alongside Apple Pay and Android Pay on mobile phones will encourage more people to travel by bus.” Q

TRANSDEV BLAZEFIELD

rom contactless EMV to new retail platforms and cloud-based back office architectures, systems specialist Parkeon Transportation is leading the way in harnessing the benefits of the digital era to optimise operator efficiency and improve the passenger experience.

The award-winning company is the preferred automatic fare collection partner for public transport operators across the UK and will be presenting its digital technology pathway at this year’s ALBUM conference.

This includes playing a key role in delivering the industry’s vision of contactless travel by 2022.

“That said, contactless is just the beginning of the digital revolution,” says Owen Griffith, managing director of Parkeon Transportation.

“We’re now working on new architectures that will make ticketing truly seamless for end users through fully integrated platforms capable of bundling apps, payment options and automatic ‘best-fare’ functionality into one holistic solution. This will not only make multi-modal

Parkeon is working with operators including Transdev Blazefield to deliver contactless

extremely valuable to operators in creating a product portfolio that is more customer and retailfocused. It opens up opportunities for bus companies to respond quickly to market trends.”

Parkeon’s contactless expertise is being widely deployed around the world. They have already worked with customers Arriva and Transdev Blazefield to roll out contactless in the UK. One of Parkeon’s significant

Parkeon’s PrismAnalytics® platform uses data visualisation to help public transport operators map performance trends and identify opportunities for improvement.

This innovative tool is capable of presenting data from myriad sources in a way that enables managers to ‘see’ any performance hotspots that need addressing and identify trends to reduce cost and generate new revenue streams.

“Parkeon ticketing systems have always been data-rich and the introduction of our Prism platform provides operators with access to that data through very powerful and highly visual analytics,” says Gary Wilson, Parkeon’s Head of Project Delivery. “However, ticketing data is only part of the story.

Prism continues Parkeon’s open access to data philosophy and enables other sources to be blended, providing managers with a truly holistic overview by unlocking the power of data gathered across the entire organisation.

“And because the platform is browser-based, it’s easy to share insights internally.”

The solution is hosted and maintained by Parkeon, whose data experts help customers set the required data capture and reporting parameters, for example via the operator’s ticketing system, to enable a fast, secure and robust connection with the Prism engine. developments is CloudFare® - a roadmap that enables operators of every size to move easily to EMV contactless, mobile, account-based ticketing and smart device fare collection.

“CloudFare® provides a clear pathway to the future, harnessing investment in hardware, data transfer systems and back office security to deliver a futureproofed return on open payments investment,” says Trimnell.

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TICKE TING TICKETER

TICKETER’S HASSLE-FREE WAY TO CONTACTLESS ticketer has a histor y of closely working w ith album members. john cl arfelt reveals how the company worked closely with reading buses to introduce contactless credit and debit card payments LBUM members are known for taking a cooperative approach to issues in a bid to share best practice and it is an approach that is mirrored by ticketing specialist Ticketer.

Managing director John Clarfelt takes up the theme.

“As a company we have been fortunate to have grown thanks to working closely with ALBUM members,” he says. “We have very similar approaches; it’s almost co-operative. We are constantly talking to our customers, tweaking the system and then making those developments available to all of our customers. It’s about choice and giving people options and opportunities by working together.

I think that is very much the ethos of the ALBUM members too.”

The close working relationship is paying dividends too. A significant strength of the Ticketer system is the ability to tailor the equipment and capabilities of the technology to the specific needs of the customer. It means that a variety of ticketing methods – from QR coded tickets to smartcards to special offer coupons and contactless – can be developed for one customer and then, once up and running, offered to all customers as an attractive add on.

In the case of contactless, it’s thanks to the close working relationship with municipal bus operator Reading Buses that the contactless option was progressed. Now, with the system in place, Ticketer is in the position to offer a contactless EMV debit and credit card option to all customers of the Ticketer system.

But contactless payments can be a tricky path to tread. It’s an

A

Transport minister Andrew Jones joined local councillors and senior managers from Reading Buses to launch the operator's contactless payment system in March

area that could confuse many operators with questions about how payments will be taken, what soft of back office infrastructure is required and how day-to-day operations will be managed.

Luckily Ticketer aims to steer a steady course through these potential issues.

“We really, really want small operators to be easily able to get onto ‘wave and pay’ contactless technology,” notes Clarfelt. “If you look at how contactless payments have grown in day-to-day life, particularly at the retailer end of things, it’s clear that people like to pay with plastic. What we want to do is take the stress and hassle out of that for bus operators by creating a contactless payment template that can be used at any bus operator. That’s what we’re working towards.”

At Reading Buses the full

contactless payment option was ‘switched on’ at the start of March, the culmination of a number of months of hard work behind the scenes. This saw equipment upgraded to meet the stringent security requirements of contactless and also a period of in-service tests on one Reading bus route with ‘guinea pig’ passengers testing all aspects of the system.

Following an official launch, which was attended by Andrew Jones MP, the parliamentary under secretary of state for transport, Reading became the first area in the UK outside London to offer a contactless payment option on the majority of its bus network.

It has also become the first operator not owned by one of the major transport groups to go 100% contactless across an entire network. The payment method is playing a part in Reading’s new

‘three part’ digital ticketing strategy.

This not only includes contactless payment but the use of ‘QR’ barcodes on paper tickets, another Ticketer first, and an integrated scanner to read both paper and Reading’s m-ticketing app.

Meanwhile, in another first, Reading Buses is the first operator to go contactless using the Ticketer system which includes an integrated card reader for all card types, whether contactless bankcard, ENCTS concessionary pass or other ITSO commercial smartcards, as well as Apple and Android Pay. Other contactless schemes have required separate card readers on the buses.

“It has worked really well,” says Clarfelt. “We worked very closely with Reading Buses to bring the idea of accepting contactless payments from concept to fruition.

There were a lot of lessons learned along the way, but it means we can now apply that knowledge, allowing our other customers to introduce contactless.

“What we now have is the template that aims to allow the simple, straightforward introduction of contactless payments with the minimum of fuss. Bus operators have a lot going on and we want to take the hassle out of contactless for them.”

Other ALBUM operators are now following Reading’s lead with Ticketer. “I’m in no doubt that there will be more,” adds Clarfelt.

“What we’re doing is providing options to the customer and the passenger too. Our philosophy is largely about making life easier for the operator and bus driver and when it comes to smartcards, contactless, m-tickets and paper QR codes, well that all goes toward that aim.” Q

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TH E AL BUM

RE PORT 2017

Blackpool Transport's investment record in new vehicles is well known, but the company is also investing in new software tools that aim to improve efficiency and customer service

STREAMLINING PRO CESSES AT BLACKPO OL TRANSPORT bl ackp o ol transp ort, this year’s album Conference host, is introducing new management software systems from ep morris & company that are already pay ing significant div idends. andrew garnet t discovers how these systems are the cog to much w ider improvements ow do you capture business critical information, operational performance and data? For many bus operators it can be through the use of spreadsheets or paper-based systems, but there can be significant drawbacks from such an approach.

It can lead to a lack of consistency between company sites and depots, let alone subsidiaries of much larger companies. There

H

can also be issues with the physical time it can take in order to bring the different strands of data together in a coherent form that can be easily manipulated and interpreted.

As the bus industry has matured in recent years, and with many operators now looking at technology to solve some business critical functions, Worcestershirebased bus industry audit and software specialists EP Morris & Company (EPM) has developed a range of software tools that aims to

streamline these processes.

The company has a background in auditing services for the bus industry, specialising in BSOG certification and concessionary travel consultancy for operators.

This background led to the development of a range of software tools to assist with the day-to-day management of these tasks and functions. The company launched its first software product almost 30 years ago and today EPM supplies a range of software solutions to,

amongst others, the major groups as well as the larger independent and municipal operators.

Council-owned bus operator and this year’s ALBUM Conference host Blackpool Transport has recently introduced a suite of EPM software products that are playing a key part in some of the much wider changes that are sweeping through the bus operator. As Phil Lonsdale, the operator’s head of IT, notes, these software systems are “the cog of

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SOF TWARE EP MO RRIS & CO MPANY

what we [Blackpool Transport] are trying to achieve”.

Lonsdale describes a number of projects that are currently being undertaken at the company.

They aim to significantly improve customer service and customer satisfaction across all aspects of the business. They include the installation of free on-bus Wi-Fi and the launch of a new all singing, all dancing customer app that not only offers an m-ticketing option, but also a number of tools that will allow customers to see how their bus is running. “The whole point of these projects is to feed the EPM systems with data,” he says. “We want one central data access point.”

Lonsdale describes how the EPM systems are structured to bring all those disparate forms of data together. This uses a clever piece of software called the Operational Performance Module (OPM). “There is vehicle mileage information, revenue protection, accidents and incidents; so essentially what’s going on out on the road,” he says. “It puts all of that data into one accessible, central resource.”

EPM’s Bus Incident Reporting Screen, or BIRS, powers the traffic and operational performance aspects of this system. BIRS allows central control room staff to report any incidents as they happen in real time, replacing the (usually) paper-based methods that many bus operators have historically relied on in the control room environment, but those traditional systems can be cumbersome and lead to operational inefficiencies.

With BIRS any incident reported to the control room can be recorded within the system using a series of dropdown menus. They have been structured in such a way as to allow as much information as possible to be captured at the moment it occurs.

As EPM director Nick Brookes notes, it gives a level of detail that allows a helicopter view of what’s going on at any moment around the business. He continues: “A great advantage is that the information can be directed to other parts of the company or organisation.

So if a bus is caught in some unexpected severe congestion, the

control room records the incident using BIRS and the resulting data can be fed, via other EPM software modules, to keep the customer experience team up to speed with what’s happening. That information can then be broadcast to customers, either by phone through the customer contact centre, through an app or via social media channels.”

These modules can streamline and standardise business processes to make all data consistent. This can not only help with analysis, investigating key trends and the production of key performance indicators, but also provide an audit trail for external organisations, like DVSA. Brookes describes how the system can produce period end reports that can really “drill down” into the data. “At Blackpool Transport there was one department where the production of a KPI report was a particularly time-consuming business,” reveals Brookes. “Now, using our systems, it takes no time at all and it means that staff are freed up for more important tasks.”

Meanwhile, by using a combined and unified solution, any incident entered into the system can initialise a chain of events that can allow a variety of internal departments access to information and generate a list of actions to solve issues. For example, a vehicle issue encountered by driving staff can be logged in the system. This then prompts an alert to the engineering team that a bus may have a problem, allowing the engineering team to react accordingly. This may

be by attending the vehicle in question out on the road, ordering replacement parts or organising a work flow for when the vehicle returns to the depot at the end of the working day.

In a similar manner, the system can also proactively manage responses to accidents, thereby mitigating potentially costly insurance claims. For example, if a bus and a car are involved in a collision, the EPM software modules talk to one another, generating another list of actions, such as arranging a courtesy car for the third party and arranging for their vehicle to be repaired, reducing the cost of a claim significantly.

Customer service has also been improved by not only giving the customer experience team the most up-to-date information they can possibly have, but by using the system to manage customer contact and any comments. This not only logs complaints and commendations, but also assists in allowing follow-up investigation by the management team. Meanwhile, all lost property can be logged, creating a single process that keeps track of the item from when it is found to when it is reunited.

Blackpool Transport is also moving ahead with plans to incorporate an HR system within the EPM solution. This will not only allow staff records to be kept as a central and accessible resource, dispensing with the need for a single cumbersome paperbased filing system, but also allow follow up actions that use other parts of the system. As Brookes

Blackpool Transport plans to enhance and expand the EPM solution with a new HR system

notes, it will bring everything together. “They were looking at a standalone HR system,” he says.

“Our system integrates everything and that’s a big advantage over a separate HR system – so why pay for something else?”

But other systems can be accommodated. Lonsdale says that a key strength of EPM’s systems is that they can be tailored to take on data from other systems developed by third party companies. As he notes, if Blackpool introduces a new software system, EPM are keen to get hold of a data feed that will allow the data produced by that system to feed into OPM. “A good example of that is the app that we’re currently developing for our customers,” Lonsdale notes. “The data from that app will feed directly into the system.

Another example is payment details, be it from the ticket machines out on the road to the ticket sales made by PayPoint retailers. All of this data feeds into the EPM system and allows quick and efficient access to it. It’s such a brilliant tool.”

Mandy Davies, Blackpool Transport’s head of operations, adds that the technology is transforming the business. “We were very compartmentalised before with everyone running their own spreadsheets and means of capturing data,” she says. “If you wanted to find something out it meant going to each department and manipulating their spreadsheets. Now we have access to the data instantly across departments and it’s consistent.

That helps us a lot.”

Davies describes how she and her team are proactive in using EPM systems to not only monitor day-to-day business operations, but also to inform decisionmaking. “We are more proactive with the information and I have to admit that it has got rid of a lot of the tedious admin,” she says. “I think at times we were a bit slate and chalk, but these systems have transformed us to being at the cutting edge. It really helps us to keep track of the KPIs we need to know and concentrate on the day-to-day job. That’s just a fantastic tool for us to have.” Q

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SOF TWARE O MNIBUS

CHALLENGING TIME AHEAD FOR BUS SCHEDULING? Scheduling is an ar t and there are concerns about an emerging skills gap that is about to hit the industr y. andrew garnet t found out more from peter crichton of omnibus uch has been written about the bus industry’s skills gap – the missing generation of managers brought about by the sector’s deregulation in the mid1980s. However, it seems that there are issues looming in other segments of the industry, specifically the increasing number of schedulers who have reached a certain age and are choosing to retire.

M

“We have a real and significant issue,” warns Peter Crichton, managing director of Omnibus.

“Schedulers tend to be of a certain age and more and more of them are retiring. Just how do we replace the talent that is now starting to leave the industry in increasing numbers?”

While the skills gap in industry management teams has been largely plugged with the profusion of graduate and internal

management training schemes, Crichton expresses concerns about how the looming skills gaps in the scheduling function will be tackled.

“You can’t just pop people down in front of a computer and expect them to get on with it,” he says.

“Scheduling is an art and a skill and it takes time to train people up to meet expectations.”

With staff costs accounting for roughly 45% of the cost base of the industry, even a 1% saving in

resource can lead to significant cost savings. With a good, welltrained scheduler having the ability to save bus operators thousands of pounds, Crichton notes that good, thorough training is key as well as a deep knowledge of the job and the tools of the trade.

“You can’t just expect people to take on scheduling within five minutes,” he says. “It takes time, training, knowledge and expertise.

I wouldn’t sit someone fresh ➢

The Omnibus team has extensive experience in the scheduling field. However, Peter Crichton has concerns about the industry's strategy for attracting future scheduling talent

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TH E AL BUM

out of school or college in front of a computer and expect him or her to run my financial year-end. You need training and skills to be able to do that and scheduling is just the same.”

He contrasts the training that many of today’s new schedulers experience with his own training in the field in the late seventies in Greater Manchester. Crichton’s starting point was an intensive four weeks of training that taught him the nuts and bolts of the job. This was then followed by 12 months of on-the-job training under the wing of an experienced scheduler, where Crichton admits that he was given every drudge job going, but he learnt the scheduler’s art “from the ground up”. His career then progressed.

“It was just an excellent way of learning,” he says. “Back then there was a demographic time bomb that was about to explode too. The generation of schedulers who joined the industry in the immediate post-war era was on the verge of retirement, but there was structured training and there was a very clear path. What we have now is very similar – that generation is now coming up to retirement, but I’m not sure there’s that succession planning there today. I’m also not entirely convinced that the industry, on the whole, has the skills to provide a good level of training.”

Crichton remembers the

RE PORT 2017

A R E YOU R E A DY FOR THE BENEFITS OF OP E N DATA ?

paper-based systems that were in use when he began his career in the late seventies. “Back then we had four people scheduling just two depots as a full time job,” he remembers. “The advent of computers to assist with the scheduling process has really, really cut that down. I know of some companies where there’s just one or two people responsible for scheduling whole companies and there isn’t any form of structured succession strategy.”

He points to the management training schemes that the major groups and even some smaller operators have developed in recent years. Crichton feels that this is all well and good but it is structured towards people looking to reach the top in operational and engineering roles. As he says, there’s nobody thinking about recruiting and training the next generation of schedulers in any meaningful way.

“Those management training schemes aren’t really attractive to people who would be interested in scheduling,” Crichton says.

“More and more operators are getting involved in apprenticeships for engineering staff to solve the problem of a generation retiring there, so why don’t we, as an industry, have some sort of formal training scheme for schedulers? Perhaps we need to think about almost a scheduling apprenticeship.” Q

the OmniDAS depot allocation system via smart phone.

The app allows allocation staff to send out notices direct to drivers informing them of shift changes, route changes or offers of overtime. The software delivers the messages in real time and shows whether the driver has received and seen it. Its creation has also seen Omnibus take on dedicated developers that will be tasked with enhancing the suite of apps in the future. myDAS Touch has been continually enhanced since its launch in 2015 as a result of customer feedback. These enhancements aim to ease the workload of depot allocators

while giving drivers a greater level of control over their own shifts and personal information. “myDAS Touch is giving drivers easier access to their own data and enabling them to communicate with their depot from wherever they are,” explains Peter Crichton, managing director of Omnibus. “The driver no longer needs to be at the depot to see what is going on at work; it is all there with one touch on their phone. myDAS Touch is releasing allocation staff from everyday questions and the administration of driver requests, enabling them to concentrate on getting drivers on buses.”

The Bus Services Act means big changes in the way that bus services are registered Significant changes in the way in which bus operators register bus services in England will happen later this year with the enactment of the open data provisions contained within the new Bus Services Act. With timetable and route data information to be transmitted electronically, rather than using traditional paper-based systems, by this autumn as part of the new legislation, fares and punctuality data are expected to follow by 2020. “The Bus Services Act is now here and many operators, need to start thinking about what it means to them,” says Michael Meilton from Omnibus.

For some operators, the move to Electronic Bus Service Registration may mean changes to the way in which they work

M Y DAS TOU C H

myDAS Touch links drivers directly to the depot allocation system with their phone

EYMS Group has already made the switch

to submit registrations, but Meilton points out there are some significant advantages that streamline the process and make is much easier.

The traditional paperbased method of bus service registration typically sees routes hand drawn and mapping wheels employed to measure distances on paper maps. Now using OmniMAP software, the data is accurate to the nearest metre.

The system also cross-references the map with timetables in OmniTIMES so that every stop is recorded.

Registrations can be sent to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner instantly, rather than faxed or posted, with an instant reply acknowledging receipt and confirming that the data has been accepted, giving operators peace of mind with a full audit trail. Meanwhile, copies of every document submitted as part of the registration process is electronically sent to local authorities, removing the need for multiple copies to be made.

Operators using the system include ALBUM members Reading Buses and EYMS Group. Meanwhile, Meilton says that to really maximise the opportunities offered by EBSR, and enhance the scope of open data, it is essential that local authorities also invest in the software.

Enhancements have been made to the myDAS Touch app A number of new developments are in the pipeline at Omnibus, including improvements to the OmniDAS depot allocation system and a big push to modernise systems to the latest web-enabled requirements.

Meanwhile, there have also been improvements made to Omnibus’s first app-based product, called myDAS Touch.

This was originally launched in 2015 and works as an integral part of the OmniDAS driver self-service myDAS module, linking drivers directly with

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27/04/2017 12:27

Capital choice The ultimate city hybrid

The ultimate city hybrid double deck, the Volvo B5LH offers unrivalled choice. Available with Wrightbus, ADL and MCV bodywork, the B5LH is a truly versatile and class leading chassis that can be tailored to meet your specific operating requirements.

Manufactured by a world leader in hybrid technology, your Volvo B5LH is the perfect bus for Low Emission Zone operation.

Add to that reliability and second to none fuel efficiency and the choice is clear.

The Volvo B5LH - the capital choice.

VOLVO BUS Wedgnock Lane, Warwick CV34 5YA Tel: 01926 401777, www.volvobus.co.uk

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CCTV TIMESPACE

PROVIDING “ THE COMPLETE PICTURE” timespace technol o gy’s Digital Video Recorders and software prov ide comprehensive CCT V and f leet management information for operators imespace Technology has been developing and manufacturing mobile digital video recorders (DVRs) for vehicle CCTV since 1997. Timespace’s X300 and V400 DVRs, now used in thousands of vehicles worldwide, are recognised for their compact “one box” design and reliable performance.

The newly-launched V500 hybrid recorder allows operators to introduce high-definition IP cameras into vehicle CCTV. With

24 channels of video, including up to 8 IP camera inputs, the V500 builds on six years of proven reliability from the V400. The V500 has four programmable video outputs, and built-in Power over Ethernet connectors enable quick and easy installation. With a removable, fully-suspended hard drive and up to 2TB recording media with an additional back-up SD card, the V500 provides longterm reliability.

The V400 and V500 exceed Transport for London’s requirements, and with

T

watermarking, SHA-256 authentication, embedded vehicle data and GPS, date, time, speed and location, Timespace DVR footage meets evidential requirements for court proceedings. Optional integration with Timespace’s Bridge Alert provides early warning of low bridges using updated Bridge ClearTM data.

Timespace’s proprietary PCLink and LANLink software is compatible with all Timespace DVRs and provide operators with comprehensive CCTV data for their entire fleet. PCLink allows

operators to view live and recorded footage, with all cameras available on one screen. User feedback has led to the development of a face-blurring feature in PCLink, due for release in early summer 2017. LANLink enables operators to see at a glance the status of all installed CCTV systems via “traffic light” indicators and daily camera snapshots. LANLink features include footage downloads, geofencing, vehicle route information and email reporting. Vehicle CAN data can now be included via Timespace’s CANLink unit, allowing CAN data to be viewed in sequence with video footage.

All products are developed, manufactured and supported by Timespace in the UK. Timespace works closely with long-standing installation partners to provide users with product training, telephone/email technical support, service repair and full product documentation. Q www.tspace.co.uk. 01480 414147

THE COMPLETE PICTURE DRIVING SECURITY

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V500 and V400 DVRs Hybrid IP and analogue digital video recorder

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REVIEWER/APP View live and recorded footage

LANLink Health reporting and downloads for fleet management

WiFi 100 Wifi bridge/ router with easy installation

CANLink BRIDGE ALERT Record and Audible and visible transmit low bridge alerts vehicle CAN engineering data

Find out more call: +44 (0)1480 414147 email: mail@tspace.co.uk

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TH E CO NF E RENCE FO REWO RD

WELCOME TO BLACKPO OL FOR THE ALBUM CONFERENCE 2017 elcome to Blackpool! I am delighted to be able to host this year’s conference in such a vibrant and flourishing town. With more and more people choosing to holiday in the UK rather than going abroad, has there ever been a more important time to ensure we are all delivering the very best experience to our customers? “Driving the Customer Experience” is a responsibility which we all share and I am sure that our key speakers will provide a useful insight which we can all benefit from.

Of course, some of the best

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fleet regeneration programme now well underway. With the support of Alexander Dennis, our aim to ensure a bus is no older than 5 years by 2020 is rapidly becoming a reality. This objective, incidentally, coincides with plans

knowledge is shared within a social setting, so don’t forget to make the most of Blackpool’s unique offering. Our world famous Blackpool Tramway spans 11 miles along the Fylde Coast with 16 modern light rail trams running a 10 minute daytime service. Our 16 bus routes will take you anywhere on the Fylde Coast, from Lytham St Annes right the way up to Fleetwood and Knott End. With 17.3m visitors in 2016, offering a seamless travel experience with the very best product is our main objective. Our bus fleet now boasts 54 vehicles finished in the lovable Palladium branding and premium standard, with our

to extend Blackpool Tramway so that trams run directly to and from Blackpool North Train Station.

With electrification of the train line into Blackpool due to finish in late 2018, visitors to the resort will experience a truly integrated transport system offering the very best in bus and tram travel.

I hope you all have an enjoyable visit to Blackpool and take a great deal of value from this year’s conference. Above all, let’s continue to work together to Drive the Customer Experience.

Jane Cole Managing Director, Blackpool Transport Services

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06/04/2017 13:29

28/04/2017 11:23

T H E CO NF E RENCE PRO GRAMME

T U ES 9TH M AY

4:00pm

9:30am

12 : 20 pm

Adrian Grant TAS Partnership

Ella Beevers UK Youth Parliament

Questions

4:20pm 1 1 : 0 0 am

ALBUM Executive meeting Lancaster Suite •

7:30pm

Lancashire Supper with comedian and local musicians Royal Suite

Conference registration opens •

•

1 : 5 5 pm

Lunch Promenade Restaurant

10:20am

Questions •

10:30am

Refreshments and a chance to visit our exhibitors

1 2 : 3 0 pm

Lunch Promenade Restaurant

10:00am

•

•

10 : 3 0 am

12 : 3 0 pm

Alex Warner Flash Forward Consulting

Questions (conference closes 4:30pm)

•

WEDS 10TH M AY

•

•

11:30am

Beverley Bell Senior Traffic Commissioner

•

1: 3 0 pm

What are manufacturers are doing to improve the customer experience?

Panel debate with representatives from Alexander Dennis, Evobus, Optare, Scania, Volvo and Wrightbus •

Welcome to the ALBUM Conference 2017 Royal Suite

Exhibition opens

Questions

Refreshments and a chance to visit our exhibitors

•

•

2 : 0 0 pm

9:25am

3: 4 5 pm

Official Opening: Cllr Christine Wright Chair, Blackpool Transport Services

Welcome to our second day Royal Suite

12:00pm

•

•

9:00am

11:50am

•

Alex Hornby Transdev Blazefield

3: 1 5 pm

Stephen Fidler Department for Transport •

•

4: 0 5 pm

2 : 10 pm

Questions (conference closes 4.30pm)

Feedback from Blackpool Sixth Form College

•

•

4: 3 0 pm

2 . 3 0 pm

ALBUM AGM (members only) Lancaster Suite

Claire Walters & Dawn Badminton-Capps Bus Users UK

•

7: 0 0 pm

Questions

Drinks reception ‘Springs’ on the Lower Ground Floor

3: 0 0 pm

7: 3 0 pm

•

2 . 5 0 pm •

Refreshments and a chance to visit our exhibitors

•

This year's ALBUM Conference is being held at the famous Hilton Hotel in Blackpool

Gala Dinner Royal Suite

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TH E AL BUM

RE PORT 2017

YOUR LINE-UP OF SPEAKERS Our speakers will provide food for thought over two days, offering perspectives about a number of issues affecting our industry. Read the biographies below to familiarise yourself with our expert line-up YOU R H OSTS

DAVE GUEST

Dave has been a familiar face at Album Conferences for many years now - in fact this is his 10th!

His day job, as chief reporter with BBC Northwest Tonight, sees him covering a range of issues for regional and network TV programmes.

Sadly, Dave’s job means he is often the bearer of bad news. So he’s always delighted to have an opportunity to celebrate positives and share good news, which is what the Album Conference is all about: sharing and celebrating what’s good about the bus industry - as well as discussing the issues and challenges which face that industry.

local radio.

Moving into television, Andy was the face of ITV News in the Border region for many years.

He has been the News Editor at Blackpool’s own Radio Wave since it started in 1992.

Andy continues to combine a busy life on radio and TV with being Blackpool Transport’s PR man, fielding the boss for television and radio interviews most weeks! Andy is also, himself, “the voice” of Blackpool Transport. Listen out for him on our fleet of Flexity trams and Palladium buses as he announces his way around town. After 25 years on the radio in Blackpool, Andy’s new catchphrase is “Press the stop button when you wish to exit the tram!”

CL AIRE WALTE RS

Chief Executive, Bus Users UK Claire Walters joined Bus Users as chief executive in 2012. A growing and ambitious organisation, Claire was tasked with raising the profile of Bus Users and making it more accessible to the millions of people who use the bus each day. Formerly Chief Executive of the Waltham Forest Community Credit Union, Claire has an impressive track record in transforming small, third-sector groups into more professional and effective organisations. Under her leadership, and with a strategic plan now in place, Bus Users is working towards becoming a registered charity and Claire is looking to broaden its scope and influence to ensure that the voice of the passenger is heard at all levels.

SPEAKERS

•

CHRISTIN E WRI GH T

Blackpool Borough Council

AN DY M I TCHE LL

Andy has worked in the media industry for 34 years. Born in Blackpool, and after qualifying as a bus driver at Blackpool Transport in 1984, he went on to become a radio journalist and worked for a number of stations in the North West including Piccadilly Key 103 and BBC

Christine was elected in 2011 as the councillor for Greenlands Ward in Blackpool and has held the portfolios for Heritage and Culture, Income Generation and Procurement.

For the last two years she has been Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for housing. Amongst her other appointments, she is the chair of Blackpool Transport Services, and is Blackpool Council’s champion for the older person on the North West Regional Network.

DAWN BADM INTO N-CAPPS

Director, Bus Users England Dawn Badminton-Capps was appointed director of Bus Users England in 2015. Dawn has extensive experience of the public and NGO sectors with particular strengths in community and stakeholder engagement and project management. With a team now in place, Dawn has been actively campaigning on behalf of

passengers up and down the country who are facing cuts to subsidies and the loss of services. She has been involved in devolution discussions and the introduction of the Buses Bill, as well as overseeing an extensive programme of Your Bus Matters events where passengers can speak directly to the people responsible for running their local bus services.

•

AL E X WA RN E R

Flash Forward Consulting Alex has 24 years’ experience in public transport, starting his career in customer services management roles at London Underground After several years with British Airways and a number of rail operators, Alex moved to First as business director, UK bus in early 2008, a role he combined with creating and running Greyhound UK as its managing director.

He left a mainstream role in transport in February 2011, heading up Royal Mail’s letters division in Wales and Borders.

In 2012, he set up Flash Forward Consulting which undertakes customer experience consultancy support and delivers interim and permanent recruitment - a role he combines with that of managing director for Royal Mail Specialist Services which he took on around the same time.

For the past 6 years, Alex has been a customer experience columnist for trade press publication Passenger Transport, as well as a regular champion of the

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THE CO NF E RENCE SPE AKE R PRO F IL ES

customer cause on the conference circuit. He also spent seven years as founding non-executive director of a leading UK leisure company and is the interim chief executive of the Railway Study Association.

•

E L LA B E EVERS

UK Youth Parliament Ella Beevers is a 16 year old student from Halifax, and a former Member of Youth Parliament. Since her election to the UK Youth Parliament in 2014 on the platform of improving transport for young people, Ella has established the ‘Fairer Fares 4 Youth’ campaign aiming to bridge the gap between transport costs and education. Access to education is a fundamental right, Ella argues, and the transport system must be a mechanism rather than a preventative in getting students to school; it is not so much about lowering the costs of transport, rather making sure that students are not paying an adult fare when still in full-time education. Ella is now Bus Users UK’s first youth ambassador and has spoken at many events, raising support for her cause.

•

solicitor in 1985 and established her own practice in 1994, specialising in criminal and transport law.

She was appointed traffic commissioner for the North West of England in 2000, becoming the first female commissioner.

In 2012, she was appointed as senior traffic commissioner for Great Britain. This is a statutory role with responsibility for giving guidance and directions on a range of matters to commissioners, in consultation with stakeholders.

She is a fellow and vice president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and a fellow of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE).

She is a freeman of the City of London and a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen.

She is also a governor at Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School.

of The TAS Partnership Ltd in December 2002 with a clear brief to streamline and consolidate the business processes in order to enable the original partners’ time and effort to be refocused on solutions to challenges in the passenger transport sector.

•

AL EX H O RNBY

Chief Executive, Transdev Blazefield Alex Hornby is CEO of Transdev Blazefield, the collection of bus companies serving a band of northern towns and cities across Lancashire and Yorkshire.

He started his career in buses as a teenager at his local bus depot in Liverpool and worked his way through university, acquiring his PCV licence whilst in a gap year with Stagecoach, for whom he then worked with for two years as graduate management trainee and managing depots in Cantebury and Manchester.

He then went on to lead Bluestar for the Go-Ahead Group, transforming the business from loss-making to an award-winning, successful operation. His next move was to independent operator trentbarton, where he spent five years as commercial director, managing business development,

•

A DRIAN GRANT

The TAS Partnership Following an extensive career managing household name manufacturing businesses in the DIY sector, Adrian transferred his attentions to providing start-up support and advice for entrepreneurs to establish their ideas as valid businesses. He was appointed managing director

B EV E R L EY BELL

Senior Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell is the senior traffic commissioner for Great Britain and traffic commissioner for the North West of England.

She was born in Nigeria and educated at Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School in Crosby after which she read law at Liverpool University. She was admitted as a

Transdev Blazefield continues to innovate on the 36 between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds

training, customer service and marketing.

Joining Transdev in 2015, Alex has spearheaded a number of initiatives including the evolution of the iconic 36 and Coastliner routes; a new model for interurban buses with the launch of Cityzap; the VAMOOZ crowdfunding, app-driven initiative; the UK’s first deployment of contactless and beacon ticketing outside London; and the introduction of new product brands and people management programmes.

Passionate about the bus industry and its continued potential, Alex was a founder member - and sits on the committee - of the Young Bus Managers Network, is a fellow of the CILT and a member of the Ten Per Cent Group. He lives in Harrogate on the 2B bus route with his wife Rachel and son Jack.

You can follow him on Twitter at @alextransdev •

STE PHEN F I D L ER

Head of Buses & Taxis Division, Department for Transport Stephen is head of the buses and taxis division at the Department for Transport. His current focus is in on delivering reform of the bus market in England through the Bus Services Bill.

Stephen has worked on transport issues across government for 20 years, including in the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and at No 10. Since joining the senior civil service, he has also been responsible for local transport infrastructure and DfT’s work with Local Enterprise Partnerships, head of freight and logistics, project director for the divestment of the Department’s back office Shared Service Centre to the private sector and interim strategy director at the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency.

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TH E AL BUM

REPO RT 2017

E X H I B I TO RS 4

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Scania GB Optare Alexander Dennis Allison Transmission Volvo Bus Icomera Wrightbus EvoBus UK Castle Computer Services Personal Group

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ROYAL SUITE Main Conference Room

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Scan Coin Isringhausen E-Leather Alfatronix Timespace Technology EP Morris & Company Cummins Cummins The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Omnibus TES Radio Efficient Fuel Technology Ticketer Select Uniforms Baumot UK SmartDrive EvoBus UK First Corporate Clothing INIT Innovations in Transportation Backhouse Jones Pindar Creative Freeway Fleet Systems Passenger Technology Group

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Q QUEENS SUITE STANDS 1 2 3 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 35 37

Utility Team FCL Organisation Kiel Seating Visit Blackpool SURE Transporrt BTS Heritage Groeneveld FWT McKenna Brothers Camira Refreshments JR Buzz Invertec Interiors Optimum Oils PSV Glass & Glazing FUELlink Systems Navaho Technologies Q'Straint Transport Belevolent Fund CIO UK Bus Awards MiX Telematics Europe Traffilog Coach & Bus UK / routeone Northwest Education & Training Voith Turbo – DIWA transmissions for buses Lazzerini S.r.l.

Lazzerini S.r.l.

REACT Technologies Parkeon Transportation Zeta Automotive Eco Lighting Specialists TEK Seating

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TH E E XH IBITIO N F LO O RPL ANS

HILTON FOYER

TE nce ROYAL SUITE Conference Lancashire Evening Gala Dinner

GENTS

LADIES

LANCASTER SUITE

LANCASTER SUITE Album AGM

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TH E AL BUM

RE PO RT 2017

OUR EXHIBITORS A whole host of companies and organisations are exhibiting this year. Learn more about them here Q FOY E R

STA NDS

1 . SCANIA GB

Scania is a major supplier of Trucks, Buses, Coaches and Engines. Within the UK, Scania dealers offer sales of new and used vehicles and, through a nationwide network of over 90 service points, provide a wide range of services to support transport operators’ individual needs.

Scania’s vision is to be the leading provider of sustainable transport. This means integrating sustainability fully into the business and working with others to tackle impacts, transform our industry and create lasting value.

Q Contact: Mark Oliver, UK Bus & Coach Fleet Sales General Manager Q Scania GB Ltd, Delaware Drive, Tongwell, Milton Keynes MK15 8HB 01908 210 210 www.scania.com/uk/en/home/ products-and-services/buses-andcoaches.html

2 . O PTA RE

Optare is an award winning British manufacturer of lightweight and efficient urban buses that utilise the latest environmentally friendly diesel or electric power train technology. Optare works in close partnership with bus operators to create comfortable and stylish buses that enhance the passenger experience.

Teams of technicians working from centres across the UK deliver a comprehensive aftersales support service and Optare has its own dedicated parts division offering a next day service.

Q Contact: Robert Drewery, Commercial Director Q Optare, Unit 3, Hurricane Way South, Sherburn in Elmet Leeds LS25 6PT 01977 687200 www.optare.com

with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Hungary and India, and employs approximately 2,700 people worldwide. Allison has approximately 1,400 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide.

Q Contact: Claire Brack Q Allison Transmission, 12 Doolittle Mill, Froghall Road, Ampthill, Bedfordshire MK45 2ND 01525 305123 07775 991021 www.allisontransmission.com

3. AL EX A N DER DENNIS

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) is Britain’s biggest bus and coach manufacturer and a global leader in the manufacture of lightweight, fuel-efficient vehicles. It employs 2,500 people and supports 1,500 buses through build partnerships in Europe, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Mexico, USA and Canada.

ADL’s success is built on the premise of designing, engineering and manufacturing stylish yet reliable low and zero emission vehicles, which deliver lowest total cost of ownership, backed by unrivalled aftermarket support.

Q Contact: Caroline Szeremeta Q Alexander Dennis Limited, Dennis Way, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1AF 01483 468170 www.alexander-dennis.com

5. VOLVO BUS

Volvo Buses is one of the world’s leading brands of buses and coaches. We are driven by a passion to help create the cities of the future, free from congestion, emissions and noise. Our mission is to help operators and communities offer people safe, clean and efficient transportation to and from work, around the city or across the continent. We do so by striving to be the ultimate provider of sustainable transport solutions.

Q Contact: Phil Owen Q Volvo Bus, Wedgnock Lane, Warwick CV34 5YA 01926 401777 www.volvobus.co.uk

4. A LLISON TRANSMISSIO N

Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for commercial vehicles and hybrid-propulsion systems for city buses, and offers a wide range of advanced bus transmissions. With a market presence in more than 80 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil

UK and across the globe. Icomera UK operates from Chatham, Cambridge and Dunfermline.

Q Contact: Stephen Hall Q Icomera, Victory House, Quayside, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent ME4 4QU 07596 113663 www.icomera.com

7. WR I G H T BUS

Wrightbus designs and manufactures buses for the European market, including the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Our product range covers all segments of the market from small and midi-sized buses to full-size single deckers, double deckers and articulated buses and Bus Rapid Transit.

We are capable of producing all of our vehicles with either Euro 6 diesel or alternative drivelines, including hybrid-electric, plug-in electric and induction power transfer.

Q Contact: Sam McLaren, Commercial Director Q Wrightbus Limited, Galgorm Industrial Estate, Fenaghy Road Galgorm, Ballymena, County Antrim BT42 1PY 02825 641212 www.wrightsgroup.com

8. EVOBUS UK 6. ICO MERA

Icomera is the world’s leading provider of open Internet connectivity and application platforms for passenger transport and public safety. Its awardwinning products are deployed on rail, road and sea, serving millions of Wi-Fi users every week in the

EvoBus UK Ltd is a 100% owned subsidiary of Daimler Buses and is responsible for the direct sales, marketing and aftersales of Mercedes-Benz buses, coaches, minibuses and chassis in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The Mercedes-Benz brand is the preferred European choice for city

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THE EXH IBITIO N E XH IBITO R PRO F IL ES

and inter-urban buses.

Q Contact: Clare Roberts Q EvoBusUK Ltd, Ashcroft Way, Cross Point Business Park, Coventry CV2 2TU 02476 626074 evobus.com

9. CAST L E CO MPUTER S E RV I C ES

Castle Computer Services is a leading provider of business software, IT infrastructure and cloud services. We work with hundreds of clients throughout the UK to deliver solutions that can improve efficiencies and enable better business decisions.

Visit our stand for a demo of our business intelligence solution - powered by Qlik and tailored for transport operators. The easyto-use solution seamlessly brings together data from disparate systems to provide a complete picture and uncover vital insights.

Q Contact: George Strathie Q Castle Computer Services, Stewart House, Pochard Way, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill ML4 3HB 01698 844 600 www.castle-cs.com

10. P E RSO N A L GROU P

Our goal is to make work happy, for everyone. Why? When people are happy, they’re more productive.

And the key to happiness is engagement: when people feel like they make a difference, they do.

From benefits and communications to a whole range of engagement tools, our platform can be as comprehensive or as streamlined as you need. And whatever services you offer, we make them simple to use.

Personal Group. Work happy.

Benefits. Communications.

Engagement.

Q Contact: Scott Read Q Personal Group, John Ormond House, 899 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3XL 07812 228 061 www.personalgroup.com

Q TRAFALGAR

SUITE STANDS 3. E-L EATH ER

E-Leather is an environmentally friendly materials technology company that designs and manufactures leather fibre composition upholstery for the Aviation, Rail, Bus, Coach and Automotive industries. Our award winning, sustainable material out-performs traditional leather, synthetic leathers and fabrics, while complying with industry safety regulations and helping to create better passenger experiences.

Q Contact: Mark Pfeiffer / Carl Watkins / Nicola Rapley Q E-Leather Limited Kingsbridge Centre Sturrock Way Peterborough PE3 8TZ 01733 843939 www.eleathergroup.com

1 . SCA N CO IN

SCAN COIN represents the cash handling solutions brand of the SUZOHAPP group. Over the years SCAN COIN has established itself as a world leader in the provision and development of innovative cash management solutions, with its products and services setting the industry standard across the markets of transport, retail, banking and cash centres. SCAN COIN offers full service solutions to optimise cash handling, through automating the processing of bank notes and coins, giving businesses greater efficiency and reducing human error.

Q Contact: Steve Fitton, Sales Director Q SCAN COIN Ltd, Dutch House, 110 Broadway, Salford M50 2UW 0161 873 0505 www.scancoin.co.uk

alfatronix POWER. NO COMPROMISE.

4. ALFATRONIX

Alfatronix is the UK’s leading manufacturer of USB chargers, dc-dc voltage converters, battery protectors, ac-dc power supplies, and intelligent battery chargers.

The 12v/24v USB chargers, designed for the automotive sector with e-marking approvals, are suitable for both Apple and Android phones and tablets.

They can be installed into seat backs, underneath the seats or customised for OEM applications to include bespoke branding.

Q Contact: Claire Phillips, Sales Director Q Alfatronix Ltd, Unit 29, Newtown Business Park, Poole, Dorset BH12 3LL 01202 715517 www.alfatronix.com

2. IS RIN GH AUSEN

Isringhausen, part of the worldwide Aunde group, is the global market leader in the development and production of innovative seating systems. The group comprises of 109 plants in 27 countries manufacturing driver and passenger seating systems as well as in-house textiles for many different applications including the passenger transport market.

Isringhausen GB is based in Wrexham employing 102 people with an ongoing commitment to job creation and new investment.

At ALBUM 2017 we will be exhibiting the latest additions to our seat range including our a prototype development seat alongside products with a longstanding pedigree in the industry. We look forward to greeting you on our stand.

Q Contact: Julie Smith, Key Account Manager Q Isringhausen GB Ltd, Redwither Business Park, Second Ave, Wrexham LL13 9XQ 01978 666300 www.isri.es

5. TIMESPACE TECHNOLOGY

Timespace Technology has been the market leader in the design, development and manufacture of mobile digital video recorders (DVRs) since 1997. With

a reputation for reliability, Timespace products offer “onebox” solutions for vehicle CCTV, and Timespace’s proprietary software provides operators with comprehensive CCTV and fleet management information.

Working closely with our installers and users, Timespace has built long-standing relationships to provide operators with full product training and telephone/email technical support.

Q Contact: Henry Heylen, Commercial Director Q Timespace Technology Ltd, Lakeview Court, Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon PE29 6UA 01487 414147 www.tspace.co.uk

6. EP MO RR I S & COM PA N Y

With over 30 years’ experience in the bus industry EPM understands all the issues. We work with bus operators to analyse, optimise and streamline your business processes, make savings and maximise profitability. We offer a hands-on, complete service, helping transport organisations to implement industry best practice and manage their network. We specialise in operations management software, BSOG certification, operational audits and concessionary travel.

Q Contact: Nick Brookes Q EP Morris & Company Limited, 20 Harris Business Park, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove B60 4DJ 01527 556940 www.epmorris.co.uk

7/8. CUM M I N S

At Cummins, our engineering expertise has enabled us to deliver a Euro 6 product range with the optimum balance of performance and low emissions. We work with customers to tailor these engines for improved fuel efficiency, reduced CO2 emissions and lowest total cost of operation. This is SmartEfficiency; developing solutions that take Cummins ➢

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and our customers beyond Euro 6, through optimised calibrations, stop-start capability, product tailoring with improved power and torque and other sustainable technologies.

Q Contact: Terry Hunt Q Cummins Ltd, 40-44 Rutherford Drive, Park Farm Industrial Estate, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN8 6AN 08705 32 92 02 www.cumminseurope.com

RE PO RT 2017

Our systems are proven in use, with more than 18 years’ experience providing public transport operators and local authorities with systems that meet their needs. We are continually improving our products, consulting with our customers, responding to and anticipating the changes in the passenger transport industry.

Q Contact: Peter Crichton Q Omnibus, Hollinwood Business Centre, Albert Street, Hollinwood, Oldham OL8 3QL 0161 683 3100 www.omnibus.uk.com

ingredients are already in your fuel, so warranty compliant and engines last 4/5 years longer.

Q Contact: Paul Widdowson Q Efficient Fuel Technology Ltd, c/o 46 Maidendale Road, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 9DD 01384 884488 www.ef10.co.uk

13. TICKETER

Ticketer is the UK’s leading provider of innovative and cost effective ticketing solutions.

Ticketer Electronic Ticket Machines facilitate multiple payment options, including contactless, ITSO smartcards, Apple and Android Pay, m-tickets and cash. The hand-held ETM has all the same functionality. All products are fully location-aware, and feature bespoke coupon printing, and optional schedule adherence and integrated barcode scanning. Ticketer is proud to boast a growing number of ALBUM members as customers.

Q Contact: John Clarfelt Q Ticketer, Marlborough House, Charnham Lane, Hungerford, Berks RG17 0EY 020 3195 8800 www.ticketer.co.uk

9. T H E C H A RTERED I N ST I T U T E O F LOGISTICS A ND T RA NS PORT 1 1 . TES RADIO

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) UK is the membership organisation for professionals involved in the movement of goods and people and associated supply chains.

Established in 1919, CILT UK is a registered charity and part of CILT international with 33,000 members located across the world.

Adding value to individual and corporate members by enhancing their knowledge, careers and businesses, CILT provides members with a professional voice, personal development, networking and professional recognition.

Q Contact: Chris Ruane MILT, Business Development Officer Q The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Earlstrees Court, Earlstrees Road, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 4AX 01536 740100 / 01536 740128 ciltuk.org.uk

Our mission is to overcome your complex communications challenges - all of our clients need mission-critical, robust communications systems. Our skilled team of radio engineers design and implement “always-on” communication systems for blue chip clients, including some of the world’s best-known brands and some of the world’s highest profile transport networks. We are proud to include amongst our clients, Blackpool Transport, Manchester Metrolink, First Bus, Stagecoach and Nottingham Express Transit.

Q Contact: Julian Jordan, Head of Marketing Q TES Radio Ltd, Lancaster House, Bow Lane, Leyland, Lancashire PR25 4YA 0800 772 0090 www.tesradio.com

14. SEL ECT UNIFO RMS

Select Uniforms focuses exclusively on the supply and management of corporate workwear and occupational uniforms.

It is widely acknowledged by our vast client base that Select Uniforms can facilitate and supply any aspect of workplace clothing.

This allows our clients to source all their requirements “under one roof ”. We offer a wide collection of ready to wear garments and workwear available for immediate delivery.

Alternatively we can design and manufacture a unique range to our clients’ needs. In addition to this, all corporate imaging logos, monograms, heat sealing and embroidery form part of the overall service offer.

1 2. EFFICIENT F UEL 10. O M NI BUS

TECHN OLO GY

Omnibus is the UK’s leading supplier of timetable, scheduling and roadside display software to the passenger transport industry. We provide modules for constructing timetables, schedules, rotas and bus stop displays to a wide range of public transport operators and local authorities, with our programs installed at over 150 sites in the U.K. and overseas.

Many ALBUM members are using EF10 to cut their emissions and to reduce their fuel bills. EF10 is a unique pre combustion fuel enhancer, which stops carbon forming in the combustion chamber. Increasing the oxygen intake makes the fuel more productive. Emissions are reduced and up to 10% more MPG is gained reducing fuel costs. EF10

Q Contact: Chris Gaunt Q Select Uniforms, 1 Realtex House, Leeds Road, Leeds LS19 6AX 0113 255 2694 www.selectuniforms.co.uk

15. BAUM OT UK

Baumot UK are part of the Twintec Baumot Group which have 25 years’ experience in the manufacture of exhaust after treatment equipment. Their SCR BNOx system which is on display on stand 15 is unique in that it uses ammonia gas which is provided by a small generator integral with the vehicle’s exhaust system. The BNOx system is fully accredited

by Millbrook for the low emission certificate and is currently being fitted to a number of different bus models for operation in London.

Visit us on stand number 15.

Q Contact: Vanessa Ester Q Baumot UK, Innovation and Development Centre, Silverstone Park, Silverstone, Towcester NN12 8FU 020 3769 2799 www.baumot.co.uk

16. SM A RT D R I V E

SmartDrive’s video-based driver risk management safety programme gives fleets unprecedented driving performance insight and analysis, helping to significantly lower operating costs and improve fuel efficiency, while protecting drivers, passengers and other road users.

It enables reductions in the frequency, severity and financial impact of collisions. Using a combination of video, driving intelligence and personalised performance profiles, it provides a comprehensive view of risky driving behaviour, providing tools to decrease preventable collisions and exonerate not-at-fault drivers - through an easy-to-use managed service.

Q Contact: Penny Randall, Marketing Manager Q SmartDrive Systems Ltd, Breakspear Park, Breakspear Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP2 4TZ 01442 345180 www.smartdrive.net

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17. EVO BUS U K

EvoBus UK Ltd is a 100% owned subsidiary of Daimler Buses and is responsible for the direct sales, marketing and aftersales of Mercedes-Benz buses, coaches, minibuses and chassis in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The Mercedes-Benz brand is the preferred European choice for city and inter-urban buses.

Q Contact: Clare Roberts Q EvoBusUK Ltd, Ashcroft Way, Cross Point Business Park, Coventry CV2 2TU 02476 626074 evobus.com

1 8. F I RST CO RPORATE C LOT H I NG

First Corporate are experienced suppliers to the passenger transport industry. Our managed service provides the complete solution from a free design service, sampling, employee sizing and applying your logo to the delivery of competitively priced quality products in individual personal packs. We also offer online ordering and database management.

Q Contact: John Dodd Q First Corporate, Units 2 & 4 , Llewellyns Quay, The Docks, Port Talbot SA13 1RF 01639 899008 www.firstcorporateuk.com

19. I N I T I N N OVATIONS IN T RA NS P O RTATION

INIT is the worldwide leading supplier of integrated planning, dispatching, telematics and ticketing systems for buses and trains. For more than 30 years, INIT has been assisting transport companies in making public transport more attractive, faster and more efficient. More than 600 customers rely on our integrated solutions to support them with

Q Contact: Jill Tinsley Q Unit 8A, Alton House Office Park, Gatehouse Way, Aylesbury, Bucks HP19 8XU 01296 390100 www.pindarcreative.co.uk

their daily tasks: - Planning & Dispatching - Ticketing & Fare Management - Operations Control & Real-Time Passenger Information - Analysing & Optimising Q Contact: Aimee Page Q INIT Innovations in Transportation Ltd, Price House, 37 Stoney Street, The Lace Market, Nottingham NG1 1LS 0115 947 6648 www.init.co.uk

Q QUEENS

SU I T E STA N DS

1. UTIL I T Y T EA M

22. F RE EWAY F L E ET SYSTEMS

Freeway provides software for bus fleet maintenance. Designed to simplify and streamline tasks such as planned maintenance and defect reporting, stock control and purchasing, safety and compliance. See live demonstrations of smartphone and tablet apps designed for easy, paperless working in the workshop and depot. ALBUM also sees the launch of a mobile app that gives drivers their designated bus route details on their smartphones; an electronic version of the driver card.

Q Contact: Alan Willson Q Freeway Fleet Systems, UK Sales Office, Merlin House, 4 Meteor Way, Lee-On-The-Solent, Hampshire PO13 9FU 02393 877695 www.freewayfleet.com

20. BACKHOUSE JO NES

With a heritage stretching back to 1819, Backhouse Jones is the leading firm of solicitors which has built an unrivalled reputation representing the passenger transport industry. For the full portfolio of legal solutions – including BACKUP legal services, regulatory, employment, commercial, corporate and property matters come and see us or speak to one of the team on 01254 828300.

Q Contact: Chloe West Q Backhouse Jones, The Printworks Hey Road, Barrow BB7 9WD 01254 828300 www.backhousejones.co.uk

Utility Team is one of the UK’s leading utilities and energy consultants, providing a wide range of value added Utility Management Solutions. With established relationships with all the major energy suppliers, as well as water and telecoms companies, at Utility Team we specialise in helping clients get the best value from their energy contracts, reduce their energy consumption, and minimise their carbon footprint. Our expert team has a wealth of experience and can work with your business to comply with the latest government initiatives.

Q Contact: James Rant Q The Utility Team, 1170 Elliott Court, Coventry Business Park, Herald Avenue, Coventry CV5 6UB 02476 997901 www.utilityteam.co.uk

2 . FC L O RGA N I SAT I ON 23. PASSENGER TECH NO LO GY GRO UP

Putting transport operators at the heart of smart cities, Passenger combines mobile ticketing, network information, journey planning, real time departures, and disruptions management into one integrated platform.

Passenger makes it possible for operators to deliver a personalised, seamless multi-modal RTPI and route planning experience across digital channels; mobile phone, smartwatch, websites, digital signage and emerging voice technology.

Q Contact: Tom Quay Q Passenger Technology Group, 65 Seamoor Road, Bournemouth BH4 9AE 0845 257 7400 www.discoverpassenger.com

21 . PIN DA R CRE ATIVE

Pindar Creative has been recognised by bus and rail operators as industry leaders in producing clear and comprehensive information to promote sustainable travel.

We can handle all your publicity requirements from design through to distribution, including cartography, typesetting and data services.

Our core products include public transport maps, bus and rail timetables, onward travel information, and road-side publicity (fully automated bus stop panels from TransXChange).

Our clients include TfL, First Group, Arriva, Stagecoach and Go-Ahead.

The FCL Organisation is made up of Filtration Control Ltd, Filtration Control Solutions Ltd and Pipercross Performance Oils.

We are the UK’s leading distributor and manufacturer of engine filtration technology, batteries, solutions and components for the commercial vehicle sectors worldwide.

Our core aim is to supply the highest possible quality products at the most competitive prices with an unsurpassed level of customer service and support in the global aftermarket.

Q Contact: Charlotte Ward Q FCL Organisation, Units B and C, Sketty Close, Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton NN4 7PL 07803 746474 www.filtrationcontrol.com ➢

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3. F RA NZ K I E L GM B H

Kiel is the leading manufacturer of passenger seating systems that distinguish themselves with high quality, sophisticated technology, and contemporary design while meeting the highest standards both in safety and in passenger comfort.

Kiel conducts business worldwide with manufacturing facilities and dedicated sales teams in many countries, including the UK. Q Contact: Paolo Grassetti, Sales Manager – UK/Ireland Q Franz Kiel GmbH, Nürnberger Straße 62, D-86720 Nördlingen, Germany +353 (0)87 146 3583 www.kiel-sitze.de

6. V IS ITBLAC KP OOL

VisitBlackpool is the tourism arm of Blackpool Council, tasked with promoting the resort to our visitors. Annually we are currently welcoming over 15 million visitors with our extensive events programme, attractions and shows. The summer season runs from Easter through to the first week in November, extended by the Illuminations season, this year Switch On will take place on Friday 1st September and the lights will shine until Sunday 5th November 2017.

Q Contact: Mandy Tythe-McCallum Q VisitBlackpool, Number One, Bickerstaffe Square, Talbot Road, Blackpool FY1 3AH 01253 478216 www.visitblackpool.com

RE PO RT 2017

vehicle manufacturer. SURE can install on the line for new vehicles and retrospectively on existing fleets. SURE provide training and fixed price service engineering and cloud based monitoring.

Q Contact: James Bailey Q SURE24 Limited, 2 Moorbridge Court, Moorbridge Road East, Bingham, Nottinghamshire NG13 8GG 01949 836 990 suretransport.co.uk

We have always believed that providing information that is accurate and easy to use are the main factors that underpin any successful passenger transport information strategy.

Q Contact: Robin Bennett Q FWT, Aztec House, 397-405 Archway Road, Highgate, London N6 4EY 020 8347 3700 www.fwt.co.uk

11. MCKE NNA BROTH ERS

As McKenna Brothers enters its 39th year in the passenger information systems industry we have much to look forward to, our partnership with Mobitec and The Luminator Technology Group enables us to offer the most complete range of LED Destination Displays, Onboard Information Systems, RGB signs, Smartblind, Traditional Printed Destination Blinds and full vehicle livery and graphics.

Q Contact: Derek Dawson, Managing Director Q McKenna Brothers, Jubilee Road, Middleton, Manchester M24 2LX 0161 655 3244 www.mckennabrothers.co.uk

9. GROENEVE L D

Solutions on our stand; Groeneveld Oilmaster, NEW Groeneveld Fluidmaster.

Oilmaster – Automatic Engine Oil monitoring and top up, eliminating the need for daily checks Fluidmaster – A system capable of monitoring and indicating via a panel of LEDs up to eight fluid levels on your vehicle providing accurate information to assist in daily vehicle checks.

Richard further explains.

“What we do is very simple, we manufacture cost effective, reliable and accurate automatic maintenance systems enhancing the efficiency of customers fleets.”

Q Contact: Richard Hamper, UK Sales Manager Q Groeneveld Lubrication Solutions UK Limited, The Greentec Centre, Gelders Hall Road, Shepshed, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 9NH 01509 600033 07836 655191 www.groeneveld-group.com

7. SU R E T RA N S PORT

10. FW T

SURE has been a market leading developer and distributor of security equipment since 2003.

Specialising in the transport sector, SURE are experts in installation of CCTV systems for Bus, Coach, and Blue Light. SURE are able to supply vehicle kits prepared to the specific requirements of the

FWT was founded in 1973 and since then has established a worldwide reputation for the provision of high quality passenger transport information. Our goal has always been to understand our clients’ problems and offer them wide ranging solutions that make their products the best.

12. CAMIRA

Camira offers total fabric solutions for bus & coach interiors. The company’s design and manufacturing expertise covers not just traditional plush wool moquettes, but also lighter weight pile fabrics with added design and texture, contemporary flat weave fabrics for seating, leather, vinyl, and a wide range of textile ancillary trims for piping, headrests, curtains and wallsides.

Camira offers a full custom made design services to create client specific fabrics to fit individual requirements.

Q Contact: Nigel Vickers Q Camira Fabrics Ltd, The Watermill, Wheatley Park, Mirfield, West Yorkshire WF14 8HE 01924 490591 www.camirafabrics.com

15. J R BUZ Z

JR Buzz is a full service agency providing marketing and commercial consultancy as well as creative design, all under one roof.

Our range of services include bus liveries, marketing planning, support, strategy and delivery, event management, campaign delivery, internal communications, PR, market research and online, social and digital media.

We deliver a multitude of both large and small scale marketing projects for a wide range of clients the length of the UK. Q Contact: Claire Rawlinson Q JR Buzz Ltd, 60 Naburn Drive, Orrell, Wigan, WN5 8SB 07512 798084 www.jrbuzz.co.uk

16. INVERT EC I N T ER I ORS

Invertec is the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of lighting and interior systems for public transport and commercial vehicles. We also supply specialised, low-voltage lighting equipment to many clients from the marine and emergency services markets, to shop-fitting and signage & display industries.

Q Contact: Ian King, Group Sales Director Q Invertec Interiors Ltd, Trimdon Grange Ind. Estate , County Durham TS29 6PE 01429 882210 www.invertec.co.uk

17. O PT I M UM OI LS

Optimum Oils offers a more specialist approach to providing lubrication products and support to the Bus & Coach market.

We aim to add value for our customer by understanding your business, your application and your process. Optimum supplies a broad range of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) approved: - engine, transmission & final drive lubricants and greases;

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- Antifreeze and summer coolants; - and AdBlue.

We place great importance on technical expertise. The products and trustworthy solutions we provide ensure optimum efficiency and performance.

Q Contact: Tom Stoker, Business Development Manager Q Optimum Oils, 1 Ullenwood Court, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 9QS 01242 253333 www.optimumoils.com

1 8. PSV G LASS & GLAZIN G

The UK’s leading supplier of glass and glazing solutions for the passenger carrying transport industry in the UK and Ireland, supporting the majority of operators who will be attending the conference with a support package specifically tailored to individuals needs and requirements.

From its 6 regional installation and distribution centres PSV Glass and Glazing provides a 24 hour service, 7 days a week to ensure that vehicle downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.

Q Contact: Kevin McAteer Q PSV Glass & Glazing Ltd, 16 Hillbottom Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP12 4HJ. 01494 533131 www.psvglass.com

19. F U E LLI NK SYSTEM S

Following on from the successful launch at the Euro Bus Expo in November 2016, FUELlink will bring their latest product “VINIE” to the ALBUM Conference.

This groundbreaking recent development gives the customer Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) sent by Bluetooth directly to the Fuel Management System.

There is also the added option of odometer readings and vehicle fuel tank levels taken directly from the internal CAN offering 100% accurate information at the point of fuelling.

Q Contact: Graeme Turner

Q FUELlink Systems Ltd, 4 Fyne Avenue, Righead Industrial Estate, Bellshill ML4 3LJ 01698 841888 www.fuellinksystems.com

of financial, health and welfare benefits to those working in public transport, should need, hardship or distress arise.

Membership costs just £1 a week and covers the member, their partner and dependent children.

Helping public transport employees for over 90 years, TBF currently has over 53,000 members. The Fund’s work is best illustrated by the volume of awards to members that are regularly in excess of £500,000 a quarter.

The Transport Benevolent Fund CIO, known as TBF, is a registered charity in England and Wales, 1160901, and Scotland, SC047016 Q Contact: John Sheehy, CEO Q Transport Benevolent Fund CIO, Suite 3.1, The Loom, 14 Gowers Walk, London E1 8PY 0300 333 2000. help@tbf.org.uk www.tbf.org.uk

20. N AVA HO TECH NO LO GIES

Navaho’s MediaCAT provides customers with Real Time Passenger Information in vehicles, outdoor waiting areas and passenger terminals. By integrating with a wide range of data sources including vehicle location systems, timetabling systems, and staff generated messages, you can ensure passengers are always kept up-todate with their journey details.

Q Contact: James Acketts Q Navaho Technologies Ltd, 8 & 9 Hayters Court, Grigg Lane, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7PG 023 8000 0010 www.navaho.co.uk

23. UK BUS AWARDS

We operate the premier awards scheme for the UK Bus Industry and provide a forum for positive media coverage for its achievements . A scheme in which best practice, high quality staff and outstanding standards of customer service in the industry can be encouraged and rewarded, and examples of best practice can be spread amongst other industry and local authority managers and staff. We deliver opportunities that maximise promotion for finalists, winners and the wider industry.

Q Contact: Steve Cresswell Q UK Bus Awards, Ross Holme, West End, Long Preston BD23 4QL 07976 458862 www.ukbusawards.org.uk

21 . Q’STRAINT

Q’Straint, is a world-leading specialist in wheelchair passenger safety solutions. For over 30 years, it has consistently pioneered the most universal range of restraint systems for applications in all types of transport whilst delivering the highest levels of safety, durability and reliability. Rigorously tested and fully exceeding all international standards, Q’Straint occupant securement and wheelchair tie-down systems are designed to be flexible, easy-to-use and straightforward to specify.

Q Contact: Georgie Georgiades, Territory Sales Manager Q Q’STRAINT, 72-76 John Wilson Business Park, Whitstable, Kent CT5 3QT 01227 773 035 / 07792 303 110 www.qstraint.com/en_eu

24. MIX TEL EMATICS EURO PE

With an installed base totaling hundreds of thousands of vehicles, MiX Telematics is a leading provider of fleet management solutions to many of the world’s top passenger transport companies.

We understand the importance of helping you deliver the very best

22. T RANSPORT B EN EVOLEN T F UND CIO

A non-profit making membership charity offering a wide range

customer service to your clients through efficiency and passenger comfort. We provide the complete passenger transport telematics package that collects all the vehicle and driver data you need in order to make calculated and informed decisions.

Q Contact: Kristie Sanderson, Marketing Manager Europe Q MiX Telematics Europe Ltd, 6180 Knights Court, Birmingham Business Park B37 7YB 0800 200 6800 www.mixtelematics.co.uk

25. TRA F F I LO G

Traffilog. Control where you need it. We develop technology that simplifies daily and challenging tasks, to increase your efficiency.

Traffilog understands the importance of data in the world today. Our everyday mission is to implement data, making it accessible and manageable, empowering you and your business with actionable insight.

Our vision is to lead the revolution of the Connected vehicle, creating a continuous bridge between humans, vehicles, and technology.

Traffilog offers a single platform solution, and endless technological possibilities based on data streaming, which maximises your ROI. Q Contact: Howard Young Q Traffilog, Tasman House, The Waterfront, Elstree Road, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3BS 020 8236 0545 www.traffilog.com

26. COAC H & BUS UK

Coach & Bus UK: the new name for Coach & Bus Live, which more accurately represents the ultimate domestic showcase for the coach, bus and mini-vehicle sectors.

Almost 200 industry leading suppliers will display the latest vehicles, technology and service innovations. Exhibitors will showcase everything needed to successfully operate a fleet of passenger vehicles including; ➢

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buses, coaches, mini and midi vehicles, workshop equipment, parts and accessories, insurance services, financial advice, training and development, accessible and safety solutions – and more.

Q Contact: Martin Laverton Q Coach & Bus UK, Diversified Communications, Unit 4 , Minerva Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6FT 01733 405735 www.coachandbusuk.com

26. RO U T EON E

The UK’s commercial PCV market delivers over five billion travel connections every year and plays a vital part in the wider economy. routeone recognises the value of these services and more importantly the people that make them happen.

As such routeone’s approach to news is different to other trade publications; our editorial team is acutely aware of the time constraints on today’s operators. Therefore, the news and wider editorial coverage we choose to offer is credible and of value to our readers.

Q Contact: Daniel Lunn Q Routeone, Unit 4, Minerva Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6FT 01733 405730 www.route-one.net

27. NO RT H W EST E D U CAT I O N & TRA IN IN G

Northwest Education & Training is a local training provider with a national delivery. Specialising in passenger transport and logistics we are one of the largest apprenticeship providers in the bus and coach sector in the country.

With a completion rate higher than the national average we can work with bus and coach operators on driver apprenticeships, customer service, recruitment and CPC. We are prepared for apprenticeship levy delivery for large and SME operators for both driving and management.

RE PO RT 2017

Q Contact: Stephen Woods, Business Development Director Q Northwest Education & Training, Maghull Business Centre, 1 Liverpool Road North, Maghull, Merseyside L31 2HB 0151 526 4949 www.nweat.co.uk

Enabled accessibility technology in the UK. Our innovative products support and empower people with increased accessibility needs to navigate large venues and use public transport with confidence in locations across the UK. Q Contact: Marcus Ambler Q REACT Technologies, React House, Section G, Unit 9, Dinting Lane Industrial Estate, Dinting, Glossop SK13 7NU 01457 861 431 www.react-tech.com

28. VOI T H T U RBO - DIWA TRAN S M ISS IONS FO R BUSES

The Voith DIWA Bus transmission is supplied to transport operators and OEMs throughout the world.

The DIWA transmission is proven technology in large city and intercity applications and is perfectly matched for all EURO 6 engine applications.

We match the driveline components to optimise drivability and maximise fuel consumption.

The DIWA transmission fully supports Stop / Start technology.

Q Contact: John Domigan, Sales & Marketing Manager Q Voith Turbo, 6 Beddington Farm Road, Croydon, Surrey CR0 4XB 020 8667 3021 / 07967 441621 www.voith.com

32. PARKEON TRANSPO RTATIO N

Parkeon Transportation is a global leader delivering innovative transport solutions. We create value for public transport operators and improve the customer experience through developments in automatic fare collection, real-time data management as well as secure open payments and analytics.

Integrating ticketing and journey validation with ID-based and contactless systems, we are helping towns and cities to plan for a future demanding seamless multi-modal travel. Parkeon Transportation is based at the UK headquarters in Poole, Dorset.

Q Contact: Gavin Trimnell, Head of Sales & Marketing Q Parkeon Transportation, 10 Willis Way, Poole BH15 3SS 01202 339 339 www.parkeon.co.uk

29. & 3 0. LAZZE RINI S.R.L

Lazzerini is a national and international reference point for the design, development and production of seats for buses, school buses, trains, ships, cars and specialist automotive sectors.

Committed to the most stringent and recognised qualifications, Lazzerini is qualified to ISO 9001, ISO TS16949 automotive standard and also the environmental qualification ISO14001.

Q Contact: Mash Mohammed, Head of Sales Engineering - UK and Ashley Cooper, Sales Engineer Q Lazzerini S.r.l, 21 Viale G. Pieralisi, 60030 Monsano (AN), Italy 07866 474774 (Mash Mohammed) 07376 054744 (Ashley Cooper) www.lazzerini.it

33. ZETA AUTOMOTIVE

Zeta Automotive provide innovative technology to the bus and coach industry that supports fuel saving, environmental impact, safety and driver engagement.

With approx. 4000 buses now benefitting from Zeta technology we are looking forward to meeting industry colleagues at The ALBUM conference to discuss solutions for bus and coach operators to help reduce their fuel bill and CO2 emissions in addition to important progress in safety technology

3 1 . REACT TEC H NO LO GIES

REACT Technologies is the only European licensed supplier and manufacturer of RNIB React

through the launch of “Intelligent Speed Adaptation” .

Q Contact: John Lawrence, MD Q Zeta Automotive Limited, Telford Road, Bicester OX26 4LB 01869 326716 www.zetaautomotive.com

35. ECO L I G H T I N G SPEC I A L I STS

Eco Lighting Specialists can save your business up to 70% in lighting costs with a switch to LED. We calculate your savings before installing a replacement LED system with minimum disruption.

No capital is required upfront as your payment plan is covered by the savings you make. The transformation in light quality can boost productivity and improve health and safety. And you reduce your carbon footprint! “The Eco Lighting team was superb.” – Blackpool Transport Services.

Q Contact: Marc Palmer Q Eco Lighting Specialists, 31 Sackville Street, Manchester M1 3LZ 0845 1300 661 www.ecolightingspecialists.co.uk

37. TEK SE AT I N G

TEK Seating, the UK’s largest independent OEM and aftermarket vehicle seating company, offers a wide selection of quality bus and coach driver seats, for a range of applications and budgets, from leading seat manufacturers including KAB, FISA, Isringhausen, Grammer and Be-Ge. Popular seats include the Grammer pneumatic MSG 90.3, the high spec ISRI NTS, FISA’s top-of-therange FA416, KAB’s GSX 3000 suspension seat, the economical KAB 714B and Grammer’s Kingman for long distance driving.

We also supply parts and spares and offer a superior trim service.

Q Contact: Daniel Taylor Q TEK Seating Ltd, 14 Decimus Park, Kingstanding Way, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3GP 01892 515028 www.tekseating.co.uk

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NEXT STOP

LOCH LOMOND 21 -­ 23 MAY 2018 The 2018 Album Conference will be held at Cameron House, Loch Lomond, hosted by

Email marketing@mcgillsbuses.co.uk to register your interest and to receive early bird booking offers!

Ad.indd 51

28/04/2017 13:14

STAY INFORMED AND SAVE MONEY FO E RTVE NI RY GH T

INSIDE TRACK MARKET MONITOR

Bus passengers p like autumn leavdro es

Fares

The latest fare indices, also published by the DfT last month, show that in the year to December, bus fares fell by an average of 1.0% after taking account of inflation of 2.5%, compared with December 2015.

However, the average once Bus demand Rolling Year figures again disguised some variations: Scotland (2.3%), English in Great Britain The PTE provisional figures for the the largest real decrease areas (1.4%) and the English came fell in the whole year to December in London - 4.1% - followed 31, Shires (0.9%). For Great by quarter ended 2016, show total demand Britain a 1.7% fall in Wales and a for outside London, the figure barely December 31 by bus services was in Great Britain perceptible 0.1% in the English Chris Cheek 2,728 million, 1.2% down.

1.3%, according at 4,972 million passenger Analyst PTE areas. On the other hand Over the last five years, the to statistics journeys, 2.1% lower than there were rises of 0.8% published by the Department the numbers show an overall and 0.9% for same figure in 2015. This decline respectively in Scotland Transport. The fall took is of 2.4% in the GB total. and the the rolling the first time The English Shires. that the national year total to below five billion largest fall since 2011 has for total has fallen below five occurred Looking back over the last the first time in a decade. in Wales (13.7%, despite five the recent years, fares billion since 2006, before in the capital have free The fall represents another recovery), followed by Scotland concessionary travel was risen 3.3% ahead of inflation disappointing result as the extended (5.5%), English PTEs (4.9%) and to all areas of England. previous rises under the downward trend continued English Shires (3.2%). Demand previous in There was an increase in in mayor are being offset by most areas despite a more Great Britain outside London Sadiq robust Wales (2.2%), but falls everywhere is Khan’s fares freeze. In Wales, economic performance than 4.6% down, while inside else, including London (3.1%), London the increase has been 5.1%, expected. This time, demand it has increased by 0.3%. in the English PTE areas 6.4%, fell in London, the PTE areas Scotland 7.8% and 10.0% SOUVENIR and Scotland.

BROCHUREIt was in the unchanged Information about all gold, English Shires.

GB BUS USAGE WEATHE in the English silverbut showed and bronze winners, and Shires R MAP the other strong growth in Wales. finalists, can be found in the official QUARTER-ON-QUARTER Comment CHANGE YEAR-ON-YEAR CHA UK BusThe DfT’s Awards provisional Souvenir Brochure seasonally CHANGE October-Decem October The overall picture for bus - “Theadjusted ber 2016 Big Book ofestimates Big Winners”put Year ended December 31, total 2016 vs October-December 2015 - which accompanies the demand is looking pretty demand duringnext vs Year ended December gloomy, the 12 weeks at edition of Passenger Transport 31, 2015 . with the only bright spot 1,239 million passenger on journeys, the horizon being the possible GB compared with 1,255 million in the GB OVERALL won silver signs of a revival in Wales, in quarter the Youngin same Manager OVERALL after 2015, a fall of 1.3%. and Making Buses a Better a pretty desperate few years.

Choice The figures that demand categories. There wasshow also a bronze The country has now byNew 2.3% in London, 1.8% in awardfell in the Horizons recorded four straight quarters Scotland category and Chris and 1.0% Vest, the in the PTE SCOTLAND operator’s of patronage growth, something academy areas. trainer, was The Welsh SCOTLAND markets showed -1.8% handed a special commendation that has not happened since growth of 4.1%. The total in -2.3% the the Unsung Heroes for category. spring of 2009.

Great Britain outside London was Alongside other council-owned METS Signs of an improved 0.5% downthe and independents, atALBUM 681 million.

METS -1.0% group ofThe relationship between bus non-aligned -1.4% longeroperators term operators once again dominated the trends show a and the Welsh Government fall of in theawards, GB total for this relegating the5.1% nearest big group have been growing since quarter compared Go-Ahead the - to second place. with the same WALES WA assembly elections last spring, Thequarter SHIRES esteemedfive WALES yearsforago (2011). accolade +4.1% SHIRES Services and hopefully these new +2.2% to the 0.0% Industry The largest fallswent figures have been in -0.9% to Ian Morgan, co-founder offer confirmation that working and Wales (10.4%), Scotland LONDON (8.8%) deputy chairman of DerbyshireLONDON together can deliver benefits.

-2.3% English PTE areas basedthe bus group Wellglade, the (6.4%) -3.1% Up the M4 in London, it parentand the English company of award Shires winning(3.9%). bus operator is sad to report that demand Trentbarton The figure and for London shows a sister companies Door2door, Source: Quarterly Bus Statistics, is moving decisively in the more modest fall of 3.1%.

Department for Transport Kinchbus, Notts+Derby and opposite direction, reversing TM Travel. The group is an also extraordinary period of virtually part of16 the| 7 April 2017Tramlink Nottingham

London leads the way with bus use falling 3.1% in 2016, below five billion. Wales appears to be the only bright as annual total dips spot on the horizon

NEWS ROUND-UP

UK Bus Operator of the Year, Nottingham City Transport helped raise money for the recent BBC Children in Need appeal

-1.3%

NCT crowned bus operator of the year

Local authority-owned company wins top prize just two years won the coveted title in a since it last competition dominated

by ALBUM members UK BUS AWARDS

Nottingham City Transport was crowned Operator of the Year at this week’s UK Bus Awards in London. The local authorityowned company took home the coveted prize just two years since it last won the top honour.

NCT fought off competition from last year’s winner, Reading Buses, which took the ‘silver winner’ of the competition after winning gold in the shire operator category. Scottish operator Prentice Coaches was named the ‘bronze winner’ of the competition after taking gold in the independent operator category.

Judges were particularly impressed by NCT’s close 12 | 25 November 2016 PT_Issue148_p12-13

attention to detail in a number of areas and, in particular, efforts to tackle traffic congestion issues due to roadworks by instigating a roadworks consultation regime that ensures the operator is involved at every stage in planning street works.

“The company clearly ticks lots of boxes with investment in new vehicles and facilities for passengers such as next stop announcements and free Wi-Fi across the whole fleet,” said judges. They also commented on the way drivers are looked after with extensive training in customer service skills THE MEDAL TABLE: UKBA and 2016 offering the highest pay rates for drivers in the region.

G S B Meanwhile, last year’s top ALBUM 5 5 2 12 operator, fellow municipal Reading Go-Ahead 3 1 4 8 Buses, took away a flurry of Stagecoach 2 2 1 5 awards. The operator struck triple NEG 2 2 0 4 gold not only winning the Top Arriva 0 0 4 4 Shire Operator category but also RATP Dev 1 2 0 3 being the ‘gold winner’ in both Transdev 1 0 0 1 the Environment and Putting FirstGroup 0 1 0 1 Passengers First contests.

It also

www.passengertransport.co.uk

05/04/2017 13:51

www.passengertransport.co.uk

12

ISSUE 152 27 JANUARY 2017

‘Economy not to blame for falling bus grow th’

NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSI S FOR A SECTOR ON

Downbeat assessment of UK’s bus usage trends have existed regional bus market concludes that weak for many years, and are unlikel y to end soon Investing in buses: Six new double deck buses have just gone into service at Hull-based EYMS

Regional bus revenue growth at the UK’s largest operators will remain weak for the foreseeabl e future, a gloomy research paper from JP Morgan has concluded .

The paper says the slowdown in UK bus revenue trends is not due to weak economic growth.

Instead it is the result of a long term shift in travel behaviour .

It also concludes that the malaise has been wrongly attributed to slower economic growth in the North of the UK. “We think this is a red herring, and note that Northern economic growth has been at least as strong as that in the South.”

-2.1%

consortium and holds a 50% share in High Peak Buses.

PT_Issue157_p16-17 Morgan has also been16 active for many years in the industry trade association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport. He served as president in 2009, and has been its chairman since 2011.

He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2015 and helped to found the UK Bus Awards, serving on the management committee for several of the crucial early years.

In making the award, today’s management committee paid tribute to Morgan’s impressive record in the industry and the wider East Midlands community.

23/11/2016 15:12

INNOVATION & TECHNO LOGY Student Nipunika Silva has been trialling the new contactless ticketing system

FULL STORY: PAGE 3

Crossrail denies delivery date risk

A number of contract ors are understood to

Crossrail Ltd has denied that negotiations with contractor s fitting signalling and electrical systems and facilities on the new cross-Lond on rail route are putting on-time delivery of the £14.8bn scheme at risk.

It is understood that a number of contractors have told Crossrail they would need to bring in additional staff because its procureme nt arrangements did not allow sufficient time to complete works to schedule. They have requested

be requesting addition al payments

additional payments as a result.

However, Crossrail’s position is that no further funding is available.

Sources

close to the project indicated that if the situation is not resolved it could lead to services through the Crossrail tunnel starting

“Our principal contractors remain confident”

at least a year later than the planned start date in December 2018.

However, Crossrail denied that there were any significant issues with its contractors or that negotiation s would affect delivery of the project to schedule and budget. “Our principal contractors remain confident that they and their supply chains have the skills and resources in place to continue the successful delivery of the project,” a spokesman said.

COMMENT: PAGE 33

THE MOVE

NEWS

Trenitalia and First team up for West Coast

04

New joint venture for flagship franchise

ENVIRONMENT

Reading’s gas double decker is world first

16

Move aims to reduce pollution in the city

TRAVEL TEST

‘Idealistic plan has failed Tube users’

20

Alex Warner laments ticket office closures

COMMENT

‘Devolution means devolution!’

24

George Muir meets Sir Peter Hendy

COMMENT

‘Bring back the red lamposts’

26

ENVIRONMENT

A world first as Readin g introduces gas decker

Council-owned bus operator deckers in a move that aims launches pioneering gas-powered double to help reduce pollution in Reading ALTERNATIVE FUELS

was the first to introduce Council-owned operator back in 2013.

Reading Buses has become the “The company is confident first in the world to take delivery that these new buses will of a fully gas-powered double help deck refresh and enhance the Royal vehicle with a special presentation Blue route and further improve ceremony held in the Berkshire the industry leading environmental town last weekend. credentials of Reading’s bus Martijn Gilbert, the chief fleet,” added Gilbert. executive of Reading Buses, said he was excited and proud that the company was launching the world’s first Euro VI double deck buses that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG).

He continued: “We have worked closely with the manufacturers in pioneering the introduction of the first modern era gas double deck buses anywhere in the world.

“Scania has had to think ‘outside the box’ to ensure the gas storage is safe without impacting on customer capacity on-board.”

This sees the CNG tanks installed under the staircase and under the rear seats, instead The gas-powered Scanial/ of in ADL Enviro400s will enter the familiar roof pod used on the service on the operator’s single decker which the company Royal Blue routes

FIRST BUSES GOING GREENER

Cleaner and greener forms of power increasing ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Figures from FirstGroup demonstrate an expanded use of latest-generation bus engines and alternative fuel sources across the company’s fleets in 2016.

Over the past 12 months, the transport operator has increased 16 | 27 January 2017 PT_Issue152_p16-17

The buses themselves will help improve the air quality around Tilehurst and Reading, operating on Reading Buses’ Royal Blue-branded 33 and 33a routes up to every 10 minutes along the Tilehurst Road to the Triangle, with every second bus continuing via Little Heath Road

its use of alternatives to fossil fuels, generations of diesel engines such as biodiesel, gas and as it electric generates only one eighth engines. of the harmful nitrogen oxide emissions The company has also ramped up produced by Euro V engines. its investment in Euro VI bus engines Jim Harbidge, FirstGroup’s in the UK. The six months between group head of environment, April and September 2016 said: saw a “The volume of alternative four-fold increase in mileage fuels we driven use – in comparison to standard on these greener engines, when fuels – is growing every year; compared to the same a change which is supported period in 2015. by increasing demand for greener Euro VI offers significant alternatives from our customers advantages over previous and passengers.

to Turnham’s Farm.

The innovative double deck buses are the latest addition to the company’s greener gas fleet with the five new buses joining the 37 single deck CNG-powere d buses currently owned.

They all operate on compressed natural gas bought from a sustainable source which Wellglade means subsidiary to launch a trial of a new cloud-based contactless they effectively run on ‘tap ondung.

- tap off’ ticketing system cow that it claims is the first of They produce no particulates its kind - soot - no hydrocarbons, TICKETING Volunteers will be able to Bus users in the East Midlands villages and Leicester; Kinchbus are virtually zero carbon use their Visa and MasterCard are toand trial the UK’s first 9 between Loughborough drastically reduce thecloud-based amount contactless payment debit or credit cards to make and Nottingham; and the contactless payments on of nitrogen oxide emitted, system that guarantees the three Skylink route linking Derby, by as best routes - Kinchbus 2 linking fare on every trip. much as 55%.

Loughborough and Leicester Loughborough, Charnwood Kinchbus, part of the with East Midlands Airport.

Inside, the buses are equipped Derbyshire-based Wellglade Participants in the Kinchbus with high-quality added Group which also owns bus trial will simply need to extras tap

Kinchbus trials first cloud paymUK’s ents

operators Trentbarton and TM Travel, is recruiting customers to join the December trial which, if successful, could lead to contactless payments being implemented across the operator’s fleet.

18 | 25 November 2016 PT_Issue148_p18-19

18

“It’s as simple as touch on, touch off, and the system works out the best value”

Alex Kerr, Kinchbus

their contactless credit or debit cards on the reader when they get on and off the bus; overnight the cards are charged with the cheapest possible fare for the exact journey or journeys made.

Customers using the system can check what they’ve paid for

their travel via an app or a secure customer website.

Alex Kerr, general manager at Kinchbus, said: “We believe this is the first of its kind on buses in the UK. It’s as simple as touch on, touch off, and the system works out the best value travel for our customers.

“Whilst some contactless trials elsewhere have used standard card readers for buying fixed fares and tickets, we are going the extra mile with contactless touch-on, touch-off, as it’s a quick, convenient method of paying for everyday transactions such as bus fares.”

“Customers won’t need to remember to have cash or to pre-select a ticket - the best value fare will be worked out for them based on their precise journeys each day.”

Alexander Peschkoff, chief executive of Tedipay, the company that provides the smart ticketing solution, said: “Bus fares are an ideal purchase for contactless payments.

As a pioneering partner, Kinchbus is working with us to bring the benefits to their customers.”

Two university students have already been road-testing the contactless payments. One is Nipunika Silva, 20, a natural sciences student at the University of Leicester, who said: “It’s an easy way to pay. You don’t have to have sufficient change or go to an ATM or fish around in your bag.

If you’re in a rush to catch the bus, then it’s a great way to pay.

Since I started the test I no longer pay in any other way” Kerr added that testing of the system has gone very well so far.

“Once we have run November’s trial we will be able to see if it is a popular success. If customers love paying with contactless cards, we can consider whether we should roll it out further.” www.passengertransport.co.uk

23/11/2016 15:19

“FirstGroup is able to meet this demand because we’re at the forefront of our industry in terms of innovative low emission technologies. Others have recognised this too, with our First Bus division recently being crowned Low Carbon Vehicle Operator of the Year 2016. ” In the company’s North American businesses, alternative fuel usage increased by almost 3% in the first half of the 2016/17 year. During this www.passengertransport.co.uk

16

25/01/2017 18:36

Roger French has a plan for Southern

PT_Issue152_p01 1

25/01/2017 18:45

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