Coach & Bus Week : Issue 1064

Wednesday November 28, 2012 Issue 1064 | £2.95 www.coachandbusweek.com

COACH:

All change at Applebys as identity set to survive Bowens p8

FOCUS ON

FIRST LONDON: BUS: MD Adrian Jones on safety, training, TfL & the Olympics p14 PART ONE

First's Norwich bus network revitalised

Ministerial support for Shef�ield Bus Partnership p4

ENGINEERING:

First's Engineering Director on improving maintenance p20

for recruitm

JOB ADVE ent EVERY WERTS EK

RECRUIT N

OW

p26

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tHiS WEEK

Coach & Bus Week, First Floor, 3 The Office Village, Cygnet Park, Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX Switchboard 01733 293240 Fax 0845 280 2927 Web www.coachandbusweek.com Distributed by COMAG

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www.coachandbusweek.com ISSN: 1351-3877 © 2012 Coach and Bus Week Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or system or in any means without the written permission of the directors. This is considered a breach of copyright and action will be taken where this occurs. This magazine must not be lent, sold, hired or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or in any authorised cover by way, or by trade, or annexed to any publication or advertising matter without first obtaining written permission from the directors.

In the chair for ATCO

I

commend National Express for introducing ‘spit kits’ (see p5). Thankfully I was never spat at when I drove buses at Travel West Midlands in Birmingham but I knew colleagues who had unfortunately been on the receiving end. Like fare evasion, it’s the old story that if someone spits disdainfully, it’s likely they’ve got ‘form’ for other crimes. I abhor the vile practice.

At the risk of going off on one too much, I feel footballers must lead by example – they should be given the red card if they spit on the pitch.

Visit a heritage venue such as a steam railway or museum, and you may see period signs to the effect that spitting spreads disease. We’re told TB for example, is on the rise, so why has spitting become a seemingly acceptable norm? Yuck...

On a more positive note, I was delighted to be asked to be a panellist at the ATCO Conference (see p6), joining such figures as Gillian Merron, Tracy Jessop and Les Burton.

One of the questions related to what could be done to improve the customer experience. I said the answer was subjective as it changed according to what category of passenger you fit into. In short, we’ve all got individual needs and wants, which differ according to our circumstances.

If you’re a parent with a buggy, you’ll want plenty of buggy bays, whereas if you’re a wheelchair user, you’ll want overriding priority over the bay(s) and if you’re infirm, you won’t want to walk half way down the bus to reach a ‘normal’ (as opposed to wheel arch) seat.

As for the old chesnut about heating or the lack thereof onboard, I told them some of the young girls in my office would happily have it set to 30 degress centigrade all the time, but that I find I get throaty and can feel myself nodding at the desk. Unfortunately by its very nature, you’ll never please everyone with public transport...

Gareth Evans Editor

CONtENtS 4

26

46

The latest from across the coach and bus industry in the UK

14

A major shake-up of the service network in Norwich aids growth

32

Avril Gill outlines First’s marketing, charity & Olympic activities

Report and photographs of the winners at last week’s UKBA 2012

18

Tim Deakin looks into First’s diverse North American operations

36

Jeroen Weimar – promoting the Better Journeys for Life scheme

Part one of our major feature on Firstgroup and its time-line

20

A night view of an X1-branded First Wright Gemini-bodied Volvo B9TL

38

A lighthearted look at the industry.

Plus Office Diary column

Engineering Director David Liston ushers in a new maintenance era

Adrian Jones – regulated and unregulated operations

All the latest people moves from across the industry

News

UK Bus Awards First intro

Face to Face

Operator Profile

First Marketing

48

First North America Face to Face The Big Picture Insight

69

Last Stop

70

People

The opinions and views expressed by authors and contributors within Coach & Bus Week are not necessarily those of the Editor or its publisher Coach and Bus Week Ltd.

www.coachandbusweek.com

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4 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

nEWS

“I believe full battery vehicles are a viable way forward – if the automotive industry can get battery technology right...”

David Liston Engineering Director

BriEfly Arsonists caused an estimated £25,000 damage in an attack on a Telford mini bus operator which gutted a minibus and a caravan. Fifteen firemen attended the scene at M and B Travel in Trench Road shortly after 0700hrs on Sunday (November 24) found the Ford Transit and caravan engulfed in flames. Ian Leigh, Watch Manager at Wellington fire station, told the Shropshire Star newspaper: “The blaze is being treated as deliberate.” The fire also took hold of a fence and set a shed next door alight along with an adjoining hutch, killing the rabbits inside.

For the fourth year in a row, the Go-Ahead Group has won the prestigious FTSE 250 Investor Relations Society Best Practice Award for its corporate website.

The IR Society Best Practice Awards encourage the adoption of best practice by recognising those companies that lead the way in the communicating with investors. This year, the judges noted: “Go-Ahead’s website offers a truly engaging user experience, with clear messaging, easy access to key information, and a very transparent and simple structure.” In recognition of its apps, Go-Ahead said it was also proud to be shortlisted for the best use of social media tools to support investor relations communications.

People 1st (formerly Go Skills) is helping employers from across the bus and coach industry to access a new government fund worth £150m. The skills organisation is supporting employers from the industries it represents to develop a submission to the Employer Ownership Fund (EOF), which offers employers in England funds to design and deliver their own training. The EOF has been developed with a view to transforming recruitment and training, particularly through apprenticeships. Brian Wisdom, Chief Executive Officer at People 1st, said: “We need to show that as a sector we play a significant role in supporting the economy as we will be competing with other industries where the Government is promoting growth.” www.coachandbusweek.com

News4,5.indd 4

Ministerial endorsement for Sheffield City-wide voluntary partnership could see multi-operator tickets with 23% fare reductions Transport Minister Norman Baker MP met with representatives from the Sheffield Bus Partnership last week to endorse a ground breaking agreement which sees many passenger fares reduced by 23% on multi-operator tickets and even greater savings on some single operator tickets.

The Sheffield Bus Agreement is a voluntary partnership between South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), Sheffield City Council and bus

operators First South Yorkshire, Stagecoach Sheffield and Sheffield Community Transport. The aim is to improve the city’s bus offer to encourage passenger growth.

Norman Baker MP met with representatives of the partnership to oversee the signing of the Partnership Agreement, which sets out the main conditions under which the scheme will operate.

Attendees included SCC Cabinet Member with responsibility for transport Cllr Leigh Bramall, South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority Chair Cllr Mick Jameson and SYPTE Director General David Brown.

Cllr Leigh Bramall, SCC Cabinet Member for Transport, Transport Minister Norman Baker and David Brown, SYPTE Director General

Wright Group acquires Nu Track Antrim-based coachbuilder and accessible minibus specialist Nu Track has been acquired by the Wright Group in a deal concluded

by Chairman Jeff Wright on November 20.

Nu-Track currently has 65 employees. Its products are in

service with the Education Boards and Health Trusts in Northern Ireland, as well as a number of local authorities in Scotland and England.

A spokesman for the new owners said the future now looked bright for Nu-Track. Following a period of re-organisation there would be investment in new resources which would allow Nu-Track to develop its product range and reach new customers. The spokesman went on to say Nu-Track and its customers would benefit from the close

Face to Face p20

The city-wide agreement combines various legal powers to become the most complex and geographically far reaching partnership of its kind in the UK. Partners are accountable to the public and each other for service performance. Benefits include improved fares, multi-operator tickets, and better co-ordination and information of services, including tram. The partners believe working together has made the network simpler, more flexible and far more convenient.

Norman Baker MP said: “The Sheffield Bus Agreement is good news for the city and shows what can be achieved when local councils, bus operators and transport authorities work together for the benefit of passengers.

This partnership will transform passengers’ experience by making bus travel easier and cheaper.”

SYPTE Director General David Brown said: “This unique partnership is a fantastic step forward in offering Sheffield’s bus users a more affordable and convenient service. We have listened to our customers and subsequently built the scheme around direct feedback to ensure it best meets the needs of the travelling public. We hope it encourages passengers to make the switch from cars to buses.”

Councillor Leigh Bramall, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport said: “It is great news to see operators working together to help reduce bus fares. We need to get as many people as possible on public transport and keeping fares low will help achieve this by making it a more attractive option.”

For more details, visit www. travelsouthyorkshire.com/ simplicity/ association with the Wright Group, drawing on its experience and knowledge of the wider industry.

In a separate development, Wrightbus was also visited last week by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness MP MLA. Following the announcement made on his recent trade mission, he viewed the work going on to prepare 50 new double-decker bus kits for shipping to China for assembly. They will be delivered as fully built buses to KMB of Hong Kong.

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November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 5

Join the discussion on Twitter by following us at @cbwtweets and find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/coachandbusweek

NatEx ‘Spit kits’ help kick louts off the buses

Yardley.

The initiative has been introduced through the Safer Travel Partnership, which brings together West Midlands and British Transport Police, transport authority Centro and National Express to safeguard bus, train and tram users.

Police Constable Sarah Hipkins,

Bus drivers across the West Midlands have been equipped with ‘mini DNA kits’ to help police track anyone who spits at them or fellow passengers.

‘Spit kits – which feature swabs, gloves and hermetically sealed bags – allow staff to take saliva samples and protect them from contamination before being sent for forensic analysis.

88 spitting incidents have been reported on West Midlands buses so far this year. National Express West Midlands’ 3,500 local drivers have been supplied with the packages following a successful trial in Birmingham City Centre.

Several offenders have now been traced through DNA hits as a result of the initiative, including a 24-year-old man who was jailed for 12 weeks after spitting at a bus driver on the number 17 service in

Safer Travel PC Sarah Hipkins and National Express WM driver Ali Asghar

Road schemes to be brought forward

Patrick McLoughlin.

These will be delivered in this spending review period rather than the next, as the Government introduces major improvements to the way road schemes are planned and built. This new way of working should in future see lanes added to motorways in up to half the time it normally takes.

McLoughlin said: “I am determined to cut the time it takes to upgrade our roads in half by dismantling procedures which have

Coach operators and drivers will benefit from increased capacity on England’s motorways by spring 2015 after three upgrades were accelerated by Transport Secretary

£750

UDIT

IANCE A

COMPL

said: “Spitting is a disgusting, despicable offence and we will push for common assault charges against offenders.

“This type of DNA processing has been used on the railway previously and our trial has been successful.

Drivers and passengers should not be expected to tolerate it on our bus routes and these spit kit devices

AT PLUS V

tel: 08450 575 111

slowed us down. The DfT and the Highways Agency have looked hard at how to speed up the decision making process and the time it takes to have roads ready for use by drivers. It’s estimated that 1km of managed motorway (using the hard shoulder as extra lanes and variable speed limits) can be built every two weeks, instead of every four.

The three schemes being accelerated are: M3 J2 (M25 J12) to 4a (A327), Surrey; M6 J10a (M54) to 13 (Stafford), West Midlands.; M1

allow us to obtain irrefutable DNA evidence which helps us track offenders and secure convictions at court.”

Samples are stored in a fridge before being despatched for forensics analysis with arrest plans put in place should returning DNA results point to a suspect already known to police.

If not, the DNA record is kept on file with the case resurrected if the suspect is later arrested on another matter.

Peter Coates, Managing Director of National Express West Midlands said: “Incidents of spitting on our vehicles are few and far between, but these rare occasions are unacceptable to us, our staff and our customers. We have invested in these DNA kits to help the Police track down the few mindless individuals who are guilty of this disgusting behaviour.”

And Cllr Kath Hartley, Vice Chair of Centro, added: “Although spitting is rare on public transport we remain determined to tackle it and our message to would-be offenders is simple: spit at drivers or passengers and you will be caught, DNA doesn’t lie.”

J28 (Mansfield) to 31 (Sheffield).

Extra capacity will come through converting the hard shoulder to a traffic lane – with variable speed limits helping to reduce congestion and smooth traffic flows.

McLoughlin said road schemes can be delivered more quickly by taking extra work off-site and bringing to site as pre-fabricated / pre-assembled units; and moving toward a 24-hour operation with more people on site working on multiple faces at once.

Contains 100% compliance Long lasting protection L

email: julia.davies@backhouses.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com

News4,5.indd 15

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6 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

nEWS › BUSeS

26,000 Approximate number of staff working at First UK Bus

BriEfly Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has ordered 10 new Enviro200s, due for delivery in February next year. Gary Mason, Engineering Director, told CBW: “The buses will run out of our Trent Bridge depot and will give us a chance to test the market in terms of vehicles. They will replace some non DDA compliant Optare Solos.”

However, he stressed: “We operate a lot of Optare vehicles and have a good relationship with them, but we thought we would sample something different for a change.”

A Stagecoach East driver was treated for shock after his bus came off the Guided Busway. The incident occurred around 1500hrs on November 20. Stagecoach said the driver misjudged an entrance to the Busway between Swavesey and Longstanton. He was checked over by ambulance crews at the scene. Services were still running, but diversions were in place.

Epsom Group’s Quality Line has been awarded a six-month contract to run a free service between Pollards Hill and Streatham Common Station, due to bridge replacement. The service employs three buses operating with a dedicated team of drivers, seven days a week and is numbered route 560. Huw Barrington, the company’s Commercial Director, said: “We are delighted to be operating this service on behalf of TfL – it demonstrates our flexibility in responding to short notice requirements.”

Baker addresses ATCO Winter Conference New era for light rail promised under localism agenda Local authority transpoirt professionals gathered at London’s Local Government Association House last Tuesday (November 20) for the Association of Transport Coordinating Officers (ATCO)’s Winter Conference.

The Keynote Address was given

by Norman Baker. Starting on a lighter note, he said: “As a Transport Minister, I’m now in the unique position of being able to open things I’ve given funding for.”

He continued: “I hope at a time of devolved government, it will lead to a new era for light rail. The brakes have been taken off and it’s up to you to take forward those schemes.

The mindset of grounding you down has been taken away.

“Local Transport Board geography is currently being drawn up. Disputes on boundaries have arisen in one or two areas but that’s something for me to sort out.

It’s right for us to return to local decision making.”

Asked about the revitalisation of urban road building, Baker replied: “Don’t believe everything you read in the press. Mind the gap between what you read and fact.”

There followed the morning panel discussion, which was described as the bus industry’s question time. Chaired by David Blainey, Integrated Transport Operations Manager Merseytravel, this comprised Les Burton, Operations Director at Stagecoach Merseyside, Tracy Jessop of Norfolk Council and Gillian Merro, Chairman of Bus Users UK and CBW

Transpot Minister Norman Baker delivers the Keynote Address

Editor Gareth Evans.

Presentations included Conwy Council’s Bob Saxby on sustainable transport and the tourist economy; The DfT’s Anthony Ferguson on policy; Herfordshire University’s Scott Copsey on using LTSF; Roger Wilson-Hind about an Android app for the visually impaired; and Leeds University’s Professor Peter Mackie on whether better buses deliver economic growth.

The afternoon panel discussed how to improve school transport and comprised Denbighshire’s Peter Daniels, West Berkshire’s Steve Doel and Ian Gwelan of West Sussex.

Commenting on the event, David Blainey, who was elected the new Chairman ATCO at the AGM, told CBW: “Once again ATCO was able to bring together a blend of high quality speakers from a variety of areas to discuss national policy, current issues and best practice. It was a valuable learning experience.

We now look forward to our Summer Conference which will be held in Liverpool from June 11 - 13.”

ATCO’s popular outgoing Chair Tracy Jessop added: “Taking time away from the day-to-day to discuss issues and talk through challenges with different people is an important part of learning and improving. ATCO events try to get the right balance between sharing good practice, stimulating debate and getting conversations going from across the industry.”

www.coachandbusweek.com

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26/11/2012 18:33

96

Peak vehicle requirement for First’s operations in Norwich

INIT e-ticketing in Nottingham E-ticketing specialist INIT has received major orders from trent barton and Tramlink to realise integrated ticketing in Nottingham. trent barton, having implemented INIT’s integrated ticketing comprising Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETM), validators and its innovative MANGO smartcards, is going a step further. The current system utilises the Automatic Vehicle Location (GPS, odometer and door contact) feature of the ETM working together with the refillable electronic purse, MANGO and passenger terminal allowing for a touch-in/touch-out system. This means passengers can use MANGO cards as an alternative to paper tickets and cash transactions by simply waving them at the validator.

The system automatically calculates the appropriate fare. Ultimately, shorter dwell time at stops supports schedule adherence, breeds customer satisfaction and lowers operating costs. This innovative scheme will be further enhanced when the latest ITSO certified ETM EVENDpc is realised. Among many other features, a prominent element is the ability to participate in the Greater Nottingham Real Time Passenger Information System. The new EVENDpc is already EMVprepared.

The application by trent barton resulted in Tramlink, the bid consortium for Nottingham’s tram network, to opt for INIT technology.

Passengers can soon use MANGO, which can be topped up via cash or via chip & pin debit/credit cards, on the self service ticketing vending machines located on platforms. Also on platforms, a touch in/out system will be implemented using INIT’s validators.

INIT is providing the software for the necessary exchange of data and real-time reporting as well as 204 terminals/validators and 118 self-service Ticket Vending Machines at Tramlink stops. An initial phase will see the equipping of the existing NET line 1 then NET lines 2 and 3, once opened. INIT will act as supplier and installer for Taylor Woodrow, part of the joint venture appointed constructor for the Nottingham tram extensions.

News6,7.indd 7

November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 7

45%

Reduction in breakdowns and driver defects in First London over past 12 months

SHARE WATCH

Industry share prices at the close of the Stock Exchange on Monday, November 26.

BAE Systems saw the greatest proportional rise, while 21st Century saw the greatest proportional drop. Most figures obtained from www.iii.co.uk

312.05p

Price: Year High: 367.50p Year Low: 248.95p

+9.85 on last week

The new Volvo B5LH hybrids use parallel hybrid architecture

Six new Volvo hybrids for Ensign Bus Ensign Bus has taken delivery of six new Volvo B5LH hybrid buses with Wrightbus bodywork for use on local services in the Thurrock area.

Engineering Director Brian Longley said: “We’ve been keen to invest in hybrid technology for a while and the Volvo hybrid driveline with the Wrightbus bodywork provides a really nice combination.

We wanted the vehicles to be as environmentally friendly and fuel efficient as possible, without compromising on driveability.

Volvo’s parallel drive system was very appealing and we’re looking forward to placing the new vehicles into operation.”

Isle of Man trials bendy buses

A second trial of bendy buses will be held before plans go to Tynwald – to see if any changes would be needed to accommodate them on Isle of Man roads.

An Arriva Mercedes-Benz Citaro G was first trialed in the island in 2009. Now the Department of Community Culture and Leisure (DCCL) has announced it is looking again at introducing the artics.

There will have to be a change in legislation to allow the use of longer vehicles on the island’s roads before any bendy buses can be ordered.

DCCL Minister Graham Cregeen MHK said the buses could lead to savings. The DCCL is looking into

The B5LHs use parallel hybrid architecture to achieve fuel savings.

The system combines the power of a 4.8-litre diesel engine with an electric motor.

The vehicles were handed over to Ensign Bus Chairman Peter Newman by Volvo Bus Regional Sales Manager, Phil Fletcher. “The outstanding fuel efficiency of these hybrid vehicles was a determining factor in this sale,” Phil explained.

“There is a real interest in the industry as to how Volvo hybrid development has progressed and this sale represents further evidence of that.”

Brian added: “We have a longstanding relationship with Volvo Bus and with the local MC Group dealership. We’ve had a large number of Volvo manufactured vehicles in the past and it was a pleasure working with Phil Fletcher on the purchase of these vehicles.”

180.85p

Price: Year High: 344.00p Year Low: 175.00p

1226.0p

Price: Year High: 1448.4p Year Low: 1074.0p

166.75p

Price: Year High: 256.20p Year Low: 166.75p

275.00p

Price: Year High: 300.00p Year Low: 227.90p

0.58p

Price: Year High: 2.11p Year Low: 0.20p

44.00p

Price: Year High: 45.00p Year Low: 36.00p

One of Arriva’s Mercedes-Benz Citaros seen on route 73 in London in November 2010 using the artics on suitable routes.

DCCL CEO Nick Black said it was not thought any significant changes would be required to the road infrastructure to allow the bendy-buses to operate. He said: “If the legislation is approved, we will be giving our drivers specialist training to prepare them for driving an articulated vehicle rather than a rigid one.”

77.41p

Price: Year High: 82.27p Year Low: 62.29p

8.62p

Price: Year High: 20.00p Year Low: 8.50p

+5.55 on last week

-8.50 on last week

-1.35 on last week

+4.90 on last week

+0.00 on last week

-0.50 on last week

+0.22 on last week

-0.38 on last week

FTSE 100

5,783

Index: Year High: 5,966 Year Low: 5,128

+109 on last week

www.coachandbusweek.com

26/11/2012 18:34

8 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

nEWS › coaches

BriEfly Resurfacing continues on both the north and southbound carriageways of the A34 near Oxford, between the Kennington and Peartree interchanges. The project, which started on October 1, is expected to be completed in early January.

The southbound A34 is closed between the Peartree and Botley interchanges overnight between 2200 and 0500hrs, Monday to Friday. A fully signed diversion route is in place via the Oxford ring road. However, the diversion route has a restriction on vehicles wider than 3.5 metres. Any such vehicles will be held until it is safe to proceed past the work site on the A34 in a convoy.

Work on a £1.5m scheme to improve drainage and reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall on the key south coast artery that is the A27 near Chichester in West Sussex was expected to start on Wednesday November 28. Narrow lanes and a 40mph speed restriction are in place 24 hours a day, with additional lane closures overnight.

Work will be suspended over the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is expected to be complete by February 2013.

On the A303 trunk road near Stonehenge, 24-hour lane closures are in place on the approaches to the Longbarrow roundabout with 40mph speed restrictions in order to carry out improvements. The project is due to last until June 2013.

A key section of the A12 northbound carriageway is to be resurfaced between junctions 22 and 23 (Witham to Kelvedon) in Essex. The work is due to take place from Monday, December 3 for five nights between 2000 and 0600hrs the following morning.

The northbound carriageway is due to be closed between junctions 19 (Chelmsford) and 24 (Gore Pit) and there will be a temporary 50mph speed limit on the approach to junction 19. Slip roads are also due to be closed at junctions 19, 20b, 21 and 22. A diversion will be in place via the A138, A130, A131 and A120. www.coachandbusweek.com

News8,9.indd 8

Applebys sold to Lincs businessman While the business has been sold to Robert McQuillan, the name and telephone number have been purchased by rival operator Radley Coach Travel Appleby’s Coach Holidays, which shut down at the end of October after its parent company Bowens went into administration, is to be relaunched under a new name – according to thisislincolnshire.co.uk.

Local businessman Robert McQuillan has bought the Lincolnshire-based coach operator’s office equipment from the administrators and is set to register a new company with Companies House.

Mr McQuillan announced his intention to save the stricken firm

a day after Bowens went into administration.

However, he said that because of the company’s high staffing levels, unfavourable lease terms on its fleet of coaches and various other problems within the business, it was better to start a new company from scratch.

Mr McQuillan, who owns Appleby’s Ices, which until 2000 was part of the same company as the coach operator, said: “Picking up the pieces of the old company was going to be too difficult. The only way to succeed is to wipe the table clean and start again.”

Mr McQuillan said Appleby’s had now been wound-up and the remaining skeleton staff all made redundant.

The Appleby’s livery is set to be revived by Radley Coach Travel

D&E promotes Facebook for schools info As the winter weather starts to set in, D&E Coaches has targeted Facebook, as a means of improving communication with its passengers.

Alongside its established private hire business the Inverness-based operator now manages a large number of school contracts and service routes across the Highlands and is responsible for transporting

over 1,300 children to and from 13 different learning centres on a daily basis. It is primarily with this group of passengers in mind that the firm has launched the initiative.

Explaining the move, D&E Coaches MD Donald Mathieson, said: “The remote nature of the Highlands makes the transport network more susceptible to the winter weather, which can unfortunately lead to disruption.

We strive to offer the best possible service to our customers and see Facebook as an efficient way of communicating any urgent messages which could help prevent any further inconvenience.”

D&E’s ability to keep customers

He added: “The company was overstaffed and the vehicles they had were on lease – the outstanding amount was worth more than the coaches. We are going to start a new limited company with our own coaches.”

He said he would not be looking to take on the five Appleby’s travel shops due to the high running costs.

Appleby’s Coach Holidays was founded by William Appleby in 1913, the same year he established Appleby’s Ices. The company split in 2000 when the coach firm went into receivership and was sold to the Bowen Travel Group.

Now the two companies look set to be reunited under the ownership of Mr McQuillan, who bought the ice cream company in 2009.

He concluded: “Under the right management I believe this business can thrive, and hopefully by next July we will have two companies celebrating their 100th birthdays.”

As this issue went to press on Monday it was revealed Radley Coach Travel of Brigg & Barton upon Humber has purchased Appleby’s trading name and telephone number from Bowens’ receivers Deloitte. According to the firm, the original Appleby Livery is to be re-created and operated on a smaller scale with a the view to expand the business and acquire a further travel shop in the Grimsby or Louth area in the future. informed is aided by a live tracking system across its fleet, pinpointing their exact location and enabling the Operations Team to monitor all movements.

Bob Edwards, Senior transport officer for the Highland Council welcomed the move. “The D&E Coaches Facebook page will be a welcome supplement to the existing school information line and MFR’s morning announcements, providing users with an instant update should their service be affected.” he said.

Visit D&E Coaches’ Facebook page at www. facebook.com/decoachesltd

26/11/2012 17:51

November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 9

“The tendering process has stood the test of time and since 1986-87 it has managed to deal with expansion within the network and recession...”

Adrian Jones Managing Director

First London p38

Matthews wins Irish sustainability award Matthews Coach Hire has scooped a major national honour at the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards 2012.

The Irish firm won the Energy Awareness Award at a ceremony in Dublin on Thursday (November 22). Matthews received the accolade for initiating procedures to raise awareness of energy efficiency across employees on a much more personal level.

“We are thrilled with this award, as it represents our energy saving work across the company over a number of years,” said Fleet and Quality Manager Noel Matthews.

“When you look at the companies which were also nominated in our category, such as Tesco, you will get an idea of the scale of our project and achievement.

Brid Horan, Electric Ireland Executive Director, Brian Motherway CEO SEAI, and Minister Pat Rabbitte presenting the SEAI Energy Awareness Award 2012 to Majella Lambe, Human Resources Manager, Matthews Coach Hire “This energy saving project has allowed us to reduce fuel consumption from 30 litres per 100km to 27.23 litres per 100km (10.4mpg), which makes a huge difference across our fleet.

“Our vehicles are often driven

DFDS strengthens its crossChannel tour service DFDS Seaways has introduced a new vessel, Dieppe Seaways, to its cross-Channel services. The modern, 30,200 ton vessel replaces Deal Seaways and has the speed and agility to help the awardwinning ferry operator keep to its busy schedule of up to 44 sailings a day across its Dover-France routes.

Starting on the Dover-Calais route, Dieppe Seaways has modern, comfortable onboard facilities

for coach passengers and drivers, including a dedicated driver’s deck – perfect for coach drivers wanting to clock up some rest time and continue their onward journey refreshed. Facilities on the drivers deck comprise showers, restaurant, TV room and lounge.

Passenger facilities are also modern and comfortable and include a self-service restaurant, a bar – which also serves hot snacks,

by two or more drivers per day, making it difficult to pin fuel usage to any one individual using standard fuel management techniques.

However, installation of new technology and driver education allowed us to raise each employee’s

The new vessel, Dieppe Seaways a children’s play area and a shop, as well as a bureau de change.

Stuart Duddy, Head of Coach Sales and Contracts at DFDS, said: “Dieppe Seaways is a great addition to our fleet and enables us to offer

energy awareness, providing them with direct feedback on their individual energy usage.

“Drivers influence up to 30% of fuel consumption and this campaign positively recognises good driving behaviour, and encourages improvement through accurate feedback on a continuous basis.”

The competition judges were full of praise for how Matthews staff worked together to achieve their goals in explaining why they gave the award to the company.

“Matthews Coach Hire has demonstrated an excellent programme which shows how technology systems can be integrated to improve energy awareness,” said the judges’ report.

“The programme showed commitment, empathy and adaptability around engagement with personnel. To date this project has reduced fuel consumption by 3% per annum.”

This is the company’s second SEAI award, having won the Energy Efficiency Category for Major Users in 2010. coach operators a real choice of route for their European travel.”

With five vessels and up to 44 crossings daily on its Dover – Calais and Dover – Dunkirk routes, DFDS Seaways is the only cross-Channel ferry operator to provide a choice of entry points into France on the eastern Channel.

Coach bookings & enquiries can be made by email to dover.coaches@dfds. com or by calling 01304 874003.

DFDS’ coach rates can be found at: www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/ Documents/Coach-rates.pdf

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SCOTLAnD

Pensioners pressure group Age Scotland has said the entitlement age for free bus travel should be increased from 60 to 65, saving the Scottish Government as much as £40m a year – according to The Scotsman.

The charity believes those savings could then be spent on local schemes, especially in rural areas, which provide tailored transport for elderly people who otherwise have no way of getting out.

The call was made at a session of Holyrood’s finance committee last week, as it studied the impact of massive demographic change in Scotland and an ageing population.

Scottish ministers have pledged £500m over the next few years to back a new drive for “preventative spending”, with the aim of funding new ideas across the country to reduce the burden on the public purse.

At the same time, the Scottish Government is still paying for a raft of ‘free’ public services, such as concessionary bus travel for over 60s, free personal care and free tuition.

Callum Chomczuk, Senior Policy and Parliamentary Officer for Age Scotland, said the amount of cash from the Change Fund going on preventative spending was “paltry”, and claimed that some of the money had instead been spent on publicly-funded communications officers in councils.

“We couldn’t see from a layman’s point of view how that was delivering a preventative outcome,” he said.

He called for more money to be spent on local travel schemes which take pensioners on shopping trips or on social activities.

Morrisons is set to move into the former First East Scotland Dalkeith bus depot in Midlothian. The superstore is currently finalising a deal with site owner Forrest Developments, it has been confirmed, and, if approved, the outlet could open by 2013 or early 2014. Midlothian MP David Hamilton also backed calls for a supermarket at the site after First Scotland East announced its operating centre would be closing.

Forrest Developments has already secured detailed planning consent for a mixed use scheme at the site, providing 58,000sq ft of space. It is understood Morrisons’ arrival would create enough jobs to eclipse those lost with FirstGroup’s withdrawal. www.coachandbusweek.com

RegionalNews.indd 10

Coach & Bus Week takes a look at the big issues where you live in our round-up of the regions. If you’ve got a local issue you’d like us to cover, contact James Day on james. day@coachandbusweek.com. affect children who already get free travel to church schools.

KEY

SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND REP OF IRELAND NORTH WALES MIDLANDS EAST LONDON SOUTH EAST SOUTH WEST

IRELAnD

The European Commission is investigating claims that Bus Éireann is using some of the €150m it receives for the school transport scheme to subsidise commercial services – according to the Irish Times.

Since 2007, the commission’s competition directorate has been investigating claims made by private-sector rivals that state aid given to CIÉ subsidiaries, Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus, contravenes EU law.

The Brussels-based directorate has recently broadened its inquiry to take on board allegations that Bus Éireann is using some of the €150m a year paid to it by the Department of Education for the school transport scheme to subsidise other services.

A spokeswoman for the competition directorate confirmed the overall investigation into the state aid claims is ongoing. She said the office was aware of a recent unsuccessful High Court challenge to the operation of the school bus scheme brought by a potential rival to Bus Éireann, Student Transport Scheme. However, she said the office could not comment beyond that as the investigation was still under way.

In a statement, Bus Éireann said: “There is no cross-subsidisation from the school transport scheme to commercial road passenger services in Bus Éireann.” It said such

MIDLAnDS

services were purely commercial and received no state funding.

Its statement said it kept separate accounts for its school transport service, which were independently audited.

The Department of Education paid Bus Éireann €152m last year to provide the service. The stateowned operator runs the scheme but contracts out many of the routes to private operators which provide the actual services.

nORTH

Sheffield Council is proposing to withdraw free bus travel for children attending Church of England and Catholic schools in the city. The change of policy means a child attending a church school who currently receives a free bus pass will in future be expected to pay 60p per journey.

A council spokesman said the move would save an estimated £275,000 a year. “If withdrawal were to be phased on a yearly basis it would be £55,000 in the first year and would grow to £275,000 by year five, but as stated before, a decision has not been made on this yet.”

However, the spokesman denied the move to withdraw funding was a response to some church schools seeking to become academies outside of local authority control.

The council wants to make the changes in time for the 2013-14 school year but this move will also

Staff at National Express West Midlands’ 10 bus garages are pulling together to give kids at Birmingham Children’s and Russells Hall Hospitals presents to make their stay in hospital over Christmas as special as possible.

Drivers have already collected hundreds of toys, for toddlers through to teenagers, including Cookery sets, Doll’s Houses and even an Xbox with games and controllers.

NXWM staff are asking any customers who can help them, to do so by buying an extra present while Christmas shopping and dropping them into any of their six local travel shops.

The firm has travel shops in Walsall, Dudley, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Solihull.

NXWM employee Lee Sandford, who had the idea to give presents to kids in hospital over Christmas, said: “We have made a flying start to our collection and already have hundreds of toys. Staff at all of our garages have been very generous and we are sure it will make a big difference to the kids in hospital over Christmas.

“However, there is always more we can do. We would love for any customer who can help us collect presents, to drop them into our travel shops across the region.

Presents do not have to big or expensive they just have to be new and plastic so staff can disinfect them after use.”

SOUTH EAST

Xelabus, the Eastleigh-based family-run bus operator, expanded its local network on Monday (November 26) with a new X7 service to the Chandlers Ford area.

The traditional green and cream buses resplendent in the original colours of the Hants & Dorset bus company from many years ago will be offering a 30-minute service between the two towns Monday to Saturday.

In addition, a large residential housing location called Hiltingbury would have been devoid of a bus service had Xelabus not stepped in.

The current operator Velvet gave notice to remove its journeys between Eastleigh and Hiltingbury but now with

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Hampshire County Council support Xelabus will operate a new circular service for the area as well as buses running onto the X7 service giving customers a continued bus service throughout.

Commenting on the new expansion, Philip Blair ,Commercial Director for Xelabus, said: “We simply could not stand by and watch the areas be devoid of a bus service and it is our belief that communities should be kept connected with a bus service even if it is for shopping journeys only but we have looked at this area and decided to expand our business. We have purchased additional buses and are pleased to be operating them on this new part of our network.”

LOnDOn

A 20-year old Croydon man has been jailed for four months after spitting at a London General bus driver.

On August 29, Azad Majid and two other men boarded a bus

working TfL service 213 which runs between Sutton and Kingston.

He produced a £20 note for his fare, but the driver, suspecting it to be fraudulent, refused to accept it.

Majid then spat, through the gap in the driver’s protective screen, which landed on the driver’s shirt, before all three men made off.

The driver’s shirt was sent for DNA testing and led to Majid being identified. On October 13 Majid was arrested and later charged with common assault.

Chief Superintendent Sultan Taylor, of the Metropolitan Police’s Safer Transport Command, said: “This sentence highlights our effective partnership with TfL, with our primary aim being to safeguard the travelling public and provide a safe and secure transport network. If you commit an offence on the transport network, you will be caught. Our message is clear: Crime on London’s bus system will not be tolerated - we will get those responsible using any lawful means at our disposal.”

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

The CPT Annual Dinner will be held on the evening of Thursday, January 24 at The Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London

2012 n December 15-16 Santa at the Oxford Bus Museum. 01993 883617. www.oxfordbusmuseum.org.uk

2013 n January 1 New Year’s Holiday Open Day. Oxford Bus Museum. 01993 883617. www. oxfordbusmuseum.org.uk n January 1 Annual King Alfred Running Day, Winchester.

Further information from www. fokab.org.uk k n January 24 CPT Annual Dinner 2013, Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, 45 Prescot Street, London E1 8GP. For further details, call 020 7240 3131 or visit www.cpt-uk.org n February 24-25 Coach Holiday Conference. Bristol Filton Holiday Inn. www.coachtourismcouncil.com

Great Britain’s most decorated ever Paralympian, Sarah Storey, was the guest of honour at the recent Trapeze Group’s annual User Conference in Manchester. Mrs Storey spoke at the lunch event, delivering an entertaining and inspirational speech about her career and this year’s London Paralympics, where she won four gold medals. That took Mrs Storey’s career total to 11 Gold, eight Silver and three Bronze medals, across six Paralympic Games, and including medals in both cycling and swimming. After the talk, Mrs Storey paused for photos with attendees, allowing guests the opportunity to hold the medals for themselves.

Trapeze Group’s MD in the UK, Peter Bell, commented: “We were delighted with the event and with Sarah’s contribution in particular. In what has been an unprecedented year of success for British sport, she was an obvious choice.”

Trapeze Group runs a User Conference each year, providing clients the opportunity to speak to system experts and learn how to become more effective at using their systems; and to meet other Trapeze clients.

The event also enables Trapeze clients to find out about other aspects of Trapeze’s transport offering, which includes such diverse solutions as public transport scheduling & planning, intelligent transport systems, passenger information, mobile ticketing, demand response & special needs transport, driver duty allocation, fleet management, and taxi & private hire management.

n March 13-14 Best of Britain and Ireland (BoBi). Travel Trade Forum at the NEC in Birmingham. 01926 834796. www. bestofbritainandirelandevent.co.uk n March 19-21 The Cleaning Show. NEC, Birmingham. 01737 855 086 www.cleaningshow.co.uk n March 20-21 UK Bus Awards Annual Conference. The conference is booked to take place in Fareham and will feature a visit to Hampshire’s Eclipse BRT project.

Further deatils in due course. www.ukbusawards.org.uk n April 6 South East Bus Festival 2013. Kent Showground, near Maidstone, Kent, brought to you by the organisers of ‘M&D 100’ and ‘M&D and EK 60’. www.facebook. com/southeastbusfestival n April 9-11 CV Show 2013. NEC, Birmingham. www.cvshow.com

n April 20-21 UK Coach Awards & UK Coach Rally. Alton Towers, Staffordshire. 01753 631170 www.coachdisplays.co.uk or www. ukcoachawards.co.uk n April 21 London Bus Museum Spring Gathering. Cobham Hall, Weybridge, Surrey. 01932 837994. www.londonbusmuseum.com n May 14-15 ALBUM Conference.

Belton Woods Hotel near Grantham, Lincolnshire. www.albumconference. co.uk n May 26-30 UITP Congress & Exhibition. Palexpo, Geneva. www.uitp.org. +(00)32 2673 610 n June 11-13 ATCO Summer Conference. Merseytravel HQ, Liverpool. www.atco.org.uk n June 16 Swansea Festival of Transport. Free to enter & attend. Call organiser Ashley Lovering on 07814958379 or email swanseatransport@aol.com. Visit www.ntfwswansea.co.uk. n July 21 Alton Bus Rally. Anstey Park, Anstey Lane, Alton, Hants. www.altonbusrally.org.uk n July 28 The Annual Peterborough Bus & Commercial Vehicle Rally. Sacrewell Farm (A47/A1 junction). All buses and commercials welcome. Free entry.

07828 754412 or 01462 626750k n September 22 Showbus 2013.

Imperial War Museum, Duxford. www.tshowbus.com n October 2-3 Coach & Bus Live 2013. NEC, Birmingham. www. coachandbuslive.com n October 18-23 Busworld Kortrijk. Kortrijk, Belgium. http://kortrijk.busworld.org/

Send your event details to gareth.evans@ coachandbusweek.com

www.coachandbusweek.com

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We NEED Operators in your area!

Coach Hire Booking are focused on providing a “managed service” that distributes work into the industry. Our service is based upon our ability to work closely with operators and we are looking for the opportunity to build new rela onships within the industry.

• Private Hire • Corporate • Pre-planned and emergency • Coach / minibus / small vehicle • Execu ve chauffeur work • NO subscrip on fees • NO booking fees • NO administra on fees All work offered is deposit secured – Industry leading payment terms.

Call: 08450 944 620 (Op on 3) Brian Fielden (Supplier Rela ons Manager) Email: partner.support@coachhirebooking.co.uk

14 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

UK BUS AWArdS

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2 1: Bus and the Community – Charity in the Community, Duncan McGraw, Harry Facey and Rob Ward, First UK Bus. 2: Local Authority Bus Project of the Year – SQP Scheme, Lorraine Reckless, Lisa Simpson, Mark Garlick and James Howe, Nottingham City Council. 3: Innovation – Megabus Sleeper Service, Robert Montgomery and Ian Laing, Stagecoach.

4: Engineer of the Year – Russell Cato, Arriva. 5: Bus Operator of the Year – Nottingham City Transport.

6: Special Awards after the Olympics – Mott Macdonald

5

Celebrating success Coach & Bus Week Editor Gareth Evans and News Reporter Alex Tyler present a report on the category winners at the prestigeous 17th UK Bus Awards 2012, held last Tuesday at London’s Hilton Park Lane hotel www.coachandbusweek.com

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N

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ottingham City Transport (NCT) won the award for UK Bus Operator of the Year at last week’s UK Bus Awards.

Having also been crowned the 2012 City Operator of the Year at the ceremony, NCT qualified for the UK Bus Operator of the Year category and went head to head with Top Shire Operator, Reading Buses, and Top Independent Operator Ensignbus to win the overall title.

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12 This is the eleventh consecutive year Nottingham’s principal bus operator has been nominated for a UK Bus award and this year the firm also took home the runnerup prize in a brand new category – ‘Making Buses a Better Choice: the Peter Huntley Memorial Award’, for the company’s ongoing development in communications technology and social media to make its services more attractive to customers. Nearly 25,000 people follow NCT on social media, making it among, if not the, most followed bus operator in the UK.

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8

Stagecoach scored in the Innovation category with its Megabus sleeper service which is operated through the Scottish Citylink joint venture. Stagecoach East Midlands was named Runner Up in the Environment category, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, for the innovative Lincoln BioBuses project which resulted in a fleet of 11 vehicles running on biomethane gas produced from household rubbish and animal waste.

Stagecoach Manchester finished runner up in the Top City

7: Eureka Award for Marketing Initiatives – Jet Black is the New Black, Reading Buses. 8: Marketing Excellence Award – Mango, Alex Hornby, Gillian Merron (Bus Users UK) and Geoff Counsel. 9: ROSCO Top Driver – Harry Rayner, First Manchester. 10: Top Independent Operator – Ensign Bus. 11: Award for Services to the Bus Industry Peter Hendy. 12: Top National Bus Depot – Crawley, Alan Eatwell, Ian Coyle and Nick Hill, Metrobus.

13: Special Awards after the 2012 Games – Andy Scholey, First Games Transport Operator Award, while Stagecoach Manchester Marketing Assistant Andrew Howard-Smith was recognised in the Unsung Heroes Award, after being praised for being “reliable, adaptable, loyal and trustworthy.”

Ensignbus, with its partner First Essex, finished runners up in the ‘Eureka! Award for Marketing Initiatives’, for its CollegeBUS campaign.

First also secured the coveted Environmental Award for its ‘Small Changes, Big Difference’ campaign which aims to get staff throughout

11

13 its bus operations involved in waste recycling and energy conservation initiatives.

Harry Raynor, a driver with First Manchester, won the ROSCO (Road Operator’s Safety Council) Award for Safe Driving. Meanwhile the North Region’s Charity and Sponsorship Committee, which supports local good causes, collected the Bus in the Community Award. Completing a successful haul for First’s North Region was Jeff Clayton from First Manchester who finished runner up in the Young Manager of the Year

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UK BUS AWArdS

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6 category.

First also shared with other operators a special award for the ‘Planning and Execution of Bus and Coach Transport for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,’ while Operations Manager, Mick Coombes finished runner up in the Olympics Heroes Award.

Arriva the Shires’ Russell Cato was honoured with the 2012 Engineer of the Year title, while Brighton & Hove’s popular Ron Hayes won The Unsung Heroes Award. Bus Driver of the Year went to trent barton’s Allan Gilmour. www.coachandbusweek.com

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1: Top National Bus Driver – Yon Capitch (Traffilog) and Alan Gilmour of trent barton. 2: Special Award – John Owen, Chairman UKBA and Norman Baker MP. 3: Top London Bus Driver Colin Opher (TfL) and Roy Lambe, Go-Ahead London.

4: Unsung Hero – Ron Hayes, Brighton & Hove. 5: Highly Commended – Marketing Excellence, Green Line 757 Linsey Frostick, Arriva The Shires. 6: Young Manager of the Year, Tom Morgan, trent barton.

7: CBW table. 8: Highly Commended – Outstanding Service, 2012 Games, Caroline Ward, Arriva London

7 trent barton’s Tom Morgan scooped the Young Manager prize, while First Manchester’s Jeff Clayton was runner up.

The results were announced before an audience of almost 700 industry movers and shakers at a glittering ceremony at the London Hilton on Park Lane on Tuesday 20 November. The finalists were chosen from over 270 entries by panels of independent judges.

Congratulating all the successful finalists, UK Bus Awards Chairman John Owen commented: “Our winners cover the wide range

of disciplines involved in the bus industry. Our aim is to recognise and reward projects and organisations which are really pushing the boundaries in terms of innovation, marketing and technology but, crucially, to focus on the people and the partnerships keeping the wheels turning 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We still live in challenging economic times, yet the bus industry has continued to innovate and invest for the future. The record number of entries for this year is testament to the commitment

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8 continually to raise the bar in terms of service quality in this, the Awards’ 17th year.”

The prizes at this year’s UK Bus Awards were presented by Bus Users UK Chairman Gillian Merron, while the ceremony was compered

by Jane Hill, one of the BBC News team of experienced newsreaders.

Not to be forgotten was the rather jovial Keynote Address given

by Norman Baker MP. For full details of winners and runners up, visit www. ukbusawards.org.uk.

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GROUP PROFILE › FIRST

First Part 1 Coach & Bus Week’s James Day sets the scene for the inaugural part of in-depth look at FirstGroup’s bus and coach operations and includes interviews with First London MD and the group’s Engineering Director

First:

a brief history

PART ONE

Aberdeen bus operations can be traced back to 1833, when the first regular bus service to run on a fixed timetable route operated with an experimental steam bus.

Unfortunately, the service ended when the boiler exploded.

Horse-drawn buses were reintroduced in 1850 while in 1874 Aberdeen horse trams were introduced, eventually supplanting other operations. Aberdeen Corporation bought the horse tramways in 1898, extending the route network.

The first motor bus service started in the city in 1900, although it was short lived.

In 1958 Aberdeen Corporation Transport Department abandoned trams and started bus-only operations. As a result of local government reorganisation, in 1975 Aberdeen Corporation Transport became Grampian Regional Transport (GRT).

First’s recent history begins in 1985, when Moir Lockhead joined GRT as General Manager.

He was formerly Chief Engineer at Strathclyde Buses in Glasgow.

In autumn 1985, Moir and his team, which included Joe Mackie, were given one year “to get the company in shape,” Joe told CBW, ready for deregulation. “The

The attractive, traditional Aberdeen Corporation Transport livery challenge was moving Grampian from local authority ownership into a commercial business,” he said. “But the biggest challenge and opportunity was the people – getting across that we would be living in a different world, being more customer focused.”

Joe believed bus firms back then had a degree of complacency. There needed to be an attitude change with more attention placed on increasing passenger numbers.

In 1989 Moir lead an employee and management buy-out, forming Grampian Regional Transport Holdings to become the first Scottish municipal bus fleet in private hands.

This paved the way for the inaugural series of acquisitions.

The first of those was Midland

Scottish in 1990 in an £8.5m deal. This was followed by both Leicester CityBus and Northampton Transport in 1993, the former won with a £7.4m bid.

Joe explained: “These were new opportunities as local authorityowned companies were on the market for the first time. We had to be there and seize them.

“We realised we had great chances to grow. The opportunities were coming along sooner than we thought – thick and fast.”

In 1994 GRT was floated on the stock market with a value of £57m.

As the company expanded, Joe explained how they had to stay focused on the services it delivered – First was accountable to its shareholders as well as its passengers. That year also saw

GRT acquire SMT in Edinburgh.

Joe explained GRT had an employee benefit trust, with 5% of profits before tax going into the trust to give employees shares.

People who had worked for the company for a substantial amount of time did very well out of the deal.

A year later GRT merged with Badgerline, an operator based in the South West of England, to form First Bus. A string of further acquisitions followed in the next couple of years. In 1996 First Bus acquired both Greater Manchester operator GM Bus North and Strathclyde Buses, the latter for £110m. These acquisitions made First Bus the largest bus operator in the UK. That year also saw the company branch out into the rail market for the first time, winning the Great Eastern rail franchise, the commuter route linking Essex with London.

In 1997 the operator was renamed FirstGroup, to reflect this move.

FirstGroup also entered the London bus market in 1997, buying CentreWest. It also bought Southampton CityBus and in November that year it became the preferred purchaser of a 51% stake in Bristol Airport.

The company doubled its size in 1998 with the acquisition of Great Western Holdings, the operator of Great Western trains.

Joe Mackie was very positive

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T

he time has come for the last of our big five super features, with the focus this time falling, somewhat ironically, on FirstGroup. This is part one of our in depth coverage on the firm traditionally viewed as the UK’s largest bus operator.

Andrew sampled First’s rail operations on board the famous Caledonian Sleeper train when he travelled to Aberdeen. He met Avril Gill, Group Marketing Manager, to discuss the operator’s charity work and the selection process involved.

He also saw David Liston, UK Bus Business Efficiency and Engineering Director, where he heard about the division’s efforts to improve efficiency and its commitment to training and apprenticeships.

Andrew also interviewed Joe Mackie, First Aberdeen Commercial Director, on the history of the company, which you can see below.

He’s the last serving member of the original management team from Grampian Regional Transport and is known for his involvement with UK Bus Driver of the Year and First Heritage Trust, among other things.

There will be more from Andrew’s Scottish travels to come in part two early next year.

Alex travelled to First’s offices in Paddington to meet Adrian Jones, MD of First London. The discussion focused predominantly on safety and training, but also covered the firm’s relationship with TfL and the role First played during the Games.

Our contributor Tim Deakin spoke to Maureen Richmond, Director of Media Relations in First’s North American division, to gain some insight into the rarely featured overseas business. His coverage includes Greyhound, Bolt

Bus, and First Transit, as well as the operators school bus work.

James interviewed relatively new recruit Jeroen Weimar, Chief Operating Officer for UK Bus, to find out about the Better Journeys for Life initiative and the importance of customer service. He also returned to Norwich, the city of his university days, to meet Nigel Barrett and Steve Wickers of First South East and Midlands to learn about the recently launched new network, which includes coloured route branding and more cross city services.

As always, these features would not be possible without the aid of some very helpful staff – in this case Public Relations Manager Niall Dowds, who has been responsible for organising just about every interview and visit we’ve made.

Thanks also go out to Chelsea De Silva at First South East and Midlands for her help organising visit to First’s Norwich operations.

the commercial UK market, with the first operation commencing in Yorkshire in January 2002.

2002 also saw the operator start running the UK’s first city-wide Park & Ride scheme in York.

First started trialing hydrogenpowered buses in London in 2003, in partnership with TfL and the EU. Its US operations also expanded that year, with the $22.5m purchase of Coach USA’s transit division, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stagecoach Group. The business operates buses on behalf of transport authorities in states such as California, Florida and New York.

The next major development within bus “almost doubled the size of FirstGroup overnight,” according to Joe Mackie. It was the acquisition of Laidlaw in 2007, the largest

operator of yellow school buses in North America and the operator of Greyhound buses.

In 2008 FirstGroup announced its record set of financial results, with profit for year ending March 31, 2008 being £360.1m.

Sir Moir Lockhead stepped down as CEO on October 31, 2010, and was succeeded by Tim O’Toole.

Before Tim’s appointment he was a non-executive director on the board. Joe said: “Tim had the experience of running transport in the UK as he was CEO of London Underground – he’s had first-hand experience of running a transport operation.

“He is shaping up the business in the Tim O’Toole way and that’s what we would expect to happen.”

Being a company of such

magnitude, First’s journey hasn’t always been smooth. Joe commented: “When you have tried what we have done in the short timescale, there are bound to be mistakes. You have to reflect on mistakes and learn from them but there is no point dwelling.”

Joe’s extensive knowledge of the company comes from his close to 50-year tenure with First and its predecessor. “I got involved when I left school,” Joe said. “I left school on the Friday and started the following Monday. I was an office boy for three years and I spent three years conducting, although my role at the cash office was my first permanent office appointment.”

Joe’s first managerial role came in 1985 as Commercial Manager for Grampian. He worked alongside Colin Smith, Robbie Duncan and Gordon Mills, who were Operations Manager, Financial Manager and Engineering Manager respectively.

Joe believes the decision to keep First’s HQ in Aberdeen is very important. “We’ve been in these same premises since just after the Second World War. It’s fantastic we have managed to keep the headquarters in Aberdeen.

“FirstGroup is an important part of Aberdeen. We’re one of the biggest companies in the city. FirstGroup started out of the corporation transport. It is natural for the HQ to be in Aberdeen.”

First Tridents and Volvo B7TLs dominate the centre of Norwich

towards Moir. “It was Moir’s drive and ambition which pushed the company forward,” Joe explained.

“He had the vision and self confidence to grow the business when the opportunities arose.”

The last two years of the 20th century saw FirstGroup move out of the UK for the first time. In 1998 the firm took a 26% stake in New World First Holdings to run 86 bus routes criss-crossing Hong Kong, while in 1999 FirstGroup entered the US market with the purchase of Bruce Transportation for $36m. Furthermore, it became the second largest operator of yellow school buses in North America with the purchase of Ryder Public Transportation Services.

This purchase brought with it two new First businesses; First Transit, running city buses in the US, and First Services, maintaining public sector transport fleets.

The Hong Kong operations were sold in 2000, with the company making a £14m profit on its original £24m investment.

FirstGroup also extended its yellow bus operations to Canada at the turn of the millennium, buying the Hertz Bus Company, Canada’s third largest, with 735 vehicles.

The company sold its stake in Bristol Airport in 2001 to Macquarie Bank Limited and a Spanish firm.

In June of that year, First announced orders for the first 20 US-style yellow school buses for

Moir Lockhead: quick to spot opportunities for growth

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FACE TO FACE › DAVID LISTON

NAME: David Liston AGE: 41 OCCUPATION: Business Efficiency and Engineering Director, First Bus CONTACT: 01224 650000 www.firstbus.co.uk

The firm has modified a bus for use as an engineering training class

Engineering a brighter future Andrew Cream speaks to First Bus Business Efficiency and Engineering Director David Liston to find out about his career progression, life in North America, vehicle procurement and improvements to his division www.coachandbusweek.com

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D

avid Liston has been in the industry for over 25 years.

He started as an apprentice fitter in 1987 at Yorkshire Rider in Halifax, right after deregulation took hold. He admitted he wasn’t necessarily looking for engineering work after education. “You leave school and ask ‘what do you want to do?’”

David mused. “But I had a great time as an apprentice.”

He was particularly enthusiastic about Yorkshire Rider’s career progression plan, stating: “The company was really good at providing options.”

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“At the end of my apprenticeship, I was a bit of a bright spark and asked if I could go to university,” he said, tongue in cheek. “I was lucky enough to be able to go to university in Bradford and study mechanical engineering. It was fully funded by Yorkshire Rider.”

David then was appointed Fleet Engineer at York, a position he held for a couple of years. He said: “It was a massive learning curve for me. It allowed me to really get into what the job involved.”

In 1997 he was appointed Group Engineering Manager, working under Ray O’Toole, the Engineering Director at the time. He dealt with technical problems and company policy, looking at issues from an

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engineering perspective.

David was then given the chance to work with the UK Bus MD, Robbie Duncan. He said: “This role was about looking at the big picture, focusing on the commercial side of engineering and looking at how it worked in the regions.”

American school buses

In 2000 David went to the USA. “I was asked to do some troubleshooting,” he explained. “I looked at problems involving costs and engineering performance. I had to consider what was going wrong and put together an action plan.

“Then they wanted me to stay and deliver it. At the age of 29 I was Vice President for First Student

Transport, which operated around 10,000 vehicles at the time.

“Going out there was a great opportunity – it was a fantastic learning curve. I spent four years in that role, based in St Louis and Cincinnati.”

As a Group, the company was just learning about acquisitions and the USA in general. In David’s time there the operations grew to 15,000 vehicles. It operated in 34 states and was regularly expanding.

David explained how First had inherited the previous company’s truck policies, so they had to create a bus division on a blank canvas.

“There is a fantastic culture over there,” David continued. “There is a real sense of pride in the school bus

industry. At the point of transition from Ryder Trucks, staff were after direction, clarity and leadership and we were able to empower them, making it a really good environment to work in.”

David’s role focused on “systems, policies and procedures – and the general engineering side of things.”

“This was the whole of North America,” he added. “It’s a massive place and the school bus division is a massive industry. We had to put an infrastructure in place to manage that. There can be a huge disparity in such a big area but we needed to have the same standards no matter where it was. You still have a framework to follow.”

One of the most challenging

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FACE TO FACE › DAVID LISTON

jobs David could recall was when the company took over a contract in Jacksonville, FL just 12 weeks before school started, but still managed to get everything in place in time. “I am proud to say we always delivered,” he enthused.

“Even in Alaska. We successfully got everything in place, evey time.”

Back to the UK

In 2003 David got a call to come back to Britain. He explained: “Initially I said no, I wanted another three or four years in North America. I felt at the time our team could conquer anything and I’d only just got going. Looking back though, it was absolutely the right decision to come back.

“I was asked to help recruit for the role I’m in now, but it was difficult to find someone who could run big fleets.”

David ended up taking on the role himself. He found First Bus’ engineering side had a lot of work to be done. “A number of issues were identified,” he said.

“We went through too many PIs. The guys were working really hard but they had no sense of direction or common standards and this came back to haunt us.”

David wanted to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. “It was back to square one,” he added.

“Getting those systems, policies and procedures and best practice in place. We also got the Engineering Directors working as a team.

“We looked to ramp up fleet investment and build up a strong relationship with VOSA. I think over the years there had been a lack of open communication with VOSA regarding our performance. We asked them where they thought our problems were.

“It was time to put the basics back in place. By 2006/07 we had established a set of core standards and had achieved a good degree of delivery compliance – we could start looking towards the future. We then had to ask ourselves, ‘do we want to be as we are or do we want to deliver world-class engineering in the bus industry?’

“It’s all about lean continuous improvement, which ties in well with the Group’s Blueprint for Growth and delivering Better Journeys for Life.”

He believes there are still a few things to do to improve. “We’re building on our engineering effectiveness and getting things right first time,” he added. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Above: First’s engineering training bus. Below: David Liston started his working life at Yorkshire Rider

“We’re assessing each member of staff.

We’ve got training packs for everybody and our employees have collectively completed over 5,000 training days in the last 12 months.”

David Liston One aspect David feels the company has nailed is its training.

For example, the firm has modified one of its buses for use as an engineering training class. David believes if you get the basics right, the rest will follow.

“It’s about setting the bar at the right level,” he explained. “If you carry out the right first time inspection and repair, it reduces problems further along the line. Engineers need to find and diagnose things first time – get the diagnosis right at the point of inspection. They are very simple principals.”

To help improve the quality of inspections, First assessed all 350 of its dedicated vehicle examiners.

David said: “I’m pleased to say the pass rate was very high and what we identified was that it was more about creating the right environment to carry out the process than out and out base skills.

That gave us encouragement.

“Over the last 18 months we have given them all training courses to create a common standard for

inspecting at UK Bus.” The company is also getting all of its examiners IRTE certified. So far over 250 have been awarded the accreditation but all will be by the end of the fiscal year.

David said: “I believe we are the first industry partner with this accreditation.

“It brings professionalism to the job we do. What we really want to drive is that sense of pride and ownership in maintaining vehicles for our passengers.

“We’re assessing each member of staff. We’ve got training packs for everybody and our employees have collectively completed over 5,000 training days in the last 12 months.”

First has recorded some good improvements recently. In the last year the operator has seen a 15% reduction in both breakdowns and driver defects while London alone has recorded a 45% reduction.

It’s not just the maintenance side First is improving. The company is also training its managers, and has put 190 of its managers through leadership courses.

Fleet upgrading

David explained the company takes a very pragmatic approach to vehicle procurement. He sees two main reasons why First would invest in new vehicles – to maintain a particular average fleet age or for growth – but highlighted some other factors which might come into play.

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FACE TO FACE › DAVID LISTON

“When investing, we take into account average age, cost profiles, fleet rationalisation, relationships with local authorities etc,” he said.

“It used to be a case of depots were told what they got. But these days we have a much more collaborative process with the Regional teams so we can meet our overall objectives.

“We find out whether vehicles are needed for growth or whether regions are looking to cascade.

We need to align decisions with business requirements, to ensure we can exploit growth opportunities.”

Regarding what vehicles First buy, David said: “We focus on the type of vehicle required (double or single decker) more so than the manufacturer so we can stimulate growth from a commercial perspective.”

The operator has a robust tendering process. It looks closely at fuel economy and tests buses at the Millbrook proving ground to validate manufacturers’ claims.

“We ask for a lot of information from the supplier; for example MPG, life cycle costs and the mechanics behind the vehicle,” David said. “We want the most fuel efficient, the most maintainable and the most reliable buses.”

The company is currently carrying out a massive training programme for its staff and has benefited from reductions in breakdowns and driver defects

Apprenticeships

Improving bus design

In the last few years, First has started a programme called ‘Bus of the Future’. The company went back to basics, asking the question ‘what is a bus designed to do?’

David explained how bus fuel economy has essentially gone backwards in the main, due to heavier vehicles, although they are more technically advanced.

“We want a bus to weigh less,” he said. “Some of the things we analysed opened up our eyes.

“Buses have essentially been built on the back of truck technology, but they serve very different purposes and have very different operating duty cycles. We want to work with manufacturers to make the design of a bus more suitable.

“So we are really looking into how a bus is designed; working with manufacturers like ADL, Wrightbus and Volvo looking at the simple things, like having a separate battery just to start the vehicle, or having one spanner for multiple applications. We’re trying to get manufacturers to think about lightweight, maintainability and reliability in everything they do.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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economy, but battery life is still a bit of an unknown entity, although the technology is still advancing. I do think energy storage is the big issue for any alternative technology to that of traditional internal combustion engines.

“If you purchase a hybrid without any additional funding help, there is an 8.5/9-year investment payback.

It’s a difficult commercial decision without Green Bus Fund support.

“I think the diesel engine is here until at least 2050. There’s a lot which can be done to make vehicles efficient, especially regarding reducing the impact of fossil fuels.

“Hybrids are excellent for certain routes and it’s a good investment when done in a partnership. I expect to see a lot of progress on battery technology over the next few years.

“I believe full battery vehicles are a viable way forward – if the automotive industry can get battery technology right, but I don’t know how far away that is.”

A lot of recent innovation with Wrightbus’ Streetlite, according to David, came from working with First.

Diesel alternatives

When discussing engine technology, David seems relatively cautious about alternatives to diesel.

The firm flirted with CNG buses in Leicestershire years ago, but David said: “The vehicles were prone to a high degree of unreliability and were eventually removed from service.”

The company also has two hydrogen fuel projects on the go.

One is taking place in Aberdeen, where 12 hydrogen-powered buses are being introduced, with four going to First and eight to Stagecoach.

David said: “It’s a fascinating project but currently the cost equates to roughly 1m Euros per vehicle.”

“We’ve dipped our toe in the water with hybrids,” he added.

“We’re taking a considered

“The most enjoyable job I had was on the shop floor. When you diagnose and repair a vehicle you feel you have accomplished something – there is genuinely nothing better. ” David Liston approach. The technology involved is very much cutting edge to the bus industry.”

First is currently operating over 70 hybrids across the UK, with five early generation Wrightbus hybrids in London. “We have had some reliability issues but Wrightbus has provided excellent support,” David remarked. “Overall with our hybrids, we have seen good levels of reliability and fuel

David was keen to highlight the importance of apprenticeships, emphasising that he had a “fantastic apprenticeship” when he started out.

“They are seen as the company’s lifeblood,” he commented. “We have a comprehensive programme now, so we take between 40 and 50 apprentices on per year.

“I am also very keen for apprentices to be given the chance to progress further than the level they are at. I was given opportunities to go into management and I want to give similar opportunities to others – and that’s not just from the engineering perspective.

“We need to professionalise engineering, like within rail and mainland Europe. It’s very important for the industry.”

The good old days

While David has worked his way up to the top of his profession, he still reminisces over his first jobs.

“The most enjoyable job I had was on the shop floor,” he mused. “When you diagnose and repair a vehicle you feel you have accomplished something – there is genuinely nothing better. It’s a lot harder to see how you are adding value when you’re not on the shop floor.

“But there are no barriers to stop what you want to do at First.

You have got training for life. The training is supported no end.”

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OPERATOR PROFILE › FIRST NORWICH

OPERATOR: First South East and Midlands LOCATION: Chelmsford, Essex

I

CONTACT: 08456 020121 www.firstgroup.com/ukbus

The Technicolor Network Coach and Bus Week’s James Day meets Nigel Barrett and Steve Wickers from First South East and Midlands in Norwich, where the city’s largest network shake-up ever has just been rolled out

t’s always nice to return to Norwich. I studied at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and have many fond memories of travelling with huge groups of outrageously dressed drunken students from the campus into the city centre on one of the frequent route 25 First services. When the opportunity to cover the well regarded First Bus operation in my second home came up I jumped at the chance.

After being given a depot tour

by Chelsea de Silva, Regional PR and marketing Manager and Chris Speed, who supervises First’s “Better Journeys for Life” scheme in the area and is affectionately known as “Mr Disney” due to his frequent

Two new Wright Gemini-bodied Volvo B9TLs from the ‘Blue Line,’ with a Plaxton President Dennis Trident and two single decker B7RLEs at Vulcan Road

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family holidays at Disney World, I met Nigel Barrett, Managing Director, and Steve Wickers, Commercial Director, of First South East and Midlands.

FirstNorwich has a fleet of 106 vehicles, with a peak vehicle requirement of 96 and 243 drivers employed. Vehicles are a 60/40 split favouring double-deckers, which are mostly Cumminspowered ex-London Dennis Tridents. The rest of the fleet is largely made up of Volvo B7s and B9s.

The premises First uses are going through a transitional period and as a result the Vulcan Road depot, which services the fleet in Norwich, is currently overworked. Each vehicle is given an MOT standard service every 28 days. It has a

capacity of 30 vehicles, which are based there, but 80 are put through the vehicle wash per night. The vehicle wash itself is one of First’s green initiatives, recycling 90% of the water it uses.

Major works are performed at the Roundtree Way depot.

Currently 15-16 buses are based there, although it is set to become a dedicated premises for engineering and MOTs – a rarity in FirstGroup.

This is expected to reduce the downtime seen when work is outsourced.

Lansdowne Road is where the majority of the Norwich fleet is based. Work on the site has been delayed due to the Olympics, where the depot’s large fuel tank and lockers were being used. While Lansdowne Road is further from

the centre of the city, the potential disadvantage is offset by having a ‘man in the van’ able to do minor repairs and maintenance at the roadside without having to send the vehicle away to Vulcan Road, while a ‘hot bus’ is kept close by to quickly replace a bus which needs to be taken off the route.

Lansdowne Road is also where the First offices will be based in the future. Currently office staff are located in Rouen House with the control centre, but they will make the move to a new building at Lansdowne Road early in the new year.

Route Branding

Recently First’s services in Norwich have undergone major route branding. The buses carry the

FirstNorwich brand, with each major route group given its own colour – pink, green, turquoise, orange, red, blue, yellow or purple.

A large proportion of the Norwich fleet has been branded in this way, but some vehicles have remained colourless, branded ‘Norwich Network,’ allowing them to cover routes where some of the coloured vehicles are not available. On top of the colour branding, the vehicles received refurbishment.

The new network launched on September 23, just in time for the new term at UEA. It was hailed as Norwich’s “biggest network change ever,” with more services going cross-city in response to passenger feedback. There is also a new link between Windham and Aviva, one of the city’s largest

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OPERATOR PROFILE › FIRST NORWICH

employers. The new network is estimated to have brought in 20,000 extra passengers in the first week.

Steve said: “We got the word out using new timetables colour coded with the route branding and use of social media such as Twitter. We also introduced a promotional day ticket, priced at £4 and had staff geared up in hi-vis on the street trying to capture more people.

“Destination displays have also been adjusted to include the line colour, meaning people don’t always have to be in front of the bus to see which line it operates on.”

The new network was in the planning for 11 months and First was keen to have all of its staff involved from the beginning, down to the cleaners making sure the buses were perfect at the network launch.

“The fleet number for every bus is identified with colouring all the way down to its engineering background.” Steve continued. “We had regular team meetings to make sure everyone understood what was changing and held a couple of driver awareness days, but everyone understood why it was changing.

“Customer reaction has been positive. We haven’t had that much feedback despite the region’s call centre being based here which is probably a good thing.”

The University Challenge

The busiest bus corridor in Norwich is route 25, or the blue route as it is now branded. The route is bookended by the UEA campus to the east, going through the centre of the city and the railway station before finishing at a Morrison’s supermarket. It’s tailored perfectly for students, whether they are travelling into the centre in the evening, returning to or from home via train or needing an easy way to transport shopping across the city without a car.

“We have a really good partnership with UEA, which has seen success after success,” Nigel stated. “We speak regularly with travel coordinators at the university and are continuing with the student bus pass.

“There are only a couple of hours a day where it doesn’t operate. It has a five minute headway at peak times in term time, when the X25 service runs, while the 25 and 25a continue to run for the rest of the www.coachandbusweek.com

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Nigel Barrett: a brief history

Above: Nigel Barrett, Regional MD and Steve Wickers, Commercial Director.

Below: Roundtree way will be dedicated to maintenance and MOT work

year at a frequency of every seven to eight minutes.”

With konectbus recently having some articulated Citaros transferred in from elsewhere in the Go-Ahead Group, I was curious as to whether first had considered using the bendy bus on its frequent university service.

Nigel said: “We did think about articulated buses, but the seating capacity isn’t great. I’d rather have people sitting down. Any volume of artics in a historic city such as Norwich can cause problems and they wouldn’t be able to cover most bus corridors.

Steve added: “You get a third more seats on a double-decker. The deckers we have on route 25 are high capacity and students don’t typically struggle with stairs.

“Since it’s our most popular route it uses a new fleet of 11 plate double-deckers.”

International students are a key focus for First, which has held cultural awareness days at UEA. The workshop is aimed at helping

drivers understand the different cultures of foreign students and explain the network to those students if they are unfamiliar with UK bus services.

“We are trying to weave in this knowledge,” Steve explained.

“Groups often didn’t understand the cost of travel and would hand over £20 notes, which could result in delays. There are also some subtle gestures normal for us which can be very rude in other cultures.

“We also use a bespoke rota on Blue Line. This keeps the drivers with this training on the route, which makes sense since it sees far more overseas passengers than elsewhere in the Norwich network.”

Compliance and relationships

According to figures provided

by First on the change in mean scores across the East of England from September 2009 – July 2012, First has seen an improvement in most aspects of its service, particularly in the smoothness

Nigel Barrett has been in the transport industry (primarily bus) for 42 years. He began as a bus conductor on London Transport at the age of 18. During his 25 years at the company, he worked through a wide variety of jobs, including Driver, Inspector, Operations Manager and General Manager.

“Stagecoach bought two East London companies in 1994, and I joined them,” Nigel continued.

“I was sent to Malawi, where I was Commercial Director the Stagecoach operation there for 15 months before it was sold back to government. When I came back, I spent three years as General Manager for South West Trains.

After that I moved north east to be Managing Director of Stagecoach Teeside for 12 months.

“In the North West, two Stagecoach companies, Ribble & Cumbria merged. I managed the business there for five years, before coming back down to London when Stagecoach reacquired its London business and managing it for four years.”

Nigel has now been regional Managing Director of First South East and Midlands for two years.

“I’m enjoying the new challenge,” he said. “The Industry as a whole is a challenge.”

Steve Wickers: a brief history

Steve Wickers joined East Counties Omnibus straight from school in 1987, starting as a Sales Ledger Clark in a finance function. I was involved with the company’s travel shops, of which there were 15-20 across Norfolk and Suffolk.

“The company I was with merged with First in 1995, before it acquired Great Yarmouth Transport in 1996.

“In the end I became Finance and Communications Director for First East Counties in 2008 after about 20 years as an accountant. Really I was a Customer Care Director.

I took it as a challenge – it was an opportunity to spend money at last! 2010 brought further reorganisation, where South East and Midlands came into effect, and I became Commercial Director in May.”

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OPERATOR PROFILE › FIRST NORWICH

of ride and safety of driving.

Only two of 24 categories shown measured a noticeable decrease in score, which were bus stop information and journey length.

Steve said: “Our DriveGreen scheme [using a Greenroad telematics system] has a traffic light system which gives the drivers immediate feedback on their driving.

“We’ve heard about the difference it has made through the call centre, where we’ve had a lot of positive feedback.

“We’re looking to the local authority for assistance on declining areas of our services.

Measures like better bus priority can help us there. Work is starting on priority on Grapes Hill and some new bus lanes. We’re also pushing for some more bus only areas, such as an extension to the bus/taxi only area at Castle Meadow.”

First in Norwich has a good relationship with the local authority. There is an investment plan in place which came out of talks with city and county councils, where First commits resources and vehicles, with the council providing mostly bus friendly infrastructure in return.

“There is talk about a voluntary partnership between us and konectbus with the aspiration for a BRT-style scheme,” Nigel said.

“There could also voluntary low emission zone put in place which would only be avoided by going to the bus station. All of our vehicles meet Euro 3 emissions standards and above so we already meet the criteria if the LEZ comes into effect.”

On top of the cultural awareness days at UEA, First has been rolling out other initiatives for specific passenger groups.

Nigel said: “For Guide Dogs for the Blind we’ve run a day where we made a double-decker available in Chelmsford and brought blind people to the depot. It gets the dogs used to the vehicles and gives the passengers a chance to familiarise themselves too.

“We also offer pre-printed safe journey cards. Passengers can show them to the driver so he is aware of their special requirements and the passengers are not embarrassed at having to ask. They can be printed out and kept with a bus pass.”

Steve added: “For young people, we introduced a revised young persons ticket on September 1. It used to cover 5-15 year olds, but has now been extended to cover ages up to 19. www.coachandbusweek.com

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“It’s a commitment we were able to make through the Better Bus Fund.”

Technology and Investment

The installation of Almex ticketing machines has been a major technological investment across all of FirstGroup, and the South East and Midlands division is no exception. The region has spent £3m on the new machines, which replace 1995 Wayfarers and are

fully ITSO smartcard compliant.

Touch-in touch-out and NFC enabled smartcard are currently undergoing several trials in the region, and Nigel said he doesn’t want to launch the technology in the wrong way.

“We’re looking at how we can incorporate RTI, WiFi and next stop displays, but let’s walk before we run. These things can be bolt ons at a later date, although we’d like something which deals with everything and doesn’t waste space.

“The Plan is to standardise vehicles across all of the bus division, although this can be difficult with some local authorities pushing us with BBF money.”

Sufficient funding from the Green Bus Fund has been allocated to First for it to invest in 23 hybrids across the Essex area. 19 are brand new Volvo 7900 single-deckers for route 100 in Basildon, while the other four are for Chelmsford city network from ADL. Engineering advancements were also highlighted.

“Gone are the days of hammers and screwdrivers,” Nigel said. “We have laptop diagnostic computers with the engineers now, using Data Alchemist. Where you used to have to look up a maintenance manual it’s just a button now.

“All parts which are fitted and all which are faulty are recorded on the system and a whole history of vehicle performance is kept on record. All the part numbers have been added, so when some work needs to be done we can find the component parts needed and order them in quickly.

“All this brings us into the modern era with the right physical and mental tools.”

The outlook

Currently, major works are performed at the Roundtree Way depot

First South East and Midlands: a synopsis

The South East and Midlands division covers a wide area, including First’s operations in Norfolk and Suffolk, along with First’s operations in Essex, Leicester, Worcester and even Hereford, which Nigel said was effectively a bolt-on business. First South East and Midlands operates the most easterly bus depot in the UK, in Lowestoft, just a stone’s throw from the North Sea. Across the whole of First South East and Midlands are 1,100 vehicles, which are based across 21 depots employing approximately 3,000 staff, including 2,500 drivers. The peak vehicle requirement across the entire area is just under 1,000, with depots ranging in size from a 12 vehicle base (Harrich) up around 120. “While we cover a wide area, the division is more like seven small businesses,” Nigel explained. “It’s completely different from one location to another.

“We have seven general managers looking after groups of depots. We can’t easily get around 20 odd depots as a director team.

“Our head office is in Chelmsford, which is where my office is when I get to see it!”

“In this climate, many of our challenges are no different to everyone else,” Nigel stated.

“Because we have no PTEs in the area we cover it’s a bigger challenge to meet some of our compliance targets. We operate in a number of rural areas and don’t have the support of other areas.

As a result we have to make lots of local contacts with lots of local authorities.”

Steve told me First had been shortlisted for a UK Bus Award for the Eurika! Award for marketing initiatives for its new college bus scheme, in partnership with the Essex & Turnoch Local Authority and Ensign Bus. The partnership has since been awarded the runnerup position.

Steve said: “After 25 years in this industry moving from different disciplines, it’s clear the industry is challenging and ever changing.

“I get a buzz from working with the Norwich network to make input which people benefit from.

It’s really rewarding to see how the region has evolved.”

Nigel added: “We’re always looking for new opportunities; aren’t we all?”

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OVERSEAS › NORTH AMERICA

First Transit’s largest fixedroute contract is in Texas, where it runs 213 buses on behalf of Houston Metro

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First across the pond

Tim Deakin finds out about FirstGroup’s extensive operations in North American, which include Greyhound, Bolt Bus, First Transit and its school bus work

F

irst Group is not unique amongst the five big operators profiled in CBW to have interests in the US and Canadian passenger transport markets. However, on a continent where size is everything, its presence is by some margin the largest, several times bigger than the group’s road-based operations in the UK. It encompasses many areas of transport-related business, but bus and coach dominaftes.

“We are the largest provider of student and ground transportation in North America,” said Maureen Richmond, Director of Media Relations, talking to CBW last week. The size of First Student’s yellow school bus operation on the continent alone is staggering: 54,000 vehicles operated throughout the United States and Canada, with all driving, supervisory and maintenance staff employed by the Aberdeen-based company.

Ownership of this equipment is split; some examples are First’s property, others are not. Combined, these vehicles carry 6m young passengers every school day. But it’s perhaps not the yellow bus arm which is highest-profile amongst First’s diverse pool of work across the Atlantic.

Thoroughbred revitalised

That honour instead goes to Greyhound, the world-famous American icon of long-distance coach travel, which can trace its origins back almost a century to a small town in Minnesota. Today its fleet covers 5.6bn miles and carries 18m passengers annually, the latter figure rising by 400,000 during the most recent financial year despite increased competition from other providers.

Greyhound came into First’s ownership during 2007 following its purchase of Laidlaw in a deal which also brought considerable expansion to the school bus arm.

“Greyhound has a great story to

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tell,” said Maureen. “It’s such an iconic brand, which has transported generations of family members.”

Nevertheless, during the couple of decades prior to it becoming part of First, ‘the dog’ had fallen into quite a rut.

“There was a stereotype associated with Greyhound,” she admitted. “But we saw an opportunity to change it and introduce the service to people who might not have tried it before.” Key to First’s bid to turn Greyhound’s fortunes around was a comprehensive rebranding from its earlier white-based livery towards the smart two-tone blue which has also appeared on the UK’s roads.

Three-quarters of its 1,825 coaches carry the new identity, which should become universal in the near future.

“We began to introduce the new livery in 2008 with 100 new buses,” Maureen continued. These were produced in Canada by Prevost and represented a stepchange, not only from Greyhound’s traditional manufacturer Motor Coach Industries and in external appearance, but also in relation to their on-board facilities for passengers.

“They have a wide variety of amenities,” she explained. These include a reduction in capacity from 56 to 51 allowing a greater seat pitch, on-board WiFi and at-seat power points. “They’re the kind of things people are coming to expect from public transport,” Maureen noted. It is indeed true that many airlines in the North American market and rail services, where they exist, often feature both the latter.

The improvements seen so far have generated a good response from passengers. “It appeals to our existing demographic but also opens services up to other parties, such as young professionals,” she explained. “We have seen an increase in traveller numbers. The new coaches and amenities along with current economic times have all helped.”

The latter point might seem

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OVERSEAS › NORTH AMERICA

a strange one; a struggling economy would on first glance seem to be a bad recipe for increased patronage. Yet this is not the case with Greyhound. Improvements to services were introduced just as the global crisis began to bite, with many travellers who may have previously used other modes seeing Greyhound’s product as a value-formoney option when belts became tightened.

“I am confident introducing them at the time we did was beneficial. It has exposed Greyhound to a whole new demographic,” Maureen said.

The key, of course, will be whether it is able to retain those passengers when the inevitable happens and economic stability returns. Again, the added on-board amenities for travellers come into play here and she is upbeat about them staying with Greyhound.

Express evolution

An offshoot of Greyhound’s core established business is Greyhound Express, which began serving a potentially huge market in the United States’ northeast during 2010. This arm, which operates “somewhat independently,” said Maureen, presents two principal differences from the long-standing network, known as ‘legacy’ services, and currently serves 80 markets.

“Greyhound Express offers fewer stops,” she explained. “It only makes one or two, against what can sometimes be quite a few on a legacy service.” Additionally, passengers are guaranteed a seat on the particular service they book; in what may seem a strange practice to UK operators this isn’t always the case with legacy services and customers can end up having to wait for the next departure if the one they booked on is full and no

additional vehicle can be provided.

“We’ve received a fantastic response to Greyhound Express,” Maureen revealed, confirming passengers were particularly happy with the improved journey times thanks to the reduced number of stops. The offshoot makes use of the new vehicles delivered since First became the company’s owner and is poised for further expansion.

“We’ve really found Greyhound Express to be a good proposition for the business.”

Bolting ahead

A similar story of growth into a sector not previously served by Greyhound has been recorded

by Bolt Bus. As with Greyhound Express, this was founded in the northeast United States and hit the road in 2008. Operating a fleet of mainly 51-seat Prevost coaches with the same high level of on-board facilities offered by those carrying Greyhound livery, Bolt Bus’s fleet is immediately identifiable through its eye-catching orange and black scheme.

“Bolt Bus was introduced initially as a commuter offering,” Maureen explained. “The market in the northeast was ripe for a different type of service.” The demand among young professionals commuting to and from the major cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC is large but this has traditionally been met by coaches which make numerous stops. Bolt Bus, like Greyhound Express, calls at only a handful of points.

One of Bolt Bus’s strongest marketing points is its tagline ‘Bolt for a buck’, generated in reference to the availability of $1 seats. “It’s important to note there are dollar fares available on every service,”

Maureen said. “Certainly not a bus full of them but at least one on every departure.”

Yield management techniques utilised by low-cost airlines ensure the operation’s economics stack up.

Following its success in the northeast, the Bolt Bus concept was expanded to another part of the United States. “We took a look at the demographic in the northwest and saw much the same in Seattle and Portland. There are a lot of young professionals there,” Maureen explained. Both cities are home to a large number of technology-related businesses.

Although Bolt Bus’s venture into the northwest – which again uses Prevost vehicles – began by running between Seattle and Portland, it quickly expanded north into Canada with a number of journeys serving Vancouver. “It’s doing well,” she added. A particular positive for Bolt Bus’s operations bordering the Pacific is because the region’s rail links, in contrast to those between Boston and Washington, DC, are poor.

On the east coast Bolt Bus has recently been well placed to pick up more business thanks to a huge federal clampdown on less reputable ‘Chinabus’ operators.

Many of these low-cost companies, which ran between large cities’ Chinatowns, hence the colloquial name, had poor safety records and a number were shut down earlier in the year following a spate of serious accidents involving their vehicles.

“Passenger numbers [on Bolt Bus] have increased in these areas, but it’s challenging to measure,” said Maureen. “I anticipate it’s one of the main factors. At Bolt Bus we have a very good reputation for vehicle servicing and driver training. Our safety record is stellar.

Passengers know it and decide to give us a try based on our good name. Bolt Bus’s reputation speaks for itself. It is founded on safety.”

Weighing up Bolt Bus and Greyhound Express, there would seem to be a large amount of commonality between the two. So why keep them separate? “Although there will always be crossover, there are certain markets which are more suited to one brand vs. the other,” she explained. “We also evaluate whether terminal or kerbside operations make better sense for the particular market.”

The latter is an important distinction. Bolt Bus picks up and drops off entirely at street stops and never ventures into the sometimes huge coach stations found throughout its east coast operating area. “In locations like the east and west coasts, a kerbside service is a perfect fit. Keeping the two brands separate allows us to reach a wider audience and meet their specific travel needs.”

Transit operations

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Although Greyhound and Bolt Bus may be the most eye-catching and the enormous yellow school bus operation by far the largest component, another key and

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continue to put their best foot forward in regards to price and service.”

First Transit’s largest fixed-route commitment is in Texas, where it operates 213 vehicles on behalf of Houston Metro, staffed with 470 employees. It has an annual ridership of 13.6m. As a bigger picture, First Transit’s combined fleet of 10,600 buses covers 356m miles annually and carries 300m passengers through the same period.

Vehicles used by First Transit usually remain the property of the contracting body, and this is where another of First North America’s business arms is relevant. First Vehicle Services maintains more than 38,000 pieces of equipment – “anything with a motor,” Maureen mentions – from buses to police cars, snowblowers, lawnmowers and rubbish trucks at premises in 86 locations. “There are a couple of contracts which are maintenanceonly for school buses,” she adds.

Business consultation First’s Greyhound (above) operation is famous but less well known is its Foothill Transit work (below) expanding element of First North America is its First Transit business, which can trace its origins back to 1955.

In many ways the North American local bus market is like the UK’s thirty years ago, before privatisation and deregulation.

Dominated by state- and cityowned agencies, services are run by publicly-owned organisations, often to a very high standard and with low fares, yet not in an overly efficient manner. Much public money is absorbed in their provision.

First Transit is in a position to help those who want to get more ‘bang for their buck’, through taking over the operation of parts of, or entire, transit networks. It has a presence in 236 locations throughout all but a handful of the contiguous 48 states and Puerto Rico.

Besides conventional fixedroute bus services First Transit also handles contracts as diverse as those encompassing airport shuttle duties, prisoner transfers and University transport amongst a number of other types of work.

It is also active in the demandresponsive paratransit market, which serves the needs of less-able

First.NAmerica.indd 35

travellers unable to use buses. The largest contract for such a service is in Nevada, where 340 vehicles are operated on behalf of the city of Las Vegas, providing 1.16m annual trips with a staff of approximately 560.

As with expansion of Greyhound and Bolt Bus operations in North America, economic strife has pushed First Transit’s product to the front of minds which may not otherwise have considered it previously. “The current climate requires people to look at where they can be more efficient,” Maureen outlined. “Contracting with First Transit removes many overheads. We have purchasing

power, can offer economies of scale and have greater knowledge.”

“No two contracts are the same,” she continued. Dependent on the stipulations of individual agreements First Transit can offer a variable degree of service level, from one based entirely on keen pricing through to a commitment more angled at continuing to provide a high-quality product.

“I expect the trend [towards outsourcing] to continue,” Maureen explained. “But it’s a competitive marketplace. There are some major players out there and some secondary providers as well. But our development people will

Perhaps least visible to an outsider, but still an important part of the whole makeup of the business, is First Transit’s Consulting Services arm. This deals with parties interested in finding out facts related to potentially outsourcing their transport requirement. “It’s information sharing. We can offer people that,” Maureen explained.

“But it’s a long-term process.

We’re trying to educate people on the benefits of outsourcing.

It’s growing a bit as many [local authorities] are struggling financially. They have to look into it.” Nevertheless in some cases these bodies may decide contracting out some or all of their transport requirements is not an avenue they wish to go down.

For others, it is something they do choose to pursue but the transformation from public to private sectors rarely happens overnight. “From the initial conversation it can be two or three years before they’re in a position to issue a Request for Purchase document,” Maureen revealed.

First Consulting can offer a complete service to interested parties, based on its many years of experience in the business. A look at a map provided by its corporate website shows the large number of customers who have chosen to take up its services; don’t bet against more following in the future.

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THE BIG PICTURE

For this week’s Big Picture, we thought we’d go for something a little different – a night photo.

The scene was snapped by CBW Editor Gareth Evans at 1930hrs on Wednesday, October 10 after arriving back at Peterborough railway station forecourt on the train from Kings Cross.The driver was somewhat bemused initially but chatted away after Gareth told him who he was and that he too used to drive buses and coaches for a living. In his best tradition, it’s a ‘jaunty’ shot. It was also taken without the aid of a tripod.

Turning to the bus itself, registered ‘AU58ECA’, the First Eastern Wright Gemini-bodied Volvo B9TL carries fleet no.37563. The vehicle is branded for the X1, which links Peterborough with Lowestoft, via King’s Lynn, Swaffham, Norwich and Great Yarmouth. At no fewer than 105 miles long, the route surely ranks as one of, if not the longest regular bus route in the UK. Having survived so long as a through service, it operates to a half-hourly daytime frequency – although the end-to-end journey takes four and a half hours.

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INSIGHT › FIRST LONDON

Best of both in London Coach and Bus Week’s Alex Tyler talks to First London Managing Director Adrian Jones about the group’s safety initiatives and its relationship with Transport for London

F

irst London’s offices are located in Macmillan House in London Paddington Station and I couldn’t help but feel a little cheeky about discussing buses whilst surrounded by trains.

Once I had negotiated a formidable set of stairs, after which I was informed with no small amount of mirth that I could have taken the lift, I was greeted

by Adrian Jones, the Managing Director of the FirstGroup London Region operations.

The group established itself in London around 1996 after it acquired Centrewest followed

by Capital Citybus which were re-organised into one brand, First London. This was split into two areas, First London West and First London East, which run tendered services for Transport for London (TfL). While operators across the country are feeling the bite of the recession, Adrian was confident it was business as usual for First London.

“The bulk of our operation is contracted to TfL so from that point of view I wouldn’t say we are immune to the downturn because contracts change,” he explained.

“But in the short term we’ve seen no revenue change. Business is steady and stable as we would expect.”

TfL and Tendering

“The relationship is a good one between ourselves and TfL and though they are a regulatory

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authority, we can work in a partnership as well,” said Adrian.

“The tendering process has stood the test of time and since 198687 it has managed to deal with expansion within the network and recession. It’s quite a robust system.

We are able to work out any issues we might have.”

Asked how First goes about the tendering process he said: “We have a strategy for each of our depots. We have a target list of priority routes which we go for, other operators may be different, but there’s no point in bidding for every route if you’re not geographically suited to it or are in with little chance of actually winning it.

“We were recently awarded the 425, N50 and the N551 which are due to start in June 2013 operating from our Lea Interchange Depot, which is a positive result for us.”

First London covers both regulated and deregulated sections of the industry but there is no deviation in management styles.

“We exist as three entities, First London East and First London West which are the services tendered by TfL and the Berkshire business to the west of London which operates in a deregulated environment.

All of them come under the same board of directors, including myself, Financial Director Jim Dow and Engineering Director Satnam Cheema, we don’t treat them any differently, it’s just in terms of TfL we deal with them as different entities,” explained Adrian.

“When I took over the post

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INSIGHT › FIRST LONDON

we restructured and put a General Manager in each location as the go to person at the depot, who have P and L and KPI responsibility locally.”

Though the majority of First London is regulated Adrian spoke with great pride about the deregulated services: “Berkshire is a good business and has a good portfolio of different types of operations. It’s well managed and currently going through a transformation process to take it up to the next level through Better Journeys for Life and our Blueprint for Growth programmes. I’m very pleased with it indeed.”

“Additionally, Greenline has been good and consistently an area of growth.”

Safety and training

Safety for employees and passengers is clearly top of FirstGroup’s agenda and this was highlighted by the fact Adrian had just returned from the FirstGroup Annual Safety Conference. “We practice what we preach,” he enthused. “First has a simple message, ‘If you cannot do it safely, don’t do it.’”

“Every member of staff, from Tim O’Toole to the cleaners, has their own Injury Prevention booklet.

The idea is the booklet is a tool to record safety conversations, so if we were to have a discussion about something positive or negative on the safety front, I would record that in your book. It’s not all about negatives, like walking up and saying for example you’re in trouble because you’ve not worn your high vis, it’s about positive things and saying well done too.”

“It can also be used to report hazards and risks,” he added. “As it’s all recorded with a proper feedback loop in place. We’ve found it has changed our safety culture across the whole business.

In 2007 our ‘over three days lost due to injury’ (sic) rate, was 16.8 per 1,000 employees, it is now 1.9 per 1,000. So there’s been dramatic improvement in safety performance. Safety is integral, it’s not just a gimmick, it’s essential for business and for First employees it’s part of our DNA now.”

Passenger safety and wellbeing is promoted by the company’s popular Safe Journey Cards.

“It started in our passenger safety month and the idea is that it is a card which individuals can show to the driver if they have any particular needs

Adrian Jones believes he gets the best of both regulated and deregualted environments in the London region

Adrian Jones: a brief history

Adrian joined First in 1997 as Operating Manager at Alperton Garage. He managed various depots in London, before becoming Area Manager for First London East followed by Head of Service Delivery and then Operations Director, becoming MD in 2007.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a career in the bus industry in London and be promoted from within,” he said. “I started with London Transport when I left school. In 1987 I was selected to go on to the LT management scheme, as it was then, where you spent two years on attachments to various departments learning new skills. I was a driver at Camberwell, a revenue inspector and roadside inspector in South East London and so on. I came out of that process as an Assistant Operating Manager at Plumstead Garage. Soon after I was asked to cover as General Manager at the old Orpington Buses, which was then branded as Roundabout, and from there, over the next few years I managed

Orpington, Bromley and Catford.

This was part of Selkent District and I owe a lot to the MD Bryan Constable and Operations Director Ken Glazier who not only taught me a great deal but showed faith in me as a young manager. We were acquired in 1994 by Stagecoach, so I had three years with them before the time was right to take on a new challenge in 1997 and took over at Alperton. I’ve been fortunate to get good experience at various levels and having managed garages, I’ve been fully involved with the people side which I feel is the best bit.

“The job still manages to surprise me and bring new challenges and I’ve been very lucky over the last six years as MD to have a good team around me. We’ve put a structure in place which works well with our General Managers and in the last few years I’ve stepped up onto the UK Bus Board so I now get a wider view and am able to contribute on a national level.

“There have been some real challenges, like the last day of the Olympics when the recycling plant next door to our Dagenham depot caught fire. In the end, we had to shut down the site for 48-hours,

so the whole depot decanted up to a new site at Barking, the First Games Transport site, and we didn’t lose a single mile. It just goes to show the sort of stuff the team here is able to deal with.

“I’ve thought about leaving London but the opportunity has never come up to move from here. It’s one of those areas where you think you’ll develop yourself personally and then take on something outside of the city, but at the moment I get the best of both worlds running this and our Berkshire business. The skills you gain are transferrable though even to other sectors – First has been excellent in the continuous personal development training and I have been able to achieve Chartered Director status with the IoD. I wouldn’t say I’m in my comfort zone here however, as there’s always things which need to be done. I wouldn’t ever close the door to it though as I’ve still got plenty of good years left in me yet.”

Both Adrian and colleague Keith Rogers are running in next years’ London Marathon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. To sponsor them visit www.justgiving. com/adrianandkeithrunlondon

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INSIGHT › FIRST LONDON

or difficulties,” said Adrian. “For example, you could say, I am little unsteady on my feet can you give me a little more time to sit down, or could you tell me when we arrive at wherever. We are now doing a different version for people with learning difficulties and also looking at something with braille for the blind as well. It’s has proven popular with customers and drivers, so much so we appear to have run out of them altogether.

Whenever we go to groups we take some along and they snap them up straight away.”

“TfL is interested in using it as well and Leon Daniels who was involved with introducing these at First has taken the idea with him to TfL,” he enthused. “Discussions are due to take place with CPT also, to see if we can roll it out across the UK in a similar way to the mobility scooter code, where people sign up to it, so watch this space.”

As an extension of passenger wellbeing, every London bus has CCTV provided by 21st Century, the more recent versions which can be monitored remotely. First London has a number of CCTV suites in depots which are used to download information, and five specialist engineers on hand to make sure the system is kept in top condition.

“The system is vitally important,” he said “We are finding that across the Group not just here in London it’s invaluable for claims handling, but dealing with incidents also.”

Asked if passengers are worried about security he replied: “There certainly used to be issues about personal security on buses, which is something TfL has invested in heavily with the introduction of safer transport teams. They have worked with operators to bring down vandalism.”

“We had a campaign about two years ago to reduce window etching,” he continued. “It used to be quite a blatant thing which was going on, it’s very unsightly and puts people off bus travel. But by working with TfL we have more or less eradicated it. Any new etching we find we report it, evidence is collected and individuals are prosecuted. I think with a concerted effort you can improve security and I think the level of confidence in transport in London has increased, there are certainly fewer crimes than there were in the past and the rate continues to drop.”

Alongside technology and initiatives, First London works www.coachandbusweek.com

First.London.indd 42

with organisations locally to ensure quality of service.

“We work with quite a lot of groups, certainly too many to mention. Because they are all local we encourage our garage managers to go out and visit them. We have been working recently with Mencap and residents and elderly persons groups in the Uxbridge area,” said Adrian.

“We were encouraged by TfL to do this as well, it wasn’t just our own initiative. We attended a session entitled thinking outside the bus, where all the MDs went along and met various different user groups. We are encouraging this sort of thing more and more.

We have had user groups down to our driving training school to talk to instructors and give their point of view.”

To bolster this, First has an extensive driver training programme which is conducted at its own academy at Willesden Junction.

“Our driver training is done in house and we either recruit drivers who don’t hold licenses and train them from scratch or we will take current license holders and train

“The beauty of having a simulator is that you can run a scenario and keep re-running it until the person understands it or gets it right.”

Adrian Jones

them further,” said Adrian. “Our training is quite extensive – we do the BTEC which is bespoke to London, all operators do that and it actually improves the standards of drivers in London. Of course, we do DCPC training aswell, and core safety training as part of their induction which is all done in house, we don’t subcontract. We do contract out some of our driving observations for existing staff, though that’s just to be expedient and to maximise it.”

“Willesden Junction also has a driving simulator, it’s the only one in the UK and we use it for a variety of different things, most recently we’ve been using it to train drivers to deal with cyclists and cycling incidents,” he continued.

“The beauty of having a simulator is you can run a scenario and keep re-running it until the person understands it or gets it right.”

“The other positive thing is it doesn’t use any fuel,” he quipped.

“It’s a good tool and we are proud of the academy, it does good work.”

In addition, drivers are monitored by the company to encourage best practice.

“All our buses are fitted with the Drive Green system,” said Adrian. “It’s from Green Road but we rebranded it ourselves and it’s a great self assessment tool for drivers as they can log in and see how they have driven that particular day or week. We have a rewards system in place too which encourages excellent driving.”

Adrian was keen to stress it was not regarded as a disciplinary tool.

“Normally the temptation is when you give a manager a new toy like

By working with TfL, First London has improved security on its services

this they think it’s a great way to deal with errant drivers, when really it’s a self help tool.

“We get the results, so we can see if somebody needs further training.

The drivers have adopted it and they feel they own it, it’s their result.

It’s reduced passenger injuries and brought down collisions.”

“Also driver quality monitoring scores, the ones done by TfL on the large operators, those with more than 5% of the network, we are the top two in London,” he said.

“You will also spot on our buses that our drivers wear seatbelts,” he added. “We are the only company to specify them as part of the new vehicle design.”

Fleet and Technology

As part of operating in the capital, vehicle types are specified by TfL which influences First London’s fleet composition as Adrian explained.

“In our fleet we dual source with ADL and Wright Volvo. So you’ll see a mix of E400s and E200s for the single deckers alongside Volvo B9s and B7s and so on. We also run some Scanias out of Hayes Depot on route 207 which have performed well. We have a relatively new fleet, but if you look at Berkshire, they haven’t got quite so many new vehicles. We keep our coaches more up to date on the Greenline and RailAir services and we are due to get 10 hybrid Volvo Wright singledeckers to work on the 7 series routes and they will be introduced in March next year.”

In addition to standard vehicles, First London also operates alternative fuel vehicles as part of a partnership agreement with TfL. “We currently have four hydrogen fuel cell buses on RV1 and we have a purpose built maintenance and fuelling facility as part of our Lea Interchange Depot,” said Adrian. “Its TfL’s project and they are naturally taking the lead on it, but we are working as their partner. There are four more to be delivered in 2013 and we anticipate the initiative run until at least 2015.

“We were chosen as partners to operate these vehicles because we had worked with TfL on a previous hydrogen project, the CUTE project, in our old Hackney garage,” he continued. “Following on from then our main contact Alan Coney and his colleague David Yorke have worked very closely with TfL to develop this project.”

In regards to other

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INSIGHT › FIRST LONDON

Over the summer, in addition to its regular services, First London supplied contingency vehicles for the Olympics alternative fuel vehicles in the fleet and the possible expansion of such, he said: “We have a number of hybrid vehicles within our fleet, but it really depends where TfL want to go with the development of hydrogen as this is the only refuelling station in London and the South East, so I think its definitely going to be a decision for them and the Mayor about how they expand it, but if they wanted to, we would be more than happy to support them. They aren’t currently specifying any other vehicle types in terms of alternative fuels, only the hybrid or hydrogen buses but no doubt there will be further trials and projects.” First is also looking foward to the possibility of operating some of the New Buses for London following TfL’s recent purchase of 600 of them.

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First.London.indd 44

training,” he said. “In addition, we have been working with other partners to support the scheme.

Also, the buses are not parked in our standard depot, they are in their own special unit. It’s been challenging for the engineers, but not beyond them and they have had shared experiences with Aberdeen and recently visited California as well. Overall it’s been good for the sharing of knowledge around the company’s operations.”

Best Practice

Asked whether First London still shared best practice with the rest of the Group, Adrian said: “Oh absolutely, there’s actually a lot of commonality, ultimately we operate in a regulated environment so we are contracted on certain things but there are so many things we do which are exactly the same in terms of vehicle engineering and staff allocation and lots of good things safety wise. It’s all shared, we have standard operating procedures which cover the whole Bus Division.”

“We are a strong stable business,”

“The Olympics were good, really good. The buzz around London was great and the atmosphere in the city had changed completely.”

Adrian Jones he added. “We deliver what we forecast in terms of revenue and profit because in a regulated environment it’s far easier to do that as there are more ‘knowns.”

The Olympics

Like many operators in London, First is proud of the role it played over the summer.

“The Olympics were good, really good,” mused Adrian. “The buzz around London was great and the atmosphere in the city had changed completely. The transport side really delivered during the Olympics. The buses, coaches, the tube and the over ground, it all

clicked together really well.

“We suffered pre Olympics with traffic signal changes along the games routes but when the games themselves began the traffic actually settled down except obviously in East London.”

“In terms of what we did, we supplied a lot of contingency buses on a daily basis, which were parked up around the West Ham and Stratford area in case the underground had difficulties” he continued. “First also ran the ODA contract so we had First Games Transport vehicles parked in Hayes and we serviced those in Berkshire and in Slough. In addition, we were able to supply facilities and drivers. It was a great experience and everyone who came back from working on it was really enthusiastic about the improved communications and how good the customers were, as they seemed pleased to be using the vehicles.

Hopefully as a knock on from this, people who don’t normally use buses will come out and say it was a good mode of transport, and use buses again.”

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MARKETING

Going the extra mile Andrew Cream talks to First’s Group Marketing Manager Avril Gill about the firm’s extensive charity work, the Olympics and preparing for the winter weather

H

eading up marketing for such a large company seems like quite a daunting task.

However, due to the scope of potential marketing initiatives, owing to the wide variety of services the company provides, the role must be somewhat diverse.

Based at the company’s headquarters in Aberdeen, Avril Gill sees herself as the pin that joins First’s bus and rail operations together. When asked about her day-to-day activities, Avril laughed.

“Every day is different and that’s why I am still here after 14 years,” she said. “I do travel a lot – I’m in London a couple of times a month and regularly visit our bus and train operating companies across the UK.” She continued: “I have worked my way up through the business.

I have always worked within marketing, although the role has changed as the group has changed.”

Her job has seen her on both the bus and rail side and has also included work for Bristol Airport, when it was under First ownership.

“I have also spent time in the US,” Avril said. “I helped integrate the team over there, following the purchase of Laidlaw International, a huge student transport business, in 2007. That was a big experience; the whole scale of everything was overwhelming.

“It was difficult for the staff being taken over. We had to make sure we communicated with them effectively. This was challenging as they covered such a vast area and they don’t just sit at desks, so email doesn’t work. It was difficult but I think we did a good job. www.coachandbusweek.com

First.Marketing.indd 46

“I still have very regular contact with our team in North America and we share best practice.”

The Olympics

Avril also worked closely with FirstGroup’s Olympics planning team. First created its own brand for the event and a website for its staff, opening up an online channel for drivers to get in touch with each other, sharing information and the like. “The onus was put on drivers to support each other,” Avril

explained. “The feedback has been great and we’re trying to capture that going forward.

“Creating the brand for the Olympics was quite exciting, building a strong identity. It was great when we got it LOCOG approved.”

Avil Gill, Group Marketing Manager, with European Ryder Cup winner Paul Lawrie

Charity work

A large part of Avril’s job revolves around the firm’s extensive charity work. First established a charity and sponsorship committee five years ago. Explaining the reasoning

Top: Save the Children was the Group’s first national charity. Above: First supports charities involved with young people, health or the environment

behind this, Avril said: “We received a lot of requests from across the country – it was very hard to say no and was also hard to keep on top of.

We knew there was a lot going on, so we needed a way of monitoring and managing the requests.

“The committee is made up of staff including a number of Employee Directors. I think it’s good to have representatives from all parts of the business. The Employee Directors are also engineers, drivers etc.”

If an organisation wants to receive funding from FirstGroup, it has to complete an application form online. The request doesn’t have to come from a registered charity,

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November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 47

a little PR on our charity work improves our reputation and more importantly helps raise awareness of the causes we support.”

In a time where cost cutting seems high on many company’s priorities, it would be sensible to assume the budget for charity work would have been cut recently. However, FirstGroup has been setting aside about the same amount of funding for the past five or six years.

“We have learnt how to get better value out of our money as well,” Avril added. “This gives us and the charities better value for money.”

Key partnerships

but generally has to involve young people, health or the environment.

The company receives applications from individuals raising money by running marathons and all manner of fundraising ideas. It also gets a lot of football teams applying and is able to donate First-branded kits.

The committee has a monthly process of reviewing applications.

An average month will see around 30 applications, with between 10 and 12 given approval for funding.

Avril explained: “Each applicant is scored, based on the merit of the application. The committee also has to determine how many can we afford to support on our budget.

First.Marketing.indd 47

Sometimes our debates get quite heated!

“It’s an excellent way for us to both see how money is being spent and to build relationships with individual applicants.”

She explained how some people don’t appreciate the number of hidden costs associated with loaning a bus out for free, for example. Each application has to be supported by a letter from an employee. “We want to support good causes which are important to employees,” she continued.

“I don’t think we shout about our charity work enough, although we are doing a lot better. Doing

Save the Children was the company’s first national charity. The partnership started five years ago and has recently come to an end.

Avril said: “We wanted to find out what we could do with a larger organisation, using our skills to highlight and support the charity.”

This year First has chosen Macmillan as its new charity partner. Avril went through the process of how they came to choose Macmillan: “We invited five major UK charities along to discuss a potential partnership. These charities were chosen based on their national spread – we wanted an organisation which covered as much of the area we operate in.

“We whittled it down to three and then put it to an employee vote, using a text-to-vote process for the first time. British Heart Foundation and Age UK were the other two charities. Over 60% of employees voted for Macmillan.”

The company’s first major event as a partner of Macmillan was to support its ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ event, which raised over £10,000. “It went down really well,” Avril enthused.

First supported Macmillan’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’

First’s next as yet unspecified event for Macmillan will be in spring next year. Avril said: “The idea is to plan two or three things a year to a really high standard. You don’t want to overdo it. We’re also looking to get involved with Macmillan in the London Marathon and we’ll hold another event in the summer.”

Giving something back

Avril’s proudest achievement in recent years is the great work FirstGroup did with Save the Children. “We had teething problems to begin with, but we raised a phenomenal amount of money – £4.5m in cash and kind in five years,” she said. “It’s great knowing we have helped so many of the poorest children in the UK.” “We still support Save the Children,” she added. “They are like a secondary partner now.

“It’s about giving something back – that’s the main thing. We provide the public with a service but it’s nice to demonstrate how we can add value to that – with support from employees. Involving staff is a good way of making sure they buy into what we are doing.”

Getting technical

One project which is occupying Avril’s time at the moment is making sure First’s website will be able to cope with the influx of traffic over the winter months – and establishing all the correct information is available to passengers. “It’s to do with the technical stuff that nobody sees,” she explained. “This is very important for customers as they need to know if trains and buses are running in winter. We are preparing for the influx and growth in website hits.

“It’s been great to work on the technical side, I have learnt a lot.”

On the subject of technology, Avril acknowledged the great role social media is playing in running a transport company.

“Everyone sits on their phone these days while on public transport, there is a captive audience,” she said. “Especially with websites like Twitter. On the rail side of the business, we have invested in providing onboard staff with smartphones and Blackberrys.

This is so we can get information out to passengers as soon as possible, for example if a train is going to be delayed.

“Social media is really growing as part of my work. It’s a steep learning curve, but then it’s new to everyone, so we’re all learning!”

www.coachandbusweek.com

26/11/2012 14:14

48 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

FACE TO FACE › JEROEN WEIMAR

Jeroen Weimar (left), First UK Bus Chief Operating Officer, with PSV fitter David Hamahoe at Hunslet Park Depot in Leeds

A service to be proud of James Day speaks to First Bus Chief Operating Officer Jeroen Weimar on First’s ‘Better Journeys for Life’ initiative and the renewed importance of customer service in the industry www.coachandbusweek.com

First.JeroenWeimar.indd 48

eroen is a recent addition to the team at FirstGroup, joining about six months ago and working closely with Giles Fearnley and the team at UK Bus. He was formerly chief of staff at TfL from its inception in 2001. Jeroen held a range of positions including running revenue protection, the transport policing unit, and left TfL in 2009 as Chief Operating Officer for surface transport.

Prior to joining First, Jeroen worked for Serco for two years, as Managing Director for UK transport, including DLR, Northern Rail, Merseyrail and London Cycle Hire.

“It feels like coming home,” he said. “It’s nice to be back in a real transport business and have the

direct customer contact again.

“My background means I’m passionate about customer service.

I like knowing who our customers are and striving to impress day to day. I want to drive growth in the bus sector.”

Better Journeys for Life

Recent Passenger Focus results were something of a wake-up call for First Bus. “We’re not performing brilliantly with passenger satisfaction, which is something we’re working hard to change,” Jeroen stated. “We finished fourth out of the big five operators in the last Passenger Focus survey.

“Parts of the business are doing really well. In Aberdeen and Barkshire for example performance figures are good. There have been

26/11/2012 21:34

November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 49

NAME: Jeroen Weimar OCCUPATION: Chief Operating Officer, First Bus CONTACT: 0117 373 64 00 www.firstgroup.com

rapid improvements in Sheffield and the new route colours have started in Norwich and look great.

Some other parts of the business are working hard to improve the consistancy of service delivery.”

First UK Bus has launched its brand promise – Better Journeys for Life – which aims to improve the whole journey experience for customers. Jeroen said part of his job is delivering First’s improvement programme – ‘Blueprint for Growth.’ The programme is attempting to improve upon many aspects of the service First delivers, including what happens behind the scenes and out of sight of passengers.

“Our Blueprint for Growth has very clear aims,” Jeroen explained.

“It’s a major transformation plan

First.JeroenWeimar.indd 49

for every depot in the business.

I work with regional Managing Directors to improve the day to day running of the business and position it for growth. I have to make sure the plan translates into actual changes and improvements.”

Jeroen said the transformation programme has placed a lot of focus on stepping up customer service, reliability and punctuality, with some investment in extra capacity.

Particular attention has been given to cleanliness and interior quality of vehicles, as well as some work on the depots themselves to make them a more pleasant place in which to work. There’s also been investment recently in higherspecification vehicles.

“We had over 200 new vehicles come in over the summer, which we deployed to the Olympics to give a premium experience,” Jeroen continued. “They all carried Andrew Muirhead leather seats as part of the investment, so passengers could really see how a modern bus looks.

“It was an excellent opportunity to carry customers who are not regular users. It worked exceptionally well. These vehicles are now in service in Leeds and Manchester and we have refurbished a further 500 vehicles in the North. As a result we’ve seen positive growth in our Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield corridors.

Feedback has been fantastic and we’ve been told it’s a better ride and a better visual experience.

“We’re also improving drivercustomer interaction and trying to build positive dynamic there. Better Journeys for Life covers all aspects of our service package.

“It’s all being done under local leadership and my job is to both challenge and work with our team.

It’s early days, but there’s been some concentrated work which is already showing promising signs.”

“The leadership in this programme comes from the depots.

They’re the ones who are fronting this business. We’re grabbing with both hands the opportunity to run some of the best bus businesses in the UK. Our whole purpose is to drive to the top of the table.”

Driver CPC

Concerning the looming Driver CPC deadline, Jeroen was confident all First Bus drivers will be put through the process in time, preferring courses with a customer service angle over driving skills.

“All our drivers will have completed Driver CPC by the September deadline,” he said.

“We’re focusing on newer modules,

particularly ones with a customer service angle, which is increasingly the driver’s job in our eyes. I want drivers to advise passengers more on their journeys, particularly when their journey has finished if they need help finding where they are going and so on. It’s a challenge for depots to take a broader role than merely driving from one stop to the next.”

First has been working with a number of disability organisations Disability Rights UK and Guide Dogs for Blind and Jeroen said the company was trying to incorporate their needs into the Driver CPC training, so it can improve service for all customers, including those with disability.

“It’s about raising driver awareness,” Jeroen explained. “We have information printed on safe journey cards too, reaffirming that drivers should wait until the passenger is seated and

Top: First is rolling out WiFi in Bristol. Above: Hosts on the Leeds-Bradford shuttle are training with guide dogs www.coachandbusweek.com

26/11/2012 21:35

50 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

FACE TO FACE › JEROEN WEIMAR

Above: The new livery on 550 northern vehicles. Below: Andrew Muirhead leather seats are in 200 new vehicles so on. It not only helps them but helps make it a better service for everyone.

“In terms of our work with Guide Dogs, our customer service hosts on the new Leeds to Bradford shuttle are being trained in sighted guide training with the dogs to provide closer customer care. The work will help us reflect on what else we can do across wider programme.

“It’s really useful to raise training and standards of drivers, who have a difficult job. It broadens driver skill base and anything which boosts customer service is a good thing. This sort of training is something I’d like to think we would do anyway but Driver CPC works as an assurance.”

Technology

Keeping pace with the latest technology is one way to add quality to a service. Jeroen explained how both the company and himself are trialling and using a variety of new developments.

“We’re rolling out a lot of WiFi, in places such as Bristol and Glasgow,” he said.

“It’s a game changer. Our real competition is other forms of travel and WiFi allows our customers to make more productive use of their time while on the bus. There could be potential for some commercial opportunities with it too.

“Ticketing is another area we’re looking to develop. Our new machines from Almex are being www.coachandbusweek.com

First.JeroenWeimar.indd 50

You can build more personal relationships with customers.

“It’s increasingly a medium for getting a sense of what’s happening, although it’s primarily used for getting disruption information out to customers at the moment. You can get updates out in 10 minutes – it’s a really good, powerful use of social media.

“I get some great customer feedback and it gives me a really good feel for what’s happening on the ground. If there’s a problem I can get in touch personally – it brings you right into a customer service environment.

“I had a Twitter account prior to joining First and the first thing I did when I started here was set one up with them.”

First is also soft-launching an iPhone and Android app for all its services across the UK. The app features timetables and routing information and is designed to make planning easier. It is being promoted heavily in Hampshire and will be rolled out nationally.

Final Words

“I get some great customer feedback and it gives me a really good feel for what’s happening on the ground. If there’s a problem I can get in touch personally.”

Jeroen Weimar

installed across the fleet and we’re running a number of pilots of different technology to base around the Almex platform. There is a huge amount of risk and complexity involved installing something new across 8,000 vehicles, but it’s a much better platform than what we had.

“We always pilot a number of different things to see what passengers respond best to. It’s entirely possible to take on more than one to reflect the needs of different local markets.”

Jeroen is an active Twitter user, which was immediately clear when he tweeted about his interview with CBW beforehand.

“I’m increasingly active on social media accounts,” he said. “Twitter is great for getting information out quickly and being very specific.

“Spending time in depots is my favourite part of the job,” Jeroen stated. “I often work with local managers and feel they were being held back by us not providing sustained and substantial investment. Seeing that investment sustained now and making it happen for them is a rewarding part of the job.

“We make sure regional managers have access to all the market research data and technology they need for their decision making. We’re looking at what we can do to engage more in local issues.

“We have 22,500 people at First UK Bus which we have built into a real team. We’re working to make it the best bus company.”

Despite the doom and gloom which is not in short supply in the industry, Jeroem was optimistic.

“I’m really positive about the future. People still want to travel more and the bus industry will continue to be a growing market.

In the long term I’m optimistic and ambitious and I feel we have our short term problems well covered.

There’s always a similar ammount of short term challenges at any point and our job as managers is to find way around them.”

Follow Jeroen on Twitter @firstbuscoo

26/11/2012 21:36

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BARGAINS – MUST GO DUE TO RESTRUCTURING MAYPOLE COACHES HAVE THE FOLLOWING VEHICLES FOR SALE: 74 bus seats, Eminox exhaust, 12 months MOT, air-con, choice of 4 £9,550 + VAT each

1997 VOLVO OLYMPIANS

1994 VOLVO B10M JONCKHEERE DEAUVILLE

Retrimmed 2 yr ago, 12 mths MOT, 51 seats with belts, toilet, DVD/monitor £11,250 + VAT

1993 VOLVO B10M VANHOOL T8 BODYWORK

12 mths MOT, toilet, DVD/monitor, 49 seats with belts £10,250 + VAT ZF gearbox, Cummins engine, 63 seats with 3 point seat belts, 12 months MOT, 3 point belts, tacho, choice of 2 £5,500 + VAT each

56, 57, 58, 59 & 11 Reg Ford Transit Factory Minibuses 15 and 17 seaters, PSV and Class 5 Choice of 10 For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552 2000 Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 10.1m

1992 LEYLAND LYNX

Tel: 0151 547 2713 or 07802 235778 1996 Toyota Optimo

2002 DAF SB120 SLF Wrights Cadet 10.8m

UNVI RIADA GT -2008 28 seats + 29 standees, Cummins/Allison, DDA compliant, very clean ex-lease vehicle, supplied with new MOT. £8,000 + VAT Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz 0816 Vario chassis with rear air suspension, 29 passenger seats with 3pt lap and diagonal seat belts, courier seat, dark tint double glazed windows, air con, radio/CD & PA system, DVD player and monitor, full draw curtains, large boot space and side lockers. Full service history. £57,950 + VAT Call Dougie at HAGGIS Adventures on 0131 554 9192

1995 Van Hool DAF SB 3000 Executive

Manual gearbox, rear toilet, coffee machine and video.

Overhauled in our workshop.

Tested to June 2013.

£12,000

18 high backed seats with belts, MOT 23rd May 2013 re-panelled and re-painted August 2012, looks good and drives well. £5,000 For further information please contact: Nigel Busbridge on 01303 261870 or email nigel@buzzlines.co.uk

39 seats + 23 standees, fully DDA compliant, Hanover LED, Cummins/Allison, very clean ex-lease vehicle. £21,950 + VAT Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk

2007 56 Reg ADL Enviro 200 Prototype

28 seats, 40 standing, built as demonstrator for London with flat floor front to back and extra doors at rear. Phone for more details.

£19,950.00

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552

Any inspection or trial.

Further pictures by email if required.

Possible part exchange for 16 to 24 seater coach.

Woods Coaches Barnsley Tel. 07976 923313

Passenger and Commercial Vehicles Recovery Dismantlers Parts Sales

Dennis Pointer Dart Mk2 x 130 All spares available - includes engine, gearboxes, seats, etc.

Call: 01226 727769 Mobile: 07912 103497 Email: geoff-ripley@btconnect.com www.geoff-ripleysbuscoachsales.com

Telephone Jade Cassidy on 01733 293247 or email jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com

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2010 MAN BEULAS 71 seats, LEZ, Gloryeuro5 + EEV, WC, climate control, hot drinks, amazing luggage capacity, fantastic condition, MOT 31/10/2013, fully DDA, only 149,000km, sale due to fleet restructure ÂŁ248,000 + VAT

2009 RENAULT 16 reclining seats, TAWE, perfect for airports, takes 20 big suitcases, A/C, TV, DVD, hot drinks & fridge, 3 point belts, overhead racks, great on fuel, 166,000kms, front entry, sale due to fleet restructure ÂŁ22,500+VAT

Tel: 01787 477 701 Email: info@coachcompany.co.uk

2007 Bova Futura Executive 49 seater, low mileage at 188,000 miles, WC facilities, tea and coffee making facilities, reclining seats, full service history, taxed and tested until March 2013, any inspection welcome, plus possible tour work provided.

Call 01246 233765 or email info@novatours.co.uk

...then 50 come along at once.

Due to a major influx of new vehicles, we are selling a number of ex-TWM service buses.

They’re in great condition for their age and have been maintained to a very high standard.

There are currently 50 vehicles available, all stored at our site for viewing.

Although mainly Volvo, Scania and Optare single deck, there are some double deck buses also available.

All will be sold with 12 months MOT and repaint if required.

Please call for more details. Finance and rental packages available.

Volant PVS Ltd, Beecham Business Park, Northgate, Aldridge WS9 8TZ T: +44 (0)1922 457003 volantpvs.co.uk

2006 Setra 416 GTHD

2002 DAF SB220 SLF Ikarus Polaris 12m

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49 reclining seats with lap belts, toilet/fridge/hot water boiler, CD/DVD player, Euro 4 certified, owned by us from new, good condition. ÂŁ99,000 + VAT For further information please contact: Nigel Busbridge on 01303 261870 or email nigel@buzzlines.co.uk

44 seats + 25 standees, DDA compliant, Hanover LED, DAF/ZF, very clean ex-lease vehicle. ÂŁ15,000 + VAT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CHOICE Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk

2003 Dennis Trident 2 SLF Alex 400 10.5m

2007 Mercedes Sprinter 515 Extra Long

67 seats + 18 standees, Cummins euro IV/ZF, conversion to single door available â&#x20AC;&#x201C; please call for details. Very clean ex-lease vehicle. ÂŁ27,500 + VAT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CHOICE Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk

16 Politecnica reclining seats with 3 point seat belts and arm rests to side aisle, large drop boot with half height shelf, 268,000 miles, new MOT.

ÂŁ23,500

EVM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 07749 103203

Telephone Jade Cassidy on 01733 293247 or email jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com

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Ensig DOUBLE DECK 1999 T/V REG DENNIS TRIDENTS

LEZ

COMPLIANT

Cummins/Voith, LEZ compliant with traps, Plaxton President bodies, 62 seats dual door (£13,000) or 70 when converted to single door (£16,000).

Cummins/Voith, LEZ compliant for 2012 with traps to Euro 4, CCTV, Alexander ALX400 bodies, DDA compliant or upseated to 80 seats.

1999/2000/2001 V/X/51 PLATE DENNIS TRIDENTS

Cummins / Allison, Wrights Cadet body, ramp, wheelchair space, Hanover LED’s, CCTV, 39 retrimmed individual seats, from our own fleet and very tidy.

2000 DAF SB120

1999 T/V REG DENNIS DART SLF’S

Caetano Compass bodies, 39 seats, ramps.

Volvo Euro 2 engine, ZF gearbox, Northern Counties body, 78 seats.

1997/98 VOLVO OLYMPIAN

2000 W REG MINI POINTER DART

9.9m, 2 door, 62 seats, DDA and LEZ compliant, large choice.

ZF automatic, LEZ compliant, Van Hool T9 body, 53 seats.

Cummins / Allison, 8.8m, 29 seats.

2001 DENNIS TRIDENTS

2001 Y REG DAF SB3000

LEZ

COMPLIANT

2001 Y REG DENNIS DARTS

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies, 10.1m , Cummins Euro 2 engines, DDA, 31 seats, CCTV, particulate traps fitted, LEZ compliant, only £6000 each plus tyres.

2005 MINI POINTER DART Cummins Euro 3, Allison automatic, 8.8m, 29 seats, new MOT.

OPEN TOP BUSES A SPECIALITY -

Juliette Close, Purfleet Industrial Telephone 01708 865656 Fax: 01708 8 Visit our website for current s

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K ER SPECIALIST SLF, ZF auto, Plaxton Prestige bodies, 44 seats.

1997 P REG VOLVO B10BLE’S

1998 R REG VOLVO B10BLE’S

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies, 9.4m, Cummins Euro 3 engines, 32 seats, DDA, CCTV, particulate traps fitted, LEZ compliant.

2002 02 DENNIS DARTS

Euro 3 Cummins engines with traps, Marshall bodies, 8.8m, 25 seats, DDA and LEZ compliant.

2002 DART SLFs

Cummins L10 / ZF, Alexander RH body, 78 seats with retractable belts, MOT Oct 2013, tacho.

1992 LEYLAND OLYMPIAN

2002 52 PLATE VOLVO B7TL’S

Voith automatic gearboxes, SLF, Alexander ALX300 bodies, 44 seats and 27 standing, heavy duty low floor buses. They can also be converted to be DDA compliant.

2002 02 PLATE DENNIS TRIDENTS

Euro 3 Cummins engines, DDA compliant , Plaxton President bodies, Hanover LED’s, 67 seats converted to single door or 62 seats as dual door.

Cummins Euro 4 engine, 10.8m, 37 seats, DDA and LEZ compliant.

2007 07 PLATE ENVIRO 200

2001 Y REG MINI POINTER DARTS

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies, 8.8m, Cummins Euro 2 engines, DDA, 25 seats, CCTV , particulate traps fitted, LEZ compliant.

2002 52 plate Volvo B7TL’s, Euro 3 with particulate traps, LEZ and DDA compliant, Alexander ALX400 bodies, 67 seats converted to single door or 62 seats as dual door.

Cummins / Allison, Alexander ALX200 bodies, 9.2m, 27 seats, DDA and LEZ compliant.

2001 Y REG DARTS

- BRITAIN’S BIGGEST BUS DEALERS Park, Purfleet, Essex, RM15 4YF 8 864340 e-mail: sales@ensignbus.com t stock at www.ensignbus.com

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NEW PRE-REGISTERED FORDS New Ford Transit 17 seat 4.3ton 135ps minibus. From £20,595 + VAT

FORD TRANSIT MINIBUSES (12) 2012 Ford Transit 17 seat minibus 2.2tdci 135ps, tacho, 2300 miles only, ex-demo in silver, COIF/PSV £20,695

(11) 2011 Ford Transit 9 seat Shuttle Bus, twin side loading doors, large rear luggage area, delivery miles only £16,995

(11) 2011 Ford Transit 15 seat 3.5 ton, 2.4tdi engine 115ps, tacho, 10,000 km £17,500

(59) 2009 Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4tdi 115ps, tacho, air-con, 15,000km only £17,495

(57) 2007 Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4TDi 100ps, six speed gearbox, tacho with 16,000 miles, COIF/PSV £11,995

OTHER MAKES New Peugeot Boxer 16 seat 3.5 ton and 17 seat w/chair accessible minibuses, 2.2 diesel 120ps, six speed gearbox LEZ COMPLIANT From £23,500 + VAT New Renault Master 17 seat LWB LM39dci 126 Minibus, tacho ONLY £20,350

(55) 2005 Peugeot Boxer 3.5 ton 17 seat minibus 2.8 diesel, with three point seat belts, tow bar, removable seats to rear, 77,000 miles £6,995 (06) 2006 Volkswagen Transporter 9 seat minibus, 85PS, rear tail gate, twin side loading doors, 112,000 miles £7,995 (56) 2006 Peugeot Boxer 3.5t on 17 seat minibus 2.8 diesel, high back seats with three point belts, 33,000 miles £8,995

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS (59) 2009 Renault Master LWB wheelchair accessible minibus 10 seats, tracking for three wheelchairs, in board lift, rear heating £15,995

D L O S

(57) LDV Maxus LWB 9 seats tracking to take two wheelchairs, inboard lift, 49,000 miles, £9,995

LDV MINIBUSES (57) 2007 LDV Maxus 17 seat, high back seats with three point belts, twin side doors, COIF/ PSV, silver £7,500

(05) 2005 LDV Convoy 2.4tdi 17 seat minibus, high back seats with three point seat belts, COIF/PSV tacho £4,995

OTHER MAKES

D

(09) 2009 Renault Master 16 seat minibus, tacho,high back seats with three point belts, 35,000km £15,650

SOL

(07) 2007 LDV Maxus 13 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, under floor lift, space for two wheelchairs, electric side step £8,495

(06) 2006 Vauxhall Vivaro 1.9 cdti 9 seat, inboard lift, tracking for 2 wheelchairs, 45,000 miles £8,995 Y 2001 Renault Mascot 2.8 diesel, 16 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, front entry drop step, fully tracked floor to take five wheelchairs, under floor lift, rear heating, COIF/PSV £6,495

Tel: 01633 485858 Mobile: 07866 443304

Contact Graham Thatcher – email: sales@minibussales.co.uk

Pembridge House, The Park Business Centre, Plough Road, Goytre, Penperlleni, Nr Usk, South Wales NP4 0AL – 10 minutes from M4 motorway. Viewing by appointment only Finance Contract Hire and Finance Lease Available. We deliver Nationwide. All vehicles prepared to VOSA standard COIF/PSV specialist

All above prices are subject to VAT @ 20%

000000-1064-Ventura

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681326-1063-Rotala

19/11/12

14:14

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681133-1062-Lothian

7/11/12

12:24

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681388-1064-Pickrell

H. W. PICKRELL

26/11/12

16:02

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MINIBUS AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES

Gardiners Lane North • Crays Hill • Billericay • Essex • CM11 2XE Tel: 01268 521033 • Mobile: 07860 894331 • Fax: 01268 284951

Email: sales@hwpickrell.co.uk - www.hwpickrell.co.uk Finance available on all vehicles (subject to status) Written details on request.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINI BUSES For latest stock arrivals follow @h_w_pickrell

07 REG FORD TRANSIT 100 350 2.4 TDCI

2008 57 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO LH28 2.0 TD

07 REG VOLKSWAGEN CRAFTER CR50 UVG TREKA

09 REG PEUGEOT BOXER 330 2.5 TD

Manual, MWB, high roof, PAS, DL conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 8 high back seats, fully Unwin tracked floor, Eeberspacher heater, Ricon tail lift, 28,779 miles.

Manual gearbox, hi roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 5 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, Eberspacher heater, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 30,280 miles only.

Auto gearbox, climate control, n/s/f electric power door, 16 high back removable seats on NMI quick release, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor tail lift, ex local authority, COIF'd, 81,280 kms.

Manual, LWB, semi high roof, Atlas Bus conversion, side loading door, step, 16 x high back seats plus driver, exlease, only 19,675 miles. s.

2004 MERCEDES SPRINTER 416 CDI

06 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUMBO 2.4 TDCI

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUMBO 2.4 TDCI

10 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

4x4 ambulance, LWB,Wilker box body conversion, side loading door, 3 high back seats, Falcon stretcher, lots of storage, heater, PLS stretcher lift, one owner ex MOD, only 9,000 kms.

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, side loading door, side step, 11 rear high back seats, full Unwin tracking, Eberspacher heater, underfloor Ratcliff tail lift, 31,813 miles.

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, side loading door, electric side step, 11 high back seats, Unwin tracked floor at rear, Eberspacher heater, underfloor Ratcliff tail lift, tacho, 34,955 miles.

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, new conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 14 high back seats, AMF m2 fully tracked floor, full air con, Ricon tail lift, tacho fitted, only 46,750kms.

07 REG RENAULT MASTER MM33 2.5TD

58 REG IVECO DAILY 50c13 IRIS BUS 3.0

06 REG IVECO DAILY 50c13 IRIS BUS 3.0

59 REG VAUXHALL MOVANO LM39 2.5TD

Manual gearbox, high roof, Warnerbus conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, sat nav, 6 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, Webasto, Unwin innotrax floor, Ricon tail lift, 14,300 miles only.

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, power front entry door, 16 rear high back seats,Unwin tracked floor, Eberspacher heater, destination board, underfloor Ratcliff tail lift, COIF, 63,371 miles.

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, power front entry door, 16 rear high back seats, Unwin tracked flat floor, Eberspacher climate control, underfloor PLS tail lift, COIF, 67,671 kms.

Manual 6 speed, high roof, PAS, LWB, Mellor conversion, side loading door, new AVS side step, 14 high back seats, new AMF m2 fully tracked floor, AMF tail lift, tacho fitted only 35,749 kms. (22,214 miles).

06 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI UVK TREKA

2008 58 REG VAUXHALL MOVANO LM39 2.5TD

2008 57 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

09 PEUGEOT EXPERT TEPEE 1.9 HDI

Auto gearbox, LWB, PAS, climate control, n/s/f electric power door, 16 high back removable seats on NMI quick release, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor tail lift, ex local authority, COIF'd, 82,180 kms.

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, O & H conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 8 high back seats + driver, Unwin tracked floor, stretcher, Ricon tail lift, piped oxygen, Eberspacher heater, 48,441 miles.

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, SCW conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 10 high back seats, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, ex local authority, 27,478 miles.

Manual 5 speed gearbox, PAS, CD player, air con, twin side loading doors, 2 high back seat in rear, double passenger seat front, cut out floor, fold down ramp, blue metallic silver, alloy wheels, 14,932 miles.

06 REG RENAULT MASTER SM33 2.2TD

07 REG RENAULT MASTER LM35 2.5TD

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUMBO 2.4TDCI

08 REG RENAULT MASTER LM35 2.5 TD

Manual gearbox, high roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 6 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, Eberspacher heater, air con, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 21253.441 miles.

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, O & H conversion, SLD, AVS side step, fitted with rear air con, 4 high back seats, Falcon stretcher, lowering suspension, cheesewedge ramp, piped oxygen, Eberspacher heater, 67,433 miles.

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, side loading door, AVS side step, 13 rear high back seats, Unwin tracked floor, Eberspacher heater, air con, underfloor Ratcliff tail lift, tacho, 53,946kms.

Manual gearbox, high roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, AVS side step, 13 high back seats plus driver, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon internal tail lift, 33,175 miles only,choice of two.

54 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI UVG TREKA

2009 59 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO SL28 2.0 TD

06 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 411 CDI

07 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

Auto gearbox, LWB, PAS, climate control, n/s/f electric power door, 16 high back removable seats on NMI quick release, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor tail lift, ex local authority, COIF'd, 104,180 kms.

Manual gearbox, low roof, O & H conversion, PAS, twin side loading door, side step, 4 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, modified low floor, electric winch & fold out ramp, 15,491 miles.

Auto gearbox, LWB, PAS, Frank Guy conversion, n/s full height electric power door, 16 high back removable seats on NMI quick release, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor tail lift, ex local authority, COIF’d, 103,080 kms.

Auto gearbox, coach built body, KFS conversion, PAS, side loading door, low side step, 15 high back seats plus driver, full air con, Webasto, Unwin tracked floor, lowering air suspension and ramp, 44,087 miles only.

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November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 61

2002 (52 reg) Optare Solo M850 Mercedes engine, 27 seats 23 with belts, currently undergoing body prep and paint.

£17,950

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552 2002 52 Reg Mercedes Sprinter 413D

UVG body, 16 seats + wheelchair, PSC and tachograph, low mileage for year

£8,450.00

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552

Kinglong Scotland

Kinglong XMQ6130 Tri Axle 57 plus 1 plus 1, luxury recliners, Cummins Euro V 10.1 litre, ZF Astronic box, DVD, 3 screens, PA, CD, W/C, A/C, drivers bunk Only £229,950 + VAT Kinglong XMQ6127 47/49 luxury recliners, Cummins Euro V 8.9 litre, ZF auto box, DVD, monitors, A/C ,W/C, CD, radio, fridge.

Only £179,950 + VAT

Kinglong XMQ6900 35/31 plus W/C, Cummins Euro V 6.7litre, ZF auto box, A/C, DVD, CD, monitors, PA etc Only £134,950 + VAT Kinglong XMQ 6800 31 luxury recliners, Cummins Euro V 207BHP, Allison World Series auto (manual options), A/C, DVD, monitors, PA, CD, radio etc etc ...

Only £109,950 + VAT BMC Karisma 35 luxury recliners, Cummins 250 BHP, ZF auto box, D/G, DVD, monitor, A/C, fridge Only £109,950 + VAT

BMC Midilux (Nifty) 27 luxury leather recliners, A/C, DVD, monitor, etc etc, enough luggage space for 2 cases per head Only £68,950 + VAT

USED STOCK AVAILABLE NOW!!!!!

2011 BMC Karisma as above, low mileage - POA 2010 BMC Nifty as above - POA 2012 Ex Demonstrator Kinglong 9 metre service bus, 23 plus 4 plus 1 plus 22 standees - POA 2004 BMC Falcon service bus - POA 92 Leyland Tiger - long MOT/tax, 55 seats, great workhorse for schools, vgc - POA

Used, nearly new stock available

Authorised stockist Kinglong parts and glass.

Tel: 01651 872864 24-hr Mobile 07769719252 Email: kinglongscotland@yahoo.co.uk Station Yard, Oldmeldrum, AB51 0EZ

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62 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

6 x Optare Solo’s M950 Slimlines Choice of 6 vehicles – all 2007 (57 Plates). 32 + 17 standees (various seating options). All have Cummins engines with Alison gearboxes. Full Service History – all with current MOT. LED digital destination displays – front, rear & sides.

CCTV cameras. Average mileages. Esteban Civic V3 seats. We will re-spray in white for £48,000 or in the NEW OWNER’S COLOURS for £49,000

Please ring Graham or Mandy at Courtney Buses 01189 733486 info@courtneybuses.com

1999 T Reg Dennis Trident

East Lancs body, extra long wheelbase and fitted with 78 seats and still DDA compliant, single door (never been twin door), would re-seat to between 80-90 seats and could be belted – 4 available

£17,950.00

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552

DARTLINE 2x2005 Optare Solos

9.2 m, 33 seats, Mercedes engines, approx. 220,000 miles, good order throughout, more pictures if required, new MOT’S £32,500 + VAT (Discount if both taken)

2008 Temsa Opalin

Auto, 35 seat midicoach, air-con, large boot, side lockers, approx. 195,000 kms, LEZ compliant, MOT Exp May 2013 £70,000 + VAT

2010 Van Hool 14.04 Astron T917 MAN - EURO 5 ONLY ONE COACH AVAILABLE UNTIL 2014

2003 Renault Master SL28 Dci

5 passenger seats,1 removable seat on centre track, N/S sliding door, double rear doors, approx. 55,000 miles, MOT (Class 4) Exp August 2013 £3,000

Contact Simon on 01392 872900 V d PS ste te

2011 11 REG FORD TRANSIT 15 seat factory bus, PSV, COIF and tacho, 20K miles, ready to go

£16,450

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552

1999 V Reg Mercedes 814D Vario Plaxton Beaver 2

31 bus seats with belts, new paint and test, Allison auto.

£9,950.00

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552

679547-1059-Connaught

22/10/12

14:36

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Mini Coach Sales

BRAND NEW MERCEDES FERQUI SOROCO 16 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door, large boot.

Order now for March/April

BRAND NEW MERCEDES FERQUI TORO 32 high back seats + courier, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door, large boot. Available for immediate delivery.

MORE PHOTOS AND DETAILS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE:

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ FERQUI SOROCO 19 high back seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights and boot.

Order now for March/April

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ 516CDI EVM SHUTTLE 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks and A/C.

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ 513CDI EVM CLASSIC 16/19 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks and A/C.

www.connaughtpsv.co.uk

2009 59 REG MERCEDES 515 SOROCO 16 high back leather trimmed Vogel recliners, 3 point belts, AC/DG, forced air, reading lights, DVD, power door, large boot.

2008 08 MERCEDES BENZ 815D VARIO OPTARE TORO 28 high back seats, courier seat, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, A/C, D/G, power door and large boot.

2007 07 MERCEDES 515 CDI COACH BUILT SOROCO 16 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, AC/DG, power door and large boot.

2005 05 REG MERCEDES 814D VARIO PLAXTON CHEETAH 33 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, auto gearbox, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door and boot.

2005 55REG MERCEDES BENZ 413 CDI SPRINTER 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights.

2001 51 REG TOYOTA CATEANO OPTIMO 5 22 high back seats plus courier, lap belts, forced air, reading lights, curtains, power door and boot.

Steve Peach Tel: 01302 770863 Mob: 07836 551020 Email: steve@connaughtpsv.co.uk www.connaughtpsv.co.uk

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64 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

49 reclining seats, Manual, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £40,000

Mercedes Touro

65 reclining seats, Automatic, A/C, W/C £40,000

Jonckheere Mistral, MAN

49 reclining seats, AS Tronic gearbox, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £95,000

31 reclining seats, Manual, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio £68,000

61 reclining seats, AS Tronic gearbox, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £120,000

65 reclining seats, One Shift gearbox, LEZ compliant, Disabled access, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £125,000

MAXI 3, Iveco

Neoplan Euroliner, MAN

Plaxton Panther, MAN

Plaxton Panther, Volvo

Contact Daniel Gillison dan@applegates.co.uk 01453 810314

Dennis Dart Super Pointer 45 seats with belts, Tacho, Euro4 with RPC/LEZ, ready to go

£13,950

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552 N Reg Bluebird American School Bus 60 seats with 3 point belts, Cummins engine/Allison gearbox

£5,950

Also 2000 W Reg at

£12,000.00

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552

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November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 65

AUDIO & VIDEO

BUILDINGS HEAVY DUTY STEEL BUILDINGS

GARAGE EQUIPMENT

Mobile Column Lifts FREE

Set of Axle Stands when you purchase your Mobile Columns

Bus Workshops - Secure Storage Supplied any width, any length Building to BS5590 - Doors high enough for Double Deckers - Finance available For further information phone

BLUELINE BUILDINGS 01709 578333 anytime

CHECKPOINTS

JHM Butt & Company Limited Sales: 01302 718226

www.buttsequipment.com equipment.com INSURANCE

1 ) 0 5 0 4

" / %

' 6

$ 0 0 6 3

" 4

4 5 " / % " 3 %

0 /

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4 " &

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Wheel Nut Indicators and Retainers

++44(0)1524 44(0)1524 271200 271200 checkpoint-safety.com

www.

ENGINES

CRAIG TILSLEY Suppliers of Reconditioned Tel: 01782 791524 or 01782 791527 Fax: 01782 791316

Email: info@craigtilsley.co.uk www.craigtilsley.co.uk

DAF MAN MERC, VOLVO SCANIA, GARDNER LEYLAND, CUMMINS ENGINES CYLINDER HEADS CRANKSHAFTS CRANKCASES CAMSHAFTS PUMPS ETC

LIVERY

Moorfields Industrial Estate, Cotes Heath, Stoke-on-Trent ST21 6QY

GARAGE EQUIPMENT HEATING

REGISTRATIONS FOR SALE

Registration numbers Heaters • A/C Equipment Blowers • Motors • Radiators Silicone Hose • Ducting Wiper Equipment • Gas Struts

Tel: 01993 849522 Fax: 01993 706920 Email: sales@thhs.co.uk

www.thhs.co.uk

UNIT 9 NIMROD BUSINESS PARK DE HAVILLAND WAY, WITNEY OX29 0YG

600 VTW MJI 2378 MJI 2379 DAZ 5046 DAZ 4523 DAZ 4518 HIL 7968 RIB 6581

robert@angelacoaches.com Tel 023 8040 3170

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66 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

TICKETING

REGISTRATIONS G £690 CEZ 75 DNZ 45 JXI 62 MXI 42 OXI 76 PEZ 58 TUI 18 TUI 19 VIB 92

Almex Ticket Machine

SPEEDY REGISTRATIONS CO LTD G ‘Buy with confidence – CNDA Member’

£350 £99 £99 £50 ACZ 727 DXZ 1150 LIG 1220 CXZ 4470 AJZ 262 FRZ 1558 LIG 1222 DXZ 2267 CEZ 979 HIG 5338 MJZ 6749 DXZ 2268 KBZ 181 IIG 2278 MNZ 1195 ERZ 6181 RBZ 696 IIG 2279 REZ 9451 FRZ 1516 SBZ 171 JIG 9298 RUI 2117 FRZ 1517 VIW 979 JIG 9299 SUI 8836 JFZ 8261 WJI 848 KIG 6556 SUI 8837 JFZ 8262 XJI 474 KIG 6557 TJZ 1119 KIG 8781 We Buy for Cash, also Part Exchange

TRAINING

£50 KIG 8782 LIG 1621 LIG 1622 LIG 1623 RNZ 9198 SNZ 2273 SNZ 2274 TUI 7991 TUI 7992

Good working order, spare ticket rolls and instruction booklet included.

Tel: (028) 6638 7124 Fax: (028) 6638 7771

Millwood, Lisbellaw, Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland BT94 5HQ

£400 plus VAT

All enquiries to 01227 742909 (Kent)

REPLacement lez exhausts

Direct Replacement LEZ Exhaust Systems Typical 2-4 Hour Install 2 Year Standard Warranty Unique Maintenance Modules - Keep your Vehicle on the Road Passive and Active Systems available - Suitable for all Drive Cycles For your Regional Agent or Further Information, Contact Tom or Brian on :- 01768 480111 or sales@greenurban.co.uk

THE DRIVER CPC IS HERE 8QO L PL W HG RQO L QH YH KL F O H

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SAME DAY J.A.U.P.T. REGISTRATION SAME DAY C.P.C. CERTIFICATES DELIVERED AT YOUR OWN DEPOTS

REMEMBER-REMEMBER 10th SEPTEMBER WE WILL HOLD OUR PRICES FOR 5 YEARS

PCV DRIVER HIRE 0800-731-5007 CORPORATE DEALS AVAILABLE

MERIDIAN PCV DRIVER LTD www.meridianpcv.com

Rising above all others

TRIM Tel/Fax:

astgate COACH TRIMMERS LTD

Supplying the Bus and Coach Industry with quality seat retrims and interior refurbishment.

Full floors re-laid and centre gangways.

Collection and delivery service anywhere in the UK, seven days a week.

01751 472229

Email: info@eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk Web: www.eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk

681144-1061-Cabmasters

5/11/12

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New Van & Bus Parts Cummins 5-9 B series Short Engine ESN 29111177 Druk 0032serx

Cummins L10 Short Motor Daily Spare Wheels 22-75 16C

Pirelli New

Diggi Techo 1

Drivers Suspension Seats New £250+VAT

Ducato Front Passenger £175+VAT

Fiat Ducato Rear Doors Old Model

Gramma Air Seats New

Gramma Paddle Change Seats New

Iveco Daily Mirrors £50+VAT Each

Iveco Daily Rim Continental Vanco 195-75R-16C 107-105R Tyre

Iveco Daily SLD £250+VAT

Iveco Daily Wings £35+VAT

Leyland GB397,390

MB Sprinter 616 Axel part no A9053500300

MB Sprinter VW LT Doors old model £150+VAT

MB Vario 24 Volt Wiper Motors £35+VAT

MB Vario Bumpers £75+VAT

MB Vario Headlamps £35+VAT

New MB Vario Parts

New Sprinter Spare Wheels Continental Vanco Winter 235 65 R16C Tyres

New Transit Spare Wheels Continental 215 75 R16C Eco Tyres

Nissan 2-7 TD New

Peugeot Boxer Relay Fiat Ducato Doors £300+VAT pair

Renault Master Rear Mavano Doors £300+VAT Pair

RUD Matic Snow Chains

Sprinter & Crafter Wings £35+VAT

Toyota Landcruiser V8 20 inch Alloys Dunlop 285 50 R20 Unused

tTansit Millennium Bus £750+VAT

Transit Minibus Seats Unused

Transit Millennium Doors £125+VAT

Transit Tourneo Seats Unused £500+VAT

Vauxhall Astra Mk2 Convertible Bodyshells

VW Crafter Mercedes Sprinter Front Doors £200+VAT

ZF 16S-109

www.cabmasters.com ZF Astronic 12-AS-1930-TD

01706 211 838

ZF S6 36-2 Gearboxes ZF Reman

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68 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

TYRES

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MANAGEMENT & REPAIRS

MOUNTAIN TYRES LTD VEHICLE CERTIFICATE AGENCY

QUALITY AVON TREAD USED

Mountain Tyres is a newly established company making commercial retreaded tyres. We have a modern retreading plant based near Caerphilly, and we only use Grade One Tyre Casings in the production of all our tyres to produce a top quality tyre. All our tyres are guaranteed against failure.

• FREE DELIVERY FOR ALL ORDERS OVER 10 TYRES • Our staff have over 25 years experience in the Retreading industry and we are Certified by the Vehicle Certificate Agency

PRICE LIST

205-75-17.5 from ........................................................£50.00 215-75-17.5 from ........................................................£50.00 245-70-19.5 from ........................................................£60.00 275-70-22.5 from .....................................................£120.00 295-80-22.5 from .....................................................£125.00 315-80-22.5 from .....................................................£125.00 385-65-22.5 from .....................................................£135.00 MAJOR REPAIRS ..........................................................£35.00 MINOR REPAIRS ..........................................................£15.00 All Prices Plus VAT

Email: bernard.llewellyn@btopenworld.com Ffynonau-Duon Farm, Pentwyn, Bargoed, Caerphilly, CF81 9NP

TYRE EQUIPMENT

VEHICLE SPARES

Trevor Wigley & Son Bus Ltd

TW FULLY LICENSED END OF LIFE VEHICLE CENTRE TW REDUNDANT AND SCRAP VEHICLES TAKEN TW PROFESSIONAL, EFFICIENT SERVICE TW ALL REQUIREMENTS CATERED FOR TW VARIOUS SPARES AVAILABLE TW CONTACT US FOR FULL AVAILABILITY

Call 01226 723147 Night Service 01226 716479 Fax 01226 700199 Email wigleys@btconnect.com

www.twigley.com

November 28, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 69

Seen something funny? Send it to gareth.evans@coachandbusweek.com, fax 0845 2802927 or write to: Last Stop, Coach & Bus Week, 3 The Office Village, Cygnet Park, Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX

You have to get dirty to get clean You can’t accuse managers at Epsom Coaches Group of being afraid of getting their hands dirty, especially after they turned out to assist in the periodic ‘Yard Action Day,’ where everyone gets involved in tidying up and carrying out maintenance work. Sustained with bacon sandwiches and coffee, the team, assisted by their Fleetcare colleagues, ensured the garage at Epsom maintained its high-quality status, with a range of tasks including gardening, rubbish clearance, sweeping up, painting, washing down and general maintenance jobs. MD Steve Whiteway, who led the task force, said: “I am a firm believer in providing the best possible working conditions and ensuring they

Litter picker adorns back of NCT bus

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has unveiled the winner of its ‘search for a Clifton Hero’ competition – launched to celebrate the bus operator’s Diamond Jubilee serving Clifton Estate.

The winner, 69-year-old Michael Chandley, secured 42% of the public vote.

His photograph will now adorn the entire back of a speciallydecorated Jubilee double-decker.

Michael – a retired engineer who has battled Cancer – has lived on the estate for the past 40 years.

Dilbert

Monday: The usual manic press day. For once I’m disciplined – I leave the office at 1900hrs as I have to be on form tomorrow.

Epsom Coaches staff during a brief break on ‘Yard Action Day’ remain that way.

“Our site is in use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With over 300 people and almost 130 buses and coaches coming and going each day, wear and tear is inevitable.

“Our Yard Action Day is designed to blitz the whole site. Being led by the management team, it ensures everyone realises the importance of

NCT’s Clifton Hero Michael Chandley honoured for voluntary litter duty Michael voluntarily collects litter across the estate, helping to keep Clifton tidy. In the early days, he was accompanied by his dog, Sheiba, although, sadly, she passed away earlier this year.

looking after our investment, so it can look after us.

“Fine weather helped as well but we achieved so much and certainly sent a message – this is a management team which can take anything in its stride. It is called involvement, a watchword in this company, where everyone mucks in and gets more out of life.”

He began his litter-picking around 14 years ago when vandalism on the estate was all too common.

“I took it upon myself to clean up the broken glass of smashed windows. I thought I’d pick up the rubbish as well and then I got carried away!” explained a modest Michael.

Since he began looking after the estate, no windows have been broken and he has become a wellknown and respected figure in the community. He focuses on cleaning bus stops in particular, and NCT’s drivers on the number 48 look forward to seeing him on their route.

Michael’s bus was unveiled at a ceremony on Friday November 23, where he was presented with a certificate and a small-scale model replica of his bus by Lilian Greenwood, MP for Clifton South.

Tuesday: Rise early to catch the train to London. I’m honoured to be a panellist at the ATCO Winter Conference in London. Perk myself up with four cups of coffee before the start of proceedings. I’m frank but make them chuckle – life’s too short to be serious all the time. I enjoy the ATCO events – they’re welcoming, yet interesting affairs.

Late morning, head over to the UK Bus Awards where I catch up with many industry friends. I’m fortunate to be a guest of National Express Group and sit next to a fellow former Aston Uni student – Simon Mathieson.

Wednesday: A day in the office. In between trying to be our IT ‘Mr Fixit’ I actually manage to get some writing done.

Thursday: Another day in the office. I’m delighted when I arrange to see a family-run coach operation, which has not been featured in CBW before – or at least for many years.

Friday: After dropping my fiancée off at work, tap away for an hour in the office sub-editing and tying up a few loose ends. Spend an enjoyable couple of hours interviewing Mike Lambden, National Express’ soon to be retired Head of Corporate Affairs at Hopwood Park Services on the M42. I’m in my element – there’s no shortage of serious and amusing tales of Crossville and National Express. It should make some interesting but light reading for a forthcoming issue or two. Head west to the Welsh borderland. Bump into several of the natives – it never ceases to amaze me how many still think I work for Tanat Valley Coaches.

It will soon be six years since I joined… www.coachandbusweek.com

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70 | COACH & BUS WEEK | November 28, 2012

RECRUITMENT

Epsom appoints new directors Epsom Coaches Group’s MD Steve Whiteway has announced that Nilesh Mandvia and Huw Barrington have joined the board of H.R.Richmond Ltd, the parent company of Epsom Coaches Group, as Finance and Commercial Directors respectively.

Nilesh is a qualified accountant and has worked with the company for eight years in his previous position as Finance Controller. He brings with him a wide-ranging experience of finance and in other roles such as IT. Huw has been with the firm for almost three years as Planning and Performance Manager, a role he will continue – in addition to promoting the commercial aspects of the business in his new position. He has a lifetime of experience in the bus

DEADlINES Booking: Monday 5.00pm Full artwork: Monday 5.00pm

CONTACT Ian Gillis 01733 293484

ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

New Director of Sales for Trapeze Group

Epsom’s new directors Nilesh Mandvia and Huw Barrington and coach industry and has become an integral part of the management team at Epsom in a relatively short space of time.

“Nilesh and Huw’s appointment reflects my high regard for their work within our company and in providing support for me as we jointly develop the business into the future. Along with our senior management team, we are a formable force in the industry and I look forward to working them,” commented Steve Whiteway.

Alistair Aitken has been appointed Director of Sales (Commercial) of Trapeze Group UK. Alistair’s focus is to continue Trapeze’s expansion into the commercial bus operator market. He will work alongside Trapeze’s Sales Director, Chris Gough, who is responsible for public sector clients. Alistair joins from Almex, where he enjoyed a successful role as UK Sales and Marketing Manager, following an international sales role.

Peter Bell, Managing Director of Trapeze Group in the UK, said: “We are delighted to have Alistair on board. Not only does he bring years of valuable experience dealing with

commercial bus operators; this new organisational structure will enable Trapeze to more effectively market to the commercial and public sectors.”

Alistair commented: “Trapeze is synonymous with comprehensive solutions and strong capabilities in the passenger transport field; the extensive product portfolio makes the prospect of delivering heightened efficiencies for customers and enabling their aspirations a reality - which is extremely exciting.”

Trapeze provides advanced software, intelligent transport systems (ITS) and mobile technologies to the bus industry.

SERVICE DELIVERY DIRECTOR

TGM Group is part of Arriva’s UK Bus Division and operates a diverse portfolio of bus, coach, airport and aviation services across the UK, with the majority of these being based in the south east.

In strengthening our senior management team an opportunity has been created for a qualified and experienced engineer to join the team based at Heathrow. The new role will cover operational and engineering aspects of the business, with the successful candidate having full accountability for engineering performance and maintenance of a fleet of 470 vehicles, while also overseeing the performance of some 1000 staff who deliver our operations across our 9 UK sites.

Applicants will need to demonstrate a proven track record of managing multi-site operations and must demonstrate a progressive career in successfully initiating change to maximize business efficiency and profitability.

Other key responsibilities include:• Leading depot teams to deliver continual improvement in operational KPI’s • Managing engineering processes and standards in vehicle maintenance • Compiling and delivering budgets and forecasts • Developing commercial engineering and service opportunities Reporting to the Managing Director, the successful applicant will be highly organised and task orientated, whilst being able to lead, develop and motivate their people. They will work closely with our operations, commercial and financial teams to achieve key performance objectives whilst delivering improvements in service quality, efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability.

Interested applicants should apply in writing with a CV and covering letter, to include their salary expectations, to: Ms Sim Gupta – Group HR Manager, Building 16300 Electra Ave, London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, Middx, TW6 2DN. Email applications to sim.gupta@tgmgroup.co.uk Closing Date for Applications is 30 November 2012.

www.coachandbusweek.com

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Barry Jenner and Martyn Roper

Cameron Forecourt appoints new Operations Manager Cameron Forecourt, the ‘one-stop shop’ commercial fuelling service provider, has appointed Martyn Roper as Operations Manager.

Based at the firm’s headquarters in Barnsley, Martyn will have overall responsibility for production, installation and service activities. This includes project planning and the co-ordination of installation contracts throughout the country.

Martyn is a qualified electrical and electronics engineer who spent the early part of his career as a design engineer working for avionics and computer companies.

His first management role was at Sanderson Computers where he was UK Engineering Manager before moving on to a more

general management role as Head of Operations for a governmentbacked standards organisation serving the transportation industry.

Commenting on Martyn’s appointment, Barry Jenner, Cameron Forecourt MD, said: “As we take on bigger and more complex contracts, it has become necessary to appoint an overall co-ordinator to manage our nationwide activities. Martyn’s experience and knowledge will prove really helpful. It will release others to concentrate on the maintenance of professionalism and quality at the core of all we do.”

Cameron Forecourt is near the end of a record year in terms of turnover and profit despite another difficult year economically.

26/11/2012 18:34

“Advertise all your recruitment vacancies the affordable way; book a series of three adverts; buy one week, get the second week half price and have a third week on us… yes, that’s free! CBW is the only paid-for weekly publication serving the coach and bus industry; read by directors, managers, engineers and drivers alike. Your vacancy will be seen in the print and digital editions, and online at www.coachandbusweek.com/jobs.

Due to popular demand, this amazing offer is extended to the end of the year, so don’t delay, contact me, Ian Gillis, on 01733 293484, or via email: ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com”

RECRUITNOW www.coachandbusweek.com/jobs Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/coachandbusweek Join the discussion on Twitter by following us at @cbwtweets Search LinkedIn Groups for ‘Coach and Bus Week (CBW)’

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681529-1064-Goodyear

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