First to Know – Summer 2015

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Summer 2015

know

The magazine for First people in Hampshire, Dorset & Berkshire

n o t p m a h t u o S depot goes nding skills Drivers praised for outsta

CENTRE PAGES

MAJOR INVESTMENT IN NEW ECO-FRIENDLY BUSES &TECHNOLOGY See Group News PAGE SIX

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Excellent service will help us keep customers

By Managing Director

Marc Reddy

THE summer is now with us and in some of our depots, we are carrying additional customers. It is really important we give excellent service to all our customers, but especially those who are new or unfamiliar with bus travel.

This helps to retain their custom going forward, and if they are a regular bus user, this helps to retain their custom with ourselves, as opposed to a competitor.

Overall, customer satisfaction across the whole of Hampshire, Dorset & Berkshire has increased by five per cent in the last 12 months, which is a great achievement. My thanks goes to all of you who are working really hard to take the business forward.

It is pleasing to see that Southampton depot has now gone “into green” following much hard work to improve DriveGreen scores. This impacts on the quality of service for our customers – giving them a smoother and more comfortable ride.

Congratulations to the drivers and other staff members for their efforts in achieving this progress which ultimately contributes to our business aim of creating Better Journeys for Life.

The summer brings a number of one-off contract events such as the Bournemouth Air Festival.

This year we will operating more one-off events than ever before after securing various different contracts.

Nearly every depot is involved in some shape or form.

Fingers crossed for a glorious summer with plenty of sunshine!

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Discount offer on zoo entry tickets ISITORS to one of Hampshire’s top tourist attractions are benefiting from extended holiday Driver services laid on by First.

Malcolm In addition to the M1 Courtenage with service which the a toy snow leopard company has been at the launch of operating from Eastleigh extended services to Marwell Zoo since to Marwell April 3, the M2 service is Zoo. now running from Southampton city centre to Marwell via Hedge End. As well as enhanced travel to the 140-acre zoological park near Winchester which contains hundreds of animals, bus customers are being given an admission discount.

On production of a valid bus ticket, visitors to the zoo are entitled to an exclusive saving of 10 per cent off the entry price.

The new M2 service operates on Sundays until the end of August, and will run on Wednesdays during the school summer holidays.

Chrissie Bainbridge, General Manager, First Southampton, said: “It is a real thrill for us to be able to provide Marwell visitors with a further enhancement of bus travel to the zoo.”

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Event highlights issues of dementia sufferers FIRST Solent joined forces with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to stage a Swap With Me event to highlight the issues dementia sufferers may face when travelling by bus.

Employees from Hilsea and Hoeford depots attended the event held at Southsea fire station and experienced first hand what their passengers might encounter.

Representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends Group arranged for drivers to don dark glasses,

limiting their vision. They were also asked to carry out simple tasks in a darkened room to heighten the sense of confusion and disorientation.

Hilsea Staff Manager Ian Woodcock said: “It helped our drivers better appreciate what people suffering from dementia may encounter and what they can do to help passengers using our buses who have this debilitating condition.

“It was very successful and we will certainly be staging more Swap With Me events in the near future.”

A double decker advertising the discounted zoo admission offer at a bus stop outside the entrance to the attraction.

Good start TRAVELLERS on the RailAir coach service operated by First Berkshire are set to enjoy added comfort at the start of their journey.

Refurbishment is underway in the RailAir lounge at Reading station, the departure point for the dedicated non-stop service to Heathrow Airport.

Route risks DRIVERS at First Berkshire are being offered Route Risk Assessments when they have their Job Chats.

The documents give details of potential hazards on routes such as low trees, difficult road cambers and low bridges.

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Hoeford depot blood donors, left to right, Mark Sharp, Casey Foot, Keith Worsfold and Kelvin Lond.

Appeal for blood donors OUR employees at Hoeford are regular blood donors – and they are urging colleagues to follow their lead.

One of the quartet, Casey Foot, has a highly personal motivation for wanting other people to see whether they qualify to be able to give platelets, tiny cells which are required for life-saving transfusions.

Her father Frank, who sadly died in January, received regular

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transfusions of whole blood and platelets as part of his treatment.

“I had already been donating platelets some months before but my dad’s illness made me especially aware of the value of giving blood,” said Casey, who was originally inspired to donate platelets by Controller Keith Worsfold, who has been donating for years and has racked up an impressive 264 donations.

“We make a 50-mile round trip to donate at the Donor

Centre at Southampton General Hospital,” said Casey.

“We go once a month and it takes about two hours – you are hooked up to a machine for about 90 minutes.

“One whole donation can help two adults and four or five children.

“Most people know someone at arm’s length who has needed a transfusion of some kind, so I would urge colleagues to go along to an NHS blood donor

session to be tested for suitability.” Also donating regularly at Hoeford are Casey’s partner, Controller Mark Sharp, Controller Kelvin Lond and Supervisor Lawrie James. ● Blood’s main components – red cells, plasma and platelets – are vital for many different uses. The contact number for NHS Blood is 0300 123 2323.

Fundraising walk in memory of colleague SEVEN charity fundraisers calling themselves “Lesley’s Lushes” are set to complete a night-time walk in memory of a colleague.

The group at Hoeford depot is taking part in the Moonlit Memories Walk to raise money for The Rowans Hospice.

Their walk, an annual occasion, will be in memory of Controller Bobby Harrison, who died three years ago, and they will be accompanied by his widow Lesley.

The unusual name they have adopted is a reference to the fact that most of their “training” for the event has taken the form of

barbeques and parties.

Walkers in the event begin at Castle Field opposite Southsea Common, walking along Eastney Esplanade and into the Historic Dockyard where HMS Victory is illuminated for the occasion.

The Rowans Hospice, where Bobby was cared for before he passed away, is a local charity dedicated to improving the lives of people with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

Established in 1994, it has helped more than 7,000 patients and families across Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire.

Two of the Hoeford staff taking part in the Moonlit Memories Walk – Administrator Louy O’Brien and Supervisor Mark Lovell.

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Question

Driver takes action to help woman collapsed in street A Southampton Driver has been awarded a Superstar award for helping a member of the public who collapsed on the street – the second such incident she had witnessed on her shift.

Sandra Hunt was pulling in at the railway station around 11.30pm when she saw a young woman lying on the pavement. She stopped her bus and along with her passengers went straight to the lady’s assistance.

“I phoned an ambulance immediately,” said Sandra.

“We subsequently learned that she had been sitting on a seat and had suddenly fallen forward without warning and

gone into a fit.”

Sandra helped to give the woman space as a jacket was put under her head and she was comforted until the emergency services arrived.

The driver delayed her departure time for eight minutes, all the time making sure everything possible could be done to help the woman.

“Strangely enough it was the second time that night that I had seen someone falling ill,” she added. “Earlier as I approached a stop I saw a man fall over, giving himself a nasty facial injury.

“Two passengers helped him and I radioed in to report the incident.”

DriveGreen Champion Orbay Keskin, left, discusses DriveGreen techniques with Driver Brian Talbot.

DEAN GINIFER, Weymouth Driver, takes time out to answer our questions. Dean, aged 26, lives in Weymouth and has recently received a Superstar award for his excellent customer service.

Driver Colin Geddes checks the in-cab LED display which indicates his DriveGreen performance.

Team efforts help achieve

coveted greenstatus RIVERS at First in smooth acceleration, braking, Southampton are being cornering, diversional change and praised for their speed. outstanding DriveGreen skills “The drivers at Southampton which have pushed them “into have all done very well,” said green” for the first time in six Orbay. “We now have 120 in months. green and around 60 in amber – The breakthrough, which we have no-one in red. means the Empress Road depot “Our overall scores mean that joins others in Hampshire, Dorset we are now in green, a team and Berkshire with coveted green effort which has been boosted by status, has been achieved by a the supervisors and controllers sustained programme of raising being focused on driver awareness. education. They have DriveGreen Champion Orbay Keskin has been leading an initiative to educate the drivers in Green Road, especially the new ones. By working as a team and having frequent conversations about DriveGreen, the drivers have achieved big strides forward under the company’s scheme which uses onboard sensors to monitor smooth, fuel-efficient and safe driving.

Benefits include improved customer experience thanks to smoother driving, fuel Driver saving, fewer Chris Woodford accidents and studies a breakdown reduced driver of his DriveGreen stress. performance using an All of the analytic computer drivers have “dashboard”. reached high standards in

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Sandra Hunt, right, is presented with her Superstar of the Month certificate by Staff Manager Kerrie Grant.

Initiative to encourage staff to do better for themselves A programme is underway to develop the potential of First office-based people. The Dynamic Performance and Development programme aims to boost employees’ skills and maximise their potential.

After objectives in tune with First’s Vision and Values have been agreed, managers and staff will meet through the year to discuss performance and development issues.

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An end-of-year review and performance appraisal will follow.

“We want an office environment where each individual is engaged and self-motivated to do better for themselves and the organisation,” said Tabitha McGauley, Human Resources Business Partner.

“We hope this Group-wide programme will equip individuals with these skills.”

successfully been sharing information on Green Road with the drivers on the frontline.”

Where necessary Orbay himself has gone on ride-outs to make sure people are not braking too sharply and leaving their engines to idle unnecessarily.

The high achievers have also COVER shown skill in conforming to PICTURE: the Smith System. The Driver Sue Smith Five Keys promote O’Sullivan with safe and efficient driving by Smith Keys encouraging drivers to: aim cards. high in steering, get the big picture, keep their eyes moving, leave themselves an out and make sure they can be seen.

Dean Ginifer sporting his Leeds United shirt.

What is the best thing about your job?

Meeting new people and getting to know the regular passengers.

You were recently praised by a passenger who wrote in highlighting your driving skills and your “impeccable, first class treatment” of your customers. What is the secret of your customer service?

I aim to be friendly and efficient.

If a customer asks for information I try to be as informative as possible.

How do you relax?

I like spending time with my girlfriend and children, going on walks or playing games. I like to play the soccer simulation game FIFA on PlayStation 4 to relax.

My hobbies are playing golf and football – my favourite team is Leeds United. I have recently started going to Judo which I am enjoying.

What are your favourite films?

The Fast & Furious films, originally based on a magazine article about street clubs that race Japanese cars late at night.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

When growing up I wanted to

work in the building trade and I did so when I first left school.

Then work died down and I moved on from there to lorry driving – and now of course bus driving.

What is your favourite place in the world?

I would say Australia is my favourite place even though I haven’t been there. It’s a fantastic landscape with wonderful weather – I would like to go one day.

To what era would you go back if you had a time machine?

I would like to travel into the distant future to see what inventions have been dreamed up by the human race.

What is your most valuable possession?

My Ford Focus car. It is reliable and it’s easy to find replacement parts.

What was your best holiday?

A snowboarding holiday in the Alps. We were on the borders of Italy and France, and the Alpine scenery was inspiring. The snowboarding itself was a challenge – really tough on the leg muscles!

SUMMER 2015

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First To Know p4-5

1/6/15

10:55

Page 1

time

Question

Driver takes action to help woman collapsed in street A Southampton Driver has been awarded a Superstar award for helping a member of the public who collapsed on the street – the second such incident she had witnessed on her shift.

Sandra Hunt was pulling in at the railway station around 11.30pm when she saw a young woman lying on the pavement. She stopped her bus and along with her passengers went straight to the lady’s assistance.

“I phoned an ambulance immediately,” said Sandra.

“We subsequently learned that she had been sitting on a seat and had suddenly fallen forward without warning and

gone into a fit.”

Sandra helped to give the woman space as a jacket was put under her head and she was comforted until the emergency services arrived.

The driver delayed her departure time for eight minutes, all the time making sure everything possible could be done to help the woman.

“Strangely enough it was the second time that night that I had seen someone falling ill,” she added. “Earlier as I approached a stop I saw a man fall over, giving himself a nasty facial injury.

“Two passengers helped him and I radioed in to report the incident.”

DriveGreen Champion Orbay Keskin, left, discusses DriveGreen techniques with Driver Brian Talbot.

DEAN GINIFER, Weymouth Driver, takes time out to answer our questions. Dean, aged 26, lives in Weymouth and has recently received a Superstar award for his excellent customer service.

Driver Colin Geddes checks the in-cab LED display which indicates his DriveGreen performance.

Team efforts help achieve

coveted greenstatus RIVERS at First in smooth acceleration, braking, Southampton are being cornering, diversional change and praised for their speed. outstanding DriveGreen skills “The drivers at Southampton which have pushed them “into have all done very well,” said green” for the first time in six Orbay. “We now have 120 in months. green and around 60 in amber – The breakthrough, which we have no-one in red. means the Empress Road depot “Our overall scores mean that joins others in Hampshire, Dorset we are now in green, a team and Berkshire with coveted green effort which has been boosted by status, has been achieved by a the supervisors and controllers sustained programme of raising being focused on driver awareness. education. They have DriveGreen Champion Orbay Keskin has been leading an initiative to educate the drivers in Green Road, especially the new ones. By working as a team and having frequent conversations about DriveGreen, the drivers have achieved big strides forward under the company’s scheme which uses onboard sensors to monitor smooth, fuel-efficient and safe driving.

Benefits include improved customer experience thanks to smoother driving, fuel Driver saving, fewer Chris Woodford accidents and studies a breakdown reduced driver of his DriveGreen stress. performance using an All of the analytic computer drivers have “dashboard”. reached high standards in

D

Sandra Hunt, right, is presented with her Superstar of the Month certificate by Staff Manager Kerrie Grant.

Initiative to encourage staff to do better for themselves A programme is underway to develop the potential of First office-based people. The Dynamic Performance and Development programme aims to boost employees’ skills and maximise their potential.

After objectives in tune with First’s Vision and Values have been agreed, managers and staff will meet through the year to discuss performance and development issues.

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SUMMER 2015

An end-of-year review and performance appraisal will follow.

“We want an office environment where each individual is engaged and self-motivated to do better for themselves and the organisation,” said Tabitha McGauley, Human Resources Business Partner.

“We hope this Group-wide programme will equip individuals with these skills.”

successfully been sharing information on Green Road with the drivers on the frontline.”

Where necessary Orbay himself has gone on ride-outs to make sure people are not braking too sharply and leaving their engines to idle unnecessarily.

The high achievers have also COVER shown skill in conforming to PICTURE: the Smith System. The Driver Sue Smith Five Keys promote O’Sullivan with safe and efficient driving by Smith Keys encouraging drivers to: aim cards. high in steering, get the big picture, keep their eyes moving, leave themselves an out and make sure they can be seen.

Dean Ginifer sporting his Leeds United shirt.

What is the best thing about your job?

Meeting new people and getting to know the regular passengers.

You were recently praised by a passenger who wrote in highlighting your driving skills and your “impeccable, first class treatment” of your customers. What is the secret of your customer service?

I aim to be friendly and efficient.

If a customer asks for information I try to be as informative as possible.

How do you relax?

I like spending time with my girlfriend and children, going on walks or playing games. I like to play the soccer simulation game FIFA on PlayStation 4 to relax.

My hobbies are playing golf and football – my favourite team is Leeds United. I have recently started going to Judo which I am enjoying.

What are your favourite films?

The Fast & Furious films, originally based on a magazine article about street clubs that race Japanese cars late at night.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

When growing up I wanted to

work in the building trade and I did so when I first left school.

Then work died down and I moved on from there to lorry driving – and now of course bus driving.

What is your favourite place in the world?

I would say Australia is my favourite place even though I haven’t been there. It’s a fantastic landscape with wonderful weather – I would like to go one day.

To what era would you go back if you had a time machine?

I would like to travel into the distant future to see what inventions have been dreamed up by the human race.

What is your most valuable possession?

My Ford Focus car. It is reliable and it’s easy to find replacement parts.

What was your best holiday?

A snowboarding holiday in the Alps. We were on the borders of Italy and France, and the Alpine scenery was inspiring. The snowboarding itself was a challenge – really tough on the leg muscles!

SUMMER 2015

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New drive reinforces key safety value Checking passengers are safe before pulling away.

FIRST UK Bus people are being encouraged to take personal responsibility to make sure they, their colleagues and customers remain safe.

It comes amid an increase in collisions and passenger injuries in most OpCos. There were fewer severe injuries but more minor injuries to passengers boarding and alighting.

There is also concern that slips and trips during in 2013/14 led to an increase in staff lost time injuries.

First UK Bus Managing Director Giles Fearnley said: “We need to address these

issues and we are working to encourage colleagues to take personal responsibility for safety.”

A new system is being developed to help identify drivers’ training and support needs in relation to safety.

It aims to provide a consistent approach to analysing driver data across the whole group, and identify the factors that are a risk to employee and customer safety.

This tool will enable colleagues to discuss safety matters more accurately during professional development planning.

Micro Hybrid Streetlite Buses which entered service last year.

First has ordered a further 183 of these environmentally-friendly vehicles, which now feature Euro 6 engines.

UR announcement of a £77.7million order for new vehicles is fantastic news. It’s one of our biggest ever orders and reinforces improving performance, increasing passenger numbers and our continuing commitment to deliver our Better Journeys for Life promise.

Investing in our fleet is absolutely key if we are to continue improving our product and attracting new customers.

We should all be proud that we’ve invested almost £385million in vehicles over the last five years, replacing some 2,200 buses, almost a third of our fleet. The new vehicles will all come fitted with leather seats, CCTV and WiFi, providing customers with free internet access.

In addition to the dedicated space for wheelchair users, extra space will be provided for pushchairs and we are trialling the installation of USB charging points on some vehicles. I’m also delighted that more than 90 per cent of the new buses will be fitted with environmentally friendly Euro 6 engines, the biggest investment in Euro 6 buses in the UK to date. To set this in context, Euro 6 engines have eight times less emissions than their predecessors, the Euro 5. As well as travelling in new buses, customers will benefit from improvements in new technology. For example: ● We will soon reveal improvements to our website including real time bus tracking and journey planning, alongside a trial of the same features in the mTicketing app.

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Investing in future

success

● We’re also looking at new ways of paying for mTickets, including Paypal, and Apple Pay, as well as exploring new technologies to validate mTickets.

Of course, we can only continue to invest by being successful as a business. We need to set the highest

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By First UK Bus Managing Director

Giles Fearnley standards in our operational performance whilst offering our customers excellent value.

We are committed to continuing to build a more sustainable business. That means introducing cost efficiencies where possible and increasing revenues underpinned by continuing to grow our customer base.

We know that the most effective way to deliver the best bus services for customers is through operators and local authorities working together in partnership, and we have a great track record of doing just that.

We believe that there is much more that can be done through partnership and that calls by some Local Authorities for regulation of bus services is not necessary.

We have made great progress in strengthening our businesses across the Division but regrettably in some of our towns and cities, particularly where the local economies are suffering, we continue to face significant challenges.

The announcement of this investment, however, demonstrates again our strong commitment to our Better Journeys for Life promise.

VIPs to appear at ceremonies VIP speakers will appear at First UK Bus Excellence Awards ceremonies.

Olympic gold medalist athlete Sally Gunnell is guest of honour at the South England & Wales ceremony in Reading, while Scotland rugby hero Gavin Hastings will address the gathering in Scotland.

North England’s ceremony will be hosted

by Harry Gration, who presents the BBC’s evening news programme Look North.

Over 1,100 nominations have been received from colleagues for the awards launched this year to reward and recognise those staff who best display the company’s values and go the extra mile.

Look out for reports in the next issue of your employee magazine.

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Many pounds are

lost and gained dozen staff at First Hampshire are losing pounds so they can send pounds to charity.

The 12 colleagues based at Empress Road and Pound Tree Road depots in Southampton have been inspired by the success of a weight-loss drive at the start of the year.

Eight employees made New Year resolutions to lose weight and as a result recorded a total loss of

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5st 10lbs. The biggest loser was Chrissie Bainbridge, General Manager of First Southampton, who shed 7.7 per cent of her body weight.

Of the total £156 raised through the participants’ “entry fees,” half went to Chrissie for winning the competition to lose most weight and the other half to Macmillan Cancer Support.

The latest slimming initiative will

donate funds to the Wessex Haven Breast Cancer Support Centre. Organiser Annmarie Cartlidge, Customer Engagement Manager, said: “We initially started losing weight because several of us were feeling unhealthy and needed a kick-start into feeling better in 2015.

“We are thrilled with the results and we shall continue to lose more weight, raising more money for our chosen charities in the process.”

Staff fundraising for earthquake appeal STAFF in the Berkshire depots are being urged to dig deep to help earthquake victims in Nepal.

First Berkshire General Manager Simon Goff has launched an appeal to raise cash for the Nepal earthquake disaster appeal fund.

He said: “We have quite a few drivers and other staff who are former Gurkhas from the part of Nepal where so many people’s lives have been affected.

“Many of them still have family and friends

in the area around Kathmandu and I hope all our staff will want to show support for their Gurkha colleagues. We’re just asking them to think about the people in Nepal who have lost loved ones and now face having to rebuild their lives and homes.”

No target figure has been set for the appeal which will involve First colleagues at Slough, Reading and Bracknell as well as Chelmsford, Essex, which also has a number of former Gurkhas on its staff.

Celebrating their success with the slimming challenge are Empress Road staff, left to right, Annmarie Cartlidge, Gillian Gott, Chrissie Bainbridge, Val HandleyGreaves, Geraldine Gibaux, Mike Thake and Janice Symonds.

Training bus to improve skill sets ENGINEERING staff in Hampshire, Dorset and Berkshire are set to improve their skill sets and product knowledge with the arrival of a special training bus.

As First to Know went to press, the FirstGroup vehicle was set to arrive at Southampton depot for the duration of a two-week training course from June 9-18.

The bus, which is making its third visit to the depot, has built-in classrooms on the upper and lower decks together with technical demonstration boards.

A total of 69 engineers will be attending the course for 480 hours’ training. Topics to be covered include fire risk awareness during inspections, maintenance of entrance doors and steering and suspension systems.

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UK drive in the reverse direction TWO Bracknell drivers are set to repeat last year’s exploit of a charity drive the length of Britain – but this time in the reverse direction.

Mario Mehlberg and Michelle Hughes are to drive a Routemaster bus from Land’s End to John O’Groats, non-stop over three days compared with nine days and breaks previously. They are being joined by Operations Manager Nick West and Staff Manager Jim Davies for the 967 mile trip.

They will each take three to four hour turns at the wheel of the iconic 1962 double decker – on loan as one of two support vehicles for the British Transport Police JOGLE 2015 cycle relay ride raising money for the Samaritans, MIND and Victim Support.

Mario said: “This time we are finishing in Scotland and getting the train home. The Routemaster is good fun to drive but not easy. It’s a real classic.”

Nick said: “The Routemaster is bound to draw attention and help everyone involved to raise even more money.”

Gus Iandi is presented with a “Gus the Bus” information document by Dorset Youth Council member Charlotte Mansell outside The Thomas Hardye School at Dorchester, where some of the council members study.

Youth choose Gus as

campaign face Superstar Weymouth Driver has been chosen by young people as the face of their campaign to dispel myths about bus travel.

Dorset Youth Council have called their project “Gus the Bus” because they believe Gus Iandi is a perfect role model as a driver.

Under the banner of G.U.S. (“Getting You Safe”), the youngsters are producing an educational pack for schools to tackle stereotypes around drivers and young passengers.

The Dorset Youth Council – some of whose members are in the national Youth Parliament –

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first became involved as members of the young person’s transport forum at the council.

Working with Natacha Tagholm, First’s Regional Customer Services Manager, South-West and Wales, they attended a Swap With Me event at Weymouth fire station to create a variety of bus scenarios.

Now with the help of the Fixers project run by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust – and using Gus as an example of a driver with perfect customer service – they are creating educational resources for youngsters

between Years Five and Seven.

“I am very pleased to be the face of the project encouraging mutual respect among drivers, young passengers and the older passengers on the buses,” said Gus. “The Swap With Me event was a useful way of finding out what young people think about drivers and vice versa.”

The Youth Council initiative aims to tackle problems like youngsters swearing and talking loudly on mobile phones on buses, and correct some young people’s view of drivers as being unhelpful.

Staff star in M27 closure SUPERSTAR awards have recognised outstanding customer service which was given during extreme traffic problems after a closure affecting the M27 motorway.

Solent Driver Heather Chappell was praised by customers for keeping them informed and for “exceeding expectations” with her concern over the delay.

Ten members of First Hampshire’s customer services team were given a collective Superstar commendation for going the extra mile during the disruption.

Have you got news for us?

IF you have a news item for us please contact Alison Henderson, PR Manager (South Coast), by emailing alison.henderson @firstgroup.com or by calling 02380 714832.