Staying connected 5

ISSUE 5

MANABUS.COM STAFF NEWSLETTER ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT LUGGAGE Pg 2

APRIL 24 2015 100,000 AND STILL COUNTING! PG 4

STAYING CONNECTED Central to our business

the

HUB

THE HUB. This is the aptly named central information area in our business. It is the core for information in - information out. I can’t impress enough on you how vital your input to this area is.

No matter how minor you may feel some information is, please share it with our control team as further down the track it may well impact on your journey or someone else’s later on. This also applies to providing advance information on a passenger incident or behaviour, sudden changes in road and weather conditions, reasons for a late departure or a mechanical issue (see Preventative Maintenance over leaf). Their job is to assess the information provided and if necessary investigate further or simply feed it back to other areas of the business: the contact centre, the workshop, supplies or management and it is the one way we all stay linked. A problem shared is a problem solved!

We currently have two additional controllers being trained up to join Jaala, Karl and Scott in their rostered roles. Please make them all feel welcome and working with them will make all our lives easier!

Sheryll

SHERYLL OTWAY Chief Executive ManaBus.com

ANZAC Weekend Lest We Forget Most regions have diversions in place as extra memorial services are being held to mark the 100th anniversary. Unless indicated, expect delays.

WHG: 0400 - 0800 - Whangarei Passenger Services will guide vehicle in.

AKL: 0300 -1300 - Diversion in place to SYMONDS Street EXIT (North Bound) continues down to Anzac Ave and left onto Beach Rd and Fanshaw STREET (South Bound) Exit per normal route HAM: 0630 – 1300 Travel over Cobham Drive then straight ahead into town to Hamilton Transport Centre TGA: Enter Wharf Street per normal. EXIT via Wharf then right onto Willow (not left) then follow through to Springs Street and Left back onto Cameron Road.

ROT: 0400 - 0800 Memorial Drive closed but buses will have clear access on Fenton Street – Council recommends we use Awara Street.

TPO: No changes, no delays.

WGT: No changes, however our stop is close to Parliament Grounds so expect delays with traffic in surrounding streets.

Monday 27th April has been ‘Mondayised’ meaning if you work on Monday this is a public Holiday but under the act if you work both Saturday 25th and Monday the 27th you will be entitled to one STAT rate and Public Holiday (not two)!

STAYING CONNECTED OPERATIONS Preventative Maintenance If you have issues with anything from window wipers to tyres you must report this to the Hub on 0800 M Drive line, no matter how minor you think the issue may be. Window wipers that ‘play up’ for part of a journey, then come right again, still needs to be reported to the Hub. With vehicles doing a few thousand Km’s between services it means our servicing will become ‘preventative’ instead of ‘reactive’. Even if a problem resolves itself or not, please give the hub a heads-up. This can be the difference between a vehicle being stuck in the middle of the night, on the Central Plateau or making it to its destination on time!

An improvement

in Greenroad in recent weeks is fantastic so keep it GREEN and let’s do our part by monitoring our speed, our cornering and our braking and most importantly driving to the conditions!

New style Luggage labels means EVERY piece of luggage will be tagged.EVERY customer receives a luggage number...NO EXCUSES! Stronger labels have been produced onto a roll to be stored on a dispenser in the stowage area. There is now extra white space to write on each label the 3-digit code for the destination the luggage will be collected. This is to make identification for unloading a lot quicker.

The customer-copy sticker must be handed to the customer to ensure that if the luggage goes missing we will know that the customer did indeed travel with luggage. NO STICKER, NO CLAIM. Drivers will also be supplied with Lost Luggage Claim Forms. These MUST be given to any customers who discover their luggage has been misplaced. Their contact details and the number of the luggage sticker they were given at time of boarding needs (which matches their luggage tag number) is to be entered by them onto this form in order to track down the item(s) more quickly.

Changes to the Carriage of Infants on ManaBus.com We are permitted to accept children under the age of 7 without a child or booster seat. This is in accordance with Bus and Coach Association, New Zealand. It is still our preference to have young children in booster seats but is not a legal requirement. Therefore if a parent/guardian has purchased a ticket and wishes to travel and they turn up at any stop throughout our Network without a booster seat they can and will be welcomed on board our buses.

DESTINATION CODE

No, No’s...

LOADING SHEET COPY

Large electronic objects, such as televisions, computers, printers are not to be accepted for carriage either onboard or in the luggage stowage area. Our Ts & Cs have been updated to include this.

MANABUS.COM HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE NEEDS YOU! EXPRESSION OF INTEREST We are looking to appoint a representative from Drivers to be a ManaBus.com Health & Safety committee member. Meetings are usually twice a month.

If you are interested please email Alex.Blakeley@manabus.com for more details.

A friendly Facebook reminder

Only authorised staff may comment or engage with customers/public through official channels. No personal accounts may be used for ManaBus.com communications.

Any complaints, negative or irate feedback, spam or trolling posts must be reported to a supervisor immediately. Under no circumstances should any staff respond or ‘like’ these types of comments, even after a resolution has been reached.

LUGGAGE...and more luggage...

We are on a mission to educate customers that have additional luggage or luggage that is over the 15kg limit that they MUST book an additional seat for the luggage. This can only happen if the bus is not fully booked and it is not able to happen at time of boarding. The more we advise people the easier it will be on all luggage-handling staff.

Any staff member may ‘like’ a positive comment when they agree with. If a compliment is directed towards a particular member of staff, that person may reply in recognition.

Eg. “Driver Joe was pleasant and professional, thanks Joe”. In this case, an acceptable form of response from Joe would be short, succinct and non-engaging: “Thank you” or “Glad you enjoyed your trip.

We hope to see you again soon”. Other staff may ‘like’ if they wish (but no additional comments please).

New dispensers will be fitted to the stowage area for the new label rolls for easy use. Over the next few weeks the new-look tags will be distributed to all services.

PASSENGER COPY

New Timetables May 1

By now most of you will have your new rosters for the new timetable that comes into effect Monday 1 May. If you have any queries please contact our Hub controllers on 0800 M Drive.

We would also like to encourage all staff to email or private message any relevant images or content for the ManaBus.com social media accounts and we’d love to share this on your behalf. Please send to: Luke.Yarnton@manabus.com

100,000th PASSENGER EVENT!

Everyone agreed how amazing it would be to have a red carpet at all stations! Sure makes loading a lot more orderly!

Keko was one excited pukeko during the 100,000th passenger event held in Whangarei last week. Loads of giveaways and one lucky passenger took away a generous hamper full of goodies.

Thanks to our local staff and Whangarei Passenger Services crew that turned up on the day too! Roll on 200,000!

STAFF PROFILE:

Better connected...

Douglas (Doug) Rehutai

With your permission, we would like to update our contact list with the best number to reach you and issue the complete list to Operational Controllers and administration staff and managers so we can all be better at ‘Staying Connected’.

If you would prefer this not to happen please contact Daniel.Hanson@manabus.com

ManaBus.com driver Doug and wife Trish moved back to Tauranga from Sydney in 2009 so Trish could become a full time carer to Mum. With sons living in NSW and a daughter on the move to Kalgoorlie in the Northern Territory, their annual trip to Oz at Christmas time is extra special with 13 grandchildren to spoil.

With a long background in bus driving beginning with the NZ R Road services, then Bayline and GoBus, Doug also did a 7 year stint long-haul trucking through NSW. When they manage to have some time out they pack up the caravan and don’t have to travel far to two of the best spots in the country to really relax. It’s either the Papamoa Top 10 Beachfront campground or the stunning Mount Camp grounds. Bliss!

Above: Trish and Doug with their first great-great grandson, wait for it...Devontae Te Ariki Lyric Heta!

Below: A classic NZR Road Services Coach from the 60’s, a -Bedford SB3s.

However, please be aware that we will still require your most up-to-date phone number for management record keeping, although we will not internally publish it.

Yes, we are always asking drivers to ‘drive to the conditions’ but here’s a video of the NSW Fire Brigade taking that to the extreme during last weeks floods...