Scotland's Buses 2017

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SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

incorp orating The conference workbo ok for the 42nd annual CPT Conference – 2020 vision 01_ScotBuses_Cover1.indd 1

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26/10/2017 13:14 19:39 28/04/2017

SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

WELCOME Welcome to scotl and’s buses 2017, a publication devoted to Scotland’s main mode of public transpor t. Buses make an enor mous contr ibution to Scotland, car r y ing 400 million passenger journeys annually, prov iding the v ital links that enable communities to function.

This publication from passenger transp ort puts the spotlight on Scotland’s bus industr y and its stakeholder par tners, celebrates their achievements and considers the challenges they face.

Published in association w ith CPT for a third successive year, this year’s edition again incor porates the official Conference Workbook for the 42nd annual cpt conference 2017, which takes place at Tur nber r y, Ay rshire, on November 6-7.

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

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H U M ZA YO USA F

SA ND RA W H I T E L AW

H I G HL I G HTS

Transport minister answers our questions about bus policy

‘Everything is up in the air!’ observes CPT Scotland chair

A selection of key events for Scotland’s buses over the past 12 months

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DAV I D B EG G

V IS ITSCOTLA N D

STSG

TRAN SP ORT FOCUS

Identifying the factors behind declining bus use in Scotland

‘Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy’

Paul White of the Scottish Transport Studies Group fears repeating mistakes

Robert Samson on how passenger research can advance the cause of buses

29 Cover image: Mario Guti / iStockphoto

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F I RSTG RO U P

LOTH IA N

M C G I L L’S

Andrew Jarvis believes that partnership is the best way forward

Lothian is doing its part to improve air quality across Edinburgh

Ralph Roberts argues that the bus industry needs to find its voice

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STAG ECOAC H

X PLORE DU N DEE

TICKE TER

CPT CON F ER EN C E

Group’s digital strategy is transforming the journey experience for bus users

Engineering team recognised for achieving the highest standards

Ticketer is taking the stress out of introducing contactless payments

The official Workbook for the 42nd annual CPT Conference

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26/10/2017 18:05

SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Transport and the Islands addressing the bus industry at last year’s CPT Scottish Conference

‘I WON’ T STAND BY’ humza yousaf msp, Scotland’s Minister for Transpor t and the Islands, answers our questions about bus policy - and says he’s won’t stand by and let bus use continue to decline on his watch How important do you think buses are to Scotland?

I am clear that buses are an A essential part of the transport mix in Scotland. They account for around three quarters of all public transport with nearly 400 million bus journeys every year. All sorts of people from right

Q

Are you alarmed by the continuing decline in bus use in Scotland?

I am concerned about the A continuing decline in passenger numbers in Scotland.

It threatens the sustainability of the network that the public relies upon and the jobs which go with

across society use the bus for work, for health and for leisure.

Some people rely on the bus, for example in places where rail does not reach and for those who do not have the option to drive.

For that reason we need our bus network across Scotland for the economy and society to function.

Q

it. The decline is a continuation of a very long term trend (since at least the 1960s) and it varies in severity across Scotland, but I am not willing to stand by and let it continue on my watch.

Research has shown that Q congestion has played a major role in this decline -

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H UMZA YO USAF

what can your government do to tackle congestion?

Congestion is one of the A key challenges that will be considered in our review of the National Transport Strategy and in our Strategic Transport Projects Review, but we’re also acting now.

We’ve had a good response from bus operators to our call for evidence around congestion hotspots. Where the congestion is on the trunk road network, Transport Scotland has a direct role and we will consider solutions, including bus priority, through our managed motorways study.

We also have a number of significant interventions underway

agenda - but one I have seen most operators embrace, bringing in new smart infrastructure, as well as working with Transport Scotland to provide smart services.

Over the last 18 months there have been extremely successful smart zones launched in Aberdeen and Dundee, where people can purchase inter-operable tickets, loaded onto their smartcards, and we look forward to building on this in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the next few months.

On top of this I am pleased to see the willingness amongst operators to trial new saltirecard (the Scottish Government’s brand for smart ticketing schemes) travel products, such as an Android app and e-Purse, so we can properly engage and evaluate what the end user - the travelling public wants from smart services.

that will provide congestion relief on the trunk and local road networks, including the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, A737 Dalry Bypass, A77 Maybole Bypass, A90/A96 Haudagain Junction Improvement, A720 Sheriffhall Improvements, along with the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements, which were opened to traffic earlier this year with journey time savings of 20 minutes on the M8 and 15 minutes at the Raith Interchange.

In terms of the local road network, which is where most of the congestion that affects bus passengers happens, we will take the evidence from operators to local authorities. Through City Region Deals, the Scottish Government is providing funding which will be used to tackle congestion and improve public transport priority.

We are working closely with local authorities across Scotland’s four biggest cities to deliver a network of Low Emission Zones.

Emission reduction must happen in parallel with, and work in tandem with any actions to tackle congestion. The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland has been very clear on this point, in relation to the creation of new Traffic Regulation Conditions that may support LEZs in the future.

Finally, we see tackling congestion as a shared problem - and a potential ‘win win’ for bus operators and local authorities. Through our Transport Bill, we plan to create a new form of statutory partnership which will provide a better framework for local authorities and operators to work together to deliver shared goals. I’d expect to see tackling congestion featuring as a key element in many of these new partnerships.

Are you satisfied by the Q progress being made by bus operators towards the government’s smart, seamless, inter-modal ticketing agenda?

With over 200 operators A and a deregulated market, it is a complex and challenging environment for Scotland’s ticketing

Smart ticketing: Humza Yousaf is pleased to see the willingness amongst bus operators to trial new saltirecard

The government’s vision for a national saltire smartcard is now five years on.

Given the huge rise in mobile ticketing and contactless in the intervening years are you sure that a smartcard and an e-Purse are still the best means to provide smart and integrated ticketing?

As part of the Scottish A Government’s smart and integrated travel strategy, Transport Scotland regularly meets with transport operators and liaises with industry experts about the best smart

Q

ticket and payment services for our travelling public.

A saltirecard smartcard, which people can load tickets or money onto, is one of the many products in the smart portfolio that we are supporting operators with.

Like any smartcard product (such as your bank, voucher or loyalty card) we believe it still has a key part to play - we know that some people like newer technologies, such as mobile payments or tickets - but these are not the single choice of users yet.

During the course of engagement with operators and industry experts, it has, however, become clear that contactless bank card payments are one of the preferred options for both operators and their customers.

However, we are continuing to listen to everyone’s views through our current Future of Smart Ticketing Consultation, and would actively encourage people to give us their opinions on this, before it closes at the start of December.

As technology continues to evolve so quickly, it is important that we progress with the right technology to provide us with a solid foundation to improve the user experience and drive up bus patronage. We are therefore taking a considered approach to which payment method best serves the public and how we should look to support this across Scotland and transport modes, making best value with the public purse and selecting an option fit for purpose now, and into the future.

This is also why ongoing dialogue with the industry and, ultimately, good governance is so important.

Does it remain the case Q that the government has no plan to re-regulate buses?

Yes, I remain opposed to A the wholesale re-regulation of buses. Buses are fundamentally a local service and the way to improve them is by working at the local level with the right partners, putting the bus passenger at the heart of their considerations.

Our Transport Bill will be ➢ designed with that in mind.

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SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

What assurances can you offer the industry on the future of concessionary fares revenue and the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)?

In terms of BSOG, I am A committed to providing that support for bus services.

The industry wants the stability to invest and ultimately grow and we have a role there. BSOG in Scotland has two clear objectives. The first is to help maintain the bus network in Scotland and help keep fares at manageable levels. We also use BSOG to incentivise the purchase and running of low emission buses. We are reviewing the low carbon vehicle incentive to bring it up to date with the technology and ensure that it is weighted towards lower emitting vehicles.

As far as concessionary travel is concerned, we are committed to continuing to ensure that operators are paid fairly for carrying concessionary passengers. We have an economic model which we have developed with CPT, and which we are currently reviewing with them, which aims to ensure operators are on average no better or worse off as a result of the concessionary travel scheme.

What does the Q forthcoming review of the National Transport Strategy (NTS) mean for buses?

The National Transport A Strategy Review is a collaborative process involving a wide range of stakeholders and key partners around Scotland. It takes a long-term holistic approach in setting out what kind of transport we want in Scotland for the next 20 years. As it progresses, it will address developments and policy changes in various transport modes, including bus. There will be numerous opportunities for bus operators and users and other interested parties to engage with the review process throughout a period of extensive stakeholder engagement taking place in the coming year. Indeed, the bus sector is already heavily involved

Q

options for local franchising and local authorities running their own buses. Local authorities have asked for these powers and where the case is made, with the right checks and balances, I am not going to stand in the way.

We are also looking at requiring more information on services to be made publicly available as open data. Despite some real progress from a number of individual operators, bus as a whole remains too opaque as a service in this day and age. I am of the opinion that we need to open up data on timetables, routes, punctuality and fares so that passengers find it easier to plan and make journeys.

This is about a common standard across operators in Scotland and I think it can make a difference.

When it comes to Q improving urban air quality in Scotland, do you see buses as part of the problem or part of the solution?

Buses clearly have a key A role to play as part of the solution. The newest Euro VI buses mark a step change in NOx and other emissions and that is even before you consider the per passenger emissions metric. I launched Lothian’s electric buses recently which marks another huge step forward.

We want to shift people out of cars and into buses, and if we can get those buses moving more freely, we will start to make

in the work of the review through CPT’s and Bus Users Scotland’s membership of the various NTS Review working groups. We will work closely with these organisations and others to ensure that bus users are fully involved in our broader public engagement on the review. The review will culminate in the publication of a successor Transport Strategy for Scotland - the NTS2. Once NTS2 is published, modal transport policies will be expected to reflect and be informed by the strategic priorities outlined in the new national strategy. Additionally, the NTS Review will build on the work of the 2016 NTS refresh in looking to clarify and potentially improve how transport roles and responsibilities are distributed between central and local government and others.

What can the new Q Transport (Scotland) Bill do to encourage greater use of buses?

Our proposals, as set out in A the consultation document ‘Local Bus Services in Scotland Improving the Framework for Delivery’, are designed to give local authorities a range of viable and flexible options to improve bus services in their area. I have said that buses are a local service so this is not about a one size fits all approach. Partnership is at the heart of what I think can bring improvements, but we also present

Humza Yousaf (left) pictured at the launch of Lothian’s new fleet of electric buses

significant progress in tackling our air pollution hotspots.

The private car is the Q biggest contributor to NOx but the recent proposal for a Glasgow LEZ is very weak on when and if cars might be included.

What is the government’s view on the car's inclusion within low emission zones?

I have been clear that A bus-only LEZs are not the right approach. It is likely that different vehicles will have to be phased in, but cars must be included in plans. This is one aspect that the Building Scotland’s Low Emission Zones consultation is examining. My reading of Glasgow’s initial proposal is that a phased approach is preferred, but there is a lot more work to be done. We recently announced the formation of a Four Cities LEZ Leadership Group, which will be jointly chaired by me and Roseanna Cunningham MSP, the cabinet secretary for environment, climate change and land reform.

Each LEZ must be designed for its city, with the local authority taking the lead on this issue, but we are committed to supporting a partnership approach in the delivery of LEZs. You have a clear national Q vision for improving bus services. A lot of the levers such as bus priority measures/ limiting car parking, etc. lie at the local level. How do you get buy in from local authorities?

It is right to say that A local authorities have to lead in improving bus services.

Some of that can involve making brave decisions, though there are clear gains for communities.

However, they also need the tools to do that. As well as setting out our vision, the Scottish Government’s role is in setting the legislative framework for delivery.

We are working closely with local government as well as our other stakeholders in how we design that. So I would summarise by saying that to get buy in we need to listen and work in partnership with local authorities, and that is what we are doing.

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Media partners transporttimes

8TH FEBRUARY 2018 QEII CENTRE, BROAD SANCTUARY, WESTMINSTER, LONDON SW1P 3EE

Confirmed Speakers

Humza Yousaf MSP, Scottish Transport Minister

Valerie Shawcross CBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Transport

David Brown, Chief Executive, Go-Ahead

The fourth annual UK Bus Summit will be held in London at the QEII Conference Centre, Westminster on 8th February 2017 and once again is supported by Department for Transport and Transport for London.

This year the focus will be on why buses are an integral part of the solution to Clean Air Zones rather than the problem.

Local authorities will need to set out their initial plans CAZs by the end of March 2018.

The UK Bus Summit is perfectly timed to disseminate best practice and give all stakeholders the opportunity to exchange views as part of the consultation.

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26/10/2017 19:41

SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

‘EVERY THING IS UP IN THE AIR!’ sandra whitel aw, chair of cpt scotl and, says that she has never experienced a period when there has been so much potential change to Scottish bus policy. ‘What is our v ision for 2020? ’ she asks uses are in Sandra Whitelaw’s blood.

Her mother and father ran Whitelaws Coaches, based in Stonehouse, a rural village in South Lanarkshire.

And by the time she was five years old she had already learnt how to sweep out a bus and empty the ashtrays!

Running a tidy operation is something that Whitelaw has prided herself on since taking charge of the business 27 years ago. This year will see 41-vehicle Whitelaws take delivery of 10 new Euro 6 Enviro200 single deckers.

All of the company’s service routes across Lanarkshire are now operated by modern, stylish, low carbon certified buses.

Whitelaw herself is a highly respected figure in Scotland’s bus industry. She is currently serving her second term as chair of CPT Scotland (her first being when she was just 29 years old).

She is representing Scotland’s bus industry at a time of huge uncertainty. “Everything seems to be up in the air!” she says.

The 42nd annual CPT Scottish Conference at The Turnberry Hotel on November 6-7 will provide an opportunity to discuss the key issues. With a ‘2020 Vision’ theme, this event aims to bring together key stakeholders from within the transport sector to share their views on the future direction for buses. “We can’t claim to be able to tell the future,” says Whitelaw, “but we can work together to shape it.”

We asked Whitelaw for her views on some of the challenges facing the industry:

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Why is bus patronage declining in Scotland?

The answer, unhelpfully, is A ‘a multitude of reasons’.

I’m not intentionally avoiding giving a direct answer - it’s an important point that perhaps needs to be realised. There are many factors that are impacting upon patronage levels and there is no one single, standalone action or policy that will reverse this. If the Scottish Government thinks a change in our regulatory framework and the introduction of a franchising model or municipal bus companies will fix matters then they are very disillusioned and will be sorely disappointed.

Likewise, when the minister says he will not preside over bus patronage decline he maybe needs to think on whether he really has the powers to address the issue.

There is plenty he can do, and hopefully will, such as encouraging local authorities to understand better the value of their local bus networks to the communities they serve, to invest in bus priority measures and to free buses from congestion or ensure government support for bus reflects the modes’ share of passenger trips - and provide operators the certainty and security to invest and improve services for bus passengers.

However, what can the minister do about technological advances such as the growth of online shopping and people choosing to work from home?

Can he reverse the trend of low cost car loans and the growth in car ownership and usage?

The real BIG question is how do we address bus patronage decline

in Scotland? In my view, it requires buy in from bus operators, the public sector and passengers. We need to work to our strengths to make bus an attractive, reliable, affordable travel option and then we need to use both the carrot and the stick to get people on board.

Events like the CPT Conference are fantastic for getting the key stakeholders that could help deliver this vision in one room to discuss how we make it a reality.

The theme for this year’s Q CPT Scottish Conference is ‘2020 vision’ - can you explain what this is all about?

Last year at the Conference a A panel of technology experts were asked for their vision of what public transport will look like in 10 years’ time. These experts practically laughed at the idea. At the current rate of technological change, even looking at the next two to three years could be a stretch too far for the imagination!

That struck a chord with myself and the conference team. Let’s challenge ourselves to look ahead two to three years because, we know that not only are we on the cusp of technological changes around things like automation, information/ticketing, and greener vehicles - we are also facing the potential constitutional upheaval of Brexit and a second Scottish independence referendum, and the greatest degree of changes to Scottish bus policy that I think I’ve ever experienced in my time in this industry.

A new Transport Bill and Transport Strategy, changes to BSOG and the Concessions scheme, Low Emission Zones,

Q

smart ticketing, roadworks - the government has chosen to consult on changing practically every aspect of bus operations at the same time. Everything seems to be up in the air! How do we navigate our way through this uncertainty?

What is our vision for 2020 and beyond? How do we make sure that the industry that emerges from this period of change is better for it?

How will the industry Q respond to the forthcoming consultation on the sustainability on the Concessions Scheme?

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SA ND RA W H I T E L AW

In the driving seat: Sandra Whitelaw has headed South Lanarkshire’s Whitelaws Coaches for 27 years

Operators may have differing views on the concession scheme consultation.

Some of those will be influenced by their perception of the Scottish Government’s administration and delivery of the scheme while some operators might have their own motives, if they’re fast approaching 60! Just for the record - that’s not me yet!

CPT is currently liaising with members to define what the CPT response should be and it would be wrong of me to pre-empt these

A

ongoing discussions. What I will say is that in a perfect world eligibility for the concessions scheme should not be a concern for operators. It should not matter who qualifies as we should be ‘no better or worse off ’ for participating in the scheme. The view of many operators is that this is increasingly not the case and, as such, how the government delivers the scheme becomes an important matter.

For example, a great deal of work is put into the model that calculates operator reimbursement.

It is calibrated to reflect a raft of factors such as operator costs, discounts, travel patterns of eligible groups in the absence of a scheme, etc. The government cannot simply decide to throw in a group such as Modern Apprentices. This would require a separate discussion on operator reimbursement and a separate pot of government money.

From my point of view the messages I would want to make loud and clear to Scottish Government, through this consultation, are:

Q that the scheme is not government support - it is payment for a service provided, a benefit to cardholders; Q that the concept of no better or worse off is entirely incompatible with capping the budget for the scheme; Q that cutting operator reimbursement passes costs on to operators, local authorities and fare-paying passengers; and Q that any further cuts run the risk of destabilising large swathes of the Scottish bus network.

Are you confident about Q the future of the Bus Service Operators Grant?

Transport Scotland is A currently reviewing the BSOG model, which may see reimbursement rates being tiered and payment depending on the environmental performance of a vehicle; so a hybrid would receive a different rate to an electric vehicle.

The fact this review is taking place suggests that the government is not minded to get rid of the scheme.

However, there is a contradiction within the government’s agenda for better air quality that threatens BSOG’s future.

The Green Bus Fund assists operators in the purchase of low emission vehicles. The forthcoming Low Emission Zones will also compel operators towards accelerated investment and fleet renewal. This all pushes the mileage operated by ‘green’ vehicles in Scotland upwards. However, the budget for BSOG is capped and as ‘green mileage’ increases the government’s response will be to lower the BSOG rates for low emission vehicles to keep it in budget. On one hand we’re encouraged to invest in and operate LEVs while at the same time Transport Scotland complains that this is pushing up the cost of BSOG and cuts payments!

So, am I confident about the future of BSOG? Not in its current form. Hopefully the government will see sense, better align it with its air quality agenda and ensure the budget increases in pace with the growing number ➢ of LEVs in the Scottish fleet.

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SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

What can the current review of the National Transport Strategy offer Scotland’s bus industry?

The last National Transport A Strategy was not wildly wrong in its vision for improving bus services. Where it failed was in outlining how the national government would ensure that its vision was delivered regionally and locally. Transport funding is not ringfenced. Local authorities are free to manage their budgets as they see fit. I think the last NTS resulted in a series of local and regional transport strategies being drafted and then only partially delivered, if at all.

So, I would hope this new NTS reconsiders how we get buy in from local authorities towards enabling bus operators to deliver better bus services. I note that the NTS review will look at the issue of congestion. Setting out how we can reduce car traffic and free buses to improve punctuality and reliability would be a great start.

How is Scotland’s bus Q industry responding to the air quality agenda?

To my mind, Scotland’s bus A industry has long supported the government’s vision for making Scotland an exemplar for air quality. If you listen to the vision as outlined by the cabinet secretary for the environment, climate change and land reform, Roseanna Cunningham, and our minister for transport and the islands, Humza Yousaf, the message is clear - buses are part of the solution.

Operators have invested in low emission vehicles while CPT has been a stakeholder within the Scottish Transport Emissions Partnership and has helped shape the current consultation on Low Emission Zones.

One of the messages I hope that we leave the minister with at the Conference is that the uncertainty that comes from all the ongoing consultations and reviews plus the worry of shrinking budgets for BSOG and Concessions creates an environment where operators are unable to continue to invest in new greener vehicles. How do I,

Q

Whitelaws took delivery of 10 new Euro 6 Enviro200 single deckers this year

lower the hurdles to allow for the introduction of what is essentially a franchising model. The view being almost to call local authorities’ bluff - if they want the powers, let’s give them the powers and see if they do actually use them.

To my mind this is incredibly reckless. Introducing a franchising system could be the death knell for smaller operating companies, like Whitelaws. And when the local authority realises that franchising is not the panacea but has resulted in a huge resource pressure for no real gain, it is not as if they can flick a switch and reverse it. The damage will be largely irreparable.

What could the Bill do for buses in Scotland? It could undermine service networks across the country just to indulge the handful of re-regulation fanatics in local government!

Is the bus industry doing Q enough to satisfy the government’s vision for smart, seamless intermodal ticketing?

Yes. I would argue that the A bus industry is delivering smart and integrated ticketing at a rate that is ahead of schedule and more ambitious than the

or any of my industry colleagues for that matter, make a business case for investment when there is no clarity over the future of BSOG or concessions? The Transport Bill might result in a franchising system being introduced and as a result I could lose my business!

If the government wants the industry to invest and be part of the solution to better air quality, it needs to support us.

What could the new Q Transport (Scotland) Bill do for buses in Scotland?

I’ll start off by reiterating A what it won’t do for buses. It won’t address any of the real issues such as congestion, cheap and abundant car parking in city centres and wider afield, etc, etc!

The minister’s view on the regulation debate seems to be that local authorities tell him that it is too expensive to introduce a Statutory Quality Partnership and too difficult to introduce a Statutory Quality Contract.

Therefore this legislation will remove the need for local authorities to invest in bus infrastructure projects within a statutory partnership and will

government’s vision.

We have bus-to-bus smart ticketing up and running in Dundee and Aberdeen with Glasgow and Edinburgh to follow in the coming months.

Operators are not putting all their eggs in the saltirecard basket.

Many operators already provide mobile ticketing and contactless payment. Linking this all up and delivering a nationwide ticketing solution is still very much ongoing work with Transport Scotland.

However, its role is now very much in providing or part-funding a solution for rural areas and smaller operators. Larger, urban operators have already moved apace on this and are delivering smart, integrated ticketing for passengers now.

You run one of Scotland’s Q independent bus operators - what do you think they bring to Scotland’s bus industry and what challenges do they face?

I think Scotland’s A independent bus operators make an invaluable contribution to the Scotland-wide bus network!

In some areas, they also contribute to a wider scope of passenger travel, providing coach and school transport alongside delivering local bus services. Many deliver quality services, can be very innovative and clearly passenger focused to meet the needs of their local customer base. But we are all facing an uncertain future - I often wonder what 2020 will look like, not only for Whitelaws, but for the industry as a whole.

What’s been your personal Q highlight during your period as chair of CPT Scotland?

I really do not know what A to say to you in response because in the year to date, whilst there has been a significant workload for CPT Scotland and its representatives, we are only part of the way along a very difficult road, with some very uncertain and unstable sections still to overcome on the road ahead. I only hope that there are some positive ‘highlights’ to reflect back on, for Scottish operators, as well as personally, when my year as chair comes to an end.

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26/10/2017 18:54

SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

This year’s Edinburgh festival season was the busiest ever for buses in Edinburgh, with Lothian recording 7.8 million journeys. The figures were up 100,000 journeys on 2016

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2016/17 A selection of key events for Scotland's buses over the past 12 months N OV E M B E R AWA R DS

PRENTICE NAMED TOP INDEPENDENT OPERATOR East Lothian-based Prentice Coaches won the ‘Top Independent Operator’ category at the 2016 UK Bus Awards in November 2016. Although the family-owned firm was established primarily as a coach operator, buses now account for over 50% of the business. This forwardthinking innovative company believes in running modern, eco-

friendly buses, kept in immaculate condition, coupled with an old fashioned customer care ethos.

The judges liked this small, but high quality operation.

Lothian Buses was runnerup in the ‘Top City Operator’ category. Local authorityowned Lothian also received the Transport award at the 2016 VIBES Awards in recognition of the progress it has made in reducing its environmental impact. VIBES (Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland) celebrates the commitment, actions and achievements of

Scottish companies in reducing their impact on the environment.

INVESTME NT

McGILL’ S INVESTS A FURTHER £2M McGill’s took delivery of 10 brand new, low emission buses from Mercedes Benz in November 2016. They represented a further £2m investment by the company in its Greenock depot fleet and are now playing an integral part in the company’s continuous development plans for its popular ClydeFlyer 901 & 906 routes, from Largs to Glasgow.

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

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

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H IGH L IGH TS

management and a super quiet journey will continue.”

The last fleet investment on these routes was made by the company in 2014, when it invested £2.8m in 14 new Mercedes Benz Euro 6 Citaros, which were the first of their type in Scotland and the first Euro 6 low emission buses in Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and Glasgow. The latest investment allowed McGill’s to convert the popular X7 route from Greenock to the Mercedes Citaro quality that the ClydeFlyer customers enjoy.

P EO P L E

JARVIS JOINS FIRST AS GL ASGOW BOSS Andrew Jarvis was announced as the new managing director of FirstGroup’s bus operations in Scotland in November.

Jarvis joined the business as managing director of Glasgow and Scotland on April 17, ending a 10year spell at Stagecoach. He first moved to Scotland in 2010 and took charge of Kirkcaldy-based Stagecoach East Scotland in 2013.

The managing directors at First’s other Scottish businesses, Aberdeen and Scotland East, now report to Jarvis. He replaced Fiona Kerr, who left the bus industry to head the Scottish operations of Travis Perkins, the timber and builders’ merchant.

smart ticketing and cash payments.

The Stagecoach Bus app was introduced in autumn 2016 and is available free of charge for owners of Apple and Android mobile phones. The app offers customers the ability to plan their journey and now also with the use of mobile ticketing technology, to buy travel on their mobile phone, making it even easier for customers to buy and use their bus tickets.

The app provides mobile ticketing and journey planning information in one app.

FEBRUARY OWNE RSHI P

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF NATIONAL EXPRESS IN DUNDEE Xplore Dundee celebrated its 20th anniversary of joining National Express Group in February.

The company, which was then known as Tayside Buses, was sold to National Express in February 1997 and re-named Travel Dundee. Since then it has undergone a number of transformations, becoming National Express Dundee just

MARCH TICKE TI NG

McGILL’ S L AUNCHES COMMERCIAL SMART CARD

Prentice Coaches was named as best independent operator at the UK Bus Awards

D EC EM B E R TIC K E T IN G

MOBILE TICKETING L AUNCHED ACROSS STAGECOACH NORTH SCOTL AND

Stagecoach North Scotland launched mobile ticketing through its smartphone app in December 2016.

Customers across Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands can now benefit from the convenience of using the Stagecoach Bus app to instantly buy and download day tickets to their smartphone.

Payments via the app can be made by PayPal, or via debit or credit card. The move provided an additional payment option for customers alongside existing

over 10 years later, and finally rebranding as Xplore Dundee in September 2015.

National Express Group remains the parent company of Xplore Dundee and operates other bus services within the UK in the West Midlands and Coventry, as well as the Midland Metro light rail system between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The group also runs the largest scheduled national coach network in the UK and owns a number of overseas operations, including school buses in North America, train services in Germany and the ALSA network of buses in Spain and Morocco. It employs 44,000 people worldwide.

Staff in Dundee work closely with bus and coach colleagues in the West Midlands, sharing expertise and best practice.

Andrew Jarvis left Stagecoach to join First as MD of its Glasgow and Scotland business

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

The GoSmart card is available free to all customers who register via the company’s website (www. mcgillsbuses.co.uk). Once the GoSmart card is dispatched, customers can then log-on to their account to choose and pay for any of the company’s GoZone tickets.

Colin Napier, McGill’s head of operations and commercial said: “McGill’s GoSmart card is a flexible and convenient way for customers to travel with us.

Customers can create their own GoSmart account and purchase tickets whenever it suits them.

Next time a customer travels with us, they simply tap their GoSmart card on the ticket machine and the product bought online is added to their card.” ➢ He added: “Choosing to

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GoSmart means less time spent at bus stops, no need to carry money, or to hang on to a paper ticket. It’ll speed up journey times – which is great news for all of our customers. For those customers who prefer not to pay on the bus, the GoSmart card is an excellent alternative to our very popular mobile ticketing”.

I NV EST M E N T

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

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

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

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

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

McGill's launched its GoSmart commercial smartcard ticketing scheme in March 2017

and take on 10 new apprentice engineers to help meet growing demand for its services against a backdrop of overall decline in bus usage nationally.

A brand new airport link for the north of Edinburgh began providing access from Ocean Terminal through Clermiston and Muirhouse benefiting travellers and airport staff as Edinburgh Airport continues to grow.

Various other improvements were introduced across the network from April 23, including changes to frequencies on Saturday and Sunday services, as well as route extensions to serve key destinations such as the Fort Kinnaird Retail Park, Edinburgh Park and Gyle Shopping Centre.

INVESTMENT

Xplore Dundee celebrated 20 years as part of National Express Group in February (left).

First Aberdeen became the first Scottish operator to accept contactless payments

Independent bus operator Whitelaws introduced 10 high specification ADL Enviro200s

NEW BUSES ENTER SERVICE WITH WHITEL AWS Independent bus operator Whitelaws introduced the first of 10 new high specification Alexander Dennis Enviro200 buses in March. The vehicles were progressively introduced over the course of the year so that by the end of 2017 all of the operator’s Larnarkshire network will be operated with low carbon-certified Enviro200 buses.

Managing director Sandra Whitelaw commented: “Bus passengers today have raised expectations and if we are to continue attracting people out of

E X PA N S IO N

55 NEW JOBS CREATED AS LOTHIAN EXPANDS Lothian announced in March that it would create 45 new driver posts

West Coast Motors subsidiary Borders Buses launched a new open top sightseeing tour in the Scottish Borders in May

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Following its purchase of FirstGroup's bus network in the Scottish Borders, West Coast Motors invested £3.5m in 30 new vehicles in order to launch its Borders Buses operation

cars and onto public transport then we need to compete in terms of attractiveness, quality and reliability.”

M AY TO U RI S M

OPEN TOP TOUR SHOWCASES THE BORDERS A new open top tour arrived in the Scottish Borders in May, City Sightseeing Scottish Borders.

Part of City Sightseeing Worldwide, and operated by West Coast Motors subsidiary Borders Buses, the hop-on and hop-off tour allowed visitors the opportunity to explore the many historical attractions and stunning views which are making the Scottish Borders an increasingly popular tourist destination.

Featuring Abbotsford House, Melrose and Dryburgh Abbey, Trimontium Museum, William Wallace Statue and Scotts View, the tour also captures the beautiful rolling countryside while promoting a host of cafes, bars and boutique shops.

The 30-minute tours operated every Saturday and Sunday, at two

hourly intervals, until September 24. Tickets, which were available from the driver or online, could be used on a hop-on hop-off basis in order to visit some of the many attractions on the route.

TICKETING

FIRST ABERDEEN LEADS THE WAY WITH CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS IN SCOTL AND

First Aberdeen announced the roll-out of contactless payments on its services in June, making it the first bus operator in Scotland to deliver the innovation.

The company sees the contactless bank card as a further means of reducing the use of cash on buses, and speeding up boarding times and services. It also began accepting Apple Pay and Android Pay as part of the contactless roll-out.

The launch of contactless followed the introduction of mobile payment by First Bus mTicket, the roll-out of a new First Bus multi-modal journey planning app and the launch of the multioperator GrassHOPPER smartcard in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Contactless payment was introduced after an extensive trial period on new ticket machines, and will soon be available across all First Bus services, including First Glasgow and First Scotland East/Midland Bluebird.

JU N E COMMU N ITY

LOTHIAN RETURNS EXTRA £1M TO PUBLIC PURSE Improved performance at Lothian allowed the company to increase the dividend to its public sector owners to £6.6m, up from £5.5m last year. The figures were contained within its 2016 Annual Report, published in June, which also highlighted that profits in the business rose from £6.4m to £11.9m.

The results include the performance of East Coast Buses, a new wholly-owned subsidiary set up by Lothian, which took over operation of East Lothian bus services in August 2016 following the withdrawal from the area by First. It carried over 1.1 million passengers in 2016 and continues to exceed initial projected expectations.

Designed to make paying for goods and services more convenient, the contactless option on First Bus removes the need to carry cash or purchase tickets in advance, while the fast and easy contactless payment will improve boarding times and lead to quicker bus journeys. The company has demonstrated boarding times are 75% quicker if customers use mTickets or smartcards.

Currently, more than 20% of First Aberdeen customers use First mobile mTickets and the GrassHOPPER multi-operator smartcard.

AWARDS

JET 727 IS ‘SCOTL AND’ S BEST BUS SERVICE’ Stagecoach North Scotland’s Jet 727 service, which operates to Aberdeen Airport, won the Best Bus Service award at the 2017 Scottish Transport Awards in June.

Jet 727, which previously won the same award in 2011, has seen passenger numbers increase by 21.6% since 2014. Last year, Stagecoach North Scotland invested £1.7m in a fleet of double ➢ deck vehicles which have

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capacity for double the number of passengers and three times as much luggage storage. The new buses also offer USB charging points and free Wi-Fi, and operate on a 10-minute frequency.

The company was also part of the winning Transport Team/ Partnership of the Year entry alongside Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen City Council and First Bus for the introduction of the GrassHOPPER multi-operator smart ticketing scheme.

First Bus won the award for Contribution to Sustainable Transport. First Scotland East driver Ian Davidson received the Frontline Employee of the Year award for his actions in going to the aid of local schoolchildren and their teacher when their minibus crashed near Stirling last year.

J U LY I NV EST M E N T

LOTHIAN PRESENTS NEW POLLUTIONBUSTING FLEET Lothian launched a fleet of 30 brand new, low emission buses serving one of Edinburgh’s busiest

roads in July, representing an investment of over £7m.

Presented to the city in a parade from Princes Street to Edinburgh Zoo, the new Euro 6 vehicles will operate on Service 26.

This service connects communities from the west of the city to East Lothian, travelling along St John’s Road in Corstorphine, which is one of Edinburgh’s air quality management zones. Once hailed as the ‘most polluted road in Scotland’, Lothian will convert its final service along this corridor to Euro 6 by the end of 2018 and with this latest investment all its buses on this key artery into the city will meet a minimum of Euro 5 emission standards, providing its residents and commuters with the greenest fleet in the city.

The Service 26 also travels through air quality management zones in Princes Street and Musselburgh High Street.

The Euro 6 Volvo double deckers, fitted with Wrightbus Gemini 3 bodies, will reduce CO2 emissions by 25%, nitrous oxides by up to 98% and particulates by around 75%, compared with the

existing fleet.

By the end of 2017, 76% of Lothian’s fleet will be at Euro 5 emission standards or better.

Fully committed to measuring and improving the environmental impact of its operations, the company plans to introduce 86 new vehicles this year in an investment worth £20.9m.

ticket range, with four weekly and annual tickets expected to be added to the ticket options when the company launches its new smartphone app.

Customers will also benefit from transferable tickets on common lines of routes.

EXPANS IO N

EXPANS IO N

BORDERS BUSES AND PERRYMAN’ S BUSES MERGE

EAST COAST BUSES CELEBRATES SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR

In July it was announced that Borders Buses and Perryman’s Buses would merge as one brand, known as Borders Buses.

The merger brought together the two operations which are subsidiaries of Campbeltownbased West Coast Motors.

The joining of the two brands expanded Borders Buses operating network to include the Scottish Borders, Cumbria, Northumberland, East Lothian, Midlothian and the City of Edinburgh.

To coincide with the name change, Borders Buses introduced 10 Journey tickets to its network

AUGUST

East Coast Buses celebrated its first anniversary serving customers across East Lothian.

The service was launched on August 14, 2016, and was created as a rescue package following First Scotland East’s announcement that it would be ceasing operations in the area.

Since then, East Coast Buses, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lothian, has recorded over three million customer journeys and introduced a number of improvements and expansions to its local services.

These include the addition of

Lothian introduced a new fleet of 30 buses that represented an investment of £7m by the operator. By the end of 2017, 76% of the operator's fleet will be Euro 5 standard or above

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Stagecoach North Scotland's Jet 727 service was named as Scotland's best bus service

July saw West Coast Motors merge its Borders Buses and Perryman's Buses operations ENVIRONME N T

extra buses during peak times on services 104 and 107 as well as the launch of NightHawk which provides two late night weekend services to get customers home to after nights out in Edinburgh.

In April, after feedback from customers, East Coast Buses also brought in two brand new services (106 and X5) to help further improve local links and reduce journey times.

FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC BUSES INTRODUCED IN EDINBURGH

TO U RI S M

LOTHIAN MARKS BUSIEST EVER FESTIVAL This year’s Edinburgh festival season was the busiest ever for buses in Edinburgh, with Lothian recording 7.8 million customer journeys from 6-26 August. The figures were up 100,000 on 2016 and represented an increase of around 350,000 extra customers per week compared to the rest of the year.

This year, Lothian engaged in a range of initiatives across the capital including a partnership with Festivals Edinburgh, which saw specially trained volunteers act as ‘welcome ambassadors’ to the city.

In a first for the UK, the company introduced an update for its popular travel app, which assisted the high number of international visitors to the capital by making its travel information available in 11 different languages.

Fringe locations were also added to its journey planner to make navigation of venues and shows easier for customers. The upgrades

East Coast Buses celebrated its first birthday with plans for further improvements

resulted in a 24% increase in app usage during the festivals.

(51%), encouraging walking and cycling (74%) and investing in public transport (81%) as part of preferred government measures.

Leading independent research consultancy ComRes surveyed 43 MSPs from all main parties on behalf of Stagecoach, the UK’s biggest bus and coach operator.

The research findings were published as the Scottish Government progressed plans to create the first Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) in a Scottish city by the end of 2018.

In addition, ministers want to work with local authorities to introduce LEZs in Scotland’s four biggest cities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee - by 2020 and in all Air Quality Management Areas by 2023. The Scottish Government has also pledged to phase out new petrol and diesel cars and vans across Scotland by 2032.

S EPTEMBE R POLITI CS

MSPs BACK BUSES TO HELP TACKLE AIR QUALIT Y AND CONGESTION

MSPs backed Scotland’s buses as a means to help tackle growing concerns over poor air quality and crippling congestion in towns and cities across the country, according to new research.

A survey of Holyrood’s elected representatives reveals overwhelming support for greater investment in public transport to help tackle poor air quality, and the health, social and economic costs of the problem.

The poll of MSPs at the Scottish Parliament also found that a majority back clean air zones

Edinburgh’s first full electric buses began entering service in September.

At an investment of over £2.7m, Lothian Buses introduced six Wrightbus StreetAir single deck buses on its Service 1, between Clermiston in the west of the city and Easter Road in Leith. Operating through Edinburgh’s central air quality management area, the investment cemented the company’s commitment to reduce emissions and improve air quality in its operating environment.

Once a further five vehicles are added to the service during 2018, it will be the capital city’s first fully electric route. Around 1.8 million customers travel on the service every year.

Richard Hall, managing director of Lothian, commented: “Electric bus technology is here and we need to embrace it and ensure that it is part of our future fleet and business planning strategies. It has a really important and exciting role alongside traditional diesel and hybrid technologies.”

The new buses will be charged overnight at new charging stations recently installed within the company’s Annandale Street garage. Once plugged in, buses take 3-4 hours to receive a full 75 kW charge and are able to operate for up to 130 miles on electric power.

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Edinburgh (pictured above) has one of the UK's most successful bus operators, but it also possesses many other important ingredients for growing bus use

BUS USE IS FALLING IN SCOTLAND – HERE’S WHY... david begg examines the factors behind Scotland’s decline in bus patronage, and argues that it won't be reversed by re-regulation or the advent of new municipal bus companies here is a growing opinion that the decline in bus patronage in Scotland is down to bus deregulation and that the trend will not be reversed until franchising (regulation) is introduced. The bus operators are bitterly opposed - especially the ones who purchased former state-owned and municipal

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companies on the basis that they would be operating in a deregulated environment.

Having spent 10 years as a non-executive director at Transport for Greater Manchester (previously Greater Manchester PTE) and nine years as a non-executive director at FirstGroup, I witnessed close up both sides of the argument. I also spent five years as chairman of

the Transport Committee on The City of Edinburgh Council, and before that Lothian Region.

This gave me a good insight into the pressures local politicians face on bus policy, the strengths of the municipally owned bus model in the shape of the excellent Lothian Buses and the importance of good bus priority and car restraint.

I would like to think that my experience makes me impartial and

objective in analysing the reasons for the decline in bus patronage in Scotland and what policies would be effective in reversing it. the trends Over the last decade patronage in Scotland has declined by 12%.

This is a decline of just over 1% per annum. Bus patronage in Scotland increased steadily from 1999 until 2008 and started to ➢

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decline again when the economy went into recession. There is no government policy, regulatory change, fares policy or other policies pursued by bus companies which can explain the steady growth in patronage over the nine years from 1999 and then the decline over the last nine years. It is the factors outside the control of bus companies, and not related to the regulatory environment, which explain the growth and then the decline. The growth years can be explained by strong and sustained economic growth and relatively high motoring costs. The years of decline can be explained by weaker economic performance, rock bottom motoring costs and the growth in online shopping.

The latter is growing exponentially.

When you consider that shopping accounts for between a quarter and a third of bus trips it poses a major challenge to the sector.

The Scottish average patronage changes mask large regional variations. The Highlands, Islands and Shetland have witnessed remarkable growth of almost 30%, the south east modest growth and south west and Strathclyde a decline of over 20%.

Again, the key drivers behind the growth in patronage in the Highlands are nothing to do with policies pursued by companies or the regulatory environment but are down to: higher population growth and lower increases in car ownership. In Glasgow/ Strathclyde the decline has been driven by acute congestion, increase in supply of car parking at a cheap price, the lowest population growth in Scotland and a comprehensive rail network with relatively cheap fares.

The graphic on this page is from Chris Cheek’s authoritative and excellent work ‘The Bus Demand Jigsaw’ which shows myriad factors which drive bus patronage.

I have tried to build on his analysis for this paper with my own research looking at the impact of congestion on bus patronage.

I have also used a different time frame looking at the trends in Scotland over the last 10 years.

490

468

445

423

400 2006

2007

2008 2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Bus passenger journeys in Scotland (millions), 2006-2016 Car ownership: rates and change

Price

Car Running Costs Number of No Car Households

Competing Modes: rail, tram, walk, cycle

Population: size and density

Journey Purpose

Quality and Reliability Journey Time

Staying at Home: work and shopping

Waiting Time (Frequency)

Employment: numbers and distribution

Population: age profile

State of the Economy: (Prosperity)

Access Time

Population: gender profile

‘The Bus Demand Jigsaw’ shows the myriad of factors which affect bus patronage

I want now to examine a few of the more pertinent pieces of the jigsaw and apply them to Scotland: car ownership changes, car running costs, bus fares, congestion and bus journey times, car restraint/availability and price of parking and population changes.

areas that car ownership has been growing fastest. This is one driver which helps to explain the decline in bus patronage in Glasgow and the growth in the Highlands. car running costs Running a car has become less expensive in real terms, while bus fares have been increasing driven by increased costs due mainly to rising congestion. Bus speeds have been declining by 10% every decade, which has increased operating costs by around 8% (reference Begg, Greener Journey’s Report 2016) We have had eight consecutive Whitehall budgets since 2010 where fuel duty has been frozen. This has reduced the cost of motoring along with cheap oil and cheap financing costs for buying a car.

car ownership changes As you would expect, car ownership changes are directly linked with the state of the economy. When the economy went into recession in 2008/9 car ownership declined. Since 2011 it has returned to growth.

Car ownership in Scotland has historically been lower than more prosperous parts of the south of England which means there is a catching up effect. Within Scotland it is in the less prosperous

bus fares After allowing for inflation, bus fares in Scotland have increased at a slower rate (1.5% per annum) than the average for Great Britain.

Evidence from bus operators would indicate that there is more passenger resistance than ever to fares increases above the rate of inflation.

This makes it commercially undesirable to push fares higher in real terms. With operating costs rising above inflation this is a key reason why bus operators’ margins have been falling. congestion/ bus journey times In the report I wrote for Greener Journeys last year The Impact of Congestion on Bus Passengers - I calculated that bus speeds in the UK were falling by on average 1% per annum and that this alone was responsible for an annual decline in patronage of between 1% and 1.4% per annum. This was due to the fact that congestion has a corrosive effect on bus services, increasing operating costs and fares, and making the service less reliable.

Glasgow has suffered more from slower bus speeds than anywhere in Scotland, and the decline of 15% over the last decade has been significantly greater than the UK average (10%). In many parts of Glasgow the bus travels at walking space. If the city wants to reverse the decline in bus patronage, addressing this problem needs to be their starting point.

This level of traffic congestion has been having a consistently negative effect on bus services across the city through its impact on bus speeds. Declining bus speeds not only make it extremely difficult to attract new users but crucially has also led to former bus users switching modes. In the last 10 years First Glasgow data indicates that average speeds in Glasgow have dropped by about two miles an hour. SPT’s figures show that the speed of the most heavily used bus service in Glasgow has fallen as low as 3.5 mph through the city. This has a

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direct and detrimental impact on bus journey times- many of them increasing by as much as 30%. car parking/ car restraint There is no doubt that Edinburgh has performed much better than Glasgow when it comes to bus.

I have already mentioned the fact that bus speeds have been declining faster in Glasgow (15% over a decade) compared with Edinburgh (5%).

One of the reasons for this is that Edinburgh has more effective and extensive bus priority measures.

Edinburgh has much more effective car restraint than Glasgow which is one of the key drivers of the different trends in bus patronage. I have friends who live equidistance between Edinburgh and Glasgow. They would never think about taking their car into Edinburgh for a shopping trip but they never think twice about doing so in Glasgow.

Car parking is the key. Cities that are successfully growing bus mode share have tighter parking controls with higher charges and less provision, making it more likely that people will use the bus.

Conversely, the more generous the parking provision, the less likely the bus will be used as the mode of travel and the more likely the private car will be used, thus increasing the levels of congestion on routes accessing the city as well as the level of congestion within the central area of the city.

In Glasgow in recent years, the number of car parks in the city has increased, and there are now approximately 10,000 spaces available in over 25 dedicated car parks across the city centre.

In particular, inexpensive temporary car parks have sprung up across the city on vacant land as building work slowed in response to economic conditions.

On-street parking is also available throughout the city centre. The council has limited control over private car parks, making it difficult to manage the supply and cost of parking in the city centre. The council’s transport strategy intends

population The growth in population has been almost four times faster in the Highlands than in Strathclyde over the last decade. This is clearly one factor which explains the growth in patronage in the former and the decline in the latter (see graph below). The North East has experienced the second fastest growth in population, which means that on this indicator it is underperforming on patronage.

to encourage people to park their cars at the periphery of the city centre by using signage to direct people approaching the city centre to their nearest car park, reducing the number of people travelling unnecessarily through or around the city centre to reach a car park.

However, the strategy also reveals the caution which the council feels it must adopt, stating its parking policy must be ‘handled sensitively, because the role of the car in supporting visits for business, retail and leisure activities is recognised’. This approach is not sufficiently robust if the council wants to achieve a tangible modal shift away from the private car.

Following discussions I have held with the new SNP administration in Glasgow they understand that one of the main challenges they face is to reduce the volume of cars in the city centre. Watch this space!

municipal bus companies The Scottish Government intends to give local authorities powers to own and run their own bus operations. There is no doubt that Lothian Buses is one of the most successful bus operators in the UK. A modern fleet of buses, competitive fares, and very high patronage levels make it inevitable that other local authorities cast

Scotland South West and Strathclyde South East Highlands, Islands and Shetland North East, Tayside and Central -30%

-15%

0%

15%

30%

Percentage change in bus patronage in last 10 years 120

90

60

30

0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Q Motoring Q Bus Cost of passenger transport: real term changes since 2005 (2005 = 100)

envious eyes towards the capital.

I am supportive of local authorities being given the powers to set up their own bus companies.

However, even if the not insubstantial hurdle of how they can find the financial resources to set them up can be negotiated, at a time when they are strapped for cash, just because Lothian is a success it does not follow that municipal bus companies in the UK per se are successful. Indeed some are performing poorly.

Edinburgh has all the ingredients required to achieve the highest bus patronage per capita in the UK, outside of London.

An excellent bus operator is one ingredient, but the others are just as crucial, if not more so: high urban density; good bus priority; effective car restraint; population growth and a strong economy.

A local authority could invest a great deal in trying to emulate the Lothian success story, but without the other ingredients for success it would fail to grow patronage.

I would be surprised if politicians in Edinburgh would want to regulate the city’s bus services as this would open the door to new entrants to compete with Lothian and reduce its market share. With Edinburgh being such good bus territory it would be attractive to some of the European state-owned companies.

In conclusion, don’t expect a change in the regulatory environment or the advent of new municipal bus companies to reverse the decline in Scotland’s bus patronage. The best way to achieve this objective would be to embrace a level of car restraint, which appears to have gone out of fashion and is deemed too politically difficult, plus effective bus priority measures to protect bus passengers from growing traffic congestion.

If the evidence pointed to poorly run bus operations as the reason for the decline then I would regulate in a heartbeat.

That would point to market failure and would be a valid reason to regulate. However this is not where the evidence points.

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PROMOTING TOURISM IN SCOTLAND visitscotl and - the national tour ism organisation - explains why it recognises the impor tance of the bus and coach industr y s we near the end of another memorable year for Scottish tourism, we are delighted to see that this country continues to punch above its weight in a hugely competitive global market.

Latest statistics show that, in the 12 months from April 2016 to March 2017, there was a 3% increase in trips and a 9% increase in spend among our international visitors. Scotland really is seen around the world as a ‘must-visit’ destination.

Our Spirit of Scotland campaign has continued to capture the imagination of visitors from every corner of the globe. Next year, we will be building on its enormous success by taking it to the next level.

Watch this space for more details.

Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy, causing a ripple effect which touches every industry and community, creating employment and economic growth. The total annual direct and indirect contribution of Scotland’s visitor economy is estimated at £11.6bn, with transport playing a key role.

There is rarely a time that coach loads of visitors are not seen flocking to world-class attractions such as Edinburgh Castle, or taking in CPT coach-friendly destinations such as Perth. At VisitScotland the national tourism organisation - we recognise the importance of coach tourism.

It is a multi-million pound

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industry, helping visitors explore the stunning beauty, rich history and diverse culture of Scotland in a comfortable and affordable way.

Buses, too, are key to allowing visitors to stay connected in our towns and cities. But don’t just take our word for it - this comes from the visitors themselves.

Earlier this year, we revealed the results of our biggest ever visitor survey, which saw more than 11,500 people giving us an unprecedented snapshot of what constitutes a holiday in Scotland.

Ease of getting around the country was rated highly by visitors and attracted the highest mean score for satisfaction across all the areas of the visitor experience measured.

Almost a third (28%) of those surveyed used buses and coaches while they were in Scotland, compared to 25% who travelled by train and 16% who hired cars.

Indeed, one only needs to see the number of coaches parked at our visitor attractions on any given day to realise that group travel is hugely popular.

As the national tourism organisation, we do much to support the industry. This includes our Groups Welcome Scheme part of our world-leading Quality Assurance Scheme.

Visitors travelling as part of a group have been considered by VisitScotland in our development of the Groups Welcome Scheme, which recognises the special efforts made by businesses to provide for groups, and

ABOVE: Edinburgh. BELOW: The Queensferry Crossing and Forth Road Bridge

helps them to choose suitable accommodation.

When travelling as a group there are various extra facilities and services which make the organisation and management run more smoothly. Organised group check-ins, pre-selected meals and accurate information prior to the arrival all go towards making a more enjoyable trip.

Bus tours may prefer the convenience of hotels with full catering and possibly entertainment, while smaller groups might enjoy the homely atmosphere of a guest house.

For sporting and active groups, the additional storage and drying facilities are very important and should be large enough for the whole group to use at once.

VisitScotland also runs

workshops, both here and in England, which allow Scottish tourism businesses to meet with coach operators and establish mutually beneficial working relationships.

In 2015, we were delighted to see the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) present the city of Perth with its prestigious ‘Coach Friendly’ status.

The status acknowledges the commitment the city had made to understanding the requirements of coaches and welcoming their drivers and passengers to the city centre.

To become Scotland’s first Coach Friendly destination was a fantastic achievement and provides a golden opportunity to grow Perth’s vital visitor economy.

The prestigious title demonstrates Perth’s commitment to catering for this important market, and will undoubtedly help attract more coach tours and therefore more visitors to the historic and picturesque city and the wider Perthshire region.

In October, we held a free workshop for businesses in

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VISITSCOTL AND

World Heritage Sites: Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns; St Kilda, the Heart of Neolithic Orkney; New Lanark; The Antonine Wall and - the most recent addition the truly awe-inspiring Forth Bridge which, along with the Forth Road Bridge, is now joined by the magnificent Queensferry Crossing.

While 2017 has seen us delving into the past for the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, we will soon be turning our attention to the future with the 2018 Year of Young People.

The year will shine a spotlight on the amazing young personalities, talents, and achievers that make up Scotland.

Running from December 30, 2017, to December 31, 2018, we are looking forward to announcing a host of exciting events, festivals and activities across the country.

The line-up of events is being unveiled this month.

After 2018, Scotland’s Perthshire to explore how to work with the travel trade to reach UK and international tourism markets, how they could benefit from this lucrative market and explore the new collaborative approach being taken by the East Scotland Tourism Partnership. It is just one of a number of workshops we have organised to help tourism businesses and the travel trade work more closely together.

In marketing terms, Scotland’s themed years have proved extremely popular, and a useful tool for tourism businesses hoping to attract more tour parties.

With 2017 designated the Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology, this was the perfect opportunity to explore some of the country’s greatest icons, as well as its hidden gems.

Running until December 31, the nationwide celebration has been shining a spotlight on Scotland’s rich array of buildings, visitor attractions and archaeological sites, together with its diverse stories, traditions and culture.

We are also fortunate in Scotland to have six UNESCO

themed years will be delivered in a two-year cycle. The Year of Scotland’s Coast and Waters will be celebrated in 2020 while the focus in 2022 will be the Year of Scotland’s Stories, both of which will be led by VisitScotland.

The 2020 theme will support Scotland’s marine and coastal tourism sector, as well as the marine tourism strategy ‘Awakening the Giant’.

Scotland’s Stories will be a showcase of the country’s rich literature, film, oral traditions and myths and legends.

Coach and bus travel is seen as key to another of our ambitions as an organisation, which is to be recognised as a leader in sustainable tourism development, not just within Scotland but at a European and World level.

We want to be recognised for our efforts to reduce the environmental impact and maximise the economic and social

The A832 at Glen Docherty, an example of Scotland's stunning beauty

benefits of our own operations.

VisitScotland will contribute to a more sustainable future for Scotland through taking direct action on issues under our control and playing an influencing and supporting role where this is not possible, through engagement with strategic partners, businesses and visitors.

We incorporate the principles of our sustainability policy into day-to-day operations, developing appropriate procedures, annual targets and a supporting action plan, demonstrating a commitment to a sustained programme of continuous improvement.

The annual targets and action plan is reviewed regularly and formally reported on through an annual sustainability report.

To support our vision and meet our commitment we have a number of key sustainability objectives, which we implement through our internal operations, as well as engagement with strategic partners, businesses and visitors.

One of these objectives is to reduce the impact of tourism transport by promoting a shift towards more environmentally friendly forms of transport, including coaches and buses, both to and within tourism destinations in Scotland.

In terms of the coming years, VisitScotland’s core objective is to contribute to the industry’s Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1bn by 2020. To do this, we will focus on marketing Scotland; events; internationalism and international engagement; customer experience; quality and sustainability; inclusive tourism; and working in partnership with the tourism industry, with partners and with communities.

Our trade website contains more than 350 tourism businesses looking to work with wholesalers, tour operators, travel agencies and online travel agents.

It also contains inspirational itineraries, a multimedia library and helpful e-books.

Q To find out more, go to

Perth, the first destination in Scotland to receive CPT’s ‘Coach Friendly’ status

www.visitscotlandtraveltrade.com

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SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

The current approach to improving air quality in Glasgow could undermine the ability of bus operators to maintain services

Christian Mueller / Shutterstock.com

LEARN FROM HISTORY ‘ Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ paul white, chair of the scot tish transp ort studies group fears that we might be repeating mistakes his year’s CPT Scottish Conference focuses on a vision for the future. There are several current policy reviews and consultations in Scotland related to policy relevant to bus and coach operation.

Securing outcomes that lead to beneficial changes, or at the very least discourage damaging interventions, is rightly a focus for CPT and other stakeholders.

It is important to focus on the road ahead, but we should not forget how we arrived at this point. Issues such as regulation of the bus industry, congestion, adjusting to technological change, or patronage decline are not new.

As the government seeks views

T

on various policy matters we should ask ourselves, have we been here before? Are we being asked the right questions? Are we learning from previous mistakes or are we repeating them?

This summer, Scotland’s transport think-tank, the Scottish Transport Studies Group undertook the arduous task of digitally scanning publications from our 33-year-old archive. The process unearthed some fascinating and surprisingly relevant papers that touch upon many of the issues that we remain focused on today.

For example if we look back 20 years to 1997, the think-tank published its vision of what needed to change in The UK bus industry: Sustainable growth through stakeholding partnerships. The

report was by David Begg, then secretary of STSG and a former local councillor in Edinburgh and Colin Smith, formerly of First Bus. Both were writing with their academic hats on with Robert Gordon University and Aberdeen University respectively.

The 1997 paper was published at a time of political change, like today, and considered the factors affecting declining bus patronage.

In particular it looked at the merits of franchising and quality partnerships as ways forward for the bus industry - a synopsis that could as easily apply to the current Transport (Scotland) Bill consultation. It concluded that deregulation had not been the major factor in bus use decline.

The report stated: “Decline has

been caused principally by the further rises in car ownership, cost/quality perceptions at the time of individual choices between car and bus use and continuing changes in land use patterns which have encouraged car use.

“Traffic congestion has led to deterioration in bus journey times and has played havoc with timetables and reliability.”

If it was clear in 1997 that the regulatory framework was not the dominant factor within bus service performance, have things changed? In 1997 the view was taken that the major factors damaging the bus industry were growing road congestion and increasing car use. Local authority land use planning decisions had been partly to blame but when

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SCOT TISH TRANSPORT STUDIES GROUP

set against the falling costs of motoring the causes were evident.

In 2017 we find ourselves responding to a Scottish Government consultation on a Transport (Scotland) Bill that outlines many of the issues impacting on bus operation and proposes regulatory change through franchising and service improvement partnerships as the answers. Some issues have changed such as the greater reliance on technology, but overall the core issues are the same, debating who should do what rather than making connections between cause and effect. This disconnect between issues faced by the bus industry and the proposed solutions runs through most of the current consultations.

Why is Transport Scotland still asking the same questions?

Transport Scotland’s consultation on Low Emission Zones is well-evidenced and comprehensive, but the focus is undeniably on a technological solution to air quality standards rather than the social issues and quality of life effects that will almost certainly determine their popularity and effectiveness.

Improving engine standards will undoubtedly play a part, but other, perhaps more critical issues such as reallocating road space to prioritise sustainable and active travel and the introduction of workplace parking levies, are all seen as secondary.

Back to Begg and Smith’s view on this. They outlined the value of bus priority measures, stating that “giving buses priority and stricter parking controls on the main arterial routes into the city are good examples of how bus journey times can be significantly improved”.

The current approach to improving air quality in Glasgow appears to skip these measures in favour of setting a Euro standard for buses within the city centre.

This could effectively undermine the ability of local operators to maintain affordable and frequent services to or through the Low Emission Zone. The government’s approach appears to nudge

respondents towards a predestined solution, but closer scrutiny of the links between the aims and suggested solutions yields a lack of clarity on cause and effect.

Alternative approaches are often not detailed or may be ruled out, such as a blanket ban on road charging or the limited options put forward for amending the concessions scheme. The need to follow through manifesto commitments is understood, but consultations must look further than short term commitments if they are to be worthwhile.

The current bus concession scheme is the largest public sector intervention into the commercial bus market. It has undeniably influenced service provision and fares as operators have sought to build the government requirements into viable service delivery. Achieving the impossible equilibrium of being ‘no better or worse off ’ for participating in the scheme follows the strained logic of predicting a future that would not have happened and delivering something different. The hard work that CPT and operators put in to arrive at a reimbursement rate that protects their businesses from adverse impacts is then entirely

undermined by the government capping the scheme’s budget.

Recent patronage decline in Scotland correlates very clearly with cuts in concessionary reimbursement and BSOG (Bus Service Operators Grant).

Again, a look back to the local schemes that preceded the national concessionary travel scheme shows that it has long been problematic to agree factors such as operator costs and discounts and then prioritise reimbursement modelling above an arbitrary budget figure.

If history suggests that we are asking the wrong questions to improve the Scottish bus sector then we must identify the right questions. More thought is needed about the relationship between the bus industry, the public sector and the passenger.

What incentives are needed to engender real commitment from the public and private sectors to drive forward improvements in passenger transport? How do we tackle the perception amongst local authorities that bus is a cost pressure? How do we move towards becoming a society where it is socially unacceptable not to have a public transport season ticket?

Scotland’s EGIP project will cost around £750m, far greater than spending on buses

GET INVOLVED

and lead the transport debate under a branding that carries no preconceptions about policy, modal preference or business aims.

New members are always welcome.

If you are interested in joining our discussions then please sign up at www.stsg.org.

The Scottish Transport Studies Group is a think-tank with a membership consisting of transport providers, academics, consultants and other interested parties, formed to share views

STSG secretary Derek Halden, writing about the current consultations, highlighted the need to couple performance and compliance to incentives. One thing that has changed since 1997 is the availability of data to underpin new business models. I don’t have all the answers as to how these would translate to a new framework for public transport, but if we need a new consultation it might usefully look at these questions.

Surely now is the time to question whether we are making best use of the information available to us.

In terms of shifting the perception of bus services within the public sector, we have work to do. It is easy for a politician to claim they support bus but often this does not translate into investment or into tackling barriers to bus use, such as the private car.

The Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Partnership (EGIP) will spend around £750m on a rail route that carries around two million passengers a year. Scotland’s buses carry over 400 million a year and receive £53m through BSOG and £3m though the Green Bus Fund. Yet the idea of spending even a tenth of the cost of EGIP on bus corridors or charging infrastructure for electric buses seems anathema to decision makers!

However, the public sector does not have a monopoly in instigating change. The bus industry does not have to devolve responsibility for planning how bus services operate. If we don’t like the questions that the government is currently asking it is up to us to pursue the answers we require.

I would suggest pro-active engagement with stakeholders including passengers, politicians and employees is the first step towards identifying solutions and accomplishing meaningful and positive change. Or, as Begg and Smith concluded: “It is in the interests of all stakeholders in the UK bus industry to reverse the decline in patronage that has been evident since the early 1950s and they should all benefit from an expanding, thriving and profitable industry.”

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SCOTLAND'S BUSES 2017

GET TING THE BEST DEAL FOR BUS USERS transp ort fo cus passenger manager robert samson explains his organisation’s ev idence-based approach to representing bus users ransport Focus is the statutory watchdog for rail passengers in Great Britain, bus, tram and coach passengers in England (outside London) and for users of the Strategic Road Network in England.

Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers. With a strong emphasis on evidencebased campaigning and research, we ensure that we know what is happening on the ground.

As the statutory body promoting the interests of rail passengers in Scotland, we use our knowledge to influence decisions on behalf of passengers and we work with the industry, passenger groups and government to secure journey improvements based on passengers’ priorities.

Although we don’t have a statutory role in Scotland to promote the interests of bus passengers, we have forged a constructive relationship with bus operators, Scottish Government and Regional Transport Partnerships. This culminated in the autumn of 2016 with Transport Focus carrying out a comprehensive Bus Passenger Survey (BPS) in Scotland.

We are delighted that our BPS study was expanded to cover six of the regional transport areas, which account for the vast majority of bus journeys made in Scotland. The Scotland survey was paid for by Transport Scotland, Regional Transport Partnerships, First UK Bus, National Express and Stagecoach.

This builds on the previous surveys carried out in 2014 and

T

2015, giving a voice to over 20,000 passengers in Scotland.

The highlights for Scotland were: Q overall, 90% of passengers were satisfied with their service; Q 68% of fare-paying passengers told us they were satisfied that their service provided value for money; Q on the punctuality of their service, 80% of passengers were satisfied; Q 85% of passengers were satisfied with the length of time their journey took.

This time, the BPS took place against the backdrop of growing awareness and concern about congestion in our towns and cities. Meanwhile the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government will bring forward a Transport (Scotland) Bill with provisions on smart ticketing and improved options for local authorities to influence the provision of bus services in their areas to better meet local users’ needs, through partnerships with operators, franchising, or running their own services.

Two consultation documents have since been published to inform the Transport Bill, to influence the shape of the regulatory framework for bus and the proposed framework for nationwide multi-modal smart ticketing.

The advent of the Transport Bill provides the potential to improve the bus journey experience - through new arrangements between authorities and operators - and hence satisfaction for bus passengers. Transport Focus has researched bus passenger satisfaction on a range of factors, as well as researching passenger

interest in potential new smart ticketing schemes and their perceptions of existing ones, covering both bus and rail.

The themes emerging from these projects are common and clear. Overall many passengers are receptive to the idea of smart ticketing. Passengers are clear that the introduction of smart ticketing is a shift into a more technologyfocused way of ticketing and would like the systems to be cutting edge and long lasting. While for some this means that it should be a system that will be durable, others are keen that the technology used is forward-thinking and will not need to be replaced soon.

Overall, we think that if a smart ticketing scheme delivers on each of these, its chance of being successful is high, as long as all elements are well designed with the passenger in mind and then explained and communicated well throughout.

The key aspect for Transport Focus in this ongoing process is the passenger and here we set out what could be included in arrangements such as partnerships and alliances, based both on our experience and our evidence-based research. alliance model Five years ago, the results in the West Midlands from the BPS were some of the lowest in the country. We worked with Centro, the region’s transport authority, and local bus operators, including National Express West Midlands and Stagecoach, to focus resources on improving local bus services.

We prioritised four areas based on the survey results: anti-social

behaviour, security, value for money and punctuality.

The authority and operators, working in partnership, set up a direct action plan and a task force called the Bus Satisfaction Task Force. Significant resources were invested into the bus service.

Over the next few years, the survey saw satisfaction rising by over 10% as a direct result of this investment prompted by the BPS. From that work a new Alliance Board has been established that consists of representatives from the region’s bus operators, the combined authority, council highways and transportation departments, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Safer Travel police and influential councillors. It is chaired by Transport Focus.

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TRANSPO RT FO CUS

building trust: engagement and consultation Buses need to run on time, be reliable, deal well with disruption and offer value for money. Our research2 shows that building a relationship with passengers helps build loyalty and repeated use of services. Passengers should feel that the company cares about what happens to them, especially during disruption, and is not remote and aloof. Drivers have an important role in showing empathy and care.

The new arrangements should require operators to produce a passenger engagement strategy.

The 2016 Bus Passenger Survey found that 90% of bus users in Scotland were satisfied with their service

The Alliance Board is responsible for identifying what the region’s buses need to be able to deliver and then putting policies and funding streams in place for this to be achieved.

Alliance objectives include: Q increase bus patronage by 5%; Q improve peak time journey speeds; Q fare rises of no more the Retail Price Index +1% per annum; Q keep customer satisfaction levels at over 85%; Q discount young person’s travel for everyone under 19 years old; Q integrated ticketless travel in line with intelligent mobility policy; Q increased investment in highways infrastructure to aid journey times and reliability; Q improve on-board experience through improved seating, next-stop announcements and Wi-Fi.

Q have targets for improving average bus journey speeds; Q include a statement on monitoring performance and publishing data.

Here we set out what could be included in arrangements such as partnerships and alliances, based on findings from our work with passengers.

ensuring frequency and stability of bus times Alongside punctuality, passengers want to know that the timetable doesn’t change too frequently.

Our research2 found that passengers did not think it was acceptable to make changes to services more than twice a year and more than six out of 10 wanted to be given at least four weeks’ notice of a major change. The new arrangements should ensure that: Q there are minimal changes to timetables; Q there is a clear process for consulting and informing passengers of changes.

improving punctuality and reliability Bus passengers rank punctuality and running on time highly as priorities for improvement.

Lateness of a bus arriving at a bus stop at the start of a journey causes more anxiety than a bus arriving late at its destination1.

Passengers can tolerate up to five minutes’ delay at the departure bus stop. After that satisfaction with punctuality decreases markedly, and again after 10 minutes. The new arrangements should: Q have clear punctuality targets;

monitoring passenger satisfaction to make improvements It is important for operators and authorities to research (quantitatively and qualitatively) how satisfied passengers are with services, both on the bus and at the bus stop. Transport Focus’s BPS provides such an independent assessment which could be used to provide feedback on vital factors such as punctuality and cleanliness. A similar measure is used in the rail sector to assess the passenger experience during a franchise. Each arrangement should establish targets for service quality, and publish both how they will be measured and the results. passenger information in real-time Real-time information displays are valuable in indicating to passengers when their bus will arrive, so reducing stress and anxiety and enabling them to make alternative plans when things go wrong3.

The Transport Bill proposes to make more data available for public use, so new arrangements should set out, through an action plan, how they can provide real-time customer information especially at bus stops and through developing apps.

1 Transport Focus (2014), Bus punctuality and timetables 2 Passenger Focus (2010), Bus service changes 3 Passenger Focus (April 2013), Bus passengers’ experience of delays and disruption

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Helping to make a difference.

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F IRSTGRO UP

JARVIS URGES PARTNERSHIP andrew jarvis, managing director of first gl asgow and the group’s w ider Scottish bus business, tells us why he believes that working closely in par tnership is the way for ward t was six months ago that Andrew Jarvis joined FirstGroup as managing director of its bus operations in Glasgow and a wider role looking after the group’s interests in the east of Scotland and Aberdeen. He admits that it has been a busy time.

“There’s plenty going on,” he says.

That perhaps is an understatement. The Scottish Government has major consultations under way not only on the future of the national concessionary travel scheme and smart ticketing, but also on potential wider structural reforms to the industry as a prelude to a planned Scottish Transport Bill.

“We have a stated preference for partnership,” explains Jarvis. “Fundamentally closely working together, bringing all of the stakeholders together, is what creates the environment for success, but I feel current consultation doesn’t address some quite fundamental issues.”

He points out that the real issue isn’t to do with the structure of the industry, or even what franchising will or won’t achieve.

“It’s about congestion,” Jarvis says.

“There are no measures in that consultation that are going to help increase bus speeds, so I wonder what it will all achieve?

It’s a bit like asking what colour deck chairs you want after the ship has hit the iceberg. Ultimately unless you deal with the hole in the ship, you’re not going to solve the problems. We need some real tools that will give bus an advantage.”

Jarvis talks of his ideal framework that would achieve this goal, talking of politically daring measures like a workplace

I

Jarvis is concerned about current plans to introduce a Low Emission Zone in Glasgow

parking levy and raising the cost of car parking. On that he notes there are some car parks in central Glasgow where you can park all day for just £3.

“Glasgow is a very interesting case,” he says. “Historically we’ve had depopulation going on and I think that, along with the cost of motoring coming down, has played a big part in a loss of bus patronage. But that’s changing, the population is growing, there’s densification of the area.”

Meanwhile, he points to the significant investments that have been made to the motorway network in Glasgow. Indeed Jarvis notes that the city has been

particularly adept at building major new roads that fill up with traffic very quickly. Add in the enthusiasm society has for online shopping with deliveries made by vans and “it becomes a toxic mix of congestion”.

“There’s also been a lot of investment in rail in Scotland,” he adds. “It’s very heavily subsidised and you have new rail routes with car parks at the stations. I think that has had a detrimental effect on bus.

“None of those things are really helping us run an urban bus network, especially one where we have a number of cross-city routes.

The effects of the congestion just

EAST SCOTL AND ON SOUND FO OTING

having been particularly affected by rail competition from the new Borders Railway that led to retrenchment.

“It did have its issues,” he says.

“But the business is now seeing growth on key corridors. It’s not in the same position that it was.

What we have now is a business that’s on a much sounder commercial footing.”

Business now seeing growth

Andrew Jarvis’s remit also includes oversight of First’s bus operations in Aberdeen and East Scotland.

It has been a tough couple of years for both businesses with the East Scotland business

ripple out across the network.”

Jarvis talks of some of the proactive measures that are being undertaken by First. He points out that new ticketing methods, such as m-ticketing and contactless payments, have the ability to speed up boarding times, aided by a simplified fare structure.

“But there are also things the local authority can do, for example, stronger enforcement of illegal parking and illegal use of bus lanes,” he adds. “You could also do things like using business rates to encourage town and city centre shopping at the expense of out of town retail parks.”

Meanwhile, last month first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Glasgow would be the first city in Scotland to put in place a Low Emission Zone. That decision has sparked controversy in the industry as it will, initially at least, be focused on buses.

“We don’t have a problem with the idea of a LEZ,” notes Jarvis. “It’s a good thing and something needs to be done about the air quality issue, but Glasgow seems to have taken its own path that we think is the wrong one.”

He points out that it will be virtually impossible, simply from a logistical point of view, to have First’s Glasgow bus fleet fully Euro 6 compliant by the start of the proposed LEZ. “We invest in vehicles with a life of 15-17 years in mind,” Jarvis says.

“We have a fleet of 1,300 buses and just 11% are now Euro 6.

The costs of compliance could be huge - it’s just not possible to replace the fleet that quickly.

Ultimately it will be our customers who will pay the price for compliance. We want clarity and we want to resolve the issues.”

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Listen to your

CITY

Imagine if your city had silent zones, without emissions, yet with efficient public transport. What if you could offer indoor bus stops and the possibility of bringing tourists by bus into sensitive historic areas? In fact, you can. An electrically powered bus fleet is the enabler for all this. And with a complete range of hybrid, electric hybrid and full-electric buses you can cover virtually all public transport needs.

So, if you listen to your city, what do you think it would tell you?

volvobus.co.uk

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LOTH IA N BUS ES

In September, at an investment of over £2.7m, Lothian launched six Wrightbus StreetAir single deck buses to its fleet

CLEANER BUSES l othian explains how it is doing its par t to improve air quality across Edinburgh,w ith significant investments and a w ide ranging strateg y s the largest bus operator in Edinburgh, the only municipal bus company in Scotland and the biggest municipal company in the UK, Lothian is a business committed to doing its part to improve air quality across Edinburgh. Lothian employs over 2,000 staff, operates over 700 buses across Edinburgh and the Lothians and carried over 121 million customers last year.

In September of this year, at an investment of over £2.7m, Lothian launched six Wrightbus StreetAir single deck buses to its fleet, each with a capacity of up to 70 customers. As Edinburgh’s first fleet of fully electric buses, it will convert a route operating within the city centre to zero emission running, helping to improve air quality and reduce the impact on the local environment. The

A

investment cements the company’s commitment to reduce emissions and improve air quality in its operating environment.

As air pollution continues to be an area of concern in Scotland’s towns and cities, and together with traffic congestion, low emission travel remains a priority. Lothian is aware of the impact and pressure on the local environment that customer demand brings and are committed to reducing emissions across all operations whilst supporting customer requirements and expectations. As well as zero emission technology, the buses operate a quieter and smoother journey fitted with Wi-Fi, high back seats, USB charging points, and LED spotlights, all offering a better customer experience.

Lothian has one of the youngest and cleanest fleet of buses in the country and as of the end of September 2017, 70% of its fleet is

Euro 5 or above. The introduction of the electric fleet to Lothian continues the company’s journey towards fulfilling their Bus 2020 Environmental Strategy. The strategy aligns itself with the Scottish Government’s climate change targets and aims to meet the 42% reduction target. Lothian has prioritised the investment in 340 low and zero emission buses over a five-year period, working towards operating at a minimum Euro 5 standard by 2020.

Humza Yousaf, minister for transport said: “It is fantastic to see operators, like Lothian, investing in their fleet in a way that supports both their passengers and the environment through new low carbon and electric vehicles.”

The recently launched fleet of six electric buses will rise to 11 in 2018; the initial buses have been allocated to a city centre route, which operates in Edinburgh’s

central AQMA (Air Quality Management Area) and carries 1.8 million passengers each year. Once the further five vehicles are added, the service will become the capital city’s first fully electric route.

The electric buses operate on a pure electric powertrain, including an all-electric heating and cooling system, with 300 kWh of total battery energy, which allows the buses to run with zero tailpipe emissions for up to 130 miles.

The addition of regenerative braking takes the energy created when the vehicle is braking and recovers it back into the batteries, extending the range of the bus.

The electric elements of the bus mean that over 570 tonnes of CO2 will be removed from the company’s annual carbon footprint. The introduction of the buses will also see additional reductions in harmful emissions including five tonnes in NOx and 19kg in particulates.

Special attention, monitoring, and scheduling are required to make optimal use of the charging process, while also ensuring proper battery maintenance and safekeeping. Buses take 3-4 hours to receive a full 75 kW charge allowing for a full day of running.

In addition to electric buses, with such a large operation, support fleet vehicles are required to fulfil the operational requirements of the business.

Lothian received deliveries of fully electric vans in the summer of this year helping to further remove emissions from the company.

Since 2015, Lothian has introduced 141 vehicles at a total investment of £30m. The company prioritises the implementation of low emission buses on routes within declared AQMAs, helping to minimise pollution and improve air quality. Full route conversions take place to ensure the route operates at a minimum acceptable standard.

It is an exciting time to welcome the electric technology and as Lothian fully embraces it, the dedication to improving air quality will ensure it stays part of the future fleet and business planning strategies.

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26/10/2017 19:07

MCGILL'S

WE MUST FIND OUR VOICE ralph roberts, managing director of mcgill’s, war ns that buses r isk ter minal decline unless decision-makers are made aware of the v ital role they play in communities perating buses - i.e. taking people where they need or want to go is not like selling newspapers or pullovers or almost anything else in the retail industry. Our customers depend upon us being there, some even choose where to live and work based upon the services that we provide. So, it’s no great surprise that when services are cut, changed, amalgamated, optimised or whatever industry jargon you want to use, people get upset.

I believe it is this narrow frame of reference that is the prism the bus industry is being viewed through. And, it is this narrow prism, that is the conduit for much of the criticism we receive.

There is a strong social cohesion element to what we do. Why then, is the industry suffering such a decline? And, why does the industry find itself being the Cinderella public transport mode in the minds of politicians, the media and a growing number of the general public? For many, buses are just too boring... until they aren’t there. Buses deliver over 80% of journeys made on public transport, but, to look at political Twitter feeds, government investment and media column inches, you would think that role was fulfilled by the train.

I think that the reason for this is pretty straightforward - train has a unified voice in this country and politicians feel connected to trains via ownership of the contract to operate. Also, train passengers have historically been more vocal and influential than bus passengers. But those days are changing. There was a recent survey on MPs expenses and how much they spent on public transport. It was very revealing.

O

‘Buses deliver over 80% of journeys made on public transport, but policy from Scottish Government is skewed against bus users’

Apart from a very few exceptions, train was the dominant mode used

by MPs with over 80% of money claimed being for train journeys.

This tells me that the majority of MPs are out of touch with the bus as a mode of public transport and its users because they themselves don’t take the bus. So, it is no wonder they don’t understand bus, its value to the economy or the job that it does! My big question is; does that pattern extend to MSPs and local councillors?

It will come as no surprise then, that bus companies, almost universally, struggle to get buy-in at Town Hall level. Policy from Scottish Government is skewed against bus users, who receive a reducing amount of (already wafer thin) support versus an ever-increasing amount for users of other modes. The bus industry needs our politicians to quickly grasp the scale of the problem we are facing - or the industry will be largely unrecognisable within a decade. We need their support

to positively influence external factors such as congestion, sudden emissions clampdowns, roadworks, fiscal cost uplifts and many more. It is these external factors that are mainly responsible for the significant and sustained patronage decline. These external factors have a direct impact on the cost to run a timetable, and is increasing year on year. Footfall and revenue is decreasing year on year. You don’t have to be Alan Sugar to understand that is unsustainable and is going to come to an abrupt halt at some point.

Meanwhile, there is an evergrowing attitude that profit is bad and shareholders are to be demonised. Those peddling this narrative are completely missing the point. Who owns and runs the buses is irrelevant in the face of the multiplicity of external factors affecting the current footfall trend.

Everyone reading this should understand that the motorist pays too little towards the actual cost of their journey and that politicians,

in the main, are afraid of them. The bus passenger on the other hand, pays too much when compared to that darling of public transport the train. I always love to point out that the bus passenger wields just as much power as the car user or train user, in the voting booth.

Buses are flexible, reliable, cost effective, eco friendly and efficient users of road space. They are also socially inclusive, a benefit to the economy, large employers, large contributors to the tax pot and the largest public transport mode.

My opinion? Let’s shout from the rooftops about how great the bus is. Let us not assume the role of Cinders in the great public transport debate! I would urge you all to invest time and effort to get that message across to decision-makers and those who influence policy, before it is too late. This industry must be part of the sustainable revolution that this country needs. Otherwise, it may be another case of not knowing what you had, until it was gone!

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STAG ECOACH

customers to call up journey information and buy tickets while on the move.

A user-friendly, Scotland-wide, door-to-door journey planner, allows customers to plan journeys.

The website also features an online fare calculator, and offers the ability to purchase weekly, monthly and yearly tickets, as well as the Stagecoach direct debit based “ticket for life” product online; fulfilled by ITSO smartcard technology, with a ‘quick buy’ function for regular tickets.

The website uses the customer’s location to tailor content that is relevant to them. A tool allows customers to search and find their nearest bus stop, placing options on an interactive map. mobile app Last year, Stagecoach introduced a mobile bus app, which is available free of charge for Apple and Android mobile phones.

Through the app, Stagecoach is offering mobile ticketing on its local bus services for the first time, allowing customers to instantly buy and download Dayrider or weekly Megarider tickets straight to their smartphone.

The new app offers a simple journey planning tool which uses interactive maps and the smartphone GPS system to help users identify their nearest bus stop and the most suitable bus service for their journey requirements.

Passengers can also access live running times via their smartphone to check the status of their journey before catching the bus. In addition, the app enables customers to pinpoint their location during their journey, helping them determine where they are on the route at any one time and how far they are from their destination.

Stagecoach will start rolling out contactless payment across Scotland from November

GOING DIGITAL stagecoach’s implementation of a w ide ranging digital strateg y is transforming the jour ney experience for bus users across Scotland s part of a wide-ranging digital strategy, Stagecoach has successfully developed a range of new and improved offerings for its customers - an improved website, a new app, mobile ticketing, smartcard ticketing and the ability to use alternative payment methods such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, as well as the introduction of contactless bank card acceptance. Feedback from bus users suggests that they have greatly welcomed these new and more convenient travel tools.

“In a fast changing world, it is vital that the bus industry continually reviews and improves its digital offering to actual

A

and potential passengers, and embraces new and improved technology as it becomes available,” explains Robert Andrew, managing director Scotland for Stagecoach UK Bus. stagecoachbus.com In December 2015, Stagecoach launched a transformational new mobile-friendly website - www.stagecoachbus.com - which lets customers check live running times for their services and buy travel on their smartphone.

The new website is designed to make it as simple as possible for passengers to plan and book their Stagecoach bus travel across Scotland, as well as other parts of the UK. The site is also accessible from mobile devices, allowing

Smart ticketing is now available

avl technology To support these various new customer offerings, Stagecoach has equipped its entire local 1,327-strong bus fleet in Scotland, and the rest of the UK, with Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology. This tracks vehicle location and reports progress in real-time, relaying information to passengers, via the company’s website and app, as well as at bus stops and on local authority and other third party travel websites. ticketing and payment Smart ticketing has rolled out across Stagecoach’s bus operations in Scotland, and elsewhere in the UK. Purchases can be made online or on the bus, with all period passes sold on ITSO smartcards.

Stagecoach is working with Transport Scotland as well as Scotland’s other bus operators to introduce multi-operator smart ticketing in the country’s four largest cities. Successful schemes have already been introduced in Aberdeen and Dundee, with Edinburgh and Glasgow set to follow soon. The group is also working with ScotRail on a smartcard pilot of the ‘PlusBus’ add-on for railway tickets.

Stagecoach continues to support Transport Scotland on its wider aspirations for smart ticketing and payment across the country.

Stagecoach is also progressing quickly with the introduction of contactless payment acceptance, with contactless rolling out across Scotland from this month, and a target for all its Scottish fleet to be completed in under 12 months. open data Stagecoach is working with stakeholders across Scotland on open data models. Journey planning information is already available through the TransXchange data model, supporting electronic bus service registration and schedule data provision to various local authorities. Real time bus information is also available and being provided to 10 local authorities within Scotland.

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26/10/2017 17:09

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XPLO RE DUNDE E

National Express Group-owned Xplore Dundee operates a 100-strong fleet, keeping the city moving via its network of services

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE Led by engineer ing manager frank sheach, the team of engineers at xpl ore dundee have won recognition for achiev ing the highest standards afety is at the heart of Xplore Dundee’s garage, and its engineering team is celebrating a string of achievements during the past year which are clear evidence of its skills and dedication to the highest standard of operations.

Led by engineering manager Frank Sheach, Dundee’s engineers demonstrate excellence daily by keeping a 100-strong bus fleet on the road, reacting quickly and effectively to mechanical issues. The team works night and day to ensure Xplore Dundee keeps the city moving, allowing local people to get to school, work and hospital via its comprehensive network of services.

The excellent standards of organisation, safety and maintenance at Xplore Dundee’s garage have now been recognised by independent, external bodies.

S

Following an assessment of National Express Group’s UK Bus operations, the whole division, including Xplore Dundee, has been awarded the highest safety accolade in the UK, the Sword of Honour, by the British Safety Council for the second year running.

Managing director of Xplore Dundee Elsie Turbyne says: “Every day we carry thousands of customers around the city and we have a workforce of more than 300 people to look after too. This means that safety has to be paramount for us - it’s something which factors into every decision and action we take.

“We’re extremely proud to receive this five star safety rating as well as the Sword of Honour for the past two years - it’s testament to the hard work and dedication of every member of staff who makes sure that safety is a vital part of their daily activity.”

Only companies that have

Xplore Dundee was awarded the Sword of Honour by the British Safety Council

been awarded five stars by the BSC in a gruelling 13-day audit can even apply for the honour, which recognises commitments to excellent health and safety management standards. The British Safety Council describes the Sword as “the pinnacle of achievement in the world of health and safety management”.

The auditor assessed Xplore Dundee on its leadership, risk management and how well a health and safety culture is embedded in its day-to-day operations in all

departments. Companies which score 92% or above are awarded the maximum five-star rating.

Xplore Dundee’s engineers are also proud to be included on a register of workshops with the highest standards in the UK, after being awarded IRTE Workshop Accreditation. The Institute of Road Transport Engineers assessed a wide range of systems and practices, including PPE, maintenance planning, inspection management and training, and concluded there were no recommendations to make.

The bus operator’s engineers are always on the look out for ways to improve operations, innovate or enhance safety and willingly share best practice with other garages in the UK Bus division.

Their achievements in safety and in workshop operations have been recognised and praised by external organisations as well as their colleagues, being awarded the Golden Spanner Award for engineering excellence, presented at the most recent National Express Group Values Awards.

Xplore Dundee’s garage is outward-looking and progressive - training is undertaken regularly to ensure skills are up to date on the latest engines and technologies and apprentices are integrated into the workforce, with the garage proving an excellent training ground for young or new mechanics. The team also provides support to community projects, assisting in the making of an innovative anti-social behaviour themed safety film and helping the organisers of the city-based project Safe Zone Bus with their vehicle, which is parked and cleaned at Xplore Dundee’s depot.

“I am extremely proud of our engineering team,” says Turbyne, “and it’s gratifying to see their hard work recognised by both our own colleagues and external bodies. The garage is the beating heart of our operation - without it our buses simply could not run. I know I can trust Frank and his team to keep our vehicles on the road and to maintain the highest standards of safety - I can’t ask for more than that!”

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TICKETER

CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS MADE EASY ticketer is taking the stress out of introducing contactless pay ments n 2016 five of Britain’s biggest bus operators committed to introducing contactless payment technology on all of their buses by 2022. Since that commitment was made much progress has been made.

An increasing number of bus operators are now accepting contactless EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) payments on their buses. There are numerous benefits for operators who take that step, principally in offering customers another option for how they pay for their travel.

“The question I always ask myself is how can we get more people using buses?” says John Clarfelt, managing director of Ticketer. “I think the way to do it is to offer as many ways as possible for people to pay for their journey, so we’ve developed a whole range of solutions to enable that.”

Ticketer has now worked with a number of operators, not only in Scotland but further afield too, to

deliver payment options that meet Clarfelt’s aspiration.

“We can accept smart payment, QR codes and barcoded tickets and now contactless,” he says. “We have all these options just ready to go for our customers. More of them are reaping the benefits.”

For contactless payments, First Aberdeen was the first operator in Scotland to introduce the

CONTACTLESS REVOLUTION COMES TO CLYDESIDE

tickets, up to the value of £30, using either a contactless card or mobile device.

McGill’s says contactless payments aim to offer a flexible and convenient way for customers to pay for their tickets, and mean less time spent at bus stops and no need to carry change.

This builds on McGill’s investments over the past year, where £1.6m has been spent on new ticketing equipment from Ticketer. This equipment not only allows contactless payments, but also QR coded

I

McGill’s, Scotland’s largest independent bus operator, launched contactless payments last month, making it the latest Ticketer customer to make the switch to EMV bank card payments.

The approach taken by the operator is a phased one with Erskine to Glasgow services the first to benefit from contactless.

Customers can purchase their single, return, all-day and weekly

technology and the Ticketer system is now also being used on First’s Glasgow Airport Express service. Meanwhile, as demand for contactless payment grows, a wider rollout by First Glasgow will be launched by transport minister Humza Yousef on November 6.

Meanwhile, last month McGill’s, Scotland’s largest independent bus operator and a long-standing

Ticketer now offers a variety of payment options for its growing number of customers

McGill's onboard contactless revolution

tickets and McGill’s new GoSmart card system. That allows McGill’s customers to purchase their GoZone tickets before they board, using their credit/debit cards or PayPal.

Ticketer customer, began upgrading its ticketing system in order to begin accepting contactless payments (see story below).

But Ticketer is also looking closely at other new technologies that can offer significant benefits to its customers. All Ticketer customers now have the option of using the company’s newly developed app technology.

Flexibility is key here. Alongside standard features, such as a journey planner and real time service information, available to all customers, the app can either be integrated with Ticketer’s own m-ticketing system or a third party m-ticketing offer.

“Ticketer is all about creating a template that can be rolled out,” says Clarfelt. “So contactless, QR codes, smart payment and the app technology are available to all of our customers. Once we create a new feature, we open it up to all.”

Coming back to contactless, Clarfelt acknowledges that it took some time to develop Ticketer’s contactless option. Now that process has been concluded, Ticketer is in a position to offer contactless to all its operator partners, both large and small.

“We can take out some of the leg work for them, because it’s there, we’ve created it,” he says.

“It’s a case of switching it on and we are looking closely at how we can make the whole process even easier for our customers so they are not at a disadvantage.”

“The first contactless payment routes to go live are commencing the final phase of our payment revolution,” commented Ralph Roberts, McGill’s managing director. “Once this technology has bedded in, we will roll it out to every bus service we operate by the end of this year.

Our considerable investment in new ticketing technology in 2016 is what is allowing this to be possible. Mobile, smart and now contactless payments are making journeys quicker and more convenient for McGill’s bus passengers.”

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Engineering Management System (EMS) EMS is a suite of tools designed to save you time, prevent breakdowns, and ultimately safeguard the reliability and quality of the services you provide.

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CONFERENCE WORKBO OK:

2020 VISION

‘We can’t claim to be able to tell the future - but we can work together to shape it’

42nd annual CPT Conference | November 6-7, 2017 | Tur nber r y, Ay rshire Partners

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WE LCO ME

A 2020 VISION FOR BUS Welcome to the 42nd annual cpt conference

hank you for joining us at the 42nd annual CPT Conference.

This year sees a change of venue to Turnberry.

Changes to the format and location of conference are not decisions we take lightly.

We have sought and received assurances from the hotel that the conference business sessions, catering and accommodation will meet the high levels of quality befitting our conference.

The hotel’s commitment to making a success of our event has been evident throughout conference planning and we hope this will shine through during the two days we spend in Ayrshire.

While the venue has changed the purpose of the CPT Conference

T

remains as always to bring together key stakeholders within the bus and coach sectors to discuss the issues of the day and agree a course towards a successful future.

This year’s conference theme is very much focussed on what lies ahead as we look to bring our ‘2020 Vision’ into focus.

This is no easy task given the level of activity currently taking place that has the potential to impact upon the bus and coach industries.

At the time of conference there are four live government consultations on a range of topics relevant to our sectors - the National Concessionary Travel Scheme, Low Emission Zones, smart ticketing and a new Transport (Scotland) Bill.

A consultation on roadworks

recently concluded.

In addition to these work streams CPT is also engaging with the Scottish Government on reviews of the concessionary reimbursement model and the BSOG (Bus Service Operators Grant) scheme.

Beyond Scottish transport policy we also have the impacts of Brexit and a potential second independence referendum to consider as well as advances in technology in areas such as ticketing, data and automation.

What passengers expect and what technology allows operators to deliver will continue to evolve.

This year’s conference provides a fantastic opportunity to look at these current and future changes and challenges - from the macro level of the constitutional

Turnberry is the venue for this year's CPT Scotland Conference, which takes place on November 6-7

framework down to local issues, such as how best to get our buses moving through ever-worsening city traffic.

A 2020 vision for bus and coach is clouded by a range of factors but we aim to achieve a degree of clarity through our conference business sessions. We can’t claim to be able to tell the future but we can certainly work together to shape it.

George Mair fcilt Director, CPT UK – Scotland

Lou Armor / Shutterstock.com

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CPT CO NF ERENCE

OUR SPEAKERS Our speakers w ill prov ide their thoughts on the future direction for the bus industr y HU M ZA YO USA F

MSP

Minister for Transport and Islands, Scottish Government Humza Yousaf MSP is Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Pollok and Minister for Transport and Islands in the Scottish Government.

Born in Glasgow on April 7, 1985, he graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in Politics. He is also an alumnus of the US State Department’s prestigious International Visitor Learning Programme. He went on to work in the Scottish Parliament as an aide to the late Bashir Ahmad MSP before he was elected as an MSP for the Glasgow Region in May 2011. He was a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the former First Minister Alex Salmond and was appointed Minister for External Affairs and International Development in September 2012, before taking up his current ministerial role in May 2016.

Humza has been involved in community work, from youth organisations to charity fundraising, for most of his life, including being media spokesperson for the international non-governmental organisation Islamic Relief. He also volunteered for community radio for 12 years and on a project providing food packages to homeless people in Glasgow.

CH R I S M A RT I N

Head of Business Development, The TAS Partnership Chris Martin joined TAS in August 2008 following

a progressive career in bus and rail management. His experience encompasses all aspects of operations and project management and as TAS’s Head of Business Development, he is their Lead Consultant on market profiling, data insight, revenue and cost analysis and sustainable transport solutions.

His presentation will focus on trends in public spending on bus services in Scotland and potential funding scenarios to 2020.

Chris is an alumnus of the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 1997. He has three wonderful children and is a passionate advocate of efficient, sustainable passenger transport.

He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport and Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. Whilst he will readily admit he doesn’t return to Scotland as much as he would like to, he hails from Newcastle upon Tyne which is (geographically speaking) near enough!

University of Leeds. He provides advice across the transport sector on: economic regulation, market design, competition economics, pricing and charges, cost and performance benchmarking, economic impact assessment and business case development.

JOHN DOWIE

Director Local Strategies, First Bus John Dowie joined First Bus in Autumn 2016 as Director Local Strategies, initially on secondment and now permanently, to support partnership working across 14 operational companies and the company’s response to the triple challenges of the Bus Services Act 2017, air quality and road congestion.

Prior to that John had a varied civil service career starting out in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, with periods in the Department of Energy, Department of Trade & Industry, HM Treasury, the Scottish Government in Edinburgh and the Government Office for the East of England.

More recently, he was at the Department for Transport for 10 years. He led on local transport from 2006 to 2013 and then from 2013-2015, as Director of Strategic Roads, he worked to establish Highways England and produce the first Roads Investment Strategy. His last role at DfT was Interim Director General for all the department’s work on motoring, roads and local transport.

Born in Aberdeen, he now lives in Cambridge. Married with one son and an awkwardly large book collection.

GERARD W HELAN

Director, Corporate Finance, Government and Infrastructure, KPMG in the UK Gerard Whelan is a consulting economist with 25 years of experience leading and working with multi-disciplinary project and client teams on transport strategy and transport investment opportunities. Prior to joining KPMG he was a Divisional Director at SYSTRA, the transport consultancy business of SNCF and RATP, and before that a Senior Lecturer in Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the

ROSS M ARTIN

Economic Agitator, @ScotIncGrowth Ross Martin works with governments at all levels to design, develop and deliver #InclusiveGrowth bringing together the power of economic policy with the purpose of social policy. To achieve these socio-economic aims, Ross agitates for meaningful collaboration between, and across, the public, private and social sectors to ensure the creation, nurture and sustainability of Social Value.

Ross has a keen eye for critical linkages between people and place, thus enabling a range of initiatives to flourish in this socio-economic interface, e.g. the creation of Adopt an Intern, the rapid expansion of Business Improvement Districts, and most recently the emergence of a new form of City Regional Leadership across Scotland.

Since first being elected to chair the Police Authority in Scotland’s capital some 25 years ago, Ross has played a variety of roles in advisory, executive and thoughtleadership capacities, with the consistent thread of strengthening Scotland’s socio-economic resilience. Ross is currently focused on two of the core characteristics of the emerging economy: low carbon infrastructure, and being driven by digital.

JIL L IAN ANABL E

Professor of Transport and Energy, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds Jillian Anable’s research addresses the potential for demand-side solutions to reduce carbon, local

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SPE AKER PRO F IL ES

emissions and energy from transport. She has researched car purchasing behaviour with expert knowledge on the uptake patterns of alternatively fuelled vehicles. She has also applied sociopsychological theories and methods to evaluate policy interventions at local and national scales designed to influence private and business travel behaviour, including ‘Smarter Choices’ interventions. She has authored or co-authored over 60 academic peer-reviewed journal articles and research reports with projects mainly funded by Research Councils UK, the Energy Technologies Institute, the UK Department for Transport, Scottish Government and the European Union. She has sat on a number of advisory boards and strategy panels for UK government departments, national research councils and NGOs, including currently acting as chair to the research and evidence group for the Scottish national transport strategy review.

ST EV E N SA L M O N

Director of Policy Development, Confederation of Passenger Transport (UK) Steven Salmon has worked for CPT since 1997.

Prior to joining the industry’s trade association he worked in bus and coach management for the National Bus Company, Tillingbourne Bus Company and Drawlane/British Bus. He has also run his own coach business and was, for a time, the local government officer responsible for schools transport in South West Surrey for Surrey County Council.

He is President of the International Road Transport Union’s Social Affairs Commission and a Vice President of its Passenger Transport Council. He is also a member of the employers’ delegations for European social dialogue in the road transport and urban transport sectors and one of the UK representatives on the EU Committee of UITP, the international public transport union.

WILL WHITEHORN

JOSH L ITTL EJ OH N

FRAES FCILT FMS

Chair at The SEC, Scottish Gallery, Clyde Space, Deputy Chair, Stagecoach Group PLC Will Whitehorn was born in Edinburgh and graduated with an honours degree from the University of Aberdeen before spending his early career as a helicopter search and rescue crewman in the North Sea. He joined the Virgin Group as Group Public Relations Manager in 1987. He began to move into a more general management role, working on the strategy to expand the brand into new areas such as financial services and telecoms.

From 1995 onwards, Will became part of a team developing the Virgin branded venture capital model for global expansion. In 1997 he became a Director of Virgin Rail Group and in 2000, he was appointed Brand Development and Corporate Affairs Director for Virgin. In 2004 he became President of Virgin Galactic. In 2007 he took on that role in an executive part time capacity and became special advisor to Sir Richard Branson. He left Virgin at the start of 2011 but remains a consultant to Virgin Galactic.

In 2010 he joined the board of the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre in Glasgow and in 2014 he was appointed Chairman. The SECC rebranded to Scottish Event Campus in 2016.

In 2011 Will joined the board of Stagecoach Group PLC, the global transport group and is currently Deputy Chairman.

In 2014, Will also became the non-executive Chairman of The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh and non-executive director of Purplebricks Group plc, a 24/7 online estate agency business in which he was a founder shareholder in 2012.

In 2016 he became Chairman of Clyde Space, the UK’s leading independent space satellite manufacturer.

He aims to be the first Scotsman in space!

MBE

Founder of Social Bite and The Scottish Business Awards Josh Littlejohn is one of Scotland’s most prolific entrepreneurs, and is passionate about making a difference in the world.

Co-founder of Social Bite, a chain of sandwich shops which donates all profits to charity, Josh employs a workforce which is partially made up of staff from formerly homeless backgrounds.

2016 saw the launch of The Social Bite Academy; the UK’s first skills and employment academy for the homeless community.

As the founder of the Scottish Business Awards, Josh has made headlines in recent years by attracting big name speakers to the largest and most prestigious business event in the UK. Previous speakers have included Sir Bob Geldof, Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, George Clooney, and most recently Leonardo DiCaprio.

2016 also saw the launch of a number of Josh’s new charitable ventures, including: Brewgooder, the world’s first craft beer to donate 100% of its profits to clean water projects, and Home, a restaurant partnership with Maison Bleue which aims to help and support the homeless by providing meals and employment programmes.

Last year, Josh announced plans for the first Social Bite Village.

Based in Granton, Edinburgh, the village will consist of 10 purpose-built, energy efficient houses, which will house 20 residents at one time and support their integration back into society.

Also unveiled for 2017 is Sleep in the Park, the world’s largest ever sleep-out event.

9,000 people are expected to sleep rough in Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens this December, with the aim of raising £4m and catalysing a movement to eradicate homelessness in Scotland within a five-year period.

Josh this year received an MBE for services to social enterprise and entrepreneurship in Scotland.

PRO G RA M M E

MON 6T H N OV

1200 – 13 0 0

Delegate Registration – Reception 1300 – 14 15

Lunch – The Crystal Room 1430 – 1 5 20

Business session (part 1) – The Caledonia Ballroom Sandra Whitelaw – Whitelaws & CPT Scotland Humza Yousaf MSP – Minister for Transport & Islands 15 20 – 1550

Tea & coffee – Ailsa Craig Suite 15 5 0 – 170 5

Business session (part 2) – The Caledonia Ballroom Chris Martin – The TAS Partnership Dr Gerard Whelan – KMPG John Dowie – First Bus 1900 – 20 0 0

Drinks reception (Dress: black tie) – The Crystal Room 2000 O NWA R DS

CPT Banquet (Dress: black tie) – The Ballroom (lowland) TU ES 7T H N OV

09 15 – 0 9 4 5

Tea & coffee – Ailsa Craig Suite 100 0 – 1 1 1 5

Business session (part 3) – The Caledonia Ballroom Ross Martin – Economic Agitator Prof Jillian Anable – University of Leeds Steven Salmon – CPT UK 1115 – 114 5

Tea & coffee – Ailsa Craig Suite 1145 – 13 0 0

Business session (part 4) – The Caledonia Ballroom Will Whitehorn – Stagecoach Josh Littlejohn – Social Bite 1300 – 14 3 0

Lunch – The Crystal Room

45

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CPT CO NF ERENCE

OUR EXHIBITORS Lear n more about the companies and organisations that are exhibiting at this year's conference

A L E X A N D E R DE N NIS

SCANIA GB

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) is the UK’s leading bus and coach manufacturer, employing around 2,000 people at facilities around the world. The fastest growing bus and coach builder in Western Europe, ADL encompasses three famous and successful marques – Alexander, Dennis and Plaxton.

ADL produces a wide range of innovative and fuel efficient, low floor single and double deck buses, plus a portfolio of coaches, welfare and mini vehicles.

Q Alexander Dennis, 9 Central Boulevard, Central Park, Larbert FK5 4RU Q 01324 621972 Q www.alexander-dennis.com

Scania is a major supplier of Trucks, Buses, Coaches and Engines. Within the UK, Scania dealers offer sales of new and used vehicles and, through a nationwide network of over 90 service points, provide a wide range of services to support transport operators’ individual needs. Scania’s vision is to be the leading provider of sustainable transport. This means integrating sustainability fully into the business and working with others to tackle impacts, transform our industry and create lasting value.

Q Scania GB Ltd, Delaware Drive, Tongwell, Milton Keynes MK15 8HB Q 01908 210 210 Q www.scania.com/uk/en/ home/products-and-services/ buses-and-coaches.html

CO NTIN E NTAL TYRE GROU P

Continental Tyres offers the right tyres for every application – from passenger cars through trucks, buses and construction site vehicles to special vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles. Continental Tyres stand for excellent transmission of forces, exceptionally reliable tracking in all weather conditions and high cost effectiveness.

Q Continental Tyre Group, Continental House, 191 High Street, Yiewsley, West Drayton UB7 7XW Q 01895 425900 Q www.continental-tyres.co.uk

E P M O R R I S & CO M PA N Y

Here at EP Morris, we work with bus operators and local authorities to analyse, optimise and streamline

Ticketer (pictured at last year’s CPT Conference) are among this year’s exhibitors

Q 07866 474774 (Mash Mohammed, Head of Sales Engineering) Q 07376 054744 (Ashley Cooper, Sales Engineer) Q www.lazzerini.it

your business processes, make savings and maximize profitability.

We offer a hands-on, complete service, helping transport organisations to implement industry best practice and manage their network. We specialize in BSOG certification, operational audits, concessionary travel and operations management software.

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

PA RKEO N TRA NSPO RTATIO N

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

Integrating ticketing and journey validation with ID-based and contactless systems, we are helping towns and cities to plan for a future demanding seamless multi-modal travel.

Parkeon Transportation is based at the UK headquarters in Poole, Dorset.

Q Parkeon Transportation, 10 Willis Way, Poole BH15 3SS Q 01202 339 339 Q www.parkeon.co.uk

LAZZERIN I

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

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

Q Lazzerini S.r.l., 21 Viale G. Pieralisi, 60030 Monsano (AN), Italy

TICKETER

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

Ticketer Electronic Ticket Machines facilitate multiple payments options, including contactless, ITSO smartcards, Apple and Android pay, m-tickets and cash. The hand-held ETM has all the same functionality. All products are fully location-aware, and feature bespoke coupon printing, and optional schedule adherence and integrated barcode scanning.

Q Ticketer, Marlborough House, Charnham Lane, Hungerford, Berks RG17 0EY Q 0203 195 8800 Q www.ticketer.co.uk

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

COMMENT ROAD PRICING

NORMAN BAKER

motor shows reveals. It may not be long before a clear majority of cars are electric, and those which are not will have emission levels much reduced from 2010. The Volkswagen debacle has only made that more certain.

At that point, it will be the diesel trains that will still be running on many lines, including of course almost every line north of Glasgow and Edinburgh, which will have the emission problems. The lazy assumption that the train is environmental ly better than the car will no longer run.

Of course, carbon aside, there are good reasons why it is still a sensible policy aim to pursue modal shift.

Scotland’s transport minister, The strongest one is the Humza Yousaf, wants to problem of ways to discouraging car explore congestion, the reduction use. Will he consider road of which was one user charging? of the major economic benefits of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

So disincentivising car use is back on For about a decade, vehicle the agenda, at least north movements Humza Yousaf, of the border. remained flat overall, with Scotland’s ROUND-UP But Humza Yousaf, the Scottish a reduction in private Government’s minister of car use offset by a growth new transport minister, who in van movements. transport advocated the But as recent figures show, and islands idea at this month’s CPT congestion has risen Conference in Scotland 40% in just the last four years.

(PT145), recognises that this will mean It follows that any solution “some unpopular and perhaps has to take into controversial account the changing nature issues and policies”. of the problem: increasingly congestion, not carbon, and Indeed it will. And good luck to him. To take increasingly vans, not cars. this forward will require clear-sightedness, Of course it is still sensible determination, and political to try to persuade courage, More private individuals to switch than that, he will have to from cars to buses, square the public, trains or bicycles, both to Discounted or free and shore up his SNP colleagues tackle congestion following the introduction who will be and, at the moment at least, of the on time difficult,” travel for under 25s getting shethe said.ear from to help reduce MyTicket day ticket that it in their offers Merger will bring constituents.

“Linking carbon levels. But that alone will government travel would slash inequality unlimited bus travel to young staff from two As the someone not do. who is discounts mentioned operations together In fact even securing that above to instinctively sympathetic people across Merseyside to what POLICY for just modal shift is the Young trying Scot he cardiscould £2 a day. alsoto bedo, perhaps I can offer problematic. The public The Scottish Government’s beneficial, somereducing will only buy into that observations stigma and However, in Scotland, from my three and a half poverty advisor has called if measures to constrain ensuring a high for rate of uptake, years the car are matched Eisenstadt said that while as transport young people under 25 to some and might generate savings minister in the coalition by noticeable and effective be operators and Regional Transport to government. improvements to offered free or discounted devolved and reserved areas public public transport and to cycle Partnerships offer discounted of transport.

First, lanes. London it is necessary government associated to crystallise the with travel schemes for young managed it by combining people, Naomi Eisenstadt has floated youngproblem the introduction people’s travel.”

Perryman’s and Borders you are trying to solve. Humza these are too often fragmented the potential for subsidised of the Congestion Charge refers Eisenstadt’s Buses to merge next comments to in carbon and 2003 have take emissions, and it was that with a big up is, on the whole, week youth travel as part of a range won support from MSPs. concern increase in bus frequency OPERATIONS of generally low.

Glasgow that led me to create and, crucially, the measures in a bid to tackle Labour MSP Expansion-minded CampbeltownPauline McNeill, the billion pound Local the user-friendly Oyster card.

“A further problem with issue of inequality. travel Manchester did not, who isSustainable Transport currently working based bus and coach operator subsidies is that they are on a Fund in 2010 for because motorists across West often It follows a growing movement Bill toEngland. the city were extend freeIndeed, Coast Motors has announced or child fares restricted to off-peak travel, the original name for the that it around the UK to offer younger to have to pay for tram improvements going which to young people is to merge its bus operations agedto scheme was over 16, makes getting to college that in the or work people discounted travel. welcomed the proposals.be the Carbon Reduction Fund. really only benefited those Scottish Borders on July In 17.

The fund was successful along the routes of Merseyside, Merseytravel, “I am absolutely in securing modal Berwick-based Perryman’s the convinced the tram lines themselves, Buses Liverpool City Region’s shift or at least that was away from by this.

We should cars transport was acquired by West Coast certainly be towards rail, bus, cycling how it was perceived. The Motors executive, revealed last month targeting andteenagers Greater Manchester walking,and in February 2016 and this while thosesimultaneously helping purchase that bus patronage amongst congestion in their charge was rejected by 78.8% earlyeconomies. was followed by the creation 20s,” she said. local of of young people under the “It has been an area of neglect voters in a referendum in age of 18 Borders Buses earlier this year, 2008.

But the car of 2010 is not had increased by more than in government the car of the following the takeover of 80% policy for Pauline McNeill MSP And of course there is then First a timing problem, manyfuture. years.” The roll-out of electric cars Scotland East’s operations may be in that the public will want in the slower than industry would to see the carrot Scottish Borders. like, but they are in place, or at clearly on its These two operations will the future, as even a cursory way, before it will of control by Labour on a now ticket look round the the enhanced partnership tolerate the stick. That means merge under the Borders Humza Yousaf MSP that included reforms to powers of Buses funding up front local England’s Bus Services Act name, expanding the network with the income stream transport governance in the could be to Franchising and municipals | 28 city and following behind.

22 in October replicated 2016 include the Borders, Cumbria, Scotland as part seeking of the

How about road pricing, Humza?

NEWS

Scots poverty advisor backs discounted trav el

“We have to look at some form of disincentivising private car use”

BUS FRANCHISING FOR SCOTLAND?

the means to introduce bus powers planned Northumberland, East Lothian, franchising (PT160).

REGULATION Midlothian and the City of It led the Scottish Government Edinburgh.

Reports suggest that new to bus To coincide with the name suggest that all options for change, powers may be given to Scottish the future Borders will introduce 10 of regional transport governance Journey local authorities that would tickets to its network ticket enable could be on the table as part range, them to significantly increase of plans with four weekly and annual the for a new national transport tickets regulatory tools available strategy. to them expected to be added to the It is now understood that ticket in the future. this options when the bus company would see the government consult Earlier this year Scottish launches its mobile app in transport on a new Scottish Transport September. minister Humza Bill Yousaf hinted Transferable tickets will also within months be with the Bill that the Scottish Government introduced on a number of was being presented to the Scottish corridors. examining actions to combat “Since March we have worked the Parliament later in the current impact of congestion on local bus closely with our colleagues parliamentary session. at services that would be supported Perryman’s Buses and look by The consultation would indeed forward legislation (PT154). see to the opportunities the rebranding all options on the table, including Meanwhile, May’s local elections creates,” said Lee Young, enhanced powers that would Borders saw the SNP take control allow of Glasgow Buses operations manager. local authorities to opt for City Council, ending three franchising decades of bus services. It is also possible that 04 | 14 July 2017

planned legislation.

However, there would be a divergence from English law with councils given the option to start their own new municipal bus operations, something England’s Bus Services Act prohibits.

www.passengertransport.co.uk

Legislation could see new municipal operators

Bus sector could face ‘perfect storm’ - AD L

NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSI S FOR A SECTOR ON

Robertson: ‘We potentially have a perfect storm brewing’

CAF to build trains in Spanish rolling stock

09

The chief executive of Britain’s largest bus builder has warned that the industry faces “much, much tougher things ahead”.

Speaking in Scarborough last week, Colin Robertson, who has overseen a period of expansion at ADL since joining this business as 10 years ago, identified multiple hazards for the sector. These include the decline in the value of Sterling, inflationary pressures, declining bus patronage and continued downward pressure on government funding.

“We potentially have a perfect storm brewing,” he said.

manufacturer plans to create

SPECIAL REPORT: PAGE

22

South Wales

300 jobs at facility near

Spanish manufacturer CAF has diesel multiple units, electric announced that it is to start multiple building units, trams and high speed trains at a new factory in South trains.

Wales.

CAF, which this year celebrates The company plans to create its 300 centenary, has been targeting jobs at the factory near Newport, the UK rail sector in recent years. where it will build trains and It has trams supplied the trams for Edinburgh for the UK. It has previously supplied and the West Midlands, and trains from its factories in currently Spain. has contracts to build some The new facility will be over 300 46,000 square metres in size and will employ 200 people when it opens in autumn 2018, rising to 300 by 2019.

It is being designed so that CAF can build a range of different trains, including Carwyn Jones

THE MOVE

NEWS

Minister stepped in to save tram-train

Colin Robertson, chief executi has warned that the bus industrve of bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, y faces a multitude of serious challenges

“This is a major coup for Wales”

www.passengertransport.co.uk

West Coast Motors completes purchase of FirstGroup operation

purchase of First Scotland East’s operations in the Scottish Borders and welcome our new customers and colleagues on board,” ACQUISITIONS commented Colin Craig, managing Growing Campbeltown-base d director of West Coast Motors. bus operator West Coast Motors He said that the investment has completed its acquisition of was a clear demonstration First’s operations in Midlothian of West Coast’s on-going commitment and the Borders late last month, to the Borders area and beyond, and announced plans to invest with over expansion planned. £3.5m in the operation.

Craig continued: “Whilst The acquisition of the exciting, it’s important to operations adds 116 members add of we do not underestimate staff based at Galashiels the depot and challenges which lie ahead. outstations at Hawick, Peebles [The] Borders Railway has and Kelso, plus 42 vehicles. had As anticipated West Coast Motors Investment sees is using the new Borders 30 new buses Buses enter service name for the business (PT156).

This acquisition has triggered an investment of £3.5m by West Coast Motors in 30 new vehicles, customer real time information and ticketing systems.

The new vehicles include Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and Optare MetroCity single deckers and Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double deckers, some of which have entered service.

“We are delighted to confirm the

ISSUE 164 14 JULY 2017

WEST COAST REBRANDS IN THE BORDERS

“It has been an area of neglect in government policy”

“We do not underestimate the challenges which lie ahead” Colin Craig

£3.5m investment in Borders bus operation

Newport

trains and carriages for Northern, TransPennine Express and the Caledonian Sleeper service.

“The establishment of this facility will serve CAF’s long-term aspirations to be a major player in the UK market for many years to come,” commented Richard Garner, CAF’s UK director.

Welcoming the news, the first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said: “Today’s announcem ent is a major coup for Wales and a big vote of confidence in Wales’ manufacturing industry.”

IN ASSOCIATION WITH: www.go-ahead.com @TheGoAheadGroup TheGoAheadGroupPLC The Go-Ahead Group

COMMITTED TO SUSTAINAB ILITY

Humza Yousaf (right) pictured with Paul McGowan, MD Scotland East and one ofof First the buses bought with last year’s Scottish Green bus Fund

Officials planned to axe Sheffield pilot

ENVIRONMENT

Bus groups seek air quality partnership

13

100 ELECTRIEPSOM C OPERATION BUSES ORDERE MOVES D TO LONDON

‘Big five’ set out their collective vision

INSIDE TRACK

Chilly winter for buses as numbers slip

16

Analysis of the latest DfT bus statistics

TRAVEL TEST

The good, the bad and the ugly of 2017

18

Alex Warner’s half term report

CAREERS

South Western boss named

30

ENVIRONMENT

Scotland. Last year’s scheme led Fleet will to the introduction of 46 serve Schiphol new low airport area emission buses by three operators - First Scotland East, Lothian Buses and Stagecoach East Scotland. The funding was worth a total of £2m.

The funding for this year’s round has been made available from the Future Transport Fund. Transport Scotland has announced that the deadline for applications for grant funding from the scheme will be June 30.

“The Scottish Government is committed to the introduction of cleaner and greener transport,” RATP Dev makes changes Transdev subsidiary commented Yousaf. “We continue biggest electric to itsplans London businesses bus to spend nearly a quarter fleet RESTRUCTURING of a VEHICLES RATP Dev has announced billion pounds a year in grants a to Dutch public transport restructuring of its Epsom Coaches operator support the network and business following the decision promote Connexxion has by announced the take up of new greener andirector order Steve managing buses.

Whiteway for 100 electric buses that to retire will “I am pleased to announce in June. be constructed by VDL BusThe move will see the operation & Coach. funding for this latest round of take on the Quality Line name used It is the largest order for electric the Green Bus Fund, which for the operator’s bus operation has and vehicles in VDL’s history and already seen the introduction will lead of to Connexxion, which iswww.passengertran a subsidiary sport.co.uk more than 300 low emission of French group Transdev, buses to the Scottish fleet operating and the largest single electric I look forward to seeing bus fleet even in Europe. more on our roads.

“This is the first stage in the “We will continue to invest in transition to completely public transport and active travel, emission-free public transport and in low carbon technologies, for Amstelland-Meerlanden,” such as electric cars and said vans, Eric van Eijndhoven, Connexxion’s hybrid ferries, green buses and the public transport director. infrastructure they require.”

“Naturally, we are using all The move has been welcomed we have learned in the South-east by the bus industry. George Brabant Mair, concession, where VDL successfully director of the Confederation for supplied us with 43 articulated Passenger Transport in Scotland, Citeas Electric. Therefore described the Green Bus we have Fund as every confidence in the product a “fantastic initiative”in and assisting the collaboration with VDL. operators to upgrade the ” standard The 100 electric Citeas will of their vehicles and meet enter low services on routes serving emissions targets.

Schiphol Airport and the surrounding He continued: “Buses are area within the Amstelland-Me responsible for less than erlanden 4% concession area. of road transport emissions.

Connexxion’s contract with Scotland’s bus operators VDL also calls for the delivery remain committed to further of 18 VDL Futura FDD2 double deck improving the green credentials coaches for busy interurban routes. They of what is already one of will be the most the first double deckers to environmentally sustainable operate on scheduled public transport modes of transport.”

Yousaf reveals green bus fund

A seventh round of Scotland’s Green Bus Fund has been announced by minister Humza Yousaf FUNDING

Scottish transport minister min Humza Yousaf has announced anno a further round of Scotland’s Scotland Green Bus Fund.

Now in its seventh year, bus operators, local authorities authoritie and Regional Transport Partnerships Partnersh across the country will be eligible e to apply for funding towards the purchase of low carbon carb emission buses. The initiative will wil once again aim to help support supp the introduction of new low carbon

vehicles across the country.

The previous six rounds of the fund have already seen £14.8m invested in greener buses that have entered service across

“We will continue to invest in public transport and in low carbon technologies”

www.passengertransp transport.co.uk

IN BRIEF

a significant impact on the local bus network, but represents an opportunity for local bus services to be adapted to complement and enhance the public transport network in and around the Scottish Borders.

“We look forward to this new chapter and the opportunities it brings to our business.

We will be working closely with key stakeholders, including Scottish Borders Council, to ensure we deliver a modern, first class bus service which meets the needs of the communities we serve.”

control pass to RATP Dev’s London contract and account management, bus business, led by managing tendering and business development director Fiona Taylor. and will also deploy best practice The French-owned group says that across all 10 of its London with this change, all of RATP bus Dev UK’s garages.

London bus operations (through its “The changes announced London United, London Sovereign today enable RATP Dev London to speak and Quality Line subsidiaries) will be with a stronger voice and deliver a run by a single leadership team. consistent product, so that we can Under the new structure, Quality better serve our customers Line’s existing Transport every for London day,” said Taylor. “We very much look routes will continue to run from the forward to working with the Epsom depot, but RATP Dev excellent will have staff of Epsom Coaches as they join a single interface with TfL to cover the RATP Dev London team. ”

LONDON TENDER RESULTS Go-Ahead London has wrested control of three Transport for London bus contracts from incumbent operator Stagecoach London. In what will be the first transfer of New Routemaster vehicles from one operator to another, Go-Ahead London will take on control of Route 15/N15 with a peak vehicle requirement of 23 buses. Also passing to the operator is Route 5 and Route 155 with PVRs of 30 new and existing double deckers and 18 new hybrid double deckers respectively.

The new contracts will commence on August 26.

Meanwhile, Metroline has retained Route 6 (PVR: 24 new hybrid double deckers) and Route 98/N98 (PVR: 23 new hybrid double deckers); Go-Ahead London Route 22/N22 (PVR: 22 new hybrid double deckers); and RATP Dev London has gained Route 18/N18 from Metroline West with a PVR of 44 new hybrid double deckers.

ZAPPY BIRTHDAY Transdev Blazefield has revealed that its Cityzap-branded

express service between York and Leeds has carried a quarter of a million passengers in 12 months.

“We’re delighted at the success of Cityzap,” commented Alex Hornby, Transdev Blazefield’s chief executive. “Cityzap’s success has been built around three key principles – great value, fast and direct journeys and a strong image evoking the idea of speed and a fun and enjoyable way to travel, appealing especially to passengers in their twenties, who our research showed were most likely to switch to the bus.”

TRAVEL TEST: PAGE 20

7 April 2017 | 10

services in The Netherlands.

21 April 2017 | 12

First/MTR appoints Andy Mellors

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