Coach and Bus Week : Issue 1058

Wednesday October 17, 2012 Issue 1058 | £2.95 www.coachandbusweek.com

COACH:

Clarkes of London orders three Irizar i6 integrals for 2013 p8

OPERATOR:

BUS:

MINIBUS:

Oxfordshire family-run RNIB's 'Stop for me, Partnership is the coach and bus �irm Speak to me' campaign future at Shrewsbury Grayline pro�iled p20 report in detail p24 Dial-a-Ride p44

Inside this week...

Minibus

for recruitm

Johnsons' new Futura fit for the future

JOB ADVE ent EVERY WERTS EK

RECRUIT N

OW

p14

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

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Delayed til 2017 – the worst of the pax rights

O

perators of long distance scheduled coach services can breathe a sigh of relief – arguably the worst practical elements of the controversial EU Passenger Rights regulations have been postponed.

As I wrote back in CBW974 (February 2011), for now scheduled services greater than 155 miles (250km) fall within the scope of the rules. To put the distance into perspective, Birmingham lies around 120 miles away from London meaning it falls outside the rules, while Manchester is 200 miles away, so the regs apply.

On the face of it, it would seem Norman Baker MP has been sincere in his words: “I believe the approach we have suggested in this consultation finds the right balance between passenger protection and operator competitiveness.”

After all, it’s easy for the likes of Passenger Focus to say “Coach passengers can be just as inconvenienced by delay as rail and air travellers” – but this omits

the vastly different pricing structure. While there are exceptions to every rule, coach travel tends to be significantly cheaper than rail or air fares. If the regs had been adopted in full, it would doubtless have signalled the end of headline-grabbing £1 fares, which have done so much to rejuvenate the UK’s long distance scheduled coach market.

While time was unfortunately not on our side for this issue, I would be interested to know the detail on DfT’s costings for the implementation and the sum it claims passengers “would end up” paying over the same period as a result of the delay.” How has DfT reached these figures? I shall wait to hear with interest.

On a final, perhaps more positive note, I must admit I was really taken with Johnsons’ new Futura (p.14). One word sprung to mind when our Martin showed me his photos: ‘Wow!’ While I’ve always rated the livery, it seems to particularly suit the new Futura. I also liked the bright interior.

Gareth Evans Editor

CONTENTS 4

24

37

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

14

Charity launches new driver campaign, plus industry reaction

32

Latest developments at Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride and Q’Straint

Johnsons Henley-in-Arden unveils its stylish new VDL Futura coach

20

A Ford Transit minibus at a Holiday Inn Express in South Wales

34

A lighthearted look at the industry.

Plus Office Diary column

Grayline Coaches on its working relationship with Bicester Village

Distinctive Systems enhances its popular Coach Manager software

All the latest people moves from across the industry

News

News Focus

Operator Profile

RNIB Report

The Big Picture Products

Minibus

62

Last Stop

63

People

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

For all the latest industry news and information, register with us online at:

www.coachandbusweek.com www.coachandbusweek.com

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4 | COACH & BUS WEEK | October 17, 2012

news

“We want to keep it as a family business. Bigger companies create bigger problems. I want to employ people not clock card numbers.”

Paul Gray Grayline Coaches

briefly FirstGroup has confirmed it is continuing to sponsor Aberdeen-born golfer Paul Lawrie following his success at the Ryder Cup. The operator has been one of Paul’s sponsors since 2007 and its logo appears on his right sleeve. First has also been a major supporter of the ‘Paul Lawrie Junior Golf Foundation’. FirstGroup’s Marketing Manager Avril Gill said: “Paul’s contribution at the Ryder Cup was remarkable. As a company we are very proud of his overall achievements and in particular his contribution to golf in the North East of Scotland.”

Driver performance management provider GreenRoad has announced results of a survey on smartphone usage within fleets. Entitled ‘Fleet Leaders Embracing Mobile Technology Potential’, the study found 43% of fleet managers are using smartphone or mobile apps for fleet management activities, including fleet tracking and more advanced fleet and driver related services. “We are amazed at how rapidly fleet leaders are turning to their smartphones to get fleetrelated work done. We always knew there would be a migration, but this is happening unbelievably fast,” said Tanya Roberts, Senior Vice President of Marketing for GreenRoad. 61% of respondents said all or most of their drivers have smartphones with them on the job and 35% of respondents said drivers are using job-specific apps, many of which are navigation related. 17% expect to deploy additional smartphone apps for drivers in the coming year.

Metrobus won Bus Operator of the Year at last week’s National Transport Awards. Alan Eatwell, MD, said: “The judges recognised the importance of being responsive and flexible to local needs - an approach which has helped us grow patronage by 105% on the Crawley bus network in the past 10 years for example.”

The Coventry bus network improvements, which included work by Centro and National Express, were also commended, gaining second place in the Transport Team Partnership Award.

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Operator Profile p20

Passenger rights partially delayed Government consultation results in exemptions to EU Regulations, meaning not all aspects will come into force next March The government consultation into EU Regulation 181/2011 concerning bus and coach passenger rights has concluded, resulting in delays to some aspects of the legislation, with a review set for March 2017.

The EU Regulation will apply in all Member States from March 1, 2013, primarily to long-distance regular services travelling 250km or further. While the EU Regulation is directly applicable, Member States remain responsible for making decisions on several issues.

Passengers would have been given the same rights as rail or air passengers. The move would also have secured new rights for disabled passengers. However, key elements, including the right to be offered food when services are delayed by more than 90 minutes

or be put up in a hotel if they are cancelled entirely, are now not due for consideration until March 2017.

The DfT said delaying implementation would save £8.2m over the next decade through avoiding red tape but added passengers would end up paying £1.3m more over the same period as a result of the delay.

Norman Baker said: “We want people taking long-distance coach journeys to get a fair deal but we also want to avoid tying operators up in expensive red tape. Many of these provisions are already best practice among major long-distance operators, including the offer of assistance to those with disabilities.

“In addition, domestic law already provides protection for passengers under consumer and equality legislation.

“I believe the approach we have suggested in this consultation finds the right balance between passenger protection and operator competitiveness and I can assure

New coach and bus engine fire suppression standards SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden has developed a new standard for fire suppression systems in engine compartments of buses and coaches. The objective was to construct a model of an engine bay where firefighting performance of different suppression systems can be evaluated in an objective way. The new standard SP method 4912, edition 3 has just been published.

A reference group has provided input to the standards development. International representatives from suppression manufacturers, insurers, trade bodies, transport authorities and manufacturers have contributed.

The main objective of the research has been the promulgation of this standard at the UN ECE

Bus fires pose serious potential threat to passengers and property Working Group on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) in Geneva (www.unece.org/trans/main/ welcwp29.html). Should the standard be accepted in this forum fire suppression systems will be

everyone who has responded to the consultation that their responses will be considered.”

Some elements, including the right to compensation for damaged mobility equipment, will still come into effect from March 1 as they are not subject to the exemption.

However, other regulations like guaranteed compensation for disabled passengers not allowed to board a service and compulsory disability training for staff have been delayed.

John Major, Director of Communications for CPT, said: “The implementation of these EU regulations is obviously a matter for DfT to consider and the industry will comply with any legislation put into effect by the UK Government.

The coach and bus industry has a proud record on the service we provide to all our customers including those who need more assistance than others.

“As the Transport Minister said, many of the provisions under review are already best practice among major long-distance bus and coach operators.”

Anthony Smith, CEO of Passenger Focus, said: “Coach passengers can be just as inconvenienced by delay as rail and air travellers and most, if not all, British operators currently provide compensation for this.

“We don’t see any reason to delay bringing in something which would just formalise this useful practice.” required in buses and coaches. SP has also established a voluntary certification/quality mark for the industry – the P-mark – according to SPCR 183 (SP Certification Rules) as progress through the GRSG can be protracted. A P-mark certifies the product meets the relevant standards, regulations etc., and the manufacturer or importer operates an approved inspection and quality control scheme.

To obtain a P-mark the system needs to fulfil the requirements in SP method 4912 in which the capacity of the system to extinguish different types of fires is evaluated. In addition, testing of all components as part of the system is required. This means detectors, electrical components and control panels will be tested for harsh environments, EMC etc.

More information can be found at: www.sp.se/ safebus

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

Countryliner Sussex goes into administration

Eemits will install its two-way radio system on 130 Metrobus vehicles

Eemits wins five-year Metrobus contract Eemits Communications, based in Billingham, County Durham, has won a five-year contract with Metrobus to install its two-way radio system on 130 buses.

The new multi-channel equipment will give Metrobus more effective communication over a distance far larger than it has had before, while it also provides drivers with a panic button which will increase their safety while driving.

Craig Matthews, MD at Eemits, said: “I was delighted all the hard work and persistence finally paid off with the Metrobus contract.

“It is also very refreshing and encouraging that a growing NorthEast-based company can actively seek and win major contracts out

of the region, thus aiding growth which we all crave for in these tough economic times.”

The company has taken on two new engineers as a result of the contract win.

Mark David, Sales and Marketing Manager, told CBW: “This is a major contract for us but one we can project manage effectively. It is a good indication of where we are going as a business.

“We have now got expertise in the bus and coach market so will look to increase our presence by bidding for suitable future tenders.

“We deal with all types of two-way radio communications, up to digital. The onset on digital technology means there is a lot of scope for us to go forward.”

Ian Coyle, Operations Manager at Metrobus, added: “We chose to work with the team at Eemits Communications because they were able to provide a system which gave us 100% coverage and this enables us to operate our bus network in the most efficient manner.”

Countryliner Sussex went into administration on October 8.

A petition to wind up the firm, which had operating centres in Bordon, Burgess Hill, Uckfield and Woking and an O-Licence for 60 vehicles, was presented on August 17 by HM Revenue and Customs, claiming to be creditors. It was heard at the Royal Courts of Justice on October 8.

East Sussex County Council (ESCC) was informed at 1700hrs on the Monday that the operator was going into administration, making it almost impossible to let parents and schools know of disruption to services ahead of the morning school run. Buses to 13 schools and colleges in Sussex were affected.

ESCC had arranged replacement buses for schools to be run by three other companies. A near-normal service ran on the morning of October 9, but there were some delays. Most services formerly run

by Countryliner also operated.

Surrey County Council (SCC) said Countryliner was unable to run route 10 from Guildford to Merrow and service 11 from Farnborough, Hampshire, to Camberley. It said Abellio Surrey would operate route 10 instead of Countryliner but service 11 was not running.

SCC said school bus passes and season tickets purchased from Countryliner would be accepted by the new operators until their expiry, without further charge.

Quality Line, the bus operating arm of Epsom Coaches, stepped in to cover route 479 from Epsom to Guildford. Bus Service Manager Jon Ball said: “We are operating the route at extremely short notice as we would not wish the many users of the service to lose what may be their only means of travel, even for a short period. We have therefore been providing the full timetable from early Friday morning October 12, using our spare fleet and some hired in vehicles.”

A Countryliner MCV Evolution seen in Brighton

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news › BUSeS

40%

percentage of blind and partially sighted people who use bus services, according to RNIB study

briefly Talks between First Aberdeen and Unite leaders will take place at conciliation service Acas on November 1 in a bid to settle a dispute over pay. Unite is due to ballot about 400 staff – including drivers – on industrial action. First said the offer is fair and urged not to disrupt passengers in the run-up to Christmas.

Network Warrington staff have raised £23,809 for Barnado’s through the payroll giving scheme. Fundraiser John Hollis-Davies said: “The kindness of Network Warrington’s employees could mark a real turning point in the life of a child in desperate need and we’d like to say a big thank you for all the staff’s continuing support.” David Squire, Network Warrington MD, added: “The generosity of our staff in supporting charities is stunning.

Everyone is touched by the stories Barnado’s tell us and to be able to help by paying just a few pounds directly from payroll deductions is a wonderful way to show our support.”

The OFT is considering whether the Arriva Midlands acquisition of the business and assets of Liyell Ltd (trading as Midland) has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002. If so, the OFT will look into whether the situation has resulted, or may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition.

550

The total number of new VDL Futura coaches built to date

New school buses for Isle of Wight Southern Vectis has invested £5.8m in this latest purchase The first 17 of 37 new school buses purchased by Southern Vectis are now in service for a renewed eightyear contract following agreement with the Isle of Wight Council.

One of the new single deck Optare Solos, compete with seat belts, on board CCTV, electronic destination displays and automatic vehicle location equipment, was inspected by students of Medina College as part of the launch of the new vehicles.

The new fleet, which sports a new Blue Vectis livery, include 20 double-deckers due for delivery in December. The buses represent an investment of £5.8m by the GoAhead Group-owned operator.

Andrew Wickham, Managing

Director of Southern Vectis, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to provide hometo-school transport. It is not only good news for the pupils but for the job security of the 70 staff who keep the service on the road. The new buses will also be available to community groups running

One Optare Solo was inspected by students from Medina College

Positive survey results for Cambs Guided Busway Cambridgeshire’s Guided Busway may have taken at least 600,000 car journeys off the roads in its first year, according to a survey.

The study found 24% of the 855 passengers questioned had previously travelled by car before the service started. The estimated 600,000 car journeys does not take into account the 13% of respondents who previously car-

shared or got a lift.

The study said the busway carried 2.5 million passengers in its first year, 40% beyond its 1.75 million target.

Before the busway opened, five buses left St Ives for Cambridge between 0730 and 0830hrs, while now the count stands at 14.

Other findings include 44% of respondents saying they used

volunteer buses when those are not required for the school lift.”

Cllr Dawn Cousins, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education, said: “Through this contract with Southern Vectis the council is investing in better buses for children and young people whom we have a statutory responsibility to transport to school on the Island - with CCTV, seatbelts and digital destination displays featured on the buses as standard.

I am pleased our partnership with Southern Vectis is resulting in improved transport, thus ensuring safe travel to and from school.”

Nathan Thomas, Headteacher at Medina College, added: “I am very pleased to see the improvements in the bus service and this will impact positively on pupils feeling safe and happy on their journey to school.” the busway daily, while among commuters, the figure is 80%.

Andy Campbell, MD of Stagecoach East, told CBW: “We always knew the busway would be a success, although we didn’t think it would grow as quickly as it did.

“We have increased service frequency on the busway from every 10 minutes to every seven or eight minutes all day, with additional buses at peak times resulting in 12 per hour. The Park & Ride service is also beginning to grow.

“Even the doubting Thomases must be thinking it has been a success.”

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October 17, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 7

14.4%

SHARE WATCH

Approximate proportion of visitors to Bicester Village carried by Grayline Coaches’ shuttle service

Award win for successful fares campaign The Fair Fares campaign by Norfolk County Council, which succeeded in winning a Government review of the formula used to allocate funds for the concessionary bus travel scheme, has been named Regional Campaign of the Year at the East Anglia region of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide awards.

More than 23,500 people signed the council’s campaign against the county’s £4.5m shortfall in funding for the scheme.

During the campaign, operators including First and Norfolk Green carried petition forms on their buses and a Westminster Hall debate held to highlight the problem.

The shortfall has now been reduced by £1.2m after campaigners including the council, MP Brandon Lewis and Norfolk bus companies, won a review of the funding system.

The petition was handed in at Downing Street in February 2012.

Graham Plant, Cabinet member for Planning and Transportation, said: “Any addition to our funds is welcome at a time when we are continuing to fight for a fair deal for our County to protect rural bus services.We will need to keep pressing for a fair deal for Norfolk.

A concessionary pass is worthless if the bus service has been lost because the council can no longer afford the subsidy.”

Industry share prices at the close of the Stock Exchange on Monday, October 15. Optare saw the greatest proportional rise while 21st Century saw the greatest proportional drop.

Most figures obtained from www.iii.co.uk

329.20p

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

The Unibus service carries around 1.8 million students each year

Stagecoach invests in university service Stagecoach Midlands has invested £1.6m in 10 new ADL Enviro 400s for its’ Warwick University service, U1 Unibus, for the new academic year.

The new buses replace Alexander Olympians and feature free WiFi. This latest move marks a milestone in the development of the Unibus service as it is the first time low floor vehicles have been purchased for the route.

The Unibus service runs from the popular student area of Sydenham to Warwick University via Leamington Spa, with up to 16

Arriva UK Bus celebrates engineering accreditation Arriva’s Bus Engineering Professional Development Scheme (ABEDS) has been awarded full accreditation from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), which allows engineers to work towards a professional qualification while gaining valuable on-the-job experience.

The recognition proves the course, which takes roughly four years to complete, has met strict regulations in professional development, including strong senior management support, demanding projects and a structured mentoring programme.

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Edward Hansom, Professional Development Adviser for IMechE, presents the accreditation certificate to Ian Tarran, Engineering Director for Arriva UK Bus at the Annual Arriva Engineering Conference in London

buses an hour and carries around 1.8 million students a year.

Stagecoach also offers a range of passes on the service, including a student travel pass called Unirider, which gives students unlimited travel on the Unibus routes and the wider Stagecoach network extending to Coventry, Bedworth, Cubbington, Warwick and Whitnash.

The Unibus service also includes nightbuses which run most evenings, with the last bus running at 0220hrs on a Friday night and are free for anyone with a Unirider.

The service which is open to everybody started around 20 years ago with just a handful of buses.

Steve Burd, Managing Director for Stagecoach Midlands said: “We have worked very closely with the University to continue to grow and develop this service, which is a real success story.”

Participants on the scheme can expect to learn skills which will equip them with a comprehensive understanding of engineering in the industry which will ultimately help them become innovative and responsible leaders.

Ian Tarran, Engineering Director for Arriva UK Bus, said: “We are delighted we’ve been awarded this accreditation as it demonstrates our programme is producing quality engineers, while also providing them with an internationally-recognised qualification.

“Arriva is committed to staff development in all sectors and we are especially looking forward to seeing the participants on our scheme develop into effective managers.”

184.95p

Price: Year High: 350.00p Year Low: 184.70p

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206.20p

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FTSE 100

5,821

Index: Year High: 6,103 Year Low: 4,791

-11

on last week

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15/10/2012 19:04

8 | COACH & BUS WEEK | October 17, 2012

news › coaches

briefly Drainage repairs along both the north and southbound carriageways of the A49 in Leominster are due to start on Monday (October 22). The work between the A49/A44 island and Long Wood is due to be completed by the end of December.

It will involve lane closures and temporary lights, which will be in operation 24 hours a day at various locations along the key route as the work progresses.

Bridge repairs are taking place on the A64 Bishopthorpe South Bridge between Fulford Interchange (A19) and Askham Bar Interchange (A1036) in York from October 22 to December 7. During the day a 50mph speed limit will be in place on the westbound carriageway, reducing to 30mph across the bridge joint. In addition, there will be narrow lanes and speed cameras in place. Full closures of the westbound carriageway will take place overnight at Fulford Interchange with diversions between 2000 and 0600hrs, in addition to occasional eastbound lane closures. During the overnight westbound carriageway closures, traffic will be diverted through the centre of York using the A19 and A1036 to rejoin at Askham Bar. The A1237 York Ring Road will also be signed as an alternative route.

Six nights of work to resurface the M5 northbound link road to J8 of the M6 began Tuesday (Oct 16). The work, which also involves replacing road markings, studs and traffic counting systems, requires a full closure from 2100 to 0530hrs each night. Diversions are in place.

M6 northbound traffic has been directed on to the M6 southbound link to M6 J7, around the junction and then back on to the M6 northbound.

The Highways Agency is warning some of its maintenance work will clash with events at the Stadium of Light – such as the North East football derby between Sunderland and Newcastle on Sunday (October 21) – and the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena. Please allow extra time. www.coachandbusweek.com

News8,9.indd 8

An artist’s impression showing how the distinctive Clarkes livery will sit on the Irizar i6 bodywork

New Irizar i6 for Clarkes of London The operator has taken a number of Scania chassis vehicles in the past Clarkes of London has ordered three Irizar i6 coaches for its 2013 vehicle intake.

The new 12.9-metre, 57-seater integrals come with DAF Paccar’s 365bhp PR265 engines, ZF Ecolife fully-automatic gearboxes, Alcoa alloy wheels, a Knorr-Bremse tyre pressure monitoring system and power-operated locker doors.

Inside, the coaches have a two-screen DVD media system, CCTV, seats with leather headrests, seatback tables and footrests.

In addition, a Hispacold climate control system, dash-mounted fridge, hot drinks console and toilet are also installed.

Guild celebrates 2,500 CPC training days

The Guild of British Coach Operators has celebrated the delivery of its 2,500th training day.

The Guild was an early adopter of the scheme, registering with JAUPT in July 2007 and delivering its first course in October 2008.

The Guild’s Centre Manager Richard Delahoy explained: “Our member companies were already committed to training their staff so it was relatively easy to adapt to the JAUPT rules for DCPC training. By

The vehicles also come with the standard two-year warranty, with the bodywork being warranted for corrosion for a full five years. Backup is provided by Irizar’s iService on-line parts selector system – bespoke to every purchaser – and the substantial parts stock at Worksop-based MasterPart.

Specialised components are serviced by Irizar UK’s multi-tiered network.

Clarkes’ General Manager Terry Newman said: “The i6 is also very stylish and significantly better built than its predecessor. It is very surefooted, incredibly smooth, quiet and comfortable.”

“Price is also a factor,” continued Mr Newman. “While we considered some of the competing products to be more expensive, Irizar UK

The 2,500th training day was delivered at The Kings Ferry working together as a consortium we’ve shared costs and just as importantly, shared knowledge and experience amongst our trainers.

They meet regularly and can access a portfolio of courses, including an annual refresher on the key compliance issues like drivers’ hours and walk round checks,

have kept their pricing realistic.

Make no mistake, we considered other options for fleet replacement, however the DAF-based Irizar i6 came out on top, which made our decision process very easy.”

Steve O’Neill, Managing Director of Irizar UK, said: “When I was operating coaches, my company had a great relationship with Clarkes, which set benchmark standards in the industry.

“However, I know Clarkes have no sentimentality about coaches or past friendships. They select the best tools for their business, and I am confident they will be delighted with the new coaches when they arrive.”

Visit www.clarkescoaches. co.uk. Call 020 8778 6697.

dealing with emergencies and vehicle evacuation, and excelling in customer care.”

The 2,500th training day was delivered to a new recruit at The Kings Ferry, Clive Chinsky, who received his course certificate from Kings Ferry MD Ian Fraser, along with trainer Lawrence O’Neill and other delegates on the historic course. Ian Fraser said: “We are well advanced in training our existing staff but an increasing problem for operators is in recruiting new staff who have established PCV licences but few or no DCPC hours. By using the Guild induction and other courses, we can have new recruits up to 14 or 21 hours within a short time of joining us, keeping us on track to meet the September 2013 deadline.”

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October 17, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 9

“I worked for myself for a spell but I missed the social contact of a workplace environment – the banter.

I still seem to end up making the coffee though.”

Linda Cox Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride

Perryman’s praise ex Parks Plaxton Elite Northumberland-based coach and bus operator Perryman’s Buses has recently taken delivery of a two-year-old ex Parks of Hamilton Plaxton Elite-bodied Volvo B9R. The 12.6m 51-seater coach has reclining seats fitted with threepoint all age belts. Onboard there is a centre sunken WC/washroom, drinks boiler, fridge, DVD with drop down monitors and Synectics T1000 All round CCTV & reversing monitor.

In addition to a continental door the coach has dark tinted glass and air conditioning with individual driver control.

Operations Manager Roddy Perryman told CBW he was delighted with the vehicle which replaces a 1998-registered Plaxton Premier. “It’s certainly turning heads,” he said. “We were looking for a good quality used vehicle

Operator Profile p44

and once I’d looked at this vehicle at Anston I needed to look no further. The Elite fits in nicely to our modern fleet profile. We already have a number of Volvo-powered Plaxtons which work really well for us so the Elite was the obvious choice. It’s a nice, logical step up from the Panthers we use.

“It’s being used on our private hire fleet, so it regularly travels between Newcastle and Edinburgh.

It also does some tour work for a

The coach is registered ‘CN10HFW

New Express coach route for Stephensons of Essex From Monday October 22, Stephensons of Essex is introducing a new X14 Express coach service between Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Ipswich.

Operated with the ex Oxford Bus Company Scania Irizar coach ‘0W03LFL’, the service is scheduled to run five times a day, Monday

couple of private tour groups. It was just up in Edinburgh on a theatre trip with a school, it went down a storm with the kids and last week it was at Butlins. It’s really versatile.

“After one of our drivers had been out in it, he said ‘Woah, what a coach.’ It’s gone down well and we are really impressed with it.”

“Thanks to the chaps at Plaxton Coach Sales for making it happen and we will definitely be looking at it for future vehicle purchases.” he

to Saturday, offering a fast, direct link between the towns. Suffolk Express will only stop at Bury Bus Station and Arc shopping Centre, Stowmarket (Bury Street/Ipswich Street) and Old Cattle Market and Tower Ramparts bus stations in Ipswich.

Fares from Bury to Ipswich are

£5 single, £7 return and £28 for a weekly ticket. English National Concession Travel Passes are accepted on the service, except before 0930hrs during the week, and younger passengers aged five to 19 inclusive get discounted fares; under fives go free.

Through tickets which include the popular Breeze services in Bury and Ipswich Buses local services are available from the driver on local services or on the X14 Suffolk Express itself.

Calls for M6 Toll to be nationalised The M6 Toll road should be nationalised as it is a huge waste of resources and money, a Conservative Party Conference fringe event organised by West Midlands transport authority Centro heard.

Centro Chief Executive Geoff Inskip called for an end to the ‘madness’ which sees the M6 choked up with traffic daily while the M6 Toll lies largely empty.

According to The Birmingham Post, he said: “There is massive capacity on the M6 Toll which is totally under used. We’ve got to deal with this and the solution is simple, bring it back into public ownership.”

He said the finances were a disaster. “It cost £500m to build, so why is there £1bn of debt attached to it? This is because it was refinanced by the banks and the shareholders took a £500m dividend. Their only answer is to increase the tolls, which means less traffic uses the road and there’s less maintenance.”

He added that inevitably the HGVs are using the M6, increasing the damage to the bridges and heaping further repair costs on the taxpayer. He suggested waiting until the road’s owner Midlands Expressway Ltd needs to refinance its debts and then doing a deal to nationalise the road. Alternative road pricing schemes, perhaps even charging for peak time use on the old M6, could also be used to regulate traffic and pay for the purchase.

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news

Stagecoach nominated in social media awards Success of popular Twitter pilots at Oxford Tube, Oxfordshire and East Scotland recognised Stagecoach has been nominated for two awards at the 2012 Social Buzz Awards.

Its UK Bus Twitter pilot, launched on the Oxfordshire, Oxford Tube and East Scotland subsidiaries, was introduced in August last year in an attempt to improve customer service.

The pilot is a finalist in the Best Use of Insight/Monitoring category and has also been shortlisted for the Best Social Media Customer Service Strategy award ceremony which takes place on November 28 in London.

Stagecoach UK Bus Head of Customer Insight Elaine Rosscraig said: “This pilot has helped us explore the use of social media as a way of communicating more effectively with our customers. We are delighted with the success of our Twitter schemes which have enabled us to ingrain social media within the business DNA locally in these pilot areas. As a result, we are now able to provide improved service information and service delivery in real time.

“This has been a real team effort

All change in Sandwell

Centro is introducing a number of service revisions in the Sandwell area from Sunday (October 28).

Bus routes, services and route numbers will all change following a major review by Centro, operators, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Birmingham City Council.

There will be more services to City Hospital in Winson Green, Birmingham, and to the Merry Hill shopping complex in Brierley Hill.

In addition, extra services to Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich, Neptune Health Park in Tipton and Rowley Regis Hospital as well as improved links to rail and Metro services will be introduced.

Cllr Roger Horton, Lead www.coachandbusweek.com

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across all of these local areas and I’m pleased the hard work of our staff has been recognised with these nominations.”

Stagecoach worked alongside The Big Partnership to recruit and train Twitter agents in Oxfordshire, East Scotland and for the Oxford Tube. The Twitter agents are responsible for liaising with local operational staff to provide upto-date service information for passengers as well as responding to customer enquiries and feedback via Twitter. The pilot accounts have

proved popular with passengers and the Oxford Tube Twitter feed is now manned 24 hours a day.

The Social Buzz Awards celebrate and reward the best in social media communications in the UK. Follow Stagecoach East Scotland on Twitter at @ StagecoachEScot or Stagecoach Oxfordshire at @Stagecoach_Ox or Oxford Tube at @Oxford_ Tube. Stagecoach also has a Group Twitter account at @ stagecoachgroup

The Oxford Tube is one of the Stagecoach subsidiaries using the Twitter pilot Member for Sandwell on Centro, said: “Centro and its partner organisations have worked hard to establish a new, simpler to understand bus network.

“When we consulted the public we were asked for better links to hospitals and improved services to railway stations, so I am delighted we have been able to do that with our bus operator partners.”

Other changes to the network include: n New numbers to give Sandwell bus network its own identity; n More buses to West Bromwich complementing the new college and Cronehills development; n Improved evening and Sunday services; n More buses to key centres including Oldbury, Birmingham and Dudley n New services for Langley Green, Bristnall Fields, & Lawrence Lane;

n Better bus waiting facilities including 200 new bus shelters; n More real-time information displays; and n Reworked timetables to provide more punctual and evenly spaced services.

Cllr Kath Hartley, Centro’s Lead Member for Putting Passengers First, said: “This review will result in a network fit for the 21st century, providing a viable alternative to the private car.”

The new network will be signed up to as part of a threeyear partnership deal with bus operators, Sandwell Council and Centro which will attract millions of pounds of additional investment in the network.

This includes bringing real-time information to stops across the borough, new buses, and improved infrastructure at key stops.

The buses are decked with mahogany below the waist line

Double-ended bus solves turnaround problem Five special buses with a driver cab at either end have been acquired for ferrying tourists to the monastery, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site on French island of Mont SaintMichel, just off the Normandy coast.

A new bridge linking the island with the mainland provides easy access to the attraction which typically receives three million visitors every year, but the shuttle buses had nowhere to turn around.

The answer to the problem was in creating a bus with two front-ends and Coventry-based steering system specialist Pailton Engineering was able to come up with a design allowing return journeys without the need to turn around – or the poor alternative of reversing all the way back to the mainland.

The buses are built by Cataeno in Portugal under its Contrac brand.

Pailton Engineering, via its German plant – Pailton GmbH – supplies essential parts to Contrac partner Paul Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH for these unique tourist shuttle buses. The company supplied sliders, bevel boxes and drag links as a bespoke solution.

All five of the buses were purchased by Mont Saint-Michel and appear all the more unusal as they are decked in mahogany planking below the waist line.

John Nollett, Managing Director of Pailton Engineering, said: “These special double-ended vehicles will be used by millions of visitors at this unique and interesting island.

Pailton prides itself on creating bespoke solutions for customers and here we supplied parts for what in itself is a bespoke solution.

We are proud to be a part of the success story.”

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news › international

Solaris Urbino electric bus wins EBUS Award Polish manufacturer honoured at Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) awards GERMANY The Solaris Urbino electric bus has won the first EBUS Award for battery buses by Forum für Verkehr und Logistik.

The jury awarded the prize to Solaris for “the exemplary commitment and the courageous progress in the development of electrically-powered public transport buses using batteries.”

The Urbino electric was developed in co-operation with Vossloh Kiepe GmbH which supplies the powertrain. The midibus version

recognised in the EBUS Award uses lithium-ion batteries to store up to 120 kWh of energy – it is also available in a standard-length, 12m version. Optimised for maximum range with a battery capacity of

An 8.9-metre-long variant of a Solaris electric bus

29 Volvo hybrids for Gothenburg

SWEDEN Volvo Buses is to supply 29 hybrid buses to Keolis in Gothenburg. The fuel consumption and climate footprint of the new hybrid buses are almost 40% lower than for conventional diesel buses.

“It’s marvellous Keolis is choosing modern, climate-optimised technology and we’ll now see even more hybrid buses in Gothenburg,” said Martin Spjern, Market Manager Sweden at Volvo Buses.

Volvo delivered 25 hybrid buses to public transport operator Göteborgs Spårvägar in June and, at the same time next year, the 29 new hybrid buses ordered by Keolis will enter operation on the island of Hisingen.

“Volvo’s hybrid technology is exciting and is entirely in line with our environmental profile. Volvo’s hybrid buses also deliver low running costs and they have shown themselves to be highly competitive when we compared them with gaspowered buses,” said Karl Orton, technical director, Keolis Sweden.

The new 7900 Hybrid buses are the latest generation. Compared with a corresponding diesel bus, the 7900 Hybrid delivers 39% lower fuel consumption and climate impact. Emissions of particles and www.coachandbusweek.com

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210 kWh, this model is capable of running for 150 km in the SORT 2 cycle.

The modular system is prepared for automated fast charging systems such as inductive power supply. This allows the batteries to be topped up along the route or at the terminus, eliminating problems of limited operational range.

The first operator to order the Solaris Urbino electric is Braunschweiger Verkehrs-AG from Germany as part of a new drive technology pilot programme funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development.

Volvo launched its Euro 6 7900 bus at Busworld Kortijk 2011 nitrogen oxides are halved and the noise level is far lower. The Volvo 7900 Hybrid is about 500 kg lighter than the previous model, making it possible to carry additional passengers.

Volvo has so far sold almost 1000 hybrid buses globally and reports show they meet customer expectations for good fuel efficiency, low environmental impact and high reliability.

“We are continuing to develop hybrid technology and customer demand continues to increase. As more and more operators insist on low environmental impact, low energy consumption and quiet operation, our hybrid buses represent a particularly strong alternative,” said Martin Spjern.

Nova wins artic order CANADA Volvo subsidiary Nova Bus is to supply up to 153 bendy buses for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), with an initial delivery of 27 units scheduled for 2013 . The deal is worth $143m.

TTC has specified newgeneration versions of the lowfloor LFS Artic models with stainless steel bodies and diesel engines.

The LFS Artic is designed to handle high-volume routes and the buses are earmarked for running services in Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, Saskatoon, Niagara Falls, New York and Austin.

BYD electric bus fleet for Sao Paulo BRAZIL Gilberto Kassab, City Mayor of Sao Paulo, has announced plans for electric buses from Chinese manufacturer BYD to enter service by the end of the year.

The city’s current 15,000 buses are calculated to be responsible for more than 20% of the total transport emissions. BYD offers zero exhaust emissions but also promises greater economy with estimated energy savings of US$246,000 which could be saved during the life cycle of a San Paulo bus. A BYD GreenCity bus was recently displayed in the city with other new sustainable urban technologies planned for use during the next World Cup.

Proterra battery bus passes US Altoona test

USA Proterra’s EcoRide BE35 battery-electric bus has become the first heavy-duty electric transit bus to pass the U.S. Federal Transit Administration’s Altoona bus testing.

Conducted through the Larson Institute at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona testing simulates the use and strain a bus will undergo during its 12-year durable life. The testing is required on all new model buses before they can be purchased with federal funds.

EcoRide BE35 is also the first zero-emission full-size bus to pass Altoona and was proven to have both the highest fuel economy (22 mpg average) and lowest noise (57 dBA or 10 times lower) of any fullsize passenger bus ever tested.

Testing revealed no Class One failures (those endangering physical safety of passengers) and a limited number of more minor failures, such as broken pins and mountings, all of which have been addressed and resolved.

Proterra’s EcoRide BE35 batteryelectric buses recharge in less than 10 minutes, and serve as a direct replacement for existing diesel and CNG buses.

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news focus › bova futura launch

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First RHD New Futura delivered to Johnsons Coach & Bus Week’s Martin Cole reports on the launch of the inaugural right-hand drive new VDL Futura for Johnsons of Henley-in-Arden The first right-hand drive version of the new generation VDL Futura was delivered last week to Johnson’s Coach & Bus Travel. Its acquisition continues a long-established association between the operator, manufacturer and dealer, Moseley (PCV), which has seen Johnsons’ fleet expand to 44 coaches – 38 of which are Bova Futura Classics.

The handover ceremony was held at Coombe Abbey, near Coventry, where Directors Peter and John Johnson were greeted by both VDL Bus & Coach and Moseley (PCV). Karl Moseley thanked Johnsons for its continued custom over the last 25 years. He said the development of New Futura www.coachandbusweek.com

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represented massive investment

by VDL in its bid to replace the Bova Futura Classic – which had been one of world’s most enduring designs.

Reme Henkemans, Chief Executive Officer of VDL Bus & Coach, said: “I would like to thank Johnsons for their faith in the product. I wish it could have been available to the UK market sooner, but we have been under pressure meeting demand from Europe.

This week we have seen the 550th completed at the factory.”

Peter Johnson said: “As a family business established now for 104 years it has been a pleasure to be involved with a brand which has seen us grow over this time. Our working relationship with Moseley is also very important.”

John Johnson said: “When we saw the New Futura earlier this year we were immediately

impressed with the look, feel and quality of the coach, and coupled with the fact that a 12.9m standard two-axle model was available, made the choice an easy one. Our customers, drivers, couriers and workshop team like our Futura Classics and are all excited at the latest addition of a New Futura.

We look forward to receiving our new 49 seat ‘club class’ Futura into the fleet.”

An attractive aspect of the twoaxle Futura is its low kerb weight which is of tremendous benefit in terms of fuel economy while enabling the 12.9m version to carry up to 57 passengers within the maximum weight legislation for international traffic. The new design retains the integral construction concept and the framework is built from stainless steel to ensure longevity. It also has a spacious, ergonomically designed

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

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6 1: Johnsons’ iconic livery suits the new Futura. 2: The entrance features well-spaced steps with grabrails in all the right places.

3: The neat layout of the drinks machine, WC and off-side door.

4: The interior is attractive, comfortable and workman-like.

5: The centre Bosch drop-down screen is located above the continental door. 6: A close-up of the distinctive yet stylish light cluster. 7: Representatives of Moseley PCV, VDL and Johnsons.

8: The cab layout is compact and comfortable.

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driver’s area with a state-of-the-art automotive dashboard and stylish, harmonious, well-finished interior.

A completely flat floor with no intrusions is also a popular feature.

The Futura FHD2-129 for Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel was specified with 49 Vogel reclining seats with leather headrest inserts, lap seatbelts, fold down seat-back trays and footrests. The wide seat spacing allows generous leg room. Also included was Denso air conditioning, a Bosch audio visual system with two monitors, a centre demountable toilet, water boiler and fridge.

John Johnson said: “I was very impressed by this interior design. It is straightforward and practical yet attractive and comfortable enough for touring. The coach needs to work hard, so simple, easily cleaned and maintained interiors make much more sense.”

Two-axle New Futuras are powered by Euro 5 9.2 litre, 361bhp DAF Paccar PR265 six cylinder engines and have manual, full automatic or automated manual transmission options. They employ ZF axles, electrically controlled ECAS air suspension and steering systems plus braking technology from Knorr-Bremse.

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news › REGIONAL

SCOTLAND

Falkirk Council is set to maintain bus services which are being withdrawn by First Scotland at the end of the month.

The authority’s Policy and Resources committee has agreed to step in to replace the services while a review of non-commercial bus operations is undertaken which is expected to be completed by the end of January 2013.

Six services in the Falkirk area will be taken over by the authority which will continue to run the routes until the end of March 2013.

However, it is understood First has retained most of the work.

Cllr Craig Martin said: “Many of these services serve outlying communities and therefore can be seen as very important to help sustain the local economy and allow local residents access to amenities elsewhere in the area.

“The commercial decision by First to withdraw these services has left us in a very difficult situation and we see this as being the only way we can balance the needs of communities with the harsh realities of constrained budgets.

“We need to take a closer look at these services provided but in the meantime, we can operate a substitute service that can support our communities.”

The following services will be replaced from October 29: n Service 15 (Falkirk - Kincardine - Alloa) n Service 16 (Falkirk - Letham Airth - Stirling) n Service 17 (journeys between Limerigg and Slamannan) n Service 27B (Banknock - Forth Valley Royal Hospital - Falkirk) The council will also be running the following services from November 19: n Service X19 (Falkirk - Grangemouth - Bo’ness - Edinburgh) n Service 40 (California - Shieldhill - Falkirk) Falkirk Council also plans to maintain bus services from Callander Park and provide evening connections between Bo’ness and Linlithgow.

NORTHERN IRELAND

The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Education is calling for a better approach for health and safety checking for home-to-school transport.

The Committee questioned officials from the Department of Education and the Department of www.coachandbusweek.com

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

Carlisle, which has just clocked up its 100th winner.

There are 25 winners each month and the draw is set to continue until the end of the year at least.

Bob Cook, Operations Manager in Carlisle, said: “We felt it was right to celebrate this by offering a range of savings and competitions to reward our customers for their support.”

KEY

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

WALES

the Environment about compliance with health and safety regulations, enforcement of standards and training for drivers.

Committee Chairman, Mervyn Storey MLA, said: “In Great Britain, Operation Coachman has been used to target PSVs and has detected an offending rate of just under 30%.

The Committee was alarmed to find when spot checks are undertaken in Northern Ireland, a similarly high rate of non-compliance with health and safety regulations was also found.

“The Committee believes the most efficient way to address this issue is for the Department of Education and Department of the Environment to work more closely together in checking compliance with health and safety regulations and that proper action is taken to remedy non-compliance as and when it occurs. This will help to make sure that the best and safest transport service is delivered for our children.”

NORTH

Arriva Yorkshire has rewarded employees at its fourth annual Make a Difference (MAD) awards.

Individuals and teams were recognised at the ceremony which took place last Saturday night (October 6) at Elland Road Stadium, Leeds. The event honoured employees who have made a big difference to the business, their colleagues and passengers. All titles were highly competed across the region with over 130 nominations.

Nigel Featham, MD for Arriva Yorkshire, said: “This year we were overwhelmed by the response from our employees. We know how important it is to reward people for their hard work, but this award ceremony is especially poignant as all the MAD winners are nominated by the people they work with.”

Stagecoach has given away £700,000 worth of discount travel vouchers to bus passengers in Carlisle. Leaflets were delivered to 19,000 homes containing vouchers with a face value of £38.40.

These give £4 off an adult Carlisle Megarider, usually £10, £5 off an under-16’s Megarider and 60p off child single fares.

The company is also offering a deal to pensioners and other concessions until the end of the year. Concessions get free off-peak travel under a national scheme but they must pay for journeys before 0930hrs on weekdays. Stagecoach’s offer allows them to travel for 90p on Carlisle city services before then.

There is also a ‘Kids for a Quid’ ticket for under-16s, giving a day’s travel in Carlisle for £1 at weekends and during the half-term holiday at the end of the month. The offer ends November 4.

Stagecoach said the offers celebrate the 100th anniversary of its predecessor company, Whitehaven Motor Services.

The company has also been running a competition for concessionary NoW card holders in

Traveline Cymru has launched a new bilingual website. Updating many of the features of the original site, including the journey planner, which will allows users to save their preferred journey settings, the new site has been modernised as a result of customer feedback.

The website, which comes courtesy of Cardiff-based design agencies Spindogs and limegreentangerine, was unveiled at Bangor University’s Freshers’ Fayre by Traveline Cymru ambassador, Iolo Williams, who was on hand to show students the functionality of the new website.

The new website is the latest move to enhance Traveline Cymru’s digital capabilities following the launch of a free bilingual travel app last year for iphone and android users, in addition to Traveline NextBuses and Traveline.txt mobile services.

Jo Foxall, Traveline Cymru’s Marketing Manager, said: “Our original website was launched in 2009 and since then little has been done to upgrade it. Following a consultation with our customers, we embarked on the website redesign with the aim of improving the site’s look and feel, as well as its user ability and functionality.

The enhanced journey planner allows public transport users to save settings without the need to continually re-plan journeys and change configuration settings every time they need information. We’re confident that the new site will be well received by travellers in Wales.”

MIDLANDS

Sunday bus services could be reintroduced in Shrewsbury early next year for an extended trial period under new proposals from Shropshire Council.

The move is being considered as part of changes to how car parking works in Shropshire.

Shropshire Council plans to introduce on-street parking charges in Shrewsbury on

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news › REGIONAL

Sundays and hopes to use the revenue to bring back some subsidised bus routes which were previously axed or scaled down.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member responsible for transport, said: “We are working to find a way to bring back Sunday bus services in Shrewsbury, which will give local people and visitors an alternative way of getting into the town.”

“A lot of work has gone into this review and consultation, and I hope it serves to alleviate some of the concerns that came about following the introduction of the parking strategy last year.”

SOUTH EAST

Arriva Southern Counties is running a new service between Sevenoaks, Riverhead, Dunton Green and the new housing development at Ryewood, which began October 15.

Provided in partnership with developers Berkeley Homes, buses run every 30 minutes on Mondays to Fridays to and from the town centre.

Go South Coast’s more M1 and M2 services between Poole, Bournemouth, Castlepoint and Southbourne have been equipped with WiFi. Wilts & Dorset fully funded the £150,000 investment, which went live on October 1.

“We are confident the introduction of WiFi to the fleet of 36 buses will prove popular,” said Nikki Honer, Commercial Manager at more. “Whilst motorists have a frustrating journey to work, our customers will be able to choose to either work or surf the net for pleasure on the free WiFi.” She added: “Our hope is to give our customers an extra benefit while on their journey and of course, the ultimate goal is to give car users a reason to consider trying the bus as they certainly can’t surf the net whilst driving a car.

“We have backed this up with a promotional door drop to try and encourage car users to try the bus and the free WiFi for a day for just £1.

“Although we don’t have any immediate plans to roll out onto the rest of our fleet, if we find customer numbers increase due to this added benefit it would definitely be something to consider.

“We are always looking at ways of making improvements and enhancements but with the recent introduction of the mobile ticket

The new homes at Ryewood now have direct links to Sevenoaks Rail Station and the town. In addition the new route 452 gives an improved frequency through the centre of Dunton Green and Riverhead.

The existing Rail Link commuter service which runs from Chipstead and Riverhead to Sevenoaks Rail Station during the morning and evening peaks has additional buses as part of the package of changes.

Also, these journeys have been extended to start from Ryewood, giving a better service to Sevenoaks Rail Station for commuters from the Dunton Green area.

Tina Dedman, Sales and Marketing Director, Berkeley Homes, said: “The extended bus network forms part of our commitment to the local community to improve sustainable transport links in the area.”

Arriva’s Regional Publicity Manager Richard Lewis said: “We are very pleased our partnership with Berkeley Homes will enhance our network of services in the Sevenoaks area.”

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

A heritage bus service event takes place in Manchester this weekend

2012

2013

n October 18 CILT Annual Awards for Excellence Dinner. London.

01536 740104. www.ciltuk.org.ukk

n January 1 New Year’s Holiday Open Day. Oxford Bus Museum. 01993 883617. www. oxfordbusmuseum.org.uk

n October 20-21 Heritage Bus Service Weekend. Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, Boyle Street, Cheetham. Featuring MetroCammell and Weymann bodied buses, 10-1700hrs. 0161 205 2122. www.gmts.co.uk n October 21 The Very Best of London Buses. Brooklands, Surrey.

Featuring 50 years of Routemaster buses. London Bus Museum. www.londonbusmuseum.com n October 23 CPT Coaching Conference. Volvo HQ, Warwick.

Further details will be published in due course. Call CPT on 020 7240 3131. www.cpt-uk.org n October 23-24 Young Bus Managers Network October Conference. Novotel, Leeds. www. youngbusmanagers.org.uk

app and the WiFi we will wait to see how things progress.”

When customers log on to the system for the first time they have to complete a very short survey, with one of the questions being ‘how do you rate more?’ Out of the 1,960 surveys which have been completed so far, 72% rate the operator as ‘excellent’ and 21% as ‘good’.

The new WiFi service is the latest use of technology employed by the bus operator. The company has also re-launched its website to support the initiatives and provide up to the minute travel information and advice through Facebook and Twitter.

n October 24-25 Trapeze UK User Conference 2012. Radisson Hotel, Manchester Airport. 08445 616771. www.trapezegroup.co.uk

n January 1 Annual King Alfred Running Day, Winchester.

Further information from www. fokab.org.uk n March 13-14 Best of Britain and Ireland (BoBi). Travel Trade Forum at the NEC in Birmingham. 01926 834796. www. bestofbritainandirelandevent.co.uk n March 20-21 UK Bus Awards Annual Conference. Sir Brian Souter has accepted our invitation to speak at the conference dinner.

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

n November 6-8 Euro Bus Expo.

NEC, Birmingham. 01926 834790. www.eurobusxpo.com

n May 26-30 UITP Congress & Exhibition. Palexpo, Geneva. www.uitp.org. +(00)32 2673 610

n November 15 CPT Northern Bus Summit. Manchester Conference Centre. Details from contact CPT NW Regional Manager Phillipa Sudlow on phillipas@cpt-uk.org.

n July 21 Alton Bus Rally. Anstey Park, Anstey Lane, Alton, Hants. www.altonbusrally.org.uk

n November 20 UK Bus Awards London Hilton Park Lane. www.ukbusawards.org.uk n November 20-21 ATCO Winter Conference 2012. Local Government Association House, London, SW1. Will include AGM. www.atco.org.uk

n July 28 The Annual Peterborough Bus & Commercial Vehicle Rally. Sacrewell Farm (A47/A1 junction). All buses and commercials welcome. Free entry.

07828 754412 or 01462 626750

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

www.coachandbusweek.com

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operator profile › grayline coaches

For the family, for the future Coach & Bus Week’s James Day visits the family-run success story Grayline Coaches and takes a look at its top quality Bicester Village shuttle bus

I

t’s rather an early start for me on the day I visit Grayline Coaches. I’ve been invited to take a look at the operator’s Wright Streetlite buses in use on the Bicester Village shuttle service between the railway station and the famous shopping outlet. With the route being as busy as it is, if I didn’t arrive first thing there would be no real opportunity to see the vehicles.

I drive through the sunrise on a very clear and cold morning, giving me the strange problem of deciding when to turn off the lights and put on sunglasses, since I refuse to have both on at the same time.

Grayline is the very definition of a successful family coach business. Now controlled largely by the third generation of the Gray family, the business has been running successfully since 1955 and is based right in the heart of Bicester, a stone’s throw from the railway station. While it’s great for the buses to be based so close to their start point, the business itself is starting to outgrow the premises and a planned expansion of the station, which would involve a compulsory purchase of the Grayline depot and allow them to move elsewhere, cannot come soon enough it seems.

I met Paul Gray, Operations Manager and the third generation of the Gray family to hold managerial roles in the company, who explained how Grayline has been in a state of limbo for three

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years while the government discusses the station’s expansion plans. He also said he doesn’t want to leave Bicester, as the operator has been in or around the town since 1955. I’ve been sent an invitation for when the move eventually happens, so watch this space.

The Bicester Village shuttle

The three leased 9.6m Wright Streetlites on the Bicester Village shuttle contract are about the only part of the Grayline operation which the company doesn’t own, since it could not justify purchasing them for a contract which spans two years. This may change in six months time, when the contract comes up for renewal. “Fingers crossed the contract will roll on,” Paul said.

The vehicles, supplied by Mistral at the beginning of March 2011, have 37 E-Leather covered seats, with the capacity for a further 35 standing. Over the course of Grayline’s service contract, they have carried over 650,000 passengers.

Paul explained: “We needed vehicles for November 2010 when contract started. We used three Optare Solos we had at first. The new Streetlites took time to build, with the luxury spec.

“They were ready towards the end of February, but went into operation on March 1. We decided to hold the launch back to get the brand new number plates on them.

Above: Paul Gray, Operations Manager. Top: Grayline’s MANpowered Jonckheere Monaco double-deck coach with one the operator’s Beulas-bodied Ivecos.

It was only a few days so we figured we may as well wait, and it’s good publicity to have totally brand new plates.”

Grayline first got into stagecarriage work in 1996 by default, after buying out a struggling bus operation. Grayline’s tender was later undercut and it was looking for additional work when the Bicester Village contract came up for renewal.

“The shuttle had been using three eight-seater minibuses which wasn’t close to enough capacity,” Paul explained. “They needed to hire coaches on a daily basis.

“We put a package together and ended up being the preferred choice.

“It’s gone from strength to

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operator: Grayline Coaches location: Bicester, Oxon established: 1955 FLEET: 20 Contact: 01869 246 461 www.grayline.co.uk

strength, moving 15,000 people per week now. We run it almost as a separate issue.

“The Village markets it very well too. One of the ladies travels worldwide promoting it. I called her once for some information and she was actually at a tourism show in Brazil.”

The appeal of the Bicester Village outlet is very international. Paul tells me very few of the passengers on the shuttle are English, and Grayline sees visitors from the world over.

“We’re always at or above capacity,” Paul said. “We will probably need one or two more drivers just to make sure we can give them a rest. At the moment, if one of the buses stops so the driver

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Bicester Village: a brief history

Bicester Village is one of nine Chic Outlet Shopping villages. Operated

by Value Retail, it was established in 1992 and is home to approximately 130 stores, welcoming three million visitors a year. Based on the figures with which CBW has been supplied, the Bicester Village shuttle carries 14.4% of the centre’s visitors.

The shopping village offers free coach parking and promotes Grayline’s shuttle service on its tourist information page.

For more information, visit http://www.bicestervillage.com

can have a break the other two often can’t cope. We currently have six drivers dedicated to the route, working four days on four days off.”

Park & Ride

The shuttle service isn’t all Grayline does for Bicester Village. It has also been running the Park & Ride service to the shopping centre since 2005.

The service runs at weekends, with the Village hiring the Bicester Community College and Bicester Garrison car parks as necessary.

It started out as a service for Bank Holidays and the Christmas period, but has grown to the point where Bicester Village is Grayline’s biggest client.

Paul explained that traffic around

Bicester Village tends to come to a standstill at the weekend, but the level of demand is hard to predict.

“The Village wants us to analyse journey times, how many passengers we take each way and so on. It could almost be a full time admin and data entry job.

“Sometimes you can get by with a couple of vehicles but there are also times where they simply won’t cope. The village also has to figure out if it needs to hire both car parks or not.”

The Fleet

Grayline Coaches currently has 20 vehicles on its books, with the authorisation for up to 22.

It recently disposed of a 32-year-old Bedford, which

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operator profile › grayline coaches

has moved on to a preservation group in Coventry. The oldest vehicle in the fleet is now from 1999.

We’re joined by Alan Gray, Paul’s uncle, who has a Directorial role in the business. When talking about the firm’s previous vehicles, Paul and Alan seem to know the majority of the registration numbers by heart to this day, without the aid of their records.

“We don’t go for any specific type of vehicle,” Paul explained. “That said, we do have mostly Iveco and Beulas coaches, as we were most often able to get the best deal with them.”

“They’re all ex-Redwing vehicles,” Alan added. “Evobus took in 20-30 per year. I would go and see Redwing, look at maintenance records and see if I could find good deals.

“Our last brand new vehicle was a 2008 MAN Plaxton Panther, which we still use. This year we’ve had a 2008 Iveco Plaxton Panther and 2010 Iveco Beulas, both executive coaches.”

Grayline does tend to keep funds available, which allows it to act quickly when a deal surfaces. An example of this was a 1991 Scania Plaxton 3500, which was a snatchback and between six and eight months old when Grayline was able to acquire it at a fraction of its value.

Value is the key word, though.

While the firm does seek out good deals, value is what it is looking for, not something which is cheap. This is seen not only in the presentation of the shuttle’s Wright Streetlites, but also in the company’s history, where it took home an award from the Brighton Coach Rally three years in a row, from 1968 to 1970.

Nor are the Streetlites the only example where a contract win has triggered Grayline to acquire a new vehicle. A doubledecker Jonckheere was procured specifically for a school run to a Catholic school in Bambury.

“We have a good relationship with VOSA and Oxfordshire County Council,” Paul explained. “The council used to fund transport to the school, but after cuts it was told it would need to find its own provider. The county council recommended us and we started talking to the school about a year ago. The parents pay us direct.

“We still do a number of school runs, although nowadays it’s mostly just an exercise in creating turnover since we’re getting the same school route prices we were getting eight years ago. We did have some

Grayline is keen to expand its workshop when it moves to a new depot

Grayline Coaches:

a brief history

Grayline Coaches was founded in 1955 by Alexander Gray. Alexander was employed by an established independent operator named Taylor’s Coaches, run by Albert Taylor. He fell out with his employer and after an “if you can do better…” challenge, he purchased his own coach for £400 – a second-hand 33-seater Leyland – and entered direct competition with Taylor’s Coaches. This competing service was so successful that Alexander was able to buy out his former employer after just eight years, acquiring four 41-seater coaches, two Bedford Vistas and two double-deckers. The business also moved into central Bicester in 1966 to a depot build by the company.

Alexander’s sons Alan and Brian Gray joined the company in managerial capacities in the early 70s. Alan had studied accountancy and therefore took over financial matters, while Brian, who had travelled widely across Europe, was responsible for tour planning and marketing. Gordon Gray, a third son, trained as an engineer and became the operator’s Workshop Manager.

After the acquisition of a business in Gosport in 1978, Grayline moved to its current site in 1981.

Paul and Stuart Gray, Brian Gray’s sons, are responsible for the day-to-day running of the firm, overseen by Alan Gray. Brian himself still holds a keen interest in the business, though he is based at Grayline’s Spanish office, near Malaga. He returns each summer to Bicester to avoid the heat.

vandalism problems but the council paid for CCTV for us, which we can move to problematic services as necessary.”

Paul said the company has built a strong reputation over the years. “Most of our work is repeat business,” he claimed. “As a result we don’t do any advertising on the coach side, not even in telephone directories.”

Grayline Commercial

Paul said 20% of the turnover is now coming from its venture into commercial engineering – Grayline Commercial. Paul explained that a primary motive for diversifying

this way was the tumbling profit margins from school contracts, which has evolved into a somewhat cut-throat industry.

Grayline Commercial offers 24hr roadside assistance across Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Northamptonshire for buses, coaches and commercial vehicles.

It also offers repairs and servicing for air conditioning, Webasto installations and windscreens, as well as MOT preparation, smoke & brake testing and servicing & inspections. Paul tells me the company does MOTs for just about any vehicle on the road which isn’t a car, and this is plain to see as there is a wonderful ex-military Bedford TK going through the process while I am at the site, which was sold to BT for telegraph pole servicing. The company also had a tipper lorry in over the week.

The operator now employs six engineers, up from the one full-time and one part-time 18 months ago, all of which are VOSA trained.

“With commercial engineering bringing in this much and having three service vans, we probably won’t increase our fleet size now,” Paul stated.

“We do work for Dawson Rentals – had two or three of their vehicles in this week – and Truck & Trader too. We’re also more than happy to

Grayline Commercial services a variety of vehicles such as this Bedford TK

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the future.

“London is an Olympic city now,” he said. “People will want to visit London to see its Olympic heritage, which may benefit tour companies in the long run. It might benefit us too.

“We’re lucky we had the funds available to take the hit. Some operators may have seriously struggled.”

do work for other coach operators.

“We don’t do the bodyshop stuff so much now though. We just don’t have the space here. When we move we’ll be doubling or tripling our capacity.”

Olympics

“The London Olympic Games had quite a detrimental effect on us,” Paul explained. “We carry a lot of inbound and outbound tourism. In the summer months much of the focus is on inbounds, particularly from Italy.

“During the Olympics, greedy hotels kept bookings away. A lot of them tripled their prices because of the notion there would be inflated tourist numbers over the period.

Some prices went all the way up to £500 per night. People were willing to pay good money to see London, but to make it affordable at all tourists had to be shipped way out to places like Basingstoke and Guildford.

“As a result, a tour company we work with cancelled all departures to the UK over the Olympic period.

We managed to pick up some other work but it still cost us around £50,000 in revenue.”

Paul said every city to host the Olympics had experienced the same thing and lessons had not been learned, but the legacy of the games could benefit the tour industry in

A Family Firm

The shuttle makes use of three leased Wrightbus Streetlites

The E-Leather-covered seating still looks the part after 18 months in use

Graylines shuttle interior: The interior of Grayline’s Wright Streetlite shuttle buses is certainly not what it expected from your usual railway shuttle service.

E-Leather was chosen to provide the seat covering. The distinct covering adorns Lazzerini Pratico high-back seats which provide a hightened level of comfort and accessibility, as well as more privacy than a usual bus seat.

The seats are coloured in a stylish grey, finished with pearl piping, offering what E-Leather claims is a “smart, ‘designer’ feel and very upmarket appearance while maintaining a hard wearing and durable surface for the service.” The company recommends AutoGlym’s cleaning products for its seat covering and Grayline is visited by a cleaner from the company once per month.

Paul Gray said: “Despite 18 months of non stop service, the E-Leather upholstery is still basically as good as new. They’ve had all manor of spillages and substances get on them but fine after a quick wipe they can go straight back into service with virtually no downtime. They’re really easy to maintain.”

As well the E-Leather covered seating, the Streetlites are carpeted and carry a DVD system, with a monitor built into the back of the driver’s cab, and a PA system. The monitor displays a promotional video, with audio, of the Bicester Village shopping outlet, utilising the captive audience onboard.

It is changed periodically.

The combination of the seating and screen in the interior of the vehicles quite is reminiscent of the inside of a luxury coach. Paul said this is very deliberate and passengers are often ‘wowed’, since the quality interior is not what is expected from a vehicles branded as a shuttle bus.

“Our clients had very exacting standards,” Paul added. “We had all the red hand poles repainted white to better match the rest of the interior.”

Despite the clear need for the company to move to a larger premises, Paul is happy with its situation at the moment. It currently employs 22 drivers and Paul said administration staff such as himself take a minimal salary in order to invest the maximum amount of revenue back into the firm.

“We’re not a here today gone tomorrow company,” he stated. “We have guys who have been working here for 30 or 40 years now. A number of staff have been here a long time now. We have a low staff turnover.

“We want to keep it as a family business and we’re not actively looking to increase size of company.

Bigger companies create bigger problems to deal with and I want to keep employing people, not clock card numbers. My door is never ever shut.”

Instead of trying to take on the world, Paul said the move has the potential to safeguard and futureproof the business and highlighted a number of problems the industry will be facing in the future.

“We will have a lot of problems and changes in this industry soon,” Paul warned. “The Driver CPC deadline could cause huge problems with driver shortages.

A lot of good, experienced drivers hate it. We have two drivers here who are retiring instead. With no new blood, there will be a shortage of drivers in September.

“There’s also fuel and insurance, which seems to keep creeping up even when the government negotiates it down, and the new pension legislation.

“The new building needs to be capable of supporting any future direction we take. We may need a boardroom or space for training facilities, as there is potential for us to do our own Driver CPC. “I want the company to be around in 20 years for my son.

Alan’s grandchildren may also want involvement. I want the new premises to be more manageable for the future.”

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accessibility › rnib report

Catching a bus should not be a sight test Andrew Cream looks at RNIB’s ‘Stop for me, Speak to me’ report in more detail and speaks to a number of operators about their views on the campaign and what they are doing to help those with sight loss

A

s reported in CBW1056, RNIB has launched a campaign entitled ‘Stop for me, Speak to me’, which calls for operators to ensure drivers make life easier for blind or partiallysighted people using buses.

The detailed report which accompanies the campaign explains what the charity wants to see operators implement, why companies should act now and what some operators are already doing as a way of removing barriers for those with sight loss.

RNIB statistics show almost two million people in the UK are blind or partially-sighted and it is predicted this number will double by 2050, due to an ageing population and increasing incidence of health conditions linked to sight loss such as diabetes.

RNIB believes every bus service in the UK should be fully accessible to everyone living with sight loss and the adjustments necessary are already within the capacity of all bus operators.

RNIB is calling on bus operators to ensure their drivers: n Stop for blind and partiallysighted people waiting at a bus stop www.coachandbusweek.com

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because nine in 10 cannot see to hail it – catching a bus should not be a sight test; n Speak to blind and partiallysighted people boarding the bus because the majority struggle to get clear information from the driver – without accessible information many cannot travel.

RNIB believes every bus service in the UK should be fully accessible to those with sight loss

Legal requirement

The charity believes, as a result of the Equality Act 2010, bus operators are under a legal obligation to ensure their services are accessible to blind and partiallysighted people.

The Equality Act requires operators to, amongst other things, change policies and practices which place blind and partiallysighted people at a substantial disadvantage and to provide auxiliary aids to existing provisions.

In 2005 the Disability Rights Commissions published the ‘Code of Practice on the Provision and Use of Transport Vehicles’ which specifically explained how these provisions applied to the transport industry. It contained the following examples in relation to buses: n 6.12 Disabled passengers with a visual impairment or a learning disability may need assistance in identifying their

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Reading Buses: James Freeman, CEO, said: “I welcome this report and my company fully supports RNIB’s campaign.

“I’m shocked, but as a one-time conductor many years ago, hardly surprised that eight in 10 people who are blind or partially sighted say they’ve missed a bus because they could not hail it.

“At Reading Buses the rule is that drivers should stop when someone is standing at a bus stop, unless the person has clearly signalled they do not want that bus. This is a simple rule which benefits all users.

“We provide more than just basic disability awareness training to our driver teams. Since 2008 we have been using the services of two trainers with visual impairment expertise who are helping our drivers develop the skills they need, through self discovery – the best way to learn. Supporting RNIB’s bus campaign is all part of this for us.

“Buses provide mobility to all – and for blind and partially-sighted people they are often a key basis of their independence. Raising awareness both of the needs of users and the way needs can be met is good for everybody.

We’re on a roll now, but we can always do better. At Reading Buses we will continue to listen, learn and improve our service for blind and partially sighted people in particular (but actually everybody, regardless of individual needs) so they can get around independently on buses which they feel comfortable and welcome to use.”

Travel de Courcy: Adrian de Courcey, Director, said: “We are broadly in favour of the report.

What we want to do is attract as many passengers as possible onto our buses, catering for all ages and abilities. We are always proactively looking at ways in which to do this.

“We already operate a number of talking buses on our X6 and Park and Ride services and we like to encourage forward thinking initiatives which will increase patronage.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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accessibility › rnib report

destination stop when travelling on a bus. The operator instructs its drivers to announce stops on request. The operator is providing an auxiliary service which makes its bus journeys accessible. This is likely to be a reasonable step for the bus operator to have to take. n 6.25 A visually impaired person carrying a long cane is waiting at a bus stop which is used by buses on several different routes. On seeing that the waiting passenger is carrying a long cane, the bus drivers call out to them the number and destination of their buses, in case he/she is waiting for their bus. This is provision of an auxiliary service and may be a reasonable step for the drivers to have to take.

Along with the Equality Act, the new EU regulations on passenger rights in bus and coach transport come into force on March 1, 2013.

The new rights offer more protection than the Equality Act, particularly in terms of access to travel information and assistance.

It will also make it compulsory for all bus drivers to undergo disability awareness training, something which is not currently an obligation in UK law.

Survey results

According to a study of 1,000 people with sight loss, four in 10 blind and partially-sighted people use bus services.

The study asked respondents if they wanted to get out more and 43% said yes. RNIB claims six in 10 who aren’t using buses may well start using them if access improvements can be made.

One in three blind and partiallysighted people are in employment and many rely on local bus services to commute. The access difficulties which RNIB highlight put additional strains on working blind and partially sighted people and those seeking work and in training.

Between June and September 2012 RNIB ran a survey to find out how blind and partially-sighted bus users were getting on at key points in their bus journey.

The survey was based on a set of questions which focused on key transition points in a typical bus journey. RNIB’s aim was to let people express whether or not they faced difficulties and how severe these were, and also to understand what people felt made a positive experience.

It revealed the vast majority of respondents experienced www.coachandbusweek.com

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RNIB regards request stops as a main issue facing those with sight loss

CPT: John Major, Director of Communications, said: “As an industry we are constantly looking at ways of improving the services we provide to all of our customers, but we do pay special attention to the assistance needed by passengers with disabilities. The DCPC includes specific modules on this, although a great number of our operating companies have their own practices that go over and above this in their individual training programmes. Many, for example carry out extensive role plays where drivers can experience first hand the challenges some of our customers face – and how to best assist and deal with them.

“We also remain in continuous discussion with relevant parties representing the different needs of our passengers to explore ways in which we can make travelling by bus easier and more enjoyable.” moderate to severe difficulties at one or more key points in their bus journeys. It also showed some respondents were having much better experiences than others, suggesting some bus operators were performing better than others.

Request stops

One of the main issues RNIB has with operators is regarding request stops. It explains they put the onus on the customer to signal to an approaching bus in order to stop it.

In effect this means the service is provided on terms which can only really be met by people who have the ability to see.

The charity’s research shows people living with sight loss go out of their way to deal with request stops. Efforts include: only using buses when they can find a friend to come with them; asking strangers for help; holding up large signs; or just flagging every approaching vehicle down which sounds like a bus.

The Conditions of Carriage published by the major bus

operators include the following lines: Arriva: “If you wish to board a bus, you should give a clear signal in good time to the driver of an approaching bus.”

Go-Ahead: “When you wish to board a bus at a bus stop you should raise your arm to clearly indicate to the driver as all our stops are request stops.”

Stagecoach: “In most urban areas, buses will normally pick up and set down passengers at marked bus stops. In busy areas, certain stops will be allocated to specific services. If you wish to board a bus, you should give a clear signal in good time to the driver of an approaching bus.”

First Group: “Where a passenger intends to board an approaching bus, a clear signal should be made as an indication to the driver.”

RNIB could not find any Conditions of Carriage which took into account the access needs of customers with sight impairments.

However, CBW spoke to each of the above four and received the

following responses: Arriva: We welcome the RNIB report as it helps reinforce what we already do in terms of driver training way beyond the Conditions of Carriage documents which is a simple statement of the legal contract between operators and passengers.

In Arriva’s case the detail is included in the Disability & Equality guidance leaflets which we provide to all drivers and other staff with customer-facing responsibilities.

The leaflets were refreshed earlier this year.

In relation to the call by the RNIB ‘Stop for me, speak to me’ report, our driver leaflet is the most relevant and includes the following points: Be on the lookout and be prepared to stop. Customers with physical or sensory impairments may be obvious to you but they may not be able to easily see, hear or hail your vehicle as it approaches the bus stop.

Call out your bus route / destination details at stops where blind or partially-sighted persons are waiting or as they board the bus. Advise them of the position of any steps or guide rails. Ask them if they would like to know when the bus reaches their destination.

Say “Hello” to a blind person as this helps them to know they are close to you.

This guidance is reinforced through our Driver CPC training which provides an on-going / annual refresher.

Mark Yexley, Operations and Commercial Director for Arriva UK Bus, said: “Arriva agrees with the RNIB that catching a bus should not be a sight test and the quality of information provided by the bus driver to a visually-impaired person is crucial to their ability to make a journey safely and with confidence on our services. Arriva provides appropriate guidance to all its drivers on the ways in which they can help blind or visuallyimpaired customers. This guidance includes advising drivers to always stop for blind and sight-impaired customers; calling out the route and destination details of the bus; advising them of the presence of any physical features on the bus that might be an obstacle to them when boarding; and making announcements about the stop at which they wish to alight. We welcome opportunities to improve our policies towards

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accessibility › rnib report

customers with disabilities and the RNIB’s ‘Stop for me, speak to me’ campaign is a very useful addition to the guidance material we provide to staff.”

Go-Ahead: We very much focus on training our drivers.

The conditions of carriage are in place but we also do a lot over and above what’s stated. For example: roads where there is only 1 On one bus route the driver would automatically stop at the stop whether it was hailed or not as it would be obvious the passenger wants the bus; roads where there is more 2 On than one bus route, most stops are well used and drivers would also stop to see if passengers need the particular bus without it being hailed; driver would also 3 Aautomatically stop for any person holding a white stick or having a guide-dog with them at a bus stop.

Our operators also work with local groups including with people who are blind or partially-sighted to put in place schemes such as providing a card for people to hold up which says ‘BUS’ so that the driver is aware he/she should stop.

Lothian Buses:

Passenger disability is part of the drivers initial training and also covered in DDA and CPC training.

We organise trip to the depot for young blind and partially-sighted people to allow them to get a feel for the bus around the depot before going out on the bus on the road themselves.

We have also visited the Blind School at Newington to find out what help people need when travelling on the bus and recently put posters up in all our depots to remind drivers of the needs of blind and partially sighted passengers.

Research from the DfT showed blind and partially sighted people benefited from being able to hear where the bus was and know when and where to get off through the audio announcements.

As a result of this research and our commitment to customers, we have fitted an on-bus information system to our 14 Airlink buses.

This system provides service and route information in both audio and visual format.

These buses have a TFT screen on each deck providing a high

Stagecoach: We welcome blind and visually-impaired passengers on board our services and we have worked closely with the RNIB in a number of areas. We have used their guidance to help design our bus interiors in a way which assists visually-impaired passengers through the use of brightly coloured handrails and steps. Our Group website was also developed in line with accessibility guidelines drawn up by the RNIB and our consumer-facing websites are designed to maximise ease of use for customers with a visual impairment. We have also assisted the RNIB with research they have carried out in the past and we allow Guide Dog trainers to travel free of charge on our vehicles as part of an arrangement we have with the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity.

We would be happy to engage with CPT, other bus operators and representatives from the RNIB to discuss these issues in greater detail.

First Group: Barbara Bedford, Customer Services and Communications Director, said: “We want to make our services accessible to all and we have been actively looking at how we can improve the way we assist those

Lothian organises depot fam visits for those with sight loss quality visual information. This information is then translated into audio on a PA system which uses computer generated text-to-speech.

To run this on-bus information an AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) system is required. Our full fleet is already equipped with an Ineo AVL system which is used for our BusTracker System.

We have also made a major investment into high quality speakers and screens on the AIRLINK buses to ensure the information provided to passengers is ‘the given’ in the best way we

living with disability.

“Our starting point around three years ago was the production of our Safe Journey Card which enables customers to privately let the driver know if they need additional help or assistance. This has proved to be extremely popular with customers and drivers alike, so much so that we are developing additional variants of the cards for specific needs.

“In order to guide our thinking further, in 2011 we worked closely with RADAR - now Disability Rights UK, the largest pan-disability organisation - to sponsor, and have input into, its publication ‘Doing Transport Differently’. This is a guide written by and for people with experience of a disability or health condition who would like to access public transport.

“Our involvement with RADAR, and indeed other disability organisations, has helped us to develop our driver training to ensure we can better offer assistance to meet the needs of all our customers. However, we recognise we are on a journey of continuous improvement. During our initial driver training and each year in our Driver CPC training

we are committed to refreshing disability awareness. This year’s module has specifically focused on those who are blind or partially sighted.

“We are working with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association on our next Driver CPC module to further improve our understanding of the assistance drivers can give.

In partnership with Guide Dogs, we are currently training all 50 hosts who work on our Streetcar vehicles in Leeds on sighted guide training.

The learnings from this work will be fed back into our wider driver training.

“We welcome the RNIB report and look forward to working with them to help remove the barriers of access to bus services.”

Specifically for those who are blind or partially sighted, in this year’s Driver CPC training, First asked drivers to be aware of those waiting at stops and look for clues such as a white cane. After pulling up at a bus stop, drivers were instructed to do the following: n Announce the service they are operating and check it is the service the customer needs; n Ask the customer where they want to get off;

can.

Our AIRLINK Buses currently use text-to-speech software. Great strides have been made with text-to-speech software in recent years making it more reliable and more natural sounding. Textto-speech obviates the need for pre-recorded announcements and the dependency on a single voice.

This makes changes to the audio if there are roadworks or incidents on the route much easier and quicker.

It also allows ‘free text’ messages to be announced as well as being displayed to passengers.

Feedback from customers has been positive.

Passengers who find reading text difficult, even at the bus stop, have benefited from having the information delivered via audio.

Older people who suffer from sight impairments and a general lack of confidence are happy they don’t have to ask if they are at their stop.

On the back of this success, we are looking forward to rolling out our on-bus information to buses on other routes as well as looking into using pre-recorded speech to help make the pronunciation of some local places correct.

David Squire, MD, said: “At Network Warrington, it is our policy for drivers to stop at all stops where customers are waiting. This is not just for those who may also be disabled but for the benefit of all our customers, particularly where different routes observe the same stop.

“We have an excellent relationship with the Warrington Disability Partnership – which has done disability awareness training with our staff and we continue to provide training in customer service above and beyond DCPC. The benefits of this have been seen through our Customer Survey, in which the driver appreciation score rocketed to 97% this year, and also through us achieving Customer Service Excellence.

“We applied for BBA funding to fit talking bus equipment to the whole fleet. Although we didn’t win this, we have taken the commercial decision to fit 12 new buses, which are due in the next six months, with this technology and would look to retrofit to the remaining fleet over a period of time.”

Network Warrington:

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accessibility › rnib report

n Explain to the customer where the nearest available seat is (and if necessary guide the customer to the seat); n Announce when they are approaching the stop the customer requires; n Ensure they get close to the kerb and make sure the exit is not obstructed by anything such as the shelter etc; n Give verbal guidance as the customer alights if necessary.

Despite this assurance, RNIB claims request stops are causing eight in 10 blind and partially-sighted people to miss the bus they want.

It is calling on operators to revise their bus stopping practices to ensure they are fully accessible to all blind and partially-sighted people and to amend their Conditions of Carriage so their policy is clear.

information from the bus driver.

The charity is calling on operators to address the lack of accessible travel information by enabling their drivers to provide clear spoken information to blind and partially-sighted customers.

RNIB supports Guide Dogs’ Talking Buses campaign for on-board AV announcements. It believes operators should pursue this goal in parallel with the calls set out in its report.

Driver awareness of visual impairments: RNIB is calling on operators to require their

drivers to routinely check whether a boarding passenger has a disability and facilitate their drivers to provide an appropriate level of adjustment for the customer.

Making complaints: If blind or partially-sighted people wish to report problems to the bus operator, they will face certain barriers to making any complaint as obtaining the bus registration number and the customer complaint details can be impossible.

RNIB is calling on bus operators to make their complaints process

Boarding away from stops

Another problem people with sight loss experience is when buses do not board passengers at the official bus stop, with six in 10 survey respondents saying they missed a bus due to this.

Blind or partially-sighted people are at a disadvantage in these cases for the following reasons: n For people who rely on hearing the bus rather than seeing it, it is almost impossible to hear when a bus has pulled up behind another bus because the engine noise of the nearest bus masks the engine sound of the bus behind. n Pavement furniture often lines the route near bus stops and this creates a hazard for people attempting to walk up a line of buses as well as those stepping off a bus.

Almost half of the 360 survey respondents said they had collided with obstacles on the pavement that obstructed the exit doors.

RNIB is calling on bus operators to review their policies and procedures when boarding passengers away from the bus stop so they take the needs of their blind and partially-sighted customers into account.

Other difficulties

There are a number of other issues faced by people with sight loss, RNIB found. These include: Obtaining information in audio format: Over half of the survey respondents said they had difficulty obtaining travel

RNIB believes people with sight loss have difficulties making complaints

North Somerset Coaches: David Fricker, MD, said: “I’m really pleased the RNIB is taking a really practical and pragmatic approach focusing on simple ‘human’ methods for making travel easier, safer and generally better for blind and partiallysighted customers. We are a people business and we need to focus on that – the way our people interact with customers makes such a difference.

“It should be common sense and courtesy for drivers to stop regardless if a person looks uncertain (with or without a white stick), as every lost passenger is a lost fare and another step closer to no business and no job for them. It should also be common sense for drivers to talk to people, ascertain what help they need and point out things like steps, handrails, empty seats etc (and ask people near the front to move if necessary).

“I’m particularly pleased they stop short of calling for audio announcements which are totally unsuitable for the majority of rural/ non-metropolitan areas. When we are trying desperately hard to attract people from their cars, do commuters/business people etc really want their morning journey to work punctuated by an hour or so’s worth of next stop announcements every few seconds/minutes every morning?

Having such technology-based ‘solutions’ forced on us will drive people away. They do however work really well in urban areas on short journey routes with regular changes of passengers. They do not and will not work on routes with regular passengers and/or rural areas. Law of unintended consequences could strike again, and blanket solutions do no good.

“Also, it would have been good for the report to have continued the theme of difficult access at bus stops and buses stopping behind other buses and called for local authorities to provide more, and larger, bus stop areas in central areas of major towns. In Bristol bus stop locations are seriously congested. Often buses queue four or five deep waiting to access a single stop. Longer laybys and more stops will make travel safer for everyone and make passengers feel more confident about being able to catch their bus in the right place. Local authorities have a key role to play in helping to deliver that part of the report.”

fully accessible for customers who cannot read printed signs or bus identification/registration plates.

Assault screens acting as sound barriers: The charity believes anything which affects verbal communication should be addressed because ambient noise levels on buses are already quite high.

RNIB recognises the role of these screens in keeping drivers safer, but they should be designed for both safety and accessibility.

They should not prevent the driver from providing blind and partially sighted passengers with clear and accessible spoken information.

It is calling on bus operators to adjust their driver communications briefing to account for the problems assault screens cause. The outcome should be that customers and drivers can communicate verbally without obstructions.

The charity is also calling on operators to ensure new or replacement assault screens have a slide section and encourages manufacturers to address the passthrough of spoken information in new designs and to fully test their prototypes in real world situations to ensure verbal communication is not restricted.

Report conclusion

“Access to bus travel remains one of the most common issues for blind and partially-sighted people. Usable bus services are a foundation stone for people who do not have the option to drive or cycle.

People with sight loss need to travel by bus so they can work, shop and keep up with family and friends and to contribute to society to their full potential.

We call on service providers to address the barriers presented in the ‘Stop for me, speak to me’ campaign report and remind them that people with sight loss have a legal right to use bus services.

RNIB provides support to blind and partially-sighted people who ask us for help to pursue their rights. We will also support any organisation which makes a firm commitment to remove the barriers of access to bus services highlighted in this report.

Our objective is to ensure blind and partially sighted people can access bus services like anyone else, fully independently and without unnecessary difficulties.”

The view the report in full, visit http://tinyurl. com/9rgb9a3

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THE BIG PICTURE

This week’s Big Picture is radically ‘jaunty’ even by CBW Editor Gareth Evans’ ‘normal’ standards. It was felt the angle was the best way to capture the scene without being surrounded by private cars. As is all too clear, it was taken at the Holiday Inn Express Cardiff Airport on September 4, 2011, which despite the name, is actually located 12 or so miles west of the city centre at Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan. Registered ‘GN44FNG’, the Ford Transit is one of a pair used on a shuttle service to the terminal 24 hours a day. The clouds in the sky almost look like they’ve been added using water colours.

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PRODUCTS

Email martin.cole@coachandbus week.com to get your new product or service in the spotlight

DISTINCTIVE SYSTEMS LAUNCH COACH MANAGER CONNECT

booking broadcast by every Coach Manager operator to every other operator, provided they’re not flagged as being private to selected operators only.

Any Coach Manager user can select any outstanding booking and then tell the originating operator they are able to fulfil it. If a price has been specified then users must accept it if they want the booking. If the price is blank then it’s up to the user to say how much they would like to be paid, although the originator isn’t forced to accept that figure. Originating users can wait for incoming offers from several operators before deciding which one they wish to accept.

When a user accepts an offer, the Connect Server immediately notifies the successful operator it has been awarded the booking. It is then ready to be downloaded into their Coach Manager database. The details are transferred exactly as they have been entered, except the originating operator becomes the client in place of the original end client. The incoming booking appears instantly in the Coach Manager diary and can be allocated, work ticketed and invoiced (to the originator) like any other booking.

Coach Manager Connect is completely secure; only bookings which an operator is seeking to have covered by another operator are uploaded to the Connect Server. Access to these bookings is exclusively limited to the Coach Manager community and the originator can also select which operators have access; ultimately making a booking privately available to just a single operator if so desired.

In addition to the latest version of Coach Manager, an operator requires a broadband connection to use Coach Manager Connect. Everything else is handled automatically by the Connect Server.

Coach Manager Connect is free until January 2014. Following this period the optional annual cost of continuing to use the service will be £195 which is added to the operator’s existing software maintenance charge, and can be paid either annually or monthly. The cost to Coach Manager rental clients is £16.25 per month.

For operators who don’t already have Coach Manager, outright purchase prices start at £3,000 and rental prices start at £97.50 per month.

The York-based fleet software supplier claims to have simplified subcontracting between operators with its latest system enhancement Distinctive Systems has released a new enhancement to its popular Coach Manager private hire and contract booking system which aims to allow operators to reduce the time and effort required to subcontract work to other operators.

Mutual assistance is a recognised cornerstone of the coach industry.

The need to cover multi-vehicle requirements, last minute client instructions, short capacity, overruns and breakdowns is an inescapable fact of the industry.

Distinctive Systems aims to make finding replacements many times faster and with a far higher chance of success.

Over 400 UK-based operators use Distinctive Systems’ Microsoft SQL Server-based Coach Manager booking system and this latest development allows individual operators to be permanently connected, via a high speed Internet hosted server, to every other operator in the Coach Manager community and any request to cover a booking is simultaneously sent to every other operator on the system.

In order to streamline the service, as broadcasting a booking to 400 other companies could be considered heavy handed, the system has a ‘favourites list’ application which allows users to start with operators they work with on a regular basis and

Upload summary (above); and list of booking and route notifications (top) then go further afield if necessary.

Alternatively, Coach Manager Connect can broadcast to all the operators within a chosen distance of a pickup point or breakdown location.

The originating user doesn’t need to know who the operators are in that area; the Connect Server knows and will automatically restrict the broadcast to just those operators. If this is unsuccessful, then the user can cast the net wider; ultimately going out to every Coach Manager user.

Coach Manager Connect starts with a booking an operator already

Distinctive Systems is used by many well-known firms, including Edwards

has in its system. An on-screen wizard assists the user in refining the booking, down to exactly what needs covering. As described, the user chooses who to broadcast the booking to and then submits it.

A message about the booking will pop up, colour coded according to urgency, on the screen of all the Coach Manager users at the selected operators as well as a backup email.

The originating user doesn’t have to know the email addresses of these operators; the Connect Server has them on file and will automatically handle the mailing process.

On seeing the message pop up, or on receipt of the email, all a receiving user has to do is click Connect on their Coach Manager main menu. This displays a grid listing outline details of every outstanding booking which has been sent to them by every other operator. By default the newest bookings are at the top of the list.

The grid displays a one line overview of each booking along with who’s originated it. The user can click any booking to see its full details, other than the identity of the original client.

An additional click can display a route map.

Users can also switch to a view which shows every outstanding

For more information call Distinctive Systems on 01904 692269 or email sales@distinctivesystems.com

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October 2012

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CONTENTS 38 News

Nissan offers incentives; and Q’Straint’s Victoria Hodkinson-Gibbs adds a practical dimension to equipment installation

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Showtime once again

A

s we are approaching the time of year where the bulk of the shows and exhibitions are held, Minibus expected to bring a strong report on what was on show at the IAA in Hanover last month. Sadly, it wasn’t possible for a number of reasons, but we do have our own UK show looming in the form of Eurobus Expo.

It is likely larger minibus exhibits can be expected from ADL with the new Plaxton Cheetah, UNVI with its GTR and Vega models

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and from Moseley with its Sitcar Beluga. In addition, the coachbuilders and converters can be expected to provide a variety of vehicles from lowfloor minibuses by Mellor Coachcraft and Bluebird Vehicles, to minicoaches and accessible buses from Atlas, GM Coachwork, Gowrings, London Hire and Stanford Coachworks. Others may appear on associated stands – so it’s fair to say there should be something for everyone.

The appearance of London Hire as an exhibitor signifies the major change in the market where many organisations feel they cannot afford to invest in new equipment but

Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride

Gareth Evans discovers how the Dial-a-Ride has evolved and become an integral local element

they still have obligations and contracts to fulfil – so they have turned to rental to maintain this provision. Specialist hire companies currently appear to be the operators most eager to acquire new vehicles in order to meet these new requirements.

Martin Cole Editor

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news

40

The number of volunteers at Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride

Drivers caught on phone Three penalty points, £400 fine & £100 costs each for school minibus drivers Video evidence captured by a 14 year old pupil has been used to convict two Brynmawr taxi drivers of using their mobile phones while driving children to school.

John Phillips, 41 of Ebbw Vale and Leslie Seswick, 40 of Abergavenny were charged with driving while using a mobile phone. The drivers are employed

by G&H Taxis of Brynmawr, which is contracted by Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) to transport pupils to King Henry VIII School.

The drivers were filmed covertly by pupil Dylan Ewer, who was reportedly ‘deeply disturbed’ by the manner in which he was being driven to school. To prove to others his concerns were justified, the pupil sought to capture evidence on

A&T Travel gains its first minibus

A&T Travel of North Finchley has taken delivery of its first PCV, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Travel 45, which is being used for luxury private hire and airport transfers around the capital.

Lee Gibson, Senior Manager Mercedes-Benz Minibus, said: “It’s great news to have sold A&T their first Sprinter-based product in such a competitive market place. A&T is a loyal customer to Mercedes-Benz and currently runs luxury Mercedes cars. The Travel 45 gives A&T another dimension to its business.”

The Sprinter Travel 45 is a complete factory-built MercedesBenz product ensuring a high level of quality throughout the vehicle.

This perception of quality matches the main goal of A&T Travel, which is to achieve clients’ complete satisfaction by offering the best

his Blackberry phone of the drivers operating their vehicles while using their mobiles. The footage was then handed over to the police.

Abergavenny magistrates heard Dylan had filmed Phillips driving, whilst using a mobile phone at 0815 on March 26 and Seswick at 0807hrs the following day.

Prosecutor Jean Morton praised Dylan for his actions in bringing such conduct to the attention of the authorities. The magistrates concurred and convicted both Phillips and Seswick, neither of whom were in court, and said that because children were involved they would be fined £400 for the offence of using a mobile phone whilst driving. Both drivers have had their licences endorsed with three penalty points and have been ordered to pay £85 costs and £15 victim’s surcharge.

A spokesman for MCC praised

Dylan for his ‘quick thinking’. He said: “MCC takes the safety of its pupils very seriously and we thank Dylan for his quick thinking in bringing this to our attention as it’s only through reports of poor behaviour that we can set about dealing with it.”

Monmouthshire Passenger Transport Unit, which hires G&H Taxis for the service, also praised the pupil’s actions.

Manager Richard Cope said: “We applaud Dylan for speaking out and understand why he would feel uncomfortable. Well done to him for bringing it to our attention.

We are confident the operator has taken quick and effective steps to deal with the situation.”

Watch the footage on YouTube at http://youtu. be/j3qyrFHQPZs or search ‘taxi drivers caught on camera’.

A&T Travel provides various transport services in and around London transport available. As with all EvoBus products, it comes with a complete bumper-to-bumper warranty so there is just one point of contact for after-sales support.

The vehicle has 16 Travel Star Sprint seats equipped with threepoint seatbelts. Power is delivered through a 2.1 litre Mercedes-Benz OM 651 DE22 LA 120kW engine, coupled to an automatic gearbox.

A range of safety features come as standard, including Brake Assist and ESP. The options specified by A&T include Bi-xenon headlamps with cornering light function and headlamp cleaning system.

The viehicle was supplied

by Mercedes-Benz Minibus Sales at EvoBus UK. Call 024 76 626000. Visit www.evobus.co.uk

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The seating capacity of A&T Travel’s brand new Sprinter Travel 45

Stanford-converted Sprinter

Sudbury opts for new Sprinter Sudbury Neighbourhood Day Centre has swapped its oldest Ford Transit for a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibus conversion, supplied by Essex-based Stanford Coachworks (SCW).

SCW and the Sudbury Neighbourhood Day Centre have built a long-standing relationship since 2002.

David Hardacre, SCW Sales Executive said: “We were contacted two years ago with this enquiry but it has only recently come to fruition due to a generous donation from the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons.”

The 10-seater (plus Driver) Mercedes boasts a number of extras including a CD player with Bluetooth, reverse sensors and camera, twin 270 degree opening glazed rear doors and sliding N/S loading door. SNC opted for the Blue Efficiency package in anticipation of many years economical operation from its new workhorse.

The M2 tested floor can carry up to two wheelchairs with two sets of Koller wheelchair passenger securing straps. All 425mm wide seats have been re-trimmed with Ambla Incontinence seat squabs, M2 tested and certified and fitted with all age belts.

A Ricon S2037 inboard automatic passenger lift with hydraulic ramp stops was installed and a fold-out step plus a single hand rail assists side door access.

The busy day-care centre serves the elderly of the Wembley area. It relies on its ambulance minibuses to bring its clients to the centre.

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£400

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The sum two school minibus drivers were fined for using a mobile phone

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

Ford continues support for disabled service skiers

and as a charity. The vehicle enables us to move disabled skiers and their equipment all over Europe for training and competitions, and without it we would struggle to provide these opportunities for disabled service men and women.”

Ford of Britain Product Manager for Transit, David Petts, added: “Ford is very pleased to again assist the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. The huge amount of effort from the team’s trainers, and by team members themselves, is a great inspiration.”

Ford is supporting disabled Service skiers for the fourth consecutive year, by providing a new Transit minibus, which enables them to compete in international winter sports events.

Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (CSDST) athletes will use the Ford Transit nine-seat Tourneo to transport them and their equipment around the Alps this winter.

The CSDST is a registered charity which provides ski race coaching to serving members of the Armed Forces, and to veterans, who have a permanent disability. Most participants were injured on active service, and several are double amputees.

Last season the team covered nearly 30,000 miles in their Tourneo, winning gold and bronze medals in international events. This season the team will train in Austria ahead of Army competitions in France, in January, and the World Championships in Spain, in

February. Several CSDST members have already been selected for the British Disabled Ski Team and aim to represent their country in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.

Colonel Nick Wills OBE, CSDST chairman, said: “Ford’s provision of another Transit Tourneo this year is vital to our success as a ski team

Ford Marketing Director Andy Ireson with CSDST Chairman Nick Wills

Special Movano for Help the Heroes

A very special Vauxhall Movano wheelchair-accessible minibus was handed over on September 3

by Stanford Coachworks (SCW) to Help the Heroes at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine based at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It was paid for by Help f or Heroes.

The charity, a national cause set up to help support service personnel veterans and their families who are wounded or sick, accepted the minibus from Mike Gasper, Sales Executive for SCW and Steve Parker, Central Regional Coordinator for Help for Heroes.

“This was a real heartfelt project to work on,” explained Mike. “I was lost for words when the Military

The Vauxhall is finished in the striking ‘Help for Heroes’ livery hospital team presented me with a certificate of appreciation.”

The six-speed manual Movano supplied by Vauxhall is LEZcompliant with a 125ps Euro 5 engine. The model comes complete with in-dash air conditioning, reverse sensors, LEDs and can accommodate up to eight

passengers and driver.

Saloon seating comprises six M1 tested, 450mm wide, high back Rescroft Nevis reclininers with additional foam padding, armrests and extended seat belts for comfort. The seats mount onto Unwin Innotrax tracking via HAL fixings for easy extraction and

Seawards take UNVI Touring duo Minis to Midis has supplied London-based Seaward Travel with its first new UNVI-manufactured coaches. Two 10m Touring models based on Mercedes-Benz 1524 chassis fitted with six-speed EPS gearbox and cruise control have just entered service. The interiors feature 41 Politecnica Grand Rally seats plus courier, Hispacold air conditioning fed through overhead rack vents, convection heating, double glazing, full draw curtains, radio/CD/PA and DVD with drop down monitor. A large rear luggage boot is complemented by the nearside underfloor luggage locker which spans the wheelbase.

MD Phillip Seaward said: “We wanted to add a good-sized midi which could work alongside our full sized vehicles without compromising our standards. As a growing firm, the two Tourings have increased our degree of flexibility while offering us the benefit of reduced running costs.” access of three wheelchairs. The system is M1 certified and newly VOSA IVA approved. Rear saloon air conditioning and heating was fitted and supplied by Eberspacher UK. An extra-wide 860 x 1320mm Ricon S2037 split platform rear lift provides robust access for wheelchair passengers with a Stayco 600mm wide electric side door step addition.

Three sets of Koller Fast Quattro Express wheelchair restraints were supplied with free training offered to the hospital by Andy Nurrish at Koller Engineering.

Major John Harker MBE was extremely pleased with the whole process and commented: “It was a pleasure and has been a great experience working with [Mike] on this project. For a ‘civvi’ you are a top bloke! This minibus will greatly enhance our ability to take patients out on longer field trips and it gives us wider flexibility.”

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news

Q’Straint investing in the future of mobility Passenger and wheelchair restraint specialist Q’Straint is continuing to reinforce and consolidate its standing through investment in the services and products it offers. Following recent corporate changes there is now a closer focus on communication with the parent firm in the USA – although the UK-based operation in Whitstable remains autonomous and addresses a huge list of clients across Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and the Far East.

A key development in the firm’s strength has been the appointment of Dr Victoria Hodkinson-Gibbs as Technical Manager. She joined Q’Straint from the Department for Transport where she specialised in Whole Vehicle Type Approval legislation and worked closely with the Vehicle Certification Agency.

Consequently she is extremely well-connected with direct routes to people in those departments in addition to being highly competent and practical herself.

One of Victoria’s main tasks is to work with customers to ensure they specify the correct equipment.

She encourages them to become involved at an early stage to ensure the layout of any seating or wheelchair space where passenger restraint systems are required can be ideally located.

She said: “There are many

Stanford’s David Hardacre hands over the vehicle to SMCVS

installations where the location of a floor-mounted retractor or cant rail fixing don’t allow them to be positioned in the ideal place to ensure a free belt run or to gain the correct alignment for passing the belt over the passenger’s shoulder. In effect, it causes premature wear on belt webbing and reflects badly on our product.

In the case of shoulder belts, it can often mean the belt runs too close to a passenger’s neck – causing discomfort, or it can fall off the shoulder – making it ineffective in the event of a collision. There’s much more to creating an ideal installation than just purchasing tested and certified equipment and attaching it anywhere. It may serve to reach official compliance but getting the installation optimised increases passenger comfort and safety while ensuring our products work as they were designed to do. I can also organise testing and certification of proposed installations where necessary.

“It’s why I want to work more closely with our customers. Vehicle OEMs, bodybuilders and converters may be able to refer to CAD but we’ve established CAD systems fall short in many areas. However, we can work from drawings or CAD information and I’ve developed a testing rig where I can use their information to replicate the layout

of floor tracking, cant rail fixings or overhead mounting points.

Once it has been adjusted I can then determine the ideal position for tie-downs and retractors. A common problem, particularly with minibus conversions, is where rear seats are removed to make space for two wheelchairs. There is often sufficient room for the wheelchair but things like wheel arch intrusion can mean you just cannot install restraints in their most suitable position. By determining this before the vehicle is even built we can ensure customers don’t run into installation problems and are not buying equipment which is

New products for 2013 Sales Manager for Northern Europe and South Africa, Phil Stratton, said: “It’s a little too early to be specific, but we have two or three things in the pipeline. Unfortunately we won’t be able to show them at Eurobus because it will probably be three months before they are ready. Early 2013 is a more likely date for their arrival. They are aimed at bus application and centre on simple and secure restraints for wheelchair passengers which allow them to face forwards while travelling. It makes them feel like they’re on show – and by choice, most of us would sooner see where we’re going. These new products have been developed and tested in the USA. They are undergoing evaluation trials and said to be gaining very positive feedback.”

Staffordshire Moorlands.

The Renault Master replaces an LDV model. It features a 2.2ltr engine with six-speed manual gearbox, cab air conditioning, reversing sensors and has up to 12 passenger seats depending on wheelchair space requirements.

Non-slip Taraplus vinyl covers the floor which incorporates full length semi-recessed low profile Unwin tracking for maximum seating flexibility. It can accommodate up to three wheelchairs. The rear saloon is fitted with four interior lamps with LED blue night facility.

Eberspacher D2 heating is installed in the rear saloon and a Ricon S2037 inboard automatic passenger lift was fitted.

Dr Victoria Hodkinson-Gibbs, Q’Straint’s Technical Manager

New Renault Master for Staffordshire Moorlands CVS Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services (SMCVS) has a new Renault Master LM3500 DCI 100 from Stanford Coachworks. SMCVS provides invaluable support and transport services to voluntary and community groups within the

unsuitable. Based on a practical mock-up, customers can be sure of ordering fittings with sufficient belt lengths. Everything then functions as it should from the start.”

The work undertaken by Victoria is made even more complex and demanding through Q’Straint’s international client base. She not only has to deal with baseline ECWVTA legislation, but all the regional variations. Her work also involves working closely with motor manufacturers across accessible transport and motability markets. A recently concluded project has seen systems developed across the range of commercial vehicles built by the PSA Group – all Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat models from the Picanto and Berlingo up to Boxer, Relay and Ducato.

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operator profile › shrewsbury dial-a-ride

Sharing best practice Coach & Bus Week’s Gareth Evans visits Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride and learns how CT operators are partnering for the future

I

t’s all too easy to dismiss Community Transport (CT) operators as ‘playing with minibuses’, ‘stealing’ what should be commercial work or being crazy people who want to volunteer their services for free. An alternative perspective is CT can help to fill the voids in commercial operations, saving transport authorities precious funds on otherwise sparsely used services, but at the same time ticking the ‘inclusion’ box.

Whatever your viewpoint, CT forms part of the coach and bus industry – it’s a sector in itself. Put simply, the operators still need to buy and sell vehicles, they need insure them and communicate with local transport authorities, to name but three. It’s also beneficial for commercial operators and transport authorities to be aware of developments in all sections of the road passenger transport industry.

Therefore, it was with interest in mid September I was invited to visit Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride by Linda Cox, the group’s Development Manager, who described herself as a “keen reader of Coach & Bus Week.”

Operations

Based in modern and functional but clean premises off Featherbed Lane, on the eastern edge of Shropshire’s

famous county town, the operating centre is ideally placed. It’s also away from the threat of flooding posed by the river Severn, which snakes its way round the town.

“We have 40 volunteers, most of whom are retired but do have a few younger ones, who have had various problems and come to us as part of their progression back to work,” explained Linda.

“I love having them here – our older volunteers encourage and support them. They’re mostly blokes but we do also have some women. Dare I say it, driving is perceived to be more a macho hobby. We tend to attract people who enjoy driving. We train them through the nationally-recognised MIDAS (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme).”

Four part-time staff are employed, two of which are officebased.

“Our Passenger Assistants are known as Escorts – but some CT operators don’t like the title because of the connotations.

Periodically I ask our crew if they want us to change but they like the humour side,” added Linda.

The half-dozen-strong fleet comprises four Renault Masters and a pair of people carriers – a Ford Torneo Connect and a VW Sharan.

The organisation operates using

Above: Linda Cox of Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride and Andy Pearce, Arriva’s local manager

a Section 19 Permit. Maintenance is carried out by a local garage.

“When I started here our vehicles were looked after by a main dealer, which cost a fortune. I changed supplier and we now deal with a very good independent garage. For example, if we’ve not got anyone available to collect a vehicle from their garage, they will bring it here.”

Linda’s career

“Before I came here I set up and ran TESS (Transport for Everyone

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in South Shropshire). We created the ’49 Link’, which ran up the Clun Valley and Corvedale into Craven Arms,” recalled Linda.

“We set it up originally with Countryside Agency funding.

Something we always told the operators (Caradoc Coaches, and Shropshire County Council inhouse fleet) was the fact it wasn’t a traditional bus route – it was DRT (Demand Responsive Travel). Back then, around seven to eight years ago, DRT was still uncommon.

Initially we were unable to be completely demand-responsive – we had flexi routes instead. The Local Transport Act 2008 allowed us to be completely DRT. It worked very well. In many ways, DRT is far more similar to dial-a-ride than traditional local bus services in that they have members who phone up and book.

“On the 49 Link we tried all sorts of weird and wonderful ways to increase usage, such as a raffle. If you brought a new customer, you were

“We have recently incorporated as a body so we can bid for contracts as a group, which is very scary and exciting at the same time.”

Linda Cox

entered into a monthly draw. DRT is culturally different to local bus service operation as traditionally, there is no hail and ride.

“Shropshire Council mainstreamed the 49 Link into Shropshire Link. I don’t know of many volunteer-run schemes which have been mainstreamed. I’m a big fan of Shropshire Link – it’s how rural transport should be run.

“After that I worked for the Community Transport Association (CTA) as a part-

www.coachandbusweek.com

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46 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | October 17, 2012

operator profile › shrewsbury dial-a-ride

time consultant, which was both interesting and enjoyable.”

“I worked for myself for a spell but I missed the social contact of a workplace environment – the banter. I still seem to end up making the coffee though,” she mused.

Explaining the reason for her appointnent at Shrewsbury Dial-aRide, Linda said: “I was brought in to turn the organisation around. It was losing money substantially but it’s now financially stable.

“One of my recommendations ironically was to make the paid Chief Officer role part-time.

However, I do rotate the day of the week I work.”

“After I’d been here for a month, I stopped to think I should not be making coffee for the volunteers each morning – I should be at my desk. However, making coffee enabled me to talk to them and learn what goes on,” she enthused.

Above: The modern operating centre is based off Featherbed Lane. Offices are located upstairs. Below: One of the four Renault Masters in the fleet

Salop CT Consortium

There are nine CT groups across Shropshire – which include those in Church Stretton, Bishops Castle, Bridgnorth, Broseley, Oswestry, North Shropshire, as well as in Shrewsbury. They are all different, with each having grown in response to the needs of the respective local community.

As would perhaps be expected, Oswestry, Church Stretton and Shrewsbury are the largest.

In a move which is perhaps reflecting chaging economic times, the groups work together, as Linda explained.

“I also work with the Shropshire Community Transport Consortium (SCTC), which is all the CT organisations in the county meeting together for support.

“The group has been working together for the last 10 years or so.

It started with £250 of funding from the Countryside Agency but the group continued as it was working so well. “‘Consortium’ is currently a very fashionable word in the voluntary sector – consortia are being created all the time. Because we’ve been meeting for such a long time, we know and trust each other, so barriers to sharing information

between us have been broken down. By contrast, other groups, who have been put together in a much more forced marriage sort of way, are struggling.”

Linda outlined some of the advantages of working together.

“There are directions from central government for local authorities to engage with the voluntary sector – yet councils haven’t got the time and resources to meet with individual CT organisations.

Therefore as SCTC Chairman, I speak for all the groups in the county.

“On a day-to-day level we enjoy a very constructive relationship with the Council’s Transport Department, as shown by their decision to delegate the spending

of the money from the Department for Transport to the Consortium unlike many other Councils.”

Linda revealed an interesting development. “We have recently incorporated as a body so we can bid for contracts as a group, which is very scary and exciting at the same time.”

Linda continued: “With the financial screws having been tightened, our approach is different now – we’re more businesslike.

At one time we could ask local authority officers in a paternalistic way for funding each year but we now help the local authority to meet their objectives. Shropshire Council has been very supportive, despite being in an age of austerity.

We were fortunate Shropshire

Council froze rather than cut financial support. The Council also gives us concessionary fare reimbursement, which is a great help, yet over the last 18 months, the amount we can draw down has been frozen. After all, it’s non-statutory. As a result we’ve introduced a ‘fare’ as we’re a notfor-profit organisation of £1 each way. We wrote to our 600 members and not one objected.”

“I sit on the Voluntary Sector Assembly, the voice to Shropshire Council, which means we can engage at the highest level.

Committees can take up a lot of time but I enjoy it,” she added.

Opposites attract

As part of the Voluntary Sector and Community Sector Assembly (VSCSA) development, targets set to engage voluntary and business sector. One of the ideas was ‘Step into my Shoes’, which has involved senior managers from businesses and voluntary sector groups being invited to visit each other to compare and contrast their roles and organisations. Because I was leading on it, I had to volunteer,” Linda mused.

“I do know some of the smaller operators but I thought it would be interesting to learn how Arriva works for example. I was partnered with Andy Pearce of Arriva Shrewsbury.

“To date we’ve done a couple of visits each.”

Asked for his verdict, Andy replied: “It’s worked well – far better than we thought to be honest. I must admit I was initially sceptical about what we would get out of it. It was only supposed to be two meetings, but we’ve decided to carry on. We didn’t think the businesses would overlap but the challenges are the same, albeit on a different scale.”

Linda concluded: “I think Andy was surprised we have problem customers too – that’s life I suppose.

We’re now exploring how we can work together.”

Call 01743 450 350.

Visit www.shrewsburydialaride.co.uk

www.coachandbusweek.com

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October 17, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 47

COACH&BUSMARKET – the place to buy and sell

To advertise on these pages for as little as £30 just call 01733 293247

...then 50 come along at once.

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

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

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

N Reg Volvo Olympian

Alexander body, 78 seats with belts, Cummins engine, Voith gearbox, some with Eminox and RPC, new MOT

£9,950.00

For more information visit

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

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

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

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

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

COACH&BUSMARKET

Looking for a great deal to sell your vehicles?

Contact Jade Cassidy now for details of our current offers : 01733 293247 jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com Coach & Bus Week – the only paid-for weekly magazine in the bus and coach industry – there’s no comparison!

Passenger and Commercial Vehicles Recovery Dismantlers Parts Sales

Dennis Pointer Dart Mk2 x 130

All spares available includes engine, gearboxes, seats, etc.

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

2004 53 Reg Mercedes 614D Vario

Up to 15 seats or 4 wheelchairs, Allison auto gearbox,100k miles, class 5 but can be PSV if required

£7,950.00

For more information visit

as Class 5

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

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

553180-1058-Ensign:Layout 1

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Ensig DOUBLE DECK 1999 T/V REG DENNIS TRIDENTS

LEZ

COMPLIANT

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

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

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

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

2000 DAF SB120

1999 T/V REG DENNIS DART SLF’S

Caetano Compass bodies, 39 seats, ramps.

ZF automatic, Plaxton Premiere 320 Interurban body, 53 seats.

1997/98 VOLVO OLYMPIANS

Volvo Euro 2 engines, ZF gearboxes, Northern Counties bodies, 78 seats.

1993 L REG VOLVO B10M

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

2007 57 PLATE OPTARE SOLO’S

2001 DENNIS TRIDENTS

LEZ

MAN engines, LED’s, DDA, 29 seats.

COMPLIANT

2000 W REG DENNIS DARTS

LEZ

COMPLIANT

Cummins / Allison, Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies, LEZ compliant, 2 door, CCTV, large choice, £4500 each plus tyres (£400).

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

OPEN TOP BUSES A SPECIALITY -

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

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nbus

K ER SPECIALIST ZF automatics, Plaxton Premiere 320 bodies, 53 seats, exhaust traps fitted, LEZ compliant.

1998 R REG DAF SB3000’S

2000/2001 X REG DENNIS SUPER POINTER DARTS

2001 DDA COMPLIANT DENNIS DART

Plaxton Pointer 2 dual door body, 31 seats, CCTV, particulate trap fitted, LEZ 2012 compliant, only £6,500 plus tyres (£400).

LAST ONE

ZF automatic, Ikarus body, 44 seats, MOT March 2013.

1999 T REG DAF SB220 SLF

8.8m, 29 seats, DDA compliant, Cummins ISB Euro 3 engines.

2002 MINI POINTER DARTS

2002 DART SLFs

Cummins 160 engines, Voith gearboxes, 35 seats as dual door, or 43 seats as single door.

1992 J REG LEYLAND OLYMPIANS

Iveco Euro 3 engines, Alexander bodies, 68 seats.

1988 SUPER METROBUS OPEN TOPS

Re-engined with Cummins ISB Euro 3 engines, Voith gearboxes, 63 seats upstairs.

1999 S REG SUPER POINTER DART 11.3m, uprated engine and Allison World Series gearbox, 41 seats.

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

2001 Y REG DARTS

10.7m, DDA, 37 seats, Euro 3 engines.

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

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NEW PRE-REGISTERED FORDS

New Ford Transit 17 seat 4.3ton 135ps minibus. From £20,595 + VAT

OTHER MAKES

FORD TRANSIT MINIBUSES

(11) 2011 Ford Transit 9 seat Shuttle Bus, twin side loading doors, large rear luggage area, delivery miles only £16,995 (11) 2011 Ford Transit 15 seat 3.5 ton, 2.4tdi engine 115ps, tacho, 10,000 km £17,500

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

LDV MINIBUSES

(57) 2007 LDV Maxus 17 seat, high back seats with three point belts, twin side doors, COIF/ PSV, silver £8,995

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

OTHER MAKES

(09) 2009 Renault Master 16 seat minibus, tacho,high back seats with three point belts, 35,000km £15,650 New Renault Master 17 seat LWB LM39dci 126 Minibus, tacho ONLY £20,350

SOLD

New Peugeot Boxer 16 seat 3.5 ton and 17 seat wheelchair accessible minibuses, 2.2 diesel 120ps, six speed gearbox LEZ COMPLIANT From £23,500 + VAT

SOLD

2006 (55) Vauxhall Vivaro, 7 seat, wheelchair tracking, inboard electric lift, easy clean floor, 55,000 miles £7,995

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

(57) LDV Maxus LWB 9 seats tracking to take two wheelchairs, inboard lift, 49,000 miles, £9,995 (07) LDV Maxus LWB 13 seat, tracking to take two wheelchairs, under floor tail lift £7,995 (07) 2007 LDV Maxus 13 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, under floor lift, space for two wheelchairs, electric side step £8,495 (06) 2006 Vauxhall Vivaro 1.9 cdti 9 seat, inboard lift, tracking for 2 wheelchairs, 45,000 miles £8,995

(07) 2007 Peugeot Boxer 3.5 ton 17 seat minibus, high back seats, rear two rows of seats on tracking, 33,000 miles COIF/PSV £9,500

(03) 2003 Fiat Doblo SX 1.9 diesel, low floor, four seats plus one wheelchair, lightweight ramp, 45,000 miles £3,495

(07) Peugeot Boxer 3.5 ton 17 seat minibus, 2.2 diesel with three point seat belts, 28,000 miles, COIF/PSV £10,495

Y 2001 Renault Mascot 2.8 diesel, 16 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, front entry drop step, fully tracked floor to take five wheelchairs, under floor lift, rear heating, COIF/PSV £6,495

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

Tel: 01633 485858 Mobile: 07866 443304

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

All above prices are subject to VAT @ 20%

05 (55) FORD TRANSIT 350 17 SEAT MINIBUS 115PS £7,495

MULTIPART & LDV/MAXUS PARTS STOCKISTS

(PONTYPOOL) LTD

COME ALONG AND MEET US AND VIEW THE NEW MERCEDES SPRINTER TOURLINE ALTAS CONVERSION AT THE ALTAS STAND – NEC CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM NOVEMBER 6TH - 9TH

P.O.A.

Tel: 01495 757111 Mob: 07850 739446 (Haydn) or visit our website www.minibussales.biz to view the above stock

09 (59) FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT MEDIUM ROOF TACHO COIF/PSV 30,000MILES CHOICE OF 115 & 140PS £16,495

06 (06) VOLKSWAGEN LT35 TDi WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE COIF/PSV £14,995

06 (55) MERCEDES SPRINTER 413CDi TREKA BUS W/CHAIR ACC 97000KMS COIF/PSV £17,995 CHOICE

2006 (55) LDV CONVOY ELWB MINI COACH 17 SEATS 90PS EXCEL CONVERSION COIF/PSV TACHO £9,950

05 (05) FORD TRANSIT 13 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE £12,995

• ALTAS CONVERSION • 17 SEAT MINICOACH • DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS • FULL AIR CONDITIONING • POWER DOOR LOW ENTRY STEP

NEW MERCEDES SPRINTER TOURLINE 516CDI

17:14

07 (07) LDV MAXUS W/CHAIR ACCESSIBLE 4 SEAT INBOARD LIFT UNWIN TRACKING £12,495

15/10/12

58 PLATE VW CRAFTER CR50LWB 16 SEAT W/CHAIR ACC MINIBUS STANFORD CONVERSION 2.5/135PS TDCI COIF/PSV £29,995

2008 (57) VOLKSWAGEN CRAFTER CR35 WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE 29,000 MILES COIF/PSV £19,995

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October 17, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 55

N Reg Bluebird American School Bus 60 seats with 3 point belts, Cummins engine/Allison gearbox

£5,950

Also 2000 W Reg at

£12,000.00

For more information visit

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

COACH&BUSMARKET Looking for a great deal to sell your vehicles?

FREE!

Contact Jade Cassidy now on :

01733 293247 jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com Coach & Bus Week – the only paid-for weekly magazine in the bus and coach industry – there’s no comparison!

Mercedes engine, 27 seats 23 with belts, currently undergoing body prep and paint.

£17,950

For more information visit

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

Dennis Dart Super Pointer 45 seats with belts, Tacho, Euro4 with RPC/LEZ, ready to go

£13,950

For more information visit

www.staffordbuscentre.com Tel: 01782 791774/07803 222552 V d PS ste te

Buy 3 weeks get a 4th week

2002 (52 reg) Optare Solo M850

2011 11 REG FORD TRANSIT 15 seat factory bus, PSV, COIF and tacho, 20K miles, ready to go

£16,450

For more information visit

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

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56 | COACH & BUS WEEK | October 17, 2012

Beulas Stergio Spica

5 x Optare Solo M950 Slimlines Choice of 5 vehicles – all 2007 (57 Plates), 32 + 17 standees (various seating options), full service history ,all with one year’s MOT, digital destination blinds, front, rear & side, with CCTV cameras, average mileages, Esteban Civic V3 seats. We will re-spray in white for £48,000 or in NEW OWNERS COLOURS for £49,000.

Please ring Graham or Mandy at Courtney Buses 01189 733486 info@courtneybuses.com

2011 registered, 10 months MOT, 57 seats, side entry wheelchair lift, 8 w/c spaces, LEZ compliant, climate control, TV, hydraulic lockers, towbar, 70,000km only.

Plain white livery, available now.

This vehicle is like new and sold due to loss of contract must go a.s.a.p. – £145,000.

2001 51 Reg Mercedes Sprinter Optare Siroco Full luxury coach with all extras, fantastic condition for year, was s/r with keys, no damage, new test.

£14,950

For more information visit

Please contact on 07921 290 544

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

IN STOCK

COACH&BUSMARKET Looking for a great deal to sell your vehicles?

BERKHOF AXIAL 50 DAF powered, ZF automatic gearbox 57 seats with 3 point belts Executive coach 12.9mtr

01274 681144

Gomersal, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, BD19 4BJ Email: busandcoachsales@arriva.co.uk www.arrivabusandcoach.co.uk Bus and Coach

take a test drive today

Photos and

FULL COLOUR

as standard on all vehicle for sale advertisements!

Contact Jade Cassidy now on :

01733 293247 jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com Coach & Bus Week – the only paid-for weekly magazine in the bus and coach industry – there’s no comparison!

679458-1058-Pickrell

H. W. PICKRELL

15/10/12

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MINIBUS AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES

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

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

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINI BUSES For latest stock arrivals follow @h_w_pickrell

07 REG RENAULT MASTER MM33 2.5TD

08 REG RENAULT MASTER LM35 2.5 TD

09 REG RENAULT MASTER MM33 2.5TD

06 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUMBO 2.4 TDCI

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

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

Manual gearbox, high roof, Warnerbus conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 7 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, full air con, Webasto, Unwin Innotrax floor, Braun tail lift, 27,087 miles only.

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

06 REG RENAULT MASTER SL33 2.2TD

60 REG FORD TRANSIT T430 JUMBO 2.4TD

07 REG FORD TRANSIT 100 350 2.4 TDCI

54 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI UVG TREKA

Manual gearbox, low roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 4 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, Eberspacher heater, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 17,491 miles.

Manual gearbox, high roof, factory bus conversion, side entry slam door with low entry step, 16 x high back seats plus driver, ex local authority, only 6,900 miles.

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

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

53 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 416 CDI

2008 57 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO LH28 2.0 TD

54 REG M ERCEDES SPRINTER 411 CDI

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUM BO 2.4T DCI

4x4 ambulance, LWB, Wilker box body conversion, full air con/climate, side loading door, 3 high back seats, Falcon stretcher, PLS stretcher lift, very high spec, one owner ex Air Force, only 25,950 kms.

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

Tiptronic gearbox, Euromotive PSC bus conversion, front entry slam door with low entry step, 16 x high back removable seats, Eberspacher, ex local authority, COIF'd, tacho fitted, only 66,780 kms.

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

07 REG RENAULT MASTER LM 39 2.5TD

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUM BO 2.4TDCI

09 PEUGEOT EXPERT TEPEE 1.9 HDI

06 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 411 CDI

Auto gearbox, coach built body, KFS conversion, PAS, side loading door, low side step, 15 high back seats plus driver, full air con, Webasto, Unwin tracked floor, lowering air suspension and ramp, 44,087 miles only.

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, side loading door, electric side step, 11 high back seats, Unwin tracked floor at rear, Eberspacher heater, underfloor Ratcliff tail lift, 34,954 miles.

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

Auto gearbox, LWB, PAS, Frank Guy conversion, n/s full height electric power door, 16 high back removable seats on NMI quick release, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor tail lift, ex local authority, COIF’d, 103,080 kms.

09 REG PEUGEOT BOXER 330 2.5 T D

55 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI UVG TREKA

57 REG VOLKSWAGEN CRAFTER CR35

2009 59 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO SL28 2.0 TD

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

Auto gearbox, LWB, PAS, climate control, n/s/f electric power door, 16 high back removable seats on NMI quick release, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor tail lift, ex local authority, COIF’d, 83,180 kms.

LWB, semi high roof, BC conversion, PAS, SLD, side step, 11 rear high back seats, front storage area or double passenger, air con, Unwin tracked floor, space for 2 x w/chairs, PLS internal tail lift, choice of two.

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

06 REG RENAULT MASTER SM33 2.2TD

2008 57 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 25TDI

2008 57 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

2008 58 REG VAUXHALL MOVANO L M39 2.5TD

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

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, new conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 14 high back seats, AMF m2 fully tracked floor, AMF tail lift, tacho fitted, only 49,046kms (30,478 miles).

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

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

p56_CBW_1048

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October 17, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 59

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Moorfields Industrial Estate Cotes Heath, Stoke-on-Trent ST21 6QY

INSURANCE

DAF MAN MERC, VOLVO SCANIA, GARDNER LEYLAND, CUMMINS ENGINES CYLINDER HEADS CRANKSHAFTS CRANKCASES CAMSHAFTS PUMPS ETC

COACH&BUSCLASSIFIED Looking for a great deal to promote your products and services?

Contact Jade Cassidy now for our current offers: 01733 293247 jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com Coach & Bus Week – the only paid-for weekly magazine in the bus and coach industry – there’s no comparison!

REPLACEMENT LEZ EXHAUSTS

Direct Replacement LEZ Exhaust Systems Typical 2-4 Hour Install 2 Year Standard Warranty Unique Maintenance Modules - Keep your Vehicle on the Road Passive and Active Systems available - Suitable for all Drive Cycles For your Regional Agent or Further Information, Contact Tom or Brian on :- 01768 480111 or sales@greenurban.co.uk

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60 | COACH & BUS WEEK | October 17, 2012

COACH&BUSCLASSIFIED REGISTRATIONS G

TRAINING

SPEEDY REGISTRATIONS CO LTD G ‘Buy with confidence – CNDA Member’

£690 AXZ 70 DRZ 18 KIG 17 MHZ 24 RNZ 12 TJZ 50 TUI 18 TUI 19 TUI 20

£350 £99 £99 £50 AJZ 262 DXZ 1150 MJZ 6749 CXZ 4470 CEZ 979 HIG 5338 MNZ 1195 CXZ 4471 RBZ 696 HIG 5339 ONZ 1165 DXZ 4502 RDZ 919 IIG 2278 REZ 9410 DXZ 4503 SBZ 171 IIG 2279 RUI 2117 DXZ 4504 UKZ 525 JIG 9298 SUI 8836 ERZ 6180 VIW 979 JIG 9299 SUI 8837 ERZ 6181 WJI 848 KIG 5113 TJZ 1116 JFZ 8394 XJI 474 KIG 5114 TJZ 1119 JIG 8459 We Buy for Cash, also Part Exchange

£50 JIG 8479 KIG 8781 KIG 8782 RNZ 9197 RNZ 9198 SNZ 1068 SNZ 1069 TUI 7991 TUI 7992

Tel: (028) 6638 7124 Fax: (028) 6638 7771

Millwood, Lisbellaw, Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland BT94 5HQ

TICKETING

CPC Nat / International Driver CPC Digital Tachograph Drivers’ Hours Tachograph Analysis

ESSENTIAL PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES QUALITY APPROVED PRODUCTS, FAST DELIVERY

DRIVERS DAILY DEFECT BOOKS, MAINTENANCE WALL PLANNERS, SAFETY INSPECTION PADS, TACHOS, DRIVERS WALLETS ETC. CALL ORDERLINE: 01329 280280 Email: info@wardint.co.uk

DRIVER CPC PERIODIC TRAINING AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE

Ward International Consulting Ltd 70 Marks Tey Road, Fareham, Hants PO14 3UR www.wardint.co.uk

TRIM

Coach refurbishment, spray painting, structural work & accident repairs

COACH&BUSCLASSIFIED Looking for a great deal to promote your products and services?

Contact Jade Cassidy now for our current offers: 01733 293247 jade.cassidy@coachandbusweek.com

Coach & Bus Week – the only paid-for weekly magazine in the bus and coach industry – there’s no comparison!

www.blackpoolcoachservices.co.uk

Contact Neale – 01253 698686

COACH TRIMMERS LTD

Supplying the Bus and Coach Industry with quality seat retrims and interior refurbishment.

Full floors re-laid and centre gangways.

Collection and delivery service anywhere in the UK, seven days a week.

Email: info@eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk Web: www.eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk

Tel/Fax: 01751 472229

Don’t forget to say that you saw it in

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COACH&BUSCLASSIFIED TYRES

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MANAGEMENT & REPAIRS

MOUNTAIN TYRES LTD VEHICLE CERTIFICATE AGENCY

QUALITY AVON TREAD USED

Mountain Tyres is a newly established company making commercial retreaded tyres. We have a modern retreading plant based near Caerphilly, and we only use Grade One Tyre Casings in the production of all our tyres to produce a top quality tyre. All our tyres are guaranteed against failure.

WE ALSO CARRY OUT MAJOR AND MINOR REPAIRS, BUILD TYRES ONTO RIMS Our staff have over 25 years experience in the Retreading industry and we are Certified by the Vehicle Certificate Agency

PRICE LIST

205-75-17.5 from ........................................................£50.00 215-75-17.5 from ........................................................£50.00 245-70-19.5 from ........................................................£60.00 275-70-22.5 from .....................................................£120.00 295-80-22.5 from .....................................................£125.00 315-80-22.5 from .....................................................£125.00 385-65-22.5 from .....................................................£135.00 MAJOR REPAIRS ..........................................................£35.00 MINOR REPAIRS ..........................................................£15.00 All Prices Plus VAT

Ffynonau-Duon Farm, Pentwyn, Bargoed, Caerphilly, CF81 9NP

TYRE EQUIPMENT

VEHICLE SPARES

Trevor Wigley & Son Bus Ltd

TW FULLY LICENSED END OF LIFE VEHICLE CENTRE TW REDUNDANT AND SCRAP VEHICLES TAKEN TW PROFESSIONAL, EFFICIENT SERVICE TW ALL REQUIREMENTS CATERED FOR TW VARIOUS SPARES AVAILABLE TW CONTACT US FOR FULL AVAILABILITY

Call 01226 723147 Night Service 01226 716479 Fax 01226 700199 Email wigleys@btconnect.com

www.twigley.com

62 | COACH & BUS WEEK | October 17, 2012

Seen something funny? Send it to gareth.evans@coachandbusweek.com, fax 0845 2802927 or write to: Last Stop, Coach & Bus Week, 3 The Office Village, Cygnet Park, Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX

Monday: Press day. As is the norm, I’m on a mission – to get the job done ASAP. Finish in good time.

Tuesday: The bush telegraph is on overdrive, but I’m not complaining – things are ‘hot’ in two parts of the country.

Our Editor Gareth Evans spotted this decorative use for lost headwear at Eurolines’ office at London’s Victoria Coach Station, instead of the ‘normal’ cardboard box in the corner method. While the Eurolines crew were extremely friendly and enjoyed a spot of banter, our Gareth assures us they weren’t a bunch of mad hatters… The hats caught the eye as they were arranged as if filed and part of the office furniture. To cap it off, Eurolines said it has had letters from around the world, as far away as Australia, thanking staff for re-uniting them with their lost belongings. It’s nice to see an operator go to such lengths at the drop of a hat…

The wheels on the Cardiff Bus… This song about Cardiff Bus was kindly brought to our attention by several CBW readers. Released just over a month ago on Youtube, it is spreading through the internet rather quickly, gathering almost 78,000 views and a very high proportion of ‘likes’ from Youtube’s notoriously hostile community.

The jolly song is a complete rewrite of the theme tune to Canadian television series ‘The Littlest Hobo’ (thanks Google) and

Dilbert

municipally-owned Welsh operator.

It also praises the low cost day travel ticket at “three quid 40”.

The song is happy to poke fun at the Cardiff accent, with lyrics like “When I gets old I’ll ride the bus for free,” and carries the somewhat positive chorus: “And every stop I make, I make a new friend, can’t wait for long, just hop right on and we’re gone again.”

Karaoke lyrics appear on the video is put together in a style similar to 80s show’s opening credits. While perhaps not to everyone’s taste, it names and displays a number of towns and attractions served by the

To see the video for yourself, visit http://youtu. be/hyy6KU6C3EI, while a blogger over at http://djleekee.wordpress. com/2012/09/13/the-cardiffbus-song/ has been kind enough to note down the lyrics if you’d like to sing along.

Wednesday: Catch the 0725hrs train from Peterborough to Kings Cross. With time to spare thanks to the gap in the First Capital Connect service, snap a load of stock pics around Kings Cross. Then head south to catch up with the ever-friendly crew at Green Line on Bullied Way. Grab a quick coffee and pain au chocolat for £2.95 from the café.

Snap more stock pics around Victoria Coach Station, before meeting the friendly yet efficient National Express Coach PR head Carly O’Donnell. Eurolines’ Marketing Manager Sue Gee is full of enthusiasm. Then meet Network Manager Bill Akhurst, who is not only interesting to talk to but also very kind. Enjoy my inaugural visit to The King’s Ferry and my first ride on a Javelin train.

Arrive back in Peterborough by 1930. Snap some pics of a First Eastern X1 Volvo B9TL on the station forecourt. The driver is somewhat bemused initially but chats away after I tell him who I am & that I too used to drive buses and coaches for a living.

Thursday: A manic day in the office writing.

Reluctantly have to cancel my second visit of the week to London, a hybrid work and social occasion as I’ve too much work to do. I’m also very tired. Finish my Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride feature.

Friday: A particularly hectic day of writing and subbing, followed by a staff meeting. Don’t leave the office until late. Quote of the day comes from my better half as I watch Eddie Stobart on Channel 5 in the evening: “You love this programme, but it’s always the same – little lorries going places.”

www.coachandbusweek.com

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RECRUITMENT

Lifetime Achievement Award for David Luckett David Luckett MBE, Chairman of Fareham-based Lucketts Travel, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Southern Business Awards, organised by Johnston Press.

The Portsmouth News had given David its ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award in February. Staff at the paper were delighted to see their recipient going on to get the title for the whole Southern region when the ‘best of the best’ were announced in a ceremony in Brighton.

David has led Lucketts Travel to an ongoing growth in sales, careful expansion by acquiring other local firms and investing in the latest vehicles, all of which have helped

Deadlines Booking: Monday 5.00pm Full artwork: Monday 5.00pm

increase business while delivering good services for passengers.

David said: “There are many men and women working hard to make their business a success in Southern England. I was humbled to find out my efforts were being recognised in this way. It’s an honour to receive the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ amongst a group who each deserve a prize for their own success. Business has never been tougher or more competitive than today and we all have to work even harder to improve standards and profitability.”

David Luckett

October 17, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 63

Contact Ian Gillis 01733 293484

ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

New apprentices join Centro and National Express Four young people from the West Midlands have been offered apprenticeships with Centro and National Express after completing a Prince’s Trust scheme.

Leon Carter, Moah Nur, Vanessa Smith and Anthony Bell, all from Birmingham, won the places through the ‘Get Into Transport’ scheme run by Centro on behalf of the Prince’s Trust. The scheme saw 10 candidates spend four weeks on work experience rotating between Virgin trains, National Express and Centro.

At Virgin they carried out silver service in First Class on intercity Pendolino trains, at National Express they worked in human resources, training and customer relations and at Centro in customer relations, bus stations and ticket information centres.

The winning candidates were

announced at a ceremony at Centro House by former Labour MP and shadow transport minister Lord Snape of Wednesbury.

Moha and Leon will work with Centro’s customer relations team while Vanessa and Anthony won similar roles with National Express.

Centro CEO Geoff Inskip said: “Get Into Transport is a superb scheme which gives young people a real chance to gain experience working in public transport.

Everyone who has taken part will have gained valuable experience and the opportunity to develop skills and identify their strengths.”

Peter Coates, MD of NXWM, said: “As part of our partnership with Centro, we were offered the opportunity to be involved, for the first time, with the Prince’s Trust and we are extremely pleased at how well the scheme has gone.”

www.coachandbusweek.com

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