Coach & Bus Week : Issue 1069

Wednesday January 9, 2013 Issue 1069 | ÂŁ2.95 www.coachandbusweek.com

COACH:

FACE TO FACE:

Arena Travel invests in Giles Fearnley: a new Sunsundeguicreating leadership bodied Volvo B9R p8 and culture p24

FOCUS ON

PART TWO

Tim O'Toole: re-establishing core values

BUS:

Euro 6 CNG Solaris Urbino appears on Darlington roads p6

OPERATOR:

Dave Alexander on partnership and legacy in the north p30

for recruitm

JOB ADVE ent EVERY WERTS EK

RECRUIT N

OW

p18

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this week

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Half a story on the cards

T

hose of you in Wales like I was last week may have seen BBC1 TV News on Wednesday night. A Sustrans representative predictably called for bus franchising after it was discovered the Welsh national bus-rail smartcard implementation has been delayed until after the current Arriva Trains Wales franchise ends. In the now sadly increasingly familiar ‘balanced’ reporting we seem to see from some sections of the hitherto respected mainstream media, you’d think all hell had broken loose... Sensationalism appeared to be the order of the day – where are proper transport correspondents when you need them? In a content perspective, I could see where they were coming from, the story breaking in the same week as rail fare increase took effect, which again, popular to mainstream reporting, have been in the pipeline for years not days.

Anyway, back to ‘Cerdyn Cymru’ (Wales card), it’s my understanding that the problem is not with the bus network but with rail – Welsh buses, like their counterparts in Scotland, having benefited from

ITSO-compliant ticket machines to reliably record concessionary passes thanks to Welsh Government funding.

Richard Jones from Lloyds Coaches made a welcome appearance but the angle of the story seemed to be alarmist in my opinion and harmed public transport.

I stand to be corrected but it seems to have been something of a faux pax on the Welsh Government’s part planning a smartcard scheme without it being a franchise commitment – Go-Ahead is after all, introducing it in the South of England.

On a separate note, I hope you enjoy reading our First in-depth feature. While I was aware of the much derided centralisation in Aberdeen, I was interested to hear from Giles Fearnley about scheduling under past regimes. In short, the first staff knew about service changes was when the duties were posted. Yikes! How to motivate your staff eh?! Thankfully, Giles says he’s changed all that.

Gareth Evans Editor

CONTENTS 4

30

44

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

16

Partnership works: Dave Alexander, MD for the North of England

34

An in-depth look at First’s bus operations in Scotland

The second part of our FirstGroup history, with focus on Badgerline

18

Justin Davies and Vicky Tomlinson discuss the First graduate scheme

38

A look at the First UK Bus fleet across all regions

FirstGroup CEO Tim O’Toole gives a rare trade press interview

24

Bob Ward, the elected Employee Director for North & West

40

A lighthearted look at the industry.

Plus Office Diary column

First’s UK Bus MD Giles Fearnley on how he’s turning things around

First’s landmark BRT scheme and operations in the South West

All the latest people moves from across the industry

News

First History Face to Face

Back to basics

First in the North

Graduate Scheme Face to Face

Eclipse on track

Insight

48

Fleet Profile

69

Last Stop

70

People

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

For all your relief coach driver needs call us today 0845 2416 288 www.justcoachdrivers.com www.coachandbusweek.com

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4 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

news

“It’s been very much about cultural change. Clearly, we still have a huge piece of work to do if we’re going to succeed.”

Giles Fearnley

briefly Following the announcement of New Year rail fare rises, Centaur is launching a new commuter service from Sevenoaks and surrounding areas to Canary Wharf, the City and West End from January 28. The operator claimed residents in Sevenoaks could save thousands of pounds per year by making the switch from train to coach, with the daily commute costing £8.80 for season ticket holders. Centaur MD Matt Sims said: “With the cost of parking at the railway station, a yearly ticket by rail and tube from Sevenoaks to Canary Wharf will cost not far short of £5,000 from January. It’s not just cheaper by coach, but far more relaxing as well – our customers will enjoy free WiFi, a toilet, a guaranteed reclining seat, reading lights, lots of legroom, and a driver who is friendly and attentive.”

CPT has launched BUSFORUS, a new and interactive site aimed at helping 16-25 year olds use local bus services. It provides information on young person’s tickets and details about the various services and facilities offered by participating bus operators. Ian Morgan, CPT UK Chairman, said: “The site is a direct response to a personal request from the Minister and government findings, which have indicated more effort is required to encourage young people on to buses.”

BUSFORUS is available at www. busforus.co.uk The latest vehicle registration figures from SMMT for 2012 show the bus sector beginning to recover while coach registrations are about 45% below their traditional level. “2012 was a bumper year for the UK bus and coach sector, with registrations rising 34.2% to more than 8,000 units,” said SMMT Chief Executive, Paul Everitt. “Despite economic concerns, new opportunities arising from the London 2012 Games and the continuation of government incentives helped the bus and coach market achieve significant growth in the year. The fourth round of government’s Green Bus Fund will come into effect in May, which is expected to provide stimulus to retain market strength.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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Face to Face p24

GE Battery technology brings Fuel Cell Buses a step closer The project is part of a wider scheme with the Federal Transit Administration and Northwest Advanced Vehicle Consortium GE Global Research, the technology development arm of General Electric Company, has achieved a major step in bringing fuel cells closer to commercial reality.

GE’s new ‘Durathon’ battery in tandem with a lithium battery and a new energy management system could help accelerate both fuel cell acceptance and electrification of bus fleets, delivery trucks and other larger, heavy-duty vehicle fleets.

In 2010, the GE team successfully demonstrated a dual battery system on a zero tailpipe emissions hybrid transit bus by pairing a high-energy density sodium battery with a high-power lithium battery.

Further testing in 2012 using GE’s new Durathon battery produced even better results. GE researchers are convinced the kind of energy management architecture they are building will allow a bus to operate at full performance with a significantly smaller fuel cell than previously possible. As the fuel cell power plant represents a significant cost, GE’s energy management system has the potential to bring

Funding allocated to reduce bottlenecks

Councils are invited to apply for a share of the £170m Local Pinch Point Fund to remove bottlenecks on the highway network.

Advice for local councils wanting to apply for a share of a £170m fund has been published by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

The funding forms part of an additional £1.5bn of government

down those costs by up to 50%.

“For years fuel cells have been talked about as a clean transportation alternative but cost has always been a roadblock to widespread adoption,” said Tim Richter, Systems Engineer.

“With GE’s battery technology and dynamic dual battery management system, we’re starting to push that roadblock aside. We want to deliver a cost-effective bus which emits no harmful pollutants.”

The research is part of a $13m project GE is engaged in with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium, funded under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program.

“GE’s Multi-Energy High Voltage Energy Management Technology releases vehicle designers from the traditional constraints of single battery configurations,” Richter continued. “GE’s Energy Management Technology combined with two or more batteries or energy devices allows GE to enable various power-to-energy configurations which match the vehicle needs. By leveraging the right battery to do the right job, overall system cost and efficiency can be improved.”

Most types of battery come

Local Pinch Point funding comes on top of the £1.5bn announced in the autumn statement investment, announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, to improve the road network and reduce congestion.

The Local Pinch Point Fund will tackle obstacles on the local

with a trade-off between power and energy storage. For example, lithium batteries provide a lot of power for acceleration but are not optimised to store energy for driving range. Sodium batteries, like GE’s Durathon, store large amounts of energy but are less optimised for power. GE’s dual battery combines the best attributes of both into a single system. In the hybrid transit bus demonstration, the lithium battery focused on the high power acceleration and braking, while the Durathon battery provided an even electric power flow to extend the bus range.

Durathon batteries are produced at GE’s start-up Energy Storage business in Schenectady, N.Y. This year, thousands of Durathon batteries will be shipped to the telecommunication market, enabling fuel efficiency improvements and emission reduction at diesel generator powered cell sites across Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia, and providing reliable back-up power at cell sites which cope with intermittent supply of electricity from the grid.

Visit GE Global Research at www.ge.com/research

transport network which restrict growth by limiting the movement of goods, employees and customers.

The investment aims to build on the success of the Highways Agency’s Pinch Point Fund for the strategic road network, which received an extra £100m in the Autumn Statement.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Tackling congestion and making the most of our infrastructure is essential for economic growth. We have already provided significant funding to local authorities to promote growth but more can be done. This funding will unlock development sites to help local businesses and communities.”

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January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 5

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

Bombardier set for return Bombardier is set to extend its presence in the bus market as a provider of wireless charging technology.

The Canadian specialist producer of aircraft, rail and tram systems recently established an e-mobility Centre of Excellence in Germany and has been involved in extensive trials with a tram system in Augsburg and a bus system in Lommel, Belgium.

Utilising electromagnetic induction technology from loops buried beneath the road surface, Bombardier is developing systems which can charge both ‘on-themove’ and for stationary ‘charge at stop’ applications. A new division entitled Primove has been established to develop the wireless charging system. Vehicles using this system need no diesel engine and therefore operate totally emission free at point of use.

Based on successful test results, Bombardier has been awarded two local authority contracts for operational trials. One in Braunschweig, Germany, in a joint project involving Solaris and the second for Bruges in Belgium, working alongside Van Hool.

Viseon demonstrated Bombardier technology at the 2012 IAA show

21st Century results show continued momentum

Incidents involving hybrid vehicles require a different approach

SAE determines hybrid safety recommended practices SAE International’s Hybrid Technical Committee has completed the technical standard “J2990-Hybrid and EV First and Second Responder Recommended Practice,” which recommends practices for emergency personnel responding to incidents involving hybrid or electric vehicles.

Response teams must be aware of proper procedures at accidents and emergency situations involving vehicles equipped with high voltage electrical systems.

Among the recommended practices contained in the standard are: A procedure for OEM vehicle badging (labelling) placed at standardised, consistent locations on the exterior and/ or interior of the vehicle clearly identifying a vehicle contains high voltage systems for first or second responders arriving at an incident.

OEMs should follow common standards for disabling high-voltage circuits and that vehicle OEMs provide a minimum of two methods of initiating the disconnection and isolation of the high voltage system from the vehicle.

OEM guidelines for the creation of second responder (i.e. recovery services and tow truck operators) safety instructions for the inspection and handling of damaged or inoperable hybrid or electric vehicles, with a focus on the high voltage systems. “We want to see OEMs create a set of steps to follow so second-responders use safe practices. The second responder community should be made aware of proper procedures when towing, handling and/or storing a damaged or inoperable electric vehicle,” SAE committee chairman Todd Mackintosh said.

21st Century, specialist CCTV supplier, has released an update on trading for its financial year to December 31, 2012.

It states initiatives to improve operational and overhead efficiencies are expected to yield a significant improvement in operating margin and profit after tax for the current year.

In the second half of 2012 the company secured a number of new orders and, subject to audit, pre-tax profit will be around £1.8m - 20% above last year. This profit would have been higher but due to changes in some bus manufacturer production schedules, fulfilment of certain orders which had underpinned management’s expectations for the second half will now not take place until early in the New Year. Assuming cash generation and profitability are maintained, it is the intention of the board to propose a dividend equivalent to at least one third of pre-tax profit.

The company has a solid platform of pipeline orders and potential new business to underpin continued growth in profit. This will be enhanced by the appointment of a Sales Director to the main board, the recruitment process for which is underway.

Chairman, Jan Holmstrom, said: “Despite difficult market conditions, we have continued to make good progress.”

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news › BUSeS

2009

The year Tim O’Toole was appointed a non-executive on the FirstGroup board, 16 months before he became CEO

briefly First in Hampshire has teamed up with O2 Priority Moments to offer a discounted First Day Hampshire ticket. O2 customers can buy a day rover ticket for £3, in place of the normal price of £5.60. Tickets can be purchased on any bus in Hampshire, direct from drivers after 1000hrs. To access the reduced price fare, customers have to show drivers a promotional code on their mobile phones, which they have downloaded from the O2 Priority Moments website.

McGills implemented a fares increase on Monday, January 7, blaming rising fuel, insurance and wage costs on its operations. The new fares apply to single and return tickets, as well as the Go!Zone unlimited travel tickets. Adult Day Zone1 changed from £2.50 single/£3.00 return to £2.75/£3.30. Adult Week Zone 1 increase by £1.50 to £14.50. Adult 4 Week Zone 1 changed from £44.00 to £48.50, with Adult 4 Week Zone 7 changing from £121.70 to £127.80.

Nailsea-based North Somerset Coaches has teamed up with a local eatery for a tempting offer for the next two months. With every season ticket (weekly/10-journey/monthly) purchased comes a voucher for Europa Restaurant for a free softdrink when purchasing the £6 lunch deal.

Reading Buses’ recent introduction of Solo, simple and cheap travel for under 19s, has seen many more young people using buses since its introduction last August. The company swept away ID cards allowing all under 19s to benefit from reduced rate single or day ticket fares bought on bus as well as period Solo smartcards purchased on line or from the travel shop without the need to prove their age. In the five months since the launch of Solo, Reading Buses saw a 15% rise in young customers equating to 250,000 extra passengers per year. The largest area of growth is in child single fares bought on bus – up almost 25,500 journeys per month – there has also been a 22% increase in smartcard usage. www.coachandbusweek.com

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New Cummins/Solaris CNG Urbino sighted Reports reach the CBW office of a Euro 6 Solaris being tested in the Darlington area Residents of Darlington, County Durham, regularly see unfamiliar vehicles driving around the town as part of development work being carried out by Cummins’ Pilot Centre located in the town.

Following on from the New Bus for London, they have recently seen one of the lowest emission CNG buses undertaking trials, manufactured by Solaris Bus and Coach of Poland.

Cummins engineers based in the UK and Poland have been seamlessly working with Solaris to develop the latest version of the Urbino CNG. It has been fitted with Cummins ISL G natural gas engine, updated to meet Euro 6 emissions regulations. The work, the first Euro 6 installation for Cummins gas engines, has been carried out at the Pilot Centre, to be finalised with a road test in Sweden to confirm the engine’s performance.

John Burgess, General Manager

New double deckers for Southern Vectis

All 37 of the new buses purchased

by Southern Vectis for the renewed Isle of Wight Council school bus contract have now been introduced into the fleet. The firm has recently received 20 ADL Enviro400s in a new distinctive ‘Vectis Blue’ livery which join 17 Optare Solo SRs delivered in October.

The new double deckers are equipped with CCTV, seatbelts, digital destination displays and provide low floor easy access with space to carry a wheelchair following an investment of £5.8m by the Go-Ahead Group owned bus operator.

Andrew Wickham, Managing Director of the Go Ahead Group’s

for Cummins’ gas engine business, said: “We are pleased to work with Solaris on such an important project and develop a quiet, clean bus which will deliver benefits to the operator, the travelling public and the environment.”

Cummins has a strong relationship with Solaris, providing diesel and natural gas engines for its vehicles. The firm has already manufactured more than 400 Urbino natural gas city buses powered with Cummins’ current ISL G engine, certified to Euro 5 limits. These are in service throughout Europe.

The engineers equipped the Urbino with the latest hardware including a new exhaust catalyst and a closed crankcase ventilation system to meet the ultra-low emissions requirements of Euro 6. The bus was rigged with portable emission measurement equipment, including a temporary roof mounted exhaust pipe with the required sensors fitted. This enabled the bus to be driven on specific routes and the emissions

measured to meet the regulations in line with the requirements of the UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).

This Euro 6 project has driven more work for Cummins engineers, due to the different operating characteristics of a gas engine.

The new on board diagnostic (OBD) regulations mean the engine electronic system had to be upgraded to measure exhaust emissions during vehicle operation.

Once in use, the bus driver is warned if there is any malfunction in the vehicle emission systems.

The 8.9ltr Euro 6 ISL G natural gas engine is available from 250 to 320bhp for bus applications, with a peak torque of 1350Nm. It uses a combination of cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) with stoichiometric combustion, where fuel is burned completely.

Cummins cooled EGR lowers combustion temperatures and reduces engine out emissions and noise. Stoichiometric combustion enables the use of efficient threeway catalyst aftertreatment.

Andrew Wickham (third left) with Southern Vectis General Manager Matt Kitchin (fourth left) and some of the school bus drivers launch the new Vectis Blue double deckers bus and coach operations in south, said the company is delighted to unveil the new buses to support the eight-year contract.

“We are really pleased to be able to offer these safer and more

environmentally friendly vehicles to carry many of the island’s children to and from schools,” he said. “The new buses will also be available for private hire when they are not required for school runs.”

07/01/2013 19:07

18

Number of categories at this year’s UK Coach Awards

Teething problems for CT Plus in Jersey

CT Plus’ new operations in Jersey have experienced some “teething problems”, which the company has apologised for.

A spokesman said problems were experienced on the first day of school bus services. There were complaints from passengers on social media sites that buses were running late as drivers could not use the new ticket machines.

The spokesman added: “Every driver has been given familiarisation training on the ticket machines which are completely new.

“As most of the company’s employees have only just transferred to CT Plus, allowing the training to take place, they are working hard to get to know the new system. We expect everyone to be up to speed in a matter of days.”

The company’s telephone services were also not activated in time so many people calling for information had not been able to get through.

He said a lot of work had been carried out with suppliers in advance but there had been problems with equipment failure beyond the company’s control.

The spokesman said they had been connected last Wednesday evening.

The island also faced industrial action at the end of December, prior to CT Plus starting operations, as drivers conducted a 24-hour strike over changes to their terms and conditions.

The union Unite balloted 82% of the workforce and 87% of those balloted voted in favour of the action.

Transport and Technical Services (TTS), which regulates the bus service, said the strike was unfair to passengers.

CT Plus took over Jersey’s bus contract on January 2 and reemployed drivers from Connex who had run the service for 10 years.

John Rogers, Chief Officer of TTS, said his department had tried to make the transition to the new operator as smooth as possible.

He said: “We have employed more people and part-time workers have become full-time workers. We have done everything we can to facilitate this transfer.”

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January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 7

322

The number of drivers Vicky Tomlinson is responsible for as Operations Manager at First Manchester’s Queens Road depot

SHARE WATCH

Industry share prices at the close of the Stock Exchange on Monday, January 7. 21st Century saw the greatest proportional rise, while Optare saw the greatest proportional drop.

Most figures obtained from www.iii.co.uk

350.15p

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

209.05p

The Bloodhound supersonic car recently visited Newquay in Cornwall in order to fire its hybrid rocket in a hardened aircraft shelter at Newquay Airport. Western Greyhound was on hand to transport the 400 invited guests and the international media across the airport to watch the event.

The fire-up of the Bloodhound was seen as the most significant success in the preparation to build and develop a 1,000mph supersonic car, which aims to break the world land speed record in 2014 in South Africa.

The rocket fired, flames roared and everyone sat with baited breath (especially the Newquay Airport Firemen). Seconds later there was rapturous applause and big smiles on the faces of the Bloodhound Team.

Mark Howarth, MD of Western Greyhound said: “It was wonderful to be involved in this event which was watched throughout the world.”

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

1288.0p

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

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0.54p

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

44.00p

Xelabus runs several local shopping bus routes

Xelabus secures university contract Xelabus has won a contract to provide all intercampus transport for the Solent University between city centre locations and the Warsash Campus.

Having secured a four year contract this marks further expansion for the Eastleigh-based family business, which has grown

from its starting date just over two years ago with six buses, to a fleet of over 20 vehicles now.

The company already provides transport for many schools and colleges, along with local shoppers buses and a network of routes catering for commuters and shoppers in the Eastleigh, Fair Oak and Chandler’s Ford districts.

Philip Lair, Commercial Director for Xelabus, said: “We have worked closely with Solent University to plan a bespoke service for the students and staff at Warsash Campus starting from the new year.

“We are delighted we have been awarded this contract.”

Price: Year High: 46.00p Year Low: 36.00p

83.49p

Price: Year High: 85.20p Year Low: 62.29p

15.50p

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

+10.95 on last sharewatch

+18.05 on last sharewatch

+26.00 on last sharewatch

+18.10 on last sharewatch

+5.15 on last sharewatch

-0.02

on last sharewatch

-0.50

on last sharewatch

+1.44 on last sharewatch

+4.50 on last sharewatch

FTSE 100

6,072

Index: Year High: 6,072 Year Low: 5,128

+178

on last sharewatch

www.coachandbusweek.com

07/01/2013 19:07

8 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

news › coaches

briefly Around 30km of Scotland’s key roads are being upgraded. The investment will see a number of maintenance schemes on major A class roads and motorways before the end of the financial year. Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “Our strategic road network plays a vitally important role in supporting our key economic drivers tourism, food and drink and the renewables industry. Given the recent National Road Maintenance Review finding that every £1 spent on road maintenance generates a £1.50 benefit across the wider economy, this committed spend demonstrates clearly that this Government will invest in works which deliver maximum value for Scotland’s taxpayers.” Roads to be resurfaced include: North East region - A90, M90 and A96, North West region - A82/A83 and the A9 (near Pitlochry), South East region - M8 (between Glasgow and Edinburgh), M9, M80, A702 and South West region - A75, A76, A77, M8 (around Glasgow), and M80 (near Glasgow).

Overnight work on the A47 Kings Lynn bypass begins on Monday, January 14. Work will include interim resurfacing of the Harbour Junction Bridge, River Nar Bridge and Great Ouse Bridge.

The work, carried out during weeknights only, is expected to finish on January 26. Each night, the A47 Kings Lynn bypass will be closed from 2000 to 0600hrs. While the work is carried out the Kings Lynn bypass will be closed in both directions between the Pullover Junction and Hardwick Roundabout with clearly signed diversions in place.

Work to install an emergency gate on the M4 on the Berkshire / Wiltshire border began on January 9. Weather permitting, the work is expected to be completed by January 29. During the work, the hard shoulder on the eastbound M4 is closed. From January 14 there will be narrow lanes and a 50mph speed limit enforced on a 1.6-mile section of the road in both directions either side of the work site, which is just to the east of junction 15. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Sunsundegui Volvo B9R for Arena Travel Arena Travel MD praises the reliability and performance of Volvo Coaches and the Volvo sales team London-based Arena Travel cited product reliability as a key influencing factor in its decision to purhcase a new Volvo B9R 13-metre coach with Sunsundegui bodywork.

Having previously owned both a Volvo B12B and B10M coach and found them to be reliable, the London operator decided to invest in Volvo again. “We had our B12B Volvo coach for seven years with hardly any mechanical issues,” explained Arena Travel’s David Burrows.

“In deciding to purchase a new vehicle, we looked at the

options available in the market and decided the key for us as an operator was that Volvo offered us the reassurance of reliability and performance. We’ve had extremely positive experiences with every Volvo coach we’ve had previously, so it seemed a logical choice to purchase this new vehicle on the Volvo chassis.

“Jo Standbridge, Volvo Bus Regional Coach Sales Manager,

The Sunsundegui-bodied Volvo B9R follows the Volvo B12B and B10M which Arena Travel previously owned

Menyn’s Private Hire IIP renewed North Wales coach and taxi operator Menyn’s Private Hire has obtained the prestigious Investors in People (IIP) for a second time.

Established in 2004, the Llanrwst-based company is run by husband and wife team Terrence and Maria Jones.

Mr Jones, Partner, told CBW:

“The process is very thorough. They interview all staff in confidence as part of the audit.

“To be fair we were confident we could do it but you never know.

It’s difficult to run a business today. By training staff we’re giving them a career – as opposed to ‘merely’ being a driver. This leads to excellent customer service, which in turns generates additional repeat business.

“We don’t have to advertise as we’re in the fortunate position of being able to rely on word of mouth. We work across North

was very knowledgeable about the entire product range and the options available to us as an operator. The process of purchasing a new vehicle is made so much easier when you are liaising with someone like Jo.” Arena Travel’s new B9R coach features the rear mounted Volvo D9B 9.4-litre engine, capable of 380bhp. The diesel engine is connected to the highly acclaimed Volvo I-Shift 12-speed fully automated gearbox and Volvo says the result is a lightweight and versatile coach, with excellent driveability.

The vehicle features 55 passenger seats with leather headrests and 3-point safety belts.

It also includes an onboard toilet, entertainment system including two TV monitors and CD/DVD player and servery with inbuilt refrigerator.

It is expected that the new B9R coach will be used on Arena Travel’s school contracts, as well as on their UK tour programme.

“Arena Travel is an operator which has been impressed with the Volvo product and service they’ve received in the past,” explained Jo Standbridge. “That positive experience has directly led to this latest vehicle sale – a new Volvo B9R Sunsundegui coach.

“We’re also exploring further vehicle upgrade options which maybe suitable for Arena Travel, as we continue to support them in their ongoing fleet upgrade.”

Wales and the North West of England.”

Mr Jones added: “It’s vital to have people in the driving seat who have and excellent rapport with customers. The training we give them makes drivers more confident with customers. Our staff are very proud to work for us.”

It is believed the only other Welsh operator to obtain IIP accreditation is Cardiff Bus. Call Menyn’s on O1492 642422. Visit www.menyns. co.uk.

07/01/2013 20:13

January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 9

“I spent 18 months in Sheffield working on the bus partnership. It’s a suitable model, with all parties contributing giving us certainty and sustainability.”

Dave Alexander

First in the North p30

Tees Valley reportedly ceases trading

Translink Ulsterbus Tours Business Development Manager Kay Sharkey and Ulster Rugby players l-r Roger Wilson, John Afoa and Andrew Trimble

Translink Ulsterbus Tours teams up with Ulster Rugby I.R.F.U Ulster Branch has appointed Translink Ulsterbus Tours as its Official Coach Travel Partner, providing coach services for the Ulster Rugby squad.

Kay Sharkey, Translink Ulsterbus Tours Business Development Manager, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for Ulsterbus Tours to deliver a tailored quality coach service for Ulster’s leading professional sports team.

It is a high profile role and we are looking forward to supporting the team as they continue to compete this season. We will work closely with the I.R.F.U Ulster Branch throughout the partnership to ensure a successful bespoke service

is provided that meets the needs of both the squad and supporters.”

Phillip Polack, Ulster Rugby’s Business Development Manager, said: “Ulsterbus Tours understands the supporters and players from grass roots up to the professional game are key to the growth and strength of rugby throughout the province and it is here Ulsterbus Tours will play its part by assisting clubs, schools, supporters and the team in getting to the match safely, on time and on budget.”

Translink Ulsterbus Tours will provide special coach and private hire services for rugby supporters and club members travelling to matches throughout the season.

Southampton-based Barfoot and Sons was left devastated by a blaze which claimed three coaches and three minibuses – more than half its fleet.

The six vehicles were gutted, with another minibus partially damaged in the fire at an operating centre for trucks, buses and coaches. Firefighters were called to the blaze at 1745hrs on Saturday, December 5.

Emergency services said the blaze was caused by an electrical fault in one vehicle, believed to have been caused by rodents, and the fire had spread from one to the

other closely parked vehicles. They stated there were no suspicious circumstances.

Steve Barfoot, Company Director of the small family coach and minibus hire firm, which owns 11 vehicles, said: “We’re gutted, it’s pretty devastating – it’s not a very good start to 2013.

“If it’s down to rodents, it is frustrating such a small animal caused so much damage and devastation.”

According to a report from the Southern Daily Echo, Mr Barfoot said he was yet to get hold of insurers, but the damage would run into the tens of thousands. It is not expected to have an immediate effect on the company’s services as it has not been busy and does not run school services.

Barfoot and Sons fleet fire

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Tees Valley Coach Travel was reported to have ceased trading by the Evening Gazette.

Tees Valley operated a number of other services across Teesside which ceased on December 21, including the 87/87A/87B from Billingham to Longnewton. This route has now been taken over by Tees Valley Stagecarriage.

The firm was contracted to take Middlesbrough Football Club’s first team, reserves and youth squads to away matches. The company, which also provided transport for the official supporters club, had various contracts around the Teesside

region, including for school buses and excursions.

A statement on the website Connect Tees Valley read: “Tees Valley Coach Travel has ceased trading. Therefore, all services currently operated by this company will not run after today (December 21).”

Tees Valley Coach Travel’s website states there are problems with its phonelines and emails, but insists: “We are committed to providing a service and despite what rumours are circulating we are still very much able to continue.”

The firm was based at Eaglescliffe Logistics Centre on Durham Road, however according to its website it had recently moved premises to Skippers Lane Industrial Estate.

The site says the firm launched in 2005 with a few thousand pounds and one coach, but had expanded to 27 buses and coaches.

Tees Valley Coach Travel were contracted to provide transport for fans and teams for Middlesbrough FC away games

Judging for Coach Awards commencing soon Judging for the UK Coach Awards is getting underway in mid-January.

Over 170 nominations have been received across 18 award categories with three weeks to go before the final closing date.

UK Coach Awards Chairman Allan Edmondson said: “We are delighted with the superb response from the industry at a time when operators are facing challenging trading conditions. Our contact with coach operators of all sizes has demonstrated an innate optimism about the future of the industry.

It has also been heartening to see the wide range of nominations

received and shows that suppliers and attractions are working hard to retain and develop business.”

The closing date for the awards in the people, operating and technical & professional categories, has been extended to January 26.

The shortlist for tourism awards will be announced at the Great Days Out fair in Manchester on February 9, while the people and operating awards shortlist will be announced in mid-March.

The UK Coach Rally & Awards combined event takes place at Alton Towers over the weekend of April 20 and 21.

www.coachandbusweek.com

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10 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

news › international

Seven VDL Citea SLFs delivered to KVG Braunschweig The VDLs join three others already in KVG’s fleet GERMANY Seven new 12m VDL Citea SLF citybuses have entered regular service with KVG (Kraftverkehrsgesellschaft mbH) in Braunschweig, Germany. They are operating in Salzgitter.

KVG already owns three VDL vehicles: an Ambassador ALE120/225 with Cummins EEV engine, a Citea SLF-120/310 with DAF EEV engine and a Citea CLE- 120/310 with a DAF EEV engine. For this latest order KVG specified Cummins EEV engines.

Optional equipment fitted to the buses includes automatic fire

extinguishing systems, climate control systems and reversing cameras.

KVG Braunschweig is based in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt. Its core business is passenger transport bus operations and it runs services in Salzgitter, Bad Harzburg, Wolfenbüttel and Helmstedt. It also provides regional transport services for the cities of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg and the municipalities of Goslar, Helmstedt and Wolfenbüttel. The line network has a total length of 1,335 km and includes 1,107 bus stops. The number of total passenger journeys on KVG in 2011 was around 12.9 million.

The seven 12m Citeas are powered by Cummins EEV engines

Iveco Irisbus begins 182-vehicle delivery to GTT Turin ITALY Iveco Irisbus delivered the first four Citelis and Crossway buses to the city of Turin’s transport commission (GTT) at a ceremony on December 21, 2012 in Turin’s Piazza Vittorio.

Among those present at the ceremony were Transit Councillors for the Region of Piedmont and the city of Turin, the CEO of GTT and www.coachandbusweek.com

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Enzo Gioachin, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Iveco.

The delivery is part of a significant contract to supply 182 buses to GTT, which transports over 200 million passengers per year, providing both urban, suburban and intercity public transport services. The contract calls for 86 12m and 10.7m Crossways from both city and intercity ranges. The remainder consists of 19 12m LowEntry Suburban models and 96 12m Citelis citybuses. The vehicles will contribute to the renewal of the company’s existing city transport fleet, initiated last year.

The Crossway models delivered feature EEV-rated FPT Industrial Cursor 8 engines, with 330bhp output in the 10.7m buses and

The Urbinos are the first Solaris buses to enter operation in Finland

TKL takes two Solaris hybrids FINLAND Two Urbino 12.9m Hybrids are the first Solaris buses to be delivered to a Finnish customer – Tampereen Kaupunkiliikenne (TKL) of Tampere. Solaris says fuel consumption is reduced by up to 30% compared to diesel counterparts.

Presented in a unique colour scheme their livery was designed

by Timo Huusko, who won a competition organised by TKL. Entitled “BlueBlob”, the winning scheme depicts the colours of water drops and green grass.

“Until now, Finland was one of the last Nordic countries without Solaris buses. We hope that very soon, Finnish passengers will discover all the advantages of Solaris buses as counterparts in

Sweden, Norway and Denmark already have,” said Małgorzata Olszewska, Sales and Marketing Director.

The city of Tampere is the second-largest urban area and third most populous municipality in the country. The 300,000 inhabitants are served by 135 buses, running on 30 lines.

Meanwhile, Prague City Transport has ordered 40 Solaris Urbino 8.9 LE midibuses which will be delivered in batches between now and 2015. The first 10 arrived at the end of last year.

The contract is worth 162 million Czech korun (6.5 million euro).

The buses offer 27 seated and 39 standing spaces and are powered by 6.7-litre Cummins diesel engines. They are matched to ZF EcoLife automatic gearboxes.

Małgorzata said: “The Czech Republic was the first export destination for our buses in 2000 and it continues to be one of our most important markets.”

380bhp in the 12m variants. The braking systems are integrated with a slow motion auxiliary Intarder in addition to EBS (Electronic Braking System) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) safety systems.

All vehicles are specified with air conditioning, route maps and LED lights in the passenger areas.

The Low Entry model option is available for all versions in the range (urban, suburban and intercity). The vehicle is well-appointed to serve the demands and needs of intercity transport, which requires excellent accessibility features combined with a high seating capacity. The Crossway LE ordered by GTT is highly accessible thanks to 1,200mm double doors at the

centre and an 800mm at the rear which are lowered to street level.

The Citelis, generally noted for its reduced environmental impact and low energy consumption, also employs FPT Industrial Cursor 8 engines rated at 290bhp. Citelis models for GTT will be equipped with air conditioning, a boarding platform for disabled passengers and automatic transmission. The range is available in three size options (10.5, 12 and 18 metres), powered by natural gas, diesel or in Hybrid form. The EEV-approved Cursor 8 diesel engines range from 245 to 380bhp. Natural Gas options range from 245 to 330bhp and the hybrid utilises a 300bhp version. Citelis features a full-length lowfloor configuration.

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news › REGIONAL

NORTH

South Yorkshire PTE has completed a new scheme to replace bus shelter lighting with more efficient LED lights in a bid to save energy.

The move, which has seen lights replaced in over 2,000 shelters, will save around £150,000 a year.

The electricity costs to light the bus shelters, which makes up a third of SYPTE’s total electricity costs, will be reduced considerably as bus shelter energy consumption is cut by around 61%.

LED lighting has a much longer lifespan and is brighter and more reliable than regular fluorescent lighting. As result, the new lights will reduce maintenance budget costs. It will also ensure bus stops have a brighter appearance, making them more attractive to use at night.

SYPTE has developed a Carbon Management Plan which seeks to reduce the organisation’s carbon footprint by 40% over the next three years. Solar panels have already been installed at the organisation’s head office on Broad Street West which are helping to reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the National Grid.

David Brown, SYPTE Director General, said: “Reducing carbon is a key target for many organisations over the next few years and we are no different. These new LED lights may individually make a small difference, but installed at thousands of bus stops throughout South Yorkshire they add up to considerable electricity and financial saving.”

WALES

A fare increase on subsidised school bus services in Wrexham may not go ahead after members of Wrexham Independent Group called in the decision.

Plans to increase the cost of a journey from £1.10 to £1.70 were given the go-ahead by Wrexham Council’s executive in December.

The relevant scrutiny committee will now re-examine the decision.

Cllr Dave Taylor, who represents the Cefn ward, said: “At a time when families are struggling and household budgets are being squeezed, parents are being forced to endure inflation-busting fare increases.

“We all understand the financial situation but this is a kick in the teeth for families in Wrexham.”

Cartrefle Councillor Ron Prince added: “Over the past few weeks I have received many complaints www.coachandbusweek.com

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KEY

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

from constituents on the level of increase which is going to hurt many families, some of whom will be unable to pay.

“There needs to be a review of this decision with a lower increase.”

Running the buses currently costs the council £195,230 per year.

It needs to make savings of £126,000 after the Welsh Government cut its supported public transport grant from £800,000 to £674,000 for 2013-14.

The increase will affect 15 school routes across the county and comes into force in April 2013, if not delayed by the call-in process.

Trevor Coxon, Wrexham Council’s Head of Corporate and Customer Services, said: “I can confirm an application to call in this particular Executive Board decision was received on Monday and as the proper officer I have accepted its validity.

“My democratic services staff are currently identifying potential dates for a meeting of a relevant scrutiny committee.”

LONDON

Fares have increased across all TfL services, with an average rise of 4.2%.

It is claimed the extra £96m of funding secured by Boris Johnson kept the fares package lower than expected. All fare revenue collected

by TfL is invested into improving London’s transport network.

TfL has a number of upgrades

planned, although none of these concern bus operations in the city.

On London’s buses, the Oyster pay as you go fare will rise by 5p to £1.40 (3.7%) and the cash fare will increase by 10p, so Oyster pay as you go continues to be the cheapest way to travel around the capital.

SOUTH WEST

First Devon and Cornwall has increased some of its bus fares, while other fares have frozen or reduced. The operator said it was “always a measure of last resort” to raise fares, but the move was necessary because of higher fuel and operating costs.

Some adult fares and all child fares - single and return - have risen between 5p and 25p.

The firm said every attempt had been made to keep the increases as small as possible.

Regional Commercial & Business Growth Director for First South West & Wales Marc Reddy said: “We understand no one likes it when fares go up and we have done everything we can to keep any increases to the absolute minimum.

“We have also taken steps where we can to reduce the price of some fares or season tickets making travel by bus even more attractive to customers.”

He said the company had to ensure fares adequately reflected what it cost the company to run the business, while ensuring there was enough profit to invest in its

network, staff and vehicles.

Information about the fare changes have been put on the company’s website.

Subsidies for a number of bus services around Southampton may be cut following Southampton City Council’s plans to save £20m across council services.

The Bluestar-run Uni-link U6, linking Southampton University and the city centre to Southampton General, would see funding withdrawn for evening services Monday to Saturday after 2000hrs and all day Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Subsidies may also be cut for First’s 2, 2A, 3, 8, 8A and 9 services after 2000hrs and 1800 on Sunday and bank holidays.

It is believed First’s S1 and Velvet’s S2 services would both be cancelled and then put out to tender under a combined single service, running from Lordshill to Freemantle every 90 minutes, while the Bluestar P1 faces a complete subsidy cut.

Phil Stockley, MD of Velvet, told CBW: “We understand it’s a difficult time for Local Authority funding but we hope the authorities will take on board suggestions proposed by local operators.”

The council hope cutting the subsidies for those services will save £400,000. However, it is understood there are no plans to introduce fares to the free CityLink service which runs from Southampton Central station to Isle of Wight ferry terminals, which could be seen as a more practical option.

Cllr Asa Thorpe, SCC’s Cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “The proposals to end subsidies for some bus routes in the city have been put forward to help the council find savings needed to close an unprecedented budget gap in the next financial year.

“The council is in ongoing discussions with the bus companies to determine which routes that are currently subsidised are used the most and is considering those which could have the subsidy removed to contribute to the savings.

“If a subsidy is removed this doesn’t necessarily mean the route will cease to operate as the bus companies may choose to continue to run the service commercially.

“I’d encourage residents to comment on the proposals through the budget consultation so we can

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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. ensure we’re taking on board as many ideas and views as possible.”

Conservative environment and transport spokesman Cllr Dan Fitzhenry said: “The impact will be across the city on people who rely on it as their main form of transport – from people working in the evening, young and old going out to people trying to make appointments.”

Andrew Wickham, Managing Director of Go South Coast, Bluestar’s parent company, said: “All I can say is that we will do our best to maintain our network and Uni-Link services we operate for the University and not make a knee jerk reaction to any loss of subsidy.

“However, we did see Bluestar’s fuel bill increase with an additional £433,000 tax on fuel when the Government reduced BSOG last April. Whilst we would like to expand services the removal of subsidies of any size makes it difficult as we continue to face rising operating costs.”

Bristol Mayor George Ferguson has signed a petition calling on First to reduce bus fares in the city.

On his Twitter account, the Mayor said: “The more pressure to twist FirstBus arm to reduce fares the better!”

Over 1,200 people have signed the e-petition on the government website.

First said it was aware of the petition and it “respected the right of users in the region to voice their concerns in this way”.

A spokeswoman said First was committed to restricting fare reviews to once a year, and had taken steps to freeze or reduce as many fares as possible.

She added: “Changes in the wider economy including cuts by central and local government to things like concessionary fare reimbursement levels and BSOG, have also taken their toll but despite this we do everything we can to keep fares as low as possible.”

January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 13

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

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

2013 n January 24 CPT Annual Dinner 2013, Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, 45 Prescot Street, London E1 8GP. Call 020 7240 3131 or visit www. cpt-uk.org n January 28-30 Transport Ticketing 2013, Park Royal Plaza Riverbank Hotel, Albert Embankment, Lambeth, London SE1 7TJ. Call 0207 384 79201 or visit www.transport-ticketing.com n February 9 ‘Great Days Out’.

EventCity, Manchester, 0161 237 1010. www.greatdaysout.com n February 24-25 Coach Holiday Conference. Bristol Filton Holiday Inn. www.coachtourismcouncil.com n March 13-14 Best of Britain and Ireland (BoBi). Travel Trade Forum at the NEC in Birmingham. 01926 834796. www. bestofbritainandirelandevent.co.uk

Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia is investing over £6m in a new, purpose-built Dealerpoint at Wellingborough, Northants. It is conveniently located just off the A45 within easy reach of the A14 and M1.

Volvo Group UK MD Ulf Magnusson officially cut the first turf on the 2.43 hectare (6 acres) site which opens this summer.

Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia MD David Sullivan said: “As a business we are totally focused on delivering excellent service to local customers. The investment we have made to secure this state of the art facility represents our long-term aspiration to provide operators with the very best aftermarket service in the region. We are committed to our ongoing employee training programme as we are aware our people and their relationship with our valued customers are at the heart of our business.”

Around 40 employees are moving across from the current facility at Kettering, which has serviced the locality for over 60 years. The new workshop facility will have five drive-through service lanes, VOSA ATF accreditation, a Roadcrew shop, dedicated Used Truck stock and display area as well as extensive customer parking.

Left to right in the photo: Rob Masters (Rob Masters Transport), Brian Hornigold (Hornigold Haulage), Paul Freeman (Freemans Auto Logistics), Ulf Magnusson (Volvo Group UK), Chris Williamson (MAM Transport Services), Ayub Abdullah (MAM Transport Services), David Sullivan (Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia Managing Director).

n March 19-21 The Cleaning Show. NEC, Birmingham. 01737 855 086 www.cleaningshow.co.uk n March 20-21 UK Bus Awards Annual Conference. The conference is booked to take place in Fareham and will feature a visit to Hampshire’s Eclipse BRT project. www.ukbusawards.org.uk n April 6 South East Bus Festival 2013. Kent Showground, near Maidstone, Kent, brought to you by the organisers of ‘M&D 100’ and ‘M&D and EK 60’. www.facebook. com/southeastbusfestival n April 9-11 CV Show 2013. NEC, Birmingham. www.cvshow.com n April 20-21 UK Coach Awards & UK Coach Rally. Alton Towers, Staffordshire. 01753 631170

www.coachdisplays.co.uk or www. ukcoachawards.co.uk n April 21 London Bus Museum Spring Gathering. Cobham Hall, Weybridge, Surrey. 01932 837994. www.londonbusmuseum.com n May 14-15 ALBUM Conference.

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

07828 754412 or 01462 626750k n September 8 Bus & Coach Wales 2013. Rhyd y Car Leisure Centre, Merthyr Tydfil n September 22 Showbus 2013.

Long Marston Airfield, Warwickshire. www.showbus.com n October 2-3 Coach & Bus Live 2013. NEC, Birmingham. www. coachandbuslive.com

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

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14 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

DRIVERS

In association with

DriveTech

Send your driver news and stories to alex.tyler@coachandbusweek. com or call 01733 293 481.

The Norwich konectbulance service East of England Ambulance Service praises Go-Ahead driver for taking the initiative and using his double-decker to take his son to hospital A konectbus driver took his epileptic two-year-old son to hospital in his bus after an ambulance was delayed.

Ross Cork was driving the double-decker route five linking Queen’s Hills, Costessey, with Norwich city centre when he got a call from his wife stating that his son Riley was having a fit. After calling his manager at konectbus, he drove to his father’s home where Riley was being treated by a paramedic.

Although a rapid response vehicle reached the scene in two minutes, an ambulance was not immediately available.

“There was only one passenger

Stagecoach Drivers raise cash for local hospice

Drivers and staff from Stagecoach Manchester’s Ashton Depot have donated £1,500 to local hospice, Willow Wood in Ashton-underLyne, after a year of fundraising.

Jon Ambrose, Operations Manager at the depot, recently visited the hospice, which offers specialist care for those living with life-threatening illnesses, to present the cheque and find out how the funds will benefit the patients.

The money has been raised through various activities undertaken by staff at the depot, including a fishing contest, a raffle and a sponsored walk along the full length of route 216, from Ashton bus station to Piccadilly Gardens.

Jon said: “Everyone has been

on my bus but she overheard my conversation and she knows me,” explained Ross.

“She said, ‘Don’t worry about taking me to the next stop’ and got off.”

Ross arrived at his father’s home eight minutes later.

“Luckily there was a parking space outside my dad’s, but it was a bit tight getting there,” he said.

“At one point I only had an inch or so either side of the bus.”

Finding Riley on the floor of his father’s house wearing an oxygen mask, the paramedic explained he could not take Riley to hospital because an ambulance had been delayed.

“He said, ‘Can we take your bus?’” said Ross.

“The paramedic carried Riley, and my father, brother-in-law and sister helped carry all the equipment on the bus and my wife got on board.”

Ross then drove the three miles to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

“I did what most fathers would do. It just happened I was in a double-decker bus.

“Some people said I could have lost my job for what I did, but even if konectbus hadn’t helped me I’d have still done exactly the same.

Ross Cork carried his family, the paramedic with his equipment and his epileptic son to the hospital on board his double-decker

Windsor driver given long service reward

Representatives from Stagecoach Manchester’s Ashton depot and Willow Wood Hospice celebrate the donation of £1,500 to the charity extremely generous with their time and money and we know the funds raised will make a real difference to the hospice’s staff and patients.”

Managing Director of Stagecoach Manchester Christopher Bowles added: “All of our five depots take part in various fundraising activities each year and the fantastic efforts of the staff at Ashton demonstrates the company’s commitment to

“Without that bus I don’t know what we’d have done.”

Steve Royal, Operations Manager for konectbus, said: “I’ve worked on buses for 24 years but I can’t recall anything like his.

“We’re a small company and we know our staff and their circumstances. We try to help them as best we can in any eventuality.

We put cover in place and were able to make the best of a crisis.”

A spokeswoman for East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust said the emergency call had been received during an extremely busy period.

“Because an ambulance wasn’t immediately available Ross did exactly the right thing by taking the initiative as he did,” she said.

“It was good-hearted of the bus company to allow him to use the vehicle. We hope the little boy is making a good recovery.”

supporting worthwhile local charities, such as Willow Wood, in addition to our charity of the year, St Ann’s Hospice.”

John Fellowes, Willow Wood’s Head of Fundraising, said: “We rely solely on the generosity of local individuals and businesses to run the hospice. The donation from Stagecoach’s Ashton depot will be invaluable.”

A Windsor bus driver who has served for more than 45 years has had his dedication rewarded.

Len Wright started driving buses in 1962 and despite retiring at 65, continued to drive schools for White Buses for the last eight years on a part-time basis.

The 76-year-old was presented with a glass vase from White Buses proprietor Doug Jeatt and an engraved cup from his colleagues when he retired on December 21.

Mr Wright said: “It was nice of them to present me with the gifts – I didn’t expect any of it. A lot of people come up to me – it’s always nice to be remembered like that. I didn’t want to retire properly at 65 as I wanted to keep active.”

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GROUP PROFILE › FIRST

First but not least Andrew Cream gives an insight into what you can expect from this week’s super feature while also taking a brief look at Coach & Bus Week’s ‘big five’ features over the past nine months

A

s we reach the end of our super features on the UK’s ‘big five’ operators, with the second instalment of our focus on FirstGroup, it’s perhaps a good time to reflect on the past nine months.

It’s been a fascinating time for the CBW editorial team. Gareth enjoyed meeting CEOs Sir Brian Souter, David Brown and Dean Finch, of Stagecoach, Go-Ahead Group and National Express respectively while I had the pleasure of meeting Arriva top dogs David Martin and Mike Cooper and

First:

also had the benefit of spending a full day finding out about Go-Ahead London’s operations. My visit to Arriva Milton Keynes was also a personal highlight, not to mention my trip on the Caledonian Sleeper train for my First in Scotland visit.

James cites his favourite experience as his jam-packed trip to Stagecoach Manchester. The senior management team were kind enough to give up their day and provide a full insight into the company.

Alex was appreciative of meeting First London MD Adrian Jones, who enabled him to delve into the goings on of the city operations.

Moving onto this issue and one

a brief history of Badgerline

FirstGroup evolved from the creation of FirstBus – a merger between Badgerline and Grampian Regional Transport. Both were former municipal operations which had been transformed into standalone businesses enabling them to enter into a competitive post-deregulation marketing scenario.

Badgerline, based in Westonsuper-Mare, was acquired by its management – a team led by Trevor Smallwood. It flourished under privatisation and grew rapidly through the acquisition of companies across southern England, the Midlands and South Wales. Aberdeen’s Grampian Regional Transport became the first of the Scottish Bus Group companies to be privatised – again

Badgerline livery (above) was distinctive, as was Bristol Cityline (below) sold to its management team led

by Moir Lockhead. It was also acquisitive and had purchased Midland Scottish for £8.5m in 1990.

Trevor Smallwood entered the industry as a management trainee with Yorkshire Traction. His father had been a Traffic Manager at

Mexborough & Swinton while other family members had also been involved in various bus and trolleybus operations. He moved to the southwest to become Managing Director of Bristol Country Bus which had a fleet of 400 buses and a workforce of 800. It ran out of town services into Bristol and the urban services of Bath and Weston-super-Mare. The latter operation earned Smallwood and the company a reputation for innovation due to its high-profile switch to minibuses on key services which enabled high frequencies to be run with ease.

Anticipating the need to be quickoff-the-mark with deregulation ahead, Smallwood persuaded 70 managers to form a buyout team and Badgerline was one of the first of the municipal operations to pass into private ownership. He had realised it would put Badgerline in a strong position to bid on other companies and buy at favourable

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January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 17

could say we’ve saved the best of First till last.

I was privileged enough to meet FirstGroup CEO Tim O’Toole, where he went into detail about the firm’s reorganisation strategy and relationships with local and central government.

Gareth and I interviewed well-known industry figure Giles Fearnley, MD of First’s UK Bus operations. Amid the enjoyable chat were a number of tremendously interesting points about First’s localism strategy, Giles’ past and the company’s future. He truly is taking the operations back to basics.

Part two of my Scottish travels also features, with an interview with Neil Barker, Scotland Regional Managing Director; Kevin Belfield, Scotland Regional Commercial Director; and Ronnie Park, Glasgow Managing Director. The trio discussed network planning, marketing and new technology amongst many other areas.

Alex spoke with Regional Commercial & Business Growth Director for First South West & Wales Marc Reddy, along with Councillor Mel Kendal, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Environment and Transport, and Head of Passenger Transport for Hampshire County Council

Peter Shelley. He found out about the Group’s successful Eclipse partnership and its other operations in the region.

James took a trip to Leeds to speak with Dave Alexander, Regional Managing Director for the North of England, to find out about the region’s extensive service delivery improvements, and Employee Director Bob Ward, to learn how he represents First staff.

James and Alex also found out about the company’s graduate programme. James interviewed First Manchester Operations Manager and graduate Vicky Tomlinson about the scheme and her current role while Alex spoke to Justin Davies, Regional Managing Director South West and Wales, to get a greater insight into the programme.

Below, Martin has compiled a concise history of Badgerline, the operation which merged with Grampian Regional Transport to form FirstBus in 1995.

Finally, James and Alex have put together a comprehensive First fleet profile. The list is based on information supplied by First and is correct up to December 2012.

Again, we’d like to publicly thank those at First who helped make this feature possible, most notably FirstGroup PR Manager Niall Dowds, Karen Baxter, PR Manager South West and Wales and Duncan McGraw, First UK Bus PR Manager.

the finance teams from both organisations did their sums and concluded a merger between the two would prove extremely beneficial.

In 1995 an agreement was sealed and the merged enterprise

was named FirstBus. Smallwood took the role of Chairman and along with his finance team under Tony Osbaldiston, Group Finance Director, the administration side of FirstBus was run from Badger Manor near Weston. Lockhead, later Sir Moir Lockhead, took direct day to day operational control from the Aberdeen HQ after three years.

Smallwood stepped down due to needing more time for family matters. A separate London office HQ was also established for board meetings.

Acquisitions continued with notable names such as Greater Manchester Buses North and Strathclyde Buses bought in 1996 and FirstBus also winning the Great Eastern rail franchise. A year later it moved into the London bus market for the first time, buying CentreWest then decided it should change its name to FirstGroup to better reflect is broadening interests in the public transport sector.

Chief Executive Tim O’Toole is driving the Group forward rates. He was right – golden opportunities began to present themselves and the company swiftly picked up Western National in Plymouth and Cornwall, Cityline in Bristol and Worcester’s Midland Red West.

These were followed by purchasing South Wales Transport and Brewers before looking east and snapping up Eastern National at Chelmsford. Just prior to the merger with GRT it also acquired the major concerns of PMT Group in Staffordshire and the Wirral plus the sizeable Yorkshire Rider operation. This made Badgerline the largest operator in the UK with over 3,900 buses and a staff of 10,700. Its turnover rose to £223m with a profit realisation of around £17m.

It is said Smallwood and Lockhead, both speaking at an Edinburgh conference, were enjoying a coffee break and discussing their related businesses

whereupon both lamented the lack of sufficient scale to improve margins and for the capitalisation to enable further expansion – particularly into the predicted rail privatisations. A seed was sown and it was very soon afterwards

Local identites were a feature for many years under FirstBus

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FACE TO FACE › TIM O’TOOLE

NAME: Tim O’Toole AGE: 57 POSITION: CEO, FirstGroup CONTACT: 01224 650100 www.firstgroup.com

Re-establishing the First ethos Coach & Bus Week’s Andrew Cream meets FirstGroup CEO Tim O’Toole and finds out about the company’s disposal plans, what it was like to step into Sir Moir Lockhead’s shoes, what he wants to see from the government and the firm’s decision to rebrand its bus fleet

A

s I made my way to Paddington to meet Tim O’Toole, I didn’t know what to expect.

I’d heard he didn’t like speaking about himself and that he might not be entirely clued up on certain aspects of the company.

The FirstGroup CEO however was impressively au fait with the bus industry as no topic stumped him – and he was happy to speak at length about his background.

Despite having what must seem like the weight of the world on his shoulders, Tim has a calm demeanour. While many in the industry may be doubting First right now, Tim may be just the man to steer them onto the right track.

CBW: How did you get into the transport industry and work your way to the position you’re in now?

Tim O’Toole: I trained as a lawyer and right out of law school I became a litigator. I joined Conrail [the US rail freight company] in 1987 at a time when deregulation was taking place in the US. As the company was going through some tough financial times I got to do a lot more in the role than I expected to. I was a litigator for three years while the company acclimatised to deregulation, which was really transforming rail in the US at the time.

I then recast myself as a security lawyer. We ended up doing the largest IPO (initial public offering) in stock exchange history and I did www.coachandbusweek.com

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the security transactions for the company before I became treasurer and progressed through the finance side, becoming CFO and eventually CEO. I’m currently on the CSX board [one of the successor firms to Conrail].

After that I thought I had retired, but I was then asked to run London Underground.

It was early days of PPP (PublicPrivate Partnership) and they wanted someone with both law, finance and rail experience, so the next thing I knew I was living in London.

I then took on a directorship at FirstGroup as I was looking for a non-executive position. First had transport operations in both the US and UK so it seemed like the perfect company for me to contribute to.

CBW: How did you find taking on bus operations for the first time?

TO’T: I had a fair amount of bus experience at TfL. Peter Hendy was my counterpart and we worked very closely together, including on the introduction of the Oyster scheme, together with our

Tim believes skills are transferable between different transport modes

colleagues at TfL. The skills are transferable – it’s about big assets and moving and maintaining these things efficiently.

Through dealing with the public it’s the same issues and the same challenges. It was a similar transition to the one I made from freight to passenger rail.

CBW: What was it like stepping into the shoes of Sir Moir?

TO’T: It’s quite intimidating to follow someone like Moir. He’s certainly a larger than life figure.

The thing I feel good about however is the way people have welcomed and accepted me and moved forward very constructively. Change is always unsettling and Moir stepping down was a huge change for the company but I am pleased to say there has been no friction at all.

UK Bus is currently going through a significant period of transition but everyone from the Board of Directors through to the local management have been very supportive of our plans, which means a lot as we have been through some very challenging and tough times recently.

CBW: What challenges did you find when joining First?

TO’T: We are currently in a very tough economic environment, the extent of which no one could have foreseen. Our UK Bus division didn’t have the sustainable growth strategy some of our competitors have, and I firmly believe we need to drive more passenger growth for the long term.

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Tim says no one could foresee the tough economic climate the industry is currently facing

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FACE TO FACE › TIM O’TOOLE

Tim had a lot of bus experience while at London Underground and had a close relationship with Sir Peter Hendy We are still in the early stages of change and of course the economic environment we are operating in isn’t ideal. However, the new initiatives which [UK Bus Managing Director] Giles Fearnley and his team are delivering are showing progress so I am more confident about our overall direction.

We’re looking at what’s going on in the world. Urbanisation is an unrelenting trend. It’s happening everywhere and the one long term problem is congestion.

Our aim is to respond to the needs of local authorities and central government and to be a reliable partner which can deliver solutions to congestion.

We can take best practice from one part of the company and apply it to other areas. We also have to be a lot more dynamic in the way we relate locally and we want to be much more passenger focused.

CBW: What does your role entail?

TO’T: My job is to make sure we not only relate to external stakeholders but also create a good management team. That is why I recruited Giles and [UK Bus Chief Operating Officer] Jeroen Weimar. It’s all about making sure you have the right team around you.

I believe you can’t run a company like this unless you communicate with people, so we are in the process of putting in place a complete communications www.coachandbusweek.com

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programme. We want to change the story of the company in the minds of the employees and ensure we all understand the part we each must play to achieve our goals.

I spend about three fifths of my time here and the rest in the US. This is because many of our stakeholders are here and there is more in the UK that I need to personally be involved with at the moment.

CBW: Do you have any current expansion and growth plans?

TO’T: There always has to be passenger growth in this business, you can’t just survive on revenue growth. But that’s a tough message to send when you are disposing of operations. In the long run however, our strategy revolves around generating sustainable growth.

Part of that comes from ensuring the operations are as effective as possible and constantly pushing to do things better.

We are continuing to develop and progress our Student and Transit businesses across the Atlantic and as we continue to finesse our operations they offer good opportunities for further growth.

Of course, we keep other potential opportunities under review and keep our muscles flexed but they have to be really compelling, given our current reorganisation plans to focus on our core businesses.

Tim O’Toole: a brief history

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tim O’Toole has been working in transport since 1987, when he joined Conrail as a litigator after training as a lawyer.

He worked his way up the ladder to become CEO, before being snapped up by London Underground in 2002.

Tim was commended for his leadership during the 7/7 terrorist attacks, receiving an honorary CBE. He resigned in February 2009 and was appointed a non-executive on the board of FirstGroup in May that year.

He was subsequently appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO in June 2010, and after Sir Moir Lockhead retired, Tim was appointed CEO on November 1, 2010.

He is a Non-Executive Director of CSX Corporation, a rail freight transportation company in North America.

“There always has to be passenger growth in this business, you can’t just survive on revenue growth.”

Tim O’Toole

CBW: What are the company’s current reorganisation plans?

TO’T: We have a strong platform from which to grow in UK Bus and the vast majority of our operations generate good returns or have the potential to do so. After a thorough review, we are selling some of our businesses that are performing less well. We said we would bring these disposals to the market in tranches and that’s what we’ve been doing.

During the first part of 2012 we have been preparing information memoranda and getting ready to market the businesses appropriately and responsibly, in a way that minimises uncertainty and disruption for our staff and passengers.

We have closed a few sales and you will see more coming through now as discussions are ongoing with a number of interested parties.

This is about getting the right shape and size business to support and grow. It’s not about raising cash, as some of the rumours have suggested.

The goal is to close everything this fiscal year but if it runs into next year then so be it, although we are looking to move forward from this chapter as soon as possible.

This is a great company and it will remain that way. We need to make sure we are putting in the right investment for the long term. It’s about making things better.

You could say we are selling off the geographic orphans. We are definitely a more urban-orientated business. It’s about the business shape – some parts were just not logical for us to keep operating.

I’ve been asked a lot about the businesses we are disposing of, and in the main they are low margin operations that don’t fit as logically as they might with our existing operations - it may be that the depots are outliers with our other properties. Our Wigan depot is fairly unique in that it was a higher margin business but we knew the margins were not sustainable at that level not least as the fleet age was high.

CBW: How are your political relationships and what do you want from central government?

TO’T: Our relationships are good and Giles has a great profile with local and central government.

Having these strong relationships is one of our key objectives and we need to make sure we have them everywhere.

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FACE TO FACE › TIM O’TOOLE

We do think Norman Baker gets it – he’s a great advocate for the industry. Our concern is that the government spends most of its time talking about trains but buses are more vital – they carry two thirds of passengers who use public transport.

Buses are the missing piece of the jigsaw, especially in this economic climate – getting people to job interviews, or the high street, for example. The government must keep in mind that in order to rejuvenate the economy you have got to support buses.

The government needs to continue support for passengers by making sure local authorities have funds for bus networks, supporting the non-commercial side of services. It also needs to support concessionary schemes and not impose extra taxes on the bus industry.

Finally, we don’t believe Quality Contracts are the right way forward.

Instead it should be about making strides in partnerships with local authorities, which we are fully committed to doing. Our work in Sheffield is a prime example of this where our Optio partnership with the PTE and other operators now covers the whole city region. We are working with the local authority and other operators in bidding for additional funds from the DfT in order to further improve local bus services.

CBW: Explain the decision behind rebranding buses to incorporate a local identity.

TO’T: This is something I feel strongly about and Giles agreed with my views that these are local businesses; we deliver services to the local community and the identity needed to reflect that.

People have to think it’s their bus company.

This applies to local authorities as much as it does passengers.

If they view you as their local resource they want to help you, but not if you’re seen as an outsider.

However, we don’t want to lose the First brand. We want people to see us as a sophisticated operation but we also want bus users to think of us as local.

You may see more of this in rail soon too. I also want local branding in the minds of the people that maintain buses. You can see depotspecific indicators by the front left wheel arch which makes engineers aware they are working on their www.coachandbusweek.com

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working with stakeholders and advancing each other’s interests.

CBW: What’s the difference between running operations in the US and the UK? TO’T: The real world difference is distance. Simply interacting with a business the size and scale of our US school bus operations for example, with 54,000 buses spread over 600 locations in 38 States, is a big task.

Above: First is not planning a big move into coach services. Below: Tim is a big fan of the national integrated train and bus ticketing scheme Plusbus

own buses which helps foster a sense of pride.

Other operators approach local branding in different ways, but there is no single answer. We all have slightly different operating conditions.

CBW: There have been some reductions in Greyhound UK services. What does the future hold for this sector?

TO’T: It was introduced before my time. We’re going through a rebrand of coach services and certain services have been curtailed for economic reasons. We will keep the Swansea service running but a big move to coach services is not part of our future plan. So I see it continuing to operate as a niche part of our business portfolio.

CBW: Where do you see smartcard technology going?

TO’T: I am a firm believer in smartcard technology. Not only does it speed up journey times but it helps us to gather data.

I’m also a fan of the Plusbus

scheme. I think it’s great and this technology will really allow it to take off. Soon people will be able to get off a train and get a bus without having to worry about the method by which they will have to pay for it.

I think the take up of smartcards within the industry has been slow, although the ITSO battle has not been helpful.

The integration of smartcard technology is quite complex to pull off. But I am not whining, it’s just something we have to overcome.

In an ideal world, I’d love to get to the stage where we just provide transport and someone sends us a cheque!

CBW: What are the current challenges in this climate?

TO’T: We believe we have a great commercial footprint but we are at a part of an economic cycle which is very tough for everyone.

In order to offset that we have to get more compelling offers out to the public and we hope to do this in partnership with the government.

That’s the big challenge. It’s about

CBW: What do you see as the future of engine technology?

TO’T: Right now, diesel is getting so efficient it’s hard to envision anything else would take over, although the whole world has flipped upside down with the ability to use natural gas. I am a firm believer in experimenting with different projects, of which we are doing a lot of. In California we operate a sizeable CNG fleet and we’ve done some work with hydrogen in Connecticut. You have to stay on top of this and we have to keep pushing as we don’t know what will happen in the future.

Right now it’s hard to see diesel engines going away, but we have to keep an open mind.

CBW: What are your thoughts on providing audio visual announcements on buses?

TO’T: People often complain about audio visual announcements but my bias is in favour of it. As an industry we do need to think more and more that way. If you do something to take care of someone then things get better for everyone else. Every good story I am aware of in transport supports that view.

CBW: What are the most important aspects to running a good public transport company?

TO’T: It always starts with safety and First has a very strong safety ethos – we take it very seriously.

Second is the way we deal with people. The people who have regular customer interaction are the guys at the front of the bus so it’s important for our drivers to demonstrate great customer service skills. Making sure what we are delivering is reliable is also very important.

Customers use us as a means of getting somewhere. You have to make people want to use your bus.

It’s a very demanding business and you need a lot of people doing the right things at the right time.

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FACE TO FACE › GILES FEARNLEY

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NAME: Giles Fearnley AGE: 58 POSITION: Managing Director, First UK Bus CONTACT: 01224 650100 www.firstgroup.com

First’s Mr Fixit

Giles is well-known for his depth of knowledge and wealth of experience thanks to his hands-on approach

Coach & Bus Week’s Gareth Evans and Andrew Cream talk to UK Bus Managing Director Giles Fearnley about his career and how he’s taking back to basics what some regard as FirstGroup’s ailing UK bus operations

G

iles is a gent. He’s the sort of person who’s not afraid to talk to people – particularly those at the sharp end, be it drivers, cleaners, engineers or traffic controllers.

Like CBW’s Editor, Giles enjoys strong coffee with a dash of milk and a healthy spot of friendly banter. While it would be wrong to paint him as an individual without an air of authority, rest assured, he’s not a man who’s aware of his importance. He may have an accountancy background, but he’s got buses in his blood.

His appointment almost two years ago was widely welcomed in the industry. With a track record of success, most notably with the fondly remembered Blazefield, his appointment marked the dawn of a new era – it’s no exaggeration to say he was seen as First’s very own Mr Fixit.

Career

Giles started his career in the bus industry 40 years ago. He joined his local Sheffield Transport straight from school in the city.

“My grandfather was General Manager of Sheffield Transport during the war. It wasn’t expected for me to going into the industry but I chose to,” he recalled. “I didn’t go to University – there was a vacancy in the finance department as an Accounts Clerk. Back then SYPTE was the operator.

“I wanted to progress my career, so in 1976 I joined the National Bus Company (NBC) and I moved to Southdown. My work remained focused on finance in Brighton. It was great by tradition rather than in financial terms.”

Eager for promotion, he returned north – this time to Northern General.

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Giles said the recently signed Sheffield partnership is the deepest and most comprehensive of its kind in terms of scope and sheer scale “It really was one extreme to the other, both in terms of business culture and geographically,” he continued. “Northern General was very urban. I continued to be ambitious. Three years later in 1980, I moved to East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull where I was Assistant Company Secretary.

Back then we were brigaded with Lincolnshire Roadcar. The word ‘brigaded’ was the term used for smaller companies grouped together to reduce overheads.”

His next career move took him to Harrogate, his current home.

“While at Harrogate, the whole industry blew up, which put me in a super place. NBC was privatised – I became MD of West Yorkshire Roadcar. From 1986 to the late 80s, we had a tough but exhilarating experience transforming the business from being solely dependent on subsidy to a viable commercial company.

“In late 1987 we took the decision to split West Yorkshire Roadcar into five different companies. Each had very different operating conditions. It showed

local authority partners we were a local business. Importantly, it also ensured local management focused on the local components.

“In 1991 I was hugely fortunate to be part of the AJS Group. Stuart Wilde and I formed Blazefield. We continued our philosophy and developed much further. We put all our profits into investing and driving passenger growth.

“I ended up on something of a sabbatical from buses to rail in 1997. I formed Prism Rail with some other bus industry colleagues. We ended up with 18% of the UK market.

I was CEO of the plc. We sold the rail business to National Express Group in 2000. The rail industry is fundamentally different to buses.

I used my experience to drive growth. In those four to five years we enjoyed industry-leading growth. I also chaired ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies).”

Giles then returned to buses in Blazefield. He continued: “The timing was fortunate as Brian Souter wanted to sell the 240-vehicle East Lancashire

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FACE TO FACE › GILES FEARNLEY

business. It gave us a new challenge in the Blazefield territory. After all, through the Blazefield years, we had a record of buying and selling companies, while keeping core businesses. For example, we sold the Bolton operation to Blue Bus. We wanted to ensure we had enough capital to invest.

“We sold Blazefield to Transdev in 2006, although I stayed on as CEO for two years. I also got more involved in CPT and became its first Chairman.”

In 2007 Giles acquired a stake in open access rail operator Grand Central, becoming its Chairman until sold to Arriva in November 2011.

He enthused: “I was approached to join First in 2011. I passionately believe in the role of the bus in the UK, especially in towns and cities in supporting social and economic lives. The opportunity to transform First was something I couldn’t resist.”

Role

“First has five divisions – UK Bus being one. I see my role as creating both leadership and a culture which allows our people to deliver the very best so we can consistently exceed customer expectations and ensure passenger growth while earning a level of profit to sustain that growth.”

Asked to define customer expectations, Giles replied: “Value for money is fundamental in all aspects of life.”

What did he want to change when he started? “It was clear for some years that UK Bus has been contracting – a very different strategy to that followed by other UK operators.

“The strategy was to set a new agenda which has passengers at the heart of it – a business which does has every chance to succeed. It’s about network planning, coverage and being absolutely focussed on opportunities to grow the network.

“It’s been very much about cultural change. Clearly, we still have a huge piece of work to do.

Fundamentally if we’re going to succeed, we’ve got to ensure we’re consistently delivering good customer service, punctuality, driver training etc.

“A massive investment programme is going on which had been signed off when I joined – in back office, ticketing, vehicles and staff training. It’s not just about Driver CPC – it’s at all levels, including engineers and supervisors. That’s the foundation. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Customer service – passengers board the popular X1 in Norwich “We’re also looking at networks to maximise opportunities. One of the problems when I started was how long it takes to change. There was so much planning to do before we could make an impact. This is a people issue, so it’s difficult.

We’ve been working hard to communicate with staff. When I joined morale was very low. A lot of that was at depot level, where PVR (Peak Vehicle Requirement) had plummeted, competitors had been getting stronger and reputations were suffering.

“Driving is such a tough job, which is the same for everyone in this industry. We give our drivers a £200,000 piece of kit, and they have to be responsible for passenger safety, run to a timetable, deal with traffic and take cash – while at the same time expecting them to be constantly cheerful. Drivers always felt the brunt when fares rose.”

Fares

Giles was keen to stress the relationship between fares and growth. “The industry as a whole is proud of passenger satisfaction but if you home in on the components, value for money is still pretty low.

First is determined to improve that.

Towards the end of 2012 we started gaining experience of reducing fares and we’re new going to introduce the concept more extensively – and

it will be much more where we believe it will generate adequate growth.”

“Ticketing is important too,” he said. “Our new Almex machines accept smartcards and EMV on each vehicle across the whole fleet outside London.

“We’re going to launch an EMV trial. I see it as the future. It allows us to offer capping – it can be far more sophisticated than Oyster. In time we’ll be able to target offers to individual routes and passengers.

“I’m determined to develop multi-operator partnerships with local authorities. EMV is a valuable tool to attract usage.”

It is perhaps worth noting that EMV is a global standard for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology, taking its name from the card schemes Europay, MasterCard, and Visa which developed it. The standard covers the processing of credit and debit card payments using a card containing a microprocessor chip at a payment terminal.

Deregulation vs. Regulation

As someone who has undoubtedly been successful both professionally and financially since 1986, it may come as no surprise when asked which side of the regulatory fence he stands, Giles responded:

“Personally, I’m convinced deregulation is the best model.”

He added: “Passenger satisfaction demonstrates it alone. Living in times when local authority funds are under pressure and likewise individual members of the public, a business model which can be responsive is key.

“Yes, over the years there have been issues in some areas where competition has got out of hand but I can’t understand any local authority contemplating a Quality Contract (QC). Bus companies want to carry passengers – that to me is a driver in itself. London is a special case – comparisons in the main are not relevant.

“There are so many examples – and I hope increasingly so from First – of local bus companies delivering satisfaction and serving well their respective markets.”

Recalling his experience of working in a UK provincial regulated bus environment, Giles said: “Pre 1986 was clearly a different model to QCs in that operators had some freedom but the sheer scale of funding available to local authorities meant operators were not running in the real world.

As a senior accountant in the industry then, my brownie points came from how much money I could get from local authorities rather than passengers. As a result,

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the industry thought it was efficient but it wasn’t. Either the tax payer, passenger or both paid for that inefficiency.

“There were some well-run companies but they ran to the cost model because the driver was to not reduce costs. The main business driver was to meet local authority requirements to earn the maximum payments. As a result, businesses remained static.”

Partnerships

“One of my absolute objectives upon joining First was to work ever closer with local authorities.

Legislation introduced in recent years has given us grater scope for partnerships. We can be an enabler and a problem solver with them, such as reducing congestion, helping to meet environmental objectives and supporting lifestyles.

“I want to demonstrate First is up for deep partnership work – I want First to be the partner of choice and for it to be trusted to deliver.”

Keen to stress the “huge amount” of partnership working which has gone on for some years, both route and network specific, Giles described South Hampshire’s Eclipse (see p40) as a prime example. “It’s been a huge investment for us.”

However, Giles added: “The one I’m very excited about is Sheffield, which until I’m told otherwise, is the deepest and most comprehensive partnership to date in terms of its scope and its sheer scale. All partners are very committed. It’s particularly exciting because the City Council is wholly committed to the bus and to this end is working with us on bus priority measures, not to mention its programme of infrastructure works. Sheffield recently signed a 25-year PFI deal which will see all its roads resurfaced over the next five years.

“Buses and trams used to be fundamental to the economic lifeblood of Sheffield. It’s seen as a publicly co-ordinated network. It may be First or Stagecoach for example but it’s all the same publicly, which includes multi-operator ticketing on some corridors.

“It’s given us confidence.

Launched on October 26, it’s came together rapidly. I’d like to see it as a blueprint going forward, particularly the support of the highways authorities. Each area has its own challenges.

“We’ve now submitted to the

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DfT a bid for Sheffield to be one of the ‘Better Bus Area 2’ schemes, which will become available from late 2013. Sheffield is particularly close to my heart. The city has had desperate economic times and the bus network had deteriorated, but that’s changing.”

Local identity

As we all know, local identity is something the ‘big five’ operators all do in different ways. With CBW having reported the gradual introduction of the new local branding, what are Giles’ thoughts on the matter?

“Local identity should be very prominent – I wanted to shout about it. Putting local identities on buses means the local management team is responsible.

“The senior team came up with the branding – Barbara Bedford and her team. There is also a little roundel near the door announcing ‘This bus is cared for by Hunslet depot’ for example. It’s our equivalent of shed allocation plates

on steam engines in the days of British Railways.

“We’re really demonstrating we now have a local model for our businesses. It goes back to my West Yorkshire Roadcar experiences – buses are local. Politicians, customers and staff like to be associated with local brands.

“Why the model we’ve chosen?

We’re proud to be FirstGroup – we didn’t want to loose that identity.

We don’t want to waste money for the sake of it either. At Blazefield we ended up wasting lots of money on having to prematurely repaint vehicles where we had a different livery for each network.

“Over the next few years we will continue with our massive investment programme, which will lead to cascades within the fleet as happened this year.”

Span of control

Having told Giles career-minded young managers were eagerly anticipating reading this interview, and with First’s well-known

Above: 12 months ago First invited offers for parts of its business, including Chester. Below: Recent investmet – ADL E200s for Bath’s route 13

historical centralised structure, what does his ‘localism’ mean to managers? How far does local decision making go? What sort of decisions can now be made by local Operations Managers for example?

“The business model now created is very much locally-driven.

Local managers have responsibility for local authority relationships.

While I and others will become involved, the very best proposals came from the coal face.

“Previously the organisation was too escalated to headquarters in Aberdeen when it came to fares and network decisions. It wasn’t all bad in the past but there was certainly too much central influence on decisions of all shapes and sizes.

You don’t have to change much to tip the balance. People can use the ‘decision from Aberdeen’ as an excuse. We require and expect managers to manage locally.”

Despite the local branding, management jobs for the Group still appear to cover a large geographical area. Asked about the large regions – Hereford and Essex being in the same grouping for example – Giles replied: “We’ve got over 80 depots.

We need a structure to effectively manage these. Each depot cannot support the functions and skills it needs and increasingly they’re being provided regionally rather than nationally from headquarters.

There is a lot of commonality between regions, such as PTE areas of the North of England, so it makes sense to share resources. The key is for management structures to be strengthened.

“Everyone has a boss. If the local Operations Manager wants to make timetable changes, he or she can talk to the commercial team. The key is that now, the local team, including drivers, are part of the decision making process. They must contribute to the decision – whether it’s a network change or a five pence fare increase. Previously, the first the local staff knew of such changes was when the duties were posted.

“Something I’ve been very conscious of is the lack of supervision out on the road. Put simply, the ratio of supervisors to drivers was too few. As a result, Staff Development Coaches (SDC) have been introduced in the Northern Region. The aim of the new SDC role is to improve driving standards and we’re beginning to see lower staff turnover. It’s fundamental but whole ranks of staff had gone www.coachandbusweek.com

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FACE TO FACE › GILES FEARNLEY

in the cuts. The SDCs are great for morale too – we can use them as a communication channel.”

Supplier partnerships

“We’re developing partnerships with suppliers, which includes working with some great engineers.

We’re determined to be successful – and that means we can’t work in isolation,” explained Giles.

“I believe we’re ahead of our peers in the way we work with the major manufacturers. If you like, the hassle we give them in telling them what we want,” he mused.

“Since I’ve joined I’ve seen a sea change – there was a lot of resistance initially. We’ve now effectively designed our own interior for the Wright-bodied Volvo B9TLs which were engaged on Olympic duties and are now with our provincial operating companies. This is based on what works for our customers in terms of safety, such as not putting people in vulnerable areas and colour coding. The manufacturers have really supported us. We found an increased number of customer incidents on some vehicle types, so we’re now retrofitting them with additional grab rails for example.

“What should a 21st century bus look like? It’s the sort of work we did on the 36s at Blazefield.”

Technology

“The two things I’m passionate about in terms of technology are apps and WiFi. While I want apps to be increasingly valuable and give passengers confidence in their service, we must not become fixated by technology as not all passengers will have access to it.

That said the technology really moves the bus forward into the 21st century in terms of perception.

“We’ve piloted a new app in our Hampshire division, which we plan to roll out across the UK soon.

“I’m also excited about WiFi on vehicles. Again, there is a huge opportunity for the bus. We all value our time, whatever that means for each of us, be it emails or games. In a sense WiFi and apps are connected. With a number of vehicles already equipped with WiFi, we will soon be able to offer it across the fleet in Hampshire and Bristol thanks to the government’s BBA1 (Better Bus Area) funding.

“For marketing purposes, I feel it’s better to have whole networks fitted rather than individual routes.

Certainly in the next five years I www.coachandbusweek.com

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Giles said Leeds to Bradford is the perfect corridor for ftrs, but he doesn’t see any further orders for the futuristic vehicles in the medium term would like to see our entire UK bus fleet to be fitted with WiFi.” Asked about technology on the cusp, Giles said “fuel and power.”

“We run over 100 hybrids and more batches are due for delivery this year in Basildon, Chelmsford and Slough. We’re learning huge amounts about hybrids. There are marketing opportunities too.

“However, hybrids cannot be the long-term solution – we’re now looking at electric power. We’re having preliminary discussions with local authorities about piloting it. Again, this will help to change the perception of the bus. Hybrids partly do it but battery buses, which have been around since the 1970s, are now at the point where they can be viable. I will be disappointed if we don’t announce something in the coming months.

“We want to be innovative – not just with technology but in terms of networks. I want to push the boundaries, not only with local authorities but major employers and developers. I want us to be up there. We see engineers as a hugely important part of our structure.”

Ever the voice of reason, Giles warned: “We must not underestimate the cost and risk associated with electric buses.”

The future of UK Bus

“We’ll complete the transformation and I’m confident we will deliver passenger growth across the business at the top of the industry leader board. We will do that by consistently delivering value for money and reliable services which meet customer needs.

“We are already a major operator of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) schemes. I don’t see us ordering

further ftrs in the medium term.

Leeds to Bradford is a perfect application for them – a high-profile corridor, with plenty of road space, running at a high frequency. We saw volume growth in their first eight weeks. Clearly, we’ll look at other BRT opportunities but we will only develop them in partnership with local authorities.”

With Chester and Wigan having apparently been declared ‘non-core’ in First’s disposal policy, what does Giles define as a ‘core business’?

“I can’t say too much at the moment. Once we reach the end of the programme our strategy will be much clearer. 12 months ago we carefully reviewed our whole business and decided to invite offers for some parts.”

On perhaps a more positive note, Giles was keen to stress: “We’re fundamentally dedicated to developing our businesses. In that respect, we’re fortunate to be the major operator in eight of the 17 most densely populated conurbations outside London.

“We’re currently focussing on our existing businesses – we’ve got to remain ahead of the local authority savings. While we will expand in the future should opportunities arise, for now we’re focussing on our existing businesses.”

Fleet

With many in the industry perceiving First has not invested in its fleet at the same level of some of its peers and the seemingly greater proportion of ADL products currently entering a fleet where the Volvo/Wright combination once appeared to reign to supreme, how does Giles feel about vehicle procurement?

“We’re bang on target with the DDA deadline. By March 2013 we will have taken 950 buses since April 2011. We are going to announce further orders soon.

“We will also be splitting orders 50/50 between Volvo/Wrights and ADL. That doesn’t infer any criticisms or concerns, it is just good logic for a fleet of our size.

The majority of our new vehicle intake for the next two years will be single-deckers. This isn’t a policy change – the double-deck replacement programme was skewed due to both the Olympics and TfL contracts.”

Government wants

Asked what he would like from government, Giles replied: “One word – stability. There continues to be a lot of noise around QCs, but as more partnerships develop, we are moving away from that threat.

“Everyone has to take a hit, but it would be good for our industry to have at least a breather.

“Local authority tendering is not good at the moment, with the dreaded e-tendering. An unstable network is a sure fire way to reduce passenger journeys. Clearly, there has to be a balance for affordability.

“Partnerships help local authorities and local businesses, while councillors need to understand the effects cuts to services can have.”

Giles also brought up the controversial issue of concessionary fares. “The fact reimbursement has been delegated to so many authorities is hugely timeconsuming. I appreciate in the present climate how difficult it can be to balance the books for any local authority but the industry has to be properly and fairly reimbursed for the very many concessionary passengers it carries.”

Competition inquiries

Asked for his thoughts on the controversial and costly inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading into the bus industry and its referral to the Competition Commission, Giles responded: “It was heartening ultimately that the Transport Select Committee felt partnership working was the best solution and that QCs should be purely a last resort.

“I can understand the idea that competition is good for the consumer but in a bus context, there are some networks which simply aren’t strong enough to sustain two or more operators.”

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OPERATOR PROFILE › NORTH OF ENGLAND

Dave Alexander, First UK Bus MD for the North of England

Forging a better legacy James Day meets with Dave Alexander, First’s regional MD for the north of England, to find out more about the extensive service delivery improvements and importance of partnerships in FirstGroup’s largest regional bus division www.coachandbusweek.com

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W

hile it’s fair to say First has had mixed fortunes in recent months, the North region is one from which many positives can be taken. With a peak vehicle requirement of over 2,000, the North is the largest of First’s regional divisions, with 6,700 staff employed.

The north division of First consists of three key areas – South Yorkshire (PVR approx. 500), West Yorkshire (PVR 1000) and Manchester (PVR 700), along with a smaller component in York, with approximately 100 buses including a park and ride network.

After navigating a road system purposely designed to confuse my sat-nav, I met Dave Alexander, Regional Managing Director for

First in the north of England, at the Hunslet Depot in Leeds. It is one of two depots the operator uses in the city and a relatively new premises, built in 2008...

Service Delivery

First in the North has been putting considerable effort into improving its service delivery. This continues to include consultation with passengers in both Greater Manchester and Yorkshire, each of which have seen £20m investments in approximately 100 vehicles.

“An enormous amount of work was put into understanding what customers wanted,” Dave said. “We used their feedback to redesign our current product.

“It’s all part of our strategy to improve the overall proposition for the customer and improve service delivery. We want to make sure customers experience what they

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are supposed to.”

Disabled customers and parents were some of the groups consulted.

Based on their feedback, First ensured the front entrances of the buses would be spacious and easier to use for wheelchair-bound passengers and parents with pushchairs. The fleet in Leeds is now 100% lowfloor.

“On top of the 200 vehicles introduced in September and October, approximately 600 more have been refurbished and rebranded to support work on the overground high frequency bus network. By the end of this financial year we will have refreshed around half of the fleet on the busiest services throughout the North Region.”

Manchester

In Manchester, First’s engagement with passengers is particularly clear

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and the local authority Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has given the operator plenty of praise.

On October 28, First introduced the first cross city bus service in Manchester for many years, linking Northern parts of the city with Universities and Hospitals situated south of the City Centre.

First worked closely in partnership with TfGM on the project. It aims to benefit tens of thousands of daily commuters travelling across the city to work and study, including staff at the MRI and nearby hospitals, as well as Manchester’s Universities.

TfGM said the opening of crosscity bus routes in Manchester is one of its primary goals to offer bus passengers a better and wider choice of travel alternatives. The University of Manchester also praised the move saying it will benefit staff and students.

A few weeks later on November 18, First significantly reduced fares in parts of Manchester. The reduction applied to buses within the M60 ring road, including Salford and Eccles (West), Swinton and Prestwich (North West), Cheetham Hill and Moston (North) and Heaton Park and Failsworth (North East). It also applies to operations in the Oldham Metropolitan Borough Area and buses travelling between Oldham and Manchester City Centre.

First had carried out a number of fare promotions in Greater Manchester over the summer months, which had resulted in an increase in passenger numbers.

The following new fares were introduced: FirstDayM60 and FirstDayOldham costing £3.90 (from £4.50) - a saving of approx 15%

FirstWeekM60 and FirstWeekOldham costing £13 (from £18) - down approx 27% Dave stated: “We have listened to our customers who have asked for financial incentives to use the bus more often.

“We will monitor the success of this significant fares promotion and if it is popular with our customers, we will consider rolling it out to other parts of the First bus network in Greater Manchester.”

West Yorkshire

First worked in partnership with West Yorkshire ITA (WYITA), Metro, Leeds City Council and Bradford Metropolitan District Council to establish a rapid transit style service between Leeds and Bradford, which was launched on October 24.

The first vehicles went into service on Sunday, October

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OPERATOR PROFILE › NORTH OF ENGLAND

28, linking Leeds, Armley, Bramley, Stanningley, Thornbury and Bradford along the existing service 72 route corridor.

First refurbished its fleet of Wright Streetcar vehicles for the service and rebranded them ‘Hyperlink’. The dark blue liveried articulated buses boast a range of extras such as free WiFi, leather seating and new ticketing systems.

Dave said: “The Bradford-Leeds corridor has grown consistently over the last two-three years. The frequency of service has been progressively increased from every 20 minutes to every 12, then 10, eight and now seven with the new Hyperlink service using the Streetcars.

“It’s been necessary because of corridor growth. The number of trips made every day on the corridor generally is a huge opportunity for modal shift, which has been supported by road infrastructure changes and improvements in a joint initiative with the local authority.”

First launched the service between Leeds and Bradford as part of a long term project with Metro and Bradford and Leeds Councils, which aims to help achieve future employment and population growth in Leeds and Bradford, support targeted regeneration initiatives and economic growth in some of the

Dave Alexander: a brief history

Current Regional Managing Director for First UK Bus in the North of England, Dave Alexander joined the coach and bus industry in 1986, with a coach operator called BTS Coaches based in North London.

The firm transformed into a bus company during the beginnings of tendered systems in London, before it was sold to Blazefield Holdings in 1992. Dave continued there until the year 2000, when he moved to Yorkshire after Blazefield disposed of the London business.

There, he headed up Yorkshire bus operations for Blazefield Group.

The business was acquired by Transdev in 2006.

Dave left Transdev in 2009 to join First, starting as MD for West Yorkshire, moving up to the Regional MD role when it became available in 2010.

“I joined the industry by accident,” Dave said. “It wasn’t a planned approach.

“The whole people thing fascinates me – I get pleasure out of seeing people develop and grow, even in these tough times.”

Below: Part of the Leeds fleet at the Hunslet depot, the new livery seen on the right hand deckers deckers

more deprived areas of Leeds and Bradford, and improve access for jobs and services, as well as reducing congestion on regional roads.

First invested £400,000 to refurbish the £6m fleet and give customer service training to staff, while undertaking a high profile marketing campaign along the corridor and in the local media.

Future phases of the project will consider the feasibility of new bus priority schemes to speed up and reduce the variability of journey times on the corridor and First has committed to reinvest any surplus resources as a result of these improvements into further frequency and network enhancements.

Dave added: “Hyperlink is an exciting, strategically important, partnership project which will bring significant economic and social benefits to Leeds and Bradford.

“We will continue to work with our partners at WYITA, Metro, Leeds and Bradford Councils to help us achieve our joint aim of achieving passenger growth leading to a more sustainable transport system in West Yorkshire.”

Also, Dave is working closely with other West Yorkshire bus operators, such as Arriva, Transdev and Centrebus, as part of the organisation known as ABOWY

(The Association of Bus Operators in West Yorkshire).

ABOWY is currently working with Metro to actively adopt a partnership approach to working in West Yorkshire. This includes proposed initiatives around such key topics as ticketing, service delivery and fares, among others.

South Yorkshire

The most significant development in the South Yorkshire area is the Sheffield Bus Partnership, which was recently endorsed by Norman Baker. The agreement includes improved fares, multi-operator tickets (passengers can expect to pay up to 23% less using the multioperator system) and improved coordination and information for services, including the city’s tram network.

Along with First, the voluntary partnership brings together South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), Sheffield City Council and operators Stagecoach Sheffield and Sheffield Community Transport. The city-wide agreement combined various legal powers to become the most complex and geographically far reaching partnership of its kind in the UK, with partners accountable to both the public and each other for service performance, which the parties involved agreed has made the network simpler, flexible and

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more convenient.

Sheffield also saw its own fare reduction on October 22, following a trial on 23 routes for three months. First said it would look at extending the promotion across its entire Sheffield network if it was a success and did so following positive passenger growth figures.

Sheffield FirstDay was reduced to £3.40 - a saving of £1.20, while Sheffield FirstWeek and FirstMonth saw significant reductions, from £18.50 to £11.00 and £65.90 to £42.00 respectively. A new Sheffield FirstWeek Student ticket was introduced at £7.00 and the maximum single fare within the Sheffield boundary was set at £2.00, with a 60p Sheffield student single fare within the same boundary.

Above: A Wright-bodied Volvo Hybrid in Leeds. Below: The new First livery being applied to vehicles as part of extensive fleet refurbishment

The Future

Partnership

Dave drew upon the importance of partnerships as something which can have a major impact on the quality of service delivery.

“I spent 18 months in Sheffield working on the bus partnership there,” he explained. “It’s a sustainable model, with all parties contributing which gives us certainty and sustainability and enables us to plan for the future.

“Our partnerships with two Yorkshire PTEs and TfGM are key because we believe we can contribute towards their agendas at the same time stimulating demand

First.North.indd 33

technology.

“Electric vehicle technology is something we’re evaluating, but we need full size electric vehicles capable of making the change without effecting capacity,” Dave stated.

“Local Authorities are looking to improve air quality and with the new vehicle technology being developed we can assist them.

Hopefully the technology BAE Systems is working towards [presented on the Greener Journeys stand at the 2012 Euro Bus Expo, CBW1062] will come in and contribute as well. We’ll continue to maximise the opportunities to deploy hybrid technology.in the meantime

and economic activity generally.

The partnership theme is at the heart of our commercial growth strategy.”

“Personally, I feel whatever is perceived as being theoretically deliverable by a Quality Contract arrangement can be achieved through a voluntary partnership.

Partnerships can deliver, but the parties involved have to have aligned objectives.

“All the ups and downs in a partnership are a test of its strength.”

Partnership was key for First in Leeds too, after it joined forces with other operators to allow more than 40,000 weekly passengers to use each operator’s bus tickets to travel on any bus on the A65 Bus corridor between Leeds City Centre and Kirkstall.

The improved A65 in Leeds was officially opened in September marking the completion of a new £21m public transport scheme, which has helped to ease congestion and make some

journeys to and from the city centre quicker and easier.

“The A65 corridor in Leeds is another demonstration of a partnership priority scheme which has been in development over a number of years,” Dave explained.

“We’ve been able to improve punctuation and reliability, along with frequency on the route, with the addition of a new £4m fleet.

“Now that the operators on the corridor accept each others tickets, all perceived barriers have been removed and we only have to worry about qualitative issues for the customer.

“The corridor is an excellent example of the bus achieving modal shift and we are already seeing passenger growth.”

Technology

While First’s recent vehicle acquisitions in the north carry on board WiFi, the possibly of electric buses seeing wider use in the future is what seemed most of interest to Dave in terms of breakthrough

Dave reiterated the importance of continually improving the company’s service delivery standards.

“We need to be brutally honest with where we start from,” he said.

“We have to get to the root cause of service delivery issues. It’s not just a case of dropping prices, there’s all the investment in new vehicles, better training etc – where we’re aiming to attain best in class status in terms of customer service – as well as efficient networks. All these changes we have made have been designed to address the issues we’ve come to better understand.

“Better Journeys for Life, our Promise to our customers, staff and partners sets the scene and is helping to improve things for the customer and for our teams internally.

“Every organisation has legacy issues to grapple with and trying to change perception is a huge challenge. We’ve made great inroads so far but it won’t change overnight.”

Looking at the wider industry, Dave seemed confident that the future is bright.

“If I look across this region, there are many different parts, with different challenges and opportunities in each,” he continued.

“The future is positive. There are challenges working with the austerity agendas of local authorities but the bus has got a huge role to play in helping to achieve sustained growth in towns and cities and I would describe the time ahead as a huge opportunity to get customer service and value for money right.”

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INSIGHT › GRADUATE PROGRAMME

G

raduate schemes are becoming integral to the larger operators as they guarantee a periodic influx of enthusiastic and capable

management.

FirstGroup’s scheme is typical of others, in that it is split between Engineering and Operations management. However, Justin Davies, Regional Managing Director South West and Wales, said emphasis was put on finding applicants with engaging personalities and ensuring they meet their potential.

“We make sure grads are suitably embedded; we don’t just plonk people into a position and expect them to get on. We encourage them to take a lead role and ensure they get a high level of engagement early on,” he said.

“Ideally the key skills we look for are those with an understanding of customer service and who are able to relate to others,” he added. “Good communication skills are essential.

Some people have come from Caption adia quae Tescopliqui for example while others doluptat do come from transport planning ut eatecto intur backgrounds. chap was a autem One eos et former DJ. Itquatusa just goes to show the quassit diversity of people we get through the course. First is looking for candidates with people skills, we can teach the technicalities.”

The Technicalities

First looks for potential graduates with an understanding of customer services and good communication skills

Putting people �irst

Alex Tyler and James Day provide an overview of the graduate schemes provided by FirstGroup and talk to Justin Davies and First graduate Vicky Tomlinson about the particulars of the scheme www.coachandbusweek.com

First.GraduateProg.indd 34

Upon application, all graduates have an initial choice between the Bus or Rail divisions but the development path, in either Operations or Engineering management, is largely the same for both divisions.

The Engineering scheme involves 12 months training, followed by a further 12 months of focused, hands-on experience.

Once completed, graduates receive a further two years’ monitored support in a management role whilst working towards Chartered Engineer status. In terms of technical skills, First looks for mechanical, electrical and electronic graduate engineers with a BEng or MEng (minimum 2:2) accredited by IMechE or IET. Graduate engineers follow a route called the Monitored Professional Engineering Development Scheme. This will enable them to complete the first stage of their professional development, become a corporate member of the Institute of

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Mechanical Engineers and register with the Engineering Council as a ‘Chartered Engineer’ or ‘Incorporated Engineer’.

Applicants are assigned a Chartered (or Incorporated) Engineer – of any discipline – as a mentor who sets and reviews all the key objectives which help develop the graduates’ engineering and business competencies. The mentor also assesses their progress and provides feedback to the Engineering Institution.

In regards to operations management, the scheme consists of a mix of shadowing and project work. This practical knowledge is underpinned by theoretical knowledge of operations and staff management, gained from a number of training courses.

“In the first year, graduates experience both our Bus and Rail divisions to introduce them to the business as a whole, spending six months in their chosen division followed by 3-6 months in the other division,” said Justin. Graduates spend the entire second year in their chosen division and have the chance to undertake short placements with functions like Procurement, HR, Finance, Safety and Marketing/Comms.

In addition, internal courses which cover Core Safety Briefing, Security & Disability Awareness, PCV Licence acquisition and depot knowledge are also provided.

First also funds study on an MBA programme.

All UK Bus Management Trainees are expected to gain a standard ‘Operators Licence’ or ‘O’ Licence.

This will only be granted once they have gained their Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

“Over the two years applicants are basically sheep dipped in the business,” explained Justin. “This is in contrast to those who have already been in the industry, as it can be argued they may not have the total view of the business, it’s likely they specialised in a particular area. We try to give the graduates as much depth and perspective as possible and ensure they get a lot of operational knowledge in a concentrated period. It’s a very fast accumulation of information.”

junior management position and take the lead in various projects and add value to our management structures.

“Every April and September we have knowledgeable people who can hit the ground running.

It provides us with a pipeline of experience, freshness and knowledge. It enables us to keep the flow of management, which the group benefits from.

“Over a number of years we have had graduates in key director positions,” he added. “There’s a lot of value and talent coming through.

It’s been a tremendous success for the business because of the people who deliver.”

As for the graduates themselves,

“I started on the scheme in 2006 and it was great. I could see all aspects of the business, but the best part was getting my own licence. It changed people’s attitude towards me when they realised I could drive a bus.”

Vicky Tomlinson

Benefits

Asked about the benefits of the scheme to First, Justin said: “At the end, they have a good level of skill and knowledge to fulfil a

First.GraduateProg.indd 35

Top: A graduate drives a First vehicle. Above: Vicky Tomlinson

Justin enthused that ultimately, what is good for the graduates is good for the company.

“We give our grads the option to do an MBA through the Open University to help encourage personal development, because we will benefit. Ultimately we are looking for more as are the graduates, so we offer vocational training also.”

Vicky Tomlinson

A standout individual from the First graduate scheme is Vicky Tomlinson, 29, who is currently Operations Manager at the Queens Road depot in Manchester, where she is in charge 322 drivers and 126 buses. Recently, Vicky was nominated for the Young Manager of the year Award, sponsored by CILT, at the 2012 UK Bus Awards.

“I’m not into fuss, although it’s lovely to have something recognised,” she said. “I can’t do my job without the team and I didn’t want to make it seem like I didn’t appreciate them.

“I won north region manager of the year within First and got put forward for the UKBA after that. It was good to meet other people in the industry.”

Vicky stated that her passion is people and this was what drew her to the coach and bus industry over the many other offers on the table.

“In the last year of university we were all getting bombarded by companies looking for graduates,” she explained. “First stood out because the industry was more people based, while I thought other industries looked dull.

“I started on the scheme in 2006 and it was great. I could see all the different aspects of the business, but the best part was getting my own licence. It changed people’s attitude towards me when they realised I could drive a bus.

“I went to Halifax and Huddersfield and took up the role of Operations Manager for our Yellow School bus operation, run in partnership with Metro.

“It has about 140 yellow school buses and a similar number of drivers, but the split location was a challenge. It’s a really important service. If you deliver it well you can turn the children you take into long term passengers who hopefully go on to use the bus forever. The drivers there get additional training for this purpose.”

“I then went to Manchester. I’ve been at the Queens Road depot

since September 3 and it’s the biggest challenge of my life – a high pressure, busy environment.”

Vicky worked under Matt Davies, now Operations Director at Stagecoach Manchester, and Ben Gilligan, now Service Delivery Director for First in South and North Yorkshire. Vicky said both had been a great help in showing her the ropes, with Ben taking the role of mentor due to his previous involvement in the same scheme.

“Ben Gilligan was a busy person but always made time for me,” Vicky said. “He acted as a mentor, as he went through the graduate scheme too. It was nice to have a face or person to go to for support and I hope people who work for me think they can go to me for support too.”

With people being the key focus for Vicky, she explained that her management style is to spend as much time with her staff as possible – she is not one to stay put in the office.

“Dealing with the majority of people is a case of approach,” she said. “You need to acknowledge they have more experience and be willing to use their experience.

While much of the industry has changed, a lot is still the same.

Drivers who have been involved in it for a while have lots of valuable experience and it’s important to let them know you appreciate them.

“I’m trying to turn around morale and make them feel appreciated.

It’s easy to just sit in an office, particularly as my office is upstairs and the stairs can serve as a barrier if you’re not careful, while other depots are a single level. I try to make sure I go downstairs as much as possible.”

While the industry is certainly not what Vicky anticipated she would be involved with prior to leaving university, it is certainly going above and beyond her expectations now.

“The job is never boring,” she stated. “I plan out some things and can’t get them done because it’s so unpredictable. I like not knowing what’s coming.

“I don’t really know what I did expect going into this role but it wasn’t this. I have grown to love the industry and don’t have plans to do anything else. I like being on the frontline with the operations side – it’s a very challenging role and I don’t want to move on from it until I have made the difference I feel I can make. My focus remains improving my engagement with staff.”

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THE BIG PICTURE

The surviving remnant of First’s once much-trumpted Greyhound UK operation is the popular link between Cardiff and Swansea. As outlined on p18, CEO Tim O’Toole said a “big move to coach services” is not part of the Group’s future plans. Perhaps the South Wales service has survived due to the fact it was a long-established route which was upgraded to Greyhound standard on September 20, 2010.

What was once the high-profile Shuttle 100 service run for many years by Duple 425s is now the preserve of dedicated Irizar PBbodied Scanias. An example of the latter, ‘YN55PXF’ – or 23315 in First’s national fleet numbering system – is seen at Cardiff Central Bus Station September 2011. Today the service operates direct via M4, its only diversion being to serve the popular McArthurGlen designer outlet shopping ‘village’ just off junction 36 of the M4 at Bridgend.

The 40-mile trip is scheduled to take an hour. The off-peak adult return fare is competitive with the train service – £6.00 vs £8.20.

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FACE TO FACE › BOB WARD

Driving change through for the workforce James Day meets Bob Ward, Employee Director for First in West and North Yorkshire, a unique role which sees him represent the interests of staff with the operator’s board of directors

T

he role of ‘Employee Director’ is something which you may not be familiar with.

The position has more in common with a union representative than a director, with the primary aim to give First’s staff a voice which is heard right at the top of the company in its board of directors.

Bob Ward is an industry veteran from the ground up, starting in the industry before he was even old enough to drive.

“I started in 1970 as a bus conductor, as you couldn’t drive until you were 21 then,” he said. “I learnt to drive on buses – it was the first vehicle I drove. I did all the training in a fortnight, driving all the time to practice and felt brilliant afterwards.

“There was no power assisted steering when I started, so a lot of people wouldn’t have been able to drive those buses.

“I was a shop steward from 1980-1986, after which I did 10 years on nights. Nightbuses used to be full back then.

“In 1996 I came off nights and went back to day shifts.

“The industry has kept me in regular employment all my life. Other industries around here, such as steel, could have left me needing to start my career over from scratch.”

Campaigning for the job Getting the Employee Director position was also process quite alien compared with others in the boardroom. Bob was successful www.coachandbusweek.com

First.Ward.indd 38

not because of a successful managerial CV, but because he put in the legwork running a campaign similar to what is seen in the political world.

“The Employee Director role was something I wanted to put in for as soon as I saw it,” Bob stated. “I’m involved with people all the time and always hearing things people say and wanted to put something back in.

“I had to win an election to get the role. I had an interview with the board with all sorts of questions asked, then put together a sort of CV and went around every garage.

“Some places I went to at 0430hrs. I felt like a politician almost, putting myself out to canvas everyone I could. In the end I was successful and was elected in 2010.”

Across First’s operations in the north, Bob represents between 2000-2500 people in each of West & North Yorkshire, and he works with two colleagues who hold similar roles in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire: “People sometimes I forget I represent all staff - even Dave Alexander!” he joked.

A unique role

“My job entails representing staff at board meetings and various committees and then reporting back,” Bob explained. “I try to remember people and get to know them, and if people want speak with me and raise concerns out of work time I’m happy to go along.

It can be hard to feedback to them as I’m still getting to grips with

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NAME: Bob Ward POSITION: Employee Director, First West and North Yorkshire CONTACT: 0845 604 5460 www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/leeds computers, and I much prefer if someone sends me texts or emails and I’ll answer these.

“I meet with the board once every two weeks in a boardroom and have a conference call with them every other week.

“I try to bring the reality of what’s happening in the business to board.

If anything comes to a vote I know I could be outvoted, but I’m trying to build a measure of trust with the board and have some influence on people. I want them to take on board things I’m saying.

“Whichever way the vote goes - I still absolutely love the job.”

Small changes, big difference

Bob Ward’s job involves representing staff at meetings and reporting back

While pushing through large sweeping changes may be a tall order, there have been some smaller things put in place to help drivers which have been very successful. Bob said he is currently pressing the board to establish a cycle to work scheme and attempting to have drivers given water bottles, starting in Sheffield following on from a recent success there with driver uniform.

“Small things can make a

difference. A good example is what happened with driver’s footwear in Sheffield.

“A Staff Manager noticed an otherwise smart looking driver with no shoelaces on his shoes.

When he asked the driver about it, he replied “uniform issued,” and of course the Staff Manager made sure the drivers had proper shoelaces supplied to them.

“At a later date, he saw the same driver, still immaculately dressed, with shoelaces, but scuffed shoes.

When this was pointed out, the driver again said “uniform issued,” only this time the Staff Manager said “if you think I’m supplying every driver with their own shoe cleaning kit you’ve got another

Bob Ward learned to drive a bus as his first motor vehicle

UKBA:

think coming.”

“However, in the end, every driver in Sheffield did get given one and the seemingly small change has made a big difference to the driver’s presentation.”

Bob stressed how effective it can be assigning drivers to the same service each day. He also said the Better Journeys for Life initiative needs more driver involvement at some level. “We need to work at the engagement at the ground floor level,” he exlained. “Directors need to go out more and see the drivers and managers need to be taking a greater interest.”

“Managers are beginning to consider putting drivers on the same bus and promoting interaction with passengers.

This was done on the Leeds to Morley route and the consistent drivers have seen takings increase significantly.

“I like to introduce myself to my passengers, say “Hello, I’m your driver” and let them know they’re in safe hands before leaving the station.

“It’s the good and the bad which people remember, so let’s make our service good.”

First’s success story

First Charity in the Community initiative in West and North Yorkshire won the 2012 UK Bus Award for Bus and the Community.

The scheme involves front line staff, mainly bus drivers, who lead the drive to engage with local communities and choose worthy causes to receive charity donations from First. These nominations then go before a committee who decide which causes should receive the funding.

Since the scheme was launched in January 2011, the committee has distributed more than £100,000 to local charities. This has benefited some 75 charities from local children’s football teams, to organisations which support the elderly and the sick, as well as charities assisting people with learning difficulties.

Bob Ward is a charity committee member and picked up the award himself with Leeds driver Harry Facey.

Bob said: “When they announced the winner it was completely unexpected; I was so surprised I didn’t get out of my seat for a while. It’s a fantastic thing to win.

“This money makes a real difference in the communities we serve and our dedicated staff who work tirelessly, often in their own time, should be proud of their efforts.

“When the scheme first started we didn’t really know each other, but we work well as a team now, with monthly meetings either face to face or through conference call.

“It’s given us great ammunition to push through more of same.”

(L-R): First UK Bus PR manager Duncan McGraw, driver Harry Facey and Bob Ward accepting their award First enjoyed further success at the 2012 UKBAs, securing the Environmental Award for its ‘Small Changes, Big Difference’ campaign.

The campaign started in August 2011 with the aim to improve the environmental awareness of depot staff.

The scheme included the creation of an environmental competition with incentives and league tables to encourage all teams to take part in improving their performance.

Every quarter, First produces regional environmental league tables showing the position of each site based on their waste recycling and energy management. The winning depots receive a prize in the value of £300, which is used to purchase any goods to benefit the depot staff or to improve their working environment.

As a result waste recycling increased by 10% across the company and bus depots used 7% less electricity compared to 2010/11, which aided First in achieving the Carbon Trust Standard. www.coachandbusweek.com

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INSIGHT › FIRST SOUTH WEST

Working with councils and customers Coach & Bus Week’s Alex Tyler speaks to Regional Commercial & Business Growth Director for First South West & Wales Marc Reddy, Councillor Mel Kendal and Head of Passenger Transport for Hampshire County Council Peter Shelley about the highly successful Eclipse partnership and First’s other operations in the region

T

he industry has seen a reduction in funding from councils across the nation and the ability to work with local authorities is certainly being put under strain as a result. However, in the South West, First is enjoying a robust relationship with a number of councils in the region.

Having begun his career in 1987 as a part time conductor with Badger Vectis and worked his way through a series of First senior management positions to his current role as Regional Commercial & Business Growth Director, Marc Reddy is familiar with all aspects of the industry.

Asked on how the current political and economical issues have affected business and relationships with local councils, he replied: “It’s been challenging for the whole industry.

The changes in government spending have certainly put pressure on costs. A number of local authorities have made cuts whereas others have made an attempt to maintain their funding.

We’ve seen negative changes in some places but we recognise the local authorities funding is finite.

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“Good relations with stakeholder are important to a good bus business.”

Notably, Hampshire County Council and First have a partnership agreement which sees profit-sharing re-invested into the highly successful Eclipse network whilst Transport for South Hampshire brings together Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council to ensure the region’s network can operate reliably and efficiently.

Eclipse

The Eclipse Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between Fareham and Gosport is perhaps the most prominent First operation in the region and highlights the benefits of working in partnership with local authorities. On April 25, 2012 Phase 1 of the scheme was officially launched following the start of public service a few days earlier.

The peninsula’s main A32 link is regarded as amongst one of the county’s most congested and the BRT scheme allows buses to bypass this.

The unused rail corridor was previously considered for Light Rapid Transit but the scheme was defeated by rising costs.

With targets set for higher rates of economic growth, public transport was seen as key to addressing accessibility problems in the area and helping to make it more economically viable and competitive.

Marc Reddy said: “Overall it’s been a great success story and a fabulous partnership which is delivering passenger growth across the board and 16% growth on the route itself. However, it has not always been an easy path to deliver but having spoken to customers the reaction has been overwhelming, even my five-year-old says it is awesome. Initial reactions have been very positive from teenagers commenting that the WiFi is better than at home and some older

residents asking if they can use their passes as the new buses look to good to be service buses.”

“In addition, a recent survey revealed 25% of passengers use the service for business reasons. Which is excellent for supporting the local economy,” he added.

Peter Shelley said: “We approached First through the South Hampshire Bus Operators’ Association (SHBOA) which represents the local operators.

This part of the county is the First hinterland so a joint venture with them was highly sought after.

“They provided vehicles and drivers and introduced a dedicated weekly ticket, which wasn’t there before.

“The route helps serve the rail

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Giles Fearnley, Marc Reddy and Mel Kendal pictred in one of the luxurious Wrightbodied Eclipse buses

and ferry network and there are through tickets available. Bus use has increased so we are hoping this means more folk are out and about. People are clearly switching to the service, it’s very good for accessibility and has opened up the whole peninsular.”

Following public consultation, planning applications and extensive wildlife mitigation measures, construction of Phase 1 of the Bus Rapid Transit system between Fareham and Gosport, began in 2009, but the construction of the busway was not without controversy. Concerns were raised about wildlife habitats, and a legal challenge against the planning process adopted for the scheme, went to the High Court, Appeal

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Court and finally the Supreme Court where it was only dismissed in November 2011.

“There was some considerable legal work regarding the route, primarily regarding concerns for the wildlife,” commented Peter.

“It was a drawn out process, but ultimately, we had done the right thing with minimum impact to habitats. The system has been so successful and we are delighted with it.”

In spite of numerous challenges, both legal and technical, the busway was completed within budget and the majority of the linked infrastructure works were delivered within the expected construction timescales, albeit slightly later than originally hoped.

“Our customer panels have been very well received.

Customers provide a real expert view on what’s happening on our services both good and in need of improvement. We have to provide good quality, to lure people from their cars.”

Marc Reddy

“The total cost of Phase 1 was £25m, £20m of which was from the Community Infrastructure Fund, administered by the Homes and Communities Agency. The remainder was funded from the Hampshire County Council capital programme,” said Councillor Mel Kendal, Executive Member for Environment and Transport.

The new busway uses 3.4km of the former rail alignment before the two main routes fan out to offer doorstep services across Gosport.

At the northern end, buses drop down from the busway to serve Fareham rail station using traffic signal priority. Buses leaving Fareham bus station gain a new bus lane to the busy A32 roundabout and an impressive new bus lane along the A27.

In addition to the new 3.4km carriageway, busway construction included a new bridge at Newgate Lane, 14 new bus stops with raised access kerbs, high quality shelters, real-time passenger information displays including rail and ferry times provided by Vix Technology along with travel and local news and weather, push button information points, mapping and local information pillars. Realtime information is now available from a dedicated website, a new smartphone app and through QR codes at all 134 bus stops.

Seats, lighting and 34 cycle parking spaces have also been provided, all monitored by CCTV. 16 of these spaces are in covered and lit cycle shelters.

Additional work included 2.3km of acoustic fencing and 2.2km other fencing, 2.4 hectares of new landscape planting to provide one for one reinstatement of vegetation removed during the site clearance phase of the project, construction of three artificial badger sets and relocation of badgers and extensive trapping out and relocation of reptiles.

Buses operate from 0530 to 2300hrs (0630 on Sundays) with a combined weekday daytime frequency of eight buses an hour on the two Eclipse routes, E1 and E2. Outside these times, the busway is closed by barriers with CCTV monitoring. Cyclists and emergency services may use the busway which is also patrolled by the police and neighbourhood safety teams.

“Partnership has been key to the delivery of Eclipse. The current project is intended to see a network established across

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INSIGHT › FIRST SOUTH WEST

the area and SHBOA has been involved from the start,” said Peter Shelley.

First has been the principal partner and has shown strong commitment, being fully involved in all aspects of marketing, service design and vehicle specification. In addition, the group invested £2.5m in 14 new Wright-bodied Volvo B7RLE single deckers in the striking purple and gold Eclipse livery designed by Best Impressions.

“We worked hard to create a dedicated brand and feel for the vehicles, we worked with Ray Stenning of Best Impressions and the late Robert Mason of Wrightbus,” added Marc Reddy.

“The buses are making a big impact. Passengers have found them to be very luxurious with their leather seats, wood-effect flooring, under seat lighting and WiFi. They also have on board next stop audio announcements as well as real time stop arrival information,” said Mel. Asked about the partnership with First, Peter said: “We are very impressed with how First has worked, nothing was too much trouble for them and they have given a lot of attention to the project.”

“There are monthly meetings to deal with any operational issues and service developments.

Launching the service was the start rather than the end of the process and we are working together to develop the route further.”

As for the future: “There is the A3 Zip corridor (Waterlooville to Portsmouth) in the works. We hope to roll it out to be a network alongside upgrading the current road measures. It’s really a whole family of services and we want to bring it all together,” commented Peter.

“We have been successful in obtaining funding from the Better Bus Area fund and the Local Sustainable Transport fund. As a result, buses across the area are WiFi equipped and will shortly gain next stop passenger display and announcement systems with funding in place for an area-wide bus multi-modal smartcard covering all local bus operators.

This will build on the Solent Travelcard and incorporate local services.”

“We have pulled together as much as possible,” he added. “At the moment we are enjoying a 20-year high in bus use but aside from backing winners we also aim to provide help for rural routes.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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Above: Passengers board a First service operating along Mhinehead seafront. Below: The Jurassic Coast route has it’s own unique livery

Vehicles

The award-winning X53 Jurassic Coast route enjoys support from Devon County Council and Dorset County Council.

“We have developed the route in partnership with the Local Councils and managed to grow the service, in terms of vehicle quality and also destinations served“ said Marc. “It’s quiet this time of year, but it’s very popular in the summer months and everyone recognises the dedicated livery.”

In regards to vehicle choice for the Group Marc said: “It’s really horses for courses, take the X53 for example, we used to use Scanias on the route but now it’s Volvos.

The key element is finding a light bus with good fuel economy which can provide a positive customer experience, the latter being a vital ingredient into any decision regarding bus type.”

Recently First introduced a number of Enviro200s to its routes including seven for Bath, 10 for Southampton and eight are due for Swansea services in the next few

months.

“We also have eight ADL E400 hybrids which we are very proud of,” added Marc. “These were partly funded by the Green Bus Fund and we will certainly be looking into applying for the latest batch of funding which has been announced.

We are always looking at continuing to invest in in greener technology.

“Every vehicle currently has driver performance system DriveGreen fitted,” he continued.

“We have seen changes in driving characteristics which helps a lot in terms of emissions, local air quality and customer experience.”

Customers and Initiatives

“Bus users are customers, not passengers,” enthused Marc. It is apparent that First has worked hard to create a dialogue between itself and those who use it’s services. “We are working towards making the journey more worthwhile.”

First has introduced a number of customer panels which consist of between eight and 10 people

who represent customers who use specific bus services.

They meet quarterly with local senior management and directors and each panel member was chosen to ensure a broad cross-section of customers is represented and each individual panel is completely independent from First. The aim is to create a forum for constructive change in local services.

“Our customer panels have been very well received,” said Marc.

“Customers provide a real expert view on what’s happening on our services both good and in need of improvement. We have to provide good quality to lure people from their cars.”

“As a result, on the X1 (Westonsuper-Mare to Bristol) for example we have been working with North Somerset Council to improve vehicle quality and we have seen encouraging numbers.

“This has been bolstered by the introduction of Customer Promises in Bristol and soon to be launched in Hampshire to maintain standards. Also, new networks have been created for Southampton and South East Hampshire, which are now simpler and more frequent.”

A number of university cities are served by First services so the young market is important to First.

“We launched a new brand in Bath called ‘Devastatin’ Dave’, which offers a number of discounts and incentives to students on highly frequent services to the campus.

We have seen improved growth as a result and are looking elsewhere to work with students with a number of schemes being considered.”

In regards to other initiatives, Marc said: “In South Hampshire, every bus now has WiFi, which was funded in part by the Better Bus Area fund. In addition, we are launching a smartphone app to tie in with the wifi. We are keen to work with the new Mayor of Bristol and the other partners of the West of England Partnership to try and deliver BRT, or similar, into Bristol, which would help build upon the recently completed Greater Bristol Bus Network.

“We have also developed, with our partners at WEBOA (West of England Bus Operators’ Association) a new multi-operator travelcard for the West of England area, called AvonRider, and are in the process of developing more multi-operator tickets for the specific areas of Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare.”

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INSIGHT › FIRST SCOTLAND

First Glasgow Managing Director Ronnie Park

A wealth of industry experience Andrew Cream visits Ronnie Park, Kevin Belfield and Neil Barker in Glasgow to find out their views and thoughts on network planning, marketing, the economy and a wealth of exciting new technology www.coachandbusweek.com

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M

y visit to First Glasgow’s Larkfield depot gave me the chance to meet three of First’s Scottish arm’s most important figures – Neil Barker, Scotland Regional Managing Director; Kevin Belfield, Scotland Regional Commercial Director; and Ronnie Park, Glasgow Managing Director.

With a combined 86 years in the industry, the knowledgeable trio were friendly and welcoming and the conversation developed into a dynamic discussion, which covered a range of topics.

Network planning

Deciding on fares and network structures is a headache for all transport companies. With fares, there’s the balance between maintaining acceptable profit

margins and keeping pricing competitive and attractive, while network planners have to take into consideration dozens of factors including passenger levels, key locations and competitors’ routes.

“Fare structuring is complex in Scotland,” Kevin explained. “One reason being we have to work within OFT constraints. Plus there is no standard ‘one size fits all’ approach. Of course, all our businesses talk to each other and share strategies, but each market is very different.

“That’s what makes the Scotland business so exciting. There’s a big difference between each operation.

Each decision needs to be made with specific conditions in mind.”

Neil continued: “We have got to be able to offer really good value for money in the position we’re in [current economic instability].

That’s the big challenge the industry is currently seeing –

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Ronnie Park: a brief history

Ronnie Park, First Glasgow’s Managing Director, has been with the company for 35 years, starting as a traffic clerk in 1977. His previous roles at the firm include Network Planner and Purchasing Manager and when Glasgow’s operations split into three in the late 90s he became Operations Manager for Glasgow South. In 2001 he took up a more central role in business development while in 2004 he became Operations Director for the company. Two years later he became Deputy Managing Director before taking up his current role in 2010.

Of his career path, Ronnie said: “I always had aspirations when starting out in the bus industry, but I didn’t think I would be Managing Director. But then life never goes to plan; opportunities arise when you least expect it.”

First Scotland Regional Managing Director Neil Barker meeting the financial needs of the customers.”

“All our services are under constant review,” Neil added. “We look at customer demand and run a sophisticated load chart. If you look at what we did in Aberdeen [a review of service provision which has provided better services for the majority of customers], we went further than we have traditionally done. We produced a plan of how we thought the network should look and asked our customers to tell us what they thought. As a result some of our plans were amended.

The new network is operating well and passenger numbers are encouraging.

“We also did the same in Falkirk.

It’s quite an iterative process; we’re just learning from the reviews we carry out, with the Aberdeen process as the blueprint.

“Changes to networks are tough as you know they are always going

First.Scotland.indd 45

to cause a degree of dissatisfaction, but in all our planning we are keen to ensure the majority of passengers benefit.”

Ronnie spoke of Glasgow’s network, and how, due to its scale and the current economic climate, it has experienced some changes over the past year.

He said: “In a complex network like Glasgow, the aim is to reinvest into the remaining network so overall our commitment to the city doesn’t change.”

“We’re always looking at viable alternatives, especially when you have a level of financial challenge,” Neil continued. “Quite often a reduction is required. When decisions like this have to be made, we would seek to take out the very oldest vehicles first.

“We have had some tough decisions to make around Falkirk recently. They weren’t popular with people at the time. But we

Local authorities are under the same pressure, Neil pointed out, with the closure of schools and libraries across the UK.

Regional marketing

Marketing plays a big part in running a bus company, with operators needing to make potential and current customers aware of ticket promotions, new routes and other initiatives.

Kevin chairs a monthly meeting with his marketing managers to discuss current ideas and projects.

While some promotions may apply to the firm as a whole, a large chunk of marketing is regionspecific. The company is keen on local marketing as it reinforces local identities amongst the community.

Kevin added: “There has got to be a degree of consistency but we are not afraid to push for what we need for particular markets.

“We are encouraging everybody to be as local as possible. Local marketing has gone down very well in Aberdeen. Other notable campaigns include the ‘One’ service, driven by the Glasgow team, and the Unilink for Stirling.”

“In a complex network like Glasgow, Economic challenge the aim is to reinvest It always seems hard not to mention the economy when into the remaining conducting interviews. It is network so overall our intrinsically associated with bus operations on a whole host of commitment to the different levels and when talking city doesn’t change.” about current industry challenges, Ronnie Park

did some constructive work with the stakeholders and came out with a sensible outcome. You have to look at things with a long term perspective.”

Neil and his team in Scotland believe transparency is key when informing stakeholders of potential changes. If you make clear what financial position the company is in it can lead to greater understanding.

He continued: “For example when we explained to stakeholders that a service was being scaled back due to buses carrying less than a handful of passengers, we were met with a more understanding response. Of course we don’t want to cut services, but we can’t afford to carry fresh air. More engagement and better consultation with our customers has helped us explain why we’ve diverted resources to areas where demand for services is greater.”

more often than not, it’s number one on people’s lists.

“It is a very challenging time,” Neil said. “It looks like the recession has hit Scotland and the north much harder than the midlands and the south. I don’t see any sign of recovery in Scotland at the moment.

Plus, we’ve seen unemployment continuing to rise in the last quarter.

“The industry has maintained profit levels for the past five or six years but it has been tough. In fact, I am not sure if the outside world knows how tough it is.”

“The change to BSOG in Scotland was uncomfortable – it hit us just when we were trying to create a far more stable environment going forward,” he continued. “Surprises aren’t good, but there is a better mutual understanding between the bus industry and the Scottish Government as a result.

“We are always looking at fuel prices and potential changes in engine technology. We have to find ways we can www.coachandbusweek.com

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INSIGHT › FIRST SCOTLAND

provide better value for money.

This is another ongoing challenge – getting to grips with the latest technological advances.”

A situation operators need to be watchful over is when the economy picks up again. Neil explained: “There is going to come a point when the economy will take off and there will be a level of economic growth which will be comfortable for us, so we need to be prepared.

However, we are quite a long way from there at the moment.”

Learning from mistakes

In a company the size of FirstGroup, things inevitably go wrong, but there is a strong support team from which employees can get help and guidance and also gain inspiration.

Kevin said: “Our aim is to bring best practice to the company and for that to happen we need to be open to new ideas. Better and closer links with my colleagues across First’s Commercial Team, for example, is extremely useful. We are tapping into a number of successful strategies that have been adopted by colleagues in the North Region.”

Neil added: “Sometimes you have to go through processes which don’t quite go as intended, but the key is to not beat yourself up about it.

There have been times in the past when people were afraid to make a mistake and so tried nothing new but this has changed.”

Attracting passengers

One of the most common yet exciting ways operators are attempting to increase patronage is through embracing technology.

While certain tech-based initiatives have been around for years now, the CBW office rarely goes a few days without receiving news of another route gaining WiFi or an operator adopting new payment methods. It seems firms are really getting to grips with these advances and have woken up to the fact that they excite, or at least interest, passengers too.

Neil admits he was sceptical about WiFi when it was first rolled out, but soon realised the potential commercial advantage the additional feature may lead to.

First Glasgow currently has WiFi installed on its airport and 66 services along with the recently launched ‘ONE’ service.

“Everyone’s got a smartphone,” Neil commented. “With WiFi, you can just log on and do what you’ve got to do.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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Kevin Belfield: a brief history

Kevin Belfield has been working in the bus industry since 1987, starting as a Transport Manager in Nottingham. His first senior position came in 1999 as Commercial Director of Arriva Midlands.

In 2004 he moved to Transdev where he was on the team which helped develop the outline plans for the Edinburgh tram network.

He was also on the acquisition team for both the Bournemouth and Blazefield takeovers and held responsibility for the Nottingham tram network.

In 2006 he had his first spell with First, as Managing Director of its Midlands region, while in 2008 Kevin became Director of National Express’ West Midlands’ bus operations.

He moved to Wellglade in 2011, becoming its Director of Investments, essentially “looking after parts that weren’t trent barton”.

He joined First as Scotland Regional Commercial Director in May. “It’s great, every day is different,” he said. “I think my varied career helps bring in new ideas and I have a good grasp of what can be achieved.

“I came in part way through the formation of the new Aberdeen network; I helped develop that and also helped with the Falkirk relaunch.

“I try and spend as much time as I can everywhere – but as Glasgow is our biggest operation, I use our depot here in Larkfield as my base.”

“Our aim is to bring best practice to the company and for that to happen we need to be open to new ideas. Better and closer links with my colleagues across First’s Commercial Team, for example, is extremely useful.”

Kevin Belfield

Ronnie Park, Neil Barker and Kevin Belfield (left to right) agree that strong relationships with authorities are key to developing better partnerships

Another development Neil and his team is keeping a close eye on is the use of EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) on buses. First Bus in England will introduce this form of contactless payment in 2013. EMV leapfrogs potential smartcard technology by letting passengers just use their credit or debit cards to pay for journeys.

“EMV is really exciting,” Neil enthused. “With a lot of smartcard schemes, even Oyster, you have to get hold of the card in the first place. But with EMV, all you have to do is physically get on the bus. I see it as being something which will

take things to the next level.”

Phone apps are also playing a bigger role in getting information out to passengers. Typical apps provide comprehensive route information, can keep customers up-to-date on network changes and offer real-time information. The idea is that passengers can work out exactly when to leave their house or finish their shopping in order to get their desired bus.

Neil and the Scottish team are very impressed with the “intuitive” Traveline Scotland free app which provides information to plan journeys in the country.

The app includes public

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constant announcements”, which may been seen as an irritation for many customers.

The answer might lie in technology which gives individual people the information they need, possibly through the use of phone apps. Neil believes GPS technology would play a major role in the development of this information, but getting it to the reliability needed is the current problem.

The firm does currently have audio announcements on its 500 service from Glasgow to the airport.

Working together

transport departure boards for every Scottish bus stop, ferry terminal and Glasgow Subway station, together with local taxi details.

Keeping with the tech-based methods of keeping passengers up-to-date, First in Scotland has embraced social networking site Twitter.

For example, the firm’s @Firstin Glasgow account communicates directly with customers about service alterations and promotions.

Neil believes Twitter is an important tool as it allows the company to inform customers around the clock.

He said: “We give empowerment to out-of-hours controllers so they can tweet if needed. We trust them to provide important information. It’s an example of how the corporate attitude has changed within the company. Besides, telling people about evening service disruptions the next morning is no good.

“We want to meet the needs of people who use their mobiles to obtain their information.”

Neil is also happy to see improved help for blind and partially-sighted people, although doesn’t necessarily see blanket audio-visual announcements across all services as the answer.

The problem with this is that some routes would be subject to “almost

First.Scotland.indd 47

With the threat of Quality Contracts in the minds of operators across the country, more and more are attempting to improve relationships with councils, working to provide transport initiatives in partnership.

First has “good” relationships with Transport Authorities in Scotland, and has benefited from past partnerships with Glasgow City Council, in particular for an RTI scheme. But Ronnie, Kevin and Neil agreed that strong relationships with local authorities are key to developing better partnerships.

The relationship with Aberdeen City Council is improving, for example. “We share a desire to try and make life for buses easier in the city centre,” Neil said. “There is potential to work closer together.

We want to be able to provide shorter and more predictable journey times – we will reinvest into frequency to help make this happen.”

Regarding Glasgow, Ronnie said: “Improving the relationship is high on the agenda. We would like to see more bus parking spaces in the city centre, for instance. A bus parked up before setting off becomes an attractive proposition for customers

Neil Barker: a brief history

After leaving university in 1986, Neil Barker became one of the last graduates taken on by the National Bus Company.

He started as an Operations Trainee at Eastern National before being put in charge of a small depot in Bishop’s Stortford. After that he moved north and joined Selby & District. Neil explained how the company was loss making but he helped turn it around. “We turned it into a profit-making business,” Neil said. “It was successfully running like a small market town bus company by the time I left.”

He then became Managing Director of Yorkshire Woollen District before moving to Reigate to run London and Country.

In 1999 he took the role of Arriva Midlands’ Managing Director, a position he held for five years.

Neil then joined National Express for seven years, holding three roles – Operations Director UK Bus, Managing Director UK Bus and European Development Director.

At the end of 2011 he became First Bus’ Regional Managing Director for Scotland.

“Both rural and urban operating test our skills and both have rewards. My part is to bind such disparate bodies of staff together with a common goal.”

Neil Barker

A Wright Gemini-bodied Volvo B9TL outside First’s Larkfield depot

as they have somewhere dry and warm to wait, as opposed to waiting at a damp and cold bus stop.

“It’s about us being part of the local economic solutions to make the city centre more attractive.

“This is something we need to aim for. More people will want to come to the city centre and therefore more people will use the bus to get there.”

Neil says councils need to work with bus operators on their car parking policies. Cheap or free parking for cars in city centres prove detrimental to bus operators, while Park & Ride sites, like the one opening in Hampden, Glasgow, are obviously positive moves. “If you look at towns with bus success stories, the council have a joined up policy for parking,” Neil said.

Rural vs. urban operations

Scotland is renowned for its vast, beautiful countryside. While it’s an attractive area for many tourists around the world, there is also a large population of people living in these rural regions.

Providing public transport for people living in the countryside presents many challenges, although urban areas also have their pitfalls.

“We have the extremes,” Neil explained. “You couldn’t get two business models further away from each other. One of the big challenges in rural areas is the remote staff, making sure they get all the support they need.

“Breakdowns can create logistical problems. We have to look carefully at how we support operations miles away from urban areas. Bus marketing and ticketing products are also very different.”

Rural areas often have a higher population of pensioners, so changes to concessionary fares funding are creating further challenges.

He continued: “However, getting people to travel from one end of Glasgow to the other is also challenging. It’s a completely different proposition.

“Both rural and urban operating test our skills and both have rewards. My part is to bind such disparate bodies of staff together with a common goal.”

Talking about the structure of First Bus in general, Neil concluded: “The last year has seen a lot of change with more local ownership.

It’s definitely changed for the better.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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FLEET PROFILE

A Mercedes-Benz Citaro artic on a York Park & Ride service

Two Plaxton President-bodied Dennis Tridents in Norwich city centre

A Wright Axcess Floline-bodied Scania L94UB in Norwich

A Wright Eclipse Urban-bodied Volvo B7RLE on York Park & Ride route 7

More than a �leeting glance at First vehicles James Day and Alex Tyler compile a fleet list for the whole of First UK Bus, based on information supplied

by FirstGroup, listed in order of operating companies www.coachandbusweek.com

First.Fleet.indd 48

T

he First fleet is dominated

by Wrightbus, which makes up close to 50% of the operators 7,721 vehicles.

The Wright-Volvo combination is favoured in the majority of First’s operating area, although there is a significant number of ADLs in London and Glasgow and a sizable number of Optares in Manchester when compared to other parts of the business.

Plaxton vehicles also have a clear presence within the fleet.

First’s schoolbus fleet is spread across the country, totalling approximately 177 vehicles, mostly BMC Schoolbuses.

2 BMC Schoolbus BMC 1100FE (2004) 3 Irizar Century Scania K114 (2004) 2 Irizar PB Scania K114 (2004) 1 Irizar PB Scania K340EB (2009) 1 Jonckheere Mistral Volvo B12B (2003) 1 Optare Solera Mercedes-Benz Atego (2005) 1 Plaxton Cheetah Mercedes-Benz Vario (2003) 2 Plaxton Cheetah Mercedes-Benz Vario (2004) 3 Plaxton Excalibur Volvo B12T (1999) 5 Plaxton Profile Volvo B7R (2005) 2 Temsa Safari DAF HD12 (2011) 10 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2000) 1 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2001) 19 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2005) 12 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 4 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 13 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 7 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 34 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000) 18 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2001)

173 vehicles

FIRST AIRCOACH

FIRST ABERDEEN

26 Alexander ALX300 Volvo B10BLE (2000) 4 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 1 Bluebird Schoolbus Bluebird AARE (2002)

57 vehicles

3 Irizar Century Scania K114 (2004) 1 Irizar PB Scania K114 (2006)

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TOP BODY MANUFACTURERS:

1 2

Wrightbus 3685 Plaxton 1004

3 4

Alexander 825 ADL 750

5 6

Marshall 367 Optare 329

A Wright Streetcar, better known by First as an FTR

1 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart (1997) 1 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart (1998) 1 Plaxton Primo (2006) 10 Plaxton Super Pointer Dennis Dart (1998) 1 UVG Urban Star Dennis Dart (1995) 4 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2001) 3 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2002) 17 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 3 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2000) 4 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2005) 4 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006) 8 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2004) 25 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 2 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 1 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 13 Wright Eclipse Urban 2 Volvo B7RLE (2009) 2 Wright Pathfinder 320 Dennis Lance SLF (1994) 5 Wright Pathfinder 320 Dennis Lance SLF (1995) 1 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1997) 8 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 2 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 6 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000) 3 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2001)

FIRST BRADFORD 217 vehicles

One of four Wright Pulsar 2-bodied VDL SB200 Hydrogen buses in London 6 Jonckheere Mistral Volvo B12B (2008) 13 Jonckheere Mistral Volvo B12B (2009) 1 Setra S315GT HD (2005) 20 Setra S415HD (2004) 1 Mercedes-Benz Citaro 0530 (2002) 6 Mercedes-Benz Citaro 0530G (2008) 5 Mercedes-Benz Citaro 0530G (2009) 1 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006)

FIRST AVON 322 vehicles

8 ADL Enviro200 (2008) 3 ADL Enviro200 (2009) 9 ADL Enviro400 (2006) 1 ADL Enviro400 (2008) 8 ADL Enviro400H (2012) 6 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 7 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 7 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 1 Alexander RV Volvo Citybus Open Top (1987) 2 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (1997) 29 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 8 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2006) 8 East Lancs Spryte Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 7 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1997)

6 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 2 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 2 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1996) 18 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1998) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian Open Top (1993) 1 Optare Solo (1999) 3 Optare Solo (2000) 2 Optare Solo (2002) 3 Optare Solo (2003) 2 Optare Solo (2004) 16 Optare Solo (2005) 3 Plaxton Beaver Mercedes-Benz 709D (1995) 1 Plaxton Beaver Mercedes-Benz 709D (1997) 1 Plaxton Beaver 2 Mercedes-Benz 709D (1998) 3 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2000) 1 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2003) 3 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1994) 9 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1995) 7 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1996) 2 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1997) 6 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996)

9 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1997) 3 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1998) 3 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1997) 4 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1998) 1 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1999) 21 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 2 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2001) 1 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2005) 8 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2006) 6 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2007) 6 Optare Solo (2000) 2 Optare Solo (2002) 3 Optare Solo (2008) 2 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2001) 9 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 11 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 5 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006) 45 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 4 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2009) 2 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2004) 5 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 3 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2008) 30 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 5 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 29 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000)

FIRST BRISTOL 272 vehicles

17 ADL Enviro200 MPD (2009) 7 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 16 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 8 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 11 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (1997)

1 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 12 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2006) 1 East Lancs Lolyne Dennis Trident (1999) 3 East Lancs Lolyne Dennis Trident (2000) 6 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1995) 8 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1996) 1 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 1 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (1999) 13 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2000) 5 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7RLE (2010) 6 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7RLE (2011) 23 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 45 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2007) 47 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 16 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2009) 11 Wright Eclipse Urban 2 (2009) 8 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 3 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 2 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000)

FIRST CYMRU 327 vehicles

1 ADL Enviro200 (2006) 6 ADL Enviro200 (2008) 17 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart (1999) 1 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart (2000) 4 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 4 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2007) 4 Dennis Mini Pointer Dart (2006) 21 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2003) 14 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 4 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (1997) 10 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2003) 10 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 3 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2006) 1 Irizar PB Scania K114 (2004) 10 Irizar PB Scania K114 (2005) 14 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 32 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 8 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 30 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 3 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2002) 4 Northern Counties Palatine 2 Volvo Olympian (1997) 1 Optare Solo (1999) 3 Optare Solo (2000) 2 Optare Solo (2005) 2 Optare Solo (2008) 6 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2003) 1 Plaxton Panther Volvo B12B (2004) 2 Plaxton Paragon Volvo B12B (2004) 2 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1995) 9 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 8 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 7 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 33 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 2 Plaxton Premier 350 Dennis Javelin (1998) 7 Plaxton Profile Volvo B7R (2007) 3 Plaxton Super Pointer Dennis Dart (2003)

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FLEET PROFILE

1 UVG Urban Star Dennis Dart (1995) 3 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 14 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 4 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 5 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2008) 2 Wright Streetcar Volvo B7LA (2006) 8 Wright Streetcar Volvo B7LA (2007)

FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL 246 vehicles

1 ADL Enviro400 (2008) 9 ADL Enviro400 (2012) 5 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 4 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 3 Alexander RL Volvo Olympian (1996) 6 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1995) 3 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1996) 1 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (1998) 6 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2003) 6 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 7 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2006) 8 East Lancs Lolyne Dennis Trident (2000) 7 East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne Dennis Trident (2005) 1 Ford Transit (2004) 2 Irizar Century Scania K114 (2004) 1 Irizar Century PB Scania K114 (2005) 4 Irizar Century PB Scania K114 (2006) 2 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 1 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 4 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 6 Northern Counties Palatine Leyland Olympian (1993) 3 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1993) 2 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1996) 9 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1997) 2 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1998) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1993) 5 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1996) 5 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1998) 6 Optare Solo (2000) 5 Optare Solo (2002) 4 Optare Solo (2004) 5 Optare Solo (2005) 2 Plaxton Beaver 2 Mercedes-Benz Vario (1998) 1 Plaxton Cheetah Mercedes-Benz Vario (2000) 1 Plaxton Interurban Volvo B10M (1995) 1 Plaxton Panther Volvo B12B (2004) 2 Plaxton Panther Volvo B12B (2005) 1 Plaxton Panther Volvo B12B (2007) 17 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (1999) 6 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 2 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (1998) 1 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (1999) 1 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2003) 2 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1995)

1 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 2 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 3 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 13 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 9 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2003) 2 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2005) 1 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (1999) 17 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2000) 8 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2001) 4 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2002) 13 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006)

FIRST EAST COUNTIES 255 vehicles

2 ADL Enviro200 (2007) 1 ADL Enviro200 (2008) 4 ADL Enviro200 (2009) 3 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 9 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 6 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2005) 7 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (2000) 3 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1997) 2 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1998) 6 Optare Solo (2002) 2 Plaxton Paragon Volvo B12M (2002) 2 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (1999) 6 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart (1996) 6 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart (1997) 11 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart (1998) 8 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 35 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 2 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2003) 24 Plaxton President Volvo B7TL (2002) 4 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 13 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 1 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 24 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 5 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B7TL (2007) 16 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B7TL (2008) 15 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2011) 11 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 13 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 5 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 1 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000) 4 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2001) 1 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2003)

FIRST ESSEX 347 vehicles

4 ADL Enviro200 (2009) 6 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart (1999) 5 Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident (2003) 5 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 10 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 2 Alexander RL Volvo Olympian (1996) 5 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004)

4 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2005) 8 Caetano Nimbus Dennis Dart SLF (2003) 5 Dennis Mini Pointer Dart (2005) 17 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 1 East Lancs Spryte Dennis Dart (1997) 12 East Lancs Spryte Dennis Dart (1998) 1 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 10 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 6 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 2 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 1 Marshall Capital Dennis Mini Pointer Dart (1998) 8 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1994) 5 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1996) 2 Optare Solo (1999) 20 Optare Solo (2002) 2 Optare Solo (2004) 1 Plaxton Expressliner 2 Volvo B10M (2000) 4 Plaxton Panther Volvo B9R (2008) 1 Plaxton Paragon Volvo B12M (2002) 3 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (1999) 2 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2002) 7 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 6 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 25 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 5 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2003) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2004) 17 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (1999) 1 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2000) 7 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 6 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 1 Plaxton Verde Dennis Lance (1995) 5 Scania Omnicity CN94UB (2006) 3 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1996) 12 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 3 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 11 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 35 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 9 Wright Eclipse 2 Volvo B7RLE (2011) 1 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 7 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 3 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000) 9 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2001) 8 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2002) 11 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2003)

FIRST GLASGOW 944 vehicles

10 ADL Enviro300 (2011) 40 ADL Enviro300 (2012) 33 ADL Enviro400 (2011) 25 ADL Enviro500 (2009) 2 Alexander ALX300 Volvo B10BLE (2000) 2 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 11 Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident (2000) 25 Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident (2003)

An Alexander ALX400-bodied Volvo

A TfL-spec ADL Enviro400 2 Alexander PS Volvo B10M (1995) 4 Alexander PS Volvo B10M (1996) 1 Alexander PS Volvo B10M (1997) 12 Alexander RL Volvo Olympian (1996) 4 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1997) 1 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1998) 7 Bluebird Orion Fiat Ducato (2012) 1 Bluebird Tucana Volkswagen T5 (2009) 3 Bluebird Tucana Volkswagen T5 (2010) 1 Bluebird Tucana Volkswagen T5 (2011) 4 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart (2005) 12 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 15 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 5 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 19 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 4 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2002) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1997) 7 Optare Solo (2003) 1 Optare Solo (2004) 2 Optare Solo (2005) 3 Plaxton Panther Volvo B12B (2004) 8 Plaxton Paragon Volvo B12M (2002) 9 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dart SLF (1997) 27 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (1999)

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January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 51

A TfL-spec Wright Gemini 2-bodied Volvo B9TL in Euston, London

A Wright Crusader-bodied Volvo B6 in Leeds 30 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2000) 66 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 9 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 6 Plaxton President Volvo B7TL (2003) 2 Plaxton Profile DDA Volvo B7R (2005) 1 UVG Urban Star Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 25 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1998) 23 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 33 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2000) 3 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1996) 10 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 11 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 17 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2001) 24 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 16 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2003) 49 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2004) 37 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 9 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006) 19 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2007) 36 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2007) 30 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 16 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2009)

4 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2004) 13 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 95 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 10 Wright Fusion Volvo B10BLA (1999) 1 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 2 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000) 39 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2001) 2 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2002) 3 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2003)

FIRST HAMPSHIRE 356 vehicles

4 ADL Enviro200 (2009) 15 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 9 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 2 Autosan Eagle (2006) 4 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 8 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2005) 1 Caetano Nimbus Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 1 Dennis Mini Pointer Dart (2005) 1 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (1997) 1 Dennis Pointer 2 Dart SLF (2005) 7 East Lancs Lolyne Dennis Trident (2000) 1 East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne Dennis Trident (2002)

6 East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne Dennis Trident (2005) 5 East Lancs OmniDekka Scania N94UD (2004) 1 East Lancs OmniDekka Scania N94UD (2005) 1 Irizar Century Scania K114 1 Irizar Cenrtury PB Scania K114 (2005) 1 Irizar Cenrtury PB Scania K114 (2006) 5 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 5 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 2 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 2 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 1 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 2 Marshall Master Mercedes-Benz Vario (1996) 5 Northern Palatine Volvo Olympian (1996) 5 Northern Palatine Volvo Olympian (1997) 2 Northern Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1996) 2 Optare Solo (1998) 4 Optare Solo (1999) 7 Optare Solo (2000) 1 Optare Solo (2003) 1 Optare Solo (2004) 1 Optare Solo (2005) 1 Plaxton Beaver Mercedes-Benz 709D (1995) 3 Plaxton Beaver Mercedes-Benz 709D (1996) 9 Plaxton Beaver 2 Mercedes-Benz Vario (1998) 1 Plaxton Expressliner 2 Volvo B10M (1998) 1 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1994) 3 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1995) 7 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 9 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 80 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 17 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 1 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (1999) 1 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 20 Scania Omnicity CN94UB (2005) 7 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (1999) 14 Wright Eclipse 2 Volvo B7RLE (2012) 5 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2007) 7 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2008) 6 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 8 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 4 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 21 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 17 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 5 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 3 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000)

FIRST LEEDS 404 vehicles

1 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1997) 1 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1998) 13 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 1 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1998) 9 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2006) 1 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2007) 3 Optare Solo (2006) 2 Optare Solo (2007) 16 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999)

2 Wright Access-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1995) 2 Wright Access-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 21 Wright Access-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 5 Wright Crusader Volvo B6BLE (2001) 6 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2000) 35 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2004) 1 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 12 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006) 2 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2007) 10 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 93 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2009) 98 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2012) 20 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 HEV Volvo BRLH (2011) 2 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 2 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 20 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2008) 7 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 13 Wright Streetcar Volvo B7LA FTR (2006) 7 Wright Streetcar Volvo B7LA FTR (2007)

FIRST LONDON 1146 vehicles

58 ADL Enviro200 (2008) 89 ADL Enviro200 (2009) 42 ADL Enviro200 (2010) 30 ADL Enviro200 (2011) 98 ADL Enviro200 (2012) 2 ADL Enviro400 (2007) 48 ADL Enviro400 (2008) 37 ADL Enviro400 (2009) 44 ADL Enviro400 (2011) 31 ADL Enviro400 (2012) 22 ADL Enviro400H (2012) 5 Alexander ALX200 (1999) 8 Alexander ALX200 (2000) 6 Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident (2003) 8 Bluebird Schoolbus AARE (2002) 2 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 28 Caetano Nimbus Dennis Dart SLF (2003) 5 Irizar Century Scania K114 (2003) 3 Irizar Century Scania K114 (2004) 5 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 3 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 6 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 14 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2002) 3 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2002) 8 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2003) 2 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2004) 10 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2007) 7 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2008) 3 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1998) 5 Optare Solo (2004) 1 Optare Solo (2008) 5 Park Royal AEC Routemaster (1963) 4 Park Royal AEC Routemaster (1964) 2 Plaxton Excalibur Volvo B12T (1999)

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FLEET PROFILE

2 Plaxton Panther Volvo B9R (2011) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 5 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2000) 2 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 30 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 32 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2003) 39 Scania UD4X2EB CN320 (2011) 1 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1998) 9 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 2 Wright Pulsar 2 Hydrogen VDL SB200 (2010) 2 Wright Pulsar 2 Hydrogen VDL SB200 (2011) 107 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2004) 11 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 3 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 31 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2009) 95 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2010) 75 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2011) 40 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2012) 4 Wright Gemini 2 DL VDL DB300 (2009) 1 Wright Gemini 2 VDL HEV (2008) 2 Wright Gemini 2 VDL HEV (2009) 3 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2005) 1 Wright Streetlite (2011)

FIRST MANCHESTER 920 vehicles

90 ADL Enviro400 (2012) 1 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1997) 5 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1998) 8 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1998) 3 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1999) 11 Bluebird Schoolbus AARE (2002) 1 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 1 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2005) 2 East Lancs Pyoneer Dennis Arrow (1997) 10 East Lancs Pyoneer Dennis Arrow (1998) 3 ECW Open Top Leyland Olympian (1986) 3 ECW Open Top Leyland Olympian (1987) 6 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 57 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2000) 1 Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2002) 1 Mercedes-Benz Citaro 0530G (2009) 2 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1995) 6 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1996) 12 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1999) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Dennis Arrow (1996) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Dennis Arrow (1997) 5 Optare Excel (1996) 15 Optare Excel (1997) 4 Optare Solo (1999) 11 Optare Solo (2000) 9 Optare Solo (2001) 10 Optare Solo (2002) 8 Optare Solo (2004) 8 Optare Solo M820H (2010) 8 Optare Solo M820H (2012) 7 Optare Solo SR

12 Optare Versa Hybrid (2010) 7 Optare Versa Hybrid (2011) 27 Optare Versa Hybrid (2012) 1 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (1998) 23 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 2 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 17 Scania Omnicity CN94UA (2005) 3 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2003) 3 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2004) 7 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2005) 1 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2006) 2 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2007) 3 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2008) 3 Vehixel B67FL Iveco Scolabus (2009) 11 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1998) 7 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 5 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2000) 8 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2001) 10 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 20 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 4 Wright Crusader 2 Dennis Dart (1996) 3 Wright Crusader 2 Dennis Dart (1997) 8 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (1999) 11 Wright Eclipse 2 Volvo B7RLE (2011) 7 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2004) 36 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2007) 82 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 40 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2009) 2 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL (2012) 14 Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 HEV Volvo BRLH (2011) 7 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2003) 84 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 63 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 25 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 5 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1997) 36 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 2 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 1 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000) 4 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2001) 2 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2004) 8 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2005) 1 Wright Solar Fusion Scania L94UA (2001)

FIRST MIDLANDS 461 vehicles

1 ADL Enviro300 (2003) 7 ADL Enviro300 (2004) 31 ADL Enviro300 (2005) 2 ADL Enviro200 (2007) 10 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 4 Alexander ALX200 Dennis Dart SLF (2000) 5 Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident (2004) 12 Alexander ALX 400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 35 Alexander ALX 400 Volvo B7TL (2002) 5 Alexander Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2004) 1 Alexander Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2005) 4 Alexander RL Volvo Olympian (1996) 1 Alexander Royale RL Volvo Olympian (1995)

A Wright Gemini B9TL on the famous long-distance X1 in Kings Lynn

A Wright Eclipse-bodied Volvo B7L on Minehead seafront 1 Alexander RV Volvo Citybus (1991) 4 Alexander RV Volvo Citybus (1992) 3 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 5 Caetano Nimbus Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 16 Caetano Nimbus Dennis Dart SLF (2003) 1 East Lancs Pyoneer Volvo Citybus (1992) 5 Leyland Olympian (1989) 4 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 1 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 1 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1994) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1997) 7 Optare Solo (1999) 18 Optare Solo (2000) 2 Optare Solo (2002) 17 Optare Solo (2003) 8 Plaxton Centro Volvo B7RLE (2007) 1 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart MPD (1998) 7 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 1 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 12 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 7 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 3 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 8 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (1999)

1 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2000) 1 Plaxton Verde ADL Lance (1994) 8 Plaxton Verde ADL Lance (1995) 2 Plaxton Verde ADL Lance (1996) 6 Scania Omnicity CN94UB (2004) 1 Scania Omnicity CN94UB (2005) 10 Scania Omnicity CN94UB (2006) 5 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 36 Wright Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 6 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1998) 23 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 7 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2000) 5 Wright Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2001) 22 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 1 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2001) 3 Wright Eclipse Fusion Volvo B7LA (2005) 21 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 1 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006) 36 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 4 Wright Pathfinder 320 Dennis Lance SLF (1994) 2 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2004) 7 Wright Solar Scania L94UB (2005) 1 Wright Streetcar Volvo B7LA (2007)

www.coachandbusweek.com

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A Wrightbus-bodied Volvo B5 Hybrid in Leeds

A Plaxton Panther Volvo B9R on First railair.com operations

FIRST SCOTLAND EAST 394 vehicles

1 ADL Enviro300 (2002) 1 ADL Enviro300 (2003) 4 Alexander ALX 300 Volvo B10BLE (2000) 1 Alexander RL Leyland Olympian (1993) 16 Alexander RL Volvo Olympian (1996) 6 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1997) 17 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1998) 4 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1999) 3 Alexander PS Volvo B10M (1996) 2 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 5 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2005) 21 East Lancs OmniDekka Scania N94UD (2005) 4 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 6 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 1 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2002) 2 Mercedes Citaro (2002) 4 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1996) 1 Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian (1997) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1993) 1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1994)

1 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1996) 4 Northern Counties Palatine II Volvo Olympian (1997) 1 Optare Solo (1998) 2 Optare Solo (2000) 2 Optare Solo (2003) 5 Optare Solo (2005) 2 Plaxton Cheetah Mercedes Vario (2003) 1 Plaxton Cheetah Mercedes Vario (2004) 1 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 5 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 4 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF (1996) 5 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1997) 1 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 3 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 2 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2000) 3 Plaxton Mini Pointer Dennis Dart (2004) 4 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2000) 2 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 2 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 8 Plaxton President Volvo B7TL (2002) 6 Plaxton President Volvo B7TL (2003) 1 Plaxton Prima Enterprise EB01 (2006) 4 Plaxton Profile Volvo B7R (2005) 10 Plaxton Profile DDA Volvo B7R (2005)

7 Wrightbus Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 10 Wrightbus Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2000) 6 Wrightbus Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2001) 5 Wrightbus Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1995) 4 Wrightbus Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1996) 5 Wrightbus Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1997) 21 Wrightbus Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1998) 7 Wrightbus Axcess-Ultralow Scania L113CRL (1999) 3 Wrightbus Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (1999) 6 Wrightbus Axcess Floline Scania L94UB (2000) 2 Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2003) 15 Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 14 Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2007) 7 Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2008) 14 Wrightbus Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 12 Wrightbus Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2008) 9 Wrightbus Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 2 Wrightbus Renown Volvo B10BLE (1997) 1 Wrightbus Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 3 Wrightbus Solar Scania L94UB (2001) 14 Wrightbus Solar Scania L94UB (2003) 12 Wrightbus Solar Scania L94UB (2004) 20 Wrightbus Solar Scania L94UB (2005) 1 Wrightbus Solar Scania L94UB (2006)

FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE 503 vehicles

3 ADL Enviro200 (2011) 26 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 3 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2001) 14 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2002) 45 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 9 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (2001) 2 Northern Counties Palantine Volvo Olympian (1999) 9 Optare Solo (2001) 1 Optare Solo (2002) 4 Plaxton Pointer 2 Dennis Dart SLF (2003) 19 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2001) 13 Plaxton President Dennis Trident (2002) 11 Plaxton President Volvo B7TL (2002) 5 Plaxton President Volvo B7TL (2003) 2 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (1999) 5 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2002) 5 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2001) 53 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 20 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2003) 1 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2000) 15 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006)

28 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2007) 68 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2008) 35 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2006) 65 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 9 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1997) 26 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 8 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2001)

FIRST YORK 101 vehicles

15 Mercedes Citaro O530G (2009) 5 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2001) 7 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2002) 5 Wright Crusader 2 Volvo B6BLE (2001) 11 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TL (2007) 6 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2001) 15 Wright Eclipse Volvo B7L (2002) 5 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 9 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2007) 22 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2008) 1 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009)

FIRST YORKS WEST 276 vehicles

25 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2000) 13 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2001) 2 Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL (2003) 1 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1997) 2 Alexander RH Volvo Olympian (1998) 3 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1997) 10 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1998) 6 Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian (1999) 2 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2004) 8 BMC Schoolbus 1100FE (2005) 1 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2005) 30 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2006) 14 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2007) 5 BMC Condor 220 SLF (2008) 2 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1998) 6 Marshall Capital Dennis Dart SLF (1999) 1 Northern Counties Palantine Volvo Olympian (1999) 2 Northern Counties Palantine II Volvo Olympian (1996) 2 Optare Solo (2003) 2 Optare Solo (2005) 3 Optare Solo (2006) 1 Plaxton Enterprise EB01 (2006) 1 Plaxton Enterprise EB01 (2008) 10 Plaxton Super Pointer Dennis Dart (1998) 20 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2004) 10 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2005) 15 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B7TL (2006) 4 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2003) 3 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2004) 53 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2005) 2 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2008) 5 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLE (2009) 6 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1998) 3 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (1999) 1 Wright Renown Volvo B10BLE (2000)

www.coachandbusweek.com

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B E W F S U J T F

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2008 Scania K340 Irizar PB 12.2m

ZF automatic, 49 seats, climate control, WC, TV/DVD, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue), white.

£145,000

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

54 plate Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 2

31 seater with one passenger door, 15 standees, automatic gearbox, manual destination and front ramp. In good condition, a good work bus.

£37,000

2003 Dennis Trident 2 SLF Alex 400 10.5m

67 seats + 18 standees, Cummins euro IV/ZF, conversion to single door available – please call for details. Very clean ex-lease vehicle. £27,500 + VAT – CHOICE Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk

2004 Iveco Daily 45c13

11 seat front entry wheelchair accessible minibus, white, diesel, 80,000 miles.

£10,000 - no VAT

Ventura Sales 01342 835206

Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076

2002 DAF SB220 SLF Ikarus Polaris 12m

2009 Scania K340 Irizar PB 12.2m

2008 Scania K340 Irizar PB

ZF automatic, 49 seats, climate control, centre sunken toilet, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue required).

Setra S315 GT HD

£149,000

ASTronic, toilet, aircon, Webasto, retarder, fridge, servery, boiler, crew seat.

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

Evobus - 02476 626046

2006 Setra 416 GTHD

£67,500

1998 Volvo B10M Jonckheere Mistral

49 reclining seats with lap belts, toilet/fridge/hot water boiler, CD/DVD player, Euro 4 certified, owned by us from new, good condition. £90,000 + VAT For further information please contact: Nigel Busbridge on 01303 261870 or email nigel@buzzlines.co.uk

Converted to 70 seater in September using Cogent 3+2 seating all fitted with 3 point belts, MOT till Oct 2013 and has no known defects.

Dennis Plaxton Coach

Mercedes Sitcar Beluga

Cummins 420, Plaxton Paragon body, Asotronic gearbox, air con, long MOT, excellent MPG. Has been used exclusively on our tour programme. Regd March 2004.

£35,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365

2008 (58 reg), 27 seats plus courier, double glazed, air-con, Euro 4 compliant, MOT September 2013, 157,000km, excellent condition.

44 seats + 25 standees, DDA compliant, Hanover LED, DAF/ZF, very clean ex-lease vehicle. £15,000 + VAT – CHOICE Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk

49 seats, climate control, WC, TV/DVD, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue).

1988 Volvo B10M VanHool Alizee

2003 Futura

2000 SCANIA T9

2008 DDA Iveco Beulas Cygnus

Full exec spec, Eminox euro 4 exhaust, 49 seats, green cloth, manual, 695K kms, new MOT on sale.

53 seats, excellent condition, PSV 26/5/13, Taxed 30/4/13, service records. Lovely bus all round and just had an interior re-trim.

53 seats, centre wheelchair lift (PLS), Hanover destination equipment, Cursor 10 450bhp engine, ZF AS-Tronic gearbox, Euro 4.

Manual gearbox, converted this year to 70 seater, MOT’d till March 2013, CCTV fitted.

£17,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365

£159,000

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

£65,000 + VAT L.J. Edwards: 01323 440622 option 2 or John 07974 369570

£48,000 – choice of 5 Contact Tom Smith or Peter Tetlow on 0845 130 5777 for more details

£67,500 plus VAT

Tel 07711 868976

£24,750

£120,000 – PX accepted

Contact Eric on 0792 138920

Scania Bus & Coach 01909 553102

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

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Scania K360 Irizar Century

2004 Setra S415 HD

Iveco Daily 50c13 Iris Bus

2006 Volvo B12B Enigma

Back off contract hire. Euro 5 EGR (no AdBlue), 2-pedal Opticruise automated gearbox, 49 seats, climate control.

3.0 manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, power front door, 16 rear high back seats, Unwin tracked floor, Eberspacher heater, Ratcliffe tail lift, COIF, 63,371 miles.

49 seat exec coach, centre toilet, DVD, drinks machine, 580,000kms from new, MOT until end May, Eminox LEZ exhaust to Euro 4, excellent condition, drives superb.

£175,000

ASTronic, retarder, aircon, 2 x monitors, radio/cassette, crew seat, fridge.

Vehicle currently undergoing MOT preparation and test.

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

£79,500

P.O.A.

£69,950 – PX considered

Evobus - 02476 626046

H.W. Pickrell 01268 521033

Llew Jones 01492 640320

1993 Volvo B10M VanHool

2002 Iveco Daily 50c13

1997 Scania K113 VanHool Alizee

UNVI RIADA GT -2008 T8 bodywork, 12 months MOT, toilet, DVD/ monitor, 49 seats with belts. £10,250 Maypole Coaches – Tel: 0151 547 2713 or 07802 235778

13 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, white, diesel, 65,000 miles.

£16,495

Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076

2004 (54) Neoplan Starliner Tri-Axle Corporate/Team Coach

1996 Toyota Optimo

32 leather seats around 8 tables, full rear servery with fridges, ice machine, hot water, microwave and airline style food warmers, 3 extra fridges throughout coach, airline style overhead lockers, 240v inverter and onboard generator, Blaupunkt sound system with DVD & SKY TV (2 screens), extra mini screens on a separate channel on both front tables, ASTronic gearbox, A/C, WC, fully carpeted, removable ski box, spare seats.

Call Patrick 01787 477701/ 07730 671064 email: info@coachcompany.co.uk

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

20098 Scania K340 Irizar Century

2002 DAF SB120 SLF Wrights Cadet 10.8m

£75,000 + VAT o.n.o.

ZF automatic, 49 seats, climate control, TV/DVD, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue required).

£145,000

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

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

Mercedes-Benz 0816 Vario chassis with rear air suspension, 29 passenger seats with 3pt lap and diagonal seat belts, courier seat, dark tint double glazed windows, air con, radio/CD & PA system, DVD player and monitor, full draw curtains, large boot space and side lockers. Full service history. £56,900 + VAT Call Dougie at HAGGIS Adventures on 0131 554 9192

2002 Futura

Full exec spec, Eminox euro 4 exhaust, 49 seats, green cloth, manual, 792K kms, new MOT on sale.

£55,000 + VAT L.J. Edwards: 01323 440622 option 2 or John 07974 369570

LD O S Eminox exhaust fitted to euro 4, comfort shift gearbox, converted this year to a 70-seater using Cogent seating, very clean and tidy.

£33,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365

2000 Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 10.1m

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

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

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

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

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Ensig DOUBLE DECK 2008 58 PLATE ENVIRO 400

LWB, 80 seats, Euro 4, Hanover LED’s, DDA compliant.

LEZ

COMPLIANT

1999/2000/2001 V/X/51 PLATE DENNIS TRIDENTS Cummins/Voith, LEZ compliant for 2012 with traps to Euro 4, CCTV, Alexander ALX400 bodies, DDA compliant or upseated to 80 seats.

1999 T/V REG DENNIS TRIDENTS

1999 T/V REG DENNIS DART SLF’S

Caetano Compass bodies, 39 seats, ramps.

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

1995 M REG OPTARE SPECTRA’S

2000 W REG MINI POINTER DART

DAF engines, Voith gearboxes, low height, 77 seats.

Cummins / Allison, 8.8m, 29 seats.

1998 R/S REG OPTARE SOLO’S

2001 Y REG DAF SB3000

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

Merc engines , 8.5m long, 30 seats. £4500 each plus tyres.

2001 Y REG DENNIS DARTS

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

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

OPEN TOP BUSES A SPECIALITY -

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

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nbus

K ER SPECIALIST 1998 R REG DAF SB300

1998 R REG VOLVO B10BLE’S

Manual, Ikarus body, 53 seats, air-con.

1998 R REG DENNIS JAVELIN ZF 6 speed manual, Plaxton Premiere 350, 53 seats.

1997 DENNIS DARTS

Cummins / Allison, East Lancs bodies, 40 seats, Mobitech LED’s.

1992 LEYLAND OLYMPIAN

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

2002 52 PLATE VOLVO B7TL’S

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

2002 02 PLATE DENNIS TRIDENTS

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

1995 N REG MERCEDES 711 Manual, 24 seats, tacho, long MOT.

1995 M REG VOLVO B10M

ZF 6 speed manual, Caetano Algarve body, 49 seats, centre sunken toilet, very smart for age.

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

2001 Y REG DARTS

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

- 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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The North West’s Premier Minibus Sales, supplying nationwide for over 40 years

LEZ

LEZ

LEZ

LEZ

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

06 VOLKSWAGEN LT 35

08 CITROEN RELAY

58 IVECO 35C12 FITTED

08 VAUXHALL MOVANO

MWB covered 30,000 miles, 8 highback passenger, seats lots of Unwin tracking, SLD with cassette step, Ricon internal Clearway tailift, showroom condition inside and out £10,995

LWB covered 17,000 miles, 8/9 highback passenger seats in coach trim, Unwin tracking, full carpetlined, Ricon internal Clearway tailift, SLD with electric side step, totally immaculate inside and out POA

12 highback passenger seats in coach moquette, 3 point belts, lots of Unwin tracking, powerdoor front entry, covered 58,000 miles, external Ratcliffe tailift, PSV tested, totally immaculate inside and out £14,995

LWB, low mileage, 8 highback seats, lots of Unwin tracking, Ricon internal fully automatic tailift, SLD with cassette, step totally immaculate, choice of 4 £13,995

PSV’d

LEZ

LEZ

PSV’d

LEZ

PSV’d

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

PSV’d

LEZ

55 MERCEDES SPRINTER 308 CDI

55 MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI

58 VAUXHALL MOVANO

04 FORD TRANSIT 350

8/9 highback passenger seats on Unwin tracking, complete flat floor, SLD with side step, external PLS cassette tailift, COIFed, excellent drive and exceptionally clean, excellent value £8,495

15 highback passenger seats all quick release, lots of Unwin tracking, SLD with side step, external PLS cassette tailift, analogue tacho, Euroliners, 12 months PSV test, drives and looks superb, ready to work £12,495

LWB covered 41,000 miles, 8 highback passenger seats, lots of Unwin tracking, Ricon internal fully automatic tailift, totally showroom condition, SLD with cassette step £15,995

17 seat factory minibus, 1 owner, excellent condition, highback seats, 3 point belts, analogue tacho, 12 months PSV test, ready to work £5,495

LEZ LEZ

LEZ

PSV’d

PSV’d

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

ILES M 0 5,00 LEZ

58 IVECO 50C15 IRIS BUS

09 VAUXHALL MOVANO

58 IVECO 50c15

09 FORD TRANSIT MWB 115

Powerdoor front low step entry, 15/16 highback passenger seats, euro 4, soft trim, totally immaculate, plant on panoramic windows, 12 months PSV test £15,995

LWB, PTS spec, covered 41,000 miles, 8 highback passenger seats, Ricon internal tailift, lots of Unwin tracking, SLD with cassette step, totally totally immaculate, LEZ compliant, choice of 2 £16,995

Low miles, 16 highback passenger seats in coach moquette, lots of Unwin tracking, powerdoor front entry, destination pod, external cassette tailift, good quality conversion, will come with 12 months PSV test £16,995

Covered 5,100 miles, totally totally like new, 8/11 highback passenger seats, twin SLDs, central locking, electric windows, unmarked silver metallic, where can you find these £12,995

LEZ

LEZ

LEZ

LEZ

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

57 IVECO 50c15 IRIS BUS

06 RENAULT MASTER

55 IVECO 45c14

08 FORD TRANSIT LWB

16 highback passenger seats, lots of Unwin tracking, powerdoor front entry, external cassette tailift, plant on panoramic windows, low miles, totally immaculate POA

LWB, covered only 22,000 miles, 8/9 highback passenger seats, lots of Unwin tracking, Ricon internal Clearway tailift, SLD with cassette step, totally immaculate in every way £10,995

Only covered 58,000 miles, 8 highback seats plus wheelchair spaces or would up seat, Unwin tracking, powerdoor, front low step entry, external Ratcliffe fully automatic cassette tailift, totally immaculate, choice of 2, excellent value £9,995

High roof, covered 38,000 miles, external Ratcliffe fully automatic tailift, totally immaculate, 12 highback passenger seats lots of Unwin tracking £17,995

PSV’d

LEZ

LEZ

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair Accessible

LEZ Wheelchair Accessible

LEZ

05 RENAULT TRAFFIC

08 MERCEDES SPRINTER 511

56 FORD TRANSIT

08 FORD TRANSIT MWB

LWB, highroof, covered 66,000 miles, 7/8 highback passenger seats, lots of Unwin tracking, Ricon internal fully automatic Clearway tailift, SLD with cassette step, showroom condition inside and out, excellent value £8,995

16 high back passenger seats, lots of Unwin tracking, SLD with side step, external PLS cassette tailift, tinted windows, showroom condition inside and out POA

39,000 miles, factory spec, 8 high back passenger seats plus lugguage space. twin SLDs, totally immaculate £7,495

High roof, lots of Unwin tracking, 8 high back passenger seats, Ricon internal tailift. £11,995

Tel: 01942 864222 • WWW.HEATONSMOTORCO.CO.UK Contact us 24/7 07818 031725 - Wayne 07715 231694 - Phillip

ALL PRICES PLUS VAT We guarantee quality vehicles, right prices, no pressure sales.

Come and have a coffee while you browse at your leisure.

Junction 23, M6 or 20 miles from Manchester/Liverpool airport.

681297-1069-Connaught

7/1/13

14:23

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Mini Coach Sales

BRAND NEW MERCEDES FERQUI SOROCO 16 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door, large boot.

Order now for March/April

BRAND NEW MERCEDES FERQUI TORO 32 high back seats + courier, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door, large boot.

Order now for March.

MORE PHOTOS AND DETAILS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE:

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ FERQUI SOROCO 19 high back seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights and boot.

Order now for March/April

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ 516CDI EVM SHUTTLE 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks and A/C.

www.connaughtpsv.co.uk

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ 513CDI EVM CLASSIC 16/19 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks and A/C.

2009 MERCEDES BENZ 816 UNVI RIADA GT 29 high back seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, DVD, power door, boot, silver metallic, private plate.

2008 08 MERCEDES BENZ 815D VARIO OPTARE TORO 28 high back seats, courier seat, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, A/C, D/G, power door and large boot.

2007 07 REG MERCEDES 515CDI SOROCO 19 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, A/C, power door and boot, silver metallic.

2006 56 REG MERCEDES 616 SOROCO PLUS 16 high back leather seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, fridge, DVD, power door and boot.

2005 05 REG MERCEDES 814 VARIO MELLOR 33 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, power door and boot.

2004 04 REG MERCEDES 413 CDI SOROCO 16 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, A/C, power door and large boot.

Steve Peach Tel: 01302 770863 Mob: 07836 551020 Email: steve@connaughtpsv.co.uk www.connaughtpsv.co.uk

553368-1065-Pembridge

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NEW PRE-REGISTERED FORDS

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

FORD TRANSIT MINIBUSES

(12) 2012 Ford Transit 17 seat minibus 2.2tdci 135ps, tacho, 2300 miles only, ex-demo in silver, COIF/PSV £20,695 (12) 2012 Ford Transit Tourneo 9 seat Trend 2.2 125 PS, air-con, Bluetooth, in Midnight Sky Blue, 2,608 miles £14,900 + VAT (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

D L O S

(59) 2009 Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4tdi 115ps, tacho, air-con, 15,000km only £17,495 (07) 2007 Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4tdci 115ps air-con, tachograph, 76,000kms, COIF/PSV £11,995 (57) 2007 Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4TDi 100ps, six speed gearbox, tacho with 16,000 miles, COIF/PSV £11,995

LDV MINIBUSES

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

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

OTHER MAKES

New Peugeot Boxer 16 seat 3.5 ton and 17 seat w/chair accessible minibuses, 2.2 diesel 120ps, six speed gearbox LEZ COMPLIANT From £23,500 + VAT New Renault Master 17 seat LWB LM39dci 126 Minibus, tacho ONLY £20,350 (55) 2005 Peugeot Boxer 3.5 ton 17 seat minibus 2.8 diesel, with three point seat belts, tow bar, removable seats to rear, 77,000 miles £6,995

(06) 2006 Volkswagen Transporter 9 seat minibus, 85PS, rear tail gate, twin side loading doors, 112,000 miles £7,995

(56) 2006 Peugeot Boxer 3.5t on 17 seat minibus 2.8 diesel, high back seats with three point belts, 33,000 miles £8,995

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

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

(07) 2007 LDV Maxus 13 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, under floor lift, space for two wheelchairs, electric side step £8,495 (06) 2006 Vauxhall Vivaro 1.9 cdti 9 seat, inboard lift, tracking for 2 wheelchairs, 45,000 miles £8,995 Y 2001 Renault Mascot 2.8 diesel, 16 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, front entry drop step, fully tracked floor to take five wheelchairs, under floor lift, rear heating, COIF/PSV £6,495

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%

06 (55) MERCEDES SPRINTER 413CDi TREKA BUS W/CHAIR ACC 97000KMS COIF/PSV £18,495 CHOICE

07 (57) VW CRAFTER LT35 16 SEAT INC DRIVER WHEELCHAIR ACCESS INBOARD LIFT 43,000 MILES SILVER METALLIC COIF/PSV £19,995

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

04 (54) LDV CONVOY 17 SEAT MINIBUS WHEELCHAIR ACCESS COIF £4,995

09 (59) FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT MEDIUM ROOF MINIBUS 140PS TACHO COIF/PSV 30,000 MILES £16,995

09 (58) FORD TRANSIT 100T 300M 9 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS £14,995

MULTIPART & LDV/MAXUS PARTS STOCKISTS

(PONTYPOOL) LTD

P.O.A.

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

NEW MERCEDES SPRINTER TOURLINE 519CDI

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

03 (53) IVECO DAILY 50c13 17 SEAT MINIBUS COIF/PSV £7,495

14:42

05 (05) VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER T30 104 TDi WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS £8,995

17/12/12

04 (04) LDV CONVOY 17 SEAT MINIBUS COIF/PSV MARCH 2013 113,667 MILES £5,995

p49_CBW_1067 Page 1

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62 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

1999 T Reg Dennis Trident

2007 56 Reg ADL Enviro 200 Prototype

East Lancs body, extra long wheelbase and fitted with 78 seats and still DDA compliant, single door (never been twin door), would re-seat to between 80-90 seats and could be belted – 4 available

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

£19,950.00

For more information visit

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

£17,950.00

For more information visit

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

49 reclining seats, Manual, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £40,000

Mercedes Touro

65 reclining seats, Automatic, A/C, W/C £40,000

Jonckheere Mistral, MAN

49 reclining seats, AS Tronic gearbox, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £95,000

31 reclining seats, Manual, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio £68,000

61 reclining seats, AS Tronic gearbox, LEZ compliant, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £120,000

65 reclining seats, One Shift gearbox, LEZ compliant, Disabled access, A/C, W/C, CD, Radio, DVD, 2 Monitors £125,000

MAXI 3, Iveco

Neoplan Euroliner, MAN

Plaxton Panther, MAN

Plaxton Panther, Volvo

Contact Daniel Gillison dan@applegates.co.uk 01453 810314 V d PS ste te

2011 11 REG FORD TRANSIT

2002 (52 reg) Optare Solo M850

£16,450

£17,950

15 seat factory bus, PSV, COIF and tacho, 20K miles, ready to go

For more information visit

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

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

For more information visit

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

682190-1069-Rotala

7/1/13

11:58

Page 1

p64_CBW_1069

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64 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

Southdown PSV - 01342 711840 www.southdownpsv.co.uk

• • • • • •

New Man 14.250 CitySmart

37 seats / 32 standees MAN Euro V engine ZF auto Mobitec destination Bonded glazing £116,000 + vat - choice

• • • • • •

2003 Trident 2 Alexander ALX

67 seats / 18 standees Cummins Euro 3 engine ZF auto LEZ compliant to Euro 4 CCTV £27,500 + vat - choice

• • • • • •

2002 Daf SB220 Ikarus Polaris

44 seats /25 standees DAF 8.65 Euro 2 engine ZF auto Hanover destination Wheelchair ramp & bay £15,000 + vat - choice

Part exchange possible | Finance available – subject to status | Full inspection facilities

Viewing by appointment please - we are 10 minutes from Gatwick Airport Southdown PSV Silverwood Snow Hill Copthorne West Sussex RH10 3EN

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 1999 V Reg Mercedes 814D Vario Plaxton Beaver 2

31 bus seats with belts, new paint and test, Allison auto.

£9,950.00

For more information visit

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

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 2002 52 Reg Mercedes Sprinter 413D

UVG body, 16 seats + wheelchair, PSC and tachograph, low mileage for year

£8,450.00

For more information visit

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

681388-1069-Pickrell

H. W. PICKRELL

7/1/13

14:41

Page 1

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

06 REG IVECO DAILY 50c13 IRIS BUS 3.0

2009 59 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO SL28 2.0 TD

07 REG FORD TRANSIT 100 350 2.4 TDCI

07 REG RENAULT MASTER M M33 2.5TD

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

Manual 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.

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

Manual gearbox, 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.

06 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 411 CDI

59 REG VAUXHALL M OVANO LM39 2.5TD

09 REG PEUGEOT BOXER 330 2.5 TD

06 REG RENAULT MASTER SM33 2.2TD

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.

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

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.

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.

06 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUMBO 2.4 TDCI

07 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

2004 M ERCEDES SPRINTER 416 CDI

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUM BO 2.4 TDCI

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.

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.

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

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

10 REG RENAULT MASTER LM 39 2.5TD

09 PEUGEOT EXPERT TEPEE 1.9 HDI

2008 57 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO LH28 2.0 TD

2008 58 REG VAUXHALL MOVANO LM 39 2.5TD

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

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.

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.

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.

08 REG RENAULT MASTER LM 35 2.5 T D

58 REG IVECO DAILY 50c13 IRIS BUS 3.0

06 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI UVK TREKA

54 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI UVG TREKA

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

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

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.

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUMBO 2.4TDCI

07 REG RENAULT M ASTER LM35 2.5TD

07 REG VOLKSWAGEN CRAFTER CR50 UVG TREKA

2008 57 REG RENAULT M AST ER LM39 2.5TD

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

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

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

Manual, 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.

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66 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

RA RE O P P O RTUN ITY Single Deck, Double Deck & Hybrid

2005 28 st Pointer

2005 Scania E/Lancs

2007 Wrightbus Electrocity

For more details or to arrange a viewing call 07979 295668

Minibuses for Sale Over the next three to five years, Hampshire County Council is likely to have a number of minibuses to dispose of, typically between two and five each year. These vehicles have generally been used by community transport schemes on Dial a Ride and Community Transport services and will be 7 to 10 years old, fitted with a passenger lift or ramp, and between 9 and 16 passenger seats.

If you would be interested in receiving details when minibuses become available, please register your interest with us by sending your name and contact details to community.transport@hants.gov.uk entitled ‘Minibus disposal list’.

Details will be sent to those who have registered with us and vehicle(s) will be available for viewing. Any interested registered party can then submit a bid with a view to purchasing the vehicle.

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January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 67

HEAVY DUTY STEEL BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS

GARAGE EQUIPMENT

• Bus Workshops • Secure Storage

• Supplied any width, any length

• Building to BS5590

• Doors high enough for Double Deckers

• Finance available Phone for further information

BLUELINE BUILDINGS 01709 578333 anytime CHECKPOINTS

HEATING

Heaters • A/C Equipment Blowers • Motors • Radiators Silicone Hose • Ducting Wiper Equipment • Gas Struts

Wheel Nut Indicators and Retainers

++44(0)1524 44(0)1524 2271200 71200 checkpoint-safety.com

www.

Mobile Column Lifts FREE

Set of Axle Stands when you purchase your Mobile Columns

Tel: 01993 849522 Fax: 01993 706920 Email: sales@thhs.co.uk

www.thhs.co.uk

UNIT 9 NIMROD BUSINESS PARK DE HAVILLAND WAY, WITNEY OX29 0YG

JHM Butt & Company Limited Sales: 01302 718226

www.buttsequipment.com equipment.com

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GARAGE EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS Experts in Commercial Garage Equipment

www.bwsequip.co.uk BWS (0117) 9530381 ENGINES

CRAIG TILSLEY Suppliers of Reconditioned Tel: 01782 791524 or 01782 791527 Fax: 01782 791316

Email: info@craigtilsley.co.uk www.craigtilsley.co.uk

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

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

p68_CBW_1069

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68 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

TRAINING

REGISTRATIONS

SPEEDY REGISTRATIONS CO LTD G

G £750 DRZ 40 DRZ 60 LAZ 87 MHZ 24 MHZ 25 PEZ 66 RNZ 99 SNZ 55 UIB 69

‘Buy with confidence – CNDA Member’

£350 £99 £99 £50 ACZ 727 DXZ 1150 LIG 1238 CXZ 4470 AJZ 262 FRZ 1558 LIG 1239 DXZ 2267 CEZ 979 HIG 5338 MJZ 6749 DXZ 2268 KBZ 181 IIG 2278 MNZ 1195 ERZ 6181 RBZ 696 IIG 2279 REZ 9451 FRZ 1517 SBZ 171 JIG 9792 RUI 2117 FRZ 1518 VIW 979 JIG 9793 SUI 8836 JFZ 8261 WJI 848 KIG 6556 SUI 8837 JFZ 8262 XJI 474 KIG 6557 TJZ 1119 KIG 8781 We Buy for Cash, also Part Exchange

£50 KIG 8782 LIG 1621 LIG 1622 LIG 1623 RNZ 9198 SNZ 2274 SNZ 2275 TUI 7991 TUI 7992

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

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

SNOW CHAINS

THE DRIVER CPC IS HERE SAME DAY J.A.U.P.T. REGISTRATION SAME DAY C.P.C. CERTIFICATES DELIVERED AT YOUR OWN DEPOTS

REMEMBER-REMEMBER 10th SEPTEMBER WE WILL HOLD OUR PRICES FOR 5 YEARS

PCV DRIVER HIRE 0800-731-5007 CORPORATE DEALS AVAILABLE

MERIDIAN PCV DRIVER LTD Rising above all others

TYRE EQUIPMENT

www.meridianpcv.com

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

January 9, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 69

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

New Year’s Day: Shock horror, it’s not raining and it’s not blowing a gale. Don my walking boots for some muchneeded walking. Accompanied by mum, re-visit childhood haunts.

I love these hills – Mwynder Maldwyn, as we say in Welsh (the gentleness of Montgomeryshire).

In the evening, dad taps away at a feature he’s writing for CBW while I’m firmly on chill-out mode. After all, if I don’t take a break when I can, I can’t very well feel tired when I’m back off my holiday.

Birthday girl Nicola got behind the wheel – although we understand the ear protection was removed before driving

First Aberdeen ful�ils unusual driving ambition First Aberdeen helped make a birthday wish come true recently when it agreed to give a free bus driving lesson to a member of the public.

In return for a small charity donation to the Archie Foundation, First Aberdeen’s Senior Driving Instructor, Davie Walker, put Nicola Black of Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, through her paces at the company’s King Street depot as part of a birthday present arranged by her husband, Dave.

Most husbands choose perfume, jewellery or spa breaks

Dilbert

as appropriate birthday presents for their wives, but Dave wanted to give something a bit different.

He said: “When driving around Aberdeen recently Nic mentioned she would love to drive a bus. It was an unusual request, but I wondered whether it could actually be arranged so I contacted First.”

He continued: “Nic loves driving and so I was delighted that my strange request to celebrate her birthday paid off. We are very grateful to First Aberdeen – we both had a great time.”

Nicola, a Senior Administrator

for Sense Scotland, said: “Driving a bus is not as easy as it looks! I have a new found respect for Aberdeen bus drivers – they do a great job.

I had a great birthday – it was certainly one to remember.”

Meanwhile, Senior Driving Instructor Davie Walker said: “This was an unusual request but one we were happy to be involved in especially seeing as a good local charity like Archie’s benefited.

“We let Nicola get a feel for driving a bus and put her through a series of testing procedures we use for our professional bus drivers, all of which took place at our depot. She performed very well and I’ve told her if she ever fancies a career change, then driving buses could be right up her street.”

Wednesday: Working remotely ‘back home’ in the Welsh borderland, log into my emails for the first time since Christmas Eve. Thankfully it seems I’ve not been alone in enjoying a break from work as my inbox is far from overflowing. Spend the day and evening writing up my Giles Fearnley ‘Face to Face’ interview.

Thursday: A planned visit to a familyrun coach and bus operator is rescheduled for next month, which frankly suits the both of us as I can spend the day working on FirstGroup material.

Being stuck in the study ‘back home’ is reminiscent of sixth form. Complete my ‘Face to Face’ interview – all 4,000 odd words of it. In the evening, tell my fiancée Sarah who’s spending some quality time with her folks back in Peterborough, the article is roughly the equivalent to two features on Joe Bloggs Coaches in word count terms. She asks: “Where are they based?” Thinking she’s politely being dippy, I rise to the bait. She laughs – “Got ya, hook line & sinker.”

Friday: Enjoy a day’s Driver CPC training at Tanat Valley Coaches in the company of a number of friendly coach drivers from local operators.

I now have two days of training to gain my Driver Qualification Card before September – one of which is already in the diary. In the evening after a bite to eat, update CBW’s presence on Facebook and Twitter. www.coachandbusweek.com

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70 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 9, 2013

RECRUITMENT

Mayor welcomes Honour for Sir Peter Hendy and TfL staff

Irizar UK expands its aftersales Irizar UK has recruited Jim Edwards to further develop its aftersales.

Jim has been at Caetano UK for the last nine years, more recently being responsible for the support of the National Express network vehicles.

His appointment further enhances the Irizar UK Aftersales team joining Robert Mcdonald, Customer Support Manager, who has been with Irizar UK since its launch in 2011.

“It was always our strategy to step up our Aftersales department before expanding our sales team,” said Director Ian Hall. “We knew as our product volume grew we would want to ensure our Aftersales was the primary focus.”

Jim’s immediate priority is to enhance Irizar UK’s existing dealer

Jim Edwards network and to expand this further.

He will also be working closely with existing customers to ensure their needs are met.

“Jim will be a huge asset to Irizar UK,” said Irizar UK Director Steve O’Neill.

“We took our time before choosing Jim as we wanted someone who shared our same vision for customer service who displayed the necessary ability and competence which has been so successful to the Irizar UK product up to now.”

Sales & Reservations Manager

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has welcomed the award of a Knighthood to London’s Transport Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for 2013, for services to transport and the community.

The Mayor also paid tribute to all London’s transport workers as he welcomed the award of the OBE to London Underground’s (LU) Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins for services to the London 2012 Games and LU; and the award of the MBE to Nana Nyarko, Bus Service Controller, for services to London Buses following his outstanding bravery and commitment to colleagues and customers during the public disorder of August 2011.

Boris Johnson said: “Sir Peter Hendy richly deserves this honour. He has shown outstanding leadership as London’s Transport

Commissioner, including overseeing the largest ever investment programme in the capital’s transport network, record breaking passenger numbers and operational performance. He also led the successful operation of the transport network for the London 2012 Games, demonstrating to the world that London is the best city to live, work, visit and invest in.”

Peter Hendy

Redwing Coaches, London’s leading private coach operator, is seeking an experienced Full Time Sales & Reservations Manager to join the team at our Herne Hill offices.

Duties will include preparing customer quotations and entering client bookings; liaising with tour operators, customers and suppliers; and other duties required by management.

We are looking for a team worker with excellent inter-personal and management skills. A logical thinker with good attention to detail as well as general telephone and computer skills with the ability to work in a highly stressful and pressurised environment. A good knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Outlook is required.

Advantageous Skills Previous experience in the coach industry particularly using ‘Coach Manager’ Allocation Software and knowledge of Drivers’ Hours Regulations (training can be provided); flexible approach to working conditions and working environment change; a self-motivated and enthusiastic attitude and good geographical knowledge of London, UK and Europe.

Some weekend working required.

If you think you are the right person for this post, please send your CV with a covering letter to Paul Hockley, MD at phockley@redwing-coaches.co.uk Closing date: 30 January 2013

Redwing Coaches 10 Dylan Road, London SE24 0HL Tel: 0207 733 1124

www.coachandbusweek.com

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Deadlines Booking: Monday 5.00pm Full artwork: Monday 5.00pm

Contact Ian Gillis 01733 293484

Obituary

with Ray in the tea room and he enjoyed the camaraderie but stood his ground if things got out of hand.

We would win him over with a chilled bar of Cadburys Whole Nut, which he enjoyed with a cup of tea.

Ray loved his food and he would buy double of everything from the sandwich man, he was probably his best customer. We used to call him hollow legs because every time you walked in the tea room you could bet Ray would have a full plate of food in front of him.

“He would love to laugh and have a good conversation with the office staff, he would walk around the office to each desk and have a chat, he had time for everyone and he will never be forgotten and Clarkes will never be the same without him.

A good friend, a loyal employee and a trusted colleague. Our love and thoughts go out to his family.”

Ray’s funeral will be held at 1200hrs on Wednesday January 23, 2013 at Beckenham Crematorium & Cemetery, Elmers End Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4TD.

Ray Muggeridge Ray Muggeridge, a popular driver at Clarkes of London, passed away on the evening of December 30.

He joined Clarkes in 1971 when the fleet stood at three vehicles.

Ray’s working days would have been spent driving school children to the seaside and taking groups on sightseeing tours and beanos to London and the South Coast.

After 25 years, the firm had grown significantly. In recognition of Ray’s loyal service, Bill Clarke presented him with a gold bracelet, which Ray never took off.

Paying tribute, Debbie Newman, MD at Clarkes, said: “Ray made many friends and held many affectionate memories with Clarkes over the years. He was a wellrespected member of the team and some nicknamed him ‘King of the Road’ as he knew everything there was to know about the job.

“The drivers would often banter

ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

Get your vacancy seen by quality candidates Full colour as standard All vacancies posted to www.coachandbusweek.com/jobs Details of all vacancies posted to our Facebook, Twi�er &

Linkedin pages

eek, get a w e n o k o Bo alf price h k e e w d secon eek FREE! w d ir h t a 13 and 27 May 20 Offer valid

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Contact Ian Gillis

01733 293484 ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

WJF Technical Support require Mobile Mechanical PSV Bus and Coach Fitters and Technicians.

All applicants must be fully qualified, experienced and have an excellent working knowledge of bus and coach repairs.

Candidates will be expected to have good technical ability and be extremely competent, highly motivated and capable of delivering a quality service to our customers. You must have a minimum of 2 years experience and have completed a recognised apprenticeship or be qualified to NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent).

All fitters must have their own tools and a valid full UK driving licence.

WJF are looking for diesel mechanics, electrical technicians and coach builders both on a permanent and a self-employed basis.

References essential. Please submit you CV to simon.egan@wjftechnicalsupport.co.uk Further contact details available at www.wjftechnicalsupport.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com

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