Coach & Bus Week : Issue 1070 by Coach and Bus Week & Group Travel World

Wednesday January 16, 2013 Issue 1070 | £2.95 www.coachandbusweek.com

COACH:

DRIVER CPC:

New family-style livery Editor Gareth Evans & coaches for Lucketts gets a day's training group companies p8 at Tanat Valley p24

Stagecoach invests £75m in 430 vehicles

BUS:

MSP pushes Bill for greater bus regulation in Scotland p6

DEBATE:

TSC discusses QCs and partnerships with Norman Baker p16

for recruitm

JOB ADVE ent EVERY WERTS EK

RECRUIT N

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this week

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Throwing the book at school bus overloading

trust you will read with interest our story on p4 about a school bus being overloaded and the fact that Hertfordshire Constabulary is warning drivers and operators will be prosecuted if PSVs are found to exceed their legal passenger capacity. We at CBW first learned about the matter after a memo was circulated to operators by Hertfordshire County Council – but there is almost always a trigger for such reminders, so we dug deeper. I commend the authority for keeping its operators informed. This is after all, one of those stories where you may be aware of the legal position but you rarely seem to hear of any prosecutions or indeed, enforcement of any kind. As someone who drove school coaches and buses both in the urban West Midlands and the rural Shropshire-Welsh borderland in a past life, it got me thinking. Put yourself in the driving seat – do you count the pupils (sorry, students to use todays politicallycorrect term) on? If so how? Do you have a passenger counter – you know, one of those clicky devices? Or do your rely on your eyes or familiarity? How do you stop it? You can’t leave pupils on the roadside as that opens

a whole can of worms in itself. This then begs the question about failures in the system – be it at an operator level for allowing it to happen; at a school or local authority level. On that note, one could perhaps understand pressures on capacity had it occured at the beginning of the new acamdemic year in September but not four months down the line. While I’m not privy as to whether the service was commercial or contract, I am aware there have been changes to funding in the county. That may explain the presence of pupils from five different schools on the bus. However, it is of course, no excuse. Clearly, if what the officers saw is found to be true when the case goes before courts, the fact pupils had to disembark to allow the driver out of his seat seems frankly outrageous. Of course, road safety is paramount. As the police rightly state, if an overloaded coach or bus is involved in an incident, the consequences don’t bear thinking about...

Gareth Evans Editor

CONTENTS 4

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

Previewing Transport Ticketing 2013’s panels, exhibitors and talks

A look at suppliers of products and services for vehicle presentation

Ray Wilkes discusses the merits of cross-network timetables

Your Editor reports on a day of D-CPC training with Tanat Valley

A lighthearted look at the industry. Plus Office Diary column

The TSC debates QCs and partnerships with Norman Baker

One of Preston’s Volvo Hybrids that have entered service this week

All the latest people moves from across the industry

News

Open Platform News Focus

Transport Ticketing Industry Guide Driver CPC Training The Big Picture

Last Stop

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.

Putting your training in safe hands www.wts.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com

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news

“If you ask your local bus company for advice on travelling elsewhere, too often you will be told “We do not run there,” which is unhelpful.” Ray Wilkes

briefly Webasto has extended its warranty period to three years, providing customers with an additional 12 months cover on all heating and integrated vehicle air conditioning, climate control or refrigeration system products purchased after January 1, 2013. The company said its popular products had proven highly reliable and were continually exceeding customer expectations – hence the decision to extend the product warranty by an extra 12 months. A second strike by Isle of Man bus drivers is scheduled for Thursday. The strike will last for five hours. Early morning school bus operation is not affected but the action coincides with an exam day for Manx pupils. Steam and electric railways are once more being pressed into action to provide services. The Unite union has announced a schedule of strike days between now and March unless the pay dispute is settled. Development of a costeffective traffic modelling system has led to a further major roll-out of SCOOT adaptive traffic management technology in London, according to Traffic and Software Programme Director Gavin Jackman of TRL. Simulations predict increased control would improve traffic flows by 13%. The roll-out of SCOOT at 600 more intersections is a central plank in the Mayor of London’s policy objective of smoothing traffic flows to meet TfL’s network management duty under the 2004 Traffic Management Act. At the same time, the use of more responsive and versatile traffic control is seen as making a contribution to the reduction of emissions and pollutants. Previous experience in targeting these goals was already indicating the need for further deployment of SCOOT in London, where it has been replacing previous fixed-time installations since 1985. John Wilson has removed himself from the running for Labour in the Preston North East ward on Lancashire County Council. He claims he was told to curtail his campaign to save the city’s bus station. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Open Platform p14

Police crackdown on overloading Herts Constabulary warns drivers & operators will be prosecuted if PSVs found to exceed legal passenger capacity A school bus driver stopped by police for jumping a red light in Little Hadham was pulled over again the following day for carrying too many children. Police found the bus, which was working service 351 to Bishop’s Stortford, had six too many passengers on board when the vehicle was stopped at the A120 crossroads during the morning rush hour on January 9. Concerns about overcrowding had been raised by an officer who had dealt with the same driver for the original motoring offence the previous day. Inspector Chris Hunt said: “The officer reported it seemed to be too full so we went back the next day and found children standing right up to the front windscreen.” The school bus, which was operated by Harlow-based Olympian Coaches and collects children from the outlying villages, is permitted to carry a maximum of 49 passengers – 23 seated and 26 standing – but 55 were found on board. Inspector Hunt continued: “We took the six off and sent the bus on its way because some of the children were taking exams. We then stayed with the others at the bus stop at Little Hadham until another bus was sent to pick them up, which took about 30 minutes. “The danger is that had the bus

Ellen Smith Tours partners with Swans Travel Ellen Smith Tours has announced a commercial agreement with Swans Travel and has moved its Head Office function to the premises of Swans Travel on Broadway Business Park. As part

been involved in a crash then those children would have gone through the windscreen, so obviously we are extremely concerned about the safety element.” The driver, a foreign national, has been reported for dangerous driving as well as jumping the red light the previous day. He could face a fine and penalty points on his licence, while his employer could also face prosecution. CBW first learned about the matter after a memo was circulated to operators by Hertfordshire County Council – but there is almost always a trigger for such reminders, so CBW dug deeper. Adrian Hardy, Team Leader, Contract Management, Transport Access & Safety Unit, informed operators: “Hertfordshire Police have notified us they will be taking action against any operator

The stopped schoolbus had children standing up to the front windscreen of the agreement Swans Travel will maintain all Ellen Smith vehicles. Paul Targett, MD of Ellen Smith Tours, said: “Swans Travel coaches will undertake all our additional work with immediate effect. It is our intention that, as we sell or dispose of vehicles, Swans Travel will provide vehicles for more and more of our tours and excursions.” From Swans Travel, Kieran Swindells, MD, commented: “We have already operated a number of tours for Ellen Smith. Paul has advised me the reports from his

overloading their vehicles by contravening schedule 7.- (1) of The Public Service Vehicles (Carrying Capacity) Regulations 1984. As you will know, this schedule states that ‘no person shall drive, or cause or permit to be driven, on a road a vehicle if the number of standing passengers exceeds the maximum specified in relation to that vehicle’. “They have also indicated they will take action against any company which permits passengers to stand in the front of a vehicle. In The Public Service Vehicles (Carrying Capacity) Regulations 1984 schedule 7.- (2) (b), this is defined as forward of the rearmost part of the driver’s seat, so that the driver must have a clear view of the front nearside screen, front doors and nearside mirror at all times. “Please can you instruct your drivers of this as a matter of urgency and make sure you indicate on your buses that no standing shall occur beyond that point. I would be grateful for your co-operation.” On Thursday, Duncan Wallace from Hertfordshire Police told CBW: “VOSA and the Traffic Commissioner will be notified once we have compiled a complete file on the incident so they can deal with the situation as they see fit, though it should be noted that this offence is endorseable against the driver’s license. “In addition, investigations will be undertaken to see if it is the company at fault, or if this is an individual driver not following company procedure.” customers are excellent, as I would expect from our team of drivers. We operate a fleet of modern Mercedes Benz Tourismos which are ideally suited to UK tours and excursions. We have new deliveries arriving throughout this year, of which an appropriate number will be liveried in Ellen Smith distinctive black livery and instantly recognisable tiger logo.” Both Ellen Smith and Swans Travel stress this is a working agreement and there is no change in ownership of either company.

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January 16, 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

Stagecoach invests £75m in 430 new buses and coaches Stagecoach Group has confirmed its 2013 investment of over £75m will see the introduction of over 430 new buses and coaches. Most of the vehicles will be produced in the UK, helping support hundreds of British manufacturing jobs. The latest orders follow an annual competitive tendering process and the first of the new vehicles will be delivered from May 2013. Stagecoach’s total investment in new buses and coaches for the UK over the past six years is now more than £445m. Details of the new orders are: n 113 ADL Enviro 400 Dennis and Scania double-deckers n 98 ADL Enviro 300 Dennis and Scania single-deckers

Greyhound runs longer

First Cymru’s Greyhound coach services, which currently run between Swansea and Cardiff, are to be extended from March 11 to provide a direct coach link to and from Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and Bristol Airport – it has now been officially confirmed. CBW first broke news of the plans last autumn. It will operate “up to an hourly” weekdays and “up to” two hourly on weekends.

n 140 ADL Enviro 200s n 1 Optare Versa n 32 Optare Solos n 10 Plaxton Panther-bodied Volvo B13R coaches n 8 Plaxton Elite-bodied Volvo B13R coaches n 10 Plaxton Elite i-bodied Volvo B11R coaches

n 10 Van Hool Altano TDX 21 lefthand drive coaches n 10 Van Hool Astromega doubledecker sleeper coaches Interestingly, the Astomegas feature 55 reclining seats for daytime travel which convert to 41 beds for overnight journeys. The left-hand drive, 72-seat Altano over-

Passengers wait to board megabus services to Leeds and Cardiff at London’s Victoria Coach Station on October 10. Further Van Hool coaches will join the network this year The new service to Bristol Airport will run limited stops, calling at Cardiff Bus Station, Newport Railway Station, University of the West of England (Frenchay Campus), Bristol Bus Station and Bristol Airport in addition to its current route between Swansea and Cardiff. End to end journey time from Swansea Bus Station to Bristol Airport will be two hours and 45 minutes in the off peak (three hours during the morning peak period), while from Cardiff (Bus Station) journeys will take just one hour and 40 minutes. Marc Reddy, Regional

Commercial and Business Growth Director for First in the South West and Wales, said: “The extension of this service is significant. We believe there is real potential for growth here, both from people in Wales who want to be able to access Bristol city centre and Bristol Airport more easily, but also from people and businesses in North Bristol, who for instance will benefit from a direct coach link from the University of the West of England (Frenchay Campus) to Bristol Airport. We anticipate the news will be particularly welcomed by those at UWE, the MOD site

deck coaches are for megabus.com continental services and replace 49-seater coaches. All vehicles meet Euro 5 emissions requirements and some are to be hybrid or gas-fuelled low carbon vehicles. The actual number will be determined by the allocation of £20m funding from the fourth round of Green Bus Fund. Details of successful bids are being announced in May. Les Warneford, MD of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “This latest multimillion-pound investment is a great New Year boost for Britain. It will deliver better bus services to local communities across the country and help support British manufacturing jobs. It is also great news for our customers. “The new orders mark further investment in our budget coach service megabus.com where we placed a special order for new double-decker sleeper coaches, which will allow us to run a luxury service during the day and offer greater comfort to our customers on overnight services.” in Abbeywood and at Airbus and Rolls Royce, who will no doubt find the new service useful. We believe that the new service will also compliment the existing Airport Flyer service, which we currently operate on behalf of the airport, giving people additional choices over how they get to and from the airport.” Tickets for the coach, which will be priced from £10, will be available to book in advance via the Greyhound UK website www.greyhounduk.com from January 28.

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92%

news › BUSeS

Tanat Valley Training’s current first time pass rate for PCV driving test applicants

briefly City of York Council has said if final consent is given by the Department for Transport (DfT), construction work on a sixth Park & Ride (P&R) site could begin in March. Initial approval of the project was given by the DfT in 2011. The new P&R site will be located near Poppleton on the A59. One existing site, at Askham Bar on the A64, will be moved to a new, larger location. The cost of the project will be split – the DfT is contributing almost £16m and the council is providing the remaining £6m. A man who tried to puncture the tyres of a National Express Dundee bus with a pitchfork has been spared jail and sent for alcohol counselling instead. A court had heard the 55-year-old has lost his temper when told to get off the bus at Ninewell’s hospital and began battering the glass separating the driver from passengers with his hand. The man then got off and started smashing the fork off the side of the bus, before witnesses saw him trying to stab the front tyres with the tool. A strike by bus drivers in Guernsey has been called off. CT Plus took over the contract in April and has made various changes to the drivers’ terms and conditions. The latest, involving changes to rotas and sign in and off times, prompted the threat of strike action. The firm has agreed to delay introducing any changes until more talks take place on January 23.

Scots bus bill bid to strengthen regulation Former bus conductor MSP harps back to SBG days & criticises First’s closure of its East Lothian operation East Lothian’s MSP Iain Gray has announced his intention to bring a Private Members Bill to the Scottish Parliament to strengthen regulation of the bus industry. The Bill will give local authorities the power to “bundle” profitable and loss making (but socially desirable) routes together, to be tendered in a Quality Contract or franchise. These contracts would include a framework to specify routes, timetables, fares and vehicle quality. They would also allow the performance of bus companies to be more directly monitored. This move follows on from a previous attempt by former MSP Charlie Gordon to legislate, which fell because Labour was the sole party willing to support the measure. Mr Gray’s decision to pursue this issue was also informed by what he calls “last year’s local bus crisis, when First withdrew several vital local services at very short notice leaving several large communities at risk of having no bus service at all”. Iain Gray said: “Bus journeys have decreased in recent years, but they are by far the commonest means of public transport in Scotland with many more journeys

by bus than by rail. “Yet successive SNP governments have given little attention or support to Scotland’s buses, cutting government funding of bus routes and continuing to invest more money in rail journeys. As a result we have seen services reduced or even withdrawn across Scotland, and inflation-busting fare increases imposed on passengers. “East Lothian has been one of the hardest hit, with First simply withdrawing from most of their routes in the county last year and making hundreds of bus workers redundant. The groundswell of local anger about that decision helped convince me that Parliament must look again at this matter. “The deregulated, free market in bus services has not served my constituents well, delivering expensive and unreliable services, or none at all for many communities. “Previous Labour administrations

Iain Gray MSP

introduced the power to use Quality Bus Partnerships (QBP) or Quality Bus Contracts (QBC). However, no local authority has ever used the QBC legislation, although there is one QBP in Renfrew, which has been a great success. “It is time to accept that the existing legislation has not worked, and put it right so that bus passengers throughout Scotland can expect a decent, regular, affordable bus service.” Mr Gray continued: “Many years ago I worked as a bus conductor on routes through East Lothian. These were the best, most profitable routes in the publicly owned Scottish Bus Group. “Privatisation and deregulation have reduced them to little more than a skeleton service, with many villages excluded altogether. Doing nothing will simply allow this slow, steady decline to continue, until we have no buses at all. “I am hoping problems like those in East Lothian will finally have convinced other parties that we have to act, and that they will support my Bill so that we can get it to Parliament and change the law.” He added the first stage of the legislative process will be a consultation on the detail of the Bill, in the first half of 2013. Giving the industry’s reaction, Paul White, Communications Manager for CPT Scotland, told CBW: “Further regulation and

www.coachandbusweek.com

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£1.25m

The investment from EYMS for five new coaches – two Volvo B9R Plaxton Elites and three Volvo B9R Caetanos Quality Contracts are not the panacea Scottish Labour continues to believe they are. Quality Contracts transfer the financial risk of local bus networks to local taxpayers. They can also potentially result in higher fares and reduced services. “Recent DfT statistics show that commercial mileage across Scotland has remained stable since 2010 while local authority supported bus mileage had dropped by over 10%. How does Labour propose cash strapped authorities pay for the fares reductions and increased services that they laudably wish to deliver? “Iain Gray states the Statutory Quality Partnership (SQP) in Renfrew is a ‘great success’. Other SQPs are currently being formulated across Scotland and in other parts of the UK. Labour would be better served by supporting bus operators and local authorities in using their collective resources to make practical improvements which benefit passengers rather than criticising the industry through what appear to be uncosted and impractical proposals.” Visit Iain Gray MSP’s website at www. iaingraymsp.co.uk

41%

Proportion of Local Authorities which have reduced their financial support for bus services

New bus operations for Holmeswood Holmeswood Coaches has taken on some extra bus operations, strengthening it’s presence in East Lancashire. On December 24 the operator took over a four-vehicle operation from Rossendale Travel of Blackburn, running a service on behalf of Lancashire County Council between Burnley and Nelson. On January 6 the firm took over

Robert Tyrer, Tyrer’s MD, with Holmeswood MD Francis Aspinall

CILT Wales – Transport Solutions Wales 2013 The Welsh transport scene is changing – and now the National Assembly is debating an Active Travel Bill, more of which in a future issue. The Welsh Government is driving forward with proposals for better integrated public and sustainable transport, together with greater collaboration between key stakeholders, while the effects of the recession and reduced funding are widespread. The Transport Solutions Wales seminar is organised by CILT Cymru, with support from the National Assembly of Wales, Welsh Government, not to mention regional transport consortia Sewta, SWWITCH, Taith and Tracc. The event is aimed at transport practitioners, planners, engineers, managers and researchers

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January 16, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 7

Categories for the CILT competition include integrated transport drawn from central, regional and local government, operators, consultancies, academia and the health and third sectors. There is a need for Welsh transport researchers and practitioners to share knowledge and to learn about successful initiatives which can be adopted, and the seminar provides a focused and low cost opportunity for furthering professional development. It will comprise plenary sessions in the morning and afternoon, with parallel themed sessions before and after lunch. CILT Cymru is inviting abstracts,

a 12-vehicle network from Tyrer Tours Ltd in Nelson, including a service on behalf of the NHS between two hospitals in Blackburn and Burnley. Both businesses will be operated from the purpose built Tyrer Tours premises in Nelson. Holmeswood is taking on the other firms’ vehicles, which include Darts, Solos and Streetlites. Francis Aspinall, MD at Holmeswood, said: “We are constantly looking for opportunities to expand our coach and bus operations and we feel both of these additions will further strengthen our position. There is great potential to grow our coaching presence up the M65 corridor with the move to Tyrers and we are all very excited as we look forward to the future.” Duncan Aspinall, Holmeswood Director, told CBW: “We will consider new opportunities if they arise.” Robert Tyrer, MD at Tyrers, who is retiring after nearly forty years in the industry, said: “The move to Holmeswood seemed a natural choice as they are very much a family firm. Howard Tyrer is joining the Holmeswood team as Sales and Marketing Manager and I am sure he will bring a great deal to their organisation.” no longer than 300 words, with abstract title, and name, position/ affiliation & contact details as well as brief (up to 100 words) biographical information of the author(s) included. Papers are welcome on all topics across the broad spectrum of transport and papers related to current transport issues in Wales are particularly welcome. Suggested categories include: Integrated public transport; Active travel; Delivering more with less; Bus, rail & highway success stories; Transport in City regions; Rural transport; Land use & transport planning; Transport & new technologies; Marketing, design, communications and Road safety. Papers will be selected by CILT together with representatives of the partner organisations. Closing date for abstracts is February 13. This free of charge seminar takes place on May 2 in Cardiff Bay. Abstracts should be sent to Margaret Everson, margareteverson@ yahoo.co.uk .

SHARE WATCH

Industry share prices at the close of the Stock Exchange on Monday, January 14. National Express saw the greatest proportional rise, while FirstGroup saw the greatest proportional drop. Most figures obtained from www.iii.co.uk

348.40p

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

191.80p

Price: Year High: 325.85p Year Low: 174.60p

1285.0p

Price: Year High: 1390.0p Year Low: 1074.0p

212.70p

Price: Year High: 256.20p Year Low: 162.90p

299.05p

Price: Year High: 321.500p Year Low: 227.90p

0.51p

Price: Year High: 0.93p Year Low: 0.20p

44.00p

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

83.38p

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

15.00p

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

-1.75 on last week

-17.25 on last week

-3.00 on last week

+2.50 on last week

-12.15 on last week

-0.03 on last week

+0.00 on last week

-0.11 on last week

-0.50 on last week

FTSE 100

6,107

Index: Year High: 6,134 Year Low: 5,260

+35 on last week

www.coachandbusweek.com

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news › coaches

briefly Operators should plan, if possible, to avoid the Bakewell area on January 25 as major congestion is expected. Trail riders and drivers angry at attempts by the Peak District National Park Authority’s (PDNA) plan to close Chapel Gate – an historic road in the park – are to protest at the PDNA’s offices on January 25. A spokesman for the protest organisers, Peak & Derbyshire Vehicle User Group (PDVUG), said: “The PDNPA has already wasted thousands defending a spurious ‘Experimental Traffic Regulation Order’ (ERTO) banning motorised use of Chapel Gate. PDNPA was taken to court by the Trail Riders Fellowship and the judge ruled the ETRO was illegal, as no ‘experiment’ was in fact taking place. Our presence at the meeting should serve as a warning should they decide to continue with their policy of confrontation.” The A500 is closed overnight westbound between A34 Talke Road and M6 J16 and has been reduced to one lane eastbound. This will be in place for five weeks; when work will move across and the eastbound lane will close for five weeks. The Highways Agency started drainage work on the road near Stoke-on-Trent on Monday. Work is being carried out between 1900 and 0630hrs on weeknights and from 1830 to 1030 at weekends. On some occasions it may be necessary to have 24 hour lane closures in place. The Highways Agency website has details of diversions in place. London-based Redwing Coaches has updated its company website. The new userfriendly website, designed by Yellow Jersey, can be seen at www. redwing-coaches.co.uk. Redwing told CBW the time was now right to update the “tired and dated” webpage and the new design is much easier for customers to use. The link roads of the A38(M) out of Birmingham City Centre to the M6 at J6 will be shut nightly this week 2130–0530 until Friday January 18 for the installation of narrow lanes. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Livery change & new vehicles for Lucketts The major rebranding for Lucketts allows retention of individual company identities Lucketts Travel has announced a £2m investment in new vehicles and has unveiled a new look for its fleet. With three company brands operating under the Lucketts Travel umbrella, the firm thought it was time to give them all a unified look, whilst retaining the individual names. Passengers will still travel on Lucketts Travel, Worthing Coaches

or Coliseum Coaches branded vehicles, although each will share common styling identifying them as part of the larger travel group. All will share the same familiar ‘swoosh’ logo, with different colours used for the three brands within the group. It’s the first rebrand in eight years. The group has also invested in seven new coaches, which takes the total number of vehicles it operates to 100. An additional DAF Irizar i6 53-seat coach, two Scania Irizar 53-seater, two Scania Irizar 49 seat,

Lucketts has adopted style branding while retaining sparate identities

Improved iPhone app from The Kings Ferry National Express-owned The Kings Ferry has introduced an improved iPhone and iPad app for commuters to track their coach It builds on ‘CoachTrac’, introduced in 2010. Its main functionality is the same but with added features, notably the ability to adapt the timetable to changes. The previous version was useless at times such as Christmas, where the timetable changes significantly. Danny Elford, Commercial Director, said: “It’s an on-going

development. Ultimately we want to offer a whole host of features which link our Commuter update service and Twitter to the app and provide a more personal experience. The first and most important part of the project is to make sure it works through times of change and disruption. Future versions of the app will continue to add more great features.” Other new features include: n Saved stops are displayed in am/ pm tabs and shows the relevant one according to the time of day. n Facility to view fares and purchase information. n Contact and feedback information. n Support for iPhone 5. Eventually the original app will be turned off so users must download the new app to make sure they have a working version.

one Scania Omni Express 53 -seater and a Plaxton Cheetah 29-seater will soon be in operation, complete with the new Lucketts Group branding. Ian Luckett, Director of Lucketts Travel, said: “It’s been a while since we last refreshed our branding and with the recent acquisition of Coliseum Coaches the time seemed right to give all parts of our business a more uniform style. It was important though to still allow each company in our group to maintain its own sense of identity. “As a family firm, the Lucketts Group has always been focused on delivering the highest levels of customer service and satisfaction. To achieve this in a competitive market and to keep our place above the crowd, we continue to invest heavily in areas of our business which make a big difference to our passengers. By operating the latest environmentally-friendly luxury vehicles, driven by staff who receive proper industry leading training, we are able to deliver high quality travel at the best value prices.” Lucketts is also constructing a new level at its Fareham headquarters, expanding the building to include a new dedicated training area and offices.

Improved Kings Ferry app promises to adapt to timetable changes Compatibility for other devices such as Android is in progress but the firm’s improved online tracker works on any smartphone with browser access. Its new filter system offers more viewing possibilities when selecting a coach. The firm is currently offering free travel for up to two months if they swap their rail season ticket for an annual travel pass.

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January 16, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 9

“A lot of it’s to do with the material you have to work with. It’s not one of those jobs where a poor workman blames his tools...” Daniel Stephenson Tanat Valley

Filip Van Hool appointed CEO

Whittle Coaches received a Plaxton Elite as part of the investment

EYMS makes £1.25m coach investment Hull-based bus and coach operator EYMS Group has taken delivery of five new coaches in an investment worth almost £1.25m. Two of the vehicles are Volvo B9R Plaxton Elites, with one going into the East Yorkshire Coaches fleet at Hull and the other delivered to Whittle Coaches, the EYMS subsidiary in Kidderminster. The vehicles, which will be used on coach holidays and private hire at both East Yorkshire and Whittles, are to a high specification, including full air conditioning, toilet and washroom, reclining seats, 3-point seat belts, DVD systems and extensive luggage accommodation. The other three coaches,

49-seater Volvo B9R Caetanos, join the dedicated seven-coach fleet EYMS operates from Hull on the national long distance route network on contract to National Express. EYMS chairman Peter Shipp said “While times are very tough in the bus and coach industry we are still trying our best to update our fleets whenever we can and in a competitive market it is vital we keep the coach fleet up to date. We have recently launched our East Yorkshire and Whittles 2013 coach holiday programmes and the new coaches will be mainly used on these although they can be hired for private parties. “All five coaches are replacements and we have taken the opportunity to transfer to general coaching duties the three displaced National Express coaches which are only four years old, thus further improving our private hire

Durham-based operator Stanley Travel has introduced PCV driver training after acquiring the business arm from a retired local operator. The firm commenced training on January 2 and offers automatic and manual training vehicles, assessment lessons, minibus to coach training upgrades and automatic to manual upgrades, as well as Driver CPC training. Andrew Scott, Partner and Transport Manager, told CBW: “A long established operator called Alan Madrell from Langley Park, not far away from us, decided to retire.

“They had a driver training arm and the owner was looking for a good home for it. We did a bit of research and decided to take it on. It’s all about diversification and adding income streams. “The company we took the training from had a strong reputation and a lot of forward bookings. We’re also taking a lot of extra enquiries, particularly regarding our ‘automatic to manual upgrade’ training.” Stanley Travel has invested in a manual training vehicle and employed the trainer who worked for Alan Madrell. “So far, so good,” Andrew added. “The feedback has been good. We’re really happy with it – it’s a good time to start. “We’ve currently had two tests and both have passed!”

Stanley Travel adds PCV training

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Filip Van Hool has become the company’s Chief Executive Officer. He will bear operational responsibility for the overall activities of Van Hool and remains a member of the Board of Directors. “I would like to thank the Board of Directors and the family for their confidence in me,” said Filip Van Hool. “These are exceptionally exciting times for our company - operating in market conditions which are not always easy. But I can see opportunities for Van Hool in both areas in which we are active: in the bus and coach market and in industrial vehicles. Together with the management team, I shall continue to ensure the company’s and the brand’s values are upheld and reinforced: the high quality of our products, the customer focus and the further extension of the service provided to our customers

Training p24 remain our main objectives.” Filip Van Hool is the grandson of founder Bernard Van Hool and joined the company in 1989. He obtained degrees in Applied Economic Sciences and Business Engineering at Antwerp University and EHSAL Management School respectively. He became a member of the Executive team in 1999 and took charge of the overall operations of the Bus&Car division. In 2007 he became a director of Van Hool nv and ABC Companies USA, Van Hool’s exclusive distributor in the USA.

Filip Van Hool is the grandson of founder Bernard Van Hool

www.coachandbusweek.com

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news

Goodyear secures major contract for new tyre Field trial operator orders latest coach tyres for 22 new vehicles Following the launch last autumn of its new dedicated coach tyre, Goodyear has announces a major sales contract with bus and coach operator Sales-Lentz. The Luxembourg-based company, which was involved in field trials of the new Goodyear coach tyres, has just brought in to service 22 new vehicles equipped with the new Marathon Coach and Ultra Grip Coach tyres. The reasons for choosing the tyres include the mileage performance they offer which is down, to a great extent, to the asymmetric tread pattern of the Marathon Coach tyre. The vehicles ordered include coaches for touring, buses for operation across Luxembourg and buses for local operations. Having been delivered at the end of December 2012, they have now entered service. Both Goodyear Marathon Coach and Ultra Grip Coach tyres are fitted on the new vehicles, with the Ultra Grip Coach

winter drive tyres mounted on the drive axles. During winter the front axles will be fitted with Goodyear Ultra Grip WTS winter steer tyres. During summer Marathon Coach tyres will be used. The vehicles employ either 295/80R22.5 or 315/80R22.5 tyres. Sales-Lentz was one of the coach operators working with Goodyear on the field trials of the new Marathon Coach tyres and Ultra Grip Coach winter tyres prior to their introduction. “We know from the experience

Operator Sales-Lentz has opted for Goodyear’s Marathon Coach tyre

Translink partners Londonderry City of Culture State-owned Northern Ireland transport operator Translink has been unveiled as the public transport partner for Londonderry’s year as UK City of Culture. Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of Culture Company 2013, said: “We are delighted Translink has become our public transport partner. With over one million visitors expected to participate in our fantastic programme of events it is a very fitting relationship and we look forward to working with Translink in the year ahead. This new initiative gives us the opportunity to engage with audiences not just in Northern Ireland, but throughout the whole of Ireland.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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we had from the field trials the new Goodyear coach tyres give excellent performance,” said Jos Derkum, Technical Director of Sales-Lentz. “Our main priorities when purchasing tyres are safety and price. The new Goodyear coach tyres combine both characteristics, particularly with regard to the mileage we expect from them, which will help us keep down our operating costs, without compromise on safety factors for our passengers and drivers.” Marc Preedy, Director of Commercial Tyres at Goodyear Dunlop in the UK, said: “The decision by Sales-Lentz to order their new vehicles fitted with the Goodyear coach tyre is a fabulous endorsement of this new product, given their involvement in the field trials prior to its launch. The tyre is now available in the UK and we look forward to seeing its roll out among coach operators. We are confident we have brought something new and innovative to the coach market which meets its bespoke needs.”

Translink Service Delivery Manager Alan Young with Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of Culture Company 2013. Translink provided travel for senior citizens attending a tea dance which was the first event to take place at ‘The Venue’ – the flagship venue for 2013 Translink launched its support of City of Culture by providing transport for over 150 senior citizens from across Londonderry to attend the Afternoon Tea Dance, the first event to take place at

The Venue, the much anticipated flagship venue for 2013. In addition to PR and marketing support, the company will also support a range of events across the City of Culture programme

100% lowfloor access for First Glasgow First Glasgow, the city’s biggest bus operator, has announced its bus fleet is now made up entirely of low floor buses. The company’s 900-plus strong fleet is now made up entirely of low-floor accessible vehicles, making using services easier for customers travelling with children in a buggy, or for those with mobility issues. Ronnie Park, First Glasgow’s MD, said: “We are delighted to be in a position to make bus travel easier for customers travelling with young children and others who benefit from low step easy access.” With over 100 services in the Greater Glasgow bus network, First Glasgow operates numerous express services to the city centre from surrounding areas. The firm did however state: “While all reasonable endeavours will be made to operate this type of vehicle there may be occasions due to operational reasons that First Glasgow may have to utilise step entrance vehicles.” throughout the year with provision of transport for artists, schools and community groups. Lynda Shannon, Translink Communications Manager, said: “Londonderry City of Culture is a significant milestone in the cultural, social and economic history of Northern Ireland and as a key element of the region’s infrastructure, Translink is delighted to play a central and active role in the year’s events. “With thousands of additional visitors expected to enjoy Londonderry’s rich cultural diversity during 2013, Translink is looking forward to helping more people get to and around the city and to add to their overall visitor experience. “2013 is already a momentous year for Translink with the reopening of the Coleraine to Londonderry railway line and we look forward to working with Culture Company on a creative project to celebrate this historic occasion.”

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news › REGIONAL

SCOTLAND

A £15m funding gap has been found in the Scottish Government’s free travel plan. This finding comes as a review of the Concessionary Travel Scheme looks set to recommend a cut of up to 13% in the rate at which bus firms are reimbursed. This is expected to put a further squeeze on operators ability to run less lucrative services in the evenings and at weekends and could see some smaller operators go out of business. Official reviews conducted by Audit Scotland have found free bus travel to be unsustainable and could cost more than £500m by 2023 as Scotland’s elderly population increases. Funding was cut from £192m a year to £185m in 2011 but then restored to its 2010 level and subjected to a three-year freeze from 2011 to 2014. The cap meant bus firms had to repay between £7m and £9m to the Scottish Government last year under a claw-back mechanism that comes in when costs exceed the available funding. Figures from the Department for Transport show bus fares in Scotland went up 5% in 2012 while the total miles travelled by registered bus services fell by 4%. Discussions to agree a reimbursement rate for the 2013/14 financial year are currently underway. As part of a pilot scheme in Glasgow if severe disruption affects selected rail routes out of Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street, ScotRail ticketholders will now be able to exchange rail tickets for vouchers for use on the appropriate First Glasgow bus service. The trial benefits customers travelling on the following routes: n Glasgow Central to- Balloch, Carluke, East Kilbride, Helensburgh, Milngavie, Motherwell, Newton, Paisley Canal, Whifflet, Wishaw, and stations on the Cathcart Circle and the Neilston line. n Glasgow Queen Street toAnniesland, Balloch, Cumbernauld, Drumgelloch, Helensburgh, and Milngavie. If the new system proves successful, ScotRail will consider expanding it to other stations and routes. Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s Managing Director, said: “I hope the trial will reduce the need for us to order replacement buses when rail lines are blocked because it can take up to an hour for these to reach www.coachandbusweek.com

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reporting system for them to register their concerns. Issues being reported are then sent to schools or operators for further investigation, with feedback provided where appropriate.

KEY

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

Glasgow city centre – or even longer during bus peak travel times.” Ronnie Park, Managing Director of First Glasgow, said: “We operate almost 1,000 buses in Glasgow and Lanarkshire and are ideally placed to get many of ScotRail’s customers home safely and quickly, should there be disruption on the rail network. I’m pleased that this pilot has been introduced and have every confidence that it will prove successful.” Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “The Scottish Government obviously welcomes any initiative which will make the train experience more attractive, efficient and comfortable for passengers. This arrangement will offer rail travellers another alternative to complete their journey even when unexpected problems arise.”

NORTH

Go-Ahead subsidiary Go North East has ceased to offer paper Weekly Route Savers. The operator made the transition from paper to solely use the key smartcard or mobile phone tickets on January 2. Passengers will still be able to buy the ticket on the bus but will need a key smartcard to do this. Stephen King, Marketing and Sales Manager for Go North East, told CBW the decision to change was a combination between a reflection of the growing number of key smartcard holders and mobile

WALES

ticketing users and a push to get more people using the key card. He added: “The key is a secure and convenient way for customers to buy their usual weekly ticket, which they can still do on the bus with their key card. We’re also giving them the opportunity to buy tickets on their mobile phones for the same reasons. We are only changing this for weekly tickets which are bought and used by regular customers so the risk of alienating anyone is reduced.” East Riding of Yorkshire Council, supported by local schools and East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS), has announced the latest Buswise advertising campaign. Buswise is a single point of contact for all issues relating to school bus services, offered to pupils throughout East Riding, and allows drivers, passengers, parents and members of the public to report incidents of concern. Since its launch in September 2008, Buswise has evolved to include educational sessions in primary and secondary schools and driver training sessions in partnership with EYMS. To raise awareness of bullying and antisocial behaviour, a double-decker bus has been “wrapped” in a huge eyecatching poster. The bus will operate throughout the East Riding and will raise awareness to children and parents that Buswise offers a discreet

Flintshire faith schools face free bus cuts to save up to £100,000 per year. The council is to consult on plans to axe free bus travel for children attending faith schools, unless they can prove their beliefs with such evidence as a baptism certificate. The Church in Wales says a change of policy in Flintshire will disadvantage some families. The authority is looking at other ways to cut its £6m school transport bill and has said it will continue to honour minimum statutory requirements is reviewing some of the additional discretionary assistance it provides. This includes changing its policy on providing free transport to denominational schools, which had been granted irrespective of whether they could provide evidence of their faith. The council says an increasing number of students are travelling to Cheshire and Lancashire to study so it is considering providing free transport to specified local places in a move expected to save about £51,000 a year. The council plans to hold a consultation with parents, schools and other interested parties soon. A spokesman for The Church in Wales reportedly told the BBC: “We are aware of Flintshire council’s proposals and will be submitting a response in due course as we feel it will disadvantage some families.” A council cabinet committee report in November proposed any changes be phased in as new pupils enrol at a school or college from the start of the next academic year later in 2013. However, councillors are not expected to have a final vote on the issue before April after the consultation closes and people’s views are considered.

MIDLANDS

A £5 million scheme to introduce bus lanes along the A426 from Glen Parva to Leicester city centre has been approved by city mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby. The scheme is a partnership with Leicestershire County Council, which approved the project last

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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. month in the face of objections from Glen Parva and Aylestone residents. The work will be funded by a £2.5m Government grant, £1.5m from the city council, £600,000 from Leicestershire County Council and £300,000 from Arriva. Objectors claim few buses will use the lanes and pavements will be removed. Sir Peter said: “This will enable significant improvements to be made to one of the busiest and most important commuter routes into the city. I have met with residents from Aylestone and Glen Parva to hear their concerns, and have also met with Aylestone councillors. I have looked in detail at the scheme and am convinced it represents good value for money and will benefit not just bus users, but pedestrians and cyclists, and will even increase junction capacity for drivers.” The city council said the A426 carries 37 buses an hour as it reaches the city centre. It said the scheme also includes capacity improvements to reduce queuing time which are planned at key junctions. Safety improvements and new lengths of cycle lanes are also planned. Chairman of the Glen Parva and Aylestone Action Group Richard Johnson, who has led the campaign against the scheme, said he would write to transport minister Norman Baker and the local government ombudsman to query the value of the scheme.

Eight ADL Enviro300-bodied Scanias fitted with free onboard WiFi have been introduced in Barnsley on the X19 route thanks to a £1.1m investment by Stagecoach Yorkshire. The X19 runs from Barnsley to Doncaster-Robin Hood Airport, with stops along the way at Darfield, Goldthorpe and central Doncaster. In addition unique branding giving details of the service, frequency, free Wi-Fi and value travel tickets appear on some of the new buses. Stagecoach Yorkshire has also doubled the frequency of services to every 30 minutes between Barnsley and Doncaster, Monday to Saturday. The X19 buses will continue to run every hour during the day on Sundays. Rupert Cox, Commercial Director, Stagecoach Yorkshire, said: “The X19 is popular with workers, shoppers and leisure travellers and

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SOUTH WEST

A new express bus service operated by First, which links Aztec West and Emersons Green running around the northern fringe of Bristol began on Wednesday, January 2. Serving the Emersons Green Science Park, UWE’s Frenchay Campus, the MOD Abbey Wood site, Filton Abbey Wood Railway Station and Aztec West, with some journeys extending to and from Kingswood (Kings Chase Centre), the new Service X18 complements the existing Service 18 (Emersons Green – Southmead), which First operates under contract to South Gloucestershire Council as part of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund initiative. Marc Reddy, Regional Commercial and Business Growth Director for First in the South West and Wales, said: “We expect Service X18 to be a real hit with commuters, especially those who want to avoid the hassle of driving themselves. The bus will be attractive both inside and out and it will be able to bypass other traffic easily by using the two-plus lanes on the ring road.” Councillor Brian Allinson, Chairman of the council’s Planning, Transportation and Strategic Environment Committee, said: “The X18 will make use of the extra highway capacity that we have added in recent years, including additional bus and priority vehicle lanes funded as part of the Greater

The UK Coach Rally will this year be combined with the UK Coach Awards, at its new venue in Alton Towers, Staffordshire

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 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

the introduction of free internet access is part our commitment to catering for the requirements of passengers, for both business and leisure. Another improvement is the increased frequency of service between Barnsley and Doncaster, which we have been able to introduce thanks to part funding from government through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund scheme.”

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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open platform › Ray wilkes

Looking after customers, wherever they go Seasoned transport campaigner Ray Wilkes argues the case for cross network timetables and the benefits of promoting seamless travel In National Bus Company (NBC) days you could go to your local bus station or library to look up any bus on the NBC network because they had a full collection of NBC timetables. I wonder how many people knew this? Now the internet gives thorough access to travel times if only you know where to look. If you ask your local bus company for advice on travelling elsewhere, too often you will be told ‘we do not run there’ which is very unhelpful. The long defunct Keswick Bus office, when run by Cumberland NBC, used to give this response for the local NBC Ribble journeys which served the Keswick bus station. That’s how good regulated state ownership was… They did get it right in the end though. In my view it is now so easy to help passengers with digital information that bus companies should seize any opportunity to make customers feel the world, or at least the UK, is their oyster, and that bus companies will within reason be supportive of any traveller. Of course we have a plethora of journey planners now; each rail and bus company may have its own, but rarely do they cross company boundaries. Some websites have journey planners; for instance First Yorkshire websites link to the Metro or the South Yorkshire journey planner which will tell you how to get around England even outside the ITA areas, but do not even ask for a bus journey in Scotland. Until recently the First site took you to a cut-down journey planner which only included journeys on First buses, so it is good to see this improvement. However, we should be able to find Scottish bus details as well. It would be easy for bus companies to link their websites to Transport Direct or Xephos. Bus timetables could then promote this facility. Those with smartphones have access to journey planners all the time, but may still need advice on which site to go to. Would the Competition Commission (CC) complain if bus companies decided to give impartial advice? I fear they might. As it is I could travel from Malton to Leeds by train and get a PlusBus ticket to allow me to travel anywhere in Leeds for only a little extra. But if I made the same trip by Coastliner, PlusBus is not available. If the bus company wanted to offer this facility

Timetables should be widely integrated to promote seamless journeys and encourage non-car travel then they might have to get clearance from the CC. That would take too long and cost too much. It would be very much in the interests of bus and train companies to promote seamless travel. Some bus companies are very dependent on tourists and all bus companies can benefit from visitor income. Despite PlusBus many people will use their cars to reach a holiday destination because they lack access to information about local travel on arrival. The bus and train companies lose fares while the environment suffers and congestion is made worse by unnecessary car travel. There is every reason to start making local bus company websites useful for longer distance travellers. Plusbus has been a major step forward and some bus companies are providing other helpful offers. Stagecoach Bluebird offers a half price Explorer ticket for English and Welsh concession

“It would be very much in the interests of bus and train companies to promote seamless travel. Some bus companies are very dependent on tourists and all bus companies can benefit from visitor income.”

holders and Arriva Wales offers half price day rovers to English and Scots concession holders. But do enough people know and are there any other schemes? I think we should be told. And we love those few bus companies which provide comprehensive timetable booklets! Ray Wilkes is a member of Bus Users UK, and secretary and co-ordinator of West Yorkshire Campaign for Better Transport. He became involved in transport campaigning in 1969 when he and fellow campaigners opposed the proposal to build a motorway in the Airedale Valley and he recently gave evidence at the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry into Bus Services After the Spending Review. Bus Users UK is encouraging more members says Ray - to join visit their website www.bususers.org If you want to let off some steam, just tap away at the keyboard and send your rant (or carefully-reasoned views) to andrew. cream@coachandbusweek.com or fax 0845 280 2927. Make ‘Open Platform’ the subject line. Alternatively, send your missive to: CBW, 3 The Office Village, Cygnet Park, Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX

www.coachandbusweek.com

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Vital skills for success

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16 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 16, 2013

news focus › bus partnerships

Committee pressure to promote QCs The Transport Committee discusses several issues with Transport Minister Norman Baker, with Quality Contracts and multi-operator ticketing the key talking points. Andrew Cream reports Members of the Transport Committee (TC) met with Norman Baker on Thursday (January 10) at Westminster Hall to debate the Committee’s report: Competition in the local bus market. Present from the TC was Chair Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside; Iain Stewart, MP for Milton Keynes South; Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley and Broughton; and Lilian Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South. The committee brought up a number of points from its report, inviting Norman Baker to respond to each item.

Government support Louise Ellman opened proceedings by giving a general summary of the TC’s views on the bus industry in England, outside London, which was where the report was restricted to. “Buses are the Cinderella of public transport,” she said. “They serve as a lifeline to people. It is sometimes forgotten that buses are the most popular form of public transport.” “They play a vital social and economic role,” she added, referring to a high percentage of those from lower income quartiles and young and older generations using the bus. Ellman went onto discuss the impact of cuts by both central government and Local Authorities. She explained how local cuts are having a major impact on evening, weekend and rural services – 41% of councils have made spending cuts to bus services, a figure obtained from Campaign for Better Transport’s recent FOI request. Cuts to BSOG, she added, are making previously commercial services unviable. Baker responded: “Overall commercial services are holding up quite well. That’s good news and I think we should all welcome that. www.coachandbusweek.com

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“I would encourage the opposition not to talk down the bus industry which is easy to do when you’re in opposition, instead recognise what’s going well. But I appreciate there are areas of the country where the garden is not quite as rosy.” He argued, considering the tough economic climate, funding from central government is currently “not a bad deal for the industry”, referring to the Green Bus Fund, Better Bus Area (BBA) and the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. Regarding local cuts to supported services, Baker said: “The picture is not uniform as it is subject to local decision making. For example, East Riding has prioritised bus services, while others like Surrey have reduced spending but quite creatively, so it has not translated into significant service reductions.” He did however express discontent with North Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire councils’ cuts to spending, as they “failed to consider the needs of residents”. He added that some councils have been dedicated to protecting services while others have decided to implement cuts.

Partnership working Louise Ellman argued the Competition Commission’s report gave little evidence that more head to head competition provides better services, adding that passengers tend to benefit from partnerships, not competition. “Partnerships

will be the way to increase passenger numbers,” she said. “The Competition Commission’s focus is too narrow. It misses out the wider context of what passengers want.” Ellman also addressed some confusion within parliament, and perhaps Local Authorities, on the government’s view on Quality Contracts (QCs) and whether councils can apply for BBA funding to help implement QCs in their constituencies. She said there is evidently reluctance from Local Authorities to be the first over the line regarding QCs, adding: “The government seems determined not to provide assistance to Local Authorities in this position. BBA is a very welcome step; the CBT noted it has mitigated some of the impact of cuts in certain areas. But Local Authorities looking to set up QCs are not however eligible for this funding and this looks like a strong signal from the government not to use QCs and not go down that road.” Graham Stringer argued there is a real need for QCs in some areas of the country, especially in North Manchester where First operates. Stringer called First “appalling” and believes funding should be made available to help Local Authorities implement QCs. He wants Baker to support West Yorkshire PTE and Nexus in following their QC routes. Baker said the link between BBA and QCs are currently subject to consultation, with final proposals to be released before Easter. Guidance

The TSC is keen for other areas to emulate Oxford’s partnership work

for councils wishing to apply for BBA will be out later this month. “I do accept the need for clarity and it’s my intention to give clarity on that matter so everybody knows where they stand,” he added. “We have no intention to remove QCs from the statute book.” Regarding First in Manchester, Baker pointed out the operator’s 5% growth in eight weeks since reducing fares – with a weekly going from £18 to £13 in some areas. He said: “It’s a welcome development. Cutting fares can be useful in driving up business; if it is working then it would be wise to do it

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less profit as important factors. He stated passenger numbers have dropped by 45% in metropolitan areas since deregulation and that too much differentiation in many shire areas has led to “very poor services”. Stringer made a valid observation regarding concessionary fares and Nick Clegg’s proposal to take the right to free travel away from more affluent pensioners. He used himself as an example, stating that, while he can afford to pay for the bus, the reason he takes it is because he can for free. If he had his concessionary pass taken away, he’d just use his car instead, which he believes would be a common response, leading to increases in congestion. Baker however stated there would be no change to the concessionary fares scheme in the current government.

Concessionary reform Graham Stringer held a particularly unflattering view of modern bus operations, claiming deregulation had a “damaging effect” on services in the country. He was approving of London’s system – citing “significant quantities of investment” and companies taking

Apocalyptic claims Finally, Lilian Greenwood mentioned how one trade magazine claimed the industry was in a “great cycle of decline”. Baker strongly disagreed with this claim and said it wasn’t helpful for the industry to be spoken about “in these apocalyptic terms”.

Door-to-door journeys Iain Stewart started his address by explaining how different approaches will suit different areas of the country, as “each local market is different” and “no one size fits all”. He was impressed with Oxford’s bus services and how they were coordinated between companies and the Local Authority with respect to routes, bus stops and ticketing. “It showed ideal, organised competition,” he added. “Passengers can choose between operators; I very much like that model.” Stewart was also keen to promote combining other modes of transport with bus, like the Plusbus scheme. He claims the scheme is not particularly well known or well used and believes more will be possible with regard to multi-modal ticketing as technology evolves and more smart ticketing becomes available. Stewart cited door-to-door journeys in Netherlands as a great example. Baker responded by confirming his department is currently looking into door-to-door journeys which will involve both the bus and rail industry.

elsewhere. I can imagine FirstGroup are listening to this debate and may take into account the wishes and arguments put forward.”

Commercial advantage Another issue brought up by Ellman concerned when a commercial service ceases and the council decides it wishes to support the service to enable it to continue. She said: “The operator of the commercial service has a significant advantage over competitors as it knows the revenues and costs associated with running the service. “The Competition Commission

estimated the resulting reduction in effective competition for tenders costs Local Authorities between £5m and £10m per year. “Information on these services could be provided by bus operators voluntarily. So far they have refused to disclose this information, citing commercial confidentiality. “The government I know is exploring the situation and we recommended that the government should set a deadline for operators to agree to disclose this and that failure to do so would result in legislation being brought forward.” Baker responded by saying he is hugely committed to transparency within the industry, but didn’t want to burden operators with extra paperwork which could be deemed as unnecessary. He said: “We can’t just have endless amounts of figures produced which are of little value, but in principle we are certainly open to any suggestion for extra information which is genuinely valuable.”

Top: Graham Stringer was critical of First’s Manchester operations. Above: The Transport Committee is chaired by Louise Ellman

Multi-operator ticketing Julie Hilling believes operators should look at whole areas when providing services, not just focusing on profitable routes. To aid reducing passenger costs, Hilling said travel cards and multi-operator ticketing are very important. She commended the Oyster scheme and claimed TfGM is looking to implement an “Oyster Mk II” but operators “are not cooperating”. Baker said: “We have a strong support for multi-operator ticketing; indeed we regard it as very important to deliver the sorts of outcomes passengers want. We have made it very plain to the bus companies that we want to see multi-operator ticketing developed. “We have also made it plain that we reserve the right to introduce legislation if that does not occur. We very much hope it will occur and there is evidence it is occurring. The companies have discovered in Oxford it is to their financial advantage to introduce it and therefore I am confident the bus industry has bought the idea of multioperator ticketing and that it will become increasingly commonplace throughout the country.”

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Preview › transport ticketing 2013

Transport Ticketing features a variety of technology which will do away with cash handling and paper tickets

Transport Ticketing 2013: a preview James Day gives an idea of what you can expect to see at the Transport Ticketing Conference and Expo 2013, which is to be held from January 28-30 in London

ransport Ticketing 2013 is Europe’s largest transport ticketing and fare collection event and attracts the entire ticketing ecosystem. The conference is free to attend for all transport operators and local authorities. The event will feature over 50 expert speakers, including Norman Baker, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for transport, Dave Lynch, Group Technology and www.coachandbusweek.com

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Procurement Director of Go-Ahead Group, and James Freeman, CEO of Reading Transport. Transport Ticketing 2012 attracted over 350 attendees representing over 30 countries. Previous operator attendees include representatives from all of the big five operators, ITSO, SYPTE, Eurotunnel, Lothian Buses and Abellio Group, among many other companies across bus, coach and rail. The event takes place at the Park Royal Plaza Riverbank Hotel, Albert Embankment, Lambeth London,

to be held on January 28-30, 2013. Registration on each day begins at 0800hrs, with the Chairman’s address at 0900hrs.

Workshops

For those desiring a hands-on approach, the first day will consist of four workshops. Kicking off the day, Søren Sørensen, Program Director for DSB Rejsekort, an Independent public company owned by the Danish Ministry of transport, will run a workshop entitled “Reducing the barriers in

public transport: one country, one zone topology, one public transport infrastructure”. Following this, Jeroen Mulder, European MD for UL Transaction Security, presents session two: “Mobile ticketing – guiding you from business case to your passenger’s pocket”. The workshop will enable participants to map out a full blueprint for a mobile ticketing product, from establishing the need to running a full pilot scheme. After lunch, Matthew Hudson, Head of Business Development for Fares and Ticketing at TfL, along with Mike Burden, Public Sector Commercial Manager for Consult Hyperion, lead session three: “Building the business case for open-loop contactless ticketing for your transport service.” The workshop aims to help participants gain a comprehensive understanding on implementing an open-loop ticketing system. Rounding off the day is the Barclaycard-led workshop “Follow the journey of contactless ticketing in the UK and how to integrate it into your future business plan.” The

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hands-on session will give practical insight into integrating a contactless bank card payment programme into a business plan.

Transport Ticketing Conference day one

On Tuesday, January 29, Norman Baker will open proceedings with a presentation focused on the road ahead for public transport, smart ticketing and fare collection systems. He is expected share the government’s vision on automatic fare collection (AFC) in the UK, along with the aims of the SEFT project and future plans for more like-minded projects. He will also state his objectives for the next 12 months and what these translate into for transport authorities. After a case study on a single ticket uniting the Dutch rail system, a panel discussion will take place at 1000hrs, where Nigel Eggleton, Sales and Marketing Manager for Veolia TransDev Blazefield joins representatives from the Association of Train Operating Companies and the NVA Consultancy to discuss smart travel for long distance, short distance and urban transport. The panel aims to define what the primary and end objectives should be with a choice of smartcard to ensure it is suited to the passengers and travel service it is used with and analyse where a business case for smart ticketing is appropriate for improving travel and passenger service. It also looks to give an overview of smart ticketing technology currently available and the level of investment needed from stakeholders involved. There are several other standout presentations on the day for those involved in the coach and bus industry. On ‘stream A,’ four back-toback presentations on contactless technology take place in the morning; a case study on taking contactless

Norman Baker gives the first presentation on day two

The schedule: Monday 28 Transport Ticketing Workshop: Smart Ticketing Academy 0800 – Coffee and registration 0900 – Chairman’s address 0910 – Session one: Reducing barriers in public transport: one country, one zone topology, one public transport infrastructure. Søren Sørensen of DSB 1100 – Session two: Mobile ticketing: guiding you from business case to your passenger’s pocket. Jeroen Mulder of UL 1230 – Lunch 1330 – Session three: Building the business case for open-loop contactless ticketing for your transport service. Mike Burden of Consult Hyperion 1530 – Session four: Follow the journey of contactless ticketing in the UK and how to integrate it into your future business plan. Stuart Price of Barclaycard 1700 – End of workshop. Tuesday 29 Transport Ticketing Day One 0800 – Coffee and registration 0900 – Chairman’s address 0910 – Government update: the road ahead for public transport, smart ticketing and fare collection systems. Norman Baker, MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Department for Transport 0935 – Case study: uniting the entire Dutch rail system under a single ticket. Joost Mortier, Programme Director OV ChipCard, Netherlands Railway 1000 – Panel: Long distance, short distance or urban transport – meeting your passengers’ needs in smart travel. Panellists include: Steve Howes, MD, Association of Train Operating Companies and Nigel Eggleton of Veolia TransDev Blazefield At this point, events split into two separate streams, A and B Stream A: 1110 – Budapest BKK Case study: taking contactless from trial to deployment. Levente Nagy from the Centre for Budapest Transport 1135 – Leveraging partnerships to build and deploy successful contactless

programmes on your service. Stuart Price of Barclaycard 1200 – Case study: 6 month update on the world’s first contactless open-loop transport ticketing deployment. Matthew Hudson, Head of Business Development for Fares and Ticketing and Peter Lewis, External Initiatives Manager, TfL 1225 – Open-loop across borders panel: evaluate the steps needed to roll out contactless across Europe. Representatives from Consult Hyperion, Visa and BKK 1300 – Lunch 1400 – Integrating different transport model schemes together with ITSO technology. Dave Lynch, Group Technology and Procurement Director, GoAhead Group 1430 – Transport Scotland Case study: giving passengers a choice in smart ticketing. Sam Burns, Transport Scotland 1500 – What to do when smart ticketing programmes go wrong. Chris Shoukry of ALCO Consulting Stream B: 1110 – Evaluating the option to integrate parking into your AFC scheme to further reduce the cost of travel. Scheidt & Bachmann 1145 – Embedding social media loyalty programmes into your ticketing scheme to reward your passengers. Elaine Rosscraig, Head of Customer Insight, Stagecoach 1220 – Passenger panel: the opportunities in profiling passengers and provide a more targeted transport service 1300 – Lunch 1400 – Turkey Case study: building an open transportation ticketing system in Konya. Erbil Yurdakul, Director, Bankalararasi Kart Merkezi 1430 – Successfully implementing multiapplication cards amongst concessionary groups 1500 – Case study: integrating traffic management to improve your user adoption and customer satisfaction. Stephen Stonall Henningsen, Project Manager, Movia At this point, the two streams merge. 1600 – London 2012: contactless payment in action. Anne Van Schrader, VP-Mobile

& Contactless Product Management, Visa 1625 – Panel: Interoperability: should there be a prescribed smart ticketing blue print for all operators? Panelists include: Laurent Cremer of OSPT Alliance and Ralph Gambetta of Calypso Networks 1700 – Europe’s vision for smart ticketing in public transport: how all stakeholders can work towards achieving shared objectives in the transport industry. John Berry, European Commission, DG Move 1725 – Presentation of Transport Ticketing 2013 Awards 1740 – Drinks Reception sponsored by Visa 1830 – Transport Operator’s Dinner sponsored by Barclaycard (by invitation only) Wednesday 30 Transport Ticketing Day Two 0800 – Coffee and registration 0900 – Chairman’s address 0910 – Smart ticketing in Slovenia: Dusan Zalar, Undersecretary, Ministry of Transport Republic of Slovenia 0940 – Transport ticketing on the ground: the voice of the front line operator. James Freeman, CEO, Reading Transport 1010 - Developing a successful smart ticketing programme for your city in partnership with local government. Mark Hudson, Group Manager, Nottinghamshire County Council At this point, events split into two separate streams, A and B Stream A: 1120 – Dubai case study: deploying a cost-effective and popular mobile ticketing programme alongside an established infrastructure. Rainer Lutz of NXP and Mohammed Yousuf Al Mudharreb from the Roads and Transport Authority Dubai 1150 – Case study: successfully rolling out m-ticketing to a new market. Christian Brafi ne, Business Unit Manager e-Ticketing, UL Presentation with Senior Transport Operator Partner 1220 – NFC and legacy infrastructure panel: integrate or invest? 1300 – Lunch 1400 – USA case study: see how the learnings from Europe have been built in to

NFC deployments across North America 1430 – Touch & Travel Case study: follow the journey of mobile ticketing in Germany. Dr. Marcus Gemeinder, Senior Project Leader Innovation Projects (PPI) Deutsche Bahn 1500 – The Copenhagen mobile ticketing app case study: understand how passengers currently use this and how to increase usage to boost your ROI. Anders Joendrup and Nadia Zøllner Jensen, Danish Transport Authority Stream B: 1120 – Tolling case study: assess the cost benefits of integrating electronic toll collection. Colin Mabey, M6 Toll 1155 – Yorcard case study: evolving smart ticketing across the Region of Yorkshire and the Humber. Mike Duncombe, General and Programme Manager, Yorcard Ltd 1230 – Getting the critical mass to adopt contactless payment 1300 – Lunch 1400 – Oxford Bus case study: analyse the steps towards a successful shared business model for your ticketing programme. Phil Southall, Operations Director, Oxford Bus Company 1430 – Define a commercially viable business case for interoperability which adds to your passengers’ experience. Gregers Mogensen of Rejsekort A/S 1500 – Transport for Greater Manchester case study: successfully expanding your smart ticketing project. David Hytch, Information Systems Director, Transport for Greater Manchester At this point, the two streams merge 1600 – Disruption management using social media: operating the mobile platform to get the right information to passengers. David Sidebottom, Rail passenger Director, Passenger Focus 1630 – A national approach led by transport operators aiming at reducing barriers for using public transport. Søren Sørensen of DSB 1700 – Panel: The road ahead for ticketing. Panellist – Johan Van Leperen, Manager, UITP European Department 1730 – Close of Transport Ticketing 2013

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preview › transport ticketing 2013

technology in Budapest from trial to deployment, a presentation from Barclaycard on leveraging partnerships to build and deploy successful contactless programmes and a second case study from TfL, which examines the six month update on the world’s first contactless open-loop transport ticketing deployment. This is followed by a panel evaluating the steps needed to roll out contactless technology across Europe. Running at the same time on ‘stream B’ is a presentation from Elaine Rosscraig, Head of Customer Insight at Stagecoach, which looks at embedding social media loyalty programmes into ticketing schemes, and their commercial benefits, methods available and the factors which make passengers choose to be loyal. Following this is a ‘passenger panel,’ on the opportunities in profiling passengers and providing a more targeted transport service. It will look at the benefits of passenger profiling to a future ticketing business model and how to account for privacy issues and concerns which operators may face. After lunch, stream A resumes with David Lynch, Group Technology and Procurement Director of Go-Ahead Group, discussing integrating different transport model schemes together with ITSO technology. He will speak about understanding the steps required in synchronizing and integrating multi-modal transport, look at the aims and key milestones of successful integrated projects and how to track the progress of future ITSO ticketing programmes, and examine the main obstacles which operators may face in embedding one framework for multiple transport roles. Following this, Sam Burns from Transport Scotland presents a case study on giving passengers a choice in smart ticketing, and Chris Shoukry gives a talk and what to do when smart ticketing programmes go wrong, with advice on spotting warning signs and decisions which can be made to rescue deteriorating ticketing projects. Stream B sees a talk on successfully implementing multi-application cards amongst concessionary groups, exploring the opportunities to expand to concessionary groups and how to fully understand the benefits of multi-application cards. A case study on integrating traffic

James Freeman, Reading Transport MD, gives a talk on day three

management to improve user adoption and customer satisfaction follows this, presented by Stephen Stonall Henningsen, Project Manager for Movia. In the later afternoon, Visa’s Anne Van Schrader examines contactless payment in action during London 2012, giving insight into the introduction of contactless payment in the Olympic Park and the parallels in transport ticketing payment. She will also assess the lessons learnt from London 2012 and how they will be embedded in future deployment tactics. More presentations follow with a focus on interoperability and Europe. After the conference concludes, the 2013 Transport Ticketing

Parkeon’s SmartRider is nominated for best overall service implimentation

Transport Ticketing Awards: a synopsis

The evening of Tuesday, January 29, will see the presentation of the Mastercard-sponsored Transport Ticketing Awards 2013, with five categories in total open to vote and three nominees in each of them. The best overall service implementation award recognises a system integrator who has developed a truly innovative transport ticketing programme. The award considers innovation in service offering, delivery or marketing. The shortlist is Parkeon’s SmartRider system in Perth Australia, Cubic’s London Bus Service Management System and IETT’s system in Istanbul. Up for best bank-card ticketing scheme are TfL, with its launch of contactless bankcard acceptance on London Buses, Garanti Bank’s Esparacard in Turkey and BKK, the

transport authority in Budapest. The award for best smartcard ticketing service recognises a transport operator or local authority which has launched a successful smartcard ticketing programme in the last 12 months. Shortlisted are Go-Ahead Group’s The Key ITSO smartcard, RATP Yellow Buses’ Ready, Steady… Glo online smartcard topup service and NXP’s BSS Rabbit card – the first e-money system in Thailand. The most successful mobile ticketing programme award has a focus on the best deployment of NFC as a ticketing technology. The award takes into account service adoption, consumer experience and innovative approaches to implementing the technology. The three nominees are Masabi’s

awards will be presented, with nominees including Parkeon, TfL and Go-Ahead Group, followed by the Visa-sponsored drinks reception. The Barclaycardsponsored Transport Operators Dinner follows this, although it is an invitation only event.

Conference day two

Following a look at smart ticketing in Slovenia at the start on Wednesday, January 30, Reading Transport CEO James Freeman will make a presentation entitled “Transport ticketing on the ground: the voice of the front line operator.” He will talk about managing customers’ travel experiences with small adjustments to ticketing strategy, solving customer issues efficiently by using ticketing technology to increase customer experience and evaluating key findings about passenger interactions with ticketing technology to improve user adoption. Mark Hudson, Group Manager for Nottinghamshire County Council, will then give a talk entitled “Developing a successful smart ticketing programme for your city in partnership with local government.” He will speak about exploring what has been learnt from current city ticketing schemes and embedding those lessons into future smart ticketing programmes, along

JustRide End-to-End mTicketing in Boston USA, Connecthings UK’s AdTag platform and Veolia Transdev’s BPASS. Finally, the award for ticketing technology of the year looks at ticketing technology or companies which have developed a brand new product “set to revolutionise ticketing as we know it”. The choices here are Snapper’s Touch2Pay system in New Zealand, NXP semiconductors and Dubai RTA’s partnership, and Siemens AG’s dual functional smartcard. For more information on the awards shortlist and more detailed information on the nominees, visit www.transportticketing.com/s1901/. You can participate in the vote at www. surveymonkey.com/s/KF7HP37

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preview › transport ticketing 2013

with understanding factors which make for a successful partnership with local government. Mark also examines challenges local partnerships are faced with and how to overcome these obstacles. Once again, the conference splits into two separate streams after the opening presentations. Again there are a number which stand out for those involved with bus and coach. Stream A is dedicated to exploring the use of NFC and mobile ticketing technology. Christian Brafine from UL presents a case study on successfully rolling out m-ticketing to a new market. It looks at the steps needed to integrate m-ticketing for operators with no existing infrastructure, how to establish whether there is a business case for introducing the system, how to introduce m-ticketing to passengers and encourage them to adopt it as their payment method and establishing what passenger concerns with NFC technology are early so issues can be targeted in good time. Following this is an NFC and legacy infrastructure panel entitled “Integrate or invest?”. It will give a step by step breakdown of what needs to be considered when operators are planning their own investments, look at evaluating the views of the passenger in building and investing NFC technology and look at deciding which infrastructure is going to provide the greatest return on investment and improvements on customer satisfaction. After lunch, there are three case studies on NFC use abroad. The first looks at how what has been learned from NFC use in Europe has been built-in to deployments across North America. Following this, Dr. Marcus Gemeinder from Deutsche Bahn examines mobile ticketing in Germany. Finally, the Danish Transport Authority look at the Copenhagen mobile ticketing app. Stream B features a case study on Yorcard, a company set up by SYPTE, entitled “Evolving smart ticketing across the region of Yorkshire and the Humber.” Mike Duncombe, General and Programme Manager at Yorcard, will speak about how the company is establishing a viable not-forprofit regional business and look at the future plans to meet the emerging market requirements. Following this is a presentation on getting the critical mass to adopt contactless payment. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Go-Ahead Group’s ‘the key’ smartcard is up for a ticketing award

David Sidebottom examines social media disruption management

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company Ops Director, gives a case study After lunch, Stream B continues with a case study from Oxford Bus Company, presented by Operations Director Phil Southall, entitled “Analyse the steps towards a successful shared business model for your ticketing programme”. Achieving user adoption is a key focus, with the company now having 95,000 cards in circulation. Phil will also explore the means to encourage sustainable smartcard usage and give insight into the next steps for ‘the key’ in Oxfordshire. The last presentation on Stream B comes from David Hytch, Information Systems Director at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), who gives a case study on

successfully expanding a smart ticketing project. It considers how widening a ticketing programme can improve user adoption and satisfaction, how operators can encourage user adoption through simple and effective channels and how to utilise passenger’s experience to improve ticketing technology. The streams merge for final presentations of Transport Ticketing 2013, centred around future-proofing technology and maintaining passenger satisfaction. David Sidebottom, Rail Passenger Director at Passenger Focus, gives a talk on disruption management using social media. Attendees will be asked to consider the importance of creating a dialogue with customers on their ticketing platforms, shown the benefits of communicating with passengers in real time and steps to take in training a customer service team. Following this is a look at taking electronic ticketing to a national level, along with potential for synergy between transport operators. Concluding the day is a look to the future, with insight into the next “game-changing” ticketing technology and the big transport questions to be answered.

Exhibitors at the show

As well as the many speakers throughout the event, a number of other companies will be present as sponsors and exhibitors. They include: n VIX Technologies – provider of integrated transit and mobility systems, including fare management, fleet management and passenger information systems for transit providers; n Ecebs – software developers for

cards, terminals and back office systems; n BemroseBooth Paragon – provider of tickets to the mass transit and car park industries; n SECUREticket – provider of contactless fare systems; n INIT – creator of the electronic ticketing machine, EVENDpc; n epay – supplier of payment systems and services to over 150,000 points of sale in the UK; n Confidex – supplier of contactless fare media; n Datacard Group – a firm which collaborates with financial institutions, card program managers, transportation providers, retailers and other organisations to create personalised payment and transactional cards; n Masabi – developer of mobile ticketing technology for the transport sector; n Crane Payment Solutions – manufacturer of cash payment devices for the transport industry; n Identive – supplier of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) smart inlays, SmartCore inlays, Smartag tickets, tags, labels and NFC inlays and FRID/NFC reader modules; n American Express – credit card company; n Trapeze – developer of awardwinning Arriva UK Bus m-ticketing system; n Newbury Data – manufacturer of thermal ticket printers for desktop, kiosk & mobile point of sale and ticket collection applications; and n ESP Systex – a firm specialising in provision of smartcard centric services for mass transit. A full list of sponsor and exhibitors can be found at www.transport-ticketing.com/ s1899/

While entry to the conference (January 29-30) is free for operators and local authorities, Coach & Bus Week subscribers are entitled to a 15% discount on standard workshop and delegate rates. Quote the code TT13MPCB when registering to receive the discount and visit www.transport-ticketing.com/ homepage-global-platform-/ s1927/ for more information. n For more on the event, email zehra.chudry@clarionevents. com or call 0207 384 7920. You can also visit the event’s website at www.transport-ticketing.com

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training â&#x20AC;ş tanat cpc

Daniel and his colleague Marie delivered their respective courses in an engaging manner

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Right on course Coach & Bus Week’s Gareth Evans describes his day’s Driver CPC training at Tanat Valley Coaches, where he joined drivers from a number of other local operators, learning about the principles of eco driving and pre-use inspections

river CPC can appear to be a right pain in the rear – few of us can honestly say it’s something we would do out of choice, but then that goes for a lot of other things in life too. The requirement for a seven-hour day can seem long too – education is something many of us were glad to see the back of years ago. However, choose the right course, and it’s reasonable to say the whole experience becomes far more bearable – and indeed, interesting and educational. I was fortunate to be in the company of a group of friendly drivers from a number of other local operators, including Birch Travel, Longmynd Travel, NCB of Wem, Owen’s of Oswestry and Shropshire Council. The manner experiences were shared was perhaps more akin to a business breakfast – and there was no rivalry.

Module one

Proceedings started at 0845hrs at Tanat Valley’s headquarters, located about half an hour west of Oswestry inside the Welsh border. The venue was perhaps a little unconventional on the face of it. Far from being an apparently austere office block, the classroom was located in an environment arguably more familiar to seasoned coachmen – the back of company’s training vehicle.

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The rear half of the one-time Oxford Tube Berkhof-bodied Volvo is fitted with comfortable chairs, laid out in a u-shape, with entry and exit being via the continental door. After the basic health and safety briefing on such matters as fire escape routes, the company’s Training Manager Daniel Stephenson started the Vehicle Pre-use Inspections module by explaining briefly what the D-CPC is and its requirements. “The PCV test is a lot more involved these days than it was in the past. It can take three months to obtain a license and some people can take up to six or nine months,” he said. Daniel then talked about the legal requirement that is the walk round checks. “VOSA says it should be carried out a minimum of once per day. However, it’s important for you as a driver to to do your own checks, especially during local bus driver changeovers. One of the problems for operators can be which driver to blame in the event of any damage being found for example.” Delegates were shown a film clip about the items to look at during walk round checks featuring a coach and a bus from Maynes and Network Warrington respectively. Group work in twos followed, when we were asked to list items to inspect during the walk round check, followed by a whole class discussion to see which ones we had picked up or omitted.

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training › tanat cpc

At this point, it’s worth reminding that the D-CPC is not a pass or fail examination in an academic sense, but participants can instead be reminded of the content by way of a recap. Daniel reminded us of the dangers of over filling a fuel tank. “You’ve got to allow room for expansion and you must check the cap seal or else spillages can occur.” He also said particular attention should be paid to tyre treads. “The minimum tread is at least one millimetre across the tyre and in a continuous band.” Explaining how poor driving techniques can lead to defective tyres, he said two years ago Tanat Valley Coaches was spending £30,000 a year on tyres – a figures which has now been halved. “Hopefully training is paying dividends,” he noted. He added weight to his message about checking tyres by warning that the penalties for a defective tyre includes £60 to £120 fine and three penalty points per defective tyre. “As we’ve gone through this, each of you has missed at least one thing, which proves how vital it is to use your paper or card checklist as as you go around your vehicle before taking it out.” After watching another clip showing a bus with a whole host of defects, delegates were again asked in partners to list faults and then to report their findings to the group. However, the latter was thankfully not one of those irritating times when you have to stand up front and you feel like you’re back at school – one of each pair announced something from the comfort of their chair. After being shown a clip of a Traffic Commissioner stating drivers are responsible for ensuring

Meet the trainer: Daniel Stephenson has been in the transport industry for 20 years. Starting as an LGV driver, he became a commercial vehicle driving instructor four years ago. He quickly moved through the ranks to Training Manager at Tanat Valley Coaches. His role has included delivering on the road training for vocational licence acquisition and classroom D-CPC training. Tanat Valley did, after all, carry out the principles of the Driver CPC internally prior to it becoming a legal requirement. Daniel is also qualified as an LGV SAFED (Safe & Fuel Efficient Driving) Instructor and an Industrial & Commercial Instructor through RTITB. Furthermore, he has obtained certificates in train the trainer and disability awareness. “I’m proud to have high pass rates – 12 out of the last 13 candidates have passed first time. A lot of it’s to do with material you have to work with. It’s not one of those jobs where a poor workman blames his tools because for me each tool is different,” he mused. Asked how the take up of D-CPC courses differs in his experience, Daniel replied: “Coach firms are leading the way whereas LGV drivers commonly have to pay for it themselves – in stark contrast to coach drivers.”

“A 22% saving can be achieved in fuel consumption if you drop your speed from 56 to 50mph.”

Daniel Stephenson can share his experiences of life on the road vehicles are fit for use on public roads, delegates were reminded that a vehicle condition report (other words available) can be used in court. The session concluded with a recap Q&A session.

Second module

The second part of the day was taught by Daniel’s colleague Marie Pugh on Eco and Safe Driving Theory, which as the title suggests, was about understanding the basic principles of optimising fuel consumption. According to Marie, a typical large vehicle consumes 30,000

litres of fuel, yet it is possible to save 4,500 litres per annum – a significant saving. “Many professional drivers can only dream at how much is spent on maintenance, insurance and fuel. A little saving can make a huge difference,” she said. Factors affecting your fuel consumption: Traffic conditions – including gear changes, the number of stop-starts etc; The vehicle – type & specification, such as using a full-size coach on a stagecarriage route along narrow roads, age,

Above: The training coach is a mobile classroom. Above right: Douglas Duncan had a go on the DSA hazard perception test and gained full marks www.coachandbusweek.com

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condition, equipment and load; Weather – Fuel consumption in winter can reduce economy by up to 10% compared to summer due to the use of auxiliaries, such as demisters and fog lights etc; Idling – A typical 420bhp engine uses two litres of fuel per hour; Tyre pressures – if they’re low, resistance increases. A tyre being 10 psi lower can lead to a 1% reduction in fuel economy. Marie said Tanat Valley Coaches made an overall saving of 8% during the first 12 months that

driver monitoring and Eco & Safe practical training had been introduced. “Fuel isn’t the only place savings can be made – using correct oils also makes a difference. Also, never rev a cold engine as there is no oil in the system, which can cause damage.” She described hazard perception as “a core skill”. Douglas Duncan of Longmynd Travel had a go on the DSA training DVD and achieved full marks. Other factor include speed. “A 22% saving can be achieved in fuel consumption if you drop your speed from 56 to 50mph.” Marie lectured interactively on so-called ‘green’ issues, including what colour the exhaust should be – clear of course. Turning to road safety, Marie said in 2010 there were over 12,00 professional drivers injured in accidents “and that’s only reportable incidents.” Of these, there were 71 fatalities. On a bend, one slow sign means caution, two equals danger and three is the result of a fatality or fatalities. She talked about fatigue, both symptoms and solutions. “Stay alert. Don’t forget you’ll be more sleepy between 0200 and 0400hrs,” she was keen to stress. In a similar vein, drugs and alcohol were discussed. “Flu and cough medicines contain alcohol, so there is a risk you could be over the limit. It’s no exaggeration to say always read the label.” She continued: “Rushing and over familiarity can lead to complacency, which in turn can result in incidents.” We then watched a video clip with contributions from drivers and Accident Prevention Managers at London Central and First London.

The Scania training truck is “getting more & more use,” according to Daniel

“It’s too late when something has gone wrong,” commented Marie. “Know your vehicle – a type may well be the same but each one has its own individual characteristics. Spot problems before you set off. Remember, it’s you’re driving license.” The group discussed different experiences, including sat navs, and then watched a film on low bridges. According to a Network Rail official, there is a bridge strike in the UK every four and a half hours. Marie talked about the weight of a coach loaded with passengers, cargo and fuel. After stating the average case weighs 22kg, she explained how to calculate a vehicle’s weight so as to remain legal. The importance of a comfortable driving position was discussed. One course participant, who has previously been a fireman, said he purposefully puts the seat in an uncomfortable position once he’s finished to ensure the next driver adjusts it correctly. We then looked at bikes and mobiles, before watching a particularly hard-hitting video clip about an 11-year old girl who was killed by a driver on a mobile. After going through the different driving skills needed in varying weather conditions, the course concluded with a recap of Marie’s session, which included multichoice questions completed as a class with the aid of PowerPoint.

Conclusion

I enjoyed my day’s D-CPC training at Tanat. With my driver’s ‘hat’ on, one of my pet hates is being lectured by a trainer who has never done the job themselves – and I’m sure I’m not alone. It’s something I have experienced in the past and far from being inspiring, it’s a real turn-off. Thankfully, both Daniel and Marie talked enthusiastically and frankly about their respective experiences. They delivered interesting courses in a manner which was truly engaging and thus I would highly recommend them. Perhaps experienced coachman Bryan Williams of NCB Motors summed it up when he gave his verdict: “It’s been a very good course. Everyone can certainly pull something out of it.” CBW is indebted to Tanat Valley Coaches. Call 01691 780212. Visit www.tanat.co.uk or email training@tanat.co.uk

Tanat Valley Training: a synopsis

Tanat Valley Coaches has almost 100 years experience serving the borderlands of Powys and Shropshire, with 10 years experience delivering driver training. The family-run firm has introduced a fresh range of training in the last four years, including PSV & LGV initial driver training and in-house assessor training. If you prefer to empower members of your own staff to carry out company driving assessments Tanat can provide bespoke assessor training. A trained, on-site assessor can prove to be especially valuable with the assessment of new drivers seeking employment; carrying out of accident investigations; setting up of annual driving assessments and more. Tanat Valley also offers a mobile classroom and training unit, on board a dedicated training coach. As Daniel Stephenson said: “The

“In terms of geographical coverage, Tanat can and will go anywhere.” beauty of the mobile classroom is that it can visit operators and allow the training to be done there and then, whether it has the facilities or not. All that is needed is a power point.” Tanat Valley is a member of RTITB’s master driving consortium, meaning it can be relied upon to deliver high quality instruction with its courses. D-CPC training costs £60+VAT per day and an £8.75 registration fee per candidate. With commercial entities, Tanat has been offering training for £500 per day+VAT, not forgetting the £8.75 registration fee for each candidate. In Daniel’s words, “It’s then up to the operators to fill the seats.” In terms of geographical coverage, Tanat can and will go anywhere. The training coach is charged at 75p a mile. The cap for the trainer’s accommodation is £50 per night. New courses are currently in development, including one for private hire and tour drivers. This covers areas such as health & safety, driver presentation, duty of care, legal responsibilities, looking after vehicles and going the extra mile. www.coachandbusweek.com

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THE BIG PICTURE

Four new Wright Gemini 2-bodied Volvo B5L Hybrid double decker buses entered service at Preston Bus Ltd (PBL) last week. They will operate predominantly on the high frequency 22/23 services in the city, serving the hospital and Asda superstore. The high specification interior includes E Leather covered seats. David Barrow took this picture of fleet number 40607, which is registered ‘PO62LNU’ on its first journey in public service. The vehicles have been acquired with the support of the Coalition Government’s third round of Green Bus Funding, the winners for which were announced in March 2012. Operators were allowed to bid for up to 80% of the cost difference between the low-carbon bus and its diesel equivalent. Rotala was awarded £1,281,000 for 15 ‘green’ buses for its operations in Bristol and Preston. Preston Bus also has six hybrid Optare Versas bought last year for its Park n Ride services. Rotala now owns Preston Bus after Stagecoach was forced to sell the company it had bought only two years earlier. Commenting on the new buses, Bob Dunn, MD of Preston Bus, said: “More than 10% of our fleet are hybrid vehicles and we want to add more.”

www.coachandbusweek.com

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INDUSTRY

GUIDE

TO VEHICLE PRESENTATION

This smart Plaxton Elite i interior, seen on a vehicle displayed at the Euro Bus Expo 2012, is sure to make a good impression on any passenger boarding it

Keeping in trim First impressions count and making the effort to keep the interior and exterior of your fleet looking its best at all times will help it to be the right first impression. This week’s Industry Guide examines various means and measures operators can take to make sure their coaches and buses look the business www.coachandbusweek.com

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t’s an old cliché in the public that buses are dirty and smelly vehicles. With new, cleaner engine technology, bright, professionally designed liveries and high quality seating becoming more commonplace, this is being gradually rectified. It is now important for operators to keep their vehicles looking the best they can, to avoid becoming ‘that company with the dirty buses.’ Getting vehicle presentation right starts with the exterior, ensuring buses are kept clean and glaring maintenance issues are taken care of. A variety of easy-to-maintain and environmentally friendly bus and coach wash facilities are on the market, along with some service providers happy to cover cleaning and maintenance. Wheels shouldn’t be ignored, with standout wheel nut safety products working wonders for the passenger’s peace

of mind and often looking the part. A standout livery is always a good thing, too. On the inside, good presentation has the potential to save money in the long run, whether it is more durable material on seat covers which looks better for longer, or better quality, more comfortable seating which potential vandals are more likely to respect. Certain seating materials are also far easier to clean, avoiding excessive man hours, cleaning materials or downtime, always a positive boon with tight budgets and peak vehicle requirements. When seats inevitably do wear out, skilled trimmers can refurbish them to make them look like new. Many of these companies are expanding to cover more than just seating, with coverage given to flooring in particular. There are also established ways and means of refurbishing seating without having to take the entire vehicle out of service.

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CONTACT To advertise in future industry guides, call Victoria Schult for a features list or more details on 01733 293248, email victoria.schult@coachandbusweek. com. For more information on providing editorial, call James Day on 01733 293244 or email james.day@coachandbusweek.com

Eastgate Coach Trimmers As Eastgate Coach Trimmers, based in Pickering, North Yorkshire, starts its 31st year specialising in the interior refurbishment of coaches and buses, the work carried out on customers’ vehicles has increased beyond just seat re-trims to complete vehicle interiors including floors. All the staff at Eastgate are college and factory trained, serving five year apprenticeships and are now highly skilled in all aspects of interior coach refurbishment. As well as transforming tired coach interiors to look “as new” Eastgate over recent years has been re-trimming seats for a number of the large bus groups. This has proven very successful as up to four sets of double deck seats can be collected at one time which reduces the cost especially when collecting and delivering back to London and Scotland. Up-seating is also a large part of Eastgate’s business, removing

toilets, building up floors and fitting extra seats where it is legally possible. As well as moquette, leather has become fashionable not only for piping and headrest inserts but also for complete re-trims. Given that executive look especially when finished off with the corporate logos embroidered into the seat headrests, new curtains and carpets. As many customers now want as many seats within their coach as is legally possible, toilets and serveries are removed and seats are supplied and fitted where requied. A significant ammount of repeat business shows that Eastgate Coach Trimmers still produces high quality workmanship and will strive to keep customers satisfied present and new. T: 01751 472229 E: info@eastgatecoachtrimmers.co.uk W: http://www.eastgatecoachtrimmers.co.uk

Checkpoint Safety Checkpoint Safety is a UK manufacturer of vehicle wheel nut safety products. Cumbriabased company that operates internationally is the home of Checkpoint, an award-winning loose wheel nut indicator. Internal and external vehicle presentation is paramount for bus and coach operators in maintaining a quality reputation for high standards and Checkpoint Safety believes that the state of an operator’s wheels in particular says a lot about their business image to their passengers. The wheel nut indicators, such as the Checkpoint or Dustite or wheel nut retainers such as the recently released Checklock SQ provides is a cost effective way to improve safety and add a professional edge to the fleet, often in a visible way. Checkpoint works by forming a pattern of pointers fitted to each wheel nut. When any of the wheel nuts starts to loosen, the pointer

attached to it will move with it, therefore breaking the pattern and providing a clear, at-a-glance indication that the wheel nut is loose and thus giving opportunity to intervene and avoid a potential wheel detachment, thus providing a safety function to help keep passengers in safe travel. Checkpoint is available in stock fluorescent yellow or red, but other colours are available to special order to incorporate fleet branding. The pointers are manufactured from a special grade of Polyethylene that is suitable for heavy-duty applications such as high-load urban bus services, can be cleaned very easily and reused. The material is also resistant to road salts or petrochemicals, and the bus operators can portray a to improve the ease of maintenance of fleet wheels. T: 01524 271200 E: sales@businesslinesltd.com W: www.checkpoint-safety. com

astgate COACH TRIMMERS LTD

Supplying the Bus & Coach industry with quality seat retrims and interior Tel/Fax: refurbishment. Full floors re-laid and centre gangways. Collection and delivery service anywhere in Email: info@eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk the UK, seven days Web: www.eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk a week.

01751 472229

Wheel nut indicators, retainers and other solutions for wheel security into the bus and coach sector.

checkpoint-safety.com

www.

Contact Checkpoint Safety for enquiries:

+44 (0) 1524 271200 sales@checkpoint-safety.com www.coachandbusweek.com

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INDUSTRY

GUIDE

TO VEHICLE PRESENTATION Kärcher Although drive-through bus washing has been around for 25 years or more, despite it’s high throughput potential, it has gained a reputation for unreliability and with a mix of electric motors, gearboxes and pneumatics, it’s not hard to see why. Furthermore, with the brush driving mechanism mounted 4m off the ground, the cost of replacing components is time consuming and expensive. Kärcher’s new TBD 4.0, introduced at Eurobus 2012 with a revolutionary new design, aims to change drive-through bus washing. Designed and built in Britain, this new machine relies on simple and proven engineering principles to achieve the same wash result as the traditional electo-mechanical machine, but with much lower service and maintenance costs as well as superior reliability and longevity. For the first time ever, hydraulics has been used as the power source instead of electrics, pneumatics and mechanics. The TBD uses a single power source not only to power the brushes, but also to control the movement of the brush arms. This reduces complexity, increases reliability and longevity and makes the whole machine slicker and less prone to failure. Hydraulics have been used on train washes and car washes before, but this is the first time the technology has been applied to a drive-through bus wash. A good quality wash can be achieved in significantly less than two minutes using this machine. However, if a gantry machine is required then the TB, launched two years ago, has become the company’s flagship commercial vehicle wash machine with many units now in service with customers like Stagecoach, FirstBus and Eddie Stobart as well as a growing number of independent operators. The TB can also be used as a two-brush drive through as well as offering specific programmes such as ‘short-travel’ and ‘counter wash’ options. Should an operator’s fleet size not warrant either of these, then the Kärcher RBS push-around machine provides great results for a much lower investment. This time of year, with buses getting dirtier, it’s important to have www.coachandbusweek.com

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Above: A Kärcher TBD 4.0 installed at Hyde Road depot. Below: The entire bus wash uses a single power source

a machine which performs well, both in terms of wash quality and reliability. With some machines washing in excess of 120 buses per night, any downtime becomes a problem very quickly. A good service support function ensures any faults are dealt with quickly and successfully. Kärcher UK’s Service network, available 364 days per year, employs 45

fully trained engineers capable of restoring functionality to wash machines as promptly as possible. Each engineer carries stock for the machines he looks after. If he hasn’t got the part then it’s more than likely it will be held in Kärcher’s Banbury warehouse or on another engineer’s van. Last resort is its European spares facility at Obersonteim where parts can be

sourced and delivered world-wide within 24 hrs. Any bus wash will consume large quantities of water, so it’s important that this is minimised. One way to do this is to install a water reclamation system. Kärcher manufactures a wide range of recycling systems to deliver savings up to 95%, whilst guaranteeing a good level of water quality. Water harvesting can be added to systems to further reduce the amount of fresh water used – particularly effective when it’s been raining. For a streak-free finish on bus and coach windows, Kärcher’s new Liquid Leather chemical, applied with the final rinse, provides a high quality sheen negating the need for hand-finishing. On the subject of chemicals, any wash machine needs shampoo to not only break through the dirt, but to lubricate the brushes. Using a poor quality product will result in a below-standard finish and could result in friction staining on the bus itself, which should be avoided at all costs. Kärcher’s wide range of detergents keep washing, day after day, year after year, without grief. So with 1,2 3 and 4 brush bus wash requirements taken care of as well as water recycling, service and chemical needs, Kärcher is one of the world’s largest cleaning equipment one-stop-shop to keep fleets looking new at all times as well as saving operators money in service and maintenance. T: 01295 752 000 E: enquiries@karcher. co.uk W: www.karcher.co.uk

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INDUSTRY

GUIDE

TO VEHICLE PRESENTATION Globalforce Contracts Ltd In December 2011 Globalforce Contracts opened a commercial vehicle paint shop in Harlow, Essex. It all came about from a cup of tea conversation with Alexander Dennis to whom Globalforce supply labour. ADL was looking to improve production and time scales of its bus refurbishments for its customers. It needed somewhere local for professional paint spraying. The company saw an ideal opportunity and took it. It opened a commercial Paintshop two minutes’ walk from ADL in Harlow, took on the unit from December 2011 and was fully operational by the following January. This cavernous warehouse was transformed into a commercial spray shop capable of housing seven double decker buses, which is a lot of buses to come all at once. The unit has a spray booth at one end which can hold two double decks at once and a prep area at the other end which can take up to five simultaneously. Caroline Dyson, Director and wife of fellow Director Graham Dyson, said: “Mind you if you are sitting in Grahams office and they are reversing in my heart is in my mouth. Buses are quite big!” There is also a large locked yard for bus storage and change over which is very valuable to the company as it runs a 24 hour operation. Globalforce has the capability to turn around approximately 10 buses / coaches a week with the highest quality paintwork. Predominately the firm takes in buses which are already

Globalforce works closely with ADL, providing timely refurbishments

“Customer feedback has been great and very valuable to us as a family business.” Caroline Dyson Director

Husband and wife Directors Graham and Caroline Dyson keep a close eye over the Globalforce paint shop and sales department www.coachandbusweek.com

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prepared for spraying allowing for a fast turnaround time. If final prep is required this is done on site as quality preparation is the key to a good finish. Globalforce has a full in house paint mixing system able to match any colour to suit any bus. The firm’s preferred paint is Lechler and it uses the Lechler commercial products to produce the best finish every time. Over the company’s first full year of opening it has successfully turned around 300 buses and completed some tricky paintwork on some coaches. In addition, Globalforce can supply a full turnkey package for all operators cleaning needs. It provides fully customised deep cleans, daily cleans and graffiti removal within it’s specialised cleaning division. All staff are fully trained and certified in all areas of commercial cleaning, using thoroughly tried and tested chemicals and practices. Within reason depending on the task

to be completed Globalforce use industrial PH neutral detergents taking into account environmental limitations inclusive of a full site survey, method statement and risk assessment in accordance with ISO 9001. The company has also developed a LIVE time recording cleaning programme to inform management and the customers of any defects found. According to Globalforce, this has been particularly successful on the High Speed HITACHI trains as they are in constant use and all defects need to be rectified quickly. The company can contact the customer and report the defects allowing the customer to authorise the rectification of this instantly, therefore enabling a professional finish every time. Further more, Globalforce can fit a wide range of materials for table tops, seating, floor coverings and other surfaces including anti-slip and anti-graffiti coatings. “Customer feedback has been great and very valuable to us as a family business,” commented Caroline. “It means a lot when you know you’re getting it right.” The team consists of Director Graham who reportedly keeps a close eye on the paint shop, General Manager Jez who keeps a close eye on sales and Caroline who keeps a close eye on them both. The productive workforce consists of a team of six paint sprayers and one upholstery seamstress. The sprayers work day and night shifts and the seamstress is on site for seat recovering, curtain replacement or general running repairs if needed. Moving into its second year Globalforce Contracts’ commercial spray shop can see an interesting and full year ahead in the commercial spray industry, turning sprayed buses around in a fast efficient manner giving customers satisfaction that their fleet will be back on the road earning money again. Caroline said: “Overall the setup of the commercial spray shop has been a fantastic project to be involved with and one which I certainly hope is going to go from strength to strength this coming year.” T: 01322 305 237 E: enquiries@ globalforcegroup.co.uk W: www.globalforce group.co.uk

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Commer cial Paint Shop

Head Office Globalforce Contracts Ltd Regus Global Offices Admirals Park, Victory Way Dartford, Kent DA2 6QD

Globalforce Contracts Commercial Spray Shop Custom House Harolds Road Harlow, Essex CM19 5BJ

Tel: 01322 305237

Tel: 07841 049559

Email: enquiries@globalforcegroup.co.uk â&#x20AC;˘ www.globalforcegroup.co.uk Working in partnership with:

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INDUSTRY

GUIDE

TO VEHICLE PRESENTATION

E-Leather on seating covers is very easy to clean, with Autoglym cleaning products seen in use here

“I believe you are less likely to see abuse or vandalism in a nice, smart environment.”

E-Leather As passengers try to catch a cat nap on their journey they may well find themselves counting bugs instead of sheep. Bed bugs can be a serious issue for any business with a constant flow of visitors. Hotels, schools, universities and museums, entertainment venues, retailers and public transport are all particularly vulnerable. The problem that was once confined to down-market hotels and guest houses is now so widespread that the little critters can be found infesting all modes of transportation, and the confined areas of buses and coaches make ideal breeding grounds. Traditional interiors and soft fabrics are notoriously difficult to keep clean and coupled with warm humid conditions they provide ideal living conditions for all nature of unwelcome guests. Airlines have identified that cockroaches can spread pathogens such as food poisoning organisms and serious diseases can be spread either directly or indirectly by fleas and they are constantly introducing new ways of combating the menace which has no respect for passenger class or ticket price. Bed bugs breed at an alarming rate and can survive for many months until detected, and can www.coachandbusweek.com

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against infestation is the fitting of E-Leather on seating covers. Not only does it look clean and inviting but upholstery becomes simple to maintain to a hygienic standard. The very nature of E-Leather means that it is much less likely to harbour infestations from unwanted visitors. Durability and longevity in service with reduced maintenance costs is seeing the use of E-Leather continue to grow throughout the UK bus and coach industry as operators look beyond the initial acquisition cost and identify the whole life costs, investing in innovative design solutions and new materials to significantly reduce long-term costs and ongoing maintenance. Alongside all these challenges, the needs of the passenger must be met in terms of an attractive and comfortable environment. To win and retain passengers any new interior must retain its good looks for many years and increasingly passengers now experience and compare trains, boats, buses and

Carl Watkins Sales Manager

Traditional moquette seating covers can be difficult to keep clean and provide an environment in which bed bugs can thrive

Bed bugs are a problem in any environment with a constant flow of visitors, of which coaches and buses should not be overlooked

cause serious discomfort and alarm to fare paying passengers. Once detected, treatment of affected vehicles can be both expensive and inconvenient and it is not uncommon for overall costs of up £2000 per vehicle to remedy an infestation once all the off road expenses are added up. The business consequences of these pests go beyond the clean-up costs and are equally damaging to your brand and reputation plus leaving the operator open to possible legal proceedings. A major factor in the fight

planes and expect the same high standards across all modes of transport. There’s little wonder that a material which can provide benefits in many areas, whichß has been tested, trialled and is now in use by some of the largest airlines in the world, is now receiving a warm welcome by bus operators. “It’s not exactly scientific research,” said E-Leather Sales Manager Carl Watkins, “but we asked the bus users what they thought of the material. There was a lot of appreciation and a definite difference in the interior ambience, with passengers showing more respect not just for the seating but the vehicle as a whole. Additionally I believe you are less likely to see abuse or vandalism in a nice, smart environment and we are seeing this reflected in the fact that we are supplying very little material to repair damaged seats.” T: 01733 843939 E: busandcoach@ eleathergroup.com W: www.eleathergroup.com

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U P B E W F S U J T F P O U I F T F Q B H F T G P S B T M J U U M F B T c K V T U D B M M Setra S315 GT HD

2007 Ford Transit

2008 Scania K340 Irizar PB

12 seats, twin slide loading doors, 61,000 miles, 2 months MOT, excellent condition.

ZF automatic, 49 seats, climate control, centre sunken toilet, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue required).

2003 Dennis Trident 2 SLF Alex 400 10.5m

£8,995 + VAT

£149,000

Evobus - 02476 626046

Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

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

1998 Volvo B10M Jonckheere Mistral

54 plate Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 2

2006 Setra 416 GTHD

2004 Iveco Daily 45c13

31 seater with one passenger door, 15 standees, automatic gearbox, manual destination and front ramp. In good condition, a good work bus.

49 reclining seats with lap belts, toilet, fridge, hot water boiler, CD/DVD player, Euro 4 certified, owned by us from new, good condition. £92,500 + VAT For further information please contact: Nigel Busbridge on 01303 261870 or email nigel@buzzlines.co.uk

ASTronic, toilet, aircon, Webasto, retarder, fridge, servery, boiler, crew seat.

£67,500

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.

£35,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365

£37,000

Ventura Sales 01342 835206

Mercedes Sitcar Beluga

2002 DAF SB220 SLF Ikarus Polaris 12m

2008 (58 reg), 27 seats plus courier, double glazed, air-con, Euro 4 compliant, MOT September 2013, 157,000km, excellent condition.

Tel 07711 868976

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

2008 DDA Iveco Beulas Cygnus

1988 Volvo B10M VanHool Alizee

£67,500 plus VAT

53 seats, centre wheelchair lift (PLS), Hanover destination equipment, Cursor 10 450bhp engine, ZF AS-Tronic gearbox, Euro 4.

£120,000 – PX accepted

Scania Bus & Coach 01909 553102

Manual gearbox, converted this year to 70 seater, MOT’d till March 2013, CCTV fitted.

£17,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365

Dennis Plaxton Coach

11 seat front entry wheelchair accessible minibus, white, diesel, 80,000 miles.

£10,000 - no VAT

Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076

2009 Scania K340 Irizar PB 12.2m

Cummins 420, Plaxton Paragon body, Asotronic gearbox, air con, long MOT, excellent MPG. Has been used exclusively on our tour programme. Regd March 2004.

49 seats, climate control, WC, TV/DVD, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue).

£48,000 – choice of 5 Contact Tom Smith or Peter Tetlow on 0845 130 5777 for more details

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

£159,000

2000 SCANIA T9

2003 Futura

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.

Full exec spec, Eminox euro 4 exhaust, 49 seats, green cloth, manual, 695K kms, new MOT on sale.

£24,750

Contact Eric on 0792 138920

£65,000 + VAT L.J. Edwards: 01323 440622 option 2 or John 07974 369570

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

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U P B E W F S U J T F P O U I F T F Q B H F T G P S B T M J U U M F B T c K V T U D B M M 2004 Setra S415 HD

2003 Iveco Daily 45c13

20098 Scania K340 Irizar Century

13 seat front entry wheelchair accessible minibus, white, COIF, tacho, 129,000 miles.

ZF automatic, 49 seats, climate control, TV/DVD, Euro 4 EGR (no AdBlue required).

UNVI RIADA GT -2008 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

ASTronic, retarder, aircon, 2 x monitors, radio/cassette, crew seat, fridge. Vehicle currently undergoing MOT preparation and test.

£6,495 + VAT

£145,000

Evobus - 02476 626046

Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

2002 Iveco Daily 50c13

Scania K360 Irizar Century

1993 Volvo B10M VanHool

13 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, white, diesel, 65,000 miles.

Back off contract hire. Euro 5 EGR (no AdBlue), 2-pedal Opticruise automated gearbox, 49 seats, climate control.

£16,495

£175,000

£33,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365

Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076

Scania Bus and Coach 01909 553102

2002 Futura

2011 Ford Torneo

2004 (54) Neoplan Starliner Tri-Axle Corporate/Team Coach

2000 Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 10.1m

Full exec spec, Eminox euro 4 exhaust, 49 seats, green cloth, manual, 792K kms, new MOT on sale.

Choice of 5, mileage between 60-100k, 60 plate. £5,000 For further information please contact: Nigel Busbridge on 01303 261870 or email nigel@buzzlines.co.uk

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.

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

1997 Scania K113 VanHool Alizee

£79,500

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.

£55,000 + VAT L.J. Edwards: 01323 440622 option 2 or John 07974 369570

2006 Volvo B12B Enigma

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.

£69,950 – PX considered

Llew Jones 01492 640320

£75,000 + VAT o.n.o.

Call Patrick 01787 477701/ 07730 671064 email: info@coachcompany.co.uk

T8 bodywork, 12 months MOT, toilet, DVD/ monitor, 49 seats with belts. £10,250 Maypole Coaches – Tel: 0151 547 2713 or 07802 235778

2007 Daf SB4000 – Van Hool Alizee T9 48/9 seats, rear floor mounted toilet & servery, A/C, 368,000 kms, one owner, mainly used for tours and private hire. Sold with 12 months MOT, excellent condition.

£100,000 +VAT Phone Ernie 07932 734273 or office 01253 725999 ask for Pam G-Line Holidays Ltd www.g-linecoaches.co.uk

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

681335-1070-Ensign:Layout 1

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Ensig DOUBLE DECK 85

SEAT S

2000 DENNIS TRIDENTS Alexander ALX400 bodies, converted to high capacity 85 seat school buses.

LEZ

COMPLIANT

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

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

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

1997 P REG VOLVO B10M AUTOMATICS

DAF engines, Voith gearboxes, low height, 77 seats.

Plaxton Premiere 320 bodies, 53 seats.

1998 R/S REG OPTARE SOLO’S

SWB, CCTV, particulate traps so LEZ compliant, Plaxton President bodies, dual door 62 seats or single door 71 seats.

1999 VOLVO B7TL’S

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 VOLVO B10BLE’S Manual, Ikarus body, 53 seats, air-con.

1998 R REG DAF SB300

ZF 6 speed manual, Plaxton Premiere 350, 53 seats.

1998 R REG DENNIS JAVELIN

Cummins / Allison, East Lancs bodies, 40 seats, Mobitech LED’s.

1997 DENNIS DARTS

Cummins L10 / ZF, Alexander RH body, 78 seats with retractable belts, MOT Oct 2013, tacho.

1992 LEYLAND OLYMPIAN

2000 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. 10.7m , Euro 5, 35 e-leather seats, very low mileage, Hanover destinations, DDA compliant.

2011 ENVIRO 200’S

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. LWB, CCTV, particulate traps so LEZ compliant, Plaxton President bodies, dual door 67 seats or single door 77 seats, DDAS compliant.

2000/2001 VOLVO B7TL’S

ZF 6 speed manual, Caetano Algarve body, 49 seats, centre sunken toilet, very smart for age.

1995 M REG VOLVO B10M

ZF 6 speed manual, Plaxton Premiere 350, 53 seats.

1995 M REG VOLVO B10M

Alexander ALX400 bodies, 74 seats.

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

682310-1070-Pickrell

H. W. PICKRELL

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MINIBUS AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES

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

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

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINI BUSES

06 REG IVECO DAILY 50c13 IRIS BUS 3.0

For latest stock arrivals follow @h_w_pickrell 07 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

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

Manual gearbox, high roof, PAS, LWB, tacho, power front entry door, 16 rear high back seats, Unwin tracked flat floor, Eberspacher climate control, underfloor PLS tail lift, COIF, 67,671 kms.

07 REG F ORD TRANSIT 100 350 2.4 TDCI

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.

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

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.

10 REG RENAULT MASTER LM 39 2.5TD

07 REG VW CRAFTER CR50 UVG TREKA

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.

2008 57 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO LH28 2.0 TD

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, 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.

08 REG FORD TRANSIT 430 JUM BO 2.4 TDCI

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.

2009 59 REG VAUXHALL VIVARO SL28 2.0 TD

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.

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

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.

09 PEUGEOT EXPERT TEPEE 1.9 HDI

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.

07 REG RENAULT MASTER LM 35 2.5TD

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.

682190-1070-Rotala

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682304-1070-Stafford

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Page 1

www.staffordbuscentre.com email: martin@staffordbuscentre.com Telephone: 01782 791774 Mobile: 07803 222552

View our latest arrivals on www.staffordbuscentre.com

DENNIS TRIDENT EAST LANCS BODY EXLWB 1999 T/V REG

VOLVO OLYMPIAN, NORTHERN COUNTIES “LOW HEIGHT” BODY 1998 R REG

£17,950

£11,950

78 seats and wheelchair space, could be re-seated to 88/90 and belted.

DENNIS DART PLAXTON SUPER POINTER 1999 V REG

Undergoing total internal re-fit to include 45 seats with belts.

From £12,950

MERCEDES 814D VARIO PLAXTON BEAVER II 2005 05 REG

29 HB seats plus belts, power door, destination, side mounted, wheelchair lift, making DDA.

£25,950

FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT FACTORY BUS 2008 (58)

27k miles, tacho, PSV COIF etc.

£12,450

DAF SB220 ALEXANDER 1998 R REG

Volvo engine/ZF gearbox, 76 seats plus 8, can be belted if required.

42 seats + 26 standing, good quality replacements for those unreliable, expensive to run Darts.

DENNIS DART MARSHALL BODY 2000 W REG

DENNIS DART WRIGHT BODY 1999 V REG

Phone For More Details

VOLVO OLYMPIAN NORTHERN COUNTIES (Low Height) 1998 R REG

Fitted with 76 high back seats with 3 point belts, fully repainted and new test.

£13,950

MERCEDES 814D MEDIO 2005 05 REG

Fitted with up-dated body panels, new MoT and paint, 35 seats plus wheelchair.

Fitted with 25 high back coach seats plus belts, super low floor, wheelchair accessible, only 9mtr long, choice of 2.

Mercedes built mini coach with 25 seats, large boot etc. Currently being repainted white.

BLUEBIRD AMERICAN SCHOOL BUS 2000 W REG

FORD TRANSIT 15 SEAT FACTORY BUS 2011 11 REG

OPTARE SOLO M920 1999 V REG

£6,950

£5,950

60 high back coach seats with 3 point belts, Cummins engine and (reconditioned) Alison gearbox, very simple and rugged construction

C.O.I.F plus PSV MoT, very low miles, as new.

FORD TRANSIT 15 SEAT BUS 2007 07 REG

MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 UVG BODY 2002/3/4

Phone for more details

Very low mileage, suitable for school use if required as its 3500 cwt, can be driven on any full car licence.

£9,950

OPTARE SOLO ALL MERCEDES ENGINE ALLISON BOX W Reg, 25 seater, very short with new belts plus new paint. £12,950 W Reg, 29 seater, 9.2mtr with new belts plus new paint (in build now). £12,950 52 Reg, 29 seater, 8.5 mtr with belts plus new paint. £16,950 MERCEDES 814D VARIO PLAXTON BEAVER R 2004 04 with manual box, 33 removable seats, power door and destination, tail lift etc. £16,950

£15,950

16 seats plus wheelchair space, super clean condition, tacho, PSV test etc, choice of 3.

£8,450

£27,950

Currently being panelled/painted and belted to 31 seats plus wheelchair.

£12,950

FIAT DUCATO TRI AXLE PSV 16 SEAT BUS 2002 - 02 REG Power door etc.

£4,450

1999 V with auto box, 33 bus seats with belts (cert for 31), new paint and test. £8,950 1999 T with auto box, 29 coach seats but LWB, so plenty of room, destination and power door. £8,950 FORD TRANSITS x 10 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011 Mostly PSV - all 17 seats, tacho etc, all below 60k miles.

WE ALSO HAVE AVAILABLE

Vehicles available for short or long term lease

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January 16, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 45

2003 Mercedes Sprinter 413CDI

AVAILABLE NOW

TEMSA SAFARI HD Full Stainless Steel, 12.2 mtr 53 rec seats with 3 point belts, Full Exec

16 seats, manual tacho, forced air, parcel shelves, reading lights, boot space, MOT til April 2013.

£7,500 + VAT Telephone Craig – 01382 553959

01274 681144

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

Bus and Coach

take a test drive today

RA RE OP 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

553368-1065-Pembridge

3/12/12

18:10

Page 1

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%

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48 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 16, 2013

HEAVY DUTY STEEL BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS

• 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 AUDIO & VIDEO

RDG \ RXU Y H KL F O H DG L Q D PDW W H U 8SO RI PL QXW H V DQG L Q QR W L PH DW DO O KH F DO O V F RXO G EH F RPL QJ L Q W

ENGINES

THE CUMMINS ENGINE SPECIALISTS PARTS & SERVICE DIVISION

D.I.E.S.E.L. LIMITED OFFER A VAST RANGE OF SERVICES FOR ALL TYPES OF CUMMINS ENGINES FREE TECHNICAL ADVICE AND SUPPORT FULL OR 3/4 BUILT RECON ENGINES COMPETITIVE & COST EFFECTIVE SERVICE REPAIRS FIXED PRICE ENGINE REPAIRS/OVERHAULS COMPREHENSIVE PARTS STOCK – NEW AND USED ON SITE REPAIRS FULL ELECTRONIC DIAGNOSTICS CONTACT US TODAY FOR ALL YOUR CUMMINS REQUIREMENTS TELEPHONE UK: 01708 859625 FAX UK: 01708 857630 EMAIL: SALES@DIESEL.UK.COM

CRAIG TILSLEY Suppliers of Reconditioned

CHECKPOINTS

Tel: 01782 791524 or 01782 791527 Fax: 01782 791316

Wheel Nut Indicators and Retainers

++44(0)1524 44(0)1524 2271200 71200 checkpoint-safety.com

www.

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

GARAGE EQUIPMENT

8QO L PL W HG RQO L QH Y H KL F O H I RU V DO H DGY H U W L V H PH QW V RQ F RDF KDQGEXV PDU NH W F RP 8S W R SHU ZHHN RI [ SUL QW DGYHUW L VHPHQW V L Q &RDF K %XV :H H N PDJD] L QH

FREE

Set of Axle Stands when you purchase your Mobile Columns JHM Butt & Company Limited Sales: 01302 718226

+DO I SUL FH UHFUXL W PHQW DGV L Q &RDF K %XV :H H N PDJD] L QH

www.buttsequipment.com equipment.com

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([F O XGL QJ 9$7

Mobile Column Lifts

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GARAGE EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS Experts in Commercial Garage Equipment

www.bwsequip.co.uk BWS (0117) 9530381

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January 16, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 49

TRAINING

INSURANCE

1 ) 0 5 0 4 " / % ' 6 $ 0 0 6 3 " 4 4 5 " / % " 3 % 0 / " 7 & ) * $ & ' 0 3 4 " & " % 7 & 3 5 * 4 & .& / 5 4 TRIM LIVERY COACH TRIMMERS LTD

Supplying the Bus and Coach Industry with quality seat retrims and interior refurbishment. Full floors re-laid and centre gangways. Collection and delivery service anywhere in the UK, seven days a week.

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

Tel/Fax: 01751 472229 TYRE EQUIPMENT TRAINING

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

www.meridianpcv.com

p50_CBW_1070

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50 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 16, 2013

TYRES

E S LT

I I I

I I

M I I I I I II I

I I I I I I I I

I I

T I

NTA I

I I I

OU I

I I

MANAGEMENT & REPAIRS

MOUNTAIN TYRES LTD VEHICLE CERTIFICATE AGENCY

QUALITY AVON TREAD USED

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

• FREE DELIVERY FOR ALL ORDERS OVER 10 TYRES • Our staff have over 25 years experience in the Retreading industry and we are Certified by the Vehicle Certificate Agency

PRICE LIST

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

Email: bernard.llewellyn@btopenworld.com Ffynonau-Duon Farm, Pentwyn, Bargoed, Caerphilly, CF81 9NP

VEHICLE SPARES

Trevor Wigley & Son Bus Ltd

8QO L PL W HG RQO L QH Y H KL F O H I RU V DO H DGY H U W L V H PH QW V RQ F RDF KDQGEXV PDU NH W F RP 8S W R SHU ZHHN RI [ SUL QW DGYHUW L VHPHQW V L Q &RDF K %XV :H H N PDJD] L QH +DO I SUL FH UHFUXL W PHQW DGV L Q &RDF K %XV :H H N PDJD] L QH DQQXDO GL JL W DO VXEVFUL SW L RQV W R F RDF KDQGEXV ZH H N F RP

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

([F O XGL QJ 9$7

D \HDU

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

www.twigley.com

January 16, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 51

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

Trading Toyotas for trees First is combining its support for local environmental charity Red Rose Forest with a move to get motorists to try the bus. Traditionally a time of year for diets and new gym memberships, bosses at First Bus hope their green commitment to plant an acre of trees in Heaton Park, North Manchester will encourage more people to opt for the bus this January instead. Known car users are being asked to trial the bus for a week, and First will donate one tree for every voucher completed and exchanged for a FirstWeek Oldham or FirstWeek M60 bus ticket to a maximum of one acre of forest. Red Rose Forest is the community forest for Greater Manchester working with local communities, businesses and partners to develop a well-wooded, multi-purpose landscape across the city. The charity aims to plant over six million trees over the next 40 years creating new areas of community woodland, planting street trees and turning derelict land into tree covered landscapes. Phil Williams, Head of Marketing for First in the North of England, said: “Often New Year’s Resolutions tend be about losing weight, saving money and being more environmentally friendly. While we can’t help with diets we can help people to save money – our recent price reductions make travelling by bus much more cost effective, particularly for those currently commuting by car. “It’s also a much more environmentally friendly transport

Dilbert

Monday: Having worked three long days ‘back home’ in Mid Wales the previous week, it’s my first day back in the office since before Christmas. It’s press day for the concluding part of our ‘Big Five’ in-depth features. While my team have worked their socks off, there’s still some finishing off to be done. Tuesday: By prior agreement after a late finish, my team start in the office late morning. Attend a management meeting after my colleagues have left for the day. Wednesday: A busy day in the office. Complete my Tanat Driver CPC training feature and work on another. For the first time in six years at CBW, I ensure I take my full complement of breaks & I can honestly say I feel much better for it.

CBW won’t branch out into tree related puns. We’re not that braking mad... alternative, made even more so thanks to our new relationship with Red Rose Forest. By the end of winter we hope to have helped plant an acre of new forest in Heaton Park for the community to enjoy.” Hilary Wood, Green Streets Manager at Red Rose Forest, said: “This is a fantastic initiative which will really help Red Rose Forest’s work to make Greater Manchester greener. We’re delighted that every time people choose to make the

switch to environmentally friendly bus travel they can also choose to support tree planting in their city. “With this help from First and its customers Red Rose Forest will be able to create a wonderful new woodland of native broadleaf trees in Heaton Park by next spring. Without this support it’s unlikely the project would have been able to get off the ground until the following planting season of 2013/14.”

Thursday: Make further arrangements for future interviews. On my lunchbreak, don my heritage railway PR man ‘hat’ and chat to a couple of railway journo friends as I have a couple of stories for them. Dave Parry from Parrys International catches me out with a particularly formal tone on the phone – all good fun. Catch up with several coach operators. Friday: The familiar busy day, trying to get as much done to get ahead of the Monday rush. Take a late lunch for a visit to the barbers. Saturday: Having had a particularly stressful week, my head is somewhat akin to that of a teenager – I want to sleep in & hence I feel grumpy. Clearly, I put on a brave face and make an effort to be my familiar ‘Mr Chirpy’ when I arrive at a Premier Inn on the edge of Peterborough for a Driver CPC course with AA DriveTech. The trainer is a great bloke. A retired policeman, he’s full of enthusiasm and very approachable. I go away tired but very happy. www.coachandbusweek.com

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RECRUITMENT & people

In association with

Deadlines Booking: Monday 5.00pm Full artwork: Monday 5.00pm Contact Ian Gillis T: 01733 293484 E: ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

First female Scott Pearson is new NCT seasonal CPT Cymru Chairman driver winner Newport Transport’s popular implementation and impact of cuts Claire Hatherley has been crowned seasonal driver winner by Nottingham City Transport (NCT). She joined NCT in 2006 and is a regular driver on the Local Link services. Stephen Ferris, Claire’s Garage Manager, commented: “During the last six years, Claire has developed into a professional and proficient driver and has an excellent rapport with her passenger base.” Claire said she is very proud to have been recognised as the first female driver to win this title. She was the final driver for 2012 to be entered into the NCT Driver of the Year competition, which took place on January 10. The contenders included Martin Collins, Barry Polkey, Jim Armstrong, Paul Graves and Claire Hatherley.

Managing Director, Scott Pearson, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Cymru. Mr Pearson replaces outgoing Chairman Michael Morton, Managing Dirctor of Arriva Buses Wales, whose two-year tenure in the role comes to an end this month. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Mr Pearson has been Managing Director of Newport Transport for two years and has worked within the transport industry for more than a decade. David Hulme of Llanberis-based Padarn Bus has been elected as Deputy Chairman. Mr Pearson’s appointment comes at a time when CPT Cymu is in deep discussions with the Welsh Government over the

to bus funding across the whole of Wales. Commenting on his new CPT Cymru role, Mr Pearson said: “I would like to thank the out-going chairman Michael Morton for all his hard work and efforts over the last two years. “The next two years are going to be hugely important to the bus, coach and rail industries in Wales. These forms of transport play an integral and important role in the lives of people living in Wales and the Welsh economy. “As the representative body of bus operators in Wales we will be working hard to represent our members to the Welsh Government and ensure that passengers are able to continue relying upon their local bus operator to deliver the bus services they need.”

Obituary

Bert Thomas Bert Thomas, who drove Oxford United players and fans to away games for many years has passed away, aged 94. He began driving coaches carrying the then Headington United FC’s first team in the 1950s. The team was renamed Oxford United in 1960, the Oxford Mail reported. From 1977, Bert also began taking fans to fixtures after the London Road Travel Club was set up when he worked for what was then known as City of Oxford Motor Services. He retired in 1982. Bert’s daughter Jane Stevens said: “He knew every road in the country. Up until the day he died, he was like a human sat-nav. He was a true gentleman. He loved life and had a huge sense of humour.” Mr Thomas retired at the age of 64 but then briefly worked for Tappins before calling it a day. Mr Thomas died on December 31 in Sobell House Hospice.

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 ! week FREE d ir h t a d an 013 l 27 May 2 Oﬀer valid

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01733 293484 ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

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January 16, 2013 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 53

Sales & Reservations Manager

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

Heavy Vehicle Technician Do you have the right stuﬀ to join our highly experienced team, based at our excellent workshop in Lower Sydenham, South East London? Requirements for the successful candidate will be: • Fully skilled HGV/PCV Technician • Experience of all types of repairs to commercial vehicles • Background in Mercedes/Setra/Scania coaches preferred but not essential • HGV/PCV licence essential • Conscientious and reliable, able to work on own initiative. We oﬀer: • Competitive salary • Training and development programme • Excellent working facilities, friendly team, modern vehicles • Group personal pension scheme • Paid holiday For more information or for an application form please call 0208 768 9637 and ask for Steve Holden. Alternatively please complete and application form online at our website www.clarkescoaches.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com

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RECRUITMENT & people Deadlines Booking: Monday 5.00pm Full artwork: Monday 5.00pm Contact Ian Gillis T: 01733 293484 E: ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com

Long serving W&D engineer retires Brian Davies, the Fitter in Charge at Wilts & Dorset’s Swanage bus garage, has serviced his last bus and has retired. Brian’s 48 years of service has been all completed at the depot in Kings Road West where he joined Southern National as a trainee fitter in 1965. Over that period, the 64 year old has seen many changes. In 1974 the National Bus Company transferred all bus operations in Swanage to Hants & Dorset, and since 1983 they have been operated under the Wilts & Dorset name. Throughout this period Brian has worked at the garage ensuring the buses were provided to operate the services each day. Brian said of his long career: “When I first started we had just four single deck Southern National

First UK swaps OMs

Andrew Wickham, Brian Davies and Steve Hamilton buses garaged here. The number increased to 10 when the railway closed in 1972, and there are currently 15 buses allocated to Swanage. The first double decks came in 1974, and open top buses have been part of the allocation since 1987.” Wilts & Dorset’s MD Andrew Wickham was joined by Engineering Director Steve Hamilton and Kenny McDonald,

Area Engineering Manager, to wish Brian a happy retirement and present gift vouchers to buy a laptop PC. “Our engineers are vital in ensuring that we have the buses to run a reliable and safe service,” said Andrew Wickham. “Brian has done a first class job here at Swanage for many years. He will be a hard act to follow and will be missed by his colleagues.”

Two First Operations Managers (OM) are swapping jobs. Khadim Hussain, long-serving for First in Bradford, has been appointed OM for Halifax, Huddersfield and Todmorden. Mr Hussain has worked for First at its Bowling Back Lane depot for 14 years in traffic planning, commercial and operational roles. Before that he worked for other local bus operators. Taking his old job at Bradford is Mark Fenwick, the current OM for First in Halifax, Huddersfield and Todmorden. Mr Fenwick has worked for First for over 23 years, starting as an engineering apprentice before moving to work in operations as a driver, supervisor, Staff Manager and OM. He has previously worked at depots in Halifax, Huddersfield and Hunslet

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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In association with

21st Century Interim CFO 21st Century has appointed Mark Westcombe Elliott as its Interim Chief Finance Officer (CFO). Mr Elliott, a Chartered Accountant, is currently a NonExecutive Director of the firm and has spent the last 12 years as Managing Director of private equity group, ICE Partners Limited having previously worked as a partner with Baker Tilly. Mr Elliott will hold the position of CFO on a part-time basis until a Obituary

John Neilson John Neilson has died of cancer at the age of 67. A big man physically with a personality to match, he took Hallmark from a purely chauffeurcar operation to having at its peak a fleet of over 60 high-quality executive coaches. A Rolls-Royce trained chauffeur, John later moved into supplying production cars to TV and film makers. Joining up with John Barnett of Hallmark, then a Lutonbased taxi firm, the two Johns secured substantial contracts with several charter airlines, especially transporting aircrew for Britannia Airways (now Thomson Fly), and setting up bases at airports across the UK to shadow Britannia’s operations. When Britannia acquired widebodied jets with greater crew numbers they asked Hallmark to provide coaches. Agreements with the pilots’ union required a high standard of luxury for their

permanent appointment is made to strengthen the Executive Board. Mr Elliott’s responsibilities as Chairman of the company’s Audit Committee will be assumed by David Voss who is currently also Chairman of its Remuneration Committee. Jan Holmstrom, Chairman, said: “We are pleased Mark has assumed this additional role on the Board while we search for a suitable candidate. Both David and Mark’s continued support, which utilises their considerable experience, provide a stable platform for the Group to preserve its growth rates achieved to date.” transport, and the coaches – full sized vehicles – had to be tabled and with all on-board facilities, albeit for only eight passengers. Early vehicles included the first Jonkheere-bodied Leyland Tiger to enter service in the UK. Having a growing fleet of high spec coaches based around the UK provided opportunities to develop into the entertainment, sporting and corporate markets. At one time the fleet included a double-deck Setra a sleeper coach for band-bus work, and a Pullman Executive coach with dining and lounge areas plus a fully-equipped galley. As the company grew John found his entrepreneurial style restricted by the demands of a more corporate environment. He left Hallmark in the early 90s to set up and run a catering business with his wife and later turned part of their home into an upscale B&B where he presided over the full English breakfasts. Hallmark Coaches now continues as Flights-Hallmark, part of the Rotala Group.

Senior Senior Sales Sales Business Business Development Development Manager Manager

The The Company Company Leggs Travel Limited t/a Mitcham Belle Coaches is a family run coach operator with over 90 years' Leggs Travel Limited t/a Mitcham Belle Coaches is a family run coach operator with over 90 years' experience, providing coach & minibus hire to London & the South-East. We cater for all types of experience, providing coach & minibus hire to London & the South-East. We cater for all types of transport at Mitcham Belle Coaches including contract services, private and corporate hire, transport at Mitcham Belle Coaches including contract services, private and corporate hire, executive, school trips and swimming contracts, airport transfers, tours', railway replacement etc. executive, school trips and swimming contracts, airport transfers, tours', railway replacement etc. For more information please visit our website: www.mitchambellecoaches.co.uk For more information please visit our website: www.mitchambellecoaches.co.uk As part of our ambitious growth plans we seek a talented sales professional who will be based at As part of our ambitious growthinplans we seek a talented sales professional who will be based at our South London head office Mitcham, Surrey. our South London head office in Mitcham, Surrey. The Role The Role to the Managing Director, you will play a key role in bringing about a step change in how Reporting ReportingBelle to the Managing you play a key bringing about a step change in how Mitcham develops andDirector, grows its UKwill business. Yourole willinhave responsibility for revenue growth Mitcham develops and grows itsUK UKbusiness. business. You will have responsibility for revenue growth and grossBelle margin delivery across the and gross margin delivery across the UK business. This includes but not limited to, building and maintaining a target list of potential Clients, pitching to This includes butcold-calling not limited potential to, building and maintaining a target list of potential Clients, pitching to new clients and new clients. new Responsibilities: clients and cold-calling potential new clients. Key

Key• Responsibilities: Work with and develop the current prospect database within specified business sectors to leadsthe & exceed targets for thewithin business • generate Work witheffective and develop current sales prospect database specified business sectors to • Develop strong, well coach hire solutions business in London generateaeffective leadsrecognised & exceed and salesprofitable targets for the business the South-East, providing coach hire servicescoach to UKhire based businesses, educational • and Develop a strong, well recognised and profitable solutions business in London institutions and the general public and the South-East, providing coach hire services to UK based businesses, educational • Win new business explore new markets within preset budgets institutions and theand general public •• Develop sales contact plan tonew include cold-calling, direct budgets marketing, and attending industry Win new abusiness and explore markets within preset key prospects • events Developtoabuild salesrelationships contact planwith to include cold-calling, direct marketing, and attending industry • Respond to incoming Requests for Information(RFls), Requests for Proposals(RFPs) in a events to build relationships with key prospects professional and creative manner • Respond to incoming Requests for Information(RFls), Requests for Proposals(RFPs) in a • Understand prospect's professional aand creativebusiness manner needs and develop a tailored digital marketing proposal for example,asocial networking websites, etc • Understand prospect's business needs SED and develop a tailored digital marketing proposal • Work closely with the Managing Director to identify common new business Prospects for example, social networking websites, SED etc • Represent Mitcham Belle at industry events, including round tables, speaking forums and • Work closely with the Managing Director to identify common new business Prospects new business events • Represent Mitcham Belle at industry events, including round tables, speaking forums and • Build on and drive the value that existing and future customers get from the current business new business events through excellent consumer centric market understanding, account penetration and smart • use Buildofon and drive the value that existing and future customers get from the current business customer analytics, complaint research and social networks. through excellent consumer centric market understanding, account penetration and smart The Person use of customer analytics, complaint research and social networks. You have a proven solution sales background and love to be measured against what you have sold The the Person and strength of your relationships. Although a coach hire or transport industry background You have a proven solution sales background and love to be measured against what you sold would be ideal, we would consider individuals who can demonstrate an understanding of ahave solution and the strength of your Although a coach hire orand transport industry background or service sale. You are arelationships. confident and skilled communicator negotiator and will be motivated would be ideal, would consider individuals whoyou canwill demonstrate anskills understanding by working in anwe entrepreneurial business where develop new and build of a solution or service sale. You are a confident and skilled communicator and negotiator and will be motivated responsibility. by working in an entrepreneurial business where you will develop new skills and build Personal Requirements responsibility. • Tenacious & creative sales approach Personal Requirements • Curious and inquisitive • Driven and&motivated by results Tenacious creative sales approach • Sales and target driven Curious and inquisitive • Passionate about developing new business Driven and motivated by results • Strong presenter, negotiator, and influencer Sales and target driven •• Excellent written skills Passionate about developing new business •• Organised with good attentionand to detail Strong presenter, negotiator, influencer •• A self-starter whoskills can spot new opportunities Excellent written •• Able to work as good part ofattention wide and Organised with to varied detail team but also on one's own initiative.

How • to A apply self-starter who can spot new opportunities To be successful, dynamic andvaried ever growing pleaseown send your CV, • part Ableoftoawork as part of wide and team butbusiness also on one's initiative. together with details of your current salary package to kevin.wilde@mitchambellecoaches.co.uk. How to apply We look forward to hearing from you. To be part of a successful, dynamic and ever growing business please send your CV, Mitcham Belledetails Coaches are current committed to Equal Opportunities and welcome applications from all together with of your salary package to kevin.wilde@mitchambellecoaches.co.uk. sectors agestowithin the from community. We lookand forward hearing you.

Mitcham Belle Coaches are committed to Equal Opportunities and welcome applications from all sectors and ages within the community.

www.coachandbusweek.com

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