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risis has thankfully been averted in the Welsh bus industry – at least in part. As you will read on p6 of this issue, a revised funding agreement has been reached between the bus industry and the Welsh Government. The government in Cardiff has now agreed to a less severe cut in the budget for this year and next. It has also accepted that the budget should rise in line with in�lation next year, rather than reducing. CPT Cymru and others are to be commended for all their hard work. Of course, it’s well-known that politicians don’t like doing u-turns, so it’s vital to give them the opportunity to save face. Playing politics is a vital skill in all aspects of life. Let’s not forget it would appear this ‘result’ has been achieved following the threat of a potentially costly Judicial Review. Of course, I dare say a not inconsiderable expense has been incurred by all concerned – lawyers don’t work for peanuts. Back in March, John Gould, the respected Managing Director of Stagecoach in Wales, made an impassioned plea: “Legal action is a last resort and we have written to the Welsh Government to give them an opportunity to re-think their decision. We want to protect people from the devastating impact of these brutal, �lawed and unlawful cuts.” It came after the Welsh Government had broken the key principle that
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bus operators were fully reimbursed for the costs of the mandatory scheme. As John put it back then: “It has effectively rewritten the rules to its own speci�ication and to suit its own purposes while dressing up the changes as the result of an independent review. The damage will be felt all across Wales and people are rightly angry.” Having taken part in radio debates, I’ve heard it �irst hand just how much voters value their ‘free bus pass’ – they get defensive at the merest hint of a threat. Arriva’s closure of Aberystwyth garage and the accompanying retrenchment became a real political hot potato – members of the travelling public were up in arms over the prospect they would have no buses to use. After all, questions were raised in Cardiff Bay over it. The furore should have served as a reminder to politicians and civil servants alike of the consequences of slashing funding to the bare bone. I dare say there were also fears in the wider industry that Welsh Government’s cut would have been mirrored in Edinburgh and then Westminster – such is life. Alas, in the words of one industry professional I spoke to last week: “It’s now a case of heads down and crack on with what we do best – serving our communities.”
London bus cavalcade draws crowds p28
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July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 3 14/07/2014 19:32
CONTENTS
16 18 22 32 34 36
HERITAGE NEWS
Exeter bus and coach station 50th anniversary
RM60
Routemaster Association marks 60 years of RM1
LOOKING BACK Ian Manning recalls his time at Clydeside Scottish
ITSO UPDATE
Latest developments from Chief Advisor John Verity
PRODUCTS
New innovations that could help your business
OPINION
Ray Wilkes explains why cutting buses is a false economy
MINIBUS
39 40 46
Comment
Coachbuilt sector remains fragile despite market upturn
News
All the latest deliveries and Stanford’s Expo 2014
Van Experience
50 54
We report from the
2014 Mercedes-Benz event
Community Low Floor Profile of EVM’s Dutch contender
Minibus Legal Joan Aitken restricted O-Licence ruling
Top Stories
Regulars
6 l Welsh Government admits that concessionary fare cuts were wrong
06 l News 08 l Bus News 10 l Coach News 12 l Regional News 44 l Big Picture 84 l Last Stop 85 l People
7 l FirstGroup Quarter One trading in line with management’s expectations 10 l Cornwall Services has officially opened at Roche near Bodmin 10 l Richard Polley joins Scania as Regional Account Manager from MAN
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13/06/2014 18:36 12:12 14/07/2014
NEWS B R I E F LY l WRIGHTS GROUP has announced the establishment of a high level executive team to oversee the strategic development of the business and co-ordinate the operational activities of the companies within the Group. With immediate effect Mark Nodder has been appointed Chairman & CEO, Steven Francey becomes CEO and Mark Johnston Chief Financial Officer. l TWO FORMER DIRECTORS of Konectbus, which was sold to Go-Ahead Group in March 2010, have applied for a sixvehicle O-Licence. Coastal Red Ltd of North Runcton, King’s Lynn has Stephen Challis and Andrew Warnes as directors. Stephen and Andrew were directors of Konectbus as was Stephen’s wife, Margaret and Julian Patterson who is now MD of Go-Ahead’s East of England companies. l BRIAN JUFFS, MD of Rosso (Rossendale Transport) has left the company. In a statement, Rossendale Borough Council said: “The firm has interim management support in place following the departure of the MD. Plans are being drawn up to recruit a new MD and these will be circulated shortly. Brian was suspended in April as part of “an investigation following staff grievances.” l HARRY LIGHTFOOT, a lifelong coachman, died at the age of 86 on Sunday morning (July 13) after a short stay in hospital. Harry founded Durham City Coaches with his son.
6 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014 006_007_CBW1146_News.indd 6
Victory for Welsh bus firms & passengers Government admits concessionary fare cuts are wrong but budget still cut from previous levels The future of the Welsh bus network looks brighter after the Government in Cardiff accepted that its planned cuts to funding for concessionary bus travel were wrong. Last autumn, it emerged that the proposed cuts would trigger a Judicial Review (JR). This appeared to fall on deaf ears, because bus operators were formally told in March that their total payments for concessionary fare reimbursment would be 11% lower over the next three years – with the budget reducing by £2m each year. Then, on March 19, Stagecoach said it had received legal advice from Herbert Smith Freehills, suggesting key failings in the process the Welsh Government (WG) has followed. The firm suggested the WG had erred in law by unilaterally capping the scheme to fit within an allocated budget rather than following the statutory ‘no better, no worse off’ principle – and that the WG may also be liable to pay compensation for ‘violation of EU law.’ Several operators, including Stagecoach, Cardiff Bus and First began proceedings in the High Court. However, the WG has now averted a potentially costly High Court case – after the case was withdrawn by mutual agreement. The government has now agreed to a less severe cut in the budget for this year and next. It has also accepted that the budget should rise in line with inflation next year, rather than reducing. Last year’s budget
Cardiff Bus made major changes to its network in April in the wake of the funding cuts was £73.2m – and this year that figure was to have fallen to £65m. However, the government and bus industry have accepted that it should be £67.75m. Next year’s total is likely to be £69m. A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “Local authorities determine the reimbursement rate they pay to bus operators that carry concessionary pass holders for free, consistent with their obligation to ensure that operators are ‘no better and no worse off.’ “The Confederation of Passenger Transport in Wales, representing bus operators, has proposed overall reimbursement levels for 2014-15 and 2015-16 which would enable local authorities to meet that obligation. “Following detailed negotiations, the Welsh Government issued guidance to local authorities on June 27 that reflects the CPT’s proposals.” The CPT put proposals to the government in November, after
consultants it had commissioned calculated the payment rate which would leave bus operators no better or worse off. This figure was higher than recommended by governmentappointed consultants, and in December a joint study – analysing both consultants’ reports – was ordered. John Pockett, Director of CPT Cymru told CBW: “We’re very pleased to have reached agreement with the Welsh Government, which can only be good news for bus passengers in Wales. We look forward to continuing our constructive dialogue with the Welsh Government and local authorities as we move forward.” Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Byron Davies told The Western Mail: “That Edwina Hart (Minister for Economy, Science and Transport) and her officials ploughed ahead with these irrational cuts – despite the clear warnings – is nothing short of incompetent.”
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Obituary: Fred Jones
Fred Jones, a long-serving agent for Ashtree Vision & Safety, passed away peacefully on Thursday (July 10). Paying tribute, John Roper of the Bradford-based firm told CBW: “Fred was well-known across the South West of England and the South Wales. Many of the accounts he called upon were run by the sons and grandsons of the founders that Fred had visited for
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many years. “Born in 1921, Fred left the army at the end of WW II and was offered a contract with Arsenal FC. He declined this as he could earn more by working as a rep for Edmunds Walker, with a car, and playing part time football with Worcester City. How times have changed... “This was the start of a long career in the motor trade. From his home in Hereford, he was known and respected by many in the trade and always regarded his customers as personal friends
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and not just another factor to call upon. He regarded everyone as his friend – he certainly liked to chat.” John added: “Fred was in his 60s when he started working for Ashtree as an agent. Calling on all his old contacts, he showed he was still full of energy and enthusiasm for the job and helped establish a customer base which was ever loyal to him. “Still active into his 80s he started to have health issues. No longer able to drive, he was driven to see customers by his son,
FirstGroup Q1 trading update
FirstGroup says trading for the first quarter of the 2014/15 financial year is in line with management’s expectations and the firm’s ‘transformational programmes.’ CEO Tim O’Toole said: “In First Student we are encouraged by the progress we have made to address pricing in our contract portfolio and by our overall retention rate which, to date, is at the upper end of our planning assumptions. In UK Bus and Greyhound the actions we are taking are achieving good growth. Across the Group we are confident we have the right programmes underway to build on our market-leading positions and improve performance.” First has accelerated its programme to address contract portfolio pricing, ensuring an appropriate level of return on contracts won or retained. “We expect the proportion of low margin contracts in our portfolio to be below 30% in 2014/15 (from
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UK Bus is benefiting from First’s transformation programme. An Optare Solo SR delivered this year is seen here in Gosport 36% in 2013/14), and as additional multi-year contracts come up for renewal we will continue to reduce this further,” it said. “First Transit delivered another solid performance in the first quarter with new business wins in our paratransit, fixed route and vehicle maintenance segments. For the year we expect to deliver good margins with relatively modest capital investment. “During the first quarter like-forlike revenue increased by 3.4% (at Greyhound) compared to the same period last year, continuing
the improving trends seen over the course of the prior year (excluding the impact of severe weather in Q4).” At UK Bus like-for-like passenger revenue increased by 2.7%. “We are seeing the results from our transformation programme to improve our commercial proposition, drive volume growth and regain pricing competitiveness in line with the market,” the firm said. “As we rebase our local fares and networks we are stimulating passenger growth with like-
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himself retired by this time, and also kept in contact by telephone. He was surely the oldest working agent in the UK motor industry at this point. “As well as Edmunds Walker and Ashtree, Fred also worked for PSV Wypers before the firm was bought by Britax – and then Isla components, as well as stint as a publican. He also worked for Bulmers Cider in his native Hereford.” John concluded: “It’s a well worn cliché but, they really don’t make them like Fred anymore.” for-like volumes increasing by 2.7% in the first quarter. To date, we have completed 12 major redesigns together with numerous other upgrades and initiatives. The programme of significant network changes is now nearing completion, though our management structure is now locally focused to ensure that commercial opportunities continue to be developed. “While there is still some way to go, we are delivering our plan as forecasted to restore double digit margins to UK Bus by 2017. We expect improvements in underlying revenue and margin in both the first and second half of 2014/15 compared with the prior year, with progress particularly weighted to the second half of the year as we reach the anniversaries of a number of fares changes. “Our UK Bus division was awarded the contracts to transport athletes, technical officials, media and sponsors during the Commonwealth Games, and provide additional shuttle services to transport the large numbers of spectators expected.”
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 7 14/07/2014 18:52
NEWS › BUS
53.7%
The PCV driving test pass rate for March 2014
60
Number of years since the first Routemaster was unveiled at the Commercial Motor Show
First makes £20m investment in new vehicles ahead of Commonwealth Games Delivery of the 109 new vehicles has started, forming part of a 380-strong fleet providing transport for the sporting event First Bus has announced an investment of £20m in 109 new vehicles which will carry passengers for the first time at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The new buses, which are currently being delivered, will form part of a fleet of 380 which will move members of the Games Family, including athletes, officials, media and sponsors, and in addition operate specific shuttle and Park & Ride spectator services. These services will be operated by First Games Transport, the same division of First which looked after its services for the London 2012 Olympics. They will augment First Glasgow’s network across the city. The new fleet consists of Wrightbus StreetLites and ADL Enviro400s, and will sport bespoke Glasgow 2014/First Bus branding which emphasises the company’s ‘Personal Best’ campaign. Two of the new buses were unveiled at First Glasgow’s £20m new headquarters and depot on Cathcart Road in the south side of Glasgow. The site, which has been named ‘Caledonia’ by First Glasgow staff, will become partly operational for the first time during Glasgow 2014. Although
ADL Enviro400s form the double-decker side of the investment. The single deckers are Wrightbus StreetLites not due to be officially opened until November, First factored in plans to the construction schedule to enable it to operate up to 280 vehicles during the Games, around 75% of the capacity of the 10 acre site when fully operational. Andrew Scholey from First, who is heading up the company’s Glasgow 2014 spectator and Games Family services, said: “The arrival of our new vehicles is a key milestone as we put in place our final preparations for the Games. I’m delighted that we’ve
made this investment and that the vehicles sporting our Personal Best branding look so striking and so impressive.” “We’ve been planning for Glasgow 2014 for over a year. We’ll be operating thousands of journeys over the course of the Games with our shuttle services at some venues at certain times operating as often as every 20 seconds. We’ve got a great team in place and are really looking forward to it.” More than 700 bus drivers will
travel to Glasgow to help deliver First’s shuttle, Park & Ride and Games Family services. Around 200 First drivers from across the company’s UK operations, including Plymouth, Bristol, Norwich, Manchester, Leeds and Livingston have volunteered to drive at the Games and will spend between one and five weeks in Glasgow. A further 500 drivers have been sub-contracted from other bus and coach companies, such as Reading Buses and Translink.
First launches new accredited driver training programme First has announced details of a new, fully accredited driver training programme. The operator’s Better Journeys for Life Driver Training Programme has been awarded the highly prestigious City and Guilds accreditation, which the company claims is a first for the bus industry in the UK. The programme is currently being rolled out to new First drivers in Bolton and Southampton. From this September, new drivers from other First depots will begin to receive the new and improved training. Some of the improvements in the new 25 day course include:
8 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014 008_009_CBW1146_Coach News.indd 8
l Three days of intensive customer service training; l A guarantee to ensure a minimum 2:1 driver/trainer ratio at all times; l An increase of around 30% in the amount of time a driver spends behind the wheel in training; l New drivers will undergo the Smith System Advanced Safe Driving course and learn how to manage conflict issues; l Drivers will also perfect their ability to manoeuvre a bus on ‘skill stations’ in the depot before going out on the road; l Drivers will undergo specific disability awareness training; and l First has invested in its
training rooms and is providing its trainers with extra support and coaching. The training investment also complements a change of strategy in the recruitment of drivers. First is placing a greater emphasis on attracting new people with a background in customer service who can then be trained to drive buses. An online application, featuring an online assessment, ensures candidates with a customer service and safety focus reach the interview stages. The overall programme, a £250k investment, was officially launched at First Bolton on July 3. Managing Director of First Bus,
Giles Fearnley, said: “Our drivers play a vital role in attracting and retaining our customers. They are our ambassadors and therefore we must ensure they have the right training and the best training. “Our programme, which is designed to meet the specific needs of our business, places our driver training at the forefront of the bus industry and lays the foundations for further progress. We recognise that the bus sector must became more customer focused and our new driver programme further underlines our commitment to our Better Journeys for Life customer promise.”
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The price which EVM’s new low-floor Sprinter is being pitched at
Arriva to withdraw Liverpool night services Arriva is stopping its weekend cross-river night bus services in Liverpool, after the operator said they are no longer economically viable due to falling passenger numbers. Notices have gone up on the �irm’s �leet of buses stating that the N23 Liverpool to Moreton, N37 Liverpool to West Kirby and N450 Liverpool to New Brighton services will be withdrawn from Saturday, July 26. A spokesperson for Arriva Merseyside said: “Unfortunately, the number of customers travelling
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on the Wirral night bus services has fallen signi�icantly during the past few years. “The night bus services are costly to operate and the falling passenger numbers have resulted in the decision to withdraw the services. We apologise to our customers who are affected by this change.” The N23 and N37 night buses currently depart Queens Square every half hour from around 1230hrs until around 0400hrs on Sunday mornings. The N450 runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings every 20 minutes between 1210 and 0500hrs. It leaves Wirral with the 500 Liverpool to Birkenhead night service run by Ace Travel, which
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operates seven days a week but travels a shorter distance to Hamilton Square. Merseytravel’s 150 service, which was brought in to cover days when there was no commercial cross-river night bus services, will be withdrawn on August 3 following the introduction of the 500 service. A spokesperson for Merseytravel said: “We are aware of Arriva’s decision to withdraw its weekend night bus services between Liverpool and Wirral from later this month. “We recognise that these services are important to the night time economy and we’re currently in talks to explore the potential for additional services.”
EYMS delivery includes its �irst MCV-bodied vehicles East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS) has recently taken delivery of 14 new buses, moving closer to its target of having a fully low-�loor bus �leet by the end of 2014. Six are based on Volvo B9TL Euro 5 chassis with Wrightbus Gemini double-deck bodies, similar to many of EYMS’ previous deliveries, and a further four are Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro200 Euro 5 single-deck buses, similar to the �ive which were delivered last autumn. The �inal four buses are on Volvo B7RLE chassis, also Euro 5, and carry MCV ‘Evolution’ 44-seat single-deck bodies, a type of vehicle which is new to the EYMS �leet. Three of the ADL buses are allocated to Scarborough and the six double-decks are destined for route 121 between Hull and Scarborough, now operated by
Transport for All on London Bus Accessibility
Transport for All member Jeff Harvey spent an afternoon travelling on six different buses with DfT of�icial Ben Jones, a policy advisor on bus and taxi access. The journey aimed to highlight the need for access to be considered in the design and route commissioning of buses. Twice on the journey, Jeff found the access ramp was too steep to ascend independently, necessitating the assistance of the driver. www.coachandbusweek.com
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SHARE WATCH Industry share prices at the close of the Stock Exchange on Monday, July 14. Synectics saw the greatest proportional rise, while Stagecoach saw the greatest proportional drop. Most figures obtained from www.lse.co.uk
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depots at these two locations following the recent closure of the company’s depot at Drif�ield. However, before this, the doubledecks have all gone to Scotland, along with four other EYMS
deckers, where they will work for a fortnight under contract to First for the Commonwealth Games. The remaining single-decks are all being allocated to local routes in Hull.
A ramp on the number 2 bus jammed and refused to extend, leaving Jeff unable to get off the bus, although the driver made it extend after restarting the engine. Later, on the 24 bus, a driver left the stop without extending the ramp after Jeff had pressed the bell, leaving him on the bus until the next stop. The journey took included a trip on a Mercedes-Benz Citaro on route 507. Here, the wheelchair could easily share the bus with buggy users and people with luggage. Jeff also tried the New Routemaster, which was found to have a disappointingly small wheelchair bay, with larger
wheelchairs struggling to get into the space. All Transport for London buses give priority to wheelchair users over buggy users but on the New Routemaster, if there is already a buggy user in the space, it cannot be shared, creating con�lict. Transport for All is calling for buses with short, steep ramps have new ramps retro�itted, so that wheelchair users can always enter the bus independently and be con�ident that they will not tip backwards. The body is also calling for a change in DfT’s Best Practice guidelines on bus access to encourage bus operators to go beyond the legal minimum size of the wheelchair bay.
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Examples of the new buses. (L-r) Wrightbus Gemini-bodied Volvo B9TL, MCV Evolution-bodied Volvo B7RLE and ADL Enviro200s
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July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 9 14/07/2014 18:07
NEWS › COACH RO A D WATC H n A MILE OF THE A34 is being resurfaced near Didcot, Oxfordshire overnight between 2200 and 0600hrs, Monday to Friday. The road will be shut between the Milton and Chilton interchanges northbound for five nights from Wednesday, July 16 and southbound for five nights from Wednesday, July 23. Traffic will be diverted via the A4185 and A4130. n OVERNIGHT WORK began on Monday (July 14) to resurface a three-mile section of the M5 between Junction 27 and 28. The task will be carried out between 1900 and 0600hrs and is expected to be completed by Friday, September 5. No work is planned to be undertaken at weekends. n ON THE WEEKEND of Friday, July 25 to Monday, July 28 either the east or westbound carriageway of the A14 Junction 7 to 9 may be closed for three nights for surfacing work. Hours of closures will be 2000hrs Friday to 0800hrs Saturday, 2000hrs Saturday to 0900hrs Sunday – and 2000hrs Sunday July 27 to 0600hrs Monday July 28. In addition to the closures on the weekend of the 25 July, there may be a further requirement for overnight closures to complete this work. If so, these will take place on the weekend of August 8 to 11. During the closures, through traffic will be diverted off the A14 at Junction 12 and follow the A6116 and A43 to re-join the A14 at Junction 7, or vice versa. Separate diversions through Kettering will be in place for local traffic. The work forms part of widening of the route to three lanes. n OVERNIGHT WORK to tackle wear and tear along the A66 around Brough in Cumbria is now underway - and will continue intermittently until August 16. All the work is being done overnight and the route is being kept open at all times, although lane closures will be in place – and on occasion drivers will be stopped ahead of the road works and led past them in 10mph convoys. A 40mph speed limit will be in place during the work.
First major service station opens in Cornwall The services provide 15 dedicated coach parking spaces and a filling station which is open 24 hours a day Cornwall Services has officially opened in Roche, on the A30 (near Bodmin). The £12.5m development, employing 200 people, is the first major service station in Cornwall and the only services on the A30 between Exeter and Penzance. It is located at the Victoria Interchange junction on the A30, less than 10 minutes from Bodmin. Facilities include a filling station, a main amenity building with food and drink concessions, some retail outlets including WH Smiths, a cash point, WiFi, car parking for 230 cars, and dedicated bays for HGVs (18), coaches (15) and
National Express breaks records with Glastonbury Festival transport National Express ferried recordbreaking numbers of festival-goers to Glastonbury Festival and back this year. Almost a quarter of all Glastonbury ticket-holders – nearly 28,000 people – arrived at the site with the operator. Thousands of seats were sold for National Express’ white coaches, while thousands more travellers arrived at Worthy Farm on vehicles operated by the Kings Ferry, part of National Express Group. The news comes after National Express unveiled an enhanced UK-wide network of services to Glastonbury. The coach operator added new services and an improved timetable which was specially geared round customer feedback. The changes allowed people to arrive at the site earlier than ever, which helped people to pitch for the best tent spots quicker and depart the site earlier after the festival ended. National Express UK Coach Managing Director, Tom Stables said: “We’re thrilled to have carried more people than ever to the Festival this year. National Express
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caravans (15). There is also a charging point for electric cars, free air, and coach and truck drivers have a dedicated washroom block. The amenity building will be open from 0600 to 2300hrs and the filling station will be open 24 hours a day. Asked about incentives for drivers, a spokesperson told CBW: “We are planning to offer incentives to drivers – these are being agreed at the moment.” Phase two of the development will see the addition of a 70-bed hotel with a restaurant and a dedicated Tourist Information Centre. Work on phase two will start this year and is due to be completed in 2015. Sitting on a 14.5-acre site, Cornwall Services has been built with its locality in mind.
The coach operator transported almost 28,000 people to the festival, with thousands more arriving through Kings Ferry provides a vital transport artery into the heart of Glastonbury. We’ve worked to ensure there is a seamless delivery to music fans and we¹re looking at customer feedback with a view to delivering a service that’s even bigger and better next year.” Glastonbury Festival’s Green Issues Co-ordinator Lucy Smith said: “As an environmentallyresponsible festival, Glastonbury welcomes people travelling to the site by public transport and those travelling with National Express benefit from a designated route in and out of the site avoiding lengthy traffic jams caused by cars. One coach can take the equivalent of 50 cars off the road.”
The services include three local food concessions onsite – Hugo Woolley’s Cornish Delish, the Open Oven Pizza Company and Sausage n Roll. Mark Upton, Development Manager of the scheme, said: “It’s fantastic to now see the services complete and to open the doors to our first visitors. We wanted to give anyone passing through on
Richard Polley joins Scania Richard Polley has joined the Bus and Coach team at Scania (Great Britain) as Regional Account Manager for the South East region after a number of years covering this area for MAN. Martin West, General Manager – Retail Sales for Scania Bus and Coach, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Richard into the Scania Bus and Coach team. We were hugely impressed by his passion for the industry and willingness to go the extra mile for his customers, and know that his philosophy matches ours in striving for excellent customer service. Richard joins us at a time where we have seen huge success in this sector for Scania, and with a proven product range and complete vehicle packages and back up, I am sure he will enjoy much success in his region.” Richard can be contacted by email at Richard.polley@ scania.com.
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The site can accommodate 15 coaches
their way to Cornwall a relaxing environment to stop and refresh and benefit from all the services and amenities they would typically expect. However, at the same time we wanted to welcome them to Cornwall with a little taste of what is to come.” For more information visit www.cornwall-services.com
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Sleafordian celebrates golden anniversary Sleafordian Coaches has celebrated its 50th anniversary as a limited company. The entrance to the operator’s East Road depot was covered in balloons and the offices were decorated to mark the occasion. A special golden two-tiered cake was also cut to celebrate, with a ribbon depicting the operators past and present vehicles. Sleafordian Coaches began life on June 1, 1964, when John Chell, Don Broughton and Ted Barton began trading as Sleaford Taxi Company. The business became incorporated on July 10, 1964. A significant change was made to the business in September 1972 when the first full-sized coach was purchased, a 41-seat Bedford Duple Bella Vega registration ‘ATO 994B.’ The following year, a second coach was added to the fleet and was the first vehicle to carry the name Sleafordian Coaches, which remains the trading name today. Ted Barton retired in 1982 and from this point on the company
Decorations outside the Sleafordian depot became exclusively a bus and coach operation with all the remaining taxis being sold. The business continued to grow and the depot in Westgate was becoming too small, so it was decided relocate a new purposebuilt facility. Sleafordian Coaches moved into its new depot in June
2004. The company had seven vehicles at this time and in the intervening 10 years has expanded quite dramatically. Sleafordian Coaches now has an O-licence for 35 vehicles and employs over 50 staff, one of whom celebrates 40 years loyal service this year.
National Express launches ‘Youth Promise’ at LTM National Express unveiled a package of commitments for young people during an event at London’s Transport Museum on Wednesday (July 9). Developed in partnership with The British Youth Council (BYC), The National Express Youth Promise has been shaped by members of The Youth Parliament to the benefit of their peers. It is built around five core pledges made by the national coach operator, which include ‘Supporting young people into work and education’ and ‘An ongoing commitment to deliver value travel.’ BYC Chairman Marc Kidson said: “National Express is an institution and travelling on its coaches has long been seen as a rite of passage for students across the UK. “Time and time again we hear
Seen at the launch are Tom Stables, Managing Director of National Express Coach with Ellie Emberson, Tamanna Miah and Ceirney Eddie, who all sit on the British Youth Council, and Marc Kidson Chairman of the British Youth Council remains the only transport company to have followed up on the Youth Select Committee’s report on transport and we hope the Youth Promise inspires other companies to create similar schemes.”
that transport is one of the areas which matters the most to young people, so it is absolutely fantastic to see this company take its commitment to young
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people even further with its groundbreaking Youth Promise, which we believe is industryleading. “To date, National Express
More details about the Youth Promise will be included in a forthcoming issue as part of a ‘Face to Face’ interview with Tom Stables, Managing Director of National Express UK Coach.
Quality mobile bus & coach engineers throughout the UK 01253 340565 www.wjftechnicalsupport.co.uk July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 11 14/07/2014 19:20
NEWS › REGIONAL MIDLANDS
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KEY
MERIDIAN BUS is to withdraw one of its two town service in Northampton because of reliability issues arising from the new bus station. Derek Taylor, who last week attacked Northampton Borough Council over the size and location of North Gate station, has applied to de-register his route 29, with effect from August 18. Mr Taylor told the Northampton Chronicle: “Despite our best efforts, it is proving increasingly difficult to keep both of our services to time – especially on Saturdays – and I attribute this problem directly and solely to the problems with North Gate bus facility. “From the Saturday of the Lancers’ parade and previous two Saturday afternoons, the half-hour frequency number 29 has been run hourly or even every 90 minutes. “Clearly that is just not acceptable to either us or our passengers – and is likely to land us in trouble with VOSA.” Mr Taylor said the other Meridian service, the 31, is suffering similar problems. It is scheduled to run on a 15-minute frequency, but on a recent Saturday it was running between every 30 and 40 minutes. Mr Taylor added: “Our only option is to re-deploy the 29 bus and driver onto the 31, which is not an ideal solution as it deprives the people who use it of the link, as well as putting an extra 50% costs on running the 31. “We’ve had complaints about
SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND REP OF IRELAND NORTH WALES MIDLANDS EAST LONDON SOUTH EAST SOUTH WEST
punctuality and there is just no other way to address it rather than this drastic step. I can only hope that after the next election that the new governing party looks at the failings of this council. I take absolutely no pride in being the first operator to cancel a service solely due to the new bus facility – but I don’t think I will be the last.”
THE REBUILDING of Leicester’s Haymarket bus station is set to begin in September – according to the City Council. The £13.5m project will see the
number of bus stands increase from 12 to 23 and create a new enclosed concourse. A block of shops on the corner of Charles Street and Belgrave Gate will be demolished, following their compulsory purchase, to allow for the expansion of the station. A City Council spokesman told the Leicester Mercury: “We plan to keep most of the existing bus station open until early in January 2015, while the first phase of work to remodel and improve highways along parts of Charles Street, Belgrave Gate
A GROUP OF PARTIALLY n SIGHTED and blind people recently swapped places with
bus drivers in Cardiff to share the experiences and difficulties faced when travelling by bus. The ‘Swap with Me’ event was jointly run by the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) and Cardiff Bus, the first Welsh bus operator to show its commitment to improving services for blind and partially sighted passengers. This is the latest move by Cardiff Bus to enable its blind and partially sighted customers to travel more confidently and independently, and follows the inclusion of next stop audio and visual announcements on its vehicles. Simon Mohammad, Head of Operations for Cardiff Bus said: “We strive to provide a level of
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service that is equal for all, whilst meeting the needs of those who may find it more difficult to use the buses. “It is important that our staff fully understand the important role they
play in the lives of partially sighted and blind people, which is why we value working with RNIB on campaigns such as Swap with Me. Some great lessons were shared which I’m confident will improve
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and Abbey Street is carried out. This will include the replacement of the existing roundabout with traffic lights and new pedestrian crossings. “The new bus station should be complete and open to the public by December 2015. We understand how important the Christmas period is for this busy shopping area and this ambitious redevelopment will be carefully planned to minimise disruption. “A detailed programme of works will be agreed when the main contractor is appointed. This is out to tender, and we expect to award the contract in the next four to five weeks.” City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “What we have there at the moment is more a loose collection of bus shelters than a proper transport terminal for the city. We intend to provide a bus station fit for the 21st century. It will be a vast improvement for bus users and for the bus companies themselves and we hope it will encourage more people to use public transport.”
NORTH
WIGAN’S WEEKEND NIGHTBUS services will operate for the final time on July 26/27 due to falling passenger numbers. Operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the transport authority said that surveys conducted earlier this year showed an average of just six passengers
the service for everyone.” Ceri Jackson, Director of RNIB Cymru commented: “To actually experience, even just temporarily, what it’s like to negotiate a bus journey as a partially sighted or blind person was a useful learning experience for Cardiff Bus staff, and the event was a real success. The people who attended were really positive that they had their concerns listened to and would be much more aware of the difficulties partially-sighted and blind people face and could assist those travelling on their routes. “Catching a bus should not be a sight test. Local bus travel is a lifeline, providing an important means of transport within the community for those who are not able to drive. We want operators to remember one simple principle – Stop for me, Speak to me.”
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Guide Dogs 07/07/2014 13:11 Page 1
AV is just the ticket! Please get on board with talking buses! www.guidedogs.org.uk/talkingbuses @gdcampaigns Audio visual information systems make bus travel better for everyone. Change the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) to include such systems on all new buses.
NEWS › REGIONAL travelling per journey, which means it can no longer justify financially supporting the routes. The five services, which run from midnight until around 0330hrs on Friday/Saturday and Saturday/Sunday nights, comprise the 598 Wigan – Leigh; 600 Wigan – Ashton-in-Makerfield – Golborne – Platt Bridge – Wigan; 632 Wigan – Hawkley Hall – Wigan; 635 Wigan – Shevington – Standish – Wigan; and 695 Wigan – Platt Bridge – Wigan. Howard Hartley, Head of Bus at TfGM, said: “We’ve seen a steady fall in passengers on all the nightbus services – beginning with the change in licensing laws which made it much easier to get a taxi home throughout the night. “TfGM has a limited budget to pay for services that will benefit the local community, which is under increasing pressure. With so few people now using nightbus services there is an increasingly high cost per passenger – and we can no longer justify spending public money on these services.”
SOUTH EAST
EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL has unveiled proposals to save £1.79m over two years from its supported bus network budget. The authority said supported off-peak daytime services which currently operate hourly or better would still run Monday to Saturday but with a reduced frequency – generally two hourly. However, supported off-peak daytime services which currently operate less than hourly would generally be reduced to a service which runs two days a week – on a two-hourly frequency for most services. Financial support for 13 evening and Sunday services would be withdrawn and funding for dial-aride transport would be reduced to provide a minimum two days a week service. In December 2014 a report about the consultation findings will be submitted to the County Council’s Cabinet. This report will address any issues or queries that have been raised during the consultation process. It will also contain a summary of the written comments that are received during the consultation. Cabinet will be asked to approve the final version of the strategy and the recommendations for the final supported bus network. If Cabinet approves these recommendations, changes to services could be made
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from March 2015. Last week, the Cabinet agreed to endorse the draft Public Transport Strategic Commissioning Strategy, which will drive the changes and ensure the needs of four priority groups are met. These comprise: Children eligible for statutory free home to school transport; Residents who need to get to work at key centres during peak times; Residents who need to access essential services during the day on a minimum of two days per week; and Children who are not eligible for statutory free home to school transport but need to travel to the nearest available school or college. A public consultation, which runs until September 28, can be found at https://consultation. eastsussex.gov.uk/economytransport-environment/ organisationsbuschanges
SCOTLAND MORE THAN 11,500 ScotRail passengers have benefited from free First Glasgow bus travel thanks to a partnership between the two public transport operators. In July 2013, the two FirstGroup companies agreed that at times of severe disruption on the railways, ScotRail passengers can use First Glasgow bus services free of charge to help them reach their destinations. In just under a year the successful partnership, which won the coveted Transport Team/ Partnership of the Year title at the recent 2014 Scottish Transport Awards, has helped more than 11,500 passengers. Fiona Kerr, First Glasgow’s MD, said: “We operate some 950 buses across Glasgow and Lanarkshire with bus stops at more than 100 stations, so we’re well placed to help ScotRail passengers when severe weather impacts on the railway for example.” Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of ScotRail, said: “Together with Network Rail and other industry partners, we have done a lot of work to limit disruption and this is having a positive impact. However, we also understand the importance of limiting inconvenience when services are disrupted – and this scheme is of real benefit to our passengers. “We believe this is an excellent example of partnership working between public transport operators – with a clear and lasting benefit for passengers.”
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
The Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza takes place on August 1 – 3 at the South Cerney Airfield in Cirencester
2014
the Year 2014 Blackpool. bdoy@ btinternet.com
n July 19 Walworth Bus Garage Open Day. Abellio London, 301 Camberwell New Road, Southwark, SE5 0TF 1100-1600hrs. www.abellio.
n September 21 Showbus 2014. Imperial War Museum, Duxford. www.showbus.com
n July 20 Alton Bus Rally. Anstey Park, Alton, Hants. www.
n September 25 Group Leisure Show Hall 8, NEC Birmingham. 01908 613323 http://leisureshow.com
co.uk
altonbusrally.org.uk
n August 1 – 3 Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza South Cerney Airfield, Cirencester. 01453 890891 www.
glossteamextravaganza.com
n August 24 – 25 The Big Operating Day and MetroCammell Celebration The Transport Museum Wythall. Celebrating a Birmingham company whose buses and trains could be found all around the globe.. 01564 826471. www. bammot.org.uk
n September 25 - October 2 IAA Commercial Vehicle Show. Hannover, Germany. www.iaa.de n October 5 Bluebell Railway Vintage Bus Day. 01825 720800, visit www.bluebell-railway.com or email d.morgan52@btinternet.com n October 5 Oxford Bus Museum Bus & Classic Vehicle Rally & Running Day Station Yard, Long Hanborough,OX29 8LA. 01993 883 617. www.oxfordbusmuseum.org.uk
n August 30 EYMS Big Bus Day. Streetlife Museum, Hull 01482 222444 www.eyms.co.uk
n October 6–7 CPT Scotland Annual Conference. Cameron House Hotel, Alexandria. 0131 272 2150. www.cpt-uk.org
n August 31 Buses Festival. Heritage Motor Museum, Gaydon. 10 – 1700hrs. Contact: michelle. withers@keypublishing.com
n October 28-31 International Bus and Coach Trade Fair Feria de Madrid Avda del Partenon, 5 28042 Madrid, Spain www.ifema.es
n September 7 Dartford Bus Garage Open Day. Arriva London, Central Road, Dartford, DA1 5BG 1000 – 1600hrs. www.arrivalondon.com
n November 4-6 Euro Bus Expo Expo 2014 NEC Birmingham www. eurobusexpo.com
n September 9 Association of Trainers AGM. Birmingham. 01797 344251 www.asot.org.uk/index.php/
n November 4 – 7 QV Associates Introduction to Bus & Crew Scheduling course. Birmingham. 01905 613527. http://qv-associates. com
n September 10-11 Low Carbon Vehicle Event, Millbrook, Bedfordshire. 01509 635 750. www. cenex-lcv.co.uk
n November 18 – 21 QV Associates Route & Timetable Planning course. Birmingham. 01905 613527. http://qv-associates. com
asot/come-to-meet-us-menu
n September 14 Bus & Coach Wales Merthyr Tydfil n September 14 UK Bus Driver of
Send your event details to gareth.evans@ coachandbusweek.com
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702781-1146-Santander 14/07/2014 13:33 Page 1
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Santander Corporate & Commercial is a brand name of Santander UK plc, Abbey National Treasury Services plc (which also uses the brand name Santander Global Banking and Markets) and Santander Asset Finance plc, all (with the exception of Santander Asset Finance plc) authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our Financial Services Register numbers are106054 and 146003 respectively. In Jersey, Santander UK plc is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission to carry on deposit-taking business under the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991. Registered office: 2 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London NW1 3AN. Company numbers: 2294747, 2338548 and 1533123 respectively. Registered in England. Santander and the flame logo are registered trademarks. Santander UK plc is a participant in the Jersey Banking Depositor Compensation Scheme. The Scheme offers protection for eligible deposits of up to £50,000. The maximum total amount of compensation is capped at £100,000,000 in any 5 year period. Full details of the Scheme and banking groups covered are available on the States of Jersey website (www.gov.je) or on request.
NEWS › HERITAGE
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All set for Gloucestershire Extravaganza Organisers gear up for bumper vintage vehicle show at Cirencester The Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza, now in its 40th year, will take place once again at South Cerney Air�ield, Cirencester. From Friday August 1 to Sunday, August 3 the extravaganza will attract more than 15,000 visitors and raise money for local and national charities. The show has grown dramatically in recent years and is now widely regarded as one of the biggest and best steam, vintage and countryside events in the UK. This year the show celebrates
its 40th year, an amazing feat and we want to celebrate with everyone, especially those born on September 6 or 7, 1975 – the weekend of the very �irst show. Those who meet the aforementioned criteria can enjoy a complimentary ticket for the show (DOB ID will be required) – contact Helen@eventspr.co.uk. Originally conceived for steam enthusiasts, the range of exhibits has grown year-on-year. It now boasts a huge array of vintage transport, from buses and coaches, commercial vehicles, classic cars, steam engines, traction engines, motorcycles through to military vehicles, emergency vehicles tractors and
even historic caravans. The bus, coach and commercial section will feature over 100 vehicles with representation from Foden, ERF, Bedford, Atkinson, Scammel, Austin, Leyland, and Morris. There is the opportunity for free rides on some of them around the showground site. Highlights include a Bristol built double-decker once operated by Lincolnshire Road Car. This bus has attended every Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage Extravaganza held at Kemble. The oldest exhibit dates from 1938 and has been in preservation for an astonishing 61 years. ‘EFJ666’ is a Leyland Tiger TS8 with bodywork by Cravens and was
delivered to Exeter Corporation in December 1938. The bus was bought in 1950 by preservationist Colin Shears and was the �irst of many to form what became the West of England Transport Collection at Winkleigh, Devon. A free vintage bus service will be operating around the perimeter of the show site, and to and from Kemble railway station throughout the show to connect with selected First Great Western Trains.
Discounted tickets are available to buy online at www.glossteamextravaganza. com or from Cirencester Tourist Information Centre, located next to the Corinium Museum.
Organisers have promised the event will include a good selection of buses and coaches
Exeter anniversary celebrated in style The 50th anniversary of the opening of Exeter bus and coach station was marked with a one-off celebration at the city centre site on Saturday, July 5. Organised by Stagecoach South West and The Devon General Omnibus Trust, the event showcased over 40 vehicles – many of them vintage – which have all used the facility over the years. As well as being a rare opportunity to see such an historic gathering, visitors were also able to enjoy free rides around the city on a selection of heritage buses – not to mention the chance to ride through Stagecoach’s bus wash. The heritage bus rides, which lasted about 45 minutes, ran on a
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The event attracted over 40 vehicles 10-minute frequency. Sales stands sold a selection of bus-related memorabilia, while Radio Exe broadcasted a two-hour live show and local newspaper, the Express & Echo, handed out goody bags for visitors. For those interested in discovering more about the site’s history, there was a display of photographs across
the years. Although all activities on the day were completely free, visitors had the opportunity to donate to two charities. The Devon General Omnibus Trust – the event’s main organisers – sold souvenir programmes for £3 and vounteers from local charity Dream-a-Way – which provides
holidays for people with physical and learning dif�iculties – were on hand for anyone wishing to make a donation. Michael Watson, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, commented: “Hosting the event seemed �itting at such a signi�icant crossroads for the site. “I hope visitors will join me in celebrating the bus and coach station’s past and also in looking forward to its bright and exciting future.” Phil Platt, Secretary of The Devon General Omnibus Trust, said: “This heritage event was a once in a lifetime opportunity to look back at the history of such an important city site. On behalf of our charity I’d like to thank Stagecoach for all their help and support in making the site available and I hope everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable day.” www.coachandbusweek.com
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Y R E L L GAHERITAGE › YEAR OF THE BUS: RM60
Sixty years a London icon It’s 60 years since the first Routemaster prototype was unveiled at the Commercial Motor Show. The Routemaster Association marked the anniversary last weekend with RM60 at Finsbury Park – another key event marking Transport for London’s Year of the Bus. Andy Izatt was there
T
he AEC-PRV Routemaster, generally regarded as the archetypal London double-decker, saw continuous mainstream service in the capital from 1956 to 2005. 20 buses continue on two heritage routes although one of those finishes on July 25. A total of 2,876 Routemasters were built, the vast majority for London Transport, but also British European Airways and Northern General. An estimated 1,280 of those still exist and an impressive 156 were entered in RM60 although by no means all were able to attend. Another 10 buses illustrated the development of London’s transport before and after.
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Commemorative blinds were carried by some of the Routemasters on display
Partybussar is based in Stockholm and as well as dance floors on both decks, their bus is equipped with smoke machines, disco lights, speakers and a bar
Above: Neuss, Germany-based Werbe-Mobil’s bus has a rising roof, bar and 16 seats and tables on both decks Top left: Three of the four Routemaster prototypes were on display. For many it was a first opportunity to see RM2 after completion of its restoration Far left: Front seats was available for some so they could see everything that was going on Left: Routemasters are still popular as display units, Aurora Lighting and NatWest Bank using these vehicles
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July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 19 14/07/2014 18:08
Y R E L L GAHERITAGE › YEAR OF THE BUS: RM60
Top: Careful parking brought cemetery to the display and underlined the standard specification across most of the Routemasters built Above: A Northern General Routemaster bought by eight friends for a three-month overland trek to Japan scheduled for 2017 Above middle: Looking for spares? There was plenty on offer amongst the stalls at the event Above right: A notable non-Rouetmaster on display was London’s first low-floor doubledecker, an Alexander-bodied DAF DB250 now an Arriva training bus Right: Andrew Morgan’s single-deck Routemaster, converted as such by London Transport in 1974 after a fire and used as a development vehicle
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RETROSPECTIVE › IAN MANNING: CLYDESIDE SCOTTISH
Route mastery at Clydeside Ian Manning retired as Managing Director of Stagecoach West on May 31 after an industry career spanning almost 40 years. In a series of articles for CBW he talks to Andy Izatt about his time at three very different operators, Clydeside Scottish, Stagecoach Portugal and Stagecoach West. We start with Clydeside Scottish, the maverick Scottish Bus Group subsidiary that went its own way in the 1980s
C
lydeside Scottish Omnibus, a stateowned Scottish Bus Group (SBG) subsidiary, was formed from part of Western SMT in June 1985. This was in preparation for the deregulation of the bus industry in October 1986 and eventual privatisation of SBG. It continued to trade until May 1989 when it was remerged back with Western Scottish, the company that succeeded Western SMT. Clydeside, with a fleet of 334 vehicles, had depots in Rothesay, Largs, Greenock, Johnstone, Inchinnan, Paisley and Thornliebank in the south of Glasgow. Controversially, it bought 78 Routemasters from London Transport Bus Sales. It used them to introduce crew, open-platform operation on a network of services, some of which competed with the regional passenger transport executive, Strathclyde Buses, provider of most routes in the city of Glasgow. Clydeside gave passengers change while Strathclyde, an exact fare operation, did not. Strathclyde retaliated against Clydeside and other SBG subsidiary incursions into its territory by introducing routes that extended beyond the city boundary, a policy known to have featured in their expansionist plans well before deregulation. For a variety of reasons, Clydeside found it increasingly difficult to compete, not least because of the many small operators that subsequently sprang up to compete against it in its traditional operating area following bus deregulation. When Clydeside was remerged with Western Scottish the trading name was retained. However, the former Clydeside operation (with the exception of Bute) passed to a new company, Clydeside 2000 when Western Scottish was privatised in October 1991. Management and employees took a 76% stake with Luton & District acquiring the remainder. A steady reduction in Clydeside’s operations followed resulting in the closure of Largs, Thornliebank and Paisley garages over subsequent years. Luton & District became part of British Bus, 22 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
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Clydeside following in November 1994. Cowie Group bought British Bus, later becoming Arriva, and Clydeside was renamed Arriva Scotland West. Competitors McGill’s Bus Services of Barrhead and Ashton Coaches of Greenock were purchased although Arriva’s Greenock operation was later sold to a new owner as McGill’s Bus Services. Arriva’s remaining operation in Scotland was sold to McGill’s in March 2012. That sets the scene. Ian Manning takes up the story about his own personal involvement with Clydeside back in the 1980s.
A difficult decision
“I was initially quite reluctant to go to Clydeside,” recalled Ian. “I was Group Commercial Officer of the Scottish Bus Group and had been in charge of co-ordinating its express services up to and including the creation of Scottish Citylink. The working party included Brian Cox, Gavin Booth, and John Whittle. “I worked for Group Operations Director,
‘I worked for Group Operations Director, Bob Abercrombie who had only three items on his desk – a telephone, an ashtray and a copy of the Glasgow Herald. Paper burnt a hole in his desk and his aim in life was to pass on to me everything he could by 0930hrs’
Routemaster operation in Glasgow was introduced by Kelvin Scottish as well as Clydeside Scottish. This was the scene in Union Street in November 1986
A convoy of Routemasters on delivery from London including rear-engined FRM1 and London Bus Sales RM1563, which were destined to be used in service at the Greenock open day in March 1986. IAN MANNING Bob Abercrombie who had only three items on his desk – a telephone, an ashtray and a copy of the Glasgow Herald. Paper burnt a hole in his desk and his aim in life was to pass on to me everything he could by 0930hrs. It was not really in his interests for me to progress in the reorganisation taking place in early 1985 because he would have had to have found someone else to do his work. I didn’t want to be in Carron House (SBG’s HQ in Edinburgh)
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Pressed into service without sign writing in November 1986, RM447 makes its way through Glasgow city centre on its way to Carnwadric on the 11
RM652 on its first day of loaned service in June 1985, about to leave for Glasgow on route 24 crewed by Andy Rogers and Brenda Scally, Clydeside’s first conductress. It’s parked next to Dodds of Troon’s Saro-bodied AEC Regent III. IAN MANNING when privatisation took place and to be the last person to walk out of it, shut the door and throw away the key. “I was bid for by (Clydeside’s General Manager) George Watson to be what was called Traffic Officer which was the most demeaning title for what was effectively Traffic Manager. (It was notable that the simultaneous Group proposal to rename Chief Engineers as Rolling Stock Engineers at the same time was quickly www.coachandbusweek.com
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RETROSPECTIVE › IAN MANNING: CLYDESIDE SCOTTISH dropped!). I felt it was very much a lateral or even a downwards move. “George met me in a Newton Mearns hotel near Glasgow one evening to tell me what his vision was going to be. He rehearsed the business plan and how he hoped to protect all the services which already had a lot of competition from private operators, good and bad. He said he was thinking about bringing back crew operation and trying some Routemsters in the hope that that might be an additional draw. “I was very concerned about making that move to Clydeside. I wasn’t sure it would be a good career move. Equally, George had said to me that he didn’t want me to go there if I genuinely didn’t want to. I went away and gave it some serious thought. SBG’s Deputy Chairman was Bob McLeod. I went into his of�ice to tell him my decision, and in best tradition, in addition to blowing smoke all over me, he said ‘well Mr Manning, I don’t know if you’re doing the right thing or the wrong thing,’ which really �illed me with con�idence. “When I �irst started at Carron House, I was taken out for lunch by my peers. I was told not to rock the boat under any circumstances because the system was far stronger than I could ever be. Those who had rocked the boat had disappeared into obscurity. I was also told never to turn down a job because it didn’t always go down well. I don’t think there was any great pressure on this occasion to do that, but I was very conscious of the changed world privatisation would bring. “Working in Edinburgh, I hadn’t really wanted to move to Glasgow. I’d been to Edinburgh University. I’d worked for Lothian for three years and then moved up to Aberdeen for two
Routemasters at Johnstone garage on the eve of the conversion of the Glasgow to Johnstone corridor back to crew operation. IAN MANNING years with W. Alexander & Sons (Northern). I regarded that as far too far north for my particular interests, and where my family lived. Anyone who went to Edinburgh University would have given their right arm to have continued living and working in the city. I only really knew a couple of friends in Glasgow and I always felt it had a different image.”
A different approach
“I bought a house in Clarkston, Newton Mearns on the periphery of Glasgow. Clydeside’s of�ices at Paisley garage were quite extensive. We effectively shoehorned head of�ice into what was the top �loor. I shared an of�ice with Alastair Mackie who was the commercial-based person entitled Marketing Of�icer. We had no window that faced the outside world. There
was just some frosted glass that enabled us to see who was walking past in the corridor and an outward opening quarter window behind where I sat which looked out on the back of tenements. We worked entirely by arti�icial light, which wasn’t exactly ideal. “The �irst job I was given by George was gutting all the paperwork systems. There were over 90 forms in use and it was all streamlined and simpli�ied. I was also given the task of improving communications. Western had had staff depot get-togethers that were basically grouse meetings following Health & Safety meetings. They were terrible to attend and totally demotivating from a management point of view. “I had to steer those into proper business review and development meetings that didn’t
Repaired in half a day and returned to service after London Buses said the bus was beyond economic repair, long RML900 became Clydeside’s ‘Our Wullie’s Special. It was photographed with an imposed Western fleet number on Glasgow Road, Paisley in May 1989. DONALD MACRAE
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Betty Gilchrist, Mick Broderick, Ada Porter and Ian Manning with RM956 at Betty’s retirement. Ada, a former Glasgow tram driver and Clydeside Inspector, never held a driving licence. IAN MANNING
Staff lined up at Paisley depot when Clydeside Scottish Chief Engineer, Sandy Brydon left to join Fife Scottish in 1988. IAN MANNING
Plenty of interest at the Greenock garage open day in March 1986. Star attendee was rear-engined Routemaster, FRM1 on its only trip so far to Scotland. DONALD MACRAE www.coachandbusweek.com
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concentrate on the negatives, but the positives. George sent me to become an Industrial Society accredited team briefing trainer and we used its practices to get messages down to the shop floor in all aspects of the business. “George’s business plan involved a thorough look at the network. That involved looking at new and different types of tickets and how to develop loyalty to protect us against the existing competition. As for the Scottish municipals including PTE type operations, we felt all they were looking to do was to enhance their fortunes by expanding outwards rather than concentrating on better services for customers within their traditional operating areas. “We produced staff motivational videos as well as newspapers. We engaged Smith & Pettifer to do marketing work. We also had a PR person, local journalist Cameron Adams who helped us to get the stories we wanted into the press. Bus companies in Scotland did publicity in those days, but not marketing other than what had been done through SCOTMAP (Scottish Market Analysis Project). “I had been very lucky working at Alexander (Northern) on SCOTMAP where it had been a great success. George had done the same at Western. The ‘commercial’ side of the business was always unjustifiably regarded as a bit second best to operations. George, who had been the Planning & Development Officer, became the Traffic Manager (TM) at Western when the existing TM had been promoted. “I’d organised an event to mark the last day of half cab crew operation in June 1982 at Eastern Scottish. The last bus was the very Bristol Lodekka that I now own, but in covered top form. George gave me the task of organising a major open day at Paisley depot that we hoped would draw people in and establish the new company name and image. I used all the contacts I had including the Western Enthusiasts Society and borrowed vehicles where I could. There was Dodds of Troon’s Sarobodied AEC Regent III, Western’s Leyland PD3 and we had the first Routemaster on loan from London for evaluation, RM652. There was also the Lodekka I now own, which by that stage was open top.” Smith & Pettifer had access to graphic designers. A story book called ‘Rodney the Routemaster Comes to Town’ about RM652’s journey north was produced as a result of the open day and became the first publication of a trilogy that’s still available. George Watson was selling copies at RM60 last weekend along with his book, ‘Clydeside Scottish, We tried to run a bus company but…’ which tells the Clydeside story from his perspective. Although he now suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, George made it to Ian’s retirement event in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury on May 31 where he managed a trip on RM652, one of 26 historic vehicles operating (CBW, Stagecoach West Running day, June 4, 2014). “There was a display of other old and new vehicles in the yard and bus wash rides,” continued Ian about the Paisley open day in 1985. “Clydeside went on to have open days at every depot. The public really loved them and I saw that. That’s one of the reasons why I did what I did on May 31. I wanted an event
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RETROSPECTIVE › IAN MANNING: CLYDESIDE SCOTTISH
Ian Manning leaves the cab of Clydeside’s Quicksilver-liveried Routemaster coach, SRMA1 in Carstairs when it was on a tour in May 1989. DONALD MACRAE
RM416 and RM697 in an experimental livery not used. DONALD MACRAE that the man in the street would take notice of and regular passengers would love as well as enthusiasts. I’d seen the media interest and what you could do with it. It really is a very powerful tool.”
Advantage crew operation
“RM652 was a great success,” said Ian. “I designed its use in service for the trial period. For the first week it ran in Paisley, Johnstone, Inchinnan, Thornliebank and a little in Greenock. It even did two Largs to Glasgow via Greenock workings. There were really good loads on both of them. The public loved it. “George’s strategy was that Routemasters would help give us passenger loyalty. We converted what had been a 10-minute group of routes between Johnstone and Glasgow operated by DMS-type Fleetlines - the company’s busiest and best services - to every seven and eight minutes with Routemasters. We extended the routes from Anderston bus station across Glasgow city centre to Buchanan bus station and saved resources as it required fewer 26 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014 022_028_CBW1146_Ian Manning.indd 26
One of the Quicksilver-liveried Alexander-bodied Leyland Lions in Renfield Street, Glasgow, bound for Kilmacolm in May 1989. DONALD MACRAE
buses with the faster timetables. The better fuel consumption of the Routemasters and the next to no depreciation along with everything else we saved pretty well paid for the extra staff wages. “The conversion of the last 15% of routes from crew operation to one man operation cost the UK bus industry so dearly in the 1970s and 1980s because it provided a worse and slower service that frustrated passengers. On Glasgow – Johnstone you would arrive at a bus stop and 20 people would get on the bus as well as 15 getting off. In ‘one man’ operational terms that created a real time penalty. “By paying one man bonuses, paying redundancies to conductors and the increased engineering costs of different vehicles as well extended journey times for customers, the industry really did itself no favours on key corridors. “On a lot of occasions in the 1970s, one man operation was forced upon the industry. I can remember being on holiday in places like Bournemouth and seeing notice boards
that listed the journeys that wouldn’t run. I remember being stuck in Poole bus station for well over an hour as a result of that. To some degree staff shortages put the industry in that position, but no one was thinking about the passengers. George at Clydeside had obviously got the passenger in mind. 78 Routemasters gradually arrived. Someone at Carron House spotted that Clydeside, Kelvin and Strathtay (which also operated Routemasters) had bought an additional number for spare parts. We could buy them for £200 and for that we got a spare engine, gearbox, differential and a load of windows, seats and other spares. We couldn’t go wrong, but none of this extra procurement had been sanctioned by the SBG main board so the ‘dead hand of the uninvolved’ was despatched to each of the three General Managers to give them a right rollicking and to find some way of putting these buses on the books. “The last of our Routemasters bought for spare parts were put into service www.coachandbusweek.com
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July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 27
RETROSPECTIVE › IAN MANNING: CLYDESIDE SCOTTISH
A preserved Clydeside Routemaster was one of the vehicles Ian Manning drove during the Stagecoach West running day on May 31
Spare parts Routemasters including a former BEA Routemaster that was later sold to Verwood Transport, then Shaftesbury & District and extended to create a high-capacity bus. IAN MANNING Gardner-engined Leyland Tigers, which were a bit gutless. More upmarket was a diverted order of Leyland Lion double-deckers that were actually not bad apart from their very high configuration being underfloor-engined.
Winners and losers
Clydeside’s former London DMS-type Fleetlines were used on high frequency services along the important Paisley Road corridor. Replaced by Routemsters, they later returned to London for further service with Bexleybus. DONALD MACRAE as Glasgow Garden Festival extra buses. It showed how entrepreneurial we were. Not only did we go out on Friday afternoon and some Saturdays to give the competition a run for their money by running duplicates using managerial staff, to help balance the books, during the Festival we also used them on some services that would not normally be crew operated. That enabled the Volvo Ailsas and Leyland Fleetlines normally operated to be used for the private hires. Again, management would provide the additional labour. “Basically, at Clydeside we converted back to crew operation the best corridors and the ones where we were most likely to be subject to serious competition. We also started one or two new routes in Glasgow. One used Leyland Leopards, but with wider doors and that also was a fairly good success. Not quite to the same extent as the Routemaster routes, but proved that, actually, if you ran a route and ran it well it would make some money. “We were ably supported in our strategy 28 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014 022_028_CBW1146_Ian Manning.indd 28
by SBG director, John Whittle, but he wasn’t always listened to by the main board. There were always those who didn’t want us to be a success. I don’t think the Group Personal Director was very happy with the fact that we had negotiated wages at a lower rate than he had managed to do on a national basis. “We organised our own crew operation agreement and we had also got a special minibus rate as we had a fleet of 55 RenaultDodge minibuses that were used to penetrate more deeply into the ‘schemes’ as Scottish council estates are called. If you think things are difficult these days in serving housing estates with parked cars, it’s positively a breeze in comparison with those days even though we used minibuses. “We also introduced something called Clydeside Quicksilver particularly for the longer distance commuter routes into Glasgow where we used ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ - some of the dual purpose stock we already had. They were vehicles like Seddon Alexander T-types and
“I’ve read a number of analyses that suggest that we didn’t win the war with Strathclyde Buses, but I think that’s being unduly harsh. Until George’s book, no one actually gave the real reasons for that. We were fighting with one arm tied behind our back by being forced to have registration freezes because the Group board thought it was doing a deal with Strathclyde Buses. Imagine that with 21st Century competition legislation! Then there was the lack of support that John Whittle was given. I also suspect that the ‘old guard’ on the main board just didn’t want to be seen to have been proved wrong about some of what we did. “What we also forget is that Strathclyde Buses was playing with ratepayers’ money. It had no real strictures on it on what it could and couldn’t do. I would say, in comparing like with like, we held on to all our traditional passengers on all the routes that we tried to protect, but that not the case at Central Scottish, which was always the weak link. I’m not so sure that you could say that Strathclyde Buses was in any way victorious. It’s just that their money didn’t run out and the Group’s privatisation process didn’t get in the way. It’s not comparing like with like. “As a management team we were respected by our own staff for what we did. In fact the convenor of shop stewards, when he heard that George had been made redundant, offered to organise a strike just before Christmas (1988) as a staff protest. George said ‘no’. He didn’t want them short of money. You don’t often find an organisation with that loyalty. “There were some great characters. Betty Gilchrist, Traffic Superintendent at Paisley, was one. She was responsible for frontline disciplines and had a very simple view of life. If she didn’t believe anyone, she would say, ‘I’m www.coachandbusweek.com
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RETROSPECTIVE › IAN MANNING: CLYDESIDE SCOTTISH
Routemasters bought for spares, but repainted and spruced up for use on extra work at the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988. IAN MANNING telling you that you did do it’. Very few argued the point. HR (Human Resources) was so much simpler then. When Betty had sussed out the situation and felt she understood what was going on, she would hand out suspensions like confetti, but at the same time had a heart of gold. “We had drivers with nicknames like ‘Alec I’ll do it’. You only had to suggest doing extra work and they would be up for it. As often is the case there are some very good people who work for you – the unsung heros. As a business, we also developed people - the likes of Bobby Gordon at Johnstone who is now aged over 90. He was a driver to inspector, to District Traffic Superintendent (DTS). He was a solid and decent DTS, but as a result of the training we gave him as Area Manager and the culture within which he mixed when he was at Clydeside, he really became a tremendous asset for a 64 year old at the time. “When I applied to see if there were any career openings at the SBG on leaving university, I got a letter back from the then Personnel Director saying there was no graduate training scheme. People started as conductors, and then progressed to drivers and inspectors, DTSs and all the rest of it. No thought of accelerated promotion or training, or anything else. “The standard of people that SBG had at grassroots level was solid and decent, but few were exceptional. The only proper training I had at the Scottish Bus Group was for SCOTMAP provided by people south of the border, Colin Buchanan and Partners and National Bus Company staff. “We were also taught properly how to do staff appraisals. That was because the Group Personnel Manager, Rob Womack, after having taken redundancy and set up his own firm, landed the work and taught us how to do those properly. I prided myself right up to the end of my career in doing those thoroughly in the way he suggested. “We had a distinct strategy at Clydeside. We 30 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014 022_028_CBW1146_Ian Manning.indd 30
Typical SBG-specification double-deckers in the fleet were Northern Counties-bodied Leyland Fleetlines such as this example in Central Road, Paisley in February 1989. DONALD MACRAE used to say that we got paid in laughs, but there were also a lot of tears. So many things should have gone in our favour, but didn’t and it was rather destructive what happened afterwards with the really bitter struggles between Clydeside and Western employees and the Luton & District workers buyout. Imagine the crass stupidity of trying to recombine the cultures of two companies that were poles apart when Clydeside was merged back with Western. “I was to have returned to Clydeside 2000 in a directorial role, but having had a meeting that involved (Chairman) Graham Cumming, I was not impressed. I walked away, and I’m glad I did. “For me, Clydeside was a great exercise in understanding politics. Despite the competition between us, I got together with McGill’s of Barrhead, Graham’s of Paisley and Strathclyde Buses to gather support from local traders against the pedestrianisation of Paisley High Street.
“I remember going to one newsagent who had his shop next to a bus lay-by and saying to him, ‘can you imagine what this is going to be like when that bus stop isn’t there? People who come to the stop look down the street and when they don’t see a bus on the horizon, they pop in to buy a newspaper or some sweets or whatever. Can you imagine how life would be without that?’ I think we succeeded in preventing the pedestrianisation for 15 years. “Pedestrianisation can be a scourge. It takes away a degree of town centre life and it can also make places ‘no-go areas’ at night. The last thing any operator wants is to be in a position where its buses have to leave from the back of a multistorey car park. “We were doing things at Clydeside in the late 1980s, which did not become standard features of good practice in the best subsidiaries of the big groups until 15 years later.” n www.coachandbusweek.com
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UPDATE › ITSO
Go-Ahead ‘key’ card is available on its provincial network, which includes Metrobus
It’s so smart ITSO Chief Advisor John Verity, who also chairs the Europe-wide Smart Ticketing Alliance, gives an update on recent developments at the ticketing standards organisation
S
mart ticketing on public transport has been taking giant steps recently – and there’s a lot more to come. Having built ticketing systems which can process national concessionary bus passes smartly, and installed them on the vast majority of buses in England, Scotland and Wales, transport operators and authorities are now planning to introduce, or are already operating, commercial smart ticketing in a big way – on bus, rail, tram and ferry. ITSO Limited is supporting its 100+ members in rolling out smart ticketing schemes, which abide by the national ITSO speci�ication, throughout the country. This means systems are interoperable, paving the way for more multi-operator and multi-modal smart ticketing. Making it easy to pay for public transport through smart ticketing is a win-win situation all round. Operators don’t have to carry as much cash – none if they are running London buses. They can also choose to build a relationship with
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their customers through their smartcards, �inding out more about their travel needs and wishes and tailoring services to suit. For the passenger, it’s great not having to worry about the right change or who runs the bus you are using, such as in the Oxford SmartZone or Salisbury Activ8 where each other’s smartcards are accepted by both GoAhead and Stagecoach buses. Smart ticketing comes in different shapes and sizes. The big �ive bus operators are all using, or gearing up for, commercial smart ticketing that includes ITSO smartcards in different ways. First is involved in ITSO-compliant multioperator ticketing in Yorkshire (the M-card), as well as launching its own smart ticketing offering throughout the UK; Go-Ahead has ‘the key’ card on bus in much of the country, and on some rail. Recent conservative �igures show some 124 million smart journeys a year on either the key or national concessionary cards. Mobile ticketing has generated over £1 million revenue in
less than a year through 65,000 ticket downloads; Stagecoach has its StagecoachSmart card on bus and on some rail - more than 240 million journeys are now made each year on Stagecoach bus and rail services using smartcards; National Express is a major partner for the Swift card in the West Midlands and there are plans for paperless ticketing on c2c rail; and Arriva is also looking to get involved in ITSO-based multi-operator ticketing around the country. Five train operating companies are currently offering ITSO-compliant smart ticketing to a greater or lesser extent. Southern’s passengers can now use the key card to travel to London terminals (1,800 more people signed up for the key card in the �irst two days of this launch). The Go-Ahead Group-owned operator is now expecting to add travelcards and ‘pay as you go’ ticketing later this year. East Midlands, London Midland, Merseyrail, and South West Trains also do some ITSO smart ticketing, as well as First ScotRail north of the border. StagecoachSmart is used on Shef�ield’s trams and the Cambridge Busway has its own multi-operator ITSO smartcard. The South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) project will see smart ticketing on rail throughout that region and plans are built in to future franchises to extend this throughout www.coachandbusweek.com
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the UK. The recently-let, massive Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise will see Govia building on its ITSO smart ticketing offering. Work continues to �inesse the ITSO technology which has been there for some years. The major challenge is not so much the technology as the operators agreeing business rules so systems can be set up to enable multioperator, on-board card acceptance and backof�ice transaction and information processing. Elsewhere, technology is now moving at such a pace that transport customers, understandably, expect to use their smartcards or smartphones to buy tickets for their journeys as easily as a freshly-brewed coffee at the beginning and end of it. Effectively meeting customer expectations remains one of the major challenges facing our de-regulated and highly complex transport industry. However, that’s not to say it can’t be done, and certainly the Government has been supporting developments through funding such as Better Bus Areas, BSOG (Bus Service Operators Grant) and Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). It is also encouraging open data so enterprising companies can move us towards the day when we �ind the right journey and tickets online, then buy the tickets – all using the same smartphone. That ability to buy the correct ticket at the right price before you travel is very important for customers. Many passengers now, especially those on rail, bemoan the fact that a PhD in ticketing is needed to be sure you have bought the right thing! The last 18 months have also seen major government initiatives and funding on smart ticketing projects for rail, including �lexible season research, �lexible ticketing pilots, additional investment in smart ticketing for Southern
Left: Lothian’s ITSO-compliant Ridacard
Go-Ahead promotes its ‘the key’ card as ‘the smarter way to travel’ www.coachandbusweek.com
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and South West trains, as well as the SEFT programme. For the passenger, smart ticketing schemes have been operating online for some time with requested top-ups being activated at gates, ticket machines or on-board. ITSO’s technology is now being used to roll out smart ticketing top-ups through retail payment terminals – most recently with the M-Card in West Yorkshire and Nexus’ Pop card in Tyne and Wear. The Payzone and PayPoint retail terminals use WiFi to communicate with the back of�ice so that passengers can instantly load their smartcard with a weekly bus ticket, for example, at their local shop, similar to topping up pay as you go mobile phones. ITSO is currently working very closely with national and international standards bodies, and mobile network operators, to ensure transport ticketing can eventually be done smartly throughout Europe – using a single smartcard or smartphone. Some transport operators and local authorities are looking to use ITSO in a much wider way – for park and ride, road tolling, electric car or bike hire, or other council services like leisure and libraries. The Smart Cities Partnership plans to widen the knowledge base, sharing information and best practice to help other areas build effective smart ticketing schemes. Such schemes are also increasingly being embraced by universities. Norfolk County Council, which recently launched its ITSO-compliant multi-operator ‘holdall’ smartcard, is being funded by the DfT to develop smart ticketing guidance for other authorities and operators. For the rest of this year, I’m looking forward to seeing planned major developments on the ITSO smart ticketing front come to fruition in, among others, Hampshire, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Scotland and the South West. Latest conservative estimates by the DfT and our members show that in Great Britain 3.7 billion (nearly half) of the eight billion public transport journeys made a year are made using smartcards, of which 697 million are made using some 12 million ITSO-compliant cards (19%). That means ITSO supports one of the largest interoperable transport smartcard schemes in the world. With all that is going on in the industry I expect these �igures to increase dramatically over the next year. However, we will always expect ITSO to be just one part of the transport payment and ticketing scene because people will continue to choose different methods of payment depending on their access to technology. That includes banks – it should be remembered that around 10% of bus passengers, who make up the largest single category of public transport users, do not have a bank card. It is likely that cash may always, therefore, have to be an option, as well as 2D barcodes, contactless bank cards, m-ticketing, print at home tickets, and the highly successful standalone Oyster card in London. Our aim will be to offer a national option that is highly secure, fast, �lexible, interoperable and future-proof. ■
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 33 14/07/2014 16:58
NEWS › PRODUCTS
GT Radial launches new tyres
Trent barton chooses new AVID eFan Micro Hybrid
One of trent barton’s my15-branded Optare Versas now fitted with the AVID eFan Micro Hybrid System
Peter Faulkes, European Marketing Director for Commercial Tyres at Giti Tire GT Radial has launched two new tyres for 2014, showcased at this year’s Reifen tyre fair. The first, the GSW226, is a high traction steer axle tyre and is the brand’s first ‘winter’ marked tyre. Designed specifically for snow ice and wet road conditions, the emphasis is on all-season traction and breaking. The GSW226 has also been designed to deliver a high mileage potential. The second new product is the low platform trailer pattern tyre GTL9225, a long distance tyre developed for modern, three-metre high mega trailer configurations. This tyre has an extra wide low-profile casing which results in a regular wear pattern with low rolling resistance and noise emissions. The wide shoulder ribs are designed to guard against impact damage.
TTC partners with Truckminder
Aftermarket component supplier TTC has partnered with Truckminder Worldwide, a UK based company that specialises in technology designed specifically to prevent catalytic 34 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014 034_035_CBW1146_Products.indd 34
Both of these products are due to come to the market before the end of 2014. Reifen also saw the European show debut of other GT Radial products. One such product was the recently launched GSR225 Combi Road multi-usage tyre. The key design features of this tyre are the specially developed tread and base compounds, intended to improve mileage, and a wider tread pattern to deliver excellent handling and extra resistance to tearing and curbing, making it appropriate for regional and long haul vehicles. The GSR225 also contains a new casing construction, developed for increased load indexes to cater for Euro VI regulations and the extra weight added to the axle by emission filters and other air cleaning devices. The GSR225 Combi Road 22.5”
tyre is currently available in sizes 295/80, 315/70,315/80, 275/70 and 315/60. Load indexes range from 148/145M to 156/150L. Also on show were the GAM831 non-directional, all-position mixed service, GAU861 allposition urban city-bus, GTL919 long-haul road trailer and GAR820 regional all-position tyre. Peter Foulkes, Marketing Director Europe – Commercial Tyres at Giti Tire, manufacturer of GT Radial, made the following comment: “We were very proud to display the GSW226 and GTL925, which reinforced to every visitor to the stand that our substantial investment in state-ofthe-art research and development capabilities is continuing to bring tyres to market, and I can state confidently the future product pipeline is looking strong.”
converter, DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter), fuel and battery theft. Truckminder teamed up with TTC as they felt no other company could provide greater access to a dedicated commercial vehicle network. Filip de Kock from Truckminder added: “TTC provides us with a well-
established route to market and we were impressed with its innovative approach to product development and willingness to offer advice and support. “Its approach to working creates a great environment to develop long term strategic partnerships.”
AVID has released the eFan Micro Hybrid System, a retrofitted feature which aims to increase fuel efficiency, reduce maintenance cost and minimise engine noise. The Micro Hybrid system replaces the belt or hydraulically driven cooling pack on the bus with a high performance integrated system. Trent barton has committed to an extensive program of AVID eFan Micro Hybrid System retrofits to its existing bus fleet, following an extensive programme of testing. Managing Director Jeff Counsell said: “We have tried many products with fantastic claims in the past, but the AVID eFan system is one of the first times we have seen such a clear and tangible improvement in fuel consumption.” AVID’s system uses specially designed high efficiency fans, high performance heat exchangers and an advanced electronic control system. This improves fuel efficiency by reducing the power consumed by the cooling system and ensuring optimum engine temperatures are maintained. The system also improves reliability, as it greatly simplifies cleaning of the cooling pack as the fans can be reversed to suck debris out of the system at the touch of a button. The AVID system also removes the fire risk of the hydraulic system, and can be connected into a fire suppression system to shut the fans down in the event of deployment, further improving fire safety. This will also fulfil a new requirement in the next Transport for London refurbishment specification to be released later this year. www.coachandbusweek.com
14/07/2014 14:33
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Magenta Technology app makes debut Magenta Technology debuted and successfully demonstrated its new mobile worker apps on the latest 7” Ruggedised TomTom PRO 8275 driver terminal to the visitors of Service Management Expo 2014. The mobile worker App is preinstalled on the TomTom PRO 8275 device and is connected real time with Magenta’s Maxoptra Service, a cloudbased dynamic planning and optimisation solution for field service businesses of all sizes. Maxoptra provides a SaaS based affordable solution with intuitive features, and apps designed to efficiently plan the balance of routine and breakdown calls to prevent greater than necessary fuel expenditure, and to meet customer demand for narrow
MiX Telematics scoops safety awards
MiX Telematics has won two awards at the 2014 Brake Fleet Safety Awards. In a competition which saw a total of 112 entries submitted, MiX Telematics scooped both the Fleet Safety Product Award and the Fleet Safety Innovation (supplier) Award. MiX Telematics’ win in the Fleet Safety Product Award category was for MiX Rovi, an in-cab solution which optimises communication and information exchange between drivers and the office in order to maximise safety and efficiency in operation. Drivers interact with MiX Rovi via the system’s intuitive 5” or 7” touchscreen display unit. Success in the Fleet Safety Innovation (supplier) Award came by way of MiX Telematics’ holistic approach to fleet management. This sees everything from initial assessment and hardware installation to online reporting supported by a bespoke range of consultancy services individuallytailored to meet customers’ needs. www.coachandbusweek.com
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time windows and accurate arrival times. The demonstrations showed how optimised schedules from the Maxoptra Service web-based dynamic planning solution were sent directly to the TomTom PRO 8275 driver terminal allowing mobile technicians to navigate to their jobs and report their progress in real time. Integrating a schedule optimising service with TomTom’s Pro 8275 device ensures that mobile technicians will spend less time on the road and more time using their niche skills. Stuart Brunger, Head of Business Development for Magenta Technology said: “Magenta’s mobile worker app will help service providers differentiate themselves in the market. Besides providing an end-to-end customer experience, the app will improve productivity, enhance customer service, reduce operating costs and meet Health and Safety compliance standards.”
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Orders coming in for Ticketer’s hand-held machine
Ticketer has launched a hand-held electronic ticket machine. The new hand-held ETM has been designed to complement the existing Ticketer portfolio including all the same features as the fixed unit with the same pricing structure, allowing operators to choose the most suitable version to meet their needs rather than focussing on the cost. The new hand-held includes an inbuilt dual ITSO and level-1 certified EMV card reader and thermal printer. It also comes
The hand-held has all the functionality of Ticketer’s full size machines
packed with all the advanced ETM features already found in the fixed Ticketer ETMs, such as driver messaging, RTI and the newly released schedule adherence feature, informing the driver whether they are running early or late and providing alerts to prevent them from departing from a stop too soon. John Clarfelt, Managing Director of Ticketer, commented: “We have responded to many requests from customers for a mobile version of our best-selling ETM and we are delighted that we will be able to demonstrate its capabilities at Euro Bus Expo.” Several operators have already placed orders for the new hand-held for a variety of use-cases, including queue busting, emergency cover, commuter services and off-bus ticketing requirements.
Stertil Koni reveals new 1,000kg capacity transmission jack Stertil Koni, manufacturer and supplier of commercial vehicle lifting equipment, has launched a new, heavy duty transmission jack with a 1,000kg capacity and an incorporated air-operated motor to the market. The jack is designed to provide safe, rapid removal and replacement of heavy transmissions and Stertil Koni points to its minimum height of 1,155mm and unusually high extended height of 2,100mm. The wide base is spread over four legs to give stability and can be operated by a single workshop engineer. The design features of the 1,000kg jack include a two way tilt adaptor which allows precise positioning when removing different types of transmission. The air-operated motor is a recent design development, providing initial rapid movement of the ram. Any fine adjustments can then be completed using the integral
manual pump. This hydraulic double acting power pack enables units weighing up to 1,000kg to be removed with a smooth, safe and highly controllable application of power. A triple extension ram, incorporating a hard-wearing chrome piston, provides up to 945mm of stoke while optional custom-designed adaptor top plates are available to fit commercial and heavy duty vehicle transmissions of all shapes and sizes. “Our new 1,000kg transmission jack has been designed to bridge the gap between light and heavy commercial vehicles,” said Tony Edge, General Manager of Stertil Koni.
The new jack has an unusually high extended height of 2,100mm
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 35 14/07/2014 14:33
OPINION ›RAY WILKES Campaign for Better Transport West Yorkshire Local Group
If you want to let off some steam, just tap away at the keyboard and send your rant (or carefully-reasoned views) to gareth.evans@ 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
Spending on buses is a good investment Ray Wilkes leads Campaign for Better Transport West Yorkshire Local Group and has been calling for sustainable public transport for many years. Ray argues that cutting bus funding is a false economy and explains why he believes concessionary bus travel should receive more funding In both the bus industry and general press, there are mixed messages coming out about buses. The fact is that despite the cuts and the economy, many bus services are being improved. Here in West Yorkshire we have had improvements to services on weekdays and Sundays. Already, passengers have responded by increasingly using the buses, resulting in passenger growth of about 10% on some routes. Over in Lancashire, Transdev has improved services to Keighley and Skipton, with Skipton now having its best ever service from Burnley. Excitingly for Dalesbus users, there is now an hourly Sunday service from Manchester to Grassington and it is commercial, not supported. It’s good to see that some areas in Northern England are actually getting better services. However, the main issue currently is about cuts to bus services and the impacts these have on local communities. There are cuts to tendered services, due to council funding being reduced. There are cuts to other services, because councils are underpaying the concessionary reimbursement. There will be more cuts due a reduction in the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). Even operators which are expanding their bus networks are cutting some routes and frequencies within that network. The main threat to bus services, as I see it, is the inadequacy of concessionary re-imbursement. When free fares were introduced, the deal was that bus operators ‘should be no better off and no worse off.’ Yet it is clear that many are worse off, especially in rural areas. Routes which used to be commercial are being withdrawn, and some companies are folding, because pensioners are travelling free and the Local Authority (LA) isn’t paying enough. The original deal was wrong. Obviously if the government is
Pennine Motor Services recently closed because of cutbacks in government funding making a mass purchase of bus journeys for pensioners, there should be discount for bulk. However, it is wholly wrong that the bus companies should not benefit from providing this service for society. Rather than being simply ‘no better off or no worse off,’ they should be better off because free rides for pensioners bring enormous social benefits. People get out and socialise more and this improves their mental
‘The government say that the reimbursement might count as illegal state aid under EU rules. This is nonsense’ and physical health. Because many are leaving their cars at home everyone benefits from reduced congestion and air pollution. So why should bus companies be no better off if they have provided this benefit in partnership with the government? The government say that the reimbursement might count as illegal state aid under EU rules. This is nonsense. Is the NHS a form of state aid to pharmaceutical companies who are clearly better off with an NHS than without one? Are subsidised train fares state aid? Is Red Diesel for trains but not for buses state aid? The rules for
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buses are clearly being interpreted in an unfair and discriminatory way! We need bus users to press politicians to change the system so that the payments are more generous. We know that the government is genuinely short of money. Nevertheless, when concession holders get a free bus ride they save their bus fare. For every £1 the government gives to a bus operator, the pensioner
has over £2 extra to spend. They then spend this money either directly in shops or on their grandchildren who are even better at spending. So all the money that the government pays out to the bus company directly benefits the retail sector and the government immediately get 20% back in VAT. That is 40% of what the government originally paid out. If the money is spent in a pub, and quite a bit certainly is, then the government gets even more back. All the money spent helps keep people in employment and these employees pay tax. It is clear that the money the government spends
on buses is a very good investment in the whole economy and in tax revenues. Fairer re-imbursement is affordable. The first thing the government should do is to make sure that the system is administered properly. The government hands money to LAs who decide whether to pay it properly to the bus companies or whether to spend it on something else and cheat the bus companies. The same company running a cross-border service often ends up with a different concession rate in each county. Something so clearly ridiculous and unfair surely needs sorting out. At the very least the re-imbursement rate should be based on local conditions and not so directly related to fares that it distorts commercial judgments. The LA should bill the DfT for the costs incurred so that it is the LA which ‘should be no better off and no worse off.’ If the concession rate and its administration are not sorted out properly, the government will end up spending much more on healthcare and other social services because people will not have the bus services. Our rural, semi-rural and off peak services are under severe threat due to this current policy. If Baroness Kramer does not want to be remembered as the ‘Beeching of the Buses’ she needs to get a grip on this problem speedily. n www.coachandbusweek.com
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The essential read for Minibus Operators
July 2014
MINIBUS Fragility still a factor in coachbuilt sector despite market upturn
A number of bus operators looked closely at the Orion and the larger Orion Plus (pictured) but they eventually shied away from any commitment
T
he recent demise of Bluebird Vehicles (CBW1145) is a clear indication there remains a great deal of fragility in the coachbuilt minibus sector despite a general upturn in the market. Having achieved successful results with its VW-based Tucana, notably to TfL’s Dial-a-Ride operation, it seems the larger Orion, based on Fiat’s Ducato and offering a cost effective, highly accessible, low�loor package was the victim of cutbacks in the support for rural services where it would have been ideally placed as a cost-effective alternative to running big buses on low capacity services with more than double the Orion’s fuel consumption. While a number of bus operators did look closely at the Orion and the larger Orion Plus they eventually shied away from any commitment. Bluebird had ambitiously embarked on a further low�loor project which had been due for launch this year (CBW1142). Sadly, the cost of development combined with compliance testing was too much,
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despite an injection of support funding from local enterprise initiatives earlier this year. Coachbuilders are also now able to take advantage of MAN’s TGL-based platform (CBW1144) which has been adapted to bus and coach speci�ication as a mainstream alternative to the Mercedes-Benz Vario. Fortunately, the conversion market remains exceptionally buoyant and is steadily reclaiming ground towards prerecession levels. After running a �lamboyant solo exhibition last year, in place of attending the main industry show, Stanford Coachworks is repeating the exercise this year (see news pages for details) at Brands Hatch. The success of the inaugural event was suf�iciently encouraging for the company to repeat the process again. It is certainly an entertaining and informative day out – and completely unique. Martin Cole MINIBUS Editor
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | 39 14/07/2014 18:54
MINIBUS › NEWS
Eight Cheetahs for Highland Experience Six of the Mercedes-Benz Variobased vehicles supplied by Plaxton Coach Sales, with two from Dawson Rentals Eight Mercedes-Benz Vario-based Plaxton Cheetahs have joined the growing �leet of Highland Experience Tours. Six of the Cheetahs, which are allocated to Edinburgh depot, were supplied by Plaxton Coach Sales at Anston – while the remaining two, which are automatics, were aqcuired from Dawson Rentals, work out of Inverness. All feature 29 reclining seats with three-point belts – and one of the vehicles is also equipped with a multi-lingual commentary system. Highland Experience Tours was founded in 2005 with one vehicle
New Noone Turas 500 for AR Travel
AR Travel, based in Colney Heath, Hertfordshire, recently took delivery of a new Noone 19-seater minicoach based on a MercedesBenz 516 Euro 5 Sprinter chassis with six-speed manual gearbox. The coachbuilt Turas 500 features dedicated hi-line windscreen and large, panoramic, bonded doubleglazed side windows with extra dark tint and window to rear panel. The luxurious interior is trimmed in coach suede and includes Fainsa Gala reclining coach seats trimmed in blue/black virtual leather. Autoclima air-conditioning is supported by Webasto blown
and has grown year on year to a 24 vehicle business managed from the company’s of�ices and shop on Edinburgh’s prestigious Royal Mile. The �leet is divided almost equally between mini and midi coaches, all of which are used on exclusive tours throughout Scotland and northern England. These are the �irst new Cheetahs to be acquired by the company which has previously operated pre-owned examples. Asked about how the vehicles are performing, Operations Manager Stuart McCaw, replied: “We are delighted with them and are getting excellent feedback from our customers and staff. The Cheetah represents British manufacturing at its best and they come with a good after sales and support package.” air heating and full length luggage racks with service units were installed. AR Travel also opted for full draw curtains, gangway carpet, radio/CD/PA, plus cinema lights to gangway and entrance steps with illuminated logo. Plug entrance door with three-stage entry and large luggage boot complete the package. AR Travel was founded in 1990, by husband and wife team Terry and Linda Hill who have now been joined by son Wayne. Terry commented: “This is a milestone moment for us as this is our �irst acquisition since Wayne joined the business and granddaughter Madeleine is already showing an interest.” It is the latest in a line of vehicles supplied to AR Travel by Alan White’s Minis to Midis of Doncaster.
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Terry Hill with son Wayne and granddaughter Madeleine pose with the new 19-seat Turas
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14/07/2014 19:22
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The Cheetahs carry the bold Highland Experience branding on a white base together with a large blue cross on the rear nearside corner
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Stanford Coachworks to hold another exhibition
Burnt Tree’s stand at last year’s event
Call Connect’s £1 under 18s fare
Lincolnshire’s Call Connect bus service is promising under 18s rides for a pound. The county council-funded operation runs 28 minibuses around rural Lincolnshire – and it now aims to promote the service to younger people, who it is suspected might think the buses are only for the elderly. Adults will pay a higher fare, such as £5.40 for a return from Ludford to Caistor. The £1 tickets are currently available all day Saturdays and every day after 1700hrs. During the school summer holiday the offer will be available all day, every day, Monday to Friday until September 6.
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Stanford Coachworks is once again holding an outdoor exhibition combined with track day entertainment at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit. The event is scheduled for Monday, September 29, 0930 – 1600hrs. The exhibits, centred on the restaurant at the foot of the race paddock include a broad range of minibus, ambulance, single wheelchair occupant and camper conversions on multiple manufacturer platforms, coupled with some indoor and outdoor side stands provided by 18 of the converter’s key suppliers. CT
Unique Turas 800 available
Minis to Midis is pleased to offer for sale the very last new Turas 800 by kind permission of Brian Noone Ltd. This 8.0m variant has previously been offered in Ireland and built to VIP specification but the short wheelbase Euro 5 Mercedes-Benz 813 with manual gearbox is in build for the Doncaster-based dealer as a 25-seater, creating a unique opportunity for one lucky
Training plans to be demonstrating wheechair tie-down procedures, safe use of passenger lifts and emergency evacuation procedures. In addition, those feeling brave enough to endure some fast laps around the circuit can take a ride in a selection of high performance cars which will be running throughout the day. Invitations are currently being mailed to existing customers and contacts but any operators wishing to attend can register their interest by calling Jess Rider on 01375 676088 or via email to jess@stanfordcoachworks.
The last Mercedes-Benz Variobased Noone Turas 800 is available through Minis to Midis operator. The model will feature Brusa Create 110 reclining seats,
co.uk by September 5 to allow the organisers to ensure the catering requirements. All visitors are treated to free drinks throughout the day in the restaurant, bacon rolls in the morning and a buffet at lunchtime. Last year’s inaugural event saw around 300 people attend the show which was regarded as highly successful by Stanford Coachworks, by all the supporting exhibitors and hailed as extremely enjoyable by the visitors. Any funds raisedon the day will be donated to The Lords Taverners charity. courier seat, in-dash and saloon air-conditioning, radio/CD/PA/ DVD with large luggage capacity courtesy of the rear boot and lockers. It will come with new registration and the standard two year Mercedes-Benz Vario chassis warranty and two year body warranty. Full details are available from Alan White at Minis to Midis on 01302 833203 or visit the website www. ministomidis.com
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | 41 14/07/2014 19:22
MINIBUS › NEWS
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Kiwi goes X-Clusive New EVM X-Clusive MercedesBenz Sprinter S16 Cdi for specialist Swanley tour operator Swanley-based Kiwi Executive Travel has taken delivery of a Euro 6 EVM X-Clusive. Established in 1996, Kiwi Executive Travel Mini-Coach Hire provides tours of London, Kent and East Anglia along with the hire of cars, limousines and light aircraft. Based on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516 Cdi, the minicoach features the 163bhp engine and seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox, electric plugtype passenger entry door with manual emergency release and exterior key lock facility. Windowless rear doors reveal a drop boot and rear partition in combination with a raised floor and boot pedestal to provide ample luggage space and a folding half-height shelf to relieve pressure on cases stowed at the bottom of the boot. Full length, brushed aluminium, luggage racks provide additional stowage space. They incorporate strip lighting and blue LED night lights with individual passenger service units, reading lights and adjustable air ducts. EVM large framed, curved double-glazed saloon side windows in privacy grey with leather finished interior window
The smart EVM X-Clusive Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516 Cdi
The interior features 16 EVM Executive reclining seats capping were installed and a large coach-type panoramic windscreen.
In-dash air-conditioning is supported by Webasto saloon air-conditioning ducted through
the luggage racks. Saloon heating with a heater booster was also installed. A 15-inch monitor was recessed in the roof for the DVD player and multiple microphone points for the PA system fitted. The system is Bluetooth ready. Kiwi selected 16 EVM Executive reclining seats with three-point belts and folding arm rests to aisle side which are upholstered in two-colour real leather with built in handles. Colour coded bumpers, side mouldings and front grille were also selected. Call Kiwi on 01322 615300 visit www. kiwiexecutive.co.uk
BNG boost from new Sprinter Corporate choice for Premiere BNG Coaches of Buxton has taken delivery of a 19-seater minicoach from Swansea Coachworks to add to its fleet. Based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516 exlwb (sic), the vehicle has been extended in length with Swansea Coachworks’ own extension to create a huge boot. The specification includes a large
exterior coach-type lockers, full body kit, panoramic double-glazed windows, leather reclining seats, climate control, luggage racks, mood lighting, PA system, 240v sockets and luxury interior trim. The vehicle has been painted in an eye catching metallic blue and joins BNG’s fleet primarily to undertake corporate transport bookings.
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Premiere Minibuses of Bedwas, Caerphilly, has upgraded its corporate hire operations with the acquisition of a 16-seater executive specification minicoach from Swansea Coachworks. It is based on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516 exlwb (sic) with a chassis extension from Swansea Coachworks to create a large luggage boot. The customer also
specified full body kit, panoramic double-glazed windows, leather upholstered reclining seats, climate control, luggage racks, mood lighting, PA system, 240v sockets, tables, TV/DVD and suede leather interior trim.
Call Premiere Minibuses on 02920 860304. Visit www. premiertravelwales.co.uk
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14/07/2014 19:22
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THE BIG PICTURE Tim Hines, aged 15, took this atmospheric image of Transport for London Routemaster heritage route 9H, which will cease on July 25. Current contractor is Tower Transit, which inherited the service when it took over First London’s Westbourne Park garage operation on June 22, 2013. The route dates back to November 2005 and was one of two introduced to counter unfavourable media opinion at the withdrawal of the last Routemasters in normal service at that time. It originally ran from Aldwych to the Royal Albert Hall, but in November 2010 was extended to Kensington High Street and curtailed at its eastern end to Trafalgar Square. High operating costs and low patronage have been given as reasons for cancelling the service. The other route, the 15H run by Stagecoach London, continues to operate using Routemasters.
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MINIBUS › VAN EXPERIENCE
Van Experience Live 2014 Now in its 11th year, the Mercedes-Benz Van Experience has become Van Experience Live. This unique and much-envied annual 10-day event continues to put the product into the hands of both existing and potential customers to enable them to experience the difference at first hand. Martin Cole went along to see what was on offer
46 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | July 16, 2014 046_049_CBW1146_MINIBUS_Can Experience.indd 46
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14/07/2014 14:36
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V
an Experience has always been a well-run and organised event and none more so than this year where the ‘customer experience’ has reached top level and the number of events reduced in order for visitors to spend more time at demonstrations or driving the vehicles. The most graphic and thought provoking of all the activities is the wet-grip area where visitors are given the opportunity to drive on low-grip polished concrete surfaces and a road of basalt tiles – each constantly sprayed with water. The polished concrete circle is effectively a skid-pan which emulates a roundabout suffering from treacherously icy conditions. It is designed to make the most of the on-board electronic safety systems and demonstrate how effective they are at controlling the vehicle when they detect the driver is losing control.
Competitors up their game
In previous years, comparative drives on these surfaces with competitor products highlighted the vast difference between Mercedes-Benz and every other make. Other makes had access to similar technology but it was only offered as an option at additional cost. This year sees the introduction of many new models from the competitors as they move towards Euro 6 compliance but also towards the mandatory requirements for ESP, ASR and other electronic driving aids. One sign of this was Ford’s new Transit which has been significantly revised and upgraded. A standard version was available to try and, in fairness, it performed extremely well – although the system is not tuned to the same degree of capability as on Sprinter or Vito models and has rapidly closed the gap between
Testing the optional braking awareness system designed to avert collisions
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the two brands. Whereas Sprinter and Vito can both hold a tight line around the circle, the Transit will tend to lose direction at times and slide out. Other makes, without the aids fitted are woefully adrift under the same conditions. What the electronics do is assess where the vehicle is being directed and do their utmost to respond to the request. Even if the accelerator is pressed firmly to the floor, the throttle is backed off when slip is detected and brakes applied to individual wheels to control the direction of the vehicles. As such, Sprinter and Vito will go exactly where they are pointed – unless they have entered the area far to quickly – in which case the momentum and mass of the vehicles are then governed by the laws of physics – the tyres will lose adhesion and the vehicle will slide. While this represents a massive step forward in the safety of vehicle drivers, other road users and pedestrians it should be remembered Mercedes-Benz is already seven years ahead with adapting and tuning the technology. Another of the events showing the advantages of ESP and understeer control offers visitors the chance to ride in a Sprinter, Vito or Citan to experience emergency lane change manoeuvres with ESP switched on and compare it with the system switched off. This demonstrates the level of vehicle stability which results from control over the braking and suspension. All the steering manoeuvres are carried out at 55mph without the driver applying the brake pedal at all. In many instances a sudden enforced lane change – either to avoid an incident or suddenly being faced with stationary traffic ahead – the action of swerving to one side or the other can usually be accomplished quite safely. However,
A host of Citans, Vitos and Sprinters line up for the fuel economy challenge
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | 47 14/07/2014 14:37
MINIBUS › VAN EXPERIENCE
Sprinter Mobility 35 from EvoBus UK
Mobility 35 entry steps when changing direction again to return to a parallel course the suspension can unload rapidly and cause the vehicle to roll over. What the electronics are doing is suddenly becoming aware of an uncharacteristic violent turn of the steering wheel, at high speed. It reacts instantly by applying any necessary braking force to the appropriate wheels. For instance, if the swerve was made to the left, the nearside wheels would be braked and as the steering wheel tuned to the right the offside wheels are braked to assist the vehicle in making the turn and keeping it stable. At previous events it has been demonstrated while linked to a laptop computer which records the amount of pressure exerted in each of the four independent brake lines. The pressure applied and the duration of the application is calculated and completed
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Sprinter Mobility 35 rear access
Mobility 35 restyled interior trim in milliseconds. Results repeatedly show significant differences to the pressure applied in individual lines, depending on the vehicle speed and severity of the steering action.
New optional safety system
Part of this event also saw a demonstration of a new optional safety safety system which automatically applies the brakes if it detects a stationary or slow moving object ahead. Sensors detect any object in front of the vehicle and determine the closing speed between the two. If this is deemed to be diminishing far too quickly for comfort, it will apply braking force as necessary to avoid a collision. To demonstrate this, a slow-moving Sprinter, with a frame attached, carried a mock van rear end made of polystyrene which hung out to the offside. Visitors were instructed to drive
up to the mock rear at a speed around 20mph faster than the vehicle ahead – keeping the speed constant. As soon as the system detects the object ahead is within close proximity and closing too fast, it applies the brakes with a force calculated to be sufficient enough the avert a collision. If the system detects driver input – such as indicating to overtake, foot coming off the accelerator or any pressure on the brake pedal it assumes the driver is aware of the hazard and takes no action. Therefore it will not interfere unless it senses imminent collision. In cases where a driver may be distracted or reactions have been slowed due to tiredness, the system can save a great deal of unnecessary damage to both vehicles concerned. This is not a cheap option to specify and
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is in the region of £1,400. Some may view it as needless expense, others will argue the potential savings from accident damage and the resulting increased insurance premiums justify the cost.
An experience in itself
Sprinter Travel 45 from EvoBus UK
Step arrangement for Sprinter Travel 45
Travel 45 uses TraveStar Xtra reclining coach seats
City 45 lowfloor Sprinters
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Over the two weeks of Van Experience Live Mercedes-Benz accommodated around 200 guests per day. Between them, the 1,800 guests drove more than 14,060 miles in almost 80 vans – the equivalent of 390.6 miles covered every hour. The impressive event centre comprised a total of 2,125 m2 of temporary structures, which took 168 hours to erect and offered attendees the chance to experience four practical activities: This Is Your Life – simulated black ice driving; Safety Aware Adaptive ESP and Collision Prevention Assist testing; Fuel For Thought – a competitive mpg challenge; and Traction Control – off-road vehicle handling. Guests were able to examine a full display of 227 vehicles, including vans from 42 bodybuilder and conversion partners, with Mercedes-Benz Vans experts on-hand to discuss Financial Services, Insurance, Approved Used and Service & Parts. Minibuses on show were provided by EvoBus UK and Treka Bus. Paul Mercer, a Director of Bury St Edmunds-based vehicle broker Merbury Management, was among the guests attending VanExperience Live for the first time. He commented: “It’s been a fantastic day; staging an event as big and as varied as this must take a huge amount of organisation but everything ran so smoothly. “It was great fun, and very entertaining, but I also learned a lot. The fuel economy performance of the Citan I drove was very impressive, but even more remarkable was the demonstration of all the various safety systems Mercedes-Benz has developed for its vans. Having seen them in action, side by side with vehicles from other manufacturers, I can definitely say these are the safest vans on the road.” Steve Bridge, Managing Director, MercedesBenz Vans, said: “Van Experience Live is considered to be the ultimate van test drive, and I am thrilled so many customers and prospects came to experience the range. Each day we had around 60% of attendees who had never been to Van Experience before. They left with a fantastic understanding of our products and our people. “Van Experience Live goes far beyond any test drive, with a unique opportunity to assess how Mercedes-Benz vans perform in all areas, including stability, fuel efficiency and crossing difficult terrain off-road, with real-world driving challenges in a safe and controlled environment.” n
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | 49 14/07/2014 14:37
MINIBUS › EVM LOWFLOOR SPRINTER
EVM Lowfloor Sprinter The surprise appearance of a lowfloor fully accessible Sprinter at the NEC last year, particularly with a price tag £20,000 lower than any competing product, sparked a great deal of interest. Potential customers saw what they have always considered as the way forward at a much more affordable price and it has certainly rejuvenated attitudes within the sector. Martin Cole took the vehicle for a test drive around Horsham to see how it coped with local potholes and traffic calming measures
EVM’s Community lowfloor Sprinter
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E
VM’s Lowfloor Sprinter is now entering a period of demonstrations with potential customers from around the UK. It has two special features which have generated significant interest, namely the lowfloor mid-section of the chassis and the 1,200mm wide electric sliding entrance door capable of admitting the largest wheelchairs or electric scooters with ease. Created by former VDL personnel, trading as B-Style and based in Eindhoven, the floor comprises of a ladder frame which allows the propshaft to pass right through the centre. A genuine Mercedes-Benz drop-box drive unit, officially titled the Z-Reversing Gear, devised for the four-wheel drive models, allows the forward mounting of the propshaft assembly to be considerably lower than standard, with a short front section of the shaft only having a very slight angle to cope with. With the shaft contained inside the lowfloor framework, which also contains support bearings, it means it is protected from any contact with the road
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surface. The lowfloor ladder frame incorporates a detachable front nearside corner. This is to allow its installation without interfering with the Euro 6 exhaust system. In order for the system to remain compliant, it cannot be tampered with and coachbuilders or converters must work around it. The bolt-on section allows the pipework to pass through the frame, making any required maintenance or component replacement a simpler task.
Exhaustive work
The modified exhaust system was painstakingly developed and tested. Mercedes-Benz says it is very sensitive to geometric modifications, which would jeopardise compliance with the limits for exhaust gas quality, exhaust gas back pressure and noise level. Any disturbance of this finely balanced system as a result of arbitrary modifications to the geometry would mean the quality of the exhaust gas and therefore the emissions level, would no longer be maintained and its operating permit
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invalidated automatically. Based on the need identified with bodybuilders, Mercedes-Benz developed the exhaust system with a transversal SCR catalyst at its Van Modification Centre. It is certified for Sprinters from model year 2013 (Code XM0), 5.0t weight variant, model variants 906 x55 and 906 x57, OM 651 engines rated at 95 kW and 120 kW (Code MG2, MG3), 7G-Tronic plus automatic transmission (Code G42), left and right-hand drive models. The exhaust system for lowfloor vehicles is supplied as a complete assembly and must not be changed. The only exception is the permissible extension of the tailpipe, which may be necessary for a right-hand-drive bus with entrance on the left-hand side. In this case, the free cross-section of the exhaust pipe behind the main silencer must not be reduced and the exhaust gas back pressure must not be increased. The bending radii specified in the body/equipment mounting directive must be observed. Original pipework such as brake lines, are
While the lowfloor construction only has 20cm of ground clearance, it never once scraped
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MINIBUS › EVM LOWFLOOR SPRINTER The latest EVM is a stylish product
Above and below: Complex routing of the Euro 6 exhaust system around the dropbox and through the chassis section are essential for emissions compliance and cannot be tampered with
Support bearings for the propshaft are mounted in the lowfloor section
replaced with items neatly routed out of harm’s way and firmly fixed to the longitudinal chassis rails. The finished assembly is given a thorough anti-corrosion coating to ensure high durability. The entrance door only swings outwards enough to clear the bodywork by a few millimetres and slides rearwards to reveal a flat single-step saloon floor with a boarding height of just 27mm. There is also a manual ramp which can bridge the gap between pavement and the vehicle or, where there is no pavement, it provides a shallow-angled boarding ramp. Because the door operates in such close proximity to the body, it does not cause any issues of intrusion
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to bus stop areas or any risk of contact with pedestrians or infrastructure.
Ride and drive
Taking to the road with the lowfloor Sprinter represents little challenge worth speaking of. Apart from the lowered forward saloon area, it is just like any other standard example of the 516 Cdi BlueEfficiency with the benefit of the 7G-Tronic automated seven-speed gearbox, stop/start function to save additional fuel and the blind spot assist system for additional safety. As such it runs quietly, has plenty of power and performs extremely well. The lowfloor modification appears to make no difference
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but EVM has begun investigating options for installing air suspension. Some of the options could provide raise and lower functions and automatically maintain a constant set ride height. This could be a worthwhile option for those using it where there are severe traffic calming measures in place and vehicles regularly run at full capacity. Under most circumstances the stock Sprinter suspension seems adequate enough. Any addition of air suspension will make the ride ultra-smooth, and is likely to result in longer tyre life and less deterioration of chassis components, which could also add up to a higher residual value at trade-in.
Verdict
to the exemplary handling and roadholding characteristics of the standard model and no modifications are required to the load adaptive ESP-4 system. According to EVM, the recent trip to the Hampshire Minibus Event in Basingstoke saw the lowfloor model return between 32-33mpg – which has to be a highly attractive proposition for any operators doing high annual mileages. While the lowfloor construction only has 20cm of ground clearance, it never once scraped or contacted any of the numerous humps I could find in and around Horsham town centre. Even being driven at speed over the humps fails to ground the vehicle. However, I only had one passenger so the ride height would hardly have been compromised by any significant weight. EVM’s Sales Manager, Peter Flynn said he had tried similar experiments with six or seven people aboard and found exactly the same – no contact at all. So far however, it has not been anywhere with a full complement of passengers on board. Currently there is no raise or lower function,
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Overall the package seems to function extremely well. The current interior layout can be altered to suit specific requirements. EVM said the seating was chosen because it was available at short notice and can be changed to suit customer preference. Those making enquiries have also asked about the internal seating layout – which is flexible – and about fitting larger panoramic side glazing – all of which are within EVM’s remit of providing bespoke products to suit all customers. However, the current example is far from unattractive and appears highly functional. Pitched at around £60,000 it may just be the catalyst required to stimulate the accessible transport market into looking again at lowfloor minibuses. I have overheard many vistors to accessible transport shows, largely from local authority community transport divisions, say they viewed lowfloor minibuses as the way forward for both ease of use and passenger dignity. These people were eager to pursue lowfloor vehicle inclusion in their fleets, although the majority were never able to convince finance departments of the lowfloor advantages and value towards generation of passenger satisfaction. In real terms – they could purchase traditional mobility vehicles with high floors and passenger lifts for less than half the cost. Essentially, lowfloor minibuses never had the same revolutionary acceptance which the lowfloor bus market experienced – but then – the difference lies in the ability of the commercially-operated sector to innovate and implement rapid change. EVM’s bid to generate interest in a new lowfloor product at this time is a bold step. Whether or not it will be as fated as earlier attempts remains to be seen. However, based on reaction to date, there remains significant enthusiasm for such a product and EVM is excited by the response it has received so far. I have little doubt there will be some orders forthcoming in due course – whether there will be enough to keep the project sustainable is difficult to predict. It may well be the desires and aspirations of customers are outweighed by the comparative cost of a more conventional accessible minibus. n
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MINIBUS › LEGAL NEWS
Restricted Operator Licence suspended after principal occupation issues After an operator maintains a restricted O-Licence despite entering into a partnership where the principal occupation was minibus operation, his licence receives a six-week suspension. James Day reports Traffic Commissioner (TC) for Scotland, Joan Aitken, has produced a sizable written decision on what would appear to be a relatively simple case, but it is easy to see why. Three weeks ago, in issue 1143, CBW carried another written decision, also from Joan Aitken, where an application was refused because of lack of clarity or knowledge of the rules about principal occupation and restricted O-licences. Ignorance or abuse of this rule appears to be an issue. Essentially, the option for a restricted O-licence exists for businesses or individuals wishing to operate a small passenger transport operation as a fringe activity. When applying for these licences, it is essential the applicant has a clear principal occupation and that this does not change. If the bulk of the business’ or individual’s income starts coming from the PSV operation, the restricted licence is no longer appropriate and a standard O-licence is required. The TC for Scotland has made it very clear that any other arrangement is not acceptable. In this case, two individuals formed a partnership. While as individuals they spent more time in other roles, as a partnership their principal occupation was the minibus business. It is this which drew the TC’s attention and saw them brought to Public Inquiry (PI).
Background
On February 20, 2012, George Cowan applied for a restricted PSV O-licence and authority for one minibus. He stated his principal occupation to be that of painter and decorator working 37-40 hours per week and he expected to work approximately 10 hours with the minibus on weekends. Evidence of financial standing was provided. During the course of the processing of the application, some queries were answered by Ross & Connel, Solicitors, Dunfermline under the signature of Solicitor Mr Jonathan Matheson-Dear who had been advising and assisting Mr Cowan. The application was referred for PI on November 7, 2012, with the Deputy TC Mr R H McFarlane sitting. Mr Cowan was present and represented by Mr MathesonDear. The Deputy TC granted the licence and it that the application was presented as an application by George Cowan as a sole trader. On November 22, 2013, a variation application signed by Mr Cowan as sole proprietor was submitted. In this variation application, Mr Cowan gave a trading name of Route 66 Travel and sought to increase his authorisation to two minibuses. It was stated that Mr Cowan had complied with the safety requirements of his licence scrupulously and had an exemplary driving, safety and business record in the period since he commenced trading. Bank statements in the name of G Cowan Painter & Decorators were produced showing a credit balance sufficient for two vehicles on a restricted licence. Trading and profit and loss accounts for the year ended March 31, 2013 were lodged showing
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George Cowan had originally acquired a 16-seater Ford Transit previous year’s balances. What was striking was the difference (almost halving) of the sales as before 2012 and 2013.
Further research
The TC’s office was concerned about whether the painting and decorating continued to be Mr Cowan’s principal occupation and also about the proposed parking. Mr Cowan said: “I am a self – employed painter and decorator and have been well established in this business for over eight years. I generally work daytime hours in that business for three weekdays each week. The rest of the week I am available to work on the PSV operation, which tends to involve hires at weekends and on weekday evenings… “The purpose of seeking a second bus is to assist me in servicing the needs of customers as due to the success of the
business… I have another driver available to assist who is Jonathan Matheson-Dear, who has obtained his PSV licence and CPC Certification and is fully qualified and licensed to drive a minibus for hire or reward. “Furthermore, a second bus will be useful to have in reserve in the event of any mechanical difficulty or breakdown which might affect my current vehicle. I also attach a copy of my most recent accounts for your kind attention as requested.” The TC’s office found the websites for Mr Cowan’s painter and decorator business and also one for Route 66 Travel. The latter referred to the business as having drivers and both business websites were expressed in the second person – ‘we’ and ‘our.’ It had the appearance of a sophisticated, experienced operator.
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example tachograph operation, drivers hours, speed limitation and vehicle maintenance and safety checks in relation to which we are scrupulous in our adherence. “We have acquired three buses, two 16-seaters and an 8-seater and are now able to offer a flexible service tailored to our customers’ requirements for any occasion or event... “As we enter 2014 the business is on the right road and looking forward to more exciting opportunities through our contacts in Kingdom Business Forum…” On Visit Scotland’s website transport section an entry for Route 66 Travel gave Mr Matheson-Dear’s home address as the postal contact address. In view of the variation application and that his licence appeared to be operating as a partnership, the variation application was called to a PI.
Public Inquiry
Also found online was a photograph of Mr Cowan and Mr Matheson-Dear and an article in Business Gateway Fife’s newsletter headed ‘Odd couple on the right route thanks to Business Gateway Fife.’ The copy read “A lawyer and a painter/decorator may form an unlikely partnership but their business, Route 66 Travel, is on the road to success since opening in March this year.” In the article, Mr MathesonDear is quoted as saying: “George and I got to know one another attending Fife Business Breakfasts. He mentioned that he was keen to supplement his job as a painter and decorator so was looking for ideas for a business. As keen football supporters we travel a lot to watch our teams play, which made us think about a minibus service to take fans to games and it grew from there. “Initially I was advising George
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while he was trying to get his O-licence but then we decided to go into partnership and set up the business together.” Another online discovery was a ‘Member Spotlight’ of a presentation to Fife’s Kingdom Business Forum, in which Mr Matheson-Dear said: “My partner George Cowan whom I met through business networking had applied for the licence and required representation before the TCs. Wearing my ‘other hat’ as a court lawyer I duly assisted him in navigating the licensing process and securing the licence after which we both undertook a rigorous intensive training course to obtain our certificates of practical competence to enable us both to drive buses for hire and reward. “…We now have the expertise and knowledge in the panoply of regulations which apply, for
The PI was held in Edinburgh on April 17, 2014. Mr Cowan was present, represented by Mr Matheson-Dear. By letter of April 15, Mr Matheson-Dear invited the TC to consider an application for a restricted PSV O-licence which had been lodged by them as partners. Although the TC could not accede to that request, the facts and contents of the application were available at the PI. It was stated that the current licence would be surrendered if the new application was granted. No convictions were declared and the usual evidence of maintenance arrangements and financial standing was produced. A clean Disclosure Scotland PVG Schedule report dated February 11, 2014 was produced for Mr Matheson-Dear. Mr Matheson-Dear’s letter stated: “a) The main occupation of the partnership is the operation of minibus hire services for hire and reward... This is a simple continuation of the existing services already provided by the
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business; “b) As the Commissioner is already aware [Mr Cowan’s] principal business and occupation is a self employed painter and decorator; “c) Jonathan Matheson-Dear’s employer is Ross & Connel LLP, Solicitors. He is a court solicitor working full time...; and “d) The work which will be carried out under the PSV licence will be identical to under the previous licence, namely minibus hire services.” Also submitted was a partnership agreement between Mr Matheson-Dear and Mr Cowan dated December 6, 2013 and recording a partnership called Route 66 Travel which started on December 1, 2013, the purpose of which is to provide minibus services. A diary of bookings was also produced.
Operator’s evidence
Since the November 2012 PI, Mr Cowan had gained his PSV driver licence entitlement and Driver CPC. He had purchased a Ford Transit 16-seater and was undertaking hire and reward journeys. He said he knew Mr Matheson-Dear from business network meetings, who became a driver and helped out. The business was promoted on its web page and at networking meetings. Mr Cowan was more comfortable driving and doing maintenance, with Mr MathesonDear helping with marketing. They decided to be a partnership in December 2013. Mr Cowan said they were getting more business through word of mouth. He always worried about what would happen if a bus broke down and had not anticipated getting the second bus would take so long. When he said he worked three weekdays as a painter he was referring to himself, but he did employ another man. He used to do painting at the weekends but now drives the minibuses, with some work on weekday evenings. He said he makes sure he has sufficient rest and makes sure he has Thursday and Friday off if he is driving at weekends.
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MINIBUS › LEGAL NEWS Mr Matheson-Dear in his evidence apologised for not notifying the TC’s office of the change to partnership. He said no disrespect was intended and no deliberate dishonesty, but he hoped the oversight could be remedied by the new application. Mr Cowan was scrupulous about complying with the laws and regulations and passenger comfort and safety. The partnership had been discussed but not formalised with a partnership agreement. He said he had attended networking meetings as the public face of the business but not as a partner. The second bus was the reason for the partnership i.e. ‘two partners, two buses.’ They had not anticipated issues in getting the second bus caused by ambiguity as to Mr Cowan’s principal occupation. Mr Matheson-Dear also wanted to be hands on in the business and obtained his PSV driver entitlement and Driver CPC. He said the two men are a good combination of the mechanical and the promotional. He invited the TC to grant the partnership application. At this point the TC posed the question to Mr Matheson-Dear: “What is the principal occupation of the partnership?” to which he replied “providing minibus hire services.” The TC said: “I put it to him that the licence granted to Mr Cowan would have to be revoked and I asked to be addressed on disqualification (given that the call up letter included that possibility). He responded that Mr Cowan’s operation of the business had been scrupulous and he cited McCafferty v Secretary of State for Transport and that should be weighed against failure in finding that he was no longer of good repute. He claimed there was a reasonable and plausible explanation for the delay in notifying the Office of the TC. “I was not sure what Mr Matheson-Dear was meaning by plausible explanation. I also put it that fair competition was a live issue in these restricted PSV O-licence cases when a standard national licence had not been
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sought.” Mr Matheson-Dear continued that they had been up front and honest; it was an oversight and they had apologised. He said there were no significant changes to the business since the partnership was entered into. He said the TC should take all the circumstances into account and any sanction must not be draconian. The other option was for Mr Cowan to revert to sole trading. “It would be a tragedy for his business and customers to lose his licence over this,” Mr Matheson-Dear said. “The licence is in name of George Cowan and we would continue with the application before formalising any future partnership arrangement. We are stating an intention to do that.”
Consideration of evidence
The TC said: “The starting point to this decision is to reiterate a few of the fundamentals of O-licensing. A licence is granted to and can only allow operation by the legal person to whom the licence was granted. Thus, only George Cowan could operate under that licence. “A restricted PSV O-licence, as distinct from a standard national, can only be granted if the applicant has a principal occupation. Thus, when George Cowan applied for a licence and
KEY POINTS
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‘Mr Matheson-Dear could not see at all where I was placed and why I was so vexed. I was faced with two individuals in partnership operating under a licence to which they were not entitled seeking to right that by gaining another licence to which they were not entitled’ for the variation that could only succeed if he had and continued to have a principal occupation. “No partnership is entitled to operate on a sole trader licence. Licences are not transferable and cannot be granted retrospectively. Operating without a licence or on another entity’s licence is not oversight. It is a fundamental. “When a partnership applies for a restricted PSV O-licence that partnership must have a principal occupation. “The facts in this case are that only after scrutiny at a PI was a licence granted to Mr George Cowan as a sole trader, with his sole trader principal occupation as painter and decorator. Both men were present at the PI before the Deputy TC when the matter of principal occupation was examined. “Sometime in 2013, and not as late as December 1, 2013 as Mr Matheson-Dear contends, these men became partners in
George Cowan was granted a restricted O-licence for a single n minibus in November 2012, with his principal occupation as a painter and decorator Jonathan Matheson-Dear, who Mr Cowan had met at a netn working event, was assisting him in setting up the business, progressively becoming more involved The two decided to set up a formal partnership, but neglected to n inform the Traffic Commissioner or apply for a standard national licence instead of a restricted one licence was granted to Mr Cowan as a sole trader and could n The not be transferred Mr Matheson-Dear failed to understand that while the dayn to-day running of the business may have remained the same, because the two only ran the minibus operation as a partnership
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a minibus operation branded as Route 66 (a trading name which did not exist at inception of the licence) and publicly referred to their partnership, including in promotional material. “By December 1, 2013, they went the further stage by executing a written partnership agreement. They operated as a partnership and a variation application dated November 22, 2013 had been made to get a second vehicle – the striking evidence from Mr Matheson-Dear ‘two partners, two buses.’ “The partnership of George Cowan and Jonathan MathesonDear does not have a principal occupation. Mr Matheson-Dear has full time employment as a solicitor with Ross & Connel and Mr Cowan has been at pains throughout to say that his principal occupation is as a painter and decorator. The application by the partnership trading as Route 66 for a restricted PSV O-licence was thereby doomed and would have to be refused as the principal occupation is the operation of the minibus(es) as Mr MathesonDear himself answered at the PI. “Mr Matheson-Dear could not see at all where I was placed and why I was so vexed. I was faced with two individuals in partnership operating under a licence to which they were not entitled seeking to right that by gaining another licence to which they were not entitled. “Mr Cowan became upset latterly in the PI as his modest business enterprise was now compromised and at risk. “I had referred to the O-licence having to be revoked, as at the stage in the PI when I made
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MINIBUS › LEGAL NEWS
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that remark, it was clear that it was the partnership that was operating under the licence and it was the partnership which was seeking a new licence to which it could not be entitled. The case law cited by Mr Matheson-Dear was not helpful as he had not grasped the fundamentals of the case. Even had I wished to, I could not save the situation by granting a partnership licence.”
After PI developments
Joan Aitken continued: “On the same day, after the conclusion of the PI, Mr Matheson-Dear wrote to my office and asked that his letter be treated as a production in the PI. Notwithstanding that the PI had concluded I have had regard to that letter.” The letter narrated that Mr Cowan and Mr Matheson-Dear had dissolved the partnership with immediate effect. It read: “We would respectfully hope that this evidence will be taken into account by Miss Aitken in considering what if any action to take in respect of the previous delay in applying for a new licence under that partnership arrangement. “The practical operation of the business had continued after the inception of the partnership in exactly the same way as before, the main purpose of the partnership having been to reflect the fact that it had been anticipated that authorisation of a second minibus would be approved by the Commissioners.” Mr Matheson-Dear continued by saying they hoped to learn from the experience if Mr Cowan were permitted to continue to trade. He concluded that “Miss Aitken’s helpful comments at the hearing have brought into sharp focus the need for us both to consider some further training in important aspects of compliance with our (sic) licence which is something to which we will give our early attention…” A further communication came from Mr Matheson-Dear on May 12 in which he sought to withdraw the partnership application. The TC commented: “I have some doubts about trusting Mr
Joan Aitken said she could not allow operators offend against fair competition Cowan, but he has been advised by a solicitor who has written on his employer’s headed paper and thus he could reasonably have believed he was obeying the law. It would have helped me if Mr Cowan had been separately represented but I could not require that of him or go behind why he was not. I voiced my concern during the PI but Mr Matheson-Dear did not take the point. “The one way I can let this licence continue is by taking regulatory action to restore the balance of fair competition by putting down a serious marker in respect of principal occupation and that it is not negotiable; and by requiring undertakings to be given by Mr Cowan to ensure that the enforcement agency (DVSA) and my office have the means to scrutinise compliance. “I pause to observe at this point that had there been any adverse reports in relation to roadworthiness or drivers hours then it is highly likely that I would have revoked this licence.
“Having balanced all the features of this case, including my concerns that Mr MathesonDear continued to think that this licence can be considered as ‘our’ licence when patently it cannot, I take the undernoted actions: “I suspend this licence for six weeks with effect from 2359hrs on June 20, 2014. “I also refuse the variation application given the background to its having been made. “I require the operator to grant two undertakings to me. The undertakings I require are that the operator shall, during the life of the restricted licence, keep records of time spent and income earned from all occupations to enable primary occupation to be determined. “Should income from, or time spent on, the minibus operation exceed that from all other sources for two consecutive months, the operator will apply for a standard national licence. By letter dated June 2, 2014, George Cowan has given the undertakings.
‘There is much abuse of restricted licences and TCs are working hard to prevent it as our contribution to ensuring there is fair competition and a level playing field’
58 | COACH & BUS WEEK MINIBUS | July 16, 2014 054_56_CBW1146_MINIBUS_News.indd 58
Decision
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“All else being equal I am prepared to consider a future application but only when the evidence referred to in the undertakings has been available for at least six months. “I have been lenient and have proceeded on the basis that at the point at which the original application for an O-licence was made George Cowan acted in good faith. “That is the trusting decision taken by the Deputy TC and now taken by me. “If however, all along this was to be a joint venture between the two men, then Mr George Cowan should surrender this licence and walk away from restricted operating or apply for a standard national licence. I put both men on notice that there is no room for nonsense in my jurisdiction and if they want to operate as a team, as a joint venture then they must go for a standard national licence. “This is the final point to my decision – it could be seen by some that my decision and the regulatory regime is counter to enterprise, far from it. There was nothing to stop Mr Cowan from applying for a standard national licence when the principal occupation issue would not have arisen. Similarly, the two men could have applied as a partnership for a standard licence. “A restricted licence is within the statute for a very limited purpose and historically has been there to assist taxis companies which wanted a minibus or two or for legal persons such as hotels or factories which wished to provide a service tangential to their main business. “There is much abuse of this and TCs are working hard to prevent it as our contribution to ensuring there is fair competition and a level playing field. Messrs Cowan and Matheson-Dear have offended against fair competition and I cannot allow that. “This is a lengthy decision because I wish it to be known what the regulatory regime requires and to illustrate that fair competition is respected by me and my office.” n
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M O C . T E K R A M S COACHANDBULES FOR SALE
VEHIC
Contact Gemma Ireland
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2002 (52) Mercedes 814 Vario Plaxton Beaver 2
2003 (52) Iveco Daily 45c13 Iris Bus
LDV Maxus 3.5T 95 LWB
Fiat Ducato 160 Multijet
29 seats all with lap diagonal belts, auto, 203,000 kms, MOT till August, PLS underslung chair lift.
10 seats with PLS chairlift, front entry, fully length floor tracking, all seats on quick release, bonded glass, COIF/PSV, tacho.
7 seats, AMF-Bruns internal chairlift, full tracking on Unwin quick release, Euromotive built, 1 owner, low miles, side loading door.
17 seats, 80,000 miles from new, 1 owner, front and rear aircon, luggage racks, armrests, Bluetooth, 6 speed manual, COIF/PSV, tacho.
£9,995 + VAT
£3,995 + VAT
£6,495 + VAT
£11,495 + VAT
BNL Coaches 0208 363 8572 or 07811 848548
BNL Coaches 0208 363 8572 or 07811 848548
BNL Coaches 0208 363 8572 or 07811 848548
BNL Coaches 0208 363 8572 or 07971 785390
New EVM Sprinter X-Clusive
Euro 6 Low Floor Sprinter
Mercedes Benz Sprinter 513 CDI
2012 EVM Sprinter 516 Avantgarde
16 executive seats in leather+ driver, automatic, power door, coach back boot, in-dash and saloon A/C, panoramic windows, monitors and DVD.
22 mixed between seating/standing/wheelchair, sliding 120 cm entry door, multiple drop box combinations are available for luggage storage.
16 seats + driver, LWB, 6 speed manual, electric entry step, in-dash aircon, 3 year Mercedes Benz warranty, optional extras available.
16 seats, auto, power door, large drop boot, coach rear end, panoramic windows, monitor and DVD, Euroliners, Mercedes Benz warranty, 6 new tyres.
POA
POA
£33,000 + VAT
£48,000 + VAT
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
1995 Volvo B10M Plaxton Premier 3200
2000 Dennis Javelin Plaxton Premier 3200
Mercedes 616 Esker
2005 Mercedes 814D Vario Indcar
53 seats, power door, radio, P.A, ZF 6 speed manual gearbox plus, new MOT.
12 metre, ZF 6 speed manual gearbox, 57 seats plus courier, seat belts, radio, P/A, CD player, curtains and foot rests, MOT June 2015.
Manual, 23 seats, silver, power entrance door, full leather seats and curtains, MOT Sept 2014.
Manual, 25 seats, power entrance door, leather head rests, seat belts, foot rests, radio P.A, large boot and curtains, MOT May 2015.
£POA
£POA
£POA
£POA
Moseley Distributors Ltd Tel: 01236 750501
Moseley Distributors Ltd Tel: 01236 750501
Moseley Distributors Ltd Tel: 01236 750501
Moseley Distributors Ltd Tel: 01236 750501
60 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
www.coachandbusweek.com
p61_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:44 Page 61
www.coachandbusmarket.com 2003 Dennis Trident Alexander
63 seats: £12,000 + VAT – CHOICE 72 seats + refurb package: £25,000 +VAT Full details on request. Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk
VEHICLES 2002 Scania Irizar K114
2008 Optare Versa 11.4m
2000 Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer 10.1m
49 exec, W.C., A.C., 7 speed C-Shift, MOT 21/5/15, excellent condition.
38 seats, DDA compliant, Mobitec LED. £55,000 + VAT – CHOICE Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk
40 seats + 15 standees, belts fitted to all seats. £5,950 + VAT Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk
2006 (06) Caetano/ Volvo B12B
NOW £37,000
Kingdoms Tours Ltd 01884 252646 / 07702 626542
2009 Mercedes 0816 Sitcar Beluga 2
2000 Mercedes Sprinter Treka Coachbuilt
Noge Catalan
25 leather trimmed seats with lap belts, courier seat, power plug door, air con, audio & DVD, fridge, drivers door, drivers electric window, reverse camera, digital tacho, Telma retarder. POA
16 seats with 3 point belts, white, power door front entry, external automatic tail lift, tracking, 12 months MOT. Surplus to requirements.
Sensible offers considered
53 belted recliners with footrests and seat back tables, ZF Astronic Auto, recent MOT, LEZ compliant, DVD + 2 screens, air-con, dashbroad fridge, WC, water boiler, Euroliner wheel trims. Choice of 4 similar vehicles.
Tel: 01823 653000 Moseley in the South
Stanley Travel 01207 237424 / 07768 126136
£80,000
£42,500 ono
Centaur Coaches 01322 625370
Manns Travel - 07796 695675
Luxury VW Crafter
2004 Volvo B12M VanHool
2003 Volvo BR7 Plaxton Profile
2006 Volvo B12M
2007, 16 seats, A/C, DVD, microphone, 135,000 miles, 7 months MOT, excellent condition.
£21,000
Slick Rides – 07823 770978
2002 Mercedes Sprinter 413 CDI
16 seats with 3 point belts, white, panoramic double glazed glass, external automatic tail lift, tracking, 12 months MOT. Surplus to requirements.
53 seats, w/c, air con, Webasto, water boiler, 3 point belts, double glazed, leather headrests, DVD player, alloys, in white, taxed and tested, very good condition.
57 seats, forced air, ZF auto, lap belts, rear cameras inside and out, taxed and tested, still in use till 19/07, in white.
49 seats, centre sunken toilet, air con, DVD player, 1 year’s MOT, executive specification.
£49,999 + VAT
£39,990 + VAT
51/53 seat executive, WC, AC, auto, Berkoff LEZ, MOT 12/11/14, excellent condition. NOW £65,000
Andy Francis, KB Coaches 07939 645492 or 01453 825774
Andy Francis, KB Coaches 07939 645492 or 01453 825774
01884 252646 / 07702 626542 Kingdoms Tours Ltd
2003 (53) Volvo B12M
2004 LDV Convoy
2007 Volvo Plaxton Panther B12B
Luxury 16 seat front entry coach, power door all working well, extended rear, large boot separate from passengers, forced air, wood dash kit, very nice Exel conversion, COIF, 11 months PSV MOT, long tax.
65 seats, WC, front w/chair lift, A/C, 3 point belts fitted, ZF auto, inspection welcome, ready for work, sale due to fleet replacement.
Sensible offers considered
51/53 seat executive, WC, AC, Berkoff, LEZ, MOT 12/11/14, excellent condition. NOW £44,000 – MAY CONSIDER PX
Stanley Travel 01207 237424 / 07768 126136
01884 252646 / 07702 626542 Kingdoms Tours Ltd
01404 47502/07790 966667 parnell-coaches@supanet.com
Steve 0161 775 0800/07445 266345 operations@travel-master.co.uk
1999 Volvo B10M Berkhof Axial
2008 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 515 CDI
Brand New Wrightbus Streetlite
2002 Dennis Dart Caetano Nimbus SLF
40 seats, manual, air con, coffee machine, servery, courier seat, power door, radio/CD/PA, seat belts, toilet, TV monitor, LEZ compliant.
10 luxury leather seats with 3 point belts, auto, air con, tachograph, LEZ compliant, TV monitor, tinted windows, armrests, curtains.
40 seats, automatic, air con, LED front, side and rear destination, front manual ramp, DDA compliant, LEZ compliant.
30 seats, automatic, manual front, side and rear destination, electric ramp, CCTV cameras and recorders, assault screen.
£4,999 + VAT
£75,000 + VAT
£25,000
£19,500
£POA
£POA
Ventura Sales 01342 835206
Ventura Sales 01342 835206
Ventura Sales 01342 835206
Ventura Sales 01342 835206
www.coachandbusweek.com
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 61
p62_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:45 Page 62
VEHICLES
Call Gemma Ireland Tel: 01733 293247 E: gemma.ireland@coachandbusweek.com
1994 Volvo B9M Berkhof Excellence
Volvo Olympian Northern Counties Palatine 2
1999 Volvo B7R Plaxton Prima
Mercedes 814 Vario Cheetah
37 recliners with belts, crew seat, toilet, recent re trim, recent paint in black, power door, ZF manual gearbox, luggage racks with forced air, reading lights.
1998, 68 coach seats can be upseated to 73, power door, ZF gearbox, can also be seat-belted, new MOT, high speed diff fitted, new paint in to white.
70 re-trimmed coach seats, 3 point seat belts, luggage racks, forced air ventilation, reading lights, 6 speed manual, Telma retarda, 174,969 kms, radio/ cassette, excellent condition.
33 seats with 3 point belts, forced air, wood dash, manual, taxed with long PSV MOT, radio/PA system, large boot, tidy coach, 1 previous keeper.
£9,000
£8,500
£8,500
Drew Wilson Coach Sales 0141 248 5524
Drew Wilson Coach Sales 0141 248 5524
Drew Wilson Coach Sales 0141 248 5524
01404 47502/07790 966667 parnell-coaches@supanet.com
2006 (06) Mercedes Sprinter 413 CDI
2000/2001 X/Y Reg Volvo B7TL’S
2008 Mercedes Sprinter Executive
2001 Y Reg Tridents
Lowered front entry, extended rear, one owner from new, huge boot separate from passengers,12 months MOT, forced air, wood dash, electric windows and mirrors, COIF, below average mileage.
£14,750 + VAT – WILL P/X
01404 47502/07790 966667 parnell-coaches@supanet.com
2009 Iveco Daily
16 moquette seats with 3 point belts, white, manual, single panoramic privacy glazing, forced air, wheelchair tracking, right hand emergency door, reading lights and air vents, 90,000 miles, very clean.
80 seats, Voith gearboxes, Euro 2 engines with traps, or full Euro 3 with traps, Plaxton President bodies, can be DDA with 78 seats. Why pay more for less. FROM £20,000 + VAT
10 seats + driver, DVD stereo system, air con, tables, inverter, leather seats, huge luggage space, black tint rear windows, very good, clean condition, LEZ, ready for work.
£18,000 + VAT
£22,999 – POSSIBLE P/X
Cummins C series engines, Voith gearboxes, Plaxton President bodies, 78 seats. Why pay more for less. FROM £18,000 + VAT
EnsignBus 01708 865656
Steve 0161 775 0800/07980 600597 operations@travel-master.co.uk
New EVM Sprinter Classic
New EVM Sprinter Classic
2011 Volkswagen Crafter
22 seats + driver, automatic, power door, double rear doors, privacy glass, in-dash and saloon A/C, saloon heater, 3 stage entry step, luggage racks.
16 seats + driver, automatic, hinged entry door, double rear doors, in-dash and saloon A/C, saloon heater, privacy glazing, PA system.
16 seats finished in moquette, manual, white, large boot, double rear doors, panoramic windows, curtains, emergency exit in saloon, 63,500 miles.
EnsignBus 01708 865656
£18,000 + VAT
POA
POA
£32,500 + VAT
EVM Direct – 01293 852025
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
EVM Direct – 0845 5205160
1998 Volvo Caetano Salvador
2007 Mercedes Sprinter 515 CDI
2012 Ford Transit ELWB
2008 Iveco Beulas Cygnus
49 reclining seat with seat belts, mid toilet, centre door, monitor + DVD, radio + cassette, courier seat, tax and tested, fitted with air con but needs belts and re-gas.
17 seats, silver metallic, 6 speed manual, tacho, radio/CD player, electric front windows, electric power plug door, luggage racks, reading lights, drop well boot, COIF/PSV.
17 seats, medium roof, white, 6 speed manual, ABS, PAS, radio/CD, tacho, electric front windows, M2 seats with all age lap diagonal belts, grab rails to access doors, PSV.
£14,500 + VAT o.n.o.
£26,995
£16,495
49/51 rec seats, 3 point belts, courier seat, auto, power plug & continental doors, air con, double glazing, audio & DVD, reverse camera, powered luggage lockers, floor mounted toilet, low mileage. POA
01833 660471 / 07730 486708 paul.watson@btconnect.com
Autoservice Pontypool Ltd 01495 757111
Autoservice Pontypool Ltd 01495 757111
Tel: 01823 653000 Moseley in the South
2007 Volvo B12B’s
1997 Volvo B12R VanHool Astrobel
2004 Mercedes OC500 18.36 Touro
Iveco Daily
Auto, 71 reclining seats, twin courier seat, driver & crew doors, centre powered entrance, double glazing, air con, audio & DVD, servery with boiler & fridge, toilet, n/s & o/s doors to luggage compartment.
49 reclining seats with armrests, seat back tables, & footrests, courier seat, Plug entrance door, double glazing, air con, CD & DVD, drinks machine & fridge; centre sunken toilet, continental exit, digital tachograph, manual transmission, retarder.
Euro 5, automatic, 12m, front wheelchair lift, Hanover LED’s, converted and certified with 70 seats and 3 point belts, only 3 available. £80,000 EACH
EnsignBus 01708 865656 62 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
POA
POA
8 passengers plus driver (COIF for 14 seats), front entrance with lowered step, 3 point seat belts, large tinted panoramic windows, MOT Sept, tax Oct 2014. MUST GO - BEST OFFER OVER £3,500 incl VAT
Tel: 01823 653000 Moseley in the South
Tel: 01823 653000 Moseley in the South
Tel: 0121 788 8848 Marsden PTS Ltd www.coachandbusweek.com
p63_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:46 Page 63
www.coachandbusmarket.com
VEHICLES
2004 54 MERCEDES BENZ 814 PLAXTON BEAVER
2007 56 MERCEDES BENZ 813
2002 MERCEDES BENZ VARIO 814
2006 06 PLATE MERCEDES SPRINTER 413 CDI FRONT ENTRY MINIBUS
29 seats, 4.25 turbo diesel, 5 speed manual gearbox, yellow/green, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for 10 wheelchairs, electric bi-fold front door, destination boards, 492,000 kilometers/307,000 miles, VGC, supplied with 12 months MOT or PSV, fully serviced to RTA standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty.
25 seats, 4.25 turbo diesel, Blutec 4 engine, 6 speed manual gearbox, white, Excel conversion, digital tachograph, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for 6 wheelchairs, electric plug front entry door, 119,000 kilometers/74,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to RTA standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty.
33 seats, 4.25 turbo diesel, automatic gearbox, white, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for 10 wheelchairs, electric plug front entry door, 136,000 kilometers/82,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT or PSV, fully serviced to RTA standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty.
2200 CDI turbo diesel 130ps, 6 speed sprintshift automatic, 17 seats, air con, UV Modular conversion, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, tachograph, CD player, 107,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty.
£17,995 + VAT
£17,495 + VAT
£11,995 + VAT
Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076
Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076
Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076
Ben Weaver Commercials 0114 275 7076
2001 MAN Neoplan
2006 Scania Irizar Century
1995 Scania K113 VanHool Alizee
2004 Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse
Auto, one year’s MOT, 49 seats: new 70 Cogent seats on order and the conversion will be carried out shortly, so pick your own trim.
Converted this year to 70 seater using Cogent seats with 3 point belts, tea machine, TV/DVD.
45 seats, full DDA, ZF automatic gearbox, MobiTec destination, Cyberlyne CCTV with audio recording, choice of four.
Contact Gary – 07930 377051
£90,000 + VAT Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365
£17,000 Milligans Coach Travel 01290 550365
yourbus – 01773 714013
2006 (06) Volkswagen LT46
2013 Ford Tourneo T300 2.2 TDCI 155ps
2005 Volkswagen LT46 VDL Kusters Conversion
2008 (58 reg) Renault Master
Manual, excellent body condition, 75% tyre condition, 68,000 miles, wheelchair access, diesel, 10 seats, excellent interior condition.
8 seats, 800 delivery miles only, silver, ABS, air conditioning, alloy wheels, CD player, heated seats, electric window and mirrors, manufacturers warranty.
16 seats, wheelchair access, 19,000 miles, low floor, one council owner, white, ABS, CD player, analogue tacho, year’s MOT.
12 seats, manual, 69,000 miles, excellent condition, 75% tyre condition, blue, full franchise service history, MOT 07/2015.
12 months MOT & tax, full tank of fuel, one owner driver for the last 5 years, 49 seater, toilet, aircon, drivers bunk, alloy wheels, just refurbished, 2 new 22in Samsung LED monitors, black-out windows, TV tuner, DVD system all fitted 8 months ago, good mpg, 3 new air bags, new belts, hoses and interior LED lights just fitted, 600,000km, based in Glasgow.
£25,000 + VAT
£14,995 + VAT
£35,000 + VAT
£6,995
£19,500 + VAT
£13,995 + VAT
£7,450 + VAT
B&B Commercials 07836 756876
B&B Commercials 07836 756876
B&B Commercials 07836 756876
B&B Commercials 07836 756876
2003 Mercedes Benz Setra
Volvo Olympian open top bus
2002 Volvo B7R Plaxton
2003 Volvo B12M Jonckheere Euro 3
49 seat with belts, 2 monitors, DVD, centre toilet, centre power door, cool box + boiler, leather headrests inserts, seat back tables, foot rests, good tyres, 6 speed ZF, LEZ box, tax and test ready to work.
This year’s allocation sold. Please check back in the Autumn.
53 seats plus courier, automatic, A/C, used only on tour work, removable vinyls, seat belts, available with new test. £39,000 Call Anthony Kelly
01833 660471 / 07730 486708 paul.watson@btconnect.com
Bath Bus Company 01225 330444
PAB Tours – 0113 320 0780 ant@pabtours.com
48 x 3 point belted seats + crew, air con, saloon mounted WC, rear continental door, MOT November, option 53 or 55-seater with WC removed. £36,000 + VAT – CHOICE
1993 Volvo B10M Plaxton Premier
2002 Scania VanHool K124
2007 Scania K340/ Caetano Levante
1988 DAF MB230 Plaxton
53 seats, automatic, very good condition for year, currently in dry storage, additional vehicle also available. £2,750
£65,000 + VAT each
PAB Tours – 0113 320 0780 ant@pabtours.com
£40,000 + VAT o.n.o.
49 seats, automatic, good condition for year, removable vinyls, choice of 3, only one remaining. £8,950
49 exec, W.C., A.C., 7 speed C-Shift, MOT 30/9/14, excellent condition.
NOW £39,000
Choice of 2, 49 leather reclining seats, ZF automatic gearbox and retarder, Hanover front, side and rear destinations, WC, air conditioning, PLS magic lift, low mileage, recently refurbished and can be used on National Express network until June 2016.
0113 320 0780/0035 386 8138165 Anthony ant@pabtours.com
Kingdoms Tours Ltd 01884 252646 / 07702 626542
yourbus – 01773 714013
www.coachandbusweek.com
Nigel McCree - 01509 502695
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 63
p64_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:47 Page 64
VEHICLES
Call Gemma Ireland Tel: 01733 293247 E: gemma.ireland@coachandbusweek.com 2002 52 reg Volvo B12B Jonckheere Mistral 50
1999 Volvo Olympian Alexander
7HO
ZF auto, 53 seats, air-con, monitor, radio, fridge, alloy wheels, RPC/LEZ compliant, MOT February 2015, taxed Sept 2014, good condition.
78 seats + 13 standing, automatic, limited to 90 Kph, seatbelts throughout, ideal for school trips and contract hire, Hannover displays.
£28,000 + VAT
£14,000 + VAT
Diamond Coaches 01243 870010 / 07711 868976
Steve 0161 775 0800/07445 266345 operations@travel-master.co.uk
1998 Mercedes Sprinter
2004 Iveco Beulas
15 seats, front entry, Mellor conversion, MOT 16/5/14, very good condition, with tail lift.
£ 3,700
1998 Iveco 40 / 10 15 seats, front entry, MOT 22/8/14, very good condition.
£ 2,500
1995 Iveco 49 / 10 19 seats, front entry, power door, MOT 13/1/15, very good condition.
£ 3,000 Kingdoms Tours Ltd
2006 Transit Tourneo
1999/2000/2001 V/Y Reg Dennis Tridents
9 seater, tax till Jan, will have new MOT, 190,000 miles, runs well, front and rear air-con, tow bar. £3,500 + VAT
Cummins/Voith, LEZ compliant with traps to Euro 4, CCTV, Alexander ALX400 bodies, DDA compliant or upseated to 80 seats. Why pay more for less. FROM £18,000 + VAT
Hailstone Travel Ltd 0845 388 3848
2007 Optare Solo SE 7.8m
27 seats, Mercedes engine, CCTV, Hanover destination.
Auto, 51 seat executive coach, WC, DVD, A/C, drinks boiler, fridge, etc, in exceptional condition for age, MOT July 2014.
£34,500 ono + VAT
01884 252646 / 07702 626542
Tel 01249 742000/07717 768315
2011 Mercedes Beaver 3
2011 Mercedes Beaver 3
33 seats with 3 point belts, manual gearbox, CCTV, destination, MOT + tax, all white. 2 left.
33 seats with 3 point belts, manual gearbox, CCTV, destination, MOT + tax, all white.
£48,000 o.n.o.
£48,000 o.n.o.
EnsignBus 01708 865656
Dochertys Midland Coaches Auchterarder 01764 662218
Dochertys Midland Coaches Auchterarder 01764 662218
2006 56 plate ADL Enviro School Bus
2006 (06) Caetano/ Volvo B12B
2003 Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 SLF 12m
57 belted seats, Cummins engine, CCTV.
£30,000 + VAT
£35,000 + VAT
49 seats, rear floor mounted toilet, air con, 1 year’s MOT, National Express spec, Hanover blinds.
Henderson Travel 01698 713007 or 07803 002603
Henderson Travel 01698 713007 or 07803 002603
Manns Travel - 07796 695675
44 seats + 27 standees. £22,000 + VAT Southdown PSV 01342 711840 email: bussales@southdownpsv.co.uk www.southdownpsv.co.uk
2006 Volvo B12M Plaxton
2005 (55) Mercedes 814 Plaxton Cheetah
2007 VW Crafter CR50
2007 Renault Master LH39
13 seats, Kusters conversion, low, floor, 6 speed manual, ABS brakes, PAS, radio/CD, tacho, double opening power doors, tracking for 3 wheelchairs, 4 fold-away seats, M2 passengers seats with lap belts, fold out floor ramp.
17 seats, Tawe conversion, 6 speed manual, ABS brakes, PAS, radio/CD, tacho, electric windows, front lowered entrance step, M2 leather seats with lap belts, forced air, luggage racks with reading lights, front & rear DVD, COIF/PSV.
53 reclining seats, 3 point belts, air con, WC, TV etc, PLS lift, tracking for 4 wheelchairs, MOT Oct, this coach can be painted in to your livery.
33 seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, curtains, manual gearbox, very low mileage, LEZ, new MOT, owned by us from new.
£87,500 + VAT o.n.o.
£34,500 + VAT
Tel Adrian – 07717 768315
Cruisers Ltd – 01737 770036
64 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
£39,995 ono
£15,995
£12,995
Autoservice Pontypool Ltd 01495 757111
Autoservice Pontypool Ltd 01495 757111 www.coachandbusweek.com
p00_CBW_1146 Blythswood 14/07/2014 16:49 Page 1
698896-1146-Ensign_Layout 1 14/07/2014 15:03 Page 1
Ensig DOUBLE DECK 2000/2001 X/Y REG VOLVO B7TL’s
80 seats, Voith gearboxes, Euro 2 engines with traps, or full Euro 3 with traps, Plaxton President bodies, can be DDA with 78 seats. From £18,000
LEZ
COMPLIANT
Cummins/Voith, LEZ compliant with traps to Euro 4, CCTV, Alexander ALX400 bodies, DDA compliant or upseated to 80 seats. From £17,000
1999 V REG DENNIS TRIDENTS
2002/3 52 PLATE DENNIS DARTS
2008 OPTARE TEMPO HYBRIDS
Cummins ISB Euro 3 engines, Allison gearboxes, 10.7m, 37 seats.
2 door, 30 seats, long MOT’s.
2002 02 PLATE DENNIS TRIDENTS
Mercedes engine, 31 seats, DDA compliant, Hanover LED’s.
2002 OPTARE SOLO M920
Cummins ISC Euro 3 engines, Plaxton bodies, DDA and LEZ compliant, 78 seats.
2001 SUPER POINTER DARTS
Mercedes engine, Euro 4, 26 seats, Mobitech LED’s, DDA.
2009 OPTARE SOLO M850
2001 Super Pointer Darts, Allison gearboxes, 11.3m, 41 seats.
70 SEATS
2007 VOLVO B12B’s
Euro 5, automatic, 12m, front wheelchair lift, Hanover LED’s, converted and certified with 70 seats and 3 point belts. £80,000 each Only 3 available.
8.9m, 26 seats plus 3 tip-ups, long MOT’s.
2007 ENVIRO 200’s
2009 OPTARE SOLO M920’s
33 seats, Mercedes engines, Mobitech LED’s, long MOT’s.
OPEN TOP BUSES A SPECIALITY -
Juliette Close, Purfleet Industrial Telephone 01708 865656 Fax: 01708 8 Visit our website for current s
698896-1146-Ensign_Layout 1 14/07/2014 15:03 Page 2
nbus
K ER SPECIALIST 2009 SCANIA OMNICITIES
Euro 5, Voith automatic, 2 door 36 seats, LED destination, single door conversion available.
2001 Y REG TRIDENTS Cummins C series engines, Voith gearboxes, Plaxton President bodies, 78 seats.
Cummins ISB Euro 3 engines, Plaxton Pointer bodies, 2 door, can be converted to single door, 30 or 36 seats, DDA and LEZ compliant, 10.2m, ABS, long MOT’s.
2002 DENNIS DARTS
2000 W REG DENNIS DARTS Cummins / Allison, 39 seats.
Voith gearbox, MCV Sterling body, 39 seats, DDA compliant. £9,000
2003 MAN 14.220
2001/2002 DENNIS TRIDENTS
51 and 02 plate, Cummins Euro 3 ISC engines, LEZ, Plaxton President bodies, can be DDA, single door and 78 seats, or dual door 67 seats.
£18,000 + VAT
2003 03 PLATE DENNIS TRIDENTS
Cummins ISC Euro 3 engines, DDA and LEZ compliant, 2 door 62 seats or can be single doored and upseated.
2000 X REG VOLVO B7TL’s
Euro 2, LEZ compliant, Plaxton President , CCTV, dual door 62 seats or single door 74 seats. £9,000 + VAT
SLF, ZF gearboxes, Wrights bodies, 44 seats, long MOT’s.
1998 VOLVO B10BLE’s
89 seats, air-con, toilet, MAN engine, ZF gearbox.
2005 NEOPLAN SKYLINER
1996 VOLVO B10MA ARTICULATED COACHES ZF automatics, 71 seats.
2009 WRIGHTS HYBRIDS
65 seats, dual door, can be converted to single door, latest Wrights hybrid drive, brand new battery pack, cooling pack, and Cummins Euro 5 engine, body upgraded to Gemini 2, over £100k spent on upgrade. COMPETITIVELY PRICED
- BRITAIN’S BIGGEST BUS DEALERS Park, Purfleet, Essex, RM15 4YF 8 864340 e-mail: sales@ensignbus.com t stock at www.ensignbus.com
702678-1146-Moseley 14/07/2014 11:49 Page 1
701915-1146-DrewWilson 14/07/2014 15:17 Page 1
DREW WILSON coach sales
1996 VOLVO B10M JONCKHEERE DEAUVILLE 53 recliners with belts, power door, ZF manual gearbox, double glazing, tinted windows, carpets and curtains, recent respray, 716,699kms. £17,500 + VAT
1996 VOLVO B10M KONCKHEERE DEAUVILLE 51 recliners with belts, crew seat, ZF manual gearbox, rear floor mounted toilet, boiler, fridge, curtains, luggage racks, reading lights with forced air ventilation, tinted windows. £17,500 + VAT
2006 MERCEDES CHEETAH 33 seats, 3 point belts, telma retarder, power door, luggage racks, reading lights, forced air ventilation, Purmo heating, mileage 355,340kms, Mot May 2015. £45,000 + VAT
1999 DENNIS JAVELIN CAETANO CUTLASS 70 Cogent seats with belts, 6 speed ZF manual, power door, luggage racks, forced air, reading lights, CCtV system fitted, 330,000 kms, one owner, new test. £21,500 + VAT
MERCEDES 408CDI LWB MINIBUS KVC CONVERSION Manual gearbox, power door, large boot, fridge, DVD player, two monitors, only 1 owner since new, 120,000 kms genuine mileage, new paint in white. £15,000 + VAT
2002 MERCEDES SPRINTER CDI 16 seats. Luggage racks, cd player. Manual. slam door. Lovely condition. £6,000 + VAT
2004 MERCEDES VARIO 814D OPTARE NOUVELLE SR 433,355kms, 33 coach seats, 3 point seatbelts, curtains, air con, luggage racks, forced air, reading lights, large boot, Purmo heating, power door, manual gearbox, Mot Nov. £23,500 + VAT
2002 SCANIA VAN HOOL ALIZEE T9 49/53 recliners with belts, crew seat, air con, luggage racks with reading lights, carpets and curtains, ZF auto box, reconditioned engine fitted, very tidy condition. £35,000 + VAT
2001 MERCEDES CHEETAH 33 seats, 3 point belts, air suspension, telma retarder, power door, luggage racks, forced air ventilation, tinted glass, Purmo heating, mileage 347,332kms, Mot october. POA
2007 MERCEDES PLAXTON BEAVER 3 33 high back seats with 3 point belts, power door, luggage racks, side wheelchair ramp, manual gearbox, Mot till November £33,000 + VAT
2008 MERCEDES 816D PLAXTON CHEETAH 29 coach seats with 3 point belts, double glazed, air con, large boot, power door, 6 speed manual, DVD/CD/radio/ PA, new/paint, LEZ compliant, new Mot, 293,718 kms. £75,000 + VAT
2000 VOLVO B10M CAETANO ENIGMA 49 recliners plus crew seat with belts, power door, recent retrim, overhead luggage rack with reading lights, ZF manual, centre sunken toilet, Mot till september. £22,000 + VAT
2007 ADL ENVIRO 200 29 seater with 17 standees or 26 seater with 17 standees plus 1 wheelchair, automatic, power door, front, side and rear destination, DDA compliant, wheelchair accessible. £55,000 + VAT
1998 VOLVO OLYMPIAN ALEXANDER BODY 79 high backed coach seats, seat belts fitted, Volvo engine, Voith automatic gearbox, power door, new Mot, choice of 2. £12,750 + VAT
2004 OPTARE SOLO MERCEDES ENGINE 27 seats, wheelchair accessible, destination equipment, power door, auto, on sale due to fleet upgrade. Also available 2005, 2006 & 2007, some with belts. Also slimline model available. £20,000 + VAT
2002 MERCEDES VARIO 814D BEAVER 2 33 high backed coach seats, 3 point belts, manual gearbox, luggage racks, 489,308kms, power door, hopper windows, FsR destination, rear boot. £12,000 + VAT
2004 SETRA S315 GT-HD ZF As-tronic, full luxury executive, leather headrests, seat back tables, magazine nets, clean and tidy. CHOICE OF TWO £54,950 + VAT
2001 DENNIS DART SLF Max capacity 65, power door, new Mot, Hanover front, rear and side destination, manual wheelchair ramp, all seats in good condition, very clean and tidy, choice of 2. WITH BELTS £7,500 WITHOUT BELTS £5,000 + VAT
1994 VOLVO B9 BERKHOF EXCELLENCE 37 recliners with belts crew seat, toilet recent re trim, recent paint in black, power door, ZF manual gearbox, luggage racks with forced air reading lights. £8,000 + VAT
2009 MERCEDES TOURISMO Automatic tiptronic gearbox, 53 recliners, crew seat, centre continental door, air-conditioning, 3-point belts, doubleglazed, power plug door, carpet, curtains. £115,000 + VAT
2008 MERCEDES VARIO 517D BEAVER 2 31 coach seats, 3 point belts, Allison automatic, luggage racks, side wheelchair lift, power door, hopper windows, rear boot, side locker, digital tachograph. new Mot, new repaint. £41,000 + VAT
2003 SCANIA IRIZAR CENTURY 49/53 recliners with belts, rear sunken toilet, hot water boiler, power door, air con, aircraft lockers, ZF auto gearbox, reading lights, long Mots, choice of 3 available. £35,000 + VAT
DAF IKARUS 70 Cogent seats with three point belts, power door, crew seat, freshly re painted into white, ZF automatic, long Mot, ideal school bus. £17,500 + VAT
1996 VOLVO B10M PLAXTON PREMIERE 350 51 reclining coach seats, lap belts, offside rear toilet, servery, fridge, 6 speed ZF gearbox, radio cassette, reversing camera, cctv, forced air, reading lights, tidy condition, current Mot. £12,000 + VAT
CHOICE OF OVER 350 VEHICLES • OPEN 7 DAYS 08.00-18.00
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.DREWWILSON.CO.UK Tel/Fax: 0141 248 5524 • Mob: 07764 200444 • Email: drew@drewwilson.co.uk Mob: 07827 325474 • Email: graham@drewwilson.co.uk
701473-1146-Ben Weaver 14/07/2014 13:34 Page 1
BEN WEAVER PSV
2007 07 PLATE NEW SHAPE MERCEDES SPRINTER 515CDI 21 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WELFARE BUS 2200 CDI turbo diesel 150ps, automatic, rear air con, UV Modular conversion, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, digital tacho, PSV, electric front entry plug door, AVS electric side entry step, CD player, electric mirrors, currently fitted with 13 seats but 8 more can be to make 21, 77,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 19,995 + VAT
PSV
2004 54 MERCEDES 814 PLAXTON BEAVER 2 29 SEAT WELFARE BUS 4.25 turbo diesel, 5 speed manual gearbox, yellow/green, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for 10 wheelchairs, electric bi-fold front door, destination boards, 492,000 kilometers/307,000 miles, VGC, supplied with 12 months MOT or PSV, fully serviced to RTA standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 17,995 + VAT
PSV
2005 55 PLATE FORD TRANSIT MWB 9 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.4 90ps turbo diesel, white, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 3 wheelchairs, electric windows, power heated door mirrors, power assisted steering, remote central locking, AVS side door access step, overhead cab luggage tray, 25,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 8,995 + VAT
PSV
2008 08 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER T5 23 SEAT LOW FLOOR WELFARE SERVICE BUS Ibis conversion, 2.5 TDI, metallic red, automatic gearbox, COIF, PSV, fold out wheelchair ramp to allow entry through front electric doors, tracking for up to 4 wheelchairs, electric rear emergency/entry door, reversing camera, LEZ compliant, 89,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour £ 16,995 + VAT
PSV
2003 53 PLATE IVECO DAILY IRIS 40C13 15 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS Analogue tachograph, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, 2.8 turbo diesel 6 speed manual gearbox, white, panoramic glass, front entry door, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, LEZ compliant, 166,000 kilometers 103,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,995
2004 04 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT WELFARE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel 125 ps, 5 speed manual gearbox, Chassis Developments conversion, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, 1 ex local authority owner from new, LEZ compliant, 92,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,995 + VAT
LEZ
2003 03 REG IVECO DAILY 40C13 16 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2800cc turbo diesel, electric plug entry door, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 5 wheelchairs, analogue tachograph, 4200 kgs gross vehicle weight can be driven without D1 licence, LEZ compliant, 148,000 kilometers/92,000 miles, finished in white, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,295 + VAT
2007 56 MERCEDES BENZ 813 25 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE WELFARE BUS 4.25 turbo diesel, Blutec 4 engine, 6 speed manual gearbox, white, Excel conversion, digital tachograph, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for 6 wheelchairs, electric plug front entry door, 119,000 kilometers/74,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to RTA standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 17,495 + VAT
PSV
PSV
2006 06 PLATE MERCEDES SPRINTER 413CDI 17 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WELFARE MINIBUS 2200 CDI turbo diesel 130PS, 6 speed Sprintshift automatic gearbox, air conditioning, UV Modular conversion, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, analogue tachograph, CD player, 171,000 kilometers/107,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 14,995 + VAT
2008 08 2008 08 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER T5 23 SEAT WELFARE BUS WITH LOW FLOOR Ibis conversion, 2.5 TDI, metallic red, automatic gearbox, COIF, PSV, fold out wheelchair ramp to allow entry through front electric doors, tracking for up to 4 wheelchairs, electric rear emergency/entry door, reversing camera, LEZ compliant, 5,600 kgs GVW, 74,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour £ 16,995 + VAT
PSV
PSV
2003 53 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT WELFARE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel 125 ps, 5 speed manual gearbox, chassis developments conversion, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, 1 ex local authority owner from new, LEZ compliant, 101,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,295 + VAT
PSV
2004 53 PLATE IVECO DAILY IRIS 45C13 17 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS Analogue tachograph, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, 2.8 turbo diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, white, front entry door, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, 189,000 kilometers/118,000 miles, very good condition condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,795 + VAT
PSV
2002 52 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 15/17 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel, can be made into a 17 seater by adding 2 rear seats, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 5 wheelchairs, fold out side access step with twist out access grab handle, Advanced Vehicle Builders conversion, LEZ compliant, 148,000 miles, very good condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty REDUCED WAS £ 5,795 + VAT NOW £ 5,495 + VAT
2004 54 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT WELFARE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel 125 ps, 5 speed manual gearbox, Chassis Developments conversion, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, 1 ex local authority owner from new, LEZ compliant, 95,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,995 + VAT
PSV
2004 54 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT WELFARE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel 125 ps 5 speed manual gearbox, Chassis Developments conversion, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, 1 ex local authority owner from new, 103,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,895 + VAT
PSV
2004 04 PLATE MERCEDES SPRINTER 311CDI 17 SEAT LWB TRAVELINER 2.2CDI turbo diesel, white, analogue tachograph, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, alloy wheels, LEZ compliant, 161,000 kilometers, very good condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 7,695 + VAT
PSV
PSV
D L SO 2002 MERCEDES VARIO 814 33 SEAT WELFARE BUS 4.25 turbo diesel, automatic gearbox, white, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for 10 wheelchairs, electric plug front entry door, 136,000 kilometers/82,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT or PSV, fully serviced to RTA standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 11,995 + VAT
BEN WEAVER commercIals
2004 04 IVECO DAILY 45C11 16 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS White 2800cc turbo diese,l 6 speed manual gearbox, Ricon internal rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 4 wheelchairs, LEZ compliant, ex local authority owned, 147000 kilometers 92000 miles, very good condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty REDUCED WAS £ 5,995 + VAT NOW £ 5,795 + VAT
2002 52 PLATE VOLKSWAGEN LT46 16 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.5 TDI, white, Ricon underfloor rear wheelchair lift, fully tracked throughout, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, analogue tachograph, panoramic glass, LEZ compliant, 226,000 kilometers/141,000 miles,1 local authority owner from new, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,195 + VAT
2004 54 PLATE MERCEDES SPRINTER 413CDI 17 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WELFARE MINIBUS 2200 CDI turbo diesel 130ps, 6 speed Sprintshift automatic gearbox, white, UV Modular conversion, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, fully tracked, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, PSV, LEZ compliant, CD playe,r 82,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warrnty £ 10,995 + VAT
Gower Street, Sheffield, S4 7JW Tel: 0114 275 7076 www.minibuses-for-sale.co.uk
701473-1146-Ben Weaver 14/07/2014 13:35 Page 2
commercials PSV
2005 55 PLATE IVECO DAILY IRIS 45C13 13 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS Analogue tachograph, electric front entry plug door with low access step, Ricon internal rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 4 wheelchairs, 189,000 kilometers/118,000 miles excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 8,295 + VAT
2005 55 PLATE IVECO DAILY IRIS 45C13 13 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS Certificate of initial fitness, analogue tachograph, PSV, electric front entry plug door with low access step, Ricon internal rear wheelchair lift, 166,000 kilometers/103,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 8,495 + VAT
PSV
2006 06 PLATE VOLKSWAGEN LT46 13 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.5 TDI, silver, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 3 wheelchairs, electric plug side entry door with electric access step, digital tachograph, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, LEZ compliant, 104,000 miles, very good condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 9,295 + VAT
PSV
PSV
2002 02 PLATE IVECO DAILY IRIS 40C13 17 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.8 turbo diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, white, certificate of initial fitness, analogue tachograph, PSV, panoramic glass, electric front entry plug door, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, LEZ compliant, 150,000 kilometers 95,000 miles, very good condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 5,495 + VAT
PSV
D L SO 2006 06 PLATE VOLKSWAGEN LT46 17 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.5 TDI, white, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, fully tracked throughout, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, AVS side door access step, 92,000 miles, very good condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty REDUCED WAS £ 8,995 + VAT NOW £ 8,795 VAT
2005 05 PLATE FORD TRANSIT XLWB HIGH ROOF 17 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.4 115ps turbo diesel blue, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 5 wheelchairs, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, power assisted steering, remote central locking, overhead cab, luggage tray, side loading door, Access step, 215,000 kilometers/ 134,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 7,995 + VAT
PSV
2005 05 PLATE VOLKSWAGEN LT35 LWB HIGH ROOF 17 SEAT MINIBUS 2.5 TDI, green, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, LEZ compliant, 125,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 5,995 + VAT
2002 02 PLATE VW LT46 16 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.5 TDi, white, Ricon underfloor rear wheelchair lift, currently fitted with 6 seats, fully tracked throughout, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, analogue tachograph, panoramic glass, 299,000 kilometers/187,000 miles. 1 local authority owner from new. excellent condition. supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty, photo taken prior to valeting REDUCED WAS £ 5,695 + VAT NOW £ 5,495 + VAT
2002 52 PLATE MERCEDES SPRINTER 413CDI 17 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WELFARE MINIBUS 2200 CDI turbo diesel 130ps, 6 speed Sprintshift automatic gearbox, white, UV Modular conversion, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, fully tracked, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, analogue tachograph, PSV, 157,000 kilometers/ 98,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 7,495 + VAT
2007 07 PLATE IVECO DAILY 40C15 11 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 3000cc turbo diesel, white, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, 4200 kgs gross vehicle weight, can be driven without d1 licence, remote central locking, electric windows, CD player, LEZ compliant, 106,000 miles with full service print out, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 8,995 + VAT
2003 03 REG IVECO DAILY 45C13 11 SEAT FRONT ENTRY LONG WHEEL BASE WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2800cc turbo diesel white, white, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, tachograph, LEZ compliant, currently fitted with 11 seats but can be made upto 17, 200000 kilometers, 124000 miles, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warrantry REDUCED WAS £ 5,695 + VAT NOW £ 5,495 + VAT
PSV
2003 03 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 300 MEDIUM WHEELBASE MEDIUM ROOF 12 SEAT MINIBUS 2.0 turbo diesel silver, COIF, alloy wheels, twin side loading doors, CD player, electric windows, tracking to allow for 1 wheelchair using ramps as a means of access (not inlcuded), this has been on my fleet of courtesy vehicles for the last 3 years and has been 100% reliable for us, only selling as over the last few months it isn't getting the useage it should, good condition with a little bit of bubbling on a couple of the wheel arches £ 2,695 + VAT
PSV
PSV
PSV
D L SO 2004 54 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT WELFARE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel 125 ps, 5 speed manual gearbox, Chassis Developments conversion, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, 1 ex local authority owner from new, 103,000 miles excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,895 + VAT
PSV
2005 54 PLATE FORD TRANSIT XLWB HIGH ROOF 13 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.4 115ps turbo diesel, blue, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 5 wheelchairs, 4 extra seats can be added to make up to 17 seater, COIF, analogue tachograph, PAS, remote central locking, side loading door, Access step, 113,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 7,995 + VAT
2002 02 IVECO DAILY 45C11 11 SEAT FRONT ENTRY LWB WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS White, 2800cc 6 speed turbo diesel, analogue tachograph, ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, seats can be added to make into a 17 seater, LEZ compliant, 26,000 kilometers/17,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty, no VAT to pay £ 6,795 NO VAT
PSV
2005 05 PLATE FORD TRANSIT XLWB HIGH ROOF 13 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS 2.4 115PS turbo diesel, silver, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 5 wheelchairs, 4 more seats can be added, COIF, analogue tachograph, PAS, remote central locking, overhead cab, luggage tray, side loading door, Access step, 61,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 9,495 + VAT
2004 54 PLATE FORD TRANSIT 17 SEAT WELFARE MINIBUS White, 2.4 turbo diesel 125 ps, 5 speed manual gearbox, Chassis Developments conversion, certificate of initial fitness, PSV, Access underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 6 wheelchairs, 1 ex local authority owner from new, 103,000 miles excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 7,295 + VAT
PSV
2006 06 PLATE FORD TRANSIT LWB HIGH ROOF 11 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINIBUS WITH TACHO 2.4 90PS turbo diesel, white, Ricon internal rear wheelchair lift, tracking for up to 3 wheelchairs, currently fitted with 5 passenger seats but can be made upto 10, digital tacho, electric windows, power heated door mirrors, remote central locking, 63,000 kilometers, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty REDUCED WAS £ 7,995 + VAT NOW £ 7,655 + VAT
All vehicles supplied with 12 months MOT/PSV, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards and 1–3 months nationwide parts and labour warranty
02 52 IVECO 50C13 17 SEAT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE WELFARE BUS 2.8 turbo diesel, white, Frank Guy conversion, Access rear wheelchait lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, analogue tachograph, sunroofs, 163,000 kilometers/102,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 5,495 + VAT
PSV
2003 52 PLATE MERCEDES SPRINTER 413CDI 17 SEAT FRONT ENTRY WELFARE MINIBUS 2200 CDI turbo diesel 130ps, 6 speed Sprintshift automatic gearbox, white, UV Modular conversion, Ratcliffe underfloor rear wheelchair lift, tracking for upto 6 wheelchairs, COIF, analogue tachograph, electric front entry plug door, LEZ compliant,155,000 miles, excellent condition, supplied with 12 months PSV or MOT, fully serviced to Good Garage Scheme standards, 1 month nationwide parts and labour warranty £ 6,995 + VAT
p72_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:40 Page 72
2011 Mercedes Beaver 3 33 seater, 3 point belts, manual, cctv, destination, MOT + taxed, all white, 2 coaches left.
ÂŁ48,000 ono
Dochertys Midland Coaches - Auchterarder 01764 662218
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www.coachandbusweek.com
702623-1146-Connaught_Layout 1 14/07/2014 12:42 Page 1
Brand New coach-built Mercedes 519 CDi Euro 6 Ferqui Soroco 16 leather high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, AC, DG, reading lights, DVD system, power door, large boot, metallic paint.
2010 Iveco 45C15 19 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, lowered entrance step.
2010 VW Crafter AUTO 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, AC, forced air, reading lights, drop step, coach back end and large luggage boot.
2008 58 Reg Mercedes 515 CDi Sprinter 19 high back leather trimmed seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, lowered entrance step, coach back end, low mileage.
2008 58 Reg Mercedes 515CDi Sprinter 16 high back leather trimmed seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, lowered entrance step, coach back end with large boot, low mileage.
2007 56 Reg Iveco 45C14 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, curtains, reversing camera, power door and boot.
2006 56 Reg Renault Master 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, coach back end, boot and under oor luggage, new paint.
2006 56 Reg Mercedes 413CDi Soroco 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, AC, forced air, reading lights, curtains, power door & large boot.
2006 06 Reg Mercedes 815D Unvi Riada 29 high back seats plus courier, 3 point belts, AC, forced air, reading lights, power door and large boot.
D L O
S
2005 55 Reg Mercedes 814 Vario 24 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, luggage boot.
D L SO 2005 05 Reg Mercedes Benz 413CDi Soroco 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, AC, reading lights, power door & boot.
1999 S Reg Mercedes 814 Plaxton Beaver 33 seats, 3 point belts, power door, manual gearbox, new test.
Steve Peach Tel: 01405 814064 Mob: 07836 551020 Email: info@connaughtpsv.co.uk Web: www.connaughtpsv.co.uk
p74_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:42 Page 74
1997 Vo l v o B10M P l a x t o n Pre m ie re 3500
D L SO • 44 seats, manual gearbox • Ex-driver training vehicle • Test November 2014
£6,000 p l u s t y re s a n d VAT Contact David Slater at Go North East on
0191 388 3026
Elite Travel Service Unit 12, Adwick Business Park, Adwick Park Court Adwick le Street, Doncaster DN6 7HD
2003 Volvo B12M Jonckheere Euro 3 48 x 3 point belted seats, 1 crew, air conditioned, saloon mounted w/c, rear continental door, MOT November 2014. £36,000 + VAT CHOICE Option to 53 or 55 w/c removed.
Nigel McCree Mobile: 07817 542113 Office: 01509 502695 or Nev Simpson Mobile: 07814 716149 Email: nigel@nigelmccree.com Insurance Stock updated weekly on the website:
www.nigelmccree.com
SHORT OF CASH? RE-FINANCE YOUR VEHICLES WITH US – CALL 07736 850375
2013 Mercedes Sprinter LWB High Roof Sprinter
PROFESSIONAL COACH CONVERSIONS ON NEW AND USED VEHICLES • Professional conversions carried out to customer specification. • New and used vehicles converted. • Fully compliant for type approval as passenger carrying vehicle. • Conversion to any make or model. • Specialists in luxury mini-coach conversions. • Vehicles always available. In association with
MINICOACHES ALBION HOUSE 16–18 ALBION STREET WILLENHALL WEST MIDLANDS WV13 21NJ TEL: 01902 631507 FAX: 01902 630791
Call today for more details of vehicles going into build or near completion. Used stock always available.
TEL: JOHN WORGAN 01302 721304
74 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
Very high end conversion including roof mounted AC, 12 luxury leather seats, huge luggage area, AC power sockets, removable server and fridge, body kit and limo tint windows, very low mileage, built for VIP client and now for sale, 3,000 miles only.
£50,000
01964 563464 mikemoulds@yahoo.co.uk www.mmbandservices.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com
07 (57) RENAULT MASTER LH39 3.9T LUXURY MINICOACH 17 LEATHER SEATS DIGI TACHO ELECTRIC WINDOWS/MIRRORS £12,995
2012 (12) FORD TRANSIT ELWB MEDIUM ROOF 135PS COIF/PSV 58,327KMS £16,495
2007 (07) VW CRAFTER TRANSPORTER 14 SEAT INC DRIVER WHEELCHAIR ACCESS £17,995
07 (57) FORD TRANSIT 85 T280S WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE 8 SEATS INBOARD LIFT FULLY TRACKED FLOOR £9,450
MULTIPART & LDV/MAXUS PARTS STOCKISTS
(PONTYPOOL) LTD
P.O.A.
• ALTAS CONVERSION • 17 SEAT MINICOACH • DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS • FULL AIR CONDITIONING • POWER DOOR LOW ENTRY STEP
NEW MERCEDES SPRINTER TOURLINE 519CDI
Tel: 01495 757111 Mob: 07850 739446 (Haydn) or visit our website www.minibussales.biz to view the above stock
07 (07) FORD TRANSIT 85 T280S W/CHAIR ACCESS 8 SEATS INC DRIVER 85,270 MILES £10,495
08 (08) IVECO IRIS BUS 50C15 17 SEAT INC DRIVER W/CHAIR ACCESS PLUG DOOR COIF/PSV £17,995
07 (57) RENAULT TRAFFIC LL29DCI 115 9 SEAT MINIBUS 82,000 MILES £8,500
p62_CBW_1145 07/07/2014 13:06 Page 1
702743-1146-Moseley South 14/07/2014 14:19 Page 1
• 49 seat executive • WC • A/C • 7 speed C-Shift • MOT 30/9/14 £45,000 £39,000
2002 Scania VanHool K124 • WC • A/C • Auto • Berkoff LEZ • MOT 12/11/14 £79,000 £65,000
• 51/53 seat exec • WC • A/C • Berkoff LEZ 12/11/14 £52,500 £44,000
2006 Volvo B12M 2003 (53) Volvo • 51/53 seat exec B12M
Kingdoms Tours Ltd 01884 252646 / 07702 626542
ALL COACHES ARE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION INSIDE AND OUT. PRICES REDUCED TO SELL – NEW COACHES ARRIVING
• 49 seat executive • WC • A/C • 7 speed C-Shift • MOT 21/5/15 £43,000 £37,000
2002 Scania Irizar K114
Kingdoms Tours
p00_CBW_1146 Kingdoms 11/07/2014 15:50 Page 1
p78_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 18:11 Page 78
TD TRAVEL RETIREMENT AUCTION Saturday 2nd August 2014, 10am prompt Viewing Friday 1st August 2014 Moved for convenience:
Whitehall Industrial Estate, Ashfield Road, Leeds LS12 5JB Coaches, Minicoaches & Buses to include 2006 Mercedes 814 Cheetah 33 seat Coach 2006 Mercedes 814 Cheetah 33 seat Coach 2005 Mercedes Nouvelle 33 seat Coach 2006 Mercedes 614 Enterprise 24 seat Coach 1998 Volvo Olympian Alexander 78 seat Bus 1998 Volvo Olympian Alexander 78 seat Bus 1998 Volvo Olympian Alexander 78 seat Bus 1998 Volvo B10M Premier 49 seat Coach 1997 Volvo B10M Van Hool 53 seat Coach 1996 Mercedes 0405 Prisma 60 seat Coach 2004 Mercedes 413 Onyx 16 seat Mini Coach 2003 Renault Master Advanced 16 seat Mini Coach 2004 Renault Master Onyx 10 seat Mini Coach 2003 Renault Master Onyx 10 seat Mini Coach 2001 Renault Master Excel 10 seat Mini Coach Qty Office Equipment & Furniture, Coach Spares, Yard Equipment Further operator veicles are being assigned – detail to follow. Contact Charlie Foyle or Graham Johnson on 01630 674326 www.malcolmharrison.co.uk • auctions@malcolmharrison.co.uk All overseas and first time buyers not known to the auctioneer must lodge £1000 refundable deposit on registration by cash/credit/debit card.
MALCOLM HARRISON AUCTIONS
!
2004 Dennis Caetano Salvador 28 + 19 Standees 9 metre service bus, MOT October 14 £17,500 + VAT
For further information and to arrange a viewing please call !
78 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
Folkestone 01303 261870
www.coachandbusweek.com
p79_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 13:59 Page 79
M O C . T E K R A M S COACHANDBU
CLASSIFIEDS
Contact Kerry Watson Tel: 01733 293488 Fax: 0845 280 2927 Email: kerry.watson@ coachandbusweek.com ADVERTISE FROM ONLY £30 PER WEEK
ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Booking Deadline – 5pm Thursday week prior to publication. Copy Deadline – 12 noon Friday week prior to publication
HEAVY DUTY STEEL BUILDINGS
BUILDINGS
AUDIO VISUAL
CMS BRADFORD - WEST YORKSHIRE
Coach Multimedia Systems
• Bus Workshops • Secure Storage
• Supplied any width, any length
• Building to BS5590
AUDIO/VISUAL/SECURITY SYSTEMS, LCD/LED MONITORS, DVD/HDD PLAYERS, REAR VIEW CAMERA SYSTEMS, MICROPHONES, CCTV, DIGITAL/SATELLITE SYSTEMS, USB CONNECTIVITY ALL SYSTEMS PROFESSIONALLY INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE OF THE UK WITH 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Phone: 07933 47 48 48 Email: Andy.Baxter@coachmultimediasystems.co.uk www.coachmultimediasystems.co.uk
• Doors high enough for Double Deckers
• Finance available Phone for further information
BLUELINE BUILDINGS 01709 578333 anytime BUSINESSES WANTED
• Audio / PA systems • Video-on-demand systems • Monitor & DVD systems • Hands-free mobile phone kits • Reversing cameras and sensors • Multi or single language systems • CCTV • Alarms, tracking and cruise control • SkyTV systems • GPS commentary systems UK and Ireland Distributor
www.autosound.co.uk Tel: 0044 (0)1274 688990 Unit 4, Lister Street, Dudley Hill, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 9PQ
Bus & Coach Businesses
• Are you Retiring • Losing Money • Need Investment • or Just Had Enough
We have Interested Buyers, Cash Investors Waiting
Reply, in con"idence, to PO Box 490, Scarborough YO11 9FF
checkpoints
Contact Kerry Watson T: 01733 293488 F: 0845 280 2927 E: kerry.watson @coachandbusweek.com
www.coachandbusweek.com
Wanted
ENGINES
MAN VOLVO CUMMINS SCANIA DAF ETC
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 79
p80_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 14:00 Page 80
CLASSIFIEDS
Call Kerry Watson Tel: 01733 293488 E: kerry.watson@coachandbusweek.com
CRAIG TILSLEY Suppliers of Reconditioned
ENGINES
Tel: 01782 791524 or 01782 791527 Fax: 01782 791316
Email: info@craigtilsley.co.uk www.craigtilsley.co.uk
DAF MAN MERC, VOLVO SCANIA, GARDNER LEYLAND, CUMMINS ENGINES CYLINDER HEADS CRANKSHAFTS CRANKCASES CAMSHAFTS PUMPS ETC
Moorfields Industrial Estate, Cotes Heath, Stoke-on-Trent ST21 6QY
garage equipment
• ATF Lanes • MOT Bays • Vehicle Lifts • Brake Testing Equipment • Column Lifts • Inspection Pits • Repair and 6 Monthly Service Inspections Tel: 01386 244758 Mobile: 07538 218194 www.commercialgarageequipment.co.uk Email: sales@commercialgarageequipment.co.uk
FLEET SALES
RETIRING or
CHANGING YOUR FLEET?
Contact Malcolm Harrison Auctions
01630 674326
auctions@malcolmharrison.co.uk MALCOLM HARRISON AUCTIONS INSURANCE
GARAGE EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS
GARAGE EQUIPMENT
Contact Kerry Watson T: 01733 293488 F: 0845 280 2927 E: kerry.watson@coachandbusweek.com 80 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
Experts in Commercial Garage Equipment www.bwsequip.co.uk BWS (0117) 9530381
REPAIRS
P C R COMME RCIAL BODYWORKS • 15M & 5M COMPLIANT SPRAY BOOTH • INSURANCE APPROVED • REPAIRS AND PAINTWORK • REFURBISHMENTS • METALLIC AND PEARL FINISHES 01507 523980 / 07733 885582 paulclarkrepair@aol.com paulclarkrepair.co.uk HORNCASTLE, LINCOLNSHIRE
www.coachandbusweek.com
p81_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 14:02 Page 81
www.coachandbusmarket.com
ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
GLASS & WINDOWS
SEATBELTS
Driver Licence Checks
LICENCE CHECKS
DRIVING LICEN CE
If you would like further information please call 01543 897505
SEATS & TRIM
Duoflex Ltd Special deals on re-trims using stock moquette Tel: 01280 701366 Fax: 01280 704799 Email: info@duoflex.co.uk www.duoflex.co.uk
Visit our website: www.lloydmorgangroup.co.uk
REGISTRATIONS
£750 40 OXW AXZ 17 JXI 38 KIG 80 LAZ 87 PAZ 62 RUI 46 SJZ 90 UKZ 40
£350 AJZ 686 CRZ 434 FKZ 191 GUI 898 MUI 292 PCZ 828 SNZ 535 UBZ 606 UUI 848
£50 EXZ 4341 EXZ 4342 FXZ 2160 FXZ 2161 HRZ 5823 HRZ 5824 HRZ 5825 KIG 7220 KIG 7221
Buy with confidence – CNDA Member We buy for cash, also Part Exchange
£50 LIG 9730 LIG 9731 LIG 9732 MIG 7571 MIG 7572 MIG 7573 RFZ 1685 RFZ 1686 SFZ 5793
£50 SFZ 5794 SHZ 1802 SHZ 1803 SHZ 1804 SNZ 7182 SNZ 7183 TNZ 2246 TNZ 2247 TUI 9881
£50 TUI 9882 UNZ 3151 UNZ 3152 UUI 7521 UUI 7522 UUI 7523 VJZ 8551 VJZ 8552 VJZ 8553
Tel: 028 6638 7124 • www.speedyreg.co.uk Millwo od, L isbellaw, Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland B T94 5HQ
www.coachandbusweek.com
Contact Kerry Watson T: 01733 293488 F: 0845 280 2927 E: kerry.watson @coachandbusweek.com
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 81
p82_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 14:04 Page 82
CLASSIFIEDS
Call Kerry Watson Tel: 01733 293488 E: kerry.watson@coachandbusweek.com
TRAINING cts
Whalley Centre for Transport Studies
CPC Management Courses
Transport Managers CPC Course – New & Refresher New Operators Course Drivers CPC
Venue: West Thurrock, Essex or we can come to you
01708 867564 info@wright-training.com
“everyone knows someone who has done their training at Whalley” Tel: 01254 248177 Clitheroe, Lancashire info@whalleytransportstudies.co.uk
www.whalleytransportstudies.co.uk
Contact Kerry Watson T: 01733 293488 F: 0845 280 2927 E: kerry.watson@coachandbusweek.com
TRANSMISSIONS
Shelley Transmission Services Limited Eagle Street, off Bilston Road Wolverhampton, WV2 2AQ Tel: 01902 351178 Fax: 01902 352545
WHY GO ANYWHERE ELSE?
We have everything here – for free quotes at compe ve prices – service exchange or cost of repair. You can be assured of professional advice
NO JOB TOO SMALL!
We can collect and deliver na onwide
We stock the full range of gearboxes and differen.als of all makes and models, including Volvo, Mercedes, ZF, DAF, Iveco, MAN, ERF, Fuller, Rockwell, Scania, Eaton – all in stock.
ALL MAKES OF STEERING BOXES IN STOCK! Repair service available for pumps and rams
C. T. T.
RECONDITIONED AND NEW PROPSHAFTS, BRAKE CALIPERS All propsha components and CV joints for all vehicles including plant and farm machinery
PCV/PSV Courses for Minibus, Bus & Coach
Top quality repair and balancing service – our speciality Recondi.oned starter motors and alternators for PSV, HGV and light commercial vehicles available Why be off the road – Call today! Call us now, don’t delay
Train for your D1 or D Licence
FREEPHONE: 0800 652 0901
We offer CPC Periodic Training and Initial Module 4 Training
www.shelleytransmission.co.uk Email: sales@shelleytransmission.co.uk
tel 01525 370862 email cttlimited@aol.com www.cttlimited@aol.com
TRIM
High quality bus & coach retrims
blackpool trim shops
With over 45 years expertise, we guarantee to beat any other quote. Call us on 07968 717115 or email us at: sales@blackpooltrimshops.co.uk 82 | COACH & BUS WEEK | July 16, 2014
www.coachandbusweek.com
p83_CBW_1146 14/07/2014 14:05 Page 83
www.coachandbusmarket.com
ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
TRIM
VEHICLE SPARES
Passenger and Commercial Vehicles Recovery Dismantlers Parts Sales
COACH TRIMMERS LTD
Supplying the Bus and Coach Industry with quality seat retrims and interior refurbishment.
OUR SERVICES:
Full floors re-laid and centre gangways. Collection and delivery service anywhere in the UK, seven days a week.
• Recovery
• Refurbishment
Email: info@eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk Web: www.eastgate-coachtrimmers.co.uk
• Testing
• Repairs
Tel/Fax: 01751 472229 VEHICLE CHECKS All aspects of coach interior re-trim carried out to a high standard at competitive prices! Tel: 01253 696033 info@westcoasttrim.co.uk Burton Road, Blackpool FY4 4NW
DISMANTLING/SPARES:
ESSENTIAL PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES QUALITY APPROVED PRODUCTS, FAST DELIVERY
DRIVERS DAILY DEFECT BOOKS, MAINTENANCE WALL PLANNERS, SAFETY INSPECTION PADS, TACHOS, DRIVERS WALLETS ETC. CALL ORDERLINE: 01329 280280 Email: info@wardint.co.uk
DRIVER CPC PERIODIC TRAINING AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE
Ward International Consulting Ltd 70 Marks Tey Road, Fareham, Hants PO14 3UR www.wardint.co.uk
• Engine/gearbox rebuilds
• Fault finding
• Buying & selling vehicles
• Reconditioned engines • Reconditioned gearboxes
• Engine spares • Windows
• Windscreens • Seats
• Export to foreign markets • Repairs
• Finance repossession and storage
CALL: 01226 727 769 Bus sales: www.geoff-ripleysbuscoachsales.com Geoff Ripley, Boulder Lane (off Shaw Lane), Carlton, Barnsley S71 3HJ
Mob: 07912 103 497 or 07711 750 434 Fax: 01226 727 607 Email: geoff-ripley@btconnect.com
TYRE EQUIPMENT
Trevor Wigley & Son Bus Ltd
TW FULLY LICENSED END OF LIFE VEHICLE CENTRE TW REDUNDANT AND SCRAP VEHICLES TAKEN TW PROFESSIONAL, EFFICIENT SERVICE TW ALL REQUIREMENTS CATERED FOR TW VARIOUS SPARES AVAILABLE TW CONTACT US FOR FULL AVAILABILITY
Call 01226 723147 Night Service 01226 716479 Fax 01226 700199 Email wigleys@btconnect.com
www.twigley.com
www.coachandbusweek.com
July 16, 2014 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 83
In association with
NEWS › XXXXXX Seen something funny? Send it to gareth.evans@coachandbusweek. com or write to: Last Stop, Coach & Bus Week, 3 The Office Village, Cygnet Park, Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX
Young Charlie gets birthday treat at Yellow Buses
Monday: Press day. The familiar madness. Tuesday: A busy day in the office doing admin and producing material for this issue. Tap away on CBW in the evening. I’m in the mood for it, so figure it’s best to crack on. Wednesday: Catch an East Coast train from Peterborough to King’s Cross. Take my Ffestiniog Railway Society magazine to read as ‘switch off’ material but it remains in my rucksack – jot a load of work ideas on my notepad instead. Enjoy a 1.5-hour ‘Face to Face’ interview with National Express UK Coach MD Tom Stables in the London Transport Museum’s (LTM) coffee shop. Grab a load of stock pics for both CBW and Group Travel World. Enjoy a long overdue catchup over a welcome coffee at the CPT’s Drury House HQ. Then head back to the LTM for NX’s Youth Promise (see p11) launch. Thursday: A particularly busy day in the office of writing in between meetings, both with colleagues and a supplier. Friday: A hectic day in the office. In the evening, head ‘back home’ to my native Welsh borderland, accompanied by my better half. Break our journey at Corley services. While in WH Smith, I overhear a little girl say: “Daddy, I’ve got a healthy dwink (sic) – I’ve got apple juice.” As I pick up two bottles of diet cola, she looks up at me with a disapproving schoolmarm-like face and observes: “That’s not a healthy dwink.” Her father smirks and I give a friendly smile.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
UPDATE Q: What’s your verdict on the first episode of Channel 5’s EYMS TV programme? ● George
Williams: A joy to watch
● Peter John North: Yes, I agree, it is a light-hearted and not really a serious documentary. However, it did show that when things go wrong – and Sod’s law says they will from time to time – the staff at EYMS pull out all the stops to put things right. ● Barry Grice: Good on Channel 5 making the documentary which will now hopefully rank alongside Eddie Stobbart. Unfortunately, EYMS did not portray themselves very professionally in my opinion. But it was only the first show in the series, so can we pass judgement yet?
Jenni, Charlie and Nigel Bus-mad Charlie Spetch got a sixth birthday present he will never forget – a trip around the Yellow Buses’ depot in Bournemouth. The youngster loves nothing more than travelling on buses – and when he can’t do that he just likes to watch them. His enthusiasm for the buses has grown even more after his family moved into a house with a Yellow Buses’ stop right outside. Charlie knows the buses’ numbers and where they go and has strong opinions about the interiors. He likes getting an all-day ticket and travelling around with his dad Nigel, mum Joanna and sister Sophie, seven. When Nigel asked Yellow Buses if his son could have a closer look around for his birthday, the company was pleased to help. In fact, Charlie enjoyed a tour for his fifth birthday and considers it a real treat to visit the depot and see so many buses all in one place. On his latest visit he became the first member of the public to look around the new Volvo Wright Gemini buses
which have just been purchased by the RATP-owned company. He was able to sit on the drivers’ seats and explore the buses while no one else was on them. Jenni Wilkinson, Yellows’ Head of Marketing, showed Charlie around the depot at Yeomans Way in Bournemouth. Dad Nigel said: “He loved every moment of the tour and it really was kind of Yellow Buses to take time out to give him a birthday treat. “He was thrilled to explore the brand new buses and hopes they’ll be running on the service that passes our house.” Charlie said: “I can see the buses from my bedroom so I never miss a bus now.” Jenni commented: “It was a pleasure to show Charlie around. He is very enthusiastic about Yellow Buses and asked lots of questions especially about the interiors. “We enjoyed giving him a tour for his fifth birthday last year and hope to see him again when he turns seven. And when he’d older we’d love to have him back as a driver.”
● Phil Tonks: I don’t think it’s anything to be taken too seriously. The adding of ‘comedy’ music makes that clear. I enjoyed it as a semi light-hearted look at the bus industry. Maybe we can judge more at the end of the series. Ultimately, it’s a Channel 5 show... ● Geoff
Cross: A generous 3/10
● Sean Michael Mcdermott: Was VOSA or the TC watching lol. ● Joshua Springer: I think a bit too long was spent on the sea front service but it turned into good PR for Shoreline. Let’s face it, they will have watered it down for TV. ● Billy
Nicol: Pleasing to see the bus industry covered in a documentary. lt will hopefully give the great British public a greater understanding of how hard it is to operate bus services. Roll on episode two.
● Paul Harley: It was described as a ‘privately-owned firm’ – so where were the senior managers and directors when there was a shortfall of drivers? I would have expected them to come in and help out – yet they were not seen. Not good enough.
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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
Transaid to launch driver training project in Uganda International development charity Transaid is expanding its successful Professional Driver Training Project (PDTP) into its third country, after the programme successfully increased standards of commercial driver training methods in Zambia and Tanzania. The initial 12 month programme will be rolled out in Uganda – a country which has one of the highest road traf�ic fatality rates – with an estimated 28.9 road traf�ic deaths per 100,000 population, compared to 3.7 in the UK. Transaid will be working with the ‘Safe Way, Right Way’ Partnership and Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency to implement the scheme during the rest of 2014, and will begin by conducting PCV training of driver trainers in Kampala, followed by HGV training. Transaid says it is ideally placed to conduct this type of training having supported the development of the professional driver training at the Industrial Training Centre
National Express Group has provided help in training drivers for Transaid in Zambia since 2008 and the National Institute of Transport in Tanzania since 2010. Traditionally driver training in Africa has been mainly theory based, but through the PDTP Transaid has increased the ratio of hands-on practical training, essential for developing safer drivers. The PDTP is supported by a management board consisting of representatives from the UK transport companies who Coach & Bus Week, First Floor, 3 The Office Village, Cygnet Park, Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8GX
IS THIS YOU?
Do you have a passion for the bus and coach industry, enjoy meeting people, taking photographs and have good writing skills? Are social media and digital publishing of particular interest?
Coach & Bus Week has a great opportunity for the right person as we’re looking for a Staff Writer to join our editorial team. A professional approach, understanding the importance of deadlines and having a good sense of humour all helps, because we enjoy what we do. To find out more and to send your CV please contact Editor, Gareth Evans on 01733 293243 or e-mail gareth.evans@coachandbusweek.com
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contribute through secondment of volunteers, donation of training vehicles and providing strategic advice. Gary Forster, Transaid’s Chief Executive, said: “The PDTP has been a hugely effective project in Zambia and Tanzania and Transaid has been at the forefront of changing the driving habits of literally thousands of commercial vehicle drivers. We hope to mirror
the achievements of the project from those countries in Uganda. “Key to the successful implementation of our projects is our fantastic team of professional volunteers and corporate partners who have been supporting the PDTP for the last six years. We gladly welcome any businesses in the transport industry here in the UK who are interested in getting involved.” Transaid’s Project Manager for Road Safety Neil Rettie, added: “Launching the scheme in Uganda is a major undertaking, but is a key step to creating safer roads in the country. “Uganda has one of the highest road crash death rates in Africa, so projects like the PDTP are vital to increase education and awareness surrounding road safety which ultimately saves lives.”
For further information about Transaid or to �ind out how to get involved with the charity visit www.transaid.org.
GENERAL MANAGER We are seeking to appoint an experienced industry professional to this new position. The successful applicant must hold a management CPC and have a proven track record at managerial level in the day to day delivery and supervision of a coach and bus fleet together with a sound knowledge of transport costs, scheduling and regulations. You will need an aptitude to obtain the best utilisation of resources, be able to motivate staff and generate new opportunities whilst retaining the company’s high level of service. The general manager will have an overall responsibility for all operational, commercial and maintenance aspects of the Company and will report directly to the managing director. An attractive remuneration package is available. For full details please send your CV, together with a covering letter to:Mr M J Walter, Cruisers Limited, Unit M, Kingsfield Business Centre, Redhill, RH1 4DP marking the envelope Private and Confidential. Applications must be made in writing only.
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Operations Manager, err Bristol Circa £43k CT Plus (Bristol) is a part of the award winning social enterprise HCT Group and delivers a range of passenger transport and community transport services across the Bristol area.
Get your vacancy seen by quality candidates
We are looking for an experienced Operations Manager who will be accountable for the day to day operation of the services in Bristol and surrounding area. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in operational management in the bus industry with the ability to innovate, achieve growth and ensure that all services are operated to a high level of quality while meeting budgetary requirements. Experience of developing individuals and teams to maximise their potential is also required. An essential requirement of the role is that the candidate holds a National or International CPC qualification in the passenger transport industry. A full job description and person specification is available at www.hctgroup.org/jobs Applicants should submit a CV and covering letter to donnanorman@hctgroup.org. Closing date is 25 July 2014. No agencies please.
With our exclusive combined print, digital and online packages Full Colour as standard vacancies posted to www.coachandbusweek.com/jobs ■ Details of all vacancies posted to our Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin pages ■
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Contact Ian Gillis 01733 293484 ian.gillis@coachandbusweek.com
Software Consultant Opportunities have arisen to join our Engineering Department, maintaining North Devon’s luxury fleet of modern coaches.
Applicants will need to be able to work as part of a team and on their own.
Workshop Foreman
We are looking for a fully qualified, enthusiastic, hands-on individual with previous PCV/HGV workshop experience. Good rates of pay, with overtime available if required. Based at our modern, purpose-built workshop in Barnstaple. Commercial Vehicle Mechanic We require a fully qualified Commercial Vehicle Mechanic. Previous PCV experience would be an advantage but not essential, as additional training will be given. Good rates of pay, with overtime available if required. Based at either our Barnstaple or Merton depots.
Assistance with accommodation can be arranged for successful applicants.
Please apply in writing with full CV, in strictest confidence, to: Mr C Laughton, Engineering Director, Taw and Torridge Coaches Ltd, Coney Avenue, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 8QJ. Email: chris@tawandtorridge.co.uk
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Flexible Location £ Competitive
Trapeze Group UK Ltd is a leading software supplier to the public transport industry. From buses to trains to taxis, our systems help to make public transport a safer, more convenient and pleasurable experience. We are currently recruiting for a Software Consultant who will be primarily focused on Trapeze Duty Allocation Software (DAS). The Consultant will be responsible for providing technical consultancy services to potential and existing Trapeze customers and additionally the wider Trapeze business. The Consultant will work with developed specifications based on user requirements and will take responsibility for ensuring that the software is fully tested against the agreed user requirements specification prior to release. Once our product is in place, the Consultant will be expected to further support our customers by providing a first class post-sales service via the telephone or remote access and by conducting on-site customer class room based training. We are looking for a confident and analytical individual with an organised and disciplined approach to work and an ability to communicate with all levels of staff. Applicants must be commercially aware and have a good knowledge of the UK passenger transport market, including the benefits of IT solutions for this market. The successful candidate will have proven experience in training and documentation, as well as experience of technical software. Knowledge of relational database management systems (Progress, SQL, Oracle) is essential The role could be based at home or any of our UK offices. Travel throughout the UK is a requirement, so a clean driving licence and ability to travel is a must. As an employer we are committed to cultivating a friendly and exciting working environment. We offer great benefits; dedication to identifying talent; and huge investment in staff development. For further information or to apply, please contact Human Resources at mycareer@trapezegroup.com www.trapezegroup.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
First takes on more graduates First Borders three peaks challenge
Nine months into his bus operations programme, Shalando Williams is now providing support to First Aberdeen and First Glasgow, having worked at both companies prior to his placement FirstGroup is set to increase its graduate intake by around 65% In September 2014, 23 graduates will begin working for FirstGroup in the UK across its bus, rail and group functions. In 2013, FirstGroup’s total graduate intake was 14. The company also said that its graduate scheme this year has attracted a record number of applications – 1,023 in total. John Evans, FirstGroup’s HR Director, said: “Our Graduate Programme has been an overwhelming success. Extending the scheme by around two thirds reflects the huge contribution our graduates make to the business, both whilst on the programme and as they go on to develop their careers with First. “Indeed, colleagues who have graduated occupy many senior positions across our bus and rail divisions.
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“In extending the scheme, we hope to build on that success and encourage even more people to develop their careers at First.” He added: “I’m pleased too that our programme continues to attract record volumes of applicants. “I’m thrilled with the response rate and in particular with the quality of candidate that is approaching First. We are attracting students with tremendous pedigree and potential.” FirstGroup graduates undertake a comprehensive workplace training schedule over two years at various locations across First’s UK operations and within various functions in the company’s bus and rail divisions. FirstGroup offers three programmes – engineering, operations and commercial, the latter being introduced for the first time in 2013.
A generous trio from First Borders, have raised almost £2,000 after completing a gruelling 24-hour charity trek scaling the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. Derek Gray, Gary Muir and Paul Croker from Galashiels Depot completed the Three Peaks Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support on Saturday, June 14 in a time of 23 hours 12 minutes – 48 minutes ahead of their 24 hour deadline. One of the main motivations to take on the challenge followed the death of Gary Muir’s mother, Mary in 2013 after a three year battle with lung cancer. Gary, 47, a Depot Traffic Assistant, said: “Completing the Three Peaks in under 24 hours was one of the hardest challenges of my life. We had a fantastic support team who fed and watered us, and also transported us across Scotland, England and Wales. “Unfortunately, given the death of my mother from lung cancer I am
very much aware of the pain and suffering cancer causes. I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to raise so much money.” Leading the challenge was bus driver, Paul Croker. The 42 year old has worked for First since 2013 and said: “We trained really hard and I was incredibly proud of the entire team in completing the challenge, especially with 48 minutes to spare.” Fellow driver, Derek Gray (46) from Hawick was the final team member. He said: “My highlight was reaching the top of the final peak, Ben Nevis, seeing the wonderful view and feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment having completed the challenge.” Their colleagues, Ian McCutcheon and Jose Hoyes, drove the trio between locations. The firm’s Business Director John Gorman, said: “Everyone at First Borders is delighted that the trio have completed the challenge, returned safely and raised so much money for a fantastic charity.”
DANS LUXURY TRAVEL Daytours • Excursions • Coach Hire
Operations / Traffic Manager REQUIRED Must hold CPC and possess a full PSV licence. Primarily based in our East London depot. Good rates of pay and good working conditions. In the first instance contact Dan Brown, Managing Director on 020 8505 8833.
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