Coach & Bus Week : Issue 1019

Wednesday January 18, 2012 Issue 1019 | ÂŁ2.95 www.coachandbusweek.com

COACH:

Torbay District Council takes new measures to welcome coaches p8

INNOVATION:

BUS:

Arriva's UKBA-winning Coventry's King Long M-ticketing journeys UK consolidates after pass two million p38 split with BMC p5

NEWS FLASH

Manufacturers told: cut costs to spread green funding

TECHNOLOGY:

Operators share their experiences of audio visual systems p28

for recru i

JOB ADV tment EVERY WERTS EEK

p22

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THIS WEEK

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

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This is considered a breach of copyright and action will be taken where this occurs. This magazine must not be lent, sold, hired or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or in any authorised cover by way, or by trade, or annexed to any publication or advertising matter without first obtaining written permission from the directors.

Eking out the Eco-funding

N

ews of Green Bus Funding being wider spread came as a welcome surprise during last week’s visit to the SMMT. Not many people appeared to have realised part of the requirement for qualification under GBF3, which is worth a total of £20m, is for the manufacturers of low carbon buses (whether hybrid, EV or alternatively fuelled - biogas or other sustainable source) to show a cost reduction.

This means the proportion of GBF3 attached to each vehicle procured under the scheme will be less – therefore the funding pot can be applied to a greater number of buses. Having already primed the market with two rounds of funding and absorbed the high cost of hybridisation, the government is now holding manufacturers to account over their insistance the

technology has been expensive due to low production volumes. Now the number of these low carbon buses entering service is well into the hundreds it is seeking better value for its investment.

It all seems like a very logical progression and if government continues to stimulate the market at the same level as its previous tranches of the GBF stimulus it could mean a great many more operators will be able to take part in the drive for greater economy and lower emissions.

I don’t think I’ve ever been known to commend a government for anything before – except maybe for the generally hated poll tax (because it reduced my rates considerably) – but I take my hat off to those involved in evolving GBF3 for the benefits it will bring to the industry.

Martin Cole Technical Editor

CONTENTS 4

32

44

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

22

Oxford Bus Company’s distinctively registered ADL Enviro 400 Hybrid

34

All the latest vehicle deliveries in operators yards across the country

Facts & figures from the SMMT – not to mention Green Bus Fund 3

24

Phil Stockley describes Peak District bus adventure

38

Newport drivers hit the gym and NCT announce Driver of the Year

Matters surrounding AM PM Travel come to a head in West Midlands

28

The UKBA Innovation Awardwinning mobile ticketing system

43

A lighthearted look at the industry.

Plus Gareth’s Diary!

The views of five operators on the merits of audio visual systems

HSE inspectors soon able to charge upon finding a material breach

All the latest people moves from across the industry

News

News Focus Legal News

AV Technology

The Big Picture

Derbyshire Travels

Arriva M-Ticketing Legal Update

Deliveries

47

Drivers

61

Last Stop

62

People

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

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

www.coachandbusweek.com www.coachandbusweek.com

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nEWS

BriEfly Blackpool Council is to tender its advertising contract for its Bus and Tram Shelters, worth up to £7m. The tender for the contract, worth between £3.5m and £7m, over its two-year lifespan, could see up to five companies involved.

The successful applicant will sell the advertising space on behalf of the council. The deadline for applications to tender is set for January 25.

Ed Vaizey, Conservative MP for Wantage has said he wants to find a “creative solution” to the decision to cut a free school bus for some pupils. Only children living more than three miles (5km) from their school in Abingdon now qualify for free travel. While wanting to avoid taking sides, on walking the route Vaizey agreed the parents “had a very good point” and it could be “a bit of an ordeal”. Pupils living less than three miles away who want to use the dedicated buses to schools in Abingdon will now have to pay £240 a year. A council spokesman said a review discovered free transport was being provided when it should not have been. Vaizey said there is still room for discussion and negotiation and hopes councilors can walk the route to see if their decision is the right one.

Transport Ticketing 2012 will be held between January 26 – 28, 2012, at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London. For the fourth consecutive year the event will bring together over 300 of the industry’s top decision makers in one place in order to discuss ticketing solutions, including system integrators, chip manufacturers and terminal and card manufacturers to help transport operators and PTEs from across Europe provide an efficient, sustainable and user-friendly ticketing service in this competitive landscape. It is Europe’s largest independent event dedicated to the development of smart ticketing.

It will be the forum to learn, share and discuss with industry leaders on the best ticketing options, as well as hear about the latest ticketing deployments from London to Lahore from the people leading the programmes. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Whiplash accounted for 70% of all injury claims in 2010-11

Will MP report help bring down whiplash claims?

Specialist transport legal firms give mixed reaction to TSC report - but agree costs remain too high to fight claims Transport solicitors have expressed doubt as to whether the Transport Select Committee’s (TSC) proposals to restrict the number of subjective whiplash injury claims will result in an overall drop.

The TSC report published last week as a follow up to their report last year on the cost of motor insurance says claimants should provide much more evidence they have suffered a whiplash injury and of subsequent inconvenience.

The MPs also want insurers to be banned from selling any customer information. The government intends to ban them from receiving referral fees for this data, but only for personal injury claims.

Louise Ellman, chairman of the Transport Committee, said: “Insurers, solicitors and claims management companies have themselves driven up the cost of

motor premiums by encouraging people caught up in road accidents they did not cause to claim for personal injury, car hire, and other legal costs.”

“The insurance industry must abandon sharp practices that push up premiums such as passing drivers’ personal data to other parties or taking secretive referral fees from solicitors, garages and car hire firms,” she added.

Ellman said whiplash accounted for 70% of all injury claims amounting to roughly 554,000 whiplash claims in 2010-11.

“The threshold for receiving compensation in whiplash cases should be raised and, if the number of such claims does not fall significantly, the government should bring forward primary legislation to require objective evidence - both of a whiplash injury and of it having a significant effect on the claimant’s life - before compensation is paid,” she concluded.

Richard Pelly, director of Pelly’s Transport & Regulatory Law told

CBW: “Operators will welcome any initiative which means that only valid cases can be pursued and which leads to an increase in the scrutiny and control of low-value claims. Whether or not any government proposal will have a direct impact on fraudulent claims remains to be seen, but low value claims (whether they are fraudulent or mistaken) can be hard to disprove and expensive to defend, so we hope the government initiatives will help slow the progress of the so-called compensation culture.”

David Milton, an associate at Stone King LLP Solicitors said: “We mustn’t lose sight of people with valid claims. Whiplash is fully diagnosable and some clients will have symptoms for the rest of their life, as a result of someone else’s negligence. To dismiss neck injuries ‘as a bit of whiplash’ could be seen as insulting.

“As part of each and every claim an independent and well qualified medical expert will carry out a

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“A lot of our customers are regulars so they know where the buses go but the visually impaired and hard of hearing find it useful, as do tourists.”

Paul Jenkins Thamesdown Transport formal examination and tests and give their professional opinion as to whether or not an injury has been suffered as a result of the accident – they may also recommend scans or x rays which would provide further evidence of any injury and assist them in reaching a prognosis”.

Milton said claims can always be challenged, commenting: “Bus companies or insurers who genuinely think someone is trying to make a fraudulent claim, can challenge or put questions to the medical expert, or can formally allege fraud. The legal burden of proof would be on the bus company or insurer to establish the fraud.”

Milton also added that since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in1998, all medical experts must sign a declaration to say they are entirely independent of either party – their reports have to be addressed to the Court. “If a consultant were found to be biased, he or she wouldn’t get any more work,” he added.

Milton concluded: “I can’t overall see the number of claims going down. The spotlight should be on the insurers and claims management companies. It must also be borne in mind that in reality it is often in my opinion the insurers which lead people into claiming following an accident – people who might not have claimed.

Most insurance policies will have legal expense cover bolted on as standard, and the insurers are usually keen for injured parties to take advantage of this and claim for their injuries, so the insurers can then pass the claim on to one of their panel solicitors for a nice referral fee, which can be as much as £800 per individual case.”

Meanwhile, Alexa Hornsby, head of Backhouse Jones’ insurance litigations department, told CBW the select committee’s report should help the position on whiplash claims. “We get so many of these whiplash claims – a lot are fairly low value and all are really quite subjective,” she said.

“A claimant will go for a medical report a few months after the incident and by that time, there are no symptoms left; a report will be carried out on that basis.

“The cost of defending the claim is disproportionate to the value of the claim. There are all the associated costs of referral fees – there are so many hidden costs floating around; it has become a huge industry.”

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King Long consolidates GB ops after split with BMC Coventry-based King Long UK is to move away from the BMC franchise following an “amicable commercial divorce” and will concentrate exclusively on sales, aftersales and support of King Long products. The former franchise holder, BMC UK plc is now in liquidation.

Paul Bicknell, director of King Long UK commented: “For some time we have been reviewing the business strategy and with the ever increasing portfolio of vehicles offered by Xiamen King Long we feel now is the correct time to sever our ties with BMC and concentrate our resources, investment and efforts into the sole promotion of King Long products, a move which has been welcomed and supported

by Xiamen King Long, China. We wish BMC and its newly appointed franchisee all the best for the future.

“Throughout the past seven years we have worked closely with Xiamen King Long and played a part in the manufacturer becoming China’s largest bus and coach exporter into Europe.

“We have always maintained

managing both the BMC and King Long franchises has not been an issue due to there being no direct cross over in models. However, during the past twelve to eighteen months we have seen an enormous increase in the appetite of Xiamen King Long to enter into new markets, not only here in the UK but throughout Europe too. We have seen an increase from just two models up to six in just over one year, with several more on the horizon.

“With the hugely successful launch of its two citybus models in Malta, the XMQ 6900J (9M) and XMQ 6127J (12M) we are excited about the future here in the UK. As a team we have a wealth of experience in dealing within the citybus market sector and already have numerous established relationships with the majority of UK operators. We are delighted to confirm both models of citybus have arrived here in the UK and are in the process of undergoing PDI before we commence a very hectic demonstration programme starting

King Long is expanding its range of buses and coaches for europe

Plymouth Citybus invest in new Volvos Go-Ahead Group-owned Plymouth Citybus has made a significant investment of £1.6m in 10 41 leather-seated Volvo B7RLE buses.

The new Volvo Euro 5 vehicles have now gone into production at

the Wrightbus factory in Northern Ireland and will be delivered to Plymouth Citybus later this year.

All 10 of the new vehicles will be fitted with the Wrightbus Eclipse 2 bodywork and sport Go-Ahead’s new livery, launched in 2011. They will also feature a distinctive large digital destination display.

The buses will replace older existing buses on route 43, which runs between Plymouth city centre and Ernesettle.

AV p28 with Arriva in the UK.” Ray McNally, sales director of King Long UK said: “We have been paving the way in anticipation of the arrival of both vehicles. Since showing the XMQ 6127J at the 2010 EuroBus Expo exhibition in Birmingham we have received countless enquiries from customers both old and new who have all been patiently awaiting the arrival of these vehicles. The King Long citybus not only offers exceptional value for money it also brings with it head-turning style and a recognised driveline which has become synonymous with the King Long product.”

With the consolidation of its operations King Long in the UK claims it is better positioned to offer a full and comprehensive parts and service backup throughout the whole of the UK, with additional investment in parts stock holding here in the UK and a more direct focus on sales. It aims is to ‘bring back the personal touch’ through its dealership and offer a direct line of communication from client to supplier.

BMC – what next?

BMC’s UK representative Sinan Ogun told CBW: “Following our amicable split with BMC UK plc, we feel BMC has a much better opportunity in the UK market. We have already received a number of applications from potential distributors and are in the process of evaluating them. We hope to make some official announcements in three to four weeks.

“We would like to assure existing customers BMC intends to stay in UK market. It is ‘business as usual’ and we will be strengthening our national support network.

Customers requiring support or who have any warranty issues can contact us at our offices in Great Missenden on 01494 890888 or via email at bmc.uk@btinternet.com.”

“This is the largest single order for buses in Plymouth for at least five years,” explained Plymouth Citybus managing director Andrew Wickham. “It demonstrates Go-Ahead Group’s long term commitment to our customers.”

Volvo’s bus sales manager Phil Fletcher was equally pleased. “This is a highly significant order – the biggest in the region for some time, which I think reflects the quality of the product,” he said.

www.coachandbusweek.com

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6 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

nEWS › BUSeS

133.3%

Increase in registrations of coaches over 16t in December 2011 compared to December 2010

BriEfly Network St Albans has launched a Busnet ticket which allows for unlimited travel on all buses regardless of operator in the St Albans area. Passengers can buy daily or weekly tickets on the first bus boarded which can be used on any other bus for travel within the network boundaries. A pocket-sized guide to bus services in the area has also been produced. This can be picked up at the council offices, tourist information centre and libraries in the district. Furthermore, real time information screens have been launched, which will also be available on the Intalink website, or on mobiles using the Intalink phone application. Visit www. networkstalbans.co.uk for more information.

First is introducing smartcards to Calderdale in Halifax in March. The first smartcards will be for concessionary passes before expansion to all bus users, if successful. Other local operators, including Centrebus and T J Walsh are also looking to install the system. It could be another year before it expands to all passengers.

Stagecoach drivers in South Yorkshire continued striking on Monday, January 16, after turning down a 5.5% pay increase.

Drivers in Barnsley, Rotherham and the Dearne Valley voted against a new offer of £9.05 an hour and are now walking out again after previous strikes in November and December last year. Managing director of Stagecoach Yorkshire Paul Lynch said: “We are extremely disappointed by this outcome, particularly as the offer of £9.05 was what the union asked for.

After many months of negotiation, and several other pay offers, in a challenging economic climate, it is very frustrating we have not been able to reach an agreement.”

The bus operator said it hoped to operate a “near-normal” level of service despite the walkout, as more than 100 managers and supervisors from across the country will be driving. A flat adult fare of £1 will also apply.

Stagecoach services in Sheffield and Chesterfield are unaffected. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Arriva SC released from Commission undertakings Competition watchdog decision removes final constraint relating to 1995 acquisition of Maidstone & District Arriva Southern Counties has been released from its Undertakings by the Competition Commission (CC).

The operator was initially bound by the Undertakings in August 1995, when the company was known as Maidstone and District Motor Services Ltd. The terms included the following measures: Addressing the issue of – additional bus 1 running services that do not cover their variable and semi-variable costs; additional bus 2 registering services immediately before a competitor’s services; unregistered buses, 3 running registering commercial services against competitors’ tendered services and reducing fares on selected bus services; and access to Pentagon 4 restricting Bus Station at Chatham so as to disadvantage competitors.

Pentagon Bus Station was leased by M&D from Rochester upon Medway City Council under a 42-year lease, expiring in 2018.

First Glasgow add bus stop phone codes

First Glasgow is now displaying QR codes at bus stops across Greater Glasgow to help customers instantly access its website when on the move.

First customers can now scan a QR (Quick Response) code at bus stops and instantly visit a mobile version of the www.firstgroup.com/ ukbus website on any supported phone. Customers can then instantly learn more about bus service updates, timetables, news and initiatives.

The first three measures terminated in 1998, but the fourth, which is still in force, comprised undertakings to grant licences to other operators of bus services to use stands at the Pentagon Bus Station, on the conditions that the bus stand made available to other operators by M&D should be the same which M&D use, unless the stand is currently in use, then other operators should be permitted to use the nearest bus stand not already in use; and that M&D should place a sign at the bus stand indicating the services provided by other operators to the same destination.

Since the Undertakings were signed in August 1995, the business and assets of M&D are now owned

by Arriva Southern Counties.

New Optare Versas have recently joined Arriva Southern Counties The QR code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. A phone can scan a QR code with its camera, either with a downloaded application or via software already installed.

After the code is scanned, the phone’s browser will quickly go to First’s homepage, which incorporates all First’s operating company websites and currently attracts in the region of 325,000 visits from mobile users per month (in total First UK Bus receives almost 1.5m website visits per month).

First expects the use of QR codes directing customers to the mobile website to help increase visits to around 400,000 in the medium to long term.

Pentagon was replaced by the Chatham Waterfront Bus Station on October 10, 2011, which is owned and managed by Medway Council.

The Pentagon is no longer used as a bus station.

Arriva does not have any responsibility for operating the new station other than through its membership of the Chatham Waterfront Bus Station Steering Group Organisation. The Council is responsible for agreeing access and the allocation of stands.

Medway Council’s nondiscriminatory approach to access to stands is set out in an agreement between the Council and any bus operator wishing to access the Chatham Waterfront Bus Station.

As of October 2011, five different bus operators had signed a contract to use the new station. For the aforementioned reasons, and further to advice from OFT, the CC have provisionally concluded Arriva should be released from the Undertakings.

The CC invites written representations from any person or persons who wish to comment. Email tim.oyler@ cc.gsi.gov.uk by January 26, 2012.

Alex Shearer, commercial director of First Glasgow, said: “Displaying QR codes at bus stops is our latest initiative. Increasingly our customers are using smart phones to access service updates and timetable information. Displaying a QR code next to our timetable information at bus stops makes the process quicker and easier.”

First Glasgow said it is committed to providing up-to-date information on its website and also uses Twitter to engage with customers.

First provides information for those without QR code scanning on their phones at www.firstgroup.com/glasgow

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762 8.6p Number of coach registrations in 2011

SHARE WATCH

Equivalent rise in cost per litre of diesel after the 20% BSOG cut

Busway service celebrates milestone passenger The Cambridgeshire’s Guided Busway is celebrating its one millionth customer, just five months after it opened.

The route is operated by both Stagecoach and Go Whippet.

The millionth passenger, who boarded on Thursday (January 12), was Christine Chandler, who was taking her father Len Burrow, the millionth and first passenger, to Addenbrooke’s Hospital from St Ives Park and Ride.

Christine, who was greeted by representatives from both operators and the County Council, is a regular user since in opened.

She said: “We use the busway regularly to go shopping or to the hospital. It is really convenient and means you don’t have to go on the A14. It is really regular, reliable and efficient and has got us where we want to go on time. It was a complete surprise to be the

millionth passenger and we are really pleased.”

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Steve Criswell, cabinet member for community infrastructure, said: “This is a massive milestone for the busway and is ahead of our business forecasts. The busway is proving very popular as a fast and reliable way to travel and I was pleased to

Christine Chandler with Steve Criswell (left), and Andy Campbell and Peter Lee (right)

McGill’s con�ident over OFT investigation

Ralph Roberts, MD of McGill’s Buses has said 99% of routes will be retained in the takeover of Arriva Scotland West.

McGill’s announced in midDecember it had agreed terms with Arriva for the purchase, however the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) were asked to investigate the acquisition after Labour MP Jim Sheridan wrote outlining concerns (CBW1018) over “rising fares and diminished services” and impacts on employees’ terms and conditions.

McGill’s has received the OFT’s request for further information and completed a standard questionnaire.

“McGill’s remains confident of a positive outcome following our submission to the OFT,” said Roberts. “It is now imperative the team here at McGill’s turns its full attention to ensuring we meet the information needs of our passengers.

“I can confirm, based on the

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 7

see our millionth customer ride the busway.”

Andy Campbell, managing director at Stagecoach Cambridgeshire, said: “The Busway has been a much bigger success than we had hoped for and have already had to put more services on. We are now looking at buying more new buses and running further extra services. We look forward to seeing the next million journeys.”

Peter Lee, director of Whippet Coaches, said: “The Busway is an ideal way of avoiding the A14.

We are really pleased with just how successful it has been from day one. This is a great benefit for Cambridgeshire and Whippet is delighted to be part of its success story.”

It is claimed the new Busway service carries 50,000 passengers a week compared with 24,000 on the old bus routes.

This means the people using the busway are not just transfers from old bus routes, but are also new bus users.

Industry share prices at the close of the Stock Exchange on Monday, January 16.

BAE Systems enjoyed the greatest proportional rise and Optare suffered the biggest proportional drop. Most figures obtained from www.iii.co.uk

304.50p

Price: Year High: 574.37p Year Low: 257.70p

315.40p

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Price: Year High: 6.75p Year Low: 0.26p

McGill’s says 99% of routes will be retained after it acquires Arriva’s Scotland West subsidiary, as seen here by Steve Hodgson registrations currently being finalised for submission to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, 99% of all routes will be retained

by McGill’s. I’m also pleased to advise there will be no change to the start and finishing times across our services.”

Roberts said McGill’s will use every possible communication tool enable passengers to plan their journey with them, including regular notices across both fleets ahead of the March 26 when the takeover is due to take place. A dedicated page on McGill’s website will also go live on January 23 to provide frequent updates. Regular

Twitter feeds and McGill’s Facebook page will update passengers.

McGill’s has also offered the use of its Travel Zone information bus to all local councillors for their surgeries, supplemented by a number of Travel Information Days in key shopping areas across the area, and a series of information adverts in the local press.

Roberts concluded: “From March 26, passengers can enjoy affordable travel across an extended network on a fleet which will be almost entirely low floor. A range of day, weekly and four weekly tickets will be on offer to meet the needs of our enlarged customer base.”

39.00p

Price: Year High: 43.50p Year Low: 24.90p

76.09p

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+15.30 on last week

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-18.91 on last week

-1.00 on last week

FTSE 100

5660

Price: Year High: 6,105 Year Low: 4,790

+48 on last week

www.coachandbusweek.com

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8 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

nEWS › coaches

“90% of people today own a mobile phone and there is no doubt smart phone technology is the way of the future.”

Mike Woodhouse

BriEfly The M6 southbound will be closed overnight from the A14 slip road to the M1 on the evenings of January 19, 20 and 27. The A14 slip road will remain open. M6 traffic destined for M1 southbound will follow a signed diversion from M6 junction 1 onto the A426 north to the A5 from which it will join the M1 southbound at junction 18. The M1 northbound will be closed from the exit road for the M6 northbound through to junction 19 on the evenings between January 14 and 23 (excluding Sunday nights), between January 25 and 27, and on January 30. A signed diversion route will take traffic via junction 1 of the M6. The work will be completed by spring 2012.

There will be further changes to the layout of the A46 between Newark and Widmerpool in Nottinghamshire.

The A46 southbound entry slip road from the A606 closed on Sunday (January 15) for approximately six weeks. Traffic will be diverted northbound along the A46 to the Owthorpe junction where it will be able to rejoin the southbound carriageway. From today (January 18), the short section of A52 linking the old and new Saxondale roundabouts at Bingham will be put into contraflow for approximately eight weeks.

Work on the road is expected to be completed in summer 2012.

There will be road closures on and around the A31 Canford Bottom junction between Ferndown and Wimborne in Dorset, starting on February 2. For the first two weeks, two roads (Ham Lane and Wimborne Road West) will be closed at the roundabout, then for three weeks all four roads will be closed. For the final two weeks the remaining two roads will be closed.

All closures will be 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be occasional overnight closures of the A31 between the Merley and Ameysford roundabouts, between 2030 and 0600hrs. The bus stops closest to the roundabout will not be available and the Wilts & Dorset services will be re-routed on a diversion. The work is due to be completed in June 2012. www.coachandbusweek.com

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Arriva M-Ticketing p38

Torbay seeks to be more coach friendly Authorities are looking to capitalise on rising trend of “staycations” and coach holidays.

Torbay District Council is planning to improve its coach facilities. This will include increasing the number of coach drop off and pick up points, allowing coaches to use the Shedden Hill Road car park close to Torquay sea front and improving the access to hotels’ onsite coach parking areas. It is also looking at ways of opening up Cockington village to coach parties.

Alan Payling of the Coach Drivers Information Pack said: “This is great news for anyone with an interest in the coach trade in Torbay and the surrounding area.

It sends out a very clear message that Torbay is coach friendly, we welcome the coach trade and we will do everything we can within limited budgets to make life easy for coach operators. The council wants to provide better facilities for the coach trade.”

He added: “Importantly, Torbay Council wants to hear from operators who visit Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. They are looking for suggestions to improve

Rapson’s new coach firm granted O-licence

Inverness-based coach firm Highland Translink has been granted a public service vehicle operator licence by the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, Joan Aitken, following a Public Inquiry (PI) last month.

Following the firm’s application for a National 18-vehicle O-licence, Aitken called the firm, formerly named Ledge 1096, to a PI in Inverness on December 21, as she was concerned there was “little transparency about the company”.

By the time of the PI, changes had been made to the application,

the existing drop off and pick up facilities. If any operator has any ideas, please let us know.”

The decision to improve Torbay’s coach facilities came after the chairman of the Transport Working Party, Councillor Ray Hill, wrote a report on the issue.

He outlined the current problems in the area and proposed recommendations, many of which the council has taken on board.

Cllr Hill pointed out Torbay is in prime position to cater for the rising trend of “staycations” taken by “cash-strapped middle-class British families.”

Cllr Hill said that in order for the area to up its game, it must “Place the encouragement of the basic coach trade at the heart of its tourism strategy for continuing allyear-round income for the resort during the approaching years of a possible double-dip recession, and build on the exisiting facilities.”

Derek Smith, owner of the popular Marine Hotel on Paignton seafront said: “The provision of easier access to the area for the coaches must be a priority.

Cllr Hill’s report will give coach operators lovely places to drop

Joan Aitken is the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland including the name being amended to Highland Translink.

As a result of information relating to the application being made clearer, Aitken granted a ninevehicle O-licence – half the original number applied for.

“I was concerned about this application. I did not find the name

passengers off within the Bay. We must give the facilities they deserve and make a point of making them welcome. Of course, if a coach is in Torbay running a trip to one or other of our three beautiful towns - Torquay, Paignton or Brixham - it will be at mininum cost.

“We all need to cut costs, so what better way to help coach operators than to say; “Stay in the Bay”. If Cockington could be opened up to coaches, there would be another terrific destination on our doorstep and the village would really be put on the map.”

Cockington currently has a ban on PSVs running through the village, which inevitably puts off coach operators because of the restricted access.

Email cllr Hill at ray. hill@torbay.gov.uk with suggestions for new drop off points or details of any hotels in Torquay & Paignton where there are difficulties with access.

To contact Alan Payling with suggestions for new drop off points call 01803 325369 or email coachdrivers@hotmail. co.uk Ledge 1096 to be transparent. By the time of the PI, changes had been made to the application and from evidence heard at the PI, the position became much clearer.”

The directors of Highland Translink are Montgomery Smillie of Smithon, Inverness and Robert MacLeod of Muir of Ord. Smillie previously worked for the Rapson and Stagecoach groups and has a vehicle engineering background.

MacLeod has a background in numerous transport companies, including Cruise Highlands.

The firm is 75% is owned by Sandy Rapson, now of the Isle of Man and who will not be an operational presence, and 25% by Smillie. The aim is to run private hire vehicles, school contracts and particular engagement with serving cruise ship passengers, with no current intention to enter registered service work.

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IN PARLIAMENT…

BETTER BUS AREA FUND Shadow secretary of state for transport Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood, Labour) asked the transport secretary over what time frame she plans to allocate funding for the Better Bus Area Fund.

Transport minister Norman Baker (Lewes, Liberal Democrat MP) replied: “The deadline for local authorities to submit bids for the Better Bus Area Fund is February 24, 2012. Award letters to successful authorities will be issued before the end of March 2012.

Bugler was named Best Accessible Coach Operator at the UKCA 2009

Bath operator branches out Bugler Coaches has introduced away breaks into its repertoire after enjoying a successful 2011.

The Bath-based operator experienced a 20% rise in demand for day trips last year, and had 12,000 people travelling with them.

Director Gerald Creed explained the expansion into breaks is due to demand from regular customers.

He said: “We are delighted with the figures for 2011 as it shows that in a recession we are offering good value for money experiences for our thousands of customers.

“Many of them book several trips with us each year and our drivers know the regulars by name.

“We believe in offering a personal a service and pick up as close to people’s homes as we are able with

Luckett’s order Irizar i6 duo

Luckett’s Travel of Fareham has ordered a pair of DAF-powered Irizar Integral coaches from Irizar UK. The vehicles are 12.9m long, 3.5m high versions of the i6, equipped with DAF MX 300 12.9 litre Engine (410 BHP) with ZF AS Tronic 12-speed gearbox.

The interior specification includes 53 seats with three-point belts, WC, Bosch radio/CD/DVD, two LCD monitors, CCTV along with the normal specification of an

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in Bristol and Bath.

“Our regulars have been asking for some time if we would organise away breaks for two or three nights and we have decided to introduce these in 2012. It’s an exciting new venture for us and full details will be announced when we launch our new brochure in February.”

Talking to CBW, he explained the firm started offering day trips four years ago, and they have since become immensely successful.

“We are confident they will be very successful,” he added.

Buglers Coaches operates from a purpose-built depot at Burnett Business Park, Keynsham. It has been running trips since 1956 although the company started life just before the Second World War. The company was named Best Accessible Coach Operator at the UK Coach Awards in 2009, beating National Express into second place.

For more information visit www.buglercoaches.co.uk

Irizar i6.

The coaches will be delivered in March and will be used on the firm’s day excursion and holiday programme, as well as private hire.

While on the firm’s holiday work, the coach will be configured with 49 seats and extended up to 53 seats for its second life.

Steve Luckett, director of Luckett’s Travel, said: “We’ve had a long running relationship with Irizar going back as far as 1995 and we currently have 35 Irizars in our fleet, the oldest being 1998. The i6 is an ideal product to carry on this buying strategy and with the weight benefits of an Integral construction, it gives us this opportunity to have dual seating configurations.”

BRISTOL BUSES Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East, Labour) asked: “In Bristol, the city council is being forced to make savings of £2m, directly affecting its subsidy to First. Routes are being cancelled, operating times are being cut and fares, which are already far too high, are still rising. What efforts are Ministers making to ensure that local bus routes remain operational and affordable?”

Transport minister Norman Baker (Lewes, Lib Dem) replied: “I had thought that the hon. Lady might have written to congratulate the government on the major investment programme in Bristol which we announced at the end of last year, with a number of schemes going ahead. But in terms of buses, she might have written to congratulate the government also on the new “better bus area” programme, which includes an extra £50m for buses, £20m for more green buses and more money for community transport.

“So there is a lot of money going into buses, and we are doing a great deal to protect bus passengers and to improve bus services.”

PARTNERHIP WORKING Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood, Labour) asked the transport secretary, with reference to section 30 of the Coalition Agreement, what recent progress she has made in encouraging joint working between bus operators and local authorities.

Transport minister Norman Baker (Lewes, Lib Dem) replied: “On December 8 I announced the £50m Better Bus Area Fund, with the explicit intention of encouraging local authorities to work in partnership with bus operators to help grow the economy and cut carbon. This fund complements the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, 35 of the 39 successful bids for Tranche 1 of which contained busrelated elements.

“I have already witnessed good examples of joint working on bus services, including in Bristol and Oxford, and I continue to urge operators and local authorities to come together to better serve the needs of local bus passengers.”

ROAD CONGESTION Anne McIntosh (Thirsk & Malton, Conservative) asked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the importance of roads to (a) reducing congestion, (b) increasing road safety and (c) economic growth; and if she will make a statement.

Roads minister Michael Penning (Hemel Hempstead, Conservative), replied: “The DfT collects and publishes a range of official statistics related to traffic and the road network. Most of these statistics are summarised in “Transport Statistics Great Britain”, the DfT’s main annual statistical compendium publication.

Congestion related information includes changes to average speeds on local authority A roads and percentage of journeys deemed to be on time on the strategic road network.

“The government published a strategic road safety framework in May 2011, with a focus on high-risk groups in the short term and longer term benefits from technology and safer driving.

“The government’s Growth Review and National Infrastructure Plan, published in November 2011, identifies transport as a key economic infrastructure sector and, through the Autumn Statement, an additional £1bn of new investment will be used to tackle areas of congestion and improve the national road network.” www.coachandbusweek.com

16/01/2012 23:29

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nEWS

TfL launches no idling campaign Authority says switching engine on and off does not result in damage The CPT has backed a new campaign encouraging London drivers to turn off their engines when their vehicle is stationary for more than a minute.

The campaign was launched by London mayor Boris Johnson last week and is aimed at all drivers including those of cars, buses, coaches and taxis as part of a package of measures to improve air quality, cut harmful pollution and clean up the city ahead of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Delivered by Transport for London (TfL), the new ‘no engine idling’ campaign urges drivers of all vehicles to make a small change and switch off their engines when they are parked or when picking up and dropping off people or goods.

Backed also by Asthma UK and the Freight Transport Association (FTA), it highlights the health benefits of reducing pollution levels to both prevent and alleviate illnesses such as asthma and heart and lung conditions.

TfL said if all drivers in central London switched off their engines, rather than idling unnecessarily, for one minute each day this could reduce annual PM10 emissions (tiny airborne particles generated principally by road transport) Obituary

Leslie Thornton Quinn Les Quinn was born in Liverpool on October 21, 1919 and after leaving grammar school he joined the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS).

He served in the Royal Navy between 1939 and 1946 and saw action in the North and South Atlantic.

After the war he returned to LMS but in 1949 he joined St Helens Corporation Transport as a Traffic www.coachandbusweek.com

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by the equivalent of a medium sized diesel car travelling 2.5m kilometres, or making three return trips to the moon.

TfL said one common myth about engine idling is that switching a vehicle’s engine on and off would wear it out and would also use more fuel. However, ignitions in modern cars have eliminated this problem and research shows that turning off an engine and restarting it after a minute uses less fuel and causes less pollution. Switching the engine on and off does not cause any damage to the vehicle.

TfL’s managing director for surface transport, Leon Daniels,

has written to coach, bus and freight operators to encourage their drivers to switch off their engines while waiting in bus stands or loading goods and will continue to work with them to reduce PM10 emissions and improve London’s air quality.

Graham Messenger, coaching executive for the CPT, said: “CPT fully supports the mayor’s Cleaner Air for London and no engine idling initiatives. We are already actively engaging with some of the London boroughs who are working to improve air quality at a local level.

“Hugely improved engine technology and investment within the bus and coach industries, together with continued research and development of improving less environmentally friendly vehicles, has seen a measured increase of their ‘green’ credentials and LEZ [Low Emission Zone] compliance across the piece.”

TfL says idling vehicles at stops in London waste enough fuel for three return trips to the moon in a car every year, though there is no suggestion the coaches pictured here had their engines running Clerk. He spent periods with the municipal bus undertakings of Liverpool, Oldham and Barrow before he was appointed general manager of Widnes Corporation Motor Omnibus Department in 1965.

He took early retirement at local government reorganisation in 1974 and emigrated to New Zealand where he was head of the government’s statistical department 1975 - 1984. He spent the last twenty-seven years of his life in retirement in Queensland Australia where he died on December 29, 2011 aged 92.

His wife Mary predeceased him and he is succeeded by their daughter Lesley.

Stagecoach survey says bus is better Research by Stagecoach has revealed commuting by bus instead of by car could save drivers more than £1,700 a year.

The findings coincide with other recent studies showing motoring costs have soared, with the cost of driving to work increasing by 21% over the past 12 months, while the amount of traffic has dropped as commuters find it increasingly difficult to meet rising motoring costs.

Stagecoach CEO Sir Brian Souter said: “Our survey shows people can save hundreds of pounds a year by switching to the bus as well as avoiding the stress of being stuck in traffic on their way to work.”

Obituary

Bryan Embling Bryan Embling, a former director of Emblings Coaches of Guyhirm, near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire passed away on December 19, aged 79.

Paying tribute, his brother John Embling told CBW: “Bryan retired at the age of 65 so he had taken a back seat for some years. He joined the business after being in the RAF.” Mr Embling’s funeral was held on Wednesday, January 11. The businesses connected to the Judd and Embling family continue to run as before.

McLeans of Witney goes into administration McLeans Coaches of Witney, Oxfordshire went into administration on Friday (January 13).

The company has been in existence for 26 years and was one of the main suppliers of school transport for Oxfordshire County Council, with 19 contracts of their 20 contracts with the council.

A spokesman for McLeans told CBW the company had not gone into administration for financial reasons but because of a dispute with its insurance company. “I want to emphasise, it was not for

financial reasons but because our insurance company hiked up its premium from £43,000 to £60,000 because they found out we had an investor,” he said. “We offered £30,000 upfront, with £10,000 for the next three quarters but they didn’t want to know even though we could guarantee the money.”

He said the directors felt held to ransom and consequently made the decision to go into administration.

McLeans employed 22 staff, on a variety of coach work, including private hire and day excursions.

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nEWS

Norfolk Council u-turn on concessions for the blind £51,000 of funding to be provided for free travel before statutory minimum of 0930hrs Blind and visually impaired people in Norfolk will be able to get round the clock free bus travel, after a last minute u-turn by the council.

As reported in CBW1018, Norfolk County Council, which took over responsibility from district councils for concessionary bus travel last April, had removed an extra morning hour of free bus travel for pass holders.

Blind people had said the decision to take away the extra hour placed them at a disadvantage, with many relying on buses before 0930hrs to get them to work, to hospital appointments, to college or around shops before they got too busy.

The council’s cabinet scrutiny committee urged their leaders to

FirstGroup warn of northsouth divide

FirstGroup have warned that a north-south divide is opening up in its UK bus business, with growth slowing in Scotland and northern England.

The Aberdeen-based operator blamed the weak economy and lower consumer spending in the north, where it has more urban than rural services.

In FirstGroup’s UK bus division, like-for-like passenger revenue rose by 1.8% in the last three months of 2011, up slightly from the 1.4% in the first half of its financial year.

But the firm, which brings in 60% of its UK non-London bus revenues from Scotland and the north of England, warned of “challenging trading conditions” ahead.

The company said it won’t generate as much cash this year as previously predicted because the market has not been right to sell assets from its UK bus division, including some depots.

The interim management www.coachandbusweek.com

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think again, but the controlling Conservative cabinet had said it could not make an exception for the blind, because it might lead to a legal challenge from other groups.

However, after a meeting on Monday, January 16, council leader Derrick Murphy announced a way had been found to fund 24-hour bus travel for the blind and visually impaired, along with companion passes for eligible disabled people.

Mr Murphy said, because blind and visually impaired people had been especially disadvantaged and already lose out on other benefits because of inequalities, it was the “right thing to do” to spend £51,000 to ensure they and companions could get free bus travel.

He said: “We have listened carefully to all the arguments put forward.

“It is clear to us that blind and visually impaired concessionary

travel pass holders have been especially disadvantaged by the loss of these discretionary enhancements and experience more disadvantages than other groups because of inequalities in benefit provision and social care eligibility.

“Few blind people can claim the higher rate mobility component of the Disability Living allowance, which is worth an extra £30 a week.

“This is a significant amount to people who are often on low incomes and who face the additional costs of being disabled.

Blind and visually impaired people often have the same or greater need for support with travel.

“What’s more, many blind and visually impaired people cannot claim support with transport through a Personal Budget. Having considered these special factors, I am convinced restoring the 24 hour

FirstGroup’s net cash at the end of its financial year could be £40m below predictions due to a poor market for selling assets statement, published on Thursday, January 12, said: “Our priority remains to maintain our strong cost discipline and focus while equipping our networks, as appropriate, for future growth.”

FirstGroup now expects to have £100-115m of net cash at the end of its financial year, compared with previous predictions of about £150m.

Analysts raised concerns at the speed with which the group would be able to pay off its £1.8bn debt given the lower net cash figure.

In America, the company said it remained on track with the turnaround plan for its school bus business and like-for-like revenue growth at its iconic Greyhound intercity coach operation had risen to 5.9% in the third quarter from 5.6%.

The statement concluded: “We have a clear focus on strengthening our businesses for the future. The Group has good prospects to deliver long-term value for shareholders in a sector which is a key enabler of economic growth.”

pass and reintroducing companion passes is the right thing to do.”

Chris Maule-Oatway, from the Norfolk and Norwich Association of the Blind, which has campaigned for the free travel, said: “We are delighted. We always felt if we plugged away they would listen.”

A spokesman for the charity added: “We are delighted at this decision which will restore dignity and independence to those who rely on bus transport in their everyday lives.

“This change of heart shows councillors are prepared to listen to reasoned argument and accept our assertion that their original decision was having a disproportionate impact on blind people.

“Allowing registered blind people to travel without cost before 0930hrs will make a massive difference.

“We are proud to have championed this issue on behalf of some of Norfolk’s most vulnerable people, and pleased that even in these challenging financial times there is a place not just for compassion but for common sense among our councillors.”

First leaves Suffolk town

First is withdrawing its services from Bury St Edmunds with effect from March 31, 2012.

It will axe all routes in the town and close the depot. Staff have been informed about the moves but First has stated they do not intend to make any of them redundant. All staff will be offered positions at its Ipswich depot.

In a statement, First said: “Operations at Bury St Edmunds have not been commercially viable for some considerable time, and with continued cost increases facing the industry, plus the Government’s decision to reduce the BSOG by 20% from April 2012, it is with regret we have decided to withdraw all services at the end of March.

Nigel Barrett, MD of First South East and Midlands, said: “Sadly our operations in Bury St Edmunds have not been commercially viable for a while.”

The move follows FirstGroup’s sale of its West Norfolk operations to Norfolk Green, and closure of its Kings Lynn depot last year.

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MICHELIN Q&A

Ask the Michelin Man What is grip?

If there was no such thing as grip, vehicles would not be able to move at all. The wheels would spin and the driver would not be able to move the vehicle. Even on a straight road and at steady speed, there is no alternative to grip. This is because a moving vehicle has to deal with natural forces, such as the camber, the slope or unevenness of the road, or rolling resistance, which are all constantly trying to slow the vehicle down or push it off its path. However, it is only during cornering or braking that a driver or passenger is really aware of grip, because the vehicle has to be steered or speed has to be reduced without skidding, even on a wet road. In all circumstances, grip and safety go together. As the only contact point between the vehicle and the road, the tyre has two fundamental functions. It gives the vehicle its directional stability, which the driver needs to steer it. The tyre also acts as a transmission component for brake and drive torque.

Does Michelin invest in eco-friendly (or biodiversity) projects and if so what are you doing in the UK? Globally, Michelin does indeed invest in such projects. Since 2001, when the Group formalised its traditional values in a corporate responsibility initiative (PRM), Michelin has continued its commitment to the environment by not only producing fuel-ef<icient tyres, but by reducing the environmental footprint of production sites and developing new ways to recover and reuse end-of-life tyres.

As an integral part of Company action plans, eco-friendly projects are ongoing globally. Here in the UK, for instance, our Dundee plant in 2006 was the <irst Michelin factory in the world to embrace wind energy with two wind turbine generators. In addition, our Northern Ireland factory is working on a similar project and hopes to become the <irst commercial organisation in the Ballymena area to have wind power as an on-site renewable energy source.

How can I ensure that I get the most from my tyres?

To get the best in terms of value for money and reliability from your tyres you should consider the following: • Have a written tyre policy and review it regularly • Choose the most suitable tyre for your type of operation • Ensure that you know the correct tyre pressures for each vehicle • Check the pressures of tyres on new vehicles before they go into service • Check your tyre pressures regularly • Regroove tyres • Remould your tyres once the regrooved tyre has worn to approximately 2 – 3mm remaining tread depth pattern • Ensure that your tyre policy is adhered to throughout the <leet and on new vehicles For information on the winter tyre range and speci<ic tyre choice for your requirements, contact Michelin Technical Services on tel 0845 366 1535.

0845 366 1535 www.michelin.co.uk/atmm

14 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

nEWS › international

Nigerian bus scheme will boost local assemblers Country tries to cushion effects of fuel subsidy removal nIGERIA In an attempt to soften the blow of the country’s fuel subsidy removal, Nigerian vehicle assembly plants are to supply around 6,000 buses for the new urban mass transit scheme set up by the Federal Government.

Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association executive director, Arthur Madueke, said the new bus deal was sealed in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, last Thursday, during a meeting between the assembly plants and the Federal Government team, led by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga.

President Goodluck Jonathan launched the mass transit scheme with 1,100 buses on January 8, some of which were imported.

Greyhound expands premium service to Sunshine State

USA Greyhound has begun offering premium service in Tampa and other parts of Florida, starting January 18.

The Greyhound Express service, which was launched a year ago, now offers routes from its Atlanta hub to Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. It has also added an Express stop in Fayetteville, N.C. Since the launch of Greyhound Express in December 2010, Greyhound has seen a 20% increase in overall ridership, with more than 1.1m customers trying the premium service.

“As the industry leader, we are committed to providing a new class of service to our customers – as such, we created Greyhound Express to offer a more premium service and new amenities,” says Dave Leach, president and CEO of www.coachandbusweek.com

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He had earlier approved N15bn for the commencement of the scheme.

Madueke confirmed 50% of the first set of vehicles for the scheme will be obtained locally, mainly from Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company in Nnewi, Kano-based National Truck Manufacturer and Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company in Enugu.

“By March, we should be able to supply 2,000 buses to the scheme; and at the end of the second quarter, we promise to deliver between 5,000 and 6,000 buses,” he said.

The NAMA director said most of the assembly plants were currently running on a single shift, adding that with guaranteed extra support, they could run two or three shifts.

He stressed the need for bus operators to carry out routine

maintenance of the vehicles with the local assembly plants or their accredited workshops.

“The maintenance cost will be at affordable rates; this will be part of the deal; we don’t want a situation where the vehicles will be mismanaged or poorly maintained and will end up giving the manufacturers/local assembly plants a negative image,” he said.

Previously, Madueke said the existing 12 vehicle assembly plants located in different parts of the country with a combined capacity of 150,000 vehicles annually, were currently producing at about 10% of their installed capacity.

The country has recently been in turmoil after the fuel subsidy removal. With a large proportion of the population on strike, the country has been brought to a standstill.

Founded in 1914, Greyhound is one of the largest providers of intercity transportation in North America Greyhound Lines, Inc. “Driven by overwhelming customer demand, we have effectively expanded the offering to 45 key markets across North America in the course of just one year.”

He added: “The introduction of Greyhound Express to key Florida destinations now provides our loyal customers with a comfortable and convenient premium experience along the entire East Coast, from Boston to Miami.”

The service provides customers with reserved seating, power outlets for laptop computers and extra legroom for greater comfort.

Customers can buy their Express tickets online to receive discount pricing.

Greyhound Express buses also offer free Wi-Fi access, which means travellers can use their apps, play online games and research their destinations throughout their bus journeys.

Busworld Asia postponed for a year CHInA Busworld International has postponed this year’s Busworld Asia exhibition.

The exhibition, which started in China in 2000, will next take place between March 20 - 22, 2013.

The postponement, according to Busworld, is due to meetings between top executives of China’s bus building industry and Busworld founder Luc Glorieux, who recently came out of retirement to help organise the event.

It was decided more time was needed to organise an exhibition which would promote the rapid development of the Chinese industry and its new technology.

The 2013 exhibition will be held at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre (SNIEC).

For more information visit www.busworldasia.com/ english/

Magna Seating acquires Vogelsitze GmbH GERmAny Magna Seating, part of Magna International Inc., has acquired the assets and business of Vogelsitze GmbH in KarlsruheStupferich, Germany, which specialises in the development and production of seats for the bus and light train industries.

The company expects sales for 2011 to be approximately €19 million.

Magna claims the acquisition expands its global footprint and strengthens its position in the German market.

Vogelsitze’s current production customers include MAN, MercedesBenz, Volvo, Bombardier, VDL and GAZ. In addition, Vogelsitze has licensed many patents to other bus seat manufacturers worldwide.

Magna is a principle designer and manufacturer of seating systems and components for the automotive industry.

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nEWS › REGIONAL

SCOTLAnD

Gillian Merron paid her first official visit to Scotland as chairwoman of Bus Users UK at the end of last year, to see examples of good practice and to hold discussions with manufacturers, operators and government officials about securing improvements for bus passengers.

Gillian said: “I have been greatly impressed by what I saw in Scotland, where there is a desire to provide high-quality vehicles and services to attract more people to use buses. It was both interesting and exciting to see what manufacturers, operators and government are doing to provide this in Scotland and to talk about how this could develop further.”

The visit started at ADL in Falkirk where she toured the factory and spoke to MD Colin Robertson about the firm’s research into passenger behaviour and requirements, which is helping to influence the design and layout of current and future bus and coach models.

In Edinburgh Gillian travelled on a hybrid ADL Enviro 400H on the 10 route of Lothian Buses, which had received the Top City Operator award at the recent UK Bus Awards.

Ian Craig, MD described Lothian’s customer-focused approach, which has led to high scores in independent customer satisfaction surveys and has allowed the company to increase ridership in spite of the economic downturn.

The tour ended with a visit to the Scottish Government, where she met with officials and discussed the challenges facing the bus industry, including reimbursement for concessionary fares, BSOG levels and cuts in local authority budgets, and the likely impact these would have on fare and service levels for passengers.

nORTH

Stagecoach has told councillors it will look into improving Carlisle bus station.

The council wants the operator to “upgrade the bus station to provide basic provision of seating, toilets and shelter for passengers’ use”.

Conservative Judy Prest told councillors: “I have met with Nigel Winter, the MD of Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire, who gave me an assurance he would look into the question of making more seating available and the possibility of providing toilets.

“What sort of first impression www.coachandbusweek.com

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KEY

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

are we giving to visitors when they arrive at a bus station which has virtually no facilities?”

She added: “What sort of service are we providing for regular bus users who are obliged to stand when waiting for a bus? There is no seating whatsoever in the central island from where most buses leave and only one seat on the west side, which is used by National Express coaches.”

On a separate note, Stagecoach says its services in Carlisle on Boxing Day and December 27 were a success, with more than 11,000 having used the service on December 27.

Operations manager Bob Cook said: “Stagecoach operated local commercial services, for the third year running, over the Christmas bank holiday period.

“We know how vital they are to get people to the shops and to make hospital visits and its good to see so many people using them.”

MIDLAnDS

Wolverhampton will see new bus routes and extra stops introduced by National Express West Midlands on January 29.

A direct service, the 5a from Wolverhampton to Codsall, will be brought in, running half-hourly Monday to Saturday.

Some services will also see running times increased to improve reliability for passengers. They include the number 1 from Dudley

to Tettenhall Wood and the 26 from Wolverhampton to Bilston via Goldthorn Park.

A number of buses are being re-routed to stop at the city centre’s new bus station. The number 2 from Warstones to Bushbury, the number 6 from Wolverhampton to Whitmore Reans and the 6a from Wolverhampton to Pendeford Business Park will be making the extra stops.

Changes to the timetable of the 62 and 62a will also be made.

Centro is testing its new Signature smartcard on Rotala’s S2, S2A, S3, S4, 30 and 82 services in and around Solihull.

The £14m scheme should be rolled out across the West Midlands later this year and will allow passengers to pay fares electronically for the first time, as well as get a discount compared to paying by cash.

Passenger feedback and the performance of the technology will be closely monitored over the coming weeks as part of an ongoing evaluation.

Centro’s chief executive, Geoff Inskip, said: “This is an exciting chapter in the story of smartcard technology and its introduction to the West Midlands.

“It is a massive step towards our aim of eventually rolling out Smartcard technology later this year for all bus users across the Centro region – we have already been in discussion with a number

of other operators to sign up to a wider scheme.

“For the first time, fare paying passengers can do away with the need for cash and will be able to make their journey by using electronic technology, a development which takes bus travel into the 21st century.”

Ian Pollard, commercial manager of Rotala, said: “We feel the Signature card is the start of something positive for passengers in the area.

“Initially it offers passengers the opportunity to make savings against cash fares they would otherwise have paid and have the convenience of not finding relatively small amounts of cash for each journey.

“Longer term we hope it can be developed to include all operators and make a significant contribution to making ticketing in the West Midlands more passenger-friendly, enabling a wider group of bus users to find a solution which is perfect for their requirements.”

The Signature card is issued for free although a minimum £10 needs to be loaded on before use.

This can be paid for online at www.signaturebus.com/card or from Centro House in Birmingham and at Centro Travel Shops.

An auto top-up function is available, which links directly to the customer’s credit or debit card and adds £15 whenever the smart reader is presented with a balance below £2.

For customers not opting for auto top-up there will be a £2 deficit facility (£1 for the child variant) giving a ‘get-you-home’ guarantee.

The name Signature is only being used on the Solihull road-test, which started on January 9. The Signature brand has been used for some time on Centro-sponsored routes in the Solihull area.

SOUTH EAST

Hailsham Town Council has launched a brand new website (www.hailshambus.org.uk) where residents can find out more about the Hailsham Bus Working Group’s activities.

The website provides general information on the group’s discussions on ways to improve the infrastructure, quality and reliability of buses serving Hailsham and surrounding areas, and the promotion of the greater use of sustainable public transport locally.

16/01/2012 23:34

Details of group meetings, photo galleries, past and present news and a directory of useful public transport resources can also be found, together with links to information on the recently established Wealden Bus User Group, which itself takes into account the views of local bus service users.

Councillor Barry Marlowe, founder of the Hailsham Bus Working Group, said: “The new website will help residents to gain a better understanding of the group’s activities in the community and provides a mechanism for people with an interest in local public transport to gain a direct voice on issues concerning them.

“We have made sure the new website is simple to use, so it can be appealing to as many people as possible.

“We have also included some useful resources and links to further information on bus timetables, proposed bus service route changes and much more.”

The Hailsham Bus Working Group is an informal body which aims to organise, facilitate and deliver improvements to bus

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 17

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

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

services and bus service facilities in Hailsham and surrounding villages.

2012

LONDON

Wandsworth Council has conducted research in an attempt to obtain more low emission buses on routes through Putney High Street.

The research shows more than two thirds of nitrogen dioxide exhaust emissions in the area come from buses.

The council’s findings have now been presented to TfL which is currently deciding which buses will be retrofitted with pollution reducing equipment, and which routes will be given priority for its next batch of hybrid buses.

Some routes running via Putney High Street, which is used by over 100 buses an hour, have already been earmarked for hybrids, which are due to enter service in October.

Environment spokesman cllr Jonathan Cook said: “TfL has already pledged green buses on three routes and this is a decent start. However, much more needs to be done if we’re to make a significant improvement to air quality. We need more hybrids.”

n January 26 CPT National Dinner. Hilton Park Lane, London.

020 7240 3131 www.cpt-uk.org n January 28 Excursions 2012.

Alexandra Palace, London. www. excursions.org.uk n February 4 Mid Anglia Coach Operators Association Dinner Dance. The Bedford Lodge Hotel, Newmarket. Contact Bridget Paterson on 01638 780066 or email sales@nealstravel.com n March 14-15 Best of Britain and Ireland (BoBi). Travel Trade Forum. NEC, 01926 834796. www. bestofbritainandirelandevent.co.uk n March 15 Volvo Bus social evening in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust’s Warwickshire Appeal.

Century Court House, Warwick. Pam Matthews 01926 414 553 or e-mail pam.matthews@volvo.com n March 18 Leyland National 40th Anniversary. Organised by the Leyland National Group, Nationals on static display and working in service.The British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland. www.leylandnational

group.co.uk

n March 31 ‘M&D and EK 60’.

Kent Showground on the A249 near Maidstone. www.arrivabus.co.uk/ MDEK60, contact mdekbusclub@ gmail.com n April 14 Paul S Winson Coaches Running Day. Loughborough and local area. www.busrunningday. co.uk, contact info@busrunningday. co.uk n April 19, 2012 UK Coach Awards. Ramada Jarvis Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester, 0870 900 1450. www.ukcoachawards.co.uk

FirstGroup has donated a specially adapted SOS bus fully equipped to provide full first aid in partnership with Strathclyde Police, the British Red Cross, the Glasgow Council on Alcohol and the Scottish Ambulance Service. The bus is a place of safety which meets the needs of any person threatened by an inability to get home safely due to illness, alcohol misuse, assault, domestic abuse, injury, emotional distress or any other risk or vulnerability. It is staffed by volunteers from the British Red Cross and the Glasgow Council on Alcohol. The aim is not only to provide immediate help and support to vulnerable people but also to intervene with a view to offering a comprehensive follow-up and counselling service to tackle binge drinking. The bus is operational between 2200 and 0400hrs on Friday and Saturdays for an initial pilot period until March 31.

The bus will be located outside Glasgow Central Station on Gordon Street.

John Cahill, First Glasgow’s operations director, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in the project and support the community in this way. At First we have a strong corporate social responsibility culture and by donating one of our buses we are helping to improve the quality of life of the local community and society at large.”

n April 19-21 Busworld Turkey.

Istanbul Expo Center, Turkey. www.busworldturkey.com/en/ index.html n April 21-22 UK Coach Rally.

East of England Showground, Peterborough. 01753 631170. www.coachdisplays.co.uk n April 24-26 CV Show. NEC, Birmingham. 01634 261262.

www.cvshow.com

n May 22-23 ALBUM Conference.

– Forest Pines Hotel, near Brigg, North Lincolnshire. www.albumconference.co.uk

The CPT National Dinner will be held at London’s Park Lane Hilton on the evening of January 26 n June 10 Barry Festival of Transport. Organised by Cardiff Transport Preservation Group, Barry, South Wales. postmaster@-ctpg. co.uk. www.ctpg.co.uk n August 3-5 Bedford OB GetTogether. South Cerney Airfield, Cirencester, GL7 5QB. Contact the organiser Tim Wootton by email on tim@tjcs.freeserve.co.uk. Visit http://www.bedfordob.com/ n August 27 The National Association of Road Transport Museums gala day. The Transport Museum, Wythall, near Birmingham. www.wythall.org.uk n September 8-9 UK Bus Driver of the Year, Blackpool. Call competition secretary Bill Holmes on 01303 251462. www.bdoy.co.uk n September 16 Showbus.

Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire. www.showbus.com n September 20-27 IAA Commercial Vehicles. Hannover. +(00)49 30897842. www.iaa.de n October 14 Midland Red Centenary of the Reintroduction of Motorbuses. The Transport Museum, Wythall, near Birmingham. www.wythall.org.uk n October 18 CILT Annual Awards for Excellence Dinner. London.

01536 740104. www.ciltuk.org.uk n November 6-8 Euro Bus Expo.

NEC, Birmingham. 01926 834790. www.eurobusxpo.com n November 20 UK Bus Awards – provisional date. www.ukbusawards.org.uk

2013 n May 26-30 UITP Congress & Exhibition. Palexpo, Geneva. www.uitp.org. +(00)32 2673 6100.

Do you have an event to promote? Send details to gareth.evans@rouncymedia.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com

RegionalNews.indd 17

16/01/2012 23:34

18 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

nEWS › TOURISM

200

Number of vehicles on display at the Tank Museum

Pleasurewood Hills is a theme park near Lowestoft in Suffolk, with over 30 rides, shows and attractions. The park caters for all tastes, as it features everything from adrenaline-fuelled thrill rides to relaxing chair lifts. Group entry (15 plus) is £12.95 for over 12s, £11.75 for under 12s and £11.50 for seniors, disabled and carers. There is a free organiser place with every 20 paying visitors. Groups will be fast tracked into the park and the site can be checked out for free before booking. The park is open between April and October. Visit www.pleasurewoodhills.com The Bar Convent Museum in York documents the history of the oldest surviving Roman Catholic convent in England. Entry is free, but a selection of guided tours are available for groups of eight plus. Tours come in three different packages with varying add-ons and include the museum, great parlour and chapel. Coaches can drop off outside the museum, with the nearest coach park located a mile away at Union Terrace.

Parking for three hours costs £8.

Visit www.bar-convent.org.uk The award-winning National Space Centre offers a great day out for groups of all ages. With six interactive galleries, 360 degree Space Theatre shows, 42 metre Rocket Tower, rides, and over a hundred unique artefacts, there is something of appeal for everyone.

The centre is located in Leicester, not far from the M1 with free coach parking on site. Groups of 15 plus benefit from discounted entry of £11 per person, although a £150 deposit has to be paid in advance.

Bookings must be made in advance by calling 0116 258 2111.

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is celebrating its 60th anniversary by embarking on its first ever UK tour. The 60-week run will open in September, with an all-star cast to be announced.

The play will call at Canterbury, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Belfast, Cardiff, Plymouth, Manchester, Woking, Edinburgh, Southampton, and Bradford. Tickets are currently on sale. Visit www. mousetrapontour.com www.coachandbusweek.com

TourNews.indd 18

Award-winning art gallery in Warwickshire mansion The house opens on March 31 and holds an array of different exhibitions throughout the year Compton Verney, nine miles from both Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, is an 18th century Grade I listed country mansion which has been converted into an awardwinning art gallery.

Discounts are available for pre-booked groups of 15 or more.

Benefits include free admission to group organisers and coach drivers, free driver refreshments,

an introductory talk and a free pack for group organisers.

The Georgian mansion displays art from around the world and boasts 120 acres of parkland.

The gallery is home to six fine and decorative art collections, including British portraits, along with European and Chinese collections and other exhibitions.

This year’s exhibitions include “Into the light: French and British painting from Impressionism to the early 1920s” between March 31 and June 10, “Flight and the artistic

Compton Verney is surrounded by 120 acres of parkland

Unique working estate with farm and gardens Wimpole Estate, near Royston in Cambridgeshire, is made up of an impressive mansion, a walled garden and a traditional farm.

To view the whole estate, group members pay £13.20 each. Viewing everything but the farm costs £8.80 each, while tickets for the garden only are £3.70, and £7.20 for the farm only. Group rates do not apply on Sundays or Bank Holiday Mondays.

A number of special interest tours are available, which cover topics such as bats in the parkland, the history of the hall and the farm’s rare-breeds. Additional charges apply for these tours, between £5 and £12.

The hall is open six days a week (closed Fridays) between February 11 and November 4, while the farm,

Calves feeding on the farm garden, restaurant and shop are open seven days a week between the aforementioned dates.

The average visit length is three hours, and the coach drop-off point is 275 yards from the entrance.

Email clare.childerley@ nationaltrust.org.uk or call 01223 206007

imagination” between June 29 and September 30 and “Tapestry: Weaving the century at Dovecot Studios 1912 – 2012” between October 20 and December 16.

Groups also benefit from exclusive tours of the exhibitions, the permanent collections and the grounds at £3 per head, and special interest and fast track tours for tour operators, delivering for a specific audience or those pushed for time.

A discounted menu is available in the café as well as special offers in the shop. It is advised groups spend three hours at the site.

Tickets cost £8.65 per person for the collections, grounds and exhibition, or £3.50 per person for just the collections and grounds.

There is a 10-minute walk to the gallery from the main car park. Transport can be arranged for group members with mobility difficulties. Free coach parking is provided in the main car park.

Coaches cannot drop off at the gallery due to weight restrictions but a shuttle service is available.

Call 01926 645 516.

Email groupbookings@ comptonverney.org.uk

Tank museum on the south coast Fresh from a £16m investment in new exhibitions and facilities, the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset is home to a collection of almost 200 armoured fighting vehicles, displayed in six large halls.

Groups rates apply to 15 or more: adults £8, OAPs and disabled £6 and children £5. There is free entry and a free lunch for coach drivers and free coach parking.

Experts can give personal guided tours, lasting one hour. Tours can be organised for groups of a maximum 30 people and a minimum of eight people per group.

For more information visit www.tankmuseum.org

JASON INGRAM

BriEfly

16/01/2012 19:54

JASON INGRAM

1950s £6 The decade Basildon Park, near Reading, was restored

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 19

Price for one adult group member to enter Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm

NTPL RUPERT TRUMAN

Cornish farm for cider lovers

Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm is a traditional cider producer and tourist attraction near Truro.

It is the largest Cornish Cyder maker in the county, making over 40 varieties of delicious fruit products including farm scrumpy, sparkling cider, country wines, jam, chutneys and spirits, and is home to Cornwall’s only distillery.

Visitors can take a self-guided tour, or can opt for a guided tour of the press house, bottlery, jam kitchen, cyder museum, brandy distillery and cellars.

Friendly farm animals, tractor rides and a children’s quiz mean the attraction can be enjoyed by all members of the family.

There are discounted guided tour prices for groups of 20 people or more. Adults rates are £6 each and seniors pay £5 per head. A guided tour and cream tea costs £8 per person.

During June, July and August group bookings can only be taken before 1000hrs and after 1600hrs.

There is ample free coach parking on site.

For more information, call 01872 573356. Visit www. thecornishcyderfarm.co.uk

dEAlS OF THE WEEK Chirk Castle is located under 10 miles from Wrexham, just across the Welsh border.

The magnificent 13th century fortress is home to a medieval tower and dungeons, as well as elegant state rooms and fine furniture.

Surrounding the castle are award-winning tranquil gardens with spectacular views across nine counties, and woodland walks with veteran trees and wild flowers.

New for 2012, visitors can explore the Butler’s Pantry, and in autumn there will be a new Howard De Walden family exhibition.

Group admission is £8.50 each for the whole site, or £6.12 each for just the garden and tower.

diESEl priCES

The house was restored in the 1950s

18th century mansion in Berkshire Basildon Park, situated seven miles north-west of Reading, is an 18th century country house which was restored in the 1950s.

The mansion is filled with fine pictures and furniture, and is noted for its original delicate plasterwork, elegant staircase and unusual Octagon Room.

Group tickets are £9 each for both house and grounds, or £6 each for just the grounds.

Tailor-made special interest tours are available for groups between 15 and 55 at an additional cost of £9 per person.

Parking is available for three coaches 30 yards from the castle entrance.

The whole property is open between March 1 and November 4, while the garden, tower, shops and tea-rooms are also open between February 1 and February 29, and between November 10 and December 16. n For more information ring 01691 777701 or email chirkcastle@ nationaltrust.org.uk The V&A Museum of Childhood makes for a funfilled day out for all ages.

Based in Bethnal Green in London’s East End, entry to the museum is free, but groups can book tours at a cost of £60 for a maximum of 25 people.

There is a range of guided tours tailored to adult groups, each taking an in-depth look at a particular theme. Tours are available from Monday to Friday

There is a tea-room at the house, as well as a private function room for advanced bookings.

Parking is available for two coaches 400 yards from the mansion.

The ground floor exhibition area, tea-rooms, shop and grounds are open every day between February 6 and December 21, while the house main show rooms are open between March 10 and December 16.

The average visit length is two hours, and nearby attractions include Beale Park Wildlife Park and Gardens, under a mile away, and Greys Court in Henley-OnThames.

For more information ring 0118 984 3040 or email basildonpark@nationaltrust. org.uk

Chirk Castle is set amongst tranquil gardens on the Welsh border from 1430 to 1730hrs or Saturday and Sunday from 1015 to 1215hrs.

Tour topics include toys from around the world, the Victorian child at home and the royal connection.

Tours last 60 minutes and must be booked in advance.

The museum is open all year round apart from December 24, 25

Cost per litre in pence: Great Britain Sweden Belgium Italy Germany Ireland Netherlands France Czech Republic Greece Portugal Austria Hungary Spain Slovenia Poland Luxembourg

140.90 136.28 129.02 127.65 125.52 123.55 123.55 123.47 118.94 118.77 117.83 116.38 114.63 109.30 108.36 104.40 104.26

HOlidAy pOUnd £1 will get you: Euro Switzerland (Franc) Norway (Kroner) Hungary (Forint) Czech Republic (Koruna) Poland (Zloty)

1.21 1.46 9.28 378.67 30.99 5.33

and 26 and January 1.

A drop-off point and parking for two coaches is available outside the museum on Cambridge Heath Road. n For more information ring 020 8983 5205 or email mocbookings@ vam.ac.uk Edinburgh Zoo offers reasonable discounts to parties of 10 plus. Adults pay £12.50 each, children (3-15 years) pay £8.50 and concessions pay £10.50.

The zoo is open all year round, and visitors can witness the famous giant pandas, although timeslots must be booked in advance (at no extra cost).

There is a large range of animals on display, including leopards, koalas, monkeys and lions.

Free coach parking is available if pre-booked. n Visit www.edinburghzoo.org.uk for more information. www.coachandbusweek.com

TourNews.indd 19

16/01/2012 19:55

20 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

nEWS › BUSINESS

0.5%

The continued level of interest rates since March 2009

BriEfly The British government is “firmly on the side of enterprising family businesses”, according to business minister Mark Prisk. In a letter to lobby group the Institute for Family Business (IFB), Prisk said the government recognises the important role family firms play in the economy. He also acknowledged a recent article printed in the Daily Telegraph, which called family businesses Britain’s “weak economic link”, was “not particularly helpful”.

The article was based on research by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, which said second and third-generation family firms generally had weaker management than non-family-run businesses.

The IFB and the government are currently working together on a series of seminars aimed at supporting the growth of midsized family firms with revenues between £25m and £500m.

Manchester Airport is planning to create a £659m ‘Airport City’ on its doorstep to turn it into an international business destination, as announced by chancellor George Osborne last week. It will be the first development of its kind in the UK and is designated as one of the government’s new Enterprise Zones. The Airport City project could create up to 20,000 new jobs over the next 15 years. The two core areas of development are on sites next to the railway station and its existing cargo centre. The first part of the project involves putting in roads, infrastructure and utilities to allow the initial phase of the development to proceed.

The latest Quarterly Economic Survey from South Wales Chamber of Commerce showed a worsening sales position for an increasing number of firms, with 30% reporting a decrease in sales on the previous quarter. The survey also found more businesses expect to see lower turnover figures and profitability during 2012. Of those firms questioned 31% expected profits to decrease, while 32% expect an increase in profitability in 2012. www.coachandbusweek.com

BusinessNews.indd 20

UK economy on edge of contraction Despite a gloomy outlook, an easing of inflationary pressures may save the day, says BDO. The UK economy stands on the edge of contraction, with businesses’ turnover expectations falling for the fourth month in December. However, easing inflationary pressures may prevent this, according to the latest Business Trends report by accountants and business advisors BDO LLP. The overall forecast for the UK economy remains bleak. BDO’s Output Index dropped for the seventh consecutive month to 91.4 in December, from 92.5 in November. The Index, which measures turnover expectations three months ahead, has now remained below the crucial 95.0 mark that indicates growth since July 2011.

Meanwhile BDO’s Optimism Index - which predicts business confidence in two quarters’ time - dropped to 91.5 in December from 92.5 in November. This move away from the 95.0 mark heads dangerously towards the low figures seen at the turn of 20082009 when the UK was gripped by recession.

While the outlook is gloomy,

BDO said an easing of inflationary pressures may help prevent the economy “falling off the precipice”.

For the fifth consecutive month, BDO’s Inflation Index came down, with December’s figure only marginally higher than at the start of 2011 (a 1.6 point increase). The decrease in the Inflation Index is welcome news for consumers, who will consequently feel less of a squeeze in 2012.

Peter Hemington, partner at BDO, said: “It is apparent the UK economy has reached a crunch point. The Government must respond decisively if the UK is to avoid a period of prolonged contraction.”

The government should introduce more measures to encourage private sector investment in infrastructure, says Peter Hemington

Mixed reactions to green light on HS2

The coalition government’s goahead for a new £33bn high-speed rail network has split businesses and economists, with one economic group calling it a “grossly expensive mistake”.

Last week transport secretary Justine Greening approved the first phase, from London to Birmingham, known as High Speed 2 (HS2), which should open by 2026. Travelling at speeds of up to 250mph, journey times from Birmingham to London will be

He urged the Bank of England to consider more quantitative easing and banks to step up lending to business to prop up the economy.

The report follows predictions on Thursday from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) that the economy grew just 0.1pc in the last three months of the year.

The report echoed chancellor George Osborne, who insisted last week there were “signs” the economy was turning a corner with borrowing coming down, jobs were being created in the private sector, and inflation falling.

It said inflation expectations fell back for a fifth month in December and were not back in line with where they were in February - but high oil prices remain a worry.

Hemington said the government should introduce more measures to encourage private sector investment in infrastructure.

He said: “We welcome the investment in high-speed railways, but want to see more immediate measures introduced – 2026 is a long way off. We remain of the view that the government’s attempts to rein in current spending have given it the credibility to be bolder in borrowing more to finance infrastructure spending.”

The approval of a second high speed rail link is a “triumph of PR over economics”, says the Centre for Economics and Business Research slashed to 49 minutes, from the current one hour and 24 minutes.

It is envisaged the network will be expanded to Manchester and Leeds by 2033. A Manchester to London

journey will be reduced from two hours, eight minutes to one hour and eight minutes.

Greening claimed HS2 will generate benefits of up to £47bn

16/01/2012 20:45

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 21

£47bn 10,000 The benefits expected to be generated

by HS2 over the next 60 years

UK interest rates held at record low

UK interest rates have been held at their record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) – BBC News reported.

Interest rates have been kept at 0.5% since March 2009.

The Bank did not announce any increase in its policy of quantitative easing, though in October, it said it would pump another £75bn into the economy.

The decisions were widely expected, and come amid concerns over the economy’s strength due to weak consumer spending and the Eurozone crisis.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday pointed to a surprisingly sharp downturn in industrial output - including the manufacturing sector - in November last year.

Eurozone interest rates have also been left unchanged - at 1% - by the European Central Bank.

Close attention is likely to be paid to the Bank’s minutes from Thursday’s MPC meeting, which will be published in two weeks.

They may provide a hint of plans for further Quantitative Easing (QE) - creating new money to buy up government debt and other financial investments from markets.

The Bank had already pumped £200bn of cash into the economy and fare revenues of up to £34bn over 60 years. These benefits will emerge through improved links to regional cities as well as the freeing up of capacity on existing lines for new commuter and freight services.

However, the Centre for Economics and Business Research described the approval of HS2 as a “triumph of PR over economics”.

Douglas McWilliams, its CEO, said that based on “realistic” growth projections for the UK economy, there would be no constraints on existing capacity. He also said improving communications technology means businessmen can now work on the train and improved journey times are less of a priority.

“Our analysis is the benefit-cost ratio is only 0.5 rather than the official and implausible 2.0. The

BusinessNews.indd 21

The number of medium-sized companies which are under family control in the UK

via QE between March 2009 and February 2010.

The Bank hinted last year it would take until February to administer the latest £75bn expansion in its QE programme.

However, many economists expect a further £50bn-plus of QE once the current programme is complete.

“Since the challenges facing the UK economy will increase in the first quarter of 2012, a further £50bn increase in QE to £325bn would be welcomed by hardpressed businesses,” said David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce.

“QE will only achieve its full potential to support growth if it is supplemented by effective measures aimed at improving the flow of credit to viable businesses.”

The Bank may also be mulling over new policies to boost the economy. It is already cooperating with the government’s “credit easing” plan to funnel loans to small and medium-sized businesses.

David Kern, chief economist at the BCC, welcomes further quantative easing from the Bank of England financial deficit which will require a government subsidy is likely to be £18bn rather than the official claim of £14bn,” he added.

The Institute of Economic Affairs said the project will “do nothing” to bridge the North-South divide and is based on “dubious” timesaving claims, while the Institute of Directors said businesses “still need convincing of the merits of the project” and would prefer improvements to existing services.

However, the CBI said without HS2 the capacity on the West Coast main line will be “gummed up”.

John Cridland, director-general, said: “We are right to plan for our infrastructure needs. The biggest prize will come from phase two – the link with the North. This will spread the benefits of future economic growth across the UK.”

Time is money, says James, so keeping a watchful eye on your daily tasks and those of your employees is important

BLOg of the week

FivE TOp TipS FOr KEEping BUSinESS COSTS DOWn

James Campanini, managing director of worldwide web conferencing specialist Cisco WebEx sets out five steps to take to cut down on business costs on www.businesszone.co.uk . For more information about Cisco WebEx, visit www.webex.com In an era of financial austerity, the top of the list for most businesses is keeping costs to a minimum. Be it cutting back on the annual staff Christmas party, or monitoring your employees’ time and productivity more rigorously, there are plenty of ways in which businesses think they will be able to save cash.

However, which areas are the most prone to over-spending, and how can these be addressed? morE FlExiBlE 1 BE Most of us have to spend time out of the office, be it working from home or travelling to meet new clients. Therefore, being able to access all of the information you need, when you need it, no matter where you are, is of prime importance. mEETing CoSTS 2 rEDUCE Travel, hospitality, meeting rooms and simply time out of the office all cost your business vast sums of money, not to mention there’s just nothing more frustrating than waiting on people to turn up to meetings when they’re stuck in traffic on the motorway.

Investing in virtual meeting tools not only cuts costs by reducing

the time people spend out of the office and travelling to various meetings, but can make meetings more efficient by enabling real-time file-sharing. yoUr 3 rE-THinK SUppliErS liST You may have worked with the same suppliers for some time, but it’s worth taking stock of how they stack up against competitors to see where you can get the best deals.

Don’t be afraid to look around.

4 CollaBoraTE Think about which areas of your business can work more closely with others, and how collaboration with partners and colleagues will ultimately drive efficiency. By working together you’ll speed up communications, meaning you can achieve results more quickly with less fuss. plan, plan 5 plan, It’s the perfect time of year now to take stock on the successes and challenges of 2011, and look to where you can fill gaps and build upon achievements for the year ahead. Not only will this provide you with some focus, but you will also be better prepared.

I am a firm believer in the phrase, ‘time is money’. Therefore, keeping a watchful eye on your daily tasks is what’s important - and the same goes for your employees. Take it from me, you will be able to keep costs down in the long run if you notice areas of overspend in the short term. www.coachandbusweek.com

16/01/2012 20:46

22 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

nEWS fOCUS › smmt

PCV Registrations: No growth expected Industry predicts flat market performance for 2012, as Coach & Bus Week’s technical editor Martin Cole reports Following the traditional January meeting of the Bus & Coach Committee at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) the general consensus is of no growth in the market for new vehicles throughout 2012.

The committee chairman, Volvo’s Adrian Wickens said 2011 had turned out slightly better than predicted. Coach registrations were slightly up at approximately 700 units and double deck buses increased by over 300. Total registrations of single deck buses, over 8.5 tonnes, remained much the same, although there was a reduction in registrations of larger buses which was compensated for by an increase in midibus sales.

However, he said the industry remained nervous and while there would be some incentive to promote purchasing through the advent of the third round of Green Bus Fund, worth another £20m, operators faced a great deal of uncertainty over the possible impact of public spending cuts due in April. Combined with the 20% cut in BSOG (equivalent to an 8.6p per litre rise in diesel costs) and later changes to the concessionary fare scheme, many operations could face having to make significant cutbacks in services. With the industry facing such a challenge, the manufacturers feel there are insufficient grounds to anticipate any increase in new vehicle sales.

Turning to specific sectors, Adrian Wickens said the key to growth in the coach sector could mainly be attributed to the successful boost in popularity of express coach services. While a proportion of the general coaching sector was reporting growth, it remained vulnerable as there were still issues over the availability of finance for new vehicle acquisition and signs of small businesses www.coachandbusweek.com

SMMT.indd 22

closing down.

The growth in double decker registrations was promoted mainly through the influence of Green Bus Fund grants for hybrids, which have mainly been based on double deckers and through policy changes and requirements instigated by Transport for London.

Further Green Bus Fund grants will have more impact in terms of vehicle numbers as the terms and conditions have been revised. Manufacturers supplying low carbon buses (hybrids or other qualifying technologies i.e. alternative fuels such as biogas and hydrogen, fuel cells or electric vehicles) must now show a cost reduction due to the increase in production levels of these products.

This means the grant money (100% of the additional cost over a

Adrian Wickens (above); trent barton bought Versas in 2011(right)

“The whole sector of low carbon public transport is currently under intense scrutiny by the Department for Transport which is closely monitoring the performance and results operators are achieving.”

conventional diesel bus) will be less per vehicle and therefore extend to cover considerably more new buses.

The whole sector of low carbon public transport is currently under intense scrutiny by the Department for Transport which is closely monitoring the performance and results operators are achieving.

According to the SMMT, the government’s climate change policy seeks to decarbonise surface transport completely by 2050 – although there may be exemptions attached purely to long haul freight transport.

Looking ahead at what could affect the market, the committee felt an increase in areas implementing Low Emission Zones was a possibility. Adrian Wickens said the changes to London LEZ were now calling for levels in line with Euro 4 and the industry had been successful in completing many conversions from original Euro 2 compliance to meet the new requirements. He said the future increase in control predicted for 2015 meant anticipated compliance with Euro 4 NoX levels and would be far more of a challenge to overcome.

With Euro 6 already on the horizon, it has been announced early adopters can gain a Reduced Pollution Certificate which will be valid for five years. However, it is only proposing a reduction in VED of £300 per annum and is not a significant incentive in terms of the high price the switch to this technology will invoke.

Adrian Wickens said it was the absolute top priority for all manufacturers to reduce fuel consumption. It was now the number one priority for customers and strident efforts were under way to combat excess weight and to optimise transmissions to obtain the most efficient performance.

Alternatives such as fully electric vehicles still have some way to go before they have any significant bearing on conventional vehicle

requirements. Optare’s Glenn Saint said the current Solo EV had proved to be reliable and ideally suited to low mileage operations. Existing technology meant it was limited to a daily range of between 80100km. Both the weight and cost of batteries were the most significant factor – more batteries increased its range but added hugely to the cost and reduced passenger capacity.

He concluded further advances in battery technology to extend the range with no additional weight penalty would suddenly make EVs a far more attractive proposition to a much larger proportion of the industry.

The change from from Euro

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 23

5 to Euro 6 will mean the most significant and pronounced step in emission reductions since the controls were introduced.

Although some manufacturers have announced the availability of Euro 6 engines it is not anticipated there will be rush to obtain them. The final requirements around Euro 6 have still not been finalised and while engines exist which meet the gaseous emission requirements, there are issues around the particle emission count â&#x20AC;&#x201C; significantly, how to monitor it accurately and reliably. The technology also adds considerable weight to a vehicle, reducing payload or passenger capacity and potentially having

SMMT.indd 23

a detrimental effect on fuel consumption.

The committee also felt operators were under less pressure to meet the requirements of DDA legislation to achieve total lowfloor bus operation. Adrian Wickens said the overall UK bus parc was shrinking slightly and many operators were either approaching or had achieved full lowfloor compliance. He said a key supporter of this information was the wider and more general availability of DDA compliant buses on the used vehicle market. He felt this meant operators would not find it too difficult to obtain sufficient lowfloor vehicles in time for the 2015 deadline.

Buses and Coaches Single-deck buses Minibuses â&#x2030;¤ 3.5t >3.5t to 8.5t >8.5t to 16t >16t Single-deck buses total >16t double-deck buses Buses above 8.5t All buses Coaches >3.5t to 16t Coaches >16t All coaches ToTAl buses and coaches

Dec

% change*

Yearto-date

% change*

Rolling year

% change*

65 160 65 24 314 65 154 379 4 28 32 411

30.0% 10.3% -1.5% 0.0% 20.3% -44.0% -15.4% 0.5% -20.0% 133.3% 88.2% 4.3%

555 2,162 1,047 235 3,999 1,278 2,560 5,277 75 687 762 6,039

52.1% -38.6% 9.7% -25.4% -22.4% 34.5% 15.4% -13.6% -42.7% -0.3% -7.1% -12.8%

555 2,162 1,047 235 3,999 1,278 2,560 5,277 75 687 762 6,039

-22.4% 34.5% 15.4% -13.6% -42.7% -0.3% -7.1% -12.8%

www.coachandbusweek.com

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24 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

LEGAL nEWS › public inquiry

Time called on Birmingham bus operators Complex web of independent West Midlands bus operations and personalities untangled by Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones On October 11, 2011, a Public Inquiry (PI) was held to deal with outstanding matters in respect of three West Midlands bus operators, namely Solihull Travel Limited, AM PM Travel Limited and Bham Travel Limited – and the individuals associated with them.

The PI was to ascertain the licence status of the former two companies, and the status of the licence application of the latter.

A number of legal issues were examined by West Midlands Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Jones, including the operation of vehicles without insurance, the presence of a “shadow director” and allegations of bribery and forgery.

Background In April 2011, Mel Kang, who worked for AM PM and was a former director, set up Solihull Travel Limited (STL). STL was set up in his wife’s name, Sukhvinder Kaur Kang, and the companies operated from the same building.

Centro, the Integrated Transport Authority for the West Midland Metropolitan Area, had a contract in place with STL to operate the S7 service with effect from April 24, 2011, and prior to contract commencement Centro undertook all the requisite checks including their insurance documentation of which they hold copies.

In mid May, both Centro and the police were contacted by other operators informing them that STL were operating without valid insurance. In the evening of May 20, Centro received a call from the director of STL, Steve Minor, to advise that the firm did not have any insurance and as a result had to cease bus operations with immediate effect.

With regard to AM PM Travel www.coachandbus.com

LegalNews.indd 24

with whom Centro had no contractual relationship, they were advised by their broker that their insurance cover was withdrawn on May 5, but they operated services since that date until it is believed, May 20. AM PM has since gone into administration.

TesTimonies Debbie Kavanagh from the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Leeds told the TC that on May 23, 2011, Solihull Travel Limited ceased running their two registered services due to not having valid insurance in place. One route, the S7, was being run under subsidy for Centro, who cancelled the contract and awarded it to another operator, MJ Motors Ltd, trading as Grosvenor Coaches, which has no connection with any of the parties involved with this case. The other service was commercially-operated route X50 Redditch to Birmingham via Wythall. Worcestershire County Council put another operator on the route by way of emergency tender.

STL recommenced route X50 on June 6, 2011 but contracted it out to another operator. STL advised the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Leeds that it would be operating two other services which were due to commence at the same time.

On June 2, 2011 an application was received in the Office of the Traffic Commissioner to cancel the X50 service with effect from July 28, 2011, giving 56 days notice.

An application was also made to cancel the two other services from the same date. Another operator applied to commence the X50 service from July 28, 2011.

On June 23, 2011 Worcestershire County Council informed the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Leeds that they had received a phone call from Mick Singh (the father of Mel Kang) to say the X50 service would cease from that day. The Council again awarded an emergency tender to another

operator to continue the service from June 24, 2011.

Steven Minor had initially been employed by AM PM Travel Limited, originally as an on road inspector, before moving into office work.

In the second half of 2010, Mel Kang had called all AM PM Travel Limited staff into the office to explain he had to cut everyone’s wages because the insurance premiums for the vehicles had gone up, which was accepted by staff.

Steven Minor told the TC that at the beginning of 2011, Kang advised him he was setting up a new company (STL). Minor was asked to assist with the operation of STL as well as AM PM, dealing with timetabling and general running of the day to day buses, effectively working for both entities.

STL’s services commenced in April 2011 and Minor, under the instructions of Kang, managed and monitored them.

At the end of May, Kang offered Minor the position of STL’s director, but only as a title, with no actual control.

When Minor found that both STL and AM PM had been allowing vehicles to be used without insurance, he decided to end his employment.

Subsequently, Minor obtained work with another company. He confirmed to the TC that as far as

he was aware he had never formally been a director, as he had not signed any paperwork to become one.

On June 1, Debbie Kavanagh received a telephone call from someone who gave his name as Sarje Singh. He said STL had been taken over and they were ready to recommence their X50 service from June 6. She informed him that the company number had not changed and it was the same entity, so she would still be making a submission to the TC relating to the non operation of services and the lack of insurance. Sarje Singh said he had not thought himself responsible for what happened in the past and would have to rethink his position.

Companies House records were checked which showed Minor was appointed director on 12/05/2011, resigning 26/05/2011, so Kavanagh spoke to him on June 2, to ascertain who was in control of STL. He informed her he had walked away from it all and had no idea who was running the company.

That afternoon, Kavanagh received a telephone call from someone saying he was Steven Minor, advising that he was back in control of STL. He was told she needed to be satisfied as to who was running the company and he agreed to fax through proof of ownership and details of share holdings. This was requested by

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0900hrs on June 3.

After no information was received, Kavanagh telephoned Minor on his personal mobile to ask if relevant details had been faxed through. He responded to effect that he knew nothing about it. She reminded him of the previous day’s telephone call and Minor said he had nothing to do with STL and someone was pretending to be him.

Whilst on the telephone to Minor, Kavanagh noticed that another call was coming through on a separate line, from STL’s number. She came off the phone to Minor and rang STL back immediately. The gentleman who answered the telephone stated that he was Minor. She told him she had just spoken to Minor but he was adamant that he was Minor, and he was sending in proof of ownership of the company, together with details of share holdings.

Nothing was received; and later on June 3, a telephone call was received from a Henry Adams who advised that he was operations director of STL. He was asked by Kavanagh who was in control of the company and was told he was employed by Mick Singh.

Minor told the TC he decided to check Companies House records, and saw he had been appointed as

The X50 failed to operate for the legal minimum of 56 days

Key Points: TC finds solihull Travel and am Pm Travel “could not be trusted to ensure future compliance, and needs to be put out of business in the interests of both road safety and fair competition.” mel Kang disqualified from applying for or holding an O-license indefinitely in any traffic area. £2,000 ‘hush money’ offered to keep irregularities quiet application for new Bham Travel O-license refused.

Case spread over three Pis – on June 9 and 29, and October 11

“The fact that Mel Kang is, or has been, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court demonstrates that his actions are not mere negligence or inadvertence from someone who is inarticulate. He has sought to mislead.” director. The records showed him as sole director but he said he had never signed any documentation to undertake that role, although he had previously agreed in principle with Kang to become director.

He then contacted various public authorities to tell them what had happened.

Minor telephoned Kang to ask why his name was recorded as a director, who explained that the business had been signed over to Sukhi Singh, and his name would just take some time to come off the record.

Minor had not been aware of Sukhi Singh ever signing any documentation or his being a director.

It then transpired that again, as of June 1, Minor had been reappointed as director.

In the presence of his new employer’s transport manager, he rang Kang asking why his name had been put back on the licence, putting Kang on loudspeaker.

Kang explained it needed to

LegalNews.indd 25

be done for a couple of days, and offered Minor £2,000 not to say anything about the arrangement.

Sukhi Singh told the TC that he had an agreement to become director of STL after a conversation with Kang. He had thought that Kang was a director of Solihull Travel Limited and had known him for the previous two years.

Bham Travel limiTed Daljit Bhatti, 23, was the sole director of Bham Travel Limited (BTL). Since coming to the UK from India six years ago, Bhatti has undertaken some plumbing and cleaning work but principally driving buses for AM PM Travel.

He is currently driving for “another operator.”

Alas, BTL had applied for a standard national licence, but there were apparent ties with Mel Kang.

At the PI, Bhatti was questioned by the TC, where he displayed an obvious lack of knowledge, as well as not being able to answer questions regarding Kang’s involvement.

The TC said it was clear that Bhatti: Did not know what a business plan was; Did not know what the Working Time Directive was; Had not seen any contract of employment except his own; Did not have any realistic concept as to the work required to obtain the transport manager CPC certificate; Had no concept of the undertakings required of any operator on being granted an operator’s licence; When answering questions about the responsibilities of an operator, he gave answers which revealed he might have driven PSV vehicles, but revealed no more; Had not even read the call up papers and transcript of the earlier hearing properly, instead he had “skimmed it”; and, Could not offer an explanation as to why Mel Kang had agreed to prepare the application and agreed to be transport manager without any discussion as to what Mel Kang would be paid by way of salary.

Findings The TC did not make any formal finding as to who forged the signature on the Companies House application, which may fall to other regulatory bodies to consider. He

accepts Minor’s assertions that Kang offered him £2,000 to stay quiet about certain proceedings, and that someone phoned the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Leeds pretending to be him.

Kang offered the directorship to Sukhi Singh, despite Kang not being a director or shareholder. Sukhi Singh thought Kang was a director of STL and had authority to offer him the position.

Kang’s wife, Sukhvinder Kaur Kang, was director in name only and did not appear to undertake any duties of a director.

Harjinder Gill had a family relationship with Kang; she did not appear to undertake the duties of a director although she attended the office occasionally.

Manveer Malhi is the current director of both STL and AM PM. Kang was recorded as a director of AM PM although he ceased to undertake that role according to Companies House records. Kang still undertook the role of director of AM PM for a period after he ceased to be director.

The TC found Kang to be unreliable. He also found that Kang acted as the controlling mind of STL, giving the impression he had authority to appoint others.

The TC came to this conclusion for the following reasons: He accepts the evidence of both Sukhi Singh and Steven Minor where they make it clear that it was Kang who offered directorships to them; It was Kang who told Minor he was setting up STL with the intention of having his wife as the named director “to avoid confusion”; Kang had conversations with Minor as set out in Minor’s evidence describing how and why he would be appointed as director; Kang arranged the insurance cover both for STL and AM PM; Kang offered to pay a sum of £2,000 to Minor if he kept quiet about the irregularities; Minor’s telephone conversation with Kang was witnessed by a third party; Someone pretended to be Minor when talking to Debbie Kavanagh, that person was Kang; and, In his evidence Daljit Bhatti answered questions which revealed Kang was someone who was prepared to undertake a substantial controlling role in a licence with someone else being nominated as director. www.coachandbusweek.com

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LEGAL nEWS › public inquiry

Decisions Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones made the following judgments: steven Minor It was Mel Kang who offered the directorship to Steven Minor, although if Mel Kang was not himself a director or shareholder it is difficult to see how he could have lawfully done this. sukhi singh Sukhi Singh became a director of STL for a limited period of time but was an innocent party caught up in the machinations of others. sukhvinder Kaur Kang Any future application involving Sukhvinder Kaur Kang is to be referred to a traffic commissioner for consideration and is not to be dealt with by staff under delegated authority.

Harjinder Gill Any future application involving Harjinder Gill, is to be referred to a traffic commissioner for consideration and is not to be dealt with by staff under delegated authority.

Manveer Malhi In the absence of specific evidence of wrongdoing there is no adverse finding. However, any future application involving Manveer Malhi is to be referred to a traffic commissioner for consideration and is not to be dealt with by staff under delegated authority.

Mel Kang Mel Kang has never been formally a director of Solihull Travel Limited, but initiated the company and was the controlling mind during its operations. Section 251 (1) of the Companies Act 2006 reads as follows: “In the Companies Acts “shadow director”, in relation to a company, means a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of the company are accustomed to act.”

Concerning Kang, the TC made these additional judgements: For the purposes of disqualification of an individual as a director I have no jurisdiction, which is for another authority.

However I do have jurisdiction to disqualify a director of a company under Section 28 of the Transport Act 1985. I make a finding that for the purposes of Section 28 of the Transport Act 1985 Mel Kang was the controlling mind and was a “shadow director”.

It is appropriate to disqualify Mel Kang under Section 28 of the Transport Act 1985 and he needs www.coachandbus.com

LegalNews.indd 26

AM PM Travel ran for over two weeks without valid insurance. The business has since gone into administration. A Dart is seen here on route 6

“Whilst on the telephone to Minor, Kavanagh noticed that another call was coming through on a separate line, from STL’s number. She came off the phone to Minor and rang STL back immediately.

The gentleman who answered the telephone stated that he was Minor. She told him she had just spoken to Minor but he was adamant that he was Minor.” to be kept out of the industry for a substantial period of time. His misleading staff of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner as to his identity; his offering monies to another to keep quiet about wrongdoing; his acting as a shadow director; his allowing PSV vehicles out on the roads without insurance putting the public at risk, all justify the need for any disqualification being for an indefinite period.

The fact that Mel Kang is, or has been, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court demonstrates that his actions are not mere negligence or inadvertence from someone who is inarticulate. He has sought to mislead.

Daljit Bhatti Daljit Bhatti’s evidence at the hearing revealed him to be woefully lacking in knowledge of the responsibilities of management, let alone the responsibilities of operator licensing. It may have been accepted by the TC that he was a dupe and had naively accepted advice from Kang, but Bhatti’s letter claiming he did not want to reveal his business plan to potential rivals “did him no credit”.

The TC did not accept it as true. He didn’t seek any legal advice before submitting his application and spelt out that if granted the licence he would learn his responsibilities. But the key point is that he spelt out he would learn his responsibilities after the grant of an operator’s licence, not beforehand.

The TC said: “Daljit Bhatti has the burden of satisfying me that he has the repute to hold an operator’s licence. He also has the burden of satisfying me he is capable of running a safe compliant operation. It is very clear that he lacks basic knowledge as to his responsibilities.

“I strongly advise that he does not attempt to enter the operator licensing regime until after he obtains basic knowledge. With my responsibilities for fair competition and for road safety, I have no hesitation in determining that he has failed to satisfy me as to repute and has failed to satisfy me that he can run a safe, efficient operation.” solihull Travel Limited This entity has operated PSV services without valid insurance thereby putting passengers and the public at risk, and has created considerable reputational damage

to the industry. The TC stated: “It is appropriate to take rogue operators out of the operator licensing regime.”

He added: “No finances have been produced and so it is inevitable the licence be revoked for lack of appropriate financial standing.” The TC stated the operator could not be trusted to ensure future compliance, and needs to be put out of business in the interests of both road safety and fair competition.

No formal findings are made under issues raised in the call up letter referring to Section 26 (1) (a) or Section 26 (1) (d) of the Transport Act 1985 as the entity is no longer operating.

AM PM Travel Limited The comments above relating to Solihull Travel Limited apply equally to AM PM Travel Limited, because the controlling mind of one entity was also the controlling mind of the other; namely Mel Kang. The lack of finances and the lack of repute referred above apply similarly to AM PM. No formal findings are made under issues raised in the call up letter referring to Section 26 (1) (a) or Section 26 (1) (d) of the Transport Act 1985 as the entity is no longer operating.

cAse sTUDies The TC referred to Judge Brodrick in Fenton 2006/277 when he said that Traffic Commissioners and operators must be able to trust other operators to comply with all the relevant laws, rules and regulations. If trust between operators breaks down and some operators believe others are obtaining an unfair commercial advantage by ignoring laws, rules or regulations then standards will inevitably slip and the public will suffer.

In the case of Paul Oven Transport Services Limited 2005/56, Judge Beech referred to instances where there were changes of director and appointments of director with the intention of keeping operations running whilst failing to communicate this with the traffic commissioner. Judge Beech said: “The manipulation of the system of licensing in this manner strikes at the heart of the regulatory regime and goes to the issue of good repute of those persons who orchestrated and facilitated such manipulation.”

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553167-1016-GuideDogs

9/12/11

10:30

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TECHNOLOGY › Audio VisuAl

Thumbs up for AV? For Thamesdown Transport, recent winners of Operator of the Year at the UK Bus Awards, its Talking Buses system has been a huge success. Coach & Bus Week’s Meera Rambissoon spoke to five operators about their verdicts on the audio visual technology installed on their vehicles www.coachandbusweek.com

AV.indd 28

P

roviding information and making bus journeys accessible to passengers are as integral as driving them from A to B when it comes to running bus. Both are good incentives for fitting Audio Visual (AV) technology – on board announcements and screens with next stop information – on buses.

Guide Dogs for the Blind’s David Cowdrey made a persuasive case for more operators introducing AV systems last month when he set out the organisation’s Talking Buses campaign (CBW1016). While the theory sounds great – boosting the customer experience, assisting not only blind, visually impaired and deaf passengers but also tourists,

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 29

NCT is so pleased with AV, the system will be rolled out across its entire bus fleet over the next two years

and alleviating pressure on the driver - the technology has to work on the ground, benefit passengers and prove a sound commercial investment.

Aside from what is arguably the “Rolls Royce” of AV systems, London iBus, six operators have installed AV technology on their bus services in the UK. While Reading Transport is not finding its system so easy to contend with, fellow municipal operator Thamesdown Transport’s Talking Buses system won the operator a runner up prize in the accessibility category of the UK Bus Awards 2010 and is proving a palpable hit.

Thamesdown’s Talking Buses

Thamesdown Transport has long been keen to improve the

AV.indd 29

accessibility of its bus services for the local community and provide helpful information to passengers whilst they are on board its buses.

Lack of information is seen by Thamesdown as a potential hurdle for infrequent bus users and a deterrent to modal shift.

The company was already an early adopter of lowfloor buses from 1996, with on-bus information provision using scrolling LED message screens. Ten years on, Thamesdown wanted to update its on-bus information system and so the switch to Wrightbus-bodied Scania vehicles in 2006 included specifying the Hanover ‘Announce’ system, featuring a ceiling-mounted TFT screen and six speakers spread through the bus. Over the next three years a total of 28 such vehicles were delivered, with the capital cost of the new equipment, therefore, incurred steadily over this period.

Initially, just the visual ‘next bus stop’ messages were carried, but the longer-term objective was to deliver the full audio-visual package which was rolled out in 2009 as the ‘Talking Buses’ scheme.

In September, the system was extended to Thamesdown’s 20 and 24 routes, with the delivery of eight Optare Versas.

“When we invest, it is usually to upgrade and improve the customer experience,” explained managing director Paul Jenkins. “A lot of our customers are regulars so they know where the buses go but the visually impaired and hard of hearing find it useful, as do tourists.

“The project was aimed at assisting the visually impaired and the deaf, rather than those with

mobility problems. Nevertheless, the system does help passengers with mobility difficulties by giving them plenty of warning their bus stop is coming up, thereby enabling them to get ready to alight.”

The scheme was trialled extensively before being officially launched in the Autumn of 2009.

Positive feedback has been received from passengers and the scheme has been welcomed by Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

“The project has intentionally been developed on the ‘learn to walk before you run’ principle as we only had a small team able to work on it and the cost was being funded by us commercially. We introduced the system gradually because we didn’t want to launch it until we had gained some experience of the system back in 2009.”

With the delivery of the 28th Scania/Wrightbus single decker in 2009 there were enough

Guide Dogs for the Blind has given the thumbs up for Thamesdown’s Talking Buses system, where the roll-out of AV began in 2006

buses fitted to launch the facility across Thamesdown’s main high frequency routes, Services 1/1A, 2, 13, 14 and 17. Thamesdown decided to wait until this critical mass had been achieved in order to bring the benefit of the AV bus stop announcements to as many passengers as possible and to ensure the project was delivered in a cost-effective way.

“The project continued to be progressed despite the onset of the economic recession affecting passenger numbers and is now in place ready for the recovery,” added Paul.

The system is GPS-based and announces the name of the next stop as the bus leaves the previous stop. A visual reminder is given as the bus approaches the next stop and if the bus doors open at a stop the name of that stop is given again. The announcements not only help visually impaired and deaf people know where they are but also benefits any passenger who may be unfamiliar with the route.

Even regulars can gain reassurance that their journey is progressing as intended, much as commuters on the Tube do with the on-train station announcements.

To ensure the project had a local dimension, Thamesdown asked Swindon community radio presenter Shirley Ludford to record the bus stop names, thereby providing their passengers with a familiar local voice on the buses.

“We also obtained very constructive feedback during the trials from Tony Trevennen, a partially-sighted passenger who travels on our buses with a guide dog,” commented Paul.

The project was seen as a natural extension of the other GPS-based applications, which had been fitted to Thamesdown’s vehicles, such as automatic setting of fare stages for the driver and the real time information system.

“No specific research was carried out, although feedback was received from passengers during trials - for example about the volume setting of the announcements,” explained Paul. “After some adjustments we found the optimum balance for it can be heard clearly without being intrusive to the journey experience.”

The system requires no additional input from the driver, as it picks up route information from the electronic ticket machine.

“Indeed, next bus stop announcing eases the bus www.coachandbusweek.com

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30 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

£5,000

TECHNOLOGY › Audio VisuAl

The amount Reading Buses paid to equip each jetblack bus with AV

NCT’s AV system went live in March 2011 and was welcomed by the Nottingham Blind Association driver’s workload, in that he no longer has to remember to let a visually-impaired passenger know when he/she has reached his/her destination,” said Paul.

Being named runner up in the accessibility category of the 2010 UK Bus Awards (UKBA) was a huge boost and the judges were impressed the initiative had been funded commercially despite the recession and that it had been developed in a strong partnership in the community with individuals and groups representing people with disabilities.

UKBA judges were also impressed with the supporting documents and publicity.

Commenting on the overall success of Talking Buses, Paul concluded: “I think the system has encouraged us sufficiently to say all new vehicles will be fitted with AV. We have no plans to retrofit but there are some new funding streams, for example the Better Bus Area fund and we are looking at this scheme to see if there is a case to retrofit and provide a common experience on all buses.” www.coachandbusweek.com

AV.indd 30

Smooth running in Nottingham

Ian Craig

“Its early days, however, the majority of the anecdotal feedback received from both operations is generally positive – the only exception being the audio element which tends to split opinion.”

Ian Craig MD Lothian Buses

The city of Nottingham has not just one but two operators with AV systems on board buses. trent barton relaunched its Rainbow service, which serves Nottingham, Long Eaton, Derby and East Midlands airport with 25 new buses, all with audio visual information in 2003 and a customer survey in 2008 revealed 85% of all passengers found on-board announcements very useful or quite useful.

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) also introduced AV technology to its buses throughout 2010. NCT’s commercial services manager, Kevin Ward, project manager for the company’s real time AVL system, explained NCT was not impressed by the first real time system it had so moved to INIT, based on the Star Trak system.

Kevin explained: “The bus fleet had a two-way radio which was in need of replacement. If we carried on with the first system, we would have needed a two-way radio and a separate radio to transmit data.

INIT in partnership with Tait radio had a road runner system with a voice channel and a dedicated data channel on the same system. We are able to integrate all those onto one radio on a bus and decided to gradually fit out our vehicles. In 18 months, 110 vehicles were fitted with full AVL and the remainder with standard Tait radio.”

All new buses bought are now fitted with AVL equipment, said Kevin, with voice announcements for every stop along the route. “The hard of hearing can hear when they are approaching their stop and we have other nice messages like thank you traveling with us.

“It’s cheaper than having a separate AVL and radio system,” added Kevin. So far NCT has spent £3.4m. Out of 350 buses, 240 now have full AV technology, operating on 33 of NCT’s 66 routes. “We went live with the AVL system in March this year, so we’ve only done a snap survey. It’s been a big learning curve and we intend to do a bigger survey in the New Year. Our snap survey shows while in the beginning people didn’t like the voice

16/01/2012 19:36

64%

Proportion of Thamesdown Transport’s fleet with AV technology announcements and couldn’t read their books, when we explained the reasons we introduced it – for the hard of hearing and visitors to the city, they accepted it.”

Kevin said the Nottingham Blind Association like the voice announcements and is looking forward to 100% coverage across the fleet over the next two years.

Commenting on the preparation carried out, Kevin said: “We went down to London to see the ibus operation and saw the control rooms, spoke to staff and asked passengers what they thought and we went up to Edinburgh to see Lothian’s system which is excellent and we brought ideas from everywhere and did background research and a lot of testing.”

“The day the system went live, everything went smoothly and we’re very pleased with the end result and we look forward to it being rolled out across our entire fleet,” he concluded.

20

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 31

The number of new buses on which Brighton & Hove installed AV in April 2011 Ian concluded: “Its early days. however the majority of the anecdotal feedback received thus far from both operations is generally positive – the only exception being the audio element which tends to split opinion.”

A bumpier AV ride in Reading

Reading Buses has introduced Connexionz equipment to all its routes, with 40 ADL double-deckers already equipped and nine Scania Omnicities under conversion to this kit on the Jetblack, yellow 26, the Claret routes and purple 17 routes.

The Scanias are used on the Pink routes serving Caversham.

The system, which is also fitted to First and Go Ahead buses in

Reading, was funded by Reading Borough Council.

“Previously, all buses have been fitted with Connexionz TFT screens giving Next Stop information in written form - good for the deaf, but no use for visually handicapped people,” said Reading Buses CEO, James Freeman.

“We felt verbal announcements (the equivalent of the old bus conductor shouting out the names of the stops) would enhance traveller confidence, and not just for visually-handicapped passengers.”

However, the process has been a challenging one. “It has proved far from easy to deliver. Not only is it expensive (equipping the buses for jetblack cost over £5k per bus, for example) but it’s been a nightmare

Lessons learnt

by Lothian Buses

Lothian Buses first trialled AV announcements on its airport shuttle Airlink service in September 2010.

“This is a limited stop operation and has a high percentage of passengers who are unfamiliar with Edinburgh and its immediate environment,” said Ian Craig, managing director of Lothian Buses.

The company introduced the INEO Mobis system, in addition to its INEO supplied AVL system fitted across the entire fleet, in September last year. While Ian admits installation of AV, initially on its Airlink service to Edinburgh Airport, was a costly and less than easy process, he says it taught them a “lot of lessons”. “The subsequent implementation on vehicles dedicated to operate Service 10 (by contrast a traditional, frequent, stopping cross city operation) was much more straightforward despite the fact a different body manufacturer was involved,” continued Ian. “The plan is to undertake detailed passenger research on both Airlink and Service 10 operations in the spring. This will enable us to get a much better understanding of the impact this system has on our customers’ travelling experience and help determine how we develop what we already have and whether or not to roll this technology out across our fleet going forward.”

AV.indd 31

to keep it all going,” commented James.

“All too often I travel on buses where the screens and/or announcements are not working.

Only this morning the bus I rode to work had dead screens and was not making announcements. This is enormously frustrating as for visually handicapped people the system is virtually useless if they cannot absolutely rely on it.”

James continued: “In terms of passenger reaction, we do get quite a lot of approbation for having the system. However, failures in operation will quickly give rise to justifiable complaints. The higher you climb, the further you fall!”

It’s not all bad, however but a better system is needed. “We feel it’s part of the enhanced level of service, with added value, our customers expect of us. It’s therefore a good thing.

But we need a simpler, cheaper system, less dependent on overcomplicated inputs, to allow verbal announcements to be introduced network-wide.

“And is it worth all the money?

The jury is out on that one!” concluded James.

Positive feedback in Brighton & Hove

Lothian Buses first trialled AV technology on its Airlink service and lessons learnt means its adoption on Service 10 was much more straightforward

Comment: It seems the more preparation, research - visiting operators who already have systems in place and asking questions - and testing done before hand, the more chances of a smooth ride when it comes to AV adoption.

Equally crucial is choosing the right system. For Londoners, iBus’ on-board announcements and LED screens are a norm but hugely helpful to all sorts of passengers. Of course a system of this scale and expense is not necessarily something most operators are able to replicate but companies such as Brighton & Hove, Thamesdown Transport, and Nottingham City Transport are doing well with what they’ve got and the fact they will specify AV on all new buses can only be a good sign.

Thamesdown’s Paul Jenkins offers some wise words of advice to operators: “I think it’s for each operator to decide to make the commercial investment. The system does require management and keeping up to date. I can see why Guide Dogs are so keen to see AV adopted as a national standard. Equally, it’s got to be linked to passenger volumes and could be useful in tourist areas. It’s up to each operator to make its own assessment.”

The story is different for Brighton & Hove which introduced onboard audio announcements to 20 new buses in April 2011. “We are delighted with the AV system we have installed on the 20 Volvo B9TL with Wright bodies used on routes 6 and 7 which both pass Brighton Station so are well used by visitors,” explained managing director Roger French.

“The system is powered by our Trapeze real time information/GPS system (formerly Siemens) and has proved to be very reliable and accurate - we’ve had this system installed for over a decade.

“We will now be specifying this as standard equipment on all future bus deliveries as the feedback from passengers has been excellent with many visitors and passengers with poor eyesight commenting how valuable they find it.

“We introduced it after seeing how well the system worked in London, and thought it would also be appropriate for Brighton and Hove with its many visitors. It has not proved intrusive for regular passengers and we haven’t had any negative reactions, only positive comments.”

www.coachandbusweek.com

16/01/2012 19:37

32 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

THE BIG PICTURE

As you’ll read elsewhere in this issue, the third round of Green Bus Funding (GBF) from the English Government is all the rage this week. With the deadline day of February 10 only weeks away, and with MAN and ADL rightly keen to promote their proven products with full page advertisements, we thought it would be appropriate to remind you of Oxford. Regarded as something of an oasis in the bus industry, it may come as no surprise to learn both the city’s big group operators, Stagecoach and Go-Ahead Group-owned Oxford Bus Company operate hybrid buses, the acquisition of which has benefited from previous rounds of GBF. One of the latter’s fleet of ADL Enviro 400 Hybrids, which operate on three Park & Ride routes, is pictured here by editor Gareth Evans in Oxford city centre on December 7, 2011. Perhaps of note to more enthusiastic readers is the distinctive cherished registration number ‘HY11BRD’.

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34 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

inSigHt › peak district bus travel

A mist opportunity Phil Stockley, of Eastleigh-based independent bus operator Black Velvet Travel recalls a day out by bus in the Peak District, describing the charms, the quirks and the curiosities, before giving his thoughts on the network in a professional capacity

I

love what do for a living but it’s also nice to see how someone else does it. A social event required my presence in Derby on the evening of Saturday, November 19. This gave me the opportunity to sample the buses in the Peak District, something I have long meant to do but never found the right occasion.

To be honest it wasn’t really on the agenda for this weekend either.

My plan had been to return south on the train as soon as I woke up on Sunday morning and spend the afternoon doing domestic chores back in Southampton. However, a conversation with a couple of friends on Saturday night stirred my sense of discovery and I decided to have an adventure.

My plan was not to have a plan, but insofar as I needed to end up somewhere where I could get a train south to be back in Southampton by 1900hrs-ish on Sunday evening, I had the notion of setting off on trent barton’s transpeak service to Matlock at 0950hrs on Sunday morning, before perhaps catching TM Travel’s 215 service to Sheffield. Needless to say, what actually happened was nothing like that.

Arriving at Derby Bus Station at around 0940, the transpeak was already on the stand loading.

Moreover, it had almost a full seated load with 10 minutes to go to departure. It is highly creditable that it was already available for boarding, and most useful to me because it allowed me to decide not to go on it. I like my personal space, especially when I’m feeling slightly

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delicate after a heavy night, and really didn’t fancy nearly an hour on a full bus so I aborted the plan.

In fact I almost aborted the entire plan and headed for the railway station, but just as I was about to leave the bus station my eye was drawn to a service at 1000 to Ashbourne and Leek.

The weekday equivalent between Derby and Ashbourne is trent barton’s swift, which has recently been rebranded to very impressive effect, but you can always rely on a tendered Sunday equivalent to a weekday commercial service to be confusingly different, so the Sunday bus is a 108 operated by TM Travel.

This seemed more likely to offer plenty of personal space and so it proved, with a very jolly driver and three passengers on our smartly presented Solo when we left Derby.

I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do when I got to Ashbourne but it seemed likely to offer a nice ride, and if I had thought of

“Shortly before our arrival in Buxton we burst out of the mist into a clear sunny day, and for the last couple of miles we called at every stop, filling up with locals for the short ride into town who would have had no idea of our adventure in the fog.”

Phil Stockley

nothing else I figured I could always carry on to Leek and try to get a connection to Stoke from there.

Two things quickly became apparent as we headed west into the countryside. Firstly, the scenery is almost certainly magnificent.

Secondly, I couldn’t see any of it due to the thick fog which was enveloping everything apart from a few hundred metres of the road ahead. This afforded me plenty of time to play with my phone. I stumbled across the website for Public Transport in Derbyshire, a real mecca for a timetable geek like me.

From this I was able to deduce I had two much more interesting options when I arrived at Ashbourne, with a choice of departures at 1035 on either a TM Travel bus on route 110 to Matlock, or a Bowers bus on a 42A to Buxton.

The first of these options was more appealing, as it would allow me to return to Derby in a triangle and still get back to Southampton in good time. It was also a slightly shorter journey - the Buxton bus would take nearly an hour and a half to get there and that length of journey tries my patience.

Therefore, I resolved I would catch the bus to Matlock, but almost inevitably that isn’t what happened.

On arrival at what grandly calls itself Ashbourne Bus Station - a layby comprising three bus shelters - both the above mentioned buses were waiting, and as expected, both were Optare Solos. However, it quickly became apparent there was to be some swapping of buses, and in fact the bus which was supposedly en route from Derby to Leek was actually going to transfer

Looking back over Buxton, from which you can see the northern extremity of the fog bank Phil endured for so much of the morning

on to the Matlock route, and the bus that was already waiting in Ashbourne - which I assumed would be the 110 - was in fact going forward to Leek.

Presumably this is to cycle buses for maintenance etc. The 108 seems a long way from TM Travel’s Sheffield heartland - but since this now meant I would be staying on the same bus I decided it would be too boring, hence I decided to go to Buxton instead.

A skilled driver

For my first trip on a Bowers bus I was delighted to be presented with a choice of three moquettes, all entirely clashing, but the driver was friendly and cheerful. Once again, three passengers were aboard as

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we pulled out.

There followed one of the most surreal and enchanting bus rides I can remember. Shortly after leaving Ashbourne, we plunged off down a narrow lane and for the next hour weaved our way around woodland and dales, through picturesque villages, up steep hills to magnificent summits and down again into precipitous valleys. At least I assume we did all these things, but the dense wall of fog kept it all secret from us.

Occasionally the mist would clear enough to tease us with the merest glimpse of scenic wonder, only to close in again at the next bend.

Through it all the driver made careful but steady progress, guiding us through the gloom and picking

DerbysDayOut.indd 35

our way past cars and horse boxes when they loomed suddenly out of the murky greyness. He displayed the skill of one who knew every inch of the roads, an assuredness honed from years of experience.

And yet, suddenly, as we were nearing the end of the trip he stopped and checked with us whether he had to take a particular right turn. He then revealed he had only ever driven the route once before. Nobody could begrudge him in that moment of uncertainty - all of us who drive professionally have found ourselves in that very situation - but it made all the more astounding the manner with which he had guided us through the dense fog up to that point.

Shortly before our arrival in

Buxton we burst out of the mist into a clear sunny day, and for the last couple of miles we called at every stop, filling up with locals for the short ride into town who would have had no idea of our adventure in the fog.

Travel choices

Despite the frustration of being unable to see anything, this was one of the most magical bus rides I can ever recall. I loved the sense of being a long way from anywhere, in our own little cocoon remote from the outside world. And of course I have the added joy of knowing I will have to go back to experience the route again in clear conditions, when I can properly appreciate the surroundings.

Arrival in Buxton was just before 1200 and our bus was allowed a brief rest before disappearing out of service.

It was clear that having crossed so much of the Peak District, it made much more sense to pop out the other side than to hack back across to Derby, so my thoughts turned to onward transport. The train now became an option, but my preference was for one more bus ride - you see and experience so much more of local life riding on a bus.

Stockport seemed the obvious destination, with an hourly direct train link back to Southampton. transpeak has an annoying threehour gap heading north from Buxton, so skyline 199 - also

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36 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

inSigHt › peak district bus travel

from the trent barton stable, as you can tell from the absence of capital letters - was the obvious choice.

1215 from Buxton would get me to Stockport Bus Station at 1325, just in time for a mad scramble up the hill to the railway station for a 1336 train. Perfect. So of course it didn’t happen.

By about 1230, with no sign of skyline anywhere to be seen, I was bored. I also knew I had missed my connection and would therefore be on the 1436 from Stockport.

Had this been the plan all along I wouldn’t have minded at all, but having set my heart on the 1336 it was something of a let down to know that I had missed it.

I figured that, to be sure of at least getting the 1436, I could give skyline until around 1300 and then I would have to walk to the railway station. And then, while I was idly pondering the maps and departure boards at the bus stop, Macclesfield emerged.

Over the Cat & Fiddle

Listed on the bus stop timetable was a 1240 service 58 to Macclesfield. The map suggested it went through somewhere called the Cat & Fiddle, which stirred a distant memory from radio traffic reports in times of bad weather. Consulting the Derbyshire website, I could scarcely believe that compared to the seventy minute slog to Stockport, this option would have me on the West Coast Main Line in barely half an hour - and still in time to catch the 1336 train one stop up the line.

I consider myself to have a good grasp of the geography of Britain, so I am ashamed I had no real idea of just how close Buxton is to Macclesfield, and the outside world in general. I had not appreciated how much I would be cutting the corner by heading to Macclesfield rather than Stockport, and until this option bopped me on the nose Macclesfield had never entered my head as somewhere on the shortlist of places to visit. It certainly was not on the list of places I had expected to see when I walked out of my Derby hotel just three hours previously. And yet Macclesfield was the answer.

However, Buxton wouldn’t let me go without a fight. skyline eventually turned up twenty five minutes late, but I sneered at it with disdain as I waited for the now imminent service 58. Only the 58 didn’t come. 1240 came and went,

Arrival in Buxton was just before 1200. Phil’s bus is at the front, having just been joined by one of its sisters 1245, 1250, 1255 and still no sign.

I was now resigned to a walk to the station to catch the train, and then the 1436 from Stockport. Such a let down after such anticipation.

And then finally, just as I was about to give up and start walking, along it came. Another Bowers Solo, I boarded along with the two other waiting passengers, and then we sat there for five minutes while the driver had a phone conversation with his controller. He rang to alert him to the delay, but this turned into a lengthy debate about how it had happened and what could be done about it. None of which was getting us any closer

Conclusion:

to Macclesfield, but eventually we set off.

It was now 1310, and I knew my favoured train would be in Macclesfield at 1349. I knew also the bus journey would take half an hour and therefore I didn’t have much time and I had no idea how to find Macclesfield station once I got there. So the scene was set for a nail-biting finale, but before any of that my breath was taken from me by the stunning scenery that lay around us as we climbed out of Buxton.

Normally I know when I’m going to be in for a scenic ride, and I set my anticipation levels accordingly.

The Peak District fascinates me. It has some of the most dramatic scenery you will encounter in this country, but all in close proximity to real life.

Distances are short, it is easy to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time, and especially for a Sunday the frequency of bus services is astonishingly good, with some really useful connections.

Although passenger numbers were modest on the buses I used, there were walkers and sightseers as well as locals. All the drivers I encountered were friendly and helpful.

All the ingredients are there for an amazing tourist product, yet the whole thing seems so much less than the sum of its parts. It seems to me to be crying out for a decently branded network, indeed the network is virtually already there, but if I wasn’t a persistent transport geek I would never have worked out that stringing the 108, 42A and 58 together would get me from east to west in a morning, or that everything comes together in Ashbourne at 1030. I still have no idea if there was a ticket that I could have bought that would have saved me buying three separate singles and given me the flexibility to go where I wanted. There certainly should be.

In my humble opinion the network cries out for some simplification, decent branding, ticketing and promotion, and surely the passenger numbers would go through the roof as they have done on Coasthopper in Norfolk or Jurassic CoastlinX53 (sic) in Dorset and Devon.

Despite that, I loved my morning bus adventure in the Peak District and I can’t wait to be back!

By contrast, I saw nothing to look forward to in the trip to Macclesfield. It felt like a cop out, shuffling sheepishly out of the side door of the High Peak. I was not prepared for the Cat & Fiddle.

What an amazing road, what a panorama, and all condensed into less than thirty minutes. What a surprising end to my bus travels for the day, and what a climax.

Before we got to the best bit, I was able to take a photo looking back over Buxton, from which you can see the northern extremity of the fog bank that I had endured for so much of the morning.

After the unexpected excitement of the Cat & Fiddle, our descent into Macclesfield took us right past the railway station - although in the best traditions of bus-rail integration in this country, it was kept as low profile as possible. My connection was easy, I had had a great adventure and it was barely lunchtime.

The £15 upgrade to First Class was a no brainer and I enjoyed four hours of relaxed snobbery, cruising south in spacious, luxurious accommodation, reading my book and listening to the occasional despairing announcements from the train manager to the sardines in Standard Class, not to block the aisles or pile their luggage in the vestibules.

Further Reading n Public Transport in Derbyshire: www.derbysbus.info n trent barton: www. trentbarton.co.uk n Bowers: bowersbuses.com

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16/01/2012 19:44

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 37

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38 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

UK BUS AWArdS › InnovatIon

2m

Journeys taken using the m-ticketing service as of January 2012

Arriva’s got an app for that Arriva’s M Ticketing took the innovation award at the UK Bus Awards on November 29, 2011. Coach and Bus Week’s James Day speaks to project head Mike Woodhouse, marketing manager at Arriva UK Bus, and takes a look at the breakthrough smartphone technology and why it has been such a success.

A

rriva’s M-ticketing system uses visual tickets on the screens of smartphones for increased convenience and reduced stop dwell time. When it was released, it was the only system of its kind to be used on a national scale, and proved itself to be a worthwhile investment extremely quickly.

Background

M-Ticketing was in part inspired

by Plusdial, a mobile SMS message ticketing system used on the Helsinki metro, with verification by ticket inspectors. The system had been running since 2003 and was ideal for metro and tram routes which don’t stop as frequently as buses, as the ticket inspection could be performed while the vehicle was on the move and did not increase stop dwell time. A form of auto verification would be needed to adapt the system for use on buses.

“M-ticketing came about because of a realisation,” explained Mike.

“90% of people today own a mobile phone and there is no doubt smart phone technology is the way of the future. It was only a matter of time before there was demand for it to be used in our industry, whether we liked it or not. We decided to take the initiative.”

Work on M-ticketing began in 2006. A trial was carried out on the Fastrack network between Gravesend and Dartford in Kent with a barcode-based system in February 2008. Arriva said the business www.coachandbusweek.com

M-Ticketing.indd 38

case for the barcode system wasn’t cost effective, as the capital cost of installing bar code scanners across an entire fleet was high. The system resembled Oyster cards in that passengers needed to scan when they alighted for the system to recognise a single journey and reimburse them. However, without gates to go through, customers could easily forget, causing them to be overcharged, and dwell time at stops could increase. This resulted in the system being largely used for season tickets.

The M-ticketing system then moved on to its current visual, low tech form. After a trial in July 2009, it was released on November 17, 2009 across all Arriva UK bus operations, excluding TfL contracts and park and ride routes. It made Arriva the first bus company in the

world to launch a national mobile ticketing system. A return on investment was secured in just six months.

Mike continued: “The service reached the million journey mark in June 2011, and we’re expecting figures to show approximately 2m up to the end of 2011 across all Arriva’s bus operations. From the system’s release through to the end 2011 we’ve had more than 60,000 people register for the service.

M-ticketing is definitely maintaining a very strong pick-up rate.

“Currently the service is used for 7-8% of our 4-weekly tickets, so it’s still a fledgling service. It’s hard to measure whether the service has resulted in an increase in raw passenger numbers. However, I can say that sales of our 4-weekly tickets have increased across all channels, including from the driver and from across our retail channels, so it’s unlikely all users of M-ticketing have simply moved across from another payment method.”

The App

The M-ticketing app as seen on the iPhone’s iOS operating system

The free M-ticketing app uses the mobile phone (must be GPRS enabled) as a ticket, displaying a simple message on screen which the passenger can show to the driver. No bar code scanning or figures are used; the passenger just needs to show the screen to the driver, keeping boarding time as short as possible.

Tickets are purchased through the app itself after card details are registered online, then encrypted and stored on the app. The tickets can then be activated at any time,

meaning if a last minute change of plan results in inability to ride the bus, the passenger’s money doesn’t go to waste. Activated tickets do not require an internet connection to use, so if the bus stop happens to be in a signal blackspot, there’s no problem. Once the ticket has expired, the app automatically deletes it, preventing the system from being abused.

The app is available to any phone with GPRS, although Arriva specifically identify the iOS (iPhone), Android and BlackBerry operating systems as main markets.

“When we first released M-ticketing in 2009, Android wasn’t established and the iPhone didn’t have the market share it does today, so most users had standard

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10%

Discount offered to passengers using the M-ticketing app

6

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 39

Months taken for Arriva to make a full return on investment for M-ticketing

M-Ticketing: a timeline

2005 – Saw Helsinki Metro system’s Plusdial, an SMS ticketing system which had been around since 2003.

2006 – Planning begins, approximately 18 months of development.

Late 2007 – System effectively ready for use, fine tuning and checking before trial.

February 2008 – Trial begins in Kent which is expected to run for 6 months with a bar code system. The service is continued for customers who wish to keep using it until visual system is released.

July 2009 – New visual system trial begins across operations in Kent and Yorkshire.

November 17, 2009 – M-Ticketing released across Arriva’s UK Bus operations. A PayPoint system is also released allowing customers to add cash credit to the app through PayPoint.

June 2011 – M-Ticketing passes the million journey mark.

November 29, 2011 – M-Ticketing wins UK Bus Award for Innovation.

M-ticketing is available nationally, including Derby (pictured)

phones and downloaded the app through a text message reply.” Mike said. “Nowadays users are mostly split three ways between iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.”

A 10% discount is offered to passengers purchasing 4-Weekly Saver tickets through the app.

“You have to promote the hell out of new technology.” Mike said. “We needed an offer as an incentive for customers to give the app a try.”

Security

“We’ve taken security very seriously on the service, which is double encrypted and therefore double the security of online shopping.” Mike said. “Arriva doesn’t store users payment data – it is stored in the app and encrypted behind

M-Ticketing.indd 39

Mike Woodhouse is seen holding an older generation Nokia handset.

Although this phone doesn’t have access to the same app stores seen on Android and iPhone, it can still use the M-ticketing technology

Trapeze takes over M-ticketing developers: Concept Data Technologies Ltd (CDT), developer of the M-ticketing app, was acquired by Trapeze Group on October 7, 2011. CDT specialised in the development of conventional and over-the-air download applications for mobile phones, with expertise in mobile ticketing and payment systems.

CDT also developed technology for Translink, Bus Eireann and public sector transport providers within Hertfordshire and Suffolk.

Peter Bell, Trapeze UK’s MD, said: “CDT has a track record for innovation and creativity within the secure mobile ticketing space, and this acquisition supports our strategy to provide coherent traveller information and transaction systems.

“Trapeze is committed to next generation systems for transport, and this is an exciting addition to our portfolio within the passenger service space.” www.coachandbusweek.com

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40 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

UK BUS AWArdS › innovation

a user defined pin number, meaning only someone with the phone and the pin can use the service.”

Asked if these strong security measures were in response to recent high profile hackings of payment information and websites, such as that on the Playstation 3 network, Mike replied: “No, the system in place predates most of these breaches. We realised customers might be uneasy about using the service and had to build trust in it. When online banking first came out it was a while before a lot of people used it because they were sceptical and didn’t think it was secure, but now it is widely used. We wanted strong security in place for our customer’s peace of mind – it’s all about giving them confidence in the system.”

The encryption measures in place, combined with the autodeletion of expired tickets, make the app very difficult to hack or abuse.

“There are also some measures in place to help drivers tell the app is genuine, including a specific logo animation.” Mike added.

operations.” Mike said. “It wouldn’t be too difficult to do, but with the variety of single journey tickets available we didn’t want to overcomplicate the drop down lists on the app. It’s also tricky to work out when the app should automatically delete the tickets, particularly on singles and returns, to prevent them being re-used, as improper calibration could lead to the tickets being deleted before they are used.

“This isn’t to say we wouldn’t like to implement it.”

Billing “Our customer feedback has said people want the option to be charged through their phone bill if possible,” Mike explained. “The issue with this is we need to get all of the mobile phone operators on board, and they will of course take a business angle and want a cut. I think it will happen, it’s just a matter of getting all the operators involved and finding the right deal.

Apple could potentially take the lead through its iTunes service.”

integRation A number of bus operators have recently released real-time apps on phones, to track bus timetables and map out bus stops and routes to make services easy to use. It could be a logical next step for Arriva’s M-ticketing service.

“There is certainly demand to integrate the service with a

“We were delighted to win the innovation award… we constantly strive to improve the level of service we provide to our customers and it is great to see this has been recognised by industry experts.”

Mike Woodhouse marketing manager at Arriva UK Bus

The UKBA Innovation Award

“We were delighted to win the innovation award,” Mike said. “It represents the culmination of five years hard work since 2006. To go through it all and get recognised was a good feeling. We’re very pleased.

“We constantly strive to improve the level of service we provide to our customers and it is great to see this has been recognised by industry experts.”

The judges felt the take-up Arriva is now achieving confirmed the potential of the original idea, and the use of mobile phones for bus use was a truly practical and innovative initiative, and something which could have a profound effect on the manner in which people pay for public transport journeys in the future.

The Future

Development of the app hasn’t ceased, and potential future evolutions for it are on the cards.

SingleS and RetuRnS Single and return tickets on the app are currently available only on Arriva’s Green Line routes, which are longer distance inter-urban routes, while other operations focus on day, weekly and 4 weekly tickets.

“We’d like to introduce single and return options across all

real-time tracker/map app for our services,” Mike remarked.

“Our passengers have said such integration would be fantastic and we will work to meet their needs.”

Other innovations

The runner up in the Innovation Award was Reading Buses’ “New Tickets for the New Decade” initiative.

A brief for Reading Buses managers was to develop an innovative new system which offered more than the old, inflexible and unreliable ticket machines. The result was a modular system, touch screen technology and the ability for menus to be tailor-made.

No other major operator had signed up to be the ‘guinea-pig’ for such an initiative, and the judges were impressed municipally-owned Reading Buses had been prepared to do so.

Highly commended was Centro’s Smartcard initiative, Norfolk County Council’s Electronic Bus Service Registration, Yellow Buses’ Operator Journey Planner and Stagecoach Group’s ITSO-enabled smartcard system StagecoachSmart.

UKBA 2012

Pictured at the uK Bus awards 2011 are arthur Whiteside of alexander dennis (sponsor), Mike Woodhouse and larry Breen of arriva uK Bus

The Innovation Award:

as described by UK Bus Awards this is the category which recognises and rewards new thinking in the industry - amongst operators, authorities and suppliers. it focuses especially on products which can improve efficiency or make bus travel more attractive. a successful nomination for this award needs to demonstrate development of an original or novel idea which achieves one or more of the following: improves the image of the bus

stimulates interest in, or desire for, the bus product improves the efficiency of the industry this award will be made for an innovation which, in the opinion of the judges, most contributes to the improvement of the bus product. evidence of quantification of the benefits achieved is essential. this category is open to industry suppliers, operators and authorities either separately or in conjunction with one another.

To be successfully nominated for the Innovation Award, submissions must provide a full description of the innovation, describing how it works and how it was introduced, along with how it made a difference. Evidence of overall trends to be affected by the innovation should be supplied, as appropriate, in patronage/revenue, customer satisfaction and cost and efficiency levels.

Chances are improved if the results are sustainable and there are future plans for development.

Any relevant supporting material should be included.

Nominations should describe how the impact of the innovation was measured, how staff were informed and trained and the roles of any partners involved.

Self-nomination is accepted.

For more information on the UK Bus Awards visit www.ukbusawards.org.uk or call 0870 900 1450. n Information on Trapeze Group can be found at www. trapezegroup.co.uk or by calling 0844 561 6771. n Arriva’s webpage on M-Ticketing is found at www. arrivabus.co.uk/m-ticket/

www.coachandbusweek.com

M-Ticketing.indd 40

17/01/2012 00:16

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1 Coach & Bus Week keeps you up-todate with topical industry news. It reports interviews with industry leaders, operator profiles, deliveries and new vehicle & product launches and legal up dates including employment. It is also in touch with changing government policy across the industry and topical debate that affects your business.

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 43

LEGAL UpdAtE

In association with

HSE board approves riddor shift Employers will no longer have to report over three day injuries to the authorities as of next year.

Following the HSE’s decision to recommend an extension to the reporting threshold, the trigger period for reporting injuries to the authorities will rise from three to seven days. Employers will still be legally obliged to report over three day injuries even if they do not have to record them. There will be a review in three years time to check for a negative impact on injury rates. However, what the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.

The HSE has revealed details of its plans to charge duty holders for serving enforcement notices and advice to remedy health and safety failings which do not warrant prosecution. The cost recovery scheme will require inspectors to charge businesses whenever they find a “material breach” of the law and is expected to generate revenue for the Executive of more than £43m a year.

The HSE has made it clear that while the details may be negotiable, the principle has been agreed and cost recovery will go ahead. A

Referral fee ban appears imminent

At last, the ministry of justice has made real steps towards ‘curbing the compensation culture’ by proposing a ban on the payment of referral fees in personal injury cases.

As defendants and insurers know, the current arrangements have led to high costs and encouraged a compensation culture and the growth of an industry which pursues claimants for profit.

The original bill, put forward by former justice secretary Jack Straw, was passed without a vote in the

LegalUpdate.indd 43

consultation document confirms charging will not be discretionary and inspectors will be obliged to bill for work to remedy remedial breaches once charging starts next year. The proposed regime will cover all businesses regulated by the HSE. The proposals ask the government for permission to include micro businesses and start ups though these are exempted from new domestic regulation for three years from April 2011. The HSE proposes that if an inspector finds a material breach they would retrospectively charge from the

Inspectors will charge whenever they find a “material breach” House of Commons on September 14, 2011 and will receive its second reading on Friday January 20, 2012.

Jonathan Djanogly, justice minister, said: “The ‘no-win, no-fee’ system is pushing us into a compensation culture in which middle men make a tidy profit which the rest of us end up paying for - through higher insurance premiums and higher prices. Many of the claims are spurious and only happen because the current system allows too many people to profit from minor accidents and incidents.”

Double blow The bill also includes provisions to slash the fixed fees paid to solicitors in personal injury cases and shift the burden onto claimants

start of the visit and then for time spent giving verbal advice, confirmation letters detailing the failing or prohibition notices plus follow up visits or phone calls to ensure the duty holder has remedied the fault.

The HSE estimates these activities will typically total £750 for a breach which necessitates sending a letter and £1500 for serving a notice. This is based on a provisional hourly rate of £133 which has been calculated to cover the inspector’s time and that of support staff. The consultation document offers no final explanation of what makes a breach “material”. A spokesman said much will depend on context.

The HSE’s regulatory impact assessment for the scheme (www.lexisurl.com/hsw10660) estimates its inspectors will spend approximately 54,000 days a year on inspection, investigation and enforcement excluding work on prosecutions and some 66% of those days will uncover material breaches. Duty holders who believe they have been unfairly charged or that the charges were not properly explained to them will be able to dispute the bill. The HSE proposes any disputes are handled internally first by a principle inspector and then by a senior manager. Where the judgment goes against the duty holder, the HSE plan to charge the duty holder for the extra time spent on the dispute.

Contact James Backhouse at Backhouse Jones on 01254 828300 or email james. backhouse@backhouses.co.uk

to prove that they have suffered whiplash injuries (see article on page 4.

This news can only be music to defendant and insurers’ ears alike; it is possible the number of claims will reduce as well as the overall cost to the budget.

It is hoped the proposed changes will be welcomed by the public too – insurance premiums should go down and there will be no more “where there’s blame there’s a claim” adverts on TV either!

Contact Frances Whitehead or Claire Grindrod at Backhouse Jones on 01254 828300, or email frances.whitehead@ backhouses.co.uk or claire. grindrod@backhouses.co.uk

The FTA has helpfully produced a guide to clarify the changes

Digital tachograph changes Operators are reminded a fully updated Digital Tachograph Compliance Guide (edition 9 June 2011) is available reflecting changes which took place to digital tachograph specifications from October 1, 2011.

FTA Members can download a copy from the FTA website www. fta.co.uk/complianceguides and may also request a limited number of copies by post from Shopfta (08717 11 11 11).

The changes will include a quality standard for the paper used to print out data from the vehicle unit where this is used as a legal document. The new standard will mean all digital paper rolls from October 1 will have to meet a number of key criteria, including heat resistance, low temperature resistance and light resistance.

The changes aim to ensure the printouts remain clearly legible and identifiable, under normal conditions of storage, for at least one year. Shopfta has always supplied printer rolls which meet these requirements and will, of course, continue to do so.

Backhouse Jones acts for clients in the private and public sector, both national and international operators from one to several thousand vehicles. Backhouse is absolutely “industry specific”. Whilst the company can trace its heritage to 1819 it only represented its first Road Transport Operator in 1930. The explanation for this is that the first transport act was only introduced in 1930. n Contact 01254 828300. Visit www.backhousejones.co.uk

www.coachandbusweek.com

16/01/2012 21:00

44 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

DELIVERIES

kOnEcTbuS Go-Ahead Group-owned konectbus has introduced five new leather seated ADL Enviro 400s on its flagship route 8, which runs between Toftwood and Dereham and then fast into Norwich. The service has been rebranded as ‘konectexpress’ with a new image designed by Best Impressions which is

ARRIVA SOuTHERn cOunTIES Arriva Southern Counties (ASC) is in the process of introducing 13, 10.1-metre ADL Enviro 400s at its Dartford depot.

The buses have been purchased following a successful tender bid to continue operation of Transport for London (TfL) route 160 running between Sidcup and Catford. They will replace a batch of 2000/2001-built DAF DB250LFs with Alexander ALX400 bodies which were transferred from Arriva London when the contract was taken on in 2006.

The two-door E400s are the first for Arriva Southern Counties’ ‘red’ TfL fleet which

also extended to all bus stop flags and timetable displays on route. The re-launch also sees extra weekday morning and evening journeys and the Sunday service doubled from two-hourly to hourly.

The route was introduced as recently as September 2009, initially running two hourly between Dereham and Norwich. Its popularity from day one soon demanded frequency runs out of its Dartford and Grays depots, but the firm already has experience of eight E400s which have been running on its frequent commercial service between Maidstone and the Medway Towns since December 2008.

The DAFs released from route 160 are being transferred to Grays depot where they will upgrade to double-deck operation TfL route 370 between Romford and Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock as additional capacity is needed on this busy service.

Another successful bid

by ASC has seen the 370 renewed for a further period of five years, starting this November, by which time some more youthful ‘VLAs’ (Volvo B7TLs with ALX400 bodywork) will have been transferred out of the Arriva

increases and also saw the route extended back to Toftwood. Like for like passenger numbers for the last quarter of 2011 were up 48% on the same period in 2010. konectbus’ operations and commercial director, Julian Patterson, told CBW: “This investment of over £900,000 in new high-capacity vehicles shows our continued commitment to the evolution of quality, attractive bus services encouraging both existing and new customers.”

STEWARTS OF MORTIMER Worksop-based Irizar UK has supplied well known Thames Valley coach operator Stewarts of Mortimer with a brand new DAF-powered integral Irizar i6.

The vehicle is a 12.2-metre-long, 3.7-metre super high version of the i6, powered by a DAF

MX 30012.9 litre engine, generating 410 BHP, coupled to a ZF AS Tronic 12-speed gearbox. The specification includes 50 half leather seats, toilet, Bosch Professional-line radio/ cd/dvd, two LCD monitors, aircraft style locker lids, reversing camera and xenon headlights, along with the normal high specification of an Irizar PB. The coach was delivered

FACT FILE

CHASSIS/BODy ADL Enviro 400 EngInE Cummins ISB6.7EV TRAnSmISSIOn ZF SEATS 79 SpEC konectbus SUppLIED By

ADL 01483 571271 www. alexander-dennis.com

contract periods.

“The cascade of buses resulting from the entry into service of the E400s will not only give our customers more comfortable journeys on two outer London routes, but will ultimately enable us to make a further advance in reducing the remaining fleet of stepentrance double-deckers on our commercial services, the single-deckers having become 100% low-floor towards the end of 2011.”

FACT FILE

London fleet and refurbished for use on the 370. These will, in turn, release the DAFs for a further transfer into the ASC commercial fleet after refurbishing and single-door conversions.

ASC publicity manager, Richard Lewis, said: “We are

delighted to have once again secured the contracts for routes 160 and 370 which is good news for our staff at both of our depots which run solely on TfL routes and is a testament to the quality of service they offered during the course of the previous

CHASSIS/BODy ADL Enviro 400 EngInE Cummins 6-cylinder TRAnSmISSIOn ZF SEATS 65+24 standing+1 WC SpEC TfL SUppLIED By

ADL 01483 571271 www.alexander-dennis.com

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

www.coachandbusweek.com

www.coachandbusweek.com

Deliveries.indd 44

16/01/2012 19:40

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 45

Have you taken delivery of a new vehicle and want to tell the world about it?

Email all the details and pictures to cbwinbox@ rouncymedia.co.uk

to the Reading-based firm on December 22 and will be used on Stewarts’ wide range of corporate private charter.

Andy Cotton, Stewarts Coaches MD, commented: “As soon as I saw this coach at the NEC show in Birmingham I knew it was for us. The i6 instantly struck me as a vehicle with massive kerb appeal. I know our clients will love it.”

Established in 1986 the firm was purchased by the current owner in 2003.

FACT FilE

CHASSiS/BOdy Irizar i6 (integral) EnginE DAF MX 300, 12.9 litre,

410BHP

TrAnSmiSSiOn ZF 12-speed AS Tronic SEATS 50 SpEC Half leather seats SUppliEd By

Irizar UK 01909 500514 www.irizar.co.uk

XELABUS Family-owned independent Xelabus has received three low floor Dennis Trident double decker buses.

As recently profiled in CBW, Xelabus was formed in September 2009 by father and son team Philip and Gareth Blair. The firm has now taken delivery of its first 1999-registered Plaxton President-bodied Dennis Trident from Ensignbus, Purfleet. The buses originate from London-based Metroline.

“We have already taken that next step of replacing some of our older Olympian buses with these Tridents.

We looked at several body and chassis configurations before deciding that the President was the way forward for us,” said Gareth Blair, company director.

being fitted with Centrad Destination Equipment and seat 67 passengers.

These buses will join the ever growing fleet of buses Xelabus operate and will be used on college, rail replacement and local services in the Eastleigh area. “We plan to increase our presence in the local area over the next 12 months and this shows our commitment to purchasing more modern buses,” concluded Gareth.

FACT FilE

“We already operate a number of Plaxton SLF Darts of which we have been very pleased with their performance.”

The first of three Tridents

have received the Xelabus makeover and made its debut at the Friends of King Alfred Buses event on New Years Day in Winchester.

The buses are currently

CHASSiS/BOdy Dennis Trident/ Plaxton President EnginE Cummins TrAnSmiSSiOn Voith SEATS 64 SpEC Dual door SUppliEd By

Ensignbus 01708 865656 www.ensignbus.com

www.coachandbusweek.com

Deliveries.indd 45

16/01/2012 19:40

000000-GT&CW1011-CoachesEtc

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Here is your chance to experience a full cruise at a very special price.

Exclusively for you from Coach World and Coaches Etc. Prices starting at £399 for a balcony cabin for a full 7 days Mediterranean cruise on board MSC Flagship Splendida MSC Cruises continues to astound with its cutting-edge ʻFantasiaʼ class of cruise ships. After the success of MSC Fantasia we were immensely proud to introduce her sister, MSC Splendida, a cruise ship where technology and comfort are spectacularly combined. Futuristic, yet retaining its classic simplicity and elegance. A cruise ship that promises the ultimate cruise experience.

MSC Splendida also features 4 swimming pools, a squash court, a Formula 1 simulator and much, much more... there are 5 restaurants to chose from, and 13 bars, as well as a magnificent theatre where top class shows take place very night, a large casino and plenty of shops.

This trip gives you the chance to experience the luxury of a balcony cabin.

Balcony Cabin Outside with Balcony

All beds can be both single or double (on request). Spacious wardrobe. Bathroom with shower or tub.

Interactive TV. Telephone. Availability of internet connection by your own laptop (on payment). Mini bar and safe. Air conditioning. Size: approx 22 square metres.

Sailing Dates: 28th January 2012 sailing from Genoa Italy

25th February 2012 sailing from Genoa Italy

Ports en route: Genoa, Barcelona, at sea, Casablanca, Gibraltar, Valencia, Marseille, Genoa

Ports en route: Genoa, Barcelona, at sea, Casablanca, Gibraltar, Valencia, Marseille, Genoa

Prices including flight only £599 per person on the 28th January and £649 on the 25th February and this is unbelievable, but no single supplement !!!!!

Or travel by coach stopping en route in the magnificent Park Inn Macon Hotel, on a dinner, bed & breakfast basis for just £525 per person on 28th January and £569 on 25th February, or arrange your own flights and pay just £399 on 28th January and £439 on 25th February.

Theses prices are for a balcony cabin with either flights or coach travel included, and are amazing, so to book now before the cabins sell out please call Richard or Tasha on 0208 665 5561 or email Richard@coachesetc.com There is limited availability so please call us as soon as you can

There are also some free places for group organisers who meet the criteria so get a group together and get on board.

January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 47

DRIVERS

Send your driver news and stories to james.day@rouncymedia.co.uk or call 01733 293 244.

To advertise on this page, contact client manager Harley Denham on 01733 293 249 or e-mail harley.denham@ rouncymedia.co.uk

School driver penalised for mobile phone use The TC reasons reporting this story will serve as a warning to bus and coach drivers Traffic Commissioner (TC) for Scotland, Joan Aitken has suspended the PCV licence entitlement of a Turriff school bus driver after he was convicted of driving a school bus while using a hand-held mobile phone.

Aitken called Grieg Elrick, who works for Kineil Coaches of Fraserburgh, to a driver conduct hearing earlier this month following his conviction at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in December where he was fined £500, with three points added to his licence.

Elrick was called before the

Newport Transport urges staff to beat the bulge Newport Transport managing director Scott Pearson is challenging his bus drivers to get fit by following his lead in joining the gym.

The Fitness4Less gym in Newport is supporting the operator in its drive to get staff fitter by waiving all joining fees for staff at the company, which employs more than 270 people, including 170 bus drivers.

Newport Transport is also paying for personal fitness instructors to help support staff looking to get fitter or lose weight as part of the health drive.

Scott Pearson said: “Driving a bus is hard work, but we know it’s not the most physically active job in the world. That is why we felt it was important we gave staff the opportunity to learn more about how to live a healthier lifestyle, and to get fit without the worry of the costs typically involved in doing so.

“Over the last 12 months we’ve launched a number of initiatives aimed at improving staff wellbeing

Drivers.indd 47

TC last week and Aitken has suspended his driver licence for eight weeks, with effect from last Friday (January 13).

She heard Elrick was driving school children home from Old Meldrum Academy and was phoned by his employer’s depot manager who wanted the vehicle back at Fraserburgh after the school run.

Elrick answered his phone and held it in his hand when driving.

Elrick, who also has a speeding conviction for driving his employer’s van at 73mph in a 60mph limit, was very apologetic about taking the phone call and assured the TC it would never happen again, apologising for the inconvenience and upset he

had caused.

Aitken’s decision took account of Elrick’s previous good conduct and long years as a bus and coach driver.

“He appeared to recognise the seriousness of his action in using a mobile phone whilst driving school children,” remarked Aitken.

The TC has, however, said she will seek an explanation as to why one of its drivers was phoned on a school run.

Aitken concluded: “Reporting the story should ‘serve as a warning’ to bus and coach drivers that they stand to lose their livelihood if they transgress the mobile phone laws and take or make calls when in control of a bus or coach, whether carrying passengers or not.”

Newport MD Scott Pearson shows he can even get in a sweat after work including seminars to help with quitting smoking and clinics for diabetes. This latest initiative in partnership with Fitness4Less gives our staff the opportunity to learn more about healthy eating and keeping fit.

“I’m 19 stone, so overweight myself, which is why I was the first to join the gym. I’ll be joining other members of staff who have already signed up for the one-toone sessions with a personal fitness instructor and am looking to lose at least three stone by the summer.

“I’m hoping lots of staff follow my lead and do the same. It doesn’t matter whether you are overweight

or not, going to a gym can help improve your overall fitness and wellbeing and that is important to us all.”

Dave Flynn, manager at Fitness4Less, said: “We think Newport Transport has set a fantastic example for other businesses in the city to follow.

Giving employees easy access to a gym means they are more likely to get fit and improve their lifestyles.

The positive knock-on effects of this are endless.

“We’ve already seen some of the bus drivers in the gym, which is great news and we hope lots more will sign up in the coming months.”

David Townsend with the Sleeping Beauty’s good and evil fairies

NCT Driver of the Year Nottingham City Transport’s Driver of the Year, with six other finalists, plus families and guests, were treated to a meal and tickets to the Theatre Royal pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, with NCT’s senior management team.

David Townsend, of Lowdham, Notts, won a Seasonal Driver Award to qualify for the title and was presented with his award by the good and evil fairies in the performance.

“We launched our Seasonal Driver Award initiative last year to acknowledge the hard work, professionalism and commitment to the NCT service our 830 drivers show every day,” explains NCT marketing manager, Anthony Carver-Smith. “The winner is decided by mystery travellers who measure customer service, driving standards and overall competence. David achieved the highest cumulative score – 89% – on several assessments and was particularly commended for being polite and friendly – thanking all the passengers as they got off, and talking to waiting customers at the bus stop – having an “exceptional manner” and “driving with great care”. In addition, David has personally undertaken a number of advanced driving courses and assessments with the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), completing his Vocational Passenger Carrying Vehicle licence (PCV), so he really is a very worthy winner.”

David receives £1000 and an extra week’s holiday as his prize.

www.coachandbusweek.com

16/01/2012 23:22

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48 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

BUS STOPthe place to buy and

To advertise on these pages for as little as £20 just call 01733 293484 Optare Toro

UNVI GT

Mercedes-Benz 0815 Vario chassis with rear air suspension, 28 passenger seats with 3pt lap and diagonal seat belts, powered entry door, air conditioning, double glazed windows, luggage racks with individual passenger reading lights and adjustable air flow blowers, radio/CD & PA system.

Mercedes-Benz 0816 Vario chassis with rear air suspension, 29 passenger seats with 3pt lap and diagonal seat belts and leather headrest inserts, courier seat, dark tint double glazed windows, air con radio/CD & PA system, DVD player and monitor, grammer luxury heated driver seat, full draw curtains, large boot space and side lockers.

£45,500 +VAT NOW £41,000 +VAT

£69,950 +VAT NOW £66,950 +VAT

Call Dougie at Haggis Adventures on 0131 554 9192

Dennis Plaxton R Series Due to fleet replacement, we need to sell up to 5 of the following and don’t mind which 5!

2003: 2 x 49/53 seats with WC, 3 x 53 seats 2004: 5 x 53 seats 2005: 1 x 49/53 seats with WC, 2 x 53 seats All are well maintained, low mileage examples (approx 62,000km per annum) with long MoT, air conditioning and AStronic gearboxes.

Owned by us from new and used on our own holiday programme. All over cream. Can be sold with patterns of 2012 tour work if required. Viewing at Thos. Hardie Commercials, Red Scar, Preston.

Priced to sell at £47,000 (03 reg), £58,000 (04 reg) and £74,000 (05 reg) plus VAT (£3,000 premium for WC). Sorry no part exchange.

To view contact Tom Smith, Operations Manager, Alfa Travel on 08451 305777

Network Warrington have the following vehicles for sale

Dennis Dart SLF 10.8m 1999, Choice of 6, Cummins 6BT, Allison AT545 4 speed auto, Marshall body, 40 seats.

Contact Damian Graham (Engineering Director) Warrington Borough Transport Ltd Wilderspool Causeway, Warrington WA4 6PT. Tel 01925 634296

2005 Volvo B12B Jonckheere Mistral

370,455 km, air conditioned, automatic I-shift gearbox, 53 seats plus courier, just serviced, in excellent condition and can be viewed by appointment (Ireland). £80,000

Donoghues Coaches : Niall 00353 87 2059145, Noel 00353 87 2654787 info@donoghuescoaches.com www.donoghuescoaches.com

!

R E F F O SPECIAL

4 8 4 3 9 2 3 3 7 01 Call

FREEDESIGNFREEWEBADFREEFULLCOLOURFREEDESIGNFREEWEBADFREEFULLCOLOUR

553368-1020-Pembridge

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NEW PRE-REGISTERED FORDS

OTHER MAKES

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

FORD TRANSIT MINIBUSES

SOLD

(55) Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4tdi minibus, high back seats with three point belts, air-con, tacho, 77,000km, COIF/PSV £8,995

(53) 2003 Ford Transit 17 seat 2.4 td minibus, high back seats with three point belts, tacho, air-con, COIF/PSV £6,995

(02) Ford Transit 3.5 ton, 15 seat minibus, 2.4 tdi, high back seats with three point belts £2,995

Peugeot Boxer 17 seat wheelchair accessible 2.2 diesel 120ps with six speed gearbox, COIF/PSV. Choice of colours. £23,500 + VAT (07) 2007 Peugeot Boxer 17 seat 3.5 ton minibus, 2.2 diesel, high back seats with three point belts, rear row of seats on tracking, 18,000 miles only £10,495

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS (07) 2007 Volkswagen Crafter 8 seat 2.2 diesel inboard lift, fully tracked floor, rear heating, 48,000 miles £13,995

LDV MINIBUSES (57) 2007 LDV Maxus 15 seat minibus, high back seats with three point belts £7,495

(03) 2003 LDV Convoy Maxi XLWB 17 seat mini-coach, 2.4 Tdi, front entry drop step, luggage racks, rear heating, wide aisle, rear row of seats removable, New PSV £6,995

OTHER MAKES

(57) LDV Maxus LWB 9 seats tracking to take two wheelchairs, inboard lift, 49,000 miles, £9,995

(06) Fiat Ducato LWB, high roof, panoramic windows, inboard tail lift, 6 seats plus wheelchair tracking, 42,000 miles £10,995

New Renault Master 17 seat LM35/ 2.2di 125ps, six speed, satnav, tacho, fully tracked floor with removable seats £21,995

(54) 2005 Renault Master 13 seat wheelchair access minibus, inboard Ricon lift, fully tracked floor, rear heating, electric side step, 56,000 miles £8,995

(10) 2010 Renault Trafic 9 seat LL29, twin side loading doors, air-con, alloys, tail gate, 50,000 miles £11,995

(04) 2004 Mercedes Sprinter 413cdi minibus 2.2 diesel, front entry drop step with power door, inboard Clearway lift, fully tracked floor to take 4 wheelchairs, rear heating, 77,000 miles £9,995

SOLD

(07) Peugeot Boxer 17 seat 3.5 ton minibus, high back seats with three point seat belts, 27,000 miles £8,995

(53) 2003 Mercedes Vito 108 cdi 2.2 diesel, 6 seats, low floor with lightweight ramp, tracking for two wheelchairs £5,995

(09) 2009 Renault Master 16 seat minibus, tacho,high back seats with three point belts, 35,000km £15,650

(53) 2003 Iveco Daily 16 seat minibus, front entry drop step with power door, wheelchair tracking, under floor tail lift, rear heating, COIF/PSV £9,995

(08) 2008 Renault Master 17 seat minibus 2.2 diesel, high back seats with three point belts, 61,000 miles £9,750

Y 2001 Renault Mascot 2.8 diesel, 16 seat wheelchair accessible minibus, front entry drop step, fully tracked floor to take five wheelchairs, under floor lift, rear heating, COIF/PSV £7,750

Tel: 01633 485858 Mobile: 07866 443304 Contact Graham Thatcher – email: sales@minibussales.co.uk

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

All above prices are subject to VAT @ 20%

553180-1020-Ensign:Layout 1

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DOUBLE DECK E 1997/8 VOLVO OLYMPIANS Seatbe exampleslted no available w

LEZ

LEZ

COMPLIANT

COMPLIANT

Volvo engines, Euro 2, 78 seats, converted to single door, new COIF, tyres included, UK registered ready to work.

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

1999/2000 T/V/X REG DENNIS TRIDENTS

7.8m, Slimline, Mercedes engine, Euro 4, 27 seats, Hanover LEDʼs all round.

2007 OPTARE SOLO

8.9m, Cummins / Allison, Hanover blinds, 29 seats, full DDA.

ZF automatic, Van Hool Alizee body, 53 seats, Trap fitted for Euro 4 LEZ compliance, MOT 11/12.

2005 55 PLATE DENNIS DART SLF

2009 ADL ENVIRO 200

1995 M DAF SB3000

Cummins ISB engine, Plaxton Pointer 2 body, 37 seats, Hanover LEDʼs, long MOT.

1995 M REG DENNIS DRAGONS

2001 MERCEDES 814 VARIO

Cummins/Voith gearboxes, Duple Metsec bodies, recent floors and 92 coach seats.

Manual, 31 seats, belts fitted, MOT 04/12.

2001 DDA COMPLIANT DENNIS DARTS

Plaxton Pointer 2 dual door bodies, 31 seats, CCTV, particulate traps fitted, LEZ 2012 compliant, only £6,500 each plus tyres (£375)

2001 Y REG DART SLF’S

Cummins/Allison, LEZ compliant for 2012 with traps to Euro 4, CCTV, Alexander ALX200 bodies with either 30 seats and 2 doors or 34 seats converted to single door, ramps, DDA certified and compliant. 10.8m 37 seaters now available.

OPEN TOP BUSES A SPECIALITY - B

Juliette Close, Purfleet Industrial Pa Telephone 01708 865656 Fax: 01708 864 Visit our website for current sto

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K ER SPECIALIST 1994 K REG VOLVO OLYMPIAN

GREAT VALUE DENNIS DARTS!!!

Northern Counties low height bodies, Volvo engines, good selection with long MOTs.

2001 Y REG DENNIS DART MPD’S

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies, 29 seats, LEZ compliant post 2012 with traps, DDA compliant, long MOTʼs.

1998-2000 S / V / W reg Darts with Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies, 31 seats, dual door, DDA compliant, exhaust traps fitted so reduced tax, huge choice at an unbelievable £4,500 each plus VAT and tyres (£375).

ZF 6 speed manual, Plaxton Paragon bodies, 50 seats.

2000 W REG VOLVO B10M

1998 S REG DENNIS DART SPD

Cummins / Allison World Series gearbox , Pointer 2 body, 41 seats.

ZF auto, Van Hool body, 49 seats with centre toilet and door, only one available.

Cummins / ZF, 40 seats with 3 point belts, Hanover LEDʼs, new MOT.

2008 58 PLATE ENVIRO 300

£7000 just spend on recon engine, MCV Evolution body, 40 seats, DDA, Hanover LEDʼs.

1999/2000 DENNIS TRIDENTS

Euro 4, Cummins/Allison, MCV body, 9m, 32 seats, special narrow version, only 2.4m wide.

1999 V REG DENNIS DART MPD’S

1992 J REG LEYLAN OLYMPIANS

Cummins/Voith, LEZ compliant with traps, Plaxton President bodies, 62 seats or 70 when converted to single door.

Cummins/Allison, Plaxton bodies, 8.8m, 29 seats.

2003 VOLVO B12B

2007 MAN 14.220

2007 DART MPD

Fitted with new Iveco Euro 3 engines in 2008, ZF gearboxes, Alexander bodies, tachoʼs and long MOTʼs.

- BRITAIN’S BIGGEST BUS DEALERS

rial Park, Purfleet, Essex, RM15 4YF 708 864340 e-mail: sales@ensignbus.com ent stock at www.ensignbus.com

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THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL OFFERS...

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Mini Coach Sales

BRAND NEW MERCEDES OPTARE TORO 32 high back seats, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door, large boot.

BRAND NEW MERCEDES OPTARE SOROCO 19 high back reclining seats, 3 point belts, A/C, D/G, forced air, reading lights, power door, large boot.

BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ 513CDI EVM CLASSIC 19 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks and A/C.

2010 10 REG IVECO 50c15 IRISBUS 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks, power door and under-floor wheelchair lift.

2008 58 REG MERCEDES BENZ 1022L SITCAR MARLIN 33 high back reclining seats incorporating leather headrest inserts, armrests and seat back tables, A/C, double glazing, fridge and power door.

2007 07 REG FORD TRANSIT 14 seats, 3 point belts.

2006 06 MERCEDES 814D PLAXTON CHEETAH 33 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights D/G, power door.

2005 05 REG MERCEDES 413 CDI SPRINTER 16 seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, large luggage boot.

2005 55 REG MERCEDES 814D VARIO PLAXTON CHEETAH 29 high back seats, 3 point belts, forced air, reading lights, D/G, power door and large boot.

BARGAIN BUS STOP 2002 52 REG RENAULT 10 SEATS + RAMP 2003 03 REG MERCEDES 413 CDI SPRINTER 16 high back seats, 3 point belts, luggage racks.

1999 V REG MERCEDES 814 BEAVER 33 high back seats, 3 point belts, power door, 12 months test.

2001 51 REG RENAULT 8 SEATS + RAMP

Steve Peach Tel: 01302 770863 Mob: 07836 551020 Email: steve@connaughtpsv.co.uk

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H.W. PICKRELL

MINIBUS AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES

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

Email: sales@hwpickrell.co.uk - www.hwpickrell.co.uk

Finance available on all vehicles (subject to status) Written details on request.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE MINI BUSES

05 REG RENAULT MASTER LM33 2.2TD

Euro 4, manual gearbox, tacho, Mellor coach conversion, electric power door, AVS manual step, 16 x high back removable seats, all age belts, Eberspacher, Ricon inboard t/lift, ex local authority, COIF'd, 132,000 kms.

2007 MERCEDES VARIO 613D

Manual gearbox, high roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, electric side step, 13 high back seats inc driver, Eberspacher heater, full air con, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 43,306 miles.

08 REG RENAULT MASTER MM33 2.2TD

Euro 4, manual gearbox, tacho, Minibus Options conversion, electric power door, AVS manual step, 16 x high back removable seats, all age belts, Eberspacher, PLS underfloor t/lift, ex local authority, COIF'd, only 82,000 kms.

08 REG MERCEDES VARIO 613D

Manual gearbox, high roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 6 high back seats plus 2 x w/chair, Eberspacher heater, air con, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 36,831 miles.

06 REG RENAULT MASTER SM33 2.2TD

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

09 REG 2009 IVECO 753416 EUROCARGO

Euro 5, automatic transmission, electric windows, Brittipp steel dropside tipper, tow bar and electric, amber light bar, one owner, 39,791 kms only, MOTʼd June 2012.

2004/05 54 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 416CDI AMBULANCE

07 REG RENAULT MASTER LH35 2.5TD

07 REG FORD TRANSIT 350 2.4TD

55 REG PEUGEOT BOXER 2.5 TD

LWB, Macneillie van conversion, SLD, 2 rear high back seats, Ferno Falcon stretcher & locks, stretcher lift, blue light bars and siren, very high spec, low miles 65-85,000 miles only, choice of 8.

LWB, hi roof, multi purpose office/comms unit, PAS, SLD with AVS side step, awning, 3 x workstations, amber light, bars front and rear, overhead storage lockers, heating, generator, microwave, tv, only 1,500 miles.

Long wheelbase, high roof, 6 seater crew van, PAS, SLD, rear partion for storage & tools in rear, Eberspacher heater, overhead storage, microwave, hot water box, wash facilties, 27,000 miles only.

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, Kirkham conversion, side loading door, side step, 11 rear high back seats,double passenger seat + driver, Ricon tail lift, ex local school bus, only 54,756 miles.

56 REG IVECO DAILY 40c12 IRIS BUS 2.3 TD

06 REG MERCEDES VARIO 814

60 REG PEUGEOT BOXER 2.5 TD

07 REG RENAULT MASTER SL33 2.2TD

Manual gearbox, LWB, PAS, side loading door, AVS electric step, 12 high back removable seats, PLS underfloor t/ lift, ex local charity, tacho fitted, 47,827 kms only.

Manual gearbox, LWB, PAS, tacho, Mellor coach conversion, electric power door, fold out low entry step, 32 high back removable seats, Eberspacher, PLS underfloort/ lift, ex local authority, COIF'd, only 84,000 kms.

5 speed manual, high roof, PAS, MWB, O & H conversion, side loading door, side step, 8 rear high back seats,single passenger seat + driver, Ricon tail lift, Eberspacher heater & full air con, only 8,896 miles.

Manual gearbox, high roof, O & H conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 6 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, air con, heater, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 22,166 miles.

58 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

2004 54 REG IVECO 50c13 IRIS BUS 2.8 TURBO DIESEL

06 REG VOLKSWAGEN LT35 2.5 TD

53 REG MERCEDES SPRINTER 416 CDI

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, Mellor conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 12 high back seats, amf m2 fully tracked floor, Ratcliff tail lift, only 35,755 miles.

Manual, LWB, PAS, factory conversion, electric windows, cruise control, low front entry slam door, 16 high back seats with all age seat belts, full air con, exlocal authority, COIF, new PSV MOT, only 80,341 kms.

Manual gearbox, MWB, high roof, SCW conversion, side loading door, manual side step, 10 high back seats plus 2 x w/chair, heater, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 45,531 miles.

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

2008 57 REG RENAULT TRAFFIC LH29 2.2 TD

06 REG RENAULT MASTER MM33 2.2TD

2005 54 REG RENAULT MASTER MM33 2.2TD

56 REG RENAULT MASTER LM39 2.5TD

Automatic, high roof, LWB, SCW conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 8 high back seats, Unwin tracking, tinted windows, full air front & rear, Eberspacher heater, Ricon tail lift, only 9,000 miles.

Automatic gearbox, high roof, SCW conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 7 high back seats plus 1 x w/chair, Eberspacher heater, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 11,831 miles.

Manual gearbox, high roof, Atlas conversion, PAS, side loading door, side step, 5 high back seats plus 2 x w/chair, air con, heater, Unwin tracked floor, Ricon tail lift, 8,166 miles.

Manual, high roof, PAS, LWB, Mellor conversion, side loading door, AVS side step, 14 high back seats, AMF m2 fully tracked floor, new Ricon tail lift, only 35,756 miles, choice of two.

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 57

SilverGray Carriage Ltd 4 x 14 berth Ayat bravo sleeper buses for sale.

They are between 2001 and 2003.

They can come with or without LEZ compliance.

We are currently looking at a starting price of 45K + VAT per bus.

01797 343900 berni@silvergray.co.uk

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58 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

London United Busways Ltd CLEARANCE SALE – Don’t miss this opportunity to pick up a bargain Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer 2 SLF 10.7m Single door 35 Seated 25 Standing T/V reg (1999) LEZ compliant Look CCTV system Manual ramp, Cab Air con, From £9,999.00 + VAT + Tyres (£250)

Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer 2 SLF 10.7m 31 Seated 27 Standing T/V reg (1999) LEZ compliant Look CCTV system, Power ramp, Cab Air con, Single door conversion available.

From £4,999.00 + VAT + Tyres (£250)

Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer 2 SLF 10.2m 27 Seated 30 Standing V reg (1999) LEZ compliant Look CCTV system Power ramp, Cab Air con, Single door conversion available From £4,500.00 + VAT + Tyres (£250)

Contact Joseph Sage 0208 400 6680 Email Joseph.sage@lonutd.co.uk

Due to arrival of New vehicles, one of the following must be sold:

Irizar PB Scania K114 Auto Reg Date: 16/05/2008 Irizar PB Scania K114 Auto Reg Date: 01/09/2008 Both are 49 seater Executive Coaches

Sensible offers invited Hills of Wolverhampton

01902 753770

Are you in the South of England and looking to upgrade or convert your vehicle to meet the January 2012 Low Emission Zone?

We may be able to help…

Close Asset Finance

Close Asset Finance are specialist commercial vehicle financers and are able to offer operator solutions to help comply with the new Low Emission Zone (LEZ) regulations.

• Flexible Finance available for new and used vehicles (subject to status) • Release equity for existing fleets to help pay LEZ conversion costs (subject to status) • Stock of Euro 3 vehicles available with the option to finance LEZ conversion costs Talk to us NOW - Don't leave it too long to comply with LEZ regulations…

DAN HADDON on 020 8339 7341 - dhaddon@closeasset.co.uk CHRISTINE CLARK on 020 8339 4823 - cclark@closeasset.co.uk

www.closeasset.co.uk

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PROMOTION

IAN GILLIS

01733 293484 ian.gillis@rouncymedia.co.uk

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60 | COACH & BUS WEEK | January 18, 2012

ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS &SERVICES CHECKPOINTS

BUILDINGS HEAVY DUTY STEEL BUILDINGS

REGISTRATIONS G

Bus Workshops - Secure Storage Supplied any width, any length Building to BS5590 - Doors high enough for Double Deckers - Finance available For further information phone

TO PURCHASE CHECKPOINT/DUSTITE loose wheelnut indicators or to locate your nearest stockist:

BLUELINE BUILDINGS 01709 578333 anytime

www.checkpoint-safety.com

£750 20 PXV 40 OXW 60 NJX 70 NNX 90 PXL PJZ 88 RJZ 66 RJZ 77 SJZ 22

Crewe Engines Ltd MERCEDES ENGINE SPECIALISTS

WE ALSO RECONDITION ALL MAKES OF BUS & COACH ENGINES

Direct from the UK’s No.1 since 1975

‘Buy with confidence – CNDA Member’

£350 £99 £99 £50 ACZ 686 CXZ 2228 MNZ 1195 AXZ 5618 AJZ 484 CXZ 2229 ONZ 1171 AXZ 5619 CEZ 838 HIG 5650 REZ 3379 CRZ 4825 CJZ 323 HIG 5651 RUI 2117 CXZ 2215 JBZ 484 HIG 5652 SEZ 7608 CXZ 2216 KBZ 737 IFZ 2292 SUI 8847 DRZ 5652 KDZ 929 KIG 1901 SUI 8848 DRZ 5653 NUI 636 KIG 1902 TJZ 1118 IFZ 2314 SBZ 515 MJZ 6749 TJZ 1119 IFZ 2315 We Buy for Cash, also Part Exchange

£50 JIG 8031 JIG 8032 KIG 1321 KIG 1322 RNZ 1201 RNZ 1202 RNZ 1203 TUI 3638 TUI 3639

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

Tel: 01524 271200

ENGINES

SPEEDY REGISTRATIONS CO LTD G

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

Getyourproducts noticed!

AdvertiseyourProducts &Serviceshere foraslittleas£30.00 aweek!

To book your slot contact Ian on 01733 293254 or email ian.gillis@rouncymedia.co.uk SEATING

Call now for a quote or more information

01270 526333

Federation of Engine Re-Manufacturers

www.creweengines.co.uk

ERGONOMIC SEATING SPECIALISTS

VOLVO - CUMMINS - SCANIA MAN - DAF - IVECO FULL FITTING FACILITIES CRAIG TILSLEY

Suppliers of Reconditioned

DAF MAN MERC, VOLVO SCANIA, GARDNER LEYLAND, CUMMINS ENGINES CYLINDER HEADS CRANKSHAFTS CRANKCASES CAMSHAFTS Tel: PUMPS Works: 01782 791524 Moorfields Ind. ETC 01782 791527 Est. Cotes Heath, Fax: 01782 791316

Stoke-on-Trent ST21 6QY

HEATING

Heaters • A/C Equipment Blowers • Motors • Radiators Silicone Hose • Ducting Wiper Equipment • Gas Struts

Tel: 01993 849522 Fax: 01993 706920 Email: sales@thhs.co.uk

www.thhs.co.uk

UNIT 9 NIMROD BUSINESS PARK DE HAVILLAND WAY, WITNEY OX29 0YG

Full range of Static, Mechanical and Air Suspension seats available for Coaches, Service Buses, Vans and Trucks

Prices from £150+VAT (No carriage charges)

12 Murray Place, Righead Ind Est, Bellshill ML4 3LP Tel: 01698 845352 • Fax: 01698 844325 Email: TScottco@aol.com

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January 18, 2012 | COACH & BUS WEEK | 61

ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS &SERVICES SEATING

TRAINING

URBAN

SERVICE

COACH

SERVICE

HAND RAIL PADDING

ACCESSORIES

G Hand Rail Padding G Next Day Delivery G Seat Belt Installations G Double Deckers Seat Belted G Seat Belt Supplies Securon Amsafe/Safetex Fasching ISRI Reflex Schneeweis Orion MCF GWR Fainsa Vogle Keil Politecnica Esteban + many more

Parts Hotline - Graham White graham@bhiuk.com 01522 689911 Email: info@bhiuk.com

www.bhiuk.com

Fax: 01522 689922

The UK’s No1 Seatbelt Installers

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

Get yourself noticed!

Advertiseyour Products&Services hereforaslittleas £30.00 aweek!

Call Ian Gillis on 01733 293254 or email: ian.gillis@rouncymedia.co.uk

TRIM

COACH TRIMMERS LTD

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

Full floors re-laid and centre gangways.

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

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

Tel/Fax: 01751 472229

VEHICLE SPARES

Trevor Wigley & Son Bus Ltd

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

Passenger and Commercial Vehicles Recovery Dismantlers Parts Sales OUR SERVICES: •

Recovery

•

Testing

• • • • • • • •

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

www.twigley.com

Refurbishment Repairs

Engine/gearbox rebuilds Fault finding

Buying & selling vehicles

DISMANTLING/SPARES: • • • • • •

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

Your First Choice for Recruitment

RECRUITMENT

New MD and shake up for Halton Transport

Coach and Bus Week’s well-established recruitment portfolio attracts candidates across sales, marketing and management, delivering not just quantity but quality candidates, providing exceptional value for money.

In addition to our unrivalled print-based product, at no extra cost recruitment adverts are also automatically placed online at www.coachandbusweek.com, where they remain on view until a position’s closing date.

Coach and Bus Week and www.coachandbusweek.com combine to create the ultimate recruitment solution, guaranteeing your vacancy is seen by every job seeker that matters from sales agents to board level. To get your vacancy seen by quality candidates, call Harley on 01733 293249 (email harley.denham@rouncymedia.co.uk) or Ian on 01733 293484 (email ian.gillis@rouncymedia.co.uk)

Halton Borough Transport’s managing director, Chris Adams, has announced his retirement from the municipally-owned operator.

Chris has worked for the company since 1976 and will retire next month. Colin Stafford, the current engineering director, will take his place as the new managing director.

The company’s traffic manager and director, David Steadman, will also retire soon and will be replaced

by Stephen Graham. Adele Cookson will step up from finance manager to the role of finance director, while a new post of operations manager will be filled by Brian Stevenson who is promoted from being a driver. John Bunting will assume

the new position as engineering supervisor.

Commenting on the changes, company chairman Kevan Wainwright, said: “l would like to wish both Chris and David all the very best in their retirement and thank them for their loyal service and hard work in making Halton Transport what it is today. I would also like to congratulate Colin on his new appointment and welcome Steve, Adele, Brian and John to their new positions.”

Colin Stafford joined Halton in April 2011, having previously worked in senior engineering posts with FirstGroup.

Commenting on his new role, Colin said: “I am looking forward to the new challenges which lie ahead and working with the new management team.”

Halton Transport operates in the borough after which it is named and comprises well known towns such as Widnes and Runcorn. The firm operates a 60-strong fleet of buses.

Assistant Operations Manager Redwing Coaches require an experienced Assistant Operations Manager to help manage our Traffic Team at our Head Office in Herne Hill, South London.

Reporting to the Operations Manager, you will assist with all aspects of Scheduling, Allocation and Service Delivery of our fleet of 59 coaches, ensuring the companyʼs high standard of customer service is maintained.

A team player with a proven track record is essential, along with a high level of management and people skills and an ability to work under pressure. The successful candidate will have a sound knowledge of EU Drivers Hours Regulations.

PCV Licence essential. Good knowledge of London, UK and Europe would be an advantage. You will be required to work shifts including weekends. Salary negotiable according to qualifications and experience.

Please send your CV with covering letter to: Nigel Taylor Operations Manager Redwing Coaches 10 Dylan Road, London SE24 0HL Or by email to nigel@redwing-coaches.co.uk Closing date: 3 February 2012 www.coachandbusweek.com

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DeaDlines Booking: Monday 5.00pm Full artwork: Monday 5.30pm

ContaCt Harley Denham 01733 293249

harley.denham@rouncymedia.co.uk

Young Manager of the Year snapped up by NX Ben Wakerley has left FirstGroup to join National Express (NX) as head of owned operations for its coach side of the business.

30 year-old Ben, who won the Young Manager of the Year at the UK Bus Awards last November, was general manager of First’s Willesden Junction depot in West London where he was responsible for 400 staff. He joined NX in December and now leads a team of 650 staff and a fleet of 179 NX coaches from sites in Sipson Road, Crawley and Start Hill.

Ben started his career in the transport industry as a part-time bus driver while studying at Lancaster University and has spent ten years developing his career at First, having worked in Manchester and Wigan (CBW999).

“It’s an exciting time to join National Express as the coach

division continues to move from strength to strength,” said Ben. “It’s great to be part of such a well known, well loved brand and I’m looking forward to exploring the business over the coming weeks.

“As head of owned operations I’m committed to setting the standard for safety and reliability across the National Express network. I’ll work closely with my team to ensure we consistently deliver the best possible customer experience for every passenger.”

NX’s owned operations run a large proportion of coach services across the South East, including the A6 and A9 from Stansted Airport to London as well as the newly created A3 from Gatwick to London.

Ben is a member of the Young Bus Managers Network and is trustee of the Transport Benevolent Fund.

www.coachandbusweek.com

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