Linked - Autumn 2015

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Autumn 2015

The magazine for First people in the West of England

Employees views are crucial

PAGE SIX

a hat-trick

of excellence staff MANAGER SCOOPS ONE OF THREE TOP AWARDS CENTRE PAGES

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One of the new colour-coded StreetDecks – the pink livery signifies the bus is Service 70/71 operating between Temple Meads and the University of the West of England.

Excellence awards show reflects well on the OpCo

By Managing Director

James Freeman

I was delighted that we did so well at the inaugural First Bus Excellence Awards (see centre pages).

Not only did we get our fair share of winners but there was a high proportion of highly commended accolades and nominations too. We should be very proud of how we fared because it is a great reflection on First West of England.

This competition, along with our Cheers Drive and monthly Superstars awards, demonstrates to colleagues that by going the extra mile they do have a real chance of being recognised for their efforts.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to update you on the programme we are currently undertaking to improve the resilience of our operation to benefit our users. This started in March in Bristol as we looked at route alterations and service changes.

The overall aim is to boost our performance, which should translate to more people using our services – and I can report that currently we have substantially more customers than this time last year.

The second tier of this improvement programme began in August as we started to introduce 58 new buses onto the network.

As well as being significantly more environmentally friendly, they also feature more buggy and wheelchair space, more onboard cameras for improved safety and WiFi too.

Finally, we also embarked on a massive rail replacement operation for First Great Western, while six weeks of modernisation work took place between Bath and Chippenham.

This has meant a lot of extra responsibility and extra drivers were needed. The feedback from customers has been mainly positive and I would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts.

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AUTUMN 2015

Bus liveries will identify services OLOUR-CODED buses are hitting the streets of Bristol this Autumn following a multi-million pound investment in 26 new energy efficient vehicles.

The StreetDecks, built by manufacturer Wright Bus, feature eye-catching liveries which identify the service they are operating on. The state-of-the-art double-deck buses also boast technological improvements that will reduce

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exhaust emissions, increase efficiency, reduce the weight of the bus and offer an improved ride for customers.

The StreetDecks are being introduced at Hengrove depot and are the first in the West of England OpCo to feature the colour-coding.

Hengrove Staff Manager Gavin Hawkins said: “The bodywork at the front of the buses will feature a colour which represents the route they

are running on. So for instance, a pink colour will signify Service 70/71 and red will represent Service 90.

“It makes it even easier for customers to see their bus coming and hop on board.”

They form part of an order for 58 new buses in the OpCo, which also include 23 new enviro-friendly vehicles bound for Lawrence Hill and eight StreetDecks which will be based at Wells.

Walking at midnight for city hospice A group of five First employees took to the starlit streets of Bristol for the annual St Peter’s Hospice Midnight Walk.

Lawrence Hill Administrator Daisie-Jayne Davies and Hengrove Staff Manager Karen Nelson walked the 10-mile course around Bristol city centre, while fellow Hengrove employees Cheralyn Kay, Clare Mustafa and Kerrie Morris completed the five-mile course – raising a grand total of £754.

More than 1,400 people stepped out for the walk, starting and finishing at Ashton Park School and taking in sights including

the suspension bridge and the famous ship SS Great Britain.

It was the sixth annual sponsored walk for St Peter’s Hospice, based in Bristol, a charity that aims to provide quality care for adults with life-limiting illnesses and support their families.

Kerrie said: “I’ve donated money to the St Peter’s Hospice charity for years, but this was the first time I’d done the Midnight Walk. The event was really well organised – it’s a fantastic cause and we all had a great laugh as we went round the course.”

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More depot pride is key factor HE new General Manager for Bath, Wells & Westonsuper-Mare believes that instilling an even greater culture of pride in the depots will lead to improved performance for customers.

Andrew Sherrington joined First, taking over the reins from Bristol General Manager Jenny Macleod, who was holding the role temporarily.

Having previously worked as a Staff Manager at Go South Coast and as Assistant Operations Manager at Stagecoach, Andrew brings a wealth of experience to his new role.

He hopes to see a continuously improving performance, while making both employees and customers proud of the way that the depots operate.

Andrew said: “As with anything, changes

New General Manager for Bath, Wells & Weston-super-Mare Andrew Sherrington.

Inset, New Hengrove Engineering Manager Shaun Knapp.

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aren’t going to be seen immediately – it’ll happen one step at a time. I’d like to improve upon establishing Bath, Wells & Westonsuper-Mare as depots that both staff and customers can be proud of and continue to make them a great place to work.”

New Hengrove Engineering Manager Shaun Knapp is relishing the challenge of a new depot, after notching up 20 years service at Lawrence Hill.

He took up the new position in August, moving from Lawrence Hill where he worked as an electrician for 10 years before holding roles as a charge hand, assistant engineering

manager and workshop planner.

One of Shaun’s first jobs at Hengrove will be overseeing the integration of the new fleet of double-decker StreetDeck buses at the depot (see page two).

Shaun said: “After being at the same depot for such a long time, I’m relishing a new challenge.

“I’m hoping to carry on the previous Engineering Manager, Chris Phillips’, hard work and continue to make all-round improvements, including tackling lost mileage and reducing repeat defects.”

Charity promotion has people flocking to buy family tickets

Travel Shop Assistant Gosia Matyka with the First-sponsored sheep sculpture Lamb Chop.

FIRST has been raising hundreds of pounds for charity through its link up with this summer’s Shaun in the City Trail. The company has donated five pence from every Family Day ticket sold during the two-month event.

Visitors flocked to Bristol to check out the 70 sheep sculptures, which have been placed across the city to raise money for The Grand Appeal for Bristol Children’s Hospital.

All the sculptures have been designed by local artists and First sponsors Lamb Chop, who is “grazing” outside the Bristol Bus and Coach Station on Marlborough Street.

As well as the trail, a

weeklong fancy-dress fest was organised at Lawrence Hill for the Appeal.

Organiser and First Traffic Controller Martin “Trigger” Rogers encouraged staff to don animal prints and to flamboyantly style their hair, as well as take part in tank top Tuesday, wrong trousers Wednesday and fancy-dress Friday.

This will be the second year that employees have gone all out for the Grand Appeal, which has raised more than £31 million since 1995.

Martin said: “It was a great laugh for a brilliant cause. It was good to see everyone at the depot get involved to raise as much money as possible.”

AUTUMN 2015

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Driver Ray Bamford with some of the new-look Bristol pound notes.

Responding to feedback NEW HR Business Partner Clare Dalton has joined First West of England and is already acting on positive feedback from employees.

Clare, who was Staff Manager for First Cymru’s Swansea West Depot, has joined the OpCo on maternity cover for Georgina Bickerton.

She holds a Diploma in Human Resource Management and in her first few weeks has been out and about at the depots talking to colleagues.

She said: “I’ve managed to spend some time with our experienced staff and new recruits. There are plenty of fantastic ideas out there that will help to shape the business, service and communications.”

One of the first challenges for Clare will be to oversee the Your Voice survey for the OpCo.

Free travel for military FIRST West of England provided free travel to military personnel in uniform on Armed Forces Day. It gave the company the chance to show its support for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the UK. James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England, said: “We were glad to show our support to those deserving men and women who make the brave decision to fight to defend our freedom.

“Free bus travel is a small gesture but we hope it shows how grateful we are both to those who have fought and those who continue to fight for the liberties we all enjoy.”

Extra cash EMPLOYEES are being reminded about First’s matched funding scheme which can secure an extra £200 for people’s favourite charities.

Under the scheme the company lends a hand to charity fund raising initiatives.

For an application form and more details visit firstgroupplc.com/community.

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AUTUMN 2015

Gavin Hawkins is presented with the Young Manager of the Year trophy by Rashpal Sagoo of award sponsors Box Media.

Community Award winner Martin Rogers is congratulated by Stephen Allen, a volunteer from FirstGroup Charity of Choice Prostate Cancer UK.

Staff recognised for

going extra mile ALENTED employees from the West of England have been recognised for going the extra mile at the inaugural First UK Bus Excellence Awards for South of England and Wales.

Hengrove Staff Manager Gavin Hawkins was named Young Manager of the Year, Lawrence Hill Engineering’s Tina Haden-Williams scooped the Apprentice of the Year title and charity stalwart Martin Rogers, also based at Lawrence Hill, won the Community Award.

An array of colleagues were also highly commended or nominated at the awards ceremony.

They included Lawrence Hill’s John Sage and Emma Stowell who were highly commended for Engineer of the Year and Support Colleague of the Year respectively, and Hengrove’s Jaison Annear, who was highly commended in the Driver of the Year category.

In addition, the West of England Team was nominated for the Environmental Excellence Award for

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Ways drivers can identify counterfeit Bristol pounds

its work during the Bristol Green Capital year.

More than 350 nominations were made by employees across the South of England and Wales OpCos – and there was stiff competition in every category.

Gavin Hawkins admitted he was “humbled” after first being nominated and then winning the Young Manager of the Year Award.

Nominations for Gavin described him as the “most helpful manager in the company” and “very supportive” to new apprentices.

He was also praised for compiling a weekly newsletter, which keeps people at the depot in touch with how well they are performing.

Gavin said: “It is humbling to win to be honest and it is amazing that people took the time to recognise me in this way. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved and would like to thank all my colleagues for their support.”

Meanwhile Tina Haden-Williams made it an amazing five awards in

just over a year when she scooped Apprentice of the Year.

After two successes at the 2014 IRTE Skills Challenge, she went on to win a People First Apprentice Award at the House of Commons, and a Bristol Post Women in Business Award.

The third year Engineering Apprentice said: “Even with the other awards I didn’t expect this. It is a great honour to be nominated by your colleagues and I’m very pleased for the engineering team here.”

Traffic Controller Martin Rogers has helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity through numerous fundraising events at the depot.

Probably his crowning achievement was to organise two long-distance cycle rides, which each attracted more than 50 employees and raised thousands of pounds for causes such as Help the Heroes, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Prostate Cancer UK.

Apprentice of the Year winner Tina Haden-Williams receives her trophy from Martyn King of award sponsors PSV Transport.

DRIVERS are being asked to look out for the newly designed Bristol pound notes – and are being given tips on how to spot a forgery.

The new notes were launched this summer and are now being accepted on all services in the Bristol Inner Zone and at the Travel Shop, while old notes will still be valid until September 30.

The Bristol Pound is the UK’s first city-wide local currency and can be spent at any participating businesses using either paper Bristol Pounds or from a Bristol

Pound account with a mobile phone. New designs on the notes include Bristol’s famous faces such as civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and suffragette Annie Kenney, alongside cartoon images of cyclists and a colourful nature map of the city.

Counterfeit Bristol Pounds can be identified in a number of ways, including checking that “£B” is etched into the foil, noticing a red background shining through under UV light, a fluorescent ink strip and the colour of the logo fading quickly when rubbed.

Staff put on a wrong tie to help buy vital service dog

Martin said: “I was absolutely gob-smacked to win the Community Award. I’m glad I did for everybody who has taken part

in the fundraising. I’m just the man with the mouth who encourages the others to get things going – they deserve this as much as me.”

EMPLOYEES at Lawrence Hill wore the wrong tie to raise money for the son of new Driver Mentor Roy Lothian.

Ten-year-old Ty Lothian suffers from right-sided polymicrogyria as well as a developmental delay, meaning that he gets very anxious and finds many everyday situations a struggle.

Dozens of colleagues donned brightly coloured ties and dickie bows, raising a grand total of £1,170 to help Roy meet the £6,000 needed to fund Sooty, a service dog who will make a significant difference to Ty’s life.

Driver Gary Gainey also strutted through Bristol city

centre in hot pants and heels – mimicking the well-known cross-dressing man from a moneysupermarket.com advert.

Sooty is currently with Ty temporarily and he will soon return to Ireland to complete training before hopefully rejoining him full time.

Roy said: “Ty has no sense of danger, which means that taking him out can be a real challenge and it restricts his independence. Having a service dog has made a huge difference to Ty’s life. Sooty calms him down as well as keeps him safe.”

AUTUMN 2015

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Driver Ray Bamford with some of the new-look Bristol pound notes.

Responding to feedback NEW HR Business Partner Clare Dalton has joined First West of England and is already acting on positive feedback from employees.

Clare, who was Staff Manager for First Cymru’s Swansea West Depot, has joined the OpCo on maternity cover for Georgina Bickerton.

She holds a Diploma in Human Resource Management and in her first few weeks has been out and about at the depots talking to colleagues.

She said: “I’ve managed to spend some time with our experienced staff and new recruits. There are plenty of fantastic ideas out there that will help to shape the business, service and communications.”

One of the first challenges for Clare will be to oversee the Your Voice survey for the OpCo.

Free travel for military FIRST West of England provided free travel to military personnel in uniform on Armed Forces Day. It gave the company the chance to show its support for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the UK. James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England, said: “We were glad to show our support to those deserving men and women who make the brave decision to fight to defend our freedom.

“Free bus travel is a small gesture but we hope it shows how grateful we are both to those who have fought and those who continue to fight for the liberties we all enjoy.”

Extra cash EMPLOYEES are being reminded about First’s matched funding scheme which can secure an extra £200 for people’s favourite charities.

Under the scheme the company lends a hand to charity fund raising initiatives.

For an application form and more details visit firstgroupplc.com/community.

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AUTUMN 2015

Gavin Hawkins is presented with the Young Manager of the Year trophy by Rashpal Sagoo of award sponsors Box Media.

Community Award winner Martin Rogers is congratulated by Stephen Allen, a volunteer from FirstGroup Charity of Choice Prostate Cancer UK.

Staff recognised for

going extra mile ALENTED employees from the West of England have been recognised for going the extra mile at the inaugural First UK Bus Excellence Awards for South of England and Wales.

Hengrove Staff Manager Gavin Hawkins was named Young Manager of the Year, Lawrence Hill Engineering’s Tina Haden-Williams scooped the Apprentice of the Year title and charity stalwart Martin Rogers, also based at Lawrence Hill, won the Community Award.

An array of colleagues were also highly commended or nominated at the awards ceremony.

They included Lawrence Hill’s John Sage and Emma Stowell who were highly commended for Engineer of the Year and Support Colleague of the Year respectively, and Hengrove’s Jaison Annear, who was highly commended in the Driver of the Year category.

In addition, the West of England Team was nominated for the Environmental Excellence Award for

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Ways drivers can identify counterfeit Bristol pounds

its work during the Bristol Green Capital year.

More than 350 nominations were made by employees across the South of England and Wales OpCos – and there was stiff competition in every category.

Gavin Hawkins admitted he was “humbled” after first being nominated and then winning the Young Manager of the Year Award.

Nominations for Gavin described him as the “most helpful manager in the company” and “very supportive” to new apprentices.

He was also praised for compiling a weekly newsletter, which keeps people at the depot in touch with how well they are performing.

Gavin said: “It is humbling to win to be honest and it is amazing that people took the time to recognise me in this way. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved and would like to thank all my colleagues for their support.”

Meanwhile Tina Haden-Williams made it an amazing five awards in

just over a year when she scooped Apprentice of the Year.

After two successes at the 2014 IRTE Skills Challenge, she went on to win a People First Apprentice Award at the House of Commons, and a Bristol Post Women in Business Award.

The third year Engineering Apprentice said: “Even with the other awards I didn’t expect this. It is a great honour to be nominated by your colleagues and I’m very pleased for the engineering team here.”

Traffic Controller Martin Rogers has helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity through numerous fundraising events at the depot.

Probably his crowning achievement was to organise two long-distance cycle rides, which each attracted more than 50 employees and raised thousands of pounds for causes such as Help the Heroes, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Prostate Cancer UK.

Apprentice of the Year winner Tina Haden-Williams receives her trophy from Martyn King of award sponsors PSV Transport.

DRIVERS are being asked to look out for the newly designed Bristol pound notes – and are being given tips on how to spot a forgery.

The new notes were launched this summer and are now being accepted on all services in the Bristol Inner Zone and at the Travel Shop, while old notes will still be valid until September 30.

The Bristol Pound is the UK’s first city-wide local currency and can be spent at any participating businesses using either paper Bristol Pounds or from a Bristol

Pound account with a mobile phone. New designs on the notes include Bristol’s famous faces such as civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and suffragette Annie Kenney, alongside cartoon images of cyclists and a colourful nature map of the city.

Counterfeit Bristol Pounds can be identified in a number of ways, including checking that “£B” is etched into the foil, noticing a red background shining through under UV light, a fluorescent ink strip and the colour of the logo fading quickly when rubbed.

Staff put on a wrong tie to help buy vital service dog

Martin said: “I was absolutely gob-smacked to win the Community Award. I’m glad I did for everybody who has taken part

in the fundraising. I’m just the man with the mouth who encourages the others to get things going – they deserve this as much as me.”

EMPLOYEES at Lawrence Hill wore the wrong tie to raise money for the son of new Driver Mentor Roy Lothian.

Ten-year-old Ty Lothian suffers from right-sided polymicrogyria as well as a developmental delay, meaning that he gets very anxious and finds many everyday situations a struggle.

Dozens of colleagues donned brightly coloured ties and dickie bows, raising a grand total of £1,170 to help Roy meet the £6,000 needed to fund Sooty, a service dog who will make a significant difference to Ty’s life.

Driver Gary Gainey also strutted through Bristol city

centre in hot pants and heels – mimicking the well-known cross-dressing man from a moneysupermarket.com advert.

Sooty is currently with Ty temporarily and he will soon return to Ireland to complete training before hopefully rejoining him full time.

Roy said: “Ty has no sense of danger, which means that taking him out can be a real challenge and it restricts his independence. Having a service dog has made a huge difference to Ty’s life. Sooty calms him down as well as keeps him safe.”

AUTUMN 2015

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Union backs Your Voice survey TRADE Union representative Mick Dowds, who is UNITE Convenor and Chair of the National Joint Consultative Forum, underlined the importance of taking part in the survey.

He said: “The employee survey is very important to us as a union because it helps communication and engagement between the employee and the employer.

“It’s important every employee has their say whether positive or negative. It will help ensure the business continues in the right direction.

“One of the biggest changes for us was communication.

“I can say after a few years of working on Better Journeys for Life that communications has moved on.”

Employee views will shape all our

futures E’RE urging every one of First Bus’s 17,000 employees to help the company improve by taking part in the 2015 Your Voice survey.

Employees can have their say – in total confidence – on what is good about working for First Bus and what can be improved.

It will give an invaluable picture of opinion and an opportunity to address issues identified.

We’d like employees to complete the survey online where possible, but printed copies are available.

So we’ve pledged to donate £1 for every paper copy sent in, and £2 for every completed online survey, to our national charity partner Prostate Cancer UK. The survey starts on October 5. Go to www.yourvoicesurvey.com – the password is VOICE2015.

It’s important that as many people as possible take part so we can understand the depth of what’s going on in the business.

The survey is confidential and while we need to know job titles and depots there is no way you can be identified from the results.

An independent firm will compile results and we will share them with you. You will see what’s All been said winners from and what s the First UK Bu we will be Excellence Awards doing in d ere ent n bee have response p’s rou into FirstG to make international the Be First business an Awards. even better

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You can watch the latest Channel First episode and videos from our excellence awards ceremonies by following the AR instructions below and scanning the Channel First logo above.

By First UK Bus Managing Director

Giles Fearnley place to work. Last year’s survey told us people were more confident in where we’re heading as a business and felt we were looking after customers better.

Issues of how we work together as teams were highlighted in some cases.

Again, we have been working hard to support each other better.

Anyone who needs help completing the survey can speak to their manager, supervisor, trade union rep or employee director.

So please help us to continue improving First Bus for everyone’s benefit.

Please make a difference by spending some time completing the Your Voice survey.

Package rewards all staff FIRST Bus employees are being urged to sign up to the company’s rewards scheme at www.firstmyrewards.com The site contains a huge number of exclusive offers and useful information on pay and pensions.

Employees can take advantage of First Exclusives for great savings with popular brands including ASDA, Thomas Cook and B&Q. They can buy shares in First while paying less tax and the company even throws in some shares for free!

There’s free bus travel in the UK and discounted rail fares like a FirstRail Day Rover ticket for just £6! ● All you need to log on is your National Insurance Number. To find out more visit firstmyrewards.com

Bring the page to life with our exciting mobile app

Download our free First Bus AR app from the app store.

Scan the photo or logo where you see the ‘Scan Here’ marker.

When the video starts, double-tap your screen for full screen view.

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Positive actions shine out WO First West of England employees have been hailed as Superstars after their positive actions to make a difference shone through.

When a boy was left stranded in Bristol bus station, First Travel Shop employee David Taylor moved heaven and earth to make sure he got home safely. The 15-year-old had been travelling alone on a National Express coach from Birmingham to Bridgwater and got left behind after the driver stopped for a break at Bristol and then departed without him onboard.

Noticing the bewildered teenager at the station at around 6.30pm, David came to the rescue – catching a bus with him to Temple Meads station and buying him a train ticket home – before calling his mum to let her know that her son was safe and well. Impressed colleagues nominated David for the Superstar award after hearing of his actions.

David said: “I couldn’t have left him stranded in Bristol, it just made sense to get him home as quick as possible and let his parents know that everything was all right.”

Meanwhile, Weston-super-Mare’s Mark Hiscox was the hero of the hour when he saved the life of an injured cyclist through his quick thinking.

After witnessing a car hitting a bicycle, the General Service Operative blocked the busy road with his bus before ringing an ambulance. He then shielded the 61-year-old victim from other vehicles until emergency help arrived. The cyclist was taken to hospital with minor injuries after the collision and has fortunately now made a full recovery.

Superstar Mark said: “I was right behind the cyclist when it all happened, so I was first at the scene and just did what anyone else would do to help in that situation.”

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David Taylor shows his Superstar lapel badge.

Weston-super-Mare’s latest Superstar Mark Hiscox.

Cheers to first two winners of customer service awards

Douglas Hunt.

OUTSTANDING customer service and a positive attitude has seen Hengrove’s Douglas Hunt and Lawrence Hill’s Giovanni Marano scoop the first Cheers Drive awards.

The competition was launched in Bristol earlier this year to further improve standards and recognise the important role bus drivers play in transporting residents and visitors to the city.

Douglas was honoured after he stepped in when two ladies missed their tour bus and were left stranded at Marlborough Street station.

He offered to drive them around the city centre and show them the sights on his usual route after seeing their disappointment as the tour bus left without them.

Having clocked up almost 19 years as a driver at First Bristol, Douglas knows the city like the back of his hand and was able to flag up points of interest, including The Clifton Suspension Bridge and St George’s Concert Hall.

Meanwhile, Giovanni had multiple nominations and judges were impressed by comments he received from both customers and fellow employees.

Giovanni Marano.

His excellent driving and considerate nature were commended with the award, as well as £100 worth of shopping vouchers.

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Going green

for Angus

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streak in their hair in tribute to their colleague, raising £180 for his parents’ chosen charity Mind.

Some of the money collected will also be donated to a cycling charity which is to be chosen by the family at a later date.

Bath Staff Manager Tracey Jackson said: “If there was ever

a charity event, he’d be the first to dress up and get involved so we thought we’d do the same for him.

“It was a great way of celebrating Angus’ life in a fun-loving way that we think would have made him proud.”

Roy bows out after 45 years A fond farewell has been paid to popular Weston-super-Mare Driver Roy Weaver who has retired after 45 years. Roy, pictured, started work on the buses in the town in June 1970, originally as a conductor.

He has remained a familiar face for customers ever since despite

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A bus has been painted in green and yellow colours to celebrate Badgerline’s launch 30 years ago – the forerunner to First.

The striking anniversary vehicle, which is based at Wells, was revealed to the public at two heritage events.

The first was at the town’s bus depot and then alongside First’s famous Bio “Poo” Bus at Brislington Park and Ride in Bristol.

Badgerline was originally formed in April 1985 and included parts of the former Bristol Omnibus Company.

Ten years later Badgerline merged with Scottish company Grampian Regional Transport to become FirstBus, which evolved into FirstGroup.

First West of England Managing Director James Freeman said: “It is with much pride that we celebrate the launch of one of the key ingredients that created First as it is today.

The bus looks really smart and we hope it inspires a sense of nostalgia from our customers and pride among our staff.”

Champions f fairway

Wearing green clothes in memory of Angus McKendrick are Bath Traffic Controller Martin Hobbs, left, and Driver Derek Harwood. Inset, is Angus.

TAFF in Bath went green in memory of popular driver and cycling enthusiast Angus McKendrick.

Angus, who had a distinctive green streak in his hair and wore a cycling kit to match, sadly died in a bicycle accident in June.

Dozens of staff donned green clothing and sprayed a green

Nostalgic tribute to Badgerline

the company changing hands several times.

Roy is the third generation in his family to work on the buses in Weston. Between him, his uncle and his uncle’s uncle they have clocked up an impressive 81 years with the company.

MARLBOROUGH Street employees were champions of the fairway when they took on colleagues from Hengrove in an inter-depot golf tournament.

They triumphed by 307 to 267 points (using the Stableford system) at the Shortwood Golf Course, in Bristol, on a sweltering summer’s day.

A rematch is already being planned for next year as the Hengrove team look to reap revenge.

Mark Clouter, of the victorious Marlborough Street team, said: “It was a great event, plenty of friendly rivalry but played in a good spirit too.

“Having said that, I’m really glad we won and look forward to the much anticipated rematch.”