Q3 2018
TRANSXPRESS your news and views
MOVING you INTRODUCING TRANSDEV’S NEW BRAND page 9
IN THIS EDITION:
Moving You: Your New EA, page 4 A Day in the Life: Riding the Bus with Alister Fuller, page 6 Heart Foundation Healthy Recipes, page 11 Journey Planner: Top 10 Bus Trips Around the World Part II, page 15
Welcome from the MD
H
ello Journey Makers, We have had some big achievements to celebrate over the last couple of months! In the last quarter we exceeded 85% on time performance for three consecutive months – the best result we have achieved under the franchise and putting us well above the industry average. I would like to thank each of you for contributing to this outstanding result – whether you have been maintaining our buses, looking after the presentation of our vehicles, delivering a safe and reliable service out on the network or providing operational or administrative support. Your dedication and commitment to being a journey maker is central to our success. Likewise, I am really pleased to see a strong improvement in the presentation of our fleet, for our people and our customers. The experience
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of our customers is at the heart of everything we do and the presentation of our fleet is crucial to delivering operational excellence. We know from your feedback that the appointment of our new cleaning contractor, as well as our investment in fleet presentation staff and inhouse refuelling, has been a positive change and we look forward to continued improvement in this area. I encourage you to continue to share your ideas with us on how we can improve – we are listening and taking action. I am also delighted that we have lodged our driver enterprise agreement with the Fair Work Commission. With an overwhelming majority of drivers voting in support of the agreement, we are pleased to have put forward an agreement which recognises the important role our drivers play as journey makers, and ensures our drivers continue to be among the best paid drivers in Melbourne. We look forward to the agreement coming into place in the coming months. In other workforce news, we are continuing to reduce driver vacancies and increase diversity in our workforce through our Journey Maker Academy. I’d like to thank our People & Culture team for their terrific work in establishing the Academy and ensuring we have a strong pipeline of new drivers at a time when the industry is facing a severe driver shortage.
You can see a photo of some of our new journey makers on the front cover of this edition of TransXpress. If you see any new journey makers around your depot, I encourage you to make them feel welcome. I would also like to recognise the work of our maintenance team. It has been a challenging period following the termination of a staff member relating to serious misconduct. I know the actions of those involved do not reflect the commitment and professionalism that the overwhelming majority of you bring to work every day and I want to remind everyone that we all have a responsibility to report in good faith any breaches of our Code of Conduct. You can do this by speaking to your manager or confidentially emailing TDA.ethics@transdev.com.au Despite the challenges we’ve faced, I’m proud of the way our maintenance team have been working in partnership with operations to increase our fleet availability. We are one team, and we do our best work when we pull together. Keep up the great work and remember to be mindful of your health and stay hydrated as we head into the warmer weather. GEORGE KONSTANTOPOULOS Deputy Managing Director
Welcome to Transdev We are thrilled to welcome some new starters into the Transdev family! Please make them all feel welcome!
Emad Abdelkaddous Refueller, Doncaster
Ajit Kurian SDA, Doncaster
Ali Zaki Auto Electrician, North Fitzroy
Apostolos Chatzidiakou Refueller, Doncaster
Benjamin Herry Fleet Presentation Officer, North Fitzroy
Ernie Rodriguez Refueller, Sunshine West
Esam Abdelkodous Refueller, Heatherton
Francis Low Refueller, Doncaster
George Omoregbe Refueller, Doncaster
Jaspreet Singh Driver Manager, North Fitzroy
John Barsoum Fleet Presentation Officer, Doncaster
Kylie Ch’ng Risk & Assurance Manager, North Fitzroy
Buddhi Gallage Refueller, Heatherton
Chrish Fonseka Refueller, Keysborough
Georgios Stamatiou Refueller, Sunshine West
Golden Shawa Mechanic, Heatherton
Lesao Fonoti Refueller, Thomastown
Marcus Nathan Refueller, Keysborough
Marianne Bot-Kerin OCC Officer, North Fitzroy
Michael Ahern Mechanic, Doncaster
Paul Canavan Refueller, North Fitzroy
Ross Martin Workshop Manager, Doncaster
Salad Ali Refueller, Sunshine West
Shirley Wong Workshop Assistant, Thomastown
Sonny Du Refueller, North Fitzroy
Stephen Quinn Fleet Presentation Officer, Doncaster
Steven Weber SDA, Doncaster
Tamandra Thomas Administrative Assistant, Heatherton
Tim Ryan Store Person, Doncaster
Vikas Pathania Refueller, North Fitzroy
Jitender Singh North Fitzroy
John Orchard Sunshine West
Gurbinder Singh Pannu Jane Murray Head of Customer Experience & Refueller, Communications, North Fitzroy Doncaster
Welcome to our new drivers!
Gaurav Arora Keysborough
Hala El Hajj Keysborough
Hargobind Singh North Fitzroy
Harkirat Singh Sandhu Hemantha Fernando Keysborough Doncaster
Kailah Haycroft Thomastown
Kulwinder Singh Doncaster
Malvinder Singh Sunshine West
Mandeep Singh Heatherton
Melanie Anne Tripodi Thomastown
Navneet Singh Heatherton
Parwinder Singh Sidhu Sunshine West
Prakashkumar S Patel Doncaster
Preet Kalotia Thomastown
Saleem Fakhruddin Mohammed Thomastown
Sanjeev Kumar Thomastown
Satinder Pal Singh Heatherton
Varinder Singh North Fitzroy
Viby Koshy Sunshine West
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YOUR ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR NEW ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT
Early last month, our drivers voted overwhelmingly in support of the proposed driver enterprise agreement, with 89% of votes cast in favour. The new agreement includes a 4 percent annual increase over three years, backdated to 1 July 2018, ensuring our drivers continue to be among the highest paid drivers in Melbourne. Eligible drivers also received a one-off project disruption payment of $1800 in recognition of the challenges drivers have experienced operating services during infrastructure works underway across Victoria.
What are the changes to wages in the new EA? Wage increase of 4% per annum and a lump sum payment of $1800
July 2018
January 2019
July 2019
January 2020
July 2020
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
One-off lump sum payment of $1800: paid as wages or superannuation, as nominated by you.
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What are the changes to allowances in the new EA?
What else is in the new EA?
Payment of 15% Late Shift Allowance to all drivers performing route services, or rail and tram replacement
Night Bus Network Services > entitled to double time for these hours
New First Aid Allowance of $20.27 per week
Called into work for overtime on a day off > minimum of four hours’ pay
Articulated Bus Allowance to $12.66 per day
Working overtime > same across all depots
Meal Allowance increased to $13.50
Service Grants for all employees
Travel Allowance increased to $0.80 per/km
Clarification around RDOs
Mentor Allowance increased to $2.25 per hour
Split shift conditions > all split shifts now have the same entitlement
What’s next?
Any questions?
Agreement lodged with Fair Work Commission (FWC) > lodged in October
FWC reviews agreement over three month period
New EA comes into effect 7 days after approval from FWC
Please speak to your Area Manager or Driver Manager.
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A DAY IN THE LIFE
The Paradox of Life by Alister Fuller
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s a bus driver I have the privilege of experiencing many different people and places on an almost daily basis. This one day, however, has to be recorded and documented. I started at 6am and by 8am I had already had two polar opposite experiences. I call this a WOW experience: the paradox of life. The first experience involved an elderly lady who was headed to a cemetery in Warrandyte to have a chat with her husband who had passed away 13 years earlier. She told me she couldn’t just forget him, so she visited him every Saturday for a chat. I noticed that the street she had to walk up to reach the cemetery was reasonably steep…and she was in her 70s. She still called it a beautiful walk. Spending time with her late husband undoubtedly made that walk more beautiful, despite it being a tough slog uphill. I thought to myself, what an attitude to life! I asked her to say hi to her husband for me and she said she certainly would. She had a big smile on her face. As I continued my journey towards the city, I stopped for a bathroom break when I noticed a woman on the opposite side of the road. She was at the bus stop, walking backwards and forwards seemingly trying to keep herself warm. I signalled to her to get onto my bus because in a few minutes I would turn around and she would catch my bus anyway. It was sure to be warmer inside my bus. She appeared to be high on something and I asked her if she was okay. She told me she had a drug addiction, suffered from depression and had no reason to live. She told me she was homeless for a couple of years. She told me she was pregnant, but wasn’t sure she wanted to be. She also told me her father was a bus driver and used to take his three kids in the bus quite often. She had such fond memories of trips in the bus with her father. I felt a sudden urge to help this lady. When we reached the city, I waited with the lady until her Uber arrived. I told the driver that she wasn’t well. I told him to take her home safely. Before I said goodbye to the lady, I told her that with a baby on the way, she had every reason to live. This was the time to change her life for the better. She told me she would try. An elderly lady clinging to the memories of a life lost and a young lady trying to find a reason to live. This is the paradox of life.
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Journey Maker Academy Earlier this year, Transdev launched its Journey Maker Academy (JMA) – a brand new program focused on attracting a more diverse range of new people into the public transport industry. Developed in partnership with Armstrongs, a heavy vehicle licensing provider, the program is designed to provide a pathway for those who want to become professional bus drivers, but don’t currently hold an MR licence and/ or Bus Driver Accreditation. JMA then develops and equips candidates with a solid foundation and practical skills so that upon completion of the program, they will have the capacity to operate a bus in a safe and competent manner.
It’s been awesome so far in the induction, and driving your buses is a great joy. There are a heap of positives from your partnership with Armstrongs, as your trainees will benefit from learning how to drive a bus safely and how to be more aware of the road rules.” Since June, we have had 30 people (five female) attend and complete the 8 day JMA training at Armstrongs and we have another 25 people (five female) booked in between now and the end of November. We’ve also had another 45 people (six female) join us via the truck-to-bus (T2B) and bus-to-bus (B2B) recruitment streams, with another ten booked in to start by early December, which is fantastic to see! Prior to June we had 46 female drivers, so with the 16 women being brought in through our recruitment campaign, our female workforce will increase by almost 35% by the end of November. We are certainly taking steps in the right direction!
DEPOT CORNER
Driver Manager Malcolm Wicks celebrating his birthday with the Thomastown Operations team.
North
MOAZZAM MOHAMMED There are exciting changes happening in our business! New refuellers started at all of our Melbourne depots in August and our new cleaning contractor started on 1 September. We are very excited about these changes and we are hopeful that we will see a significant improvement in overall fleet presentation and pre-trip inspections (PTIs). While refuellers and workshop staff carry out regular inspections, it is also a requirement that all our drivers conduct PTIs and log any necessary DVRs via the kiosks. We still hear reports that a small number of drivers are not logging DVRs. This is a disservice to your fellow drivers, who are then stuck with a DVR issue that could have already been resolved. A few months ago, we also saw the launch of mytransdev app and our new payroll provider, MicrOpay. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who was involved in this transition. A special thank you to Krishni, our Communications Advisor in North Fitzroy, for answering all queries on mytransdev app promptly and at all hours of the day. We also had a number of Transdev Australasia Senior Management delegates visit North Fitzroy and our other depots over the last couple of months. It is pleasing to see their strong commitment to our Melbourne business and all the support being provided to us. A reminder to all that we regularly conduct meetings with different driver representatives, including HSRs, depot forums and roster committees. I urge all drivers to get to know your representatives and get involved in shaping the
future of your workplace. These meetings and forums provide an excellent platform for resolving any work-related issues and provide extremely valuable feedback that helps create a safe and welcoming workplace. I also want to thank all the union representatives for their hard work and commitment during EA negotiations. I think it is a fantastic outcome for all our drivers and kudos to all involved for achieving this without any industrial action. Excitingly, we are now seeing a constant pipeline of new drivers coming through our Journey Maker Academy. When you come across a new colleague, please reach out to them and welcome them. They will undoubtedly appreciate it if you are able to provide your unique tips and hints about buses, routes and our systems. From time to time we see people depart our business which is always sad, but it also creates opportunities for us to invite some new faces into the mix. One of these faces is Shirley Wong, admin assistant at Thomastown. Please join me in welcoming Shirley and supporting her to settle into this role. As you are probably also aware, Thomastown has recently been transitioned back under Area North. I’m looking forward to getting to know our Thomastown team better over the coming months. Finally, if we all imagine what a good day at work looks like, and then start thinking about what we need to do to get there, we can all contribute in our own way to make Transdev a great place to work. TRANSXPRESS Q3 2018
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DEPOT CORNER
East
SIMON KROL
South
The smiling faces of our Keysborough Driver Managers Johann Pereira and Kamaldeep Singh.
AREA SOUTH DRIVER MANAGERS Hello from the South! The year is flying by at a rapid pace and we would like to remind everyone to Slip! Slop! Slap! and remain hydrated with the arrival of hot weather in the coming months. The last few months have been very challenging for all of us, and we are aware of how hard everyone has been working. We are thankful to all the personnel involved from Transdev and the TWU in reaching an agreement, which prevented any disruptions to our customers. Currently we are focused on educating our drivers about DVR & tagging processes to ensure every DVR is inspected and fixed before the bus leaves the depot. We would like to say a big thanks to our Operations Team – Mohammad, Henry, Charan, Liz and Manjinder – for their hard work and commitment to ensure buses are on the road and shifts are covered every single day. Congratulations to Savo Tosic who has now joined the OCC team. We would like to thank him for all his hard work during his time with us and we wish him all the best in his new role! We are excited to welcome Tamandra Thomas into our team as admin for Area South. We’d also like to congratulate Baljeet Kaur, John Fletcher, Ron Arathoon, Humphrey Singh and Tony Shepard on receiving Silver Stars for compliments this quarter. Keep up the good work! Two bundles of joy have also recently arrived at Area South! Congratulations to Heatherton driver Jatinder Singh on the birth of his baby girl, Sehjogpreet Kaur and to Guromkar Singh who welcomed a baby boy. We have a number of new drivers who have recently started with us so please make them feel at home. Please remember that customer service is one of our key priorities, and a friendly greeting and a smile can make a huge difference to each passenger’s day; and to yours too! Safety tips & reminders for the month: • Safety, driver courtesy and customer service are our top priorities. • Are you wearing your seat belt? • Using mobile devices is prohibited while operating a vehicle. • Scan & plan ahead while on the road to avoid incidents/accidents. A reminder to all drivers to not run early at contract/timing points. Please follow your shift bat and run according to your shift time schedule. Early running remains a focus for all of us. Please remember that the new track timetables came into effect on 9 September 2018. Please make sure you sign on as per the new shift timing and carry the correct shift bat.
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A huge congratulations to our Driver Manger Stuart Roberts who tied the knot with his partner Sri this year! The Area South team wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
The past few months have been hectic, with EA negotiations the main priority amongst the drivers and Transdev. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my drivers and team members in operations for your support and the spirit in which all of you conducted yourselves during this period. We all know that EA negotiations are never easy and finding the right balance for both employees and the company is tough. What is most pleasing is that an agreement has been reached and our commuters were able to catch our bus services without any disruptions. In this edition of TransXpress I would like to make mention of some staff changes within our operations area. Our Driver Manager, Daniel Clark, has left Transdev to take up a new opportunity with Yarra Trams. I have worked with Daniel for several years within the public transport industry and he has been a great asset to our team over the years. Daniel began his journey at Transdev as an SDA and later stepped into a Driver Manager role. I would like to thank Daniel for his contribution, support and performance over the years with us. We wish Daniel the very best for his future. I would also like to make special mention of Joseph Yokneh and Jagandeep Bajwa. Both Joseph and Jagandeep have been supporting the Doncaster operations over the past few years, ensuring our daily service delivery is met. Joseph and Jagandeep have recently secured positions within the OCC. They possess a tremendous amount of knowledge of all our bus services and are greatly respected by our staff and drivers. I am confident that the OCC will be further enhanced with Joseph and Jagandeep on board and I thank them both for their commitment, support and loyalty. With the recent departures from Doncaster, I am pleased to welcome Michael Henderson, Steven Weber and Ajit Kurian to our operations team. Michael has been successful in securing a Driver Manager role after beginning his career at Doncaster through a traineeship program in logistics and then taking on the role of our admin assistant. The time has come for Michael to step into the role of Driver Manager as his knowledge and commitment is well and truly proven. Steven and Ajit are new faces in the team and they join us as Service Delivery Administrators. Steven previously worked in logistics at Coles and Ajit joins us from Transdev New Zealand. The team is looking forward to working closely together to support our drivers and deliver the best service for our customers. Finally, we have recently appointed a new Workshop Manager at Doncaster; Ross Martin. Ross’s role is vital to our business at Doncaster due to the sheer volume of buses and maintenance required to run
DEPOT CORNER our services. I look forward to working closely with Ross and forging a great working relationship between maintenance and operations. There are many more topics I would like to inform you of, however space is limited so I look forward to sharing more with you in the next edition. In the meantime, and as always, you are welcome to see me or your Driver Manager to discuss any matters relevant to you or the business. Thank you again.
West
TIM WATTERS Winter has been a time of change here in the west, with new arrivals and sad departures and celebrations of the achievements of our staff. It was with great sadness that we were informed of the passing of Jimmy Thavapriya. Jimmy was a respected and much admired driver on route 903, well known for his cheerful attitude and ability to help anyone learn the route. For us in Operations he was one of our ‘go to’ guys; someone we could always rely on to perform his best and help with anything on hand. The celebration of his life was attended by many of his colleagues from depots right across the network; a mark of the respect and esteem in which he was held. Our condolences go out to his family. RIP Jimmy. At the end of July, Area Manager Shaun Lawson left us for pastures green - like the new felt on the pool table left as a parting gift. In recognising Shaun’s achievements over his years of service for Ventura and then Transdev, we also took the time to recognise some of our long serving drivers (pictured right): David Reeve (53 years), John Dussi (48 years), Michael Bence (43 years) and a special mention to Vera Bogdanovic (41 years) who we are claiming as the longest serving active female bus driver in Melbourne, and supplier of cakes and treats to the office! All have been nominated for Golden Star awards for their commitment to not only Transdev, but to the public transport industry as a whole. We have also recently seen the first of our Journey Maker Academy drivers come into the depot. I encourage everyone to make our new drivers feel welcome and support them as they learn the ropes. Spring sees some major changes to the way our three longest local routes operate. From the second week of September, routes 216/219/220 are no longer ‘cross city’. With works to Southbank Boulevard, they have now been split into ‘North’ and ‘South’, finishing either in Queen Street/Flinders Lane or the Alfred Hospital. While this may inconvenience some passengers by not being able to use one mode to cross the city, the improvements to on time running will benefit the vast majority. I hope that all drivers embrace these changes and the improvements they could bring about. Please remember to carefully read your shift bat and be clear on what duties you are performing and as always, please check times at timing points to avoid running early. Please also have consideration for your fellow drivers at the terminus points and keep the bus bays clear for departing buses. Finally, a reminder to all drivers that changeover cars are as much a part of our fleet as our buses; serving just as important a role in delivering a reliable service to our passengers. They are scheduled like the buses and should only be used for going to and from the depots to your changeover points, as there are often people waiting to use the car to complete their work. If you find a fault with a changeover car, it needs to be reported in the same way as for our buses, with a DVR submitted, the vehicle tagged out and depot operations informed. Please have respect for your fellow workers and consider the condition in which you are handing over the car. Rubbish should always be taken out and placed in a bin.
Thank you to David Reeve, John Dussi, Michael Bence and Vera Bogdanovic for their service. TRANSXPRESS Q3 2018
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HEALTH & WELLBEING
Healthy Eating Tips Sticking to a healthy diet takes organisation and commitment.
When you’re in a hurry, busy at work, looking after kids, or feeling tired and stressed, it can seem easier to reach for some fast food, rather than a healthy meal. However, the benefits of a healthy diet far outweigh the effort. Here are just a few of the benefits of a healthy diet:
Maintaining a healthy weight
A stronger immune system
Boosting your energy
Improved mood and mental clarity
Increased longevity and antiageing
Some tips to incorporate a healthy diet into your day-to-day life include: 1 Thinking ahead and planning your meals
2 3 4 5 6 7
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for the week, with a focus on eating a variety of healthy foods. Get some meal inspiration on the Heart Foundation website: www.heartfoundation.org.au Bringing pre-prepared healthy meals to work. Having healthy snacks on hand such as fruit/nuts to avoid searching for sweets during the mid-afternoon slump. Keeping a bottle of water with you at all times to keep you hydrated and resist the temptation of sugary drinks. Swapping unhealthy options like chips for veggie sticks or crackers and dip. Using herbs and spices to flavour foods, instead of adding salt. Eating “mindfully” - turn off the TV, slow down and enjoy your food. This will help you stay more in touch with how hungry you are. Limiting caffeine where possible- but that one coffee you simply can’t live without is absolutely allowed! Having a chat to your doctor or an accredited dietician if you need more tips on how you can change your eating habits.
It might take some time to get used to making healthier choices, but after a few weeks you will start to notice how much better you feel. In no time, being healthy will start to come more naturally. It takes 21 days to form a new habit, so stick with your new healthy habits and enjoy the many benefits for your health today and in the future.
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Healthy Recipes from the Heart Foundation The Heart Foundation is dedicated to fighting the single biggest killer of Australians – heart disease. Follow their approach to healthy eating with these quick and easy recipes that will help you maintain a healthy weight and give you the energy to live life to the fullest. It’s never too late to start improving the way you eat.
Health & Safety Representatives Forum Our Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs), together with managers from across the business, came together earlier this year to discuss how we can all work together to improve health and safety within Transdev. Different areas from the business were invited to present on health and safety topics such as the lessons learnt from the maintenance issues we had in September last year, the Injury Assist Hotline and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Throughout the day there were a number of beneficial workshops that focused on how to improve accountability and problem solving, as well as how to improve the effectiveness of our health and safety committees.
Chicken & Asian Slaw Whole Grain Roll
Beetroot and White Bean Dip with Dukkah Toast
Serves 4
Serves 8
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins (preparation 15 mins)
Ingredients Spray olive oil 400g lean chicken breasts, halved horizontally 4 spring onions, finely sliced ¼ purple cabbage, trimmed, shredded 2 carrots, peeled and grated 1 large capsicum, seeded and finely diced 3 tablespoons coriander, chopped 3 tablespoons mint, chopped 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce 4 wholegrain rolls
Ingredients 2 round Lebanese bread Olive oil spray 1 tablespoon dukkah (or Zatar spice blend) 1 x 400g can butter beans, rinsed and drained 1 x 450g can whole baby beetroot, drained 1/4 cup unsalted pistachio nuts, toasted (see Tips) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 cup low fat natural Greek-style yoghurt
Method 1. Heat a large pan or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and spray with olive oil. Cook chicken 5-6 minutes each side, or until golden and just cooked through. Set aside.
2. Cut Lebanese bread into small triangles, spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with dukkah.
2. Meanwhile, to prepare Asian Slaw, combine the spring onion, red cabbage, carrots, capsicum, coriander and mint in a large bowl. Add sweet chilli sauce to the Asian Slaw and toss to combine. 3. Place a chicken breast on each roll base and top with Asian Slaw and roll lid to serve. 4. Enjoy!
Method 1. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan-forced)
3. Place triangles on an oven tray and bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until crisp and golden. 4. Process beans, beetroot, nuts, garlic and yogurt in a food processor until well blended.
Some key opportunities that were identified as a result of the forum: U Communication can be improved both between and within different areas of the business U Accountabilities can (and should) be clearer U There is a need for clearer processes when resolving issues and determining who can make decisions U Health and Safety Committees can be more proactive U Solutions need to be driven from the front-line, rather than from head office. The outputs from the day have been extremely valuable and a draft action plan is currently being prepared.
What is the Em pl Assistance Prog oyee ram (EAP)? EAP is run by Be ne to all our employ star and is available ee members for fre s and their family e, counselling supp confidential or Benestar hotline t. You can phone the on 1300 360 364.
5. Transfer dip to a serving bowl and serve with dukkah toast.
What is the Injury Assist Hotline?
Tips • To toast the pistachio nuts, stir over a medium-high heat in a small frypan until lightly browned.
This service provides valuable support if you have sustained an injury or illness in the workplace. Unlike attending your local doctor, the hotline provides prompt treatment for our employees with no outof-pocket expenses.
•
For delicious flavour variation, stir through 1 tablespoon chopped mint or coriander.
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OCC Corner
Hi Everyone, For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Daniel Head, the current Acting General Manager Operations. The first job that was assigned to me when I became a Journey Maker at the end of last year was to conduct a full review of the OCC. During that review I was able to meet a number of you across the business to discuss what was working well, as well as opportunities for improvement.
and 908. Each officer will be looking after around 120 buses, and will manage all the calls associated with their areas. This should improve the way we communicate with drivers, by having additional staff available and having a dedicated officer managing particular sections of the network. Meal breaks will be built in, and officers will hand over work to each other, which should also reduce the need for drivers to explain the situation over and over again. We are still working on new processes to make sure we can provide the assistance drivers need in a timely manner, particularly when Emergency Services are required.
NOTE TO DRIVERS
Some of the opportunities we identified were: • • • •
There is currently not enough communication around unplanned disruptions over the radio; Operators in the OCC don’t always know about road closures / roadworks; OCC takes too long to respond to call-back requests; and OCC does not proactively manage the network until an issue is identified.
Since the review was completed in February this year, I have been working closely with Chaminda, our Team Leader Network Services and our OCC team to address these concerns.
Please remember: if you need police or an ambulance to attend the scene, the OCC is required to ask you a number of questions before calling ‘000’. To access Emergency Services, the OCC goes through the same process that you, or any other member of the public, would go through. We can’t direct the police to attend, and often we will not get a response from them as to how long it will take for them to arrive, other than being advised that they will send the first available vehicle – and this will also depend on what other cases are open at the time.
At the time, we were receiving around 2200 call-back requests a week, and answering them, on average, within 120 seconds. By focusing on providing better quality customer service to our drivers, we have significantly improved our call-back time to 66 seconds on average. For the week ending 7 October, our average response time was 51.6 seconds, which was a fantastic result.
I hope you continue to see an improvement in the service delivered to you by the OCC, and that we can all work together to improve the journey we provide for our customers.
During October we also changed the way the OCC manages the network, with a new roster and some new staff. The change will allow us to allocate operators to Western Track, Eastern Track, R901/902 and R903,905,906,907
DANIEL HEAD Acting General Manager Operations & Network Services Manager
Thanks.
We Listened! Following your feedback from the last Employee Opinion Survey regarding the cleanliness of our vehicles and facilities, we were very excited to appoint a new cleaning contractor this year. Schimma’s Cleaning Services commenced with us on 1 September 2018. We have also employed refuellers and additional staff to conduct pretrip inspections to further improve the presentation of our fleet. We encourage you to continue to provide us with feedback so we can ensure we are putting our best fleet forward for our people and our customers out on the network. 12
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Safety You Can See Campaign PTV’s ‘Safety You Can See’ campaign is now live across the network and can be seen across outdoor, radio, digital, social media and Transdev’s website. The campaign, which commenced on Friday 27 July, aims to increase perceptions of safety across the public transport network in order to help passengers feel more confident in travelling on public transport, particularly at night. The primary focus of the campaign is to inform customers of the Protective Services Officers’ (PSOs) presence across the network and the role they play in keeping passengers safe. Key safety features and infrastructure are also highlighted throughout the campaign to further reinforce the safety measures that exist across the network to make journeys safer. The 360 camera, which was installed in a Transdev bus as part of a shoot in March this year, captures the interior of the bus and provides an interactive user video for customers to view the full safety features. As you move your phone around, more of the video is revealed, and as you pass over each safety feature on the bus, you can read more information about it. To learn more about ‘Safety You Can See’, visit www.ptv.vic.gov.au/safety COMING SOON! Keep an eye out for the launch of our Multimodal Authorised Officers (MMAOs) sessions, where you’ll have the opportunity to discuss issues out on the network directly with the team!
MOVING YOU – Starts with you During our global conference in early July, The Transdev Group announced our exciting new brand that will be implemented across our businesses around the world, including Australasia. You will start to see our new look and feel appear in our communications over the coming year. We are a team of people serving people, and mobility is what we do. Our brand new logo – our tagline is changing from “MOBILITY INSPIRED BY YOU” to “the mobility company.”
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Golden Star Nominations We are now in our seventh year of the Golden Star Awards. Since the awards commenced, we have received over 1,000 nominations from across our businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Award nominations have now closed, so stay tuned for an announcement on the winners. Final nominees from our business are outlined below:
Todd Kendrick
Vera Bogdanovic
Nominated for: Customer Service
Nominated for: Commitment
Todd has been nominated for his exceptional IT support to the P&C team. “Nothing is too much trouble for Todd and his solution focus and customer service is exceptional.”
Berry McSherry
Vera has been nominated for her ongoing commitment to Transdev and the broader public transport industry. “Vera started driving in 1977 at the Footscray depot and during her 41 years of service with Transdev, she has had an outstanding record and has shown the highest level of commitment and passion to both the company and the passengers she carries. Vera is also currently the longest serving female bus driver still out on the road as a full time driver delivering a quality service!”
Nominated for: Performance Berry has been nominated for her outstanding work supporting Transdev to achieve its contractual KPIs for safety training and for her collaborative approach to lifting our safety performance across all our other businesses. “Berry has gone above and beyond the normal expectations of her role and is a worthy recipient of a Golden Star.”
Michael Bence
Rukman Weerasinghe Nominated for: Safety Hero Rukman has been nominated for his quick thinking after seeing a baby left in a car at a train station. “Rukman’s actions saved the life of a baby. It was a very warm day, but thanks to him, the police came and promptly took the baby to the medical centre.”
Krishni Srikanthan Nominated for: Passion Nominated for: Performance
David Reeve Nominated for: Commitment David has been nominated for his ongoing commitment to Transdev and the broader public transport industry. “David started driving in 1965 at the Footscray depot and during his 53 years of service with Transdev, he has had an outstanding record and has shown the highest level of commitment and passion to both the company and the passengers he carries.”
Krishni has been nominated for her work in rolling out mytransdev app, which now has a take up of 87% - one of the highest of all the TD businesses. “Krishni was an absolute super star when we rolled out the new app across the business. She went out to the depots and helped our people sign up and has gone above and beyond answering their queries in our chat room at all times of the day & night.”
Nominated for: Commitment Michael has been nominated for his ongoing commitment to Transdev and the broader public transport industry. “Michael started driving in 1975 at the Footscray depot, and during his 43 years of service with Transdev, he has had an outstanding record and has shown the highest level of commitment and passion to both the company and the passengers he carries.”
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TRANSXPRESS Q3 2018
Taleb Mustafa John Dussi Nominated for: Commitment John has been nominated for his ongoing commitment to Transdev and the broader public transport industry. “John started driving in 1970 at the Footscray depot and during his 48 years of service with Transdev, he has had an outstanding record and has shown the highest level of commitment and passion to both the company and the passengers he carries.”
Nominated for: Leadership Taleb has been nominated for his role in mentoring several new bus drivers within the company. “Thanks to Taleb’s fantastic mentoring and coaching, our new drivers now feel comfortable and confident driving out on the network.”
Top 10
Bus Trips Around the World PART 2
From London to New York and everywhere in between, check out Part 2 of National Geographic’s Top 10 Bus Trips from around the world.
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London, England
Buses are synonymous with the city of London, so there is no better way to explore its many boroughs. Hop on an iconic red bus at Trafalgar Square, home of Nelson’s Column, and head down the Strand in the city of Westminster towards the famous dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. See the tallest isolated stone column in the world: Monument, built to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666. End your journey at the Tower of London…and try not to lose your head!
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Paris, France
Begin the day at the Porte d’Orléans, one of the main gateways into the city of Paris and where, in 1944, tanks first rolled in to liberate the city. Then it’s time to travel past the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), through the Latin Quarter with its lively feel and plethora of restaurants, shopping and theatres, and across the Seine to Notre-Dame Cathedral. Keep an eye out for the 52m Gothic Saint-Jacques Tower by the bus stop for the Hôtel de Ville! You can continue on past the Centre Georges Pompidou, home to a vast public library and the largest museum for modern art in Europe, before hopping off the bus at the busy train station of Gare du Nord.
Madrid, Spain
Starting from the leaning towers of Puerta de Europa (Gateway of Europe), your bus trip will take you through Plaza de Colón (Columbus Square) and on past Cibeles Fountain, featuring the goddess Cybele in her chariot pulled by two lions. Art galleries and gardens abound before you finally return back to reality in the commercial centre.
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Rome, Italy
Explore the right bank of the Tiber, Italy’s third longest river, starting with the carefully crafted colonnades (columns) that follow the curve of the ancient baths. Marvel at the Trevi Fountain and stop to toss in a coin to ensure you return to Rome one day! Carry on past the Capitoline Hill (one of the Seven Hills of Rome), Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Circus Maximus, a chariot-racing stadium where you will sense the gore and glory of ancient Rome. Disembark in the neighbourhood of Ostiense for a rest and a scoop (or two!) of gelato.
Budapest, Hungary
It’s not a long journey from St. Stephen’s Basilica to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Castle Hill with its cobblestoned streets, but you’ll go from one city (Pest) to another (Buda) as you cross the Danube River on the famous Chain Bridge. End at Buda Castle, the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, which is now home to several museums. Finally, explore Matthias Church and admire the vista from the neo-Gothic, neo-Romanesque Fishermen’s Bastion on the banks of the Danube.
Miss part one? Find it in TransXpress Q2 2018. TRANSXPRESS Q3 2018
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