Update. Thamesdown is tweeting. Issue 93 Winter 2014/15. Staff Newsletter of Thamesdown Transport Ltd

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1 Update Issue 93 Winter 2014/15 Staff Newsletter of Thamesdown Transport Ltd Thamesdown is tweeting Thamesdown Transport is now tweeting as a means of communicating day-to-day operational news to its passengers. There are now over 500 twitter users following T.T. and the numbers are growing as word gets around. Operations Director Gordon Frost told Update: An increasing number of our customers are now checking our tweets for regular operational bulletins posted by our operations manager, Dave Jones, and his staff. We decided not to embark on a costly launch of our twitter service, preferring to Controller Paul Robinson prepares a service status bulletin for T.T. s twitter followers rely on the twitter-sphere to self-promote the new facility, and this word-of-mouth approach appears to be working well. Indeed, the severe delays to bus services because of roadworks in the last quarter of 2014 probably stimulated our twitter following to check on the status of their bus service. So far we have over 500 twitter followers. Operations Manager Dave Jones added: Both myself and the controllers post tweets about service delays and cancellations. We have a set of bulletin outlines which we copy and paste onto the twitter page and edit accordingly, so it s quite a smooth operation. Communicating via twitter is all about immediacy and the controllers have to be alert to incoming tweets about specific journeys so that we can respond quickly to people s queries. As well as letting people know when a bus is delayed as soon as the problem is apparent, we also tell them the reason for the delay. This is an important feature because it can be very annoying for customers when their bus doesn t turn up and they don t know why. Although the controllers deal with the majority of the tweets about operational matters such as traffic delays, both Dave Jones and Operations Director Gordon Frost are also active in both posting and responding to tweets. n

2 Reliability During the period 28 June to 27 September the Company operated 99.76% of its scheduled mileage, against a target of 99.80%. Punctuality during the period 1 July to 30 September was 94.85%, just short of its target of 95%. Managing Director, Paul Jenkins, commented: I m pleased to say that we were close to both our reliability and punctuality targets. In part, this reflects the quieter traffic conditions around the town in the summer holidays. Unfortunately, reliability in the period 28 September to 27 December suffered a setback due to severe traffic congestion*, and we operated 99.25% of our scheduled mileage against a target of 99.80%. Punctuality was just 92.16% against a target of 95%. (* See story on right) CUSTOMER feedback We travelled from the Park and Ride at Wroughton to the rail station and back on Tuesday, and were so impressed by the service. The drivers were so helpful and friendly. When looking for the right stop at Fleming Way, a driver went out of his way to make sure that we got on the right bus. Customer relations at its best. Thank you. Sally Elstub Road improvement work creates havoc for town s bus services and users Road re-modelling work at Bruce Street Bridges which will include a bus priority measure is scheduled to last until October 2015 but, when finished, should help traffic to flow more easily. Hopefully the gain will be worth the pain With the benefit of advance notice of the roadworks to remodel the Bruce Street Bridges roundabout and associated drainage works which began in October, T.T. anticipated that services in the area would be disrupted and put in place changes to the Services 13/14 route and timetable earlier in the year in readiness. However, there was added disruption to traffic due to the closure of Northern Road for drainage work and the roadworks on Great Western Way, all of which resulted in some extremely challenging conditions. Although on a number of days, T.T. s controllers were just able to keep on top of events by troubleshooting delays with the benefit of satellite vehicle tracking, on others the situation was exacerbated by road traffic accidents and emergency road works. For example, on 13 November, an accident on the A419 saw extra traffic being diverted through Swindon, leading to virtual gridlock, with delays and cancellations affecting almost every route. The AA traffic congestion maps for that day showed almost every route in Swindon as either queuing or stationary! When there is severe traffic congestion, car-driving commuters will experience delays just twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. However, the buses have to negotiate the roadworks throughout the day, making them progressively later. Even though T.T. uses all of its spare staff capacity and vehicle resources to try and plug the gaps, there is a finite amount that can be done in such circumstances. Because of the cross-town nature of many of T.T. s routes, customers may feel the effect of a journey cancellation or delay without seeing the cause which is often on the other side of town. Not surprisingly, they feel frustrated because they can t see why their bus is delayed. There are only a limited number of diversionary routes open to us, said Managing Director Paul Jenkins. When they also are congested, the adverse impact on reliability and punctuality is inevitable. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that a road improvement programme of this scale took place in the autumn months when traffic levels are generally at their highest, rather than in the summer when traffic is relatively light. However, the one positive note that we can sound in all this is that once the work at Bruce Street Bridges is complete, it will mean the road system will be better able to cope with traffic demand. It will also incorporate a bus priority measure that will benefit services 13/14. T.T. s Managing Director went on: The extent of road improvements in the town is an indication of how Swindon is growing, with new housing and employment areas all of which will need serving by public transport. And of course, this will provided opportunities for us to expand our business. In the meantime, we have to hope that the gain will be worth the pain. I m very grateful for the forbearance of staff in maintaining services during this very difficult period. n Good news on bus priority enforcement but concern about Polaris Way bus gate Since bus priority enforcement cameras were introduced in June last year, over 5,500 Swindon motorists have been caught using bus gates or bus lanes. Five mobile cameras were introduced and are being rotated on a random basis between the 19 bus lanes and 24 bus gates around the town. Within the first couple of months over 4,000 warning notices were handed out to drivers, and over 1,000 motorists have been fined since penalty charge notices were introduced in July. One motorist received 20 warnings for driving through one of the town s bus gates, but stopped doing so once the fines were introduced. Polaris Way bus gate opened to all traffic one-way On 24 November the Council opened up the Polaris Way bus gate to all outbound traffic for a one-month trial to help ease traffic congestion leaving North Star in the evening peak. At the time of going to print the trial was still ongoing. T.T. has been monitoring the impact on Services 12/15 which were already having to be diverted because of the Northern Road roadworks. Paul Jenkins told Update: We have stressed to the Highways Authority the crucial importance of bus gates and bus lanes. They are an important way of giving bus services priority over other traffic and benefit our customers by helping us deliver punctual bus services, even when there is congestion, and we welcome their enforcement. Traffic congestion is the enemy of reliable bus services which need to be isolated from it as much as possible. This is one of the reasons why we were determined to see the reinstatement of two-way operation along Bristol Street and through the Church Place bus gate, which helps us avoid the traffic queues on Faringdon Road. T.T. extends its long service award scheme Thamesdown Transport has decided to breathe new life into its long service award scheme by recognising service landmarks from ten years upwards in fiveyear increments. Previously, only those reaching the 25-year service landmark have been recognised, receiving a long service certificate and 250. Beginning this year, everyone who reaches 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 years of continuous service will receive a long service badge and certificate. Also, between now and March, there will be a retrospective catch-up with employees who have already reached one of these landmarks. Polaris Way bus gate has been opened to all traffic one-way from North Star for a one-month trial Although many people see bus lanes and bus gates as being unfair to motorists, in giving priority to buses these measures encourage more people who might otherwise use their cars to travel by bus, which in turn reduces overall traffic congestion. n In addition, from April, staff reaching the 15-year, 25-year and 35-year service milestones will also receive gift vouchers to the value of ten pounds for every year of their continuous service. Managing Director Paul Jenkins told Update: We have a significant number of loyal staff whom previously we ve only thanked at the 25-year service milestone. I hope that by recognising long service at five-year intervals from ten years onwards, it will encompass a greater number of staff and better reflect the Company s gratitude for their loyal service. 2 3

3 Tadpole Farm 1700 homes Diversion of Service 15 in later phases. Ridgeway Farm 700 homes Diversion of Service 19. Abbey Farm 350 homes Extension of Service 12. Abbey Stadium 510 homes Diversion of Service 12. Eastern Villages 8000 homes by 2026 T.T. would serve the new development initially by extending Service 2. New services would follow as the development progressed, including a Bus Rapid Transit corridor via a new bridge over the A419. Appeal Court ruling on wheelchair access means T.T. s policy is legal Bus companies are not required by law to have a policy that compels parents with buggies to make way for wheelchair users in designated bays on buses, the Court of Appeal ruled on 8 December. The appeal hearing overturned a Leeds County Court ruling which had upheld a case brought by wheelchair user, Doug Paulley, against First Group following a woman s refusal to move a pushchair with a sleeping baby from a designated wheelchair space. Mr Paulley was awarded damages of 5,500, but First Group appealed the ruling. Wichelstowe 4500 homes and new Waitrose store So far, served by extensions of Service 15 via Middle Wichel. Future services will include Redposts Drive and West Wichel. A new Park & Ride site is planned as part of the final phase. Plans for over 14,000 new homes on the edges of Swindon will provide a great opportunity for Thamesdown Transport to grow its business With over 14,000 new homes planned for the Swindon area within the next 12 years, the potential for growing the Thamesdown Transport business is considerable. In a presentation to staff in November, Managing Director Paul Jenkins said: With our current network of services we are well positioned to serve these developments as they come on line. With the extension of its Service 15 to the new Waitrose store at Middle Wichel, T.T. s presence is firmly established in anticipation of the next phase of the 4,500-home Wichelstowe development. We aim to continue with this proactive approach and we ll be involved from the very early stages of the planning process to push for suitable roads infrastructure for bus services, Paul Jenkins confirmed. In addition to the benefit of creating new bus driving jobs, increasing the size of the bus fleet to meet an expanding service network helps to cover the Company s fixed overhead costs, making the network more commercial. n New bus station Commonhead 890 homes Diversion of Service16 in the early phase. Extra services will be added as the development progresses. A new bus station is part of the town centre regeneration plans. The Carlton Street car park is due for demolition in Spring At a later date, Fleming Way will be closed for redevelopment during which a temporary bus station will be provided. It has to be accepted that... wheelchair users will occasionally be prevented by other passengers from using the wheelchair space on the bus Lord Justice Lewison justified the Appeal Court s ruling saying: It has to be accepted that our conclusion and reasoning in this case means that wheelchair users will occasionally be prevented by other passengers from using the wheelchair space on the bus. Sometimes there will be a reasonable justification for that happening, but sometimes there will not. I do not, however, believe that the fact that some passengers will - albeit rarely - act selfishly and irresponsibly is a sufficient reason for imposing on bus companies a legal responsibility for a situation which is not If you have a question about any aspect of the Company and the way it is run, or wish to offer suggestions as to how we might improve what we do, you may either... staff@thamesdown-transport.co.uk or drop a note into one of the suggestion boxes provided at either Barnfield Road or 19A The Parade. of their making and which they are not in a position to prevent. T.T. s Managing Director Paul Jenkins told Update: Our policy on wheelchair access is that where a wheelchair user wishes to use a wheelchair space which is already occupied by a child s buggy, the driver will ask the parent if they would mind moving to another part of the bus or folding up the buggy and putting it into the luggage space. However, the driver has no authority to compel the buggy owner to vacate the wheelchair space. Our driving staff should therefore continue to follow the instructions contained on page 39 of the Drivers Handbook. n Welcome WELCOME Update welcomes the following staff who ve joined or re-joined Thamesdown Transport since the last edition and wishes them well in their new jobs... Selvaraja Basharan, Simon Boyd, Nadiya Clayton, Karen Davies, Elric Ferguson, Neil Harvey, Adrian Moore and Noel O Shea 4 5

4 Photo taken by and reproduced courtesy of Stuart Curwen Thamesdown Transport to resume fleet replacement programme and we d like your views on the following vehicles: Optare Versa ADL Enviro 200 We are planning to resume our fleet renewal programme in 2015 after a two-year gap in buying new vehicles and we would like your views as part of our decision-making process on what vehicles to buy. To keep the average age of the fleet at an acceptable level we have to resume the replacement of older buses with new. This is important because experience shows that older vehicles cost more to maintain and are less reliable. An example of this is the amount of work being undertaken on some of the older Darts and Scanias where the engineering department are having to replace whole sections of flooring. Managing Director Paul Jenkins told Update: New vehicles come with a warranty and have lower running costs. They also have greater passenger appeal, with passenger-friendly systems such as bus stop announcing specified at the outset. Not least, new buses have to meet the latest emissions standards and therefore help us to meet our environmental objectives. What are they like to drive or ride on? Do you prefer one over the other for cab layout and size? Wrightbus Streetlite How do they compare on performance and visibility? How do they compare on heating and ventilation? We are in the earliest stages of looking at what is available on the new vehicle market. A good starting point is to review the comparative virtues of the most recent batches of new vehicle in our fleet, namely the Optare Versas (fleet numbers 401 to 408), the Streetlites (411 to 417) and the ADL Enviro 200s (105 to 107). We would like staff to comment on how they think these buses compare, for example, in respect of driving performance, cab size and layout, visibility, heating and ventilation. We would also welcome comments from engineering staff on how these vehicles compare from a maintenance point of view, and all staff are invited to comment on their experience of using these buses when they travel as passengers. We would welcome any other comments that you think might be helpful. You can provide your views and comments either via the suggestion boxes or by the staff feedback address: staff@thamesdown-transport.co.uk Phil is nominated one of Swindon s two top bus drivers As part of National Customer Service Week 2014, Swindon Travel Choices asked bus users who they felt was the town s top bus driver. Claire Fleming from Swindon Travel Choices* commented: We had a great reaction to the campaign. We had more than 120 comments on our Facebook site, nearly all praising the work of one or more of Swindon s bus drivers. The judges had a tough job deciding who had given the best customer service, but the eventual winners were John Dyer from Stagecoach and Phil Manning from Thamesdown Transport. They each received 100-worth of High Street vouchers. Phil, who joined Thamesdown Transport in 1997, said: Both bus driving and Thamesdown are in my blood. All I ever wanted to do when I was young was to be a bus driver, so I feel like I ve fulfilled a dream. Paul Jenkins with Phil Manning and his family who are clearly delighted with his Swindon Travel Choices Top Bus Driver award T.T. s Managing Director Paul Jenkins commented that the judges faced a tough decision when picking the winner. He told Update: There were many worthy nominations for our drivers, all recognising the skills and care that are needed to be Ealier this month Thamesdown driver Matt Curtis got together with three fellow karters to compete against 28 other teams at the Autosport International Racing Car Show held on 10 January at Birmingham NEC. a good bus driver. We re very pleased that the public commended Phil for his dedication. n (* Swindon Travel Choices is a governmentfunded project to support the regeneration of Swindon Town Centre) Matt s bid for karting trophy raises 300 for Alzheimer s Society Matt (number 33) competing at the Rowrah kart track in the Lake District at an earlier event The event, which was held over four days, was in aid of the Alzheimer s Society in memory of dual Indy 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar Champion Dan Wheldon, who died in a racing incident in October Matt s team entered a three-hour race, driving twin- 160cc machines. The teams were joined by a host of celebrities and motorsport stars who were on hand to mentor the teams and provide trackside advice. Matt, who joined T.T. in 2006, first became involved in karting three years ago. Commenting on the race, he told Update: We got off to a poor start and at one point we were second from last, but we clawed our way back and ended up 16th out of 29. It was tough but good fun. As a team we raised around 300, and 65 of that was donated by my Thamesdown colleagues. This is not the first time Matt has stepped up to fundraise for charity and in 2013 he ran in the Swindon half-marathon, raising over 300 which he donated to an ante-natal unit in Andover which was threatened with closure. 6 7 Photo reproduced courtesy of Swindon Travel Choices

5 60 TO BE WON!!! Spot the ten differences between the pictures below of cranes at the King s Cross development in 2013 and mark them on the righthand picture. The sender of the first correct entry drawn from the hat wins 40. A tenner goes to the first two runners-up. Only one entry per person. Entries to be sent to Damon Swatridge by 15 March This competition is open only to staff of Thamesdown Transport and their immediate families. Congratulations to Robert Webber whose correct solution to last edition s Spot the Difference competition was first out of the hat to win him 40. Runners-up Diana O Sullivan and Danny Reeve each win 10. Full Name Job Title/relationship to staff member: Left: Amphibibus? Right: This picture taken inside a Russian bus gives a whole new meaning to the concept of Park-and-Ride... and begs the question do bus fares in Russia work out at less per mile than the cost of petrol for a motorbike? Photo reproduced with permission from awkward transit Update Update is the staff newsletter of Thamesdown Transport Ltd of Barnfield Road, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 2DJ It is edited and designed by Dick Fancutt of Connect Business Publishing Services: Telephone r.fancutt@ntlworld.com