SUMMER Thamesdown. Transport s bid for a closed sale to its employees is turned down by the Government JULY Thamesdown

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1 Update Issue 8 Autumn 0 Staff Newsletter of Transport Ltd SEPTEMBER 986 Transport is registered as a limited company Transport celebrates 5 years as a limited company JANUARY 99 Transport appoints three employee directors to the Board SUMMER 99 Transport s bid for a closed sale to its employees is turned down by the Government SPRING 99 Transport responds to its first competitive threat since deregulation SPRING 996 Transport is world s first bus operator to participate in a cashless society trial JULY 005 Transport moves into its new depot at Barnfield Road MORE ON CENTRE PAGES... SPRING 006 John Owen retires after 0 years as Managing Director. He is succeeded by Paul Jenkins

2 Photograph by Deric Pemberton Six StreetLites on order for 0 A Wrightbus StreetLite on demonstration at in July has ordered six new -seat Wrightbus StreetLite DFs for delivery in June next year. The new 0.8-metre buses, which are manufactured in the UK at the Wrightbus factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, will be fitted with standard equipment such as Hanover destination screens, bus stop announcement system, CCTV, Real Time Information, and driver s cab air-con. Managing Director Paul Jenkins told Update: We are returning to an established supplier in Wrightbus and have every confidence in their product. The demo vehicle, which visited the depot in July, was well received and did everything we required of it. Refreshed logo and livery for T.T. has unveiled a refreshed livery and logo which will be introduced economically as buses fall due for re-paint and new publicity is printed. Update: Obviously the new StreetLite buses will bear this updated version of our livery and we ll be taking the opportunity to apply it at the programmed first repaint of the Scania fleet, which is on a five-year re-paint cycle, starting with fleet no. 50. The marketing principle is that brands have a finite shelf-life and need to be refreshed periodically to ensure our corporate style remains contemporary. Incorporating a more contemporary lettering for the logo, which makes its first appearance in print on the front page of this edition of Update, the refreshed livery is more straightforward and dynamic than the existing colour scheme. These illustrations show how the revised livery with its stylish curved stripes will look on one of the Scanias. The first vehicle to bear the new livery is the replacement Scania breakdown truck, albeit with some adjustment to suit the vehicle s unique profile (see page 6). n The outstanding feature of the StreetLite is that Wrightbus have managed to accommodate seats 5 fixed and six tip-ups within a body that is under metres in length. This makes it very flexible operationally. Also, being comparatively lightweight, it delivers excellent fuel economy. The decision to go for the StreetLite continues T.T. s policy of purchasing high-quality, long-lasting vehicles. The StreetLite s power unit is the Cummins ISBe -cylinder 60bhp engine, driven through a three-speed Voith D8 gearbox. The Euro V engine will require the AdBlue additive which cleans exhaust emissions. This will give T.T. some experience of using the additive in anticipation of the stricter Euro VI emissions standard which will come into effect towards the end of 0. Paul Jenkins went on: Going for a June delivery will enable the StreetLites to be run in locally in Swindon before being used during the summer on the Olympic Games contracts to transport athletes, media and officials. n MP attends launch of extended 5/5A and free Windmill Hill trial bus service North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson gives his stamp of approval at the launch of the extended 5/5A service North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson was guest of honour along with a number of local councillors at the official launch in September of both the extended Service 5/5A and the free trial bus service between North Swindon and the Windmill Hill business park. Mr Tomlinson said of the improved 5/5A: I hope this is a big success. I used to run a marketing company and I struggled to understand some of the timetables that came out. This leaflet just tells me what I need to know." All the best to Tony and Brian Best wishes to Tony Chaj or TC as he s been fondly known by his colleagues on his retirement in September after nearly years with. Tony joined the Company in January 979 as a semi-skilled fitter with responsibility for the periodic servicing of the fleet, which continued right through to his retirement. Paying tribute to Tony, Engineering Director Nigel Mason told Update: With his exemplary attendance record you could always rely on Tony to never let you down. With all the service and hard work Tony has put in at, he has been a model employee. We wish him well in his retirement which I know he is looking forward to. Best wishes also to Brian Bowd on his retirement at the end of October after 9 years with the Company. The free bus service from North Swindon to Windmill Hill business park was underwritten by RWE npower and timed to coincide with European Mobility Week which ran from 6 to September. The purpose of the one-week trial was to test demand for a permanent link for commuters living in North and West Swindon to travel to and from work at Windmill Hill. Update: Having a convenient bus service available is key to helping people make greener travel choices, which is what European Mobility Week was all about. Up to 7 passengers used the service each day, which shows that there is some demand for such a service, although not enough to make the service a permanent addition to our commercial route network. However, the trial results do provide a basis for discussions with businesses at Windmill Hill regarding the idea of a regular service with some sort of financial support or revenue guarantee, at least until such time that passenger numbers grew sufficiently to make it commercial. Paul Jenkins added: Operating the trial service demonstrates our willingness to work with new partners to explore innovative ventures as part of our ongoing efforts to offer an alternative to the private car for journeys across Swindon. T.T. also took the opportunity at the launch to celebrate the issue of 0,000 smartcards since they were introduced in 006. Paul Jenkins said: To have reached this milestone is great news, particularly as the number of people holding our smartcards has doubled in just eight months. n Tony s engineering colleagues bid him a fond farewell On leaving school Brian initially worked in the offices at Swindon s Railway Works before moving on to Garrards. He then changed jobs to become a paint sprayer before joining Bristol Omnibus in Swindon as a conductor in 966. Then, at, he became a crew driver. Operations Manager Kevan Wildy told Update: I ve known Brian since 980 when I started with Bristol Omnibus and we entered the Bus Driver of the Year competition for a few years along with a few other drivers based in Swindon. Brian and I used to enjoy the runs to Bristol, Cheltenham and Oxford as they got us out of Swindon for at least four hours. In those days we were both on the coach rota and so were part of the team who operated duplicate services for National Express. Brian said that he has enjoyed his time here but is now looking forward to his retirement, particularly not having the early starts in the winter months. We all wish Brian a long and happy retirement and thank him for his many years of loyal service to the Company. n

3 A celebration of 5 years as a limited company September this year marked the 5th anniversary of Transport becoming a limited company. Whilst the Company continued to be owned by Borough Council, its new status meant that it had to be run at arms-length by its directors. When the bus industry was privatised in 986 there were 6 municipally-owned bus operators in the UK. Just remain. A joint bid by T.T. and the Borough Council in 99 for an employee buyout rather than see it sold to one of the big bus groups was turned down by the government of the day. It s a matter of hindsight whether this was a good or bad outcome but, suffice to say, all of the employee-owned bus companies were sold subsequently to the major bus operating groups. For Swindon, there have been and continue to be compelling benefits in retaining its own council-owned bus company: any profits generated are reinvested in the local community in the form of an improved service to its customers, easing traffic congestion and reducing local pollution rather than going to pay dividends to private shareholders who have no interest in the local community. Also, any dividends paid to T.T. s sole shareholder, Swindon Borough Council, are used for local projects and public services. Over the last 5 years, T.T. has been the first to pilot a number of developments in the industry, and was the world s first bus operator to trial the Mondex cashless society concept. Since deregulation, the Company has also had to take a stand against threats to its service network from operators such as Fosseway Coaches. Operations Director David Burch told Update: Even though we have gained a reputation for being an innovative and forward-looking company, it s important that we don t forget where we came from. Managing Director Paul Jenkins added: To reinforce our proud heritage and celebrate the occasion of over a century of operation, a quarter of which has been as a limited company, we have had our preserved bus, a 967 Daimler CVG6/0, re-painted. On these pages and on the front cover, Update s editor Dick Fancutt has included his selection of some of the landmarks during TT. s quarter-century of operating in a de-regulated environment. T.T. s preserved Daimler, 5, has been re-painted in celebration of the Company s heritage 7 September 986 T.T. is registered as a limited company. 6 October 986 The bus industry is de-regulated. September 990 T.T. s first regular staff newsletter, Update, is launched. 99 The Conservative government announces its intention to sell off all remaining municipally-owned bus companies, if re-elected. Jan 99 T.T. acquires the Kingston Coaches business. T.T. s shareholder, Borough Council, agrees to the appointment of two more employee directors to the Board. Autumn 99 The Government turns down a bid by Borough Council for a closed sale of T.T. to its employees. T.T. acquires Swindon HGV training school, Premier Training Ltd. Spring 99 T.T. takes delivery of ten Dennis Darts and gears up for NVQ. The Company also introduces off-peak returns. Summer 99 The Government confirms that any sale of municipal bus companies will be by open tender, and restates its intention to force local authorities to sell off their transport undertakings. January 99 T.T. scales down its coaching unit in face of competition from lower-cost operators in the Swindon area. Spring 99 T.T. introduces a Quality Code for customers. Summer 99 Coach unit drivers are the first to gain an NVQ. The Engineering Division seeks to expand its commercial third-party activities 9 October 99 Friendly coach operators rally round to loan vehicles after a fire at the Corporation Street depot sees six of T.T. s vehicles written off. One of the firefighters changed the Caution Buses Turning sign by substituting the T with a B. Spring 995 T.T. adopts the magnetic Blue Bus Card system. August 995 T.T. takes delivery of five new Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Darts with split-step entrances, and six coaches to replace the vehicles destroyed in the depot fire. T.T. also acquires a wheelchair accessible coach. February 996 T.T. launches its Defensive Driving course. Spring 996 The Mondex electronic cash system is launched on T.T. s buses a world first! Summer 996 T.T. s new purpose-built Travel Shop in The Parade is officially opened by National Federation of Bus Users Chairman, Dr Caroline Cahm. December 996 T.T. takes delivery of its first low-floor buses eight Dennis Darts featuring a kneeling facility. January 997 New Dartline services are introduced with increased frequencies on key routes, and T.T. converts to low-sulphur diesel. February 997 T.T. gains formal permission to retain the name and flying T logo, following the replacement in Autumn 996 of Borough Council with new unitary authority, Swindon Borough Council. January 998 T.T. sells its Kingston Coaches subsidiary to Wilts & Dorset, citing the need to invest in its own fleet replacement and the pressures on coaching rates for tour work. Managing Director John Owen (centre) takes delivery of the first Dennis Darts in Spring 99 Spring 998 T.T. and Stagecoach introduce an integrated ticketing scheme, Network Swindon, and T.T. wins a contract to run Swindon s first Park-and-Ride contract. Autumn 998 The first low-floor Super Pointer Darts enter service. Autumn 999 T.T. launches its own web site. Spring 00 T.T. orders six new SPD Darts. 00 Twelve bus priority schemes, including nine traffic signal-controlled priority junctions, are rolled out in Swindon. February 00 T.T. takes the reluctant decision to close its Coach Unit following what the coach industry called the worst year ever for coach operations. Spring 00 T.T. commences operation of Swindon s second Park-and-Ride service. December 00 T.T. launches an express bus service to the new Great Western Hospital. T.T. s MD, John Owen, and Swindon s Mayor, Cllr Peter Stoddart, make a token start to groundworks at the new depot site in September 00 Autumn 00 T.T. finally sells its Corporation Street depot site, subject to contract, paving the way for a new depot at Barnfield Road. Percy Jefferies, s Chairman since 97, steps down and is succeeded by Cllr Steve Allsopp. Winter 00 T.T. introduces a new two-zone fares structure. February Summer 00 T.T. signs the lease and gains planning permission for a new depot. Groundworks start on depot. September 00 T.T. holds its Centenary Open Day at Wroughton. 5 October 00 T.T. participates in Swindon s new Text-and-Go bus times text messaging service. July 005 T.T. moves into its new depot at Barnfield Road. Summer 005 T.T. commences a phased introduction of the GPSlinked Wayfarer TGX ticketing system, along with fareboxes. November 005 The new Controllers office and drivers rest area is opened at 9A The Parade. January 006 Ten new Wrightbus-Scanias enter service bearing a new livery. Spring 006 John Owen retires and Paul Jenkins takes over as Managing Director. Ten high-spec Wright-bodied Scanias enter service. 7 August 006 The final phase of the conversion to TGX ticket machines is completed. The Blue Bus Card is replaced by the more flexible Network Card, the first use of smartcards. Summer 006 T.T. s Board is restructured to have just three executive directors. T.T. pilots the UK s first defensive driving qualification. February 008 The last Fleetlines are sold. Spring 008 The Engineering Division achieves a 98% MOT first time pass rate its best yet. Summer 008 A Real Time Information system is introduced in Swindon. 9 August 008 Percy Jefferies, T.T. s Chairman from 97 to 00, dies aged 88. Autumn 008 Cllr Steve Allsopp steps down as Autumn 007 Delivery of six new Wrightbus Scanias means 88% of T.T. s all-day fleet is low-floor. The Scanias also feature the first digital CCTV system in the fleet. July 005 and T.T. s new depot is operational Board Chairman. He is succeeded by Cllr Keith Williams. February 009 T.T. receives praise for the way it managed to operate bus services in the worst spell of cold weather seen for many years that brings much of the country grinding to a halt. Summer 009 T.T. embarks on its talking buses initiative. Spring 00 T.T. introduces the Safe and Fuel-efficient Driving Course. The Engineering Division achieves a 00% first time pass rate at MOT. September 00 T.T. takes delivery of eight Optare Versa buses. November 00 T.T. is highly commended in the Shire Operator of the Year category of the UK Bus Awards. February 0 T.T. replaces its last magnetic cards with smartcards. Spring 0 T.T. is confirmed as a 0 Olympic Games contractor. Autumn 0 T.T. introduces the latest state-of-the-art ITSO-compliant ticketing technology the Wayfarer 00. n T.T. takes delivery of ten new Wrightbus Scanias 5

4 Staff efforts ensure a smooth introduction for Wayfarer 00 Thanks to the efforts of a number of key staff, the introduction of the latest generation of electronic ticket machine system, the Wayfarer 00, went very smoothly. Burning the midnight oil fitting the new ticket machine equipment: Adie Curtis, Tony Harper, Damon Swatridge, Ken Hawkins and Kevan Wildy New recovery truck is operational T.T. s new breakdown truck, a converted two-year-old Scania R80 tractor unit, has been painted in the Company s refreshed livery and is now operational. The breakdown truck that it replaces, an adapted Leyland Roadtrain which entered service in August 99, has now reached the end of its working life. Update: This new system enables the Company to progress with the upgrade to the latest ITSO (Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation) smartcards, bringing benefits both to us as the transport provider and to our customers. The new system has financial benefits for us too. Firstly, the costs of ITSO have been largely offset by Government grants; secondly, because Wayfarer 00 can read concessionary passes electronically, we can claim an extra 8% enhancement on our Bus Service Operator Grant. Operations Director David Burch added: I would like to thank everyone involved with the transition to the new system for all their hard work, particularly Kevan Wildy, Damon Swatridge, Adie Curtis, Ken Hawkins, Tony Harper and Carl Higgs, whose efforts ensured that the project came in smoothly and on schedule. n There has been a great response to T.T. s painting competition for school children to help design a local map featuring their favourite place in Swindon. In each age category, the winner and runner-up will see their pictures made into a map of Swindon and put on the side of a bus. The winners and runners-up will also win between 00 and 50 for their school. Update: The competition is one of our initiatives to engage with the local community. As well as celebrating all that is good about Swindon, we aim to raise our own profile with younger members of our community, many of whom we carry to and from school. There are a lot of hidden gems in Swindon that people aren t familiar with, but should be, as well as a lot of artistic talent in our schools. We are very pleased with the response to our painting challenge and were very impressed with the quality of the drawings and paintings. n The Special Award for best overall entry went to Jennifer Langman of Lethbridge Primary School for her depiction of Town Gardens bandstand As well as recovering our own vehicles, the new truck, registration number SF08 JYR (fleet number 80), will enable us to take on some of the larger recovery jobs that the old unit would have struggled with, bringing in extra income for the Company. The old truck has been sold to a dealer who is transferring the lifting gear to another vehicle. The rest of the vehicle will be scrapped. Whilst Bob Gillespie, who shares breakdown recovery duties with Dale East, is sad to see the old Leyland go apparently his colleagues in the workshop offered to buy him a card of condolence with the words Rest in Pieces he is delighted with the Scania. He quipped to Update: When you open the cab door there are, in the words of 950s rock & roll legend, Eddie Cochran, just three steps to heaven. n Above: The Scania breakdown truck sporting a similar livery destined for the frontline bus fleet Right: Bob Gillespie shows off the Scania s highly-equipped side lockers Swindon Town Football Club by the winner in the 5-7 age group, Adam McCarthy, of Lawn Primary School Royal Wootton Bassett thanks and its team for their support received this letter of appreciation from Royal Wootton Bassett for its involvement in the Ceremonial Appreciation Event held at Royal Wootton Bassett on 6 October. T.T. operated six double deck buses between Lydiard Park and the event on behalf of Wootton Bassett Town Council. 6 7

5 Caption competition winner Nigel had peeked at his wife s birthday wish list: he thought she would be delighted with the soft yellow boa. Congratulations to Wendy Thorne who submitted our favourite caption (above). She wins a Parker ball-point pen. Below is a selection of the best of the rest: Reliability During the period July to October 0 the Company operated 99.76% of its scheduled mileage. Punctuality during the period July to 0 September 0 was 95.05%. Managing Director, Paul Jenkins, said: Our reliability in the last quarter was just short of our target of 99.8%, mainly due to road works in the town centre at Whalebridge roundabout which delayed services and led to some cancellations. Careful Nigel or you will be hiss-tory. Yes, I am being very brave, said the snake. Hope it doesn t get a crush on you, Nigel. Greg Ruthen I wonder if I can tie a Windsor Knot with this? Mark Reeder Now you can ssssee the sssecret of my successsssssss! Robert Meacham The vast majority of our services ran as scheduled and the punctuality of these was just ahead of our target of 95%, notwithstanding the continuing delays from road works. No dear, I said for my birthday I would like to go to Goa, not I would like a boa. Stan Scott You ain t getting on the bus with that, mate. D Binstead Nigel auditions for the sequel of Snakes on a Plane, Snakes on a Bus. Joanne Robinson We d like to thank Nigel for being a good sport in allowing this photo to be used for the caption competition. As many of you may know, Nigel was taken ill in September but we re pleased to report that he has made a good recovery and is gently easing himself back into the routine at. 6 Starting with the 6 in the bottom left corner, what is the highest total you can make if you only move up or right, using the mathematical symbols on the way? Send your answer on a piece of paper marked Autumn Update Prize Puzzle to Damon Swatridge by January 0. The sender of the first correct solution drawn from the hat wins 0. A tenner goes to the first two runners-up. Only one entry per person. This competition is open only to staff of Transport and their immediate families. Congratulations to Linda Coward whose correct solution to last edition s Spot the Difference competition was first out of the hat to win her 0. Runners-up Roy Rendell and Lisa Sharp each win 0. The sun shone on the Social Club BBQ on 8 August and, says Club Secretary, Tina Warren, the food was brilliant with Mark Chapple and Matt Warren the main chefs for the day. We played rounders and ran an obstacle race, along with many other games. Apparently, Carl Higgs decided that he was going to do a somersault in the rounders game and ended up hurting his ribs. Everyone on the committee would like to thank those who took part this year, said Tina. It brings people together and we do have fun. We have a new committee member, Tom Carr, who s just joined the company as an apprentice in the workshop, but we do need people to come and keep the social club going. The committee members organise the events completely in their own time and I would like to thank them myself for the hard work that they do. Update Update is the staff newsletter of Transport Ltd of Barnfield Road, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN DJ It is edited and designed by Dick Fancutt of Connect Business Publishing Services: Telephone r.fancutt@ntlworld.com Please note that any photographs for inclusion in Update should be submitted either as hard copy, via or on CD