Scottish bus initiatives in line for top UK awards
Bus companies across Scotland are celebrating today after being
told that they have been short-listed for a prestigious UK bus award. The short-lists have
been selected from a record entry of over 190 entries from around the country,
and the winners will be announced at a glittering ceremony in London on 18th November.
The organisations concerned are Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach West Scotland,
Stagecoach in Fife
and Lothian Buses. Aberdeen-based FirstGroup has also been nominated for two
UK-wide initiatives.
Multiple award winners Stagecoach
West Scotland have reached this year's finals with two projects - an
experimental Bio Bus, which has won praise in the Innovation category, and the
X76/77 Express network which provides frequent links between Ayrshire and the
city of Glasgow.
Their colleagues at Stagecoach in
Fife are in line
for a prize in the Integration category for the
Airdirect747 bus service. This provides vital links to Edinburgh
Airport from Inverkeithing station and the Ferrytoll Park and Ride site
at the north end of
the Forth Bridge - giving airline passengers a
genuine alternative means of accessing the airport.
The Stagecoach Goldline brand
was also singled out for praise by the judges in the marketing category.
Goldline is a new type of bus service designed especially to appeal to
professional people, using specially targeted sales and marketing techniques to
create awareness and develop market share.
Lothian Buses, last year's UK Bus Operator of the
Year, is once again in the frame. But first the company must win through the
City Operator of the Year contest before becoming eligible for the coveted
grand prix for the second year in a row. The company is also in line for an Innovation
award for the Edinburgh Shuttle - a timetabled, door to door transfer service
between Edinburgh Airport and the city.
FirstGroup's first UK-wide initiative was the Skills
Pledge - a voluntary public commitment by companies to support employees in
developing basic skills including literacy and numeracy. The company was one of
eleven major employers invited by the Department for Education and Skills to
participate in the project - and the results were very positive, leading to
improvements in safety and customer service, and reduced staff turnover.
FirstGroup's Climate Change strategy also
caught the eye of the judges. The approach was designed to lead to ongoing
reductions in carbon emissions in the short, medium and long term, and has
already reduced the carbon footprint of the group's UK Bus Division by 5.9%.
John Owen, chairman of the UK Bus Awards Management Committee, praised the
region's finalists for their innovation and vision. "Every year we are impressed
by the nominations we receive, but this year the bus industry's commitment to quality
and innovation shines through every entry shortlisted," he commented.
But with the standard of nominations so high, results are inevitably going
to be very close. "I wish all the nominees every success at this year's event
in November," he added.
1.
UK Bus Awards was founded in
1996 and is run by an independent special purpose not-or-dividend company.
2.
The UK Bus Awards Scheme is
designed to recognise and reward excellence and good practice in a wide range
of disciplines associated with the operation, design and promotion of bus
services. Its mission is also to use the inspiration of the winning projects to
inspire others to emulate the winning schemes, projects or organisations.
3.
The 2008 UK Bus Awards will be
presented at a lunchtime ceremony on 18th November 2008 at Battersea Evolution.
4.
Before deciding the winners,
finalists in the operating categories will be checked by "mystery travellers"
to ensure that service delivery is up to the mark.
5.
The short-list for the
competition was announced today at a ceremony in Dartford, Kent -
home of the multi-award winning Kent Fastrack bus rapid transit system. The
announcement formed part of the UKBA Annual Conference, which offers bus
industry representatives an opportunity to hear more from those who are leading
the way in quality and innovation, including winners of previous years' Awards.
6.
Further details of the short-listed entries in the West Midlands for the 2008 competition are shown
below.
FirstGroup plc
AWARD CATEGORY: Innovation
ENTRY TITLE: Skills Pledge
Description of Entry
FirstGroup
was among eleven major employers invited by the Department for Education and
Skills to sign the Skills Pledge - a voluntary, public commitment by companies
to support employees in developing basic skills including literacy and
numeracy. Various improvements were seen in the areas of safety, customer
service and driver retention. Driver turnover, for instance, reduced by 26% in
the last three years.
AWARD CATEGORY: Innovation
ENTRY TITLE: FirstGroup's
Climate Change Strategy
Description of Entry
Last
year, FirstGroup produced its Climate Change Strategy, which set out to achieve
carbon reductions in the short, medium and long term. The strategy drove the
implementation of a number of initiatives over the last twelve months within
the UK Bus Division. This led to a reduction in the group's carbon footprint by
5.9%, saving 28,749 tonnes on the 2005/06 figure.
Lothian Buses plc
AWARD CATEGORY: City
Operator of the Year
ENTRY TITLE: Lothian Buses
plc
Description of Entry
Lothian
Buses, formed in 1986, operates a fleet of 680 buses over 50 urban routes in
and around Edinburgh. Carrying in excess of 2.2m passengers per week the company aims to offer
value for money fares on reliable and modern buses. As well as local bus routes
the company also operates an Airlink service, Night Buses, Edinburgh Bus Tours
and Edinburgh Shuttle.
AWARD CATEGORY: Innovation
ENTRY TITLE: Edinburgh Shuttle
Description of Entry
Edinburgh
Shuttle commenced December 2006 to provide a daily timetabled door to
door
shared transfer service by 7 seat mini-coach, between Edinburgh Airport
and the City. Pick up and drop off is to any address (eg
hotel, business, home) within a defined operating zone. Low individual
fare (£9) with reductions for
passengers travelling together to same destination.
Stagecoach West Scotland
AWARD CATEGORY: Express
Coach Operation of the Year
ENTRY TITLE: X76/X77
Express Network
Description of Entry
The
X76/X77 Express Network is the pinnacle of the interurban express network
within Stagecoach West Scotland. Operating on peak time headways of 5 or 10
minutes, these services have grown extensively over the last 3 years providing
an indispensable, high quality, express coach link between the city of Glasgow and Ayrshire.
Stagecoach West Scotland
AWARD CATEGORY: Innovation
ENTRY TITLE: The Bio Bus
Description of Entry
The Bio
Bus is a ground breaking environmental initiative that has seen the conversion
of 8 fully accessible single deck buses from standard Ultra Low Sulphur diesel
to 100% waste-derived biofuel. This is the first bus service in the UK to run on 100% biofuel, and it is
calculated that in the first 12 months of operation the project will realise
significant environmental benefits reducing carbon emissions by up to 960
tonnes.
Stagecoach in Fife
AWARD CATEGORY: Integration
ENTRY TITLE: Airdirect747
Description of Entry
Airdirect747
is a bus service that operates between Inverkeithing Rail Station,
Ferrytoll Park and Ride and Edinburgh Airport. "Through ticketing" is
available on all Stagecoach East Scotland, Citylink and Megabus and
First
Scotrail services. This allows customers to purchase one convenient
ticket,
creating a seamless, flexible public transport opportunity from any
destination
in Scotland to Edinburgh Airport.
Stagecoach Group
AWARD CATEGORY: Bus Marketing
Campaign of the Year
ENTRY TITLE: Goldline
Description of Entry
Stagecoach-Goldline
is a finesse level bus product developed to erode the notoriously impenetrable
AB Social Class Group, to extend the product life cycle and to encourage
existing users to travel more frequently by bus. The marketing communication
and Stagecoach-Goldline brand were developed to communicate visually the luxury
elements of the product with only subliminal reference to the bus. Through
research, the group identified those colours which supported the brand values
i.e. quality, luxury, honesty, integrity and applied those colours throughout
the vehicle, website, staff uniform and all marketing materials.
Using
integrated marketing channels (Direct Sales, tele-marketing, email, Direct
Mail) Stagecoach segmented the market and targeted those customers with a
propensity to respond to the channel employed. Within the target marketing, the
sales staff concentrated on those with a propensity to switch to bus. The
analogy of the product is the 'BMW' of the bus. The subtle photography used
throughout the marketing communication was positioned to support this analogy
and successfully helped change the perception of those exposed to the product.
For
further information regarding this press release please contact Jackie Wurr e.mail [email protected]
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