Sustainability report 2012

Taking our communities places Where we operate Our routes cover most of mid-, Breckland and providing essential links to local towns and hospitals and places of education.

Fakenham Great Rysburgh

Brisley

North Elmham Robertson Barracks

Highfield Beetley Road Swanton Morley King’s East Lynn Winch Sporle Hardwick Eckling Grange Fast via A47 Queens Hills Road Longwater Retail East Bowthorpe Moorgate Yaxham Roundabout Bowthorpe Road Holme Hale Tuddenham Toftwood Mattishall Easton Larkman Lane Costessey P&R Earlham Rd Earlham Norwich Theatre Street Ashill Shipdham NNUH UEA entrance Fiveways Bus Station Barford Norwich Little Melton Riverside Carbrooke UEA Unthank Castle Meadow Rd Newmarket Rd Watton Hingham Wicklewood Hethersett Town Close Rd

Attleborough Fast via A11

About Konectbus is the main bus operator in central Norfolk We offer a range of ticket types and fares that operating a mixture of local, inter-urban are excellent value for money including no-quibble and express services. Most routes run up to every reduced fares for 16-19 year olds and special annual 30 minutes on weekdays with simple to use timetables passes for students valid on all services 7 days and convenient connections between buses to help a week. passengers get where they need to go.

2 2012 highlights • 2.93m passenger journeys • 97% passenger satisfaction rate (Passenger Focus Survey)

Key facts £4.6m revenue* 2,941,000 passenger journeys 92 number of employees 53 buses fleet size

Inside this report 2 Message from the Managing Director 3 Safety 3 Environment 3 Passengers We’re a part of the 4 Employees 4 Community Group IBC Data table www.konectbus.co.uk

www.konectbus.co.uk 1 Message from Steve Challis, Managing Director Welcome to our latest Sustainability Report.

Since Konectbus became part of Go-Ahead in March 2010 we have continued to deliver high quality passenger transport and for the second year in succession have achieved 97% customer satisfaction rating in the independent Passenger Focus Survey. We have invested almost £1m in new buses during the year and orders have been placed for the coming year for the same amount to ensure our passengers travel in modern low floor vehicles to enhance their travel experience. As well as ensuring our passengers travel on a modern fleet it is decreasing the age of our fleet and increasing our efficiency thereby reducing emissions . The emphasis on improving our operating efficiency has seen the acquisition of the property adjoining the existing operating centre. This will reduce mileage and enable the latest equipment to be installed to raise the standard of environmental protection. Our commitment to the local community has once again been aimed at ensuring easy access for all and working closely with the Local Authority to reduce car travel and subsequently pollution. Sponsorship for the under-14s and visiting schools to highlight the benefits of travelling by bus have been at the core of our community involvement and we look forward continuing to operate in a safe, socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Steve Challis, Managing Director

2 Konectbus Sustainability Report 2012 Our 2012 Safety highlights A safety culture The safety of our staff, customers and the general public is paramount. We have installed CCTV on every vehicle in the fleet over the past year to make 100% CCTV it easier to monitor activity on our buses and to provide access to more data when incidents or accidents occur. Training for the Certificate of Professional Competence for drivers is now in 97% its fourth year with the current round of courses aimed at improving driving customer satisfaction habits and customer care. Environment Low emissions Konectbus has a fleet of 50 buses. The fleet is modern with an average age of six years and all are low-floor. 80% of the fleet has engine emission standards between Euro 3 and 5, essential for operating in Norwich city centre where the only low emission zone for buses outside London is in Driver training and operation. On-board Telematics is fitted throughout the fleet enabling driving assessment. standards and fuel use to be monitored. The equipment also gives an annual saving of around 4% on fuel consumption. Technological advances such as engine idle shutdown further reduce fuel use and reduce emissions at bus stops. Passengers Caring about our customers For the second year running Konectbus has topped the league tables in the independent Passenger Focus survey with a 97% customer satisfaction rating. We aim to provide customers with a top-class service every time they travel by providing them with excellent customer service and vehicles that are modern and clean and with low floors which make them easily accessible. We have invested almost £1m in five new buses during the year and have placed a further order for five more. All buses are fitted with GPS tracking so we can ensure our operations run as punctually as possible. GPS also helps us deal with any delays that may arise and enables us to take action so that customers don’t have to wait longer than necessary. The system means we can identify congestion black-spots and adjust timetables accordingly. Passengers who tells us they are disappointed in the service we offer receive free travel vouchers.

www.konectbus.co.uk 3 Our 2012 community highlights Employees Training tailored to match customer satisfaction Konectbus prides itself on having the best drivers in the region and we have invested heavily in their training and development with over 1,000 days devoted to this last year. Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence courses are tailored to meet the specific needs of the company, the area and environment we serve. We continue to roll out bus driver NVQ courses to driving staff and appropriate Team players-Konect playing NVQ courses to back-office staff too. its part. Community Commitment to our local community We work closely with Norfolk County Council and other local authorities to tailor our services to serve the needs of students and those wishing to access medical facilities like the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. We also operate buses from three key Park & Ride Helping the local Scouts sites in Norwich to the City Centre and University of East Anglia. These revive Bob a Job. services help keep cars out of the city and reduce pollution and congestion. Konectbus continues to play an active role in the wider local community providing sponsorship of the kit for Dereham Town under 14’s football team. We also helped the local Scout troop re-instigate Bob-A-Job week by supplying a bus for them to clean to raise sponsorship money. We have also visited local playgroups with a bus to allow children who may not have experienced public transport to travel around the local area and encourage their interest in the environmental benefits of using the bus. Developing this further, during the coming year we are launching a new programme of visiting key stage 1 children in local schools with a bus named Ernie where we will talk about the advantages and benefits of bus travel and provide educational material on the theme. Pupils will receive a copy of our new book describing the adventures of Ernie Excel.

4 Konectbus Sustainability Report 2012 Data table

2011/2012 Safety Bus accidents (per million miles) 20.97 Fleet with CCTV (%) 72.5

Environment Carbon emissions per passenger journey (kg) 0.92 Site energy savings – Gas consumption (kwh) 8.9 – Electricity consumption (kwh) 18.25 Fuel efficiency – Miles per gallon 8.68

Passengers Number of passenger journeys (m) 2.941 Fleet with low floor (%) 100 Web sales (%) nil

Employees Number of employees 92 Turnover rate (%) 12.5 Absence rate (%) 1.7 Number of staff training days 164 Diversity by ethnic group (%) – Asian, black or other origin 0 – White 100 Diversity by gender (%) – Women 15.2 – Men 84.8 Average length of service (years/months) 3yr 6m

Community Charitable giving and investment (£) 1,000 Number of stakeholder events 15 For information on the full Group data please visit our corporate website www.go-ahead.com

www.konectbus.co.uk 5 We’re a part of the

Group

You can find out more about Konectbus by visiting our website www.konectbus.co.uk and more information on how Konectbus manages sustainability can be found by visiting www.go-ahead.com/sustainability If you have any comments, views or ideas on how we might improve, or have any thoughts on other issues that we should address in this report, please write to: Corporate Responsibility Konectbus 7 John Goshawk Road Dereham Norfolk NR19 1SY Tel: 01362 851210 Email: [email protected]

Summary Verification Statement from Bureau Veritas UK Ltd For the fourth year, Bureau Veritas UK Ltd (Bureau Veritas) has worked with the Go-Ahead Group plc (‘Go-Ahead’) to verify selected sustainability key performance indicator (KPI) data contained within the Go-Ahead Group’s Annual Report 2012 and on its website. The information and data reviewed for this verification process relate to the period from 3rd July 2011 to the 30th June 2012. Bureau Veritas has verified sustainability KPIs contained within the Key Data table on the website and for selected Go-Ahead companies.

This report was put together by the Go-Ahead Group and designed and produced by Black Sun plc, London This report is printed by Principal Colour Ltd using vegetable based inks. Principal Colour are ISO 18001, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 (environmental standard) Certified as well as FSC® Certified. Printed on Arcoprint paper which is FSC® Certified