Virgin Trains East Coast Signals Start of New Franchise
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The newsletter of Stagecoach Group Issue 108 | March 2015 ON STAGE INSIDE Buy as you earn scheme page 2 | Young Scot Award drive page 4 Virgin Trains East Coast signals start of new franchise VIRGIN Trains East Coast began its new franchise Launching the new with an announcement that customers and service were new communities along the network will be able to Virgin Trains East bid for a share of a £3m innovation fund. Coast Managing Director David The fund will be used for projects suggested Horne (back directly by Virgin Trains East Coast customers and left), Stagecoach their communities. The money is in addition to the Chairman Sir £140m already committed to the franchise by the Brian Souter (front left), Virgin Stagecoach / Virgin partnership. Group founder Sir The scheme will see £500,000 available each Richard Branson year of the new franchise from 2017. Virgin Trains (back right) and East Coast will use the time before then to set up Stagecoach Group the customer feedback mechanisms and begin Chief Executive Martin Griffiths gathering ideas for the first set of awards. (front right). Claire Perry, Transport Minister, said: “Today is the start of a new chapter for the East Coast franchise. Passengers will benefit from thousands of extra chefs and customers will be asked personally for decision-making power firmly in the hands of the seats, new connections and improved services their feedback and suggestions. Employees and customers and communities we serve.” between London and Scotland. The deal also customers are at the heart of the new approach. The announcement came as Virgin Trains East means more than £3bn will be returned David Horne, Managing Director of Virgin Trains Coast began full operations on the line between to taxpayers.” East Coast, added: “Passengers using the East London King’s Cross and Edinburgh. The franchise Virgin Trains East Coast is also planning to bring Coast mainline are already set to benefit from was awarded in November last year and runs until back freshly cooked breakfasts for all its First hundreds of millions of pounds of infrastructure the end of March 2023, with the option for a one Class customers as part of a series of catering investment and service improvements over the year extension at the DfT’s discretion. improvements planned over the next two years. next decade. Our new ‘Customer and Communities Turn to page 4 to find out more about the new There will also be new menus designed by regional Improvement Fund’ builds on that but puts the Virgin Trains East Coast senior management team. Putting people first A new way to nominate your Stagecoach Champions STAGECOACH’S UK Bus division has been named Large Employer of the Year at the People 1st THERE is still time for employees to put forward Apprenticeship Awards. their Stagecoach Champions of 2015 and we The Group scooped the award after impressing have introduced a new, easier way to nominate. judges with its comprehensive bus engineering Nominations can now be submitted online by apprenticeship programme which has successfully visiting the follow link: delivered more than 350 apprenticeships over the www.stagecoach.com/media/champions past seven years. Those who would prefer to complete the original Stagecoach UK Bus Training and Development form can also use the above link and the form can Manager Matt Darroch said: “It’s fantastic to be emailed to champions@ win this award and have the hard work of stagecoachgroup.com our apprentices, and those who deliver our Stagecoach’s Matt Darroch with People 1st Managing Employees from across apprenticeship programme, recognised in this way. Director Simon Tarr. the Group’s businesses “We place great value on our apprenticeship in the UK and North programme as it is critical to the future success of are the people who will help us continue to deliver America are invited to our business. As a company, we believe in investing greener, smarter bus and coach services for our nominate colleagues in the engineers and managers of the future as they customers in the years to come.” who they believe are Story continued on page 3 1 Did you know? megabus.com Europe transported 21% more passengers over Christmas and New Year than during the same period last year. ON STAGE Successful Buy As You Earn scheme update What a OUR award-winning Buy As You Earn Share Plan Shares are held in trust for the employee for (“BAYE”) provides a savings and investment potential tax savings. Laugh! opportunity for employees. The BAYE plan has Shares can be removed from the Trust, free of Posted online by a regular Supertram customer: been operating successfully for over three years tax, five years after the monthly purchase date. and we currently have around 8,880 employees Employees can withdraw shares that they have “Two teenagers on the tram are discussing contributing an average of £56 per month into purchased at any time but tax will be payable music genres I’ve never heard of. I’m out of the scheme. UK employees can join the BAYE on the sale proceeds of all shares removed from touch. They might as well be conversing in plan when they have three months service with the trust within five years of date of purchase. whale song.” Stagecoach Group or every six months in June or The free Matching Shares awarded by the If you have seen or heard something funny – December each year after that. The BAYE is seen company can be withdrawn by employees after online, in the papers, on social media or just as a long term savings and investment vehicle to three years from the date of purchase but tax while out and about – send your contributions support employee participation on tax advantaged will be payable on the sale proceeds of all for the ‘What a Laugh’ section in the next edition terms in the shares of the Company. The value of shares removed from the trust within five years to [email protected] investments are subject to movements in the share of date of award. price and investments can increases or decrease in Annual benefit statements were issued to all value over time. members in January 2015. If you are a member n The sky’s the limit The key aspects of the scheme are shown below: of the BAYE and have not received your annual FOLKESTONE bus It provides employees with the opportunity to statement please send an email to: driver John Sabine purchase shares in Stagecoach on a rolling [email protected] and a new has completed a sky monthly basis. statement will be sent out to you. dive to raise £1,675 Invest from £2 up to £150 per month (or, if lower, Employees who increased their savings amount in for Pilgrims Hospices 10% of your gross regular salary) to purchase 2014 to take advantage of the increase in the limits in memory of a friend’s shares out of pre-tax income. on the market value of shares that can be purchased granddaughter. Employees receive 2 for 1 free Matching Shares by employees, will have their BAYE deductions reset John undertook the to a maximum value of £20 per month. So, to £34.61 per week or £150 per month (within the challenge on behalf investing £10 per month could give you up to £30 new maximum annual limit of £1,800). Your payroll John Sabine (front) of shares under BAYE for a cash cost to you of no department will do this in April 2015 – you don’t takes to the skies of his close friend Dave Pollock, whose more than £6.80 (for a basic rate tax-payer). have to contact them. granddaughter Hannah Ward (aged 23) was cared for by Pilgrims Hospices throughout her illness. John said: “I had always wanted to do a sky dive Smart travel for school pupils and the idea of raising funds for Pilgrims gave me Customers vote the perfect excuse to it.” Andrew Jarvis, Managing Anita Ward, Hannah’s mother, said: “I want to say Director, Stagecoach as how grateful I am to John and everyone at the Stagecoach East Folkestone Rowing Club who supported him. Scotland with best value I was so touched that he wanted to do this in St John’s RC BUS passengers have voted Stagecoach as Academy pupils, memory of Hannah.” Ewan Morrison the best value major bus operator in Britain, and Lorraine according to new independent research. Mackenzie Consumer watchdog Passenger Focus found n In memory of Bob Jaynes SECONDARY school pupils in Perth are benefitting that customers across the UK rated Stagecoach higher than any other national bus operator on ROBERT (Bob) Jaynes from a new and more efficient smart ticketing scheme which makes it easier for them to travel between the value for money in its latest UK Bus Passenger who became a bus Satisfaction Survey. driver with Coach city’s high schools and college by bus. The initiative means that around 110 senior secondary Stagecoach was also found to have the most Canada in 2000 after satisfied customers of any bus operator surveyed retiring from the school pupils studying Advanced Highers at different high schools and the college can now store their travel in Scotland (Tayside and Central region scored Ontaria Provincial 95%) and the company continues to have one Police, and was the electronically on their Young Scot National Entitlement The late Bob Jaynes Cards. The cards will be loaded with the smart of the highest overall levels of satisfaction (88%) full-time driver for the of any major bus operator in England.