BEYOND the NUMBERS Growth, for Comfortdelgro Is Not Just About Top Or Bottom Line, It Is About the Way We Treat Our People, the Community and the Environment
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BEYOND THE NUMBERS Growth, for ComfortDelGro is not just about top or bottom line, it is about the way we treat our people, the community and the environment. BEYOND THE NUMBERS BEYOND THE NUMBERS POSITIVE EXTERNALITIES Australian lawyer Ms Prue Theirs is a special friendship, built Hawkins, who has brittle bone on trust and respect. disease, has been relying on Cabby Tony Gibb to get around “Right from day one, Tony and I for the last 20 years. developed a trusted bond,” said Ms Hawkins. “Not only did he It started when she was a help me become independent, 15-year-old secondary school he also became a part of the student. Cabby Gibb would ferry family, a confidant, someone you her up and down from her school could share a laugh with, as well most days, taking great care in as rely on in an emergency.” ensuring that she did not injure herself getting in and out of the Cabby Gibb is one of about taxi. This relationship continued 90 “Easy Access” drivers with when Ms Hawkins went on to the Swan Taxis, our wholly-owned University of Western Australia subsidiary in Perth, Western to study law. Australia. Launched in 2006, it is a service dedicated to passengers who are wheelchair As a company that provides users. Drivers like Cabby Gibb undergo dedicated training public transport around with Swan Taxis to ensure that they are well-equipped with the the world, we touch lives do’s and don’ts of transporting customers with disabilities. wherever we operate. Ms Hawkins’ story is one of many that we can tell. And now, decades later, Ms Hawkins still relies on Cabby As a company that provides Gibb even though she can public transport around the drive herself. world, we touch lives wherever 62 A GLOBAL GROUP Ms Prue Hawkins we operate, helping people — whether able-bodied (right), with Easy or not — get to school, to work and to meet friends Access Driver — Swan Taxis Cabby and family. Tony Gibb Apart from helping people get around, we play a vital role in keeping cities green. As an operator of public buses and trains, we reduce the carbon footprint of cities with environmentally friendly mass transport. As an active player in city planning, we improve the urban condition by reducing cars on roads, helping traffic flow more smoothly and reducing air pollution. One way we do this is to embrace green vehicles. Whether we are talking about taxis or buses, whether it is in Changi or Chengdu, we are a leader in embracing green technology. CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF COMFORTDELGRO 63 BEYOND THE NUMBERS GROWING GREEN Every day, thousands of people taxis that run on both compressed in cities around the world rely natural gas and petrol. on our taxis to get around. Now, thanks to new technology and Buses are also turning green. our investments in clean vehicles, their carbon footprint will In 2016, our subsidiary in London, be reduced. Metroline, unveiled the world’s first, fully electric double deck Our London operations are bus. These buses can travel for leading the charge in the zero 306km between charges and emissions race. From 2018, new can carry 81 passengers at any Computer Cab taxis in London one time. We are also ensuring must be zero emission capable that our diesel-powered bus and there will be no more new fleet minimises pollution. By diesel taxis. And by 2020, all the end of 2016, 73 per cent of new private hire cabs must be SBS Transit’s fleet of 3,119 buses capable of running solely on were Euro 5-compliant. By 2017, battery power. 75 per cent or 2,433 buses were Euro 5-compliant. All over the world, we are converting our fleets to higher Apart from using greener standards, with hybrids and vehicles, we are also working to electric vehicles. In China, we ensure that our vehicles are more have invested in dual-fuelled fuel efficient. New Computer Cab taxis in London must be zero emission capable from 2018 64 A GLOBAL GROUP ComfortDelGro House and Cricklewood Garage SUNNING A DEPOT Our efforts at environmentalism We have been investing in new Train depots are particularly do not just stop at taxis and technologies to reduce electricity well suited for solar panels buses. Buildings are green too! usage with energy-saving lights because they have large roof and new heating systems. areas, which provide economies In 2009, Metroline in London of scale, and are usually not opened its new headquarters, In Singapore, a rooftop solar blocked by tall buildings nearby. ComfortDelGro House, and a system was installed in the new bus garage at Cricklewood. Downtown Line’s (DTL) Gali Apart from the depot, energy Batu Depot which generates efficiency is the watchword at Built at a cost of about £8 electricity to complement the MRT stations we operate. million (about S$16.7 million the depot’s equipment All stations use LED or then), the two adjacent buildings operations. This helps reduce fluorescent lights and station have solar panels, a rainwater our carbon footprint. entrances leverage on natural harvesting system and a ground- light. Even the escalators in source heat pump system. Gali Batu is the first MRT depot new stations have energy- in Singapore to achieve the saving features. In addition, Metroline’s Building and Construction ComfortDelGro House and Authority’s Green Mark Gold. Trains are green too. The trains Cricklewood Garage successfully The depot consists of a seven- on the North East Line and completed six years of storey administration and DTL use regenerative brakes continuous monitoring by the workshop building and other so that when the train brakes, London Borough of Brent to buildings that provide stabling, it recovers the kinetic energy ensure that the site fulfilled maintenance, operation and which can be channelled back commitments to green travel support facilities for the to the power distribution planning. Metroline was awarded operation of the DTL. It also network. This also means the gold certificate in 2017 as houses the Operations Control less wear and tear on the a result. Centre for the DTL. mechanical brakes. CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF COMFORTDELGRO 65 BEYOND THE NUMBERS SAFETY: SKILLS AND DRILLS The bus driven by SBS Transit Bus Captain Kang Yen Yen was almost hit by a car that came out of nowhere, but he managed to avoid a potentially disastrous outcome thanks to a “friend” called Mobileye. The advanced driver assistance system detects, analyses and monitors road conditions while the vehicle is moving and provides real-time audio- visual warnings. Following the successful roll-out of the system in Singapore, we have also introduced it in Australia and the United Kingdom. “Australian roads are becoming use the data to build up a profile increasingly congested and of the driver — harsh braking, we are taking a step towards acceleration, cornering or the future of transportation speeding. We then see if they technology,” said Mr Nicholas are not as strong drivers as they Yap, the Chief Executive Officer need to be. We send them for of ComfortDelGro Corporation training to help correct some of Australia in Victoria, one of our their weaknesses.” Australian subsidiaries. “Mobileye’s technology is an investment The same systematic scoring towards safer roads and safety is of drivers is undertaken in our primary focus.” the driving school. Those that are deemed to be accident- In our operations worldwide, prone by the data are sent for we have embraced technology specific training. not just to improve our service offerings to our customers but “We put them through 45 minutes to also up the safety quotient in of driving and, sometimes the all that we do. experienced ones will be shocked at the mistakes they make — safe For example, we use telematics following distance, not signalling,” for the fleet — tapping the says Mr Neo. vehicle as a source of data to improve performance. A behavioural check list of at least 20 items is used in the Mr Neo Eng Hoe, the Group driver assessment tool. Together Information Officer, said: “We with the rest of the technology 66 A GLOBAL GROUP Following the successful rollout of Mobileye in Singapore, it was introduced to our bus businesses in Australia The Mobileye is an embedded in the vehicles, they advanced driver work as a way to make rides assistance system that detects, safer and smoother for the analyses and commuter and other road users. monitors road conditions while the vehicle is moving Technology also increases the productivity of our drivers in other ways. For example, mobile apps for bus captains mean that they can report accidents, incidents as well as defects on their bus on their mobile phones. In the past, they had to go to the bus depots and interchanges, fill up a paper form, and report it to the person in charge. The same productivity gains have been made in simple human resources processes such as expense claims and leave applications, as well as duty rosters. In the past, drivers had to queue up and submit their leave requests at the kiosks. CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF COMFORTDELGRO 67 BEYOND THE NUMBERS More than 96 per cent of SBS Transit’s buses are wheelchair accessible 68 A GLOBAL GROUP MOBILITY FOR ALL Public transport for us means travel for everyone. In Singapore, more than 96 per cent of SBS Transit’s buses are wheelchair accessible, and by 2020 all buses will be so. In the United Kingdom (UK), Metroline’s entire fleet of buses comes equipped with wheelchair ramps as part of a regulatory requirement, while in Australia, two-thirds of the bus services operated by ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia in Sydney and Melbourne are wheelchair- friendly.