The newsletter of Stagecoach Group Issue 125 | January 2018 STAGE ON page 2 page 5 INSIDE 10 years of success | Contactless coaches Partnering Manchester arena heroes HEROES from the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital helped to celebrate the launch of their new charity partnership with Stagecoach Manchester. 100 nurses, who were all involved in treating children injured in the arena attack, were gifted tickets by Key 103 to the Key Live 2017 concert, while Stagecoach Manchester, who sponsored the concert, invited Lily Harrison, who was injured in the attack, along with her friends and family as VIP guests. Stagecoach has launched a two-year charity partnership with Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity Lily, who was looked after at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital following the blast, was treated to Elisabeth Tasker, Stagecoach Manchester Managing Lauren Harrison, Lily’s mother said: “As a devoted performances by Rita Ora, Louis Tomlinson and Zara Director, said: “The victims and emergency services pop princess this was a real treat for Lily. We all had Larson alongside a packed house at the arena. showed tremendous bravery, both on the night of such a fantastic time at the concert. Ever since the The tickets for Lily and her family were a gift the tragic incident and in the months following, and attack we have been fundraising in any way that from the bus operator as it kicked off a two-year a number of our staff and buses were also involved we can to give back to the hospital and want to say partnership with Royal Manchester Children’s on the night of the attack in helping to get people to another massive thank you for all that they have Hospital Charity. hospital.” done for our family.” Nominate your 2018 Stagecoach Champions IT’S TIME to start thinking about who you would like category and shortlisted entrants receive a trophy Categories for 2018 to nominate for a Champions Award as the search and a cash prize. gets underway for our Stagecoach Champions Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths Safety Champion: awarded to employees who 2018. said: “It’s always exciting to celebrate and reward have championed good safety or excelled in dealing In nine years of the awards, more than 180 our Stagecoach Champions and we have seen with a specific situation or incident. employees from across the Group have been some fantastic winners over the years. If there Environment Champion: presented to individuals honoured for their outstanding efforts in a number is a colleague you think does an outstanding who have championed greener working practices of fields. job, goes the extra mile, or has done something and sustainability, such as by improving energy The 2018 awards will again recognise success extraordinary, please do take the time to nominate efficiency, reducing the company’s carbon in the following categories: Safety; Environment; them for an award. We are fortunate to have many emissions or developing innovative ways to get Community; Health; Customer Service; and amazing staff members in our team and I look people to switch from the car to public transport. Innovation. forward to hearing about those nominated for this Community Champion: recognises employees Employees from across the Group’s bus and rail year’s awards.” who have made a significant contribution to the businesses in the UK and North America are invited We are giving employees plenty of time to share local community through charitable fund-raising or to nominate colleagues who they believe are their nominations – the deadline for nominations is volunteering. making a real difference in any of these areas. Friday 25 May 2018 with an awards ceremony to Health Champion: for employees who have done For the Customer Service category we will be follow later in the year. most to promote employee health within the Group. calling on the help of the millions of passengers To nominate your Champion, all you need to do Customer Service Champion: presented to who use our bus and rail services each year, is download a form from the FAQ section, under individuals who have gone the extra mile to deliver inviting them to put forward their ‘Media’ at www.stagecoach.com then email the exceptional customer service. recommendations for their completed form to champions@stagecoachgroup. Innovation Champion: for employees who can Stagecoach Champion. Their com suggest the best new idea across any area of the views and those of our or send it by post to Lindsay Reid, Senior Group business, whether it’s the launch of a new product, own employees will be Communications Manager, Stagecoach Group, 10 the introduction of a new system or a way of saving considered in deciding the Dunkeld Road, Perth PH1 5TW. You can nominate the company money. award. yourself or one of your colleagues. Customer Service Champion: presented to Gold, Silver and Bronze Look out for updates on the awards and the individuals who have gone the extra mile to deliver awards are presented for each shortlisted nominees in future editions of On Stage. exceptional customer service. 1 Did you know? Generous Perth HQ employees donated 44 shoeboxes of supplies to the Blythwood charity at Christmas ON STAGE What a 10 years of success since its opening in April this year. Laugh! Additional services have been launched on many The below gave a chuckle to bus staff in routes, with a brand new weekday and weekend Chesterfield as their local Long Service Awards timetable on the Nottingham to Lincoln route and was discussed on Twitter: the launch of an extra train each hour between Sheffield and London. Staff member 1: Posted on Facebook – “My A member of the East Midlands Trains team is dress has come for the Long Service dinner. It’s A smiling face of East Midlands Trains now available for customers to talk to around the lovely.” clock with the launch of the 24/7 Customer Contact Staff member 2: “How long?” STAGECOACH has marked 10 successful years of Centre, which links through to every station on the running train services at its East Midlands Trains network via a specially installed help-point. Staff member 1: “It’s a long one to the ankles.” franchise. East Midlands Trains employs over 2,000 people If you have seen or heard something funny It is now 10 years since the launch of the first East working in a variety of customer-facing and support – online, in the papers, on social media or just Midlands Trains service, which was the 06.41 Derby roles, and as one of the biggest employers in the while out and about – send your contributions for to St Pancras on 11 November 2007. region, has recently been named as a Top Employer the ‘What a Laugh’ section in the next edition to Since then, over 235 million passenger journeys have by the Top Employees Institute and as one of the [email protected] been made on East Midlands Trains services, helping UK’s Best Employers for Race by Business in to connect people with jobs, housing and leisure the Community. East Midlands Trains customers opportunities as well as bringing business closer to also remain happy, with the latest independent n A helping hand their customers and helping local communities thrive. passenger survey stating that 89% of people were Customers have benefitted from travel on the UK’s satisfied with their East Midlands Trains service, a MEGABUS.COM was proud to be able to most punctual long distance services, a record held 10% improvement since the start of the franchise. contribute in a small way to a holiday in Cornwall by East Midlands Trains for more than eight years of Jake Kelly, Managing Director of East Midlands for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. its franchise. Trains said, “As we celebrate 10 successful years The team donated a coach and driver to transport Customers have also seen millions of pounds worth of East Midlands Trains, I’d like to pay tribute to a group of twenty-nine youngsters and their of investment, with over £12million invested in station the 2,000 plus strong team of colleagues who families to Porthtowan as part of a project called improvements such as better toilets and waiting show a huge amount of professional commitment Cornwall Hugs Grenfell. facilities, as well as major station programmes day-after-day, both in the good times and in more Dozens of grieving schoolchildren from two including the multi-million pound transformation challenging circumstances. schools near the Grenfell Tower neighbourhood of Nottingham, carried out in partnership with “We’ve achieved a huge amount together over spent the week enjoying time away on the Nottingham City Council and Network Rail. In addition, the past 10 years and delivered some fantastic Cornish coast. A total of 45 guests journeyed from 2,500 new cycle spaces and 1,000 extra car parking improvements for customers, but as well as looking London to stay in cottages at the Towan Valley spaces have been installed across the network. back over what we’ve done, it’s also important that Resort, and were transported around the area by Well over £30million has been spent on refurbishing we remain focused on the future. We’ll carry on driver Dan Wojcik for the week. all 94 trains in the fleet, and the Class 158 trains running this franchise until at least 2019 and there’s Esme Page from Cornwall Hugs Grenfell who operating on the local routes are in the process of still plenty of work to do before then, including organised the event said: “‘Thank you’ is totally being refurbished again with extra features such as the major upgrade of Derby station, and working insufficient to express our gratitude for megabus.