On Stage Issue 84
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Issue 84 | March 2011 onThe newsletter stage of Stagecoach Group Who will be our 2011 champions? TIME is running out to nominate Categories for 2011 your 2011 Stagecoach Champions – and Nigel (centre) receives his award. there are top cash prizes on o er for the • Safety Champion: awarded to an employee winners. who has championed good safety or excelled We are on the lookout for champions in six in dealing with a speci c situation or incident. Nigel wins categories this year. There will be gold, silver and bronze award winners in each category. • Environment Champion: presented to Presentations will be made by each division in an individual who has championed greener top award their own areas and there will also be plaques for working practices and sustainability, such as STAGECOACH London employee each gold, silver and bronze winner. by improving energy e ciency, reducing the Nigel Yabsley scooped a top honour at The cash prizes (with US$ or Can$ equivalent company’s carbon emissions or developing the 2011 London Bus Awards. for any winners in North America) are: innovative ways to get people to switch from Bromley Garage driver Nigel won the Bus Gold - £1,000 the car to public transport. Service Ambassador Award at the ceremony, which is held by Transport for London (TfL) Silver - £500 • Community Champion: recognises to celebrate the hard work and excellence of Bronze - £250 employees who have made a signi cant London bus drivers and sta . To nominate a champion, all you need to do contribution to the local community through Nigel, who drives on route 664, was praised is email your suggestion to champions@ charitable fund-raising or volunteering. for his calm and steady approach to the service stagecoachgroup.com. Employees can which has historically had problems with nominate themselves or one of their colleagues. • Health Champion: for the employee who disruptive school children. This approach has People nominating should include their own has done most to promote employee health allowed him to gain the trust and respect of name, position and company, as well as the within the Group. the youngsters and has resulted in a huge same details for the person they are nominating. improvement to their behaviour, making life They should provide a description of what • Customer Service Champion: presented more pleasant for everyone using his bus. He the individual has done to deserve the award, to the individual who has gone the extra mile has also been widely involved with TfL’s school including any information on the impact of their to deliver exceptional customer service. visits and helps educate local students on how e orts on the business. Nominations for the to use buses both safely and responsibly. 2011 Stagecoach Champions awards close on 31 • Innovation Champion: for the employee March 2011. with the best new business idea. Rail Business honour for East Midlands Trains EAST Midlands Trains’ online Best Midlands Trains, said: “The launch of our online has done to improve the safety culture of the Fare Finder tool won the award for Best Fare Finder is the result of consultation, Nottingham drivers team through a unique Information Technology Excellence at the research and some very valuable feedback from development group and one for its use of famous recent Rail Business Awards. our passengers. We’re con dent that we now twins Jedward in a recent marketing campaign. Beating o competition from other have an online tool that caters for the needs of Marc Turley, Head of Marketing for East train companies throughout the country, our passengers, is easy and convenient to use as Midlands Trains (centre) collects the award. East Midlands Trains’ new and improved well as guaranteeing access to the cheapest Best Fare Finder, which is available on available fares. www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk, provides a “We’re really proud to win this award quick and easy way for passengers to access the which helps to show that our commitment cheapest available fare for around 450 di erent to providing great value fares is UK train journeys. starting to have a real impact.” The system compares ticket prices from East Midlands Trains also multiple times of the day and days of the picked up three highly week on a single, easy to read page. This commended honours at the means if customers can be exible about travel awards – one for bargain arrangements, they can quickly and easily nd coach and rail service the cheapest train ticket available. megabusplus.com, one for Marc Turley, Head of Marketing at East the work the company 1 uk bus on stage HQ staff show ( Overheard on a South West Trains off skills on ice You what?! service from Waterloo to Ascot) Boy 1: “We gotta get into drinking stu like Earl Grey...” Boy 2:“Bruv, why?” Boy 1:“Coz then people will think we’re more sophisticated, innit!” Can you beat that? Send your weird and wonderful overheard comments to [email protected] The winning team receives the trophy from Lindsay Durward of Stagecoach. Africa by bus STAFF at Group headquarters STAGECOACH Group is continuing Before travelling to Tanzania, Neil returned recently showed o their curling its strong partnership with international to Zambia to deliver bus driver training to skills by winning the Stagecoach- development charity Transaid to improve six trainers at the ITC. While there, he also sponsored Business Curling road safety in sub-Saharan Africa. welcomed the coach which Stagecoach has Challenge in Perth. The company is funding driving instructor donated to the centre. The single deck Volvo The company entered three teams into Neil Rettie on a two-year secondment to help vehicle will allow more e ective training for bus the competition, where novice curlers are improve driving standards in Tanzania. drivers in Zambia and is the latest support to be matched up with those more experienced Stagecoach has also donated a coach to the provided by Stagecoach, which is a founding to compete against other companies in Industrial Training Centre (ITC) in Zambia, member of Transaid. the area. which will be used to improve the standard of Stagecoach UK Bus Managing Director Les After two qualifying events, one of the training for bus drivers in the country. Warneford said: “Our partnership with Transaid Stagecoach teams – made up of Alistair Neil, who previously spent six months is very important to us. We know rst-hand the Bryan-Jones and Mike Vaux as well as training bus and coach drivers in Zambia, has challenges involved in running bus services in non-Stagecoach employees Derek Halley been appointed Project Manager of Transaid’s Africa and fully recognise the need for improved and Peter Loudon – made it to the Professional Driver Training Project in Tanzania. driver training. We provide a comprehensive semi- nal stage. After winning that match, He will oversee a professional driver training training programme for all of our drivers here they also proved too strong for their programme for bus and coach drivers in the in the UK and we hope that Neil’s opponents in the nal and stormed to East African country in a bid to improve driving input in Tanzania, and the victory by 10 shots to 4. standards and road safety. bus we have donated in Speaking before leaving, Neil said: “I’m Zambia, will go some absolutely delighted to have this role. It’s a huge way to improving Matthew hits opportunity for me to play an active part in driving standards and the big time improving driving standards over there. road safety in those “I never expected this chance to come up but countries too.” PLUMSTEAD Driver Matthew it’s a great challenge and a totally new experience. Neil Rettie Deely found himself in the limelight It’s a steep learning curve but I’m enjoying it (second from left) last September when he was spotted and it’s an extremely worthwhile project which with sta from while driving his bus through we all hope will lead to improved road safety the Industrial Greenwich. in Tanzania.” Training Centre. He was handpicked for a small part in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean lm that was being shot at the old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. delighted to introduce the new Unirider Matthew was so taken with the lifestyle Student savings tickets in the area to bene t those studying at that shortly afterwards he gave up bus STAGECOACH has now launched Inverness College.” driving and left to seek his fortune on the Unirider in Inverness. “The Unirider ticket o ers the student sliver screen. The new product o ers a discounted rate massive savings on travel on the Stagecoach exclusively for students travelling to Inverness. network in and around Inverness, Steve Walker, Managing Director of making getting around much easier and Stagecoach in the Highlands, said: “We are more a ordable.” Oxford drivers take the plunge for charity TWO Stagecoach Oxford drivers have helped raise money for leukaemia charity the Anthony Nolan Trust, by taking part in a parachute jump. Phil Gri n and Darren Hawkins jumped 10,000 ft in a tandem skydive. They raised £1,022, which was matched by Stagecoach, making a total of £2,045 Stagecoach Oxford Managing Director Martin Sutton said: “I would like to congratulate Phil and Darren on their parachute jump and we are pleased to match the money raised for such a worthwhile charity.” 2 uk rail on stage Spotlight on… PSV Claims BASED at Group headquarters, PSV Claims deals with accident and insurance-related matters for UK Bus and Light Rail operations. There are 42 members of sta dealing with all sorts of incidents, from lost An artist’s impression showing a refurbished luggage to vehicle damage to personal injury matters.