THE GO-AHEAD GROUP PLC ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL REPORT 2006 www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S STATEMENT

We believe that public transport is an essential element of any successful economy. We are committed to meeting what our communities need – integrated, accessible and efficient transport systems. We believe that all companies should take a responsible approach to business. This report is part of our commitment to that principle.We are proud of our performance and our aim is to lead our sector in meeting our responsibilities.

02 06 14 22 28 Group overview Bus operations Rail operations Aviation support Performance data - About Go Ahead Our buses carried over We operate the Southern and parking - CR performance - Our operations 500 million people this and Southeastern rail We offer ground handling data from Go-Ahead year, playing a vital role in franchises connecting and parking services at companies - What corporate reducing congestion and London with the South 17 airports in the UK responsibility means - Verification and tackling social exclusion. Coast. Southern has and Ireland. Our parking Audit statement for our business We report on our transformed the service management company performance in the since taking over the also provides specialist - Business in the following areas of failing South Central security advice.We report Community CR 04 responsibility for a franchise.We explain how our companies Index ranking Introduction bus operator: how meeting our key performed in meeting responsibilities influenced their following key - Our responsibilities Marketplace 6 that transformation: responsibilities: - Our approach Workplace 8 Marketplace 14 Marketplace 22 to reporting Environment 10 Workplace 16 Workplace 24 - Stakeholder consultation Community 12 Environment 18 Environment 26 Community 20 Community 27

We are dedicated to protecting our passengers, employees and customers. We involve local communities

The photograph on the front cover is owned by in improving our performance. Keolis (UK) Limited and is subject to copyright protection. All rights reserved. Used by permission. > See page 27 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006 1

Environmental and social responsibility is fundamental to the success of Climate change is one of the most important issues we face. Attracting the Go-Ahead Group. people to get out of their cars and onto buses and trains for some or Some say that companies must make a choice between profits or all of their journey has an immediate beneficial impact, but we believe responsibility. As a public transport company, we have long taken a this is not enough.We have a longstanding programme to reduce our different view: our long-term profitability absolutely depends on a emissions footprint and pride ourselves on leading our industry both responsible approach to business.This is not altruism, but recognition in what we do and the openness with which we report our progress. that we will only achieve our business goals by working in partnership The central ingredient to the Go-Ahead Group ethos is our devolved with the stakeholders in each of our businesses. management structure. Each of our operating companies make local Public transport plays a central role in the competitiveness of the UK. decisions within a shared framework for managing responsibility; We believe that towns and cities where the traffic moves easily and this structure allows local companies to respond to the needs of quickly will do better than those blighted by traffic congestion.The UK local communities. Last year Go-Ahead pioneered individual company has particular challenges in that much of its transport infrastructure reporting to reflect the Group’s devolved philosophy.This is being was shaped by conditions of over a century ago.We believe that our repeated this year. services can play a vital part in the solution. We believe that we have the right policies and programmes in place. Our primary responsibility is to attract more people onto our buses We have also enjoyed external recognition, rising 15 places in the and trains.We are particularly proud of our success in increasing our Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index to be 54th bus passenger numbers against a backdrop of falling passenger in the top 100 companies.This is a major achievement for a company numbers outside London in the industry as a whole.We have achieved of our size. this through increasing service frequency, offering high standards of I am delighted to promote Go-Ahead initiatives in this area. comfort, making our fares easy to understand and affordable and I am committed to ensuring our businesses are both profitable investing in easy to board carriages and vehicles.We partner with City and sustainable. Councils and Network Rail to help focus infrastructure investment in Please also see www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility areas that improve the reliability and accessibility of our services. for a full web based report.

Keith Ludeman Group Chief Executive

We are dedicated to minimising the environmental impact of our buses. Independent research confirmed we have the most environmentally friendly bus fleets in Britain. < See page 11

Engaged and committed employees who care about the satisfaction of our customers is vital to our success. > See page 16 2 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

GROUP OVERVIEW

The Go-Ahead Group is a major provider of transport services across the UK employing over 24,000 people and carrying around 800 million passengers journeys annually. Our operations span the following:

Bus services in the South and North East of England, Benchmarking our performance the West Midlands and London In order to benchmark and strengthen our corporate responsibility Commuter rail networks in London and the performance, we participate in the Business in the Community (BITC) Corporate Responsibility Index, the Business in the Environment Survey South East of England and FTSE4Good. Parking services at airports, railway stations, shopping For the second year, we came top of the public transport companies that centres and hospitals across the country participated in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index.We scored 89%, a further significant improvement, and were Aviation ground handling services across the UK ranked 54th out of the top 100 ‘Companies that Count’, up from 69th and the Republic of Ireland last year. In the environment index, we did even better, improving our score to 91.5% including maximum marks for our performance on emissions management. Our business strategy is to focus on cities and communities where there is economic growth and strong local authority support for public Our listing on the FTSE4Good series of indices demonstrates that we transport. Our companies operate within a shared vision of their meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. responsibilities towards local communities and the environment; however, within this framework we believe in empowering local people to make local decisions about local services.This approach is distinctive within the UK’s public transport sector.

The business case for a responsible approach Adopting a responsible approach delivers the following competitive advantages for Go-Ahead: • A reputation as a responsible company amongst both local Go-Ahead BITC score in CR index (%) 06 89 communities and transport policy makers 05 81 • Increased access to capital from investors, particularly Socially 04 64.5 Responsible Investment (SRI) funds Go-Ahead BITC score in Environment index (%) 06 91.5 • The ability to recruit and retain good people. 05 85.2 04 81.3 We believe that a modern transport system should be comfortable and reliable for all and have the minimum environmental impact possible. Demonstrating our ability to fulfil this vision will help us to grow our business.

Revenue (£m) Dividend (p) 05-06 1,463 05-06 56 04-05 1,302 04-05 48 03-04 1,244 03-04 38 02-03 1,102 02-03 25 01-02 949 01-02 17

Cash flow (£m) Operating profit before tax (£m)* 05-06 116.9 05-06 91.9 04-05 131.7 04-05 95.5 03-04 150.3 03-04 91.3 02-03 94.6 02-03 65.5 01-02 93.0 01-02 49.4 *Before exceptional items and amortisation. Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006 3

NATIONAL OPERATIONS

BUS BUS NORTH EAST OPERATIONS WEST MIDLANDS OPERATIONS AVIATION SUPPORT AND PARKING: AVIANCE ABERDEEN METEOR PLANE HANDLING

GLASGOW EDINBURGH

NEWCASTLE BELFAST CITY

BELFAST DURHAM TEESSIDE INTERNATIONAL

BLACKBURN LEEDS/BRADFORD

DUBLIN MANCHESTER

BOSTON NORWICH KINGS LYNN BIRMINGHAM LOWESTOFT

BANBURY ROYSTON CHELMSFORD LEAGRAVE IPSWICH OXFORD LONDON STANSTED CARDIFF LONDON LUTON HATFIELD SWINDON LONDON HEATHROW DARTFORD SALISBURY CROYDON MAIDSTONE PURLEY ASHFORD LONDON GATWICK SOUTHAMPTON POOLE BRIGHTON BOURNEMOUTH ISLE OF WIGHT

RAIL JERSEY

Operations in the South

T S E S E WATFORD O S R R T C R S E OXFORD JUNCTION IA G IA G R N F ID R IN O R O R K N T C B A A N IC H L A N V C B C O D A N E O WOOLWICH -S L N -O S ELTHAM S E WATERLOO E N N R CLAPHAM EAST R U SIDCUP E JUNCTION M E O A H B H S G T IN HEATHROW A T DARTFORD H IT SWINDON AIRPORT C S FAVERSHAM BROMLEY SOUTH MARGATE ORPINGTON RAMSGATE AVIATION SUPPORT AND PARKING MAIDSTONE SEVENOAKS CANTERBURY SUTTON EAST CROYDON PURLEY REDHILL ASHFORD TONBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL GATWICK TUNBRIDGE CRAWLEY AIRPORT WELLS THREE BRIDGES DOVER HORSHAM RYE EAST FOLKSTONE GRINSTED HASTINGS HAYWARDS HEATH UCKFIELD

SALISBURY EASTBOURNE

SOUTHAMPTON G S N E BOURNEMOUTH I W H IS H E POOLE T N T N L D G O R O R U E T T O O R P O F W H A M R M G E S O A I S T N H R R E B O G L P O T B IT L ISLE OF WIGHT

SOUTHERN BRIGHTON & HOVE OXFORD BUS COMPANY AVIANCE SOUTHEASTERN METROBUS SOLENT BLUE LINE METEOR EXPRESS COACH LONDON CENTRAL & SOUTHERN VECTIS PLANE HANDLING SERVICE LONDON GENERAL WILTS & DORSET 4 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

INTRODUCTION Our responsibilities

This report describes our performance for the 12 months to 1 July 2006. It is divided into four main sections, which describe the impacts that we have on the world around us, and how we approach managing these responsibly:

Marketplace – how we run our services The case studies included in these pages show some examples of how our companies meet their responsibilities in these areas. Workplace – issues that affect the people who work for us We have changed the way that we manage corporate responsibility this Environment – how we manage and reduce our impact on year, establishing a set of key performance indicators that are regularly the environment reviewed by the Go-Ahead Group Board of Directors.These key Community – making the communities where we operate performance indicators are published in the relevant sections throughout better places to live and work this report.We have also integrated the setting of targets for our social and environmental performance into our wider operating and financial planning.

To keep this report short, we have placed a lot more information on the web (www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility). It is also possible to view our past reports on the website.

SECTIONS

Marketplace

Issue Reliability, convenience and Affordability for people Accessibility for all, particularly punctuality of services on low incomes people with disabilities

Our responsibilities Our responsibility is to run our Our responsibility is to help as Our responsibility is to help as services to timetable and ensure many people as possible to use many people as possible to use that passengers have a positive our services our services journey experience

Our response All our businesses have metrics Our companies run a range of When our companies invest in to measure our performance. schemes that offer reduced rate new buses and trains, we make Our aim is to satisfy our services for particular groups – sure that the design takes into passengers every time they travel older people, off peak travellers account ease of access for with us. It is not possible to get it and young people everyone.We train our employees right all of the time, so each of to be a practical help to people in our companies has a complaints need of assistance procedure in place Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006 5

Consulting our stakeholders We developed our responsibility grid (below) following a structured programme of consultation with passengers, employees, representative bodies and others.These discussions on the issues that mattered most to our stakeholders confirmed that our most important responsibility is to increase the use of public transport.The consultation process also identified the key factors that influence the public’s use of bus and train services: • Reliability, convenience and punctuality • Accessibility for all • Safety and security • Affordability

At the same time, our stakeholders expected us to manage and reduce the negative impacts of road transport, particularly: • Emissions contributing to climate change • Local air pollution • Noise • Congestion

Public transport is integral to communities, and our stakeholders encouraged us to play a full part in local communities where we operate. We also asked our stakeholders how we should report One of our principle responsibilities is to minimise the on corporate responsibility and have responded to their environmental impact of our vehicles. feedback in the following ways: • Developing our responsibility grid Notes on the scope of the report • Setting and reporting on measures of responsibility This year we report for the first time on Southern Vectis, Solent Blue Line and Go West Midlands. Go West Midlands also acquired People’s Express during the reporting period. relevant to our issues In April 2006, we were awarded the Southeastern rail franchise. As this happened towards the end • Communicating our performance locally as well of the reporting period, data relating to Southeastern will first be included in next year’s report. as at Group level. The Thameslink franchise previously operated by Go-Ahead came to an end in March 2006. No data relating to Thameslink is included in this year’s report and it has also been removed from previous year figures.

Workplace Environment Community

Safety and security Being a good employer Improving our environmental Forming strong relationships performance with local communities

Our responsibility is to ensure Our responsibility is to provide Our responsibility is to minimise Understanding and support the safety and security of a positive work environment the environmental impact of our from stakeholders is a basic passengers, our employees conducive to the recruitment and buses and trains.This includes requirement for running and and the general public retention of staff emissions and noise expanding our services

Safety and security is a board-level We are committed to being a We have invested heavily in We are active participants in issue for all our companies.We are good employer.We treat people new buses and trains as well as local communities.We invest committed to deterring any fairly regardless of gender, race, emissions-reducing technology in improving the transport physical or verbal abuse of age or where practical, disability. such as particulate traps on buses infrastructure and work with passengers or staff.We have We have invested in recruitment, and emission reducing fuels. our partners on local initiatives invested in CCTV technology and personal development Maintenance of our vehicles to reduce congestion. Our staff training, and use the expertise opportunities and training is a priority for us operating companies offer of our specialist security company. in-kind support to local charities We prepare for major incidents such as acts of terrorism 6 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

MARKETPLACE: BUS OPERATIONS Our responsibilities in the marketplace

Last year, we carried over 500 million passengers on our fleet of 3,609 buses. Our operations span essential local bus services, longer distance travel and park and ride schemes. Our buses run seven days a week and sometimes 24 hours a day.Together they covered over 230 million kilometres last year.

Buses play a vital role in the economic wellbeing of local communities. Reliability, convenience and punctuality Reducing car usage eases congestion and improves air quality. Bus services All our bus companies are committed to increasing service frequency, also help to protect vulnerable groups from the dangers of isolation in a comfort and reliability.We are introducing technology that provides world that is increasingly geared towards the private car. real-time information at bus stops, online and via mobile phones. Investing Our commercial imperative is to increase bus usage. It is also the most in a modern transport system is the key to attracting passengers out of important responsibility we have to local communities and the private cars and onto our buses. environment. However, this is a difficult goal to achieve. As incomes rise, The changes made by Wilts & Dorset since its acquisition in 2003 typify bus usage falls, and this has had a noticeable impact on passenger Go-Ahead’s approach. Last year, an extra 750,000 people travelled on numbers across the UK.We are proud that some of our bus companies Wilts & Dorset services.The hugely popular ‘more’ routes increased are among the few outside London that are increasing the number of passenger numbers by over 50% through offering new standards of passengers they carry each year. comfort and convenience.The ‘more’ services benefited from increased This year, we report for the first time on our newly acquired operations: frequency, larger buses, more seats, easier access, air conditioning and Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight, Solent Blue Line in the Southampton heating.The launch of this new service won Wilts & Dorset the marketing area and Go West Midlands.These businesses are working to raise their award at the UK Bus Awards. standards of corporate responsibility performance towards those This year,Wilts & Dorset carried out a major review of its entire route achieved by the rest of the Go-Ahead Group. network, the first since February 1978. Following consultation with Through consultation with our stakeholders, we identified the four main passengers, the company introduced a clearer timetable with more factors which help to increase bus usage as: frequent buses on main roads and distinctive new services such as the Wimborne Flyer.

Reliability, convenience and punctuality Other initiatives Affordability Metrobus continues its dramatic growth carrying an extra 3 million people in the last year.The groundbreaking Gatwick Fastway service Accessibility for all continues to set the standard in the industry for a modern bus service, Safety and security with patronage up by a staggering 40%. Customers for our other bus services in the Crawley area are also up by 25%. London Central and London General consistently top the quality of Our devolved structure allows our companies to develop bus services service league tables compiled by Transport for London.These tables around the needs of local people.This approach has delivered a broad show mileage and reliability information and compare outcomes against range of initiatives to improve performance in these areas. minimum performance standards, benchmarks and network averages. In the first quarter of 2006, we were top of four of the seven quality tables.

“The hugely popular ‘more’ routes increased passenger numbers by over 50% through offering new standards of comfort and convenience.” Go-Ahead The Marketplace: Bus Operations 7

Affordability for people on low incomes: bus ID Isolation is a major issue facing society. Over the last 20 years, centres of employment have shifted and new housing, shopping and other leisure attractions are increasingly developed at the edge of towns and cities. For households without a private car, bus services are often the only way to access these facilities and the affordability of these services is therefore hugely important. All our bus companies focus on affordability as an issue. In partnership with the Isle of Wight Council, Southern Vectis runs the ‘Job Hunter’ scheme giving anyone seeking employment free travel on all its bus services. Island residents over 60 and eligible disabled residents can also get free travel any time, any day. Residents under the age of 19 who are in education pay a flat fare of 50p for travel anywhere on the Island at any time and Southern Vectis is working on a similar flat fare scheme for all passengers. Another example is the innovative Bus ID scheme pioneered by Brighton Installation of CCTV equipment across our fleets has helped detect and deter crime. & Hove, which provides discounted fares to young travellers and has been adopted by several of our other companies. Our approach is to ensure that every employee takes personal responsibility for health and safety improvement and we support this through extensive training, safety committees, union consultations and risk Accessibility for all: low floor buses assessments.We encourage employees and passengers to raise any issues of concern. A decade ago, the number of buses accessible by wheelchair stood at only one in 12.The advent of low-floor buses fitted with powered ramps A particular focus is road safety. Metrobus has focused on improving helps to make bus travel accessible to all. Go-Ahead has a Group policy driving standards and has seen the number of road traffic accidents that all new buses will be low-floor and fitted with ramps.We set a target involving its vehicles fall for each of the last three years, despite ever- that over 65% of our fleet would be low-floor. Despite our acquisition of increasing volumes of traffic and expanded services. In a recent new companies with a much lower proportion of low-floor buses, we independent driving standards survey for Transport for London, Metrobus achieved 78%. came fourth out of 16 bus companies. Go North East pioneered the idea of an Easy Access Guarantee on its Along with many of our other companies, Metrobus has also invested in bus network. Last year, 75% of regular daily services operated with the CCTV equipment to detect and deter crime whilst improving personal Easy Access Guarantee that the bus would be low-floor and carry a safety and passenger confidence.The proportion of the overall Metrobus ramp. Following a major review, Go North East has improved this rate to fleet carrying CCTV is now 92% and the company has achieved 100% almost 100% of all frontline services. Go North East has worked with coverage for regular daily services. Metrobus has also supported a Nexus, the regional transport body for the North East, to make the Easy campaign in schools to increase respect for buses, bus drivers and other Access Guarantee standard across all the region’s ‘Superoutes’, regardless passengers. of the bus operator. Other initiatives Our responsibility: safety and security London Central and London General are part of a city-wide Safety of passengers, employees and the general public is an absolute crackdown on vandals responsible for graffitti and window etching on priority for us and all our operating companies have invested in buses.This involves monitoring ten pristine buses and supplying CCTV developing comprehensive health and safety management systems. images to the police for use in prosecutions.The companies’ shop-a-yob campaign with a local Bexleyheath newspaper is another successful crime prevention scheme.

Vehicle accidents per million kms travelled Passenger journeys 505m 05-06 15.56 04-05 23.04 Total vehicle kms travelled (including ancillary vehicles) 250m 03-04 20.11 02-03 18.78 Passenger vehicle kms 236m Fleet with low floor access (%) 05-06 77.22 Scheduled kms operated 04-05 68.21 98.74% 03-04 63.66 02-03 57.00

VOSA PSV vehicle test pass rate Fleet with CCTV (%) 05-06 76.85 Our average 97.4% 04-05 72.18

National average 85.3% 8 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

WORKPLACE: BUS OPERATIONS Our responsibilities in the workplace

Our success as a bus service is dependent on having satisfied, committed and skilled employees who feel responsible for the passengers they carry. Over 75% of our employees are drivers and their direct contact with passengers shapes our reputation as a business.

We carry out health and safety refresher courses for all our directors, managers and engineering supervisors.

Together, the Go-Ahead bus companies employ almost 11,000 people. Other initiatives In many centres, our bus companies are among the largest local The Wilts & Dorset Learning Bus initiative, launched in partnership with employers. A challenge facing the bus sector is staff turnover due to a Rail Union Learning is now two years old. A bus donated by Wilts & combination of shift work and driving-related stress.We are committed Dorset has been transformed into a highly successful learning centre that to offering a competitive package of benefits and invest in training and runs a range of personal development courses, including computing, development to help recruit, retain and motivate good people. languages and sign language.

Our responsibility: training and development Our responsibility: investing in people All our companies offer extensive driver training for new drivers and Developing and motivating people have always been a priority for regular refresher courses.This helps our drivers to manage the stresses Go West Midlands.This was why the company was the first public of driving and be responsible road users. transport company in the West Midlands to secure Investor in People Customer service training is a particular focus for us. London Central accreditation, a nationally recognised standard signifying that employees and London General were the first London bus companies to rise to have access to the knowledge, skills and motivation they need. As an early Transport for London’s challenge that bus controllers should gain BTEC adopter of the standard, Go West Midlands shares its experience with accreditation in customer service.They were also the first to extend that other businesses in the region. programme to drivers. Our commitment to training was featured on the BBC TV series, the ‘Big Red Bus’. Personal development opportunities are also very important in helping retain staff.This year, Stockwell Garage participated in the BBC Reading and Writing campaign by setting up an informal lending library. Some of the employees based at Stockwell speak English as a second language and value the opportunity to develop their reading skills. Go-Ahead The Workplace: Bus Operations 9

Our responsibility: diversity and equality It is important that our workforce reflects the communities that use our Diversity by gender services. Diversity amongst our drivers, for example, allows us to be more Male 9,755 sensitive to the needs of diverse passengers. Each of the Go-Ahead companies has an equal opportunities policy and Female 868 reflects this in procedures for recruitment and management of staff. Total number of employees * The Oxford Bus Company is an active member of the Oxfordshire 10,803 Employers Race Equality Network (OEREN), a group of employers that * Including employees from Damory Coaches, Tourist Coaches and meet to share experience and good practice. Last year, the company Hants & Dorset Trim (all part of Wilts & Dorset) where gender has not been supplied. consulted employees from diverse ethnic backgrounds on working conditions and used their feedback to revise its approach to recruitment. This year, over 20% of new recruits came from ethnic backgrounds. Traditionally, the bus industry has been male-dominated and the number of women employed continues to be relatively small. A number of companies, including London Central, London General and Go North East, have worked to change perceptions through updating their family- friendly policies and changing their advertising and shift patterns.

Our responsibility: staff turnover The reliability of our services is dependent on having enough drivers at work to run them. Bus driving is a challenging occupation involving unpopular hours and stress, so working to reduce staff turnover Diversity by age is essential. 16-19: 0.5% 50-59: 25.0% All our companies have worked to reduce the rate of employee turnover 20-29: 11.6% 60-64: 7.6% and the Group-wide rate has fallen by 5% this year.The initiatives adopted 30-39: 23.0% 65+: 1.5% by different companies include improved communication, employee magazines, more management flexibility and staff suggestion schemes. 40-49: 30.8% Companies have also set up employee boards to provide a forum for discussion.

Our responsibility: getting closer to our customers All our companies have put programmes in place to bring employees closer to their passengers. Some of these relate to training, but Go Wear is also making significant changes to the structure of its services. The company has created smaller, focused driver teams for dedicated, branded routes. It is also linking pay to standards of customer service.

Our responsibility: health and safety Each of our operating companies has a comprehensive health and safety management system, with all employees encouraged to take personal responsibility for improving performance. Health and safety training is provided for both new and existing drivers and managers and supervisors in our engineering departments pursue external health and safety qualifications.We review our performance on a weekly basis and use a specialist external consultancy in addition to our own risk assessments.

Our responsibility: employee dialogue Our bus companies recognise a range of trade unions and work closely with them.These include the General Municipal Boilermakers Union (GMB), the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). All have regular meetings to review employee conditions and company strategy. The Oxford Bus Company was the first bus company in the UK to set up a Stakeholder Board, bringing together employees, individual passengers, large employers and representative bodies to discuss how services might be improved.This model of engagement has been adopted by other companies in the Go-Ahead Group. www.oxfordbus.co.uk David Nicholson (left) and Stephen Williams of Go North East with their certificates at NVQ level 2 in Road Passenger Transport. 10 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE ENVIRONMENT: BUS OPERATIONS Our responsibilities to the environment

Concerns over environmental issues have never been more acute. Greenhouse gases, in particular those released by burning fossil fuels, are now widely acknowledged to be responsible for climate change. In the first years of this century, floods, storms and drought have shown how vulnerable the UK is to the weather.

Public transport has an important role to play in any environmentally This year, London Central and London General became the first sustainable solution.Transport accounts for almost one-third of all transport providers in the UK to introduce regular buses powered by emissions and must play a key role in meeting the UK’s target to reduce Euro IV engines.This £5 million investment in 39 new buses also delivered carbon dioxide emissions by 60%. Issues of congestion and air quality are new standards of fuel efficiency through lighter vehicles. Euro V engines also high on the local agenda. are yet to be introduced into the UK market. Buses are a vitally important means of tackling emissions, local congestion Our vehicle purchasing policy is to specify that new vehicles should and air quality as more people can travel by bus than by private car. comply with the latest available Euro standard.This was Euro III last year Overall, buses represent only 1% of vehicles on the roads but carry and is currently Euro IV. Additionally pre-Euro IV vehicles, where 6% of all passengers.We believe it is also our responsibility to make our appropriate, have been fitted with Continuously Regenerating Traps buses as environmentally responsible as possible. (CRTs) or equivalent technology. At Go-Ahead, we are passionate about environmental responsibility. The average age of the Southern Vectis, Solent Blue Line and Go West We are proud that our investment programme over the last 10 years Midlands fleets is well above the group average.The addition of these has meant that we now have consistently the most environmentally companies has affected the Group performance figures such as increasing friendly bus fleets in Britain. the average age of the fleet and reducing the percentage of the fleet fitted with CRTs.‘If the new acquisitions were excluded, key indicators such as the percentage of the fleet fitted with CRTs and emissions of Our main environmental impacts particulate matter per passenger journey would have again shown an With over 3,600 buses, our most significant impact relates to exhaust improvement’.The new companies’ investment programmes will improve emissions, which effect local air quality and global climate. Congestion performance towards the high standards expected by Go-Ahead over the can intensify the impact of emissions on local air quality. next few years. A range of factors effect emissions levels, including the age of vehicles, Our main responsibility is to attract customers away from the private car use of particulate traps, fuel types, passenger numbers per vehicle, and investment in this area can have a negative impact on vehicles’ maintenance regimes and driver techniques.We have invested in environmental performance. Newer buses use energy for air conditioning, each of these areas to reduce our impact. but we believe that increasing comfort and therefore passenger numbers will deliver an environmental return to outweigh this. Depots, garages and offices use energy for maintenance, heating and cooling.We also use water to clean our buses.We set reduction targets for our energy use, invest in water recycling and also recycle Vehicle maintenance and emissions treatment parts where we can.We report on these in more detail on our website (www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility).This report will focus on Fleet maintenance is critical in controlling emissions.We operate a air emissions as by far our most significant impact. rigorous maintenance schedule including an emissions test up to every five weeks.We invest in the latest emissions-testing equipment and our systems are independently assessed by the Vehicle Operator Services Our purchasing strategy Agency (VOSA), which carries out annual and random emissions tests. Virtually all our companies achieved a 100% pass rate in these The age of the engine is an important determinant of environmental independent tests. performance. Each generation of engine introduces new standards of fuel efficiency. At a European level, fuel efficiency standards for five generations Exhausts fitted with add-on technology can also reduce emissions, of engine have been defined and engines can be characterised as sometimes by up to 90%.The most significant technology continues to be Pre Euro, Euro I, Euro II, Euro III, Euro IV and Euro V. Continuously Regenerating Traps (CRTs).We have pioneered the practice of retro-fitting these to our existing fleet and some of our companies now have CRTs fitted to all their vehicles.We have not identified a viable alternative to CRTs but we continue to investigate all options. London Central are trailling electric hybrid buses on TfL routes. Go-Ahead The Environment: Bus Operations 11

Fuel types VOSA emissions pass rate Go-Ahead continues to use Ultra Low Sulphur (ULS) Diesel as standard for its fleet. ULS is more environmentally friendly than the standard grade Our average pass rate 99.77 of diesel, reducing particulate emissions by 40%.We also continue to investigate alternative fuels. Last year, Go North East carried out a trial of a bio-diesel fuel made in % of fleet with Euro II engines or above part from natural renewable sources such as vegetable oils.The pilot was 05-06 84 a success and the Go North East fleet has switched to bio-diesel. 04-05 83 We also carried out extensive testing of hybrid buses at London Central, 03-04 78 London General and Meteor. Hybrid vehicles operate using a % of fleet with CRT combination of a conventional diesel engine and an electric motor; the 05-06 66 04-05 69 companies investigated whether they could reduce emissions by at least 03-04 59 30 per cent whilst maintaining standards of reliability. Unfortunately, the engines as yet have failed to deliver the necessary standard of reliability, and may not be adopted across the Group. Average age of fleet (years) Our responsibility: raising environmental awareness 8.0 An independent study carried out by The TAS Partnership, one of the 6.20 most respected transport consultancies in the UK confirmed that Go-Ahead had the most environmentally friendly bus fleets in Britain. 5.23 5.52 The study compared the fleet composition of the 111 largest bus 4.90 companies in the UK outside London and modelled their vehicle emissions.The Oxford Bus Company’s carbon monoxide, particulate matter and hydrocarbon emissions were the lowest in the study. Go Wear, Go Gateshead (part of Go North East) and Brighton & Hove 02-0303-04 04-05 05-06 were consistently ranked in the top five. Oxford Bus Company was proud of its achievement and keen to communicate it in an engaging way.The company introduced a star rating Emissions NOx (g) per passenger journey system on its buses to show how environmentally friendly each one is. 05-06 5.38 The stars are based on independent standards set by the European 04-05 4.98 Environment Agency, which range from no stars to four stars. All Oxford 03-04 4.62 Bus Company buses are either three or four-star. Full details can be found Emissions PM (g) per passenger journey at www.oxfordbus.co.uk/air 05-06 0.06 04-05 0.05 03-04 0.07

Emissions CO2 (g) per passenger journey 05-06 0.52 04-05 0.49 03-04 0.45 Emissions CO (g) per passenger journey 05-06 0.24 04-05 0.21 03-04 0.25 Emissions HC (g) per passenger journey 05-06 0.22 04-05 0.20 03-04 0.26

Go-Ahead BITC score in Environment index (%) 06 91.5 05 85.2 04 81.3

Our responsibility: measuring our performance The Go-Ahead Group again participated in the Environment Index, improving our score to 91.5%, which included maximum marks for our emissions management performance.

* This year, we updated the way we calculate our emissions. Our 03-04 and 04-05 emissions have been restated using the new system and this will be our new baseline. Our full report on the web provides emissions data using both the previous system of calculation and the new data as published above. 12 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE COMMUNITY: BUS OPERATIONS Our responsibilities in the communities

Bus companies are essential to local communities. Our services help tackle community isolation, particularly for households without a private car. We are also significant employers in many towns and cities.

Our main community responsibilities are therefore investing in improving Metrobus and the Bromley Education Authority our services and being a good employer. Travelling on a school bus for the first time can be a difficult transition We believe our responsibilities extend to contributing to the broader for many primary school children. Metrobus is working with Bromley wellbeing of the communities we serve. Examples of the projects we Education Authority on an innovative project, that involves using a support are: Metrobus bus to teach children about good bus etiquette.

Initiatives to tackle crime, including partnerships with schools, local authorities, housing associations and the police Local regeneration initiatives, particularly those relating to transport Encouragement and support for employee involvement in local communities and fundraising for local and national charities Free travel and other in-kind donations

1.

2005 2006 Priorities Outcome Priorities

Increase the proportion of buses fitted with Achieved for companies reporting in 2005 Increase the proportion of buses fitted with CRTs to over 70% (66% if new acquisitions included) CRTs to over 70% for all fleets

Further reduce emissions for PM, CO and HC Achieved Further reduce emissions for PM, CO and HC

Maintain 65% standard for more accessible Achieved 78% Increase to 80% low-floor buses across all the fleet

Grow passenger numbers on new services Achieved Continue to grow passenger numbers such as Fastway and ‘more’ on new services

Maintain overall VOSA maintenance pass rate Achieved Maintain overall VOSA maintenance pass rate above the national average above the national average

Maintain overall VOSA emissions pass rate Achieved Maintain overall VOSA emissions pass rate above 99% above 99%

Continue to reduce staff turnover rates Achieved by Group as a whole Continue to reduce staff turnover rates Go-Ahead The Community: Bus Operations 13

Community spend £181,843.10 (39.4% of total group spend – £460,944)

At a local operating company level community investment is driven through ‘support in kind’ activities, 2. while the PLC handles direct financial donations. The figures above include an element of both these community investment streams.

1. Pupils from St Luke’s Church of England Primary School turned one of Wilts & Dorset buses into their ‘under the sea’ themed float for the Winton Carnival.

2.The new Scania double deck bus, from the Brighton & Hove fleet, with individual seat belts being used by Peter Gladwin School pupils for a school outing.

3. Go North East teamed up with the JJB Soccer Dome in North Shields to give 32 under-13 teams the chance to play in the Junior World Cup.

3.

2005 2006 What we can do better Outcome What we can do better

Extend real-time information to more bus Achieved. Continue to extend real-time information stops across our operating companies and Services extended in Birmingham, Brighton,Wilts to more bus stops across our operating look at extending to include text messaging & Dorset, Southampton and Oxford including companies and look at extending to include text messaging text messaging

Review how punctuality performance Achieved. Continue to develop strategic partnerships is measured Mystery shopper standards in place with other transport providers

Review how community investment can be Reviewed. London Central & London General better managed across the Group To be looked at in 2007 continuing commitment to be involved in a TfL employee volunteering initiative

Pilot the use of hybrid buses in London and Achieved. Introduce buses powered by engines that meet the use of fuel additives Pilot completed, but lack of reliability means will European emissions standards not due to be not be adopted. Go North East has adopted the introduced until 2008-09, EURO V use of bio fuels for its fleet

Share diversity best practice across the bus Age diversity session undertaken To hold sessions covering other operating companies areas of diversity 14 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

MARKETPLACE: RAIL OPERATIONS Our responsibilities in the marketplace

Go-Ahead accounted for over 280 million passenger journeys through our train franchises Southern and Southeastern. Our rail services are operated by Govia, a partnership between Go-Ahead and Keolis (a French transport company backed by SNCF and 3i).

Last year was one of transition for our rail business. In April, we started Our investment programme is only part of the way Southern has operating Southeastern, a new train franchise for us. Southeastern carried changed.The ‘think like a passenger’ campaign is improving levels of almost 160 million passengers in the last year, including 20 million from service. In the last National Passenger Survey (NPS) Southern’s overall April onwards. On 1 April 2006, we ceased operating the Thameslink passenger satisfaction score rose from 71% to 80%, including significant franchise. Due to the timing of these changes, we will only report on improvement in 23 of the 31 service areas covered in the survey. Southern’s performance this year. Next year, we will report on both Southern invites feedback from staff, conducts customer satisfaction Southern and Southeastern and expect to carry almost 300 million surveys and holds ‘Meet the Manager’ sessions at London Bridge and passengers – a third of all rail journeys through London – making Govia London Victoria stations. the largest provider of rail services in the capital. Southern has focused on improving train punctuality as measured by Southern’s rail services operate in South London and connect the Public Performance Measures (PPM), the industry standard for train London to the south coast through East and West Sussex and parts reliability.The company’s average PPM score has risen to around 90%, of Kent and Hampshire. a significant improvement on only two years ago. Rail services play a vital role in the economic health of the south east. Many people rely on the train to meet their travel needs and our services are seen as a viable alternative to travelling by car – thus reducing congestion and emissions. We have identified the most important factors that influence increased rail usage as:

Reliability, convenience and punctuality Accessibility for all Affordability Safety and security

These factors were endorsed by the Southern Stakeholder Advisory Board. www.southernrailway.com

Our responsibility: providing reliable, convenient and punctual services Southern has enjoyed a renaissance in customer satisfaction since Go-Ahead took over the franchise. A £1 billion investment programme has delivered new and upgraded trains, enhanced maintenance depots and new ticketing equipment. This year, we completed the replacement of the old slam-door trains with new Electrostar and Turbostar vehicles. Southern used new equipment providing real-time information on the number of passengers being carried to inform our introduction of longer peak-time trains. In partnership with T-Mobile the company has also provided a WiFi broadband connection for passengers on the Brighton Main Line. One of Southern’s new Electrostar trains broke an 11-year speed record by completing the journey from London to Brighton in 36 minutes 56.28 seconds.

New ticketing equipment is helping to improve our customer satisfaction rating. Go-Ahead The Marketplace: Rail Operations 15

Our responsibility: ensuring accessibility for all, particularly disabled people Helping people with mobility problems is a priority for Southern. The focus includes the old and infirm, those travelling with small children or heavy baggage, and those using wheelchairs.The main ways that Southern meets its responsibilities are through investment in more accessible trains and stations and training staff to provide support. Climbing on and off old slam-door trains was difficult or impossible for some passengers. Southern’s investment in new trains has put ease of access at the top of the agenda. Following consultation with disabled passengers and representative groups, the company introduced wider aisles, dedicated wheelchair spaces, stepboards closer to platforms, colour contrasting design for the visually impaired and priority seating. At stations, Southern is investing in accessible ticket offices and machines, help points with induction loops for the hearing-impaired, new signage and a ‘white’ lighting scheme at inner London stations. Our safety and security task force initiative won the Network Rail Crime Prevention Award this year. Some of Southern’s stations were built before 1940 and have either limited step-free access or none at all.The company’s website provides Our responsibility: ensuring the safety and security of passengers, details of the stations that are accessible to wheelchair users. Portable employees and the general public ramps are available at others, with assistance provided by members of Safety is a primary concern across Go-Ahead. Southern is proud of its our staff. Southern is prioritising investment in step-free access this year. achievements in improving safety and in tackling crime on the network. Southern regularly participates in local disability forums to explain its Southern’s unique safety and security taskforce provides a reassuring approach and hear about issues first hand. As a result, the company has visible presence on trains and at certain stations.The team includes made changes such as improving access on the east side of the East Southern’s revenue protection officers, the British Transport Police and Croydon booking hall. Southern also supported the production of a film contract security officers from Meteor, our specialist security services to promote an accessible train-to-taxi service at Brighton. company. Based in Crawley,West Sussex, the taskforce tackles anti-social Southern’s focus on customer service training includes supporting behaviour pro-actively, deterring potential troublemakers and making passengers with mobility problems. Southern monitors how it is doing. passengers feel safer.This groundbreaking initiative won the Network Rail Crime Prevention Award this year. Southern is also a strong advocate of CCTV and its role in deterring and Our responsibility: affordability to ensure as many detecting crime. Over 80% of Southern’s coaches now carry CCTV, along as possible can use our services with many of its stations.The images these systems provide help the Public transport is essential to many households without a private car. police to bring criminals to court. However, the cost of rail travel can be daunting for those that are not in Southern is also responsible for safety at 160 stations and is investing in work. Southern operates a commuter service, so it is in the company’s improving the travelling environment. Southern has been awarded secure interest to provide incentives for people to develop work skills. By station status for 24 of its stations this year and is currently working partnering local authorities in the region, Southern can offer a discounted towards accreditation at a further 22.The ‘secure station’ standard was set student fare for 16-to-18 year-olds at a third of the cost of the standard up by the Department for Transport and the British Transport Police to season ticket. improve security at stations.The standard looks for CCTV coverage, good This programme is in addition to the standard national discounts offered lighting, reduced crime rates, secure fencing and boundaries, staff to older people and people with disabilities. availability and conflict management training. A particular achievement is East Croydon, where Southern inherited a failing, dirty station with demoralised staff. East Croydon was named ‘Rail Station of the Year’ at this year’s prestigious London Transport Awards, with judges commending the improved station signage, CCTV security, ticketing facilities, toilets and exemplary customer service.

Passenger journeys 123.7m

Vehicle kms travelled 28.4m

Total number of cancellations: Southern 1.35%

Public performance measure: Southern (%) 05-06 89.1 04-05 83.6 03-04 80.1

Coaches with CCTV (%) Total number of delays: Southern (5.29%) 05-06 80 04-05 54 Delays due to Southern (2.63%) Delays due to other causes (2.66%) On time journeys (94.71%) 16 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

WORKPLACE: RAIL OPERATIONS Our responsibilities in the workplace

Our success depends on our employees.We need skilled, safe drivers and employees on trains and at stations who are helpful, friendly and professional.The experience of passengers is directly related to having happy, fulfilled employees.

Southern employs over 3,500 people and Southeastern almost 4,000. Here we report on how Southern manages its responsibilities as an employer through training and development opportunities, a competitive benefits package and a safe working environment. A challenge across the public transport industry is staff turnover due to shift work and the stress linked to customer-facing roles. Southern has reduced its staff turnover to less than 5%, a major achievement reflecting the positive changes to the business over the last few years.

Our responsibility: employee engagement

Southern is introducing a scorecard approach to managing people. Our ‘think like a passenger’ campaign is improving our level of service. The scorecard measures individual employee performance on a range of indicators including operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Our responsibility: training and development As part of this work, Southern carried out the first employee attitude Southern understands that good customer service is dependent on survey by a train operating company. Developed in partnership with the skills, experience and enthusiasm of its staff.Training can also be an Gallup, the survey was branded ‘Living Southern’ and achieved an important motivational tool. Southern doubled its investment in training impressive 51% response rate across all grades following a successful to over £2.1 million last year. communications programme.The survey focused on 13 areas linked to people management by the company and provides a baseline for the Southern has an in-house training and development team providing future. Over 300 managers and supervisors have been trained in technical and customer service training. For example, Southern developed interpreting the results and are leading work with their teams to develop tailored NVQ-based customer service programmes under the banners action plans in a rolling programme to improve performance.The findings of ‘Being Southern’ and ‘Leading Southern’ for all frontline staff. from the survey are to be published in the company newsletter and on Personal development is encouraged under the successful Passport the Southern Intranet site later this year. to Learning (P2L) initiative. Set up in partnership with rail unions and Southern recognises trade unions including ASLEF, AMICUS, the national local education colleges, P2L covers subjects from English and maths Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport workers (RMT) and the TSSA. to gardening, and since its launch in 2004 over 1,100 people have Southern has regular meetings to discuss employee benefits and studied with the scheme. An IT learning centre at Southern head office conditions and company strategy. is also a great success.

The national passenger survey results have helped develop future plans. Go-Ahead The Workplace: Rail Operations 17

Number of employees 3,572

Physical assaults on staff (per million passenger journeys) 0.76

SPAD’s per million train miles

Our average 0.11%

Industry average 0.31%

Average turnover rate (%) 05-06 4.94 04-05 10.67

Signals passed at danger 05-06 13 04-05 13

Diversity by gender (Male) 05-06 3,091 04-05 3,087

Diversity by gender (Female) 05-06 481 04-05 476

We are prioritising investment in accessible stations this year.

Our responsibility: equality and diversity Southern has an equal opportunities policy, which shapes its recruitment and people management strategies.The company has worked hard to address barriers to employment for women and has looked at family friendly policies, shift working and mentoring. Southern also has a dedicated accessibility manager whose responsibilities cover both customer and employee discrimination.

Our responsibility: health and safety Safety of employees, passengers and the general public is a priority for Diversity by age all Go-Ahead operating companies.We believe in giving every employee 16-19: 0.8% 50-59: 21.1% individual responsibility for health and safety matters and this is backed 20-29: 11.9% 60-64: 5.1% up by an extensive training programme. Southern monitors its performance weekly, carrying out audits and using external consultants 30-39: 28.1% 65+: 0.4% to review performance. 40-49: 32.6%

“Southern understands that good customer service is dependent on the skills, experience and enthusiasm of its staff... Southern doubled its investment in training to over £2.1 million last year.” 18 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE ENVIRONMENT: RAIL OPERATIONS Our responsibilities to the environment

Changes to the global climate are an issue of great concern to many people. Rail companies have an important part to play in reducing transport-related emissions by attracting people out of private cars onto trains. It is also our responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of our trains, depots and offices.

Our responsibility: reducing emissions Southern operates a fleet of nearly 300 electric and diesel trains and declares electricity usage based on the figures provided by Network Rail. However, this figure is at best only a broad indicator of actual performance. As an integral part of the railway network, Southern is dependent on the wider rail infrastructure to operate train services. In many situations, it is not possible for Network Rail to isolate the environmental impact of Southern alone. Over the last few years, Southern has invested over £1 billion in acquiring more energy efficient trains and upgrading existing vehicles.

By attracting people out of private cars onto trains Southern plays an important part in reducing transport-related emissions.

Our main environmental impact Our trains use electricity for traction. Our main environmental impact is the air emissions associated with the electricity we use. We also use electricity and gas for maintenance at our depots and for heating and cooling in our depots and offices. The most important way Southern can benefit the environment is through attracting more people, particularly at off-peak times, to use the train in preference to the private car. In order to do this, we must offset the financial and economic costs of providing services such as air-conditioning against the potential to attract more passengers.

How we manage our environmental impact Southern has developed an environmental management system, which identifies impacts, monitors and measures performance, sets targets and objectives and reports on progress. Southern’s data processes are verified by a third party.

Providing safe cycle parks at stations helps encourage our customers to leave their cars at home. Go-Ahead The Environment: Rail Operations 19

Over £1 billion has been invested over the last few years into upgrading existing vehicles.

Our responsibility: integrated transport Electricity usage for traction (Kwh) 356m Rail is an integral part of the public transport network.The attraction of public transport over private car is often dependent on how well the different elements of this network are integrated. Southern works closely Air pollution per passenger journey: CO2 (kg) with Brighton & Hove Bus Company and Metrobus to improve 05-06 1.32 connections between buses and rail services, and offers combined bus 04-05 1.25 and train tickets with both companies. Cycle storage is provided at 97 stations with the majority protected by CCTV cameras. London Road in Brighton won the Station of the Year award in the category for encouraging integrated travel using bicycles and trains.The award recognised the partnership between Southern and Brighton & Hove Council.

“Our trains use electricity for traction. Our main environmental impact is the air emissions associated with the electricity we use.” 20 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE COMMUNITY: RAIL OPERATIONS Our responsibilities to the communities

Running essential rail services is the main way that Southern contributes to the wellbeing of the communities it serves. The company also employs over 3,500 people and has responsibilities to them and their families.

Vibrant and successful communities are in the interest of everybody. Our responsibility: employee involvement Some of the other ways that Southern contributes to local communities Southern employees visit local schools and invite students to learn more include: about their operations. For example, six Peckham Academy students spent 10 days at Streatham Hill station learning how a train operating business functions.

Initiatives to tackle crime including partnerships with schools, Network Rail, the police and local authorities Our responsibility: supporting causes linked to employees Regeneration, particularly relating to transport Southern has adopted two official charities, the Railway Children and the Rockinghorse Appeal.The Railway Children helps runaway and Support for causes related to transport heritage abandoned children who live in and around railway stations across Supporting causes linked to employees the world. The Rockinghorse Appeal aims to raise funds for the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children which has provided outstanding Support for sports and arts care for Sussex children for the last 125 years. Southern supports the charities in a range of ways including charity raffles with proceeds being split between the two charities. Our responsibility: safety Trespassing and vandalism on the railway are real crimes. Network Rail Our responsibility: support for the sports and arts estimates that around 11 million acts of trespass are committed by Southern is a major sponsor of the Brighton Festival, a ‘Transport Partner’ under-16s every year. Sometimes, trespass can result in people being killed for Millwall FC, a major sponsor for Crystal Palace FC and sponsor of the or horribly injured. As part of a Network Rail initiative, Southern sponsors Arundel Festival. The company also sponsors various sporting clubs for activities such as a climbing wall that are designed to provide alternatives young people across its network. to trespassing.

2005 2006 Priorities Outcome Priorities

Consult with stakeholders on changes to Achieved. Continue commitment to leadership and Southern’s coastline service New timetable introduced frontline customer service training

Introduce employee satisfaction scorecard Achieved Engage employees in developing team specific action plans for improving the work environment

Introduce new environmental training Achieved 76% Launch energy efficiency programme at module Southern

Continue to improve cycle storage facilities Achieved. 97 stations have cycle storage facilities Further build on the success in improving at Southern stations passenger satisfaction levels at Southern

Secure ‘Park Mark’ designation for six car parks at Southern

Extend environmental and social reporting to include Southeastern

Establish a Stakeholder Advisory Board at Southeastern Go-Ahead The Community: Rail Operations 21

Community spend £53,400 (12.0% of total group spend – £460,944)

At a local operating company level community investment is driven through ‘support in kind’ activities, while the PLC handles direct financial donations. The figures above include an element of both these community investment streams.

1. Our strong links with local communities is an important 1. measure of our success.

2. Chris Burchell, Managing Director of Southern with a group of students learning about how a train operating business functions.

2.

2005 2006 What we can do better Outcome What we can do better

Research use of fuel additives Continued investment in station facilities to to reduce emissions include easier access, CCTV, new signage and cycle facilities

Achieve secure station status for 27 achieved. 20 in progress Achieve secure station status at 56 Southern 40 of Southern’s stations stations

Review how Southern get involved with local community groups across its network

Develop the diversity of the Southern workforce

Improve PPM train performance at Southeastern

Introduce Passenger Load Device (PLD) on the entire Southeastern Electrostar fleet (Class 375s and 376s) 22 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE MARKETPLACE: AVIATION SUPPORT SERVICES AND PARKING Our responsibilities in the marketplace

Go-Ahead is represented in the wider transport market through aviance-UK, Plane Handling, Reed Aviation and Meteor. Plane Handling and aviance-UK provide ground handling services at airports across the UK and Ireland. Reed Aviation delivers UK national newspapers and mail contracts to over 40 countries worldwide. Meteor provides car park management and specialist security services for the transport industry.

About ground handling Ground handling covers a broad range of services including loading and unloading cargo from freight flights, baggage handling and check-in for passenger flights, manning executive lounges and information desks, managing aircraft slots and customs clearance. Ground handling shares many of the same characteristics as bus and rail travel.The services combine the time-sensitive movement of millions of passengers with a strong customer service focus. Aviation continues to be a tough market. Passenger airlines face pressures ranging from spiralling fuel costs, the threat of international terrorism and potential international health scares such as bird flu. At the same time, the continued growth of no-frills airlines has changed the structure of the industry.Together, these factors make ground handling cost-conscious and competitive.

About parking and security Meteor manages off-street parking, runs bus services connecting car parks to airport terminals and provides specialist security services for the parking and transport industries. Meteor’s expertise is used extensively by other Go-Ahead companies. Meteor manages car parks for Southern and its security services professionals are integral to the award-winning security team at the rail company. Meteor also provides CCTV installation and management expertise that has helped Go-Ahead companies manage their investment in that area.

Our responsibility: to ensure the accessibility of air travel for all, particularly those with disabilities Last year, aviance-UK’s Luton Airport operation developed a specially-designed chair to help disabled passengers transfer to their seats in a dignified manner.This innovative seat has been endorsed by the Health & Safety Executive as an example of best practice. This year, aviance-UK introduced the seat as a standard part of its service at all relevant UK airports.

Meteor’s highly trained and experienced security staff provide peace of mind to our customers. Go-Ahead The Marketplace: Aviation Support Services and Parking 23

Our responsibility: safety and security for parking users, passengers, Meteor is a strong advocate of the Park Mark accreditation scheme, employees and the general public which demonstrates investment in car park security. Police crime prevention officers assess whether parking facilities meet the scheme’s A priority shared by all Go-Ahead companies is to provide a safe and standards for the effective prevention of crime.The number of sites secure operating environment. managed by Meteor that have secured the award has grown to12. Crime and fear of crime is a major issue for society.The Meteor Meteor’s focus on driver skills has helped to reduce the number of vehicle security business is at the forefront of providing both strategic advice collisions this year, improving the safety of travel between car parks and and practical support to deter and detect crime.The services include airport terminals. CCTV installs and ongoing monitoring, warehouse security, revenue protection on trains and manned guarding at a range of buildings. Meteor’s experience in operating complex CCTV systems and revenue protection on trains is used widely by other operating companies within the Go-Ahead Group.

“ The Meteor security business is at the forefront of providing both strategic advice and practical support to deter and detect crime.”

Our priority is to minimise delays that will impact our airline customers and their passengers. 24 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE WORKPLACE: AVIATION SUPPORT SERVICES AND PARKING Our responsibilities in the workplace

Together, our aviation support services and parking companies employ 6,000 people, providing work opportunities for local communities. Competition for good people is intense, particularly at airports.

Many of Meteor’s contracts require short-term, fixed-period working. Our responsibilities: management development Shift work and stresses related to work environments mean that there Staff development and career progression is an important issue. is a high turnover in these industries, especially in the security sector. Plane Handling has developed a new scenario-based personal Our companies provide competitive benefits packages and invest in development course for supervisor position candidates, known as training and development to help attract and motivate our people. ‘Up the Ladder’. In all, aviance-UK, Plane Handling and Reed Aviation committed £1.2 million to training and development last year. The Go-Ahead Group operates a Senior Management Training Scheme Our responsibilities: health and safety and manual handling at airports and aviance-UK, Plane Handling, Reed Aviation and Meteor all participate. Health and safety management is a key priority for both aviance-UK, This scheme is open to both new applicants and existing staff and is Plane Handling and Reed Aviation as the wellbeing of staff is a key designed to identify the future leaders of the company.This year, one of determinant of operational efficiency. the members of the scheme carried out a major review of staff turnover at London Heathrow and Southampton.The project reviewed exit As part of a focus on creating a safety-aware culture, aviance-UK, interview returns and surveyed existing staff on the factors that Plane Handling and Reed Aviation work closely with their unions, influenced them to stay with aviance-UK.This research found that conducting regular audits and using external consultants to review most aviance-UK employees enjoy working for the company, but also performance. New employees receive five days training, and all highlighted opportunities for improvement including enhanced employees receive two days training each year. communication and changes to exit interview procedures.The company The companies have a strong record for innovation in this area. is now working on implementing the recommendations. aviance-UK pioneered the introduction of the 32kg limit per piece of luggage to help protect employees from injury.The main performance indicator is accident reduction. Last year, the total number of accidents Our responsibilities: employee retention fell by over 28%, with the number of accidents reportable to the Competition for people is intense. Last year, our aviation support services Health & Safety Executive down 14.5%. and parking businesses recruited around 800 people in order to maintain This year, we developed our programme with IPRS, a provider of and improve the level of service they provide. All our companies provide employee health services. Employees at aviance-UK and Plane Handling tailored induction and training for new recruits. operations at Heathrow have access to specialist physiotherapy for For Meteor, high rates of employee turnover are characteristic of its musculoskeletal injuries. Nearly 350 employees have benefited from businesses. Many of the positions are temporary in nature, particularly a combined 1,000 treatment sessions. in the security business. Consequently, the overall rate of employee turnover is not a meaningful measure for the company. Next year, Meteor will be looking to develop a more meaningful measure of employee turnover. Last year Meteor introduced a systematic approach to exit interviews for all employees that leave. As a result Meteor has made a number of changes to the way it manages people, including increased investment in training and development, and a more open, accessible style of management. Meteor has continued its programme of recruiting older employees and attracted nine bus drivers from the Czech Republic. It provided these drivers with a package of support that included accommodation.

Our cargo loading and unloading targets have again been exceeded this year. Go-Ahead The Workplace: Aviation Support Services and Parking 25

Total number of employees 05-06 5,974 04-05 5,803 03-04 5,084 02-03 4,911 Diversity by gender (Male) 05-06 4,692 04-05 4,349 03-04 3,696 02-03 3,429 Diversity by gender (Female) 05-06 1,282 04-05 1,454 03-04 1,388 02-03 1,482

5930 divided by 6500 x 82

Diversity by age 16-19: 3.1% 50-59: 15.6% Number of employees 3,572 20-29: 23.7% 60-64: 4.0% 30-39: 26.4% 65+: 1.4% Physical assaults on staff (per million passenger journeys) 40-49: 25.8% 1.3

Our responsibility: skills development in our parking business SPAD’s per million train miles We are proud of our commitment to training and development and Our average 00% invested over £350,000 in programmes last year. Meteor’s in-house training and development team produces bespoke programmes for its Industry average 00% staff, including the ‘Putting Me in Meteor’ customer services programme for airport-based employees.‘Putting Me in Meteor’ has been a huge success, helping to deliver a strong performance against the company’s customer satisfaction targets. A second focus for Meteor was developing the skills within its security business.The evolving security environment requires employees to keep developing skills and knowledge. Meteor invested in a three-day ‘Skills for Security’ course for all of its 300 security employees.This covered security, guarding and conflict management and allowed employees to gain accreditation and a security licence.

“Employees at aviance-UK and Plane Handling operations at Heathrow have access to specialist physiotherapy for musculoskeletal injuries. Nearly 350 employees have benefited from a combined 1,000 treatment sessions.” 26 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

THE ENVIRONMENT: AVIATION SUPPORT SERVICES AND PARKING Our responsibilities to the environment

All companies have a responsibility towards the environment. Our companies, aviance-UK, Plane Handling and Reed Aviation take environmental responsibility very seriously and have developed an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on the principles of the ISO14001 environmental standard. Auditing performance using internal and external expertise is an integral part of complying with this standard.

Demonstrating environmental improvement is a particular challenge for Our responsibility: reducing emissions for our bus ground handling companies. As an integral part of the airport, they are operations at airports dependent on the surrounding infrastructure to deliver services. In many Meteor uses Ultra Low Sulphur (ULS) Diesel as fuel of choice. situations, it is therefore not possible to isolate the environmental impact ULS Diesel is more environmentally friendly than the standard grade. of these companies. Meteor has adopted the Go-Ahead practice of only purchasing new For Meteor, environmental management of car parks normally falls buses fitted with Continuously Regenerating Traps (CRTs) as standard. outside its contractual remit.The main environmental responsibility for CRTs can reduce some emissions by up to 90%. Meteor therefore relates to the environmental impact of the 70 vehicles it operates. Air pollution caused by exhaust emissions affects health This year, Meteor added two hybrid electric buses to its fleet to test through the air we breathe.The environmental impact of Meteor is performance and reliability. Hybrid electric vehicles have two power reported as part of the bus section of this report, but some examples sources, including an electric motor to lower the demand for diesel of its work are detailed below. power.Tests have shown that these vehicles do not perform to the level of reliability required by Meteor and the company will therefore not be introducing them further. Our responsibility: reducing emissions in our ground Meteor also operates a rigorous maintenance schedule including a regular handling operations emissions test.The Meteor maintenance regime is independently assessed The most significant source of emissions for aviance-UK comes from its by the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA), which carries out fleet of over 1,500 vehicles.These vehicles include cars, vans, buses, aircraft annual and random emissions tests. Meteor’s driver training looks at tugs, de-icing rigs, towing buggies and conveyor belts, and are powered by techniques for reducing emissions. diesel and electricity.This year, aviance-UK and Plane Handling have invested over £8m in more fuel-efficient equipment.

Our electric baggage tractors help minimise our impact on the environment. Go-Ahead The Community: Aviation Support Services and Parking 27

THE COMMUNITY: AVIATION SUPPORT SERVICES AND PARKING Our responsibilities to the communities

Our companies are part of the fabric of the airports, hospitals, towns and shopping centres where we provide services. Vibrant and successful communities are in everybody’s interest. Our companies contribute to local communities through cash and in-kind donations, and by encouraging employee involvement.

Our responsibility: getting involved in the community in Our responsibility: encouraging employee involvement Boston, Lincolnshire Employees at aviance-UK get involved in a range of community causes Meteor has built a strong partnership with Boston Borough Council such as visiting local further education colleges and inviting students to helping to provide the best possible parking for the town. Meteor carried see airport operations. out an assessment of parking needs, which resulted in a reduced tariff for cars, free parking for coaches and lorries and the establishment of a permit holders-only site. Meteor was instrumental in establishing a ‘park Our responsibility: promoting health and safety in schools and stride’ scheme connecting a car park and a local school.This has been Every April, aviance-UK holds a security week. Last year, aviance-UK’s hugely popular with parents and has reduced congestion around the operations in Birmingham Airport linked with a local Solihull school school entrance. as an innovative way of raising safety awareness amongst children. At the Boston Pescod Square Shopping Centre car park, Meteor Pupils spent a day at the airport being shown passenger safety features organised a charity funfair and car boot sale raising over £700 for the by staff. Following the visit, pupils produced posters to illustrate how to Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, and supported a prevent accidents. dramatic fire brigade exercise. Meteor also provides funding for the Christmas lights in the town centre. The company also got involved in supporting a Boston Community Theatre Group production, printing tickets, leaflets, flyers and programmes at no cost. Meteor employees ran the box office and front of the house for the night.The play was a great success.

One of the health and safety inspired posters drawn by a pupil following a visit to Birmingham airport.

2005 2006 Priorities Outcome Priorities

Achieve Gold Standard in Heathrow clean Programme withdrawn by BAA Further 5% reduction in accidents and injuries vehicle programme

Reduce energy use by 5%

2005 2006 What we can do better Outcome What we can do better

Develop new processes to help passengers Achieved. Improve recognition of employee with physical disabilities New chair developed by aviance-UK at Luton health & safety performance Airport introduced as company standard

Introduce electronic measurement of fuel consumption for entire bus fleet at Meteor 28 Go-Ahead Environmental & Social Report 2006

COMPANY SPECIFIC DATA TABLE

s t p d e e l u n e v s s t a a i o n r l s r o i t r t a o d c L l i H n

G E e e a

s

D

e e c r M

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Passenger vehicle kms travelled (million) 17.1 57.27 14.71 70.25 26.21 17.26 5.56 4.96 23.15 28.44 - 3.51 – 268.42 Passenger journeys (million) 39.82 68.37 12.63 293.64 45.68 17.63 4.11 5.41 17.75 123.73 45.00 3.90 – 677.66 Bus/Train fleet size at year end 288 696 208 1333 368 150 81 85 400 280 – 55 – 3,944 Average age of fleet 6.80 6.70 9.90 4.60 4.20 6.60 11.00 11.70 8.90 – – 5.40 – 6.20

Environment

Fleet with CRT (%) 52 48 4 99 75 87 12 0 44 – – 10 – 66 Electricity usage for traction power (000/kwh) – – – – – – – – – 355,598 – – – 355,958 CO2 process ppj (kg) 0.51 0.84 1.16 0.30 0.63 0.88 1.53 1.01 1.23 1.32 – 1.00 0.42 CO ppj (g) 0.28 0.47 0.90 0.04 0.23 0.22 2.12 1.64 1.16 – – 0.22 – 0.24 NOx ppj (g) 5.44 8.57 11.46 3.12 6.36 8.92 18.38 12.03 14.14 – – 8.68 – 5.38 PM ppj (g) 0.05 0.11 0.21 0.01 0.05 0.04 0.78 0.52 0.32 – – 0.06 – 0.06 HC ppj (g) 0.22 0.54 1.35 0.01 0.15 0.27 2.22 1.54 0.86 – – 0.18 – 0.22

Society

Fleet with low floor (%) 71 71 47 99 91 53 47 26 52 – – 100 – 78 Scheduled km operated (%) 99.53 99.34 95.29 98.04 99.32 99.22 99.22 99.83 99.73 – – – – 98.74 SPADs – – – – – – – – – 13.0 – – – 13.0 Women employed (%) 9.6 8.3 5.6 7.0 8.8 10.0 7.8 11.8 10.4* 13.5 21.9 19.0 49.0 13.1 Average length of service (years and months) 7y5m 10y6m 2y6m 7y8m 4y3m 7y5m 5y2m 9y1m 7y1m 8y8m 5y6m 2y5m 6y10m 6y5m Turnover rate (%) 14.3 21.7 7.5 23.8 20.1 24.8 22.6 20.4 21.1 4.9 29.8 48.4 11.6 18.9 Absence rate (%) 5.1 4.3 3.3 5.1 6.4 4.7 5.3 5.4 6.0 3.7 5.6 2.8 0.9 5.3 Charitable giving and investment (£) 7,648 98,555 726 42,400 6,762 4,610 0 11,876 7,175 37,248 48,026 2,092 193,827 460,944

* Not including employees from Damory Coaches,Tourist Coaches and Hants & Dorset Trim (all part of Wilts & Dorset) as no gender data has been sourced.

BITC CR INDEX

During the year, Go-Ahead took part in a number of rating and benchmarking exercises including the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index.We achieved a score of 81% and were delighted to be ranked number one among the public transport providers that participated. SUMMARY INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT STATEMENT

The SMART Company was commissioned by the Go-Ahead Group plc Sample checks of the data sources were undertaken and interviews to undertake an independent review of their Environmental and Social were conducted with members of the management team who had been Report for the period July 2005 to June 2006. A Senior Consultant, who responsible for data collection.We are therefore satisfied that this report did not participate in the data gathering and report writing process, is a reliable and accurate reflection of the performance of the company. conducted the verification. A full verification report, containing a more detailed analysis together with recommendations for developing the processes for measuring, managing The verification was undertaken using the principles of the assurance and reporting Go-Ahead plc’s environmental and social impacts, can be standard AA1000: materiality completeness and responsiveness.This is the found at www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility. fifth consecutive year that SMART has provided assurance for Go-Ahead and we have undertaken a rolling programme of audits, ensuring all operating companies have been audited at least once during this period. Zoë Hatherly In 2006 a sample of three operating companies were visited as part of Senior Consultant,The SMART Company, August 2006 the verification process, as well as a visit to the Group Head Office.

Group reporting Corporate Responsibility reports for each of the Go-Ahead operating companies are available.These are available from The Go-Ahead Group plc at the address on the back cover. Go-Ahead’s operations span bus, rail, parking and aviation support services. The companies within the group are:

• aviance-UK • Brighton & Hove Bus Company • Go North East • Go West Midlands • London Central & London General • Meteor • Metrobus • Oxford Bus Company • Solent Blue Line • Southeastern • Southern Railway • Southern Vectis • Wilts & Dorset

There is no report for Southeastern as the rail franchise was not awarded to us until April 2006. Contacts and feedback More information on how Go-Ahead and each of its operating companies manage their responsibilities can be found at www.go-ahead.com/corporateresponsibility

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:

Stephen Weldon Corporate Responsibility The Go-Ahead Group plc 3rd Floor 41-51 Grey Street Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6EE

Telephone: 0191 232 3123 Facsimile: 0191 221 0315 E-mail: [email protected]

This report was put together by The Go-Ahead Group with help from The SMART Company, and designed and produced by Rare Corporate Design, London.

Printed by Beacon Press using their environmental print technology which minimises any negative environmental impacts resulting from the printing of this document. includes the use of vegetable based inks, recycling of 87% of dry waste and 95% of cleaning solvents for future use. Beacon Press holds the Queen's Award for Sustainable Development together with ISO14001 and EMAS accreditations. Beacon is a CarbonNeutral® company and uses 100% renewable energy, saving 0.461 tonnes of CO2 on the production of Go-Ahead’s 2006 corporate responsibility reports. Printed on Revive Silk which is made from 75% post consumer waste.

In order to minimise the environmental impacts of our reports, Go-Ahead is working with The CarbonNeutral Company to assess and 'offset' the greenhouse gas emissions created by the production and distribution of our annual and corporate responsibility reports. 12.31 tonnes of CO2 will be balanced through native forestry in Northumberland and Snowdonia, making both these reports CarbonNeutral.