Key Facts 2013/14 28.7 million passengers were carried on Stagecoach South West services 15.17 million miles were operated within the South West across Devon, Somerset and into Cornwall and Dorset 99.72 % service reliability and 95.6 % service punctuality 301 (PVR) vehicles operating on over 136 routes across Devon and Somerset, extending into Cornwall 969 staff at 3 depots and 6 outstations £2.65 million investment in 9 Scania E400 Gold buses for Torbay and 6 ADL Enviro 200 buses for East Devon All information correct at the time of going to press (August 2014) Annual Report 2014.indd 1 12/08/2014 12:28 Exeter 01392 42 77 11 Torbay 01803 66 45 00 Barnstaple 01271 32 90 89 disability helpline 01392 88 97 49 travel shops Exeter bus station Paignton bus station customer services Stagecoach South West Belgrave Road Exeter EX1 2LB [email protected] stagecoachbus.com/southwest devon.gov.uk/devonbus ticket agents For a full list of our ticket agents please visit: stagecoachbus.com/southwest what to do if things go wrong We do our best to meet your expectations, but occasionally things go wrong. If you feel we have failed you in some way please tell us about it by contacting customer services at the address above. If you’re unhappy with our response, this is the independent body that will review complaints: The Bus Appeals Body PO Box 119 Shepperton TW17 8UX train information 08457 48 49 50 bus times All information correct at the time of going to press (August 2014) Annual Report 2014.indd 2 12/08/2014 12:28 annual report May 2013 to April 2014 www.stagecoachbus.com/southwest All information correct at the time of going to press (August 2014) www.stagecoachbus.com Annual Report 2014.indd 3 12/08/2014 12:28 About us Stagecoach South West provides local bus services across Exeter, East Devon, Torbay, South Devon, North Devon, Somerset and into Cornwall and Dorset. Our aim is to provide safe, reliable, punctual, clean and comfortable services with a good value for money range of tickets and fares. This annual report covers the year from May 2013 to April 2014. Our passengers We carried a total of 28.7 million passengers over the year, an increase of 4.37% over the previous year. We received a total of 2737 passenger complaints about our services. That equates to one complaint per 10485 passengers. We comply with our industry code of practice, and every complaint is investigated and action taken to avoid repetition of the problem. Our services We operated a total of 15.17 million miles over the year, an increase of 7.69% over the previous year. With the introduction of Stagecoach Gold in September 2013, we have seen our fleet size increase by 5.93% over the last 12 months. Our key measure of performance is the reliability and punctuality of our services. In the past year we operated 99.72% of our scheduled services, with 0.14% failure due to internal reasons, 0.13% due to external reasons such as congestion or diversions and 0.01% due to adverse weather conditions. We monitor our services for punctuality and 95.6% of our services operated within 5 minutes of their scheduled time, traffic congestion again being the main reason for delay. We continue to seek improvements both through rescheduling 99.72% services and in discussions with our local of all scheduled highway authorities. services operated. Investment in our fleet continues to be a high priority and this year we added 9 new high specification double decker buses for Stagecoach Gold (£2 million, September) and 6 new single decker buses for Exmouth (£0.65 million, December). Annual Report 2014.indd 4 12/08/2014 12:28 Our staff We are a major South West employer with 792 drivers, 99 engineers and cleaners, and 78 supervisors, managers and administration staff, all of whom are based locally. We have continued to invest in training all our staff. All of our drivers have completed the first 5 stages of their Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). Our engineers are all skilled workers and we employ 8 apprentices Our fleet to provide skills for the future. Our We operate a fleet of 344 buses, of which supervisors and managers have all we replaced 15 over the past year with a completed relevant training courses total investment of just under £3 million. All for their various professions. of our fleet is low floor or wheelchair ramp equipped to provide easy access for the Our fares elderly, disabled and buggies. We increased fares once during the year by an average of 2.6%, which is lower than the All our vehicles are inspected by our 3.6% increase in operator costs such as pay, engineers at least every 3 weeks, and fuel and insurance. For regular travellers, we maintained to much higher standards than the worked hard to freeze the prices of many legal minimum to ensure safety and comfort. of our day and season tickets including all of Every vehicle is cleaned daily and the average our Explorer and Megarider Gold tickets. In age of our vehicles is 7 years old. Torbay, we reduced the price of the Torbay Dayrider to £4.90. In Exeter we simplified our fare structure to just four single fares – 99.72% reducing the cost of travel for many – whilst of all scheduled also freezing the price of an Exeter Dayrider services operated. at £3.60 and introducing an Exeter Child Dayrider for just £2.80. Annual Report 2014.indd 5 12/08/2014 12:28 Our environment Our achievements We used 9.03 million litres of diesel The highlight of 2013-14 was the introduction of last year, at an average of 7.69 miles Stagecoach Gold route in September 2013. The per gallon. We are working to improve route operates between Torquay, Paignton, Totnes fuel consumption through technical and either Plymouth or Dartmouth. Buses on the measures, and all our drivers have route feature free WiFi, extra legroom and leather completed a safe and fuel-efficient seats. Drivers are dedicated to the Gold roster and driving course. have their own distinct uniform. In early 2014, following severe overnight storms, we Our Eco Driver system is installed on faced the unprecedented challenge of keeping Dawlish all of our vehicles and provides drivers ‘open for business’ after the decimation of its rail line. with real-time feedback on their driving We are extremely proud of the range of measures we style, reducing accidents and improving quickly put in place to help the affected communities. fuel consumption. An annual bonus These included extended ticket zones, special fares scheme rewards drivers for consistent and the unquestioned acceptance of valid rail tickets ‘green’ driving and, if required, for the duration of the rail closure. During the course additional training and support is of the closure we saw a patronage increase of provided. Since introducing the system between 20-30% and, following the reopening of the we have seen an improvement in our line, we have continued to see increased passenger fuel consumption of 1.18%, despite numbers on the relevant services. increasing our double deck miles by 11.76%, which had a negative impact This financial year also saw the refurbishment of on overall fuel savings. Paignton Bus Station to provide a brighter, more welcoming interchange and, in partnership with All our fleet runs on low sulphur diesel, Torbay Youth Parliament, the introduction of the with a high-tech additive Envirox, Torbay Termrider – a season ticket aimed to reduce pollution and improve specifically at the 16-18 year old market. fuel consumption. Vehicle engines In November were also able to invest £650,000 in must meet increasingly higher Euro six new buses for our 56 and 157 routes, increasing standards of exhaust emissions. 95% capacity to Exeter Airport by 20%. of our fleet meets at least the Euro 3 standard. November 2013 also saw us achieve Runner Up in the Top Shire category at the UK Bus Awards, We recycle most of our waste, such as demonstrating the strength of our performance as litter, used oils, filters, batteries, parts, an operator. Judges praised our stable network of etc. We also recycle the water we use services, maintenance of rural services, continued to wash our vehicles every night. investment in new vehicles and passenger growth. Annual Report 2014.indd 6 12/08/2014 12:28.