Welcome to our Winter 2019 newsletter - our final round-up before we enter the new year. Here's a look into some of the recent developments across the West Midlands Bus network, highlighting key achievements of the West Midlands Bus Alliance partners and staff.
Santa is taking a trip to Acorns Children's Hospice
On Friday 20 December Diamond Bus will be helping Santa to give some very special local children an early Christmas surprise! Santa will be using a special Diamond Bus Christmas Express service to visit Acorns Children's Hospice in Walsall.
Acorns provide care to Children across the West Midlands who suffer with life limiting or life threatening conditions. A number of the Children in their care are not able to go home for Christmas and Diamond Bus are very happy to be donating lots of gifts for those individual children and for the centre itself to help make their Christmas stay more enjoyable. Diamond Bus are donating gifts for children of all ages who use the hospice from toddlers to teenagers, including toys, video games, special sensory activity toys, etc. These will be delivered on a Diamond Bus, with some Elf helpers and Cllr Richard Worrall as our very own Santa for the day. Diamond staff have already been raising funds
for Acorns over the year by holding various charity raffles. They hope this latest gift will help even more to provide to support these children and their families need this Christmas.
More than £30 million investment to transform bus services
The funding package will go towards the creation of new bus lanes, upgrades to junctions and better bus stops to improve journey times and reliability and offer a convenient alternative to the car. Improvements will be focused on Birmingham city centre and links to the south and west Birmingham and Dudley, offering passengers quicker connections as well as links to the expanding Metro, Rail and Sprint networks. The investment is backed by a grant of more than £24m from the Department for Transport, topped up with funding from West Midlands Bus
Alliance partners, which includes Birmingham City Council and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, who has had a series of meetings with Government on bus services, said: “Now this new investment from Government will allow us to further improve bus journeys across the region, making them quicker and more reliable and helping to better connect people to work and leisure opportunities throughout the West Midlands.”
NXWM is helping to save struggling Black Country high streets
The bus operator is supporting local shops and businesses by slashing the price of its low-fare zone day tickets from £3.50 to £3 with child tickets dropping to £1.50. The low-fare zones cover parts of Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall, including Stourbridge, Merry Hill, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Oldbury, Blackheath and Halesowen. Chris Gibbens, Commercial Director at NXWM, said: “Smaller high streets are facing huge challenges these days. Online shopping and out-of-town retail destinations make it more challenging for shops to survive. “So we want to make it easier for our Black Country customers to pay local to stay local, visiting the great shops and attractions in the area.” NXWM’s first low-fare zone was launched in Sandwell and Dudley in February 2017. They have since seen 4,000 extra bus journeys each day on that patch. 67% of customers said they were making more journeys as a result of the cheaper tickets.
First backs the nBus and nNetwork ticketing scheme
On 23 September, First Bus was welcomed back into the nbus & nnetwork scheme. Accepting and selling the full range of tickets on their buses including Swift PAYG, this is great news for customers who commute along the ‘Salt Road’ between Worcester, Bromsgrove and Birmingham. This now gives those ticket holders another transport option into and out of the City.
On 3 March the Bus Operators Group agreed to pilot a reduction in the price premium applied to the 1 week and 1-day nbus ticket ranges. This pilot was agreed following a dip in sales and recommendations from TfWM. Following the review of the outcome of the pilot, resulting in the stabilisation of the decline in ticket sales and creating some growth, the Group decided to apply the 5.1% premium to all adult and adult linked tickets going forward. On 10 November we announced the extension of the nbus sale with even more prices reduced – this continues to see growth!
Free passenger Wi-Fi set to trial at Walsall’s newly refurbished bus station
The trial was announced by Andy Street, as he visited St Paul’s bus station to congratulate staff following the £680,000 revamp. The works included the installation of new energy efficient LED lighting, a new cycle storage area, a driver rest area, CCTV upgrades, new public information displays and refurbished toilets. Andy Street said: “I am delighted that passengers will soon be able to browse using free Wi-Fi while they wait for their buses at stations across the West Midlands. "This Wi-Fi upgrade comes after other recent improvements delivered with our Bus Alliance partners such as contactless and smart ticketing, live travel information apps and low
fare zones.
National Express gives Birmingham Poppy Day
a lift
NX has been supporting The Royal British Legion’s Birmingham Poppy Day on 5 November. They provided free bus travel for the day to all poppy collectors. NX also sent coaches to pick up personnel from RAF Cosford and bring them into Birmingham city centre to join in the collection. Ben France, Head of Corporate Partnerships at The Royal British Legion, said: “Without the support of National Express and their offer of free travel for collectors, we wouldn’t be able to raise thousands of pounds for this year’s Poppy Appeal and ensure the Legion is there through thick and thin for our Armed Forces, veterans and their families.”
Santa bus is on its way to Worcester and it's FREE to travel!
Santa will be joined by his helpers, Elf, Snowman and Reindeer throughout the week giving out treats to families enjoying a festive journey and having a ‘sing song’ on the Santa bus. From today, Bus operator, First Worcester, will be running the Santa bus offering free journeys to everyone travelling. Santa’s helpers will be in festive voice and encouraging everyone to join in singing some of Santa’s favourite Christmas songs. The bus will be trimmed up with tinsel, snowflakes, baubles and festive cheer to get the folks of Worcester in the Christmas spirit on the lead up to the big day. Santa’s helpers will also be collecting donations for charity.
Crime on region's public transport network fallen 5% in last 6 months
The drop is in crimes recorded on bus, rail and Metro trams between April and September 2019, new figures reveal. These were compared to figures for the same period last year and against a national backdrop of rising crime. Crime across the rail network, including train and metro, reduced by 9%, which equates to a reduction of 121 offences. The biggest decrease was in sexual offences and public order offences, as well as reduced anti-social behaviour on the network. On the metro specifically, crime remains incredibly low and has still seen another reduction of 35%. In addition, there has been a 1% decrease in bus crime, with the biggest drops in criminal damage and sexual offences.
The team behind Thrive at Work at WMCA have been busy with business events held recently to support organisations around the region to make positive changes that support a healthier and happier workplace. Check out this great video from the Thrive at Work team and learn more about how organisations in the West Midlands are putting Thrive at Work into action.
And the winner is... Transport for West Midlands
TfWM scooped the top award at the National Transport Awards last week in London, being named as ‘City-Region Transport Authority of the Year’. It's the third time in four years that TfWM have been recognised in this way, which is an phenomenal achievement. Great job team, well done!
Johnsons win 'Outstanding Large Business of the Year' at Solihull Chamber Awards
Bus Alliance partner operator Johnsons, were delighted to win 'Outstanding Large Business of the Year' at the second annual Solihull Chamber of Commerce awrd which were held on Thursday 18th October at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club. The award recognises excellence in business, with Helen Bates, Chief Financial Officer at the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and chair of the judging panel for the awards said "The award winners demonstrated excellence, innovation and initiative to our judges and are stellar examples of the types of businesses that are a part of the Solihull business community." In giving the award, the presenter said " The judges liked their fantastic investment in
employee development and is a business Solihull should be rightly proud of." This is the first award for many years Johnsons have won outside the industry and is a fantastic accolade for all of Johnsons employees, suppliers and clients!
Even More Awards For Johnsons at the Family Business Awards
On 7 November Johnsons won the 'Highly Commended for Service Excellence', 'Highly Commended for Family Business of the Year' and 'Highly Commended for the People's Choice Award' at the Midlands Family Business Awards 2019. This is a fantastic achievement, winning yet another award outside of the industry. The competition was tough and a huge congratulations to all those who won their respected awards. Upon winning the Service Excellence award the judges expressed: “This category saw the highest number of entrants which made the judging extremely difficult to separate the finalists. Johnsons showed they really understood their customer needs and have maintained their passion for this for 110 years!" Overall, it was a great night, with great food and company. The amazing team are thrilled and look forward to a positive future at Johnsons.
Still cutting it on safety
NXWM wins the British Safety Council’s Sword of Honour fourth year in a row. The British Safety Council explains: "The Sword of Honour represents the pinnacle of achievement in the world of health and safety management." This year, only 84 companies across the whole world achieved the necessary standard. Mark Heffernan, National Express Operations and Safety Director, said: “This is a fantastic achievement - it confirms that NXWM is among the safest companies in the world. “This award is a testament to all our employees’ relentless focus on health and safety and doing the right thing - keeping our people and customers safe.” To apply for a Sword of Honour, organisations must have already achieved a 5* rating in the gruelling 13-day British Safety Council Five Star Audit. They must then demonstrate that they are among the best of the best through a written application. In September, NXWM was judged the safest public transport company of all those audited across the world by the British Safety Council. The Birmingham-based bus operator scored an amazing 99.17% in their recent Five Star Health and Safety Audit, placing it 5th of all logistics companies audited by the British Safety Council. This year, the Sword of Honour application focussed on the increasing importance of mental health at work - a subject the British Safety Council takes very seriously. To achieve top scores, companies
had to provide full evidence to show how they identify and support their people’s mental health.
Route One Rising Star Award
A 25-year-old Engineering Development Manager at NXWM has been crowned national Rising Star of 2019 by the bus and coach industry. Katie McGrath joined the bus company as a trainee in September 2016 after graduating from the University of Birmingham. After just a year in the NX engineering division, Katie made such an impact that the company put her forward for the Route One award - recognising under-30 talent within the industry and identifying senior leaders of the future. NX Engineering Director Bernie Cassidy said: “We are all very proud of Katie. She really is our Rising Star. In the short time she has been with us, Katie has made a real difference. Her work developing intelligent data analysis systems is
helping our engineering managers to dedicate more time to achieving customer-based results, rather than just spending time reporting. “Katie’s work has already got results - helping drive down breakdowns and improve reliability by analysing data to identify mechanical defects that happen repeatedly. “She is also unafraid to question the status quo in what is still quite a male-dominated environment. “We know the Route One awards are judged against strict criteria which put great emphasis on excellence. “Once Katie has some more formal learning in project management and maintenance engineering behind her, she will be a formidable force. Everyone at National Express
West Midlands is looking forward to “what Katie does next”.
Shencare Community Transport Shortlisted
Shencare Community Transport were shortlisted at the CT Awards 2019 for Community Transport Provider of the Year. It was Shencare’s resilience in the face of adversity that impressed the judges. In January 2019, Shencare suffered a devastating fire at its premises due to an electrical fault. The portacabin that was Shencare’s administration block, as well as the mess facilities for the volunteers and staff and its operational headquarters, were rendered unusable overnight with keys to all their vehicles melting in the fire.
Thankfully no one was hurt and, the very next day, everyone from the volunteer drivers to the chair of trustees came together and a full service was operated. “In-spite of the fire,” said Chris Busst, Company Secretary and Member of the West Midlands Bus Alliance Board “not one mile nor one passenger journey was missed.”
Message to our partners: We want to hear from youThe West Midlands Bus Alliance is comprised of representatives from bus operators, local councils, Highways England and other partners - if you're our partner, we’d be delighted to hear from you. This is your newsletter, so please let us know about any projects you are involved with so that best practice and successes can be celebrated and shared with all the partners. Projects could include new facilities for passengers, bus priority measures designed to increase punctuality and reliability, harnessing
the latest technology to make integrated travel even more seamless, staff who have achieved great things or gone above and beyond in their day-to-day duties or new initiatives aimed at increasing patronage. They could also include innovative ticketing initiatives, cutting-edge solutions to reducing carbon emissions, network reviews and the introduction of new routes. Please email BusAlliance@tfwm.org.uk if you would like any of the excellent work the Bus Alliance is doing included in future editions of the newsletter.
|