Serco Gropu plc Annual Review and Summary Financial Statement ...

Bob Pritchard has been managing our Adelaide bus contract from the
beginning. Since then it has almost tripled in size. He believes in working
hard to get results, and giving recognition where it’s due. After four years
with Serco, he finds it ‘a very good company to work for – support, good
advice and a team approach’.
C L I E N T: Adelaide Passenger Transport Board (Australia) D I V I S I O N : Serco Transport Services D U R AT I O N : 5 years, extendable by 5 years
C O N T RA C T: Provision of bus services in the Adelaide metropolitan area
Serco has been operating bus services in Adelaide since 1996 and under a new contract we will operate
about 50% of the city’s services. This latest contract, more than doubling the number of Serco-operated
buses from 165 to 400, reflects both the public’s and the transport authority’s satisfaction with our
performance to date. Included is the city’s innovative guided busway, O’Bahn, which is the transport
system’s centrepiece. We have increased demand by offering service reliability, new late night services,
clean buses and friendly, helpful staff. Culture change has been a key factor: bus operators are encouraged
to get to know their passengers and to take part in community initiatives including the innovative Serco
Watch scheme. This enables passengers and operators to report suspicious behaviour and incidents by
radio to colleagues at base, who call the police immediately. The scheme has resulted in a number of
arrests and convictions. It also brought emergency medical attention to an elderly passenger who was
taken ill at home: an alert driver called for help when she missed her regular bus.
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