12 South East PDF - Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach South East
annual performance
May 2011 to April 2012
the
triangle

introduction
Stagecoach South East provides local bus services across the region,
with some routes extending further into Kent and East Sussex to
Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone. We also operate coaches to London
on behalf of National Express.
We are based in Kent at our head office in Canterbury with local
depots in Herne Bay, Thanet, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover, Hastings
and Eastbourne.
We are a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group plc, an international
provider of bus, coach, tram and rail services in the UK, USA and
Canada.
Our aim is to provide safe,
reliable, punctual, clean and
comfortable services with a
good value for money range
of tickets and fares.
Stagecoach
South East
East Sussex
East Kent
annual performance

key facts
45.4 million passenger journeys
were made on Stagecoach South East’s services
18 million miles
operated within East Kent & East Sussex to carry passengers
99.7% of all services operated
92.4% of journeys
turned up within 5 minutes of the scheduled time
438 buses operating
on approximately 110 different routes across Canterbury, Herne Bay,
Thanet, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover, Hastings and Eastbourne with
some routes extending to Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone.
Coaches also run to London on express services for National Express.
over 1,200 employees
working across the 7 depots that serve our region
May 2011 - April 2012

2011 - 2012
results
Our services
We operated a total of 18 million miles over the year, an increase of 8.1% over the
previous year.
Our key measure of performance is the reliability and punctuality of our services.
In the past year we operated 99.7% of our scheduled services, with 0.1% failure
due to internal reasons, and 0.2% due to external reasons such as congestion,
bad weather, diversions, etc. We monitor our services for punctuality and 92.4%
of our services operated within 5 minutes of their scheduled time, traffic congestion
being, again, the main reason for delay. We continue to seek improvements both
through rescheduling services and in discussions with our local highway authorities.
We have partnership schemes with Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Hastings, Shepway
and Thanet Councils to work together to improve and invest in our commercial
services. We have continued discussions for a similar scheme in Eastbourne.
over 99.7% of journeys ran as scheduled
Our fares
An independent survey last year found that Stagecoach offers the best value bus fares
of any major bus operator in the UK, with prices up to 20% lower than other companies.
In addition to our standard single fares, we offer unlimited travel day, week and period
tickets.
We increased fares once during the year an average of 5% but we protected regular
bus users by keeping the increase in many multi-journey tickets to under 5%. This was
despite increasing cost pressures. The Government's 20% cut in Bus Service Operators
Grant from 1 April, combined with the planned 3p fuel duty rise, will increase fuel tax
on bus passengers in England by 74%, taking £850,000 out of the local bus network in
Kent and East Sussex. In contrast, trains pay virtually no tax on their fuel and planes
pay none at all.
Bus operators across England have also faced rising costs in other areas including
increased labour, energy and insurance costs. The annual Cost Index, compiled by the
Confederation of Passenger Transport before the fuel tax changes, shows operating
costs in the 12 months to 31 December 2011 had already risen by 5%.
Stagecoach South East annual report 2011 - 2012

Our passengers
We carried a total of 45.4 million passengers over the year, an overall
increase of 4.7% over the previous year and this includes 6.4% more
adult passengers (i.e. the increase without including concessionary
pass holders and child passengers).
We received a total of 1189 passenger complaints about our
services, a decrease of 23% over the previous year.
That equates to less than one complaint per 38,000 passengers.
We comply with our industry code of practice, and every
complaint is investigated and action taken to avoid repetition
of the problem.
we carried 45.4 million passengers
during 2011 - 2012
Our community
We play a big part in the local community and
we enable thousands of people to go about
their everyday activities.
We have Quality Bus Partnership schemes
set up in all the main urban areas in the region,
where we work together with our partners,
in particular local authorities, to improve local
bus services.
We work with many local organisations to
improve transport access and information,
such as hospitals, business centres and colleges.
We also support a number of community
groups and charities, such as Demelza House
Hospice Care for Children, The New Marlowe
Theatre in Canterbury, St Michael’s Hospice in
Hastings and a variety of smaller groups and
clubs. Our depot teams regularly take part in
events to raise money for their chosen charities,
including cycle events and fun runs.

Our achievements
We were recently pleased to announce that bus use in East Kent has doubled in less
than a decade, as services have been transformed through a partnership between
Stagecoach and local transport authorities. Figures show that more than 28.6 million
passenger trips were made on our services in East Kent in 2011 – up from 14.3 million
in 2003.
More than 550,000 bus trips are now taken on Stagecoach services in East Kent every
week, up from just over 275,000 seven years ago, and the growth is three times higher
than that seen on buses in London over the same period.
Nearly 270 jobs have been created by Stagecoach in the last 10 years. Many bus routes,
particularly those linking the area’s main towns, run twice as frequently as before.
Our newest route was introduced in April 2012. Route 12 provides a new direct link
between Deal and Canterbury and cuts 15 minutes from the previous journey time.
In July, the East Kent team managed 80 drivers and support staff from Stagecoach bus
depots across the country, when over 30,000 people were carried to and from the
Sandwich Open Golf Championship. 58 buses were used to offer a daily park and ride
service and a shuttle from the railway station.
We were also highly commended for our continuous development of The Canterbury
Triangle bus routes in the ‘Marketing Excellence’ Category of the 2011 Bus Industry
Awards.
There’s also good news in East Sussex. In April 2012, 23 new Enviro 200 single deckers
were launched onto Hastings’ Arrows bus services with colleagues dressed in costumes
similar to those found on the Bayeux tapestry – which is the new fleet’s livery theme.
This £3 million investment followed the introduction of 11 new double deck buses,
worth £1.6m, in January for the popular Wave 99 service between Hastings and
Eastbourne.
Our staff
We are a major local employer with 955 drivers, 175 engineers and cleaners, and 86
support staff, supervisors and managers all based locally.
96% of our drivers have completed 4 stages of their Certificate of Professional
Competence (CPC) and we are on target for all drivers to achieve 5 by the deadline
of September 2013.
Our engineers are all skilled workers and we employ 6 apprentices to provide skills for
the future and are looking to recruit 3 more in 2012. Our supervisors and managers
have all completed relevant training courses for their various professions.
We are a major employer
in the local community,
with over 1,200 staff.

Our fleet
We operate a fleet of 422 buses and 16 coaches and have a programme of investment
that replaces older vehicles each year. New buses are introduced to our busiest routes,
ensuring the highest possible number of customers benefit from these modern,
comfortable and environmentally friendly vehicles. 78% of our fleet is low floor or
wheelchair lift equipped to provide easy access for the elderly, disabled and buggies.
All our vehicles are inspected by our engineers at least every 3 weeks, and maintained
to much higher standards than the legal minimum, to ensure safety and comfort.
Every vehicle is cleaned daily.
Our environment
We used 2.45 million gallons of diesel last year, at an average of 7.4 miles per gallon.
We are working to improve fuel consumption through technical measures, and all our
drivers have completed a Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving course.
All our fleet runs on low sulphur diesel, with a high-tech additive Envirox to reduce
pollution and improve fuel consumption. Vehicle engines must meet increasingly higher
Euro standards of exhaust emissions. 58% of our fleet meets at least the Euro 3 standard.
We recycle most of our waste, such as litter, used oils, filters, batteries, parts, etc.
We also recycle the water we use to wash our vehicles every night.
Although buses are an important part of our business, we are also focusing on local
energy consumption at all of our seven depots.
Our aim is to reduce energy consumption by 8% year on year. Reduction is currently at
3.3% and we’re working hard to meet the 8% target by the end of the year.
Recent investment in lighting at the Thanet and Cheriton (Folkestone) sites, has
produced a reduction in electricity useage.
There are plans to continue to fit smart, energy efficient lighting (that senses light levels
and movement) in all depots.
Did you know?
39 new
buses
have been added
to the fleet in
East Kent &
East Sussex between
May 2011-April 2012
The extra bus
passengers on
Stagecoach services
equates to cutting
a total of 8.75million
car trips from Kent’s
roads over the
past seven years*
If these trips had
been taken by car,
they would have
produced in total
an extra 290 tonnes
of CO2 for every
mile travelled*
*data quoted from news release on Stagecoach.com ‘Bus use in East Kent doubles in less than a decade.’
http://www.stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2012/2012-04-04.aspx

Stagecoach Customer Services
Stagecoach South East, The Bus Station,
St George's Lane, Canterbury CT1 2SY
eastkent.enquiries@stagecoachbus.com
eastsussex.enquiries@stagecoachbus.com
08456 00 22 99
stagecoachbus.com/eastkent
stagecoachbus.com/eastsussex
What to do if things go wrong
If you are unhappy with our response,
this independent body will review complaints:
The Bus Appeal Body - c/o Bus Users UK,
PO Box 119 , Shepperton, TW17 8UX
Customer
suggestions &
feedback
traveline
public transport info
0871 200 22 33
www.traveline.info
Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Mobile and other providers’ charges vary
Details correct at June 2012.
Printed on recycled paper.