NZ wraps up safetymessage

Fishy flavour to marketingcampaign

Brave driverskeep Londonmoving

Thousandsflock to thefairways

The newspaper of Stagecoach Group Issue 60 Autumn 2005

As the people of NewOrleans reeled under

the devastation causedby Hurricane Katrina,Stagecoach rolled up itssleeves to help with theunprecedented relief effortin the stricken Gulf Coast.

On hearing the plight of thousandsof residents stranded without food orwater, many unable to flee the citybefore the hurricane swept ashore, thecompany’s Coach USA division dis-patched a convoy of 12 coaches and 24drivers to the bruised and battered‘Jewel of the South’.

The support team – from operationsin Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,

Stagecoach has teamed up withSingapore-based transport groupComfortDelGro to create a new inter-citycoach venture to compete with railservices in Scotland.

The venture will operate the Scottishservices of Stagecoach’s megabus.comand Motorvator, and ComfortDelGro’sScottish Citylink, offering customersmore frequent services, faster journeytimes and improved quality on the road.

Under the deal, Stagecoach owns35% of the share capital and is responsi-ble for operational management.ComfortDelGro, the world’s second

Relief convoyrolls intoNew OrleansCoach USA helps mass evacuation after Hurricane Katrina

by Steven Stewart

United bid challenges the train

Pennsylvania, New York and WestVirginia – helped evacuate some of thethousands of people made homelessby the disaster.

Coach USA employees also donatedbottled water, food items and toiletries,which were loaded onto the vehicles.The aid was delivered to the AmericanRed Cross to be distributed to those inneed.

Brian Souter, Stagecoach GroupChief Executive, said: “HurricaneKatrina caused devastation and humansuffering on a massive scale and one ofthe immediate priorities was ensuringpeople were transported to safety

away from the worst-affected areas. “We had a tremendous response

from our employees at Coach USA,and our support team worked closelywith the Federal Government andoffered them every assistance theycould.”

The US Federal Government askedfor assistance from coach and schoolbus operators as thousands of squaremiles of Louisiana and Mississippiremained under water.

The Coach USA team also assistedthe Federal Emergency ManagementAgency in the New Orleans area in theimmediate aftermath of the hurricane.The exhausted evacuees from NewOrleans were eventually driven tosafety in various designated relief areasthroughout Texas.

largest land transport company, ownsthe remaining 65%.

Tom Wileman, Managing Director ofStagecoach Scotland, is overseeing thenew operation.

The new business will be the leadingprovider of express coach services inScotland, with expected annual revenuesof around £18 million. It will create astronger business to help make coachtravel between key population centres a

viable alternative to the train. Bus services between Edinburgh and

Glasgow will be increased to every 15minutes daily to match the train serviceon First ScotRail’s flagship line andhourly services will run on most otherroutes.

The coach journey time betweenInverness and Edinburgh will also be cutto three and a half hours, less than thetime it takes by train.

Stagecoach Group Chief ExecutiveBrian Souter said: “Megabus.com andScottish Citylink are two powerfulbrands in Scotland that have establisheda loyal base of customers in differentinter-city travel markets. This new jointventure will allow us to develop thequality of our products and offer an evenbetter range of excellent value traveloptions for our customers.

“We believe the new venture will

make our collective operations moreefficient, putting us in an excellentposition to compete with the train andattract more people away from their carsand onto our inter-city services.”

ComfortDelGro Managing Directorand Group CEO Kua Hong Pak said thefirm was pleased to be entering into theagreement with Stagecoach.

He added: “By working together andleveraging on our two strong brands wewill be able to operate more efficiently,improve the quality of our services andfocus our efforts on jointly growing ourbusiness.”

Coach USA lending its support to America’s emergency services.

The sight of the davastated Gulf Coast that met the Coach USA teams.

Autumn 20052

ContactsThe Editor, On Stage, Stagecoach Group, 10 Dunkeld Road, Perth PH1 5TW.Tel: +44 (0)1738 442111, Fax: +44 (0)1738 580407

www.stagecoachgroup.comIf you have a story for On Stage, please get in touchwith your local contact below:

Stagecoach Group Steven Stewart 01738 642040

UK BusStagecoach East Scotland Lisa Henry 01383 516454Stagecoach West Scotland Allan Henry 01292 613515Stagecoach North East Kate Williams 0191 567 5251Stagecoach North West Colin Nicholson 01772 255752Stagecoach Manchester Karen Coventry 0161 276 2727Stagecoach East Midlands Phil Cartwright 01246 222018Stagecoach in Oxfordshire Chris Child 01865 405511Stagecoach in Warwickshire Adam Rideout 01604 702112Stagecoach East Adam Rideout 01604 702112Stagecoach West Anthony Evans 01443 687682Stagecoach Wales Anthony Evans 01443 687682Stagecoach London Benjamin Franklin 020 8477 7249Stagecoach South East Helen Martin 01243 536161Stagecoach South Helen Martin 01243 536161

Stagecoach South West Mark Whittle 01392 889747National Transport Tokens Sajda Khan 01254 680180

UK RailSouth West Trains Lisa Davies 0207 620 5892Island Line Stephen Wade 01983 812591Stagecoach Supertram Julia Shaw 0114 2759888

OverseasNorth AmericaNorth East Roger Bowker 001 201 225 7581North Central Dale Moser 001 847 390 5800Coach Canada Jim Devlin 001 705 748 1170

New Zealand Dennis Elliot 00 649 309 3500

On Stage is published four times a year. Advertising connecteddirectly or indirectly with Stagecoach is accepted. Charitable advertswill be included without charge, otherwise rates on request.

On Stage is distributed free to Stagecoach staff. Public subscrip-tions are available at £12 for one year or £20 for two years. Chequepayable to Stagecoach Group plc at the editorial address. TheEditor is unable to enter into individual correspondence concern-ing the affairs of The Stagecoach Group.

Designed by Catchline Communications Group, Scotland.

Back to the futureCwmffrwdoer Primary Schoolrecently welcomed employeesfrom Stagecoach South Wales,who gave the children an insightinto travel both past andpresent.

Although it was a wet andwindy day, the children had achance to explore a 1964 AECDouble Decker complete withits own ‘clippy’ and a 2005Neoplan megabus.

Our picture shows DepotInspector Kelvin Harnett, DriverTal Jenkins, Mayor of TorfaenLyn Urwin and Conductress ValCruten.

The Swinging Sixties may be adistant memory, but the spirit of thedecade lives on in Chesterfieldthrough an exciting flower-powerrevival.

Passengers in the town have hadtheir journeys brightened up byStagecoach’s new floral double-decker bus. Designed by local artstudents, the distinctive vehicle wasthe firm’s contribution to the EastMidlands in Bloom competition.

Many local companies offeredtheir support, but Stagecoach’seffort, which proves you can say itwith flowers, has been by far themost eye-catching.

Competition judges toured theregion in the bus to inspect thequality of local flower displays andwere highly impressed with thevehicle. And everyone wasdelighted when the Derbyshiretown clinched the silver runner-upmedal in the “small city” category,despite never having enteredbefore.

Derbyshire’s ‘blooming’ fantastic bus.

Efforts to entice touristsback into London in the

wake of the terroristattacks of July 7 have beenboosted by megabus.com.

The UK’s market-leading low-costinter-city coach service offered100,000 free seats into the capitalafter media reports suggested that thebombings had affected the level ofleisure trips to the city.

Brian Souter, Chief Executive ofStagecoach Group, said: “There is no

Mega-drive to revive the heart of London100,000 free seats on offer through megabus.com

Flower power puts ‘petal’ to the metal

by Steven Stewart

doubt that discretionary leisure travelto London was affected in theimmediate aftermath of thebombings.

“The good news is that, over thepast few weeks, there is evidence thatcustomer confidence is growing andtourists are starting to return to thecapital. We hope our offer of 100,000free seats will give people a massiveincentive to come and see the great

attractions the city has to offer.”The 100,000 free seats are available

for Monday to Thursday journeys toand from London – excluding internaland cross-border services to and fromlocations in Scotland – untilDecember 12. Customers taking upthe free seats offer pay only thestandard 50p booking fee

Passenger numbers formegabus.com, which celebrated itssecond anniversary this summer, haverisen by nearly 25% in the last sixmonths.

More than 2.6 million passengershave used the service since the firsttrial route was launched in August2003 and a national network went livein March 2004.

With fares starting as low as £1,megabus.com runs a network of inter-city services covering more than 30locations across the UK.

This summer it introduced a £6.5million fleet of new state-of-the-artdouble-decker coaches with air-con-ditioning, toilets and more comfort-able seats.

Studentsurged to think pink

Students at the University ofWarwick are enjoying brighter daysthanks to the introduction of adozen pink and purple double-decker buses by Stagecoach inWarwickshire.

The usual livery was deemedunsuitable for the university popu-lation so Warwickshire’s MarketingManager Adam Rideout devisedsomething he believed they couldidentify with more.

Adam explained: “Pink is anoutrageous colour for a big bus,but we wanted an identity that thestudents could feel is their own.We primarily run a service to andfrom the University of Warwickespecially for them. As such, itfollows that we want them to feelat home on our buses and wedidn’t think the normal Stagecoachlivery was for them.”

The university service, whichusually runs every 12 minutes, hasalso been re-named Unibus. Itreplaces the X12 route numberwith U1, which is more userfriendly for students travellingbetween Sydenham andLeamington and the university.

Radios have also been intro-duced on the buses, whichstudents can catch up to 2.20am onFridays and Saturdays.

Though mainly used bystudents, the buses – which linkSydenham, Leamington,Kenilworth and Warwick – are alsoavailable for the general public.

by Adam Rideout

Autumn 2005 3

Motorists in and around Folkestonehave been discovering the joys of trav-elling by bus after Stagecoach Southreduced the price of a weekly ticket.

The move was made to encouragecommuters to use the bus after carparks closed to make way for thedevelopment of the new Bride HallShopping Centre in the town.

The Folkestone megarider plusticket now lets passengers travel fromCapel, Palmarsh, Hawkinge and Hythefor £9 a week and can be bought frombus drivers on any of the routes.

“We understand that with theeventual loss of so many car parkspaces motorists may struggle to findreasonably priced parking,” said SamWigley, Stagecoach South OperationsManager.

“We hope that we can reduce thestress of driving by offering this newincentive to try the bus.”

Folkestone Town CentreManagement Ltd is supporting the ini-tiative, with leaflets being distributedthroughout the town to let motoristsknow of the new ticket.

Investors, customers and other keystakeholders now have even more

information at their fingertips withthe launch of Stagecoach Group’snew corporate website.

Fully updated with a fresh design andimproved functionality, stagecoachgroup.comincludes:

• Clearer design and navigation for users• New and updated content, including a

summary of the company’s history, andmore detail on Group policies and per-formance

• More comprehensive information forinvestors, such as a fully searchablearchive of Stagecoach Group RegulatoryNews Service announcements dating backto 2001

• Worldwide Contacts tool, making it easierfor customers to contact Stagecoachcompanies around the globe

• A Media Image Library, with a selection ofhigh-resolution photography from theGroup’s operations as well as companylogos and pictures of Directors

• Online access to On Stage• More comprehensive links to Stagecoach

consumer websites and other external sites

The website has been developed in line withthe Royal National Institute for the Blind’s ‘See ItRight’ accessibility criteria, allowing navigation byscreen readers and voice browsers.

Steven Stewart, Stagecoach Group Head ofMedia and Public Affairs, said: “The new corporatewebsite is a major step forward and is part of ourongoing drive to improve communications withour investors, customers and other key stakehold-ers. The site showcases the strength of ourbusiness as a market leader in delivering innova-tion in public transport.”

Ticket deal tempts driversas parking shortage bites

Sam Wigley and Town Centre Management’s Eloise Hassall with a sample of the new discounted ticket.

Fresh, functional...and at your fingertipsNew Group website offers even more information

The commitment to make travel easierfor people with disabilities in the UKhas had another major boost with afurther £3.5 million being invested ina fleet of new accessible coaches.

The latest order, for 25 coacheswhich provide easy access for wheel-chair passengers through the mainentrance, brings the total Stagecoachinvestment in new buses in the UK for2005-06 to just under £60 million andmore than 500 vehicles.

Les Warneford, Managing Directorof Stagecoach UK Bus, said the newProfile coaches would be introducedon the inter-urban express services inthe UK.

“Accessibility is an important factorin providing attractive public transportservices,” Les said. “As far as possiblewithin the resources we haveavailable, we are committed tomaking it easier for people to use ourbuses and coaches.

“We are investing millions ofpounds every year on new vehicles aspart of our programme to make allour buses in the UK fully accessible.These new vehicles are the bestsolution in the market in terms ofproviding wheelchair access oncoaches.”

The Profile coaches, based on aVolvo B7R chassis, incorporate awheelchair lift in the entrance whichfolds out of the way when not in use.Designed to be easily operated by thedriver, it gives access to a spacealongside the entrance where thereare secure fixings to hold the wheel-chair and its user safely in position.

Kevin Wood, Sales Director formanufacturer Plaxton, said: “In devel-oping this innovative solution tocarrying wheelchair passengers, wewere mindful of the need to makeboarding and alighting as easy aspossible, and to provide a vehiclewhich could be used with existingroadside and bus station infrastruc-ture.”

The new coaches are scheduledfor delivery between November 2005and February 2006. They follow abatch of conventional B7R Profilesthat joined the fleet at the start of theyear and were used to upgradeservices in north-east Scotland.

Investmentextendseasy access

Passengers choose star staffPats on the back are in the offing asonce again South West Trains hasasked passengers to pick out thepeople who give exceptionalcustomer service.

National Customer Service Weekwas held between October 3 and 9and gave the public the opportunityto recognise and applaud members of

staff across our network.This included all our people on the

platforms, behind the ticket officewindow, cleaners and staff on boardtrains.

Managing Director Graham Eccles

said: “We are committed to deliveringthe highest standards of customerservice and it is only through our staffthat we can achieve this.

“This recognises what our people atstations and on trains do for us day in

and day out – and they still manage tosmile and assist despite some of thehuge challenges they face.”

Every year, thousands of customerservice professionals celebrateNational Customer Service Week,which aims to highlight the crucialrole that members of staff play inproviding a service to passengers.

Editor hits the headlines – not the kerb!Voicing his ambition over the airwaves to drive adouble-decker bus led to a day to remember for localradio News Editor Jason Beck.

His secret desire inspired Stagecoach South staff tooffer him the opportunity to get behind the wheel atThorney Island disused airfield, offered as a safelocation to test his skills by the Regional RecruitmentTeam of 47th Regiment of the Royal Artillery.

Instead of a simple drive along the runway Jason,of Wave 105 FM, was really put through his paces byStagecoach’s Portsmouth driving instructor SteveHolmes.

Cones were placed at intervals to represent busstops so he had to gently slow and stop the VolvoOlympian as though approaching real bus stops,before tackling a reverse manoeuvre.

Steve Holmes congratulates Jason Beck on his new found driving skills.

Malcolm’snew roleNational Transport TokensLimited in Blackburn hasappointed Malcolm Daughtrey asthe new Managing Director.

He replaces John Robinson,who is retiring after 17 years.

Formerly head of businessdevelopment at APCOA ParkingUK, one of the UK’s largest carparking operators, Malcolm hassignificant public sector experi-ence.

He will work closely with theUK Bus operating companies andwith our rail companies to furtherdevelop the transport tokenbusiness and strengthen relation-ships with local authorities andPassenger Transport Executives.

by Helen Martin

Jason said: “Reversing was definitely the hardest tomaster and I can now understand why trainee driverstake a seven-week course to qualify for their PCVlicence and learn everything else needed to become abus driver. However, the bus has an incredible turningcircle and the power assisted steering makes it verylight to control.”

Much to Jason’s relief the bus was not equippedwith L-plates so he didn’t have to drive it back to thedepot. However, his day ended on a high note with atrip across the airfield in one of the 47th Regiment’sStormer Anti-Aircraft vehicles.

Autumn 20054

It was safety first in NewZealand when Stagecoach

in Wellington and Aucklandcombined with the AccidentCompensation Commission(ACC) to promote SafetyWeek.

The theme was All Wrapped Upin Safety with bubble wrap as thechosen symbol.

And among the many promo-tions during the week was theunusual sight of a bus in WellingtonCity centre completely covered inthe stuff!

Every week 1,900 NewZealanders are seriously injured inavoidable accidents and the SafetyWeek in August was an opportunityto tackle this terrible statistic.

Both Stagecoach Wellington andStagecoach Auckland took up thechallenge with enthusiasm. The buswrapping was an ACC/Stagecoachinitiative and it took an entire dayto wrap and then unwrap the bus. Itcertainly caught the eye of passers-by and was a great way to increasepublic awareness of Safety Week.

Spotting and encouraging homegrowntalent has been paying dividends forStagecoach South, which now has halfits depots managed by graduates of itsown Staff Development TrainingProgramme.

The latest addition to the manage-ment team, and seventh successfulcandidate to emerge from theprogramme, is Dave Bardwell, who hasbeen promoted to Acting EngineeringManager for Stagecoach in Basingstoke.

“I’m very pleased with the opportu-nities created for staff who may join usas engineers and drivers but show

potential for management within thecompany,” said Andrew Dyer,Managing Director of StagecoachSouth. “Their experience andknowledge of the industry ensures thatour network of services operates as effi-ciently as possible.”

The programme offers a fast track toa managerial position. The sevenpeople who trained with the schemeand are now managers took less thantwo years, on average, to becomedepot operations or engineeringmanagers after completing theprogramme.

New Zealand is allwrapped up in safetyby Linda Ann MartinOccupational Health Nurse,Stagecoach Wellington

During the week, all Stagecoachdepots ran promotions with a safetyquiz, safety displays, posters andpamphlets and a ’Spare Tyre’ weight

loss challenge. The Audit Team alsowore bubble wrap vests whenchecking buses.

The ACC was so impressed with

Stagecoach’s involvement in ‘SafetyWeek’ that it awarded one of the$NZ1000 prizes for the company topurchase safety equipment.

It’s a wrap! The bubble-wrapped bus parked on Lambton Quay, Wellington.

Fast tracking to the top

Welcome aboard! Andrew Dyer welcomes Dave Bardwell to the management team with, from left,Chris Adams, Rosemary Blair, Jason Bush, Colin Stratford, Robbie Hall and Graham Harmer.

£6.5m fleetbound forMerseysideJust months after its acquisitionof Glenvale Transport Limited,Stagecoach has announced amulti-million pound investmentin its Merseyside bus opera-tions.

A £6.5 million fleet of 75modern low-floor buses wasscheduled for delivery throughSeptember and October and ispart of an order announcedearlier this year.

The remaining vehicles forma new £3.9 million order withAlexander Dennis and will beintroduced in February andMarch 2006.

Managing Director forStagecoach UK Bus LesWarneford said the move was aclear sign of the firm’s ongoingcommitment to public transportin Merseyside.

He added: “We believe wehave a winning combination ofinvestment, innovation, strongmarketing, first-class customerservice and operationalexpertise that can attract morepeople back aboard buses andbuild a successful localbusiness.”

Stagecoach operates nearly300 vehicles and employsaround 800 people inMerseyside.

Breakfastradio showrears upManchester-based radio stationKey103 has commandeered therear of 12 Stagecoach doubledeckers for a high-profilebreakfast show campaign.

The station’s marketingmanager Nadine Callanexplained the bus was anobvious choice in drivingawareness as the creative usedin the campaign workedperfectly on the double-deckerrears.

She added: “It’s impossibleto miss, whether you’re sittingin your car or just walkingaround town. The campaignhas already created a real buzzaround Manchester, with ourbreakfast show presentersbeing inundated with textmessages from listeners busspotting.”

Stagecoach Manchesterinterim Marketing ManagerAllie Johns said Tridents dis-playing this creative all operateon high volume, highfrequency routes to and fromthe city, so millions of peoplein Manchester could see theadvert daily.

Allie added: “It just goes todemonstrate the power of busadvertising, particularly forlocally-based brands.”

Hampshire’s Rowans Hospice is£1,300 better off thanks to those whoorganised the Big Bus Show at thePortsmouth bus depot.

The event marked the 90thanniversary of Southdown MotorServices and the 25th anniversary ofthe current bus operators Stagecoach.

Our photograph showsStagecoach Operations ManagerDavid Rossiter presenting a specialcommemorative montage and

Big Bus Show’scharity boost

If you have been up to something that has helped your local communitythen we’d like to hear about it.

Your On Stage contact is listed on p2.

A taleto tell?

cheques to Samantha Jones at thehospice.

Autumn 2005 5

If you have been up to something that has helped your local communitythen we’d like to hear about it.

Your On Stage contact is listed on p2.

A taleto tell?

To celebrate 100 years of publictransport in Hastings, Stagecoachcreated two special liveries based onthe old colour schemes of theMaidstone & District Motor ServicesLtd and the Hastings TramwaysCompany.

The two Volvo buses, which weretaken out of service for two weeks tobe repainted, will be seen on up to 15routes between Hastings and sur-rounding towns and villages over thenext year.

The Hastings Tramways Companystarted trading in 1905 and was later

taken over by Maidstone & DistrictMotor Services, whose livery repre-sents how the buses would havelooked 50 years ago.

Stagecoach Operations ManagerTom Bridge said public response todate had been fantastic and many localresidents instantly recognised the ‘new’old liveries.

He added: “We hope people in theregion will enjoy our trip downMemory Lane. We are proud to followthe tradition of providing an importantpublic transport service to thousandsof people who use our daily services.”

Stagecoach’s UK serviceshave a Polish flavour

after a bid to recruit 100experienced bus driversfrom the Eastern Europeancountry.

The recruitment drive, which issupported by the trade unions, ispart of the company’s commitmentto delivering a consistent, reliablelevel of service and complements itsother UK recruitment campaigns.

Stagecoach has been working inpartnership with Warsaw-basedPolish Transport Holdings toidentify and train the newemployees following the expansionof the European Union.

The first group of around 20Polish drivers started work inCheltenham and Manchester inAugust and Stagecoach expects torecruit a total of 100 drivers by theend of the year.

Bob Montgomery, StagecoachUK Bus Service PerformanceDirector, said: “Bus drivers haveone of the most important jobs inthe local community. Thousands ofpeople rely on them every day andwe invest a lot of time andresources to get the right people onboard.

“We have a major ongoingcampaign in the UK to attractpeople to a career in bus drivingwith attractive pay and conditionspackages. Those measures areproving successful and will beenhanced by an additional streamof skilled, experienced employeesfrom Eastern Europe.

Warsaw helps driversmaintain pole position

Rugby duo’samazingsafety record Shane Gray and Mathew Hirons arethe first bus drivers at Stagecoach inWarwickshire’s Rugby depot toachieve five-year safe drivingawards.

The safety conscious pair haveboth driven for approximately10,000 hours without a blameworthyaccident.

The Road Operators SafetyCouncil annually gives awards tosuch drivers and Stagecoach Rugbyalready has 29 employees whoqualify for a one-year certificate.

In a special tribute to Shane andMathew, whose combined servicewith Stagecoach totals more than 10years, Rugby Operations ManagerBash Rafiq said: “They are goodteam members committed to the job.When it is appreciated that theydrive an average of 2,000 hours ayear their record is superb.

“My congratulations go to all 32drivers who have a safe drivingaward – it’s great news for the depotand, of course, for our passengers.”

Young guide dogs and their handlerscan now travel free on buses operatedby Stagecoach across the UK.

The agreement, designed to boostthe training and development of guidedogs, stems from a partnershipbetween the company and the GuideDogs for the Blind Association.

Guide dog pups spend their firstyear with volunteer walkers and one ofthe tasks is to familiarise them withpublic transport in preparation for the

working life ahead.Mike Bird, spokesperson for Guide

Dogs, said: “It’s fantastic Stagecoach isworking with us on this as it really willhelp the dogs get used to travelling onbuses.”

Les Warneford, Managing Directorof Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “We wantto make our buses as accessible aspossible and hope this will helpsupport our blind and partially-sightedcustomers.”

UK Bus takes the leadin guide dog training

Paws for thought: Stagecoach Operations Manager Bernie Reed and Squire with puppy walker MoiraDavidson and Henri.

by Steven Stewart

“The excellent links we have putin place in Poland will help ensurewe have a full team of professionaldrivers behind the wheel at ourgrowing bus operations here in theUK.”

Stagecoach has put in place acomprehensive selection andtraining programme to ensure thebest drivers are recruited. All driversare interviewed, have a series ofmedical and background checks,and undertake a detailed drivingassessment.

The successful candidates thentake a 12-week English languagecourse to ensure they have the rightcommunication skills to meet theneeds of passengers.

On arrival in the UK, the driversare provided with a further twoweeks’ off-road training, includingroute familiarisation, before theyget behind the wheel for real.Stagecoach has also put in placearrangements to allow the drivers toget top-up English language lessonsat UK colleges as part of theirongoing training and development.

Memory Lane proves a popular route

Stagecoach coach builders Mark Suggitt (left) and Ian Cheer with the celebration buses.

David plansa busy retirementDavid Xavier has meticulouslymaintained the bodywork ofStagecoach’s fleet of 72 busesat Basingstoke for more than13 years.

However, now he hasdecided to retire and swapdepot life for more foreignholidays… and time on thefairways improving hishandicap.

David (65) joined the 20-strong team of mechanics,technicians, fitters, body-builders and cleaners afterworking for a Ford dealer inthe area.

Engineering Director forStagecoach South RichardAlexander thanked David forhis dedicated service and hardwork over the years: “It wouldbe impossible to estimate howmany repairs David hascarried out on our fleetfollowing accidents, acts ofvandalism and the wear andtear the vehicles face as theyservice the 30 routes weoperate in the Basingstokearea.”

David admires his handiwork before retiral.

Sandra leads the way in DoverSandra Rushton, Engineering Clerkfor Stagecoach in Dover, hasbecome the first person in the SouthEast to gain her OCR Level 2 NVQfor Administration.

Sandra, who has worked at the

Dover bus depot for five years,studied for the qualification parttime over 14 months.

Her boss, Engineering ManagerBob Taylor, said he was delightedwith Sandra’s achievement.

“We have a large percentage ofdrivers and engineering staff thathas passed NVQ qualifications, butSandra is the first in our region to

gain an administrative equivalent,”he said.

Sandra supports the team of 28engineers, bodybuilders andcleaners that ensures the safety andreliability of the fleet of 80 coaches,single and double-decker buses thatprovide vital commuter and schoolservices in the Dover/Folkestoneregion.

Sandra – scoring an administrativefirst in the South East

Autumn 20056

The 2005 campaign to promote Unirider – thestudent Stagecoach pass available in a numberof locations around the UK – is now well underway.

The concept is the same as last year, ‘U needto get out more, U need Unirider’. However, thisyear there will be more focus on our advert starTed the Goldfish.

In fact, to encourage more online sales, Tedhas his very own fishy animated adventure onour website www.stagecoachbus.com

Ted has certainly had a big impact onnational online Unirider purchases so far, asAugust Unirider sales were up 84% on last year.Way to go Ted!

Traditionally the majority of Unirider salestake place in August and September before thestart of the new academic year. As sales figuresfor September are not yet available, it remains tobe seen if overall online sales will be up orwhether students have been encouraged by Ted

to buy the tickets earlier.We think the upward trend will continue and

are sure the quirky Ted animation will prove abig hit with students!

Holidaymakers let thetrain take the strain

this summer as theyheaded for the EnglishRiviera on board Virgin’sstate-of-the-art Voyagertrains.

Every day, 11 Virgin trains ran toand from Plymouth, with five con-tinuing to Penzance, and oneserving Torquay and Paignton.

The additional Summer Saturdayholidaymaker services to Torquay,Paignton and Newquay againproved popular, with theManchester to Newquay servicerunning almost full every weekend.

By the end of the holiday seasonaround 16,000 passengers had usedthese extra services, keeping atleast 4,000 cars off the South West’sroads.

In a further boost for Virgin, theCrossCountry network is headingtowards the 20 million passengermark for the first time ever thisyear, double the number carriedwhen Virgin began in 1997.

Between June 26 and July 23 astaggering 1,562,000 passengersused the service. Last year almost2.5 million people travelled VirginCrossCountry through Bristol toreach Somerset, Devon andCornwall.

Boosted by the demand for shortbreak holidays and long weekends,Virgin CrossCountry runs directservices to Torbay and Weston-Super-Mare and also links visitorswith many of the connectingservices to Exmouth, Looe,Newquay, Falmouth and St Ives.

Virgin CrossCountry ManagingDirector Chris Gibb said: “Sincerelaunching CrossCountry with newtrains and a regular intervaltimetable in 2002, demand hascontinued to grow and we are ontarget to carry more than 20 millionpassengers this year.”

African choirclimbs aboardfor UK tourStagecoach West Scotland is hopingto keep the Pearl of Africa Choir infine tune as it tours around the UKthis autumn.

The choir arrived at Heathrowon September 16 and will be per-forming in concerts throughout thecountry until October 31.

Stranraer depot has provided acomplimentary coach for thesingers and local drivers KevinMcNair, Mark Allison (bothStranraer depot) and Kenny Hope(Dumfries depot) will be dedicatedto driving the coach for theduration of the tour.

Drivers dump the carand head to the coast

Police and public transport companies in Manchester havejoined forces to help reduce crime on the city’s buses andtrams.

Operation Area – part of the STOPS (Safe Travel OnPublic Systems) initiative – involved Stagecoach Manchesterinspectors travelling with a police officer throughout the dayand in the evenings.

Initial results saw crime on buses and trams halved,compared with the weeks leading up to the initiative. A totalof 135 fines were issued to non-paying passengers and morethan 11,000 people were spoken to during the week.

Detective Inspector Mark Bell, who is spearheading theinitiative, said: “We’re pleased that this partnership approach

Stagecoach Manchester Inspector Dave McGuire, bottom right, with members of the Operation Area team.

United effort puts brakes on criminalsby Allie Johns

A fishy tale tempts students

Ted’s page on the Stagecoach website.Ted the Goldfish gets ready to leave his bowl.

Marathon trekto support Cancer ReliefFour Stagecoach Wales employeesfrom Brynmawr Depot recentlycompleted a 290-mile walk in aid ofMacmillan Cancer Relief.

John Rees, Simon Roberts, NickMorton and Keith Powell startedtheir journey on August 6 from theLincolnshire coast to Abbotsbury inDorset to raise funds for twoMacmillan nurses.

One of the nurses will specialisein lung cancer patients at Nevill HalHospital in Abergavenny, while theother will work as a palliative carenurse at the Royal Gwent inNewport.

Colleagues from Brynmawrdepot joined the big-heartedwalkers for the Cotswold section onAugust 14 and again in Dorset onAugust 21.

Supertramhike hits a grand totalCongratulations go to the teamfrom Stagecoach SupertramMaintenance, which made greatstrides in supporting a cancercharity.

Andy Laver, Emma Laver(Andy’s daughter), Katie Fulcher,Terry Lee, Kevin Roulson, MickSimmons and Stuart Cooperwalked the grand total of 24 uphilland downhill miles in the ThreePeaks Walk.

The great effort was for aworthy cause and raised over£1,100 for the RotherhamMacmillan Appeal.

Stepping out – the Three Peak walkers handover the results of their charity walk.

has reduced the mobility of criminals operating in and aroundnorth Manchester. It involved months of planning but isalready having a massive impact.”

Stagecoach Manchester’s Managing Director, MarkThreapleton, added: “Feedback from customers and staff hasbeen extremely positive in terms of results, general reassur-ance and from a crime deterrent perspective.

“We will continue to work closely with GreaterManchester Police with regard to this and all other crime pre-vention initiatives.”

Autumn 2005 7

When London’s TrafalgarSquare was packed on July 6

to hear the announcement of thecity chosen to host the 2012Olympic Games, no one couldhave predicted the horrificevents that would hit the capitalless than 24 hours later.

London had beaten off strong competitionfrom Paris to win the right to stage the biggestevent in world sport, sparking scenes of jubila-

Londoners uniteto defy bombers

‘Suddenly there was a bang, then carnage’

A graphic photograph of a bombed Number 30 Stagecoach bus has become the iconic and chilling image thatepitomised the shocking terrorist attacks in London on July 7.Tragically, the daughter of one of Stagecoach’s ownemployees was among the 13 people to be killed in the blast.Three months after the bombings and the subsequent attacks on July 21, On Stage reports on how Stagecoach drivers George Psaradakis and MarkMaybanks have summed up the determination of Londoners to get on with their normal daily lives.

tion. From the cheering and flag-waving to aspecial fly-past by the Red Arrows, there was amood of elation.

But by the time rush-hour was over the nextmorning, the city was having to face up to thefall-out from a co-ordinated attack by foursuicide bombers that would injure more than700 people and claim 52 innocent lives.

Three bombs went off just before 9am onunderground trains just outside Liverpool Streetand Edgware Road stations, and on anotherTube train travelling between King’s Cross and

Russell Square. Stagecoach driver George Psaradakis was

driving his No 30 double-decker-bus in CentralLondon that morning on a route from MarbleArch to Hackney Wick.

After the Tube bombings, his bus wasdiverted to cope with the thousands of passen-gers coming out of the affected stations. At9.50am, when the bus was in Tavistock Square,near King’s Cross, the fourth suicide bomberstruck.

“Suddenly there was a bang, then carnage.

Everything seemed to happen behind me,” saidthe 49-year-old driver, who has worked withStagecoach for nearly three years.

Despite the terrifying circumstances, whichsaw the roof blown off the bus, George’s firstthoughts were for his passengers. “I tried tohelp the poor people,” he said. “There weremany injured people and at first I thought ‘howam I alive, when everyone around me is dying?’The police then had to take me away becausethey were concerned there might be furtherexplosions.”

The bomb-destroyed No 30 bus in Tavistock Square in Central London. (Picture: Reuters/Dylan Martinez.)

Autumn 20058

The bombs that s‘They won’t intimidate us and they won’t defeat us’say drivers at the heart of London terrorist attacks

Stagecoach driver George Psaradakis, whose No 30bus in Central London was targeted by the terrorists,

has thanked his colleagues for sending him messagesof support.

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He said: “I have been very lucky.I am just relieved to be here and tobe able to see my wife and children.Many other people have not been sofortunate. I feel for the people whohave perished and for their families.”

Stagecoach Group Chief ExecutiveBrian Souter spoke for everyone atthe company when he said in astatement: “Everyone at Stagecoach isdeeply saddened and shocked by thetragic events and our thoughts arevery much with the victims and theirfamilies. I would like to praise ourstaff in London, whose reaction tothis awful event has been remark-able.”

Following the bombings, a co-ordinated response effort swung intooperation, involving the police, fireand ambulance services. Busesoperated by Stagecoach and othercompanies helped transport peopleinjured in the bombings to localhospitals in London.

Despite the bombings, trains onthe main overground rail network,including South West Trains, keptrunning. The excellent working rela-tionship between Transport forLondon and London bus operatorswas also able to ensure that a full busservice was running in the capitalwithin hours after the bombings.

George, who is originally fromCrete, pledged at the time: “Myselfand the other drivers in London have

an important job and we are going tocontinue to do that job as best wecan. We are going to continue ournormal lives. We are not going to beintimidated. I need some time torecover from what has happened, butI want to get back to work withStagecoach and see all the greatpeople at the depot.”

Barry Arnold, Managing Directorfor Stagecoach in London,commended the reaction of Georgeand his fellow Stagecoach drivers: “Itsays a lot about George that in suchterrible circumstances his firstthoughts were to help others. Ourdrivers are true professionals andhave done a superb job since thebombings. We are also veryheartened that Londoners have gotback on board the city’s busesdespite everything that hashappened.”

He added: “We have receivedmany messages of support fromStagecoach colleagues and othertransport operators right across thecountry. In partnership withTransport for London, the police andother key agencies, we are deter-mined to work hard to ensure wedeliver the best and most secure busservices possible.”

One week on from the 7/7bombings, Britain observed a two-minute silence to remember thevictims of the terrorist attacks.

Police search for evidence near the scene of the bus bombing. (Picture: Reuters/Toby Melville.) Forensic experts continue their investigations of the No 30 bus. (Picture: Reuters/Kay Pfaffenbach.)

Autumn 2005 9

shook our world…

Remembering the victims …with dignity and determinationGeorge Psaradakis, surrounded by hisolleagues at Stratford depot, read outmessage of sympathy to the familiesf the 13 people who died when theomb exploded on the number 30us. Tragically, one of the victims washahara Islam, a 20-year-old bank

worker and daughter of Shamsulslam, acting Operations Supervisor attagecoach’s Barking depot.

Filmed by television crews from BBCnd ITN, George said: “A week ago Iook my No 30 bus out from here on aourney which ended as a nightmare.

“What happened to my passengersnd to passers-by was truly dreadful. Iid what I could to help them. I send myhoughts at this time to the families of thennocent victims, especially my fellowolleague at Barking garage whoseaughter lost her life on my bus.

“In today’s silence we rememberhem. With quiet dignity and respect wehow our deep contempt for those wholanted the bombs and those who mas-erminded them.”

George, who was praised earlier inthe week by Chancellor Gordon Brownwhen the two men met at the Transportand General Workers Union’s bi-annualconference in Blackpool, added: “It isgood to be back with my companyStagecoach, who have done all theycould to help me through this difficultperiod.

“And it is good to have my union, theTransport and General Workers,alongside me and my family as theyhave been all the way through ourordeal.

“As we stand together in silence let ussend our message to the terrorists – youwill not defeat us and you will not breakus.”

Thousands of people attended a vigilin London’s Trafalgar Square toremember the bombing victims andthank emergency crews for their efforts.Mayor of London Ken Livingstone saidemergency services had been “magnifi-cent” and he praised Londoners’ “calmand courage”.

Exactly two weeks after the 7/7blasts, four further attemptedbombings hit the capital on July 21.

Three underground trains andone bus were again targeted,although thankfully none of thedevices exploded. Failed deviceswere found on trains at Oval andWarren Street stations, and on theHammersmith and City line atShepherd’s Bush.

Stagecoach driver MarkMaybanks (38) was driving his No26 double-decker bus on a routefrom Waterloo to Hackney when itwas involved in an incident in eastLondon. While no-one was injuredand there was only minor damageto the bus, the outcome could havebeen devastating if the device lefton the vehicle had exploded.

After the incident, Mark said: “Itwas a really frightening experience.My family were just pleased to getme back home in one piece. I need

some time, but I definitely want toget back to work. “

Mark, who has worked withStagecoach for 18 months, said thatat the time of the incident hisimmediate concern was for passen-gers on the bus.

He said: “I’m very thankful that Igot everyone off the bus successful-ly. That was my overriding priority.I just did what I thought needed tobe done.

“Whatever they do, we are goingto be back driving our buses. Theyare not going to beat us. We have abrilliant public transport system andthe general public should keep onusing it.

“We are going to carry on doingwhat we are doing. It doesn’t matterhow many times the terrorists try toknock us down, we will get back upagain. We will be even stronger.They won’t intimidate us and theywon’t beat us.”

Unbowed as bombersattempt second strike

“Everyone atStagecoach is

deeply saddenedand shocked by

the tragicevents and ourthoughts are

very much withthe victims andtheir families”

Brian SouterChief Executive

Stagecoach Group

Women comfort each other next to flowers laid inmemory of victims of the bombings as two-minutes’ silence is observed in central London.(Picture: Reuters/Russell Boyce.)

Autumn 200510

Brave drivers backbehind the wheelDuo’s defiant pledge: ‘We won’t be bombed out of our buses’

Two months after thebombings that shook

London, braveStagecoach driversGeorge Psaradakis andMark Maybanks wereback at work full time.

What made their response evenmore courageous was their decisionto face up to their fears and driveon the routes that had witnessed theterrifying attacks.

George admitted it was “a bitdaunting” to go back behind thewheel after the bombing and hesaid it was “poignant” when hepassed the site of the devastatingexplosion.

But he added: “I feel ready to goout there and serve our gloriousheroic and beautiful capital. Despite

the horrendous incident of 7/7,London is safe to live in, to work inand to visit, so I invite all those nicepeople from overseas andelsewhere to visit our great capitaland test our cosmopolitan hospital-ity, which is second to none.”

George, a father-of-three, said: “Ithank God for helping me come outof that bomb-struck bus alive.

“I am deeply sorry for some ofmy passengers who were not sofortunate when they travelled onthat fateful and macabre journey onJuly 7.”

Colleague Mark said he waspleased to be back at work andmade a defiant statement againstthe terrorist threat: “We shan’t bebombed out of our buses. It isgoing to take a lot more than that tostop the bus drivers of Londonworking.”

He said he had been “apprehen-sive” before returning to work. “Butthen again, it needed to be done.As I drove past the point of theincident I had a look around andrealised I was still in one piece, andI just carried on. After that every-thing just flooded into place.”

George, who had only recentlyreturned to work following a heartattack when the terrorists struck,said that one day he would love tomeet the passengers who survived.

“I would really be pleased,because each passenger that stepsinto my bus is under my care and itdevelops some kind of affinitybetween me and them,” he said.“They seem kind of my relatives, sowhat happened to them deeply hurtme.”

George said as time went by thedeep hurt he felt the instant thebomb tore apart his bus might fade.

However, he added: “Thatdreadful moment will stay foreverin my mind and heart. It was acarnage and it has deeply affectedme.”

Both drivers – who were visitedrecently by Brian Souter whopraised their courage – said theyhad wanted to drive the sameroutes to face their fears. “I wantedto drive the No 30 because I believethe place you fear you have toconquer by going there,” saidGeorge.

Mark added: “Stagecoach saidwe don’t have to drive these routes,but we have said no, we will goback to the same routes because weare not scared to do them. If youdon’t face your fears they willdefeat you.”

Eddie McDermott, regionalsecretary of the Transport andGeneral Workers Union for Londonand the South East, praised both

drivers. He said: “They are crackingexamples to Londoners, to the unionand to the company. It is very, verydifficult to imagine what they wentthrough, particularly George whenhis bus was blown up behind him,and Mark when he found that deviceon his bus.

“I can’t begin to imagine whatgoes through your mind but theyhave demonstrated, with the supportof Stagecoach and the T&G, they aredetermined to come back to workand do the job for Londoners andthe travelling public and all credit to

them.”Stagecoach has provided coun-

selling for both drivers and RayWhite, Operations Manager at theStratford depot, said the men weremodel employees:

“You look at George now, andthat is George all the time – smartlydressed and very, very polite inwhatever he says. If I could clonehim and have 552 of him it would begood. Mark’s situation was differentto George’s but he is a very niceperson and they are both very goodemployees.”Driver George Psaradakis returns to the No 30 route. (Picture: EMPICS.)

Back behind the wheel: driver Mark Maybanks. (Picture: EMPICS.)

“That dreadfulmoment will

stay forever inmy mind and

heart”George Psaradakis

Autumn 2005 11

South West Trains hascome up trumps again at

the prestigious National RailAwards 2005.

The company won four awardsincluding the coveted PassengerOperator of the Year honour.

The past year has seen the success-full launch of a completely newtimetable, the introduction of a £1 billionfleet of new Desiro trains and the trans-formation of performance for passen-gers.

The awards panel judged that thetrain operator was difficult to fault andthe Passenger Operator of the Yearaward reflected a well-run businessfrom top to bottom.

South West Trains also won Projectof the Year for the massive recast of the40-year-old timetable in December 2004.Judges described it as a smooth transi-tion and a credit to all resulting in per-formance breaking the 90% barrier on aregular basis.

In partnership with British TransportPolice (BTP), South West Trains alsowon The Sir Robert Horton SafetyAward for the second year runningfollowing a 20% drop in crime acrossthe network. Two evidence gatherershave been introduced on the network toobtain images from CCTV cameras thatcan be used in court to prosecuteoffenders.

Winchester Station took the honoursin the Medium Station of the Year, withstaff recognised as highly motivated andefficient. Large car parks, a ticket halland catering outlet on each platformand plenty of platform seats, flower pots

Just days after being named PassengerOperator of the Year at the National RailAwards 2005, the company was accred-ited with Investors in People status

South West Trains has made a hugeinvestment in its employees to ensurethey have the right skills, knowledge,experience and behaviour to provide afirst-class service to passengers.

Its Centre Stage campaign, which hasinvolved all customer serviceemployees, encourages staff to betterunderstand and meet passengers’ needs.

Graham Eccles, South West Trains’Chairman and Managing Director, said:“With all our employees, we recruit forattitude, train them to the higheststandards and develop them for life.”

Awards panel praisesone smooth operator

Floodlights focus onmidnight footballersAn innovative scheme designed tohelp young people avoid the dangersof being drawn into anti-socialbehaviour has been backed byStagecoach.

Dunfermline Athletic’s MidnightLeague offers 16 to 18 year-olds thechance to play football at East EndPark stadium between 10pm andmidnight.

Research by SPL clubs has shownthat teenagers taking part are less likelyto offend and crime levels during theleague games have been reduced.

And Stagecoach has agreed tosponsor the initiative, which also hasthe backing of Fife Constabulary, forthe 2005-06 season.

Dunfermline Athletic manager JimLeishman said it was vital that newpartners came onboard so the clubcould extend its programmes andfurther benefit the local community.

He explained Stagecoach’s backingmeant the Midnight League could bedeveloped further alongside policeand social services.

Steven Stewart, Stagecoach Group’sHead of Media and Public Affairs, said:“Stagecoach has a strong track recordof supporting young people, and wehope our backing for the MidnightLeague will help local youngstersachieve their best. As well as staying fitand out of trouble, sport is a great wayto learn important skills that can helpthem achieve success in life.”

PC Steven Miller, from Fife PoliceCommunity Team, added: “We’redelighted that Dunfermline Athleticand Stagecoach are working togetherin this project and local officers willcontinue to provide support.”

The Midnight League started inSeptember and around 60 youngsterswill benefit from each session.

Kick-off, from left, Steve Stewart, Jim Leishman and PC Steven Miller.

and hanging baskets adorning thestation, complete the picture for visitors.Yeovil Junction was highly commendedin the same category for its all-roundservice.

Richmond and Southampton Centralstations were also highly commended inthe category for Large Station of theYear, with Godalming receiving thesame accolade for the Small Station ofthe Year.

And South West Trains scoopedanother award at the first-ever NationalCommunity Rail Awards for BestHeritage/Conservation Scheme, inrecognition of the Lymington LineHeritage Project.

This includes the running of twospecially refurbished slam door trains,refurbishment of stations along theroute, including unique station signage,and the longer term aim of securing thefuture of the line following the StrategicRail Authority’s proposal to designate itas a Community Rail Partnership (CRP)route.

Although the route is designated as aheritage line, future opportunities arealready being explored, including inves-tigating the feasibility of a new stationon the line to serve Lymington Hospitalwhen it opens in 2006.

But success didn’t stop there as IanFaletto, Station Master Sway, was highlycommended in the Outstanding RailwayStaff Contribution and Yeovil Stationwas also highly commended in the BestStation Buffet category.

by Simone Spinks

Pupils from Bedwas Infants and Junior Schoolstriumphed in Stagecoach’s My Caerphilly compe-tition, run in association with a local newspaper.

Six primary schools based along Stagecoach’sjustgo… routes to Graig y Rhacca andSenghenydd sent in more than 250 drawings,photographs and poems depicting and describ-ing why Caerphilly is so special for their pupils.

Entries were divided into two age categories– 4-7 year olds and 8-11 year olds – and 15 wereshort-listed. A panel of judges, including ValleysRadio DJ Steve Powell and Caerphilly RugbyClub’s Ian Carter, then chose the grand-finalwinners.

Carys Wegener (6) from Bedwas Infants wonthe 4-7 age category with a colourful drawing ofCaerphilly castle. Carys wrote that the castle andCaerphilly were the best places in the world.

The quality was so high in the 8-11 agecategory that two grand prize-winners were

Justgo... and be inspiredselected – Bedwas Junior pupils Jack Greig(10) and Adrienne Williams (8).

Jack produced a collage of all the placesand things that made Caerphilly special tohim, including the town centre and castle.

Adrienne wrote a poem about herfavourite things to do in Caerphilly, such aseating candyfloss at the Big Cheese festival!

The grand prizewinners each received£100 plus an all expenses trip for four peopleto London by megabus.com.

A dozen other children who made it on tothe shortlist each won £25.

The six participating schools earned £100of equipment from Stagecoach for entering,but this rose to £500 for Bedwas Infants and

Bedwas Juniors as the grand final winners arepupils at those schools.

Managing Director of Stagecoach WalesJohn Gould said: “The number and quality ofthe entries exceeded our expectations and itwas incredibly difficult to chose a shortlist, letalone the grand final winners.

“In fact, the children are so talented thatwe have decided to display every entry on ajustgo… bus in the autumn.”

The Stagecoach competition brought out the best of the pupils’artistic talents.

Clean start on the open road Former Nuneaton depot cleaners JoeWilson and Jamie Bateman areswapping brushes and dusters forrunning cards and ticket machines.

The pair are training as busdrivers under Stagecoach inWarwickshire’s current recruitmentdrive for its Nuneaton operation.

Around 12 people are currentlyeither on the training bus, goingthrough induction or awaiting a pro-visional licence, and many more areat the interview stage.

Nuneaton’s increased require-ment for service vehicle driversfollows the success of themegabus.com operation, which isrun from the depot.

Operations Manager Joe Daviessaid: “The number of applicants wehave in the system is very healthyand the fact that two of our cleanersand shunters want to become driversis a positive step forward.

“In my experience cleanerschanging to drivers doesn’t happenvery often, but we are happy to helpthese two progress theircareers. They have both beenoffered driving jobs.”

Joe (50) has been a cleanershunter at Nuneaton since January2003 and Jamie (25) exactly a yearlonger. In his current job Jamieworks every night, includingSaturday.

He said: “At the moment I onlydrive around the garage, but I enjoyit and am looking forward to goingon the road. I’ll also be able to seemore of my wife, Claire, anddaughter Ellie Jane, who is nearlyfour.”

Stagecoach Nuneaton hasreplacements for the two cleanershunters in their engineering depart-ment.

South West Trains leaves everyone else in its tracks

Staff take centre stage

Jamie Bateman.

Autumn 200512

Golf enthusiasts had aneasy route to The Open

thanks to a uniqueservice organised byStagecoach in Fife and itspartners.

As fans rushed to see TigerWoods and other golfing stars onthe fairways, the Golflink servicehelped them get there on time andhassle-free.

The service, organised by FifeCouncil, Fife Constabulary and theBritish Transport Police, in conjunc-tion with First ScotRail, GNER,Virgin Trains and Stagecoach,offered an integrated ticket thatallowed visitors to board a trainanywhere in Scotland and travel toa nearby station.

A fleet of Stagecoach buses thentook the fans to the heart of theaction at the Old Course in StAndrews.

Throughout the four days,almost 30,000 customers tookadvantage of the Golflink service,with another 16,500 using the Parkand Ride facility.

Stagecoach in Fife operated 52vehicles, with 63 drivers and sup-porting staff taking part in theventure.

Operations Director DougFleming said: “A tremendousamount of hard work and effort hasgone into this event and thispositive outcome is certainly acredit to the company.

Stagecoach South has appointedSteve Pannell to the role of DriverNVQ Assessor for Hampshire.

Before his promotion, Steve, whojoined the company in 1987, was atravel sales clerk, a driver and a con-troller.

Based in Winchester, he willencourage and assess drivers whotake their NVQ Level 2 forTransporting Passengers by Road.The NVQ is a bus industry recognisedqualification, which builds on driving

skills through theory, practicaltraining and assessments.

Steve said: “The number of driversvolunteering for the part-time NVQcourse, which takes an average of sixmonths to complete, is increasing.

“We now expect more than 30drivers based at depots in Andover,Aldershot, Basingstoke andWinchester to gain their NVQ thisyear.”

Promotion for Steve Pannell.

People power has helped shape thenew face of the South West Trainswebsite, which is now even easier touse.

An online survey was carried outand more than 1,700 people putforward their views on what theyliked and disliked about the existingsite.

The original site attracted nearly13 million hits and 105,000 unique

visitors a year, so the need for easyaccess to comprehensive travel infor-mation was becoming more apparentto South West Trains.

Tests were carried out once amock website had been created andthe findings were considered in thefinal design. The Royal NationalInstitute for the Blind was alsoinvolved to ensure the developmentof an accessible website, which

meant including adjustable font sizingfor different users’ needs.

The updated site features a rangeof new features and informationincluding more information aboutticket types, advice on buying theticket that is best suited to yourjourney and real time train runninginformation including LondonUnderground service information.

Peter Owen, South West Trains’

Head of Marketing, said: “This hasbeen a huge project and has takensome time as we really wanted tooffer the best website possible. Thefast-paced world in which we livemakes it important that we offer astraightforward website giving peoplethe information they need at their fin-gertips, such as train running infor-mation, buying tickets and looking atplaces to visit across our network.”

It’s the perfect drivefor fans at the Open

by Lisa Henry

“Spirits were high amongst thestaff and I think all involved had areally enjoyable four days.”

Fife Council’s Transport &

Environment spokesperson,Councillor Jim Philp, added: “Thishas been an example of partnershipworking at its best. All the agenciesinvolved pulled together to delivera seamless, integrated service,which was well received by visitors

Inside the village: Stagecoach buses line up to take people back to Leuchars station.

Fast track: Police escorted convoy travelling on the ‘wrong’ side of road!

Surfers lay a fast track to website success

Steve takes on new role

Hartlepoolbids a fondfarewellAfter more than 20 years’ loyalservice with Stagecoach NorthEast at the Hartlepool depot,Operations Manager Peter Clarkretired at the end of September.

Peter, who had been in thebus industry for 47 years, isgreatly admired for his profes-sionalism, commitment andknowledge of the Hartlepoolnetwork as well as its history.

His greatest achievement wasoverseeing the vast improvementin the Hartlepool fleet in recentyears.

Indeed, Peter jokes that busenthusiasts used to travel toHartlepool from all over thecountry to view the archaic fleetin action. Now, with more than athird of the Hartlepool fleetbeing low floor, the depot hasdefinitely shed its old-fashionedimage!

Peter is a popular characterwho will be sadly missedthroughout the whole ofStagecoach North East, andeveryone wishes him a verylong, happy and healthy retire-ment.

Paul Livesey, who was previ-ously Assistant OperationsManager at the Stockton Depot,has the unenviable task offollowing Peter as HartlepoolOperations Manager.

“We welcome Paul to his newhome and wish him everysuccess in his new role,” saidStagecoach North East MarketingManager Kate Williams.

Partnership approach opens up the Old Course to thousands

Study timeat the B&B

Driver Mark Stott capitalised onhis spare time during a loan spellin Leamington by studying for anNVQ in his B&B.

And within 10 weeks he hadpassed and decided to transferpermanently to the Stagecoach inWarwickshire depot as part ofthe driving team.

Former groundsman Mark,who began his Stagecoach careerin Torquay three years ago, said:“It was a big decision to leaveTorquay, but I have been madeto feel so very welcome inLeamington.

“It’s a friendly depot, whichhas a close-knit group of drivers,so I have already made a lot offriends.”

to The Open.”Highlights from the event

included convoys of Stagecoachbuses, with police escort, travellingalong the wrong side of the road,proving that it really was the bestway to travel to the event!

Mark Stott.

Autumn 2005 13

Like most towns of its size,Nuneaton has its fair

share of famous peoplepast and present.

Residents were recently invited tocome up with big names for three ofStagecoach in Warwickshire’s NetworkNuneaton Solo buses, in recognition ofpeople who have served the town.

And after weeks of waiting, thenew bus names have been decided.Larry Grayson, Dagwood and GeorgeEliot were chosen after hundreds oflocal entrants cited the celebrity trio astheir favourites.

Operations Manager Joe Daviessaid: “We would like to thankeveryone who took part in the compe-tition. We have had a fantasticresponse and are very pleased with thenames chosen by the Nuneatonpublic.”

All three are local heroes, withLarry Grayson being best rememberedfor hosting The Generation Game and,of course, for his memorable catch-phrase ‘shut that door!’

In an ironic twist Dagwood, one ofthe other names chosen, was oncenamed as one of Larry Grayson’s mainreasons for entering showbusiness.Dagwood was a favourite on thecomedy circuit and was well known inNuneaton for wearing a flat cap in allweathers.

Finally George Eliot, the male penname of Mary Ann Evans who wasborn in Astley near Nuneaton in 1857,was the literary genius who pennedsuch works as Middlemarch and SilasMarner. She has become one ofBritain’s best-known authors and is stillstudied throughout the world today.

The winners each received a year’sfree bus pass on Stagecoach buses inNuneaton.

Name-droppingNuneaton buses!

Newcastle Walkergate driverTony Gibbons was named PublicTransport Employee of the Yearat the Evening Chronicle 2005Awards.

He was nominated by theHadrian’s Wall TourismPartnership for his outstandingcommitment and customerservice skills on the AD122service.

After beating two otherfinalists, Tony received a glasspaperweight, an inscribed glassmemento and a generouscheque.

And as an extra bonus,Stagecoach paid for a weekendaway for him and his family.

Tony worked in the busindustry for some time before hejoined Busways in October 1993.He has worked on the AD122service since its inception andalso works on megabus.com.

Tony (centre) displays his prizes withPersonnel Officer Michelle Pike andMalcolm Bell, newly-appointed OperationsManager of the Slatyford Depot.

One small step for mankind…one giant leap for the environ-ment.

By slashing the distancecouncil employees in EastDevon have to walk to workfrom the bus stop, StagecoachSouth West hopes to entice morepeople to use public transport.

The move means buses nowstop right outside the gates ofEast Devon District Council’smain offices at Knowle inSidmouth.

The new arrangement shouldalso benefit customers visitingthe council offices.

Those who live on the 157route – at Exmouth, BudleighSalterton, Otterton and NewtonPoppleford – are now urged totake advantage and travel by buswherever possible.

A stash of tasty treats dating back around 45 years has beenunearthed in a store cupboard at Folkestone Bus Station.

Operations Manager Sam Wigley and her team discov-ered more than 100 tins, jars and cartons of sweets duringa clean-up operation. Many items were in very goodcondition and some remained unopened with the sweetsstill inside.

It is believed the sweets were left behind by employeesof the former shop at the bus station, which celebrated its50th anniversary in March. As well as brands that are stillpopular today, such as Quality Street, Marshmallows,Lucozade, and Cadbury’s Roses, there were also bygonefavourites including Dulcet Pastille Fruits and Jelly Fish,

Pascal Fruit Bon Bons, Lyon’s Double Hit and variousbrands from Bellamys the confectioners. All had pricetickets attached showing pounds, shillings and pence.

Sam said: “We were astonished that so much of the stockwas still complete with contents inside. It was also wellpreserved considering the sweets were well past their sellby dates!”

Keen to ensure the discovery can bring back sweetmemories to the public for years to come, Sam contactedYesterday’s World in Battle and offered the stock to studyand display in return for a donation to Stagecoach’s fund-raising for the Sittingbourne-based Demelza House Hospicefor Children.

Staff’s sweet blast from the past

Driver George Glen hasretired from Stagecoach inFife after a career spanning43 years – not bad forsomeone who was onlyplanning to stay for acouple of months!

He was based theAberhill depot for threedecades, from where hedrove special hires andtours all over the UK. Hereturned to shift work threeyears ago.

George said: “I onlyjoined the company at itsAnstruther depot in 1962

for a summer job.” He wasborn and raised in nearbyColinsburgh, where he andhis wife have lived for 12years. A party was heldrecently in village forGeorge and many friends,family and colleagues,including OperationsManager Bill Renton, turnedout to congratulate him onhis retirement.

Party time: George Glen celebrateshis retirement with friends, familyand colleagues. (Photograph: Bill Hill, Pittenweem.)

George’s 43-year‘temporary’ job

Serviceand skill sees Tony at the top

Cateringfor thecouncil

Sweet memories! Sam Wigley examines some of the items with Lindsay Atfield from Yesterday’s World.

by Adam Rideout

Autumn 200514

The bus depot in Dover played host tosome special guests recently whenpupils, teachers and helpers from StEanswythe’s primary in Folkestonecame visiting.

The day started with a ride on aspecial double-decker bus to theStagecoach South depot. On arrival,everyone was issued with hard hatsand high visibility jackets before beinggiven a guided tour of the workshopby Bob Taylor and Harry Reid from theengineering team.

On their tour, the children sawengines being serviced and also refur-bishment work to repair damagecaused by wear and tear andvandalism.

By pressing a button, they couldraise and lower a coach placed onhydraulic jacks and were also allowedunder a double-decker bus byclimbing into one of the inspectionpits. Before they went back to theschool, they saw the giant bus wash inaction.

“We actively encourage schools tosee behind the scenes as, unlike gen-erations before them, many of thechildren rarely travel by bus,” said BobTaylor. “We receive lots of thank youletters so we know that they reallyenjoy the visit.”

Pit inspection: Bob Taylor gives the pupils amechanic’s eye view.

Not content with devel-oping the fastest

growing Welsh townnetwork in Cwmbran,Stagecoach has launchednew low-floor enhancedservices in three other keytowns and re-branded itscoach hire company.

Five new Optare Solos werelaunched in Caerphilly thissummer on town services C, D, E,F and G, which complements the16 SLF Darts first introduced inNovember 2004. Now, low-floorvehicles operate on every one ofour town services in Caerphilly.

In August, Merthyr MayorCouncillor Jeff Edwards andCouncillor Brendan Toomey offi-ciated at Stagecoach’s launch of14 low-floor buses on fiveMerthyr Tydfil town services.

These are the first new busesin the town for around a decadeand the vehicles, as well as theenhanced timetables, havealready gone down well with pas-sengers.

Leading Labour MP Ann Clwydjoined Stagecoach South WalesManaging Director John Gouldlast month to launch 14 newOptare Solos in Aberdare.

She said: “I’m always keen tosee bus services improve in the

Wales takes to the buswith £1.5m investment

by Anthony Evans

Cynon Valley and am thereforedelighted that Stagecoach has madethis £1.5m investment in our localbus services.”

More than half of the Aberdarefleet is now brand new, withenhanced services operating fromGlynhafod, Aberaman andCwmaman via Aberdare towncentre to Rhigos, Penderyn andMerthyr.

All the new buses have beenbranded go2…. an offshoot of thejustgo… branding introduced forthe Caerphilly kick-start. Thebranding is similar but notidentical to reflect the ease ofaccess and variety in route fre-quencies.

John Gould said: “We’redelighted to be making one of thebiggest investments ever in publictransport in South Wales. Webelieve that the combination ofnew low-floor vehicles alongsideenhanced timetables will make bustravel an attractive and viable alter-native to the car and look forward

to welcoming many more peopleonto our new low-floor services.”

Finally, the first coaches dis-playing the new brand name anddistinctive livery for Phil Anslow’sformer fleet of coaches are alsonow in operation. In a clearreference to Stagecoach’s localheritage, the day trip and coachhire company – acquired late lastyear and based in Pontypool – isnow called Red & White Coaches.

If you have been involved with acommunity project then we’d like tohear about it.

Your On Stage contact is listed on p2.

A taleto tell?

Double-decker delight as pupils take a tourStepping downfrom the cabStagecoach West Scotland DriverJohn Payne retired from Dumfriesdepot in August.

John joined Stagecoach fromWhitestar and operated localservices in Dumfries. He workedfor various companies in Englandbefore coming north.

Eric Johnston, Dumfries Depot, John andhis wife Pauline and Hugh Fowler,Dumfries Operations Manager.

Instructortakes on newtraining postJohn Ellis, a driving instructor atStagecoach South, has taken on anew role after being promoted to thespecially created post of new drivertraining trainer.

John, who will be based at thedepot in his hometown of Worthing,joined Stagecoach as a trainee driverin 2000 and became a DrivingInstructor in 2003.

The new driver trainingprogramme has been introduced toprovide those who pass their PCVlicence with more advanced trainingbefore they join their more experi-enced colleagues on the road.Customer service, health and safety,disability awareness and dealing withdifficult situations are just some of thesubjects within the training syllabus.

John said: “I still remember clearlythe start of my on route driving aftermy basic PCV training. There is somuch more to being a bus driver thanthe actual physical driving of thevehicle. The driver trainingprogramme will help our new driversface the daily challenges and enjoytheir new vocation thanks to the extraconfidence training provides.”

The Worthing depot already has ateam of 118 drivers to keep the fleetof 50 single and double-deckervehicles moving. An average of sevendrivers each week are expected toattend the new training as Stagecoachcontinues its driver recruitmentprogramme. John will also beinvolved with the assessment ofdrivers who take their NVQ Level 2for Transporting Passengers by Road,issued by the Qualifications andCurriculum Authority.

Driving instructor John Ellis.

Labour MP Ann Clwyd with John Gould at the launch.

The distinctive livery of the Red & White Coaches.

Autumn 2005 15

Marie drivesthe NVQsforwardFormer full-time bus driver MarieWilson is now steering a newcourse…down the NVQ route.

Marie has worked forStagecoach in Warwickshiresince 1998 and is one of onlytwo NVQ internal verifiers forthe company’s Leamington,Nuneaton and Rugby depots.

With her NVQ Levels 3 and 4under her belt, she has been anNVQ assessor for three years andis now an internal verifier with amore demanding role in theStagecoach NVQ department.

Based in Rugby, she is partic-ularly proud of her depot’sachievement as its current NVQpass rate is between 65%-70%.

She also praised Leamingtonand Nuneaton which havesimilarly achieved the 60% NVQpass rate – the target that has tobe reached by the end of theyear.

Any new Stagecoach inWarwickshire trainee is automat-ically put through the NVQsystem.

Marie (39) said: “It’s now aprofession where long term it isnecessary to have a qualificationsuch as an NVQ in passengertransport. I am now qualified tocheck assessors as well as candi-dates.”

Marie still keeps her hand inat driving – during school termsshe does a run in the morningand then carries out her NVQassessor duties in the afternoon.

Marie Wilson

Stagecoach Bedford Cricket Clubhas won the Bedford MidweekLeague fourth division title forthe first time.

A special mention goes toSyed Safdar, who scored theclub’s first century since 1982,recording a magnificent 140 runsagainst village team MiltonBryan.

The Bedford side includes

Peter Hardwick, Chris Hardwick,Tony Panter, Cliff Dixon(captain), Bal Momi, PaulSampson, Ashfaq Shah, AlanFarley, Farook Younis, ManazarShah, Syed Safdar and Bob Auty.

Any Stagecoach depot thatwould like to organise a friendlymatch next season should contactBob Auty, Club Secretary, on01933 418054 or 07970 984935.

Century adds to cricket club’s success

The UK’s top three first-yearapprentices in the UK shone atthe Stagecoach UK BusApprentice of the Year Awards inManchester.

Open to those who attend S &B Training Ltd, the event provedespecially memorable for overallwinner Mark Larnach (StagecoachBluebird), Nathan Stafford(Stagecoach East Kent andHastings), who took secondplace, and Glenn Etherington

(Stagecoach Devon) who wasthird.

Les Warneford, ManagingDirector, presented trophies andprizes before the 85 guestsenjoyed dinner accompanied bysamba drumming.

Representatives from S & BTraining Ltd, Go Skills and theLearning and Skills Council alsoattended and commented on thecalibre of the apprentices theyencountered during the evening.

UK Bus apprentices shine

North East

Congratulations to the followingStagecoach people who have beenrecognised for their long service tothe company:

Busways: 25 years’ service –Peter Allan, driver, LeroyCarrington, driver and ColinGarnder, engineering, allWalkergate; Diane Hunter, trafficadmin, Stephen Johnson, driver andWilliam Gordon Palmer, driver, allSunderland.30 years’ service – John Blaylock,driver, Ronald Watson, driver, DavidWright, engineering and StephenHumble, engineering, all Slatyford;George Flood, driving instructorand Ernest Rutherford, driver, bothSouth Shields; Munir Khalid, driver,and Raymond Martin, engineering,both Walkergate; Colin Potter,driver, Sunderland; Kenneth Potts,

Long service awards

traffic admin, head office. 35 years’ service – AnthonyCassidy, head office; Brian CollisonDriver, Slatyford; David Maxwell,driver, Walkergate; MichealStanbridge, driver, Sunderland.

40 years Joseph McBeth, driver,Slatyford.Retirees: 35 years’ service –Mohammad Ibrahim, driver,Walkergate. 40 years’ service – Michael

Photo of Transit recipients at awards presentation on 23 June 2005, Crathorne Hall Hotel, Yarm.

Stagecoach West

A total of 21 employees fromCheltenham, Gloucester, Ross, Stroudand Swindon depots were recentlyinvited to a Long Service AwardsEvening, attended by Bob Montgomery,Ian Manning and other members of theStagecoach West management team.

The longest serving recipient on thenight was Clive Norman, who celebrat-ed 45 years loyalty to the bus industry.Clive joined as a conductor in 1961 andis currently the scheduler at GloucesterHead Office. Two other recipients –John Copeland of Gloucester and PhilToumine of Cheltenham – alsomanaged to clock up an impressive 40years service respectively.

Paterson, driver, Sunderland.41 years service – EdwardDavison, traffic inspector,Sunderland.Transit: 25 years’ service – JoyceAldridge, driver, Denis Bartaby,driver, Guy Bavage, driver,Catherine Lowrie, engineering andLizbeth Price, driver, all Stockton;Hamid Beheshti-Shirazi, driver,Clive Bowron, driver and LeonardKirkup, driver, all Darlington; AllenSladen, driver, Hartlepool.30 years’ service – John Bunn,driver, Robert Kinsella, retireddriver, Thomas Rusk, driver, andSantookh Singh, driver, all Stockton;Terence Burke and PeterHargreaves, both drivers fromHartlepool

Staff tributeto popularcolleagueColleagues at Stagecoach’sLeamington depot are mourningthe death of Delphin Campbell onlyeight weeks after he retired onhealth grounds.

Delphin had been a bus andcoach driver for more than 40years, including service with theformer Midland Red and latterlywith Stagecoach in Warwickshire.

Assistant Manager Surj Bhullarsaid colleagues were stunned byDelphin’s death in WalsgraveHospital, Coventry.

Surj said: “Driving was his lifeand he was so well known inWarwickshire. Delphin was a veryhappy character with an infectiouslaugh and was extremely popularwith his colleagues. The entiredepot will miss him and histrademark black cap.”

Next stop…the altarCongratulations go to CheltenhamOperations Manager Sarah Allmanand Stagecoach West’s CommercialManager Rupert Cox, who recentlyannounced their engagement.

The happy couple hope to tiethe knot in summer 2006.

Autumn 200516

Children on a remotetropical island will

soon be going to schoolin style after StagecoachNZ sent two of theretired Mercedes Benz0305 city buses to Fiji’sRabi Island.

The ‘Three Pointed Star’ buses,which have been an icon onAuckland’s streets since the early1970s, saw their final day of dutyin July.

The last of the buses to retirefrom scheduled service was giftedto Auckland’s Museum ofTransport and Technology byStagecoach NZ and sits with otherfine examples of the city’stransport history.

The Mercedes set a newstandard with automatic transmis-sion, power steering, low floor,wide doors and air suspension.

George Simon, who drove thebus on its final route, began hisbus-driving career in 1973 just asthe first of 300 brand new 0305buses arrived.

He said: “It will be sad to see

On a wing and a prayer…

Long-serving busesretire to the sun!

Off-loading Suva, Fiji. Where is the tropicalsunshine?

Daring Stagecoach colleagues threwcaution to the wind recently bytaking part in a charity tandemparachute jump 12,000 feet aboveHeadcorn Airfield in Kent.

Operations Director PhilMedlicott (Chichester), MarketingAssistant Stacey Hall (Canterbury)and Ashford-based driver ChrisGawler – all ‘virgin’ parachutists –were the only three out of 1,000employees in the south east to takeup the challenge. And their braveryearned them £1,000 for KentPeople’s Trust.

After training with their instruc-tors at Headcorn Parachute Club,they were fully prepared for the taskahead but were forced to wait anerve-wracking nine hours for theirjump because low clouds hamperedvisibility.

However, Phil added: “It waswell worth the wait! There is noother experience like it and I thinkits fair to say we would all like tohave another go in the future.”

Exhilirated! Stacey, Phil and Chris Gawlerafter their daring jump.

the old girl go. If I had the choiceI’d drive this bus every day as it wasa great vehicle.”

Stagecoach NZ donated one ofthe two buses heading to Fiji, while

public donations bought the other.The buses were repainted, one

red and one blue, at the SwansonDepot workshop and suitablesignage was also applied.

The journey took them fromAuckland to Suva, where they werebarged to the island to replace theexisting bus, which is unreliable,

riddled with rust and frequentlybreaks down, leaving childrenfacing a two-hour walk to school.

Stagecoach NZ MarketingManager Russell Turnbull said:“They are good buses to send awayas they were made to last. I have nodoubt they will be well lookedafter.”

by Dennis Elliot

Swanson driver George Simon at the wheel of the last 0305 in service.

On the way to Rabi Island. Loading on to MVSouthern Moana, Port of Auckland.

Winners book a prize for Stagecoach’s anniversaryOn Stage has been snowed under with entries forour competition to win copies of a new bookproduced to mark 25 years of Stagecoach.

The hard-back book, written by transport jour-nalist Doug Jack, charts the history of the companyfrom its foundations in Perth in 1980 through tothe present day.

Full of glossy colour photography fromStagecoach’s bus and rail operations around theglobe, the book also features a foreword from co-founder and Group Chief Executive Brian Souter.

We had 20 copies of the book to give away andall you had to do was answer the followingquestion: In what city and year was Stagecoachfounded? The answer, of course, was Perth,Scotland, in 1980.

From the dozens of correct entries, the winnerswere: John Colwill, Urewa, New Zealand; Michael

Mason, Sudbury, Suffolk; Michelle Santry,Sewickley, Pensylvannia, United States; Peter Hill,Wellington, New Zealand; Karl Johnson, Porth,Wales; Alan Bowers, Twickenham, England; JohnGraham, Whitehaven, Cumbria; Haylee Morris,Carlisle, Cumbria; Charlie Campbell, Montrose,Scotland; Peter Medley, Exeter, England; AndrewOxley, Winchester, Hampshire; Shelagh Choppen,Newcastle, England; David Smith, Worksop,Nottinghamshire; John Bogle, Carlisle, England;Paul Barrett, Guildford, England; Mike Webster,Ontario, Canada; David Maher, Newcastle,England; John Abbott, Eastleigh, Hampshire; HughMcCreadie, Dumfries, Scotland; and Matt Birkin,Ryde, Isle of Wight, England.

Congratulations to our winners, who willreceive their books in the post in the next fewweeks.

A scent of occasionFor those who missed out, we have another competition to mark the company’s silveranniversary.

This time, we have 20 specially-produced scented candles to give away. The candles,embossed with a Stagecoach 25th anniversary logo, are enclosed in a presentation box.To win, just answer the following question:

How many people are employed by Stagecoach across the globe?

Is it:a) 20,000 b) 30,000 c) 40,000

Send your answers on a postcard to:The EditorOn Stage Stagecoach Group10 Dunkeld RoadPerthPH1 5TW

The closing date for entries is November 31, 2005, and the Editor’s decision isfinal. Good luck!

COMPETITION

Island tourproves a starattraction

The Arran Grand Island Tour hasincreased its VisitScotland TourGrading from three to four starsthanks to the high standards experi-enced by a tourism industry grader.

Stagecoach West Scotland hasbeen involved in the Visitor AttractionScheme for more than five years andis continually striving to improve itsArran Tours to offer the best experi-ence possible for visitors to theisland.

Key areas that led to the extra starinclude new eye-catching livery, aninformative promotional flyer and awarm welcome from the driver.

Late night treat forrevellersClubbers in Rugby will have accessto buses up to 3.30am as a pioneer-ing travel scheme gets under way thismonth.

Spearheaded by Stagecoach,town centre management, theborough council, police, pubs andclubs, the venture will see earlymorning bus times extended by twohours on certain routes for Fridayand Saturday revellers.

The first weekend will be free andthereafter a flat fare of £2 per bus ridewill apply.

Vehicles operating the late nightservice – a first for Rugby - will befitted with CCTV and driver screens.

One route will take people fromthe town centre to Woodlands,Hillmorton and Abbot’s Farm andanother route will serve Brownsoverand Bilton.