A force for good

The environment and how the bus industry can benefit it was the main theme at the 2019 ALBUM Conference in Cardiff. James Day reports

This year, the Association of Local Bus Company Managers (ALBUM) Conference returned to Wales for the first time in more than 10 years. Cardiff Bus hosted the event, with some support from Newport Transport, and gave it the tagline ‘The Bus as a Force for Good.’

The event was held at Cardiff City Hall, with a fleet of eight buses and minibuses arranged outside. The fleet consisted of Mellor’s Strata Ultra-bodied Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, an Optare Metrocity, an Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) Enviro400 alongside the ADL BYD Enviro200 electric demonstrator, two Mercedes-Benz Citaros (one in Cardiff Bus livery), an ADL Enviro400-bodied Scania biogas bus and an EVM Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

Dave Guest was the host for the conference, as he has been for the last decade.

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Ray Stenning
Director of Best Impressions

Ray Stenning of Best Impressions provided an entertaining talk where he highlighted a number of flaws in how some bus operators present themselves.

He began: “We think we are very level headed, but it is our heart that rules a lot of what we do. We respond emotionally to a lot of things.

“All the tech in the world won’t do everything. You have to have the touchy-feely side on your buses – something to emotionally respond to. Many cars are beautiful things, but they are not necessarily appropriate for 21st century cities. We love our cars too much – there is car dependency. As an industry, we have to fight it make sure that buses are what people are likely to choose.”

Ray’s presentation was very visual, displaying images of a number of issues he had identified with bus presentation. One such example was a bus advertising a car dealership, to which Ray noted: “I cannot understand why bus companies carry adverts for cars or car dealers. Instead, they should be selling the advantages of the places they can go.

“Using the bus should be an uplifting experience from beginning to end. If you make your timetable information at the bus stop easy on the eye, it makes people want to use it.”

Ray also displayed what he thought were good examples of presentation, such as Transdev’s 36 from Leeds to Harrogate, which he said is used by people who own cars partly because of the quality of the interior.

Another example from Transdev was the 152 Hotline route between Burnley and Preston, where the service was given a new name and a new look, with everything else staying the same. Ray claimed the route has since seen 10% growth.

Claire Haigh
CEO of Greener Journeys
A strong theme of the conference this year was the environment, and this could be immediately seen when Claire Haigh, CEO of Greener Journeys took to the stage.

She said: “Since 2010, we have seen the five warmest years on record. Climate change is becoming alarming, and the science is irrefutable.

“The International Panel on Climate Change warned us that we have 10 years to get on a safe trajectory to prevent global temperatures from increasing by more than two degrees.

“Since 1990, the UK has reduced emissions by 42%, but this has been achieved chiefly through reductions in the power sector. In the future, emission reductions will be much harder to achieve.

“The surface transport sector is now the biggest emitter, and buses are absolutely essential to reducing carbon emissions. They also deliver huge wider benefits to society at large.

“Not only is modal shift from the car to coach and bus a no-brainer, but low carbon buses have made huge progress. The highest penetration of low carbon vehicles can be seen in the bus sector.”

Claire said buses are leading the way to zero carbon emissions. “In 2018, 4.2% of vehicles in the bus sector had zero emissions at the tailpipe,” she said.

“Despite all the benefits of the bus, patronage does not look good. This is an extremely challenging time, and bus networks are suffering from a perfect storm. They face structural changes in the economy, increasing congestion, disruptive changes in online shopping, cuts to supported services and rising congestion for all sorts of reasons, not helped by the relatively low cost of motoring.

“The impacts are increased levels of social deprivation, increased damage to the economy and serious damage to the environment.
“We need a long-term investment strategy and bus revenue funding needs to be protected. We have to embrace demand management. Building new roads will not solve congestion. Instead, we must make better use of existing capacity.”

Claire concluded by saying the industry should capitalise on the current climate change campaign movement: “Politicians are falling over themselves to say the right things. There have been lots and lots of fine words, but of course those fine words need to be matched with delivery.

“To see just how serious our politicians are, look and see what happens to fuel duty in the next budget, which has been frozen since 2011. Making it cheaper to buy fuel is hardly incentivising people to reduce their carbon footprint. We need to hold our politicians to account.

“Meanwhile, buses really are walking the walk, and are fantastically clean.”

Cynthia Ogbonna
Managing Director of Cardiff Bus
Opening the conference, Cynthia Ogbonna said: “We are coming out of the shadow of other modes of transport.

“Since ALBUM was last here, there has been a transformation in the way that public transport is viewed in Wales. It’s not just that we now have a fully devolved national railway system in Wales, but what we’ve also seen is the passing of much wider legislation requiring effective public transport to see it implemented.

“It’s vital for linking communities together, especially neighbourhoods where we can make all the difference to citizens being able to access the essentials of life – including a job.”

Cynthia added: “Whilst the bus is a vital tool in the fight against climate change, we face many challenges before we can fully address that mission. Patronage is under pressure, as ever, from the private car and traditional private hire, but this is now amplified by disruptive technologies including ride-hailing apps and the propensity to travel for shopping and leisure is under pressure from online retail and stay-at-home leisure activities.

“The additional private hire and delivery vehicle journeys these lifestyle changes generate add to congestion, and congestion makes it harder for bus operators to maintain schedules, retain the loyalty of our customers and sustain the morale of our dedicated employees.

“We can guarantee to get our customers to their destinations but it is hard for us to operate totally reliable timetables – that must be our objective.”
On the subject of onboard technology, Cynthia noted: “We’ve introduced contactless payment and other innovative payment methods and we’ve deployed systems – such as social media and our mobile app – to improve access to reliable information. We want to work with all the technology suppliers here today to make the bus the most attractive form of transport.”

Cynthia described the approaching light rail metro system in Cardiff as ‘a wonderful development.’ She added: “Cardiff Bus actually started out as the operator of the old municipal tram system here which was closed decades ago, so we welcome and well understand the opportunities for our network being part of an integrated public transport system for our capital city in the future – yet the bus offers more sustainable travel right now.

“Our industry truly is a force for good.”

Catriona Henderson
Head of Buses and Taxis at the Department for Transport
Catriona’s talk discussed progress on the Bus Services Bill. She explained: “There’s still some work to be done in delivering the Bus Services Act, but there have been a lot of calls for a new buses strategy. We’re awaiting the Transport Select Committee report with interest.

“Where the strategy would be important and build on the work in the Bus Services Act is defining the roles of the different players in this field. We all have the same objective, which is to help people get from A to B in the best possible way. Sometimes, because there are so many players it can be a bit confusing.”

Concerning the role of central government, Catriona said she thinks its role going forward will be about supporting local authorities and operators to do what they do best, while driving up national minimum standards. There are good examples within ALBUM of people setting the way.

“I’m also conscious there are operators for whom margins are tight and I’m talking about adding cost, which creates a challenge, and change is hard. We need to strike a balance.

“There is quite a lot of scope for local authorities to start thinking about enhanced partnerships and franchising. Our view is it is about giving local authorities choice. It’s not about a particular agenda of what we want to see.

“Operators – think about what you want out of an enhanced partnership. It’s a deal between both sides. Even if local authorities want to do something, it becomes much easier for them to make the case for that funding if it’s a legally-binding commitment.”

Ben Wakerley from Warrington’s Own Buses asked why it was that buses have been included in clean air zones (CAZ), and whether it represented a failure to lobby from the bus industry.

Catriona responded: “I think it was an evidence problem. The decision on the CAZ framework was drafted in mid-2017, and some of the compelling, clear narrative on buses and their environmental impact is more something that has been coming up the agenda in 2018. I think it’s an issue with timing. It was also because Euro VI was quite new at the time, and also partially a political decision if I’m honest.”

John Clarfelt
Ticketer CEO

John Clarfelt began by stating that the industry needs to ‘just go and smash it.’

“So much of what the bus industry does is environmentally friendly, but I don’t think we make enough of it,” he said. “Are we fighting enough in the bus industry to push that view, and should we be selling our industry, instead of the services we provide?”

Throughout his presentation, John highlighted some comments from a Times article on buses, the majority of which were very negative. One such comment argued there are too many half-empty polluting buses, why not just sit in the car?

John said bus usage needs to be optimised: “What we want is the right vehicle on the round with a fairly high capacity. We have more knowledge than we’ve ever had in the past, thanks to real-time information. Lets squeeze the data and make use of it. I feel we’re not making enough of all the knowledge we have. If this comment is right, it’s a highly inefficient way of running buses.

“We should be flexible as to pricing and capacity. Operational flexibility, knowledge and economy is the difference between success and failure.”

Considering how the bus compares to ride-hailing apps, John said: “I personally think we are well ahead when it comes to ticketing technology. We can already pay in multiple ways, but as we move on to account-based ticketing, customers benefit from fare capping.

“For me, there is nothing more annoying that buying an all day ticket, seeing a competitor bus and not being able to use my ticket on it. It makes no sense to me. We have to have more cooperation between the buses. A passenger at a bus stop wants to catch the next bus that’s going their way. We need to get some sort of interoperability in play.

“The more cost-effective, efficient and regular you make it, the more passengers you will get. I feel at the moment, we’re pricing ourselves out.”

Anthony Smith
CEO of Transport Focus

Opening the second conference day, Anthony Smith began: “We’re a consumer organisation and from our point of view, if the bus is not the best choice for passengers, they are not going to use it. You can say it’s a force for good, green and all these other things, but it has got to be the best choice. What we see in our work is that people make transport decisions based on cost, choice, convenience and control. If you want bus to be the best choice, it has got to be the best choice for all those reasons. If people are choosing to travel another way, that’s competition.

“It’s an interesting time for buses. They have suddenly shot up the agenda. The Labour opposition has put a lot of effort into talking about rural buses, and how buses should be run and regulated. You may not agree with the policies that are being put forward or the approach, but the fact is bus has got more air time recently than ever.

“With air quality, you’ve got a window of opportunity to seize to demonstrate that the bus can be a force for good.”

Anthony said the high satisfaction levels seen across the country in the Bus Passenger Survey show the industry is broadly meeting what existing passengers want. “The core product is pretty good and a lot of service industries would quite like to get scores like that,” he noted.

“The drag on all of this is congestion. It is slowly sapping passenger satisfaction away. Journey time is of course a key driver of satisfaction.

“Bus alliances like the ones we work with are a positive way forward. Whatever is going to happen in the future with franchising and ownership, in the meantime just get on and talk to each other and improve services. We get quite frustrated with places like Manchester because the debate seems to be so ossified about ownership and control. I don’t think passengers care who runs the buses, they want them to run on time, offer good value for money and be comfortable.”

After the presentation, Tanya Neech from Scania asked Anthony whether the climate crisis could help convince more people to try the bus.
Anthony responded: “I don’t think you can solely say ‘use this bus because its green.’ Instead, the fact the bus is green validates people’s choice to use it. It makes them feel better once they’ve made the choice.

“You can’t just use it as the marketing. You’ve got to get the core product right first.”

Richard Turfitt
Senior Traffic Commissioner

Walking on stage to the Imperial March from Star Wars, Richard Turfitt provided his perspective on many of the issues raised during the conference. However, he said there was little he could do to help as a regulator.

“We as Traffic Commissioners (TC) are creatures of statute,” he said. “We can only do what the law allows and can only take action in individual cases if we are provided with evidence. We’re the stick, but we’re right at the end of the process.”

On the topic of registrations, Richard said the bus team at the Office of the Traffic Commissioner is making a magnificent effort with very little resource.

“The speed of changing bus registrations – the notice required for local authorities – came as a bit of a surprise to all of us,” he noted. “That aside, bus timetabling has changed dramatically in recent times. It’s not for me to become involved in discussions on the merits of different modes, but I do recognise that open data will allow the public access to scheduling information and increase use of live vehicle tracking. That in itself can add to the perplexity of timetable management.”

Richard flagged up one particular area of concern – the inability for some operators to ensure proper brake tests. He added: “I do not understand how a competent transport manager can think a yard brake test provides an accurate test of brake performance in this day and age.”

During questions, it was put to the TC that local authorities are responsible for a lot of operators’ problems.

Richard responded: “I agree – when the local transport act came into effect, I wrote to local authorities reminding them about our naming and shaming power. However I’m reliant on evidence to use that power, and I haven’t used it yet. I don’t have the ability to impose a penalty or make a finding against their repute.

“We will take reasonable excuse into account – we’re not that unreasonable.”

Another question from the audience argued the 95% punctuality target is unachievable without damaging bus services by forcing them to run slowly, and asked for a more realistic target.

Richard said: “The fact the 95% target is applying pressure to monitor services confirms it is doing what it’s supposed to. I accept this results in operators holding an awful lot of data to provide reasonable excuse, and we will talk about whether the target is right or not.

“But, would relaxing the punctuality standard send out the wrong message?”

Meera Rambisoon
Consultant at TAS Partnership

TAS Partnership’s Meera Rambisoon provided a candid talk about employee mental health, which was derived from her own experiences. She highlighted the scale of the problem by stating that one in four people in the UK have some form of mental health issue.

“A common statement to hear with regards to mental health is that there are bigger fish to fry,” Meera said. “I disagree. I know there are lots of pressures on operators’ time, but you need to look after your people.

“The bus industry is full of brave, resilient, get-on-with-it people and if it wasn’t the wheels wouldn’t turn. At the same time, at a certain level people need a bit of support.”

Meera discussed what Cardiff Bus is doing, which includes training from mental health charity MIND for all managers, supervisors and union partners, offering an employee assistance programme and independent counselling sessions, and offering a GP and occupational health referral programme.

Keith Watson
Customer Development Director at ADL
Echoing the sentiment of previous speakers, Keith Watson began: “As an industry, we need to start working together to become a stronger force to promote and create change.

“A good example of collaborative transport promotion is National Rail. They promote best by train, highlighting four key areas – CO2 reduced by 72% per passenger journey, less energy used, safer than car and reduces physical footprint from having fewer cars on the road. I don’t think there is anything unfamiliar in those statements.

“Governments listen to the rail lobby, and in return rail is receiving arguably disproportionate investment. I feel that if we work in partnership to promote bus, we can show it is better.

“We need support from local authorities and cities to reduce congestion, by improving bus priority and disincentivising commuting by car. Lets free up the cheap all-day parking for shops and housing, and build Park & Rides. There are towns and cities which prove it works and enhances town centres.”

Keith said that while CO2 has a direct impact on the health of the planet, NOx in particular effects the health of people. He continued: “Research released in March from the Max Planck Institute in Germany stated that air pollution causes 64,000 deaths in the UK every year. That is far more than previously feared. It statistically now kills more people than smoking. Will we start to see cars with the same warnings printed on them as cigarette packets?

“NOx is at an extremely low level from today’s buses. The average Euro VI bus produces 0.5 grams per kilometre, which is 95% cleaner than a Euro V bus. We’ve actually certified the Enviro400 diesel at 0.005 grams per kilometre. Particulates on the whole are captured by traps and the term dirty diesel should now only be used by the poorly informed.

“A Euro 6 car is allowed to emit up to 0.8 grams of NOx per kilometre, while Euro VI buses measured by LowCVP in London are emitting 0.3 grams per kilometre or less. This is showing that the industry is serious about improving air quality and making our streets healthier by improving the air we breathe.”

A video also highlighted ADL’s biogas partnership with Scania. This fuel reduces CO2 by 84% when the gas is derived from anaerobic digestion. The methane produced in this process – a potent greenhouse gas which would otherwise go into the atmosphere – is instead used as a fuel.

On the topic of bus safety, Keith touched on the partnership with Transport for London (TfL) to develop and launch the new bus safety standard, which will mean a lot of changes to the look and capabilities of buses.

“Camera Monitor Systems (CMS) to eliminate exterior mirrors is the biggest step forward in bus safety the industry has seen for a long time,” he stated. “The CMS is capable of dimming bright light and enhancing low light, its image is never distorted by dirt or adverse weather and costly mirror strikes are eliminated.”

Keith stated that ADL is the only OEM that has brought this product to market for city bus, in collaboration with Smartvision and distributed through 21st Century. Shortly, a second system called Mirroreye from Orlaco will be available on ADL’s OEM products, distributed through Synectics. Both these systems were demonstrated by their respective distributors at ALBUM.

Mike Kerslake
Technical Manager for BYD
Following on from Keith was Mike Kerslake, Technical Manager for BYD, who spoke about developments in its electric bus products.

He began: “One thing a vehicle developer learns very quickly when building electric vehicles is that not all lithium batteries are the same. There is a whole family of different chemistries out there. You need to look at the properties that different chemistries offer you.

“The useful life of a battery may not be accurately reflected by the raw figure of specific energy or energy density which is the headline figure for many people at the start of life. It’s about finding the right chemistry, building it in highly controlled conditions and making sure it is appropriately specified for the duty.”

Mike said the company remains convinced that electric will be the dominant low emission technology in the future: “They already are significantly better than other zero tailpipe products, because we can demonstrate better well-to-wheel carbon footprints than many of the alternatives. That would include most implementations of hydrogen buses and trams.

“For diesel, each 100kg of CO2 at the tailpipe produces around another 19kg through all the processes of getting the fuel to the vehicle, refining and so on. For electric bus, there is no tailpipe emissions, but around 36kg of CO2 associated with producing the electricity using the UK grid. That still gives us a 60% overall carbon saving – an unbeatable position which will only get better as the UK grid gets greener.”

While BYD is a Chinese company, Mike stated that the company is fully committed to Europe, with a European headquarters established in Rotterdam for a decade and the company’s partnership with ADL in the UK.

Ken Skates
Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport at the Welsh Government
The final speaker of the event was Ken Skates MP, who said the Welsh Government has a clear vision for transport – an integrated transport system that is safe, reliable, punctual, environmentally sustainable and accessible to all. “Our bus network is central to this vision,” he added.

“A major part of our plan is to encourage innovation, and to build it around the needs of the passengers and communities that use it. In April I was pleased to announce funding for four innovative forms of demand responsive transport in Wales. These trials will test different models and where appropriate build on existing delivery models.

“In addition to these, I recently announced an out of hours minibus pilot. It will explore how transport can best serve those people who work difficult shift patterns, delivering a flexible transport to work system.”

Moving on to environmental concerns, Ken continued: “The way we connect as a community through our transport network needs to be done in a sustainable way. Delivering our ambitious decarbonisation targets will require significant and brave leadership and a collaboration with our partners, along with the involvement of society as a whole. Transport will have a key role if we are to achieve our goals.

“We believe buses are part of the solution to air quality issues and should not be part of the problem. We have set out a bold ambition to have a zero emission bus fleet by 2028. I make ambitious targets as obstacles to overcome and I urge you to join us in tackling these challenges.

“Wales achieved great success in the latest round of UK Government funding for electric buses. 36 vehicles in Cardiff, 16 in the Stagecoach South West Wales area, and Newport has also had success with its application.”

Ken said he remains committed to supporting the bus industry: “This year will see our third annual Wales Bus Summit, celebrating our goal of taking the bus industry forward and sustainably for the future. Public funding is already substantial, though the squeeze remains real. To help achieve value for money and high standards, we have already introduced a range of voluntary quality standards linked to public funding.

“Partnership between local authorities and the private sector is what underpins the bus network. I’m keen that there should be even closer partnerships to overcome the challenges facing us now and in the future. I’m therefore looking at the linking of future contribution to bus subsidies to the establishment of more voluntary and statutory partnerships. This will provide further encouragement to the industry to invest in better services and vehicles, while crucially requiring commitments from local authorities to tackle congestion and pinch points.”

Suppliers
ALBUM 2019 was well supported by the industry, with dozens of suppliers supporting the event with exhibition stands. What follows are some of the highlights from the exhibitor area.

• Actia – The company displayed its recently launched Multi-SCAN system, which provides ‘first aid’ diagnostics. A single click lists all reported faults of the vehicle driveline ECUs, such as engine, transmission and retarder, enabling quick identification of problem areas.
• Alfatronix – The new Podsole wireless and USB charging system was on display. The product is designed to cater for the increasing proportion of smartphones which support wireless charging. Available with non-slip textures and LEDs in different colours to fit vehicle branding.
• Camira – The new Manila fabric range was showcased. The textured vinyl is anti-microbial and can be bleach cleaned. It is designed to combine the high performance of vinyl with the soft appearance of textile.
• Hanover Displays – The company showcased a high-definition close pitch display, with a gap of 2mm between the LEDs. It is designed for TfL-specification vehicles.
• HJS Emission Technology – The company said it is developing coach systems for the Setra 416HD and Volvo B11R and B13R, which will convert the vehicles from Euro V to Euro VI. It is also working on bus systems to convert Euro III Volvos and Dennis Darts to Euro VI.
• McKenna Brothers – Taking pride of place was a new hi-res LED destination display, design for TfL to replicate its printed blinds. The LED display is designed as a straight swap, with the same fitting points. The display is 88 x 512 pixels, using ultra-bright LEDs which can use grayscales to add further detail.
• Smartdrive – The company has updated its system to no longer require Smartdrive-specific cameras. It will now work with existing bus CCTV infrastructure. It can also connect to more cameras simultaneously.
• Sure24 – Another company displaying a camera system to replace external wing mirrors. The system works particularly well at night, filtering out headlight glare, and also eliminates blind spots.
• Timespace – The new LANLink in-browser CCTV playback was being demonstrated. The company was also discussing its V600AHD digital video recorder, which is expected to launch soon. The device supports up to 24 cameras.

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