Jonathan Welch continues his look at the operations of Scottish Citylink
In part one in issue 1580, we started off by visiting Citylink’s busy hub at Broxden on the edge of Perth, where its ‘Saltire Cross’ network comes together to allow passengers to make connections to other services. Watching the bustle of coaches arriving and departing, I chatted with Operations & Service Delivery Manager Macsood Carrie about the network and the challenges of keeping people moving across Scotland and beyond.
We joined a megabus-liveried Van Hool to make the short journey south to Glasgow, enjoying the view from the top deck, including deer in distant fields as we made our way past Stirling and into another of the company’s hubs, Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station. The bus station is also home to Citylink’s head office, where I sat down for a chat with Managing Director Mark Venables and Operations Director Simone Smith. We were also joined by Katrina Scott and Jonathan Walton from long-serving Citylink contractor Edinburgh Coach Lines.
I started by asking Simone about her background, and her current role with the company. “I’ve been here for three years now,” she explained. “Before I took on this role, I was an Operations Manager at various Stagecoach depots across the UK. I began my career in 2012 on the Stagecoach graduate programme, straight from University. Of course things changed with the merger in September as we’re not employed by Stagecoach now, we transferred across to Scottish Citylink. My role here is to oversee the operations and deal with any issues that arise, as well as oversee the team here in Glasgow and across the network. We’re also responsible for customer service and social media for the UK.”
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How has the change from Stagecoach ownership affected operations, I asked. “It hasn’t affected much for us here in Scotland,” Simone explained, “because we were always a joint venture between Stagecoach and ComfortDelgro. It’s only the slight change to the shareholding that’s changed for us here, and myself, Macsood and our Commercial Lead Ker Corbett were TUPE’d across to Metroline. Everyone else here was already an employee of ComfortDelgro.”
The combined megabus and Citylink operations in Scotland are quite different from the megabus network south of the border. Simone explained: “Everything that crosses the border is megabus, and some of the Saltire Cross services are megabus-liveried vehicles. Everything that is purely Citylink, like the west coast routes and north of Inverness, are Scottish Citylink. Tickets are available on both the megabus and Citylink websites, apart from for the west coast services which are only available on the Citylink site. Scottish Citylink is a very well-known brand in Scotland, whereas megabus, which is also popular in Scotland, is the more well-known one down south.”
Of course, that level of choice and inter-availability, which extends too to services operated by Park’s of Hamilton as part of the combined network, offers something which is often lacking elsewhere; it gives passengers the widest choice of options, rather than sending them hunting around the megabus, Park’s and Citylink websites for different journeys at different times, something which can only be a good thing. “There’s no difference, it should be the same level of service and same quality of vehicle whether it’s blue or yellow,” Simone continued. “The difference is just the booking platform.”
With the introduction of the under-22s free travel scheme, and following last year’s website revamp, Citylink also launched a TV advertising campaign this year, running from April to September. “It’s all about raising our product awareness and supporting the Government’s objectives of the under-22s scheme,” Simone explained, “especially among younger people and those who maybe don’t realise how much of the country we cover. We already had a relationship with STV, so it builds on that. It’s a big thing for us, but it’s a really strong campaign. We want to put into people’s minds that they don’t need the car to go away.”
Recovery
I asked about the recovery of the network since the pandemic. “We’re seeing a strong recovery,” Simone said. “Although we have some commuter routes, a lot of our passengers were leisure travellers, and the leisure market has bounced back really well. Passenger numbers are strong. We’ve got more competition now than we had pre-covid, but we see that as a positive as it’s going to grow the coaching market overall. It’s maybe sharpened our focus, we have a good product, we just need to make sure we continue to provide a high level of customer service and satisfaction.
“The rail strikes have really helped us too, they boosted the popularity of Citylink, with more people realising it is a highly convenient and quality option. Scotrail has settled back down, but our passenger numbers remain strong. We updated the network in November, and again during June, based on minimising connections where we can and increasing the frequency and adding later journeys. We’re seeing that the night time services are popular.”
The June uplift brought frequencies of half-hourly between Perth and Glasgow, and almost half-hourly between Dundee and Glasgow, with more direct Aberdeen-Glasgow services to reduce the number of times passengers need to change in Perth. “We’re reacting to what our customers want, and to the demand that’s out there just now.”
One thing that has changed since pre-pandemic days is the Gold-branded services, which offered what in railway terms might be called the ‘first class’ option. “It’s not something we’re looking to bring back just now,” Simone explained. The Gold service was quite hard to establish, and we had to ask, beyond the vehicles and the hosts, what we were trying to achieve. The Gold journeys weren’t always the quickest; when we revised the timetables back in November we now have the M9s that go Glasgow-Perth-Aberdeen without the intermediate stops. We did consider rebranding those as an express, but it seemed to be the catering that was important to people rather than the journey time.”
With that in mind, and in an environment where staff recruitment is difficult across the board and the need to roster a second member of staff on board, as well as the growing popularity of buying hot drinks before boarding, it’s easy to understand why the decision was made to focus on the core, non-Gold offering. “We’ve not received much negative feedback from not running it. We had five vehicles with Park’s in Gold livery, which lasted until this year, but we’ve been working through repainting them into yellow livery. We’ve found that although it was nice to have, most people prioritise the frequency or speed of the journey over the catering.”
Partners & vehicles
Citylink works with eight main contractors for its core services and additional ad-hoc duplications. “We’re always looking to expand our connections and work with reputable operators,” Simone explained. And whilst that means the company hasn’t had to deal directly with issues such as driver recruitment, it has still seen the effects. “We tend to see it in waves or patches, and that was the case throughout lockdowns. We’ll work with operators and try and help them through it. We can look at outsourcing the work somewhere else for example until they are back up to strength. Things have settled down a lot this year. We’re not concerned about recruitment and staffing just now.”
Looking at the business as a whole, Simone explained: “This is the first proper year we’ve had since lockdowns. Early indication is that we’re going to have a strong year. November to March is always quieter, but so far things are performing as we’d expect to. This will also be the first full scale Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the double-deck vehicles on the 900, as they arrived in early 2020 and the festival was reduced in 2021 and 2022. The extra capacity will really help with the Fringe in August.”
Speaking of vehicles, having seen the recent deliveries of a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo for D&E Coaches’ Inverness-based route and Irizars for West Coast Motors’ services, and noting the growth of electric-operated Ember, I wondered what the plan might be for longer-term vehicle investment. “It depends on the operator, but we prefer coaches that are no more than eight years old,” Simone explained. “The vehicles are worked hard, some of the Panoramas on cross-border services are doing 800 miles per day. The introduction of low emission zones has maybe meant some operators having to pull forward their vehicle replacement programme. We plan to introduce more later this year.”
Will that mean more double-deckers, I wondered, or is the capacity no longer needed post-covid? Although Simone wouldn’t be drawn on what the new vehicles might be, she noted: “We still believe that double-deckers are the right option for a lot of routes, the extra capacity can make the difference between a route being successful or not commercially, and customers like them. They give great views and they look good out on the road. They wouldn’t be suitable for all our routes, of course, such as on the west coast.”
Double-deckers also help to ensure that Citylink’s aim to be a turn-up-and-go service is achieved on its busiest routes such as the Edinburgh-Glasgow 900, though it’s not just about on-board capacity. Bus priorities on key corridors such as the M8 would help to ensure that services are able to run to time, and more efficiently, Simone pointed out. In times of delay, disruption or even just at busy periods, she added that Citylink is in a good position, having established relationships with operators nationwide.
Future plans
Mark had previously held the role of Managing Director for megabus in England and Wales, and following the recent organisational changes took on a wider role encompassing Scotland too. “It made sense that we co-ordinate more across England, Scotland and Wales,” he explained, “and I was fortunate to be appointed UK MD.”
I wondered where he saw the company going in the future, and what might change. “The big ambition it to really play our part in making public transport so attractive that people feel compelled to leave the car at home. We’ll never got to a point where people never need a car again, but we can get to a point where coach is well known for being frequent, reliable, and more convenient than a car. I want to make sure Citylink and megabus play a huge part in that. Post-pandemic, there’s a huge opportunity for scheduled coach services to grow in a way they haven’t ever before. The railways are clearly going to have to scale back in terms of how taxpayers’ money is spent, and everyone knows that car travel is not sustainable, even electric ones.
“We need to do our bit to make public transport incredibly attractive. That means, wherever we can, offering more services, more frequent, a quality product and telling people about it. We need people to be aware that coach exists as a mode, and that actually it’s pretty good. If you manage to get people on board who haven’t been on a coach for a long time, they are almost always positively surprised,” Mark enthused.
The STV tie-in is a great example of how to raise awareness, he said, backed up by two coaches in special promotional liveries, adding that traditional television media still plays a big part in people’s lives as well as the newer social media advertising outlets such as Twitter or TikTok. “Whatever the channel, the message has to have substance. There’s got to be a really strong product behind it; you have to follow up on what you say you’re going to do. And if you do make a mistake, you need to hold your hands up and say ‘we’ll fix it.’”
The marketplace in Scotland and across the UK remains highly competitive, Mark said, but not just against the likes of National Express or FlixBus. “One of the things we’re competing against is people deciding not to travel at all,” he said. “There are many factors, such as the cost of living, which should work in our favour. About a quarter of the people we surveyed earlier this year said they’re reconsidering how they travel because of environmental factors.”
New technology
Speaking of environmental factors and the growing green consciousness, I wondered whether hydrogen or electric coaches were on Citylink’s radar just yet. “From what I’ve read, the technology just isn’t there yet for hydrogen. Battery electric is there for bus, but for longer distance, with room for luggage as well, we’re not there yet. I can see it happening, but there are still some major obstacles to overcome,” Mark replied.
“Battery technology is one of them, and the end to end life cycle impact of a battery electric vehicle is still a question which hasn’t been answered. Having said that, where there are opportunities to use electric coaches, we will explore them.”
Looking at the shorter term, Citylink will continue to support its contractors to make sure it has the right fleet for the network, Mark added, and although it’s a case of ‘never say never,’ he confirmed that the return of Gold services is not on the horizon, backing up Simone’s point that frequency and cost are first and foremost in people’s minds.”Trying to create a product which offers the equivalent of first class on a coach which still meets people’s expectations on price is incredibly challenging,” he noted.
Getting the basics right is key, he said, adding that expectations are constantly changing and evolving, with technological changes also influencing what passengers want aboard a vehicle.
Another ‘new tech’ aspect of operations will be the forthcoming app, something which megabus and Citylink has thus far managed without. “An app needs to offer something that a website doesn’t, and if you have a mobile-friendly website you don’t necessarily need an app,” Mark explained. “However, apps can offer a different level of convenience. Regular customers will make the effort to download the app if they think it will save them some time or money.” Not only that, of course, but whereas an online search could yield results from multiple operators, an app helps to drive brand loyalty.
“It’s a very fast-developing area, and one we can use to encourage people to shift travel modes. We can’t afford to ignore things like AI, and we need to think about things like cryptocurrency too, and whether we adopt that as a form of payment. Having a number of payment options is important as well.”
It’s not all about new technology of course, and another aspect of coach travel is not to be forgotten. “We’ve joined up with Great Scenic Journeys,” Mark explained. “We have some of the best scenic routes in the UK. Some of the rural routes are spectacular.”
Working with Citylink
Mark was also keen to stress the great relationship Citylink has with its contractors. “We try to keep things fair and get input from operators,” he explained. “A two-way relationship based on trust and collaboration is far more powerful than a tick-box exercise with a clipboard, we’ve found.“
To hear more from the other side of the coin, I spoke to Katrina Scott and Jonathan Walton of Edinburgh Coach Lines, which operates journeys on routes M92, 909 and 902. “Edinburgh Coach Lines has been around since 1978,” explained Katrina, “though me and Jonathan haven’t been there that long! We have a licence for 45 vehicles from our Leith depot, though we’re currently around the 40 mark. We’ve worked with Citylink since 2012.”
“We do private hire work, Citylink and run our own local service as well,” explained Jonathan. “We find that gives you a broader driver base that way. You can bring them in local service work, then train them for Citylink work, and then they might move on to private hire. Citylink is a great set-up for drivers, as it allows them to drive really nice coaches but they still have the rota and guaranteed hours that you have on service work. People enjoy the work, we find.”
Vehicles
“Our relationship with Citylink is really good,” continued Katrina. “It accounts for around 28% of our turnover, which is now a PVR of six vehicles. Predominantly at the moment they’re Scania Irizars. We brought them into the fleet when we took on the Citylink Gold, but they’ve recently gone into the new Citylink livery. This year, we’re taking on two Volvo 9700s. We’re trying something different, especially with the wheelchair access not being at the front.”
“It’s good that there’s a bigger market for accessible vehicles now too,” added Jonathan. Both agreed that they are looking forward to seeing the Volvos arrive. “We’ll decide on a vehicle replacement plan going forwards once they’ve bedded in,” he continued. “The Volvo 9700 is a 14m tri-axle, a new product, so we don’t know how it will go yet. We already have two 9700s that we use on other work.”
Why the switch to Volvo, I wondered? “We were keen to move away from the front access for wheelchair users,” explained Katrina, adding that the front rows of seats can be very popular as they give the best views. “Volvo is a company that we’re very familiar with. They aren’t the cheapest coaches on the market but we really need something that will be reliable, especially when vehicles are being driven by multiple different drivers.”
“It standardises the fleet as well,” added Jonathan, “and the Volvo dealer network seems to be better.”
Talking about the post-pandemic period, Katrina said: “Our recovery has been very strong, and a lot of that is down to our relationship with Citylink. On the private hire side, we’re struggling to meet demand now because of the driver shortage. People don’t seem as keen to join the industry, but the Citylink side hasn’t suffered as much, because it’s much more predictable schedules.”
“We’ve had to adapt to people who are looking for a better work-life balance,” Jonathan added. “Some people are only wanting to work a few days a week now for example. We’ve done a lot over the years for our staff, we have bonus schemes, well-being schemes, the HSF scheme, but none of that seems to matter sometimes, it still comes down to the hourly rate.”
Citylink support
Talking about the routes it operates, Jonathan said that the new 902 has picked up well, especially around Livingston. “It is performing well,” he noted. Katrina added that the back-up from Citylink is also good. “The support they provide is excellent,” she said. “The control room and the staff there 24/7 are a great support to us when there are problems, and we can help them out too. Citylink is definitely one of our best corporate clients. We’re keeping an eye on opportunities to grow our relationship with Citylink in the future.
“Citylink recognises the rising costs that operators face too. We’ve had to increase pay, and the cost of fuel has risen, and Citylink takes that into account, although we do our best to keep costs down. There’s been a lot of support. It’s a really strong relationship that we have, even though we’re only a small operator. Even though we only run six vehicles, we still feel like an important part of the network.”
Jonathan concurred. “That passes down to the drivers as well, they’re proud to be part of the Citylink network. They feel like they’re part of Citylink. There’s a driver handbook, the vehicles are branded and they have a Citylink uniform. We feel like we’re part of a team, that helps to retain drivers, and it gives us pride too to see our coaches out on the road in Citylink colours.”
