As 2017 drew to a close and the industry looks ahead to 2018, the CBW team asked a cross-section of industry professionals for their current views and predictions for the coming year
Question 1. What is your current view on the industry?
Question 2. How do you see the year ahead?
Chris Wales
Chief Executive,
Coach Tourism Association
1
It has been another challenging year for coach holidays – continental tours being the greatest challenge. Statistics show that cross-Channel coach traffic has halved over the past 10 years. Terrorism, the Euro exchange and the asylum seeker problems at the French Channel ports have all been contributing factors. Such popular destinations as Paris, the Dutch Bulb Fields, Bruges and shopping day trips to Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk have suffered most.
On the bright side, volumes of domestic coach holidays and day excursions have never been better. The 2017 Coach Tourism Association (CTA) consumer survey (25,000 responses) shows that perception of coach holidays is at an all-time high, so we should all be encouraged by this and build on
the positives.
2
I am a glass half-full kind of chap, especially in Wetherspoons, so am optimistic about next year. At the 2018 CTA Conference at the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool on February 26, I will be emphasising the great opportunities for coach tour operators in the future and hope that as many of CBW readers as possible can attend. Our industry has been through many changes over recent years, but one thing that always impresses me is the ability for operators to rise to the challenges. Can I raise my hat to all the UK coach tour operators, especially to the family businesses, who are determined to continue to offer all their loyal customers excellent and value for money coach holiday.
Ian Luckett,
Director, Lucketts Travel
1
Whilst there are certainly challenges facing the bus and coach industry, I do feel the industry is in good shape. Having travelled to all the regions this year in my role as CPT President, I have spoken to and visited some really forward-looking business people, who run coach companies – which is what our industry needs. Despite the common perception that we work in an industry with an ageing workforce, I have seen may examples of companies attracting young people into both driving and management roles – it really has been encouraging.
There are undoubtedly challenges facing businesses with the Clean Air Zones (CAZ) and congestion, but as ever, they are just ‘issues’ that we will have to overcome. We’ve faced challenges in the past and overcome them, so I don’t see this any being any different.[wlm_nonmember][…]
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2
The year ahead is going to be busy for everyone, particularly in dealing with local authorities over the CAZs. It’s imperative that everyone does this in 2018 as it’s the time that we will be able to influence how our future looks for some time to come. If we’re not bothered to get involved, then expect something that may not be appropriate for the industry and probably the public too. We also need to ensure that we are telling decision makers about just how clean Euro 6 vehicles are and what a massive improvement these are over older vehicles. At a recent visit to a manufacturer, I was shown soot samples from Euro 0 to 6. Needless to say, zero was black, but I was amazed myself to see how clean the Euro 6 sample was. I’m in the industry and I was surprised. Imagine if we could get this message across to the planners.
We must also ensure these people realise that buses and coaches are not the main polluters – that accolade goes to the older diesel cars. There is little political will to ban these older polluting cars, so we must pressure local authorities to consider these when developing their air quality plans. Otherwise, they will go for the easy target, which is bus and coach operators, who service parts of society who cannot, or do not want to own a car. Penalising these people will be detrimental to solving the air quality issue. If older diesel vehicles really are killing people, then surely we should, as a society, have a plan to stop using them all – not just the ones that are seen to be politically expedient.
I can also see that 2018 will be the year where alternative fuels start to really hit the headlines. Electric vehicles aren’t currently quite right for everyone – and maybe not for a very long time yet. At Lucketts, we’ve trialled a hybrid coach and are really excited about the prospect of having even cleaner vehicles available to us, but they’re only one of the options open to coach operators.
We’re seeing more bus operators taking gas buses into their fleets to help solve their local emissions issues. Much of this has been done in partnership with local authorities due to the immense infrastructure costs to start these projects. This may not be practical for smaller businesses, so it’s important that operators, authorities and manufacturers look long into the future when planning for vehicles that require new infrastructure. We may need to look at this in a different way to be able to make them work for the benefit of all. If that infrastructure can be made available to the public and operators at filling stations, we may start to see the first gas coaches appearing very soon. Whilst still using fossil fuels, the tailpipe emissions from these are microscopic compared to exciting diesel so there has to be a place for them for long-distance coach and HGV.
There is much talk about technology at the moment and how that will affect us in the future, but the talk always seems to be around massive disrupter technologies such as Uber and autonomous vehicles. Whilst these are real threats to our industry, I believe they are some way off yet. The technologies we should be focusing on are the ones we can use in our day to day working lives. New features on vehicles are now being fitted to both make the whole experience of travelling on a PCV safer and more cost effective for the operator. Too many people in our industry dismiss these as a waste and not really making a difference; they do, but will only do so if they are embraced by us. We must live in a world of continuous improvement which may only offer small incremental improvements each time, but these all add up and can be the difference in running a good or a bad business!
John Trayner,
Managing Director, Go-Ahead London
1
The industry is clearly experiencing change, from the Bus Services Act to the move away from diesel over the next couple of decades. All the statistics show the capital’s population is growing and that creates opportunities for a bus network such as London’s to efficiently and flexibly move large numbers. The decline in patronage and journey time reliability is worrying and we must turn the corner. There’s a direct link in my view between fewer passenger journeys and reduced or reconfigured road space that’s less bus-friendly. That isn’t the way forward and we’ve got to ensure our voice is heard, in addition to all the other lobby groups. Transport for London’s (TfL) recently issued draft Business Plan makes for sober reading, with its £375m worth of bus efficiency savings over a five-year period, and it sets the sector a big challenge.
Go-Ahead London’s had a great year of success at numerous award events in 2017 and when you engage with other sectors, it really brings home how innovative the bus and coach industry is. We diligently deliver a tremendous product and there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
2
2018’s shaping up to be another busy one. As London’s biggest bus company, the challenge is always about how we retain that position. I’m pleased to say we’re the most experienced electric bus operator in the capital and we’ll introduce more of these vehicles to the fleet over the next 12 months. Elsewhere, TfL’s diesel engine retrofit programme is progressing well and combined with other technologies, we can legitimately say we’re doing our bit to improve air quality.
Staying with TfL, around 75% of our drivers have now attended the ‘Hello London’ customer care course, which is doing a great job at challenging assertions and generally raising the end user experience. Technology impacts us all and my IT colleagues are working hard to apply creative solutions to a job that’s traditionally been paper-based. I won’t give too much away, except to say we’re looking at all elements of every role. We really can’t afford not to, as demand responsive transport is here to stay – although I see it complimenting the ‘traditional’ bus network, rather than competing with it, in due course.
Richard Harrington,
Engineering Director, Go-Ahead London
1
We’re in good shape, but there’s always much to do. From an engineering perspective, the challenge is how we seamlessly move away from diesel. It can’t be overnight and we need to manage expectations. For example, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved as an industry at Waterloo Garage with our fleet of electric buses. Eight ‘first prize’ awards in 2017 for this project from a mix of independent adjudicators clearly demonstrates delivery in the face of difficult issues. In doing so, it’s given all those involved a tremendous sense of pride, which in turn is great to be around. Could we replicate this across London and the rest of the UK? Not at the moment. There are numerous issues to address, ranging from capacity to price. We’ll get to where we need to be, but we’re still on the learning curve. There are options to the ‘plug and play’ scheme we’ve introduced and we’re keeping an eye on what others are doing. In the meantime, diesel is very much alive and it’ll be interesting to see how clean the fuel/engines can become, especially in the short-term.
2
2018’s going to be exciting and not just because England will win the World Cup! The Mayor and TfL, through the bus operators, are improving air quality, which is something we should all be proud of. With a mixed fleet of around 2,500 buses we’re a very dynamic business and I’m working on how we maintain the fleet in an even safer and smarter fashion. As John Trayner has said, technology has got such an important role to play and we’ll eventually reach a point where the paperless garage exists in reality.
I recently addressed industry colleagues at a number of events and while we’re all eyeing the same prize, we’re equally all applying our own solutions and that’s a good thing. I always say to guests visiting Waterloo that one size doesn’t fit all and it’s encouraging our suppliers deliver options.
John Johnson,
Commercial Director,
Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel
1
I think it’s difficult to grow passenger numbers for holidays and day trips. Like us however, most operators I speak to seem to have had a good year with private hire – while buses are becoming more challenging to make profits on. Therefore, that’s more or less the same as last year really. However, it’s a great industry to be in, with plenty of challenges and with coaches and buses well-placed to contribute in a positive way to the challenges of congestion and air quality.
2
I’ve noticed fuel has been ‘quietly’ going up, which is a worry. Our average monthly prices have gone from 88.29ppl to 95.85ppl, an increase of 7.56p, or more importantly 8.56%. I hope this won’t continue in the New Year. Otherwise, I see customer expectation increasing, with opinions and complaints driven by social media. We will work hard as always to stay ahead of the curve and deliver great service.
Simon Posner,
Chief Executive,
Confederation of Passenger Transport
1
The last 12 months have seen bus and coach operators alike face huge challenges. New legislation is now in place and whilst the immediate threat of widespread local bus franchising may have diminished, the powers are available to certain local authorities. The evidence shows that partnership working is delivering better services for passengers, and bus operators are now seizing the opportunity to embrace the new style partnership arrangements and build on the successes through productive and collaborative engagement with local authorities.
Coach operators continue to offer ever more attractive services for their passengers – from commuter services to day trips and longer tours, as well as school services. They do struggle however with access to facilities and locations, and CPT is working hard on their behalf to overcome these issues.
Another challenge to all operators comes from the Government’s proposals to improve air quality. CPT’s message that bus and coach travel can be part of the solution to cleaning up our air, rather than simply a problem clearly got through and was recognised in the Government’s Air Quality Plan.The pace at which technology is advancing continues to surprise us all and we are all increasingly living our lives on our phones and tablets, and the way in which we book and pay for services has been transformed. I believe the bus and coach sector is ideally placed to take advantage of the opportunities new technology offers.
2
The year ahead has to be one of continual engagement with decision makers. The case for partnership working must be made – the benefits of bus and coach travel to the economy and the environment cannot be overstated. CPT will continue to engage at national level, and I am encouraging all our members to get involved with their local authorities. Bus and coach operators need space on the road to operate effectively. Passengers placed reliability as their top priority and by working with local authorities, operators can help identify where small adjustments to junctions or road layouts can make a real difference to congestion. Of course, where congestion is reduced, air quality can consequently improve. There are particular issues in London and CPT will continue to work with TfL and the Mayor’s office to help mitigate the impact to ensure coaches can continue to bring passengers into the capital, who then contribute so much to London’s economy.
I also fully expect to see new and innovative ways of working as bus and coach operators respond to changes in the way we are shopping, organising our working week, arranging and paying for our transport needs. Demand-responsive services are springing up in response to local needs and I expect to see these develop over the next year. There will be new types of services offered, I am sure, and they will all heavily rely on embracing new technology. Passengers will expect nothing less.
