Little & Often

In a trade press exclusive, Gareth Evans reports on Stagecoach’s innovative new high-frequency, quality minibus service, branded little & often, which is to be launched in Ashford on February 11

When Stagecoach announced in its 2016 fleet order last April that it was to acquire 30 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter City 45 minibuses, coming hot on the heels of a trial in St Andrews the year before, speculation was rife as to where the vehicles might end up.

CBW subsequently learned that Stagecoach South East (SE) would be the vehicles’ home, which Stagecoach has invested £2.8m in.

With all but two Sprinters currently stored at the spacious Eastbourne depot, the vehicles will be moved to Ashford just before they are launched on Saturday, February 11. The two high-frequency services – branded ‘little & often’ (L&O) – will go live on Sunday, February 12.

Stagecoach SE Managing Director (MD), Philip Norwell and Commercial Director, Matthew Arnold kindly allowed CBW to learn the story behind the Sprinters. [wlm_nonmember][…]

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Specification

The vehicles look like a premium, quality offering, which is here to stay rather than a mere six-month trial.

Applied to the base silver that the vehicles were delivered in, the livery and branding were designed by Best Impressions. Decided locally by SE, it’s got a family style but it is distinctive. As Philip observed: “It’s unquestionably Stagecoach – and it certainly stands out.”

Externally, the branding stresses the ease of payment options – contactless and cash. Echoing Sir Brian Souter’s famous comment that a bus is a moving advert, the back ends carry a simple but effective and informative route diagram, the stagecoachbus.com website address and the ‘pay contactless or cash’ message.

Entry to the cab is via the offside driver’s door. Passengers access the saloon via nice wide doors, which are of the plug type, opening outwards. A manual ramp can be opened out when required. The ticket machine is located where the front passengers seat would normally be located if the vehicle was a minicoach or van.

As Matthew rightly said: “In stark contrast to the 1980s ‘breadvans,’ these vehicles are fully DDA-compliant. They’re far removed from an old Transit, Dodge or Sherpa. They’re fully accessible for all passengers.”

In terms of capacity, the Sprinters are plated to carry one wheelchair, nine standees and 13 seated passengers. There are four tip-up seats – three on the offside, where the wheelchair bay is located and one on the nearside. Therefore, there are effectively 17 seats.

The seats themselves are ‘Inter Star Sprinter,’ a Mercedes-Benz standard product, covered in faux leather. Very comfortable and easy to wipe clean, the colours work well both inside and out, alongside the familiar Stagecoach floor covering pattern.

From a passenger perspective, having the security shield clear means there is a view of the road ahead. This adds to the vehicle’s nice, bright and airy feel inside. The Hanover side destination screen is unobtrusive. Out on the road, there was a notable absence of rattles and the ride quality was excellent. The Telma retarder provides a valuable aid to slowing down smoothly. Room inside is not in short supply.

Why Ashford 

“When the Sprinters became available, the choice at group level was to either have the vehicles running in small numbers in different operating companies and depots, or to concentrate them in one location to serve a network,” explained Matthew.

Philip agreed, adding: “My colleagues in Stagecoach UK Bus were looking at various locations which might be suitable for these vehicles. I argued that we have an exciting opportunity here in Ashford because it’s a growing town, we had the chance to do something that’s quite substantial. The introduction of the domestic services on the High Speed 1 railway line in June 2009 slashed the journey time into London from over an hour to approximately 35 minutes. That’s meant the town has increased in attractiveness for commuters.

“I believe you need that concentration to be able to properly evaluate Repair & Maintenance (R&M). It also makes it easier for Mercedes-Benz as they can focus their efforts in one place.”

Matthew added: “This is one of our stronger Quality Bus Partnerships (QBP). Both local authorities (see separate section) are very proactive and supportive of the bus. When doing something different, a consideration is always local support – and we have that very much so here.”

Philip continued: “In addition, there has been a significant amount of new housing development, particularly at the Park Farm end, on the south side of the town near the A2070 road, which is due to expand significantly. The two routes – B and C – are replacing existing services, covering similar areas. However, the minibuses will enable us to better serve Park Farm, as well Bridgefield, an entirely new area, which is the latest phase of development at Park Farm, located on the southern end of the B route. This service will be in place ready for that.

“Park Farm currently has a 20-minute daytime frequency into town but it will now be every six minutes. Evenings and Sundays which are currently infrequent, will be enhanced to quarter-hourly, which is still virtually turn up and go.

“North of the town, the other end of the B route is Kennington. Running to the same frequency, in crossing the town, it will link the International Station with the town centre.

“The C route serves the William Harvey Hospital, along with Willesborough, an established housing area, together with the railway station and town centre. That will be a daytime five-minute frequency and quarter-hourly evenings and Sundays.”

In terms of distance, route B is just under eight miles end-to-end, C is just over four. Total annual mileage across the fleet of 30 buses is expected to be around 1.2m.

Philip was keen to stress: “This is not the return of the 1980s ‘breadvans.’ In some ways it could be the start of a new minibus revolution, but with a host of new technology, including real-time information, which can be viewed on our website and at the roadside stops.

Matthew said: “On route B, we’ve got two distinct school journeys, which we will continue to run but using full-size buses.”

Asked whether it’s an experiment, Philip said he preferred to call it an “open-ended trial.” He added: “We will clearly be watching closely how it evolves. We’ll all learn from it – we in SE, the group and the industry.”

On that note, Matthew said: “Traditional bus industry thinking is to begin with an hourly service and enhance it as demand grows. However, L&O is about putting in a high-frequency service to establish that we can attract the people to support it as they move in.”

From CBW’s observations, the homes at Park Farm would appear to be the sort occupied by professionals, who may commute by rail, and who may have families for which the bus also offers an attractive means of travel.

“That’s crucial as you’ll only get more people on the bus if you’re able to offer an attractive frequency,” enthused Philip.

“L&O is a commercial opportunity. It’s the sort of innovation you would traditionally expect to see from Stagecoach.”

Matthew summed up the L&O concept in Ashford: “It’s not just about putting 30 new buses on the road – it’s about the R&M, technology (contactless) and commercial (serving an expanding housing development) and going in whole hock with the frequency.”

Why minibuses?

Asked what the attraction of Mercedes-Benz Sprinters is vs. an Optare Solo or an ADL Enviro200, Matthew replied: “There are some cost benefits in operating smaller minibuses in terms of fuel consumption. We’re expecting around 20mpg. Modern double-decks are returning something around six to seven mpg and lightweight single-decks around 9 to 10.

“The other thing that comes as part of this package is that all the Sprinters are on R&M contracts with our local Mercedes-Benz dealer, Sparshatts, which has a base in Ashford.

“It means we will do very little to the vehicles, other than replace for example, light bulbs and windscreen wipers, i.e. rectify the usual minor first check minor defects. They’ll go to Sparshatts for everything else.”

Philip said R&M is quite a valuable part of the package for something that’s essentially a brave new world: “It’s quite a departure for what not only the bus industry, but also Stagecoach is used to.”

Matthew agreed: “R&M is not uncommon in the coach industry – several new coach types come complete with R&M for a period from new and it’s especially beneficial for an operator running one or two brand new vehicles. However, it is unusual in the bus industry, and especially for such a large number in a fleet.

“The other point about R&M is that, like fuel hedging, it gives us some certainty over cost. In short, we know what our maintenance costs will be for the foreseeable future.

“Don’t forget that a Sprinter demonstrator was trialled by Stagecoach East Scotland in late 2015 at St Andrews depot.”

Philip said: “While the East Scotland trial gave the group some limited experience, Ashford will be the first place where we’ve concentrated a large number of minibuses. It will be interesting to see how that can work with one dealer maintaining so many vehicles in one location. Early indications are that it has all the hallmarks of being a very good working relationship. Sparshatts have been very proactive in terms of preparation.”

Matthew added: “Sparshatts have adapted their operation to support us. It’s a big volume of work for them. It’s no good us informing them at 0600hrs that we have three non-starts and them telling us they don’t open until 0800hrs. Our minibuses are going to be on the road from before 0600 until after 2300hrs, i.e. the standard hours of operation for a provincial town or city.”

Drivers

Unlike the minibus revolution in the early days of deregulation, drivers working L&O duties will not be on lower terms and conditions of employment than their colleagues driving full-size buses.

“We’ve increased the number of drivers by 40,” explained Philip.

“We’ve been recruiting locally for some considerable time. Not being under the same time pressures, we’ve taken the opportunity to include more in-depth training in customer service, ensuring the people we’re employing gain far more than driving skills.”

Asked how the driver pool is working, Philip replied: “This is very much an experiment as far as Stagecoach is concerned. We’ve continued to employ drivers at standard rates of pay. The vast majority of B and C route drivers will be on a dedicated rota.”

Matthew agreed: “Some duties will work B and C routes with other services, as they do now, which is for efficiencies. The B and C routes represent a big chunk of Ashford depot’s work. The allocation at Ashford is 82, of which 30 will be L&O vehicles.”

To help cater for the additional staff, town centre rest facilities are being expanded. Stagecoach is taking over a retail unit on Bank Street to replace a much smaller facility.

Technology

In addition to the enhanced service level and new vehicles, a further welcome addition for passengers is the ability to pay using contactless bank cards.

Philip enthused: “At the same time we’re introducing contactless on these two routes. The technology will quickly be rolled out not only in Ashford, but across the wider Stagecoach SE area.

“This is where contactless starts. It’s quite significant as for people who aren’t used to public transport, a perception is that fares are something of an unknown – and then there’s the problem of having the correct denomination to hand. Contactless removes that barrier.

“As you know, last year our website www.stagecoachbus.com was revised, with a new journey planner and fares information. Also, in October we introduced m-ticketing.”

To implement contactless, new ticket machines have been installed. Visually and operationally, the Vix TP5800 are almost identical to the firm’s current TP5000 machines.

Partnership works

Another element to L&O is the support from Ashford’s local authorities, as Philip explained: “Ashford Quality Bus Partnership (QBP), which includes Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council, has been in place since 2008. It’s an excellent example of how working together with local authorities which are supportive of the bus, can help deliver a better service for residents. The support we receive has assisted in us deciding to pilot the scheme in the town.”

Welcoming the advent of L&O, Cllr Gerry Clarkson, Leader of Ashford Borough Council said: “We know that frequent and well connected bus services help keep car use down. This new venture underlines the commitment we have as part of the town’s growth strategy to work in partnership with Stagecoach. Faster and more reliable bus journeys, fewer cars, and less pollution is better for everyone in and around our town.”

He added: “Ashford Borough Council therefore welcome this positive investment in the town’s transport network, which is also the sign of another successful business investing in the borough.”

According to Matthew, the QBP delivers too: “The International Station access is quite unsatisfactory at peak times. Congestion arising from the car drop-off area and taxis means buses can struggle to get in and out. Working in partnership with Network Rail, South Eastern Railway and Ashford QBP, plans are now afoot to improve traffic flow with a revised arrangement, helping buses in particular.”

“After these vehicles enter service, just over a third of the Ashford fleet will be Euro 6. Air quality is on everyone’s agenda. In 2016, we at Stagecoach SE invested in 85 new buses – 25 ADL Enviro400 MMCs, 30 ADL Enviro400 MMC-bodied Scania and 30 Sprinters. As a result, 18% of our fleet is Euro 6. That rate of fleet renewal was unprecedented in our operating company. It’s not gone unnoticed by our local authority partners.

“As a result of the Sprinters’ arrival, seven Optare Solos are to be cascaded within the SE fleet, replacing older Solos, which in turn will be withdrawn.”

Further stressing the importance of partnership working, Philip highlighted the relationship Stagecoach has with Ashford’s hospital: “We’ve worked in partnership with East Kent Hospitals Trust for three years on providing ticketing options for staff – and Ashford is one such place. The introduction of minibuses has not impacted on the arrangements we have with them, but because we’ve seen an increase in the number of hospital staff using buses across the area in general, it’s clearly helped this project.

“Thanks to that partnership, our services were tweaked some time ago to better meet shift requirements. This led to increased bus use from staff – a win-win for the trust and ourselves. Hospital staff use smartcards, which makes things easier for everyone.”

Future

Turning to the future, Matthew observed: “It will be interesting to see how this concept works in practice. We expect to have to tweak the timetables in a positive way, especially around key trains in the morning and evening peaks. If we do generate modal shift, we’ll have to look at enhancing frequencies. We’re confident we’ll be able to cope with current passenger numbers. What we don’t know is whether we’ll be concentrating a large number of people on a small number of journeys. We will be keeping a very close eye on it.”

Asked if this concept is successful, might it be the saviour of rural services, Philip replied: “The experience gained, particularly in operating and engineering costs could well be adapted to provide for something beneficial in rural areas. It will give us valuable experience in the operation of this type of vehicle.”

Matthew cautioned: “In some way we don’t want to be distracted from our core reasons for doing this, which is to see if we can generate extra patronage on these key services in Ashford. Our focus is on the network changes on our core routes.

“We’ve had people suggest that we can now run evening services here, there and everywhere as we’ve got low-cost vehicles. We probably could, but I think we want to understand what we’re doing first. As it stands, our fleet is fully committed.”

Philip agreed: “Utilisation is vital – we can’t have them, sitting around all day, only being used at off-peak periods, such as evenings.

“We’ll be monitoring services and we’ll be developing them alongside the growth of
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