Community

We offer a vital service to the communities in which we operate. We have an important role to play in improving the quality of transport services and must ensure that our services can be accessed by as broad a cross section of the community as possible.

Many community members rely heavily on us for their transport needs. We aim to develop our services, providing good access to customers who most need them including those with special needs. We also engage with the community in a variety of ways, for example, through event sponsorship, fundraising initiatives and more formal partnerships designed to benefit local communities.

This year we sponsored Sheffield's Young Painter of the Year competition in which pupils from more than 90 schools took part. Our operations in South Yorkshire donate to the local community through a patron grant fund which provides grants to local community groups. This year they also signed up to raise £10,000 for Read to Succeed a charity project that aims to fund 50 part-time classroom assistants offering children essential reading support.

We have developed a number of community partnerships and initiatives to support anti-vandalism campaigns, educational and sporting programmes. In Glasgow and Aberdeen we sponsor the First Football initiative which promotes football as a positive alternative to anti-social behaviour. Football tournaments for young people are run during the winter months specifically in Social Inclusion Partnership areas where vandalism and crime are typically high. We are also corporate supporters of Scotland's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

We provide our buses free of charge for a range of charitable and community events across the country.

Working to Reduce Vandalism

Anti-vandalism campaigns are a key part of our community programme. We are particularly well placed to support these initiatives as we have direct experience of the results of vandalism. A number of our projects have now become well established and are providing long-term services and information to the local community. Examples of this are our anti-vandalism buses operated in conjunction with the local police force. These can be booked by schools, clubs and community groups looking to spread the anti-vandalism message. The buses have proved highly popular and are in continuous demand.

Supporting Educational Initiatives

We also support educational initiatives promoting the use of public transport to young children and help to show them the environmental benefits of using buses and trains. In Bristol we are developing lesson plans and classroom activities on sustainable transport for 7-11 year olds. These will further our relationships with local schools as well as providing an extensive teaching resource which has already received positive feedback from teachers involved in its development. Our Aberdeen operations recently ran a highly successful Poem on the Bus competition aimed at raising awareness of the environmental benefits of buses.

Encouraging Staff Volunteering

Volunteering is an important part of our community programme. In partnership with Business in the Community we run community challenges as part of our NVQ2 Supervisory development programme First into Management. Those taking part in the programme lead community projects to put their learning into action. Since May 2005 we have completed over 50 projects through this scheme with over 700 delegates completing over 6,600 hours of volunteering. This has made a difference to numerous needy organisations across the UK. Projects range from developing sensory gardens for children and adults with visual or hearing impairments to developing and decorating community facilities.

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