Investing in our services
We invest heavily in our services to improve reliability and the customer experience. This is essential to achieving passenger growth.
During the last year we invested nearly £57 million on 361 new high-specification buses which have been allocated to companies across the division. Earlier this year we announced the largest single investment in new buses in the company’s history: more than £100 million will fund over 700 new buses on the road in 2008/09.
Partnership working
In addition to vehicle investment partnership working is key to improving our services. We work closely with local authorities, towns and cities to tackle congestion hotspots, deliver priority improvements and plan improved bus services for our passengers. We actively seek to develop these partnerships and ensure they deliver real benefits.
Investment in property
We continue to upgrade and improve our bus stations and depots to deliver reliability improvements. During the past year £14.5 million has been spent on upgrading property. This has included the opening of a new £9 million depot at Abbey Lane, Leicester, £2.5 million refurbishment works at Hayes Depot in London and replacement of the Leeds depot.
Redevelopment works have also started on our Global Headquarters at King Street, Aberdeen. The work will include a new depot, a new office building and the refurbishment of the listed granite building, which will become FirstGroup’s National Training Centre.
Growth and stability pact in Glasgow
In Glasgow we have a Growth and Stability pact with Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Passenger Transport. As part of this a comprehensive route development plan is being developed that looks at network changes in the context of wider developments in Greater Glasgow such as new housing schemes and leisure complexes. During the past year a 'listening bus' has been used to tell the communities about the proposed changes and receive customer feedback. The partnership has also worked together on targeting high car usage areas in Glasgow where new services have been launched.
A new signing for Sheffield
In May 2007 we put in place a groundbreaking agreement with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and Sheffield City Council. This partnership will see £16.9 million invested in a range of measures to improve the city’s transport services and encourage passenger growth. The network and infrastructure will be overhauled. We will invest £10 million in new buses, extra security and additional training for staff.
Joint Investment Plan in Norwich
In December we signed a Joint Investment Plan with Norfolk County Council and Norwich City Council to deliver greatly improved bus services to the area. A joint investment of £27 million will be used to increase the reliability, frequency and accessibility of services and improve the supporting infrastructure. We will invest in new vehicles and in additional training for driving, cleaning and engineering staff to include disability awareness, customer service and improved cleaning techniques.
Improving services in Bristol
In Bristol we have had a long-term partnership with Bristol City Council to introduce 'Showcase' routes to the city. These combine brand-new low floor modern buses with improved journey information and better infrastructure. The first Showcase route was introduced in 2003 and resulted in a 12% passenger increase. A further route was launched in December 2007 incorporating a £7 million investment in 42 new buses. Funding is being sought from the Department of Transport to develop further Showcase routes across the city.