With passion comes success: Proven by award-winning operator Go South Coast
The coach and bus industry has its challenges, but what industry doesn’t?
With congestion, air quality and the ever-growing strain of having to please hundreds of people a day, the coach and bus industry is one sector that has mountains to climb.
One bus operator who has faced the challenges head on, and still continues to do so, is Go South Coast.
The award-winning operator has hit the ground running with its advances in air quality, earning itself the Environment Award at this year’s routeone Awards – and there are many reasons as to why it was also named Large Bus Operator of the year at the same time.
Bucking the trend
Adding to the list of challenges hitting the industry, driver shortages and patronage decline are ones that can really impact a firm in a negative way.
But Go South Coast is “bucking the national trend of decline,” it says.
Patronage across Go South Coast has increased by 14% since 2012, compared to a nationwide reduction of 4.5%.
Its subsidiary Bluestar has a usage increase up by 25.8%, compared to a Southampton-wide increase of 18.9% and a Hampshire-wide increase of 1.5%.
Morebus is up by 21.6% compared to a Poole and Bournemouth-wide increase of 19.1%. And Isle of Wight-based Southern Vectis is up by 10.2%.
Transformation
One of its many achievements was the transformation of Thamesdown into Swindon’s Bus Company.
The operator says: “We acquired Thamesdown, a failing municipal, just over a year ago. The transformation was quick and dramatic, but was required to put buses back on the map in an area of decline.
“The business is [now] unrecognisable and is carrying more customers and making a profit.”
With the rebrand, the service abolished its exact fare policy, and now features USB-charging ports on board, a ticketing app and contactless ticket machines.
Nikki Honer, Head of Marketing, says: “We really have transformed an old and outdated underperforming operator into this sparkly Go South Coast service.”
Clean-air commitment
There are five cities set to introduce a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) by 2020: Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton, with London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone being enforced from April 2019.
Go South Coast has backed the initiative early, with 20.5% of its feet conforming to the latest Euro 6 standard and 33.3% to Euro 5 – the remainder of the fleet then falls into the lower Euro ratings.
“Through fleet replacement and/or modification, our number one priority is to get the Southampton fleet to meet the CAZ,” the operator says.
“We’ve successfully attracted £1.2m of funding to retrofit 74 buses with a combined diesel particulate filter and selective catalytic reduction system in one unit – to convert the fleet to the latest Euro 6 standard.
“Tests carried out at Millbrook Proving Ground have demonstrated NOx reduction greater than 95%.”
This year, Go South Coast has shown its commitment to fleet investment. It has taken delivery of 41 new Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro200MMCs for its Morebus services and, in August, it took delivery of 32 new ADL Enviro400MMCs dual-door for its Unilink operation – meaning this whole brand is 100% Euro 6.
Not just vehicles
The firm hasn’t just tackled the air-quality issue with vehicles alone, it has also taken steps in its depots and offices too.
Its new bus washers “utilise re-harvested rainwater and significantly reduce water usage saving 30 litres per wash,” it says.
By installing energy-efficient heaters and motion-sensor LED lighting across the premises, the firm has been able to reduce its electric consumption by 4.4% on the previous year and are down by 7.1% on 2014/15.
Passion
When it comes down to finding the roots of a successful operation, operators all have the same vision: They never lose sight of the service and who it’s there for.
“We have a lot of people with a lot of passion, we all want it to succeed and we absolutely all try and do the right thing for the customer,” Nikki says.
Over the last couple of years, Go South Coast has expanded its networks where it’s been “ripe and ready to do so”, and has built relationships with the local communities it serves.
“I think the fact that we are allowed our individual identities in each town means people can form a stronger relationship with us. We’ve got a bit of personality with all the individual brands,” she adds.
“Although a lot of what we do is quite similar, actually, we can adapt it for those towns, cities and communities we work with and each brand does a lot of local engagement as well.
“Most importantly, we see ourselves as more than just a service provider – we’re a lifeline.”
Get to know Go South Coast
Go South Coast has a history dating back to 4 January 1915 – albeit not as the operator we know today. The firm operates 760 buses across nine depots and its subsidiaries include:
- Bluestar – Hampshire
- Unilink – University of Southampton
- Damory Coaches – Dorset
- Excelsior Coaches – Bournemouth
- Hants & Dorset Trim
- morebus – Bournemouth and Poole
- UNIBUS – Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth
- Salisbury Reds – Salisbury
- Southern Vectis – Isle of Wight
- Thamesdown (Swindon's Bus Company) – Swindon
- Tourist Group – Dorset and Wiltshire
