Around 100 delegates gathered in Edinburgh last week for the latest conference organised by the Young Bus Managers Network. Mike Morgan joined them
Ambitious newcomers to the industry in search of encouragement, inspiration and support were well catered for at this year’s spring conference organised by the Young Bus Managers Network (YBMN).
Held at the Holiday Inn in Edinburgh, the conference was hosted by industry stalwarts and YBMN Co-Patrons, Roger French and James Freeman.
The prime attraction of the conference was probably the age-old virtue of networking. Yet, despite the undoubted value of meeting and learning from others in the industry, it was the conference programme of stimulating presentations and a depot visit that proved to be the real hit.
New to the industry
YBMN was founded in June 2008. It is a not-for-profit organisation helping the industry breed and encourage the next generation of great managers. Supported by the Chris Moyes Scholarship Trust, its patrons (Roger French and James Freeman) work alongside a committee of five young managers representing the plc groups and independent operators.
There are spring and autumn conferences in a different location each time. This year the network will also run two seminars looking to explore topics in more detail. All young managers in the bus industry can register to attend, whether working for one of the big groups or an independent operator. The term 'young' is used loosely, though most delegates are in their 20s, and some in their early 30s.
Roger French explained that the conferences no longer have to depend on financial support from the trust set up in Chris Moyes’ memory, so for the first time it invited four students from Aston and Huddersfield Universities to attend free of charge. Other delegates included 31 from FirstGroup, 25 from Arriva, 14 from Go-Ahead, 12 from Stagecoach, one from National Express and a sprinkling of representatives of other operators to take the total to 100.
All had one thing in common – they are new to the industry, without any clear idea of how their career will map out.
The speakers, therefore, were briefed to provide an outline of how their own careers evolved and the lessons learnt along the way.
The un-planned career
First up was Ralph Roberts, Managing Director, McGill's Buses, the operator of a large network of bus services between Renfrewshire and Glasgow.
With a reputation for being outspoken, and often labelled ‘controversial’, Ralph has taken a high profile in the Scottish bus scene, taking advantage of the freedom to speak that is rarely afforded to managers within the PLCs. In the process he is making sure the voice of the industry is heard.
Ralph explained how his career progression and experiences moulded his approach to management.
Having started as an engineering trainee with the nationalised Scottish Bus Group, he described the next 30 years as “a journey”, which proved to be an understated way of describing his moves into coaches with Glasgow operator Cotters, into mobile cranes, then to the Freight Transport Association, the RAF, the Army, London Transport Buses and Rentokil.
By 2000 he had joined Arriva, experiencing problem solving on the Wales rail franchise, then back to buses (and Scotland) as MD of loss-making Arriva Scotland. It was this latter move that subsequently (and indirectly) led him to McGill’s in 2010.
Although it is difficult to describe Ralph’s career as planned, it undoubtedly has the virtue of providing him with the experiences and skill sets to equip him to build the McGill’s business from a fleet of 75 operating out of one depot in 2010 to one of 450 that runs out of five depots in 2018.
He singles out Rentokil as the place where he learnt how to manage, while he reflected on the early 2000s as having “been through the fire, when companies went into meltdown on a regular basis because of cuts that went too deep, efficiencies that weren’t efficiencies, and a shortage of good people.”
His advice?
“Don’t be afraid of problems, because they are an opportunity.
“Run in and offer a solution. You’ve got an opinion, use it. You’ve got a brain, use it.”
And the secret of growing a business?
“Cash has to be managed very carefully. Throwing money at things isn’t always the solution.
“I had a vision, but getting people to buy in was more difficult.
“Be yourself, learn from your mistakes, accept help and learn, don’t pigeon-hole yourself, and be patient.”
The fast-moving career
If any YBMN delegates viewed Ralph’s 30-plus years equivalent to a lifetime and his tales of pre-privatisation waste and inefficiencies something from a different age, then they were jolted into the present by Peter Knight, Operations Director, Scottish Citylink Coaches.
Peter, also a YBMN member, left university with a geography degree seven years ago. He elected to apply to join Stagecoach as a Graduate Management Trainee and started on the well-trodden path that took him from depot to depot until “things got interesting from 2014 when I wrote a report on deregulation of coaches in Germany.”
This led to the birth of Megabus in Europe and Peter found himself “learning on the job and embracing the opportunity.”
That opportunity turned out to be the June 2015 launch of Megabus in Italy. All was set up in four months, and Peter was in charge of 23 new Van Hool Astromegas that operated on eight-day cycles of 8,000km each.
Although a success in terms of passenger numbers, Stagecoach sold its Megabus European operation to Germany-based Flexbus. But, what an experience, and one that equipped Peter for his current role with Scottish Citylink, the Stagecoach-managed joint venture with ComfortDelGro.
His current day-to-day responsibilities include Citylink and its 10 subcontractors, together with Megabus in Scotland and its cross-border services.
Peter attributes his rapid rise to seizing the initiative, working hard, being flexible and taking time to reflect.
His advice after six jobs in five locations in seven years?
“Avoid statements such as ‘I think so’ and ‘I’ve emailed them’. Avoid patronising or condescending behaviour, and don’t expect an opportunity to fall in your lap.”
The well-grounded career
Although Richard Hall has been Managing Director of Lothian Buses for two years, his apprenticeship was in the electricity industry and he fell into the PSV world by earning extra money as a weekend coach driver. This took him into full-time employment and training to become a traffic manager before joining Weston-super-Mare-based Bakers Dolphin as General Manager in 1993.
However, he explained to the audience that he couldn’t see any prospect of further advancement in an industry dominated by family-owned businesses, so applied to bus companies, including Stagecoach.
From that point his career accelerated. He ran garages and gained experience of “massive challenges” in Malta and with the 2012 Olympics.
“Stagecoach,” he said, “provided the best grounding I ever had. Brian (Souter) and Les (Warneford) taught me a lot.”
Three years with London United followed, with the Transdev-owned business adding London Sovereign and the Original London Tour during that time.
Now with Lothian, an operation with a dense, urban network, 794 buses and four garages, he has set about changing the culture. “We’re not a bus business, we’re a retail business,” he said.
“In Edinburgh, buses are part of the fabric of society. We’ve evolved Lothian into an identifiable brand. That’s changed perceptions.
“We only act as caretakers, so we have to maintain a legacy.”
Among actions to build that legacy, Lothian has transformed its open-top tour business, recorded significant growth on its East Coach Buses network taken over from First two years ago, and is building for the future with 54 apprentices since 2012.
And, to follow his upbeat presentation, Richard hosted a comprehensive tour of Lothian’s Central Garage where the delegates gained an insight into the processes that ensure high levels of vehicle presentation.
And, as befitting an audience of young industry professionals, there was considerable interest in Lothian’s state-of-the-art technology employed in the impressive control room where Lothian strives to improve headway management.
The enthusiasm that flowed from three very candid personal appraisals provided the inspiration required, while the fascinating contrasts between the three demonstrated that the route to the top can be as unpredictable as it is varied.
