Safety is set to become one of the biggest selling points of shared transport. So believes Managing Director of Passenger Plus Mark Drury, whose responsibilities now include preserving the appeal of corporate transport amid the storm of changes resulting from coronavirus COVID-19
The award-winning operator has been quick to react since the virus hit our shores. Branded seat separators and reduced capacity ensure social distancing on the vehicles still transporting key workers for a number of clients. Risk assessments have been carried out and additional cleaning measures introduced on the drivers’ walk-round app maintain a record of when vehicles have been disinfected. Social distancing is monitored through CCTV, and a booking system introduced alongside its passenger app identifies who has travelled and when, in the event that passengers must be alerted to an infected individual. All of its measures are explained in a self-produced video.
Passenger Plus – still operational
Mark says Passenger Plus is lucky to be in the position that the majority of its work is ‘corporate last mile’, specialising in providing greener travel to its clients.
It works with banks and large pharmaceutical, oil and insurance companies, all of which have maintained contracted payments despite the pandemic. Private hire work, once a regular supplement that made up the 15% of work outside of contracted journeys, has gone. “The contract payments have kept us ticking over,” Mark explains. “Some of those clients are still running one or two vehicles for key staff. The business model is now built around those vehicles.”
Some contracts remain on standby, but Mark estimates 50% of the fleet is idle. Hope remains that the country is beginning its revival. “In the last week or so it looks like things are going to start picking up again,” he believes.
‘On-demand is the answer’
Passenger Plus is now flexing its services to be much more on-demand. Managing current demand has been possible owing to a large available fleet. As work picks up, things will invariably get complicated. A contract with a banking partner is due to begin in July, and Mark already plans to lease four additional vehicles to accommodate social distancing for that particular service. “We don’t own enough full-size vehicles to meet the new demand,” he explains. Passenger Plus operates four 53-seat coaches. Two of its clients use 35-seat vehicles and have since requested a combination of a 53-seat and 16-seat vehicles to maintain seats with social distancing in place.
There is a touch of irony that the situation has led to a sudden increase in additional operational vehicles. Mark has sourced some on short-term contracts with a one-month call off period. That protects the business from further sudden changes. “If somebody comes up with a cure to the virus, those additional vehicles will have to go. We don’t want a situation where we’re in a long-term agreement for empty coaches.”
The company is further looking at passenger protection through extension of its booking platform. Half of its journeys presently require pre-booked seats, and Passenger Plus is considering a 24-hour advance booking requirement to determine demand and build a more robust service. This will impact its clients positively; as Mark explains, it will for example allow caterers inside buildings to better understand the demand as staff numbers fluctuate, and managing delivery times will potentially avoid long queues for those workplaces performing health checks on their staff before entry.
To its own benefit, The 24-hour advance booking service allows Passenger Plus to put on the right number of vehicles and avoid overloading (and the inevitable scramble for additional coaches should overloading occur). Passengers are loaded from the rear seats forward and alight from the front seats rearward to further avoid unnecessary contact.
Being an operator with that degree of ‘control’ over its passengers stands Passenger Plus in good stead, as it would with any operator. “We can sit down with our clients and react accordingly as the situation develops,” Mark says. “We have put systems in place that allow us to do so. Until a cure is found to control the virus, we must take a reasonably long-term view on social distancing.”
Certainly, if any operator or corporate entity wants to mitigate the risk of pointed fingers should the worst arise, flexible reactions are a must. Passenger Plus and its clients are proving each day that those serious about maintaining safety must not be shy about spending money on putting the appropriate systems in place.
Embracing technology during COVID-19
Like most operators, Passenger Plus has seen the benefits of technology during this crisis. This should come as no surprise – the operator last year won in Best use of Technology (up to 150 vehicles) at the routeone Awards. Between 30 and 40 of its vehicles operate alongside a free vehicle tracking app developed by Rise Digital Media, with which passengers can book and see live rail departures.
Many clients are now requesting services to be extended beyond railway stations, as awareness grows around the coach or bus’ advantages surrounding social distancing and guaranteed seats.
With Distinctive Systems’ Coach Manager software, GDPR compliant tracking of passengers gives clients further comfort should any passengers need to be contacted following a reported case of coronavirus COVID-19 on the vehicle.
It would have been difficult to turn around these changes from scratch, Mark explains, which further shows how important it has been that existing apps and platforms were already in place. The company has adapted its existing technology, which makes life easier. “With the app, we managed to take this straight to our clients and demonstrate we were being proactive. Everyone has gotten used to it now and most of the changes were reasonably straightforward to do.”
In addition to two metre social distancing and regular hand washing being upheld, half day training periods are ensuring consistency with Passenger Plus’ workforce. It involves an understanding of temperature check procedures, how best to communicate with passengers and thorough knowledge of the new vehicle processes, from layout to loading, and what to do in the unlikely events of emergencies and breakdowns. “We felt it was important to get everybody on the same page. We haven’t seen some staff members for six weeks, so it was vital we got face to face with them and explain how to handle any situation.”
This has also been an opportunity for Mark to get drivers’ take on the situation. Feedback from those on the frontline is perhaps one of the most important ways for operators to protect their staff and passengers. “We’ve had a fair amount of engagement, and some good ideas have been shared. We’re always happy to listen to our drivers,” Mark adds.
How you can benefit
A crisis is a proving moment for any business, and latching onto the words by Churchill and Machiavelli Mark says no crisis should go to waste. “If we can provide a service for our clients that is much safer than other means of transport, and that it is worth paying for, we have to get that message across. Many operators could do well out of the pandemic.”
Mark is right to suggest that the responsibility for Passenger Plus, and other operators, is to its clients – and while he might feel a pang of guilt for saying so, in order to continue attracting customers, investment in safety is a strong means of widening the gap between the competition. It is essential to make the best of any situation.
