I read with interest the comments from Tim Gibson in last week’s routeone.
I’m not sure where the pay rates detail came from for the story [routeone/News/22 November] as they certainly weren’t part of our official press release – they likely came from a staff notice.
However, it’s fair to say that most municipal operators have a history of better-than-average terms and conditions.
Here at Reading Buses this has been just one ingredient in an employment approach which has paid huge dividends in terms of the quality of employees attracted, the standard of customer service delivered and staff retention rates, all of which have a financial upside beyond headline pay rates.
We have a good track record of improving and turning around the fortunes of routes taken over in similar circumstances in recent years. Mr Gibson no doubt has a view on the sort of operation currently being delivered and its potential, but I can assure him that it’s very different from what he will see on his doorstep in Leeds. Just on marketing alone, and bear in mind the importance of the tourist market to this route given the destinations served, there are plenty of opportunities that our local ownership and attention approach can bring. For example, the route doesn’t even have its own timetable leaflet at the moment, being part of a ‘Slough and Windsor’ booklet which has no mention of Green Line or London on the front, let alone a meaningful presence online.
Of course Reading Buses isn’t the only independent operator which is able to bring local focus and effort to improve the fortunes of these sorts of routes. The work of fellow municipal operator Lothian with its Country Buses and East Coast Buses operations is one such great example.
Thanks for the good luck. Yes we will need some good fortune along the way, but we’re walking into this with our eyes wide open, with a plan, and against the backdrop of a very different business model to a large PLC such as First.
Martijn Gilbert,
CEO, Reading Buses
