Go North West, part of the Go-Ahead Group, won the Recruitment and Retention Category award at yesterday’s UK Bus Awards for their Elite Driver Recruitment campaign.

They developed a fresh approach to recruitment and retention by changing perceptions of bus driving to attract new talent, making substantial investments in the entire recruitment process, involving their training academy, mentors, the recruitment team, a revamped six-week training course, successfully tripling the number of trainers.

Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus won the Culture Change award. Their winning submission dealt with investing in a variety of wholly dramatised full-day CPC courses, including one on understanding customer needs and expectations.

Martin Dean, Managing Director UK Regional Bus with the Go-Ahead Group, said “I am delighted that Go North West have won this prestigious award for their bold approach to recruitment and retention, ensuring a 600% increase in applications, seven times as many drivers in training, 80% of applicants new to the industry, and a tripling in the number of women drivers they previously employed – representing the communities we serve

He added: “I am equally delighted for the team at Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus for their culture change award. From the outset, colleagues are introduced to the company and the wide range of roles available, ensuring everyone’s valued. By celebrating the great work everyone in the depot and on the road undertakes, we are delighted to celebrate the positive impact this has on our customers.”

More than 2.5 million people annually travel on the rapid transit network in the Dartford, Ebbsfleet & Gravesend areas

Services operate on dedicated busways delivering reliable and punctual services for communities

The Go-Ahead Group has successfully mobilised operations on the Fastrack network across North Kent under a 15-year contract in an agreement with Kent County Council that is worth £110 million.

Operations will commence with an interim diesel fleet before transitioning to a fleet that will be fully electric and in operation by Spring 2025. 28 zero-emission ‘tram-like’ buses will take to the streets of Kent, with on-street charging infrastructure to provide power to buses through the day.

The Fastrack network provides customers with a frequent ‘turn up and go’ service, connecting people to jobs, education, healthcare and shopping in an area of rapid economic growth which is undergoing significant regeneration.

With more than 2.5 million trips annually, reliable and punctual journeys are vital. The routes have dedicated traffic free lanes to get customers where they want, minimising delays.

The Go-Ahead Group has partnered with CitySwift, a public transport performance platform used to make timetables more efficient and maximise service reliability, benefitting customers and the communities connected by its bus services across the country.

The platform will provide Go-Ahead’s operating companies with the insights needed to maximise network reliability and punctuality, for an improved customer experience.

Go-Ahead has successfully utilised CitySwift in its East Yorkshire Buses, Oxford Bus Company, and Go North East operations. These projects showed an improved service punctuality of up to 14%, a 4% increase in customer journeys, and increased scheduler productivity.

CitySwift will be rolled out on a phased basis starting with Go North West and Kent Fastrack in Q4 2024 and for all other regional bus operating companies by 1 January 2025, with Go-Ahead London expected to be on-boarded in February 2025 and Go-Ahead Ireland later in the year.

Powered by intelligent data processing, CitySwift optimises more than 1 billion passenger trips yearly. CitySwift’s platform removes obstacles to accessing transportation data, empowering teams with rapid and reliable performance insights.

• Go North West marks its first year working with Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver ground breaking vision for transport
• Significant improvements in network performance and service reliability achieved by working in partnership in the first twelve months of operation
• Major investment in training and skills as over 150 apprentices join as bus drivers

Go-Ahead’s subsidiary Go North West is today celebrating its first anniversary of Bee Network operations and partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

The Bee Network, the UK’s first franchised bus operation outside London, began on 24 September 2023. Go-Ahead launched the initial two major franchised contracts in Bolton and Wigan, covering nearly 1,000 drivers and 55 routes with a fleet of over 300 buses. This mobilisation was one of the largest of its kind in UK history.

Over the past year, Go North West have significantly improved punctuality and overall performance across the Bee Network, driving up service standards and customer experience.  In April 2024 further network enhancements were made in collaboration with TfGM, including the introduction of additional buses and night services to support the city-region’s nighttime economy and those who work within it.

Since the start of Bee Network operations, Go North West has trained over 150 apprentices at its Elite Driver Academy, investing in top-tier training for drivers across the Bee Network, helping people build their careers in the industry. Earlier this year, Go-Ahead Women was also launched in Manchester, aiming to foster a more diverse workforce and inclusive environment.

In the last 12 months, Go-Ahead used its global expertise to deploy 50 new zero-emission buses, contributing to TfGM’ decarbonisation objectives and their target to achieve net zero by 2038. This investment has improved the environment for communities across Greater Manchester.

Go North West has also been successful in securing contracts across all three rounds of franchising in the city region, with the next batch of operations set to commence in early 2025.

Yesterday’s announcement that Arriva has plans to close depots in Buckinghamshire will have caused concern for communities and local authority partners. Carousel Buses, part of the Go-Ahead Group, stands ready to operate their services in High Wycombe.

Without any operator stepping in to the fold, the closure of Arriva depots in Buckinghamshire would mean a widespread cut for routes in and around High Wycombe which currently link the town to Reading, Amersham and several other towns and villages in the Chilterns.

Martin Dean, Managing Director of Go-Ahead Group’s Regional Bus division said “We are ready to work with our local authority partners and to support the current workforce, to keep bus services running in High Wycombe. We want to reassure customers that we would take on services as soon as Arriva makes its decision to exit the bus market in High Wycombe”.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Carousel Buses said “We are proud to serve communities in the area and recognise the importance of the network in connecting urban and rural communities to help people travel to places of work, education, and to see family and friends. Arriva’s network overlaps with our services which presents a positive opportunity to enable seamless travel if it becomes part of our company”.

The Go-Ahead Group and its regional bus operators have long-held experience of rescuing services where other operators have withdrawn. In 2023, Go-Ahead’s operator Go South Coast took on additional services in Southampton when First Bus withdrew. The year before, in 2022, they also ensured customers in Bournemouth weren’t left behind as a small operator collapsed which required the recruitment of over 100 staff in 48 hours to get services back on the road again.

Carousel Buses, a subsidiary of Oxford Bus Company and part of the wider Go-Ahead Group, are an experienced High Wycombe based operator, running a network of 50 buses in the area and across Buckinghamshire.

In partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council, Carousel Buses has recently announced several improvements that will see increased service frequency and upgraded fleet on routes between High Wycombe, towns in Buckinghamshire, and Heathrow Airport from the start of the June.