Having made a success of franchising in Jersey, Samuel Ribeiro and his Tower Transit colleagues are seeking further opportunities
LibertyBus – a franchising success story
When I look back on my 2024 by some distance the highlight was my first ever trip to the Channel Islands, which I made in June to check out Tower Transit’s LibertyBus services in Jersey. I often imagine what paradise genuinely looks like and a more blissful setting than this beautiful island you will struggle to find. The scenery is truly out of this league, the architecture fascinating, and so too are the culinary delights, but most of all, the bus network is frequent, friendly and almost omnipresent. And there’s a decent second-hand model railway shop there too!
I was delighted, therefore, that a few weeks ago, it was announced that Tower Transit, which Australian company Kelsian owns, had retained the contract to run the buses in Jersey for another 10 years, with a possibility of a further three on extension. As if that wasn’t enough to celebrate, LibertyBus also picked up ‘Bus Operator of the Year’ accolade at the recent RouteOne Awards! It’s no surprise that Tower Transit’s head honcho, the slick and smooth-talking Samuel Ribeiro, had a grin from cheek to cheek when I caught up with him for lunch last week to learn more.
Samuel is from Sao Paulo and started out as a financial analyst two decades ago, spending time as a banker for HSBC in Brazil doing bus financing deals
Samuel is a hidden gem in the transport sector despite his seniority. He doesn’t court publicity, but he’s had a unconventional journey to the top. Samuel is from Sao Paulo and started out as a financial analyst two decades ago, spending time as a banker for HSBC in Brazil doing bus financing deals and then with them in London. When they set up a unique team in the UK to focus on this activity, he was made a director for their project and export finance team. In this role, he focused primarily on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) schemes, financing projects that sometimes involved 600 to 1,200 buses (in one single deal) in the UK and globally. He joined Tower Transit in 2017 as corporate finance director, business development, where he focused not only on financing buses but also the group’s first bus electrification projects before getting a bug for leadership roles that saw him head up its London business as managing director.
The Tower Transit journey is really interesting, and Samuel delights in recounting it. The company came from Transit Systems in 1995 – when three families came together to bid for the first bus franchise in Australia in Perth and won. On the back of this, Perth was seen as setting the template for a successful contracting model in the country and other cities copied it. Transit Systems grew organically and through acquisitions, but by 2012, it was struggling to find places to expand in Australia, so it looked internationally. London was seen as a good opportunity. One of the founders came over to the UK and it was around the time that FirstGroup was looking to dispose of some of its operations. Accordingly, Transit Systems picked up two London bus garages at Lea Interchange and Westbourne Park. But the group’s meteoric rise hit a bump in June 2022 with their sudden exit from the capital.
“It was all going well until we started feeling pressures for lack of scale in the market, as we had only 4% of the market share; in addition, our depots were too far away from each other to create synergies,” Samuel explains. “Then Covid came, with high inflation, low margin. We felt the pressures before more prominent players as we were on a small scale, and we took the view that it wasn’t the best place to be for the next three to five year cycle of TfL contracts, which in hindsight turned out to be the right decision.
“We didn’t want to leave the UK. We had a good executive team, a lot of history, strong relationships and high hopes for the UK market, but we didn’t think that London was the place to be at that time. With Hackney Community Transport Group struggling, we bought their businesses in Jersey and Guernsey in September 2022, which was good as we were seeing franchising start in Manchester and beyond and could already see that Jersey was a successful case for the franchise model – and something we absolutely wanted to be a part of”.
Samuel’s salivating about franchising, which he sees as a big opportunity and one that Kelsian is all focused on and really good at. “We’re really excited to advance franchising in the UK,” he tells me. We think it is a successful model; you can see it all over the world.
Almost all of our group’s city bus operations are based on the franchise model, which has Kelsian successfully running thousands of buses in four continents (Australia, Singapore, Jersey, and the United States).
We have always seen the benefits of franchising in Australia and across the globe
“We have always seen the benefits of franchising in Australia and across the globe. Clearly, this is the model the UK is pushing for and we need to help and shape those franchising processes so they are successful for the industry instead of fighting against it.”
In October, Tower Transit’s LibertyBus retained the contract for Jersey, having been disappointed not to have keep the much smaller contract on neighbouring Guernsey – it lost to Stagecoach. Samuel explains that in Jersey the emphasis in the tender evaluation, as opposed to Guernsey, was much more on quality – representing 60% of the criteria. It’s no surprise they did well, buoyed by rigorous focus, particularly on customer service since taking over in 2022. One such key initiative was the introduction of a bus app, which is particularly crucial on an island where many bus stops don’t have shelters and, therefore, the ability to display information is limited or nonexistent. “Some stops are denoted only by markings on the pavement!” Samuel explains. Nearly 45,000 of the circa 100,000 population in Jersey have downloaded the LibertyBus app already.
LibertyBus has also trialled electric vehicles, used its Kelsian colleagues to help promote services and cement external partnerships, and made deals with brokers to market and retail airport links so that customers can buy tickets when booking flights and hotels. They have also joined forces with the amazing Great Scenic Journeys business run by yours truly and employee engagement app provider Blink.
“There was a lack of investment previously and we were able to plug the holes,” adds Samuel, whilst paying testimony to the “recipe for success”, which has been the benefit of a settled local team led by the massively respected Kevin Hart who joined from First in 2013 and resides on the island, backed by an executive team in the UK that was now able to single-mindedly focus on the Channel islands, supported by the Kelsian expertise.
“We run services in 19 islands across the world, and we know what it is like to be a lifeline on an island,” he asserts. In total, the group employs over 12,500 and operates 5,500 buses, 115 vessels and 24 light rail vehicles, delivering 367 million customer journeys last year, including not just in the UK and Australia but also in Singapore and the USA.
Jersey’s model is hybrid. LibertyBus bid for a subsidised contract that covers roughly a third of revenue but keeps the farebox revenue. “It’s the best of both worlds. The government can give strict deliverables during this term, such as replacing the fleet and achieving a short list but punchy KPIs – which are welcome! The KPIs are very focused on driving quality and demand, and there is a profit share mechanism.”
If we want to expand our bus service offering we can do it on a commercial basis
On my paradisical trip to Jersey last summer, I could see, first hand, the unique nuances of the market. LibertyBus’ Latin American maestro explains that it benefits from having one single operator, such that when they invest in marketing, they are enjoying all the upside, so too when they implement initiatives such as the app. “It removes the layers of difficulty being the sole operator and this would work in smaller franchised areas in the UK,” he says. “If we want to expand our bus service offering we can do it on a commercial basis”.
This, though, is a wealthy island with a high level of car ownership. However, LibertyBus achieved 100% pre-Covid customer levels in 2023, without the benefit of the £2 fare cap, and 6% growth to date in 2024. “We reduced services in Covid, but this gave us chance to redraw the network based on new market needs – with a reduction in peak travel but an increase off-peak and in leisure, particularly at weekends,” Samuels reports.
Looking forward, LibertyBus has committed in the first year of the contract to deliver more services than were in the tender requirement, which is based on customer demand. “The cost will take care of itself because of the potential growth in patronage and benefits in the future,” says Samuel. “With the profit share mechanism, the more money the system generates, the more the government can then reinvest in the network. We are refurbishing the current vehicles and replacing the entire fleet during the contract term, including introducing more electric vehicles – which will be the majority by the end of the contract term.”
The trajectory for tourism in Jersey is promising and little wonder with so much to see and do. Samuel is getting almost as excited as I am as we reel off the endless delights together. “Alex there really is so much you can find on a 9×5 mile island”, he drools. “The work we’re all doing with Visit Jersey and other partners, has really pushed up the visitor market. The island is having to invest in more accommodation to cope with the growth of the visitor market. A lot of people still rent cars and the challenge is to stop people from doing that, but our Trip Advisor scores are really good – five-star rating with over 1,000 reviews – and this helps us. We hear from so many people saying, ‘I’ve never seen a bus operation like that or never seen a driver go out their way to help customers, like I’ve seen in Jersey’.
Whilst there is good practice in the UK, people are saying they aren’t seeing service on this level and they are not expecting this quality – we’re getting testimony after testimony
“Whilst there is good practice in the UK, people are saying they aren’t seeing service on this level and they are not expecting this quality – we’re getting testimony after testimony. But, car rentals is, of course, the biggest competition and people are errantly hiring one before they know the quality and network of our bus service. Working with booking.com and other third party organisations, we are trying to capture demand, even if just from the airport so they can see how good the bus journey is before renting a car.”
Samuel is so wedded to the success of Jersey and in thrall of the island, that he just can’t get enough of travelling over. It’s a thriving melting pot of art and culture like Sao Paulo but as far removed from a landscape of huge skyscrapers of his birthplace. However, he’s settled with his young family in Greenwich, and for his tall buildings kicks, he can glance nostalgically over the Thames at the Canary Wharf. There’s a task ahead on the mainland for now, with franchising looming and on a huge scale and other lofty growth opportunities, such as niche acquisitions. There’s a massive appetite for expansion.
It’s a wonder Samuel has any downtime, though he has a passion for surfing and football. He tells me some interesting stuff about Brazilian football and that all home-grown stars are never known to the nationals because they get sent packing abroad so soon in their careers. Like home-grown, little-known South American footballers, this once “boy from Brazil” also has a hidden-gem pedigree – just like Jersey and its great bus network. I recommend getting to know them better as they set the future benchmark!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of recruitment business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration and chair of Surrey FA.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
Ribeiro eyes UK after Jersey success
by Passenger Transport on Nov 29, 2024 • 2:37 pm No CommentsHaving made a success of franchising in Jersey, Samuel Ribeiro and his Tower Transit colleagues are seeking further opportunities
When I look back on my 2024 by some distance the highlight was my first ever trip to the Channel Islands, which I made in June to check out Tower Transit’s LibertyBus services in Jersey. I often imagine what paradise genuinely looks like and a more blissful setting than this beautiful island you will struggle to find. The scenery is truly out of this league, the architecture fascinating, and so too are the culinary delights, but most of all, the bus network is frequent, friendly and almost omnipresent. And there’s a decent second-hand model railway shop there too!
I was delighted, therefore, that a few weeks ago, it was announced that Tower Transit, which Australian company Kelsian owns, had retained the contract to run the buses in Jersey for another 10 years, with a possibility of a further three on extension. As if that wasn’t enough to celebrate, LibertyBus also picked up ‘Bus Operator of the Year’ accolade at the recent RouteOne Awards! It’s no surprise that Tower Transit’s head honcho, the slick and smooth-talking Samuel Ribeiro, had a grin from cheek to cheek when I caught up with him for lunch last week to learn more.
Samuel is a hidden gem in the transport sector despite his seniority. He doesn’t court publicity, but he’s had a unconventional journey to the top. Samuel is from Sao Paulo and started out as a financial analyst two decades ago, spending time as a banker for HSBC in Brazil doing bus financing deals and then with them in London. When they set up a unique team in the UK to focus on this activity, he was made a director for their project and export finance team. In this role, he focused primarily on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) schemes, financing projects that sometimes involved 600 to 1,200 buses (in one single deal) in the UK and globally. He joined Tower Transit in 2017 as corporate finance director, business development, where he focused not only on financing buses but also the group’s first bus electrification projects before getting a bug for leadership roles that saw him head up its London business as managing director.
The Tower Transit journey is really interesting, and Samuel delights in recounting it. The company came from Transit Systems in 1995 – when three families came together to bid for the first bus franchise in Australia in Perth and won. On the back of this, Perth was seen as setting the template for a successful contracting model in the country and other cities copied it. Transit Systems grew organically and through acquisitions, but by 2012, it was struggling to find places to expand in Australia, so it looked internationally. London was seen as a good opportunity. One of the founders came over to the UK and it was around the time that FirstGroup was looking to dispose of some of its operations. Accordingly, Transit Systems picked up two London bus garages at Lea Interchange and Westbourne Park. But the group’s meteoric rise hit a bump in June 2022 with their sudden exit from the capital.
“It was all going well until we started feeling pressures for lack of scale in the market, as we had only 4% of the market share; in addition, our depots were too far away from each other to create synergies,” Samuel explains. “Then Covid came, with high inflation, low margin. We felt the pressures before more prominent players as we were on a small scale, and we took the view that it wasn’t the best place to be for the next three to five year cycle of TfL contracts, which in hindsight turned out to be the right decision.
“We didn’t want to leave the UK. We had a good executive team, a lot of history, strong relationships and high hopes for the UK market, but we didn’t think that London was the place to be at that time. With Hackney Community Transport Group struggling, we bought their businesses in Jersey and Guernsey in September 2022, which was good as we were seeing franchising start in Manchester and beyond and could already see that Jersey was a successful case for the franchise model – and something we absolutely wanted to be a part of”.
Samuel’s salivating about franchising, which he sees as a big opportunity and one that Kelsian is all focused on and really good at. “We’re really excited to advance franchising in the UK,” he tells me. We think it is a successful model; you can see it all over the world.
Almost all of our group’s city bus operations are based on the franchise model, which has Kelsian successfully running thousands of buses in four continents (Australia, Singapore, Jersey, and the United States).
“We have always seen the benefits of franchising in Australia and across the globe. Clearly, this is the model the UK is pushing for and we need to help and shape those franchising processes so they are successful for the industry instead of fighting against it.”
In October, Tower Transit’s LibertyBus retained the contract for Jersey, having been disappointed not to have keep the much smaller contract on neighbouring Guernsey – it lost to Stagecoach. Samuel explains that in Jersey the emphasis in the tender evaluation, as opposed to Guernsey, was much more on quality – representing 60% of the criteria. It’s no surprise they did well, buoyed by rigorous focus, particularly on customer service since taking over in 2022. One such key initiative was the introduction of a bus app, which is particularly crucial on an island where many bus stops don’t have shelters and, therefore, the ability to display information is limited or nonexistent. “Some stops are denoted only by markings on the pavement!” Samuel explains. Nearly 45,000 of the circa 100,000 population in Jersey have downloaded the LibertyBus app already.
LibertyBus has also trialled electric vehicles, used its Kelsian colleagues to help promote services and cement external partnerships, and made deals with brokers to market and retail airport links so that customers can buy tickets when booking flights and hotels. They have also joined forces with the amazing Great Scenic Journeys business run by yours truly and employee engagement app provider Blink.
“There was a lack of investment previously and we were able to plug the holes,” adds Samuel, whilst paying testimony to the “recipe for success”, which has been the benefit of a settled local team led by the massively respected Kevin Hart who joined from First in 2013 and resides on the island, backed by an executive team in the UK that was now able to single-mindedly focus on the Channel islands, supported by the Kelsian expertise.
“We run services in 19 islands across the world, and we know what it is like to be a lifeline on an island,” he asserts. In total, the group employs over 12,500 and operates 5,500 buses, 115 vessels and 24 light rail vehicles, delivering 367 million customer journeys last year, including not just in the UK and Australia but also in Singapore and the USA.
Jersey’s model is hybrid. LibertyBus bid for a subsidised contract that covers roughly a third of revenue but keeps the farebox revenue. “It’s the best of both worlds. The government can give strict deliverables during this term, such as replacing the fleet and achieving a short list but punchy KPIs – which are welcome! The KPIs are very focused on driving quality and demand, and there is a profit share mechanism.”
On my paradisical trip to Jersey last summer, I could see, first hand, the unique nuances of the market. LibertyBus’ Latin American maestro explains that it benefits from having one single operator, such that when they invest in marketing, they are enjoying all the upside, so too when they implement initiatives such as the app. “It removes the layers of difficulty being the sole operator and this would work in smaller franchised areas in the UK,” he says. “If we want to expand our bus service offering we can do it on a commercial basis”.
This, though, is a wealthy island with a high level of car ownership. However, LibertyBus achieved 100% pre-Covid customer levels in 2023, without the benefit of the £2 fare cap, and 6% growth to date in 2024. “We reduced services in Covid, but this gave us chance to redraw the network based on new market needs – with a reduction in peak travel but an increase off-peak and in leisure, particularly at weekends,” Samuels reports.
Looking forward, LibertyBus has committed in the first year of the contract to deliver more services than were in the tender requirement, which is based on customer demand. “The cost will take care of itself because of the potential growth in patronage and benefits in the future,” says Samuel. “With the profit share mechanism, the more money the system generates, the more the government can then reinvest in the network. We are refurbishing the current vehicles and replacing the entire fleet during the contract term, including introducing more electric vehicles – which will be the majority by the end of the contract term.”
The trajectory for tourism in Jersey is promising and little wonder with so much to see and do. Samuel is getting almost as excited as I am as we reel off the endless delights together. “Alex there really is so much you can find on a 9×5 mile island”, he drools. “The work we’re all doing with Visit Jersey and other partners, has really pushed up the visitor market. The island is having to invest in more accommodation to cope with the growth of the visitor market. A lot of people still rent cars and the challenge is to stop people from doing that, but our Trip Advisor scores are really good – five-star rating with over 1,000 reviews – and this helps us. We hear from so many people saying, ‘I’ve never seen a bus operation like that or never seen a driver go out their way to help customers, like I’ve seen in Jersey’.
“Whilst there is good practice in the UK, people are saying they aren’t seeing service on this level and they are not expecting this quality – we’re getting testimony after testimony. But, car rentals is, of course, the biggest competition and people are errantly hiring one before they know the quality and network of our bus service. Working with booking.com and other third party organisations, we are trying to capture demand, even if just from the airport so they can see how good the bus journey is before renting a car.”
Samuel is so wedded to the success of Jersey and in thrall of the island, that he just can’t get enough of travelling over. It’s a thriving melting pot of art and culture like Sao Paulo but as far removed from a landscape of huge skyscrapers of his birthplace. However, he’s settled with his young family in Greenwich, and for his tall buildings kicks, he can glance nostalgically over the Thames at the Canary Wharf. There’s a task ahead on the mainland for now, with franchising looming and on a huge scale and other lofty growth opportunities, such as niche acquisitions. There’s a massive appetite for expansion.
It’s a wonder Samuel has any downtime, though he has a passion for surfing and football. He tells me some interesting stuff about Brazilian football and that all home-grown stars are never known to the nationals because they get sent packing abroad so soon in their careers. Like home-grown, little-known South American footballers, this once “boy from Brazil” also has a hidden-gem pedigree – just like Jersey and its great bus network. I recommend getting to know them better as they set the future benchmark!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of recruitment business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration and chair of Surrey FA.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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