The awards have flowing towards Andrew Wickham and the Go South Coast business that he has led for 13 years. Here’s why
Andrew Wickham (centre) with colleagues when Go South Coast was crowned ‘UK Bus Operator of the Year’ in 2023
Two awards in the matter of a month for the transport industry’s equivalent of football manager Pep Guardiola – Andrew Wickham. First came the prestigious Great Scenic Journeys Open Top Winner 2024 for Southern Vectis’ Needles Breezer route and then an MBE bestowed on Andrew himself. It’s one trophy after another because 12 months earlier, the Go South Coast business that he leads waltzed away with the ‘Bus Operator of the Year’ accolade at the UK Bus Awards for the second time on the bounce.
I caught up with Andrew in his spacious office a stone’s throw from Poole Bus Station – in terms of size, it’s fit for a King even if it is modestly decorated, save for the gleaming Open Top Bus cup taking pride of place. He’s, in many respects, the King of UK bus, with the renowned Go South Coast business now in the ‘go to’ place for benchmarking. I recently spent a week on his patch, and the customer service was very good. Apart from one driver having fleeting vapes at a stop, the proposition on his New Forest Tours service was the nearest to perfection – be it the driver friendliness, the commentary, the quality of the buses, the marketing and the fantastic scenery.
The only delay we experienced was due to a gaggle of sheep and cows congregating in the middle of the shopping area in the village of Burley. His Beachcomber services in Dorset were pretty well spot on, and Southern Vectis was its customary polished self. So too were the bread-and-butter buses in and around big conurbations such as Southampton.
‘Wicko’, as he is affectionately known the length and breadth of the industry, is very self-effacing. As soon as he was selected for an MBE, he rapidly bestowed praise on his teams and colleagues throughout his career who made it possible. It wasn’t one of those predictable but hollow soundbites – with every achievement, he always deflects it onto others: “If it wasn’t for the people here it wouldn’t have happened and there’s no point in pretending otherwise.”
He’s also eager to explain that Go South Coast’s achievements over the years have, in no small measure, been due to the Go-Ahead structure in which local businesses are given trusted autonomy to get on and design and deliver their proposition in the best way for the particular communities they serve, recognising that those in the regions know the intricacies of the landscape and the markets. “Buses are a local business; you can’t plan the network in Bournemouth in Aberdeen. Even from Poole, it is a challenge; demand is on a bus stop level. Not like a supermarket – you have a baby, you buy Pampers – the demand is more nuanced.”
We just run the bus company properly, it’s not difficult
Wickham, who lives near Wimborne, is at the heart of his local community, spending several decades in Dorset. If he’s not hanging around on buses for the fun of it as a job and hobby, or listening to ‘80s music (his favourite band is OMD), he’s out watching Dorchester Town, Wimborne Town FC, Poole and other local football teams in his spare time. “My most recent match was Dorchester Sports v Blandford Forum, the seventh tier of
English football – I confess it was a bloody awful match,” he chunters. Talk to any stakeholder in the region and they all have a connection with their very own Pep.
Andrew’s emphasis on simplicity is refreshing, be it in realising that it’s all about keeping immersed in the local community through to just delivering day-in, day-out what it says on the tin. “It’s not rocket science” is something that he cannot stress enough, in terms of getting buses out clean, tidy, on-time and with friendly drivers. For all the highfalutin, whizz initiatives across business, it’s the simplicity that Wicko promotes which delivers results repeatedly, as boring as this may sound to innovators and fancy-dans.
For those who believe that management churn keeps it fresh and eventually yields results, Go South Coast’s success suggests that stability and simplicity is instead key. Wicko has been in charge at Go South Coast since 2011. He’s renowned to have been a great mentor, and many of those who have risen to dizzy heights in the bus industry learnt their trade under his stewardship. Brighton & Hove boss Ed Wills, Matt Kitchin, Stagecoach Yorkshire MD, and Alex Hornby, commercial and customer director at Northern Rail, are examples, and Alex Chutter, who heads up Go-Ahead sister company Pulhams. David Lee Kong, his longstanding operations director and Andrew Sherrington, who heads up the Salisbury business, are seen as Wicko protegees and, like many others in his team, have a very bright future, whilst Nikki Honer, his experienced head of marketing, has been a Go South Coast mainstay and factor in its success for many years. Folk hang around under his tutelage, and there’s a deep succession plan. If they do leave, his stars do so on an upward trajectory, when the time is right, and, like those who have worked under his doppelganger, Pep Guardiola, they always look back with incredible affection for the time they spent under his stewardship.
I suggest to Andrew that bringing in people who don’t like buses is now fashionable.
He responds: “You need a variety of different sorts of people, my directors. Two of the three are career bus people, and one isn’t, but he really knows his stuff. Why would you not want someone who understands the business they are running? History shows that when that happens, they tend to get replaced by someone with a bus background. What we do is quite unique and specialist.”
Go South Coast’s footprint continues to grow – a 9% year-on-year rise in patronage – and as an observer, it’s always appeared challenging for their competitors. This is not due to any unfairness, but they are up against such a customer-focused business, rooted in the community and de-centralised such that they can flourish and best resonate with local markets. Despite First upping their game in Southampton, they came out on top. First exited the city, just as Yellow Buses found it challenging. Wicko’s team picked up the pieces.
Why would you not want someone who understands the business they are running?
Across all of Wickham’s businesses, patronage is now near enough at pre-Covid levels, with really good growth on the former First and Yellow Buses routes, as well as the open toppers despite the rubbish weather last summer. “This is though not exactly classic bus territory; we’re in posh Dorset but we’ve bucked the trend of growth in non-traditional bus markets. We just run the bus company properly, it’s not difficult”. His line manager, Martin Dean, regional managing director at Go-Ahead, seconds Wicko’s penchant for simplicity: “Andrew is passionate about buses which has helped get Go South Coast to where it is today, but he also realises that it is the day-to-day mind-numbing attention to detail that makes the business a commercial and operational exemplar in the industry.”
The speed and effectiveness of how Go South Coast responded to Covid was, in Andrew’s view, of critical importance. “We quickly put hand-sanitiser on buses, enhanced cleaning, we made it public to give people confidence. Roadside publicity with every service change, started with printed timetables everywhere. We’ve trained drivers – as much as possible and focused on the customer. We do everything we can to look after our employees.”
Andrew’s enjoyed a 39-year career, though proclaims that his current role, which he started in 2011, is “the best job I’ve ever had”. Previous posts have included managing director, Plymouth City Bus, operations director at Go South Coast, and Go Ahead’s group development manager working directly for the late and hugely respected Chris Moyes. Several years at London General followed from 1992, Wicko having started his career in 1986 working in the university vacations before a year later becoming traffic assistant at Brighton Borough Transport and then managing Lewes Coaches. “I’ve always been a massive bus fan. Three weeks into doing A Levels, I thought, ‘What the hell am I going to do with a Physics degree?’ – the most likely next step – becoming a teacher, which might have seemed the most conventional pathway, was not for me; I wanted to do something I’m interested in.”
I ask Wicko for his career highlight, and despite his longevity, his proudest moment has been in recent times, when he presided over the takeover of routes vacated by Yellow Buses when their business collapsed. Wicko talks animatedly at a rate of knots about taking on the services: “I’ve endless stories of everyone rallying round, foregoing their weekend and mobilising the routes in a matter of days, Alex. Drivers were paid to travel from the relief point to the depot; we refined the rest area near the relief point – we found somewhere and said, ‘Let’s make this as nice as we can’. Our drivers loved it and so when First failed in Southampton, our city centre facility wasn’t big enough so we got a much bigger placewe did it properly. If it was office people, what would it be like? Don’t make drivers second-class citizens. We installed phone chargers, a quiet room, a prayer room, Wi-Fi, and managers on-site to provide support and interface. Try to get away from the whole bus industry mentality. Bus companies do a good job of making their drivers hate them.” Amen to all that.
He is one of the industry’s great personalities who shows excellent leadership skills but recognises the value of a well-motivated team pulling in the right direction
Well, may he be golden balls, hitting his numbers and saying the right thing about it being all about his team, but a real pull of Wimborne Wicko is that he’s not an insipid dullard corporate clone. Whilst delighted by his results, I suspect those at Go-Ahead HQ realise he’s a formidable force in acting in the interests of his local customers and employees first and foremost. His gaffer, Martin Dean, attests to his strength of character: “He is one of the industry’s great personalities who shows excellent leadership skills but recognises the value of a well-motivated team pulling in the right direction.”
So too, Wicko’s a garrulous character, feeding on snippets of insight and as excitable about the transport industry’s anecdotes, twists and turns as he was when he set out on his career. As soon as I sit down for our chat, I try to impress him by reeling off some stats and facts about the industry and a few dull platitudes to make it look like I am a polished expert, thinking that’s what he’d want to hear as my opening gambit. However, it’s obvious he’s not listening as three times he tries to interrupt impatiently and then puts both hands behind his head, leans back on his chair then, dramatically and speedily lurches forward, fist-pumps the table and with the cheekiest of grins, says: “Okay, Alex, never mind about all that, what’s the gossip? Come on, what’s the gossip out there? You must have it and you can’t have come all the way down here to deepest Dorset without some to give me.”
I wish there were more Wickos out there. It would be a more entertaining place to work, whilst, most importantly, customers would be happier, and bums would flock to seats.
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 transport technology business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
Wimborne Wicko’s winning formula
by Passenger Transport on Mar 7, 2025 • 3:20 pm No CommentsThe awards have flowing towards Andrew Wickham and the Go South Coast business that he has led for 13 years. Here’s why
Two awards in the matter of a month for the transport industry’s equivalent of football manager Pep Guardiola – Andrew Wickham. First came the prestigious Great Scenic Journeys Open Top Winner 2024 for Southern Vectis’ Needles Breezer route and then an MBE bestowed on Andrew himself. It’s one trophy after another because 12 months earlier, the Go South Coast business that he leads waltzed away with the ‘Bus Operator of the Year’ accolade at the UK Bus Awards for the second time on the bounce.
I caught up with Andrew in his spacious office a stone’s throw from Poole Bus Station – in terms of size, it’s fit for a King even if it is modestly decorated, save for the gleaming Open Top Bus cup taking pride of place. He’s, in many respects, the King of UK bus, with the renowned Go South Coast business now in the ‘go to’ place for benchmarking. I recently spent a week on his patch, and the customer service was very good. Apart from one driver having fleeting vapes at a stop, the proposition on his New Forest Tours service was the nearest to perfection – be it the driver friendliness, the commentary, the quality of the buses, the marketing and the fantastic scenery.
The only delay we experienced was due to a gaggle of sheep and cows congregating in the middle of the shopping area in the village of Burley. His Beachcomber services in Dorset were pretty well spot on, and Southern Vectis was its customary polished self. So too were the bread-and-butter buses in and around big conurbations such as Southampton.
‘Wicko’, as he is affectionately known the length and breadth of the industry, is very self-effacing. As soon as he was selected for an MBE, he rapidly bestowed praise on his teams and colleagues throughout his career who made it possible. It wasn’t one of those predictable but hollow soundbites – with every achievement, he always deflects it onto others: “If it wasn’t for the people here it wouldn’t have happened and there’s no point in pretending otherwise.”
He’s also eager to explain that Go South Coast’s achievements over the years have, in no small measure, been due to the Go-Ahead structure in which local businesses are given trusted autonomy to get on and design and deliver their proposition in the best way for the particular communities they serve, recognising that those in the regions know the intricacies of the landscape and the markets. “Buses are a local business; you can’t plan the network in Bournemouth in Aberdeen. Even from Poole, it is a challenge; demand is on a bus stop level. Not like a supermarket – you have a baby, you buy Pampers – the demand is more nuanced.”
Wickham, who lives near Wimborne, is at the heart of his local community, spending several decades in Dorset. If he’s not hanging around on buses for the fun of it as a job and hobby, or listening to ‘80s music (his favourite band is OMD), he’s out watching Dorchester Town, Wimborne Town FC, Poole and other local football teams in his spare time. “My most recent match was Dorchester Sports v Blandford Forum, the seventh tier of
English football – I confess it was a bloody awful match,” he chunters. Talk to any stakeholder in the region and they all have a connection with their very own Pep.
Andrew’s emphasis on simplicity is refreshing, be it in realising that it’s all about keeping immersed in the local community through to just delivering day-in, day-out what it says on the tin. “It’s not rocket science” is something that he cannot stress enough, in terms of getting buses out clean, tidy, on-time and with friendly drivers. For all the highfalutin, whizz initiatives across business, it’s the simplicity that Wicko promotes which delivers results repeatedly, as boring as this may sound to innovators and fancy-dans.
For those who believe that management churn keeps it fresh and eventually yields results, Go South Coast’s success suggests that stability and simplicity is instead key. Wicko has been in charge at Go South Coast since 2011. He’s renowned to have been a great mentor, and many of those who have risen to dizzy heights in the bus industry learnt their trade under his stewardship. Brighton & Hove boss Ed Wills, Matt Kitchin, Stagecoach Yorkshire MD, and Alex Hornby, commercial and customer director at Northern Rail, are examples, and Alex Chutter, who heads up Go-Ahead sister company Pulhams. David Lee Kong, his longstanding operations director and Andrew Sherrington, who heads up the Salisbury business, are seen as Wicko protegees and, like many others in his team, have a very bright future, whilst Nikki Honer, his experienced head of marketing, has been a Go South Coast mainstay and factor in its success for many years. Folk hang around under his tutelage, and there’s a deep succession plan. If they do leave, his stars do so on an upward trajectory, when the time is right, and, like those who have worked under his doppelganger, Pep Guardiola, they always look back with incredible affection for the time they spent under his stewardship.
I suggest to Andrew that bringing in people who don’t like buses is now fashionable.
He responds: “You need a variety of different sorts of people, my directors. Two of the three are career bus people, and one isn’t, but he really knows his stuff. Why would you not want someone who understands the business they are running? History shows that when that happens, they tend to get replaced by someone with a bus background. What we do is quite unique and specialist.”
Go South Coast’s footprint continues to grow – a 9% year-on-year rise in patronage – and as an observer, it’s always appeared challenging for their competitors. This is not due to any unfairness, but they are up against such a customer-focused business, rooted in the community and de-centralised such that they can flourish and best resonate with local markets. Despite First upping their game in Southampton, they came out on top. First exited the city, just as Yellow Buses found it challenging. Wicko’s team picked up the pieces.
Across all of Wickham’s businesses, patronage is now near enough at pre-Covid levels, with really good growth on the former First and Yellow Buses routes, as well as the open toppers despite the rubbish weather last summer. “This is though not exactly classic bus territory; we’re in posh Dorset but we’ve bucked the trend of growth in non-traditional bus markets. We just run the bus company properly, it’s not difficult”. His line manager, Martin Dean, regional managing director at Go-Ahead, seconds Wicko’s penchant for simplicity: “Andrew is passionate about buses which has helped get Go South Coast to where it is today, but he also realises that it is the day-to-day mind-numbing attention to detail that makes the business a commercial and operational exemplar in the industry.”
The speed and effectiveness of how Go South Coast responded to Covid was, in Andrew’s view, of critical importance. “We quickly put hand-sanitiser on buses, enhanced cleaning, we made it public to give people confidence. Roadside publicity with every service change, started with printed timetables everywhere. We’ve trained drivers – as much as possible and focused on the customer. We do everything we can to look after our employees.”
Andrew’s enjoyed a 39-year career, though proclaims that his current role, which he started in 2011, is “the best job I’ve ever had”. Previous posts have included managing director, Plymouth City Bus, operations director at Go South Coast, and Go Ahead’s group development manager working directly for the late and hugely respected Chris Moyes. Several years at London General followed from 1992, Wicko having started his career in 1986 working in the university vacations before a year later becoming traffic assistant at Brighton Borough Transport and then managing Lewes Coaches. “I’ve always been a massive bus fan. Three weeks into doing A Levels, I thought, ‘What the hell am I going to do with a Physics degree?’ – the most likely next step – becoming a teacher, which might have seemed the most conventional pathway, was not for me; I wanted to do something I’m interested in.”
I ask Wicko for his career highlight, and despite his longevity, his proudest moment has been in recent times, when he presided over the takeover of routes vacated by Yellow Buses when their business collapsed. Wicko talks animatedly at a rate of knots about taking on the services: “I’ve endless stories of everyone rallying round, foregoing their weekend and mobilising the routes in a matter of days, Alex. Drivers were paid to travel from the relief point to the depot; we refined the rest area near the relief point – we found somewhere and said, ‘Let’s make this as nice as we can’. Our drivers loved it and so when First failed in Southampton, our city centre facility wasn’t big enough so we got a much bigger placewe did it properly. If it was office people, what would it be like? Don’t make drivers second-class citizens. We installed phone chargers, a quiet room, a prayer room, Wi-Fi, and managers on-site to provide support and interface. Try to get away from the whole bus industry mentality. Bus companies do a good job of making their drivers hate them.” Amen to all that.
Well, may he be golden balls, hitting his numbers and saying the right thing about it being all about his team, but a real pull of Wimborne Wicko is that he’s not an insipid dullard corporate clone. Whilst delighted by his results, I suspect those at Go-Ahead HQ realise he’s a formidable force in acting in the interests of his local customers and employees first and foremost. His gaffer, Martin Dean, attests to his strength of character: “He is one of the industry’s great personalities who shows excellent leadership skills but recognises the value of a well-motivated team pulling in the right direction.”
So too, Wicko’s a garrulous character, feeding on snippets of insight and as excitable about the transport industry’s anecdotes, twists and turns as he was when he set out on his career. As soon as I sit down for our chat, I try to impress him by reeling off some stats and facts about the industry and a few dull platitudes to make it look like I am a polished expert, thinking that’s what he’d want to hear as my opening gambit. However, it’s obvious he’s not listening as three times he tries to interrupt impatiently and then puts both hands behind his head, leans back on his chair then, dramatically and speedily lurches forward, fist-pumps the table and with the cheekiest of grins, says: “Okay, Alex, never mind about all that, what’s the gossip? Come on, what’s the gossip out there? You must have it and you can’t have come all the way down here to deepest Dorset without some to give me.”
I wish there were more Wickos out there. It would be a more entertaining place to work, whilst, most importantly, customers would be happier, and bums would flock to seats.
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 transport technology business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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