ALBUM Conference hears bus operator views about the future

 
‘The smaller operator can change on a pinhead … something which the majors simply cannot do’

 
Former transport minister Steve Norris told last week’s ALBUM Conference that small and medium-sized bus operators will continue to play an important role in their communities, despite the shift towards great public control of local bus services.

Norris, who served as a transport minister between 1992 and 1996 before going on to hold a number of senior roles in the transport industry, gave the keynote address at last week’s gathering of the UK’s independent and municipal bus companies at The Village Hotel in Blackpool.

He told delegates: “My view very clearly is that actually there is still an enormous amount of potential in our more rural communities and our smaller towns and cities, on the periphery of our existing towns and cities, for operators who can see a gap in the market which the majors either aren’t interested in or haven’t actually picked up on – where there is a demand that can be satisfied by using the right kind of vehicle on the right kind of timetable with the right of staff, who understand exactly what it is that the customer base needs to deal with.

“Do we see that happening? Yes we do. There are plenty of examples of it in this room, and there are plenty of examples elsewhere in the country.

He added: “I think it’s about speed of response. The smaller operator can change on a pinhead … something which the majors simply cannot do.”

There is still an enormous amount of potential

The question and answer session that followed revealed different perspectives from a range of SME bus operators.

Craig Temple, managing director of Yorkshire-based Connexionsbuses, said that opportunities were decreasing and his business would be “wiped away” by the introduction of bus franchising in West Yorkshire.

Charles Sanders, owner of Norfolk-based Sanders Coaches, commented:  “We’re a third generation family business and I’m really quite concerned … that we’ll just get swept aside by franchising, depending on how
it’s set up of course. But in most cases so far there’s not really been left a lot of room for smaller companies to bid.”

Sanders added: “I’m a bit concerned that there’s an awful lot of experience in this room that could do a far better job than some of the big groups are doing, and we do on a daily basis, because that’s how we focus our businesses, is all going to get lost.”

Ed Cameron, managing director of Cambridgeshire-based Whippet expressed optimism.

He said: “There isn’t a one size fits all but there are opportunities for SMEs. It gives you a potential entry into new areas.”

Alison Edwards, director of policy and external relations at CPT, recognised the “existential threat” posed by franchising but more attention to retaining a role of SMEs, with CPT and ALBUM making the case.

Later on, Robert Williams, CEO of council-owned Reading Buses, observed: “I think there’s a bit of a self fulfilling prophesy in some of the areas where the threat of franchising exists. Your finance person will be saying ‘why am I going to invest if there is this threat of franchising going on?’, but your marketing person will probably be saying ‘now is the time to invest even more to make sure it doesn’t happen – to provide the best possible service.”

 
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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