Ein Newyddion – Summer 2014

Summer 2014

The magazine for First people in South & West Wales

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Ein Newyddion p1 14/7/14 14:30

2 SUMMER 2014

By ManagingDirector

JustinDavies

WE have just celebrated 100years of service with ourspecial open day at theSwansea Bus Museum. I hopethat many of you will haveenjoyed that day ofcelebration.

One hundred years is a longtime. Many changes havetaken place during that periodand of course are still takingplace today. In recent weeks alot of new buses have beendelivered to the business and Iam sure you have seen thatour new Clipper brand is nowup and running.

In the past 100 years, ourattention to safety has reallyimproved and our continuedfocus on staff and customerwelfare is vitally important.

Shortly to launch will be thenew injury prevention phoneapp and injury preventiondatabase, which will make therecording of safety incidentsand safety actions mucheasier and enable us toimprove our safety culture stillfurther.

I hope you took theopportunity to complete theforms for the 2014 Your Voicestaff survey and had your sayabout the way the businessruns today and what youwould like to see changed inthe future.

A summary of the survey’sfindings are on page sevenand there will be a series offeedback road shows rightaround the business. I lookforward to seeing as many ofyou as possible then.

Ahead will be yet morechange, particularly inSwansea where the newuniversity campus opens inSeptember 2015.

With at least 2,000 studentsmoving on and off campusevery day, it will be a greatopportunity for First Cymru toexpand our services.

Changesare beingmade forthe better AFirst UK Bus

management re-structure means

First Cymru now has a newRegional Managing Director.

Neil Barker moves from thatrole in Scotland to cover Walesas well as the South of England.

He will support MD JustinDavies and his managementteam as the drive to strengthenthe customer focus andempower local leadership teamscontinues.

Neil will report to First UK BusManaging Director GilesFearnley who said: “Since welaunched our Better Journeysfor Life promise in 2012, wehave been pushing forward withour transformation programme

and focussing particularly onimproving our performance interms of service delivery,customer satisfaction anddriving volume growth.

“The appointment ofmanaging directors to our localbusinesses is key to ourstrategy, enabling us quickly toadapt to new challenges andget close to our customers andthe communities we serve.

“We are now moving to thenext stage of our plans toensure we give the correctsupport to our managingdirectors under this newbusiness model.”

The restructure means ChiefOperating Officer JeroenWeimar has now left the Group.

FIRST Swansea hosted theWelsh Government’s formallaunch of National ApprenticeWeek. Ken Skates, the DeputyMinister for Skills and Technology,met First apprentices old andnew as he was treated to a tourof the depot.

Representatives of localschools also took part. Inpraising First, he said: “I wasdelighted to kick offApprenticeship Week in Walesby joining the First Cymru teamat the Swansea depot.

“First Cymru has a proudhistory of apprenticeships and Iwas able to see just how muchof a difference old and newapprentices are making to thecompany.”

More than 20 of First’sengineering team in South andWest Wales started off as

apprentices. Five more staffwere taken on as apprenticeslast year in Swansea and PortTalbot.

First Cymru HR BusinessPartner Jane Reakes Daviessaid: “We invest a lot in ourpeople and have a strongtradition of apprenticeshipswithin our business. We invitedthe Deputy Minister along so hecould see for himself the type of

opportunities that we havecreated.”

Simon Cursio, First Cymru’sBusiness Performance Director,said: “It was great to be able tomark National ApprenticeshipWeek in this way. We wanted toshowcase the great work that isbeing done to offer our latestapprentices a good start, whilealso showing that this offers agreat route into the industry.”

New Regional MDis key to strategy

New Regional Managing DirectorNeil Barker

EngineeringApprentices David

Davies, left, and JayEdwards – two of the First

Cymru employees who met Deputy Minister forSkills and Technology

Ken Skates.

Minister meets apprentices old and new

MANAGEMENT teams at First Cymru worked hard toencourage staff across all levels of the business torespond to the annual staff survey.

Swansea Staff Manager Clare Dalton said: “We arekeen to understand the challenges and barriers tosuccess that the staff face and are looking forward toalleviating some of the problems highlighted by stafffeedback.”

Staff feedback is crucial

Ein Newyddion p2 15/7/14 09:29 Page 1

3SUMMER 2014

DISTINCTIVE blue and goldbuses are flying the flag forFirst Cymru’s inter-urban

routes across south and westWales now re-branded CymruClipper services have beenlaunched.

Sporting a gold dragon, 17 ofthe 33 stand-out buses on thenetwork are brand new and haveleather seats. The rest have allundergone internal refits to givethem smart, matching blueinteriors.

All the buses offer free WiFiand to give added confidence, aClipper Network CustomerCharter and Customer promisesets out what service levelspassengers should expect andhow to complain should theyneed to.

As part of the biggestshake-up of Cymru services foryears, the company hasproduced a Tube-style networkmap to show customers howeasy it is to travel between keytowns and cities. The mapfeatures key interchange points.

Adult passengers can enjoyunlimited travel on the wholenetwork for as little as £5 a daywhile those under 18 can travelfor just £3.

Managing Director JustinDavies said: “This is an excitingtime for us and the people whouse our services. This constitutesa step change for us. We willcontinue to invest in and develop

our local services alongside theClipper network but at the sametime we want to really up ourgame promoting our inter-urbanroutes.

“We want to show customersthat they can travel easily forexample, from Bridgend toLlanelli, Ammanford to Neath orMaesteg to Carmarthen with onlyone change of service.”

ANOTHER 54 brand newbuses costing £9 million arenow in service across FirstCymru as the companycontinues to invest inservices.

A total of 37 Enviro 200soperate out of Swanseawith 17 Streelites beingbased mainly at Port Talbotbut serving Maesteg amongother towns.

Managing Director JustinDavies said: “It’s a biginvestment in our servicesand for the business as wecontinue to renew our fleetfor the benefit of ourcustomers but also for ourstaff. These buses willmean increased reliabilityand punctuality as well asgiving customers a muchbetter ride – all part of ourBetter Journeys for Lifebrand promise.”

PORT Talbot stores employeeKatie Phillips became one ofonly a few First Cymru tocomplete a Level 2 Diploma inVehicle Parts Principles (IMIAward) at Bristol Collegeearlier this year.

Katie, 29, has been with thecompany for 10 years andwas one of a group of eightpeople to complete thequalification. They weresupported through theintensive six-week course byFirst, with the long-termgoal of helping thembecome storesmanagers in thefuture.

SWANSEA OperationsManager Lynn Harveyhas become only thefourth First Cymruemployee to be presentedwith a Silver DragonAward. She received thecompany’s highest honour forExceptional Contribution to theWorkforce during her 14 years inher current post.

Lynn, who joined as a driver in1987, said: “It was quite asurprise. As far as I’m concernedI’m just doing my job. The varietyof tasks it throws up keeps me onmy toes. I enjoy the pace of thejob and the fantastic people that Iwork with.”

WELCOME TO THE CYMRU CLIPPER: Driver James Morris shows thebranded message on the driver’s internal door. Our cover picturefeatures Driver Mark Jones with one of the new Clipper buses.

The distinctive blue and goldlivery and branding of theCymru Clipper services.

54 new busesnow in service

Katie gainsparts diploma

Lynn receiveshighest award

Golden Dragon is a


4 5SUMMER 2014SUMMER 2014

■ TRIPS to Caswell Beach on theNumber 40 double decker are afond memory from their earlyteens for BW of Swansea whowrote about: “Climbing up to thetop deck and listening to RadioOne’s Top 20 on a smalltransistor radio.

“We hoped to hear the NumberOne hit before getting off thebus again outside Lady ofLourdes Church in Townhill. Thebus was always full with a verygood atmosphere after a longday spent on a beautiful beach.They were good times!”

■ TRAVELLING on a doubledecker to visit a relative at theTB sanatorium in Talgarth is anabiding memory for FG inSwansea who wrote: “Thejourney was long to a youngchild and frequently we travelledthrough snow and ice over theBrecon Beacons.

“They must have been veryskilled and dedicated drivers andthe conductor always tried tokeep us cheerful as he wouldknow the purpose of the journeywas not for pleasure but to visita sick relative.”

■ AS an apprentice at the Velindre

Tinplate works, HW from

Gorseinon used to catch the works

bus. He wrote: “Everyone sat in the

same seat to and from work. If you

sat in the ‘wrong’ seat, you were

told to move. Jeff, a fellow

apprentice lived in Pennard. The

conductor would not allow the bus

to leave until Jeff had arrived.

“At the beginning of the college

year he had to tell the conductor

the day on which he would not be

travelling as he was in college. If

he became ill his mother had to go

down to the bus stop and tell

the conductor not to wait.”

■ GW from Neath travelled on a

double decker from Fforest Goch

to the technical college at

Pontardawe in the 1950s and the

driver used to slow down so he

could grab the pole on the rear

platform. He wrote: “All went well until

one wet morning when the pole

was slippery. I grabbed it but

started to slide down. The driver

saw me in his mirror and braked

suddenly so that I swung around

the pole and onto the platform. He

slowed down a lot more after that!”

THOUSANDS flocked to Swansea BusMuseum for a fascinating trip downmemory lane to celebrate the centenary

of South West Transport.The free Family Day featured a fleet of

vehicles from First Cymru – SWT’s successor –including the latest eco friendly vehicles.

Scorching hot weather ensured people intheir droves attended with buses laid on toferry people to the event packed to the rafters.

Fifteen state-of-the-art First buses in theirlatest livery, including express Greyhoundcoaches and FTR “bendy buses” were onshow. First – who sponsored the day – alsodisplayed four of their buses painted inre-creations of the classic liveries of SouthWales Transport, United Welsh, ThomasBrothers and Cardiff Express Services.

The nostalgic atmosphere was added tothrough charity stalls offering models, photos,memorabilia and books. Meanwhile, a 60ftmarquee housed fascinating displaysproduced by First of the history of South WalesTransport, together with ticket machines forpeople to try their hands at operating.

Several of the old bus routes in Swanseawere recreated, including the popular seafrontopen-top journey to Limeslade – and a drivethrough the picturesque Gower scenery to thecliffs at Pennard.

Besides the latest modern and vintage Firstbuses there were classic cars and othervehicles, as well as visiting buses from otheroperators and parts of the UK.

To cap things off a centenary programmewas produced as a memento of the specialoccasion, which included timetables of the freebus rides on the day.

First Cymru Marketing Manager Phil Trottersaid: “It was a superb celebration. Thousandsturned out and the buses bringing people tothe event were full to standing.

“Our sponsorship of the event was verysuccessful and the fleet of old and new buseswas certainly a major talking point.

“We would like to say thank you to membersof the Swansea Bus Museum for their effort inhosting what turned out to be a verymemorable occasion.”

FUNDRAISERS and charities inWales will be boosted by thelaunch of the new First CymruMatched Funding scheme. Itmeans that employees can nowclaim matched amounts onanything they raise between£50 and £200 – with FirstGroupsetting aside £100,000 to payfor it.

The only requirement is thatthe charity involved beregistered with the CharitiesCommission. To be eligible,employees must already havecompleted a charitable event oractivity.

Employees have threemonths to register for thescheme and claim money fortheir charity. To register andclaim matched funding,download a form from the FirstCymru intranet site or [email protected]

ADVERTISINGspace worth£3,810 hasbeen donatedby First Cymru to help highlightthe Macmillan Cancer SupportNot Alone campaign.

Featured on 150 buses, adstarget support to an estimated85,970 people currently livingwith a diagnosis of cancer inSouth Wales – a numberexpected to rise to around155,160 by 2030.

First Cymru ManagingDirector Justin Davies said: “We are very proud to supportMacmillan and people acrossSouth Wales who are affectedby cancer.”

BRIDGEND Driver PeterMascall is the new facerepresenting First Cymru atthe national Bus Driver of theYear final later this year. The33-year-old mountain-bikingenthusiast who has been withFirst for six years camesecond in the Cymru heats.

Swansea Driver PhilipConnor and Camarthen-basedMartin Sleeman who camefirst and third respectively arealso through. Both drove at thenational finals last year withMartin finishing the highestplaced Cymru driver. The finaltakes place the weekendbeginning September 13.

Matched fundingboosts charities

Peter in nationaltop driver finals

Ad space helpfor campaign

Crowds pack family eventto mark centenary

First Cymru Training ManagerAmanda Thompson with herson Rhys who is about to try

his luck on the spinning wheelat the Centenary Family Day.

Swansea Bus Museum Volunteer Paul Davies whowas one of the conductors on the old classic buses.

Dylan Penny tries his hand at the wheel of a bus with help from hisgrandad, retired First Driver Brian Jennings of Neath. Looking on isFTR Host Callum Harries who is based at Ravenhill depot.

Memories aremade of thisMemories aremade of this

Some of the First staff who were guides at the event, left to right, Intern Aled Williams, HR Business Partner JaneReakes Davies, Marketing Manager Phil Trotter and PublicityOfficer Christian Horn. Below right, the centenary logo.

One of theFirst Cymru busespainted in vintagelivery to celebrate

the centenary.

FTRHost Daniel

Temple, left, gets afew driving tips fromFirst Examiner Mike

Thompson during the Family Day

event.

Ein Newyddion p4-5 14/7/14 14:38 Page 1

6 SUMMER 2014

Newly qualified Swansea Driver DAVID CONWAYquit as deputy manager in a DIY superstore after 18years in retail for life on the buses. Here, he tells why and talksabout his love of Tibet.

Question

How long have you workedin the bus industry?Since January 6, 2014. I quit my last management role for a less stressful life andto get closer to my two littledaughters, Erin, four, and Ava,aged three.

What did you want to bewhen you were growing up?I wanted to be a policeman butafter many years of neglectedstudies realised I was destinedfor a life in retail, until now thatis. I’m enjoying being a driver,especially the customerinteraction.

What are your hobbies andinterests?If you call walking 10-plusmiles up and aroundmountains a hobby and aninterest, then the answer wouldhave to be walking 10-plusmiles up and aroundmountains, usually alone.

How else do you relax?Dreaming about long lostholidays and wondering if I will

ever get my good looks backwhilst listening to music. TV isa no no.

Which people, dead or alive,would you invite to a dinnerparty and why?Elvis, because he is just thecoolest dude ever, the DalaiLama to listen to him talkabout his life and Tibet and mymum to do the cooking.

What is the mostchallenging thing you haveever done?Nine years ago I spent sixweeks walking and climbingaround the Everest region.Nepali people are some of thewarmest people I’ve met.

Best piece of advice youhave ever been given?My Nan told me when I wasvery young, to always tell thetruth, even if it got me intotrouble to do so. I have livedmy life with that ethos,together with treating peopleas I would expect to betreated.

WE lived in Morristonand every Saturdaymy grandparents, my

mother and myself, as a smallchild, would go to Swanseaon the 77 bus.

In the summertime, we caughtthe 77 to ‘the slip’ with two foldup chairs, a picnic basket, bucketand spade, towels and a rug tosit on. After a wonderful dayplaying, eating and paddling inthe sea, you had to jostle for aplace in the queue to get home.

Often the bus would be full tobursting and the bus conductorwould shout “no room for anymore now please, no room”which would be met byexclamations from frazzled mumsof: “I told ’ew we should ’ave gotin the queue earlier mun”.

Other times we would catchthe number 40 bus. This was agreat adventure, as this buswould only run for the summerseason to Caswell Bay.

We would also get the 40 backfrom visiting my grandparents ona Friday. But I wouldn’t want toleave my beloved grandfatherand I would stand at the bus stopclutching at my Dat-cu’s trousersand just sob and sob.

By the time the bus arrived, Iwould be in the top register of

wailing and heaving. As the bus pulled away I would

look back and see my poorgrandfather waving hishandkerchief and mopping hiseyes. I cannot think of the old 40bus without bringing this tomemory.

Years later when I was 15years old, I started work inSwansea at British Home Stores.The cost of a ‘weekly’ was 11shillings and sixpence.

Young people did not havecars back then and the onlycourting that was done was inthe bus stop. In winter girls wouldhuddle in to their boyfriendscoats as the wind and rainwhipped around the draughtyrickety bus shelter.

Marriage and children followedand a new generation struggledon and off buses. When the openbacked buses were replaced withautomatic doors we could travelin comfort and warmth. It reallymeant progress.

Now I see bendy buses inSwansea and we have come along way from the old 77. I usemy bus pass when I travel now.Memories – I have a bus load of them.

It seemed our lives were intertwined with the buses– the wistful words of 64-year-old First Cymrucustomer JOY KING from Abergarwed. Here, as partof First Cymru’s centenary celebration of publictransport in South Wales, Joy shares her memoriesof life on the buses in the 60s and 70s.

A bus loadof memories

JoyKing at a

bus stop nearher home.

David picturedduring a walking

holiday in theHimalayas and,

inset, at Swanseadepot.

time


7SUMMER 2014

Augmented reality services by

By downloading a free app to your smartphone or tablet you can bring photographs or graphics to lifeusing the power of a new technology called Augmented Reality (AR). To access bonus content in ourpublications simply follow the easy 1-2-3 steps:

Point your device at the photo or graphic where you seethe AR content logo pictured above – and bring thismagazine to life. Double tap for a full-screen image.

Scan the photoor graphic

wherever yousee this icon.

Download the FirstUK Bus AR app fromthe App Store (Apple)or Google Play(Android).

1 32

Open the appwith a simple tap.

Welcome to Augmented Reality

Whole country rallies to backFirst services at Glasgow 2014

Bus divisionsurvey scores are up acrossthe board

FIRST Bus colleagues fromaround the UK are rallying tothe cause to help transport overa million additional visitorsaround Glasgow during theCommonwealth Games.

Over 1,500 buses (that’s 515more than usually operate in thecity), 300 extra drivers fromaround the country and 600sub-contract drivers, all

managed by a specialoperations hub, will provide the services.

First is an official Glasgow2014 supporter, and everyonewith a ticket for a Games eventwill be able to use it to travel bybus on the day.

UK Bus Managing DirectorGiles Fearnley said: “First Bus isproud of the services that we

provide to customersacross our Scottishoperations and to play anintegral role in the successof Glasgow 2014.”● Channel First’s latestvideo will be launched laterin July and will feature theGlasgow 2014Commonwealth Games.Use the First UK Bus ARapp to view it (see below).

RESULTS of the YourVoice survey whichtook place in May and

June this year showedimprovement in allcategories since the lastexercise in 2010.

A highlight was that the overall engagement score leapt14 points to 62 per centcompared with the results from

four years ago. The response rates

were lower than thecompany would havehoped for but thefeedback is hugelysignificant in helpingunderstand what

has been achieved and areaswhere improvement is needed.

Summaries are being puttogether so business units anddepots can understand theresults and share them with allstaff.

Once these results have beencommunicated, the next stepwill be to identify plans to

improve in areas wherenecessary, and build on

what has alreadybeen achieved.

It is clear fromfeedback receivedin the survey thatthe company needs

to work much harderto communicate boththe results and thecorrective action plans

put in place.More work will be

done to enable localmanagers and supervisory

teams to engage more positivelywith staff in some locations and

functions. The company should be

in a position to communicatedivisional, business unit anddepot results within the next fewweeks.

WE’RE ALL EARS... this little chaphelped First ask its employees for theirviews in the nationwide survey.


8 SUMMER 2014

THE Swansea driver nicknamed Elvismight have retired and left the buildingbut he can’t stay away from buses –

especially the vintage open-topper donatedon his behalf by FirstGroup to the city’s busmuseum.

The Bristol VRT will be named Sir PeterNedin in his honour – a fitting tribute to his 45-year career and the 1.5 million road mileshe clocked up.

Now 68, Peter has kept busy since his lastshift for First Cymru in March as he volunteersat the museum three and a half days a week.

He said: “I do a bit of driving, clean thebuses and clean parts. I’ve come fullcircle really because I’m driving the sortof buses that were in service when Istarted back in 1969.

“The VRT being named after me used tooperate on the sea front in Weymouth and fora couple of years to the Mumbles. It’s a tidyvehicle. It just needs an MOT and we plan totake it to shows and on runs. We even treatschool children to trips out when they comeand visit us.

“I really enjoyed my driving career as I’veloved buses since I was a kid. I didn’t have asingle accident the whole time. I do miss mycolleagues a bit but I’ve got the museum tokeep me going.”

Managing Director Justin Davies said: “Itwas a sad day for us when Peter left thebusiness. He has been a perfect employee, abrilliant driver and great with all thecustomers.”

SWANSEA Driver JustinWilliams is in line for aSilver Dragon Award forcoming to the rescue of an81-year-old neighbour whosadly died a few monthslater.

He smashed his way intoKathleen Bradd’s Morristonhome after spotting hercollapsed on the kitchenfloor. She later wrote aletter to First managementcommending his actions.

In it she said: “I amwriting to expressgratitude to one of youremployees, JustinWilliams. He had seen melying on the floor and rangfor an ambulance as hecould see I wasn’t moving.He was a great comfort tome.”

Justin, a First Driver foraround six years, said: “I’dheard that Kathleen hadwritten in. She was a lovelyperson who didn’t haveany family so we used tokeep an eye on her.

“The night she collapsedI had a feeling thatsomething was wrongwhen she didn’t answerthe phone. We were justglad we could help her. It’sso sad that she’s diedsince.”

Swansea Staff ManagerClare Dalton said: “We’revery proud of our staff andthe number of thank youletters we get shows howmuch they care about theircustomers and about thecommunities in which theylive.”

Driver comes to rescue of neighbour

Vintage busnamed in

Justin Williams hasbeen nominated for aSilver Dragon Award.

AFITTING

TRIBUTE:Brilliant Driver PeterNedin in front of thevintage Bristol VRT

named in hishonour.


Ein Newyddion – Summer 2014

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