Setting a land speed record to get gas buses on the map

Team Reading finally did it!



The media and other spectators line the viewing area at the Millbrook test track to watch the bus set its record

 

When our Chief Engineer first came to me with an idea to raise the profile of bio methane gas buses and, at the same time, set out to attract a lot of positive publicity for Reading and it’s buses, I have to admit that I was more than a little sceptical.
 

As the discussion appeared to get even crazier, it suddenly became somewhat serious when he confirmed firm interest from a number of industry supplier in getting involved.

 
There had been some low key publicity of  the ‘cow credentials’ of the first batch of Reading gas buses introduced at the end of 2013 and 12 months later the Gas Compression station at our Great Knollys Street Depot was formally launched to a notable media fanfare by none other than Baroness Kramer, the then Minister of State for Transport.
 

Whilst this was all totally on message both politically and with stakeholders, the big question was how could we inspire everyday people on the streets about these wonderful buses and their environmental benefits?

Furthermore, since the gas station launch there had been some mixed messages in the trade press regarding gas buses. Bristol gained massive publicity with its poo bus. Technically identical to Reading's buses that had, by then, been in use for two years, the only difference was the source of the gas that's purchased for them - human waste instead of cow waste (I know what sounds more palatable, metaphorically, to me!). A long running gas bus trial in Lincoln then came to a sudden end. Not because of the vehicles but predominantly, so they tell us, because of the location of the depot and restrictions on a gas filing installation causing unsustainable transport costs (this is a rare, oddball, case).

 

We've also seen government 'green' transport soundbites lean heavily towards electric buses, with some loud and seemingly credible noises from the manufacturers of those vehicles. They are undoubtedly very environmentally sound at the point of use, but this doesn't take into account the production of the electricity or the manufacture and upkeep of the batteries (now an emerging risk with early hybrid and other electric buses). Finally there are still some in our industry that remember the gas buses of old, albeit predominantly LNG as opposed to CNG. Thankfully though, the technology and its reliability has moved on a long way since then!

The project was supported by a number of industry partners

 

So what to do? Reading Buses has been a first mover in a number of areas over the years. The company doesn’t just adopt ‘new’ technology and approaches - we also see it as our responsibility to champion these, especially amongst the non-PLC group operators. 

So, back to the crazy idea! ‘BusHound’, the land speed record attempt, not only gave a platform for Reading to shout about these fantastic buses, spreading the good word that our buses are modern, quick and green. Because of the unique way that key players in the industry supported the initiative, it also gave a global stage to both the bus industry and the wider gas powered commercial vehicle arena. Whilst the core focus of the message has been to a UK audience, we’ve been overwhelmed with just how much media coverage has been generated. Russia, China, India, America and more - I even got interviewed for Canadian radio! Our own YouTube videos have now generated over 26k views (and the BBCs many times that) and we've lost count of the amount of tweets, indeed many are still coming through. It’s been fascinating to watch the message spread across the globe over time and in many different languages!



The event was precision timed by the UK Timing Association

Finally, there are the all too often unsung heroes - This has been fantastic for engaging our employees. It’s encouraged creativity and healthy competition in our engineering function, getting key members of the team out from the behind the scenes and into a positive media spotlight.



The BBC's Paul Clifton interviews driver Malcolm Black after the record attempt

Well done and thank you to everyone involved in making this remarkable event a reality. It’s generated a tremendous amount of positive media coverage, considerably raising the profile of bus travel, demonstrating the credibility of bio-methane and promoting science, technology and innovation in our industry.

 

An unbelievable amount of media coverage resulted from the attempt

 

'BusHound' will be the star attraction at our Charity Open Day on Sunday 14th June, held in aid of the Alzheimer's Society -  http://www.reading-buses.co.uk/articles/reading-buses-open-day-2015/

 

Making noise, grabbing attention – it’s looking green and rosy for Emerald!

Pulling in the crowds today in Reading's Broad Street, right outside the Oracle shopping centre

Today we unveiled our brand new ‘emerald’ buses to the people of Reading. 16 of the new Enviro 400 MMC double deck buses will hit the streets of Reading tomorrow, representing a £4m investment and totally transforming routes 5 & 6 to Northumberland Avenue, Basingstoke Road and Whitley Wood.

The buses will replace a much older fleet of double deckers (some now 11 years old) and represent the next step in the evolution of the Reading Buses on-board customer experience. For some time now Reading Buses has been renowned for providing extra leg room, double wheelchair and buggy bays and audio visual next stop announcements, all well beyond the statutory norm.

Preserving those important aspects, these vehicles also benefit from a completely re-designed interior. As well as being further vehicles in the fleet to receive external 'route and destination' audible repeaters, we’ve launched some additional new features:

• New seat trim, designed using inspiration from the latest automotive styles and a colour pallet that reflects our multi coloured route branding

• Lazzerini’s new lightweight, but comfy, ‘ethos’ seats - this high-backed design harnesses technology similar to that used in the aviation industry, weighing nearly 20% less than comparable models (so saving fuel and further improving emissions)

• Neutral modern tones for side walls, window surrounds and ceilings, complementing the now established use of ‘coffee shop style’ two tone wood effect flooring

• 4G superfast Wi-Fi – free for everyone, with a simple ‘tick box’ log on page

• USB phone and tablet charging sockets under each pair of seats

• White crystal LED front destination and number displays

Not only are some of these items a first for Reading but they are also a first of the UK bus industry. This is the first newly built bus application of Lazzerini’s ethos seat and we’ve worked with the bus manufacturer, Alexander Dennis, to harness technology from its Plaxton coach building division to become their first buses factory built with on-seat USB charging points.

Also featuring the latest 'Euro 6' specification diesel engines (again, exceeding the current statutory minimum for new vehicles), the emissions of all 14 of the routes peak bus requirement will be equal to just one of the older vehicles that they replace!

Understandably the team here at Reading Buses have been really keen to shout from the roof-tops about these super-stylish buses. Last week we held a press and stakeholder launch at our depot and got our employees involved by announcing a ‘five star service’ with each of our ‘stars of the year’ (drivers recognised for continued great service and going above and beyond) from the past five years, going right back to the start of the initiative. So today we’ve had to think even harder about a ‘theme’ and the clue is in the new route name – Emerald!

We're off to see the wizard! The Lion, Dorothy and Scarecrow from Reading Rep Theatre walk the yellow brick road (which was expertly handcrafted by the Reading Buses engineering team)! 

Working with the Reading Repertory Theatre’s studio team we’ve rolled out a yellow carpet (expertly produced by our engineering team!) and invited people to our Emerald city. Putting on a grand show, making lots of noise and grabbing people’s attention so that they come and see for themselves just how wonderful these buses are and enjoy a suitably themed performance at the same time which, we hope, they will remember and encourages them to get on-board! If the audio and visual performances weren’t enough, then handing out after eight chocolate mints has helped to communicate our ‘buses up to every 8 minutes, turn up and go’ frequency message.

Alexander Dennis' new 'quick release' glazing on the E400MMC allows an easy and very effective stage to be created!

It’s been great to partner with a local arts group for this launch and we’ve certainly turned lots of heads today by doing something a bit different. The weather has been kind to us and the unanimous vote from the hundreds of people that we’ve interacted with is that they really like the new buses. It’s been huge fun, and a great effort by everybody involved, to make buses the talk of the town today!

 

Getting in on the act - Thames Valley Police had a stand next to us in the town and got involved in the fun too!

 

Keep on blogging - A visit to Scania

It’s sometime now since I started out with my ‘best of intentions’ blog, so herewith a long overdue post!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of a visit to the Scania factory and head office in Södertälje, Sweden.

Reading Buses (or Reading Transport, I should say) has held a long standing relationship with the bus manufacturer that dates back to 1975 when it was one of the first purchasers of, the then state of the art, Scania Metropolitan double deck bus. It amassed a fleet of 33, including the last two ever built and added 21 further examples second hand from London Transport in 1983. The type was finally withdrawn in 1992. Since then the company has continued to purchase Scania products, including coaches in the 80s and 90s, both double and single deck service buses in the 00s and, most recently, the UK’s first mainstream fleet of bio-methane CNG gas powered buses. There are now 34 single deck gas buses in the fleet and they have proved to be some of our most reliable vehicles.

Ironically the week after our visit the local Reading Chronical newspaper reproduced an article heralding the introduction of the very first Scania Metropolitan in 1975!

The visit was particularly interesting for me as I have never dealt with this manufacturer before, but the wider purpose of the trip, along with our Chief Engineer, was to discuss our ongoing use of their products (over half of our fleet have Scania chassis), their support with technical matters, reviewing changes and modifications and, most importantly, to hear about the future evolution of their bus range.

The factory includes a museum with vehicles and other artefacts covering the company’s 124 year history

As well as an excellent production facility, I was particularly impressed with the manufacturer’s attitude to working with us and continuing to enhance their products. It’s a brave step being the first at something, but that step is made considerably easier when you are working with a keen and supportive partner. For us Scania certainly represent this and that’s why we’re keen to see an extended range of vehicles that will help us to ‘complete the set’ here at Reading. We’re really looking forward to seeing the gas double decker which is being promised for 2016 – so watch this space!

First ever blog!

Oh what to write for my first ever blog post? Monday seems a distant memory now as the week draws to a close, but it was a great start to the week and probably worth writing about.

So, herewith a typical Day in the life of Reading Buses’ CEO…

 

08:30 Telephone call with our design agency Best Impressions to discuss a sub-brand for a new project.

 
09:00 'Star of the Month' meeting with the management team to review the nominations for January – This is always a motivating and inspiring way to start the first Monday of each month!

10:00 A non-urgent one to one meeting with one of our driver management team is moved due to operational requirements, so I use the much needed time to catch up on emails from over the weekend and make some further arrangements for some vehicle trials that we will be undertaking later in the year.

11:30 Finalise arrangements for a day out of the office next week which will encompass two separate meetings about both Gas and Electric vehicles.

12:00 Walk into town and set up ready to deliver a presentation at the Novotel to a regional business networking group.

12:30 Deliver the lunch time presentation on Reading Buses and how we deliver economic benefit to the town and surrounding area, followed by a popular Q&A session from the audience of notable local business leaders and supporters.

13:45 Back to the office for a meeting with our Company Chairman to review business progress and key projects.

15:00 Our draft period 4 financial accounts are issued by the finance team. I take the time to review our trading position and pay particular attention to the recovery of commuter custom following the festive break – from my experiences elsewhere, no two years are ever the same!

15:15 ITV Median call for an interview tomorrow on the traffic light switch off at the St. Mary’s Butts ‘target’ junction.

15:30 Meet with Reading Borough Council regarding the two forthcoming new Park and Ride sites for the town and to continue working through the detail of the connecting bus services. A very detailed meeting which lasted two and a half hours!

18:00 Reply to a request asking to change the time of the ITV interview tomorrow. Thankfully I can fit it in!

18:30 45 minute gym session in Winnersh – I’m trying to get fit again!

 

Then home.

20:00 Check and reply to emails from the day and review plans for tomorrow, including getting papers and thoughts together.