Stagecoach profits increase

Stagecoach has announced that the company’s profits for the year ended 30 April 2009 increased by two per cent to one hundred and ninety-six million pounds. There was a strong performance from the group’s UK Bus division (which includes subsidiaries operating in Devon, Gloucestershire, North Wiltshire and South Somerset) – UK Bus profits increased by fourteen per cent to one hundred and twenty-six million pounds, as revenue increased by nearly nine per cent. Revenue growth at the company’s largest rail subsidiary, South West Trains, was only three per cent for the six months from 1 November, which indicates a decline in passenger numbers of approximately two per cent over the six-month period. Stagecoach is currently in a legal dispute with the Department for Transport concerning ‘support payments’ to South West Trains, resulting from the revenue been significantly lower than forecast in the franchise agreement.

‘Door-to-Door’ by public transport

The ‘Door-to-Door’ journeys working group, comprising representatives from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT), the Department for Transport (DfT), Network Rail and the five major public transport groups, has published a report on improving integration between National Rail and other public transport services in Great Britain. The report contains a number of ‘quick win’ recommendations, which are designed to make practical improvements to ‘door-to-door’ journeys for passengers – in most cases, the ‘quick wins’ are about achieving greater consistency of approach or better promotion of existing facilities and services. The ‘quick wins’ can be grouped under the following four ‘headings’:-

a) Improving information for passengers
b) Integrated multi-modal ticketing
c) Interchange infrastructure
d) Marketing and publicity

The report also contains a number of ‘longer-term’ recommendations to deliver a sustainable integration strategy.

CrossCountry revenue below target

The major public transport group, Arriva, has admitted that revenue growth at the company’s CrossCountry train franchise, is ‘far below target’ – the franchise bid was based on increasing revenue by approximately ten per cent per year. CrossCountry revenue increased by just 2.4 per cent in the first six months of this year, despite fare increases of between six and eleven per cent, as passenger numbers declined. Arriva conceded that the lack of the budgeted revenue growth at the CrossCountry franchise would reduce the group’s profitability for the current year.

New fund to improve facilities at stations for cyclists

The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a new five million pound fund to provide better cycle facilities, including more storage space and specialist stores, for commuters at ten railway stations. Just two per cent of trips by rail passengers to and from stations are currently made by cycle in Great Britain, compared with over thirty per cent in the Netherlands – the objective for the new fund is to increase the percentage of rail passengers who cycle to and from stations.

And finally (1),

There has been an official opening ceremony for the opening of the new passing loop at Penryn station, which permits First Great Western to provide two trains per hour in each direction between Falmouth Docks and Truro – guests at the official opening were ‘amused’ to be taken from the station to a reception on a bus hired from Western Greyhound, rather than on a vehicle provided by First Devon and Cornwall!

And finally (2),

Passengers waiting on platform two at Salisbury station to travel on the 2225hrs departure to Basingstoke were surprised to read on the customer information display screens that ‘This train has twenty-three coaches’!