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In the driving seat ; CItybus Plymouth scooped the top prize in the Corporate Social Responsibility category at this year's Herald business awards.... [Herald, The (Plymouth, England)](Herald, The (Plymouth, England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) In the driving seat ; CItybus Plymouth scooped the top prize in the Corporate Social Responsibility category at this year's Herald business awards. Patrick Daly went to meet managing director RICHARD STEVENS to discover how the company is helping Plymothiansget back on their feet with jobs and career opportunities NOT every boss embraces working at the "coalface" at the weekend, but you could argue that the man in charge at Citybus is not your ordinary managing director. Richard Stevens, managing director for the past two years, still takes to the driver's seat to do a Saturday shift on bus routes around the city to "remember the pressures of the job". "The feeling is exactly the same as it was 25 years ago when I first started," said the refreshingly-frank Mr Stevens. "I've done three Saturday shifts since Christmas. The anticipation of when you pull up to the bus stop and know you might make someone's day that bit better, that is still there. "It can be a stressful job. It is hard to do but very rewarding. I would describe it as an honest job. "The best part is the people and the community we work in is great." In fact, the company is so fond of the people it serves every day that it has been intent on giving a little back. Some 50 new employees have come through its trainee scheme which sees it give job opportunities to the unemployed in the city. "We put our money where our mouth is by being one of the first companies to sign up to the 1,000 Club [part of Plymouth City Council's Plan for Jobs]. "I'm aware that securing a job in this climate is particularly challenging so when I was approach by City College Plymouth about their jobs scheme, it ticked every box for me. "It gave me the opportunity to invest time into people who really wanted a job. "I watch [the recruits'] confidence grow. The first time I meet them, you can see the battering life has given them. Then you see them further along the line and they are brimming with confidence. "All of them that have come through have been really enthusiastic members of staff." The reason more drivers are needed is simple as well - there are more passengers to ferry around the city each year. Citybus is bucking the national decline in passenger numbers, with a year-on-year growth in numbers, carrying 15.3million people in 2013, up from 14.3m the year before. "We have invested heavily in our vehicles," Mr Stevens explained. "We have spent Pounds 5million on our buses in the past 12 months. Unfortunately that only buys 20 buses." With 500 staff members driving 200 buses and a turnover of Pounds 21million last year, Mr Stevens says Citybus wants to be fully integrated in a community where it has a very visible presence. The community "chatter bus", with its seating and kitchen area, is sent round the city to listen to customer needs and is often loaned out to the council and the police. Citybus also financially backs the council's Access Plymouth scheme giving elderly and disabled people a subsidised rate on a minibus-taxi. It also gives money to both the St George's Day celebrations and the Respect Festival, both held in the city centre. For the Respect event, the company even provides a homemade float which is slightly less manoeuvrable than its buses. "Last year, when we were in the parade down Exeter Street, we had to try and haul this 'flying bus' float over the partition railings. The police were just stood there laughing at us," Mr Stevens recalls. But it hasn't all been plain sailing this year. Many readers wrote in to The Herald's letter pages expressing their disappointment that the social club at the Citybus depot was closing its doors after the group that ran it went into administration. It meant the end of a cheaper venue option for many social groups. Plans for the social club's future has yet to be disclosed, although Mr Stevens said he was keen to create "more usable space" at the century-old depot. "After 40 years, the Social Committee Trust went out of business," he explained. "The social club lost its way. It wasn't for the staff but it wasn't a pub either. "I know it wasn't viable to keep it running but that wasn't my doing and it was a sad day when it shut. "But it won't stop us from putting on social provisions for our staff. We had a big summer party for 200 people on-site recently with a hog roast, children's activities and a bus driver of the year competition." Mr Stevens also recognises that there are trouble-spots on the network. The "northern corridor" up to Derriford can get heavily congested at peak hours and union officials at Derriford Hospital recently said nurses, many who have lost car parking spaces at the hospital in a recent reorganisation, could not rely on the bus network for their shift work. "We have had some meetings with the hospital," confirmed the Citybus boss. "Because of the way the bus industry is funded, I'm not given any extra money to put on extra buses. "If a brand new bus costs Pounds 200,000 then you have to be very sure there is enough demand to pay for it. "I run to Derriford 20 hours a day, several days a week. Buses go from the city centre, St Budeaux, Stoke, Plympton and Eggbuckland. "They have got a lot of buses in service but that is not what they mean. They want more unique pick-ups. What I can't do is run from your front door to Derriford. "The hospital and the council don't want to pay and I don't have the money." The former bus driver concedes that buses aren't "sexy", nor is the mode of travel as loved in Britain as train travel can be. But Mr Stevens believes a company like his has its part to play. "I think we can be a good community partner," he said. "The staff have done a lot to up our game and we have done a lot of work to improve the relationship with the community, to be the bus company Plymouth deserves." CITYBUS MD Richard Stevens 'I think we can be a good community partner. The staff have done a lot to up our game and we have done a lot of work to improve the relationship with the community, to be the bus company Plymouth deserves' (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |