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Welcome to the Summer edition of Bakers Travelines,
our company newsletter for employees, business partners and clients.
When it comes to going the extra mile then I guess it’s pretty well
routine for a Bus and Coach operator, but once again my thanks go to
everybody for another busy and very eventful quarter as we look forward
to our 75th anniversary.
Our engineering department is firing on all cylinders once more as we
welcome Garry Burgoyne as Engineering Commercial Manager. He has
already made a start by fine tuning our defect reporting procedures.
With Garry’s involvement, we hope to continue developing our third
party support operations.
We are continuing our efforts to wring every drop of value out of the
fuel we consume. Following up the environmental award and in
conjunction with Michelin, we have embarked on a trial of a new high
specification tyre which offers lower rolling resistance while also
giving better grip for safe performance and a longer service life.
Designed for better economy, it promises to deliver a two per cent
reduction in fuel consumption. We shall report back on our progess in
the Autumn edition of Travelines.
Other improvements include a new computer server and mobile technology
to strengthen our customer service capability. Managers and front line
staff have been equipped with Smart phones which will allow them to be
kept informed by receiving e-mail while on the move.
Please read on for more news about our progress this quarter.
Phil Baker, Managing
Director
Fuel Management
technology – if you don’t measure it you can’t manage it.
Facilities at the Coach Travel Centre include a diesel storage tank.
This is equipped with electronic monitoring to record all refuelling
transaction. To obtain fuel drivers insert a special vehicle ID key and
enter the odometer reading. Having captured this data the office
management software can create detailed management reports – showing
specific mpg figures for all the fleet.
The information can be cut and shuffled to analyse vehicle performance
and the profitability of different routes. It also provides the
information required to obtain fuel rebates for local bus services
subsidised by local authorities.
Essentially this provides our baseline figures for trials such as the
Michelin project. Two pairs of vehicles are being used for the trial.
One of each pair fitted with the new tyre and the other is running on
the standard stock. All the vehicles will be employed on similar work
so that after a period of time we shall be able to provide a detailed
analysis of fuel economy for each vehicle.
Schools
out for Summer.
The government’s move to cut the amount of regulation pertaining to
school trips is very encouraging as this type of work is an important
source of revenue to Bakers Coaches. Many of our clients are involved
with young people and they know that they can rely on Bakers Coaches to
provide a safe and reliable service.
As excitement mounts in anticipation of the forthcoming 2012 Olympics,
we have been busy taking parties of school children down to visit the
new stadiums and see preparations at first hand. We are proud to
announce that we are the only operator outside of the London area with
clearance from the ODA to take our local school children on tours
within the Olympic Park itself. Schools taking advantage of this
include Friarswood Primary, Newcastle under Lyme, Malbank School
Nantwich and Newstead Primary School.
Contract work continues
to grow.
We are pleased to report that our contract hire division has landed a
prestigious contract to service the requirements of a major ‘incoming
tour operator’. This type of work involves airport transfer and the
provision of 12 day tours. Our involvement with this client has grown
from an initial enquiry – to help out at short notice – to a full blown
programme with four tours covering the South West, the Lake District
and Scotland. This is an exciting development which puts Bakers right
at the forefront of the UK’s tourist industry.
Play-up – Play-up- Play
the game – let’s put Stoke City on the map.
The extraordinary success of Stoke City’s premiere league football and
rugby teams this season has also been reflected in our order books.
Bakers Coaches were asked to provide transport arrangements for two
mainstream sporting fixtures. Eight coaches were booked to take
supporters to Wembley for the FA cup final and we were also proud to
supply the team coach plus three for supporters attending the rugby
final in Twickenham – both fixtures were held on Saturday 14 May.
Hi dee hi – UK holidays
are making a come back.
“Forget the dust clouds, foreign exchange rates and airport delays,
it’s the quality time that matters and this theme is hitting home as
holiday makers are setting different priorities – better value,
nearer home and less hassle,” says Tours Manager, Stephanie
Dean.
The recent Holidays Open Day event to mark the launch of Bakers Coaches
new brochure – Winter
Adventures by Coach 2011/ 2012 - was a great success
with 60 holidays booked during the day.
Another Olympic Success for Bakers
Previous training has paid off as Bakers, yet again, win a prestigious
contract from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The ODA are
the public body responsible for the construction of infrastructure for
the forthcoming 2012 Games. For the last 2 years Bakers has provided 8
coaches to transport visitors around the Olympic Park and this
September 10 have been contracted for the ‘Open House Weekend’.
The weekend includes guided coach tours of the Olympic Park, an
exhibition featuring models of the venues and the opportunity to hear
first-hand from people working on the project. The tours start from an
off-site parking facility close to the Park, and up to 4000 people have
been invited to attend.
Bakers were selected following a competitive evaluation involving a
number of rival firms. The contract was publicised using a government
website designed to match companies with opportunities.
On securing the contract, Phil Baker said:
‘We are extremely
pleased to have won the tender for this exciting event, it is a
testament to the excellent work put in previously by the drivers and
operationally by the office staff.’
.. . first choice - first class
Here at Bakers we are proud to be able to offer our
customers an excellent range of facilities enabling us to deliver top
quality travel. With 75 year’s experience, you can rest assured that
your coach hire, local bus journey or holidays needs will run smoothly.
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