Quarterly Newsletter for Friends of Golden Arrow Bus Services

The Changing Face of International Public Transport

2011 Driver of the Year

Way Forward at Rail Summit

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Golden Arrow passenger survey

VOL 21 | ISSUE 2 JUL 2012

2 | INTERCHANGE VOL 21 | ISSUE 2 JUL 2012

Golden Arrow Bus Services (Pty) Ltd/(Edms) Bpk Reg No 1992/001234/07

Editorial Office: 103 Bofors Circle, Epping Industria PO Box 1795, Cape Town 8000

Redaksiekantoor: Boforssirkel 103, Epping Industria, Posbus 1795, Kaapstad 8000

Iofisi yomhleli: 103 Bofors Circle, Epping Industria, PO Box 1795, Cape Town 8000

Tel: 021 5078800 | Fax: 021 5341520 Website: gabs.co.za E-mail: information@gabs.co.za

Editor / Redakteur / Umhleli: Bronwen Dyke

Contributors / Bydraers / Omnye umbhali onegalelo: John Dammert Bronwen Dyke

Design & Layout: Oaktree Marketing Solutions

Golden Arrow’s Mission: To operate safe, reliable passenger transport services designed to meet the needs of our customers and by applying sound business principles, to create a secure future for the company and its people.

Golden Arrow’s Missie: Om veilige, betroubare passasiersvervoerdienste te lewer, gerig op die behoeftes van ons klante en, deur gesonde sakebeginsels toe te pas, ‘n seker toekoms vir die maatskappy en sy mense te skep.

Umnqophiso kaGolden Arrow: Ukufaka iinkonzo zothutho luka wonkewonke ezikhuselekileyo kunye nezithembekileyo kwaye nezilungiselelwe ukukhawulelana neemfuno zabakhweli bebhasi zalenkampani oku kufezekiswa ngokusebenzisa imithetho-siseko yoshishino ephilileyo, nokwakha ikamva elikhuselekileyo lwalenkampani kunye nabantu bayo.

NOTE from NIC

The furore that erupted in the wake of the President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce’s comments regarding the expansion of the MyCiti Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) bus service to the Cape Flats has clearly demonstrated that public transport lies close to the hearts of Capetonians. This has of course been compounded by the massive capital injection by National Treasury to ensure the sector’s pivotal role in the success of the City’s hosting of the 2010 World Cup and the central role of the Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) model in the National Transport Act (NTA). The IRT system has therefore been hailed by policymakers as the panacea of the country’s public transport woes and will consequently guide the sector’s future development.

For road based operators, the IRT system with its offerings of dedicated median lanes, electronic ticketing, integrated timetabling, real-time communication, expanded security and state of the art docking stations can only be described as utopian in every respect. The realities that we have to contend with, unfortunately make the realisation of this ideal exceptionally arduous, none more so than constrained funding resources available to subsidise public transport operations. This was poignantly demonstrated when Treasury drastically reduced bus subsidies (by 16% in GABS’ case) after experiencing multiple deficit rollovers which prompted them to convert to a gross-based conditional grant under the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) in 2009.

The key success factors underpinning sustainable IRT systems are population densities, trip distances and passenger volumes. The IRT model has been proven to be most successful in South America, specifically in cities where there is little or no rail infrastructure and trips that are typically shorter than 10km compared to Cape Town where some routes cover up to 50km, which exacerbates operational costs and low asset utilisation.

The revelation by the City that it had spent R175 million on running phase 1A of the MyCiti service since the 2010 World Cup against an income of R35 million, vindicates the Chamber’s concern about the service’s financial sustainability. An elementary comparison based on the information provided indicates that the MyCiti phase 1A service requires seven times the subsidy allocated for a conventional bus service along the same route, to offset the operational deficit.

Given DORA’s inflexibility to dynamically respond to increased service demands and Treasury’s reticence to expand subsidies, the cost modeling of the system requires closer scrutiny. Indeed, perhaps a reorientation of the focus is required by pragmatically taking account of the existing public transport network and allocating the available resources in a manner that derives the optimum benefit in an incremental manner.

In this construct, the revitalisation of the well established rail network should be accorded priority as it has the capacity to absorb the bulk of the City’s public transport users. Concurrent to this, small scale improvements across the entire public transport spectrum will go a long way to restoring trust and

Nic CronjéCEO: Golden Arrow Bus Services

Let us spend the public purse wisely

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According to a study by Roger Behrens and Herrie Schalekamp from the University of Cape Town’s

Centre for Transport Studies, passenger surveys are going to play an increasingly important role in the public transport landscape as limited resources are invested into new public transport systems and as challenges to the successful operation of these systems intensify. Golden Arrow has historically made use of a variety of channels to gauge passenger satisfaction and possible areas for improvement; these have included comments and complaints, social networking, passenger forums and feedback from small business unit managers. While this information is vital to the Company’s functioning it does not provide a holistic picture of who Golden Arrow’s 200 000 daily passengers are and what their specific concerns may be.

It is for this reason that Golden Arrow once again felt it necessary to commission an independently administered customer satisfaction survey, similar to the last formal survey conducted in 2007. The survey was administered by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s (CPUT) Mathematics and Physics Department and employed random sampling methods at five separate termini located in Khayelitsha, Mitchell’s Plain, Bellville, Golden Acre and Killarney. A total of 2 500 questionnaires were completed and processed by the CPUT team.

The findings are extremely useful in two regards as they create a typical

passenger profile and provide insights into passenger perceptions around each aspect of Golden Arrow’s service. According to the findings, 81% of passengers believe that “Golden Arrow is the bus for us”, while 9% of passengers disagree (the remaining 10% agree somewhat). While this is a big vote of confidence, there is always room for improvement and that is where the detailed results are the most useful.

The results broadly indicate that passengers are most satisfied with safety levels, how drivers are operating the buses, the availability of buses during the week, overall reliability and comfort. The biggest areas of concern include timeliness, seat availability, fares, route and schedule information and availability over weekends. While Golden Arrow

is unable to control external factors such as national legislation, subsidy allocation and sky-rocketing fuel prices; internal operational issues such as cleanliness, courtesy and the reliability of buses are service areas that can be shrewdly reviewed and interrogated.

Golden Arrow has also noted the high prevalence of cellular phone and social networking technology use amongst passengers and will be pursuing innovative ways to incorporate these platforms into future communication strategies. Ultimately, it is hoped that the data from the survey can be utilised to ensure that Golden Arrow’s services and policies remain tailored to the needs of the individuals making use of its scheduled bus services across the metropole.

“Golden Arrow is the bus for us”

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Golden Arrow’spassengers have spoken

Rating of specific aspects of GABS service delivery

graph/table

81%

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The International Association of Transport Operators (UITP) recently convened the 7th International Bus Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The Conference featured a panel of more than

40 speakers, including the Turkish Minister for EU Affairs, and brought together 366 delegates from 51 countries.

UITP’s vision is to double public transport’s market share worldwide by 2025 and maintains that the Bus will play a critical role in achieving this objective. The Istanbul conference theme of ‘Think Bus: cost effective for society, attractive for customers’, emphasized the key role bus systems can play in the mobility chain as well as their assets in terms of economic performance, innovation and customer service quality.

The high premium placed on environmentally responsible operations ensured that a major focus of the conference was devoted to technologies that enhance efficiencies in energy consumption and which mitigate carbon emissions. This appears to be an area which is driving innovation and R&D initiatives in the sector as urban bus operators are faced with increasingly stringent regulatory compliance regimes.

Papers presented provided updates on alternative energy for buses and experiences in the field of existing technologies such as hybrid which is proving to be a reliable intermediate solution towards full electric powered status. Hybrid buses, which are powered by a mix of an ordinary diesel engine and an electric motor, have been the trailblazers of the new technology. It boasts the biggest contribution to emissions reduction in the City of London, which the Mayor is intent on reducing by a massive 60% by 2025.

Transport for London (TFL), first introduced hybrid buses in 2006, and currently has 225 diesel-electric units in operation, which is set to be increased to 300 by the end of 2012. Trials have revealed that the most significant environmental benefits of hybrid buses are a reduction in emissions of local pollutants and carbon dioxide by at least 30 per cent, as well as a 3 decibel [dB(A)] reduction in perceived sound levels compared to conventional diesel buses.

At the top-end end of the technology spectrum, rapid advances have also been made in the full-time commissioning of electric buses to urban commuter transport networks. BYD, one of the leading high-tech enterprises in China specialising in IT, automobile and new energy solutions and the world’s largest supplier of rechargeable batteries, has pioneered the field of electric vehicles with unique technologies.

BYD’s first pure electric bus is powered by a non-polluting “Fe” battery which contains chemical materials that are recyclable. The Electric Bus is able to operate a distance of 155 miles on a single 5-hour charge in urban conditions without solar contribution. After a pilot phase in which 200 electric buses were deployed in 2011, the Shenzen municipal government plans to deploy 2000 units in the public transport system by the end of 2012.

The current costs of the new-age hybrid and electric buses and its related technologies are more expensive than the conventional diesel powered bus. However, according to the new-age protagonists, this is purely as a consequence of economies of scale and the relative low utilisation of the technology in the current urban transport networks. As trials project future savings in operational and maintenance costs and as the compulsion to meet increasingly stringent environmental compliance, the demand / supply equation should bring cost reductions to bear in the new-age bus technologies.

It is, however, notable that trials of hybrid and electric buses have not taken off in South Africa. This can most likely be attributable to the life cycle stage of the local bus industry relative to those in the developed economies and the infancy of climate change legislation. With the resolute advancement of bus rapid transport systems in the integrated public transport network model of the National Transport Act, it would be appropriate to incorporate new-age technologies as part of the future planning for the public transport system in the country.

New-age technologies set the pace in international bus transport

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Economic Comparison

Daily range 240km

Diesel Bus CNG Bus eBUS-12Annual availability 280 days

Life cycle 12 years

Fuel Cost (R) 2,950,382.97 4,212,951.47 424,526.28

Maintenance Cost (R) 2,197,351.18 1,828,285.43 1,096,758.02

Initial Bus Cost (R) 2,561,119.94 3,291,325.36 4,755,372.91

Environmental Cost (R) 731,747.09 365,707.39 0

LIFE TIME COST (R) 8,430,449.15 9,695,307.15 6,277,974.56

eBUS-12 Savingsover Diesel: R 2,154,173.34over CNG: R 3,422,118.75

* figures an approximation based on exchange rate at time of going to print

Diesel-electric hybrid buses use both electricity and diesel - the same concept as hybrid automobiles

Bus batteries store energy and recharge when the bus decelerates. When demand for power exceeds battery capacity, the diesel engine provides additional energy

The stored electricity is used for a cleaner and smoother propulsion

A computer controls the output of the two power sources, diesel and electricity, so the bus always utilises the most efficient source.

Lead-acid batteries

Electric motor

Control system

Diesel engine

Generator

The hybrid bus

How does the hybrid bus work?

The benefits of hybrid buses

• Significantly reduce emissions that cause smog, greenhouse gases, and public health issues

• Reduce fuel consumption by about 25 %

• Require less maintenance

• Reduce diesel exhaust odour and vehicle noise

• Have the same operating reliability as traditional propulsion engine buses

Courtesy of Yongping Chen, Bus Auto Europe

Courtesy of Francisco Balmas, Fuel and Traction System Observatory

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The 2011 Driver of the Year (DOTY) competition was held at the Grand West Casino in Cape Town in April this year. The competition was introduced in 1986 by Golden Arrow’s CEO Nic

Cronjé as a way to further instil a culture of customer care, reliability and driving excellence. In its 26th year, DOTY is one of the premier events on Golden Arrow’s calendar and although it culminates in a top ten format awards ceremony, the road to the top requires exemplary conduct and driving throughout the entire year preceding the finals.

This year’s finalists had 129 years of combined service between them, with five of the finalists finding themselves in the top ten for the first time. Arrow gate depot-driver Nikolaas Fortuin clinched the top spot for the first time in his 10 years as a DOTY competitor. Having started his remarkable climb to the top as Rookie of the Year in 2000, Fortuin took second place on five previous occasions (including 2010) making his victory this year all the sweeter. According to GABS CEO Nic Cronjé, Fortuin’s career at GABS has epitomised the spirit of the DOTY competition perfectly

and should serve as an inspiration to his colleagues who may find the idea of competing somewhat intimidating.

For Fortuin it hasn’t only been about the competition, but about being the best driver possible and always exuding positivity. “I practise the K53 when driving as it is very important particularly when you have to obey the road traffic signs and think for other road users in order to avoid potential traffic incidents,” he explains. Like his fellow contestants, he has only positive things to say about the DOTY experience: “I would really like to see more bus drivers participating in the competition as it really is a wonderful opportunity and experience and I would like to thank my Small Business Unit Managers and colleagues for encouraging me to participate in the DOTY competition. His parting words for would-be contestants for DOTY 2012 most certainly encapsulate this tenacious competitor’s attitude over the years: “Becoming the champ takes a lot of practise but practise makes perfect.”

In addition to the top ten, Rookie of the Year is awarded to a driver who has had less than one years’ service at the time of the competition and was awarded to Atlantis depot-driver Kevin Martin Andrews. The Female Driver of the Year was awarded to Sharon Reagon for her exceptional driving record and skill in the competition. This year’s award ceremony was once again used not only to congratulate all the finalists but to encourage them to continue to embody the culture of excellence in not only driving but all aspects of customer care, which are also focus areas in the new public transport dispensation. Ultimately, however, the true value of the competition is its ability to inspire Golden Arrow’s drivers to constantly improve on their own best efforts and while this year’s twelve DOTY finalists have been honoured for their effort, there is always room for others to achieve what they have if they too apply themselves diligently in all aspects of their duties.

Fortuin clinches the top spot in prestigious Driver of the Year Awards

Mr Nic Cronjé congratulating, DOTY winner, Nikolaas Fortuin

The top three winners with their trophies from left to right: David Johannes (best manoeuvering), Sharon Reagon (Female Driver of the year) and Nikolaas Fortuin (overall and highest K53 score).

confidence in a system that has suffered years of neglect.

I cannot but agree with van Dijk and Hitge who so eloquently posit that given the prolonged period of under-investment in public transport in this country, an incremental approach over an entire system illustrates intent by government, while giving comfort to communities not benefitting from large-scale infrastructural improvements that their areas will not be overlooked in the future1.

Superimposing an expensive, high quality public transport system which is out of synch with the City’s developmental realities, will place inordinate burden on the City’s fiscus which will ultimately have to be borne by the ratepayer who has never had to contend with this liability in the more than 150 years of public transport in Cape Town.

Using the momentum gained from the summit Metrorail has since further undertaken to provide more effective anti-vandalism strategies relating to signal points, to accelerate the rolling stock refurbishment programme, to implement a platform marshals project and a closed door programme to improve commuter safety and to ensure a greater focus on customer service.

It is Golden Arrow’s sincere hope that the objectives formulated during the summit are successfully implemented and that by continued interactions of this sort, that all measures and systemic changes will ultimately benefit the commuters whose livelihoods and mobility are so inexorably linked to public transport within the metropole.

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Strike action stalled at 11th hour

The state of rail in the metropole has been the source of much concern for some time now and as such, Golden

Arrow was pleased to participate in a Rail Summit hosted by the City of Cape Town in February, this year.

The aim of the summit was to lay the foundation for stakeholder engagements necessary for the establishment of structures and mechanisms that have been outlined in the National Land Transport Act of 2009 (NLTA) and to agree on action items necessary to improve rail operations and assist in the creation of a truly integrated transport system. Participants included stakeholders from the public and private sector, as well as academic institutions and civil society representatives including the Western Cape Commuter Forum.

The annual wage negotiations precipitated a tense standoff between the South African Bus Employer’s Association (SABEA) bargaining forum and representatives

of Labour regarding settlement on the across the board (ATB) increase. The SABEA mandate was pegged at 8%, while Labour indicated its willingness to conclude at 8.5%, failing which they would go on strike if an agreement was not reached on this basis. SABEA members agreed to put Labour’s proposal to vote and concurrence on an 8,5% ATB, backdated to the 1st April was eventually reached. Strike action was therefore averted at the 11th hour and the main agreement was extended from 16 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.

PRASA CEO Lucky Montana outlined the myriad challenges facing the commuter rail system including the fact that the last trains were purchased some 33 years ago, that the technology powering the system was both old and obsolete, the ineffective replacement strategy currently in place and that mobility and safety issues were not addressed with current stock.

According to Mayoral Committee Member for Roads and Stormwater, Brett Herron, the summit was just one step in the move toward a “sustainable, multi-modal integrated transport system” with the City at the helm of the soon-to-be-established single transport authority, which will fall under the City of Cape Town’s jurisdiction.

Rail Summit charts way forward for troubled Western Cape Commuter Rail System

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1.ERWIN VAN DIJK & GERHARD HITGE, “When a jump isn’t right”, MOBILITY, Aug/Oct 2011.

Golden Arrow may be a transport company but it has always placed special emphasis on being a company that cares as well as one which actively participates in the upliftment of the

communities which it serves. This ethos was first formalised in 1993 when the Golden Arrow Foundation (GAF) was formed using the donation of 50% of the Company’s shares as its capital base. Following the acquisition of Golden Arrow Bus Services by Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) the Golden Arrow Foundation was incorporated into the HCI Foundation and in this way, the Company’s philanthropic initiatives continue to provide support to organisations in need.

While health and education are two of the most pressing sectors of concern, Golden Arrow recognises the vital role that the arts can play in empowering individuals and communities. To this end a number of arts and culture programmes and organisations receive sponsorship and assistance from Golden Arrow on an annual basis.

Golden Arrow’s flagship Community Transport Programme, through a close relationship with the Baxter Theatre has introduced between 4,000 and 5,000 children from across the Cape Flats to the world of theatre on an annual basis. Were it not for the programme, most of these children would never have the opportunity to experience the magic that theatre and the arts have to offer and we are particularly proud of being able to make so many dreams a reality.

The Bridgetown Theatre Company (BTC) is a community-based performing arts and cultural organisation formed in 2009. The Company strives to build unity in the performing arts by breaking down the barriers of race, creed and culture and has been very successful in highlighting the community-building potential of the arts by encouraging aspirant performers to channel their energy into something positive. Having wowed audiences at the Grahamstown Festival, the Baxter, Artscape and Cape Town Carnival; Golden Arrow was pleased to provide support to their fantastic dance and comedy double bill, entitled “Moves” which played to standing ovations at the Artscape in June.

Golden Arrow also has a long-standing relationship with the Cape Town College of Magic, whose special focus is on marginalised youth through their “Magic in the Community” Project, which is very much in keeping with GABS’ caring, community-focused ethos. The Project draws students from previously disadvantaged communities such as

Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Langa, Hanover Park and Manenberg and introduces them to a magical world that is very far from the crime, poverty and social ills that they are exposed to on a daily basis. The college’s diverse student body are able to learn and perform together despite their different socio-economic backgrounds, and this mixing of cultures creates relationships based on an appreciation of diversity and a shared love of magic.

While the Community Transport Programme, the Bridgetown Theatre Company and the College of Magic are just a few of the projects and organisations that Golden Arrow is proud to support, they are illustrative of the Company’s ongoing commitment to uplifting Cape Town’s communities. For Golden Arrow, Corporate Social Investment remains a fundamental and irrevocable part of what we do and it is our sincere hope that we are able to continue to build on this unique relationship with our passengers and their communities for many years to come.

Golden Arrow and HCI Foundation support the arts

Spreading joy: A young magician from the College of Magic performs for spellbound community members