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09 South Cties Sept16 Flipbook PDF
09 South Cties Sept16
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Southern Counties Sept 2016
HR director aims to help Arriva grow
Gearing up our engineers for new challenges
Page 2
Pages 4-5
WIN Village vouchers worth £500 Page 6
Funky fun in the sun T
HREE Arriva Gillingham drivers raised more than £400 for charity when they held a family fun day in August. Dan Boyns, Bradley Penhallow and Daryl Thompson organised the event in support of the Medway branch of the MS (multiple sclerosis) Society and union representative Tony Teed, who was diagnosed with the illness last year. Dan said: “Tony has helped us a lot throughout the years and so we wanted to do something to support people and their families who are affected by MS.” The fun day took place on the green outside Chatham Waterfront bus station and featured an array of attractions, including jousting, face-painting, sumo suits and a bouncy castle. Dan said: “We had a really good turnout and a lot of support from colleagues. Brad was DJ for the day, relief inspector Tom Devitt dressed up as Arriva mascot Alfie and Daryl’s girlfriend, Sam, baked cakes. We were very grateful to everyone who attended.”
The national newspaper for Arriva UK’s bus businesses
2 September 2016 Arriva Now!
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Triumphant driver trio book their places in seaside finals THE best of the best drivers from Arriva Southern Counties and Arriva Shires vied for top places in the annual regional Bus Driver of the Year competition. The event was held at North Weald airfield on July 10, where drivers battled it out in a series of gruelling tests to be named Driver of the Year. A large number of applicants were whittled down to 10 from Shires and 10 from Southern Counties. The emphasis of the competition was on expertise and quality of driving. As well as the practical driving tests, there were written multiple-choice questions based on the DVSA Highway Code and DVSA Guide to Driving Buses and Coaches. The worthy winners for Southern Counties were: 1st place: Darren Spillane, Southend
1st DARREN SPILLANE Southend depot; 2nd place: Martyn Smith, Northfleet depot; 3rd place: Mark Woodgate, Ware depot. All three went on to represent Arriva Southern Counties at the National Bus Driver of the Year final on September 4. The main organisers of the event were regional risk manager Jon Sweet, Southern Counties assistant risk
2nd MARTYN SMITH Northfleet
3rd MARK WOODGATE Ware
manager Phil Jones, Shires assistant risk manager James Mitchell, Southern Counties driving examiner Bob Murrant and Shires driving instructor Mark Jones. However, the competition also required assistance from many other people around the business, including the training school and local
HR director is ready to help Arriva grow
management teams who re-arrange rotas to allow drivers to take part. James Mitchell said: “I would like to thank everyone who was involved, including all those who contributed to making the event very successful, particularly the training department. They gave up a lot of their time to make the event possible.”
Free paper to be available on all buses
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EW Southern Counties HR director Debbie Hayes has got off to a flying start at Arriva. She previously worked as an HR director for airline caterer Gate Gourmet where she was responsible for more than 3,000 staff across the UK, Spain and Ireland. Debbie said: “I am really excited about joining Arriva and in particular Southern Counties. “Having come from an operational background, I enjoy finding solutions to ongoing issues. I also enjoy helping people to develop and grow their careers by providing platforms and processes to make this happen. “I think that HR adds a lot of value to a business and can help it to grow its bottom line by focusing on the talent needed to make it successful. “I’m looking forward to getting to know as many employees as possible.” In her spare time, Debbie enjoys scuba diving and travelling to new countries for her holidays. She is also a keep fit fan and loves running HR director Debbie Hayes in her new office. and spinning (indoor cycling).
Metro dispenser units are coming to buses. READ all about it! Passengers will soon be catching up with the news as they catch the bus. From next month (October), they will be able to pick up the Metro free newspaper from special units fitted to all Arriva buses. It will also be available in travel shops. In the run-up to the launch, the Metro will be raising awareness and Arriva will run similar promotions in the bus-mounted units. Arriva Yorkshire and Midlands have been carrying the Metro on buses for some time and find customers appreciate it. Southern Counties marketing director Simon Baxter said: “We’re always looking at ways to make people’s bus journeys rewarding and making the Metro available will add value, particularly on the morning commute.”
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Alfie visit catches scouts unprepared! BEAVERS and Brownies had a ball on the bus thanks to staff at Stevenage. Stevenage Beaver scouts went on a bus ride to Letchworth Garden City in May, accompanied by their parents, scout leaders and Arriva mascot Alfie. Depot administrator Laura Crosfield said: “We arranged to take 28 Beaver scouts for a ride on a 55 bus.
Alfie accompanies excited Beaver Scouts on a bus ride into town. Inset: Alfie with driver Maurice Harrington.
“They were very excited, especially when driver Maurice Harrington stopped off so that they could eat their chips in the park! “They also had no idea that Alfie was going to make an appearance, so that was a nice surprise.” The local Brownie group was treated to a ride around Stevenage when the depot took part in a community engagement event. Laura said: “We received positive feedback from the Beavers and Brownies. “They are our customers of the future and so we were delighted they enjoyed their experience with us.”
Tribute to a golden girl
Retired: Beverley Lawson.
Farewell Arriva, hello Australia MAIDSTONE finance director Beverley Lawson retired in August and said she can’t believe how quickly her 26 years of service have passed. Beverley joined the company as a finance manager at Reigate in 1990. She was made redundant in 1998 following a restructure but came back in 1999 as a finance manager at Maidstone. Within a year, she was made finance director. “The time has flown by,” she said. “I have really enjoyed my career. No two days were the same and I will be sad to be saying goodbye to many of my work colleagues.” Now that she is retired, Beverley plans to go travelling to Australia and New Zealand with her husband, Bob. “I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said. “I’d also love to explore the UK coastline. There are so many beautiful places I haven’t been to. I’d love to jump in a camper van and go! “I would also like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to everyone that I have worked with at Arriva over these many years, particularly those that I have not had a chance to say goodbye to personally. I wish you all the best for the future.”
HAVE YOU GOT A STORY TO TELL?
Arriva flies the flag in celebration of Olympic hero
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RRIVA Ware launched a fleet of 14 new double-deckers in Olympic style in August. The route 310 vehicles were unveiled at Hoddersdon and included a limited edition Union Jack-wrapped bus, which displayed a message of congratulations for Olympic gold cyclist Laura Trott.
Southern Counties marketing manager Richard Lewis said: “The 310 runs from Hertford to Waltham Cross via Cheshunt, which is where Laura grew up. “We wanted to combine the launch of the latest additions to the depot with a celebration of Laura’s amazing success at Rio.” The buses replace a fleet of single-deckers
and represent a £3million investment. They are the first vehicles in the region to feature 4G WiFi and also have USB charging ports. Richard added: “We had some great feedback from the launch about the buses and look forward to welcoming our customers on board.”
At Arriva NOW! we are always on the lookout for employees’ news, whether it’s to do with work or an outside interest. This is your newspaper and we’d like to hear from you. Call 01932 243400 and ask to speak to one of our reporters, or alternatively send us an email to [email protected]
4 September 2016 Arriva Now! 8
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Marriage begins with a splash! MAIDSTONE drivers Roger Hudson and Linda Sawyer are flying high after getting married in July. They got together two years ago when they went to the Eastbourne Airshow with the Arriva Sports & Social Club. Linda said: “We just hit it off. I knew Roger from the depot, and then on the last day of a holiday we took together he proposed!” The happy couple got married at the Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone, which is the former 14th century residence of the archbishops of Canterbury. Linda said: “It was absolutely beautiful. I arrived in style in a double-decker bus, which was kindly organised by our manager John Bottomley. “We had wonderful weather and were joined by family and friends, including my sister Elizabeth and driver Kevin Upton, who were witnesses.” The Hudsons then flew to Portugal for their honeymoon, where they swam with dolphins. “Linda said: “It was out of this world. I have always wanted to swim with dolphins and they were so graceful. Everyone should do it!” Roger said: “It was an incredible honeymoon. We had wonderful weather and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Park the Bus team: top left Aaron Taylor, Marc Addlesee, Dan Fronteras (keeper) and Neil Ross. Bottom row: George Lavell and Craig Taylor.
Drivers Linda Sawyer and Roger Hudson on their wedding day, and, below, swimming with dolphins on their honeymoon.
Success at the XC Cup A
RRIVA Southern Counties had a ball at the 9th annual XC football cup tournament in July. Stevenage, Ware and Park the Bus teams competed for the cup alongside 28 other squads, which were made up from the Arriva group and CrossCountry Trains operating companies. A series of 15-minute matches were played at Birmingham University campus with the top two teams going on to challenge for the XC Cup and the runners-up competing for the XC Shield. The cup was won by Arriva Luton, but Park the Bus team, which was made up of Maidstone and UK Bus staff,
was runner-up in the XC Shield for the second year in a row. Team captain and South of the Thames marketing manager Craig Taylor said: “We lost to XC Manchester on penalties. I can’t believe we went out in the final again, but it’s always a great event and we’ll be back next year!” Stevenage and Ware got through to the first round of the competition. Depot administrator Laura Crosfield said: “It was a fantastic day and great to work as a team. “We had lots of family come along too, which made it a really special event.”
Duo’s pedal power pulls in charity cash
Bob Collins, above, and right, Ian Punton.
MAIDSTONE colleagues Bob Collins and Ian Punton got on their bikes for charity in June. The dynamic duo completed the London to Brighton Bike Ride and raised £635 for the British Heart Foundation. Learning representative Bob said: “My dad suffers from a heart problem and so I wanted to support the charity. “It’s the second year I have completed the challenge and although it was tough, I had a great time.” The 54-mile bike ride is the British Heart Foundation’s flagship event and inspector Ian said: “I really enjoyed the race and was pleased to be able to raise money for charity. I will hopefully do it next year.”
Arriva Now! is a quarterly publication. Look out for the next issue in December 2016! Written and designed by Ruxley Communications, 81 High Street, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 1DN. Tel: 01932 243400. Printed on paper produced from a sustainable source.