Busmark, CILT’s new sector-specific benchmarking club for the Bus and Coach industry, was officially launched at the ALBUM (Association of Local Bus Managers) Conference on 13th May 2015.
Beverley Bell FCILT, Senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain and CILT President spoke at the launch and was joined by Busmark steering committee members who introduced the advantages of being part of Busmark as well as the benefits of CILT membership.
Members of the steering committee included; Martjin Gilbert, Alex Perry, Richard Hall, John Carr and Adrian DeCourcey who gave positive endorsements for joining the Busmark scheme as well as encouraging more bus operators to get involved.
The Busmark project has been two years in the making. The first ever meeting was held in Corby and was attended by 20 operators from across the UK and Ireland who helped to map out how the club would work.
Busmark is a unique and innovative benchmarking club designed to allow the sharing of best practice, providing operators with a snapshot of what they do well and where they can improve against their peers in the industry.
Austin Birks, Chair, Bus and Coach Forum, said: ‘This is an exciting and positive initiative that we genuinely believe has the capacity to make the bus and coach industry even better than it already is.’
A benchmarking survey has been drafted that helps to capture the ideas, innovations and infrastructure of the bus and coach industry. The 90 question survey covers subjects such as; operations, engineering, the environment, technology and customer service and will be analysed once a year by the benchmarking team at CILT. There will also be four annual workshop sessions hosted by operators where industry specific expertise will be given on areas highlighted by the results of the survey.
The first survey was completed last year with 35 companies across the UK taking part; a result described as ‘indicative of the significant interest that Busmark has generated within the sector’.
The scheme has already gained 13 members since last week’s launch and interest continues to be seen.
Austin continued to encourage bus operators to join the group. He said: ‘The benefits of Busmark membership, both personal and collective, are significant and important. Being a part of Busmark can only add value to that most important person, the passenger.’
Ben Colson, ALBUM Chair, invited the Busmark team to launch the event at the conference, supporting the initiative as ‘a great project that can only add value to our industry’.
The conference proved to be the ideal setting and Sir Brian Souter FCILT, Chairman, Stagecoach Group plc., explained that the ALBUM conference has become ‘the must attend event in the bus and coach industry calendar’.