‘Today is the day that the bus and coach sector do benchmarking properly,’ say leading Busmark members at the inaugural CILT Busmark Member Meeting. Delegates from across the bus and coach sector attended a meeting in London earlier this week for a morning of engaging presentations highlighting the value of benchmarking.
Busmark has been developed by bus and coach practitioners, specifically for the bus and coach industry, and is enjoying widespread support. More than 28 operators have already joined Busmark and collectively, these companies are operating an approximate fleet size of more than 8,000 vehicles.
Austin Birks FCILT, Chair, CILT Bus & Coach Forum enthused: “When we launched in May we set a target of eight companies and now, as we approach 30 operators, this scheme is demonstrating the sector’s desire to engage with and become involved in something that we haven’t had before. Busmark is evolving and it is something that when the value starts to get realised you will really begin to feel that there is real strength in the sector.”
Martijn Gilbert FCILT, CEO, Reading Buses said: “We should be promoting ourselves on a wider scale, benchmarking allows us to have the independent, credible recognition to say this is what we have achieved and this is how we achieved it.
“Benchmarking is not alien to the transport sector as a whole, but Busmark provides the whole picture from the UK bus industry.”
The results from Busmark’s primary survey revealed several positive and commendable results. Adrian de Courcey FCILT, Chief Executive, Travel de Courcey and Chair, Busmark revealed:
• 576 vehicles from the 27 fleets surveyed used hybrid, gas or fully electric power
• Average age of fleet vehicle is incredibly low at just 6.1 years
• Companies had an average of 89% customer satisfaction
• 50% of companies have on board Wi-Fi and 25% offer mobile ticketing
Martijn added: “The development of Busmark will enable us to learn from the data provided and use those findings to not only make our own businesses better but also improve and innovate our sector.
“The beauty of Busmark is that it is relevant to our industry; it is the first bespoke, all-encompassing measuring framework that is relevant to our sector. This is an opportunity for operators to drive improvement as one, a chance for us all to get under the skin of things and ask how we can collectively work together to share and improve.”
Monday’s meeting took place at Busmark’s Gold Sponsor Marsh’s London office in Tower Hill. Steve Agg FCILT, Chief Executive, CILT said: “I’d like to thank Marsh for sponsoring Busmark. Their commitment to Busmark will be a great help to us and will enable the benchmarking scheme to be set up, established and maintained.”
Joe Grogan, CEO Corporate Business – UK & Ireland, Marsh said: “We are proud to sponsor Busmark and be in attendance at this inaugural meeting of members. We consider it as a scheme focussed on the development of standards which is aligned to our mantra. We welcome the opportunity to discover how data and analytics can change the face of industries, in particular public transport which is one our fundamental industry practices.”
For more information and to get involved with Busmark, visit: /busmark or contact Graham Sheen. Tel: 01536 740123. Email: graham.sheen@ciltuk.org.uk