Working in partnership

Some aspects of delivering a good transport service are beyond our control – such as traffic delays and congestion.

However, local authorities can alleviate these problems, through measures such as giving road priority to buses and improving bus stops. We at Arriva can provide more accessible vehicles and increase service frequency. Working together, we can raise service standards and attract more passengers. Here are some ways in which we are doing so across the group:

Italy

• We work in partnership with local politicians to provide the best transport system for passengers. All our Italian businesses regularly meet the transport department to keep them up to speed with our plans, and find out how we can help them.
• In Cremona, we are installing a system that allows us to track vehicles, which is integrated with the management of traffic lights, giving priority to bus users.

The Netherlands

• In our train services, we work with provincial governments and railway engineering companies to ensure we deliver the expected 65 per cent growth in services, having been granted a concession to operate services until 2020.

The UK

• Working closely with Transport for London, Arriva has become one of the capital's leading bus operators. An incredible 30 million journeys are made every day in the city – a figure that will grow in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. A recent survey rated London as having the best public transport system in the world.
• Fastrack, the award-winning bus rapid transit system in North Kent in the UK is operated by Arriva on behalf of Kent County Council and Kent Thameside. It is being delivered through one of the best examples of a public/private sector partnership. Since its launch the system has carried over three million passengers and is the leading UK example of an innovative bus rapid transit system that can attract people from the car.
• In Leicester, we have worked with the City Council since 1999 in operating its real-time passenger information system, 'star trak'. The total investment in the system, from bus equipment to intelligent traffic signal priority and depot equipment, is more than £6 million.
• Arriva Trains Wales is working with the Welsh Assembly Government to deliver a first-rate passenger service. In partnership we have invested £2 million in ticketing facilities and £1.8 million in CCTV for trains. We also introduced a new timetable delivering an extra 950 services a week.

Working with passengers

We regularly consult our customers to find out what they want from our services.

• Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands: Independent surveys and customer focus groups help us understand what customers think of our buses and trains.
• The UK: In a recent survey overall customer satisfaction rose, with 91 per cent of our bus passengers satisfied with our service, and especially with our employees.

Understanding accessibility issues

We work with a number of groups who can help us better to meet the needs of users with disabilities.

• Denmark: We consulted with the Danish Centre for Accessibility on the design of 29 new trains.
• The UK: We worked with the Royal National Institute for the Blind on issues ranging from bus design to disability awareness training for drivers.
• Our website has been created with guidance from
  the Shaw Trust, and we are working to ensure it is accessible to level AA.