Community

Reliable services are essential to the communities we serve. A key measure is the proportion of our planned mileage that we operate. In 2008, we managed to improve on an already strong performance of 99.1 per cent in 2007, with 99.2 per cent of the 649 million scheduled miles operated (excluding the impact of traffic congestion in our London operation).

We and our employees support community organisations, including charities, schools, neighbourhood groups and sports clubs. Young people and their safety, education and training are at the core of many of our community activities.

Customer satisfaction

Feedback on the experience of our passengers in using our services is vital to ensuring we meet their requirements for security, reliability and good value.

Across the group, from Scandinavia to Portugal, we have been listening to what our customers think about our services and working to improve the experience of travelling with Arriva.

At our suggestion, we have been the first operator in Scandinavia to have customer satisfaction measures included in our contracts in both Sweden and Denmark.

In December 2008 passengers on Arriva's Danish trains recorded an all time high satisfaction rating of 80.2 per cent. On our buses in the Greater Copenhagen area average satisfaction in 2008 was 80.6 per cent, up slightly on 2007.

In Sweden passengers on most of our bus services recorded higher levels of satisfaction, with ratings ranging from 71 per cent to 83 per cent. On our Swedish trains passenger satisfaction was 67 per cent, up two percentage points on the previous year.

Arriva's TST business in Portugal saw passenger satisfaction increase 19 per cent from 2007 to 2008 (from 55.4 to 66.0 per cent) with 97 per cent of customers intending to continue using the service and 95 per cent happy to recommend to family and friends.

In the UK the latest survey by official representative body Passenger Focus saw 86 per cent of Arriva Trains Wales passengers rating services satisfactory or good, while CrossCountry scored 84 per cent - both higher than the national average.

For the year ended 31 December 2008, the Public Performance Measure (PPM) which measures punctuality was 92.5 per cent for Arriva Trains Wales, up from 91.8 per cent in 2007. For CrossCountry, the 2008 PPM increased to 89.6 per cent, from 86.3 per cent in 2007 (based on best like-for-like estimates for the remapped franchise).

In 2008 through the GfK NOP market research group we surveyed almost 20,000 UK bus passengers, maintaining the 91 per cent satisfaction rating recorded in 2007. The business continues to strive to improve on this excellent performance.

Snapshots: Making a difference

In the UK we support many of our employees' community activities with financial donations and publicity. In 2008 more than 25 awards from the Arriva Community Action Awards scheme helped organisations including hospices, charities, sports clubs and community groups
Two employees were recognised with special awards for their outstanding contributions. In July 2008 Liverpool bus driver Tom Gannon completed a 200 mile, five-day, sponsored walk for the Rhys Jones Memorial Cup Trust, to raise funds for a community centre in memory of the murdered schoolboy. Joy Lynes of Arriva Trains Wales was recognised for her outstanding fundraising for St Michael's Hospice, Hereford. Since 2000 Joy has raised over £42,000 for the hospice which cared for her niece as she battled cancer

In Scotland, Arriva donated a vehicle for use as a community youth bus in conjunction with Renfrewshire Council, the YMCA, and police and fire services to help combat vandalism and anti-social behaviour
Work by our SAF business to support literacy among young people continued in Italy's Medio Fruili region, with the provision of a 'story bus' which transports children to local libraries and on which they can listen to stories
Our work to promote health awareness in Liverpool, through the Healthy Schools Bus project with Everton Football Club and the city council took a new step forward with the introduction of a second bus. In its first 18 months the first Healthy Schools Bus made over 250 school visits and helped more than 8,000 primary school children increase their understanding of the benefits of healthy eating and an active lifestyle

Through our membership of the Prince's Trust Get Into Railways group, we work with other rail industry organisations to support training and employment opportunities. Support for young people in 2008 included backing for offshore rowers, netballers and a social and football club for young people with learning disabilities in Wales
Arriva Trains Wales gained national recognition for work with young offenders in making environmental improvements at five stations, while our Platform for Art initiative involved schoolchildren in producing murals at stations, helping to generate community pride
Across the UK, Arriva's Getting to School pack has now been used by more than 250 schools. The pack, created alongside education experts and teachers, is a curriculum linked resource for teachers of seven to 11-year-olds. It includes a range of activities supporting maths, science and social and environmental awareness - all with a bus travel theme
In Germany, more than 1,000 people got a closer look at Arriva Deutschland's ODEG rail business when the company invited neighbours to an open day at its Eberswalde workshop. Local charities also benefited from an auction of lost property
Concern for the community also runs beyond the immediate neighbourhood. In Italy, our SAB business provided a bus to support 10 drivers giving up part of their holiday to help build and refurbish a series of orphanages in the Ukraine - an initiative the drivers have supported for a number of years. Likewise in Mallorca, our involvement boosted a campaign to raise awareness of malnutrition in Africa
Improving accessibility to our services for people with restricted mobility has progressed. In the UK the proportion of accessible low floor vehicles in our UK bus fleet increased to 74 per cent in 2008 from 67 per cent in 2007, and will improve further as a result of our 2009 investment plans
Our CrossCountry rail franchise, which does not operate any of the stations at which its trains call, has introduced a service to help those who need assistance, for mobility or other reasons, in getting on and off trains, wherever they are travelling
Sarah Czyrko, from our CrossCountry rail operation in the UK, spent a week in Cornwall helping disadvantaged youngsters have a holiday of a lifetime. She was working as a volunteer with CrossCountry's adopted charity - Country Holidays for Inner City Kids (CHICKS). CrossCountry provides free rail travel to underprivileged children visiting the CHICKS holiday centres. The charity also receives donations from CrossCountry employees through a variety of fundraising activities. Sarah supported the youngsters as they tried out games, outdoor activities and crafts, which many of them would never experience without help from CHICKS and its supporters.