trentbarton, the company which runs dozens of routes around the East Midlands, boasts an impressive legacy. Its roots go back to 1913 when the Trent Motor Traction Company was founded and began operating a bus service between Ashbourne and Derby.
The business gradually expanded with the acquisitions of small bus operators. In 1989, Barton Transport was purchased, and the separate Trent and Barton brands were brought together as ‘trentbarton’ in 2005.
Today, trentbarton is part of the Wellglade group, which owns several other bus operators; however, retaining business independence has remained a key factor for trentbarton’s management, says Tom Morgan, the company’s new Managing Director. “We want to remain locally managed and locally operated by local people.”
Tom Morgan, formerly the Group Commercial Director, succeeded his predecessor Jeff Counsell, who retired after an industry career of almost 50 years, in April this year but the new management will have no impact on the business philosophy, he affirms: “We will be continuing along the same lines that have made the business strong historically: continuing to focus on the people and empowering our teams to do the right thing for their customers and responding to their needs. That’s ultimately the crux of running a bus service.”
He emphasises that the company is passionate about bringing together the best buses and the friendliest drivers to uphold its reputation as a really good bus company. The aim is to get passengers to their destinations on time, in comfort and in style, giving them the confidence to leave the car at home and take a trentbarton bus instead.
Local company, local people
Describing the core business, Mr Morgan explains that trentbarton, a medium-sized independent bus operator, runs inter-urban bus services across seven different local authority regions in the East Midlands. “Predominantly, we focus on high-frequency high-quality commercial bus services. Rather than being city-based or rural-based, we tend to operate networks that connect people from the outlying villages and districts to the cities and high-frequency trips connecting cities, similar to some rail lines.”
trentbarton and sister company Kinchbus today operate over 300 vehicles and employ more than 1,000 people who are based primarily at five key sites, with some additional satellite sites spread out across the East Midlands. The focus on local is strong.
“All of our board members have personal, direct experience and understanding of the business, which is one of our biggest strengths. We have a very flat managerial structure, meaning that decisions can be made quickly, and internal communication is straightforward and fast. Responsibilities are delegated all the way down, and we empower the team to make the right decision at the right time themselves.”
“Our role is to make the passenger experience as pleasurable and as easy as possible, to encourage them to do it time and time again. And an important part of making that experience is the driver. It is the drivers who build those relationships with our customer base, gain their confidence and loyalty, and encourage them to use the bus more and more. Needless to say, our drivers are a hugely valuable asset – ultimately, they are the face of the company.”
He adds that trentbarton puts a lot of effort into recruiting the right people with the right skill set and invests considerable sums in staff training. “We ask our drivers to treat our customers in the way that they want a loved one to be treated and that attitude makes a big difference. Many of our drivers know our customers by their first names. This means that we have a real community environment.”
trentbarton is also the only bus company in the UK, and probably across the whole of Europe, which offers a no-quibble money-back guarantee on all fares. “Our bottom line is that if you’re not happy, for any reason, you get your money back. And if the bus is delayed for whatever reason, our drivers are empowered to offer people free rides.”
Recognised performance
This outstanding level of service has been widely recognized and the company has collected many industry awards as well as local business awards. trentbarton has been named the British Bus Operator of the Year on numerous occasions but Mr Morgan reflects that the most special awards are the ones related to people. “trentbarton drivers have been named UK Bus Driver of the Year more than at any other UK bus company, a proud achievement. We also have our own internal award scheme, which is very popular and important for staff recognition and building positivity within the team.”
He emphasises that the company policy has always been to reinvest profits in the business and trentbarton has always kept up with future technologies and modern trends, always refreshing its customer offering.
Within the government’s bus service improvement plans, worth £ 84 million in investment across the East Midlands, the company will be modernizing its fleet. “Our ambition is to replace the entire fleet with low-emission vehicles and we’re also keeping a very close eye on zero-emission vehicles. However, the technology isn’t quite there yet for the type of services we operate and the distance ranges we cover.”
“The vehicles we operate today are classified Euro 6, the standard strictly limiting harmful exhaust emissions – our bus emits 10 times fewer emissions than the equivalent car. So, every journey anyone makes by public transport using one of our buses already improves the environment. If people were to convert one in 25 journeys from car to bus, nearly two million tonnes of carbon could be saved each year.”
“Getting more people back on buses remains a major challenge, so we will be building on our strong relationships with our local councils to overcome the biggest obstacle we face – congestion,” Mr Morgan noted, admitting that an even greater challenge currently is planning for the future.
“Despite the challenges, we will keep on empowering our team to make sure that they look after our customers, as well as embrace the technology that is available, be it for real-time information or ticketing. The ultimate goal remains the same – making the customer experience better and more enjoyable.”
