Are You Suffering From Recent Goverment Cuts?

Are You Suffering From Recent Government Budget Cuts?

Compromising Your Students Safety By Ordering Poor Quality Transport?

Putting Yourself At Risk From Litigation & Leaving You Exposed To Potential Claims?

Find The Cost Effective Way To Safer Transport Solutions!

There is a way to ensure you sae money on transport over a 12 month period, ensure all the vehicles you travel on are well maintained, have seat belts and ensure the drivers service is of an exceptional quality and all your drivers are reference and CRB checked!

Transport for Greater Manchester have to cut their budgets by 25% over the next three years. That's 10% per annum for two years and 5% on the third year. That's a lot of budget cuts in £s! Are these cuts effecting your organisation? Do you feel you might be getting poor service for what you perceive as best value? If so, you need to read on.

Hiring transport (minibuses, school buses and coaches) at what appears to be the best price sometimes can have serious consequences.

Do you know who is driving your students to school, on your day trip excursions or school field trips? Who are they? Do you know if the driver has been checked out for the position of carrying students around. How do you know they are qualified? How do you know they are CRB checked? How do you know they are monitored on their performance?

When it comes to having safe vehicles how do you know the vehicles you are travelling on are safe? How do you know they are well maintained?

Not knowing the answers to these questions could seriously result in your organisation being stranded with a legal law suit. If a child was injured how would your organisation handle the claim and the negativity that came with it?

You can protect yourself by installing a few simple checks with your transport co-ordinator! It's simple and effective and anyone in your organisation can do it!

When choosing a reliable transport provider and assessing coach and bus operators don't just assess them on price! Assess their policies on driver recruitment and training, safety and comfort features of the vehicles, booking processes, terms and conditions, insurance claims record, quality control, risk assessments, spirit of service, transport back up systems, after sales monitoring systems and above all customer testimonials. Quality, conscientious operators have all the above in abundance and will give you un-quantified references that you can personally write or speak to.

School trip safety is at the top of the list of concerns for trip organisers and parents in today's litigious society. This high regard for health and safety issues does not have to stifle the adventurous spirit of school trips and visits though. Instead it should create an environment which promotes challenge by choice in safe surroundings. Check before booking that your chosen transport provider is registered with all relevant organisations and authorities such as TfGM, CPT and VOSA.

Vet your supplier with the local authority.

TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester) and/or (your local authority) have vetted and qualified all suppliers who provide transport to schools on a contract home to school basis. They have a scoring system based on performance and reliability and road worthiness which includes annual fleet inspections. Ask for a reference on their scoring or get a report. Getting a good report of an operator who operates with high service levels week in week out, ensures you are on to a winning partnership.

Check your supplier is a member of the CPT.

The CPT (Confederation of Passenger Transport) is an organisation which represent coach and bus operators at government level. The CPT promotes compliance amongst operators and they have operational and technical departments to assist operators in meeting up to date regulations and standards also benefiting from newest innovations. The CPT also ensure emergency back up procedures in the event of a road traffic accident for all their members including road side emergencies including assistance in press and public relations handling. All good quality coach and operators are members of this association. Ensure your supplier is.

Check operators road worthiness with VOSA.

The Vehicle Operator Service Agency have records on file of all transport operators maintenance records. This includes MOT pass rate on their vehicle fleet, road side inspections and a general scoring system that gives quality information on the road worthiness of the coach/bus operator in question. The score rates from Red, Amber and Green and from 1 to 10. Green 1 is low and Red 10 is high. Quality operators are in the green with a score as low as possible.

Mange your operators roadworthiness. The VOSA check is the best way to check on the road worthiness of your chosen operator and is a true reflection of a transport supplier's maintenance management. Ask your transport provider to give you an up to date report for your own assessment and check that the date is current rather than two years ago. This is your ultimate guide to checking maintenance records of your chosen transport supplier.

Check Operators Insurance Claims Records.

Poor transport operators have very high claims records with no management of the policy which could result in very serious personal injury one day. If you want to make a booking or a regular agreement to do business with a transport operator ask to see their insurance claims record. Quality operators manage their staff and operations very tightly and will be happy to disclose this if requested. This is also an act of confidence to highlight how low the claims record is. This is also a reflection of how safe they operate their business. Coach passengers are valuable cargo and a low claims record is a safe bet in anyone's book.

How to measure Insurance Claims Records.

As a rule of thumb Insurance brokers would expect to pay on average 60% claims of the cost of the Insurance Premium. Quality operators will have claims records of less than 40% with top draw operators below 20%. If a driver has had an incident through his own negligence the operator will have him quarantined by placing him on a retraining assessment course with a qualified instructor and the driver will have to pass a qualifying score to maintain his position. Any small accidents that drivers have can be assessed, monitored, and nipped in the bud. Not assessing driving incidents results in greater calamities. To ignore the danger is to deserve the disaster.

Does your vehicle have CCTV on board?

Quality operators also have CCTV fitted to counter act false insurance claims and ensure secure evidence in the event of an incident due to a third parties negligence and not their own. Operators also use this evidence to periodically monitor their drivers driving habits and public relations, so as to improve their service to future passengers.

Ask transport operators about their recruitment policy.

Cowboy Operators have no strategy on recruitment and training. They throw the keys at potential new staff who have a nice face or smile, such is their desperation to put a driver behind the wheel and get the coach or bus earning income. Good quality drivers are in short demand in the industry. In reality, not checking driverâ¬"s career history can be detrimental to the trip. Quality operators assess application forms thoroughly along with a personality test to ensure how skilled and enthusiastic the applicant is for the job. They carry out a thorough interview, sometimes two, and the second incorporates a driving test.

Ask operators about their induction and training policy.

Good operators spend a day or two inducting new drivers. The induction includes a thorough exercise going through the company's H&S policy and the Drivers Handbook/Operations Manual. The second day includes driver training including up to the minute customer service skills. Having quality inducted and trained drivers results in you getting better performance from your driver.

Ask about regular annual driver training.

All quality operators carry out driver training. It is now European law to ensure 'periodic training' is carried out every five years based on 35 hours training to CPC standard (Certificate of Professional Competence â¬ the highest standard form of training in the industry). However, the quality of the training and more to the point, the drivers acceptance and application of the knowledge, varies. There is a big difference between 'having to' and 'wanting to' when it comes to training driver teams. Look for operators that train 'in-house' and have a 'high customer service based training program' Ask for a video if there is one available.

Has the driver been checked out?

Every operators recruitment policy should include two former employers references and a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check. After this qualifying process a full days induction and training takes place to set the new applicant into the company's operating systems. You are then assured that you are being served by a high performing quality professional bus/coach driver who operates to a company's operations manual.

Ask About Quality Control.

Some operators have no control over the standard and up keep of their fleet of vehicles. Good maintenance starts with good cleanliness. Quality operators will have a vigorous system in place that is double or treble checked on a daily basis with a paperwork management system in place. At the higher end of the market they will be a member of the 'Coach Marque Scheme' which is the Industries Quality Scheme for a quality auditing system. At the higher end of the spectrum operators will be certified to ISO9001.

Ask To See Customer Testimonials, this is one of your golden nuggets to ensure what the service is like.

Ask to see previous customer testimonials. There's nothing like seeing testimonials of a good service received from recent customers to put your mind at rest and give you confidence that your business has been placed in the right hands. If customers receive exceptional service they will record it with the supplier such was their gratitude. Quality operators receive testimonials by the bucket load.

Check Out Breakdown back-up systems.

Although vehicles are well maintained, even a brand new one can break down. In the event of an unfortunate break down or vehicle failure beyond the operators control, enquire about back up procedures or systems. When you are stranded at the side of the motorway what's the plan? Quality operators have spare vehicles laid aside for such an event, or can scramble another vehicle from their large fleet, that happens to be the nearest in the area.

Extra back-up plan for breakdowns.

As well as spare fleet vehicles quality operators have an army of quality approved suppliers that they can call upon. If it is a minor technical situation operators have their own 'rapid response' maintenance team and/or established relations with a 'breakdown company' that covers that area, that they can call upon for rapid assistance. Also the CPT have numerous operators that can be contacted. This simple point can result in you being back on the road in minutes rather than hours.

Get safety onboard on every trip!

Before making a booking ask the transport operator about any onboard safety systems. Most quality operators have a management card that is given to the customer highlighting, boarding and disembarking procedures, emergency exits, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, toilet location, emergency window exits with break glass hammers and selected teacher/supervisor seating positions to ensure maximum supervision of the party during transit.

Comfort Onboard.

The onboard management card also highlights comfort facilities such as reclining seating, toilets, lighting, CD/DVD facilities and air conditioning. Not following the system by having your team sat together and not strategically placed could result in lack of adequate supervison of the students and potential sickness that could have been dealt with could result in an unfavourable outcome where a passenger was ill and caused unpleasantness for the remaining passengers.

Follow these steps when making the booking.

When you have a travel requirement and have obtained a satisfactory quotation from your supplier book the transport and ensure you get a confirmation. Be sure to indicate your full contact details, the date of travel, the time of collection, the number of passengers, the address and location departure point, the destination, any vehicle facility preferences and any special needs requirements. Also indicate the date and time of return journey and the payment terms.

Confirm the booking - by acknowledging it.

Once you have received your confirmed booking some operators like you to sign and return one copy of the contract along with a deposit or payment (not necessary if you have an account) to confirm your acceptance of the transport booking. Make sure you acknowledge the booking and check your details of travel. A day or two before the date of travel you can obtain the drivers name and contact telephone number should you wish to have personal contact with the driver from the outset.

Check the T&C's and ensure your group are aware of them.

Obtaining and reading operators terms and conditions ensures you can abide by their values and respect the rules of the coach. This will earn you the respect of the driver who will go the extra mile of meeting your expectations. You must express the important terms to your passengers. Such things as, wearing seat belts, not blocking emergency exits, rules of the toilet room, rules on smoking, drugs and alcohol. Abiding by the rules ensures a great safe day out. Failure to establish and abide by the rules can in some cases result in cancellation of the journey, resulting in disappointment for all concerned.

Get Value For Money.

You get what you pay for. If a trip is cheap then it will probably lack frills and could have poor vehicle maintenance standards and low driver customer service levels. It could result in landing you in trouble with a breakdown and worst of all, stranded passengers. Cheapest price is not always best value. When it comes to transport, you do get what you pay for. There is a difference between getting ripped off and paying a little extra for added value so it is worth doing your homework and ensuring you know what you are getting for your money.

Get Added Value From Your Supplier.

Coaching and bussing is a seasonal business. Between April and July supply is short and prices go high, sometimes over stretching budgets. The winter is quieter. Forming a long term relationship with a quality operator is better in getting consistent prices based over a year, rather than paying over the normal price in the demand times, as operators will give discounts for regular quantified business. You can have assurance having completed all your checks which must be better than checking every operator you might use every other week, based on who is the cheapest.

Visit your chosen transport supplier. There is nothing like seeing who you are dealing with and what vehicles you are going to be travelling on, so visit your chosen supplier. Check out the drivers appearance, is there a uniform policy worn with pride? Are the vehicles clean and presentable, does the offices / premises look tidy and organized? Is there a Mission Statement that drives the business? Depending what you find, you can judge what your travel outcome might be like!

Get Your Risk Assessments organised easily.

Do not be put off by Risk Assessments. Although they are a notable part of the organisation for teachers, risk assessments can be off-putting. Your organisation will have a procedure and policy in place which is easy to follow. Transport operators should be able to cut down much of the work by helping with these. Quality operators will be audited on an annual basis, usually as part of an insurance policy, and they will be able to supply risk assessments for their transport operations to you with ease. If you are visiting a Visitor Attraction then obtain the attractions Risk Assessments and you will soon have the job done with ease.

Get a quality Yellow School Bus / Coach Operator who has:

Discounted Packages Saving You £s
Well Maintained Vehicles
A Fleet With CCTV Installed
A VOSA rating of GREEN 2.
Membership of The CPT
CRB'd Drivers
An Insurance Claims Record Of Less Than 20%
Annual Driver Training With Performance Monitoring
High Profile Consistent Customer Testimonials
A Focused Team With A Passionate Mission Statement
Free Risk Assessments!
A commitment to Quality Assurance ISO9001.

At Belle Vue we believe we have the best team in the business, out on the road, in our transport offices and garage workshops, resulting in a school transport service that is second to none in Greater Manchester.

We have the fastest growing Yellow School Bus Fleet with 30 vehicles on the road not to mention our wheelchair accessible coach fleet, resulting in 42 vehicles covering the area everyday, around the region, around the UK and also the EU. Rest Assured you wont get better service anywhere - our current customers tell us so. If for any reason our current clients have not been satisfied in our distant past, we have assessed the situation, corrected it and we re-wrote our management systems ensuring the new system improved our service! This resulted in constant and never ending improvement everyday. 1% improvement a day results in 365% improvement over a year -that's one heck of a change and improvement.

Hire quality and save money.

Our Yellow School Bus Fleet is government sponsored so we have no large capital outlay for the vehicle asset. We pass this discount on to our school customers. If we supplied an expensive coach at a cost of £250k we would have a standing cost of around £120 a day to contend with. With state of the art, green and friendly school buses there are numerous safety features and we can discount transport movements heavily for frequent transport business so you make a massive saving.

You get a fully vetted, quality checked transport operator at discounted prices saving you lots of money and we get regular business. Put simply it's a win - win situation.

If you would like to know more about our special school transport services visit www.bellevue-mcr.com or email john@bellevue-mcr.com or telephone 0161 947 9477.

Save money - travel safe - and have fun packed care free day trip excursions.

Yours faithfully,

Philip Hitchen

Belle Vue Manchester - Greater Manchester's Leading School Transportation Service.

We Carry Large Groups Of Students More Safely

From A to B In Less Time And At Less Cost

School Bus Runs