I Think it's called Interest.

AlekSmart

Cut and paste as required for Noel Dempsey...............

When Neil Renilson announced at the end of October that he was retiring as chief executive of Lothian Buses there was widespread surprise, quickly followed by widespread speculation that he would move into another top industry post, perhaps succeeding Les Warneford as Stagecoach's UK Bus managing director. To get the real story I visited him on his penultimate day in office.

In his 10 years at the helm of Lothian Buses Renilson has transformed what was a worthy but dowdy operation into an award-winning company that is more in tune with passengers' requirements and expectations, has effected an almost complete fleet replacement and has simplified the route network and fares structure.

Along the way he has upgraded the company's premises and has fought off a competitive challenge from First, and has more recently been deeply involved in overseeing the complex lead up to Edinburgh's new tramway system which is due to open in 2011.

Renilson started with the advantage of choosing his own senior team, most of whom had worked with him at Stagecoach Bluebird, and this team, now headed by Ian Craig, will take things forward. Craig was recruited as managing director in 2006 at a time when Renilson was spending an increasing amount of time on tram matters, wearing his hat as chief executive of Transport Edinburgh Ltd, the City of Edinburgh council-owned company responsible for both the buses and trams.

"In the past two years I have been spending about 80 per cent of my time on the tram project," says Renilson, "and my involvement in Lothian Buses has really been concerned with high-level strategy. I've not really been involved in day-to-day matters since Ian started – in effect my replacement - two years ago. I suspect my departure is a bigger problem for the tram project."

The legacy that Renilson leaves is an impressive one. A largely low-floor fleet operating out of three garages, two of them substantially improved and extended in recent years, and a single flat fare instead of the complex structure inherited in 1999 with six fares, the highest being £1.60; the flat fare was increased from £1 to £1.10 in April 2008.

His biggest regret is the recent drop in passenger numbers following years of steady increase. "For 10 years we averaged 4 per cent annual growth in passenger numbers and for 2008 we had expected a further 2 per cent. In the first quarter we managed 3 per cent growth but when major tram works and road closures and diversions started at the end of March passenger numbers dropped and have stayed down. Growth just dropped away and for the first time we are losing passengers."

How much of this was down to the tram works? "We know from other major urban centres in Scotland and England that when fuel prices rose in the third quarter of 2008 passenger loadings jumped by 3-4 per cent. At the same time Lothian was losing 3 per cent. Obviously the fuel price issue was the same everywhere, but the tram works were unique to Edinburgh. Surveys showed that people saw the city centre as a building site, with chronic delays and disruption causing buses to be unreliable. They responded by shopping in the suburban shopping centres that ring the city, or by travelling west to Livingston, where the shopping centre has undergone a major expansion with flagship Debenhams and Marks & Spencer stores.

"To maintain reliability we put more than 30 buses and drivers into the network to increase running times and cope with the diversions and delays and this obviously increased our costs. So we were losing 6 per cent of our passengers, facing a 2 per cent increase in costs – and that's before fuel costs and reduced concession card income. We were being hit from all sides.

"Almost all of the passenger drop was in the off-peak and leisure travel, so we couldn't reduce the total fleet. It was coming straight off the bottom line.

"City centre retailers have been hit badly by the tram works and are reporting a 7 per cent drop in footfall, year-on-year, which is consistent with our drop in passengers. And this was all before the credit crunch and the loss of consumer confidence, which has pushed passenger loss figures higher. With additional costs, the enhanced fuel costs and the reduced concession card income, Lothian was facing a turn-round in performance of over 10 per cent.

"We put in an unplanned fares increase in April 2008 and service reductions in October. We had to pull out of the least remunerative parts of the network, which left some routes and areas without a bus service. The council bought back a small percentage of what came off.

"Lothian will have to increase fares in January at the same time as making major service cuts. This will reduce our PVR by 40 buses, from its present level of 560. We will not be pulling out of any major city services because on the core trunk roads our loadings are still the same."

Renilson is clearly concerned to see the good work of the past decade undone by factors outside Lothian's control.

"We had nine years of political stability, with the same political administration and the same council leader, who were very supportive of Lothian Buses and public transport, so the situation was stable and consistent, leading to growth. As our major shareholders they agreed the dividend, the budget and our business plan once a year, and we felt that both sides were working to the same agenda. The long-term plan involved no dramatic changes in strategy or policy."

The political make-up of the City of Edinburgh Council changed in 2007 and concerns have been expressed that the SNP/Liberal Democrat coalition may be working to a different agenda. Another concern is the future ownership of Lothian Buses, but successive councils, including the current administration, have confirmed that there is no intention to sell all or any of the council's shareholding in the bus company, and there is, says Renilson, no public perception that bus services would be better provided under private sector management.

"There is no great public or political appetite from any political party to dispose of Lothian Buses to improve services," he says, "so any move would be driven solely as a means of raising funds. Because of shoddy First services in the city over the years it has been reinforced in the mind of the public and politicians that it is desirable to retain Lothian in social ownership. It would also be a problem for the tram project if Lothian Buses was under separate ownership and that could mitigate against any sale."

Much of Renilson's time over the past two years has been ensuring proper integration of the tramway and the bus network. "The council is committed to an integrated network," says Renilson, "and there will be common branding and identity, and fares."

To prove the point Renilson takes me into the main garage to see the newly-arrived full-size mock-up of the trams being built for Edinburgh in Spain by CAF. Two sections of what will be a seven-section 43m-long tram have been built and will be shown to the public as part of the major communication exercise. The tram is finished in the harlequin livery that is carried by all of Lothian's low-floor buses, and the seating is finished in the blue tartan moquette of the buses.

So, looking back, what does Neil Renilson regard as his greatest achievements? "We have modernised the business so that it's more in tune with its passengers. We've simplified the route network and fares, and we've increased off-bus ticket sales from 30 per cent to 60 per cent. We have successfully introduced smartcard ticketing.

"With 75 new Volvo Geminis due in 2009 we will have replaced virtually the entire fleet and brought the average age down to four years.

"Our open-top operation is second in the UK to London's, and it has become Scotland's third most popular paid visitor attraction after Edinburgh Castle and Edinburgh Zoo. We have 70 buses in our open-top fleet because Edinburgh is a year-round visitor destination.

"We have upgraded the Airlink service which now runs every 7/8 minutes and has the highest percentage bus use among fliers from any UK airport. And we have our airport-city centre Shuttle service using Ford Transit minibuses, which has succeeded where others in the UK have failed. We positioned it as a modest, low-cost operation using Transits costing £13,000 apiece and it went into profit within 15 months of starting."

Renilson's success at Lothian has also been recognised in the awards it has won, most recently Bus Operator of the Year in the 2007 UK Bus Awards. "That was the second time we won that award with the same team," says Renilson. "In 1996 we won it when I was at Stagecoach Bluebird with Billy Devlin, Iain Coupar and Norman Strachan, who are all now directors at Lothian."

So is this really the end of the road for Neil Renilson? "My career has been in 10-year slices," he says. "After my first couple of years with Edinburgh Corporation I had 10 years with NBC, then a couple of years with Go-Ahead and then Strathtay before 10 years with Stagecoach and now 10 years with Lothian.

"Every step of the way has been interesting, educational and challenging, and I believe that you never stop learning. I'm happy to plagiarise other people's good ideas, but also know when not to do what someone else has done badly.
"But there's no way I'm going back into full-time employment, irrespective of industry speculation. I've been in the game for 36 years and my life plan never included working full-time until I was 60 or 65. I always said I would go in my mid-to-late fifties, so the opportunity to go at 54 suits me fine.

"That's not to say that I am not seriously considering the non-executive directorships or advisory roles that I have been offered. But a couple of one-day or two-days a month commitments are as stressful as it's going to be allowed to get."

The image of Neil Renilson hanging up his famously garish jackets and relaxing at his home in the Scottish Borders with his wife Judith may seem an unlikely one.

But he insists that he has no intention of returning to the stresses of bus industry management and can look back at a successful career, topped by his years at Lothian, which probably could not have faced the short-term uncertainty of the disruption caused by the tram works if it had not been strengthened by his clear-sighted and determined leadership and management style.


An interesting review of the career of a gent whose Bus Operation stands far above any other in the British Isles.

Perhaps when he`s perusing Deloitte`s invoice for it`s little Consultancy nixer on Bua Atha Cliath,Minister Dempsey might just seek out this mans mobile number..;)

bazzer

AlekSmart wrote: »

Minister Dempsey might just seek out this mans mobile number..;)

As if. He'd get a committee to do it for him. And then bin it.

Cookie_Monster

If the man has any sense he won't touch Dublin with a ten foot tram poll:D

thebman

The tram works were fooking annoying in Edinburagh last year when I went there but the bus service was still top notch!

I was amazed, the bus drivers are even nice over there :P

Not that most of the drivers here aren't nice but you run into the odd grumpy one who thinks me paying for the service and saying thanks when getting off wasn't good enough or something.

Terrontress

I noticed in Edinburgh that although they are running Wright buses, they have all the Wright branding taken off them. Does anyone know why that is?

Also, the piece in the above article about high usage of buses from the airport has alot to do with the lack of rail link. I have to say though that when using the service from the airport it was very efficient.