BITTS - Group 4 / The case of First Bus

1. BITTS
Bus transport in Manchester
The case of: First bus
BMAN 70202
Group 4

2. Initial idea
“The service of buses in Manchester is bad”

3. Initial conceptions
The service does not comply with time schedules
The service does not have proper capacity
The service is not secure (crime)
“We are not receiving the service
for what we are paying for”

4. Research model
Why the problem of
the bus system are
important?
What could be
gained if we
improve it?
Why the problem of
the bus system are
important?
What could be
gained if we
improve it?What are the current
problems?
What happens
particularly in
Manchester?
What are the current
problems?
What happens
particularly in
Manchester?
Insights on
Manchester
First Bus
service
Insights on
Manchester
First Bus
service
“The use of more than one
approach to enhance confidence
in the findings” (Bryman, 2011)
2nd
source
2nd
source
2nd
source
2nd
source
1st
source
1st
source

5. Government official information

6. What is the status of the bus
transport in the UK
Among 26.5 million people (16-74, in work and resident) in England
and Wales (2011), 81,2% commute to a fixed onshore location (21,5
million) *
The average distance commuted to work in England and Wales
increased from 13.4 km in 2001To 15.0 km in 2011. (Generalized
trend) *
2011 Census Analysis - Distance Travelled to Work
(ONS) Office for national statistics

7. 2011 Census Analysis - Distance Travelled to Work - North East region
(ONS) Office for national statistics
But even the alternatives, cars are preferred…
If you are
going to
drive that…
please take a
bus !

8. This situation opens the question, if the service of Buses could be
improved, is it possible to close the gap?
Why could be beneficial to close it?
Green issues (e.g. Manchester is among of the top 10 % most
polluted cities in Europe of Nitrogen Dioxide) *
Older population (e.g. People in U.K. is progressively getting
older) *
Public transport supports economic development **
* 2011 Census Analysis - Distance Travelled to Work - North East region
(ONS) Office for national statistics
** Transport Development in Asian Megacities
Shigeru Morichi and Surya Raj Acharya Editors (2013)

9. Information provided by 3rd
party entities

10. What is the status of bus transport in the UK
(Passenger Focus, 2013)

11. Particularly in Manchester
“We are not receiving the
service for what
we are paying for”
(Passenger Focus, 2013)

12. The case of First Bus - Manchester
First Bus is an Oldham-based company that employs more than 2,200
persons, with a fleet of over 600 buses and a network of over 3000 routes
serving in Greater Manchester, Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham and
Tameside.
First bus is a part of First group PLC and also one of the biggest transport
operators in Manchester.
Are services meeting up with passengers expectation?
Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectation on a
consistent basis (Lewis and Booms, 1983)

13. TFGM: Transport for the Greater Manchester
PTE Authorities: Passenger Transport Executivies (Local government bodies)
The case of First Bus in Manchester
(Passenger Focus, 2013)

14. As a result…
Integrating 2nd source information + our findings + interviews
BITTS Group 4 developed the following Ishikawa diagram…

15. “For First bus, there is a big gap between the services they deliver and the
expectations of passengers”
PROOFS OF GAP
•Personal experiences
•Government data
•Secondary data (surveys)
•Primary data (G4 Consultants)
The case of First Bus - Manchester

16. BITTS Group 4 survey

17. (Passenger Focus, 2013)

18. But…
which one of these causes
is the most important
and which should be tackle
first?

19. ?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
(Passenger Focus, 2013)

20. The Fishbone diagram identified the root causes of these complains and problems which boiled
down to the conclusion that the services of First Bus offers No Value For Money.
WHY? HOW?
G4 SURVEY (Drawing questions from the complains labelled on the Fishbone diagram)
•Used in gain an insight on the level of passengers satisfaction.
•Performance of First bus services in terms of the 6Ms (Man, Machine, Measurement, Materials,
Method, Management)
•Provide an idea on which of the problems are very important and which needs tackling
•61 responses
FINDINGS
•Proved that majority of the passengers are dissatisfied with First Bus services (see appendix 1)
•No Value for Money
•Answered questions to the punctuality fine by Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
in 2012 (Jones, 2012) and the £20million pension fund blow experienced by First Bus in 2010
(Limited, 2010)
Other findings
•High ticket price (compared to competitors)
•Less route covered (compared to competitors) (see appendix 2)

21. Results from the survey - Man

22. Results from the survey - Methods

23. Results from the survey - Materials

24. Results from the survey - Measurement

25. Results from the survey - Machine

26. Results from the survey - Management

27. Answer: NO
Impact of these problems on first bus performance.
•Under capacity
•Payment of fine due to poor punctuality
•High performance gap compared to competitors
To close this Gap, improvements must be made. But How?
Categorising survey questions into the Importance-performance matrix to show First Bus
service performance (from survey answers) and its importance to the delivery of bus
service.
Comparing the G4 survey findings with secondary data over the years,
are there any improvements?

28. Importancelow high
Performance
bad
good

29. Thanks ! We are
now happy 

30. Areas identified by the importance-performance matrix that requires
improvement.

31. What needs to be improved? Current state Improvements suggested by
G4 consultants
Future state
Number of safety handles 6 in No. Increase number of safety
handles
Availability of first aid
equipment's
NO FIRST AID First aid box and equipment's
available
Wi-Fi Install Wi-Fi
Allow passengers to sit before
driving off
Passengers falling in the bus
Making
Them
unhappy
Train drivers to allow passengers
maintain comfortable positions
before driving off
Accurate timing of Bus arrival
to the bus stop
Passengers
waiting at
the bus
stop.
Make available screens on bus
stop showing bus arrival time
(driver should be able to signal
by adjusting arrival time if bus is
going to arrive late)
Frequency and punctuality of
the bus
Only 1 in 4 bus
Is punctual
(Manchester
confidential
,2012)
Acquire more buses increase
frequency. Above
improvement will have positive
effect on bus punctuality
Availability of charging
sockets
Make available sockets
Routes Few routes Cover more routes
(Buy more buses)
Ticket price Week ticket: adult:£19:50
Child: £8:50
Reduce ticket price
(a little lower than rivals which
is £13:00)
Information available on the
coming next stop
Make available Barcode
showing next stop or Maps
Information showing number
of passengers an incoming
bus can take
Bus too full
and passengers
are waiting
with no idea
Make available screen on bus
stop showing number of
people an incoming bus can
accommodate
£12

32. The problem of discount tickets
We decided to specifically tackle this problem on the
mobile platform as is a strategic tool
that can give the advantage
of buying convenient tickets “on the go”

33. Enter section First Bus
times and info
Find the
First Bus
mobile app
Select the
route
Look for my-etickets
through the mobile
app
Download
“myticketsnow” app
Search for the e.ticket
Add the ticket to “my
wallet”
Pay for the ticket
Actual process
Problem 1
Gaps and disconnections
Platform 1
Platform 2
Hey!... we just
arrived and we
need tickets!
Why 2
different
mobile
platforms?
Why 2
different
mobile
platforms?
(Harmon, 2007)

34. Enter section First Bus
times and info
Find the
First Bus
mobile app
Select the
route
Look for mytickets
now mobile app
Download
“myticketsnow” app
Search for the e.ticket
Add the ticket to “my
wallet”
Pay for the ticket
Actual process
Problem 2
System is not robust enough to buy discount tickets
through slow internet connection

35. Redesigned process

36. Information about the customer is
added (Age, preferred route,
student status, etc.)
Find the
First Bus
mobile app
If the discount
is applicable
Add the
ticket to
“my wallet”
Solution to problem 1
All the mobile system under the same application
System calculates
position and based
on previous
uploaded data
identifies is a discount is
applicable
Would
you like
To buy the
ticket?
Proceed
with
payment
Yes
No
UML (2015)
Unified Modeling Language

37. Solution to problem 2
Application includes pre-downloaded info
(Minimizing online interaction while on the go)
Information about the customer is
added (Age, preferred route,
student status, etc.)
Find the
First Bus
mobile app
If the discount
is applicable
Add the
ticket to
“my wallet”
System calculates
position and based
on previous
uploaded data
identifies is a discount is
applicable
Would
you like
To buy the
ticket?
Proceed
with
payment
Yes
No
UML (2015)
Unified Modeling Language

38. Disadvantages
Successful implementation of these suggested improvement requires First Bus:
•Spend additional cost(buying new buses, installing extra handles and screens)
•May be time consuming
Nonetheless, in the long term there is proof that spending this money is worth it.
G4 survey currently shows that 70% of the passengers are not keen on purchasing another
ticket of First Bus (See appendix 3).
Impact if improvement are made

39. Bus but if these improvements are made,
•96.67% of these passengers saying No to First Bus after a ride will be keen on buying first bus
tickets (See appendix 3).
Advantages
•Value for Money
•Passengers will be delighted and value expectations gap closed
•More passengers (through recommendations)
•Competitive advantage over rivals such as stagecoach (for now stagecoach has a more
competitive advantages which are cheaper tickets, more route, free and fast Wi-Fi)
•More profit
•With more Routes and good services, this could reduce the people using cars and hence,
traffic will be reduced in Manchester
Impact if improvement are made

40. Consequences that this may cause if not improved
If these improvements are not made, First bus may ;
•Continue to loose passengers
•Keep getting fined
•Loose money
………and eventually go out of business
IMPACT OF G4 CPONSULTANTS SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS
Wow! I just want to
use First Bus!
…Get me inside ! ! !

41. Thanks !

42. Bibliography
1)Bryman, Alan Bell, Emma (2011) Business research methods, Oxford University Press
2) Office for national statistics (2011) Census Analysis - Distance Travelled to Work
3) Shigeru Morichi and Surya Raj Acharya (2013) Transport Development in Asian Megacities,
Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
4)Passenger Focus (2013), Bus Passenger Survey - Autumn 2013 Report
http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk (last access 01/03/2015)
5) Harmon, Paul (2007), Business process change, Elsevier
6) Object management group (2015) Unified Modelling Language
www.uml.org (last access 01/03/2015)
7) Slack, N., Chambers, S. Johnston, R. (2007) ‘Operations Management, 6th edition’ Pearson
(Chapters 17 and 20)

43. Bibliography
8) Garvin, D. A. (1987) Competing on the eight dimensions of quality, Harvard Business Review,
65, November, p101-109.
9) Griffin, A. (1992). Evaluating QFD’s use in US firms as a process for developing products.
Journal of Product Innovation Management, 9 (3), 171–187.
10) Lewis, R. C. Booms, B. H. (1983). The marketing aspects of service quality."Emerging
perspectives on services marketing: 99-104.
11) Jones, B. (2012). First Manchester Fined for Punctuality. [online] News.carrentals.co.uk.
Available at: http://news.carrentals.co.uk/first-manchester-fined-for-punctuality-34255541.html
[Accessed 8 Mar. 2015].
12) Limited, R. (2010). News / 20m pension fund blow for First Manchester�
THEBUSINESSDESK.COM. [online] Thebusinessdesk.com. Available at:
http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/21675-first-manchester-sees-pension-assets-
fall-20m.html [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015].
13) Manchester Confidential, (2012). City News In 250 Words: Tuesday 7 February. [online]
Available at: http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/News/City-News-In-250-Words-
Tuesday-7-February [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015].

44. Appendix

45. APPENDIX 1: graphical representation of passengers satisfaction level.

46. APPENDIX 1: graphical representation of passengers satisfaction level.

47. APPENDIX 1: graphical representation of passengers satisfaction level.

48. APPENDIX 1: graphical representation of passengers satisfaction level.

49. APPENDIX 1: graphical representation of passengers satisfaction level.

50. APPENDIX 1: graphical representation of passengers satisfaction level.

51. Appendix 2: Other findings from the survey

52. Appendix 2: Other findings from the survey

53. Appendix 3: G4 survey results showing passengers current interest level and interest level if
improvements are made

54. Appendix 3: G4 survey results showing passengers current interest level and interest level if
improvements are made

55. importance performance
Easiness to get a discounted ticket (If you don't know about the saving
scheme, please chose very dissatisfied) 8 3.42
Frequency and punctuality of the bus 8 4.545
Ability to track location of the bus using the "First Bus" mobile app while
waiting (If you don't know about the app, please choose very
dissatisfied) 7 3.33
Permanence of E-ticket (if you don't know about the service, please
chose very dissatisfied) 6 3.195
Information available of the coming next stop 6 3.78
Accurate timing for bus arrivals - while waiting on the bus stop 6 3.645
Information of the number of passengers that an incoming bus can
accommodate 6 3.7125
Wi-Fi availability 5 3.78
Driver waits for passengers to be seated before driving off 5 3.8925
First Aid materials available for emergency 5 4.1175
Number of safety handles when standing 5 4.455
Alternative methods are available for fare payment 5 4.77
Estimated time of arrival of your destination while in the bus 4 3.9375
Maintenance and cleanliness of the bus (i.e quiet bus engine, dry floor,
clean seats...) 4 5.1525
Driver stops closely to the pavement when entering and exiting the bus 4 7.4925
Driver's willingness to welcome in passengers 3 4.095
Driver's ability to help with route description to final destination 3 4.5
Interior condition of the bus (i.e. comfortable seats, extra space for
luggages) 3 5.805
Availability of phone charging sockets 2 2.88
Security equipment available in the bus (e.g. CCTV) 2 7.2
Driver's appearance 1 7.02
Appendix 4: Some insight from the survey
performances
needed to be
improved