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Bus drivers on bikes - Stagecoach Cycle to Work scheme breaks £1 million barrier

Company staff also among those attending Newcastle Cycling Campaign cycle awareness day in June

Bus operator Stagecoach has revealed that more than £1 million worth of bicycles have been bought by staff signing up to the Cycle To Work scheme since the company made the initiative available to them at the start of this year. Meanwhile, Stagecoach was represented at a cycle awareness workshop hosted by Newcastle Cycling Campaign earlier this year.

So far, some 1,500 staff including bus drivers from each of its regional bus operations as well as employees at its headquarters in Perth, Scotland, have bought bikes through the government-backed scheme, which Stagecoach rolled out to its workers in January.

The company has also worked on improving facilities for those staff who choose to ride a bike to work, such as bike racks, lockers and shower facilities at its depots.

“This is proving to be a very successful scheme and I’m delighted that so many of our employees have taken advantage of the offer,” said Stagecoach UK Bus Managing Director, Les Warneford.

“Sustainability is at the heart of our business and this scheme is a great opportunity for our staff to use a greener, and healthier, form of transport to and from work as well as in their spare time.”

Getting bus drivers onto bikes is one thing, but a search on YouTube reveals plenty of instances where cyclists have experienced near-misses in incidents involving Stagecoach buses, and we’ve asked the company for details of any cycle awareness training they offer drivers.

In June this year, Newcastle Cycling Campaign organised the city’s first cycle awareness workshop, with campaign member Tanja Cooper, who organised the event, saying: “The management of all major bus operators in Newcastle - Arriva, GoAhead, Nexus and Stagecoach - fully supported the workshop.

“An evenly split group of 20 cyclists and bus drivers and managers attended.

“There seemed to be a little apprehension in the air at the start, but this turned very quickly into a rather lively, good natured and constructive discussion.

“Everyone joined in and both sides gave advice and we learned how to watch out for each other in future. The Campaign’s very encouraged by the level of support and interest from Newcastle City Council and Newcastle’s bus operators.

“We had nothing but positive feedback. We are now thinking of regular workshops. A joint bike has also been mooted.”

One attendee, Karl Rowe of rival bus operator Arriva, commented: "As both a bus driver and a cyclist I found the meeting extremely useful in highlighting ways in which I can play my part in helping to keep both cyclists and myself safe on the roads in Newcastle.

“It was exciting to see both what is available for the Newcastle cyclist and how seriously our safety on the roads is being taken, and will be passing on what I learnt to my colleagues back at the depot".

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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12 comments

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big shug | 12 years ago
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good for them for signing up and getting drivers onto bikes (assuming that they are being riden by the employees and not ending up as Christmas presents for the kids...it happens!)...maybe even having a colleague that bikes to work makes you think carefully before pulling out.

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Vili Er | 12 years ago
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I was almost wiped out by a Stagecoach bus yesterday morning. Driver decided to overtake me on a blind summit just as a car came over the brow of the hill. Queue him swerving to the side and me almost getting pancaked against a grass verge.

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Bez | 12 years ago
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"A joint bike has also been mooted."

Would that be ridden by Stephen Roche?

8-}'

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PhilRuss replied to Bez | 12 years ago
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Bez wrote:

"A joint bike has also been mooted."

Would that be ridden by Stephen Roche?

8-}'

Yep, and Lance Armbong too. Not to mention Alberto Contadope...
P.R.

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trtimothy | 12 years ago
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Bus drivers in Newcastle are pretty good in my opinion, normally leave fair bit of space and never had a problem motorpacing off them into town... The rural bus drivers round Yorkshire are a different matter.

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mingmong | 12 years ago
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Is pic of one of them practising for the velodrome boards?

(sorry)

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lolol | 12 years ago
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You would think though that if anyone was to get the bus to work it would be this lot, its good, but I was just thinking.

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JonD replied to lolol | 12 years ago
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lolol wrote:

You would think though that if anyone was to get the bus to work it would be this lot, its good, but I was just thinking.

Not when you're the first or last service of the day...

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a_to_the_j | 12 years ago
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they should be applauded - things like this need to be more widely boadcast!

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horizontal dropout | 12 years ago
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Another article discussing standards of driving, this one about a meeting with First Bus in Scotland.

http://www.magnatom.net/2011/08/meeting-with-first-bus-outcome.html

Earlier parts of this story linked from here:
http://www.magnatom.net/2011/07/meeting-with-first-bus.html

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notfastenough | 12 years ago
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That's the view you get when he's knocked you off, just before it roils over you and your bike.

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Pisiform | 12 years ago
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Need to rotate that main picture. Gives me vertigo looking at it that way around

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