Stagecoach joins forces with the Freight Transport Association to develop training course to further improve safety standards

• New inspection training course aims to further improve safety standards and vehicle reliability

PERTH, SCOTLAND, 2016-Jun-07 — /Travel PR News/ — Transport operator Stagecoach has joined forces with the Freight Transport Association (FTA) to develop a bespoke training course which aims to further improve safety standards and vehicle reliability.

The new inspection training course will be made available to all engineers and fourth year apprentices across Stagecoach’s UK Bus operations.

The course has been certified by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) as a Quality Assured Programme, reflecting both the quality and robustness of its content.

During the three day course, staff are given an in-depth insight into the legalities of vehicle inspection. They are also given an opportunity to undertake an assessed inspection themselves, helping outline the specific requirements that make up an inspection.

Employees can then apply this knowledge when inspecting vehicles internally within Stagecoach’s bus operations to deliver an even more consistent level of inspection and further improve the standard of vehicle maintenance across the company.

Stagecoach UK Bus Engineering Director Sam Greer said: “The safety and quality of our vehicles is absolutely paramount to our operations and we are always looking for ways to further improve safety standards and vehicle reliability.

“We believe this course will raise further our standards of vehicle inspection which is good news for our customers and we are pleased to have been able to work with the Freight Transport Association on this initiative.”

FTA’s Head of Contract Management & PassengerFTA – Lee Scarlett – commented on the collaboration between Stagecoach and the Association, saying: “It is essential that training equips and develops people, providing them with the relevant skills to raise standards, confidently line manage their teams and fully understand the importance of compliance.

“Working with the Stagecoach training team to develop, trial & launch this bespoke technical training course has been a pleasure & demonstrates the commitment they have to their engineering teams. As the training programme is introduced throughout their network, FTA looks forward to building on this great working relationship for many years to come.”

Stagecoach recently announced that it has invested more than £1billion in new buses and coaches over the past 10 years.

Further information on Stagecoach UK Bus visit https://www.stagecoachbus.com

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:  Stagecoach Group Communications on 01738 442111 or email: media@stagecoachgroup.com

NOTES TO EDITOR

 Stagecoach Group

• Stagecoach Group is an international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 39,000 people, and operates around 13,000 buses, coaches, trains and trams.
• Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,500 buses and coaches. The Group’s business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has also partnered with Virgin to run the East Coast and West Coast inter-city rail franchises.
• Stagecoach operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. megabus.com directly links over 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, contracted, charter, airport shuttle and sightseeing services.
• For further information, go to: www.stagecoach.com | @stagecoachgroup