18 June 2020

Alexander Dennis has announced that Paul Davies will take over as its President and Managing Director at the end of September.

Davies, who joined the company in 1997 and most recently served as its Regional Managing Director in Hong Kong, will succeed long-serving Chief Executive, Colin Robertson, who will join the board of parent company NFI Group Inc.

As part of NFI’s acquisition of ADL in May 2019, Robertson agreed to remain in his current role until May 2020, which has now been extended to 30 September 2020. This extension will allow for a period of transition to provide a seamless handover s and ensure business continuity when Davies returns to his native Scotland in July 2020.

Upon being appointed to the NFI Board in September in the new role as Vice Chair, Robertson will assist Board Chair, the Honourable Brian Tobin O.C. P.C., and Paul Soubry, the President and Chief Executive Officer of NFI, in supporting NFI’s international growth.

During his 13 years as Chief Executive of ADL, Robertson saw ADL’s annual turnover increase nearly fourfold to £631 million.

Robertson stated, “Leading ADL has been exciting and extremely rewarding. I am fiercely proud of what has been achieved through the hard work of the entire team and the collaborative partnerships we’ve developed with our suppliers and customers. I know the company will be in fantastic hands. Paul has been a key member of the executive team and with his thorough understanding of our business and the wider industry, I have every confidence that he will bring further success to ADL.”

Davies commented, “I’ve been very fortunate to have worked for Colin for the past 13 years and I am deeply honoured to have been selected to take on the challenge of continuing the amazing journey that we’ve experienced under his leadership. I look forward to continue working with the NFI and ADL teams and our partners to provide world-class transport solutions.”

11 June 2020

The past few months have been challenging for many in the bus and coach industry. Companies have undeniably risen to the challenge of providing essential transport to key workers during this difficult time, helping to keep essential services running and the economy moving.

This has involved a gargantuan effort from an industry already struggling with decreasing ridership. Operators are enforcing social distancing – not easy when the average bus width is 2.5 metres. Other innovations have included the introduction of live tracker apps, helping passengers gauge arrival times and available capacity. And all are doing everything possible to keep their drivers and staff safe.

It’s important to remember that thousands of people rely on the bus and coach sector to make essential journeys every day in the UK, and often have little or no alternative option. As employees in cities and rural areas begin returning to work, ‘avoiding public transport’ is no longer appropriate advice. On the contrary, passenger transport via road must play a vital role in re-energising the economy – and the sector is ready to do its bit.

11 June 2020

How are you tackling the challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis?

The most important factor was the safety of our employees. In Europe there were two hotspots – in northern Italy and Madrid – and this is exactly where the IVECO factories are. There was clear fear, so we stopped production immediately.

On re-opening we set up new protocols to keep everyone safe. Of course, it’s not ideal to be working during the European summer with a mask, but people appreciate working in safe environments. We have had to slow the production time to make sure we can keep the safety distances, but that’s not a problem.

We also had to stay close to our customers. We reached out to them, gave payment holidays, offered support to our fleet clients and continued to keep our service network operational.

We really appreciated the work of our dealers’ mechanics, who kept the workshops open, and the drivers, who were still driving while everyone was at home. These people never get the recognition they deserve, and finally society saw how important they are.

COVID-19 has focused attention on green technology. Tell us about working with Liquefied Natural Gas.

Bio Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will come a lot earlier than people expect and we are seeing it grow with our customer base already. LNG is the enabler for bio LNG. You have look at it like this: LNG is the platform, bio LNG is the rocket.

If you wait for the availability of completely emission-free fuels, whether they are bio LNG or hydrogen, it will not work. If you just wait and say, ‘I want everything now: the infrastructure, the fuel at the same cost of diesel today and I also want the same the supply network’, you will be disappointed.

So we have to start with fossil fuels and I regard LNG as a friendly fossil fuel because it offers advantages, such as a reduction in CO2 emissions of about 8-10%, as well as additional benefits including a 95% reduction in NOx and significant noise reduction.

LNG is still a fossil fuel, but it enables many countries to be 10% more economical compared with diesel, and it is a viable solution. My view is that 10% is better than nothing. It is the first step.

The infrastructure of LNG has developed dramatically over the past three or four years – we now have about 300 filling stations all over Europe, although the UK is bit behind. It will skyrocket when bio LNG becomes available – I think 5-10% of the global market will go to bio LNG.

The bio LNG in Europe is very different from what is debated by a lot of environmentalists. It’s not made from palm oil from Indonesia orMalaysia, or from sugar cane in Brazil. It is made from waste – locally produced refuse and residue from farms – so I do believe LNG is a path to the future.

What about hydrogen?

We will have to move to hydrogen. To build up the hydrogen infrastructure in Europe there are technical challenges to be solved, but on the vehicle side we are very close.

Governments and the European Union have to promote this and make it easy, but economic programmes coming out of the coronavirus crisis should accelerate the moves into this new technology.

So, in my opinion we should move with LNG first, then bio LNG and then hydrogen. The major fuel from 2030 onwards will be hydrogen, but there won’t just be one technology out there – be it improved diesel, biogas as well as hydrogen.

Tell us about your hydrogen truck.

We are planning to launch our hydrogen truck in 2023, in partnership with Nikola Motor Company. We are starting with a 6×2 trailer truck because you can easily hide the batteries. If you look at the CO2 emissions from the truck sector, 50% of them come from long-haul. You must tackle this head-on or it will never go away.

We are adopting a modular strategy. It is a heavy-duty truck with its new design. All the hardware is from Iveco but the drivetrain technology comes from Nikola. We will launch the battery version at the end of 2021 and 13 months later we will bring in the hydrogen version.

What is the big issue for CV sector in the next 20 years?

Of course, we will need to see how the transport industry transforms after Brexit. I think we will continue to align on everything road transport related.

Then we have issues with driver recruitment and the shortage of professional drivers. I know in the UK it is tough, but even in the southern European countries it’s difficult to find drivers. That’s why it’s important to build trucks that are comfortable and that look good to ensure we attract more drivers for many years to come.

We’ve already touched on the need for a transformation to zero emissions technology and this is one of the biggest changes the sector faces, but one that we in Iveco are well placed to manage. This transformation needs to come as a result of investment in the technology and infrastructure as well as support by government if we are to see a clear move going forwards.

What’s next?

I think there is an unbelievable amount of ambition that will help us rebound after the pandemic has passed: people in our industry feel that the future is in their hands. It will take a year, maybe two to fully recover, but I don’t think this will leave too much structural damage. I am confident that we will be back, fighting fit.

11 June 2020

Bus operator First Bus has updated its app so passengers can check if the bus they are planning to catch is full.

The update will enable customers across the UK to live-track the location of their next bus and, as social distancing rules allows fewer passengers on board, information about the available capacity can be accessed.

First Bus is the first major bus operator to roll out live capacity tracking, aiming to reduce uncertainty for customers and allowing them to make informed decisions about their essential journeys.

The app update will show customers a bus icon on a map depicting the live location and available capacity of each vehicle in the locality.

The advance has been made possible by First Bus’s new passenger counting functionality, announced at the end of May. Data from this system feeds directly to the First Bus app in real time. This app update coincides with First Bus doubling the number of buses operating across England. First Bus expects to be able to increase service levels across its networks in Scotland and Wales in the coming weeks.

To further support social distancing and in addition to passenger-counting, seats on each bus are now clearly marked indicating where customers should sit.

Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of First Bus, said, “We are really proud to have been able to fast-track this technology to ensure safe, informed travel during these difficult times. Our buses provide an essential service for our customers and we are doing all we can to support them.”

11 June 2020

Goodyear has launched a tracker app to help fleets to accurately measure the condition of their vehicles’ tyres and reduce downtime.

The Goodyear Fleet Tracker app allows fleet managers to pinpoint the right time to plan tyre maintenance and to replace tyres.

André Weisz, Managing Director of Goodyear Proactive Solutions EMEA, said, “Goodyear Fleet Tracker will provide detailed mileage follow-up data with up to 95 per cent accuracy to fleet managers and service providers. This way, the lifetime of tyres and total cost of ownership, can be significantly optimised.

“The user-friendly solution helps to determine the right time to change, regroove or retread the tyres – not too soon and certainly not too late – in order to prevent a potential issue.”

The app also has a GPS-enabled signal that allows fleet managers to better trace their vehicles in operation or to locate a trailer parked for a longer time on a distant location.

Weisz added, “High-value cargo transport has a special interest in the new Goodyear Fleet Tracker, as it supports their teams in retrieving the vehicle’s journey history in case of a potential theft. Route tracing is offering specific added-value for facility fleets, such as waste collection trucks or public buses, where it is important that the planned route is followed and completed.”