March 25 – South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has selected Velociti Solutions contract management and performance system to support its journey of improving its bus network.
SYMCA is committed to making bus travel the preferred choice across the region and has this week announced its move towards franchising, and bringing bus services in South Yorkshire back under public control for the first time in 40 years. Historically, the management of SYMCA’s 360 tendered bus routes—operated by 15 different bus companies—has been conducted manually, resulting in limited data and complex processes.
To streamline this effort and improve the efficiency of enhancing bus travel in South Yorkshire, they must evaluate the performance of their contracted network, focusing on identifying strengths and pinpointing areas for improvement
Velociti’s contract performance solution, developed specifically for the bus sector, allows SYMCA to manage all aspects of contract management and monitoring through a single, user-friendly platform. The solution offers a detailed analysis of the contracted network and enables the benchmarking of operators against key performance indicators (KPIs). Bus operators are evaluated based on three key standards: reliability, driver performance, and processes related to vehicles and operators, which includes vehicle maintenance.
In addition to contract performance, SYMCA has also invested in ETM DAS to capture and analyse every passenger transaction within the contracted network. This includes data on ticket types purchased, total passenger numbers, and more, allowing SYMCA to make informed and cost-effective decisions.
Matt Goggins, Director of Bus Reform at SYMCA, said: “As we transition towards a franchised network, it is essential that we have the right tools in place to manage and monitor network performance cost-effectively. Gaining a deeper understanding of our contracted network is critical to improving services and increasing bus usage across South Yorkshire.
“Having all performance metrics readily available in one platform is invaluable; it will save us valuable time on administrative tasks and enable us to develop improvement plans based on in-depth and accurate data.”
Nick Brookes, Chief Customer Officer at Velociti Solutions, said: “We are excited to assist SYMCA in their efforts to enhance bus service delivery in South Yorkshire, as they move towards a franchised network. Greater collaboration between Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and bus operators is vital, whether a region opts for a franchised or enhanced partnership model. Transparency is key, and that is what contract performance provides—clear metrics that empower LTAs to make data-driven decisions that meet the needs of passengers, ultimately leading to increased patronage.”
