SINGAPORE, Nov 24 — It may be making its first foray into an Asian country, but Go-Ahead London is unfazed by its lack of experience in the region, despite claims by local players that they know the market here better and have the know-how to deliver better service.
“My argument would be, until you’ve actually done it and run this regime, you don’t actually know how it’s going to be. Obviously, we don’t have that local experience, but we’ve put together a team with that sort of local experience that will help us share that,” said John Trayner, managing director of Go-Ahead London.
The firm is one of several foreign players that have declared interest in a slice of the Singapore bus market, after the Government announced earlier this year that the public bus industry would be restructured under a bus contracting model, in which operators would bid for a package of routes through competitive tendering.
In an interview with TODAY, Trayner said the company’s vast experience in managing its fleet in London is testament to its capabilities.
Go-Ahead London is one of the largest operators in the British city.
It began operations in London in 1994, after it purchased bus company London Central.
It has hired 6,000 drivers for its 2,200-strong bus fleet, and runs about 140 to 145 routes. It has 130 controllers who are in charge of an average of 50 buses each, monitoring bus trips and keeping abreast of road conditions.
“No one has the experience of operating in London like us ... we’ve been there the longest, we’re the biggest operator and we’ve been doing it since the formation of Quality Incentive Contracts in the late ’90s … So, we’ve been here from the beginning,” he said.
Singapore would be its first foray into an Asian country. The company has set up an office here and has hired Singaporeans who used to work for incumbent operators SBS Transit and SMRT to advise it on its bid.
The firm also has operations in other countries, most recently in Chicago, Ghana and Sweden, and is currently bidding for rail contracts in Germany.
Mr Trayner said Singapore’s model is similar to the one in London, so there is “comfort” in knowing that there is less risk involved.
“That gave us confidence that we could sort of at least put a bid together and see how that would go,” he added.
He estimated that there are up to 20 bidders for the contract.
“To be honest, you can’t be that confident with that many bidders. But we’ll put in a good bid, I’m sure, and see where we end up.”
The tender closes in January. — Today
