The New Headmaster

Why would someone like Giles Fearnley want to take on a job heading up First UK Bus? The challenge, perhaps. Actually, it’s more than that. Had he not, Fearnley would’ve regretted it. Opportunities like this don’t surface every day.

It's now been eight months since his appointment. What progress, then, at First Bus? Like it or not, agree with it or not, Fearnley’s TV advertisement is at the very start of his trying to reposition First. It’ll be a hard slog. The advert itself certainly has its critics. May be it came out just that little bit too soon, for detractors compare the ad with reality and draw the inevitable conclusions.

The challenge certainly won’t be an overnight job. First, nevertheless, is encouraging its directors and managers to be a little more honest about the past, in the hope stakeholders will look forward to the future with more confidence. This starts with Fearnley himself and his implicitness about First’s history.

Hints emerging from First Bus are beginning to shed light on the developing process. One is about building a renewed brand. That’s already started, with the re-emergence of First Bus as an entity, an entity otherwise lost upon First gaining rail franchises from the mid-1990s. There are reportedly three buses secreted somewhere in West Yorkshire in three different potential new liveries that will form the core of this new identity. The management team is currently considering the strengths & weaknesses of each.

All three are reported as corporate in nature, bearing the name “First”. Apart from that, we have little detail. Except that it’s understood there’s room for localism to feature strongly alongside the corporate and we understand that local straplines will be given some prominence. It’s about getting the balance right.

So, this is the clearest indication yet of the direction of travel at First—it would seem that First will be refocusing more along Stagecoach than Go Ahead lines as the preferred delivery model. This, perhaps, is not surprising and even potentially a little disappointing. Yet, Fearnley is known to be impressed by the Stagecoach model. He will know that it delivers (nearly) every time.

Fearnley is also believed to be taking an holistic approach to services by considering putting mileage back as a means of developing rather than cutting networks. This also supports the sort of Stagecoach-preferred longer-term view. It’s widely believed that he will be giving back much more autonomy at the local level, the best place to understand individual and distinct markets. But, follow that argument through, and you actually find yourself adopting a Go Ahead stance.

To take an educational analogy, there’s likely to be no more strict headmasterly control, something long gone in the teaching sector. Rather, expect a less macho, more consensual approach.

Indications are that this genuinely looks a good time for First and I am sure its directors and managers view the future much more positively. Developing the education analogy, it’s a fact that a poor head will preside over an under-performing school. A cultural change at the top will result in the school turning around, for staff and for pupils. Those who work at First in recent years have often felt disappointed. They can now look forward more confidently and take great comfort in Fearnley’s headship. As can the pupils or, rather, customers.