Go-Ahead renews Michelin solutions contract

UK transport company Go-Ahead will continue a 20-year relationship with Michelin after agreeing a three-year contract for the continued support of Michelin solutions’ Effitires comprehensive tyre management programme. The price-per-mile deal will cover 100 per cent of Go-Ahead’s expanding bus fleet – 4,800 vehicles – operating from more than 50 depots around the country. The Effitires contract offers a combination of outsourced tyre procurement and management solutions, helping keep Go-Ahead’s mix of single and double-decker buses on the road as they transport more than two million passengers daily.

“Go-Ahead has built a strong relationship with Michelin solutions since the company first signed up to the Effitires programme in 1997. After a review of our tyre strategy, it was the right decision to agree to extend our current Effitires contract,” says Jim Collins, Go-Ahead’s group chief engineer (Bus).

He adds: “We believe that a managed price-per-mile solution is the correct strategy for our business, and it is clear that Michelin solutions’ programme fits our needs as a large national fleet operation. Our experience of Michelin solutions and the economies of scale the managed service brings means we are happy to have reached an agreement to extend our current contract.”

Founded in 1987, Go-Ahead has grown to become one of the country’s largest passenger transport groups. The company is London’s biggest bus operator, and manages smaller regionally-branded firms around the country, including a fleet of 800 vehicles in Newcastle, 300 in Oxford and Brighton, 800 ‘Go South Coast’ buses serving the beaches of Bournemouth and Poole and smaller operations in East Anglia and Plymouth.

The Effitires solution provides Go-Ahead with a dedicated team of fleet operators, auditors, operations managers and technicians, as well as a predictable tyre budget linked to fleet activity, all of which work together to ensure Go-Ahead’s fleet stays on the road, and hits targets for safety, reliability, tyre longevity and regulatory compliance.

Michelin solutions will develop a shared action plan with Go-Ahead to ensure continued harmonised operations, while cutting the administrative burden of managing a diverse and widely distributed fleet. The company will also carry out fleet-wide tyre safety inspections, ensure a productive and responsive supply chain and closely monitor stock levels.

Go-Ahead’s fleet will continue to fit Michelin urban bus tyres, which feature reinforced sidewalls to protect against kerbing and cut down on wheel interventions and downtime.