Ealing Community Transport
Encyclopedia
Ealing Community Transport (ECT) is an English
social enterprise
which provides various services, including recycling
and community transport as well as being one of many operators of London Buses
. It has also operated in the national rail industry.
In 2008 the Group experienced severe trading difficulties which led to a team of corporate finance and restructuring experts from TLT Solicitors advising the ECT Group on a three phase restructuring including the refinancing of the business, the share sale of the recycling division and the share sale of its rail business. The 24 companies in the Group turning over more than £70million and employing 1,100 were reduced to just eight, focused solely on transport.
The £15.5 million sale of £47 million turnover business 'ECT Recycling' to AIM listed maintenance services contractor May Gurney and the share sale of ECT's rail business to British American Railway Services
, a subsidiary of American rail operator Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC (for an undisclosed sum), meant that the ECT Group returned to its Community Transport roots.
, Avon
, Somerset
, Warwickshire
and the West Midlands
.
As well as doorstep green box recycling, ECT also runs flat recycling services, whereby a block of between 25-125 households has several recycling containers between them, and depots. These depots collect all the materials collected by the doorstep recycling service as well as items such as books, electrical items, fluorescent tubes, fridges, furniture, green waste, plastic, scrap metal, tyres, white goods, paint and wood.
ECT has developed into a company with an annual turnover of around £50million pounds, with 600 staff working in its recycling, community transport, engineering and refuse collection.
. Due to a lack of revenue the service was shut down in the late 1990s.
In April 2003 ECT was restarted and won the tender to operate Transport for London
route 195
(Ealing Hospital - Charville Lane) from First Group, using a fleet of new 10.2m low-floor, dual-door Caetano Nimbus
-bodied Dennis Dart
s, replacing First's short, single-door Marshall
-bodied Darts. Not only was the vehicle capacity increased at this time, the frequency was enhanced to provide a 12-minute service throughout the day (20 mins evenings and Sundays). The increased frequency was popular with passengers and loadings increased.
During the early 2000s it decreased its frequency to 15 minutes. ECT also experienced problems with vandalism and arson
attacks on its buses, and came third from last in the best contractor survey. Initial problems with window etching were quickly addressed and ECT Bus was involved in Operation Eyesore in west London, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police
and TfL, where front-page images on local papers identified local vandals, leading to a number of convictions. Performance of the route was exemplary in terms of operated mileage (before traffic causes) and, despite operating through Southall
, an area renowned for its challenging traffic environment, reliability was extremely good - at April 2006, ECT Bus was in second position in TfL's league table for smaller operators. The bus fleet for the 195 contract stood at 14 vehicles.
From 14 March 2009 ECT stopped trading as a bus operator and its sole route is now being run by First London
on a temporary contract.
, which used to run London Buses route 195
. The Greenford bus depot is part of a local council
depot and was first used in 1993 as a midibus
base. The opening of Greenford garage led to the closure of Hanwell, and in 1995 the garage was operating 110 midibuses. The standard vehicles in the late 1990s were midibuses by Renault
/Wright and Marshall
but unfortunately both types had a bad reputation and did not last long. In later years the allocation was much more diverse, ranging from Marshall-bodied Darts to Dennis Trident 2
/Plaxton
vehicles. In late 2003 Ealing Community Transport moved into the depot with their first London route - 195, using garage code EY.
Bus types used
rolling stock
hire and maintenance market, owning hire companies RT Rail
and Mainline Rail
and also RMS Locotec of Wakefield
. ECT also operated two heritage railway
s: the Dartmoor Railway
at Okehampton
in Devon
and the Weardale Railway
in County Durham
.
By 2008, the company was pulling out of this area of activity. Mainline Rail ceased to trade, and the Dartmoor Railway was suspended on 18 April 2008 (although services have since been resumed), while ECT was seeking a buyer for its stake in the Weardale line.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
social enterprise
Social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
which provides various services, including recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
and community transport as well as being one of many operators of London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
. It has also operated in the national rail industry.
In 2008 the Group experienced severe trading difficulties which led to a team of corporate finance and restructuring experts from TLT Solicitors advising the ECT Group on a three phase restructuring including the refinancing of the business, the share sale of the recycling division and the share sale of its rail business. The 24 companies in the Group turning over more than £70million and employing 1,100 were reduced to just eight, focused solely on transport.
The £15.5 million sale of £47 million turnover business 'ECT Recycling' to AIM listed maintenance services contractor May Gurney and the share sale of ECT's rail business to British American Railway Services
British American Railway Services
British American Railway Services is a British train operating company, specialising in locomotive and rolling stock hire and maintenance...
, a subsidiary of American rail operator Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC (for an undisclosed sum), meant that the ECT Group returned to its Community Transport roots.
Recycling
In early 1995 ECT started its first green box recycling service, using a carton roughly the size of a milk crate, into which paper, glass, cans, foil, textiles, shoes, household batteries and engine oil can be placed, collected once a week by ECT. Materials are sorted into compartments on the recycling vehicle at the kerbside to avoid contamination and mix-up of items. This recycle from home service is now used by 860,000 people in sixteen local authority areas, across parts of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Avon
Avon (county)
Avon was, from 1974 to 1996, a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England.The county was named after the River Avon, which runs through the area. It was formed from parts of the historic counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset, together with the City of Bristol...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
.
As well as doorstep green box recycling, ECT also runs flat recycling services, whereby a block of between 25-125 households has several recycling containers between them, and depots. These depots collect all the materials collected by the doorstep recycling service as well as items such as books, electrical items, fluorescent tubes, fridges, furniture, green waste, plastic, scrap metal, tyres, white goods, paint and wood.
ECT has developed into a company with an annual turnover of around £50million pounds, with 600 staff working in its recycling, community transport, engineering and refuse collection.
Bus operations
Ealing Community Transport was established in the 1970s to serve the small towns on the outskirts of EalingEaling
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
. Due to a lack of revenue the service was shut down in the late 1990s.
In April 2003 ECT was restarted and won the tender to operate Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
route 195
London Buses route 195
London Buses route 195 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, UK. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest.-History:...
(Ealing Hospital - Charville Lane) from First Group, using a fleet of new 10.2m low-floor, dual-door Caetano Nimbus
Caetano Nimbus
The Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....
-bodied Dennis Dart
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
s, replacing First's short, single-door Marshall
Marshall Bus
Marshall Bus was a British bus manufacturer between 1992 and 2002. The company's most popular product was the Marshall Capital, which was a single-decker bus body built between 1997 and 2003...
-bodied Darts. Not only was the vehicle capacity increased at this time, the frequency was enhanced to provide a 12-minute service throughout the day (20 mins evenings and Sundays). The increased frequency was popular with passengers and loadings increased.
During the early 2000s it decreased its frequency to 15 minutes. ECT also experienced problems with vandalism and arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
attacks on its buses, and came third from last in the best contractor survey. Initial problems with window etching were quickly addressed and ECT Bus was involved in Operation Eyesore in west London, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
and TfL, where front-page images on local papers identified local vandals, leading to a number of convictions. Performance of the route was exemplary in terms of operated mileage (before traffic causes) and, despite operating through Southall
Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
, an area renowned for its challenging traffic environment, reliability was extremely good - at April 2006, ECT Bus was in second position in TfL's league table for smaller operators. The bus fleet for the 195 contract stood at 14 vehicles.
From 14 March 2009 ECT stopped trading as a bus operator and its sole route is now being run by First London
First London
.First London is one of many operators of London Buses and owned by First Group. They did also run the Tramlink network, in a partnership with Tramtrack Croydon before June 2008. Their registered office is at Paddington station in London...
on a temporary contract.
Garage
ECT operated one garage in GreenfordGreenford
Greenford is a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, UK. It was historically an ancient parish in the former county of Middlesex. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are the A40, a major dual-carriageway; Horsenden Hill, above sea level; the small Parish Church of...
, which used to run London Buses route 195
London Buses route 195
London Buses route 195 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, UK. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest.-History:...
. The Greenford bus depot is part of a local council
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
depot and was first used in 1993 as a midibus
Midibus
A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which generally are larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long...
base. The opening of Greenford garage led to the closure of Hanwell, and in 1995 the garage was operating 110 midibuses. The standard vehicles in the late 1990s were midibuses by Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
/Wright and Marshall
Marshall Bus
Marshall Bus was a British bus manufacturer between 1992 and 2002. The company's most popular product was the Marshall Capital, which was a single-decker bus body built between 1997 and 2003...
but unfortunately both types had a bad reputation and did not last long. In later years the allocation was much more diverse, ranging from Marshall-bodied Darts to Dennis Trident 2
Dennis Trident 2
Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
/Plaxton
Plaxton
Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:...
vehicles. In late 2003 Ealing Community Transport moved into the depot with their first London route - 195, using garage code EY.
Bus types used
- Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m/Caetano NimbusCaetano NimbusThe Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....
Rail operations
ECT entered the railwayRail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
hire and maintenance market, owning hire companies RT Rail
RT Rail
RT Rail was a small British railway spot-hire company, a subsidiary of Ealing Community Transport , that specialised in Class 08 shunting locomotives. It was sold in 2008 to British American Railway Services along with ECT's other rail assets. It is now part of the locomotive hire division of their...
and Mainline Rail
Mainline Rail
ECT Mainline Rail was a British railway rolling stock hire and maintenance company.It was one of several 'new' companies that sprang up after the demise of FM Rail at the end of 2006. A subsidiary of Ealing Community Transport, it had a base at Barrow Hill Engine Shed. It owned some ex-British Rail...
and also RMS Locotec of Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
. ECT also operated two heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s: the Dartmoor Railway
Dartmoor Railway
The Dartmoor Railway is a long railway line in Devon, England. From Crediton the line parallels the Tarka Line to the site of the former Coleford Junction. Heading west it then serves Sampford Courtenay, Okehampton and Meldon Quarry. The route is owned from Coleford to Meldon by Aggregate...
at Okehampton
Okehampton railway station
Okehampton railway station is a railway station serving the town of Okehampton in Devon, England. Heritage train services currently operate on certain weekdays, weekends and bank holidays...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and the Weardale Railway
Weardale Railway
The Weardale Railway is a British single-track branch line railway providing regular daily passenger service between Bishop Auckland , Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Services began on 23 May 2010 after a lapse of almost sixty years. The railway originally ran from Bishop Auckland to...
in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
.
By 2008, the company was pulling out of this area of activity. Mainline Rail ceased to trade, and the Dartmoor Railway was suspended on 18 April 2008 (although services have since been resumed), while ECT was seeking a buyer for its stake in the Weardale line.