ATOC THREE-YEAR BUSINESS PLAN SUMMARY
2009/10 – 2011/12

Introduction

ATOC’s mission is to work for passenger rail operators in serving customers and supporting a prosperous railway. We do this in three main ways:

• Running systems which are mission-critical to passenger operators
• Managing major commercial arrangements where a collective approach delivers benefits for TOCs
• Striving to create a positive business environment for TOCs.

The value of our mission works in two ways. Our core proposition rests on cost-efficient provision of high quality business services to the industry. But we also have a much more significant footprint through activities which indirectly generate revenue for TOCs themselves, and which either minimize the costs of regulation or create business opportunities by influencing policy decisions.

In everything we do, continuous improvement is essential at this time when the environment for operators presents many challenges as well as opportunities:

• The recession poses immediate issues for operators, as it does for other sectors, at a time when media scrutiny and criticism of the railways remains significant
• The coming financial year will see the start of a major programme of network enhancement, with a strong upside in years to come but also the potential for significant disruption in the interim
• The advent of a general election some time this year has already brought positive debate about the future of rail.

The year since April 2008 has largely been about strengthening ATOC to enable it better to support its members in this environment. We now need to build on that through a strategy which continues delivering benefit in the short and medium term, while also laying foundations for longer term opportunities which enable the private sector to prosper alongside the public sector in delivering a successful railway.

This business plan for the first time gives explicit common purpose across the whole of ATOC, by identifying four themes through which we seek to create value for operators. The plan, which we intend to review and refresh on a rolling annual basis, summarises the key benefits which ATOC currently provides for its members and sets out how we intend to enhance those benefits over the next three years.

Adding further value over the next three years

Our ambition over the next three years is that there should be a clear positive link between what ATOC does and the success of the railways, as reflected in key industry metrics related to finance, customers and performance.

Success for ATOC would be a material contribution alongside the work of TOCs and other industry players towards the High Level Output Specification for rail (HLOS sets out the improvements in safety, reliability and the capacity which the government wants to buy to 2014), higher customer satisfaction in key areas, revenue growth and a reduction in industry costs. We propose to do this in four ways:

• Maximize value to TOCs from business services
• Improve the wider business environment for operators
• Act as a more powerful advocate
• Transform ATOC into a more effective and cost-efficient organisation.

Key priorities for ATOC in the first year must be to:

• seek further efficiency gains and identify ways of helping TOCs’ cash flow and get greater value from trade association activities
• identify opportunities to cut industry-wide costs, e.g. arising from overlapping, unnecessary or inefficient activities due to the current roles of different bodies.

The first year will also be a time to engage in the policy debate leading up to a general election, and for reviewing further opportunities to benefit operators in business services and policy.

Years 2 and 3 should in turn provide scope to promote more fully actions aimed at cutting industry-wide costs; implement the findings from a range of ATOC reviews; and influence key policy developments such as the next significant round of franchising and the completion by Government of HLOS2.

Maximise value to TOCs from business services

Our goal is to ensure that all ATOC business services represent best in class against relevant benchmarks by 2011/12. As well as “steady state” delivery of services against specific KPIs, we intend to do this by

• improving the functionality of services, for example, by increasing capacity in NRS and through improvements to NRE
• delivering financial benefits directly to TOCs, through initiatives such as automated settlement and increasing leads for sales of tickets and railcards
• carrying out strategic reviews to ensure our services remain fit for purpose in the current economic climate.

Improve the wider business environment for operators

Our goal is that by 2011/12 there should be tangible evidence of successful policy or delivery initiatives in the railways that have been shaped by ATOC activity. The priorities are to mitigate negative impacts on TOCs due to requirements which operators have to meet, and taking a lead in shaping the industry in order to create opportunities for the private sector to invest and innovate in the industry, by

• supporting TOCs through the current climate, for example, by reviewing options to cut wider industry costs
• helping improve operations & delivery, for example, through work on the 7 day railway and the National Stations Improvement Programme
• supporting TOCs in working for customers, for example, through initiatives to improve passenger information during disruption and on integrated transport
• shaping future industry opportunities through work on areas such as the future development of the rail network and on the future of franchises.

Act as a more powerful advocate

Our goal is that, by 2011/12, ATOC should be seen as the first point of reference on the passenger railway by key stakeholders such as Government, DfT and ORR, as well as the media. In 2009 we plan to focus our activities in three key areas:

• Developing more effective content for our key policy communications
• Setting quantitative and qualitative targets as part of our communications strategy
• Creating more structured communications programmes linked to these targets.

Transform ATOC into a more effective and cost-efficient organisation

Our goal is that by 2011/12 ATOC will have moved significantly towards covering its own costs. We intend to do this through a combination of initiatives, such as

• delivering a significantly reduced budget compared with 2008/09
• evaluating options to streamline ATOC governance
• completing implementation of current smarter working initiatives.