Blackpool Transport’s new Managing Director Jane Cole began work at the company on Monday 3rd November 2014, earning her place in the history books as the first woman ever to manage the famous Blackpool tramway. Jane has wasted no time in speaking to the local press and giving a very promising early impression of her vision for the future of public transport in the seaside town.
Jane has been keen to stress the importance of customer satisfaction, telling the Blackpool Gazette: “The customer is our bread and butter and what we need is to take cognisance of all their needs – social, leisure, business and work journeys. It all has to go into the pot so we can work out where services need to be and where people need to get to. The customer voice has to be heard so that we are aligning services to meet the needs of the Blackpool and Fylde population.” She has also emphasised that she is keen to work closely with local Councillors to integrate transport in the tow, referring to her desire to create a number of interchange sites around the town as part of the local transport initiative. In the short term, she is determined to learn from the mistakes of the recent past; the company has received considerable criticism in the last few weeks as the core tram service struggled to cope with demand during an exceptionally busy October half-term week, whilst staff shortages also reduced the number of trams available for illumination tours.
Of most interest to readers of this website will be Jane’s views on the continued operation of historic tramcars in Blackpool. Of this, she explained: “This is a commercial operation first and foremost. We have to be reliable but we have to be profitable. To really enhance the transport opportunities our transport plans and our business plans have to be intertwined. But we are also a visitor attraction – the ride up and down the seafront in one of our trams is something that can be enjoyed for itself. I think the heritage trams have got a place and we are open to ideas and opportunities about what we can do to showcase the heritage trams more frequently.” This will doubtless be a huge relief to many enthusiasts and it is very encouraging that we now have a new manager in charge who clearly views the heritage fleet as an important part of the business operation. Whilst valuing the town’s past, she is also thinking to the future with thoughts already turning to improved ticketing offers. Jane has stated her wish “to see us (Blackpool Transport) reaching out so people know about us before they get here, so they are pre-booking our service as part of their tourism visit. We want to look at what we can do from a commercial and marketing point of view to start reaching out to Visit England, coach operators, and encouraging use of our services, which in turn means people can get around more easily, can visit more attractions and spend more money here.”
The ambition and passion shown by the new boss in such a short space of time is clear for all to see and it looks as though Blackpool Transport have the best possible person in control, which will hopefully move the company forward in exciting new directions after what has been a challenging year for the operator which has at times struggled without proper leadership. Real progress may take time, but we all wish Jane Cole the very best of luck in her new role and look forward her seeing how the tramway develops under her control.