Christopher Boulter
Routes represented: Cambrian coast and North Wales
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Christopher, a retired lawyer, a railway and classic vehicle enthusiast living in Snowdonia, comes from an old railway family. He understands transport operations as a lifelong professional passenger, a
volunteer guard on two preserved Welsh railways and as owner and driver of his own Routemaster double decker bus. A former chairman of a registered charity for the disabled, Christopher provides a balanced view of the needs of and cost to railway passengers, the resources available and the necessary profit to management. Christopher believes there is a need for greater scrutiny, best value and exceeding passenger expectations.
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Gareth Peate
Route represented: Chester to Shrewsbury via Gobowen
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Gareth has
been a regular Arriva Trains Wales customer for many years, making the daily
commute by rail between home in Gobowen to his place of work in
Telford for almost eighteen years. Away from work, Gareth remains
passionate and enthusiast for good quality rail services both
in the local area and across the country, regularly travelling to meet
with friends and explore new places. More recently, Gareth has left
Shropshire to pursue a new career in York, though ties to family and
friends in the area mean he still makes regular journeys back
to Shropshire and across the Arriva Trains Wales network.
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Jaymie Thomas
Routes represented: Cardiff to Manchester
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Jaymie lives in Cwmbran and is a daily
commuter using Arriva services between Cwmbran and Cardiff, including the
Cardiff Valley lines for hobbies and personal interest and has considerable
experience of using the network. As someone who delivers and expects excellent
customer support, Jaymie enjoys analysing every customer experience he
encounters or observes, applying critical thinking and assessment skills on
every journey in the pursuit of better customer service. A problem-solver by
profession, Jaymie’s aim is to provide feedback, approach challenges creatively
and devise effective tactical solutions to deliver Arriva’s goals.
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Neil Evans
Routes represented: Carmarthen to Port Talbot
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Neil lives in Carmarthen and travels to Port Talbot for work. Having traveled almost every day on ATW trains since 2008, he has noticed the improvements we have made and has knowledge and experience which could help improve our service further. Neil enjoys using our service to travel to events at Cardiff Bay and to watch the rugby. His career requires him to be strategic and constructive in providing advice. Neil is keen to work with ATW to contribute to our strategic vision in the interest of customers.
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Matthew Farrell
Routes represented: Ebbw Vale line
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Matthew lives in Risca and commutes
daily on Arriva services. He is also a local community councillor representing
constituents’ interests at the Community Council, many of who are also rail
users and commuters with a variety of needs. Working in a Government role
Matthew investigates failings in customer service and helps deliver positive
change and customer satisfaction, continually seeking ways in which
organisations can improve. In his leisure time Matthew enjoys travelling and
attending sporting fixtures and does so with a disabled relative. From these
experiences Matthew is aware of the issues that users with mobility problems
can face when travelling by train and the responsibilities that staff members
have when assisting passengers.
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Mike Steward
Routes represented: Bridgend to Cardiff, Hereford and Cheltenham Spa.
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Mike is a Technical Director in a large UK wide engineering
consultancy who travels regularly on our trains, particularly from Bridgend to
Cardiff, Hereford and Cheltenham. He has over 30 years’ experience in
the delivery and management of highways for local authorities in England and
Wales. Within his role, Mike regularly liaises with delivery and funding
organisations such as the Local Enterprise Partneships, Local Transport Boards
and the Department for Transport. His career has had a strong focus on
continuous improvement. Mike is energetic and goal-orientated.
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Morag Davies
Route Represented: Chester to Manchester
Get in touch at:
Morag
commutes from Chester to Manchester for her role in banking and travels via
Crewe to Cardiff and Aberystwyth on occasional weekends. Her job role involves
strategically reviewing, restructuring and implementing change and she is
familiar with delivering feedback to senior management. As a seasonal ticket
holder with a keen interest in travel, she believes that customer service is
paramount and is keen to help enhance the ATW service.
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Rowland Pittard
Routes represented: Cardiff to Cheltenham and Cardiff to Crewe
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Rowland is a
retired deputy head teacher and transport lecturer who travels extensively in
Wales and other parts of Great Britain and the world. He records the changing
Welsh rail scene, both freight and passenger, for the Railway Correspondence
and Travel Society (RCTS) and Railfuture. Having been a co-editor of the First
Edition of ‘A Development Plan for the Railways of Wales and the Borders’, he
has a lot of ideas on how to improve train services. He has a keen interest in
the provision of suitable transport, especially integrated transport, for young
people, the disabled and visitors to Wales. His vision is for Wales to have a
sustainable transport network for the future.
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Philip Evans
Routes represented: Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog and Chester to Shrewsbury
Get in touch at:
Philip
has served as a local authority member for a number of years and is lead member
on Conwy County Borough Council for public transport issues. He served two
terms on the former Rail Passenger Committee for Wales. Following retirement as Dwr Cyrmru Welsh
Water's Network Development Manager, he has acted as a consultant on water and
drainage matters for a regional firm of solicitors. His background in the
water industry has given him an understanding of delivering regulated services
and he has developed a wide experience of dealing with customer issues. Having
been a regular user of rail and bus services all his life, he has developed an
insight into the needs of the travelling public. Drawing on his previous role
with the statutory Rail Passengers' Committee for Wales, he believes that he is
able to make a positive contribution to the work of the Panel.
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Alison
Parsons
Route represented: Barry to Cardiff Central
Get in touch at:
Alison
is a qualified chiropodist with 2 children. Trains have played a big role in
her working life and she now travels from Barry to Cardiff. For her, travelling
by train is the cheapest, quickest and most reliable way to get to work. She was
interested in joining the panel to see how things work and to try and discover what
the future holds in terms of what will happen when there is more housing and
when the BBC arrives on our doorstep.
She believes that being on the panel has given her a better understanding and
she enjoys chatting to passengers and listening to their views. She is
passionate about providing answers and helping to ensure that customers receive
a reliable service in an ever changing environment.
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Ronnie
Alexander
Route represented: Cardiff central to Lisvane
Get in touch at:
Ronnie
lives in Cardiff and frequently travels across our network. He currently holds
a position as a Local Consumer Advocate for the Consumer Council for Water. In
his career, he has been focused on the well-being of the public, particularly
disadvantaged groups. Ronnie has a relative with severe visual impairment and
has provided support to a former colleague who was severely disabled. He is
passionate about ensuring the elderly and less able can access public transport
comfortably. His career has required him to have well-developed negotiation and
persuasion skills which he can use to achieve positive and significant changes
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David Little
Route represented: Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff Central
Get in touch at:
David lives in Merthyr Tydfil and is
employed as a Business Analyst for a large company. He travels on our trains on
a daily basis and is committed to providing us with feedback on the quality of
service that both himself and other passengers have received. His Business
Analyst role requires him to negotiate and drive improvements and to proactively
investigate gaps and take steps to resolve issues quickly. In his career, Dave
has been involved in providing improvements for customers and is keen to be
part of enhancing the customer experience for ATW passengers.
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Gareth Powell
Route Represented: The Rhymney Valley line
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Gareth uses our service to commute to
Cardiff Bay and visit Manchester. Having used commuter services for the last 8
years, he’s interested in helping ensure they run effectively which can be
complex and challenging when issues arise. He is focused on wanting to improve
the communication of information for passengers travelling with us. Having
worked in the social care sector for 20 years, Gareth is especially interested
in how services support disabled passengers. As a consumer, he has a vested
interest in making a difference.
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Helen Bickley
Route represented: Trehafod to Cogan
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Helen has lived in Trehafod since 2005, and uses Arriva Trains Wales to
commute to her job with Cardiff Council, as well as for leisure purposes. Helen
has dyspraxia, an unseen disability which affects her co-ordination and means
she is unable to drive. A key reason for joining the Customer Panel is that she
is interested in representing the needs of disabled passengers across the
network. She also wants the opportunity to voice the opinions of fellow
passengers whose views may have otherwise gone unheard, and to provide
subsequent feedback to both Arriva and members of the public. Helen holds a
Postgraduate Diploma in Equality and Diversity.
Her interests include her pets, reading, and attending the theatre. She is an
active member of Sororitas Female Voice Choir and she is also learning Welsh.
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Jude Aldridge
Route represented: Taffs Well to Cardiff Central
Get in touch at:
Jude is passionate about train travel
as a more environmental alternative to road travel. Having moved to Wales in
1995, she has become very familiar with the Valley lines and enjoys travelling
by train for nights out, rugby matches, theatre performances and gigs. Having
witnessed some of the issues affecting the satisfaction of our customers, she
is keen to provide us with suggestions for improvement. Jude occasionally
travels with her elderly parents and appreciates the challenges this can bring. |
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Paul Harding
Route represented: Cathays to Penarth
Get in touch at:
Paul lives
in Cardiff and is employed as a policy and public affairs manager for a
charity. Having spent three years as a researcher for a shadow transport
minister, he has developed substantial knowledge and a keen interest in
transport. He enjoys travelling for work and leisure and has travelled across
Europe by train. Paul has a wealth of experience in creating and communicating
messages. As a member of Rail Future (Wales), he is passionate about improving
train journeys for everyone.
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Rhyan Berrigan
Route represented: The Rhymney Valley line
Get in touch at:
Ryhan lives in Llanbradach and travels to Cardiff
for work and leisure. In her former job she worked for a pan impairment
organization which focuses on removing the access barriers which disabled
people experience with public transport. Even now these issues continue
to be close to her heart. Being a deaf passenger herself, she is
committed to representing disabled passengers. She has commented on
national station improvement programmes, been a member of the diversity panel
in a professional capacity, taken part in stations visits and completed and
contributed to station equality impact assessments. Ryhan is very approachable
and enthusiastic.
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Steve Fletcher
Routes represented: Bargoed and Rhymney valley lines
Get in touch at:
Steve is a regular commuter on the
Cardiff Valley network. Having been head of customer experience for several UK
market- leading companies, he recognises the importance of putting the customer
first. Steve currently runs a website with more than 3500 active train-using
members, from a variety of different backgrounds, showing his keen interest in
helping improve train services. He has been proactive and enthusiastic when
providing us with information to improve our service. He is passionate about
helping us achieve better rush hour commutes and leisure journeys for our
customers.
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