SKYBUS, LTD.BUSINESS FEASIBILITY PLAN.PartIII.Section 2

BUSINESS ANALYSIS

1. Category Map/Market

The above is the chart of the transport market within the Dublin area, which provides the services towards the Dublin Airport. It is based on the two main drivers:

·         territory - the area where the company provides its transporation services; and

·         time of service - the hours during which the company provides its services.

The first driver of the chart was chosen in order to show how big is the perimeter of one or another company that operates within the Dublin city and its suburbans. And the second driver, which is the time of the service, was taken into an account so to explain what is the number of hours one or another company operates during a day.

SKYBus has an aim to compete within the existing category against its main competitor: Airport Hopper. But due to our competitor providing its services only between 05:30hrs and 11:00hrs, SKYBus intends to extend the number of operating hours. By including one more county into a route of service operation, SKYBus expands an existing category in both directions: territory and time.

Also in a future, the vision of SKYBus is to extand its area so to unite two categories togather. In other words we will aim to increase the perimeter of teritory and operate via both and city centre and suburbans. 

2. Segments of Market

SKYBus enters the Bus Service market, that covers the Airport and suburbans areas. The main segments to be served are the following:

·         hotels - the bus will serve the hotels that are located close to the operating route. These will include: Clarion Hotel (Liffey Valley), Bewleys Hotel (Newlands Cross), Louis Fitzgerald Hotel (Newlands Cross), Abberley Court Hotel (Tallaght), Maldron Hotel (Tallaght), Plaza Hotel (Tallaght), Dundrum House Hotel (Main Street);

·         24/7 - SKYBus vehicles will operate teh whole day (from 00:00hrs to 23:59hrs) seven days a week;

·         Airport - serving the route between airport and suburbans.

Hotels segement is one of the beneficial, as many travellers will be in a search for an easy way to get to their place of stay in Dublin area. It was researched that the mentioned above hotels, have a highest percentage of visiting within that demographic area, hence they were chosen to be serviced along SKYBus route. Over the summer period the percentage of visitors is expected to be increased and therefore it will become a beneficial opportunity for SKYBus company. Being a segment of a bus service market, Hotels are very competitive, aspecially in a case when taxis and other trasport service are available in that area. However the fees charged by SKYBus will make the cmpnay to stand out and thus more demanding by the customers.

24/7 - is another beneficial segement of the bus service market, as not many transportation services operate during the night time. Bieng a young comany, SKYBus will have a small number of customers at the very start, however with the time the growth rate is expected to rise.

Airport is a central segment of teh bus service market. Many companies serve this area and hence it will be most competive. However due to serviing the hotels along its route, SKYBus is expexted to become one of the most used services that depart form Dublin Airport. The growth rate will varie due to the seasons or other events (sport championships, holidays, etc).

3. Customer

Entering the market of bus servicing SKYBus will concentrate its attention on the two main types of customers: Hotels and Airport

Customer Profile - Hotels

Type of Business Size Key decision makers	Hospitality industry Varies. The smallest hotel that will be served along the route of SKYBus is Abberley Court Hotel, located in Tallaght Central. It is a three star hotel with 38 guest rooms. There are: terace facility, event site facility, lounge with live entertainment, library, car parking, wi-fi, bar and children site. Abberley Hotel is one of its kind. The largest hotel along the route of SKYBus is Clarion Hotel, located in Liffey Valley. It is a four star hotel and has around 400 rooms of differnt sizes as well as fitness facilities, restaurant, bars, meeting and conference halls,  kids sites, health club, event halls, swimming pools, cinema, free parking, wi-fi. Clarion Hotels group is big and has its hotels located in USA, Ireland and UK. In hotel insdustry usually all decisions are made by the managing directors. For example in a case with Clarion Hotel, Allan Fitzpatrick, who is a head managing director in Ireland, is the one to be contacted for discussing a contract with SKYBus. However in a case with Abberley Hotel, which is a small hotel and is one of its kind, all decisions are made by the managing owner.
What matter most to the buyers?	·         Flexibility of service ·         Quality of service ·         Good customer service
Customer problem	The main goal the customer seeks in achieveing with signing a contract with SKYBus is transporting the people in time and safely.
Customer buying process	In a case with Clarion Hotels Group, the managing dorector before signing a contarct will call out for a meeting of the board where it will be discussed on whether it is benefial for a company to make one or another arrangement. Where in a case with Abberley Hotel, the owner will be the one to carry out his own research and then make decision on whether to sign a contract or not.
Expenditure/costs	Signing a contarct with SKYBus becomes an operating expense for the hotels.
Services evaluations	As a primary customer, the hotels assess the need in the service provided by SKYBus relying on the reviews, feedback and demands of their users (i.e. hotel guests). Hence all evaluation is carried out by the head manager of the particular hotel served along the route of SKYBus.
How long the process of purchessing take?	It is a long term contract based on delivering the transport services between the hotels and airport 24/7.
Benefits of service	·         Flexibility of service; ·         Night travels to/from the airport; ·         No-transfer transportation
Certification/approvals required	There are no certification/approvals required for this type of customer
Type of customer	Most of our customers are conservative buyers

SKYBus will serve the hotels that are located along the operating route. These will include: Clarion Hotel (Liffey Valley), Bewleys Hotel (Newlands Cross), Louis Fitzgerald Hotel (Newlands Cross), Abberley Court Hotel (Tallaght), Maldron Hotel (Tallaght), Plaza Hotel (Tallaght), Dundrum House Hotel (Main Street).

Also the route will run close to other nine hotels, where the distance between them and the SKYBus stops will be within a range of 2 kilometres.

Hotels targeted by SKYBus are our main customer type, where the hotel guests consuming the transporting services become our primary users

Customer Profile - Airport

Company Type of Business Size Key decision makers	Dublin Airport Authotity (Appendix II.A) Transport and Hospitality The Dublin Airport Authority plc, (DAA) is an airport management company with over 3600 employees and a turnover in excess of, 590mil euro. DAA serves over 150,000 passangers and 1,000 flight every week. Ray Grey, Chief Financial Officer
What matters most to the buyers?	·         Flexibility of service ·         Frequency of service ·         Quality of service
Customer problem	DAA aims to provide a quality services to all visitors, as well as in time and safe transportation to and from the airport
Customer buying process	All consultations are done by the DAA board of directors with Pádraig Ó Ríordáin, the chairman and a head of the board
Expenditure/costs	Signing a contarct with SKYBus becomes an operating expense for the airport.
Services evaluations	As a primary customer, DAA assesses the need in the service provided by SKYBus relying on the reviews, feedback and demands of its users (i.e. passengers). Hence all evalation is carried out by the management team
How long the process of purchessing take?	It is a long term contract based on delivering the transport services between the airport and dublin suburbs 24/7.
Benefits of service	·         24/7/365 service ·         direct transportation ·         quality and frequency of service
Certification/approvals required	There are no certification/approvals required for this type of customer
Type of customers	Most of our customers are conservative buyers

DAA is expected to be a good opportunity for advertising our young company to the market, by targeting the individuals who seek a safe to get around Dublin area.

The maximum travel time between the airport and the final stop is one hour (depending on the traffic implications). It is believed that such arrangement between DAA and SKYBus will be a long term contract,  making our company an experienced provider of transporting the users.

4. Competition:

The below are the three categories of the compatitors that SKYBus will confront every day:

Competitor	Comments
Direct competitors	Airport Hopper  -  serves a similar route as SKYBus (except Dundrum) - the number of working hours is less than SKYBus' - similar fare rate
Indirect competitor	Taxi  - serves the entire area of Dublin - operates 24/7 - expensive fares -it is a service for a perosnal hire, which means it operates having no set out route.
Out-of-Category Competitors	Airlink, Dublin Bus, Eireann, - covers entirly different territory; - does not operate over the night time as well as has no services in particular days (national holidays, etc) - cheaper Personal Vehicles - covers entire Dublin area - free of charge, however requires a facility such as parking and fuel refiling point - operates 24/7/365

Comparison

Factor	Airport Hopper	Taxi	SKYBus
What are they good at?	- 30 years experience in coach hire and bus road operations; - Large number of vehicles owned;	- 24/7 - Serves all dublin area	- 24/7 - Cheap fares
Strengths/Weaknesses ·         Financial ·         Marketing ·         Organisational	- well funded - gained trust of the loyal users since the last century - bill boards advertisements - big and well known co. with over 50 buses. - based in Rathcoole	- Well funded organisation with many vehicles - gained trust of the loyal users over a long experience - every taxi point has 7 cars per shift in an average. There are about 11 points within Dundrum, Clondalkin, Tallaght, Liffey Valley areas - based at clondalkin mill centre	-well funded with a reserve fund for unexpected situations - advertisement in the local newspapers - promoting a special offer deals in a co-opration with Dunne Stores and Tesco - a start-up co. with 3 buses - based in Tallaght
What customer segment they target?	- airport - dublin suburbs such as: Tallaght, Clondalkin, Liffey Valley	- all dublin	- airport - dublin suburbs such as: Tallaght, Clondalkin, Liffey Valley and Dundrum
What is their path to market?	- customer-orientated co., focusing on what customers most need - operationaly effective, targeting a better way to perfom internally than the competitor	- utilise customer-orientated strategy	- utilises customer-orientated strategy - differentiation strategy is incounted where the area of servicing is expanded to Dndrum - involving innovation strategy by bringing such service as free wi-fi on board
Key bussiness realtionaship cultivated?	- DAA, hotels, Tall Plaza, private coach hire	- Commercial and private hire	- DAA, hotels, Tall Plaza and private coach hire
Delivering key benefit	A-class organsation providing no-transfer transportation toward Dublin Airport,	- servicing all dublin areas, making it to stand out from all compatiotors	- price-orientated - non-transfer service to Dublin Airport (no grade available as it is only a start-up co.) - night time travels
Unique solution	- well developed private coachh hire that was achieved over the long period of time	- best way to get to the Airport - serving all dublin areas	- night time services, making it easy for the users to get to the airport and pay less - free wi-fi on board allowing a free access to the internet
Who's on their team?	- drivers with an experience of minimum 5 years - experienced management group in transport market	- drivers with an experience of minimum 5 years	- drivers with an experience of minimum 5 years
Walk in their shoes? What to do to beat us/ New strengths?	- include wi-fi onboard - expand the working hours to 24/7 - expand the area of serving to Dundrum or even further on	- reduce the fare charges

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SKYBUS, LTD.BUSINESS FEASIBILITY PLAN.PartII.Section1

THE BUSINESS

1.      Business Objectives & Aims

·         Sky Bus mission is to provide safe, affordable, reliable and all-day driving service directly towards Dublin Airport. The company plans to become a profitable provider of transportation to big Dublin areas and in year two, Sky Bus intends to increase number of vehicles as well as expand its services covering the following areas: Blanchardstown, Palmerstown, Maynooth, Santry and Finglas.

·         After Sky Bus is successfully established in those areas we would like to expand our service to other major areas, for instance such as Celbridge, Swords and Bray.

• Achieve sales for a first year in excess of €300,000
• Increase the number of employees to 30 by the end of year 2;

2.      Business Idea and its Unique Selling Point

Problem

More than fifty thousand of people visit the airport every day, where 10% of visits, according to the research by Dublin Airport, falls between 21.00 and 7.00 hours. Every second individual of those 50 thousand faces the problems of getting to and from Dublin Airport. Hence raises a gap in the transport market in the form of an infrequent routes passing through the particular areas, where suburbs, notably, experience the difficulties of this kind.

The lack of transportation is also due to many other variables, for instance such as people, who are without a driving license, have no access to a vehicle, or simply do not wish to leave their cars at the airport car parking while they are away for a long period of time.

In addition to above there is a lack of a high quality services as well as of reasonably priced rides down to the airport, especially during the night time (according to IrishTimes, 2012). For instance, currently, the cost for using a taxi service is between 40 and 50 Euro, depending on the location of the customer's dwelling. As for the public transport, such as Dublin Bus or Airlink, their operational time runs between 05:00 and 23:30 and operates only from City Centre to Airport, where its route covers a small area between these two destinations. The both types of coaches, private and public (Eireann), cover only limited parts of suburbs which usually include the main roads.

According to the census 2012, the Dublin areas such as Clondalkin, Tallaght and Liffey Valley have about 25% of foreign residents, who very often during the holiday periods travel back to their home countries. Hence they will require a fast and most important a cheap ride towards Dublin Airport (Appendix I.A).

Solution

Following this problem where a big percentage of the Capital dwellers have a difficulty to go to and from the airport it was decided to found a bus service.

Sky Bus is a company that will provide transportation for people requiring a quick and easy way to get to and from Dublin Airport. As it was already mentioned above, the services of SKYBus will cover the following suburban areas: Dundrum, Tallaght, Clondalkin and Liffey Valley. Thus it could indicate that a new entrant company, such as SKYBus, can capture a significant part of the current transportation market.

Why this is the Solution

Initially operating two, seventeen seats busses, the company’s goal is to provide affordable, reliable, and safe transportation to its customers, allowing them to avoid the numerous inconveniences that come along with a driving.

Sky Bus services enables both as frequent and non-frequent travellers to avoid the hassles of parking and traffic, giving them a comfortable, easy and affordable way of getting to the airport.

Opportunity

A lack of private bus services, absence of public transport, expensive taxi service will make our company beneficial and very popular among flight travellers coming from Dundrum, Tallaght, Clondalkin and Liffey Valley as well as it will improve the transport services within these demographic areas.

3. Strengths of SKY Bus:

Sky Bus had only one company to compete with in Irish transportation industry of this kind. It is Airport Hopper, which is a business, providing its services for the last 30 years. However it concentrates mainly on operating during the day, whereas SKY Bus intends extend its services to 24 hours a day.

It is believed that SKY Bus will also have a unique selling point in the following:

·      Flexible hours - operating seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year.

·      Cheap fares comparing to the prices delivered by the main competitor.

·      Time saving service - SKY Bus will provide a fast transportation to and from Dublin

Airport

·      Convenient - delivering of a direct driving service that requires no transfer and hence no extra expanses in order to get to the airport.

·      Expanded Demographic area - SKY Bus will cover a huge are of Dublin which will include driving via Dundrum, Tallaght, Clondalkin, Lucan and a big range of hotels that are located along this route (Appendix I.A).

·      Quality and Comfort - SKY Bus will be providing a comfortable service with a free Wi Fi and snacks on board.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES
Experienced specialists	Little experience
Frequency & regularity	Aging vehicles
24/7/365	Imperfect ticket system
Lower and calibrated prices
Opportunities	Threats
Improve flexible ticket system	Competitor Airport Hopper
Launch a new route	Economy in the country
Improvements to training and recognition of staff value.	Appearance of companies that provide similar services
Increasing number of employees	SKYBus is at the stage of start-up,
Acquire more vehicles

Strengths:

1. Experienced specialists - SKYBus intends to recruit the employees with an experience of minimum of 5 years. Also on regular basis every employee will sit the Health & Safety and Competence in both Road & Bus Passenger Transport Operations Management exams that are provided by The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT).

2. Frequency & regularity - SKYBus will provide frequent and regular rides throughout the year.

3. 24/7/365 - our company will work 24 hours a day. The vehicles will also operate during the holidays, which means SKYBus will operate 365 days without any exceptions.

4. Lower and calibrated prices - we will charge less for our services than our main competitor. Also we broke down the prices list, making it fare for those passengers who do not start their ride from the first bus stop.

Weaknesses:

1. Little experience -unlike our competitors, such as Airport Hopper, Night Link and Taxi we have little experience in a bus market

2. Aging vehicles - due to a small financing the company was unable to obtain new brand vehicles and hence was forced to purchase the used minibuses. And because the constant rides will have an impact onto the vehicles it is expected that in three year times there will be a need in obtaining new buses.

3. imperfect ticket system - on board of the vehicle the tickets will be issued manually by the driver. Hence the cash handling and ticket issuing may cause some delays

Opportunities:

1. Improve flexible ticket system - on acquiring the ticket machines SKYBus will make it easier for its personnel to handle the cash as well as issue the tickets to the passengers.

2. launch a new route - creating a new route, for instance connecting such areas as City Centre, Cabra, Blanchardstown, Santry Finglas and Dublin Airport, SKYBus will increase both and popularity and its sales.

3. improvements in trainings and recognition of staff value - by introducing more training sessions to all vehicle drivers our company will create a positive image of the company as well as ensure the passengers safety

4. increasing number of vehicles - by obtaining more vehicles of different sizes SKYBus will be able to conduct the rides more frequently as well as too take more passengers on board

5. increase number of employees - by recruiting more specialists, SKYBus will be able to increase its productivity as well as identify and solve any problems in time.

Threats

1. Competitor - SKYBus has one main competitor, Airport Hopper, and this means that appearing in the same type market it will become difficult for us to beat an already existing experienced service as well as gain popularity and trust over it. Airport Hopper, in order to raise its sale, might reduces its prices or expand the served areas to Dundrum, Blanchardstown, etc

2. Economy in Ireland - The difficult economic situation in the country constitutes constant threats

3. Appearance of the companies that provide similar services - Other companies who provide similar services or products might appear on the Irish market of transportation, hence it will reduce the profitability and saes of SKYBus

4. SKYBus is at the stage of a start-up - because it is a start-up year, therefore no data is available so to compare with, and hence there is no feedback to make improvements.

PEST ANALYSIS

Political

The politics on local, regional or national scales can exert strong forces on businesses. Unlike the transport company, Ryanair, which operates in many counties SKYBus will operate within the Dublin area. However, it must keep track of the political developments that may affect its business. For example changes of regulations within the transport industry or any enhancements of Road Traffic Acts may affect SKYBus. With the change of the Irish government the company needs to anticipate which policies may shift.  The start-up period is the best time for SKYBus to lobby for any policy changes regarding the company’s interests and the business environment.

With regard to the employment legislations, the government encourages all businesses to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (Employment rights, justice.ie). Also to meet the demand from certain population categories such as students and senior citizens.

Economic

The economic climate is also important for SKYBus to analyze, in order to predict when its business may face challenges, as well as when it can seize an opportunity for growth. Due to a difficult economic situation SKYBus might feel some negative effects; therefore it will be crucial that the company plans for any crisis impacts.

As it was mentioned already Economic factors are of concern to SKYBus, because they are likely to influence demand, costs, prices and profits. One of the most influential factors on the economy is high unemployment levels, which decreases the effective demand for many services, adversely affecting the demand required to provide such service. The example of this is FlyBus that stopped operating in early 2011.

The economic factors, outlined earlier, are largely outside the control of the company, but their effects on performance and the marketing mix can be profound. Although national transportation business starts growing at a slow pace and is expected to contribute great amounts of profits over the next few years, the company is still highly dependent on the Dublin market. Hence, SKYBus is exposed to market concentration risks and in a case of any slowdown on the Irish transportation market it would be badly affected.

Socio -Cultural

Socio-cultural environment is composed f various class, structure, beliefs, values, social institutions, accepted patterns of behaviour, customs of people and their expectation. Hence any industry must take into consideration the socio-cultural environment for developing its policy and strategy. Socio-cultural environment influences the demand and supply of goods and services.

Social trends are one of the key factors affecting a business. People's buying patterns and service utilizing pattern are determined by trends. Just as the demand for some popular clothes are determined by fashion, demand for mean of transport is determined by social trend and income level. Transportation means are always changing. Also as a result of 2013budget planning campaign the income of families will fall, hence a bigger percentage of population will start choosing public transportation over the private one.

Currently most medium class people are attracted towards car and motorbike. But due to highly increased fuel prices people are shifting towards public transportation.

Society's habits and tastes are changing. Nowadays, people, being more educated and aware of importance of the environment and health are becoming "green consumers". Preferring services/goods that are environmentally friendly the "green consumers" choose travel by bus or cycle.

Technological

Technological environment refers to all the technical surroundings that affect business. It includes skills, methods, systems and equipment. Technology consists of the forces that create new technology, creating innovative services and market opportunities. The most dramatic force shaping the people's lives is technology.

The new technologies benefit both customers and the company: customer satisfaction rises because goods are readily available, services can become more personalised and travel more convenient.

An example of the change in the technology is busses that have a disability trap available on board. Because our company's policy is to cater for our passengers, the company will consider obtaining the lower floor busses as well as utilising disability runway on board so to ease the enter for disabled and elderly population

It is also important to take into considerations such fact as nowadays a large population demands free or cheap access to the internet. Hence availability of WI-FI hotspot on board of every vehicle owned by SKYBus will have a positive impact on our consumers.

4. Trading Status

Company Registration

Sky Bus will be Limited structured business with Mr x as a sole proprietor.

Considering a line of beneficial aspects and such fact that Limited-type business allows capital to be raised by issuing shares as well as organization may have an unlimited lifespan, Sky Bus was decided to carry Limited Status.

Before SKY Bus will start operating, the company will be registered with Companies Registration Office (CRO) and in the future the company reports and accounts will be returned to the CRO each year (Appendix I.B).

Domain Name Registration

Because it is known a strong brand presence is becoming increasingly vital to commercial success it was considered to adopt the following URL:

http://www.skybus.ie

Because SKY Bus starts up in Ireland, the company will register an Irish domain (.ie), due to an importance in brand growth as well as for the protection of name and brand.

In order to obtain and register its domain, SKY Bus will use the services of Blacknight Solution Hosting Company, which is accredited by ICANN (Appendix I.C). Blacknight Solution offers a comprehensive domain name registration and also provides a management service which covers the majority of international domains.

SKY Bus will require a good hosting provider, therefore Blacknight Solution company was chosen for this job. It is reasonably cheap and most important is an excellent service provider of this kind. Blacknight Solution is believed to be a most reliable and is a number one Irish domain registrar. Blacknight Solution offers great value e-commerce hosting packages and according to start-up calculations the cost of its service will start at €99/year excluding VAT for a standard 256 bit SSL certificate.

Blacknight Solution offers a package of .ie domain registration for €19.99 a year. However, because SKY Bus will also be using a range of hosting services of Blaknight Solution it is expected to have a discount.

Website Appearance

Based on the name of the company, the logo of the website will be in a form of the "Bus flying out from the cloud". The main colours of the site will consist of blue and light purple. These colours will also cover the busses acquired by the company.

The structural layout of the website will contain:

·         Home page - involving a history of the company, the names of the drivers and the director of SKYBus and also a description of services provided by the Co.

·         News - it will display the last news happening within SKY Bus Co, any changes in the near-future routes and time/day operating during the upcoming holidays;

·         Special Offers - It will include a section with promotions, special offers, etc

·         Timetable - it will display a detailed table of arrivals and departures from every stop along the bus route

·         Bus Stop Information - a detailed description of every bus stop whereabouts to make it easier for the passengers to locate it

·         Fares - a detailed list of fares

·         Online booking - the page which will allow every user to book a seat as well as to pay for it beforehand.

·         Hotels Served - the list of the hotels that the SKY Bus serves as well as the links to their main webpage;

·         Contact - contact details of the company head office, direct number of the head manager as well as contact form in order to ask the questions.

·         Private Coach Hire - allowing the customer to research the information on how to hire the coach, areas served and the prices for this type of service.

·         Feedback - users will always be welcomed to leave feedback on the services SKYBus will offer, as well as to share their experiences with others

Sky Bus is expected to target every age of customers and therefore those who are not very friendly with computers, especially with payment online, the website will provide an instant help. For example the user always will be able to click a Help button and access another window with FAQ as well as enter in a search box his own question and find an answer to it.

Interaction with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter is also considered. The users will be able to access the SKY Bus website and do online booking or simply research the information, not leaving their Facebook or Twitter homepage.

5. Business Regulation

According to the Citizens Information Board start-up companies may get tax relief on the first 3 years of corporation tax. It is also known that the value of the relief is linked to the amount of employers’ PRSI paid by a “company in an accounting period subject to a maximum of €5,000 per employee” (citizensinformationboard.ie). Therefore SKY Bus might look to get tax relief.

The Companies act 2003 imposes an obligation on employers to register the company and its employees. Therefore Form TR2, which is Tax Registration Form for the employers who are setting up the company, will be filled in and submitted to a local Revenue office. This application will be used to register for the following:

Corporation Tax

Employer’s PAYE/PRSI

Value Added Tax

Contracts Tax

As an employer it will be my responsibility to ensure that the people I employ receive their basic employment rights. For instance such entitlements as: written statement of terms & conditions of employment, minimum wage, written statement of "pay or payslip", matter with regard dismissal and notices before dismissal, maximum number of hours worked per week, full- and part-time regulations as well as allowance for day-breaks, driver hours on the road and annual leave from work (NERA).

There are five main aspects of legislation that are involved into the proposed business:

Health & Safety:

One of the important regulations that SKY Bus will be obligated to comply with, is Health & Safety Authority. It will be my responsibility to develop a system in place and ensure that my employees are road safety compliant with Driving for Work activities. Health and Safety regulation will also be covering the matters with regard to safe transportation of the passengers on board. With accordance to RSA and HSA I will also have to consider the three main types of law that apply to driving for work in Ireland. These are: Road Traffic, Health & Safety and EU rules on driving time;

Road Passenger Transport Operator's Licence

Based on RSA regulations, SKY Bus, in order to operate legally on the road will be obliged to acquire a Road Passenger Transport Operator's Licence as the busses of SKY Bus Co. will be "carrying nine or more passengers on board for reward" (RSA.ie/Operator Licensing);

Drivers Hours and Tachographs:

Driver fatigue is a known risk factor in road collisions. Fatigue can cause loss of concentration or even lead to a driver falling asleep at the wheel, which eventually will become a cause of a crash.

EU law regulates the driving time of professional drivers using goods vehicles over 3.5t (including trailers) and passenger vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats.

The key requirements for every driver are that he/she must not drive:

·         without a break for more than 4.5 hours. After driving for 4.5 hours, a break of at least 45 minutes is mandatory.  The driver can distribute that break over the 4.5 hours.

·         for more than nine hours per day or 56 hours per week. This may be extended to 10 hours no more than twice during a week

·         more than 90 hours in two consecutive weeks

There are also strict regulations regarding the average working time and the amount of rest that must be taken daily and weekly.

Tachographs - instruments that measure the amount of time a driver is on the road.

There are two kinds: digital and analogue. Both are fitted in the cab of trucks and buses and are used to monitor compliance with driver hours’ legislation.

Digital Tachographs became mandatory in new commercial Lorries and buses in May 2006, hence all of the busses acquired by SKY Bus will imbedded with this type of Tachographs.

Insurance

Published in 2004 Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Bill imposes greater responsibility on all business to insure the commercial vehicles of all types and the Irish Risk Management Centre has recognised this through the launch of a Safety Statement tailored particularly for bus and coach operators.

Motor Tax

It is a legal requirement in Ireland to pay motor tax once an individual wishes to drive a vehicle in a public place. Motor tax is a charge imposed by the Government on some motor vehicles and is collected by local authorities. The amount of motor tax paid for a vehicle is determined on the basis of seven CO2 emission bands with lower emissions resulting in lower charges.

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SKYBUS, LTD.BUSINESS FEASIBILITY PLAN.PartI.Executive summary.

Executive Summary

SKYBus Ltd is a transportation company providing a bus service that runs from Dublin Airport towards Dundrum and from Dundrum towards Dublin Airport. It will run across such Dublin areas as: Dundrum, Tallaght, Clondalkin and Liffey Valley. We will be servicing both public and private markets.

The targeted markets will be willing to pay for our services because of the cheap prices and unique offers that we provide, not replicated by any of our competitions.

SKYBus Ltd will be operating from a company office with an enclosed backyard which is 61 sq. m building located at Unit 1B, Floor 1, Brookfield Enterprise Centre is, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

SKYBus' projected growth rate is very high each year with respectable profit margins as a percentage of sales. The Company will be an estate-based business with Mr x as the sole proprietor. By the end of the year one, SKYBus will have eight employees. 

Objectives

SKYBus objectives for the first three years of operation include:
To create a service based company whose number one goal is - exceeding customer's expectations; To increase our number of clients served by 40% per year through superior service;
To expand a serviced perimeter beyond Dublin area and start covering the following: Blanchardstown, Palmerstown, Maynooth, Santry and Finglas Howth, Bray, Wicklow, Celbridge and others in a vicinity to Dublin city;
Achieve sales for a first year in excess of €300,000Increase the number of employees to 30 by the end of year 2;
To launch a new route upon year 3;

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