Met Police
Oct, 2023
Summary
National Express Transport Solutions regularly provides the Metropolitan Police with over 200 services in support of their training exercises and major policing operations. In 2023, we deployed a network of 341 coaches and 682 drivers for the MET's high-profile policing operation during the King's coronation and the four days preceding it. This was delivered to exceptionally high standards which saw 10,000 officers transported, as well as regular engagement and feedback from the MET and their stakeholders.
“Our collaborative working relationship enabled us to achieve great customer service to our Frontline colleagues which in turn allowed them to undertake their roles over the weekend celebrations.”
Director of MO11, Operational Support Services
Background
National Express Transport Solutions are the chosen transport provider for the Metropolitan Police and have enjoyed a prevailing relationship spanning many years.
National Express Transport Solutions has provided transport services for the successful delivery of large-scale events since 2008. Some of which include the 2012 Olympics, the 2019 Donald Trump London visit, London New Year's Eve Fireworks, Extinction Rebellion protests, Notting Hill Carnival & most recently the King’s Coronation.
The nature of the Metropolitan Police’s requirements continually calls for flexibility and preparedness, which our UK-wide regional infrastructure perfectly complements. The sheer scale of events and footfall that the Metropolitan Police deploy often results in continuous changes to fleet, timings, vehicle sizes and manpower. This requires an enterprising approach from our account managers and operational team. Our bespoke ground transport solutions see us supplying upward of 200+ vehicles to the Metropolitan police during any event.
Our Transport Solutions
Once a Metropolitan Police requirement is determined by their account manager, our project team is assembled to ensure a personal service level is provided. Across all periods of the Metropolitan Police’s requirements, we remain proactive as changes to pick-up and drop-off locations are made daily.
With our operations team covering a 24-hour period of route monitoring and planning - we’re best placed to fulfil a bespoke service. We put safety at the forefront of everything we do. That’s why all of our drivers supplied for large-scale events undergo rigorous security checks and we ensure all security details required are provided to the police in a timely manner.
Across the events detailed below, daily contact is maintained between our in-house Account Managers and MET Project Lead to ensure a full understanding of the requirements and to guarantee that special requests are actioned within a 24-hour period.
Notting Hill Carnival (2008 - Present)
Notting Hill Carnival is a two-day annual event that takes place in August with on average 2 million attendees. National Express Transport Solutions have been tasked with supporting the Metropolitan Police in the safe and efficient delivery of Notting Hill Carnival annually since 2008.
Due to the vast popularity and large footfall at Notting Hill Carnival, operational planning begins approximately 2 months before the event. Route planning is carried out to ensure the service is run to maximum efficiency and that drivers’ hours are not overrun in accordance with daily driver limits. As a result, c.80-85 vehicles are supplied per day with two drivers each.
We are required year-on-year to supply c.165 vehicles transporting c.4000 officers daily from major police stations in London to the Notting Hill area. In 2019, 326 drivers were utilised resulting in a total of around 2000 hours of manpower. Our access to thousands of vehicles including our owned fleet of vehicles, accessible vehicles and an unrivalled partner network means that we are adequately positioned to provide such ground transport solutions.
Testimonial
Notting Hill is a large event which runs each year over the August Bank Holiday Weekend 2023, and requires a large presence from the Metropolitan Police.
National Express Transport Solutions were a great support to us being able to facilitate our policing requirements for the carnival. They were very accommodating to our ever changing requests, and were able to support over 180 movements over the weekend, getting the officers in and out of the area.
National Express Transport Solutions have been a great support over the past few years with the Nation’s highest profile events, including The Queen’s Jubilee, the Queen’s Funeral and the King’s Coronation. Thank you!
Driver Assistance Centre Manager, Fleet Services
King Charles's Coronation (2023)
Overview
King Charles’s Coronation saw the nation enjoy an array of festivities, whilst coming together to celebrate the first coronation in Britain for 70 years. An estimated 1.75 million people descended upon Central London for the three-day extravaganza.
The Coronation Day took place on Saturday 6th May 2023, with many throughout the nation coming together to celebrate in London. This day saw 172 coaches provided, with 344 drivers transporting Met Police officers from various London boroughs into areas around the palace. 14 coaches were placed around the M25 in order to immediately respond to any unforeseen circumstances.
A total of 341 coaches with 682 drivers were supplied to aid the Metropolitan Police across the Coronation processions. To ensure the smooth delivery of the Met’s operations, calls were made twice a day with the Met’s Operational Support Services (MO11) team where we were given the full requirements of the day. These requirements were subsequently cascaded to our 24-hour operations team which oversaw all vehicle movements across the period of celebration.
Testimonial
“I wanted to pass on my thanks to you and your teams for all the planning, hard work and effort that enabled the King’s Coronation Ceremony to take place so seamlessly.
I have received some great feedback from Senior Officers thanking us for the service provided that enabled our Frontline colleagues to undertake their roles over the Coronation weekend.
Our collaborative working relationship enabled us to achieve great customer service to our Frontline colleagues which in turn allowed them to undertake their roles over the weekend celebrations.”
Director of MO11, Operational Support Services
Operation London Bridge (2022)
Overview
The news of Her Majesty’s passing required an abrupt and timely response. National Express Transport Solutions supported the Metropolitan Police with the deployment of police officers in and around the capital during the period of mourning.
A minimum of 2000 officers were deployed daily with several duty changes and alterations. Operation London Bridge was the biggest logistical movement of officers the Met has ever seen with 10,000 officers deployed on the final day.
Testimonial
"The weekend went really well, and Monday was a huge success. So thanks to you and all of your team for the tremendous effort and delivering on what was, at the beginning of the week, an insurmountable challenge for D+10, we simply could not have delivered the operation without it."
"Together we managed to support the largest deployment of policing in the history of the United Kingdom. Delivered within 10 days. This is a remarkable achievement of which, each and every one of you should be immensely proud."
"Although this was a planned event it was still unknown in terms of when it would happen and meant an unprecedented number of Officers to arrange transportation for and without the assistance of your teams we would not have been able to achieve such fantastic results."
Head of Fleet Services
Extinction Rebellion (2019 - Present)
The impromptu nature of the 2019 Extinction Rebellion protests saw us adopt a measured and flexible response to providing transportation. By utilising the combined strength of our various brands, we were able to provide 130 vehicles with 260 drivers over a 12-day period. The vehicles transported Met Police officers to various protest locations and resulted in c.575 officers being transported per day.
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