Manchester Buses

Stagecoach take R. Bullock?

2008 really does appear to be a year of great change for Manchester's bus landscape.  Already Vale of Manchester and LA Coaches have disappeared from our roads and Maynes have been bought by Stagecoach.  Now it seems that Bullocks are to hand over their bus business, R. Bullock, to Stagecoach too.  We're hearing from multiple sources that R. Bullock drivers received a letter yesterday informing them of the sale.

Like Mayne, Bullocks has been a famous name on Greater Manchester's roads for a long time as an operator of both bus and coach services.  We understand that the deal would affect just the bus business, with coaches remaining privately owned.  The deal is subject to Office of Fair Trading approval.

If approved, this deal would see EYMS-owned Finglands as the last competitor to Stagecoach on the Wilmslow Road corridor, once a hotbed of competition as companies such as Walls, R. Bullock and UK North all competed for students' business.  Haytons Coaches, with one journey per hour under GMPTE contract on service 44, would be the only other operator leaving the city centre via Wilmslow Road.

R. Bullock's journeys on service 42 (Manchester - East Didsbury) are barely used through most of the day (it's uncommon to se any more than a handful of passengers on them) so they'd likely to adsorbed by Stagecoach's 142 Magic Bus services along the same route.  Other than that there's contracted service 42A (Manchester - Reddish), service 147 (Piccadilly Station - University and Hospitals circular), service 157 (Manchester - Woodford) and contracted evening journeys on service 312 (Stockport - Handforth Dean), all of which would both most likely transfer unchanged to Stagecoach ownership.

More on this story as we get it.

Thanks to James McCollom for the tip-off
[Image credit: Gene Hunt on Flickr]

Service change announcement confirms Arriva rumour

GMPTE have posted details of a sprinkling of new service changes.  It looks like the rumour we heard a couple of weeks ago was true - Arriva have taken over ex Vale of Manchester services 512/513 in Bolton.  Following Vales' swift disappearance in May, JP Travel had covered the services on a temporary basis.  Meanwhile former Vales service 521 (Blackrod - Little Lever) is taken on by South Lancs Travel, having been temporarily run by Blue Bus.

Other changes include Tyrer Bus expanding further south within Greater Manchester as they take the contract for service 72 (Pendleton - Clifton) from Blue Bus.  Bluebird, meanwhile, change their Public Holiday arrangements, with alterations to service 77 (Manchester - Moston circular) and the reinstatement of journeys on service 78 (Manchester - Oldham).

As ever, you can get full deails over at GMPTE's service changes page.

[Image credit: Coradia1000 on Flickr]

UK North bosses jailed

It's been over 18 months since UK North and its sister company GM Buses were banned from the roads over fears for their vehicles' and drivers' safety.  The companies were under investigation after one of their buses hit a cherry-picker on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, killing its occupant.  Now Vincenzo Casale, the companies' managing director, and David Ellis, their transport manger have been jailed for conspiracy to defraud the Traffic Commissioner by giving false evidence.

The Manchester Evening News reports that the driver of the bus had worked every day for 19 consecutive days leading up to the crash.  Poor training was also exposed in the trial at Manchester Crown Court.  The length of their sentence has not yet been reported but both men have also been banned from being company directors.  Casale for ten years and Ellis for five.

UK North/GM Buses were well known in Manchester for a cheap, no frills service.  Their drivers did not wear uniforms, their vehicles often appeared to be in a poor state of repair and they certainly weren't regarded highly by other Manchester bus operators.  Therefore it came as little surprise on the 22nd of December 2006 when they suddenly disappeared from the roads.

Small operators struggle against their larger rivals so the temptation must always be there to cut corners.  The events at the Crown Court today should serve as a timely reminder of the dangers of doing so.

UPDATE: BBC News reports that both defendants have been jailed for 15 months.

JPT's drunk driver banned from the roads

A JP Travel driver who went on a drunken rampage in one of the company's buses has been banned from driving, The Manchester Evening News reports.  Heading from the JPT depot onto the 294 route to Trafford Park on the 14th of February, David Rutter was quickly causing mayhem.

After smashing into a car (which then proceeded to smash into two others, writing all three off) Rutter reportedly drove on rather than stopping.  A taxi driver noticed the carnage taking place and notified police.  Rutter was pulled over and breathalised, luckily before he'd picked up any passengers.

JPT told the MEN that they had sacked Mr Rutter as soon as they heard about the incident.  He yesterday received a thee year ban from driving, a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £60 costs.

[Image credit: Ingy The Wingy on Flickr]

Arriva take on ex-LA Coaches work

If you're willing to scour the dry documents that make up the VOSA website, you can find interesting information.  Like the fact that following the termination of LA Coaches' Operator License on Sunday night Arriva Manchester will be taking on their GMPTE contract work.

So, from Monday look out Arriva on the 177 (one evening journey each way between Altrincham and Gatley), the 178 (an daily, hourly daytime service between Wythenshawe Hospital and Reddish) and late evening journeys on the 109 (between Wythenshawe Hospital and Piccadilly).

Thanks to James Frisby for the tip-off.

[Image credit: Coradia1000 on Flickr]

More trouble for Manchester independents?

Reader James Frisby has been back in touch with some interesting gossip:
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Just thought I would update you again about the wonders of JP Travel! The 276 appears to be back to normal, although there is only ever one low floor vehicle on the route at a time - if you are lucky! However, other parts of JP's 'empire' is suffering as a result of taking on this work. Service 118 is still seeing on average an hourly frequency (usually half hourly in the peaks) against its advertised 20 minutes, whilst appallingly over three weeks since this fiasco started service 145 (Manchester - Middleton & Boarshaw) has yet to see a bus operate on it!
 
Talking to a friend who knows a driver who works for JP, apparently GMPTE are looking for an explanation (and possible financial reimbursement) as to why JP have been happily taking the tender money for the 276, yet they have only been operating half a service for over two weeks. However, having read the article about Vales financial position being made clear to the PTE, I'm not sure who is to blame.
 
On a seperate note, LA Coaches have had their license revoked as of 16/06/08, most probably due to defective vehicles (although the reason is not officially confirmed). That leaves south Manchester services 109/177/178 to a new operator on Monday, although I haven't had any word as to who it is.
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We're not sure how accurate all the above is, however it's all quite plausible in the current climate in which independent operators are struggling against rising fuel costs.  When cashflow becomes a problem in business it's easy for other problems, such as bus journeys not running and vehicles not being serviced, to creep in.

When we get a clearer picture on what's occurred at JP and LA we'll let you know.

[Image credit: Coradia1000 on Flickr]

Finglands - rude and ignorant?

So, you've had a bad experience on the bus and you want to complain.  Maybe the bus never turned up, maybe you were sat upstairs when it went under a low bridge.  Or, like a friend of ours on Sunday, you arrived at the bus stop one minute before it was due to leave and the driver closed the doors in your face before waving and driving off!

This friend decided to she wanted to complain to the operator concerned, Finglands.  Heading to the company's website and heading to the 'Contact Us' page she tried emailing the listed address: enquires@finglands.co.uk (or that's 'enquires', not 'enquiries').  The email bounced.  Trying spelling 'enquiries' correctly she tried again.  Once more it bounced.

Having a look further down the page she found another email address for Customer Comments & Lost Property Enquiries.  So, on Sunday evening she sent an email to them (which didn't bounce).  Three days later she's yet to receive a reply.

That's shocking handling for a complaint.  Not everyone wants to phone up and get angry.  They should be able to send an email to an address advertised as being for customer comments and expect a reply within a reasonable amount of time.  Three working days is way beyond reasonable.

Let's hope Finglands sort out their website.  They've invested in snazzy new buses (four new low-floor double deckers went into service last week) but their website looks like something from about eight years ago and they don't reply to emails.  Manchester's smaller operators are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet in the current economic climate.  Replying to an email costs nothing and might stop a disgruntled passenger thinking of Finglands as a rude and ignorant company avoiding their services altogether.

[Image credit: demian_ on Flickr]

Stagecoach ring in the summer changes

Stagecoach Manchester have announced their Summer Timetable for this year.  This sees most Manchester-based, and many Stockport-based, services get quicker journey times at peak periods, taking advantage of the quieter roads during the summer months.  This year's summer timetable starts on the 22nd of June and runs through to the 31st of August.  You can find a list of all affected services, along with their timetables, here.  First are expected to announce their summer timetable (which tends to only operate during the school holidays) soon.

Stagecoach have also announced some longer-term changes, also starting from the 22nd of June.  The first Monday to Friday journey from Stockport on service 197 is retimed to allow passenger to get to Manchester Royal Infirmary by 0700.  Meanwhile Sunday daytime journeys on service 236 are curtailed to run between Ashton-under-Lyne and Glossop only and have some timetable changes.  There are also Monday to Saturday evening journeys introduced on service 369.  You can find all the new timetables here.

Looking into next month, Stagecoach will be doing less GMPTE contract work.  From the 27th of July they lose Monday to Saturday evening duties on services 309/310 (to be picked up by an as yet unannounced operator), while three Sunday late-evening journeys on service 313 are withdrawn.  Stagecoach also lose service 364.  Again, an as-yet unnounced operator will be running this service instead.

[Image credit: Coradia 1000 on Flickr]

Did GMPTE know about Vales' problems?

A Director of Vales Coaches, who traded as Vale of Manchester until two weeks ago, has thrown doubt over the truth behind GMPTE's claim that the company's sudden closure was a surprise.  Ash Kohli, speaking to Route One magazine, claimed that GMPTE knew full well about problems at the firm.

Kohli's side of the story is that GMPTE had been aware for several months that Vales was in trouble and was looking for a buyer.  He claims a buyer had been found but that the staff had decided they did not want to work for this new owner and had resigned en masse.  Obviously, a bus company with no staff is a bit useless and therefore we end up with the situation from a couple of weeks ago.

So, that certainly sheds a bit more light on the situation.  The main question that remains is who was this new buyer?  We don't know for sure but we reckon it's unlikely to be one of the 'big three' in Manchester (First, Arriva and Stagecoach).  Can there really be that much worth in a company that relied mainly on contract work (bigger operators tend to be able to do that cheaper anyway)?  Maybe we'll never know but we'd certainly like to!

[Thanks to Omnibuses for the tip-off]

JPT's Vale teething problems solved?

When, earlier this week, we brought you an update on how ex-Vale of Manchester services were being covered we featured an update from James Frisby who told us that JP Travel were operating the 276 (Wythenshawe Hospital - Trafford General Hospital).  He did, however, tell us that some journeys appeared not to be running.  Well, James came back to us yesterday evening with an update.

"I have found out why the 14:22 didnt operate...its because JP Travel are only using two buses for a service with a PVR of 3!! They acquired three buses from Vales specifically for the 276 service (Merc Vario / Plaxton Beaver 2's S737/8/9 RNE) but have put one on their own 268 service, thus leaving only two for the 276!
 
I have been informed everything should be back to normal on the service from tomorrow as I believe JP have told the PTE that they have another vehicle to operate the full PVR, so fingers crossed!".

So, there you go.  It appears all duties should be covered as of today.  We actually saw a Mercedes Vario / Plaxton Beaver 2 operating the 276 in Northenden yesterday.  Hopefully low-floor buses will return to the service as soon as possible as step-entrances on a hospital service isn't an ideal situation.

[Photo credit: Ingy the Wingy on Flickr]