Without knowing the figures and profit margin of the route nobody knows whether or not it was worth continuing, impera's idea of a profit margin was probably completely different to those acceptable to to the likes of avon, stagecoach etc.
(24/12/2013 14:30)Fox Wrote: [ -> ]If the 39 branch of services were good money makers then Avon wouldn't of canceled what seemed to be busiest journey, the 39c.
One journey in each direction on weekdays is hardly a reflection of how well/poor the service could perform on a more frequent timetable, especially now that Arriva's 414 runs on the majority of the route.
(24/12/2013 14:41)MPTE1955 Wrote: [ -> ]Without knowing the figures and profit margin of the route nobody knows whether or not it was worth continuing, impera's idea of a profit margin was probably completely different to those acceptable to to the likes of avon, stagecoach etc.
That's very true. For example, Avon and Stagecoach pay their drivers more per hour than what Impera paid their drivers.
As far as I remember, the monthly Merseytravel revenue (for passes, etc...) covered wages (often paid late due to ETM failures, some drivers not logging the ETMs properly or not filling-in dead mileage forms, which had to rectified before payment); fuel was partly-covered by the fuel duty with the remainder being covered by the revenue. The remaining revenue went towards other overheads. It didn't help when drivers were missing journeys out purposefully ("undercover inspectors" boosted the revenue dramatically as drivers didn't know where and when they were being watched) and money was going missing and being taken-out of the business at the weakest times. After all of that, the constant service changes created dips in revenue as the company had to regain the trust from its customers. I hope that this provides an insight into what factors the company's commercial network had to face and how costs were covered from my understanding and perspective (etc...)!
(24/12/2013 14:30)Fox Wrote: [ -> ]If the 39 branch of services were good money makers then Avon wouldn't of canceled what seemed to be busiest journey, the 39c.
I think this was more to do with the fact it was a school orientated service and as standalone journeys probably not worth operating in the long term , do think Avon dont like treading on the toes of there bigger rivals Stagecoach and Arriva .
Avon do baffle me with some of the decisions that they make. But I hope Arriva or Stagecoach take up this route
Without going into too much detail, as this isn't the correct thread to do so, the 39c was withdrawn as the fares in which Avon where asking for to make the service commercially viable are apparently too steep for the school children to pay.
(24/12/2013 08:25)moreton407 Wrote: [ -> ]Will the Rock Ferry or Gillmoss depot operate the Christmas day services?
Looks like it is Gillmoss, PO12 HTE (27780) is on the 118X, however it was displaying just
"Mill Park 118" not 118X
(25/12/2013 16:08)busdude Wrote: [ -> ]Looks like it is Gillmoss, PO12 HTE (27780) is on the 118X, however it was displaying just
"Mill Park 118" not 118X
Indeed it does seem that both services are displaying just 110 or 118, I had a few rides on a few of the Enviro 300's to kill some time before lunch this afternoon,
http://www.thenorthwestbusblog.co.uk/201...irral.html
(21/12/2013 17:01)moreton407 Wrote: [ -> ]The Wirral has two major bus operators, three if you include Avon Buses, yet it's mainly Arriva who seem to run the most major routes.
(22/12/2013 12:24)polarbear Wrote: [ -> ]I agree it's unlikely we'll see any sort of turf war between Stagecoach & Arriva on the Wirral. Don't forget that these two also have operations on the other side of the Mersey & Stagecoach are the minority player in many ways so they could end up having their fingers burnt if they went head to head with Arriva.
I suspect the way forward with Stagecoach will be acquisitions of other operators over time. I can think of a few operations that would fit nicely into their portfolio & bolster their market share in the area without upsetting Arriva.
Maybe Stagecoach are recruiting drivers not just for ex-Impera routes, but even to expand onto current Avon routes?
Avon routes , there all former Merseytravel contracts most of them , maybe the only route they could make a good fist of is West Kirby - Chester , which during The Open could easily be extended to Meols .
Dont forget that Stagecoach usually has the contract for The Open and this year 2014 The Open is at Hoylake .
(28/12/2013 23:09)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Avon routes , there all former Merseytravel contracts most of them , maybe the only route they could make a good fist of is West Kirby - Chester , which during The Open could easily be extended to Meols .
Dont forget that Stagecoach usually has the contract for The Open and this year 2014 The Open is at Hoylake .
Brilliant! Last time it was there, Stagecoach drafted a load of deckers in, ALX400's, Olympians and the Enviro400's at Manchester had just started to arrive and a couple put in an appearance at Hoylake (19005/6?). Should be interesting!
Cheers