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Wirral Bus and Tram is cancelled for this year as well.

I wonder whether most Arriva buses around Liverpool are double-deck, as usually happens on Sundays?

(25/04/2020 01:42)iMarkeh Wrote: [ -> ]Wirral Bus and Tram is cancelled for this year as well.

I think we can surely now sadly write this year off as far as any events are concerned.

D&G to run Sunday service in Cheshire West area on 8th May. No Cheshire East or Greater Manchester services will operate on that day.

With Grant Shapps saying he wants train services to be increased ahead of more people returning to work from their workplaces, I wonder what that'll mean for buses.

Possibly an increase in the number of buses on each service

I would have thought Buses will have an increase in service when people start going back to work as theirs a lot of people that do rely on public transport to get them to and from work (wherever that may be) and running an hourly service wont suit them.

For example I work in Manchester and when I eventually go back to work if I miss my bus home I've got an hour to wait for the next bus as I've only got an hourly bus service to/from Manchester at the moment.

(05/05/2020 06:22)M60lad Wrote: [ -> ]I would have thought Buses will have an increase in service when people start going back to work as theirs a lot of people that do rely on public transport to get them to and from work (wherever that may be) and running an hourly service wont suit them.

For example I work in Manchester and when I eventually go back to work if I miss my bus home I've got an hour to wait for the next bus as I've only got an hourly bus service to/from Manchester at the moment.

The current plan (based on leaked documents) seems to be the government will expect office workers who can work from home to continue to do so and other people who are currently not working will start to return to work - with some exceptions like schools and pubs remaining closed for now. They'll also encourage staggered starting and finishing times to try and prevent overcrowded public transport services and so that workplaces are quieter.

With trains DfT can tell franchised operators to return to the usual service level and if they get fewer passengers than expected then DfT can give them revenue support.

While DfT could offer a bus operator grant to bus operators they'll probably leave it up to local authorities so what happens with commercial services and if DfT provide extra funding for local authorities will it be enough?

(05/05/2020 09:12)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]The current plan (based on leaked documents) seems to be the government will expect office workers who can work from home to continue to do so and other people who are currently not working will start to return to work - with some exceptions like schools and pubs remaining closed for now. They'll also encourage staggered starting and finishing times to try and prevent overcrowded public transport services and so that workplaces are quieter.

With trains DfT can tell franchised operators to return to the usual service level and if they get fewer passengers than expected then DfT can give them revenue support.

While DfT could offer a bus operator grant to bus operators they'll probably leave it up to local authorities so what happens with commercial services and if DfT provide extra funding for local authorities will it be enough?

With trains, the DfT can do what they like as the operators are all on management arrangements with the DFT taking all revenue risk. Trains also need more notice to get everything back up as there is a lot of prep work in the supply chain so even if trains run empty for a short time, it will give time to get things back to 'normal' (Whatever that may be) prior to the majority of passengers using the service.

Buses will just go with the demand. Unfortunately, I fear that many operators will take a long time to adapt timetables and rather than increase the services ready for people working, they will wait until there are loads of overcrowded buses and then catch on that they need to put more buses out when 1/2 the passengers have found alternative ways to travel. That is normally how the bus industry deals with things.

Buses will have to go back to pretty much normal operations sooner rather than later. The news today that the furlough scheme will be phased out over the coming weeks means operators will either lay drivers off completely or bring them into work. Can’t see them wanting to pay staff to sit at home.
80% of diamond north west staff are currently furlonged and their asking more drivers to join the scheme for the final 4 weeks. I was told 75% of stagecoach Manchester’s staff are currently furlonged. It’s s case of things having to get back to normal unless they have deep pockets.