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Did First actually purchase the depot as part of the Fingland's takeover, or have they been leasing it ? Its position and size would surely render it a prime site for redevelopment.

(18/02/2019 11:17)EDB325 Wrote: [ -> ]Did First actually purchase the depot as part of the Fingland's takeover, or have they been leasing it ? Its position and size would surely render it a prime site for redevelopment.

Rusholme depot is leased from the Finglands family, I presume the future for that site will be to sell it as redevelopment for student flats given its location.

Have First just given up on trying to make their vehicles look presentable now? I’m currently on the 17:20 180 on an Enviro300 and the inside of the bus smells like a combination of burnt wax and musk and it’s giving me a migraine.

The bus is disgusting inside, it’s like they’re trying to compete with MCT to see who can put out the scruffiest looking buses.

(18/02/2019 17:39)acocker96 Wrote: [ -> ]Have First just given up on trying to make their vehicles look presentable now? I’m currently on the 17:20 180 on an Enviro300 and the inside of the bus smells like a combination of burnt wax and musk and it’s giving me a migraine.

The bus is disgusting inside, it’s like they’re trying to compete with MCT to see who can put out the scruffiest looking buses.

I have said that all along, when I asked several years ago about this I was told all cleaning at First had been subcontracted out, I've asked since about this and been told they only mop out on alternate days, hence dirt accumulates inside.

Presumably sub-contracting and reduction in the work being done by cleaners is a result of mismanagement and cost cutting, also presume too few cleaners hired to do a proper job before buses are needed in service again in the morning.

As I understand its not just the situation here as in Bristol a few weeks ago and it made the news there, a double-deck Gemini was left with a pool of water upstairs behind some seating, this subsequently ran down stairs and splashed a number of passengers in dirty water.

Some buses are now so bad really what is needed is a total internal refurbishment, Enviro400's seem particularly badly effected as the internal colour is too light. You not only see grime on the floor but also in crevice area's around the front windscreens, both lower and upper-deck.

Really what is needed is to look at the cleaning again, if you present something that looks like a dust cart why should people want to ride on it or continue to ride on it.

As I said above assume its all to do with cost cutting, in hiring cleaners, having a reduced number of reserve vehicles and so on.

(18/02/2019 19:41)gilesbus1 Wrote: [ -> ]I have said that all along, when I asked several years ago about this I was told all cleaning at First had been subcontracted out, I've asked since about this and been told they only mop out on alternate days, hence dirt accumulates inside.

Presumably sub-contracting and reduction in the work being done by cleaners is a result of mismanagement and cost cutting, also presume too few cleaners hired to do a proper job before buses are needed in service again in the morning.

As I understand its not just the situation here as in Bristol a few weeks ago and it made the news there, a double-deck Gemini was left with a pool of water upstairs behind some seating, this subsequently ran down stairs and splashed a number of passengers in dirty water.

Some buses are now so bad really what is needed is a total internal refurbishment, Enviro400's seem particularly badly effected as the internal colour is too light. You not only see grime on the floor but also in crevice area's around the front windscreens, both lower and upper-deck.

Really what is needed is to look at the cleaning again, if you present something that looks like a dust cart why should people want to ride on it or continue to ride on it.

As I said above assume its all to do with cost cutting, in hiring cleaners, having a reduced number of reserve vehicles and so on.

That’s a very likely scenario. The musky smell was so strong it gave me a headache, I thought it was the exhaust leaking into the bus at first.

Even the exterior washing seems to be suffering. Granted that livery isn't easy to keep clean in the winter but even so the difference with Stagecoach and Transdev is marked.

I think all this to do with cleanliness is one reason why they are losing passengers, its easy to say were they compete with other operators or trams that First don't care so I'll ride with Metrolink, Stagecoach, Diamond, Rosso or whoever as thy clearly don't care so why should I spend good money on riding with them.

The other issue is will my clothes not get dirty if I use them. That's based on the fact that some of them are using them to go for work, go for job interviews, go to school, go to social functions and so on.

I really do think that as a priority they need to get a grip of this issue, particularly if they wan't to be profitable, as dirty buses just put people off, not promote ridership. Obviously the MD and Giles Fearnley (No relation) don't bother to check inside buses which is a worry, as there is no way any good director would think this was acceptable.

Really cleaning needs bringing back in house as subcontracting it obviously hasn't worked. Keeping a product or service presentable is very important to selling the product. Other operators manage this, some despite having older fleets, so there really is no excuse.

In terms of external cleanliness, maybe if they simplified the livery rather than have several transfers making up several parts of the livery it would be much easier, other fleets have moved away from FirstGroup corporate livery with better results externally so maybe Manchester should look to do the same no matter wahts around the corner, its no saving to leave them in the Corporate livery as they still need repainting at intervals, unless of course the pull out from Manchester is quicker than we think.

(18/02/2019 19:41)gilesbus1 Wrote: [ -> ]I have said that all along, when I asked several years ago about this I was told all cleaning at First had been subcontracted out, I've asked since about this and been told they only mop out on alternate days, hence dirt accumulates inside.

Presumably sub-contracting and reduction in the work being done by cleaners is a result of mismanagement and cost cutting, also presume too few cleaners hired to do a proper job before buses are needed in service again in the morning.

As I understand its not just the situation here as in Bristol a few weeks ago and it made the news there, a double-deck Gemini was left with a pool of water upstairs behind some seating, this subsequently ran down stairs and splashed a number of passengers in dirty water.

Some buses are now so bad really what is needed is a total internal refurbishment, Enviro400's seem particularly badly effected as the internal colour is too light. You not only see grime on the floor but also in crevice area's around the front windscreens, both lower and upper-deck.

Really what is needed is to look at the cleaning again, if you present something that looks like a dust cart why should people want to ride on it or continue to ride on it.

As I said above assume its all to do with cost cutting, in hiring cleaners, having a reduced number of reserve vehicles and so on.

First Manchester Cleaners are in-house I know First Halifax is not the they did look at taking it back out of the house but did not happen. The buses doe get cleaned each day but some are out on road by 5am and by afternoon have been hammed.

First Manchester business update

https://www.firstgroup.com/greater-manch...ess-update

"First Bus has today announced its intention to sell the Queens Road bus depot and operations to the Go-Ahead Group for a consideration of £11.2m.

The intended sale would include the First Manchester depot site at Queens Road and the bus fleet of around 160 vehicles. The sale is expected to complete in the next few months and employees who work for the Queens Road bus operation will transfer to the Go-Ahead Group. First Manchester will continue to operate existing local bus services from the Queens Road site until the sale is completed and customers should see no changes to their daily journeys throughout this period of transition.

Today’s news will see First Manchester continue to operate from two sites, Oldham and Bolton. These depots and the services that operate from them are unaffected by today’s announcement.

First Manchester continues to advocate the benefits of a partnership approach in Greater Manchester to deliver faster improvements for customers. This follows the recent launch of the OneBus partnership, which proposes improvements including; 450 new low emission buses, simplified tickets, a unified brand identity, improved integration with other transport services, joint bus network reviews and improved customer information.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of First Bus, said: “I’d like to thank our employees for their continued hard work to deliver the best experience possible for our customers in Greater Manchester. Today’s announcement does not reflect on the effort, commitment or individual performance of our Queens Road employees and we will be supporting them fully as they transfer to their new employer. Over the years we have enjoyed a constructive relationship with both the Go-Ahead Group and Transport for Greater Manchester and look forward to working closely with them to ensure this transfer goes ahead as smoothly as possible with minimal impact for our customers.

“We continue to support the OneBus partnership in the city region and believe that a positive partnership between the Mayor; Local Authorities; businesses; the community and OneBus, can help tackle the increasing impact of congestion and deliver a package of improvements which puts customers first and offers good value for both passengers and public investment.”"

“We can’t say anything about this rumours, it’s all just rumours.”

Quickly became ... “Oh yeah we are gonna sell off our Manchester hub after all”

I think now they will be on the hunt for other buyers for Bolton and Oldham, they may even sell one and keep the other.