(04/01/2016 13:01)St Helens Rider Wrote: [ -> ]Looks like Crewe - Chester is going to be a hotbed of competition then. I only realised through looking at Arriva's recent timetable that Arriva's through Crewe - Chester journeys are now down to every hour where they were previously every half hour.
Which is why Routemaster buses decided they could run services at similar times to the withdrawn services.
(04/01/2016 13:05)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]Which is why Routemaster buses decided they could run services at similar times to the withdrawn services.
Wonders whether its Routemaster that will bite the dust here , there just isnt the passengers i would think for 3 three buses an hour and with GHA being a bigger operation i think they will survive alongside Arriva .
(04/01/2016 13:48)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Wonders whether its Routemaster that will bite the dust here , there just isnt the passengers i would think for 3 three buses an hour and with GHA being a bigger operation i think they will survive alongside Arriva .
This is being discussed in the GHA thread. As I mentioned in there Routemaster registered a number 8 service to replace the withdrawn Arriva services but when they found out D&G had done the same they applied to withdraw their number 8 service.
PC0003681/444 - GREATER MANCHESTER BUSES SOUTH LTD T/A STAGECOACH MANCHESTER, HEAD OFFICE, HYDE ROAD, ARDWICK, MANCHESTER, M12 6JS
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Manchester and Wigan given service number 33 effective from 24-Jan-2016. To amend Route.
PC1098981/30 - G H A COACHES LTD, UNIT 11, VAUXHALL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, RUABON, WREXHAM, LL14 6UY
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Nantwich and Scholar Green given service number 78 effective from 15-Feb-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC1098981/36 - G H A COACHES LTD, UNIT 11, VAUXHALL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, RUABON, WREXHAM, LL14 6UY
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between CREWE BUS STATION and NANTWICH BUS STATION given service number 44/44M effective from 15-Feb-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC0001141/126 - ARRIVA MERSEYSIDE LTD, 73 ORMSKIRK ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L9 5AE
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between John Lennon Airport,Garston and Liverpool ONE Bus Station given service number 86A/86/86D effective from 11-Jan-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC0001141/127 - ARRIVA MERSEYSIDE LTD, 73 ORMSKIRK ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L9 5AE
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Speke Morrisons and Liverpool ONE Bus Station given service number 82/82D effective from 11-Jan-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC0001141/128 - ARRIVA MERSEYSIDE LTD, 73 ORMSKIRK ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L9 5AE
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Halewood and Liverpool One Bus Station given service number 79/79D effective from 11-Jan-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC0001141/250 - ARRIVA MERSEYSIDE LTD, 73 ORMSKIRK ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L9 5AE
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Speke Morrisons & John Lennon Airport and Liverpool ONE Bus Station given service number 80/80A/80E effective from 11-Jan-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC0001141/252 - ARRIVA MERSEYSIDE LTD, 73 ORMSKIRK ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L9 5AE
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Halewood Ravens Court and Liverpool ONE Bus Station given service number 75 effective from 11-Jan-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC0001141/305 - ARRIVA MERSEYSIDE LTD, 73 ORMSKIRK ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L9 5AE
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Halewood Ravenscourt and Liverpool ONE Bus station given service number 76 effective from 11-Jan-2016. To amend Route and Timetable.
PC1090231/54 - ROLLING SOLUTIONS LTD T/A D & G BUS, THE WELLINGTON, 78 HIGH STREET, UTTOXETER, ST14 7JD
Variation Accepted: Operating between Canute Place, Knutsford and Canute Place, Knutsford given service number 300 effective from 01-Mar-2016. To amend Timetable.
(06/01/2016 13:02)St Helens Rider Wrote: [ -> ]PC1090231/54 - ROLLING SOLUTIONS LTD T/A D & G BUS, THE WELLINGTON, 78 HIGH STREET, UTTOXETER, ST14 7JD
Variation Accepted: Operating between Canute Place, Knutsford and Canute Place, Knutsford given service number 300 effective from 01-Mar-2016. To amend Timetable.
Presumably revising to run Monday-Friday only as they don't deem Saturday loadings to be profitable enough to run commercially and a Saturday daytime contract has just gone to GHA Coaches. The subsidy level offered by Cheshire East council for the Saturday service works out at £6.25 per service, so the loadings don't need to improve that much for the service to become profitable again. If D&G hadn't done their 30p increase which was high enough to result in more people walking to town and catching the bus home (opposed to catching the bus in both directions) it might have been the Saturday service would have taken more revenue.
(06/01/2016 13:40)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]Presumably revising to run Monday-Friday only as they don't deem Saturday loadings to be profitable enough to run commercially and a Saturday daytime contract has just gone to GHA Coaches. The subsidy level offered by Cheshire East council for the Saturday service works out at £6.25 per service, so the loadings don't need to improve that much for the service to become profitable again. If D&G hadn't done their 30p increase which was high enough to result in more people walking to town and catching the bus home (opposed to catching the bus in both directions) it might have been the Saturday service would have taken more revenue.
Is the 300 during the week a commercial service. If so GHA who have been awarded the Saturday Contract could have lower fares on the service to attract passengers, As 2 operators are not allowed the same fares as it can be seen as companies unfairly keeping fares up
(06/01/2016 13:45)Nwales Bus Wrote: [ -> ]Is the 300 during the week a commercial service. If so GHA who have been awarded the Saturday Contract could have lower fares on the service to attract passengers, As 2 operators are not allowed the same fares as it can be seen as companies unfairly keeping fares up
Short answer - yes weekday D&G services are commercial.
And a more detailed answer giving a brief history of the 300 service:
Starline Travel used to operate all 300 services Monday-Saturday daytime and evening (daytime commercial, evening contracted). British Bus t/a North Western took over Starline Travel and obviously later became Arriva. When the contract for the evening services came up for renewal Arriva decided not to renew and it was awarded to a little Northwich based company called Birtles and more recently a little Winsford based company called Tomlinson Travel, who operate the evening services now.
Around the time the 27 (Macclesfield to Knutsford) contract was up for renewal Arriva decided the daytime services weren't viable so the council put daytime services out for tender. Bowers Coaches who had just won the contract for the 27 service off Bakerbus, won the 300 contract.
At the end of the 5 year contract Bowers had become High Peak and there was less money for bus subsides, Cheshire East asked them to consider running the service commercially which they did (and also did with the 27 route.) They withdrew the first bus every day (which had poor usage partly due to it frequently being late or cancelled), some afternoon services and ceased to run any services via Queensway.
High Peak's attempt of running the 27 service commercially was disastrous - they increased the fares by £1.30 overnight at the same time as running a reduced service using 1 bus which rarely ran to time. They withdrew that service and Cheshire East put it out to tender but the tender was never awarded as Vale Travel registered it commercially to a revised timetable. As a result of withdrawing the 27 service, the 300 daytime service didn't fit in to High Peak's operating area so they withdrew it. D&G then registered the service commercially, initially to exactly the same timetable as High Peak had been operating, so it never went out to tender.
However, a couple of years ago D&G decided the Saturday daytime service wasn't making enough money (a few months after they put up the fares) and told Cheshire East of their intention to withdraw it so it finished up being a subsided service operated by D&G and come March it will be GHA.
PC0001838/5 - ROSSENDALE TRANSPORT LTD T/A ROSSO, KNOWSLEY PARK WAY, KNOWSLEY ROAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, HASLINGDEN, ROSSENDALE, BB4 4RS
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Burnley Bus Station and Bury given service number 482/483 effective from 01-Jan-2016. To amend Route, Stopping Places and Timetable.
PC0001838/205 - ROSSENDALE TRANSPORT LTD T/A ROSSO, KNOWSLEY PARK WAY, KNOWSLEY ROAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, HASLINGDEN, ROSSENDALE, BB4 4RS
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Bury and Simister given service number 90/91 effective from 01-Jan-2016. To amend Route, Stopping Places and Timetable.
PC0003681/478 - GREATER MANCHESTER BUSES SOUTH LTD T/A STAGECOACH MANCHESTER, HEAD OFFICE, HYDE ROAD, ARDWICK, MANCHESTER, M12 6JS
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Manchester and Wigan given service number 32 effective from 25-Jan-2016. To amend Timetable.
PC0003681/479 - GREATER MANCHESTER BUSES SOUTH LTD T/A STAGECOACH MANCHESTER, HEAD OFFICE, HYDE ROAD, ARDWICK, MANCHESTER, M12 6JS
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Manchester and Leigh Express given service number 34/X34 effective from 24-Jan-2016. To amend Route.