Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

[Barney]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(07/09/2017 18:30)WAITING FOR THE 437 Wrote:  What baffles is me is the decision to axe the 403 the very week the schools go back! You couldn't make it up. That compounded by the decision to send back some double deckers to Speke means that the 414 & 413 are
mainly single deck operation! Where as before you'd see a fair few deckers on the routes to ease busy periods

When Arriva took over from MTL, apart from the Crossriver Olympians, Birkenhead was mainly single deck allocation as was most of Arriva Merseyside depots. It took a long time for the management to accept that single deck operation - though a cheaper option - was totally unsuitable for a major conurbation.

On this side of the Mersey the two routes that traverse Queens Drive (60, 81) were single deck operation and it was only when the head teachers of the several secondary schools that these routes served complained to the TC that there students were unable to get to to school was there a policy change by Arriva. Even now the situation is not completely resolved as the '15 plate Enviro400's that were initially purchased for the 52/52A are invariably to be found on the 60 during term time.