Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire

[WhiteVanMan]

RE: Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire

(06/03/2013 16:04)cumbria0902150 Wrote:  

(06/03/2013 15:20)WhiteVanMan Wrote:  Had a run up the M6 to Carlisle to make a delivery earlier today. Whilst there did a bit of bus spotting.

It would appear that stagecoach, have almost given up on Carlisle. As Reays buses out numbered stagecoach buses on city routes. Reays were using newer buses, and appeared to be carrying more passengers, then Stagecoach S-reg'd MAN's were.

Reays don't outnumber Stagecoach at all, there's 34 Stagecoach buses on city services, Reays have 21. Stagecoach services are also more frequent in general with a more regular service pattern, i.e. Stagecoach have a bus every 7 or 8 minutes City Centre - Harraby East and return Mon-Fri daytime, Reays have every 15 minutes to Harraby East but their return to City Centre frequency is very mixed with times at 10:13 10:43 10:58 11:26 11:58 and so on (due to them operating a circular type service with an unbalanced timetable, 5 buses in one direction, 3 in the other with no strict intervals). Stagecoach frequency's range from every 7/8mins to every 20 mins, where Reays generally range from every 15 to hourly. Reays don't operate in evenings or sundays.
Incidently, Reays are cancelling their 63/63A, 64 and 70 from the end of the month due to the services losing money, leaving only 4 buses of work on their city services (hourly services 64A and 75). They've been getting a lot more passenger support since announcing the end of services, with people saying how much the services are needed, shame they didn't support them before Reays' took the decision to cancel them.

For every two Stagecoach buses that I saw, I saw three of Reays. Reays buses were damn site newer (60-reg'd or newer) then the S-reg'd MAN's & W-reg'd Darts that stagecoach were using.