VOSA Bus Registration Search

[Barney]

RE: VOSA Bus Registration Search

(28/12/2013 08:29)B10B6514 Wrote:  Barney, Thanks for your comments. I can remember the late 70s and 80s here in Southport and the system was on a shutdown. The first Boxing Day and New Years Day services I remember was 1986 when Southport depot was shut but Merseytravel provided a subsidised network operated by the likes of Formby Coaches and Merseybus Walton depot.
With being a town needs were different to a city- fast forward to 2013 and Boxing Day was busy all round in the town centre and on the buses.

I know one of the drivers who operated the Southport services that Christmas in 1986. He told me at the time that he brought a minibus from Walton to Southport and was paid handsomely for his day's work. The newly privatised Merseybus billed the MPTE £97 for his shift whilst he collected the princely sum of £2.65 in cash fares. In those days, with the exception on pensioner's passes, there were no pre-paid tickets and so that reflected the demand at that time. Fast forward 27 years and the demand and need is very different bearing in mind that the Merseyrail system is shut down. Coincidentally, the driver in question has recently achieved a well-earned retirement after 47 years on the buses in Merseyside.

It will be interesting to see what Christmas and New Year's services are registered in 2014.

Apologies to all for going off topic.