Arriva North West - Bootle Depot

[mathias]

RE: Arriva North West - Bootle Depot
Torrential rain and strong winds last Friday (21st August) seemed to mark the end of another rubbish summer.
Unfortunately, the bad weather had an affect on some overhanging trees on Gorsey Lane up near Netherton, dislocating some branches.
It was only a matter of time before a decker hit them....

On Friday evening a 44xx series Enviro400 got its upper deck screen cracked by a strong stray branch and Arriva management decided to completely withdraw all deckers from the Gorsey Lane corridor, and use single-deck Pulsars instead.
Arriva have repeatedly told Sefton Council to trim the trees, but they've had to deal with their own 'cutbacks' in the form of reduced Government spending and reduced staffing levels.

Quite a few of the newish 15-plate Enviro400 deckers have suffered minor dents and scratches from these trees, and -considering they cost £187,500 each- it would be crazy to keep them running on such a hazardous route.
It's not only the buses that suffer though, passengers like to open the windows in summer for some cooling fresh air, so how long will it be before someone get slashed across the face by a flying-missile Elderberry twig?
Needless to say, twigs and leaves have been found INSIDE the upper-deck saloon of these deckers!

So its Pulsars and Commanders along the 52/52A/55/56 routes from now on, until an agreement is reached with the Council.

Blame the Council, blame the Government, blame the wet summer (with its rapid tree growth), blame Arriva, but -as usual- it's the innocent passenger that suffers, getting crammed sardine-like into a too-small bus.
Not really fair is it?