Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(27/05/2018 08:41)iMarkeh Wrote:  High spec??? The highest spec thing there is the USB ports. WiFi you can hardly vandalise unless you find the router. The rest is just a colour. It is hardly something you could vandalise. unless you started scribbling with marker pen. USB ports can be abused but that is why you remove them from some seats. Namely those where vandalism occurs the most. No one is going to start vandalising the USB posts which are at the front in the drivers view are they? It would be caught easily on CCTV as well. That is all you have to do, be careful where you put things.

The 204 is doing well actually. It takes money put it that way. Avon never made a loss on the routes afaik, they just had to reduce their ops because of something to do with Mtravel or traffic commissioner. I personally have been on the 204 and it does alright. Also although it isn't a 'new' route, it is new to the company and there are extensions as well. Just because most people will have Arriva tickets, it doesn't mean they won't switch to Stagecoach. It is only 15 minutes longer and sometimes you can wait that long for a 79 so technically the persons end-end journey time is no different. For people at Alder Hey, Broadgreen etc depending where they want to go in Liverpool, it is the same time for them to get the 204 than the Arriva buses so again, you can grab a few passengers that way but with the state of the buses, why would you go for a rattly dart when there is really high spec bus a few minutes away?
A lot of people in the dingle area etc will just walk an extra few minutes to the 82 bus stop which is great but then it is gamble which bus comes first. If you can get them on the 204 for the first part of their journey, they have a ticket then. Regardless of if they get the 82 or 204 back, you have that ticket sale. If you can make the 204 as attractive as possible, you could sell 300 day tickets (no returns on 204) into L1 and they can all get the Arriva bus back but that doesn't matter as Arriva don't earn anything off that. If you walk to the 82 bus stop, it is an even mix of which bus you will catch and with the way Arriva are running, you are more than likely to get an Arriva bus than Stagecoach. That is how you have to look at it. If you put USB and WiFi on the Enviro200s as well (It was along time since I last jumped on one so these could be done already) as that would then make the 204 and 82 the same spec buses again helping to secure those people who can catch either bus.

On point one . Do you ever see a standard bus with USB ports no , its an added extra to entice passengers , you might think CCTV is the be all and end all of protection if someone finds the blind spot on a vehicle the damage will not be recorded there is a limit to the amount of CCTV you can put on a vehicle before vehicle costs become prohibitive .

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(27/05/2018 08:41)iMarkeh Wrote:  The 204 is doing well actually. It takes money put it that way. Avon never made a loss on the routes afaik, they just had to reduce their ops because of something to do with Mtravel or traffic commissioner. I personally have been on the 204 and it does alright. Also although it isn't a 'new' route, it is new to the company and there are extensions as well. Just because most people will have Arriva tickets, it doesn't mean they won't switch to Stagecoach. It is only 15 minutes longer and sometimes you can wait that long for a 79 so technically the persons end-end journey time is no different. For people at Alder Hey, Broadgreen etc depending where they want to go in Liverpool, it is the same time for them to get the 204 than the Arriva buses so again, you can grab a few passengers that way but with the state of the buses, why would you go for a rattly dart when there is really high spec bus a few minutes away?
A lot of people in the dingle area etc will just walk an extra few minutes to the 82 bus stop which is great but then it is gamble which bus comes first. If you can get them on the 204 for the first part of their journey, they have a ticket then. Regardless of if they get the 82 or 204 back, you have that ticket sale. If you can make the 204 as attractive as possible, you could sell 300 day tickets (no returns on 204) into L1 and they can all get the Arriva bus back but that doesn't matter as Arriva don't earn anything off that. If you walk to the 82 bus stop, it is an even mix of which bus you will catch and with the way Arriva are running, you are more than likely to get an Arriva bus than Stagecoach. That is how you have to look at it. If you put USB and WiFi on the Enviro200s as well (It was along time since I last jumped on one so these could be done already) as that would then make the 204 and 82 the same spec buses again helping to secure those people who can catch either bus.

The way you write this its almost like you know exactly how much operators have taken on the route, However if we are going to look at the 204 (And 202) as a route then fine, Last operator was Avon Buses who was struggling with a Driver shortage so trips went missing before that you had Eazibus which was also struggling with a Driver shortage at the end. I remember before the troubles started Eazibus used to get a lot more passengers than Stagecoach currently do, I remember once being on their Trident and it was really busy. Stagecoach have a job on their hands now to show they can operate a reliable service to get the Passengers back.

Also no one is going to switch from the 79 to the 204, for a start they dont stop at the same stand in L1 however heading into Liverpool you might pick up some people whos bought the Solo Ticket, Stagecoach are not going to fit USB Sockets for the 204 anyway as its most likely their lowest paying Commercial Service, I think at best it will get some Enviro200s from Rock Ferry to put the Darts back into Reserve.

[SK15 GZG (Moderator)]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(27/05/2018 09:18)wirralbus Wrote:  Do you ever see a standard bus with USB ports no ,

Actually you do. All new Arriva and Stagecoach buses which have been delivered to Merseyside depots since 2016 have had USB charging points fitted

[motormayhem1]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
202/204 use to have high passenger numbers and decent revenue income when i use to drive for supertravel till they went bust and went to another firm.

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
Sounds like the 202/204 just needs time to settle in with Stagecoach , with every Stagecoach touch it invariably turns to gold and starts generating revenue .

Stagecoach really seem to have the Midas Touch.

[childwallblues]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
Reallisically people will only use the 204 between Belle Vale and Alder Hey/Broad Green Hospitals if they board before Chelwood Avenue. The route is a combinatin of the 165 (part) 204 and 130 (part). Darts are a good fit for the route although it sees plenty of much newer Enviro300s.

[iMarkeh]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(27/05/2018 09:18)wirralbus Wrote:  On point one . Do you ever see a standard bus with USB ports no , its an added extra to entice passengers , you might think CCTV is the be all and end all of protection if someone finds the blind spot on a vehicle the damage will not be recorded there is a limit to the amount of CCTV you can put on a vehicle before vehicle costs become prohibitive .

Even with cameras in their normal positions, you would catch it easilly at the front. At the back there is 1 possibly 2 cameras and you have to look between seat backs. At the front, you can see faces easier and there are a lot more cameras to pinpoint an individual who is vandalising the bus.

(27/05/2018 09:55)T42 PVM Wrote:  The way you write this its almost like you know exactly how much operators have taken on the route, However if we are going to look at the 204 (And 202) as a route then fine, Last operator was Avon Buses who was struggling with a Driver shortage so trips went missing before that you had Eazibus which was also struggling with a Driver shortage at the end. I remember before the troubles started Eazibus used to get a lot more passengers than Stagecoach currently do, I remember once being on their Trident and it was really busy. Stagecoach have a job on their hands now to show they can operate a reliable service to get the Passengers back.

Also no one is going to switch from the 79 to the 204, for a start they dont stop at the same stand in L1 however heading into Liverpool you might pick up some people whos bought the Solo Ticket, Stagecoach are not going to fit USB Sockets for the 204 anyway as its most likely their lowest paying Commercial Service, I think at best it will get some Enviro200s from Rock Ferry to put the Darts back into Reserve.

Well Terrance, interestingly enough, I know people who are on/have been on the 204 in recent times and so yes, I do know how much some drivers take. For obvious reasons, I do not post figures nor names online. Eazibus and Avon have slightly reduced passenger numbers but even Avon had healthy loads. Stagecoach are very happy with the progress it is making. Even Dingle into Liverpool takes a few people (A route extention which was done only for driver changes. Drivers can have breaks at L1 or if they need to return to the depot, there is the regular shuttle bus. Vans would be needed for the 204 without this extension so it made sense to save costs (it sounds odd but works in practise). The funded Broadgreen - Belle Vale seems to do alright. Quite a few people use it along Childwall Valley Road as well. If it wasn't funded though, I don't think it would be done and would run as a circular again around Alder Hey/Broad Green.

On your point about the 79, it is possible one or two people will swap. 79s are regularly late and have quite a few more holdups compared to the 204. The L1 departure stand is irrelevant. You would catch people going into Liverpool which would then guarantee the fare and almost certainly the return customer. Once onboard, the drivers can give out a timetable. Departure stands aren't the be all, end all of bus services. I know, I have helped other companies with this sort of thing in the past. The 204 is probably the lowest paying AT THE MOMENT. You are forgetting it has just started and needs to build up it's customer base. The best way to build up a customer base is providing the highest spec vehicles possible. Throw anything out on it later on but then it can and will slightly discourage usage but ones the main customer base is built, you are pretty much level with how much you will take.

[buses7675 (Website Founder)]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
I think we've gone a bit too far off topic with this for now (given this is the Wirral thread not the Gillmoss one) but in any case it is becoming a battle of wills between forum members rather than being the normal discussion about buses etc so could we leave this one for now please!

Back to discussing Stagecoach Chester & Wirral!

[MTL0201]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
M53 is shut between Bebington & Eastham, buses are being delayed, X8 up to 30 minute delays with diversion routes gridlocked.

[gka472l]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
The first moves of the ex 700 Coastliners coming up here are taking place today....Enviro300's 27774/27775 & 27780 on their way south at this moment in exchange.....