Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

[313201]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
Makes me seriously happy that I got rid of my pcv licence as these constant changes to routes would annoy me. The only way I would ever drive a public service route again is if I was either on the verge of being declared bankrupt or owned my own bus.

Reason I say that as well as what I said earlier is because there are several routes I wouldn't touch with a barge pole being the 1, 2, 6, 7, 22 and certainly wouldn't do the 41A/41B.

The 1, 2 & 22 are too long and classed by many drivers as round the houses and there is no way I would drive round cheshire oaks and chester zoo and I think any services that served these places before the 1 was routed to serve them should also be reintroduced ( I think the 3 was 1 of these ), as for the 22, I rode it once when avon ran it and found it far too long.

To sit on a bus for nearly 90 - 120 minutes just from heswall to chester was boring and as a result I was sore when I finally got to chester to get off and I could not imagine driving it either. 1 run on the 22 either way and you would be ready for your break.

At least with the 177 which I used to drive when I worked for radonneur as part of wirral community transport it was 1 bus an hour each way, drive from 08:00 - 13:30 and either finish for the day or have a 1 hour break if I was on a full 12 hour day, take back over at 14:30 then run until 20:00, terminate at heswall bus stn, drive to a garage, fuel up then back to the depot. Not once during my time driving it was this route changed, avon took it over and immediately raised the fares and started messing around with the route, changing it here there and everywhere.

A slight digression I know but my point is, if you leavd a route as it is and passengers know where it goes, everything is hunkydory, however, mess around with routes like stagecoach, avon and impera did with the 39 ( which they nicked from stagecoach ) then passengers will end up deserting the buses leading to routes being withdrawn because nobody wants to use them.

Stagecoach could even get rid of the 41A and another company like A2B or Selwyns who are going to try running public services could run from woodside to arrowe park like the old 171 & 172 used to do ( although the ran to heswall ) but run it via prenton hall road and woodchurch road with short wheelbase darts, enviro 200s or solos.

Using short wheelbase vehicles or solos would allow the service to go down prenton road east to tranmere footy ground the way the 83A used to go then onto borough road.

A lot of point I know and my apologies for the rambling on but its something that as a current or an ex bus driver that we see more than merseytravel does.

[313201]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
Dart 34808 is on the 41/42 today.

[gka472l]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
E400MMC 10535 is on loan from Gillmoss to Rock Ferry, it's been on the 41 this afternoon....

[Penny Return]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(27/06/2019 13:27)313201 Wrote:  Dart 34808 is on the 41/42 today.

Staying at Rock Ferry,wonder how long it will last

[313201]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
Hope we get more of them and rid of the 62 reg rubbish.

They may be 7 years older but they do the job they're built to do with very few failures.

[childwallblues]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
Doubt that more Enviro400 MMC in the near future. They are employed at Gillmoss on more heavily used routes thah anything from Rock Ferry.

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
What is seriously going on at Rock Ferry at the moment the 41 and 42 seem to be a hotch potch of vehicles be it normal single deckers , gold single or double deckers.

[313201]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
Haven't a clue but if I was in charge of that depot there is no way that I would put brand new buses even if they are 12 or 24 months old on services where they are highly likely to have something thrown at them by the riff raff that cause damage to vehicles especially in the evenings and night hours until last bus.

For me, my choice would be get more vehicles like 34808 and put them on services like the 38, 41 & 42.

[Busguy12]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
I believe there are a lot of very unhappy drivers at rock ferry at the moment,
Apparently for the last 3/4 weeks there has been at least 2 41/42 off the road each day and that management don't seem to care.

[L401CJF]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(02/07/2019 22:50)313201 Wrote:  Haven't a clue but if I was in charge of that depot there is no way that I would put brand new buses even if they are 12 or 24 months old on services where they are highly likely to have something thrown at them by the riff raff that cause damage to vehicles especially in the evenings and night hours until last bus.

For me, my choice would be get more vehicles like 34808 and put them on services like the 38, 41 & 42.

I disagree, I used to drive at Rock Ferry, mostly on late shifts, and would never have an issue on any of these routes, no more trouble than on any other. The 41/42 are a bit tight for time at night but that's the only problem. On the 38 it was a godsend because you knew you could have a quiet night not having to race around, again never had a problem on either route.

At laird St you'd expect the 423 to be the worst, but in reality you encounter more vandalism and antisocial behaviour on the 437 and 471/2 routes. I've been driving buses on Wirral for 5 years now, mostly lates. In that time I've had one window put through and only phoned the police once and that was on a 1 at request of a supervisor due to a disabled man who was lost and confused having panic attack and needed taking back home. I never get any trouble, it's an easy life and in reality around here no one route it worse than any other