Diamond Bus North West

[ant17612]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(06/09/2020 19:52)MDB Images Wrote:  MX70ANV Wt Stdk noted in service on 163 earlier in week.

There's a few knocking about I saw AOA and AOD yesterday.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/envirohunter/50349323582

[33109]

RE: Diamond Bus North West
From what I've seen today it appears diamond have had a rethink & bucked their ideas up! Much smarter overall image than I've seen of them for a long while now.

A driver mate of mine at first has a friend who works at diamond & says it's apparently getting slowly better bit by bit.

Hopefully this'll last & diamond will keep improving.

[Mayneway]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(23/09/2020 18:42)33109 Wrote:  From what I've seen today it appears diamond have had a rethink & bucked their ideas up! Much smarter overall image than I've seen of them for a long while now.

A driver mate of mine at first has a friend who works at diamond & says it's apparently getting slowly better bit by bit.

Hopefully this'll last & diamond will keep improving.

Yes they have invested (or leased) a load of basic spec deckers that happen to be allocated mainly to the 163, as it happens to compete on Rochdale road, but look between the cracks and you still see plenty of scruffy unkept buses with failed destination blinds and bits of paper stuck in the windows.
Everyone always comments on Bolton but what about Eccles. Most of the Solos there are past there best and look scruffy, several buses still knocking about in Preston bus livery and from what I’ve seen and been told today they have lost some more work come October.

As for drivers, one of my colleagues who’s worked all over the ok with Meridian agency reckons they are currently supplying Bolton depot with agency drivers and the contract they have signed suggests they will be supplying a lot more!

[Mrboo]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(23/09/2020 21:44)Mayneway Wrote:  Yes they have invested (or leased) a load of basic spec deckers that happen to be allocated mainly to the 163, as it happens to compete on Rochdale road, but look between the cracks and you still see plenty of scruffy unkept buses with failed destination blinds and bits of paper stuck in the windows.
Everyone always comments on Bolton but what about Eccles. Most of the Solos there are past there best and look scruffy, several buses still knocking about in Preston bus livery and from what I’ve seen and been told today they have lost some more work come October.

As for drivers, one of my colleagues who’s worked all over the ok with Meridian agency reckons they are currently supplying Bolton depot with agency drivers and the contract they have signed suggests they will be supplying a lot more!

I worked in London with someone to supply 50 bus drivers for underground replacement and I had may issues with agency drivers. most was sacked from London bus firms or really poor drivers. and I know Meridian and had dealing with them very rude owner when you call to ask about missing staff. So I feel it has to be a stop gap and bound to cost them money and they will not want to keep paying out for agency drivers.

I have seen some of the new buses with panels not clipped in or locked and are starting to get dirty so getting new buses and a few temp drivers are not going to sort out the issues of bad management as they are letting buses go out with issues as I had a driver say they have send out buses with no oil or water.

[WhiteVanMan]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(23/09/2020 22:55)Mrboo Wrote:  are starting to get dirty so getting new buses and a few temp drivers

Trying to keep any vehicle clean at this time of year, is near impossible, due to the spray from dirty road surfaces.

(23/09/2020 22:55)Mrboo Wrote:  I had a driver say they have send out buses with no oil or water.

It is the driver legal responsibility, to ensure that the vehicle s/he is driving has oil and water in it. If drivers are not checking they vehicles, which is a condition of their LGV/PCV driving licence, then the management need to crackdown on this.

[Mrboo]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(24/09/2020 09:58)WhiteVanMan Wrote:  Trying to keep any vehicle clean at this time of year, is near impossible, due to the spray from dirty road surfaces.


It is the driver legal responsibility, to ensure that the vehicle s/he is driving has oil and water in it. If drivers are not checking they vehicles, which is a condition of their LGV/PCV driving licence, then the management need to crackdown on this.

That if there the first driver of the day very often the first buses of the day out from Bolton never turn up on time so there is a issue of book on times and getting buses to Bolton for first trips so i feel they are rushing. but what are the fueller doing? at first oldham they do oil / water / fuel / wash before parking them up

[Mayneway]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(24/09/2020 09:58)WhiteVanMan Wrote:  Trying to keep any vehicle clean at this time of year, is near impossible, due to the spray from dirty road surfaces.


It is the driver legal responsibility, to ensure that the vehicle s/he is driving has oil and water in it. If drivers are not checking they vehicles, which is a condition of their LGV/PCV driving licence, then the management need to crackdown on this.

Just to clarify. Normally your right but I have several former colleagues who now work at Diamond and the supervisors do regularly instruct drivers to continue driving with bus faults. One at Eccles on the 217 back in May. Low coolant light flashing constantly, informed the depot supervisor and was told to carry on as there was nobody to bring another bus out to him.

Another working at Bolton was informed by another driver that a large pool of oil was forming under his bus in Piccadilly. Again he was told to continue until ‘the wheels stopped turning’. Yes it’s the drivers licence but when your given an instruction by your superior what do you do.

[Mayneway]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(23/09/2020 22:55)Mrboo Wrote:  I worked in London with someone to supply 50 bus drivers for underground replacement and I had may issues with agency drivers. most was sacked from London bus firms or really poor drivers. and I know Meridian and had dealing with them very rude owner when you call to ask about missing staff. So I feel it has to be a stop gap and bound to cost them money and they will not want to keep paying out for agency drivers.

I have seen some of the new buses with panels not clipped in or locked and are starting to get dirty so getting new buses and a few temp drivers are not going to sort out the issues of bad management as they are letting buses go out with issues as I had a driver say they have send out buses with no oil or water.

Problem is Bolton has always had an issue with retaining staff at Bolton. A mate of mine worked there through an agency for about 4 months a few years ago when it was part of First. Diamond have the same problem so have apparently turned to this agency to fill the void. Problem is these agency drivers are on a higher rate of pay and it often causes resentment with other drivers.

[Mikeonthebuses]

RE: Diamond Bus North West
It intresting to see diamond is renumbering the 2 Trafford Centre - Bolton back to 22 to fall in line with 2 new services they operating 20 & 21 from end of October

[Y458 KNF]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(23/09/2020 21:44)Mayneway Wrote:  Yes they have invested (or leased) a load of basic spec deckers that happen to be allocated mainly to the 163, as it happens to compete on Rochdale road, but look between the cracks and you still see plenty of scruffy unkept buses with failed destination blinds and bits of paper stuck in the windows.
Everyone always comments on Bolton but what about Eccles. Most of the Solos there are past there best and look scruffy, several buses still knocking about in Preston bus livery and from what I’ve seen and been told today they have lost some more work come October.

As for drivers, one of my colleagues who’s worked all over the ok with Meridian agency reckons they are currently supplying Bolton depot with agency drivers and the contract they have signed suggests they will be supplying a lot more!

I wonder how many of the Eccles routes could be run by Bolton should Diamond give up on Eccles