Diamond Bus North West

[gilesbus1]

RE: Diamond Bus North West

(16/07/2019 16:47)Winston Wrote:  Completely disagree with your comment highlighted, for all the reasons previously stated. There will be fewer buses at Bolton than at present, not more! Only a small portion will operate routes any different to what they do now. With some based at the opposite end of the route.

Late & early journeys are dropped because no one uses them & they are not viable, operators aren't a charity, it's a commercial business that needs to make money or at the very least break even. Even TfGM are dropping journeys on tendered routes to save money, fact of life currently. A super depot cut costs for the operator having one large depot instead of 2 or 3 small depots, staffing levels can also be rationalized. In times of increasing costs, falling passenger numbers / government cuts and falling profit margins, that's what needs to happen, accept it. Most big cities have a fewer number of super depots, very few have small local depots, as they're too expensive to keep running. EYMS is a good example, looks at the number of small depots that were closed prior to sale to Go-Ahead.

You don't know what the lease agreement / clauses are regarding Atherton, nor Rotala's future plans / requirement, just guessing.

No, I've previously said that Rotala are drafting in some of their own buses to make up the numbers comprising 08/58 plate B7RLE/Wright, some Euro 6 single deckers from within Rotala group & potentially a quantity of Euro 6 single deckers acquired externally (used). You are getting a little ahead of yourself as regard new buses, Rotala will not be replacing the whole 125 leased buses within the first few months, they are leasing from First for up to 2 years, only part of the replacement order has been decided, even Rotala don't what they're ordering for the remainder yet!

Well lets see shall we, the depots are completely at the wrong end of the route, depots at the Manchester end are silly because that is the larger town/city that is were people are travelling from not to at night, the same with the Trafford Centre so there starts a decline, who is going to travel on a point less journey from Leigh to the Trafford Centre that Diamond have made totally piintless by removing the return jsut so the bus can be garaged at Eccles?, so the next journey before gets withdrawn then the next and the next and so it goes till there is nothing left. And don't tell me I am wrong I've seen it all before when the previous Atherton closed, when Swinton closed etc, there is only two routes left from the previous Atherton at Bolton and one of those was from Bolton to Manchester, and one left at Wigan so don't tell it doesn't lead to cuts because it does. None of those routes have been replaced by FirstGroup just gradually dropped over the years, now considering Bolton took 70% of Atherton's fleet and Wigan 20% its a prity poor retention rate. Yet car usership in the same period locally has gone up by 30%, hardly surprising is it? Now how is that good for local people?

What ever the lease is at Atherton is Rotala's problem not mine, and I have suggested alternatives, but simply even if Rotala do get Vantage you have admitted it has no future so why not just terminate the lease and walk away rather than leaving a building to be vandalised?

Super depots are an excuse just to cut services and take the industry into a decline, cutting costs makes things worse not better and saves no services what so ever just depletes them. I note Liverpool has no Superdepots yet there services are pritty much left alone and are growing, Brighton as well. Show me one example were a Super Depot has improved service? One example were a Super Depot has not declined traffic since it opened?

Stagecoach also has only about two super depots in its entire portfolio and both of those are in Manchester, yet service elsewhere isn't declining and the small depots work perfectly adequately, and there bus company profits are growing were First that like Super Depots are in terminal decline so your theory on Super Depots is absolute rubbish. Small is beautiful, big is bad.

Where also did I state anything on Rotala's future plans thats all you saying what they will do? But as you've now admitted they intend to cut services. Hence the drop in vehicles by about 100, its not just down to Vantage, as you claim its down to cutting services and wholesale service cuts that Rotala are probably intending to bring in through the back door in September, in order to recover the costs its paid out on it. Otherwise you explain why there are 100 vehicles fewer within the combined business when there were few spares anyway at either Bolton (First) or Atherton (Rotala)?

And Rotala is hardly a company to write home about is it, when it has the worse passenger satisfaction in the whole Country in Redditch?