METRO - Laird Street depot

[DVG526]

RE: METRO - Laird Street depot
There were always going to be some teething issues during the changeover but unfortunately LCR/Merseytravel and Mr Rotheram & Co have got a lot to do. More could have been done in the months leading to the ‘take back’ of control, such as..

The depot. Laird Street isn’t big enough for all the vehicles required, this is causing major issues with capacity and staff parking.

The drivers. I have a few friends who are drivers at LS/RF. The transfer/TUPE is a major issue due to the complex wage structure of each of the operators and this has not been addressed. Not as many drivers as expected have made the move meaning a substantial shortage of established drivers.

The routes. The majority if not all routes (those established prior to the changes) have had inferior vehicles now allocated, with the exception of Cross Rivers altihough i believe the Ultroliners have a slightly lower capacity than the Hybrids. Routes that previously utilised 39/40+ seater Enviro 300s, longer Enviro200s and Streetlites etc now have been downgraded to 30 seater Enviro200s. This will affect many routes particularly the former 41/42/410/411/413/414/487 of which certain journeys were also double deck operated. Some of the new routes don’t make any sense. 408 for example does a random one way loop, the evening/Sunday 417 which also does a one way loop and wastes lots of time sitting at Moreton Cross.

The companies. There appears to have been a total lack of communication between Arriva and GNW which hasn’t helped the transfer due to the politics of the franchise process.

This is just a brief summary of the issues facing passengers, some of which probably could have been addressed prior to takeover. It’s going to be a long road to stability unfortunately.