First Group is making headlines with its ftr project it launches in York in May. Transit called it “the bus industry’s biggest attempt to win back some of the modal shift it lost over the past 50 years”. (We wonder whether the 1980s minibus might be considered at least as revolutionary in this regard).
First’s also making headlines elsewhere. There's passenger anger in a Otley blog. And in the south west, where its 490-vehicle strong Devon & Cornwall subsidiary reported operating losses of £2.7mil to March 2005, up from the previous year’s loss of £1.5mil, with no change of turnover. “Troubled” and “disastrous by any standards”, said Transit. Transit believes that the current state results from the impossible pursuit of margins of between 15-18 per cent, in such a rural area. Significant network cuts and depot closures have failed. Yet government figures suggest that there’s been no passenger decline in that region, again indicating that in rural areas, seeking lower margins may just be the only way forward.
First Devon & Cornwall and ftr are two opposite extremes. In between, First gets on with the job. That’s not to say First doesn’t have its troubles, though. Fares up ahead of inflation in South Yorkshire, for example.
Meanwhile, in West Yorkshire, at least some of its passenger anger has spilled over to a long-standing blog from a young female passenger from Otley. She regularly uses the X84 to Leeds. Phrases in the blog such as “thanks First for ruining my day”, the X84 “must be one of the most unreliable and expensive bus journey in the UK”, “is this the worst value bus ride in the country?”, and “I hate First” won’t make happy reading for the operator.
All operators suffer similar issues from time to time. It may even be that she exaggerates the problems on the X84. But it’s perception that counts. We are confident that First is doing everything it can – after all, unreliability and poor punctuality make poor business sense. Remember in England that generally passenger satisfaction rose to 82 per cent recently; as Britain’s biggest bus operator, many of First’s services must be included in that count.
Interestingly, next up for ftr is Leeds, though not the X84.
Perhaps it’s time again to focus on First’s achievements and consider that the biggest-bus-turned-biggest-rail-operator leads the way in a number of areas, not least ftr, in spite of it all.
Friday, 10 March 2006
Ups and Downs
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8 comments:
I agree, a lot of people can tend blame First for nearly everything, when compared to two years ago they have improved. They are doing thier best by investing in new buses, and improving services, and yet someone somewhere have to make comments, and not just First either. Fact is, I've read a lot of comments by the general public against bus operators, and a lot of the time they don't know what they're talking about, like with prices going up becuase of fuel costs etc.
I'm just glad that round where I live, the comments were against North Yorkshire County Council and not bus operators when they anounced rural service cuts!!
Ah but the bus companies will get the blame in the end!
Matt, the public probably thinks the council IS the bus company. When there are cuts of this nature and scale, no one can win except the media
I guess some do, yet there are only 16 Council owned bus comapanies. Back to NYCC, they are right to blame them, as they claimed they didn't have the money to fund for about 90 across North Yorkshire, yet apparently they got some Rural Bus Grant, but claimed they had nothing to use it for. I should have explined this better. Funny huh!
But I agree, that the media always wins, on they make a comment, everyone belives it! Hmmmm, I wonder how many belived Nexus ran buses, when it appeard in the Mirror (which incidently was mentioned on this site) !
To be fair to North Yorks, isn't it true that there's a big difference between their own budget and rural grant? Does rurak grant need to go on new routes while the ordinary budget keeps current tenders going?
This means that when the county council (any county counil, I assume) needs to make cuts, it can only do it from its own budget - while at the same time receiving a cheque from the government to put on new services under rural bus grant which by their nature are likely to be less well used.
That's the conundrum North Yorks faces (not sure how to spell that word! connundrum?)
I actually don't if it was rural bus grant, I thnk it was something to boost bus travel up there. In forness to NYCC I can understand the withdrawl of roue 60 (Pateley Bridge-Otley) as no-one used it. I am also thankful that have not withdrawn the Sunday 24 service (Pateley Bridge-Harrogate), as this one caused quite a stir, as a lot of people use it.
Yes, over the past few years, First have come over leaps and bounds from what it used to be. Large investment, such as in York, proves that First CAN, to the suprise of all the company's critics, do a good job.
But... and there always is, First Devon & Cornwall really is THAT bad. The recent price hikes and service cuts (which they never bother to publish) have made bus travel an expensive and inflexible mode of transport in the Westcountry. With the area also being where clapped-out First Group buses across the country go to die, First D&C really is a terrible, and sad mess. I was told not long ago, by a driver of an Alexander Royale after it broke down that "these are supposed to be the pride of the fleet". If Ten year old ex London Olympian's are the best First D&C can come up with... I'm shocked really..
Why is it that Truronian and Western Greyhound seem to be making a good go of it when First cannoy?
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