Preston Revisited

Following his visit to Chester, our Northern Correspondent braves snow and flood to report from another battleground no longer in the full glare of publicity, Preston.

The Preston bus war between Stagecoach and Preston Bus that started in June may be at the back of the industry’s mind but actualy it’s fresh so far as the North Western traffic commissioner is concerned. She called a preliminary hearing in December and a second is expected this month.

Meanwhile, Stagecoach has withdrawn its so-called ‘bus bouncers’ and evidence would suggest that the public has warmed a little to Stagecoach now that these apparently controversial street side figures have gone. Without either ETM data or without watching departures day-in-day-out it’s impossible to say for certain but Stagecoach’s competitive services have some 20-25 per cent of the market compared to Preston Bus’ 70-75 per cent. There’s still a remarkable loyalty to Preston Bus but there’s still a lot of empty seats. The Stagecoach Citi maximum fare is £1, 10p less than Preston Bus’.

While Preston Bus must be feeling the pinch, the reduction in numbers is within the context of a definite growth in the passenger market. This has mitigated matters for the incumbent. Stagecoach is publicly saying that it is happy with the numbers on its services but privately is believed to be considering either withdrawing to concentrate on inter-urbans, or rationalising its Preston Citi services in some way. Expect a decision after the public inquiry.

If (big if) Stagecoach partly or fully withdraws, where else is it to place its vehicles and staff? Initially, it’s understood to have chosen Preston because Preston Bus when asked wouldn’t sell and because it felt it could trump Preston Bus with a better fleet. Preston Bus, however, has invested and it’s seen off the last of the tired Lynxes, once the mainstay of the 11s and 16s, now the subject of Stagecoach’s push. (From October, the 16s were replaced by service 9).

As we hinted on Sunday, Blackburn’s out of the question, owing to consolidation. Blackpool’s a more difficult nut to crack. The safe money’s currently on Chorley, though all this is just speculation at the moment.