Robbery?

A modest family reunion for a landmark birthday saw six of us over three generations wanting to get to the city centre during the following morning. We were staying at my son’s and the distance was precisely 1.4 miles. Someone suggested the bus. I knew it would be a mistake for I could guarantee the total fare would be high. But it would save two cars and it was mid-morning, so the car parks would be filling up…

Off we walked to the bus stop around the corner. Being a Saturday, buses were marginally less frequent but we didn’t have long to wait. Two of the party had free travel passes and the other four were farepaying adults. We boarded and found that the full adult fare out and back would total £3.60 each. Everyone bar me was taken aback and that included one of the free travellers. If you travel regularly for free you seem to lose touch with the reality of rising fares.

Everyone looked at me, as if I could do something. I muttered to the driver about the possibility of a group ticket but alas! none was available. In truth, I didn’t expect one. After a few seconds’ thought, the party split up. The two with free travel passes went to the city centre by bus but the other four went back for one of the cars.

Net result: two passholders at least contributed *something* to the operator. That “something” depended upon the reimbursement formula locally but it wouldn’t be the equivalent of four separate single fares.

As for the rest of us, we contributed precisely nothing. £14.40 was a step too far. Car parking was £7.50 and fuel used was about 33p. Yes, there are contributions towards other motoring costs but the trip was highly marginal in nature. But even at 50p per mile running costs, this equates to £1.40. The maximum this cost four people for a return by car was, including parking, £8.90. The saving made by *not* using the bus, £5.50, funded a sandwich & drink for one of us. Or it’s over ¾ of a gallon of diesel.

The downside of using the car was finding a car parking space which, by mid-morning on a Saturday, wasn’t straightforward. The car park was nevertheless near the bus terminus, so the car was really no less inconvenient. The other problem was on the return, when the two free travellers over ran their bus stop through lack of local knowledge and had to walk a little further back. Not the end of the world, though.

I’m not going to mention the operator by name because this problem affects virtually all bus services, no matter their hue. Instead, I’d venture to suggest that what we need is something really Transforming. Family day tickets are often available but there’s usually nothing for groups of *adults*. And where there is, it’s for the entire network so it would’ve been over-priced for this particular journey.

Paying £14.40 isn’t an option, unless you really have no choice. We didn’t pay it then and we won’t in the future. Is this why we never seem to see small groups of farepayers on the bus, these days? I know some enlightened operators offer group travel but might this become more widespread? What better tool to remove a significant barrier to travel.

Two Come along at Once

I’m not usually awake at 0200 in the morning and this morning was no exception. Night Buses, where they run, are nevertheless flourishing at that time. But it’s interesting to note that at the switch between British summer time and Greenwich mean time (officially at 0200 today), bus timetables will have gone into reverse at this time. Theoretically, there are two departures at 0200, for example. But this can cause some confusion. As Wilts & Dorset puts it, to avoid puzzlement, “The easiest thing to do is not to change your watch unitl (sic) you get home and that way you should avoid any confusion.”

Implications

The reasoning behind Trent Barton’s actions on its joint services with Felix are beginning to emerge. Though there is still a high degree of speculation, it appears that Felix may have wanted to sell but not necessarily, if at all, to Trent Barton. The most likely purchaser may have been Premiere, whose main competitor is, of course, Trent Barton. Hence one very good reason why Trent Barton has stepped in immediately ahead of Felix, albeit for a very short period. Trent Barton’s actions may have been unstoppable before they realised Felix may not, after all, be selling. Not that the public will necessarily understand Trent Barton’s motivation.

This remains unconfirmed, though Trent Barton has spoken to the trade press. Where Trent Barton’s actions stand in the light of the Competition Commission’s preliminary findings, though, is of more interest.

The CC wishes to simulate rather than restrict local bus competition. But if Felix wishes to sell, it matters little whether this is to company P or T, as a sale results in one operator fewer. On the other hand, selling to company T potentially restricts future competition on specific routes (although at the moment there is a certain degree of joint working). And, is there a parallel between over-bussing and the CC’s views on an operator destabilising the sale of an arms-length municipals?

It may be that Felix didn’t like the price offered by one of its suitors. But the result of Trent Barton’s actions might mean that Felix might never get the best price for its business. But, should Trent Barton open hostilities in the future, Felix might not get *any* price.

Sometimes, I wonder exactly what smaller independents are actually worth. Is there any value in a business where a competitor can simply buy a couple of extra buses, employ a few more drivers and run five minutes ahead? This must surely be cheaper than buying a bus operator outright. Different, perhaps, for a coach operator where goodwill is important.

Meanwhile, Felix is appealing to its regulars to wait five minutes rather than catch the Trent Barton competitor. There will no doubt be faithful customers. But these are still joint services and passengers will be used to swapping between providers. And in the age of concessionary travel, where travel is free at the point of use, is there now such a thing a loyalty any more?

Tight Squeeze

Southern Vectis operates its service 1 every 7½ minutes twixt Newport and Cowes. There are occasions when the Mini Pointer Darts cannot cope with loadings, at least as far as the Newport suburbs and the hospital. Swapping to a bigger bus is nevertheless impossible. Upon arrival at Cowes, the service has to negotiate a tight manoeuvre from the highway, under an archway, into the Red Jet terminal and out again via an equally narrow passage. How tight? Take a look at these shots. Not sure I'd like to make this turn regularly.

Digging Up

There’s been a lot of comment on roadworks recently.

Here’s a good example of a bus company getting it right.

It’s an occasion where the operator knows well in advance and has publicised matters accordingly. The web notification even advises passengers to check out bus and stop notices should the roadworks over-run. A sensible precaution, I’d say.

Chaos in Boscombe during roadworks in 2010. Here are five buses caught in the queue
But, even so, there are problems. What about people who don’t read the notices and aren’t aware? The usual service operates every 10 minutes as a circular. The temporary timetable splits this into two 20-minute sections. There’s potential for confusion. And loss of revenue, of course.

I’ve known going to a lot of trouble to get things right, close stops, create bespoke timetables and so on for a temporary timetable during roadworks, including plenty of advanced publicity, only to find the works started several days late. What happens in such situations? Run the old timetable or the new (which is dated)? The answer is the new… but it can look a little daft.

Most roadworks actually seem to spring up overnight without much warning. Most are simply shuttle workings that delay rather than divert. It’s very difficult indeed to react to these sorts of problems. Other traffic will eventually filter away, taking whatever rat runs it can find and this sometimes means bus delays are minimises. But on other occasions, things can actually get worse, particularly if they over-run or if they lapse into holiday seasons. And they *do* have a habit of over-running. But, say the utility adds two days to the roadworks just in case of an over-run… and say this isn’t required… any temporary timetables that are timestamped will instantly cause confusion.

Roadworks cost operators dearly. Slow progress means that buses consume more fuel. Delays will mean that short distance passengers may give up altogether. Buses can end up off-timetable, a cumulative effect as the day progresses. This will drive passengers away. Or one service can affect others where buses inter-work. Those miles away from roadworks see the problems but don’t understand why.

In both these circumstances, it may be prudent to stick another bus in the respective cycle. This, too, comes at a cost at the very time when revenue goes down. Using your spare driver duty for this opens up a vulnerability elsewhere should something else go wrong.

Why then do utilities always seem to think that provided they’ve told bus operators of the disruption that they can then disown the whole affair? There’s absolutely no prospect of compensation should the local highways engineers decide to dig the roads up. There may be in other circumstances but it’s a battle royal getting any cash.

The answer is to undertake roadworks in the evenings & overnight, under floodlights. Disruption is minimised for all concerns… general traffic, bus services, passengers… except for those who live on the roads themselves and the utilities who will obviously have to pay more for their work. But for once, that would actually benefit other people than themselves.

Justice?

Deregulation is 25 years old, today. All that I wish to say about deregulation’s really been said before on this site. If you wish to re-read some or all of it, try any of these in particular:

» Images of Dereg
» For those under 40
» Saturday 25 October 1986
» Forgotten Dereg
» Anyone for Tennis?
» A Dereg Postscript
» Dereg in Bournemouth

I would add, though, a conversation I had in Deregulation Week all those years ago with a highways engineer. His view was quite clear. Now that operators could do their own thing and would soon be privatised, now that the idea of over-arching council network financial support had gone, why should highways departments give any form of assistance or priority to commercial businesses.

It’s not a view to which many highways authorities now subscribe. Someone, for example, in their 50s in 1986 would now have long retired (and I wonder what happened to this person). There’s newer blood in council highways departments who’ve grown up with the concept of deregulation and are comfortable with it.

Later that same week, on approaching by car (an Austin Rover, IIRC) a certain large roundabout near a certain bus station, a Leyland National hit the same engineer up the rear. The engineer was unharmed and the National driver unrepentant. Perhaps here was some justice! I’d like to think the National driver knew who he walloped and why. They said that the Leyland National was one of the tools of deregulation...

(Apologies for the uncharacteristic lack of postings. This is owing to circumstances. Thanks to all who’ve emailed me and I will reply individually to you now, soon. B)

Old v New

Dorset has few independents left these days. A particular and unique set of circumstances has reduced the number of operators on either commercial or contracted work to but a handful. Look wider and there are more. The number’s naturally declining, though, as proprietors sell out or simply give up under the weight of recessionary burdens. Selling out is an option if they’ve nurtured their passenger base into something that makes them highly profitable. Here, Konetbus, Thames Travel and Wardle immediately spring to mind.

Not all small operators are in this league. Comments yesterday on the post entitled “A Result all Round” would indicate that there are still two types of small operator: the good and the less so. Actually, the same is applicable to larger ones!

I was struck by a comment yesterday from an anonymous contributor who said,

“Criticise the indies with their old clapped out buses as much as you wish, but hold on to the truth that without them some people would find it nigh impossible to travel, being carless or too old to drive. A clapped out tank is better than nothing, and often the drivers have a better personal rapport with their passengers than the big boys”

The second type of independents include those whom I’ve witnessed not just with felt-pen-on-paper destinations displays but without such basics as O licence discs on vehicles in service. Yes, it’s true.

Leaving aside this rather flagrant breach of operating etiquette (a legal requirement), smaller operators with older vehicles have, if for no other reason, a role to play in offering services at fares often lower than so-called incumbent operators manage. Is it for us to dictate whether passengers should have a gold standard service, and to pay for it? Is it for us to demand a new vehicle in pristine condition in a clean and tidy fashion, when this comes at a cost, to the public and to tendering authorities? Without these smaller independent, might the economics of local bus service operation result in less competition and higher costs?

Or is low cost competition against the public interest as it drives down standards & costs below those that are sustainable? And what, if anything, is the prognosis for Dorset in five to seven years from now? Are we naturally moving towards a new era that will see the smaller operator squeezed?

A Result all Round

It was no surprise to see Konectbus had scored a passenger satisfaction rating of 97 per cent in the recent Passenger Focus audit of Go Ahead bus operators. 97 per cent. It couldn’t do much better. A small operation such as this will inevitably rank higher, no matter the group owner. There will (or should) be a loyal local following. Small operators are made for this.

It was no surprise to see that the lowest score didn’t get below 90 per cent and that the average was 91 per cent. An excellent result all round, especially when you consider this against other, more general, area-specific Passenger Focus findings. And the fact that much in bus operation still remains outside an operator’s control.

It wasn’t even surprising to note that Bluestar scored four percentage points higher than stablemate Wilts & Dorset when, these days, the former is but an outstation of the latter. Perhaps people in Dorset were comparing W&D with strong local competition from Yellow Buses, denting the W&D result a little; whereas weaker opposition from First in Southampton may have reflected well on Bluestar.

What *was* surprising was to find that Brighton & Hove was among the joint lowest scorers. When I say “lowest”, 90 per cent isn’t actually undignified at all but is there a reason why B&H wasn’t top? Perhaps people in Brighton don’t always recognise a good thing when they see one. Or perhaps the better the service the higher the expectations.

Bluestar	94%
Brighton & Hove	90%
Go North East	92%
Konectbus	97%
Metrobus	93%
Oxford Bus Company	91%
Plymouth Citybus	90%
Southern Vectis	91%
Wiltshire & Dorset	90%

In view of the debate on here about the strengthens of Go Ahead versus Stagecoach, it might be interesting were Passenger Focus to do a similar exercise for Stagecoach.

Question: how reliable are these surveys, anyway?

Bus Enquiry Office

If you want to make an enquiry with someone face to face, these days, how do you go about it? Whatever happened to the universal bus station enquiry office?

Newbury bus station office closed in 2009
Pick up a 1970s timetable, or earlier, and listed within will be a number of bus stations, garages or agents where you could ask questions about bus services (and get sensible, accurate answers). The advent of technology plus the need for staff economies means that this option is increasingly unavailable, as people are shepherded towards the internet or Traveline. Operators feel that providing information is a luxury they can no longer afford, especially since you no longer need a member of staff to sell the season tickets now available on-bus.

But sometimes, passengers need the reassurance of a real person, not least when arriving in an area strange to them. Where should they head for bus times? They might chose the bus station as the obvious place but like as not they’d be disappointed. Even if still staffed, there’s the possibility that information would be available for one operator only. I don’t have much need to call in at Poole bus station office but when a neighbour did (on my behalf), there was neither information on nor a willingness to discuss Yellow Buses’ services. You and I can understand the reasons for this in a commercial world but the public won’t.

Yeovil office closed more recently and instead has been replaced by piles of boxes of First timetables, but none for Somerset council or the other town operators
The reverse situation’s true in Bournemouth with its Yellow Buses’ office, where the Wilts & Dorset shop’s long closed.

What are your other options? The tourist information centre’s one (if there is one). Or the library. Both may not have opening hours that suit. Both won’t have the intimate knowledge about bus networks to answer complicated questions. Both probably won’t know what to do should timetables run out (especially if these are leaflets).

Southern Vectis has taken the view that, upon closure of the Isle of Wight’s tourist centres, it should step in. Part of the reasoning is that about 40 per cent of TIC enquiries were about bus services. Perhaps it was 40 per cent because there was nowhere else to go! Whether that’s true or not, providing this information shows a commercial intuitiveness can help drive passengers on to its services. SVOC also goes to the lengths of providing unbranded mobile information points at various key settlements.

Rather than see staffed information points as a burden, might they actually be a bonus?

The New Headmaster

Why would someone like Giles Fearnley want to take on a job heading up First UK Bus? The challenge, perhaps. Actually, it’s more than that. Had he not, Fearnley would’ve regretted it. Opportunities like this don’t surface every day.

It's now been eight months since his appointment. What progress, then, at First Bus? Like it or not, agree with it or not, Fearnley’s TV advertisement is at the very start of his trying to reposition First. It’ll be a hard slog. The advert itself certainly has its critics. May be it came out just that little bit too soon, for detractors compare the ad with reality and draw the inevitable conclusions.

The challenge certainly won’t be an overnight job. First, nevertheless, is encouraging its directors and managers to be a little more honest about the past, in the hope stakeholders will look forward to the future with more confidence. This starts with Fearnley himself and his implicitness about First’s history.

Hints emerging from First Bus are beginning to shed light on the developing process. One is about building a renewed brand. That’s already started, with the re-emergence of First Bus as an entity, an entity otherwise lost upon First gaining rail franchises from the mid-1990s. There are reportedly three buses secreted somewhere in West Yorkshire in three different potential new liveries that will form the core of this new identity. The management team is currently considering the strengths & weaknesses of each.

All three are reported as corporate in nature, bearing the name “First”. Apart from that, we have little detail. Except that it’s understood there’s room for localism to feature strongly alongside the corporate and we understand that local straplines will be given some prominence. It’s about getting the balance right.

So, this is the clearest indication yet of the direction of travel at First—it would seem that First will be refocusing more along Stagecoach than Go Ahead lines as the preferred delivery model. This, perhaps, is not surprising and even potentially a little disappointing. Yet, Fearnley is known to be impressed by the Stagecoach model. He will know that it delivers (nearly) every time.

Fearnley is also believed to be taking an holistic approach to services by considering putting mileage back as a means of developing rather than cutting networks. This also supports the sort of Stagecoach-preferred longer-term view. It’s widely believed that he will be giving back much more autonomy at the local level, the best place to understand individual and distinct markets. But, follow that argument through, and you actually find yourself adopting a Go Ahead stance.

To take an educational analogy, there’s likely to be no more strict headmasterly control, something long gone in the teaching sector. Rather, expect a less macho, more consensual approach.

Indications are that this genuinely looks a good time for First and I am sure its directors and managers view the future much more positively. Developing the education analogy, it’s a fact that a poor head will preside over an under-performing school. A cultural change at the top will result in the school turning around, for staff and for pupils. Those who work at First in recent years have often felt disappointed. They can now look forward more confidently and take great comfort in Fearnley’s headship. As can the pupils or, rather, customers.

Next Stop

I was on a Southern Vectis bus the other day and the driver made an announcement over the PA (or so it seemed) to state that we’d arrived at a particular stop—can’t remember which one or even which route. A bus with a PA system? It must’ve been. And one that was actually used? I was towards the rear upstairs and I heard quite plainly such a proclamation, so I couldn’t’ve been mistaken. Could I?

I suspect this was the result of some passenger requesting an alert. If the bus was equipped with a PA, though, why not mention *every* stop?

Most drivers will respond to an infrequent request from a passenger who needs to know exactly when they need to get off. I wonder why passengers make so few of them. Does it mean that most people, most of the time, know where they are going? Surely, this cannot be the case. Take tourist areas such as the Isle of Wight: a large percentage of summer customers are visitors and, unless they come every year, they won’t know their Sandown from their Shanklin.

Occasionally, drivers will forget to inform the passenger. Linked to RTPI is an audio & visual display system within buses that announces the next stop. Now, that’s a good idea. Since, from the paragraph above, it seems most people know where they are, the audio side of things must be an utter pain. It might nevertheless come into its own during the hours of darkness when light inside the bus means peering out becomes difficult.

But such systems are at the mercy of the technology. How often have you travelled on a bus with an internal dot matrix screen to find it simply shows the name of the operator or the time of day & date rather than the next stop? Perhaps this is the result of a fault, poor reception or a “foreign” bus being used.

In the long gone days of the conductor, it was common to hear the main stops being called out, just ahead of arriving. Not every stop, perhaps, but certainly the major ones. We lost this particular useful practice with one-man operation. It seemed too hard a task to insist upon a one-man driver doing this. From his position in the cab 36 feet ahead of the rearmost passenger in a bus with a rear engine, it was unlikely he’d be heard, in any case (particularly if the vehicle was a Bristol RE!). The same principle applied to above stairs on double decks.

But with a PA, this particular practice seems conceivable, again. There are issues in using a PA while travelling but there’s no reason why a major stop cannot be announced as the bus is stationary. After all, there are usually signs advising passengers to wait till the bus stops before leaving their seats in any case.

SVOC was the joint winner of the Chris Moyes public transport operator of the year award in the national transport awards by Transport Times. This was for its partnership with the Isle of Wight council in combating funding cuts

Nowhere seems immune from cuts and some of the deepest are about to take place, today on the Hampshire Bus Blog

Problems in Real Time

Real time passenger information’s been with us for about a decade now, though it’s within the last six years that it’s taken off. Its deployment is nevertheless often patchy and confined to town centre or main locations. Suburbs rarely get a look in. Delivery is through a mixture of real time and scheduled departure times. And, it has to be said, the whole set up’s often somewhat fragile.

Over the summer, Arriva Malta turned off its telematics as it was only adding confusion to the already chaotic situation there. This was through a combination of operational and system problems that proved too much.

An interesting tie-up between ERG electronic ticket machines and ACIS RTPI under Vix
A little nearer home, look no further than in parts of Derbyshire where the council some years ago purchased a system that still may never be used, because the main operator, Trent Barton feels that it’s unreliable.

This was for introduction on Trans Peak services. Yet, Trent Barton has experienced some issues in other areas that are already and currently subject to RTPI.

Blaming one side or the other probably isn’t helpful because the technology, then and probably now, isn’t as robust as anyone would like and there are many linkages in the system that could potentially be broken. There’s the software, on-bus kit and remote base stations. Then there’s the stop side infrastructure that is subject to all weathers and, as such, has a limited lifespan in any case. Plus, it’s conceivable that some suppliers could be making impossible promises. Conclusion: an unreliable system is worse than none at all. It’s a matter of confidence, something that Trent Barton seems not to have.

It’s one thing getting RTPI to work well in a dense urban area or a town centre location. Yet, I’ve noticed problems, inconsistencies and glitches even in Westminster, an area of London that couldn’t be more central, urban and more visible to the world.

But what of suburban, inter-urban or more rural areas, such as Trans Peak? This is the challenge because frequencies are lower and the geography sometimes compromising. On the one hand, arguably, if you have 24 direct buses an hour between Poole & Bournemouth (as will be the case later this month, with Yellow Buses’ changes), a real time display at Gervis Place or en route at Westbourne is somewhat superfluous. Translate that to a rural area where frequencies are considerably lower and RTPI is of real benefit. But rolling out stopside delivery becomes expensive. Technical issues are magnified, assuming that there are no black spots or shadows.

It would be nice to think that there were immediate solutions to these problems. In spite of some optimism, nothing totally promising seemed to present itself at Bus & Coach Live.

Could the solution to these problems be the smartphone? There are an increasing number of apps available that can pinpoint exactly the user’s location and can therefore direct the customer to a nearby bus stop. Yellow Buses’ new app does just that. It then predicts the next five buses due at that stop (there’s also a journey planning function). That app doesn’t deliver real time but it’s already doing more than RTPI because it

• Has universal coverage
• Gives more information in one bite than a RTPI display
• Is trusted, simply because it’s an app, and
• Provides the same information as the minimum RTPI default position (scheduled time).

My only issue with it is that Yellow Buses/ app is available under the IOS and Android mobile operating systems. When will one be available for my Blackberry?

London goes one better. Its revised Countdown system, currently under test, will deliver real time information to a mobile phone via text or the mobile internet (not an app). The mobile internet is slower but it can deliver RTPI without the stopside display. Countdown may be improving RTPI at 2,500 key London bus stops but the mobile internet releases this to all the others.

This is dependent upon your having a smartphone. Half of all mobile phone users already have one. The other half, who cannot get apps, will be able to get text messaging as a minimum and, I bet, mobile internet, too.

But RTPI on the mobile internet still relies on operator engagement, software systems and radio links. But they do away with expensive stopside electronics that outdoors have a limited lifespan. We may still be some way off RTPI being perfect and it may be that using the mobile internet to receive Twitter and Facebook feeds—with the ability to update in real time—on the one hand and apps on the other may be a reasonable intermediate approach. Until more emerging technologies come along.

More from the Show

Here’s a brief selection of other bits and pieces from the 2011 Coach & Bus Live trade show, held last week at the NEC, Birmingham.

The Scottish Citylink Gold tri-axle 15m Volvo/Plaxton Elite was nothing other than stunning, inside and out. At the rear, it featured everything including the kitchen sink and this well designed lavatory, with angled pedestal, to give more space.

On the Volvo stand was a rare sight: a Wrightbus-body, with Wright itself showing only two Streelites. Behind the white boarding at the vehicle’s rear was, well, nothing. It nicely hid the fact that Hall 17 was only two thirds occupied. A sign of the times, no doubt.

Over the last couple of years, there’s been a marked increase in the number of visitors who are in wheelchairs, enjoying the accessibility of the show and the buses themselves. It’s rarer to see a child’s buggy, though. Perhaps the heir to the family operation? Or just someone starting a career early.

Norman Baker, a government minister, opened the show and he reflected on the government’s success of the green bus fund. Inside or out, BAe, Volvo and ADL had hybrid technology on show.

The AA had a collection of vintage vans and motorcycles on show. A bit of a space filler, perhaps. The Austin Minor van was the AA’s most admired, so we decided to include this Escort.


The lower deck of ADL’s Enviro 400 was subject to mood lighting which periodically subtly changed. It’s difficult to envisage an every day application for this on a bus.

Bluebird Vehicles was showing a brand new 20 seat fully accessible minibus, available on a Fiat/IVECO chassis. Outside, however, was a Bluebird restored Leyland Tiger of much more pleasing lines.

Photographs by Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent

Competition 2011 style may have its subtle differences to yesteryear but it’s still a fight, today on the Dorset Bus Blog

Still With Us

Every trade mag has its page or its column of whimsies, about those odd things that happen that make us smile. A few weeks ago, one of them reported that the front cover of The P.T.E.G. report on bus subsidies in English city regions (outside London)...

... featured the obligatory London bus—in a document that specifically excludes the capital. The trade mag columnist went on to say that...

...“In the words of one industry blogger [that’ll be us, then], ‘at least it isn’t a Routemaster’”. Yet, what happened the following week? The main image used in the same magazine for a supplier spotlight feature on breakdowns was… a Routemaster! Not only that, it’s the same image of a wrecker pulling a RM from trouble used by the same mag but in 2005 immediately after the RM was withdrawn from front-line London service.

Seems that the Routemaster will never die… or perhaps in these latter cases, it has, if you follow the pun. The journal is in good company. Others do this, too, including the Competition Commission, though they have changed from this...

... more recently to this...

As if that wasn’t enough, recent jolly adverts for Pimm’s featured none other than two RMs. Who’d’ve thought that the industry had moved on at all since the mid-1950s.

On BBC Radio 4 about a fortnight ago, someone asked what most symbolised England. Was it a red telephone box or a red London bus? They concluded it was actually the chancellor’s red box, the very emblem of capitalism itself.

Also New (or New-ish) at the Show

There was the love-it-or-hate-it Tempo SR, of course. But, this year, little else new at Coach & Bus Live.

New to the UK were coach bodies by Tata Hispano. As the name suggests, this is a Spanish builder. It was taken over by Tata in 2005, three years before Tata acquired Jaguar Cars from the Ford Motor Company.

Two Hispanos were on display, both in right hand drive specification. One, above, was the heavy-fronted Xerus that had a certain Noge feel to its face (a fellow Spaniard). I have no idea of the cost but it will no doubt undercut the luxurious top flight end of the market, for why else was it here? It was certainly opulent. The BASE concessionaire salesman stated that Hispano was one of the largest bodybuilders in Europe. Will it get a toehold over here?

Alongside was a less lavish Intea. Now, this had far more of a straightforward-looking front to it. Plain, some would say. It came with 70 seats in typical school bus layout though it can, obviously, have fewer. The 70 seat backs were necessarily upright but the seat pitch was good.

Like its Fast Europe competitor, also at the show, it comes with a rear door, in the Intea’s case behind the rear axle. This approach assists in evacuating 70 school children safely to the nearside. Such an exodus has always been a major problem with high capacity single decks. Not that it’s that much quicker on a double deck of similar capacity though at least the service entrance & platform are both wider.

Launched in June was the Streetlite “door forward” variant, aimed squarely at the Versa market. The jury’s still out on the Streetlite both in terms of aesthetics and reliability. It certainly looked better with the overhang than with the wheels forward. In profile, it even looked a bit like the Tempo SR.

Irizar showed England’s first PB integral. Or so they said. I thought this was debuted last year. Alongside was an integral i6 (not to be confused with i4). There’s no doubting that Irizar combine flair with style.


Finally, the refurb market is still strong. There were two examples at the NEC. Here’s an ex-London Central Volvo B7TL/ALX 400 that’s undergone an overhaul. I suspect it had far harder seats than those now within but, given that it’s advertised for student transport, the two-point lap belts and low back seats make this a disappointing conversion. And, it has to be said, the standard of refurbishment was spoilt by some internal grime and staining.


There was also a RHD MAN gas bus but we have no pictures. All images are by Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent.

Yesterday’s post wasn’t well received, if some of the comments reflect the general mood. See my feedback, here.

The CC Decides

Did someone say that our industry was *deregulated*? We may be on the verge of celebrating 25 years of market freedoms but the bus business has more regulation now than it had a quarter of a century ago, not less.

Now, not all of the requirements & regulations imposed upon the bus industry hinder it. Some are either neutral or beneficial. But the rise in red tape is enough to make you feel quite blue, at times. In something of a surprise, however, it’s interesting that the Competition Commission’s newly published proposals do not feature universal re-regulation or franchising.

So, what *has* the Competition Commission provisionally proposed? There are three main areas . It’s something that’s very indigestible at the first read (at nearly 200 pages) and it will take some unravelling. Nevertheless, the Competition Commission proposes:

Reduced Barriers to Entry

• Giving LTAs more powers to introduce and, where necessary, modify multi-operator ticketing. A victory for The P.T.E.G., that one. Favours smaller rather than larger operators.
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• More transparent ways to ensure access to bus stations, especially for new entrants. How many operators still own stations, these days? Other than in Wiltshire & Dorset, of course. Bus stations are better off under LTA control.


• Limiting the practice of over-bussing as a short-term expedient to undermine competitors, by extending registration periods and by modifying the way in which “frequent service” registrations apply. A tricky one. There’s still a balance to be struck between predation and business protection. And, certainly, the proposals come with a loss of flexibility.

Tendered Services

• Local transport authorities should have powers to gather revenue & patronage data on deregistered services to assist their retendering. Is this already happening in any case, especially regarding passenger numbers?
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• Best practice guidance to be drafted and available for LTAs.

Other Measures

• The OFT to accord even greater importance than currently to mergers between competitors including smaller mergers it would otherwise leave alone. Does this mean that smaller operators will find it more difficult to sell, should they wish to?


• Partnerships are the way forward for ridership growth. But there should be care in placing the bar too high such that new entrants cannot come in. This needs considerable thought but, on first, reading is contradictory.


• The CC proposes BSOG reforms to ensure participation. Some might just take the view that BSOG is no longer worth it, especially since it’s due for reduction in six months.

At first sight, it does seem that there’s more in the CC’s recommendations for operators that the PTEs. Or, perhaps put better, there is less than The P.T.E.G. might have wished for. The P.T.E.G. must be a little disappointed today... and operators will also be a little relieved. But there are still 193 pages to read *very* carefully. And this review cost how much?

i Competition Commission provisional decisions on remedies

Star of the Show

It was the only bus to see, not that there was much else to get excited about. And since it was right by the entrance of Coach & Bus Live, you could hardly miss it.

We now know the replacement Tempo is the Tempo SR, the “secret” that Optare exposed at yesterday’s show. And what a difference the restyling makes. It means that the front of the Tempo now looks less like the back end of a bus. Tempo 1 was very upright. Indeed, SR takes the best of the Versa’s styling cues without Versa’s over-exaggeration. Optare designers (with a little help) are back on form with a front that is almost as good looking as Optare’s previous heavyweight single deck stunner, the Delta. Is it me, or is there something of the ECW bodied Bristol RE about this bus? To think that three years ago we endured the Solo+ & Rapta. Imagine the direction that might’ve taken the Tempo.

The Trent Barton hierarchy were on hand for the handover at Coach & Bus Live (with a little help). I can speak with experience in saying that there’s always a sense of pride when you see one of your own fleet at a show. You get a warm feeling as the industry top brass (with a little help) crawl over, climb aboard, and generally scrutinise the latest product.

This is the more interesting given the 2008 published views at Trent Barton about some earlier Tempos. Trent Barton took the unusual step of slating Optare in one of its passenger newsletters. This followed Tempo delays and poor workmanship.

This particular Tempo SR is destined for Trent Barton’s Rainbow routes. They’ll evidently be rebranded (with a little help) in the i series, e.g. as i4. Indeed, the Nottingham suburban services will in time drop the Rainbow sub-branding altogether and we will shortly see the end of the Rainbow. But it’s been a pot of gold for Rainbow. It may have had its day but Rainbows 1-5 (as was) first brought a privatised and deregulated Trent Barton to everyone’s attention. Back in the early 1990s, the “Rainbow effect” was legendary and it filled many a conference slot. Whether you feel that routes should be individually branded or not, you can’t argue against the Rainbow effect. It’s been an incredible success for Trent Barton. But the rainbow lives on in a series of coloured dots in the Trent Barton name and behind the front axle.

The i base coat is a metallic shade of kingfisher & is not unlike Arriva’s. It suits the vehicle’s design and it complements the areas of black. We’re actually not sure about the Trent Barton logo.

Likewise, within, we’re not sure about the seats. The alternate blue & green leather headrests are good but the chosen moquette on the cantilever squabs & backs is somewhat lustreless. It makes a change not to see leather, though.

Reactions to Tempo SR were nonetheless favourable. Mind you, would you say otherwise in front of Ray Stenning, who was there? Now all Optare needs are some Tempo orders for their new high production facility…

Report and pictures with thanks to Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent, with additional information by Busing

Going for Gold?

What’s the difference between Stagecoach Gold and First Gold Service?

Last week, First Midlands (or whatever they’re called at present) launched its Gold Service on Potteries’ routes 25 (Hanley - Stoke - Newcastle-under-Lyme - Keele) and 26/26A (Handley - Longton - Stoke - Newcastle).

Whereas Stagecoach introduced new vehicles in a distinguished, stately livery with leather seating & wi-fi, First has retained its existing stock & livery. Though, somewhat unusually, First has painted one vehicle per route in the immediate pre-Barbie PMT livery of yellow and red, a particularly bright privatisation style. Like Stagecoach, First has added higher customer standards and a charter.

Passengers who care to read First’s customer charter for the 25 & 26/26A this will conclude that First and, indeed, all operators should be offering such a commitment as a matter of course. Why, for example, should a couple of routes be singled out for special treatment when the charter seems to state nothing less than a passenger feels he deserves across the entire network?

Such a reaction, though understandable, would be to denigrate First. Stagecoach’s charter, for example, is very similar. Generally, the industry has missed a trick regarding published standards. Had it done this widely 15 plus years ago (when the railways did it), charters would be seen as an acceptable part of good practice. Now, they just appear to lag behind current standards and thinking.

So, promises such as “we will eliminate early running” and doing “everything in our control to operate to our advertised times” could be misconstrued as meaning First doesn’t really care about every other Potteries route. That notion is clearly nonsense.

What we like about the charter is that First will sweep out the bus and clear litter, at “key locations”. It’s an innovation, again, that the railway adopted years ago. In First’s case, it would be good if this happened when people were still on board—so they could witness the effort. But such cleaning between 1000 and 1300 misses the morning peak and after schools finish in the late afternoon, two periods when buses are prone to litter. Many, though, will welcome the spraying of vehicles with a fragrant deodoriser. This is going to be more popular in the future and will become automatic.

Then there’s the dedicated team of drivers for the 25 & 26/26A. This is a positive step for the routes concerned… but dedicated rosters actually can mean that those below average find themselves concentrated on other services. This might have a disproportionate effect on the remainder of the network. It’s a difficult one and any operator with such a dedicated roster must weigh up the pros and cons.

Finally, what happens when things (within an operator’s control) go wrong? In specific circumstances, Stagecoach puts its money firmly where its mouth is by offering journey vouchers. First will investigate “with a view to taking whatever action is required to put things right”. That will certainly stop any malicious complaints. It may even be enough to satisfy many passengers but we suspect that customers who have the benefit of a charter also want a method of recompense.

i Gold Service Charter

The Showdown

You can tell when it’s show time. The trade mags suddenly put on weight and out of the plastic wrappers tumble leaflets & brochures. Let’s hope tomorrow and Thursday’s Bus & Coach Live will be equally as bountiful.

But we doubt it. In fact, it looks like it will be the least appealing trade show in recent years. This reflects the doldrums in which the manufacturing sector finds itself. So, in a repeat of the 2005 show, there’ll be few exhibits that truly excite. And, of course, Live is never as grand an affair as the biennial Euro Bus Expo.

Alexander Dennis including Plaxton promise evolution, not revolution. There’ll be a blinged up Enviro 200 with some minor exterior mods. And the E400 will show that it isn’t only Optare that can offer flexibility and versatility in interior design. We’ve come a long way since the one-size-fits-all Leyland Nationals of the 1970s.

There’ll be an opportunity to see the Wrightbus Streetlite integral in so-called ‘door-forward’ layout, launched in June. Other than Optare, below, you’ll need to move off-shore to spot any new talent. And even then, things will be thin on the ground. There’ll be a greatly improved Temsa Safari HD and the launch of the Tata Hispano (both coaches); plus a RHD UK specified MAN A22 gas propelled bus that might prove interesting.

So, that leaves Optare with the Solo SR and Versa on display. Plus a mystery vehicle. Here, then, the centre stage is redolent of Optare launches of the past: full of surprises—and these have sometimes been quite nasty ones. Optare will reveal a restyled version of an existing product but it’s being very coy in letting us know exactly what it is.

What might it be? The Optare non-SR Solo might be a product that could be facelifted but the thing about Solo is that, in spite of its age, a new design will immediately devalue all the ones that are currently in a fleet. But it’s under renewed competition, not just from the established E200 but the Streetlite. The SR isn’t to everyon’e liking, particularly as this comes at about a £6,000 premium.

Then there’s the Olympus double deck. Over the years, I’ve warmed to this East Lancs design but in truth it’s not been particularly popular. Optare keeps promising a brand new product or at least an integral Olympus and this year, perhaps it might just deliver it. But the double deck market at Optare is nowhere near firm enough.

My money’s on the Tempo. Lose talk at Optare would indicate that this is due for a facelift. It’s been around since 2005 and this powerful machine does look a little boxy. We shall see, of course, in 24 hours’ time.

The First Genuine Partnership?

In spite of it being on their doorstep, I wonder how any times people in Merseyside visit the Isle of Mann. Ditto Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

With last week’s unseasonably warm weather, Friday seemed an opportune moment to bunk off to see what’s changed beyond the Solent. One thing I immediately noticed was the absence of any half-cabs for, the last time I was on the Isle of Wight, Southern Vectis still employed conductors and Lodekkas on some of its mainline trunk services.

Think of successful English networks and Brighton & Oxford immediately spring to mind. At least these will be the ones most often quoted. In both, there is a strong relationship, with varying degrees of formality, between operators & their local transport authorities. There seems every reason to extend this list to include the Isle of Wight. Indeed, could the IOW be a significant step forward in developing such partnerships? A blue print for a *genuine* partnership?

In recent years and particularly the last 12 months, SVOC has nurtured its relationship with its LTA. In part, this is through necessity but it’s also good for business. The vagaries of free travel reimbursements in an archetypal tourist honeypot caused a vulnerability. SVOC had previously withdrawn mileage as a result. It was causing some bad blood between the two parties and was subject to SVOC appeals.

But by wrapping up all contractual agreements in a single accord, the:

• Appeals are now withdrawn


• Bus network is stabilised (in the short term, at least)


• LTA has saved money


• Operator has increased some services


• Operator is now able to deliver all local and school bus services formerly undertaken by the Council’s Wightbus at favourable rates for the Council.

But there are two other interesting and far-sighted innovations.

1. SVOC is now the leading provider of tourist information on the island. This follows an incredible move that saw the Isle of Wight council withdraw its tourist information centre function. Since nearly half of all TIC enquires were transport-related, it seemed natural to SVOC to convert Newport bus station and re-open Ryde bus station enquiry offices as a multi-functional and not-SVOC-branded visitor information points. There are also between the peaks mobile VIPs at other locations such as Shanklin & Sandown, using converted minibuses. There’re plans to expand these as they are clearly driving passengers onto the SVOC network and open tops.


2. Then there is the “big society” partnership buses that see off-peak school minibuses now owned by SVOC driven by volunteers on “proper” bus services, with some parish or town council support. Such “community” services avoid the capital investment associated with voluntary groups buying, keeping & operating their own vehicles.

Such a lateral approach appears to offer added value to otherwise idle school minibuses but at marginal cost. Whereas some of the partnership elements work best because the island is a closed community, the idea of value added community buses is one that could easily catch on elsewhere. SVOC has obviously overcome the dilemma of volunteers replacing paid employees in a way that adds to services available to the public, ensuring otherwise cut services continue. But it does rely on a ready pool of volunteers. And we all know that volunteers can be fickle. If they leave, they take their training with them.

I recall less happy times on the island. So discontented with SVOC was the council that during the early years of deregulation it implored mainland operators to intervene and compete against Southern Vectis. Interesting though this might’ve been, the costs associated with establishing a fully functioning yet disconnected outpost against an incumbent would’ve been commercially suicidal. The low point in the relationship at that time came when pre-Go Ahead SVOC actually withdraw part of a route that served the then council leader’s home. How things change.