Stagecoach North West Discussion

[cainebj]

47059 on 50.
47023 on 51.
both of these went onto evening 30's.
33169, 34079 and 47024 on Harrington & Seaton.
33169 was refusing to start up in the bus station, but it eventually started.
20737 was flying around.
14255 on short 300.
14233 on SL Ltd.
20952 on 30.
20435 on 31, switching onto 30 due to a 30 and 31 going to Maryport at same time.
35249 was on 31, and done a run on Moorclose Circular 50.
20761 on X5.

20435 STILL has Carlisle Megarider advert on the side!!!

 

[K768 DAO]

.........

 

[cainebj]

its pretty annoying! well, i find it annoying anyways haha.

just saw this on ebay. ended its Stagecoach life with Carlisle. here is a pic of it with Carlisle (not my pic).

 

[K768 DAO]

......

 

[andy 37]

At carlisle Willowholme Garage today was Freshly repainted 20219 ans 16874

In the Body shop was 47006 and 18151

In the paint shop was 16657, 20924 and 47005

Andy

 

[cainebj]

20923 on short 300.
16447 is on long 300.
33167, 34079 and 47617 on Harrington & Seaton. 33167 sounds totally fooked!
34616 on 50.
20764 on 51.
so, nice bit of variety on town services, with everything being different!!!
20759 came down not in service.
20134 on 31.

 

[Dave The Bus]

Was handed a post it note today by a highly credible source within the company (i'll call them that as i don't know what else to call them!)

Anyway, the contents of this note follow, make of it what you will, i'll leave it to you..

'18138-18144 Barrow 18145-18159 Preston'

i did see 18148 on the 68 today, complete with a lump of mud and grass embedded in the off side front corner.. i dont know...

 

[driver9000]

All very much business as usual in Preston today, only one bus noted with an incomplete Stagecoach fleetname but I think this is just a coincidence. Whoever does end up buying Preston Bus will most likely be left alone to get on with things rather than Stagecoach launching an all out assault out of spite so soon after getting rapped over the knuckles by the Traffic Commisioner and being forced into the 'code of conduct' that both sides entered into. Its feasible that whoever does take PB on could ask for the code to be reintroduced to buffer against unwanted attention while it finds its feet. Chances are it will be taken on by one of the 'group' companies that is a smaller player (such as Go-Ahead as an example) so would have financial backup to counter if they wanted.

20735 heading up Greaves Road 'dead' this afternoon around 13:30.

 

[Dave The Bus]

Chances are it will be taken on by one of the 'group' companies that is a smaller player (such as Go-Ahead as an example) so would have financial backup to counter if they wanted.

That name keeps cropping up from all sorts of angles, apparently they allegedly dropped out of buying Preston Bus because of the £2.2m worth of debts they had, and had allegedly given Stagecoach a way out of Preston by offering to buy them at one point as well..

As for the pension, rumour has it that as an 'if all else fails' option, the whole thing was going to be covered by Preston council, presumabley by the council tax payers then?!

 

[driver9000]

That name keeps cropping up from all sorts of angles, apparently they allegedly dropped out of buying Preston Bus because of the £2.2m worth of debts they had, and had allegedly given Stagecoach a way out of Preston by offering to buy them at one point as well..

[\QUOTE]

Go-Ahead are a persistant rumour that have cropped up from time to time as potential buyers for years, I just used the name as an example as they were the first that came to mind. I dont actually think there are many companies outside the 'big 3' (Stagecoach, First, Arriva) that are totally debt free but would probably be able to broker a bargain price now to play on the CCs decision that Stagecoach needs to sell the company.

I happily await the reappearance of Lynxes and Metroriders in Preston.

 

[K768 DAO]

...........

 

[pickles]

~~~~~

 

[driver9000]

My money is on Transdev too, they suprised a few with their previous purchases in the north. To my mind they are also the most logical as it joins on to Blackburn and a service along the A59 closes the gap.

 

[K768 DAO]

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[mbonwick]

Here's how I see things:
First - not interested at all, no deopts in NW.
Arriva - only interested if they can have the rural routes out of Preson, eg. X2 as well. That's not going to happen, so they're out.
Transdev - stated they're not interested, but would make a useful chain of depots for them, so still a player.
Go-Ahead - Still stinging after they messed up in NE, and put off by the pensions deficit. Probably most likely buyer, if the Pensions can be sorted.

 

[Dallamlad]

All sounds about right! I had a lecture today on Competition in the market place and what rules and legislation companies have to follow. The lecturer used the Preston Bus situation as a prime example of the state doing what they think is best for the consumer...we shall see!

Tridents for Barrow sound good!

Also noticed today that the rear end of 22822 has been repainted.

20735/95 on shuttles today. Didn't see 20894 at all.
20133 on 2.

 

[jonesy3001]

All sounds about right! I had a lecture today on Competition in the market place and what rules and legislation companies had to follow. The lecturer used the Preston Bus situation as a prime example of the state doping what they think is best for the consumer...we shall see!

Tridents for Barrow sound good!

Also noticed today that the rear end of 22822 has been repainted.

20735/95 on shuttles today. Didn't see 20894 at all.
20133 on 2.

20894 might have been on carnforth`s it was in depot this morning.

 

[mbonwick]

Just thinking as you do.

Does anyone know the reason 16340 seems to always be in reserve? Is it broken in some way, just generally useless or just unwanted?

 

[Dave The Bus]

Presumably if Dave the Bus's source is correct, the allocation of 6 Tridents to Barrow must mean the end for the 3 surviving F reg Olympians. Would the others 3 be B10s?

My source will be looking at this, and he wont be happy about the 'if' !!

So when the 7 (Seven!) tridents go to Barrow, he'll be looking for an apology..

 

[cainebj]

its a bit of a mystery what will go.
Barrow have 7 Leylands left. 4 of them are "high capacity" (including 3 F reg's), 3 of them are "low capacity".
all of the Tridents are "low capacity".
16340 was sent to Barrow to replace 14210, but 14210 went back into service.
the Volvo Olympians went to Barrow to run the 6 and its variants until more suitable vehicles were found. more suitable vehicles have been found in the shape of the Tridents.
replacing the last few F reg's will result in Barrow only having 1 "high capacity" Leyland and 1 "high capacity" Volvo. all other deckers being "low capacity" which might not be enough to cover school work etc.

the Tridents seat 75, the same as the short wheelbase Volvo Olys. the F reg Leylands seat 87, and the H reg seats 85. 14210 seats 70 and 14266/7 seat 74.

 

[darrenw29]

I dont think Stagecoach will give up so easily on Preston, An appeal will be a long drawn out job!!!!

 

[themaster985]

It will be their fourth Lancashire depot if they do take over, with one in Burnley and two in Blackburn, it seems very logical, I can't see Go Ahead taking over as they don't have any other depot's in Lancashire, nor do First Bus.

The fact that they have no other depots in the area is not really an issue. They have just been named as the preferred bidder for Plymouth Citybus and their nearest depot is Poole.

I actually think it would be good for Preston if Go Ahead acquired the business as they are pretty good at urban services and Preston Bus would be left to local managers to get on with the job. The livery might also be maintained.

Don't fancy Transdev at all - they are making a complete hash of East Lancashire at the moment.

 

[Gez.SCNW]

20735/95 on shuttles today. Didn't see 20894 at all.
20133 on 2.[/QUOTE]

20894 on DLP04

2 Heysham to University
dead to LBS
1052 Dead to Morecambe Bus Station
1010 41 to Preston
1130 41 to Morecambe
1410 41 to Preston
1530 41 to Morecambe
Dead to Lancaster
1726 6A to Morecambe
1808 Dead to Depot

 

[K768 DAO]

..........

 

[pickles]

~~~~~

 

[robertclark125]

Go Ahead is an interesting one, but there is a slgiht snag. After failing to do well in the west midlands first time, Go Ahead may not be keen on purchasing a small player, like Preston, when it could make a return to the West Midlands, by buying a the more dominant player in the market. That'll use up some funds. Of course, there is another side to the National Express west midlands story. I'll discuss that in another thread though.

As for Transdev, it all depends on the outcome of the plans to merge with Veolia.

 

[KendalKing]

With the 7 tridents being due at Barrow, hopefully this will mean that the X35 will be 100% low floor as per the contract.

I have been asked, if Princess coaches had tendered for X35. I can now say, with Cumbria CC willing only supply three buses, and the service requiring four, plus a spare bus to cover for maintance, etc. This would mean that Princess, would had to require two additional low floor double decks from somewhere. The cost of which was added to the final tender price.

 

[Dallamlad]

Just spotted this on a fotopic...

"I have been informed that Olympian 14204 is leaving Morecambe depot, and that r reg Volvo 16662 is to be re-painted in Morecambe and Heysham livery, and sister 16666 is to be re-painted into stripes."

Is anyone else confused by this? What does he mean when he mentions 16666? Its only just been repainted...

 

[KendalKing]

This is alot to do with the concessions row between themselves and the local authorities.

Just been reading an article in this weeks Route One magazine, about concessionary reimburstments. 61 local authories were overpaid, whilst 96 authories were un-paid. The isle of Scilly, which have no scheduled bus services, received £500,000.

The full article can be read online at www.route-one.net pages 8 & 9.

 

[mbonwick]

Just spotted this on a fotopic...

"I have been informed that Olympian 14204 is leaving Morecambe depot, and that r reg Volvo 16662 is to be re-painted in Morecambe and Heysham livery, and sister 16666 is to be re-painted into stripes."

Is anyone else confused by this? What does he mean when he mentions 16666? Its only just been repainted...

One assumes that both J regs are off then, 204 would logically be kept longer because of it's livery.

I can only assume that 16662 with go in M&H colours, with 16666 gaining old stripes (as per 10056 when that was around) - possibly to commemorate 30 years or something of Stagecoach?