Rate your local bus service/company!

[py_megapixel]

Honestly I couldn't care less about the paint rate, as long as the buses are kept clean inside and out I don't really care what livery they're wearing...

 

[Goldfish62]

Honestly I couldn't care less about the paint rate, as long as the buses are kept clean inside and out I don't really care what livery they're wearing...

There is a direct correlation between how often a bus is repainted and its external presentation! Plus worn paintwork is often a dirt trap.

 

[MotCO]

There is a direct correlation between how often a bus is repainted and its external presentation! Plus worn paintwork is often a dirt trap.

Is there a correlation between smartly presented buses and the morale (and friendliness) of the staff?

 

[py_megapixel]

Is there a correlation between smartly presented buses and the morale (and friendliness) of the staff?

Not around here there isn't. Some of the nicest staff I've had have been on the grubby little Solos and E200s that run around here, on either Arriva or the independents, and so have some of the worst.

The shiny new deckers that Stagecoach use tend to have OK staff... polite enough, but they don't go out of their way. Has more of a generic, professional feel about it.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Is there a correlation between smartly presented buses and the morale (and friendliness) of the staff?

Personally, I wouldn't say so. There's a nice, local independent operator where I am in which the fleet is mainly decrepit, older Enviro 200s that are falling apart, and the drivers have always been fantastic, helpful and usually friendly.

And then you have Arriva, which have some sparkly new buses, yet unfortunately most of the drivers are pretty nasty and appear to have no respect for their passengers - the amount of times I've been humiliated for asking a few questions about tickets or the timetable...

 

[richw]

Is there a correlation between smartly presented buses and the morale (and friendliness) of the staff?

not completely. But from what I’ve seen drivers Seem to take greater care of a nicely painted bus versus a scruffy one. This means a better journey for passengers.
I like to think I’m always happy and friendly whether I’m driving a freshly painted or an unpainted bus.

 

[cnjb8]

Talking of which First Manchester managed to eliminate barbie livery in about 4-5 years. Not that I'm saying First Manchester is in any way a good operator of course!

Indeed - First Essex assiduously removed Barbie but are, by reputation, not great so not a cast iron guarantee

Consider how many new buses they got in that time

Meanwhile there's still a Barbie Solo running round with paint peeling off it.

Indeed. There is one elderly Solo (53801).

Suggest that it’s future might have been linked to the tenders and resultant fall out. Wouldn’t expect it to last much longer and remember that repainted Solos (53406/53803) were disposed of.

Pending Mousehole repaint

 

[KendalKing]

Here is my, all heartily honest opinion of my local bus route, operated by Stagecoach.

Reliability - 7/10
Due to buses, regularly failing to operate. Also, due to dangerous overloading at school times.

Frequency - 3/10
Due to over 75% of the journeys, being withdrawn over the past three years.

Value for money – 1/10
As the train fares, are less than half of that of the Bus Fares, even taxis are cheaper, if two or more people are travelling together.

 

[Eyersey468]

Nothing to shout about. It's really not that great for an operator that decides to have so many different brands. I love the brands, but they're sometimes not backed up with the physical image.

We repaint a bus a week which equates to roughly a 4 year cycle on painting, though some of the 09 Geminis didn't get their first repaint until they were nearly 10 years old, though all the buses from Finglands in 2014 hadn't helped as they took up most of the paint slots that year

 

[Auld reekie]

Lothian Buses in theory are good but in practice can be poor.
Their App is rubbish.
6/10.

 

[LancasterRed]

I'm sure there's been a thread like this before. Alas, viewpoints change, so it is still of use to discuss this. I will list every Preston and Lancaster operator.

PRESTON

Blackpool Transport - 9.5/10
There's very little wrong with Blackpool Transport - marketing could be better in places, wifi on board inconsistent, but it's minor issues that BPT have the luxury of having compared to other companies in the area.

Coastal Coaches of Warton - 6/10
Rightly removed from their Preston tender services and archaic with onboard policies. Semi-reliable but needs an unaffordable modernisation unfortunately - could end up going under as a bus operator

Holmeswood - 8/10
New to operating services but operate a quality coach service and are doing a solid job on the whole. Any issues can easily be traced back to Lancashire County Council in any case.

Preston Bus - 2/10
Poor quality buses, nonsensical routing, consistent overcrowding. The only upside is that the other option is to walk. Avoid at all costs.

Stagecoach MCSL - 8/10
Unreliable at times, but solid. Mistakes at high levels of the hierarchy have a negative effect on the enjoyment and reliability of some services. Stagecoach Gold rolled out to the wrong services being the big one.

Transdev Hotline - 9/10
Occasional reliability issues but overall excellent. Bus operators should look to Hotline as a minimum for what acceptable service should constitute.

Tyrer's - 8/10
See: Holmeswood

LANCASTER

Kirkby Lonsdale Buses - 8/10
See: Tyrer's and Holmeswood

Stagecoach CNL - 8/10
40/41/42 run on worse buses than the Lancaster City services, an unnecessary inconsistency. City service is near perfect with one of the best timetabling methods seen with full flexibility and interchangeability based on daily demand. Fix the intercity services and we're looking at a 9.5

 

[markymark2000]

Coastal Coaches of Warton - 6/10
Rightly removed from their Preston tender services and archaic with onboard policies. Semi-reliable but needs an unaffordable modernisation unfortunately - could end up going under as a bus operator

More details needed on some of these 'archaic onboard policies'? They looked very smart from an enthusiasts perspective.

 

[LancasterRed]

More details needed on some of these 'archaic onboard policies'? They looked very smart from an enthusiasts perspective.

Blanket ban on food and drink was the main one, but anything other than sitting still and straight forward, even on a bus going 60mph round tight bends with slippery seats, was not taken well.

Seem to recall having issues paying before but I believe that was a fault on my end.

 

[hst43102]

Blanket ban on food and drink was the main one

I don't think that's archaic, especially on short routes. Saves cleaning costs and makes the onboard atmosphere more pleasant.
Singapore has a blanket ban on eating and drinking on buses, and the buses over there are the cleanest, best looked after and most reliable I have ever been on.

 

[LancasterRed]

especially on short routes.

It was a 90 minute bus service covering areas that no other operator did. Definitely not a short route!

 

[peterblue]

Holmeswood - 8/10
New to operating services but operate a quality coach service and are doing a solid job on the whole. Any issues can easily be traced back to Lancashire County Council in any case.

You have to be joking with this. It's surely one of the worst operators in Lancashire. The level of professionalism from the company is near-zero although I will concede due to the local nature of most of the services the drivers will naturally be friendlier.

To list a myriad of issues I've encountered in about 5 times using them:-
a. a bus departing about 10 mins late due to a driver chatting on his phone outside
b. a driver on 337 (Ormskirk-Chorley) deciding to omit a section of the route near burscough tesco due to "no one getting on there"
c. they (still) do not accept contactless despite a promise in July it would be 'within a few weeks'
d. most of the vehicles are clapped out scrapheaps

 

[Bungle158]

I don't live in the UK any more, but on a fairly recent visit to Southampton, l was impressed by the local Blue Star outfit. Clean and well maintained vehicles, friendly drivers, punctuality ok and good provision of info at stops. 8/10

 

[upasalmon]

Not an operator but a transport authority, Merseytravel.

They are failing to subsidise evening services in Wirral and one or two parts of Liverpool.

They come out with "greenwash" about caring for the environment while cutting off communities, particularly the deprived inner city areas. They talk about "walking strategies", a euphemism for more bus cuts if there ever was one. I doubt if any of the big wigs have to do their "400 metre walk" they inflict on elderly or infirm former passengers.

Merseytravel have sent more and more people back to the car in recent years thanks to their Dr.Beeching mentality.

Then there's this useless "Bus (cuts) Alliance don't start me on that!

Merseytravel gets 2 out of 10 from Len (not my name BTW).

 

[markymark2000]

Not an operator but a transport authority, Merseytravel.

They are failing to subsidise evening services in Wirral and one or two parts of Liverpool.

They come out with "greenwash" about caring for the environment while cutting off communities, particularly the deprived inner city areas. They talk about "walking strategies", a euphemism for more bus cuts if there ever was one. I doubt if any of the big wigs have to do their "400 metre walk" they inflict on elderly or infirm former passengers.

Merseytravel have sent more and more people back to the car in recent years thanks to their Dr.Beeching mentality.

Then there's this useless "Bus (cuts) Alliance don't start me on that!

Merseytravel gets 2 out of 10 from Len (not my name BTW).

To be fair, that is harsh. Of all the PTEs, Merseytravel are the best. The 400m walk is government guidelines, not Merseytravel. There hasn't been many cuts a few years ago but that was killing off dead weight bus routes to make the network more viable.
The bus alliance I agree is useless though. 'Sending people back into their cars' may happen in some parts of Merseyside but other areas are seeing bus usage leveling. Merseytravel are doing their best with the funding they have.

 

[Llandudno]

Increase the cost of Saveaways and all Merseytravel priced tickets by 10%.

But the extra revenue must not be passed to the operators, this should be ring fenced to cross subsidise evening and Sunday services.

I am always suspicious of operator /day rover/season tickets being sold on board buses, how is the revenue distributed/apportioned to particular journeys. Ie I buy a day rover/season ticket to travel to/from work in the daytime, but maybe once or twice a week use the ticket to travel for ‘free’ on the evening buses, how is my season ticket apportioned to these journeys.

Similarly, I may only use the bus and pay to travel on the bus during the daytime, because there is an evening bus to get me home. Take the evening bus off and I don’t buy a daytime ticket, revenue dwindles on the daytime service and frequency gets cut - vicious circle!

 

[upasalmon]

The dead weight includes evening and Sunday buses from West Kirby and South Wirral to Arrowe Park Hospital, deprived estates like Birkenhead Noctorum and Beechwood, inner city lservices in the deprived Toxteth, Vauxhall and (hilly) Everton areas, Bowring Park where people face long and dangerous walks. You don't see many members of this or any other government walking their recommended 400 metres.
People relied on "dead weight" bus routes for their evening jobs and (pre COVID) hospital or care home visiting
Merseytravel have FAILED to do their job and I think 2 out of 10 is generous and I stick with it.

 

[markymark2000]

The dead weight includes evening and Sunday buses from West Kirby and South Wirral to Arrowe Park Hospital, deprived estates like Birkenhead Noctorum and Beechwood, inner city lservices in the deprived Toxteth, Vauxhall and (hilly) Everton areas, Bowring Park where people face long and dangerous walks.

That's unfair. You can't have routes running for a few people and why should routes run just so a few grannies can have a door to door bus services? Yes, some areas were cut when they shouldn't have been but money is finite, you can't fund dead weight routes so a granny can get to the shops a few times per month. Buses are there for moving a decent amount of people who want to travel the same way, if you want a door to door service, that's called a Taxi.

You don't see many members of this or any other government walking their recommended 400 metres.

I think you'll find every local government (council or PTE) uses this figure.


If you think Merseytravel is bad, you certainly need to get out more as there is much, much worse. Merseytravel is far from 2/10.

 

[Bletchleyite]

One of the better ones, indeed. Crikey, TfGM still doesn't have an all modes season ticket, and that's 30 years after Metrolink opened.

 

[507021]

The dead weight includes evening and Sunday buses from West Kirby and South Wirral to Arrowe Park Hospital, deprived estates like Birkenhead Noctorum and Beechwood, inner city lservices in the deprived Toxteth, Vauxhall and (hilly) Everton areas, Bowring Park where people face long and dangerous walks. You don't see many members of this or any other government walking their recommended 400 metres.
People relied on "dead weight" bus routes for their evening jobs and (pre COVID) hospital or care home visiting
Merseytravel have FAILED to do their job and I think 2 out of 10 is generous and I stick with it.

Merseytravel haven't failed to do their job whatsoever.

I suggest you aim your misinformed vitriol at the government which has (indirectly) regularly reduced Merseytravel's budget, therefore affecting the authority's ability to subsidise commercially unviable yet vital bus services. The tendered services you refer to don't or no longer exist because Merseytravel no longer have the money to run them.

 

[upasalmon]

Markymark - Do you have a problem with OAPs? There NEVER was a door to door service. OAPs and other stranded adults pay a council tax precept to Merseytravel and they are entitled to at least an hourly bus service. As for taxis, what is the free pass for then? You remind me of a historic French queen who when told the poor can't have bread said "Let them eat cake". OAPs have worked all their lives and are ENTITLED to a good bus service.
507021 is correct to state central government is largely to blame but Merseytravel only care about gimmicks (leave the car at home etc). Anyway after all that I've decided to drop Merseytravel to 1.8 out of 10.

P.S I think I am entitled to reply to criticism from other posts.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Leaving cars at home isn't a gimmick, it's basically the entire point of city public transport.

 

[507021]

507021 is correct to state central government is largely to blame

Largely? The cuts to tendered services wouldn't have been necessary had Merseytravel's funding not been reduced.

leave the car at home

That is the entire point of public transport.

Anyway after all that I've decided to drop Merseytravel to 1.8 out of 10.

I dread to think how high your standards are. Perhaps you should try to lower them a little.

 

[upasalmon]

My standards are that all built up areas should have at least an hourly service from 0600 to midnight (0800 to midnight Sundays and public holidays.

This could only happen in a regulated set up which I hope the Metro Mayor doesn't renege on
Over bussed routes would be reduced in frequency to 6 or 7/8 minutes and buses redistributed in a public service ethos. The present Merseytravel management and its culture swept away. Buses could be funded by a congestion charge although Tunnel users would object unless it was part of the toll.

Only then would I raise Merseytravel 1.8 out of 10 rating.

 

[Contains Nuts]

OAPs have worked all their lives and are ENTITLED to a good bus service.

And this is why the bus industry as a whole is dying as fares have to rise in order to get a half-decent reimbursement rate for concessionary pass use.

(Sorry if this is getting a bit off-topic...)

Anyone who feels they should be ‘entitled’ to use a commercially provided service for free just because they have ‘worked their whole life’ needs to sit back and look at the bigger picture. I work hard but I don’t expect the government to force Tesco to give me free food, so why should a bus company be forced to give free travel? It would make more sense for the pass to be means tested - most of the ‘entitled’ live a very comfortable lifestyle and shouldn’t really require the state to fund their travel.

 

[507021]

My standards are that all built up areas should have at least an hourly service from 0600 to midnight (0800 to midnight Sundays and public holidays.

Ideal? Yes. Realistic? No.

Many areas are without such services because they are not viable. Subsidising them would be a waste of money and fuel.

This could only happen in a regulated set up which I hope the Metro Mayor doesn't renege on
Over bussed routes would be reduced in frequency to 6 or 7/8 minutes and buses redistributed in a public service ethos. The present Merseytravel management and its culture swept away.

Bus franchising would cost far too much money to implement and operate, and the benefits will be minimal. I'd rather the money was spent on the Merseyrail network.

Buses could be funded by a congestion charge although Tunnel users would object unless it was part of the toll.

I don't think that's going to be very popular somehow.