johnnychips
Established Member
I have just sent an email - will let you know.
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Hulley's of Baslow (Defunct)
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Dfatcontroller
Member
None of the Hulleys fleet is tracking this morning.
Just had a look on Derbyshire website.
It confirms the X57 withdrawal, but the 257 is being enhanced to run hourly for most of the day Monday to Saturday!
Hulleys are taking on the 55 between Chesterfield and Alfreton from Stagecoach. It will run hourly and link with the X70 at Chesterfield.
Presumably the X70 times will change, at least by being withdrawn from the station, but this is not shown yet.
I still hope Derbyshire will sponsor a summer service across the Snake Pass to Glossop.
It confirms the X57 withdrawal, but the 257 is being enhanced to run hourly for most of the day Monday to Saturday!
Hulleys are taking on the 55 between Chesterfield and Alfreton from Stagecoach. It will run hourly and link with the X70 at Chesterfield.
Presumably the X70 times will change, at least by being withdrawn from the station, but this is not shown yet.
I still hope Derbyshire will sponsor a summer service across the Snake Pass to Glossop.
Its also now a flat fare of £1 each way between Sheffield - Crosspool on the 257 and Sheffield - Ecclesall on the Hulleys 271/272. I am not sure if this is an offer or just the new normal fare, at the moment it appears to be the new normal fare which seems excellent value if you don't mind waiting a little longer for the less frequent Hulleys services.
It seems to be an attempt to win passengers. Other local operators have a £1 fare for students so maybe Hulleys decided to see if extending this increased passenger numbers. I rather suspect the majority of passengers are either students or ENCTS holders so there is probably little down-side if it doesn't work in lifting numbers.
Flange Squeal
Established Member
- Joined
- 17 Jul 2012
- Messages
- 1,847
Hulleys are advertising Versa YJ62 FTN for £30k, Tempo YJ60 LSL for £12k, and three 2005 Volvos MX55 FHH/UAA and unknown third (presumably MX55 FFZ?) for £4.5k each or £8k two runners or £10k all three. This is on the ‘Used Bus and Coach Trader’ Facebook group.
TheManOnThe172
Member
- Joined
- 1 Aug 2014
- Messages
- 435
Any ideas on the thinking behind this?
Is it the shedding of surplus capacity: fewer vehicles needed compared to plans for X1 and X57 perhaps, and/or acceptance that reduced frequencies on several other routes will be the "new normal"
Or a balancing move as the result of newer purchases?
Or a move to downsize the operation?
Is it the shedding of surplus capacity: fewer vehicles needed compared to plans for X1 and X57 perhaps, and/or acceptance that reduced frequencies on several other routes will be the "new normal"
Or a balancing move as the result of newer purchases?
Or a move to downsize the operation?
RustySpoons
Member
- Joined
- 5 Apr 2019
- Messages
- 866
I believe it's less of a requirement for the heavyweight buses with the current route network they're operating, midi-buses are a lot more suitable for the majority of the routes they run.
cnjb8
Established Member
The B7s have been up for sale since the X57 was withdrawn. Hulleys fleet turnover is often frequent anyway
Both Tempos have now left the fleet, and the Volvos went a while back. The Versa is also up for sale and likely to depart soon.
Apparently a selection of E200s are inbound, two 58-plate with MCV bodywork and two 11-plate ex A2B.
The ex-Yellow Buses Tempo (20) needed work and the MOT expired. The other (19) was more of a surprise as many of the drivers seem to like it since some recent work, and it's certainly good for passengers, but as RustySpoons says, a bit big for the current route network and loadings.
It brings a degree of standardisation to the fleet as well, 5 Darts, 9 E200s, 6 Solos with the balance being 2 B7RLEs, an Evora, an E400 and a Streetlite. It wouldn't surprise me if the older of the B7RLEs wasn't next to go, and I wonder about the economics of keeping the E400 as it's only needed for school runs and it may be better (if resources allow) to just add a duplicate.
Apparently a selection of E200s are inbound, two 58-plate with MCV bodywork and two 11-plate ex A2B.
The ex-Yellow Buses Tempo (20) needed work and the MOT expired. The other (19) was more of a surprise as many of the drivers seem to like it since some recent work, and it's certainly good for passengers, but as RustySpoons says, a bit big for the current route network and loadings.
It brings a degree of standardisation to the fleet as well, 5 Darts, 9 E200s, 6 Solos with the balance being 2 B7RLEs, an Evora, an E400 and a Streetlite. It wouldn't surprise me if the older of the B7RLEs wasn't next to go, and I wonder about the economics of keeping the E400 as it's only needed for school runs and it may be better (if resources allow) to just add a duplicate.
markymark2000
On Moderation
Those A2B 200s have USBs too so that will help them increase the passenger experience (if that matters too much to Hulleys)
No reduction in fleet size. I think if they could fit more in they'd probably apply for more badges to do so. They've taken over a couple of Stagecoach routes and I'd be surprised if more weren't up for grabs soon. It's more about matching buses with demand. Smaller, more efficient buses make more sense for their routes both in terms of size and passenger numbers.
By my reckoning, the number of vehicles needed to cover services is the same now as when the X57 was running. It used three, increasing the 257 to hourly adds one and the 55 needs two.
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It certainly matters, they keep a very tidy fleet and presentation seems important. The staff are also incredibly friendly and popular with passengers.
The main issue of course is they serve some fairly rural areas so need to keep operating costs to a minimum.
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markymark2000
On Moderation
You say that yet if they cared about passenger experience, they wouldn't have changed the X57 every few weeks and nor would they have let the huge September situation happen. They wouldn't have made passengers ensure almost 2 hours on a dart either which they kept allocating to the X57.
May look all nice and rosey but they certainly didn't seem to care about passenger experience in those instances.
johnnychips
Established Member
Shame about the X57. It was a brave experiment. I used it a lot to go walking and visiting family in Mottram from Sheffield. I wonder if Derbyshire could be persuaded to run a couple of buses to Glossop and back on summer weekends.
daodao
Established Member
Derbyshire County Council (CC) used to subsidise a lot of tourist bus routes to the Peak District 15-20 years ago, but they have virtually all been withdrawn. While I agree that a limited summer Sunday/Bank Holiday service from Sheffield to Glossop station via Fairholmes might attract some patronage, I can't envisage Derbyshire CC subsidising such a service in the current financial climiate.
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johnnychips
Established Member
I am sure you are right. But the 0925/0930 on Saturday or Sunday never had less than 30 on - though about half got off at Ladybower, still covered by the 257. However, coming back in the afternoon there was often just me, six maximum!
Separate point:
Hulley’s ran Saturday services to Skegness and Sunday services to Brid and Scarborough in summer. Apparently the Scarborough service did not perform, but the Skegness service was better - a driver reckoned if they got 25 on it would cover its cost. Its route was Sheffield-Chesterfield-Mansfield-(obscure places)-Skegness-Ingoldmells. I wonder if they did Chesterfield-Sheffield-Rotherham-Doncaster to Skegness next summer they might have a chance.
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markymark2000
On Moderation
You're not seriously trying to imply that the dart was helping to make the service pay
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johnnychips
Established Member
@markymark2000 said - sorry quote thing is playing up:
Also, if you want to bring in more passengers, maybe don't try and start a service in the middle of a 'do not travel outside your area' restriction. It's not rocket science.
Perhaps if the Government were guaranteeing money to bus companies that might have been the ideal time, but to be honest I’ve no idea how the scheme worked
Also, if you want to bring in more passengers, maybe don't try and start a service in the middle of a 'do not travel outside your area' restriction. It's not rocket science.
Perhaps if the Government were guaranteeing money to bus companies that might have been the ideal time, but to be honest I’ve no idea how the scheme worked
darloscott
Member
It was a brave experiment for sure and more than likely had some element of utilising the guarantee of CBSSG (at the time) to see if it would be worthwhile. Just a shame they probably (in hindsight) tried to do far too much with too little resource and probably should have stuck with the core Sheffield-Glossop-Manchester and left it to settle for a while before trying anything extra. I have a feeling that may have been successful in the summer months but I don’t know how it would have paid in the winter, to be honest.
CBlue
Member
Can be up to 5 MPG difference between a Dart and something heavy/thirsty like a Euro III Volvo B7RLE - if your margins are slim why burn money by sending out the Volvo?You're not seriously trying to imply that the dart was helping to make the service pay
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markymark2000
On Moderation
Another vehicle, ok but the Dart specifically. Tempos aren't that bad. Versas even. 200s maybe not the best but better than a dart.
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GusB
Established Member
Posts that were specifically discussing Hulley's driver shortage have been moved to this thread:
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If anyone wishes to continue the discussion, please do so there. I've edited out the relevant bits and hopefully preserved continuity, but if anything appears to be missing, let us know via the report function. Thanks
Bus Driver Shortages
Mod note - discussion has been split off from the Transdev Blazefield and First Greater Glasgow threads But how long will a few months be? The national driver shortage is plainly linked to the HGV driver shortage and the latter are better paid with their own office (cab) and a far more limited...
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This might be one for another topic but Hulleys left children stranded outside of Lady Manners School for 90 minutes after the bus should have showed up yesterday due to apparent driver shortages which I have no reason to disbelieve. By all accounts the Deputy Head Teacher kept everyone sane
I totally accept a small company can have staff issues but I was in Bakewell yesterday and my bus left bang on time around the same time the school bus should have showed up. Whilst I may have been disgruntled about my bus being cancelled, I think I would have prioritised the school over me, why wasnt this a consideration, is there some planning thing between services I am missing?
I totally accept a small company can have staff issues but I was in Bakewell yesterday and my bus left bang on time around the same time the school bus should have showed up. Whilst I may have been disgruntled about my bus being cancelled, I think I would have prioritised the school over me, why wasnt this a consideration, is there some planning thing between services I am missing?
northwichcat
Veteran Member
There's a few things to consider -
Was the bus running your service big enough for the school contract?
Has the driver, who took your service, been trained on the school bus route?
Was it a last minute cancellation due to a driver taking ill during the day or one they knew about the day before?
Does the service you were catching serve a hospital or a medical centre?
I'm not sure about whether or not it's right to cancel a normal bus service to ensure an afternoon school service runs on time. Children can normally wait in a classroom inside and be supervised by a teacher if their bus home is late. A vulnerable person at a bus stop alone doesn't have that luxury. If it was a morning school service then it might be a different matter.
northwichcat
Veteran Member
That doesn't sound bizarre to me. There's secondary schools in Cheshire which have very large catchment areas spreading in to towns 10 or more miles away and we don't have a national park restrictions.
markymark2000
On Moderation
The issue is, you can take a driver off one run to do the school but it depends on the demand at the other end (could be a college so then you end up upsetting one of them, just a matter of which one. Could be a bus interworking and so taking a bus off means you lose a huge chunk of service because of the bus being in the wrong place and by the time it gets back on track, you may have lost a lot of time. There are a number of reason as to why your service bus kept running while the school didnt.
Without a more specific insight into which bus was delayed by 90 minutes, it wouldn't be fair to say exactly what should have happened instead.
All that said, there must have been space somewhere to get a bus to the school quicker than 90 minutes late. Even if the driver got to the school, and something tragic happened there and then as the bus was about to depart. The situation I believe should have been dealt with quicker than that.
Some good points I didn't consider in my reply. I guess the 'bus size' only matters in such instance if the council is really harsh on that stuff. If it's a one off and a choice between kids sitting around for 90 minutes after school or having 5 kids standing for 15 minutes, I know what I would prefer to happen. This would come back to what I put above though regarding we don't know which route so we can't work it out.
Hospitals and medical centres rarely matter for services. Irrespective of what is going on, almost no one involved in bus operations would say 'we can't cut that bus, it serves the medical centre'. That includes shift times where numbers may be quite high.
Yes there is a point to this, it simply wouldn't stack up in the majority of cases. Kids are one of the top in the hierarchy of bus services. Above almost everything because kids are classed as the 'vulnerable' ones. Schools, Contracts, regular local Service (where there are no/very few school kids or there is high frequency so kids can get the next bus only 10 minutes later).
Apologies pemma, I should note its bizarre to me as most of these children I am talking about are travelling back to Chesterfield every day where there are equally well performing schools
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Very good points Its the 170/X70 timetable if you want to look, LMS extensions, go to social media for the responses last night
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markymark2000
On Moderation
Absolutely no excuse for the kids to be waiting 90 minutes then. At worse case scenario, the next bus is in an hour and that should have diverted to the school an hour later. There was also the 170 which was 75 minutes later. (17:05 past the school).
And that is in worst case scenario. If they had other delays too, that wasn't good and surely something could have been worked out depending on where students were going. For example anyone to Baslow could get the 257