Seeing as Stagecoach run some of the Sunday services in Warwickshire run by Arriva during the week, they might be interested.
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Arriva Buses (including Greenline)
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Bit in bold - but I doubt you'll have many retail workers doing the journey end to end (which is about 20 miles).
I can believe Henley westwards into Reading - and equally Marlow eastwards into Wycombe.
Retail isn't well paid - and never has been - and the skills are interchangeable, usually with plenty of local opportunities. So if you live in Wycombe and work in retail e.g Sainsburys, Next, M&S, Wilko, Primark or many others, you'll look for a job in Wycombe, you won't want to spend ~1hr on a bus to Reading (or vice versa).
Yes, it's still strange seeing Stagecoach run services that for 6 days a week are Arriva run.
Porte Molitor
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Yes obviously not end to end, but certainly pre-Covid there was a decent amount Henley - Reading and Marlow - Wycombe. Have only been on it once since Covid, and there were still a fair few. Mainly younger people.
The 800 and 850 serve a lot of markets. There are 'commuters' Marlow to Wycombe also Henley to Reading. But there are also commuters this way in reverse - where do the shop workers and cleaners in Marlow and Henley come from? Answer - for some - Wycombe and Reading, on the bus. Then there are sizeable student flows, schools into all four places also college into Henley from all directions. Students start heading home quite early in the day from Henley so even lunchtime buses can have students on in term time. And shoppers to all destinations. Also leisure travellers in the warmer months, Marlow and Henley are popular destinations.
There is a problem with its reliability in that the 800 is much more reliable than the 850. During the day the 800 has 20 minutes stand time at Reading while the 850 has 5 minutes, they take totally different routes to Henley then combine. As a result the 850 from Henley to Wycombe can be much more heavily delayed than the 800. I have never understood why they don't arrive in Reading on one route and leave on the other with a more even 10-15 minutes stand time in Reading, but they utterly don't ever swap routes at Reading despite sharing the same stand. Roadworks in Reading are making this worse at the moment. At the Wycombe end an incoming 800/850 then goes out as a 30, I am sure the 30 is unreliable as a result.
I can't speak for the rest of the Wycombe depot routes, the town routes ought to do OK as this should be reasonable bus territory, but I think poor reliability and congestion over the years have driven many away. There are often deckers on the Bourne End routes so I guess there are student flows here too. But it's been years of gradual chipping away, one or two buses lost each set of changes, routes given up and reduced - Lane End for example the last usable bus home is at 5.15, pulled off Great Missenden, now no routes to Beaconsfield or to Amersham, the route to Penn was refreshed a few years ago with buses every 15 minutes - now they are every 60, the depot must be way below capacity.
I am sure the answer is that there would be more money to be made if there was just one company in Wycombe - at the moment there is Arriva and Carousel (Go Ahead), largely not competing head-to-head but two lots of overheads etc. Based on events elsewhere perhaps Arriva would be more likely to blink first?
I'm not sure that's the case though. Wycombe has long been problematic, made worse by being covered by 2 companies in NBC days.
London Country closed their depot in High Wycombe in 1977 but continued to operate Wycombe town services from Amersham.
Alder Valley retained their depot which became The Bee Line when Alder Valley was split in the mid 1980s. The depot was sold to Oxford Bus Company in 1990 at which point it became 'Wycombe Bus'.
Amersham depot - by now owned by Luton and District - closed in 1992 and I believe they took premises at Cressex in High Wycombe, subsequently taking on larger premises at Cressex.
Then in 2000 Wycombe bus was sold to Arriva - who by now also owned Luton & District.
It's all been a bit messy - and neither London Country nor Alder Valley ever did that well - many ex London Country operations have struggled and continue to do so.
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Does anyone know where Arriva's Stevenage depot is these days? Last I knew the Arriva Garage was at Norton Green and Sovereign were up at Babbage Road. I read somewhere Sovereign moved out of Babbage Road before sale but not sure that's true.
I know Arriva operated from both locations for some time but I've recently discovered Norton Green has gone. When you pass Babbage Road on the A1 it looks like the garage is empty but some Arriva vehicles parked further up the road.
I know Arriva operated from both locations for some time but I've recently discovered Norton Green has gone. When you pass Babbage Road on the A1 it looks like the garage is empty but some Arriva vehicles parked further up the road.
This planning application suggests they were taking on the neighbouring unit to their current one in Babbage Road
Stevenage > 21/00431/FPM > Arriva Bus Depot And Adjacent Unit 11 Babbage Road Stevenage Herts
Alterations (including portacabin installation) to ARRIVA Bus Depot and Change of Use (with minor works) of Unit 11 from Mixed Use to Sui Generis (Bus Depot).
planning.org.uk
Which I assume is what this article is about https://www.route-one.net/news/first-phase-of-new-arriva-depot-in-stevenage-completed/
317 forever
Established Member
Indeed, all Arriva North West would still have would be former MTL depots in Liverpool (Green Lane and Speke), Birkenhead, Southport and St Helens, combined with former North Western depots Bootle (of course also in Merseyside) and Runcorn (now in Liverpool City Region). Some former North Western routes would remain with Arriva, such as serving Warrington from further west or Skelmersdale.
bussnapperwm
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Really, only Tamworth could cause alarms at the Competition and Markets Authority if National Express bought Arriva UK Bus, but divesting the 110 to Diamond would easily be a possible remedy.
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Goldfish62
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Undoubtedly. And First South West has recently bought some ex Arriva London E400s as part of their BSIP commitment for Euro VI in Somerset.
Incidentally, the last diesels buses entered service in London in 2020. Anyone saying the pool of diesel buses cascaded out of London is running out is way off the mark.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
IF there was a disposal of Tamworth, I doubt there's any real concerns with the CMA. To be honest, I don't think NX (or anyone) would want it without the 110.
Norton Green was leased from the Wine Society. Arriva had to vacate the site and it's now being redeveloped.
Thought they were doing something around the corner from Babbage Road but can't recall if it was a wholesale replacement or additional parking.
If it's any help, there are currently three sites in Stevenage registered on the operating license:
There has been a site at Watford ever since the Arriva Click operation began. If I remember correctly (an d/or it hasn't moved since it opened), it's an outstation at the council dustbin lorry depot.
Porte Molitor
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Yes that's correct since the contract started, Click has operated out of the Veolia depot just south of the town.
londonteacher
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According to a driver (@lewis_7592) on Twitter, Gillingham are to lose their new Enviro 200MMCs.
Comments on the thread suggest that they are going to Luton for the Leighton Buzzard outstation. Possible replacement by EV buses.
Tweet from driver at Gillingham
Comments on the thread suggest that they are going to Luton for the Leighton Buzzard outstation. Possible replacement by EV buses.
Geordie driver
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Arriva North East have announced mostly improvements on their Facebook page for South East Northumberland from the end of March ,44 and 45 back to 2 an hour during the day, 43 back to 4 an hour during the day Monday to Friday.
No mention of an improvement to the 43 in the evening but the one an hour we currently have is virtually empty much of the time. I can live with one an hour as long as it actually runs.
No mention of an improvement to the 43 in the evening but the one an hour we currently have is virtually empty much of the time. I can live with one an hour as long as it actually runs.
Hmm....
Obviously this is Arriva, so anything could happen, but I think EV replacement is highly unlikely. Leaving aside the fact that Kent & Surrey has been the most loss-making subsidiary for some years now (at least in the headline figures), and as has been stated many times upthread that doesn't make it a priority for investment, wouldn't there need to be a planning application for the associated charging infrastructure? If so, there hasn't been...
I fear it's more wishful thinking on the part of the person posting the reply.
The item of greater interest locally will be the rather desperate need for "8.5m" buses. Unless they cut out the hilly end of Warren wood in the off-peak, as they do in the peak, so anything will fit...
M803UYA
Member
Whilst speculative, the transfer out of 'newer' vehicles is often a prelude to disposal of an operation. Though there are a number of 2016 Enviro 400 MMCs now in operation (or reputed to be transferred in from Midlands) which would blow that theory out the water!
It's hard to know exactly what is going on, but it is rumoured that a new "contract" requiring shorter, newer buses was gained "unexpectedly" at Leighton Buzzard, requiring transfer. That said, it's also rumoured that the buses "weren't expected" locally, although there is a desperate need for length-restricted buses. (PVR 7, number of available vehicles 7, anything bigger has to drop part of the route offpeak). That said, the departure of the new E200s has been imminent for a fortnight now, and there is still one passing the end of the road at the moment. If this win is a public service, it still hasn't been announced on the Arriva website yet.
The 2016 MMCs are being transferred, mostly via the paintshop before entry into service, to replace 18-year-old, -04- registered Volvos - the scond oldest 'deckers in the Arriva fleet. Four have gone to Luton, to replace the oldest deckers in the Arriva group fleet.
Oh, and the fares are going up again on April 1st. A Kent and Medway day ticket will now be £8.90, a mere 10p cheaper than the all-operator Discovery ticket (#WhyBuyIt?), and a Medway day ticket will be £6.70, up from £6.10, on top of a 50p increase last year. (#DoTheyWantAnyPassengers)
Latest News - Arriva UK Bus
www.arrivabus.co.uk
Spelling mistake [sic]. It then links to an awful PDF that would fail any legibility test (white text on Arriva blue background?) with just the new fares showing. Similar pages also exist for Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (i.e. the entire southern operation).
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Whilst that was the case with Cannock, we have seen plenty of shuffling round of allocations in order to minimise expenditure and to meet certain emissions or contract requirements (e.g. swapping e200 for mmcs for Colchester park and ride)
Porte Molitor
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I'm assuming the contract mentioned is this Central Bedfordshire one, backed up with a load of S106 money.
MedwayValiant
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In so many ways, it often seems that the answer to that question is "no".
God knows what the 145 will have foisted on it to replace the new buses - introduced with great fanfare - which lasted about ten minutes before being diverted to Leighton Buzzard. Vehicles which are old enough to go to the pub and which have threadbare seats, if today's journey is anything to go by.
It is being rumoured locally that Arriva will be withdrawing from the £2 scheme at the end of March. Whenever the company is asked about that on social media, its reply is along the lines of "We will announce whether or not we will continue with that in due course". Has any other operator of any consequence decided not to take part in the three month extension?
For some years I'd been secretly hoping that Ensignbus would notice that Medway is really quite like Thurrock and take the area over. Now that they have themselves been taken over that's not going to happen, but any operator which is capable of running more than about 60% of the advertised service would do!
M803UYA
Member
It says a lot about Arriva Kent & Surrey that they cannot make their operations profitable, when it's the most populated part of Kent. Stagecoach have far fewer people to serve, yet manage to provide a better level of service and make profits......
The thing is that Arriva down here in Kent, prior to the cap was very expensive to use and i doubt it's going to get any cheaper.
Prior to the cap, if it wasn't during rushour it worked out cheaper with my railcard to use Maidstone to Chatham for £5.50 versus the £7 (December 2022) 101 bus route. The cap has been great as its made using the bus a lot cheaper but once the cap has gone i would only seek to use the bus when necessary as Arrivas service is not good value for money.
Perhaps i wouldn't mind the buses more here but its the fact there is so little care put into the commuters experience with bus stops being poorly maintained and often lacking timetables, the app can often say a bus is cancelled but will arrive minutes later, and the infrequency of buses to some routes being hourly and stopping around 7pm - some not even running on Sundays.
I would welcome a new operator that can at least improve some of these issues and to make it good value for money.
Prior to the cap, if it wasn't during rushour it worked out cheaper with my railcard to use Maidstone to Chatham for £5.50 versus the £7 (December 2022) 101 bus route. The cap has been great as its made using the bus a lot cheaper but once the cap has gone i would only seek to use the bus when necessary as Arrivas service is not good value for money.
Perhaps i wouldn't mind the buses more here but its the fact there is so little care put into the commuters experience with bus stops being poorly maintained and often lacking timetables, the app can often say a bus is cancelled but will arrive minutes later, and the infrequency of buses to some routes being hourly and stopping around 7pm - some not even running on Sundays.
I would welcome a new operator that can at least improve some of these issues and to make it good value for money.
bussnapperwm
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Arrive staff are being balloted for a strike in Northumberland and Newcastle again.
www.unitetheunion.org
Newcastle and Northumberland facing Arriva bus strikes in pay dispute
Workers balloted over real terms pay cut Bus workers employed by Arriva working in Newcastle and Northumberland are being balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay.
www.unitetheunion.org
Unite the Union said:
Goldfish62
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That's probably quite dangerous in the current circumstances.Arrive staff are being balloted for a strike in Northumberland and Newcastle again.
Newcastle and Northumberland facing Arriva bus strikes in pay dispute
Workers balloted over real terms pay cut Bus workers employed by Arriva working in Newcastle and Northumberland are being balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay.
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
Not really.
But what Arriva Northumbria really need to worry about is all the drivers who aren’t going on strike, because they’re going to work for Stagecoach and Go-Ahead instead. Arriva Northumbria are a rank bad employer, which is why they’re experiencing so many issues running their timetable.
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