Recent content by TheGrandWazoo

I suspect it's a bit of a mixture. The topography makes Hastings very compact so it's easier to serve with high population density. The flipside is that Hastings is one of the more deprived areas in South East England and poorer people tend to travel less.

Simply because if it costs more to provide the service than the revenue you get, it's pretty bad business.

You're quite right in that it's a very extensive, hard nosed approach that the procurement world seem to enjoy, and indeed, not confined to the public sector. I have had a couple of interesting private sector ones that would have thinking that you're dealing with sociopaths if not psychopaths...

I guess it depends on the circumstances. I'm sure that operators will be aware of school terms and that is of course factored in. If in this instance, perhaps it was something like the school was closed for weather or some other unforeseen short notice reason, it is probably reasonable not to...

Fuel isn't the biggest single cost - it's staff costs. Fuel is the greatest variable cost but the fixed costs of a driver, maintenance, licenses, back office etc far outweigh 45%

Indeed, and perhaps you also have to wait for an ageing train that trundles along every 30 mins? Even the 170s are now 25 years old which stunned me. More importantly, when you factor in things like the route taken by the 36 in serving the south Harrogate catchment like Rossett and Oaklands...

Because it's expensive to have another driver (and they're at a premium as it is) so hence why they would normally aim to employ deckers. If they have deckers off the road, they are unlikely to be able to obtain another driver in peak so they'll send a single decker out as it's better than nothing.

43001 has already visited Warminster, and one board does the early Frome run

Was good to read @route101's trip report of a trip on Delaine to Stamford, having done it not too long ago myself. As for @RELL6L... I know what you mean about the definition of East Anglia, and it is imprecise. It is often just Norfolk and Suffolk though with Cambs and parts of North Essex...

Isn't that the problem? That these services are only viable when you have low cost operators who are simply working at a level that it unsustainable. That there was one good service (the 170) doesn't mean the rest were or are. Until you ask, you'll never know.

Probably mid 1990s

Can't disagree with what you say As for unsafe HGVs... there's simply a lot more HGVs vs PCVs.

Looking at these two examples, I don't know what else they could have done. The two vehicles failed at 22 and 30 miles away from base, whilst Edinburgh is 33 miles. By the time you can get a vehicle and driver mobilised and sent to Edinburgh, you're probably not going to make the scheduled...

Have you made an FOI request? Given the way Hulleys were operating, they may have marginally costed those routes that they took on and/or the post Covid environment saw routes that were barely covering their costs then become unsustainable. I suspect the reality was that the services weren't...

Surprised they were still about. Not turned a wheel in two years except when being to different storage locations. Assume disposal?