Another cowboy operator bites the dust

[randyrippley]

Darwen Coach Services ceases trading after having a second bus seized by the police for lack of insurance (the first one was subsequently crushed.....)
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.u...obless_and_passengers_stranded/?ref=mrb&lp=37

Eight drivers were made redundant as a result of the sudden closure and 18 routes in Blackburn and Darwen were left without buses.

The borough council said it was informed at 7am and took 'emergency steps' to cover two of the company's school bus services, but six were only re-instated for the afternoon journey.

The company is the second small bus company in East Lancashire to go out of business this year after M&M Coaches of Accrington ceased trading in September.

Community leaders said they were concerned about future implications on passengers.

Speaking last night, Peter Graham, Darwen Coach Services transport manager, said: “The company ceased trading this morning.

It was a very sudden decision to do with ‘in house’ problems at the company.

"It was connected with the seizure of vehicles having no insurance.

"Blackburn with Darwen Council managed to make arrangements for the majority of our school transport services.

"We employed eight drivers."

The firm, based in Provident Yard, Cotton Hall Street, Darwen, operated around a dozen buses, coaches and minibuses.

Sunnyhurst ward councillor Dave Smith said: "Dozens of passengers and schoolchildren were left stranded at bus stops.

I am very concerned as they are the main operator in my ward and much of Darwen."

Blackburn with Darwen Council highways boss, Cllr Phil Riley, said the authority's priority would be maintaining statutory services in the interim

He said: "We recognise the huge problems that Darwen Coach Services ceasing to operate is going to cause for bus passengers across the borough...

How many more Mickey Mouse operators like this are there?

 

[Andyh82]

It will be interesting how this pans out as DCS operated pretty much all the tenders in the BwD area and recently took on a few more after Transdev pulled off the routes due to them being not commercially viable.

People in Sunnybower and Revidge and various other places have gone from a President to a scruffy old solo to nothing in the space of a few months.

 

[randyrippley]

"Yesterday Darwen Coach Services announced its closure just 24 hours after it had a second bus seized by police over a lack of insurance."

Easy to see how they could undercut Transdev on the tendered routes......uninsured wrecks don't have much in the way of costs.

Does closure of the company protect the directors and management from action by the traffic comissioners / Driving Vehicle Standards Agency? Whats to stop them opening another business? Or even reopening this one under a prepack deal and avoiding any legal action?

 

[Mr Manager]

Add this one to your list.

http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co....-its-licence/story-29993866-detail/story.html


The company that operates the soon-to-be cancelled 392 bus has been given until January 16 to prove its financial standing or lose its licence.

Hoddesdon-based Galleon Travel was called to a public inquiry following its application to increase its vehicles from 11 to 30.


Read more at http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co....9993866-detail/story.html#pmHuCctIOvxEbsWy.99

 

[Bungle965]

Add this one to your list.

http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co....-its-licence/story-29993866-detail/story.html


The company that operates the soon-to-be cancelled 392 bus has been given until January 16 to prove its financial standing or lose its licence.

Hoddesdon-based Galleon Travel was called to a public inquiry following its application to increase its vehicles from 11 to 30.


Read more at http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co....9993866-detail/story.html#pmHuCctIOvxEbsWy.99

Interesting that they operate such wrecks of buses and yet their coach arm of the business operate modern high spec coaches.
Sam

 

[Bletchleyite]

Very common among the cowboys for some reason.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[northwichcat]

Interesting that they operate such wrecks of buses and yet their coach arm of the business operate modern high spec coaches.
Sam

That seems to be common practice when a coach operator is doing well, acquires some old buses to run school contracts and then starts getting public bus contracts.

 

[Y961 XBU]

I believe Tyrers will be operating some of the Darwin Coaches work, a former GHA Coaches Solo is one of the Buses that will be used

 

[SCH117X]

Have to say Lancs CC website is a complete waste of time; Cheshire, Somerset etc managed to keep their bang on with what was happening with GHA and Webberbus.

 

[Andyh82]

Have to say Lancs CC website is a complete waste of time; Cheshire, Somerset etc managed to keep their bang on with what was happening with GHA and Webberbus.

Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority so nothing would be on the LCC website.

I haven't checked if anything is on the BwD website though.

 

[randyrippley]

Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority.....................

I wonder if thats a pointer to how more of these scrap merchants seem to exist in places like Blackburn? Unitary authorities don't have the experience or inclination to properly vet the companies they let contracts to?

 

[northwichcat]

I wonder if thats a pointer to how more of these scrap merchants seem to exist in places like Blackburn? Unitary authorities don't have the experience or inclination to properly vet the companies they let contracts to?

Blackburn with Darwen is just like a smaller version of Cheshire East but with the advantage of existing longer. The remaining part of Cheshire County Council was split in east and west sections in 2009.

Don't forget Cheshire East council awarded 4 x new 5 year contracts to GHA in Spring 2016 despite being aware that they had an insufficient number of drivers to run their existing routes. The award of 2 of the contracts was then cancelled but despite that the 200 route (which was one of the new contracts not cancelled) suffered from buses not running on a regular basis.

 

[SCH117X]

BwD website seems equally void re whats happening (or not)

 

[Andyh82]

I wonder if thats a pointer to how more of these scrap merchants seem to exist in places like Blackburn? Unitary authorities don't have the experience or inclination to properly vet the companies they let contracts to?

To be fair Darwen Coach Services weren't just some fly by night running for a few months, they've been running tenders in that area for years, maybe 10? 15?

 

[Stan Drews]

To be fair Darwen Coach Services weren't just some fly by night running for a few months, they've been running tenders in that area for years, maybe 10? 15?

The majority of the routes DCS ran were done so without any BwD subsidy, as they cut back the majority of the funding.
That is why they can't really replace the main daytime services, as they're clearly not commercially viable, so no queue of operators willing to take them on without any funding!