Competition heats up between Transdev and Connexions

[SCH117X]

I don’t think there was as Connexions don’t run on Bank Holidays
Even on Good Friday which tends to be a Saturday service round these parts.

Good point -checked it and the website could not updated as it was yesterday - still difficult to believe at that time of day they could make such an observation, and yes they are not operating any services apart from the 16. None are operating on Monday.

 

[jep2510]

Quite remarkable tweet by Connexions this morning just before 8am blaming heavy bank holiday traffic for delays to services They might be right later in the day - wonder if some drivers were absent / late.

That tweet was tweeted around this time yesterday when Harrogate was at a standstill!

https://twitter.com/connexionsbuses/status/979370975220428802

 

[SCH117X]

That tweet was tweeted around this time yesterday when Harrogate was at a standstill!

https://twitter.com/connexionsbuses/status/979370975220428802

It says 7.53am !

 

[158756]

Why do the Yorkshire operators (except Connexions it seems) run a Saturday timetable on Good Friday? Transdev in Lancashire, as well as Preston Bus and Stagecoach, are running a Sunday timetable - in Burnley they report delays because of a 'high volume of passengers' - on a route running a third of it's normal weekday service.

 

[AJW12]

That's a bit of a swipe - picking at particular Tweets. First York are no better, they'll find anything to blame too. It does seem a bit of a pattern on Twitter now with operators being very vague about service delays and finding excuses - the other one I know is Transdev Coastliner who do seem to cancel a massive amount of services "due to a technical issue".

And yes, the variation in Bank Holiday services is interesting. In York most of the services run to Sunday timetables, Connexions only running the 16. But the Park and Rides are running a full weekday service. Meanwhile in the East Midlands most Stagecoach areas are running a full weekday service today - and from being in Lincoln Bus Station they seemed reasonably well used. Seems like a difficult balance - weekday might be too much but a Sunday service seems too little.

 

[johntea]

I use Transdev every (week)day and it is ridiculous at the moment how much of a lottery the 1 route is timing wise!

From Harrogate bus station in a morning it is generally fine although they seem to confuse even themselves with all the 1A/1B/1C nonsense, sometimes services magically just never appear and vanish off the departure screens

Heading the other way, the amount of times I've been stood at Granby Corner 20-30 minutes waiting for a bus service advertised as 'every 7 minutes' is ridiculous! At least their app seems to have a live departures for stops now so I can sit at work and estimate when to leave a bit better, but still! Yesterday they tweeted advising buses were delayed to the Beast from the East-er conditions, which I'm sure was hilarious for the people stood waiting for buses!

 

[SCH117X]

The 1A/1B/1C are not nonsense when you want to travel beyond Knaresborough Bus Station (where the routes then differ), which a lot of passengers do. Its pretty obvious IMO the problems lie with NYCCs mismanagement of the roads in Harrogate, having sat in a queue of traffic on the Knaresborough Road taking 25 minutes getting from Starbeck level crossing to getting round Empress roundabout the cause of the delay was plainly obvious to anyone other than a NYCC Highway Engineer, that much traffic is southbound from the north and west around the roundabout there is little chance of any traffic getting onto the roundabout from the east. Anywhere else there would be peak period traffic lights on the roundabout and once you throw in the chaos of the Bond End junction in Knaresborough and the level crossing quite how the 1A/1B/1C and X1 ever manage to run on time is, to use Transdev terminology, #amazing.

 

[96tommy]

That's a bit of a swipe - picking at particular Tweets. First York are no better, they'll find anything to blame too. It does seem a bit of a pattern on Twitter now with operators being very vague about service delays and finding excuses - the other one I know is Transdev Coastliner who do seem to cancel a massive amount of services "due to a technical issue".

Get used to people taking swipe at Connexions on here, they can't seem to do aything right in the eys of some people.......

I've noticed the same about Coastliner and the "technical issues" excuse does seem to be on the rise with them. The last 2 times I've been back home up north I've had buses cancelled due to technical issues.

 

[HerstonHalt]

And yes, the variation in Bank Holiday services is interesting. In York most of the services run to Sunday timetables, Connexions only running the 16. But the Park and Rides are running a full weekday service. Meanwhile in the East Midlands most Stagecoach areas are running a full weekday service today - and from being in Lincoln Bus Station they seemed reasonably well used. Seems like a difficult balance - weekday might be too much but a Sunday service seems too little.

There is a large swathe from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire through the midlands and down to the south coast where a weekday or Saturday service is operated but everywhere east, west or north of it operates a Sunday service. It is an odd one but I agree that the places operating a Sunday service are probably the ones who have got it wrong. Unless travel patterns really are that different?

 

[philthetube]

Good Friday was always seen as a more important Christian day in Lancashire than in some other parts of the world, prior to the eight bank hols the mills and schools always had the Rfiday off, in other parts of the country this was not always the case.

Bus services are probably a throwback to that.

 

[Deerfold]

We had our annual odd day where of our usual 4 bus services, three operate Saturday services (two Transdev, one independent subsidised) whilst the other operates at a quarter of its normal Saturday frequency and finishes 2 hours earlier (also Transdev - but Burnley and Pendle).

 

[Andyh82]

You also had the situation where the Cityzap Leeds York ran a Saturday timetable but the Cityzap Leeds Manchester ran a Sunday timetable due to which depot runs each one.

 

[AJW12]

I have to admit a normal Friday service did seem a little too much (the early morning bus service I was on, and others I saw, were almost completely dead), but certainly warranted a Saturday service. Seems slightly odd so many operate Sunday services - for many train operators it's one of their busiest day of the year and they need extra services.

 

[AJW12]

And back on the connexions topic, a picture on Flickr here of the new livery for the 13 (Haxby-York-Copmanthorpe): https://www.flickr.com/photos/16695046@N04/41142309911/in/feed

Colours look great but that "super 13" text has ruined it! Looks outdated and awful. Shame when it's a good looking livery without. Reminds me slightly of the South Downs service one.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

And back on the connexions topic, a picture on Flickr here of the new livery for the 13 (Haxby-York-Copmanthorpe): https://www.flickr.com/photos/16695046@N04/41142309911/in/feed

Colours look great but that "super 13" text has ruined it! Looks outdated and awful. Shame when it's a good looking livery without. Reminds me slightly of the South Downs service one.

Colours also very Buses of Somerset

 

[Stan Drews]

And back on the connexions topic, a picture on Flickr here of the new livery for the 13 (Haxby-York-Copmanthorpe): https://www.flickr.com/photos/16695046@N04/41142309911/in/feed

Colours look great but that "super 13" text has ruined it! Looks outdated and awful. Shame when it's a good looking livery without. Reminds me slightly of the South Downs service one.

Does the 'Super' indicate the addition of wifi/usb type improvements to the buses being branded?

 

[AJW12]

I would very strongly doubt they'd fit USB points to their bus. But stranger things have happened! If not it doesn't really make sense to call it "super"... the colours look great but that branding does absolutely nothing for me to be honest. Good to see something for the 13 though, even if these vehicles are no younger than the ones normally used on the route. I had heard the Optare Tempos were going to be used on the 13 but the plan must have changed.

 

[SCH117X]

Silly branding, almost as if they are trying to impersonate Trent Barton. Livery would look good as a fleet wide one instead of the very 1970s one they have, although the thinning to absent white line looks wrong IMO - should either be a full length division between the greens or turned round so that becomes thicker to the rear. And why carrying on with the # comments on the rear....
as seen on another Flickr photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/york-bus/41149385671/
Looks like potential confusion for X70 passenger looming, from their web site

" The road between Boston Spa and Tadcaster is to be closed from the 3rd April for approximately 3 days at Papyrus Villas. We have tried to negotiate that buses be let through but to no avail. So, in order to try and serve as much of Boston Spa as possible – we are going to try the following:
We will go along the High Street as far as Grove Road, then St Johns Road, Church Road, Clifford, Bramham and Toulston Lane into Tadcaster. It will return via the reverse of that route.
We are hoping that we can keep the service to time as best we can, but if we have problems, we will have to re-think this from 4/4. We have asked Leeds City Council to put no parking cones on Grove Road corner but they can’t guarantee this,so this may be an issue too.
We ask that you bear with us as we try to make the best of a bad situation"

That route out of Boston Spa is used by Arriva so given their concern must be vehicle size related and given that X70 Tadcasters are timed to cross at Wetherby then they could quite easily change vehicles at Wetherby with one suitably sized.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Silly branding, almost as if they are trying to impersonate Trent Barton. Livery would look good as a fleet wide one instead of the very 1970s one they have, although the thinning to absent white line looks wrong IMO - should either be a full length division between the greens or turned round so that becomes thicker to the rear. And why carrying on with the # comments on the rear....
as seen on another Flickr photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/york-bus/41149385671/.

It appears that Connextions / Buses of Tockwith / or whatever its called this week have bought that vehicle from Stagecoach East Midlands that may have been used on the Sherwood Arrow - look carefully at the rear window as "tage" is still visable.

I wonder if they are attempting route branding? I look forward seeing something for the "Super" X52, the "Sublime" 8, the "Super Smashing Great" 412, etc.

 

[Andyh82]

I’m surprised they need to persist with all the ‘buy british’ business when it’s route branded for the York 13, rather than any route where they are in competition with Transdev. In York they are mixed in with FirstGroup, which is as British as Connexions are.

Many Connexions buses are often just over painted green on top of the previous livery, so we have buses in green First willowleaf, green First Olympia and green Stagecoach curves

 

[AJW12]

I don't hate or support this hatred of Connexions floating about... but I have to admit I don't like this slight obsession with their British roots. With their "#bestofbritish" on the back of this new livery - what on earth is that for? That's basically inviting people to take the p*** when a relatively old bus with a Swedish-built chassis (possibly running late etc.) bus turns up advertising "best of british".

I think the "Super 13" is inspired by the "Superior 70/71" that Transdev have (not sure but that's what it seems to me). I'm not sure about this and other little digs at Transdev on a route where there is no competition from them on the 13. Presumably to be followed by "Wonderful 16", "Marvellous 412" and "Incredible X70"

 

[SCH117X]

They did route brand an Omnicity for the X70-412 but that did not last long and there is (or was) another Omnicity which had a variation of the fleetname as Wharfconnexions ostensibly for use on the X52. Dissociative rather than Incredible would be apt for the X70 given it soon could go one of two ways between Spofforth and Harrogate and at Wetherby may go to York as a 412 or carry onto Tadcaster.

 

[SCH117X]

Connexions have published the new X70 timetable on their web site. The services to Tadcaster via Follifoot are timed at Spofforth at quarter to the hour and then arrive at Wetherby at exactly the same time rather than 7 minutes later, which would then be 2 minutes after the bus is shown as departing for Tadcaster !

 

[Stan Drews]

Connexions have published the new X70 timetable on their web site. The services to Tadcaster via Follifoot are timed at Spofforth at quarter to the hour and then arrive at Wetherby at exactly the same time rather than 7 minutes later, which would then be 2 minutes after the bus is shown as departing for Tadcaster !

Yes, there seems to be a number of variations between the times being provided via Traveline and now by Connexions - both of which require the use of a time travelling machine, albeit at different locations. It will be interesting to see what times are shown by NYCC and Metro when their versions of the timetable appear in print/online.

 

[backontrack]

With their "#bestofbritish" on the back of this new livery - what on earth is that for? That's basically inviting people to take the p*** when a relatively old bus with a Swedish-built chassis (possibly running late etc.) bus turns up advertising "best of british".

Connexions have published the new X70 timetable on their web site. The services to Tadcaster via Follifoot are timed at Spofforth at quarter to the hour and then arrive at Wetherby at exactly the same time rather than 7 minutes later, which would then be 2 minutes after the bus is shown as departing for Tadcaster !

Or, to put it another way...

Well done Connexions. You played yourselves.

On another topic, I do find their continued obsession with Britishness rather odd. They're clearly using it as a stick with which to beat Transdev, which has international roots - but it seems to me that they've taken it too far here. They've basically resorted to having a letter X-shaped Conservative Party logo on the back of their buses, which for a traditionally Labour-supporting city like York isn't the best look. Whether anyone will care about, however, is another story.

---------------------------

Meanwhile, Reliance Buses have announced that they are taking on the 29 (York-Shipton-[Linton-on-Ouse]-Aldwark-Helperby-Easingwold) on a full-time basis after Transdev dropped it. That's been announced here:

https://www.facebook.com/reliancebu...DMOjnNp4KfD5NgKvT-ekdvjq7w4VKtTYuQJJU&fref=nf

It seems as though Transdev can almost cherrypick the best routes, having first dibs on the main routes to Tollerton and to Helmsley but being able to dump the less-used Linton service. I'm glad that Reliance have picked it up though - I reckon they'll do a good job.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

On another topic, I do find their continued obsession with Britishness rather odd. They're clearly using it as a stick with which to beat Transdev, which has international roots - but it seems to me that they've taken it too far here. They've basically resorted to having a letter X-shaped Conservative Party logo on the back of their buses, which for a traditionally Labour-supporting city like York isn't the best look. Whether anyone will care about, however, is another story.

It seems as though Transdev can almost cherrypick the best routes, having first dibs on the main routes to Tollerton and to Helmsley but being able to dump the less-used Linton service.

Well, they've probably had chance to look at the figures and worked out that they can't make it pay!

The ongoing spat between Connexions and Transdev is proving rather tiresome. I thought better of Transdev though the recent announcement of the tender loss on Follifoot seemed rather churlish.

However, I do feel that Connexions claim of Britishness (whilst using a selection of Polish built Swedish single deckers) to be a tad irritating, and the continual mentioning of French ownership of Transdev as if they've invaded Yorkshire. The fact is that Transdev bought Blazefield who via Harrogate and District and WYRCC are the successors to the original operator.

 

[SCH117X]

Not to forget Blazefields offices at Starbeck are still the centre of operations providing jobs for Harrogate residents in comparison to those of the Tockwith bus company.
Meanwhile the 29 York-Easingwold service that Transdev took on when Stephensons collapsed is passing to Reliance from April 30. From Reliances facebook page
"Reliance are pleased to announce that on Monday 30th April 2018, we will be taking over the operation of the 29 service. We have worked hard to put together a new timetable, with new connections to York College, commuting runs as well as direct buses to and from York (no more changing in Shipton). We will be publishing the timetable next week, as soon as we receive the final digital copy. Gary Newby, Partner at Reliance says 'we are hoping to build on the work done by Stephensons and Transdev to provide a first class service to the passengers on the 29 route. We look forward to welcoming them on board our buses in a few weeks time'.
Reliance are investing more than ever in on bus technology and fleet renewal, so look out more announcements in the coming weeks."
The reference to connections to York college is because Transdev are removing their York College trips on the 31/31X.

 

[backontrack]

Not to forget Blazefields offices at Starbeck are still the centre of operations providing jobs for Harrogate residents in comparison to those of the Tockwith bus company.
Meanwhile the 29 York-Easingwold service that Transdev took on when Stephensons collapsed is passing to Reliance from April 30. From Reliances facebook page
"Reliance are pleased to announce that on Monday 30th April 2018, we will be taking over the operation of the 29 service. We have worked hard to put together a new timetable, with new connections to York College, commuting runs as well as direct buses to and from York (no more changing in Shipton). We will be publishing the timetable next week, as soon as we receive the final digital copy. Gary Newby, Partner at Reliance says 'we are hoping to build on the work done by Stephensons and Transdev to provide a first class service to the passengers on the 29 route. We look forward to welcoming them on board our buses in a few weeks time'.
Reliance are investing more than ever in on bus technology and fleet renewal, so look out more announcements in the coming weeks."
The reference to connections to York college is because Transdev are removing their York College trips on the 31/31X.

I did just link to that announcement above but thank you for providing the quotation

Obviously Reliance have decided to go for the all-or-nothing approach.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

However, I do feel that Connexions claim of Britishness (whilst using a selection of Polish built Swedish single deckers) to be a tad irritating, and the continual mentioning of French ownership of Transdev as if they've invaded Yorkshire.

Its the second Battle of Agincourt brought to the streets of Harrogate.

 

[AJW12]

It's just childish from both sides - completely.

But this Britishness thing is getting a bit out of hand. As a frequent bus user, to be honest, I don't care where the company's profit goes. It's not like Transdev's drivers are all French....

Regular passengers care more about the frequency of services (hate to bash Connexions again but I'd always choose a higher frequency, 7 day a week service), price and quality of the bus. Concessionary passengers will generally just jump on the first one to the bus stop. But as I've said before I'm not really keen on Transdev's attitude either. I remember when the battle of the 965 in Otley went on and since it was getting ridiculous, the authority (I think WYCA) planned a meeting with both companies to sort it out. Connexions turned up, Transdev did not.

I respect Connexions as a company but "buy local" "best of british" really does nothing for anyone, unless you're extremely UKIP. (That said I'm not so keen on "amazing" this and "amazing" that).