Out of all of the major bus companies, First tends to get the least favourable press amongst enthusiasts and the Bus media. Go to Leicester, where First are the key City operator and initial thoughts are of a well run service. We’re upto Page 288 of First Bus , it’s still here, yet every result of their operations is under the microscope. Arriva, Stagecoach and go ahead rarely get this sort of 200+ page analysis. Is it because the general feeling is that First is a basket case, or maybe it is easier to analyse their operations in depth because their financial information is available in greater detail than say the other bus companies?This is not a criticism by the way, but would appreciate posters comments.
I absolutely agree with you and it is something that I have questioned before. First have traditionally attracted the ire of enthusiasts etc and, to be fair, with good reason.
The Moir era obviously overshadows everything - the rush in the late 1990s/early 2000s to be the biggest meant paying over the odds for some bus OpCos that were typified with ageing fleets, inconsistent quality, a management ethos of central diktats that saw many talented and experienced managers leave, and then the move to rail and the Laidlaw acquisition meant that capital and management time was soaked up elsewhere. However, we all know this - it's now almost ancient history. Yet still we have enthusiasts spouting stuff like... "they've been ordered by Aberdeen to do X" - perhaps in 2009 but not in 2019. "they're controlled by beancounters" - well, they're not but commercial businesses are just that and they have to be financially well run! Some people are clearly so tainted by First that they won't look at things objectively - that's what I find irritating.
Now, I had some "spare time" post redundancy in 2018, and so travelled on a lot of buses. There were a lot of First machines sampled: Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Kernow, Somerset, Cymru, Worcester and most of all, West of England.
Manchester and South Yorkshire were disappointing and you can see the issues there in terms of a seeming lack of urgency, management activity etc - perhaps the problems of collapsing retail footfall and impact on patronage are soaking up management time but then you never break the cycle? In GM, is it a torpor caused by the uncertainty of franchising? If so, it's counter productive. Certainly, they are two of the larger, higher profile operations and their ills do undeniably catch the eye. Next door, West Yorkshire is pretty decent though very Leeds orientated. However, Kernow is clearly massively on the up (though related Somerset has regressed) and West of England is definitely progressing. Even those operations that have been highlighted in the past (like Berkshire and Worcester) were pretty decent on the whole.
The comparisons with other bus companies are often interesting and, I confess, I've not been to Leicester in a while (c.12-18 months) but I recall it being quite modern with Streetlites and Streetdecks, though with a few older B7 deckers and some now quite elderly (but surprisingly well turned out) B7Ls and arguably a bit better than Arriva. Is that a fair observation? Comparing First Hampshire with the adjacent Go Ahead or Stagecoach operations - well, they're all pretty decent. However, I looked at Worcester compared with Rotala - well, it's night and day. First is much better and you'd almost think the general public of Redditch or Kiddy would welcome First back. Certainly, First have done a very good job at removing the competition from Somerset, West of England, Cornwall, and seem to be continuing in the East of England. Perhaps the most telling aspect is the recent cuts to Stagecoach Midlands. It was discussed on this forum and elsewhere. However, had it been First making such changes, the amount of tooth gnashing (usually from people who live well outside the area and/or are have no connection to the area) would have been massively disproportionate.
First didn't suddenly get into trouble in 2012 - it was a 15 year long descent of poor management and hubris. We all know that. The idea that the ills could be repaired in 2/3 years was ridiculous and especially as the environment has changed with:
Burgeoning traffic congestion (as central government daren't increase fuel duty, and local government are scared of having proper bus priority as there are many more voting car drivers than bus passengers)
Falling retail footfall affecting revenue
Insufficient ENCTS remuneration
Cuts to supported services so the "jam" of evening and Sunday service subsidy is removed and the whole fixed cost burden falls on the daytime services
Apathy from some local authorities who just don't care about buses (e.g. Worcestershire)
These are industry wide issues (but of course, First was in a weaker position in which to weather them) and we are seeing continued depot closures, service reductions, etc irrespective of operators. However, it does seem that history means that First attracts more attention than other firms who get a bit of a free hit and yes, in terms of Arriva, the opacity of accounts probably supports that too.
Thanks for spotting that - means it’s even more impressive
