GorillaBus - new coach service

[dvboy]

It does say on the website that you can't pay on board as they might not run a service if no-one is booked on it. That's actual similar to what National Express do with some of the less well utilised stops, if no-one's booked they bypass them.

I rang NX to book onto the coach from Lincoln to Grimsby at short notice one Sunday evening (being the only option) last February. The person I spoke to had to actually put me on hold while he phoned the driver to make sure he actually stopped at Lincoln as no-one was booked from there and Grimsby was where it terminated. Only when he'd confirmed that, would he take my booking, advising me it could be up to half an hour late because of snow. Had I not rang, and relied on the timetable, the coach would have probably taken the by-pass given the weather.

I don't blame coach companies at all for operating like this if it saves them money, especially for a new operator they are bound to have routes where not one person is booked at any given time.

 

[northwichcat]

Notice on their website:

Please note that we are not presently accepting any further bookings. The Company has not ceased trading, and all existing bookings will be honoured, and payments protected. Customers will be contacted directly with further information on the situation, and provided with contact details should they have any concerns.

 

[embers25]

So does this mean the predicted end is now reality? Hopefully Steve Elms can confirm one way or the other. Guess it lasted slightly longer than the others! It is a shame given in theory it was a good idea. EMA and MAN should really pull the timetables and links from their websites.

 

[radamfi]

Can't find the Gorilla Bus Facebook page any more.

 

[northwichcat]

So does this mean the predicted end is now reality? Hopefully Steve Elms can confirm one way or the other. Guess it lasted slightly longer than the others! It is a shame given in theory it was a good idea. EMA and MAN should really pull the timetables and links from their websites.

I think the risk they took was running at a 4 hourly frequency including overnight. Yes they had a market for potential overnight passengers which most train operators weren't serving but a 4 hourly frequency during the day isn't good for someone planning a day trip.

Can't find the Gorilla Bus Facebook page any more.

Yep it's gone. Their Twitter page is still there though.

 

[Deerfold]

That's a shame. Looks like I won't be using them in February then.

 

[northwichcat]

Their Twitter page is still there though.

Twitter page gone as well now

Looks like I won't be using them in February then.

It isn't clear exactly what they are doing. It seems services with bookings should still operate, in which case why aren't they still accepting new bookings for those services? Gorilla Bus Company Ltd is still a trading company and hasn't been placed in to liquidation as far as I can see. Maybe it's a problem with the relationship between Gorilla Bus and one of the coach companies they were using to operate services.

 

[Deerfold]

Twitter page gone as well now



It isn't clear exactly what they are doing. It seems services with bookings should still operate, in which case why aren't they still accepting new bookings for those services? Gorilla Bus Company Ltd is still a trading company and hasn't been placed in to liquidation as far as I can see. Maybe it's a problem with the relationship between Gorilla Bus and one of the coach companies they were using to operate services.

No, but if they're not available now I'm best sorting myself out some advance train tickets in case, I think.

 

[northwichcat]

I've found an interesting development. Steve Elms is now claiming to be Transport Manger for Napier Point Limited as of December 2011 on LinkedIn and has removed references to Gorilla Bus. Now Napier Point Limited are an established bus and coach company in Liverpool and did have a website but it's been taken down. So it looks like either he's given up on Gorilla Bus or that there is about to be some sort of merger/takeover.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Would formal notification of a new group, if formed, need to be made to The Traffic Commissioner for the North West Travel Area....or is there a more up to date agency now?

 

[radamfi]

Would formal notification of a new group, if formed, need to be made to The Traffic Commissioner for the North West Travel Area....or is there a more up to date agency now?

See :

To answer your second point, as has also been commented, any facility, be it an express service, excursion or tour, which does not permit the carriage of passengers for any distance of less than fifteen miles does not need to be registered with the Traffic Commissioners, and barring a few minor amendments, this has been the legal position for over thirty years now. As has, again, been commented through the observation that we do not carry passengers between Nottingham and East Midlands Airport, for example, it should be clear that, in not offering local journeys, we meet this criteria. I am not quite sure what you mean by 'attempting' to register a service, even if that were to be a requirement for a service such as this - a registration is automaticaly accepted so long as the relevant conditions and payments are made. The process of Road Service Licensing which you appear to be referring to was also abolished in 1980. And no, the Traffic Commissioner does not, and never has, had any issues with me, the Company, nor indeed any Operator I have ever worked for in the past, outstanding or otherwise, and the same applies to the enforcement section of VOSA. Such information would be openly available in the copies of Notices and Proceedings available on the VOSA website.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I've found an interesting development. Steve Elms is now claiming to be Transport Manger for Napier Point Limited as of December 2011 on LinkedIn and has removed references to Gorilla Bus. Now Napier Point Limited are an established bus and coach company in Liverpool and did have a website but it's been taken down. So it looks like either he's given up on Gorilla Bus or that there is about to be some sort of merger/takeover.

http://www.napierpoint.co.uk/index.php works now.

 

[northwichcat]

Would formal notification of a new group, if formed, need to be made to The Traffic Commissioner for the North West Travel Area....or is there a more up to date agency now?

In such circumstances it may be easier for a contract to be signed between Steve Elms and Napier Point Ltd and to reapply for any operating licences that Gorilla Bus had under the Napier Point name, given that Gorilla Bus wasn't exactly a big company.

Note how long it's taking for the merger of Bowers and Trent Barton to go through.

http://www.napierpoint.co.uk/index.php works now.

Yes there was a SQL database error message when I tried it yesterday

 

[Deerfold]

In such circumstances it may be easier for a contract to be signed between Steve Elms and Napier Point Ltd and to reapply for any operating licences that Gorilla Bus had under the Napier Point name, given that Gorilla Bus wasn't exactly a big company.

Note how long it's taking for the merger of Bowers and Trent Barton to go through.



Yes there was a SQL database error message when I tried it yesterday

Would Gorilla have held any operating licenses? They didn't run scheduled services and merely hired coaches in from a company which presumably had licenses of its own.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Would formal notification of a new group, if formed, need to be made to The Traffic Commissioner for the North West Travel Area....or is there a more up to date agency now?

I'm not sure there's any new group to be formed.

Napier Point appears to already exist whilst Gorilla bus didn't actually have any vehicles.

 

[northwichcat]

Would Gorilla have held any operating licenses? They didn't run scheduled services and merely hired coaches in from a company which presumably had licenses of its own.

As the companies they used would have had coach hire licences I would have though Gorilla Bus would have needed something to be able to operate scheduled coach services and to call at certain places.

Surly I can't just phone up a coach hire company and say I want you to run a service at xx: xx calling at places a, b, c, d and e then start selling tickets for it.

 

[Deerfold]

As the companies they used would have had coach hire licences I would have though Gorilla Bus would have needed something to be able to operate scheduled coach services and to call at certain places.

Surly I can't just phone up a coach hire company and say I want you to run a service at xx: xx calling at places a, b, c, d and e then start selling tickets for it.

So long as you're going more than 15 miles between stops I don't see why not.

The company owning the coach will have a vehicle license and an operating license. You don't need anything more than that. National Express does not have licenses for many of its routes.

 

[Max]

How amusing, we have only just (during the last 7 days) become an agency for Gorilla Bus. Didn't last long!

 

[northwichcat]

How amusing, we have only just (during the last 7 days) become an agency for Gorilla Bus. Didn't last long!

So have they actually contacted you?

They only introduced a significant timetable change on the 1st December as well.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I see that Steve Elms has still not returned to this forum with current news, yet in the past, he has been "immediate" in his postings of clarification, as a reading of all this thread will reveal.

 

[northwichcat]

A new webpage has been put up saying:

Thanks for visiting! We are not currently operating any services, but please check back for updates!

Gorilla Bus Company Limited is still registered as a company, so possibly the initial approach failed but they're looking at trying again with a new approach in the future.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Gorilla Bus Company Limited is still registered as a company, so possibly the initial approach failed but they're looking at trying again with a new approach in the future.

Was there not comment made of Steve Elms being connected with a new joint consortium recently?

 

[Yew]

As the companies they used would have had coach hire licences I would have though Gorilla Bus would have needed something to be able to operate scheduled coach services and to call at certain places.

Surly I can't just phone up a coach hire company and say I want you to run a service at xx: xx calling at places a, b, c, d and e then start selling tickets for it.

Maybe we should start a RailUK forums coach company, and then slowly build up to running the ECML?

 

[northwichcat]

Maybe we should start a RailUK forums coach company,

And run rail replacement coach services that stop in the right places.

then slowly build up to running the ECML?

Would you like to manage that? They'll be a lot of different opinions on what they should offer.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Was there not comment made of Steve Elms being connected with a new joint consortium recently?

No. He put on his own LinkedIn profile that he was working for Napier Point Ltd which I suggested could be connected to future Gorilla Bus operations, which them not ruling out other operations. He has since removed or hidden his LinkedIn profile so I'd suspect that may be because Napier Point don't want to be linked with Gorilla Bus.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Since four months have elapsed, when matters may have moved on somewhat, I thought that I would check the Gorillabus website again for any new information....but there is just still the basic statement as before.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Since we are now into June 2012, I thought that I would again check their website, but nothing is shown on there but a notice that states they are still currently NOT running any services under the Gorillabus name.

 

[northwichcat]

Since we are now into June 2012, I thought that I would again check their website, but nothing is shown on there but a notice that states they are still currently NOT running any services under the Gorillabus name.

The domain name of gorillabus.com was registered for 2 years on 13th June 2011, so the same page may well just sit there for another year if nothing happens. Had it been registered for 1 year it might well have given us more idea of what may happen.

 

[Greenback]

I have no doubt that GorillaBus is dead and buried now.

 

[anthony263]

I have no doubt that GorillaBus is dead and buried now.

Much like UK express coaches ltd set up by a certain rogue which many on here will have read about on another thread.

 

[northwichcat]

I have no doubt that GorillaBus is dead and buried now.

I mentioned in a previous post that before he hid/removed it Steve Elms changed his Linkedin profile to say that he works for Napier Point instead of Gorilla Bus. The message on gorillabus.com was put on after this, which suggests there's a small possibility operations might restart but it does look like only a small possibility. I would have personally thought that if it was to restart this year that it would be in time to take bookings for the school/college summer holidays i.e. any time now.

A web page can stay live until the domain and hosting expires.

 

[Greenback]

Indeed, though I am sure that the people behind GorillaBus were well intentioned, but either the market was simply not there or the business model failed.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I mentioned in a previous post that before he hid/removed it Steve Elms changed his Linkedin profile to say that he works for Napier Point instead of Gorilla Bus. The message on gorillabus.com was put on after this, which suggests there's a small possibility operations might restart but it does look like only a small possibility. I would have personally thought that if it was to restart this year that it would be in time to take bookings for the school/college summer holidays i.e. any time now.

I don't think it will happen, but I wouldbe happy to be proved wrong!

A web page can stay live until the domain and hosting expires.

Mine did, when I ceased trading! I have sympathy with businesses that find that their forecasts have overestimated the amount of business that is out there, as that is exactly what happened to me!

 

[northwichcat]

or the business model failed.

Very likely the case.

There was a lack of advertising, the £1 fares were practically non-existent after a few weeks (and not due to selling out because some services didn't have any bookings on them so didn't run) and he added two towns to the calling points because people gave them a good case for stopping in their towns. I can't see National Express or Megabus doing that just because people tell them the demand might be there.