High Peak Bus Company / Trentbarton Split [Merged Thread]

[northwichcat]

High Peak have withdrawn the 300 registration from June. The service has been registered by D&G bus.

 

[323235]

well that doesn't come as a shock given the long empty vehicles transfers and isolation from the rest of their network which must make driver swaps expensive now they don't have the 27.

High Peak really need to get their act together and be more decisive in their operations. They don't come across as the most strategically organised bus company. I've certainly never come across a bus company who change their timetables so often.

 

[Qwerty133]

well that doesn't come as a shock given the long empty vehicles transfers and isolation from the rest of their network which must make driver swaps expensive now they don't have the 27.

High Peak really need to get their act together and be more decisive in their operations. They don't come across as the most strategically organised bus company. I've certainly never come across a bus company who change their timetables so often.

Centrebus are just playing silly at the moment, on a route in leicester we have 3 optare excels that break down nearly everyday and they have done absolutely nothing about it.

 

[howittpie]

I have used Highpeaks 199 recently and is very noticable that the general appearance of veichles both internaly and externaly has deteriated since the merger somthing that I believe wouldn't have happened under TB control. However the drivers are still as friendly as ever.

 

[northwichcat]

well that doesn't come as a shock given the long empty vehicles transfers and isolation from the rest of their network which must make driver swaps expensive now they don't have the 27.

High Peak really need to get their act together and be more decisive in their operations. They don't come across as the most strategically organised bus company. I've certainly never come across a bus company who change their timetables so often.

I think it was actually Cheshire County Council that twisted Bowers arm in to taking over the 300 service. The Bakerbus 27 contract was coming to an end and Bowers won the new contract. At around the same time Arriva decided they weren't making money off the daytime 300 service (registered commercially) so CCC sold in the 300 service to them although until recently they were getting a subsidy for it.

Even when they had the 27 service one driver finished after the 12:15 service from Knutsford Canute Place and another driver came up in a car to take over from the 13:13 departure from the bus station, with the morning driver going home in the car. Occasionally the afternoon driver brings up a different bus but normally it is the same bus all day.

However, when they did have the 27 service the empty run to and from Knutsford could be used as a route learning/retention exercise.

The difficulty is what happens when a bus fails. Vehicles off both the 27 and 300 services have failed in Knutsford and that's obviously a difficult situation for High Peak to deal with.
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Centrebus are just playing silly at the moment, on a route in leicester we have 3 optare excels that break down nearly everyday and they have done absolutely nothing about it.

A Centrebus branded Solo opposed to a High Peak branded one is running the 300 High Peak service today. A few weeks ago a different Centrebus branded Solo was on the 300 for a few days (it had destination blinds while the one on today has an LED destination display.) So obviously vehicles are getting moved around.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

High Peak really need to get their act together and be more decisive in their operations. They don't come across as the most strategically organised bus company.

High Peak have had enough time now to be making a more professional approach to the operation of their company.

 

[brompton rail]

Well, yesterday I travelled on the 09.50 Derby to Manchester Trans Peak (double decker, leather seats, 07 registration, in Trans Peak livery).

Driver wandered over the vehicle at 09.50 (it arrives Derby 09.05), checked bus, and drove onto the stand for 09.51. After all passengers had boarded we departed at 09.56 and ran the best part of 10 mins late until I alighted at Bakewell. When the service was run by Trent Barton this would not have happened.

 

[Deerfold]

Well, yesterday I travelled on the 09.50 Derby to Manchester Trans Peak (double decker, leather seats, 07 registration, in Trans Peak livery).

Driver wandered over the vehicle at 09.50 (it arrives Derby 09.05), checked bus, and drove onto the stand for 09.51. After all passengers had boarded we departed at 09.56 and ran the best part of 10 mins late until I alighted at Bakewell. When the service was run by Trent Barton this would not have happened.

Indeed - not a lot you can do about congestion en-route but I don't think I ever got one of their buses late if it arrived on time.

I don't actually remember the TP/R1 being more than 5 minutes late at any point in the 3 years I used to catch it between Nottingham and Stockport or Manchester.

 

[martinsh]

Well, yesterday I travelled on the 09.50 Derby to Manchester Trans Peak (double decker, leather seats, 07 registration, in Trans Peak livery).

Driver wandered over the vehicle at 09.50 (it arrives Derby 09.05), checked bus, and drove onto the stand for 09.51. After all passengers had boarded we departed at 09.56 and ran the best part of 10 mins late until I alighted at Bakewell. When the service was run by Trent Barton this would not have happened.

My experience in TB days was that the service took about 15 mins to load at Derby, and ran significantly late all the way to Matlock (at least - I usually got off there)

 

[northwichcat]

High Peak have applied to change the route for 392/393. Not sure on the revised route.

 

[323235]

The only other thing I can think of is the fact its registered to go up St Peters Square/ St Petersgate in Stockport but instead serves Stand BB (192 bus stop) at Mersey Square instead. Traveline said it was to do with ongoing bus station work but it isn't because St Petersgate is open and its using the stop next to the one it was with Bakerbus at the bus station and they served St Petersgate. I contacted High Peak to query it and never received a response.

Stand BB has had the 392/393 listed on the stands since I contacted High Peak.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Looking at the livery colour scheme used by High Peak in our local bus station at Macclesfield, with its totally garish "cheap and nasty" visual image, I wonder what thought was given to that matter at the time of the decision making. It looks like something that a "pound shop" would use as its shop-front colour scheme.

Even the archaic step-access second-hand repainted former Arriva minibuses used by Clowes Coaches on the 108 service from Macclesfield to Leek and Ashbourne, which are all badly in need of a repaint, look better than the present High Peak livery.

 

[northwichcat]

Looking at the livery colour scheme used by High Peak in our local bus station at Macclesfield, with its totally garish "cheap and nasty" visual image, I wonder what thought was given to that matter at the time of the decision making. It looks like something that a "pound shop" would use as its shop-front colour scheme.

Even the archaic step-access second-hand repainted former Arriva minibuses used by Clowes Coaches on the 108 service from Macclesfield to Leek and Ashbourne, which are all badly in need of a repaint, look better than the present High Peak livery.

The High Peak livery is exactly the same as the Centrebus livery used on Centrebus branded services in the East Midlands.

The other company that Centrebus run as joint venture - the Huddersfield Bus Company - originally got given it's own livery like this: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3441259968_152a55dfce.jpg but has since been replaced by the generic Centrebus livery: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zLSRRJiKbxg/SraIX9g_RQI/AAAAAAAACVo/MAj3MhfgWbo/s400/Meadow3.jpg

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The High Peak livery is exactly the same as the Centrebus livery used on Centrebus branded services in the East Midlands.

It seems a pity that such an already established "tasteless" colour scheme to be used as a group livery had to be extended to this area. The current High Peak "teething problems" seem to be exacerbated to its users and I have heard the term "rubbish company with a rubbish livery" used in recent days.

Does anyone remember the navy and red livery colour scheme that ran many years ago in the Accrington area ?

 

[tbone]

There was a point where there was a Bowers variation of the centrebus livery that consisted of two tones of blue and white but this disappeared along with the Bowers name last April.

It seems like High Peak are running a bus dead from Derby to Dove Holes every evening after their sole 109 journey.

 

[northwichcat]

It seems like High Peak are running a bus dead from Derby to Dove Holes every evening after their sole 109 journey.

Not surprising. Last October when they reduced the frequency of the 27 service they ran a bus back empty at 17:40 from Knutsford bus station to Dove Holes, even though if it had run in service as far as Macclesfield Macclesfield it would have filled a gap in the revised 27 timetable that many people complained about.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There was a point where there was a Bowers variation of the Centrebus livery that consisted of two tones of blue and white but this disappeared along with the Bowers name last April.

I tend to think of the silver and green "Cheshire Connect" livery as one with a pleasing visual image and I suppose it is with that particular livery scheme in mind that a comparison with the Centrebus/High Peak garish livery sprang to my mind.

 

[Deerfold]

Not surprising. Last October when they reduced the frequency of the 27 service they ran a bus back empty at 17:40 from Knutsford bus station to Dove Holes, even though if it had run in service as far as Macclesfield Macclesfield it would have filled a gap in the revised 27 timetable that many people complained about.

Would the driver have been within his hours to run it in service?

A local bus comany near where I live used to run a series of local subsidised routes and then ran a late service after midnight past my house in service back to the depot (though it was very hard to find out about as it was only mentioned in a footnote in the timetable for the other services which all ran on the other side of town).

Metro specified a revised timetable when the contract was up for renewal and the drivers were no longer within their hours so withdrew this late service.

 

[northwichcat]

Would the driver have been within his hours to run it in service?

I don't know the exact permitted hours but the old afternoon shift for the 300 service would have involved running down to Knutsford bus station usually by a car or van (which the morning driver took back), arriving by about 12:30 and starting running public services at 13:13 and finishing at around 17:40. The shift included a 5 minute break every half hour plus an extended 20 minute break at around 15:10. The driver took the bus back empty between Knutsford and Dove Holes at 17:40 via the A537 so could have run it in service as a 27 bus (without doing the optional extensions) and only adding a few extra minutes on to the total amount of time he spent driving.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The only other thing I can think of is the fact its registered to go up St Peters Square/ St Petersgate in Stockport but instead serves Stand BB (192 bus stop) at Mersey Square instead. Traveline said it was to do with ongoing bus station work but it isn't because St Petersgate is open and its using the stop next to the one it was with Bakerbus at the bus station and they served St Petersgate. I contacted High Peak to query it and never received a response.

Stand BB has had the 392/393 listed on the stands since I contacted High Peak.

According to CEC's Twitter feed "It's to correct an error made on the initial registration. The service will run along Spring Bank Lane again as Bakers did."

 

[323235]

Yes that was my tweet they were responding to.

 

[martinsh]

Does anyone remember the navy and red livery colour scheme that ran many years ago in the Accrington area ?

Ooh yes ! Swoooooon !
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35274463@N07/4151018444/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23207961@N07/6661126121/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23207961@N07/6661121625/in/set-72157628767011881/

I don't remmeber the Wulfrunian unfortunately.

 

[johnnychips]

Well, Derbyshire County's Labour again. I wonder if it'll make any difference to the services operated by High Peak?

To be fair on the previous Conservative administration, I didn't think the scale of cuts was as bad as I expected. Any ideas about the new regime?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Well, Derbyshire County's Labour again. I wonder if it'll make any difference to the services operated by High Peak?

To be fair on the previous Conservative administration, I didn't think the scale of cuts was as bad as I expected. Any ideas about the new regime?

Will Glossop still be the most likely part of Derbyshire to be forgotten despite the new regime coming into power ?

 

[tom1649]

Will Glossop still be the most likely part of Derbyshire to be forgotten despite the new regime coming into power ?

Well Glossop is represented by two Labour county councillors so maybe that will help.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I tend to think of the silver and green "Cheshire Connect" livery as one with a pleasing visual image and I suppose it is with that particular livery scheme in mind that a comparison with the Centrebus/High Peak garish livery sprang to my mind.

I saw such a liveried vehicle on the Connect 88 service this week when my wife and I were in Wilmslow.

 

[323235]

meanwhile a Connect 88 liveried bus was on the 27 service for at least two days last week.....

 

[northwichcat]

There are 3 Connect 88 livered vehicles - one DART and two Versas but for most of the day the route only requires two buses so the Connect 88 branded DART quite often finishes up on different routes such as RR3. On Sundays when the 88 route doesn't run one of the Connect 88 Versas quite often finishes up on the 130 route.

The route 88 contract specifies the minimum seating requirement is 30 seats so GHA have a lot of buses which have slightly too few seats to run the 88 service with them having a lot of 28 and 29 seater Solos and DARTs. On the other hand the 289 minimum seating requirement just a couple of seats lower which allows those Solos and DARTs to appear on the 289 route.

 

[AnonymousUser1]

It's definitely an interesting move. I try to follow centrebus closely as I am a big fan of them seeing that half the management and board are ex midland fox guys and gals...

it would be nice if they tried getting more decent routes in Leicester city boundary actually....

interestingly Leicester seems to be one of the few places where there actually is Bus competition with, First, Arriva and Centrebus having decent operations plus presence from Wellglade with Kinch / and Trent Barton services ( skylink) and others (?deCourcey heading towards coventry)

 

[BuhSnarf]

interestingly Leicester seems to be one of the few places where there actually is Bus competition with, First, Arriva and Centrebus having decent operations plus presence from Wellglade with Kinch / and Trent Barton services ( skylink) and others (?deCourcey heading towards coventry)

There's not really competition on route, though. They tend to stick to their own areas. Only one's that have competition that I can think of are route 54 an the Eyes Monsell ones?

Sent via Tapatalk HD on an Ainol NovoTab Hero 10.1

 

[AnonymousUser1]

There's not really competition on route, though. They tend to stick to their own areas. Only one's that have competition that I can think of are route 54 an the Eyes Monsell ones?

Sent via Tapatalk HD on an Ainol NovoTab Hero 10.1

arriva 5 vs first 22 up the Golden mile to Rushey Mead

arrive 5 vs centrebus 100 out to Syston / East goscote and beyond

Arriva 126/127 vs Sky link vs rail to loughborough