WARNING! LONG AND
VERY ANTI-ARRIVA POST, EVEN BY MY STANDARDS, AHEAD!
...
I can't actually think of
any operation anywhere, with the possible exception of Arriva Merseyside, that has actually seen an improvement since these twerps turned up! Were ATW to resume the Aberystwyth to London service, the WSMR wouldn't be the only casualty, ATW would lose out too (aww... what a shame!). The simple fact is that the route would fail, but they would have succeeded in killing off some competition.
Anyway, some proof:
CrossCountry: The franchise thrived under Virgin. Shops were available, services ran to exotic locations nationwide (Brighton being the obvious example, but others include Portsmouth, Bath and the WCML north of the M62 area) and no-one ever really complained. Then Arriva stole it, jacked up the fares whilst removing the shop (also known as
profiteering), and happily agreed with the imperialistic DafT on what to run and where. Now, we have a farce of a service which is always jammed full. If I recall correctly, Brighton services were curtailed to provide more capacity between Birmingham and Leeds... as though two or three units would make any difference.
Not to mention the total lack of increase in capacity between the two.
Tellings Golden Miller: Once upon a time, as recently as 2004, TGM was a fast-improving new PLC offering bus services in the Surrey area. Then Stephen Telling retired, and the bus services were sold off, thus forming Travel London (but that's another story). Eventually, the entire operation was sold - to Arriva. Now, the company is isolated. It receives no help from other subsidiaries (not even from the nearby London or Guildford operations), and is effectively being left to rot. Maybe I should get my father to come on here and rant about them
Southend: Sorry. I had to. After a war with Thamesway nearly bankrupted both companies, Southend Borough Council were forced to sell. Along came British Bus who, after several sales and name changes, ultimately became (a part of) the newly-formed Arriva. Soon, they made themselves look like the good guys. Eight new Darts were nice enough, but they were trumped by the acquisition of fifteen Tridents, which set to work on services 7 and 8. Five years later, where were they? Luton! Maidstone! Milton Keynes, for goodness sake! Instead we received a batch of at best dated Olympians, none of which still operates in Southend. Now, all they care about is service 1. The most profitable. So, being Arriva, they decide to increase the frequency, which is good... at the expense of the 7. Not to mention they dumped some single-deck Scanias on the route.
And so on. Put simply, Arriva should die. Period. And to get back to the point in question, if they were to kill off WSMR...
"SMOWK SAMMAN, ON A CHRAIN?" "CHOO, CHOO!" :roll:
