What I #Th1nk

It’s been a month now since Trent Barton’s H1 route between Derby and Heanor started using brand new Optare Versas. I wrote a blog post at the time (from York) about their arrival but this week is the first time I’ve been back in ‘Trent Barton land’ since, and I thought I’d give them a try to see what they were like, and how they compared to their predecessors.

My first bus of the day was a Swift. Regular driver Jo was fantastic, really friendly and she dealt with awful weather conditions and a full and standing bus superbly.

My initial plan was to change from my Swift service straight onto the H1 but torrential rain meant that my bus was delayed and I missed my planned bus. Instead I did my route in reverse, first heading on the Red Arrow to Nottingham Victoria before using the Rapid 1 to Heanor. My Red Arrow was busy, particularly for the time of day (and particularly in comparison to the competitive Citylink that left at a similar time) but fast as ever.

A high frequency and great quality coaches continues to be a winning formula on the Red Arrow

I had a short while to wait in Victoria for the Rapid 1, and I noticed that a lot of work has been done to it since the last time I was there. New screens make it easier to find the times for your bus and the whole place looks far more presentable. Given that the predominant user of the facility is Trent Barton, there’s plenty of their brand around the place which gives it a modern feel. Getting these sorts of facilities right is vital to ensuring that more people start to use to bus so it’s great to see that improvements have been made.

Yesterday was my second trip on the Rapid 1. Since my last trip, the route has seen success at the UK Bus awards, winning the prize for “Making Buses a Better Choice.” Anyone who takes a trip on the route can see exactly why. Prior to its 2011 introduction, the route between Langley Mill and Nottingham was “around the houses” and really time consuming. The Rapid 1 shaves around 25 minutes off journey times from Ripley, Heanor and Langley Mill into Nottingham which is a significant time saving. With the route being non-stop after Langley Mill, the driver also has the freedom to change route to avoid traffic. Upon leaving Victoria yesterday I was slightly concerned that the driver may have thought he was driving the Two, as we headed towards Wollaton. However, it soon became clear that the driver’s fantastic knowledge of Nottingham’s roads meant that we had avoided long queues and delays along the A610 before the M1 and before we knew it we were thundering up the dual carriageway with the journey to Heanor taking just 30 minutes.

The buses on the Rapid 1 proudly declare their UK Bus Award success inside and out

Whilst waiting for my H1 to arrive in Heanor, a competitive Y1 service pulled in. It was a Mercedes Benz Citaro; however it was branded for the Y5 service between Derby and Nottingham which drew a few confused looks. One person boarded the bus, using a student genie. Several other people waited for the H1 service that pulled in shortly afterwards.

Yourbus aren't as strict as Trent Barton when it comes to allocating branded bus to their correct routes, which can cause some confusion

It’s difficult to appreciate how eye-catching the new buses are by just looking at the photos. The green colour really stands out and this is helped by the bright, coloured LED destination screens. Heanor market place was dull and miserable at the time but it really did brighten it up. I was the first to board and after a friendly greet from my driver as I tapped on my student Mango card and I sat down.

The new Versas are really eye catching

Internally, the buses are state of the art. The seats are high backed and that combined with the extra soft padding makes them phenomenally comfortable. The wall coves have been redesigned and now reflect the “rolling hill” effect adopted for the new zigzag adverts. They work really well; they look modern, presentable whilst being really informative. They are a far cry from the peeling off third party adverts other operators insist on plastering inside their buses. The dark moquette and wall panels combine nicely with the cream ceiling and bright (but not dazzling) lighting to create an open and airy look (despite no rear window), whilst the H1 themed rear mural turns a normally unutilised and clinical looking section of the bus into something quite attractive.

The interiors are smart, bright and airy, and they still have the new bus smell!

 The free Wi-Fi was easy to connect to and was really quick. Thought had even been put into the “launch screen” which was also H1 themed. The bus was named “Brian,” thanks to the Namesake foundation, which allows people to name buses in exchange for a donation to the charity which supports the breast cancer unit at the Royal Derby Hospital. Next stop  screens announcements also allow people to know where to get off. This is obviously great from an accessibility point of view, in that it allows those unfamiliar with the area and those with sight disabilities to know where to get off. The problem with its use on the H1 is that there are around 40 stops along the route, and with the buses travelling quicker than other routes with the technology (such as Indigo), this can mean one announcement every minute. Whilst I personally began to ignore them fairly early on, they do seem to be one of the route’s biggest criticisms, by looking at the route’s unique hashtag (#tH1nk). This, and a faulty mango touch off reader, were the only drawbacks of the service in my opinion.

The Wi-Fi was quick and easy to connect to, and was fast as well. 

Trent Barton’s self-proclaimed title as “the really good bus company” is often disputed. However, after some time away from their services, coming back to them makes me realise that they are certainly better than your average company. All the drivers I encountered were polite and friendly and the vehicles were far better than others I’ve recently travelled on. Staff were on hand at all major terminals to assist and advise customers and information was readily available, both on bus and at the three “trent barton shops” I passed on my travels. The customer experience is the number one priority and it shows, the H1 versas may well be state of the art but all of the other routes I travelled on were of a much higher quality than is seen elsewhere in the country. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, operators could learn a lot from Trent Barton, and I urge them to take a trip on the new H1 to see how it is done.

All photos courtesy of Matt

The power of the refurbishment

My daily commute to University involves a free ride between York’s two campuses, occasionally on First York’s 4, however usually on the Transdev Unibus 44, simply because it drops me off closer to my department. Today was no exception and it was, by chance, one of the more recent additions to the Transdev York fleet that took me (halfway) home. I am referring to one of the ‘Y’ plate Plaxton Presidents, transferred in from Harrogate, mentioned in my last post.

The Presidents have been at York a while now, but today was the first time I've seen one venture onto the 44

As I also mentioned, the two new additions join two sister vehicles, which are part of the branded unibus fleet. Despite being the two oldest members of the 9 strong 44 fleet, they are, in my opinion the most comfortable. They have ample legroom and nicely padded seats. The only drawback is that their interior is a little dated, hardly surprising given their age.

The two former Harrogate Presidents join two Unibus branded sisters at York

I was therefore pleasantly surprised at how modern my offering this evening was in comparison. Unlike its sister vehicles, the Harrogate batch have had a full refurbishment, with new flooring, seat covers, wall panels and repainted grab rails. It looked like a new bus, and was many passengers were commenting on how much nicer this “new” bus was in comparison to the “old” ones (which are the same age if not newer).

Not the best photo (taken quickly on my iPhone) but it does demonstrate the modern looking interior on the refurbished buses

It just goes to show how much of an impact a refurbishment can make to a vehicle. Transdev are clearly good at this, but so are Trent Barton. The people of Hucknall and Belper would no doubt agree to that, as their designated vehicles come out of “dreamworks” (the affectionate nickname given to the Langley Mill refurb centre) looking like they’ve just come out of the box. The buses on Hucknall’s Connect certainly don’t look 14 years old, either on the inside or the outside, but the effort put into rejuvenating the Sixes fleet is like nothing seen before within Trent Barton.

The buses on Hucknall's Connect certainly don't look their 14 years

As well as a refresh to bring the brand in line with the new corporate style, plenty of thought and effort has been put into making the journeys more comfortable and enjoyable. A journey between Derby and Bakewell can take over an hour and a half so comfort is of paramount importance. It’s therefore to see that high backed seats have been retrofitted, alongside more padded bases, as seen on the 2012 Solo SRs and Versas. It’s difficult to describe in words but there is a notable difference in the comfort of these seats compared to those on the i4 Tempos. Free wifi will also allow passengers to keep themselves entertained, although you’d think the breathtaking views of the Peak District along the route would be entertainment enough…

The buses on the Sixes look as good as new inside and out thanks to their refurbishment

Thorough refurbishment is a cost efficient yet effective way of maintain an attractive fleet. Buses do age quickly, they get dirty and the volume of people using them can make the seats fade into nothing. Failing to act on a deteriorating environment inside a bus can lead to passengers being put off their use which can have a long term negative impact. Buses are expensive things to buy, and a good quality refurbishment is far from cheap, but the results are obvious. Neither Transdev nor Trent Barton would be investing the money that they are in refurbishing vehicles if they weren’t seeing results by way of increased passenger numbers and therefore increased profits. Other companies would only benefit if they took a look inside some of their buses, and engaged them in a programme of thorough refurbishment to make them as good as new once again. 

The two York President photos are from Chris whilst the Trent Barton photos are from Matt. The interior pic is mine, though I'm not so worried about anyone nicking that (photography's not my strong point!).

Going against the current

As I mentioned in my last post, 2014 is the year of the bus in London. It is a year that is designed to encourage people into using London’s bus network. However, BBC 2’s programme, entitled “The Route Masters: Running London’s Roads” seems somewhat counter-productive to that notion. Sunday night’s episode, the sixth of six (admittedly I missed the first five, aired last year) focussed on crime taking part on London’s buses, and the teams trying to tackle it. To be frank, it portrayed the buses as dangerous places, where every other passenger is concealing a knife, or is trying to pickpocket you. Places where drunk people spent the night, and where ticket inspectors would publicly flog you if your ticket was incorrect.

Of course, the BBC is under no obligation to support tfl’s message with regards to buses and making good television that is enjoyed and watched by enough TV licence payers is more of a priority. Whilst I’ve never travelled on a London bus, I can’t imagine them being that much different to buses I’ve travelled on in other parts of the country, but when the aim of the programme was to fill an hour with people busting crime on London’s buses, it was always inevitable that it would appear as if all of Britain’s most unsavoury characters travel by bus.

The whole episode was a kick in the teeth for bus travel. It was an unfair portrayal. Of course some crime does take place on buses, but crime happens all over the place, on trains, in city centres and even in schools and hospitals. But buses do have high levels of CCTV on board which does seem to a fairly strong sense of security whilst travelling. I must have completed hundreds, if not thousands of journeys by bus and I can honestly say that I have never witnessed, or been aware of any crime on a bus on which I've been travelling. Here’s hoping the episode doesn't put people off bus travel too much and that tfl’s efforts haven’t been in vain.

In other London news, its been announced that cash fares are to be completely scrapped. Given the success of the multi modal and multi operator oyster card, fewer than 1% of journeys are paid for by cash. Given the cost of collecting cash fares (tfl estimates £130 million), in addition to the additional risk for drivers being in possession of cash, it does seem like a smart move, particularly considering the fact that more people are able to pay via contactless bank cards. It is, however hard to imagine a cashless system in either the East Midlands, or in York any time soon. Whilst smartcards are available for a lot of operators, often with financial savings, the general attitude towards them is not as positive as it is towards oyster. I predict two reasons for that, firstly, far fewer inter-operator tickets are available, and inter-modal tickets are near non-existent. Secondly, the network coverage is not as good, with greater distances to the nearest bus stop and less frequent buses. This makes the whole attitude to public transport less positive, meaning fewer occasional journeys and more cash payments. Will we eventually see cash fares being scrapped in the provinces? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, in York…

The past few weeks have seen quite a few fleet changes in York, worthy of a mention here!

Transdev

Transdev have received two Plaxton Presidents from Harrogate. Both are from the ‘Y’ plate batch, joining two sisters already here and in the Unibus fleet, however these have benefited from a high quality refurbishment. Both are due repaints soon, though as to what livery remains a mystery!

One of the Volvo Wrightbus Eclipses that had left the York fleet has returned, but this time with rear vinyls! It had previously had nothing on the back at all and looked really bland. This seems to suggest that it might be around for a while, retaining a bit of class and modernity on the 844 Coastliner route.

After weeks of problems, the UB1 Optare Solo SR entered service on Monday. A recharging point has been installed (or is at least being installed) at the York Sport Village

First

A number of buses have arrived at York from Halifax, both Eclipses and Geminis. These are replacing some of the ALX 400s which are due to transfer to Manchester to cover the former Finglands routes. These seems to be getting a repaint before they go.

Arriva

Arriva’s new Solo SRs have also entered service recently. They replace the plain white, loaned solos that have been used on the 24/6/7 series of routes over the past few months. Having become familiar to Arriva branded solos on the Mackworth routes in Derby, the ‘new’ buses don’t have quite the same appeal as some others do. 

All London photos courtesy of Matt, and all York ones courtesy of Chris

The year of the bus

2014 is, for Transport for London (tfl), the “year of the bus.” In a collaboration with the London Transport museum, tfl are planning “a series of engaging events, exhibitions, recreations and activities that will reconnect Londoners with their bus network and remind the world of the incredible role it plays in this great city.”

It is fantastic to see tfl promoting bus transportation in this way. They’re encouraging people to see travelling by bus in a totally different light and encouraging people to think about trying the bus out. It is for many a cheap and convenient form of transport, and many members of the public might not even think about trying it out. By running such events and promotions, tfl can encourage greater bus use and take even more cars off London’s busy streets.

Of course, London’s bus network is very different to those outside of the M25. Tfl keeps its routes under very close control, but also invests heavily in them. This means that London’s routes run at very high frequencies using very modern buses, often electric hybrids, as mandated by the tfl contract. It is therefore easier to encourage people onto the buses of London when such a network is in place which means it’s hardly unsurprising that similar campaigns aren’t prevalent in provincial Britain.

There really hasn't been a better time to travel by bus, as the new electric bus for the UB1 prepares to enter into service...

One such place where a bus-encouragement campaign is in place, however, is York. “There’s never been a better time to get the bus,” proclaim posters on advertising hoardings across the city. It’s the sort of message that local authorities really should be promoting. The more people that use bus services, the need lessens for public subsidy. Furthermore, bus travel removes cars from congested city centre streets, making the centres more attractive places to be. In a city as reliant on tourism on York, having local residents taking the bus into town frees up car parking spaces for cash spending visitors.

...whilst First York decreases its average fleet age by drafting buses in from elsewhere within the empire

Time and time again, York City Council have shown themselves to be a Council that really promotes bus travel. Whether it be through the “better bus area” funding or a strong provision of, and investment in park and ride facilities, the residents and visitors to York benefit from the collaboration between local authority and local operator. It is a recipe for success and one that results in benefits for all involved. Here’s hoping that other local authorities look at the work of Transport for London and York City Council and act to promote bus travel within their regions.

The two photos of York's buses are courtesy of Chris, keep an eye on his photostream for photos of the new electric bus in service over the coming weeks.

One year on...

A year ago today, Premiere travel ceased trading. They had ran out of money and without any buyer coming forward, the company had no choice but to close. It drew a close to ten  years of the ‘marmite’ company that was famed for its “fare fairs” and competition along corridors served by Trent Barton.

The Red9 was one of Premiere's more successful ventures

Premiere’s collapse wasn’t exactly a shock, but at the same time it was a little unexpected and happened very quickly. There were mutterings of it happening on the Sunday and by the Friday the yard gates were locked. It goes to show that it is practically impossible to know the exact financial position of a company, or indeed how well they are performing.

The Redflyer, however incurred huge losses

Since Premiere’s demise, we have seen two other firms in the East Midlands succumb to economic problems. Both K&H Doyle and Gills were smaller than Premiere but all three relied heavily on work part funded by local authorities. All three are testament to the fact that this work will not guarantee long term survival, in a time of massive cuts to public funding, these contracts cannot prop up risky commercial ventures, as within time, cracks will start to show. Premiere also operated services on behalf of the University of Nottingham and National Express which shows that the margins on this work will be tiny and not enough to keep a business going indefinitely.

Premiere operated routes on behalf of National Express, but they didn't have a portfolio anywhere near the size of Yourbus'

Premiere tried a large number of routes linking Nottingham with various Trent Barton strongholds with varying degrees of success. The Red1 to Bingham was popular due to it providing a direct link to Radcliffe from Nottingham, rather than going via West Bridgeford. Trent Barton struggled for capacity at Premiere’s collapse and the same was true for Skylink, with the Red5 being reasonably popular. Less success was found in Stapleford and Cotgrave, not helped by Midland General’s bargain bus. Similarly ill-fated was the Red Flyer which was withdrawn after reportedly making losses of £1,000 a week. This on a route that required only two buses.

Since the loss of Premiere, Gill's travel has also gone under...

It was before Premiere’s collapse that we learned of Yourbus’ plans to run their Citylink service. Often branded as the “posh premiere,” their tactics and methods do seem familiar, building up a portfolio of contract work and attempting a number of commercial routes in competition with established operators. There are, however two key differences which could place Yourbus at even more of a disadvantage.

...as has K&H Doyle

Firstly is the large amount of dead mileage that Yourbus’ fleet travels on a daily basis. With the exception of the Y1 Y3 and 138, all Yourbus routes start in towns some distance from their Heanor base. At least one bus even travels empty from Ashbourne to Heanor every evening, a 40 minute, 20 mile trip. In contrast, most of Premiere’s routes started or finished in Nottingham, a mile or two from their depot or were interworked with routes that did, the 228 was ran off the back of the Red8, for example. This adds a massive sum to Yourbus’ fuel bill but also the wages bill. It is a little difficult to comprehend how this can be sustainable, particularly when many of the contracted journeys were won off established operators who would have had a good understanding of the pricing for the tenders. Even more so when you consider that a reasonable amount were taken off K&H Doyle who have themselves been forced to shut.

Premiere certainly didn't have the most attractive fleet!

Secondly, Premiere’s fleet may have looked terrible, it was certainly economical. It was  a mishmash of buses many of which could have done with a bit of TLC, but buses were no doubt bought at good value prices. In contrast, runs a very modern fleet, with bought-from-new Mercedes Benz Citaros for the commercial services and Wright Streetlites making up the backbone of the contracted fleet. These will no doubt come at a cost before considering depreciation. What however works in Yourbus’ favour is that nice new buses will attract more customers which will make the work more profitable. Yourbus certainly aren’t the only operator in the county to buy brand new buses for tendered work either, Hulleys of Baslow regularly add new members to its fleet so it clearly isn’t that alien an idea.

Y1 is one of a number of routes ran with brand new Citaros, a far cry from the second hand buses Premiere used to compete.

I’m not of course suggesting that Yourbus will be in administration within days. A quick look on Company Check shows that they retained a profit of nearly £1.2 million in the financial year ended last February. However, I do hope that Yourbus don’t live up to their nickname as a “posh Premiere,” given that people’s livelihoods are always on the line in these type of situations. Hopefully, Yourbus can continue to place the necessary checks and balances on the established operators in a sustainable way, or at least realise any mistakes they are making before it is too late and they too suffer the same fate the Premiere suffered a year ago today.

Photos courtesy of Matt

Another one bites the dust

It’s been nearly a year now since Premiere travel ceased trading, and only a few months since Gill’s travel shut its doors. Now, we hear the sad news that K&H Doyle’s Coaches of Alfreton have gone out of business. Their fleet of smart lime green buses have been a feature around the East Midlands, particularly Alfreton and Mansfield for many years, and their loss is a sad one, and indeed a reflection on the hard times that many companies continue to face.

K&H Doyle was started by husband and wife team Kevin and Helen Doyle back in 1986. They were a company that relied upon council contracts, and as far as I am aware, all of their routes at closure relied on council subsidy. A quick glance on their (still active) website history shows that they have, at some point, reached all corners of the region, from Sheffield to Ashbourne, from Derby to Nottingham.

The council tender market in recent times has however become far more competitive. Yourbus is now a big player in the market and I fear their arrival may well have been the cause of Doyle’s closure.  In October 2009, K&H Doyle lost their first contracts to Yourbus in the form of the 140/1/2 services around the Crich area. Since then, Yourbus have taken over the running of the 228, 229, 59, 138, 101 and 147 all from the same operator. The 101 was registered commercially by Yourbus, K&H Doyle decided to attempt a competitive commercial service too after the council was obliged to withdraw their subsidy but it was Yourbus who were successful in that battle.

K&H Doyle stopped running the Eastwood town services after competition from Yourbus

The failure of K&H Doyle also demonstrates that the belief that council contracts are “guaranteed money” and are able to support failing commercial services is misguided. The notion that a company’s financial future is sound because they have a large portfolio of subsidised routes is wrong. K&H Doyle were a company who had such a portfolio, and with no commercial services to drain cash either. In the competitive market, companies are having to bid for contracts with little or no profit margin, and if the collective margins don’t cover any overheads, then it won’t be long until the bailiffs come knocking at the door.

It is cruel coincidence that one of Doyles’ routes at their closure was the 228, one taken on after the collapse of Premiere last year. Or that Gill’s Travel operated two of Doyles’ former buses, still in their green livery. The loss of K&H Doyle is a sad one for the region; they were a liked and respected operator, judging by the messages of condolence on twitter from big names in other companies. The majority of services seem to have been replaced within a short space of time, and hopefully former employees will find work at other companies quickly. It is a great shame, but we shall never see the smart green fleet on our roads again.

All photos are courtesy of Matt

Someth1ng is happening in Heanor...

Heanor has, over the past six months or so become a key battleground town in the competition between Trent Barton and Yourbus. It’s hardly surprising, seeing as the town is home to the head office of both companies. And whilst all competitive routes are being well fought out, the H1/Y1 competition has resulted in a lot of changes, at the expense of the accounts of both companies, but undoubtedly to the benefit of passengers along the corridor.

Most of the current fleet has been in use for five years but this bus was added a few months ago to increase the frequency to four buses an hour

In December 2008, the four 2001 Optare Solos were taken off H1. Wearing their third variation of the livery for the direct Derby to Heanor service, they were no longer big enough for the amount of people using the service. The Scania Wrightbus Solars proudly proclaimed that the new additions to the H1 fleet boasted 30% more seats, to make sure everyone could have a comfortable journey.

This one's personal: a new fleet for Heanor's H1

And that’s what’s been provided ever since. The usual Trent Barton standard, complete with bright airy interiors and a friendly team of drivers (including one who has an uncanny resemblance to Mr Mango…)

"The H1 team are fantastic, they’re the number one reason when we ask our customers why they choose to travel on H1 compared to our competitors” Alex Hornby. The nostalgist in me particularly likes this rear ad, given the route's former nickname of "the happy 1"

However, at the start of August last year, the H1 gained some company, at least along the more frequent and popular Heanor to Derby stretch. As part of their network expansion, Yourbus introduced a brand new fleet of Mercedes Citaros on their new Y1 route, complete with free Wi-Fi and a matched 20 minute frequency. This was serious competition for the route, and I (with my limited knowledge on figures) wondered just how H1 would fare; would the low fares and new buses win over vast sums of customers? Or would people stick with what they knew?

"We do Derby direct...

In order to keep control of this busy corridor, Trent Barton had to offer something different and more attractive, and they’ve made every effort to do just that. Firstly, an extra bus was drafted in to create a better frequency. That means more flexibility and less waiting for customers which is very likely to appeal. Then came fare deals, such as half price travel after 7pm and on Sundays and £1 trips for students travelling between Derby and Broomfield College. These would have appealed to vital sections of the customer base and may well have encouraged those who would usually use alternative transport to try the bus, thus growing the market in general.

...but we'll also take you back to Heanor via the quick route"

But none of that is as significant as the £600,000 investment made into brand new, state of the art buses for the route. They went into service yesterday, having been on show in both Heanor and Derby over the course of the weekend.

A lot of thought has gone into the presentation of the interiors, from the coves to the rear wall

Whilst I admit I have had to watch from afar (mainly via flickr), the new buses do look fantastic. Clearly a lot of effort has gone into the passenger experience, and the five Optare Versas look very modern and stylish, thanks to the new(ish) Trent Barton brand. Customers will now also benefit from high speed Wi-Fi, "the fastest Wi-fi we can get," according to Alex Hornby. They’ll also never miss their stop, thanks to next-stop displays inside the buses, nor will they miss their bus coming thanks to a Trent Barton first; full colour LED destination displays.

The new sh1ny buses have "wow factor" according the MD Jeff

The introduction of the new buses will no doubt put the H1 back into a very strong position in the Heanor to Derby battle. They've given the route vast sums of publicity and provide a passenger experience unparalleled in the industry. Despite a recent increase in the frequency of the Y1, the introduction of the new buses to the H1 will no doubt keep the route as a firm favourite for the locals of Heanor.

All the photos are from Matt Burley. 

To see Matt's fantastic video about the launch, take a look on the Trent Barton play Youtube feed here.