Picture: entirely random, but Routemaster buses are still operating in Central London on tourist service A. This runs from Waterloo Station to Piccadilly Circus using three buses on an every 20 minute service. it is operated by Transpora Group’s Londoner Buses operation.
Yup. I have been feeling rubbish since before Christmas, you probably noticed that in my more recent posts and it’s fine; cognitive behavioural therapy will sort out what a still large scotch with a scotch mixer can not. So it is time for one of those things that I hate, doing a general round-up of what I have missed.
XelaGroup
So while I am feeling in a not so grumpy point, let’s start with the guys in green.
The axe might have finally fallen, after recent service reductions, on the X10 which runs between Southampton, West End, Durley and Bishops Waltham. The Hampshire County Council contract comes to an end on Friday 31st March and are “re-tendering” it.
I feel this has been on the cards for a while and I have occasionally hinted at it in the past following an anonymous tip. The service has been turbulent, with the 0725 from Waltham Chase previously being a regular contender for cancellations for a variety of reasons.
The last day of operation is registered as Friday 31st March.
The schools X9A service for Swanmore College is also having a route and timetable change effective Monday 3rd April. It’s unlikely to be a significant change as it is a schools centric service. I would also expect that the similarly tendered Xelabus X9 service will see a cancellation in the coming days as (if I remember correctly) it was all part of the same tendering package. The X9 is now also cancelled from 31st March, as per this post on the Xelabus website after we published. I can only assume the X9A will continue as a schools service.
Yellow Coaches
I hear that the Yeomans Way Bournemouth Airport outstation might now have closed and XelaGroup are now using Poole Stadium Coach Park as a base for their Bournemouth operations?
Funnily enough, that message came winding it’s way to me on a carrier pigeon as I was writing something further down about the 18 heading to morebus!
First Bus
First Wessex have their regular tourist services registered for timetables changes.
The 502 Sunseeker 12 to Haven’s Littlesea Caravan Park shows a timetable change from Wednesday 1 March; which I think is not strictly true as Littlesea itself opens on Friday 10th March. So either it is a typo that might start 10th March, or actually the registration contains a period of operation starting later in the month.
What also makes me think that?
The 503 Sunseeker 13 to Waterside Holiday Park also shows a timetable change, but taking effect from Friday 17th March. Common sense at the Hampshire Bus Update is not quite a big thing, but that is the first date that Bowleaze Cove Holiday Park is open for bookings.
Personally I am disappointed they are changing the numbers, which have not changed for a long time; so does that hint that the 501 will become the Sunseeker 11? Is this a ploy to make the services sound less tourist, more in line with local numbering and trying to appease tweets like:
Don’t forget, we have already posted about the changes at First Solent with the Southsea Coaster 50 running again this year! Maybe that should be rebranded as a Sunseeker 50 service – albeit I prefer the Sunrider branding from People’s Provincial back in the 1990s.
Also – I referred to anomalies in the Saturday timetable for First Solent 27 in Havant. I did suggest it might be an error in the data and I was right as the Saturday service, as we noted, is fully withdrawn.
… and a bit of grumpyness
I know – I hate being anti-bus company – I was though going to write a whole piece about customer interactions between customers and companies more generally. Remember me saying above about holding my tongue?
Please, for the sake of the customers, have customer service teams that know the patch. I think I have corrected the ‘First Social Media’ team so many times that they have now muted the Hampshire Bus Update twitter account from their Hootsuite. I think Hootsuite has individual log-ins for users, so it might just be a small number.
Someone asking about the Solent Ranger X4 and X5 on the City Red Twitter should not have been directed to Bluestar though. That is just one example – I stopped doing it for a while because I know I probably now have a reputation – but even if there was a local-ish team based in (I know… it’s closing) Empress Road it would have been better.
Go South Coast
Further to the new services being introduced in February, Bluestar have lodged timetable alterations for Bluestar 17 and Bluestar 18.
The whole timetable changes, but the overall effect is quite minor. For the Bluestar 17 between Weston, The City and Adanac Park has the effect that some buses that either start from Southampton City Centre in the morning (or terminate there in the evening) are either the bus before, or after the one it is now.
Likewise with the Bluestar 18, the timetable changes, but it is still every 10 minutes on both services, and with a few minutes extra running time at some points.
morebus have confirmed to me that the Yellow Coaches service 18 reverts back to them from 18th February with an announcement due imminently. It was not specifically the question I was asking them, but it was an answer that is useful. I would imagine that the 33 and 36 are likely to go back to morebus around the same time…. but we will await that announcement.
We also have the amendments registered for The Needles Breezer on the Isle of Wight effective Saturday 4th March. Normally we see a low season hourly service and a high season half-hourly service. The registration notes revised timetables and dates. I can not imagine this ending up as a service reduction as it does seem quite popular whenever I am in the area, in season.
Be aware!
Dekkabus used Poole Stadium Coach Park to park one or two vehicles and this was a major contributing factor in the loss of their first operators licence.
It will be VERY interesting to see if similar regulatory action is taken against Xelabus/Yellow Coaches/Yellow coaches/Your Name Here.
I suspect that such action was only reserved for Dekkabus though!
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e663782d3bf7f108a2591d3/T-2019-34.pdf
Here’s the real reason Mark Self. Not just the parking in Poole the problem was it now? Doesn’t even mention the white powder!
That document lays a lot at the directors of the company. Given who the vehicle examiner is for the area we can be sure xelabus will shortly be before the TC for similar issues. As an operator that’s appeared before the TC before, stronger action will be taken on the licence rather the formal warning first strike.
Explains why they’re a little cagey on announcing non operation of services.
Well Mr Hampshire Bus Update we have ourselves a Selfhater! With so many knives in ones’ back (never in the chest I hasten to add), this post could be from many to choose from!
However, I’ll put a rolled up fiver on it being a wonky kneed 36 year old (repeatedly failing) business entrepreneur from East of the Leigh being the infamous Selfhater! The one that loves operating 16 seat vehicles – probably because he spent all of his school years travelling on a ‘wet windowed one to ‘special schools’ in the area! 🫢
So, Selfhater has provided a link to public information regarding the upper tribunal appeal decision for Dekkabus and myself. Relevant if Looney Rooney’s written decision was included as well.
However, it’s worthy of note that at the tribunal hearing, the three members of the panel agreed that TC Ronney’s language was inflammatory, unnecessary and went way beyond the remit of a Traffic Commissioner and that it was likely that the decision to revoke the licence of Dekkabus was disproportionate to the actions of the operator. With regard to me personally, the situation was exactly the same, the action of temporarily disqualifying me from being a transport manager was disproportionate. It was decided that being as this case was very straightforward, the the judge asked if we would give her 6 weeks to give her decision in writing so that she could concentrate on more intricate and heinous cases whereby it was in the public interest to act on those cases far more expeditiously. We agreed to that.
But, in a complete about turn, 6 weeks later, our appeal was not upheld as indicated.
It was abundantly clear that judge beach had been ‘knobbled’ .
While only 15 pages long in her explanation (TC Rooney’s written decision being a record breaking 17 pages in length) . All for parking a bus outside the house on a break, spacing a number plate incorrectly and stretching the truth regarding an operating centre. Just remember, no prohibitions, no drivers hours infringements.
You see, when most enter the profession, they keep to the bland and the boring, never taking risks, fearing failure, just (what I call) industry plodders. Let’s face it, Hampshire and Dorset is saturated with those types.
However when someone tries thinking outside of the box, daring to change the norm, pushing standards higher, raising the advertising and marketing bar to the highest it’s ever been, then some of those plodders get awful jealous.
Attacks on vehicles, attacks on premises and most sadly, attacks on personalities too.
Since achieving what I achieved with:
Sea View Coaches in the 90’s and 2000’s
The creation of Roadliner in the 00’s
The creating of Dekkabus in 2015 for silicone Trev
I was once told by a very senior Magir Bus Group Managing Director that I gave the South Coast of England the biggest kick up the arse since the 1980’s. A comment (and accolade) which I am exceptionally proud of!
People have been so jealous they’ve taken their eye off their own ball to make sure that my success will mean their ultimate demise.
In simple terms, it’s me or them.
While I conceitedly admit, I have the ability to create masterpieces in road transport, one thing I do lack is tactical deviance. In a more suitable vernacular, I don’t plan for arseholes playing dirty against me.
This was applicable to the Roadliner and Dekkabus brands.
It’s very sad to think that those who are so so intimidated by my marketing prowess deem it necessary to attack me personally to succeed and stay in the business longer than I.
To quote my all time heroine Margaret Thatcher “I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”
And so right she was too.
Now, forgive me, I have to pop to the shops to pick up some white powder, after all, I like my whites whitey white!
MRS
Must be easier for Xela/Yellow to run their Highcliffe school duties(Brockenhurst/Sway/Hordle) from Eastleigh–go to be less dead miles and hours ..
I would like to point out that I worked for Dekkabus for a brief period and was very well looked after. Mark is correct with what he says and he certainly has the experience in the industry.
Morebus have just released an announcement on their website today that confirms they are taking on the 18, 33 and 36 in Bournemouth from Wednesday 15th February. See link here: https://www.morebus.co.uk/operation-routes-18-33-and-36