The dreaded FIRST BUS!

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Mon 23 May, 2011 11:08 am

The very brief existence of Yorkshire Line has come to an end and they have ceased trading. I don’t know if they have been forced out by the big boys or were just overambitious as they recently changed the Wakefield to Leeds X10 service from a 2 a day positioning move for Buses on the 53 Morley –St James route to an all day service. Having seen only 1 of their buses in the flesh but seen photos of some of the others I can only say the fleet wasn’t up to scratch but at least they did provide some competition

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Mon 23 May, 2011 12:47 pm

tyke bhoy wrote: The very brief existence of Yorkshire Line has come to an end and they have ceased trading. I don’t know if they have been forced out by the big boys or were just overambitious as they recently changed the Wakefield to Leeds X10 service from a 2 a day positioning move for Buses on the 53 Morley –St James route to an all day service. Having seen only 1 of their buses in the flesh but seen photos of some of the others I can only say the fleet wasn’t up to scratch but at least they did provide some competition I'm surprised by this news - only last week (or was it the week before?) they were proudly announcing an expansion of the Morley - St James' service due to the level of demand.

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Mon 23 May, 2011 5:12 pm

http://www.wymetro.com/travelnews/busalerts/110514T1420

Post by **chameleon** » Mon 23 May, 2011 6:03 pm

tyke bhoy wrote: http://www.wymetro.com/travelnews/busalerts/110514T1420 Nothing constructive from First/Metro then, such as altenative services for those in need? ......A step too far to expect I suppose

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 24 May, 2011 9:24 am

raveydavey wrote: tyke bhoy wrote: The very brief existence of Yorkshire Line has come to an end and they have ceased trading. I don’t know if they have been forced out by the big boys or were just overambitious as they recently changed the Wakefield to Leeds X10 service from a 2 a day positioning move for Buses on the 53 Morley –St James route to an all day service. Having seen only 1 of their buses in the flesh but seen photos of some of the others I can only say the fleet wasn’t up to scratch but at least they did provide some competition I'm surprised by this news - only last week (or was it the week before?) they were proudly announcing an expansion of the Morley - St James' service due to the level of demand. I'm afraid that I'm not even mildly surprised by the news as I take a very different view on "competition" having being involved with the nastier side of the business since the 1986 De-regulation fiasco. Firstly, to try to be fair, no-one would suggest that the established "big boys" always get it right, and since "profit above all else" became the principle in 1986 there have certainly been some scandalous cases of poor service but not in the huge proportions which folk often suggest when "jumping on the anti public transport band wagon." This is an extremely complex subject but to try and make my point simply I have experienced countless attempts by new "get rich quick" firms who are not providing sorely needed alternative services but are merely openly (but since 1986 admittedly legally) poaching passengers from established operators. This latest chapter is, in my view, an example with the possible exception of the St. James's - Morley new link. The other three services will undoubtedly have been covered adequately by Arriva - what finer service could there possibly be than the 110 from Leeds to Wakefield, Kettlethorpe and Hall Green - long established and respected and still affectionately referred to from its original tramway days as "The Track." This is not to say that ALL new starters have been bad, but many have. Amongst the most stable and the best must surely be the conscientious and sadly missed BLACK PRINCE, which was run with public service in mind and which did provide acceptably necessary extra capacity on some very busy routes. In summary, however, there have been some real horror stories - and while I was driving in the Pontefract, Doncaster, Hemsworth and Barnsley areas from 1987 to 2001 I experienced some abominable and criminal practices with atrocious old machinery which you would have to see to believe, and unjustified "poaching" on the grand scale.So just to recap - its a very complex subject indeed, and far removed from simple "much needed competition."

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 5:43 pm

chameleon wrote: tyke bhoy wrote: http://www.wymetro.com/travelnews/busalerts/110514T1420 Nothing constructive from First/Metro then, such as altenative services for those in need? ......A step too far to expect I suppose Geldards have taken over the 53 Morley-Jimmys servicehttp://www.wymetro.com/news/releases/110531Service53 I doubt there will be any improvement in the quality of the vehicles though

BIG N · Post by **BIG N** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 3:33 am

tyke bhoy wrote: BIG N wrote: The orange bendys are Brand new Ravey, I passed one on Boar lane last week and actually thought it was Centre bus - it was only when I glanced in my mirror and saw the large First logo across the back that the penny dropped. Beg to differ Big N but I've subsequently seen one that is a W Reg. That would make it new about the time Bendybuses were first introduced in Leeds. Being Orange is new but whether any of the vehicles are actually new ??????????????? Yes I humbly apologise tyke bhoy, you are of course correct, I can only assume i somehow mis-read the licence plate of the first one I saw although to be fair I was busy driving whilst trying to suss out who it actually belonged to as i passed it and only realised it was Worst bus when I saw the logo on the back in my mirror, which was when i possibly looked at the reg, well thats my excuse anyway LOL.However I can confidently report that they have been transferred from Bath where they worked for Worst and the orange and blue is not an attempt to out smart students on the 95 into thinking they are Centre bus but is actually a livery used on a dedicated route in the Bath area by First, although it has to be said, they dont seem to be in a rush to re-paint them lol.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 9:21 am

BIG N wrote: However I can confidently report that they have been transferred from Bath where they worked for Worst and the orange and blue is not an attempt to out smart students on the 95 into thinking they are Centre bus but is actually a livery used on a dedicated route in the Bath area by First, although it has to be said, they dont seem to be in a rush to re-paint them lol. Its a complicated issue I know BIG N, but I'm told by my "in house" informants that the six vehicles in Leeds have not actually ever been in Bath - but the livery is indeed a Bath experiment for a proposed "student service orientated" livery throughout the Company. These six buses were new to Bradford, soon transferred to York Park and Ride, then to Hunslet Park Depot to support the failing "Route 1 originals" and then placed in store until recently when, allegedly, an indecent amount of money has been spent on refurbishing them for their new role.

Riponian · Post by **Riponian** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 12:38 pm

~What finer service could there possibly be than the 110 from Leeds to Wakefield, Kettlethorpe and Hall Green - long established and respected and still affectionately referred to from its original tramway days as "The Track." ~I'd tend to disagree with you on that matter, I'd say the crown has well and truly been grabbed by H&D with the 36.Worst/First seem to have been until recently in a headlong race for the bottom, but they seem to be trying to fight back in North Leeds now with all these hybrids. I suspect poaching David Alexander from Transdev has been behind this.

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 1:25 pm

Whether they were from Bath or bound for Bath http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/bristol ... rvices.php Worst here have had the ability to cover them with the promotionial Uni - Arndale for £1 so I certainly think they have had chance to remove the livery. Having discovered the promotional offer I am even more of the opinion that shady practices are at work here given the buses are clearly in a very similar livery to a rival company and not similar to Worsts and the promotional offer only covers the part of the route where that rival companies service takes a detour.Riponian a couple of years ago I may have agreed that the H&D 36 was the new prestige service, however the reduction in evening service and the introduction of single deckers and other transdev liveried double deckers on the route has detracted from "the brand". This may be something to do with Worst poaching David Alexander. We will probably have to agree to disagree but I think the Chauffeur driven 110 has probably snatched back the crown