Rotala Management - Questions & Answers

[Ash]

Hi Simon I tried to purchase your £6 diamond network ticket twice today once on a 4 service and then on a 4H. Both drivers had no idea about the ticket with one trying to sell me a n network ticket. Even under the diamond network tab on the ticket machine all it has was an option for the 50% off the Evesham fares. Instead I had to go on the train to Kidderminster and then the bus to Stourport which was a bit disappointed as I wanted to use the diamond services and not the trains. Is the £6 diamond network 1 day ticket available to buy on the bus as I would think drivers would be aware of the ticket and where to find it on the bus but after each driver spending 5 minutes trying to find it I just walked off the bus but to be honest before I even asked the driver I guess they wouldn't be aware of the ticket or where to find it on the ticket machine if it was available. I will try again soon and hopefully have more luck.

[Isle of Stroma]

Both drivers had no idea about the ticket with one trying to sell me a n network ticket.

I just walked off the bus but to be honest before I even asked the driver I guess they wouldn't be aware of the ticket or where to find it on the ticket machine if it was available. I will try again soon and hopefully have more luck.

A little disappointing that revenue is being refused for the sake of a radio call back to the depot...

[Westy]

What seems like a daft question, but I had a problem using a similar ticket 20 odd years ago back in the BCC days & it wasn't funny at the time!

People may remember that bus companies got the abillity to sell Daytripper from the ticket machine on the bus, instead of going to the nearest Travel Shop & buying one of the scratchcards.

Ok, so I thought, I give it a go & bought one from a WMT driver & headed over to Dudley.

I fell foul of the BCC driver on the 311 at the time, who despite me informing him it was a WMPTE / Centro Daytripper, even though it looked like a standard WMT bus ticket, swore blind he could not accept it! (I put this down to lack of communication between management & drivers of the time!)

Now 20 years on, BCC is now Diamond, but if I buy a Daytripper from a National Express driver, which looks like a standard National Express bus ticket, are your drivers now clued up enough to recognise a National Express branded Daytripper or will I more than likely have another 'discussion' with one of your drivers over the validity of the ticket?

(Can I please stress, I'm definetely talking about the £6 NWM / Centro Daytrippers & not the £3.90 National Express Daysavers, so there is no confusion & misunderstanding!)

[PM]

What seems like a daft question, but I had a problem using a similar ticket 20 odd years ago back in the BCC days & it wasn't funny at the time!

People may remember that bus companies got the abillity to sell Daytripper from the ticket machine on the bus, instead of going to the nearest Travel Shop & buying one of the scratchcards.

Ok, so I thought, I give it a go & bought one from a WMT driver & headed over to Dudley.

I fell foul of the BCC driver on the 311 at the time, who despite me informing him it was a WMPTE / Centro Daytripper, even though it looked like a standard WMT bus ticket, swore blind he could not accept it! (I put this down to lack of communication between management & drivers of the time!)

Now 20 years on, BCC is now Diamond, but if I buy a Daytripper from a National Express driver, which looks like a standard National Express bus ticket, are your drivers now clued up enough to recognise a National Express branded Daytripper or will I more than likely have another 'discussion' with one of your drivers over the validity of the ticket?

(Can I please stress, I'm definetely talking about the £6 NWM / Centro Daytrippers & not the £3.90 National Express Daysavers, so there is no confusion & misunderstanding!)

Well yes diamond's drivers are perfectly capable of accepting a nxwm issued nbus ticket and do it all the time so yes, they are perfectly "clued up"

[Simon Dunn]

Hi Simon,

One thing I've noticed whilst browsing the diamond site is that it does not contain any of the network changes that have been made since the network map was made in Oct 2012.

Is there any plans for marketing to change it and also would mini network maps (eg Redditch, Kidderminster, the Black Country) work on there as a way for folks in those areas to see specific routes without some of the restrictions the big network map has?

I believe the site has been updated.  What do you think is out of date?

With regards mini network maps.  This is not something we have previously considered.

Simon

Hi Simon

I should have made myself clear

http://diamondbuses.com/network.html

This is what I meant when I said that it does not contain any of the network changes that have been made since the network map was made in Oct 2012.

It still shows routes like the 17 and does not show any of the ex First routes Diamond had now.

Thank you. 

This will be corrected

[Simon Dunn]

Winston

The £2.75 million is the value of the Long Acre property.

Although Shady Lane can be sold, we foresee a more likely solution to sublet part of it.

We do not believe we will rent/lease/sell all the site to one person.  We have not as yet decided, this is exactly what we want to do.  We are considering our options, one option if we do recieve an offer for the asking price is that the Unit next door to Tividale is for Sale.  Potentially we could relocate our Head Office staff to the site current depot/ acquire the unit next door for the Operational team and combine all the site into one.

There are potentially other things we could, not sell Beacon House (part of Long Acre)

We are at present exploring options.

Thanks Simon,

Interesting stuff, is the site next door to Tividale that is currently for sale the glass re-processors? or the site that you turn right in to off Hallbridge Way that backs on to the canal?

I guess acquring that site would make sense and keep all Wm operations under one roof/on one site. Most of Diamond's routes can be run from Tividale without too much dead mileage

Its the glass site, which is for sale

Simon,

That's the better of the two properties, as it would also allow you to be able to extend the Tividale yard in front of the engineering block if an offer was made/accepted. Sounds as though it may be worth snapping it up as a bolt-on regardless of whether or not you decide to vacate Long Acre. You'd then have the potential in the future to make Tividale in to one super depot & Rotala HQ if desired and/or increase capacity at Tividale ;)

Do Rotala own or lease the overflow yard on the opposite side of the road to the depot?

We sublet the property

[Simon Dunn]

Hi Simon I tried to purchase your £6 diamond network ticket twice today once on a 4 service and then on a 4H. Both drivers had no idea about the ticket with one trying to sell me a n network ticket. Even under the diamond network tab on the ticket machine all it has was an option for the 50% off the Evesham fares. Instead I had to go on the train to Kidderminster and then the bus to Stourport which was a bit disappointed as I wanted to use the diamond services and not the trains. Is the £6 diamond network 1 day ticket available to buy on the bus as I would think drivers would be aware of the ticket and where to find it on the bus but after each driver spending 5 minutes trying to find it I just walked off the bus but to be honest before I even asked the driver I guess they wouldn't be aware of the ticket or where to find it on the ticket machine if it was available. I will try again soon and hopefully have more luck.

I am sorry about this.  The ticket machines contain the ability to issue these tickets.  If you can advise what journey time, what direction and what pick up point we will indentify the driver for retraining.

[Nathan4775]

Hi Simon;

Regards to service 56 (B'Ham - Brownhills) is it not possible to re-introduce the X56 without it running limited stop from Kingstanding, College Road straight into Birmingham as it used to before it was withdrawn an replaced with 56 journeys, instead have it run limited stop from Perry Barr, Wellhead Lane - Birmingham like the 934/5/6, 997 do currently 

I only say this because off the passenger loadings, between Kingstanding - Birmingham very few passengers can board the service, I think from a personal point of view what puts them off getting the 56 is that it runs the same route as the 33 from Hawthorn Road - Birmingham and think it means stop, start from Perry Barr - Town were in fact that's not the case there has been many times were this route has just gone straight through without stopping until Birmingham Uni were as if the X56 was re-introduced you could see a rise in passenger loadings.

So the new route would be as follows;

normal stopping between Brownhills, The Rising Sun - Perry Barr, Wellhead Lane then over the flyover stopping at Royal mail, Lancaster Circus, B'Ham Uni, Moor Street & Lower Bull Street.

Just floating an Idea that's all

Regards
Nathan

[Westy]

Hi Simon;

Regards to service 56 (B'Ham - Brownhills) is it not possible to re-introduce the X56 without it running limited stop from Kingstanding, College Road straight into Birmingham as it used to before it was withdrawn an replaced with 56 journeys, instead have it run limited stop from Perry Barr, Wellhead Lane - Birmingham like the 934/5/6, 997 do currently 

I only say this because off the passenger loadings, between Kingstanding - Birmingham very few passengers can board the service, I think from a personal point of view what puts them off getting the 56 is that it runs the same route as the 33 from Hawthorn Road - Birmingham and think it means stop, start from Perry Barr - Town were in fact that's not the case there has been many times were this route has just gone straight through without stopping until Birmingham Uni were as if the X56 was re-introduced you could see a rise in passenger loadings.

So the new route would be as follows;

normal stopping between Brownhills, The Rising Sun - Perry Barr, Wellhead Lane then over the flyover stopping at Royal mail, Lancaster Circus, B'Ham Uni, Moor Street & Lower Bull Street.

Just floating an Idea that's all

Regards
Nathan

Would they be able to use 'X56', now NX uses the number?

[Nathan4775]

I didn't think of that;
Or maybe 56X or 956?. Then again the X56 NX runs only through peak hours

[Steveminor]

I don't see any problem using the x56 number after all diamond were using it when midland were running the x56 so what is the difference now.

[PM]

Had another good day out exploring the diamond network but for some reason Simon Diamond Network tickets are not available to purchase on any tividale vehicles-could this possibly be corrected?

Could the red diamond eclipses also be given a good deep clean and removal of out of date notices?

[Simon Dunn]

Had another good day out exploring the diamond network but for some reason Simon Diamond Network tickets are not available to purchase on any tividale vehicles-could this possibly be corrected?

Could the red diamond eclipses also be given a good deep clean and removal of out of date notices?

All the ticket machines at Tividale, Redditch and Kidderminster use the same back office.  Therefore the tickets are on the ticket machine.  Following two reports of the same thing, we will retrain all the drivers.  In the mean time, can you help us identify who specifically didnt know how to issue this.

In relation to the buses.  All the buses by rotation go through special cleans.  If you can let me know which buses, I will have them inspected.

[PM]

Had another good day out exploring the diamond network but for some reason Simon Diamond Network tickets are not available to purchase on any tividale vehicles-could this possibly be corrected?

Could the red diamond eclipses also be given a good deep clean and removal of out of date notices?

All the ticket machines at Tividale, Redditch and Kidderminster use the same back office.  Therefore the tickets are on the ticket machine.  Following two reports of the same thing, we will retrain all the drivers.  In the mean time, can you help us identify who specifically didnt know how to issue this.

In relation to the buses.  All the buses by rotation go through special cleans.  If you can let me know which buses, I will have them inspected.

Thanks for your reply

It was the second 002 from weoley castle at about 8:00 yesterday who couldnt issue the ticket and then another 002 coming back to weoley castle. It isnt the drivers fault though as you go into sales-diamond network is in grey and pressing it has no result whereas on redditch/kidderminster buses using the same process of sales-diamond network it can be issued

Couldnt tell you which buses in particular but each of the 3 red diamond eclipses I went on needed doing to be honest

Also, have you got a vehicle shortage at tividale at the moment as apparently there is and if so, why? Couldnt some darts transfer across from redditch or somewhere?

Why are solos at kidderminster that are clearly staying there operating with the trading name as central connect ltd. Shouldnt this have been changed when they were transferred as central connect is a totally separate operator license to diamond bus company ltd.

Thanks again

[Simon Dunn]

We have looked at the ticket machine set up again this morning.  For some reason on certain services, the config although in the back office is installed is not downloading into the ticket machine.  - Thank you for pointing this out. 

We do not have a vehicle shortage issue anyway.  At present we have over 40 vehicles designated for sale, and we will look at your comments around legal lettering tonight.