Travel Express / Lets Go

[Steveminor]

Apparently the 1 & 2 are the lowest earning routes.

[PM]

Apparently the 1 & 2 are the lowest earning routes.

That's good-hopefully they can then focus on quality of service delivery and pick themselves back up from there.

[mranon]

i meant i wonder if the tc decided which routes they were to come off. i agree the 2 no good, but no.1 on college days they seem to have good loadings. the 11s dont seem to be that busy really

[the trainbasher]

Full text from Notices and Proceedings

Public Inquiry (49206) held at The Public Inquiry Room, 38 George Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 1PL on 15 September 2014 at 10:30(Previous Publication:(2218)
)PD0001936          SI
TRAVEL EXPRESS LTD
DIRECTOR(s): KISHAN SINGH CHUMBER.
30 COTON ROAD, PENN , WOLVERHAMPTON WV4 5AT

1.  Adverse findings are made under Section 17 (3) (a); Section 17 (3) (aa); and, Section 17 (3) (c) of the Act.

2.  The licence holder continues to meet the requirement in respect of an effective and stable establishment; it also continues to have the appropriate financial standing; furthermore, it continues to retain repute, albeit repute is severely tarnished.

3.  The operator no longer satisfies the requirement under Section 17 (1) (a) and Section 14ZA (2) (d) to be professionally competent.

4.  A period of grace of 3 months from the date of publication of this decision is granted for the appointment of a new transport manager.

5.  Kishan Singh Chumber no longer satisfies the requirement of Section 14ZA (3) (a) and (b) of the 1981 Act to be of good repute and professionally competent in accordance with Schedule 3 of the same Act and he is unfit to manage the transport activities of an undertaking.  Kishan Singh Chumber is disqualified from acting as a transport manager for this licence or any other licence in any other member state until he passes fresh CPC transport manager examinations.

6.  The operator has failed to operate a local service registered under Section 6 of the Transport Act 1985.

7.  The operator has failed to comply with the requirement of regulations made under Section 6 (9) (i), (j), (k) of the Transport Act 1985.

8.  Licence authorisation is curtailed from 13 vehicles to 8 vehicles with effect from 15 March 2015.

9.  An order is made under Section 155 of the Transport Act 2000 that the operator pay a penalty of £500 multiplied by the total number of vehicles licensed to use, namely 13; the total fine is therefore £6,500 and is to be paid within 28 days of publication of this decision to the Secretary of State otherwise it will be a matter that will be regarded as potentially affecting the good repute of the operator.

10.  An order is made under Section 26 of the Transport Act 1985 restricting the service registrations of the operator.  Registrations for Service Number 1 and for Service Number 2 as set out in the call up papers are cancelled with effect from 15 March 2015 although the operator is advised that if it seeks short notice application to cease operating those services before that date I will consider it sympathetically.  A further order is made under Section 26 of the Transport Act 1985, that no new services can be registered by the operator until 15 March 2016.

[Solo1]

The Evening Mail's take on the Travel Express story

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/wolverhampton-bus-company-fined-after-8487751#ICID=sharebar_facebook

Thanks for posting @Tony I wonder which 2 routes they're planning on withdrawing? I'm glad to hear they're relatively profitable though and hopefully they can turn things around. £6500 isn't an excessive fine and shouldn't cripple them.
What's the proffit of travel express

[andrew1991]

Perhaps this may help http://www.bizdb.co.uk/company/travel-express-limited-04292944/

[mikestone]

Its version of English doesn't inspire confidence.

[the trainbasher]

Travel Express making out to be the victim in the Express and Star

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/01/24/under-fire-wolverhampton-bus-firm-boss-weve-been-made-out-as-villains/

[Solo1]

Travel Express making out to be the victim in the Express and Star

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/01/24/under-fire-wolverhampton-bus-firm-boss-weve-been-made-out-as-villains/

its says he started in 2000 yet he hasn't bothered to paint 1 bus like it says in the article more inytresewd in getting a bus on the road yet social travel discount travel  who r the latest bus firms all are in livery so wonder now if he will buy a fleet of new buses & have them all in a fleet livery

[mranon]

it would be great if they had a livery, learned how to clean vehicles etc. however you can't polish a turd!!!!!! ive never seen many of their buses break down etc, until the influx of low floor vehicles. although their darts, which have served him well, these latest ones look like they have had hard lives, so need some tlc. i like how the express and star chose to photo one of their smarter ones though!

[Trident 4194]

it would be great if they had a livery, learned how to clean vehicles etc. however you can't polish a turd!!!!!! ive never seen many of their buses break down etc, until the influx of low floor vehicles. although their darts, which have served him well, these latest ones look like they have had hard lives, so need some tlc. i like how the express and star chose to photo one of their smarter ones though!

I can't believe they were allowed on the road. There buses are really old, especially the ex hansons ones. And talk about having every colour of the spectrum on there buses. Surprised they lasted this long without vosa noticing. They don't even have proper blinds fitted on most of them. Is the manager bankrupt or something?

[Tony]

it would be great if they had a livery, learned how to clean vehicles etc. however you can't polish a turd!!!!!! ive never seen many of their buses break down etc, until the influx of low floor vehicles. although their darts, which have served him well, these latest ones look like they have had hard lives, so need some tlc. i like how the express and star chose to photo one of their smarter ones though!

I can't believe they were allowed on the road. There buses are really old, especially the ex hansons ones. And talk about having every colour of the spectrum on there buses. Surprised they lasted this long without vosa noticing. They don't even have proper blinds fitted on most of them. Is the manager bankrupt or something?

Read the report. It clearly states Mr Chumber still meets the 'financial standing' part have having an operators license even if he has 'lost his repute'

[mranon]

a small independent such as te, banga, select etc have to obviously have an amount of finance to obtain and keep the o-licence. however, i know that they have to wait for money to come in from authority for consessionary travel etc. If travel express were short of money, how would they albeit cheaply changed their fleet to low floor in a short space of time?

it can be done, but chumba wouldnt be the first to slide out of sorts - not meaning that in a harsh way either - but sometimes things go wrong, and you keep getting more and more. anyone remember graham martins fleet? once very respected running old but reliable interesting vehicles, and until the late nineties early 00's never saw a bus not in livery

[Westy]

Must admit I never heard anything bad about Choice Travel until they acquired A2Z's operations & became Midland.

Despite repainting from both the yellow & green & blue & white into the all over red, to me they didn't seem the same company!

(In fact did Choice become Midland before the A2Z situation, because I only became aware of Midland when they introduced the short lived 549 route?)

[mranon]

choice were bought out by d&g from stoke, hence the blue/cream livery. then when a2z went under they expanded (not sure if someone else bought it or bought a share) it became midland before selling out to arriva.