Travel Express / Lets Go

[Tony]

Also it can be quite hard for all small independent bus operators to maintain their vehicles as well as larger operators as some may not be able to afford all the maintainence equipment and facilities that larger operators can afford. I do think that Travel Express did try their best though.

Do you really mean what you have said there.

ALL buses should be maintained to the same standard

[Stuharris 6360]

Yes i do indeed mean what i said. Whilst all buses should indeed be maintained to the highest possible standard - i am just pointing out that some small independent operators may not be able to maintain vehicles to the same standard as some larger operators can as they do not have as much money to spend on maintainence equipment and facilities. This is not the case with all small independent operators but just some of them simply dont have the money for the same standard of maintainence as other operators.

To put it bluntly, if they can't maintain there buses correctly, then they should sell up and leave it there.

We, as customers, deserve and are entitled to ride on vehicles that have been maintained to the highest standards, the tc doesn't take away licences for the fun of it, he has a duty to the general public.

[Steveminor]

Wheel nuts missing brake calipers broken brake pads completely worn our wheel bearings that had or were about to fail & you can't see how these things could put people's lives at risk.
Brakes, without them you can't stop & are probably going to crash. Wheel nuts without them wheels tend to fall off & you tend to crash.
Enough said.

[ARBB]

@Steveminor @Stuharris 6360 - I do see what you mean. Yes maybe the maintainence at Travel Express was not as good as it could have been. But at least the customer service at Travel Express appeared to be quite good (in my opinion). When i used their services - i was always happy with it - i never had any complaints. As i mentioned with the examples in my previous posts the drivers were very good and would often go out of their way to help you. I have certainly seen far worst bus operators.

You need to get out more  ???

[Steveminor]

But those drivers will have jobs with other companies now & most probably won't change their attitude to customers so in the grander scheme of things passengers haven't really lost out.
But if I had to choose between a safe bus & one being driver by a friendly driver I know which one I would choose.

[busfan2847]

@Steveminor - Yes i see what you mean. However the maintainence issues might not have all been entirely Travel Express's fault as some of the vehicles might have come to Travel Express in a poor condition anyway. Also i am guessing that most of their drivers probably have new jobs now with other small independent bus operators (has anyone seen any ex Travel Express drivers with other bus operators).

I am sorry it was their fault, they should not have bought vehicles that were in poor condition!

[Steveminor]

Or if you do buy a vehicle in poor condition you don't put it on the road until it's been made safe for service

[Stuharris 6360]

It's up to individual taste, I wouldn't have touched them with a barge pole.

I suppose though, if the brake pads have worn out and you can't stop, at least there is a chance the wheel will drop off and help to stop the bus!!  :D :D

[Steveminor]

Or the engine mounts will brake the engine falls out. That should slow you down.
Seriously though if he has the financial standing to re apply for 25 licences he would certainly have had the money to fix the buses, so why didn't he.

[Stuharris 6360]

Or the engine mounts will brake the engine falls out. That should slow you down.
Seriously though if he has the financial standing to re apply for 25 licences he would certainly have had the money to fix the buses, so why didn't he.

That's a very good point!

[Bryan]

Or the engine mounts will brake the engine falls out. That should slow you down.
Seriously though if he has the financial standing to re apply for 25 licences he would certainly have had the money to fix the buses, so why didn't he.

It's up to individual taste, I wouldn't have touched them with a barge pole.

I suppose though, if the brake pads have worn out and you can't stop, at least there is a chance the wheel will drop off and help to stop the bus!!  :D :D

My thoughts entirely. Not a company I would have liked to travel upon. Safety comes first, not customer service as one person mentioned as appearing to be more than important to all the TC concerns.

[Stuharris 6360]

I found some articles about Travel Express buses. Here are the links for anyone who has not seen these yet.

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

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/08/24/wolverhampton-buses-stopped-as-licence-revoked-over-grave-concerns-about-road-safety/

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-news/2015/01/22/amateurish-firm-ran-unsafe-buses-in-wolverhampton/

In the first article Kishan Chumber (the owner) talks about his company and the decisions that the tc made. I must say that i completely agree with everything that he (Kishan Chumber) has said in this article. Kishan Chumber has run the Travel Express business for over 15 (almost 16) years and i think that he has a lot more experience than what some people have said. He seems like a good person who knows what he is doing. I do think that the decisions that the tc has made are quite unfair (although i know that some people will disagree with me).

@countryliner Travel Express appealed against the verdict of the TC and lost, how do you explain that then?

[Bryan]

I found some articles about Travel Express buses. Here are the links for anyone who has not seen these yet.

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

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/08/24/wolverhampton-buses-stopped-as-licence-revoked-over-grave-concerns-about-road-safety/

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-news/2015/01/22/amateurish-firm-ran-unsafe-buses-in-wolverhampton/

In the first article Kishan Chumber (the owner) talks about his company and the decisions that the tc made. I must say that i completely agree with everything that he (Kishan Chumber) has said in this article. Kishan Chumber has run the Travel Express business for over 15 (almost 16) years and i think that he has a lot more experience than what some people have said. He seems like a good person who knows what he is doing. I do think that the decisions that the tc has made are quite unfair (although i know that some people will disagree with me).

Experience counts for nothing unless safety for passengers comes first. One of the articles you included 'Findings including 36 defects on nine buses, including corroded brakes'  This is not acceptable to any passenger.

As for what you think is acceptable for passenger transport, I sincerely disagree.

[Stuharris 6360]

well at the end of the appeal, the head of the Tribunal said

"This was a bad case. The bus industry was highly competitive, and it was essential that bus operators were reassured that TCs would use their full range of powers to discourage operators from cutting corners, from gaining an unfair competitive advantage through non-compliance, or from taking risks with public safety."

Think that says it all really!

[Steveminor]

You have to remember that the tc  really does not want to put companies out of business unless he absolutely has to. So he will normally give an operator another chance in which time he would expect things to improve at least a little but in travel express case things actually got worse. So what else can he do but put them off the road if he didn't & there was a serious accident who would have ultimately been a countable for letting it continue.