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The routemaster was Frontline Buses which was basically the Phoenix of Tame Valley after its former owner bought & rebranded Burman Travel.

Regarding the video the sherpa on the 101 at about 45 seconds is Claribels.

These are truly unprecedented times we are living in with the biggest contraction in public transport usage there has ever been worldwide.
Bus operators have been surviving off government Grant's since the start of the crisis & I fear since the WHO have warned we're not yet half way through it looks like the commercial bus network wont return for some time & government funds are not unlimited.
There will be survivors & casualties in the transport industry & I believe the survivors will be the ones who take the really tough decisions sooner rather than later (that's not to say it will be enough).
Claribels has a good contract base not only on stage carriage but other work too with recent awards for other work so hopefully we'll be one of the survivors.
For now on commercial work it's best to sit back & ride it out.
We will probably see more cuts in the coming weeks as the severity of the economic crash takes hold.
Now is not the right time, but when it is then we should all rush to use public transport as much as possible & embrace what we've got as no other country in the world has or could pull of such a deregulated network as the uk with such a diverse range of bus rail & tram operators.

Regarding service 424, I can confirm we have agreed an extension with Tfwm which will ensure the routes survival until the end of January 2021

Swiftgo will act like the nx tap & go for single fares. I.e you will not be able to buy a short hop or multiple passengers as you do with pay as you go at present.
There are still some challenges with the system to overcome

Since the 27 goes under a low bridge unless nxwm have any new open toppers which @Tony confirmed nothing has lost its roof, I'd say it's a total lie

The 99 and nowadays the 53 provides a link to Heartlands Hospital - that may be why it is subsidised?

I think Smith's Wood is 'overserved'. I wonder whether every other 94 could run directly along Chester Road between Hurst Lane and Bacon's End Island - I imagine it would be a fair bit quicker. Under normal timetable that would give 4 buses per hour along Auckland Drive, 3 along Windward Way (X12) and 4 along Chester Road...+ The Claribels service.

That section is covered by the 71 & loading would suggest that its servered by the correct frequency so it doesn't require more buses, Auckland drive can generate a lot of passengers as you see when there has been a slight delay on the 94 then stops can be very busy.

It wouldn't be right to dilute the service provision for Auckland drive to place buses on an already adequately served road

The 440 was merged with the already tendered 123 to create a new link between handsworth & Merry hill & continued right through to Rotala days although passenger numbers had been in decline for a while due to various factors even the 40x had to change to try to survive.
As for First Midland Red I think mr eggleton is doing a settler job however their heyday are behind them & today they are a shadow of their former selves

The etms today are light years ahead of the old way3 kit operators used to use & give far more information regarding the passes.
Regarding Torbay encts passes we had a couple (before lockdown who were visiting from Torbay & their passes would not scan. It was traced to incorrect coding on Torbay councils part.

What you are doing on First buses I.e showing your photo before scanning "should" be the correct procedure on all buses, but we know that with the speed of todays society that does not really happen.

I remember the old mid red west inspectors not wishing them any disrespect but they had no real knowledge of deregulation as they were clueless as to why Pete's Travel were running the 440 just in front of their bus as "aren't you 5 mins early & hang on theres another 440 just behind we'll  need to speak to someone about this" was their comment lol

I confused as to why you do different things on different operators.
Encts passes show whether they are pensioner or disabled to the driver whatever ticketing equipment the operator is using.

Dft guidance excludes employees of transport providers from wearing faced coverings @Tony has pointed to one reason for this.

The updating of at stop information is on temporary hold due to the short notice continual changes to the network.
It should resume again once things have stabilized more

Not much more you can say.

This is a very fluid situation where things are changing on an almost daily basis with the goalposts continually moving.

The fact that since the pandemic began up until now, not one operator within the West Midlands has gone out of business a testament to the management skills that we've all built up & the ability to adapt & survive.

The key point is that cbssg restart is for an initial period of 12 weeks, so there is no guarantee after that initial period. The other point is that if there is an under payment the dft will "endeavour" to make up the shortfall, so again no guarantee there either.

Passenger numbers are extremely depressed & it is highly unlikely they will ever return to pre covid levels & its likely to be some time before services return to commercial levels in.any meaningfull amount.

Wyreforestshuttle you say myself & Mr Dunn are respected & competant  professional well so is @Simon@Arriva .

Where did you buy it & how much

Seen a 11C yesterday on Stechford lane but it said Bus Full Due to social distancing

Theres a separate tread to log bus full sightings