Election Day Mayoral Pledges.

[j789]

I'm pretty sure with all the legal challenges and wrangling that would occur against franchising, it won't get done in the 4 years this mayor has.

Such a small majority of votes will very likely mean that unless this new guy gets everything right (and labour's track record does not point to that happening in the west Mids!) he will be gone in 2028 and franchising hopefully won't be a thing here. In Manchester that mayor has a big majority of can get away with stuff like this as he knows Labour will still be there in 2028 and beyond.

[Sandy Lane]

Be interested to see what Mr Street now will be doing in his career. I doubt he will be signing on at the job centre!

[Tony]

Well if mr Labour mayor starts to push franchising, there'll be no point in Mobico/NX investing in new vehicles for the fleet as they'll likely lose out on the franchises and have their stock transferred to those wonderful Midlands-based companies like Go-Ahead and Abellio.

The new buses are all leased, so the lease can just pass to the new operator

[Straightlines]

Not sure I would want to be the end user of a bus service controlled and organised by the sleepwalkers of 16 Summer Lane...

[Steve3229vp]

I think a lot of people on here are over speculating about what is going to happen with or without franchising. We all need to take a breath and see what happens next.
I will point out now that when Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party he pledged to put the railways back into public ownership under a new Labour government ....... it didn't happen !

[PhageyMcPhage]

Whichever way franchising goes, buses need policies to reduce car use and to enforce red routes, bus lanes etc.

[Westy]

Not sure I would want to be the end user of a bus service controlled and organised by the sleepwalkers of 16 Summer Lane...

Isn't that what happened pre 26 October 1986?                                                           

[Straightlines]

Isn't that what happened pre 26 October 1986?                                                         

Pretty much - Although probably a few less sleepwalkers compared to today's inhabitants of B19 3SD.

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

No amount of Nationalising or franchising can sort the buses out. When I was out yesterday someone I spoke to who couldn't make the game was counting votes in Birmingham, Now I voted the way I did for Labour because I couldn't vote Tory not after Covid.  My Late teens were ruined by it and they were partying away. Ik both Parties weren't innocent but I was unsure who to vote for as the one thing that put me of Labour was the franchising to me it doesn't make a difference. The bloke who was counting them said a few years ago there was less cars on the road, there was initially less cars after Covid, but then people started to return to Work, school and College and maybe were conscious of seeing a packed Double Decker bus of getting Covid so more cars got on the roads. This wasn't helped by buses which before used to take near there timetabled times to get to say West Bromwich as I caught the 79 during this period being delayed by sets of Roadworks.

So people who may have been getting the bus as maybe they wanted to try something new or they had no access to there own car or something were waiting extra time for a bus that would turn up 5-10 minutes late, let off a bus load of passengers then change drivers making it about 15 minutes late so they would then return to asking a family member or friend to drive them to there destination that then say rather than the 79 having to wait 5 minutes at a set of temporary lights as it has like 4 cars in front of it now has to wait 10-12 as more cars are in front of it and more cars are trying to pass in the opposite direction or from the junction delaying the lights for longer.

When people moan about Buses I myself don't anymore I wasn't to worried that both number 8's I caught yesterday out of the 3 I did were late I saw why they were there is Temporary lights in Chasetown and lots of Traffic around Brownhills and Lichfield and one passed me in Pelsall absolutely full and standing. I think according to one of the passengers an earlier one that would have done the bus before the one we passed had either broken down or become delayed. What do they want the bus company to do magic then a bus out of thin air with a driver and magically runs on time, do they want it to fly, they should be greatful that in Birmingham and the Black Country and the borders that they have with the sticks that they have a bus that is every 10-20 minutes and that runs until 9/10/11 at night as in Staffordshire they aren't that frequent parts don't have a bus at all. Buses become late things happen, if a bus goes missing it might not because it has broken down, with the amount of moronic drivers on the road twice on the 34 I caught yesterday we were cut up by cars coming from junctions. If our Driver hadn't seen that coming from miles off or been aware that it was going to happen or had been travelling faster then 2138 would have probably not made it to Walsall not because it broke down not because of a lack of driver, no because of an RTC not caused by the Driver of the bus but by a car driver who thinks pulling in front of a bus is a good idea. It could also be like the 37 I tried to get home yesterday because of earlier anti social behaviour that might risk Driver and passenger safety and going back to the Hyperthetical RTC 2138 could have had. 4737 would join it of the road with a broken window or door or be stuck on the side of Queen Elizabeth Aveune as maybe a passenger was hit by an object. Until these issues like ASB, Silly Roadworks, Cars abusing Bus lanes and parking in bus stops or whatever Franchising, Cross City buses and the like ay gonna work. There just going to suffer the same issues that NX and Diamond and the likes suffer now just under a different name and Livery

[Bob]

Isn't that what happened pre 26 October 1986?                                                         

Yep 👍👍

[Sandy Lane]

The new West Mids mayor's first day in office and his PR machine goes into action!
BBC News - West Midlands mayor Richard Parker pledges to bring buses under public control - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4n19w30351o

[Steve3229vp]

I'm just wondering if there is going to be a purge by NX to improve reliability, customer feedback etch because in the event of franchising imagine Stagecoach or Arriva winning franchises for the Sutton routes or Bristol Road or Pershore Road etc. NX could end up losing work. Parker is already making a lot of noise and if NX aren't worried then maybe they should be.

[Tony]

I'm just wondering if there is going to be a purge by NX to improve reliability, customer feedback etch because in the event of franchising imagine Stagecoach or Arriva winning franchises for the Sutton routes or Bristol Road or Pershore Road etc. NX could end up losing work. Parker is already making a lot of noise and if NX aren't worried then maybe they should be.

Only 3 garages now aren't fully staffed and lost mileage due to breakdowns or no bus is less 1% so not much more NX can do about reliability other than get more electric buses into service which seem to be doing very well at Coventry. All other reliability is down to roads and traffic, like this morning with Six Ways Aston underpass closed causing chaos for all Birchfield Road services, but to someone in Aldridge complaining the 997 is late towards Walsall, that will still be NX's fault

[Steve3229vp]

Only 3 garages now aren't fully staffed and lost mileage due to breakdowns or no bus is less 1% so not much more NX can do about reliability other than get more electric buses into service which seem to be doing very well at Coventry. All other reliability is down to roads and traffic, like this morning with Six Ways Aston underpass closed causing chaos for all Birchfield Road services, but to someone in Aldridge complaining the 997 is late towards Walsall, that will still be NX's fault

Yes I was stuck in that this morning, I pleaded with the bus driver on the 907 to go onto the bus lanes but he said no it's a designated route, meanwhile x51/936/997 were using bus lanes. Before I asked him 4863 was on the 51 right in front of us at Perry Barr Bragg Road and he got into City only a few mins late whereas our 907 was nearly 30 mins late.

[winston]

I'm pretty sure with all the legal challenges and wrangling that would occur against franchising, it won't get done in the 4 years this mayor has.

Such a small majority of votes will very likely mean that unless this new guy gets everything right (and labour's track record does not point to that happening in the west Mids!) he will be gone in 2028 and franchising hopefully won't be a thing here. In Manchester that mayor has a big majority of can get away with stuff like this as he knows Labour will still be there in 2028 and beyond.

Richard Parker seems to think he'll have bus franchising up & running in the WM within 2 years... We'll see! 🤔