Wednesfield Garage

[winston]

I'm not convinced Arriva will go head to head with NX. If they were going to I would have thought that they would have made their first move by now.

Arriva have actually lost a few Centro tenders as well of late

[Bob]

So its basically just a continuation of midland then, of sorts, with slightly better buses

[Trident 4609]

I would have thought the routes over there to do would be the 59-diamond did fine on there until it left the bus station.... Then 529 and posssibly a key wolverhampton route like the 1. Also, I think arriva should use the same service numbers as TWM and do direct copies as opposed to messing about with routes. That way, I would have thought some money could be made

Arriva wouldn't really do that well on the 59. Diamond were ok but in the end not many people used it. It went from Royale Centros to MPD's and Solos. Plus arriva operate the 19 which follows the 59 route from Wolverhampton to Peacock Avenue (Near Wednesfield) and that doesn't see many passengers.

I can see potential for Arriva on the 529 as long as they stick at it for longer and give it a chance unlike some operators! ;)

[andy]

These are all valid points and I am sure Arriva's strategy could be improved, but as someone who has been involved both commercially and in the driving seat with buses in many parts of the West Midlands, I can assure you that the Travelcard is the biggest barrier to getting people on your bus, whatever time you operate and whatever route you take.

[Bob]

So whats the best words to describe arriva's attempts in the west midlands then? I think we can rule out the term 'a success' :-p

[the trainbasher]

So whats the best words to describe arriva's attempts in the west midlands then? I think we can rule out the term 'a success' :-p

A strategic move to potentially give further competition

[PM]

So whats the best words to describe arriva's attempts in the west midlands then? I think we can rule out the term 'a success' :-p

Nice try! Would probably be the most appropriate phrase. It has hardly been a success

[Nathan4775]

Today all but one 334 was double decker operated is this the new allocation for the 334? also noticed that the single decker (2226) always seems to be on the 334 or has it appeared elsewere ? 

[Bob]

So whats the best words to describe arriva's attempts in the west midlands then? I think we can rule out the term 'a success' :-p

A strategic move to potentially give further competition

I think that was what was initially hoped for but the competition element havent really materialised lol

[PM]

These are all valid points and I am sure Arriva's strategy could be improved, but as someone who has been involved both commercially and in the driving seat with buses in many parts of the West Midlands, I can assure you that the Travelcard is the biggest barrier to getting people on your bus, whatever time you operate and whatever route you take.

True, but operators have and are in the process of competing against NXWM so it is possible-it's just arriva are not very good at doing it...

And diamond did well on the 59 until it had good buses taken off it and was moved out of the bus station. The 529e in my opinion could have done well-it's just 3 months wasn't enough time to build it up as a route... They should have persevered a bit more with it in my opinion.

[Bob]

These are all valid points and I am sure Arriva's strategy could be improved, but as someone who has been involved both commercially and in the driving seat with buses in many parts of the West Midlands, I can assure you that the Travelcard is the biggest barrier to getting people on your bus, whatever time you operate and whatever route you take.

True, but operators have and are in the process of competing against NXWM so it is possible-it's just arriva are not very good at doing it...

And diamond did well on the 59 until it had good buses taken off it and was moved out of the bus station. The 529e in my opinion could have done well-it's just 3 months wasn't enough time to build it up as a route... They should have persevered a bit more with it in my opinion.

Just outa interest whats your reasons for thinking arriva arent very good at it? The buses? Breakdowns? The routes?

[PM]

These are all valid points and I am sure Arriva's strategy could be improved, but as someone who has been involved both commercially and in the driving seat with buses in many parts of the West Midlands, I can assure you that the Travelcard is the biggest barrier to getting people on your bus, whatever time you operate and whatever route you take.

True, but operators have and are in the process of competing against NXWM so it is possible-it's just arriva are not very good at doing it...

And diamond did well on the 59 until it had good buses taken off it and was moved out of the bus station. The 529e in my opinion could have done well-it's just 3 months wasn't enough time to build it up as a route... They should have persevered a bit more with it in my opinion.

Just outa interest whats your reasons for thinking arriva arent very good at it? The buses? Breakdowns? The routes?

Pure observations really. Loadings on competing routes poor at best-thandi seem to do better than them on the 334, partly because their buses are timetabled ahead. The 19 seems a bit of a dead duck and yet they cancel routes like the X31 that people actually used. The buses aren't bad but they definitely don't stand out and there's not really much brand identity. In the west midlands, people know the brand that is NXWM and diamond buses whereas with arriva, there is no brand awareness, people don't seem as aware of the routes. Maybe some of them are less well established but really stuff like the 334 should be a lot busier by now I would have thought-again, an ex petes route that has potential as Thandi have realised. They seem to have picked the wrong routes, with the wrong buses which break down-that CBC dart is horrendous for it! Not enough branding and the branding they do have is lacklustre at best and can scarcely be read. Arriva just seem clueless when it comes to growing a market and competing-unlike say stagecoach who certainly can get competitive. I'm sorry but I experience arriva buses admittedly not in the midlands every day and I see poorly presented buses over 10 years old that have never been refurbed or repainted belching out smoke, then knackered solos and pulsars which make a fuss about going up any kind of slope. And then you see Go North East's hybrids with immaculate interiors, timetable racks full of leaflets and information... Need I say more...

[Bob]

Yes thats true about the x31!  Loads more passengers than the 19 ! And yea the dartsare a bit naff, the refurbished ones at least have decent interiors but still old buses making a racket and sounding clapped out. I mean an mpd for a journey as long as the 310? Youd feel like you were on a limited stop journey to hell lol

[John]

How many Optare Solos WD have , have all been sprayed up in Arriva livery

Only 2 are currently in Arriva Livery, 2553 and 2554.

There only appears to be 6 Solos left at Wednesfield, these 2 and 2550, 2562, 2563, and 2564 (In Sainsburys Livery). The rest are either transferred out or withdrawn

[arrivaaston]

I don't think any of the solos are in use at Wardles, I know X939NUB is there as a donor bus, X332ABU is being stripped at Arriva Derby along with Y301/2KNB and Y381HKE, solos at Wednesfield are W298EYG/X943NUB/X349AUX are being stripped, KX51UCS (I think, deffinatley a KX51) and W291EYG have transfered to Hinckley Bus