Discount Travel Solutions

[Pat]

DTS being called for a public inquiry

Public Inquiry (80555) to be held at The Public Inquiry Room (Birmingham), B15 1PL, 38 George Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 19 December 2019 commencing at 14:00 (Previous Publication:(2420)) Previous hearing on 22 October 2019 was adjourned. PD1121581 SN
DISCOUNT TRAVEL SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Director(s): KAMALDEEP SINGH MANN
UNIT 3, BRIDGE STREET SOUTH, SMETHWICK, B66 3DR
S17 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 17 (The Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981)
S26 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 26 (The Transport Act 1985) S28 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 28 (The Transport Act 1985) Sch.3 - Consideration of Transport Managers Repute under Schedule 3 (The Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981)

[Busboy105]

DTS being called for a public inquiry

Public Inquiry (80555) to be held at The Public Inquiry Room (Birmingham), B15 1PL, 38 George Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 19 December 2019 commencing at 14:00 (Previous Publication:(2420)) Previous hearing on 22 October 2019 was adjourned. PD1121581 SN
DISCOUNT TRAVEL SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Director(s): KAMALDEEP SINGH MANN
UNIT 3, BRIDGE STREET SOUTH, SMETHWICK, B66 3DR
S17 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 17 (The Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981)
S26 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 26 (The Transport Act 1985) S28 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 28 (The Transport Act 1985) Sch.3 - Consideration of Transport Managers Repute under Schedule 3 (The Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981)

What did he do?

[2206]

https://bustimes.org/services/11a-birmingham-outer-circle-anticlockwise-2?date=2020-01-07
https://bustimes.org/services/11a-birmingham-outer-circle-anticlockwise-3?date=2020-01-07
New Timetables for DTS/RK Travel 11A and 11C are now on bus times.
The timetable looks strange as it looks like DTS and RK Travel have timetabled a bus to run directly infront of each other on the 07:40 and 09:55 trips.

As it seems to show:
DTS will have bus leave Summerfield Park on the 11A at 07:40, 09:53, 13:20 and 15:35. While RK Travel will have a bus leave Summerfield Park at 07:40, 09:55, 13:06 and 15:45 on the 11A.

[Jack D]

DTS have removed their 11A service as of tomorrow according to network west midlands site

[2206]

DTS have removed their 11A service as of tomorrow according to network west midlands site

Removed with immediate effect, it states.
RK Travel 11A timetable will still operate.

[2206]

Saw KV03ZFW on the 11C at Ward End this morning.
Still operating with only part of its 11 Branding still remaining.

[justlookingaround]

https://www.route-one.net/legal/licence-cut-and-fine-for-discount-travel-solutions/

Licence cut and fine for Discount Travel Solutions

The operator has been fined and had its O-Licence cut by two vehicles after timetable and maintenance issues
Vehicle maintenance and local service timetable problems have resulted in the O-Licence held by Smethwick-based Discount Travel Solutions being cut from six vehicles to four and it being ordered to pay a financial penalty of £1,200 by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Denton.

In September 2014, the O-Licence was cut from six to two vehicles on financial grounds and the company fined £300 for local bus service timetable problems. The authorisation was restored to six vehicles in October 2015.

The TC said that Traffic Examiner (TE) Robert Lees had monitored the company's local services following a complaint from a passenger.

Observations were taken on six different days in July 2019. Of the 28 journeys observed, eight failed to run at all; six were more than one minute early; and eight were more than five minutes late.

The company's response was that around seven of the journeys had experienced unusually heavy traffic; five non-compliant journeys had been caused by some kind of vehicle malfunction; two were caused by a driver being taken ill; and in seven cases the driver had no excuse.

Vehicle Examiner (VE) Austin Jones had reported that there was a higher than average prohibition rate, 37% over the past two years, as opposed to the national average over the same period of 17%.

There was a high MoT failure rate of 40%, with failures for multiple items on each occasion. All the failures had included brake system failures.

For the company, Murray Oliver said that it had increased the number of service checks it made.

Recent figures showed a much lower level of non-compliance than that found by the TE. Ticketer machines which monitored early and late running in real time were to be installed in its vehicles.

The troublesome 72 and 11A routes were to be discontinued, with three vehicles, all Ticketer equipped, remaining in service on the 11C route. The company had also tightened its procedures.

The main reason for the high level of non-compliance was the heavy and unpredictable nature of the traffic on the very long and complex 11 route.

Vehicles were now given safety inspections at four-week intervals rather than the previous five.

Vehicles were now being given two pre-MoT inspections by different providers rather than just one.

Undertakings were given that vehicles would be given safety inspections at least every four weeks and that roller brake tests would be carried out at least every 12 weeks.

In imposing the financial penalty, the TC said that he had some sympathy with the difficulty experienced by operators in practice in adhering to timetables on long and busy routes like the 11.

He had also borne in mind that the passengers tended to be less inconvenienced by an operator's failure to run to time on a route with multiple alternative operators who provided a frequent service.

Of the journeys observed by the TE, six ran more than one minute early, for which heavy traffic was clearly not an excuse.

Three were caused by a fault with the vehicle, which was also within the company's control, as it was expected to send out vehicles on service which were capable of completing the journey without breaking down.

There was also the fact that the company was fined in 2014 for non-compliant running and it did not seem to have made any lasting improvements in the meantime.

The company's prohibition and MoT failure rates were unacceptably high. Consequently, the TC was cutting the number of vehicles as he needed to be sure that it could operate compliantly at its current service levels before adding to its fleet again.

Full report at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discount-travel-solutions-ltd

[MW]

DTS has Ticketer machines? That's news to me!

[Pat]

DTS has Ticketer machines? That's news to me!

Yep, had them for a few weeks now, see them tracking on bustimes.org.  This is one of the reasons why I think TfWM has had something to do with the introduction of ticketer machines across the regions operators as Discount would probably have still been using TGX200's as well as many other operators.

[MW]

Yep, had them for a few weeks now, see them tracking on bustimes.org.  This is one of the reasons why I think TfWM has had something to do with the introduction of ticketer machines across the regions operators as Discount would probably have still been using TGX200's as well as many other operators.

It makes so much sense for any operator (even the shit operators) to be able to accept contactless these days.

Wonder what's worth more; the machines or their buses lmao

[Steveminor]

Since I was there when they purchased some of those buses I can quite comfortably say it's the machines lol

[2206]

One of the White RK Travel darts out on the Discount Travel 11C just now. Not sure which of the two it was.
But I just tried to find the RK Travel 11A timetable on Traveline WM and Bus Times and its gone. Have they ceased operation temporarily or permanently?

Its tracking on Bus Times as KV03ZFN it seems as well. Which is one of the blue ones.

[Steveminor]

I believe RK have suspended their service during lockdown

[Lukeee]

RK travel where running at least one journey on the 11A 2 weeks back

[2206]

I believe RK have suspended their service during lockdown

Thanks for the info.

RK travel where running at least one journey on the 11A 2 weeks back

They were yes, a full timetable I think, I think they must have stopped recently.