Hi-Ride

[Steveminor]

The thing with compliance is it is taken as a percentage which is a little unfair to smaller companies. If for example nx has one bus breakdown then with the amount of buses on a route that may only result in a 1% failure rate whereas if say a banga 891 breaks down then that's a 50% failure rate where the Tc will take action.

[countryliner]

@Steveminor - Yes i completely agree with that. It does definetly make it a lot more unfair especially for the smaller independent bus operators.

[Adam 404]

The thing with compliance is it is taken as a percentage which is a little unfair to smaller companies. If for example nx has one bus breakdown then with the amount of buses on a route that may only result in a 1% failure rate whereas if say a banga 891 breaks down then that's a 50% failure rate where the Tc will take action.

But surely there are more breakdowns at NX that will effect this and make it more even?
Also, if you are referring to a whole day of a bus not running, then surely a replacement will be sent out...
I recall that once a 360 (De Courcey, Coventry) broke down and just 6 mins later a replacement turned up which was brilliant. The bus managed to catch up with it schedule and I arrived at Tesco ontime...
Sorry for going slightly of topic with my example...

[Tony]

But surely there are more breakdowns at NX that will effect this and make it more even?
Also, if you are referring to a whole day of a bus not running, then surely a replacement will be sent out...
I recall that once a 360 (De Courcey, Coventry) broke down and just 6 mins later a replacement turned up which was brilliant. The bus managed to catch up with it schedule and I arrived at Tesco ontime...
Sorry for going slightly of topic with my example...

Now Adam,  you are completely correct.  If vehicles are maintained to the same standard for every breakdown a 10 vehicle operator has NX will have 150 so the percentage of lost mileage over the year will be the same. 

I guarantee you NX'S compliance rate declared is correct as it is recorded automatically.  It's then up to the member of staff who deleted any to put the reason in to match

[Steveminor]

Adam I'm not suggesting all day but during the time of monitoring plus nxwm has lots of 10 min or less frequency routes where so long as a bus is seen every 10 mins they are compliant.  A lot of other operators don't have that luxury.
Tony I'm not disputing nx compliancy ratl trae just pointing ouvel t that the % based way of monitoring is screwed towards the larger operator.
When it comes to maintenance well sometimes no matter how much money time & effort you spend on a bus something WILL break forcing the bus off the road. Social travel had a 10 plate solo gearbox fail. A new box was fitted by allison which failed again within a few hours.

[barry619]

@Tony - Thanks for the info. But i have personally seen some large big group bus operators run early and skip out parts of bus routes and fail to operate certain journeys. So the large big group bus operators do all this but the DVSA and the TC never seem to do much about it.

I swore I would never respond to you again, but...

TCs are realistic about mileage and puntuality. If the operator has a good reason why a journey hasn't run, or it was delayed, or whatever, they are pragmatic about it. In an urban area such as Birmingham, it is simply not possible for a firm of NX's size to operate 100.00% of its registered mileage, and equally if the smaller firms are caught in the same congestion then they have a good reason not to have operated too.

What is not a legitimate reason for failure to operate is excessive breakdowns, driver shortages, not enough buses etcetera - or the best one of all, from one of the West Midlands cowboys who you continually defend, of not having any(!) roadworthy buses for a couple of weeks.

Where I am, there is one small operator that appears to operate its buses to the same standards as its taxis, i.e. very low ones indeed. Drivers do exactly as they please, early running is rife, failure to operate, chunks of route missed to beat the competition, dangerous driving, picking up and dropping off between stops... the list is endless. It has absolutely no place in the bus industry, but has been operating to these standards for well over a decade and has not, to my knowledge, ever been pulled up for it. That would suggest that your theory that TCs are somehow out to get the smaller cowboys is wrong.

[barry619]

@fleetline6477 - It can be hard for some companies to keep up to date with all the changes to regulations and everything like that. As far as i am aware the DVSA do not go around informing every bus operator of every change that happens.

More garbage. It is a requirement of being a Transport Manager that the post holder is coversant with any and all changes in regulation pertaining to PSV operation, and there are numerous ways in which to do so. Trade magazines, industry organisations such as the Confederation of Passenger Transport, etc.

It was found in a Public Inquiry not too long ago that any TM that doesn't keep up with regulatory change is liable to be found to have lost their repute, a serious situation to be in.

[Tony]

Adam I'm not suggesting all day but during the time of monitoring plus nxwm has lots of 10 min or less frequency routes where so long as a bus is seen every 10 mins they are compliant.  A lot of other operators don't have that luxury.
Tony I'm not disputing nx compliancy ratl trae just pointing ouvel t that the % based way of monitoring is screwed towards the larger operator.
When it comes to maintenance well sometimes no matter how much money time & effort you spend on a bus something WILL break forcing the bus off the road. Social travel had a 10 plate solo gearbox fail. A new box was fitted by allison which failed again within a few hours.

And NX has the same problems happening in larger numbers, hence why percentages are fair
856; 857; 2201; 2202; 6101; 6123; 6138; 6704; 6714; 6723 of last year's deliveries are not being used today for various reasons

[countryliner]

The thing is that small independent bus operators do not have the same resources as the large big group bus operators. They will not always have spare vehicles and spare drivers available all the time. Also it can sometimes be impossible to get a spare vehicle out straight away if a bus brakes down. For example for some of the operators that i work for we operate bus routes that run up to 44 miles away from the depot so it can sometimes take at least two hours to get a spare vehicle out.

[T840MAK]

The thing is that small independent bus operators do not have the same resources as the large big group bus operators. They will not always have spare vehicles and spare drivers available all the time. Also it can sometimes be impossible to get a spare vehicle out straight away if a bus brakes down. For example for some of the operators that i work for we operate bus routes that run up to 44 miles away from the depot so it can sometimes take at least two hours to get a spare vehicle out.

If a company does not have the funds for a second vehicle or driver to use as a spare then the company does not have the funds to be running a bus service. Similarly, if an operator is running routes 44 miles away from their depot then its not an efficient operation as there's a huge amount of dead mileage required there and the company should realistically be looking at moving premises or opening an outstation to reduce the amount of dead mileage...

[Tony]

If a company does not have the funds for a second vehicle or driver to use as a spare then the company does not have the funds to be running a bus service. Similarly, if an operator is running routes 44 miles away from their depot then its not an efficient operation as there's a huge amount of dead mileage required there and the company should realistically be looking at moving premises or opening an outstation to reduce the amount of dead mileage...

An operation 44 miles away from depot would come under EU rules as well so would need the bus to be tacho fitted and the driver working under EU hours so would be even more inneficiant

[Solo1]

anyone got the new 40x timetable as  the network one is the old one & its  changed route

[Michael Bevan]

Apparently the 40X had accident earlier just outside of One Stop. I'm told it hit the railings.

[Solo1]

Apparently the 40X had accident earlier just outside of One Stop. I'm told it hit the railings.

how's the driver &how bad the bus like I said does he have a spare  he could use that's dda

[justlookingaround]

There is a way to get round DDA and has been used by various operators to keep Mercedes minibuses in service - reclassify as a coach and remove the standing requirement. Maybe that is what has been done to the S-CVV Dart, but who knows. I don't condone DDA dodging anyway as operators have had plenty of time to follow the regulations and replace their fleet if necessary.

Shame about the accident though, obviously he is not having a great year so far.