Hi-Ride

[countryliner]

@DiamondDart - Yes i suppose that the route 40X service must be doing very well for him to have operated it for such a long time.

[Kevin]

@DiamondDart - I am sure that it must be busy enough as the route has managed to operate successfully for such a long time.

I like this talk of the route being successful...
40X was originally as per the 440 Perry Barr - Aston - Lozells - Handsworth - Soho - Bearwood.
Still the same bus number but completely different route. Doesn't really serve Aston anymore apart from the from city journeys that weirdly continue from Perry Barr to Aston Hall, and NOT back again (unless he does that bit unofficially)

[Solo1]

Didn't hi ride run a 70 service before new st  top half got closed to traffic using a red coach  &wonder what the turnover is like

[Ashley 60171]

I'm fairly sure that before he started on the 40X he ran on the 70 Birmingham - Oxhill Road in the late 80s early 90s after WMT turned the 70 into the 76.  The operator in question ran a yellow and black minibus of some sort.

I agree that he deserves everybody's respect to have worked hard as a sole trader on the 40X for so many years, acquiring different vehicles over the years and seeking to provide more modern buses. Whether what he has done in working alone so long is good practice is another question. I think too many operators begun by one person - Travel Express, AMPM Travel, Sandwell Travel have run into difficulty when they have expanded and not had the resources to maintain the vehicles and employ staff. I think deciding to operate into Birmingham City Centre has probably made him more visible.

I don't know of any other company that has worked in this way for so long. Central Logistics / Redwing Contracts operated for about 10 years with a father and his 2 sons firstly on the 17 and then switching to the 88E, I'm only aware of them operating the same 3 or 4 green Ivecos and a white Merc over those years. The outcome of a TC inquiry finished them off.

There was also another company around Bloxwich area called Vichester that ran a coach and a minibus on private hire and school contracts. I believe that was a long standing company operated by 2 brothers. Haven't seen them for a while the brothers may have retired.

Fair play to anybody who in a very competitive and tough industry is prepared to work hard at creating an identity, a route and sticking to it.

@Solo1

[Steveminor]

I believe one of the issues that led to him coming to the tc attention was a report from centro that he was breaching sqp regulations by operating a bus in a former operators livery. Well I can see a point to an extent but it's hardly like he was running a tatty version of another midland operators livery & hadn't added his own branding to it albeit only town & aston but still.

[countryliner]

@Steveminor - I think that his vehicles (Y337 FJN / S453 CVV) are fine. Although they are still painted in their previous operators liveries they still appear to be in good condition. Also he has added his own branding with route and fare information which is good. In my opinion i think that the vehicles look fine.

@Solo1 @Ashley 60171 - Do you know when Hi Ride stopped operating the route 70 service and started operating the route 40X service.

@Kevin - I believe that there is one morning journey that starts in Aston. But yes all of the other journeys start in Perry Barr.

[Tony]

@Steveminor - I think that his vehicles (Y337 FJN / S453 CVV) are fine. Although they are still painted in their previous operators liveries they still appear to be in good condition. Also he has added his own branding with route and fare information which is good. In my opinion i think that the vehicles look fine.

But he has signed up to the Birmingham SQPS that states you cannot use a vehicle in the previous operator's livery!

If he only had one vehicle he could have got away with claiming that was his livery, but when you use two vehicles, both in previous operator's  livery you are breaching the SQPS

[countryliner]

@Tony - Thanks for the info. Do all bus operators in the West Midlands have to sign up to the Birmingham SQPS or is it optional. Also does it still officially count as the previous operators liveries even though the fleetnames have been removed and his own branding has been applied. Also there are many bus operators in the UK (including in the West Midlands) that have more than one livery so surely he would be allowed to as well.

[Tony]

@Tony - Thanks for the info. Do all bus operators in the West Midlands have to sign up to the Birmingham SQPS or is it optional. Also does it still officially count as the previous operators liveries even though the fleetnames have been removed and his own branding has been applied. Also there are many bus operators in the UK (including in the West Midlands) that have more than one livery so surely he would be allowed to as well.

Every operator who runs into Birmingham City Centre within the inner ring road has to sign up for it, for operators of services with a frequency of less than every 20 minutes the emissions rules don't apply, but all other elements apply to everyone. Mr Pellington chose to change his 40X to run into the City Centre after SQPS started so knew what he was signing up for and hasn't abided by it.

It clearly mentioned running buses in a former operator's livery is not allowed.

In London, operators like Metroline have their old livery with the blue skirt and the current 100% red, but I could imagine TfL's reaction if someone started running a dart in the state of these two?

You seem to be of the opinion small is beautiful, but it is not, Quality is beautiful whatever the size and that is what the SQPS is trying to achieve

[Tony]

@Tony - Thanks for the info. Do all bus operators in the West Midlands have to sign up to the Birmingham SQPS or is it optional. Also does it still officially count as the previous operators liveries even though the fleetnames have been removed and his own branding has been applied. Also there are many bus operators in the UK (including in the West Midlands) that have more than one livery so surely he would be allowed to as well.

Further to my earlier reply @countryliner you may like to read the Birmingham SQPS scheme
https://www.centro.org.uk/media/20830/SQPS_Full_Document_July2013.pdf

You will see that the 40X bus fails to meet the regulations on several counts which will be why Centro were not best pleased. The document states that failure to comply can result in the TC taking action including license revocation

[countryliner]

@Tony - Thanks for the link to the document. That is interesting to read. However most ordinary non enthusiast bus passengers will probably not care what livery the bus has or what the bus looks like. Most passengers will just want to get to their destination and have cheap good value fares. So personally in my opinion i do not see the need for all operators to paint buses in to their livery.

[winston]

@Tony - Thanks for the link to the document. That is interesting to read. However most ordinary non enthusiast bus passengers will probably not care what livery the bus has or what the bus looks like. Most passengers will just want to get to their destination and have cheap good value fares. So personally in my opinion i do not see the need for all operators to paint buses in to their livery.

@countryliner - regardless of your personal opinion, Mr Pellington agreed to comply & sign up to the SQSP rules. Therefore using other operators liveries doesn't meet the standards / his commitment

[countryliner]

@Winston - Yes i see what you mean. However i just think that there are far more important and useful things that the SQPS could have focused on rather than bus operators liveries.

[Tony]

@Winston - Yes i see what you mean. However i just think that there are far more important and useful things that the SQPS could have focused on rather than bus operators liveries.

You mean more important thing than quality. I expect the existing passengers on the 40X may be happy with the service but is it going to attract Mondeo Man from his car, no!

NXWM have a problem at the moment where a few journies on platinum routes are now carrying standing passengers where numbers have grown since the  vehicles were put on there. However nice the inside is, I bet they would not have grown passenger numbers as quickly if the outside looked like Hi-Rides darts

What are these many more useful things that SQPS seems to have forgotton?

[countryliner]

@Tony - I personally think that the Hi Ride buses (Y337 FJN / S453 CVV) look fine. I think that a Hi Ride bus could attract passengers just as much (and maybe even more) as a National Express bus could. In my opinion the SQPS should focus on things that are going to benefit passengers more. These things in my opinion would be ensuring all buses give change / all buses issue return tickets / all buses charge fares based on distance rather than flat fares / introducing more bendy buses on busier routes instead of double deckers / etc.