Hi-Ride

[countryliner]

@2206 - Just in my personal opinion i do not think that it is good for customers for all of the reasons that i have mentioned in all my posts in the past. Not giving change is bad customer service and some passengers will not always have the exact fare on them and therefore some of them might have to overpay. I know that some people are fine with the exact fare system but i think that it is always better for bus operators to give change (although i know that many people on this forum disagree with me). Also i think that we should probably try to stay more on topic if possible as this does not really have anything to do with Hi Ride.

[Solo1]

Exact fare is quicker loading

[countryliner]

@Solo1 - In my opinion i really do not think that having an exact fare policy does anything to speed up boarding times or to increase driver safety. Many other large bus operators in other large cities manage fine. I think that if National Express started to give change they would manange fine as well. But back on the subject of Hi Ride - does anyone know if S453 CVV has been converted to DDA compliant yet - i am guessing that it probably has been so that it can be used when Y337 FJN is not available.

[Adam 404]

@Solo1 - In my opinion i really do not think that having an exact fare policy does anything to speed up boarding times or to increase driver safety. Many other large bus operators in other large cities manage fine. I think that if National Express started to give change they would manange fine as well. But back on the subject of Hi Ride - does anyone know if S453 CVV has been converted to DDA compliant yet - i am guessing that it probably has been so that it can be used when Y337 FJN is not available.

@countryliner People of the West Midlands are used to exact fares and are made aware of it. No one, from my knowledge causes this debate in the West Midlands. As you are clearly not from the West Midlands, you may not be aware of what the people of the West Midlands actually want.
People in the West Midlands are used to using change. A person from outside the midlands may not know this but at main boarding points, such as Railway Stations, this information is available.
Also, using a quote from a Buses magazine article, "It took the bus 90 seconds to load the passenger, if it wasn't exact fairs, this would of probably taken 10 minutes"  Therefore @Solo1 is correct.

I am also confused at your view on BendyBuses. Look at First Cymru's FTR's. They are getting ride of them and they are only around 3 years old... Why? Because they are to costly to run and have to have to go onto 1 particular route. With Double Deckers, there is more flexibility on what routes buses can operate as there are less tight corners to stop a bendy in its tracks. Also, staff need to be trained to drive Bendy's and there wage compared to a normal bus driver is probably higher.

Now can this be the last time that "Exact Fares" can even be mentioned on this forum. And if you have to reply, rather than clogging up Hi Ride's posts. Just PM me... Also, Hi Ride doesn't even have BendyBuses so I don't know how that subject come up either...

[winston]

Exact fares topic has been exhausted to death - posts relating to Hi-ride only from now on, Winston

[Solo1]

PD0001044/1 - FERDINAND PELLINGTON T/A HI-RIDE COACHES, 60 HOLLY ROAD, HANDSWORTH, BIRMINGHAM, B20 2DB

Variation Accepted: Operating between WATERLOO ROAD, SMETHWICK and ASTON SIXWAYS given service number 40X effective from 07-Mar-2016. To amend Timetable

[countryliner]

@Solo1 - That is interesting to hear. I wonder what the new timetable changes for the 40X will be.

[justlookingaround]

http://www.route-one.net/legal/owner-driver-asked-to-consider/

Birmingham owner-driver Ferdinand Pellington, 72, was advised by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Jones to consider whether he wished to continue in operation in the future, after concluding that he did not think he had the expertise to run his one local service on time.

The TC cut Mr Pellington's licence from three vehicles to two, suspended it and his vocational driving licence for two months, and ordered him to pay a financial penalty of £1,500.

He also disqualified Mr Pellington from acting as a Transport Manager (TM) until he had undertaken a two-day refresher course, giving him three months' grace to operate without a qualified TM.

Warning that if a further investigation revealed that the service was still not running to time he would consider banning Mr Pellington from operating local services, revoking his licence and imposing the maximum financial penalty, the TC said that if he chose to surrender his licence he would accept it.

Mr Pellington, trading as Hi-Ride Coaches, of Holly Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, with a three-vehicle national licence, had been called before the TC at a Birmingham Public Inquiry (PI) because of concern over vehicle maintenance and bus service punctuality.

At the outset the TC said that the financial evidence was only sufficient for two vehicles.

Vehicle Examiner (VE) Andrew Male said that he carried out a maintenance investigation following the issue of a delayed prohibition for an oil leak. The authorised operating centre at Smethwick was not being used and the one bus in possession at the time was being operated from Mr Pellington's home.

There was plenty of room for the bus in what was once a large garden. A recent BOAM investigation highlighted that there was no spare bus for Mr Pellington's service. He had indicated that he might purchase a spare bus. There was room for one other bus at the house provided it was no longer than the current Dennis Dart.

The VE said that on viewing the inspection records he was concerned they did not clearly show where or by whom the vehicles were being inspected. No defects were recorded, the declaration fit for service was never signed, no mileages were recorded, and no tyre depths or brake efficiencies shown.

He called at Endeavour Coaches, the nominated maintenance contractor, and staff there told him that though they had carried out some repairs, they did not carry out inspections for Mr Pellington. He established that Mr Pellington carried out inspections himself at his house.

There was no hard standing and the ground was uneven. There was no cover and the site was totally unsuitable for carrying out any kind of thorough inspection.

Mr Pellington had since signed a maintenance contract with a third party. The inspection records were now quite good.

Traffic Examiner (TE) Kathrine Cox said that during a routine PSV check in June at Perry Barr it was noted that Mr Pellington's 40X service failed to run when it was due at 1000hrs. At 1140hrs the bus arrived driven by Mr Pellington. Asked why the 1000hrs journey did not run, he stated that he had carried out some business in town and had dropped out of service.

It was discovered that Mr Pellington did not hold a Driver CPC and was completely unaware of the requirement to do so.  A monitoring exercise was carried out between 6 and 25 July.

Of the 21 journeys monitored, 11 were seen and 10 failed to operate. Overall there was an 85% non-compliance rate.

When Mr Pellington visited the TE on 19 June, he said that the service was not being run because he had to visit her. He had since acquired another bus.

After Mr Pellington had said that the problems had been due to traffic, the TC said that the timetable needed to be more sophisticated. Traffic problems were not a reasonable excuse when only 15% of the services ran to time.

Mr Pellington had had a licence for 20 years and this was his first PI. He was a small operator who had "been under the radar", evidenced by the fact that he did not realise as TM that he needed a Driver CPC to drive his bus.

Mr Pellington said that he had mistaken his TM's CPC for the Driver CPC. He undertook to revise the service timetable and to go on a two-day TM's refresher course.

After being asked why he had not operated the service while obtaining his Driver CPC, he said that he had to shut it down as he could not get a relief driver. The TC commented that that was not a reasonable excuse. Mr Pellington admitted that the service was not running that day for the same reason.

[Bryan]

Another operator that appears to need to be brought back into touch with regulations on service provision and safety by the TC.

I liked the section that mentioned 'Traffic Examiner (TE) Kathrine Cox said that during a routine PSV check in June at Perry Barr it was noted that Mr Pellington's 40X service failed to run when it was due at 1000hrs. At 1140hrs the bus arrived driven by Mr Pellington. Asked why the 1000hrs journey did not run, he stated that he had carried out some business in town and had dropped out of service.'!!!

Obviously an operator, when also taking into account the other failures to operate the service, who does not care much for passengers or potential customer loyalty.

[countryliner]

@justlookingaround @Bryan - That is interesting to hear. But i think that the TC and the DVSA are just being very unfair especially as he has operated for so long. He has operated the route successfully and without any problems for such a long time and for so many years that i think that it is unneccesary for the TC and DVSA to come along and say all these things and put these fines and restrictions in place. I personally think that Hi Ride are a very good operator and i am sure that he does care about his company and his passengers. I have met him a few times on the 40X and he seems like a really nice person who knows what he is doing with his company. I am sure that some people on this forum will disagree with me about this but this is just my opinion on this.

[Kevin]

... i think that it is unneccesary for the TC and DVSA to come along and say all these things and put these fines and restrictions in place. I personally think that Hi Ride are a very good operator and i am sure that he does care about his company and his passengers.....

.... Asked why the 1000hrs journey did not run, he stated that he had carried out some business in town and had dropped out of service....

So is this the sort of thing you get up to down south then?
"sorry I'm over an hour late I had some personal business to attend to"

I echo another member's comment
You're hilarious

[JoNi]

Operated "under  the radar" is one of the comments about his operation that says it all.

[Tony]

So is this the sort of thing you get up to down south then?
"sorry I'm over an hour late I had some personal business to attend to"

I echo another member's comment
You're hilarious

DVSA recorded 15% reliability. That means if you relied upon the 40x to get you to work you would arrive on time 3 Times a month.

Perfectly acceptable in Countryliner'a world

[Bryan]

DVSA recorded 15% reliability. That means if you relied upon the 40x to get you to work you would arrive on time 3 Times a month.

Perfectly acceptable in Countryliner'a world

It's also not good if you rely on the service to get to a doctor's or hospital appointment, a job interview, a funeral or to catch a train etc etc.

Putting forward a flippant thought, you have an urgent hospital appointment and the 40X does not turn up. You could be dead before the next 40X bus arrives, as the owner decides not to operate the service for the next day or two due to a CPC course or for some other reason.

Seriously though, it's necessary that the TC's take action against operators like this, be they big or small. As a comparison, Trading Standards wouldn't accept that a TV that worked well some days but didn't on others was acceptable (would Countryliner?).

[T840MAK]

@justlookingaround @Bryan - That is interesting to hear. But i think that the TC and the DVSA are just being very unfair especially as he has operated for so long. He has operated the route successfully and without any problems for such a long time and for so many years that i think that it is unneccesary for the TC and DVSA to come along and say all these things and put these fines and restrictions in place. I personally think that Hi Ride are a very good operator and i am sure that he does care about his company and his passengers. I have met him a few times on the 40X and he seems like a really nice person who knows what he is doing with his company. I am sure that some people on this forum will disagree with me about this but this is just my opinion on this.

If he is failing to operate his services then I don't see how they're being unfair on him. If he is the only driver in the company then his company does not stand a chance. If he cared about his passengers then he would have a spare bus and a spare driver, and would not miss journeys for personal reasons.