Arriva Stafford Services

[Grinder]

Stafford garage site is being used for car storage but don't know who.
Arriva only run 5 services in Stafford now.  The 6 which is interworked with the 5 Telford-Stafford Monday to Saturday using TD based Pulsars usually 63 plate but also 59 plate.  On Sundays this route is covered by the 76A Sundays only Wolves-Stafford service.  The other 4 are usually covered by the FJ54 and FJ55 Darts but various Cadets and occasionally a Solo are used.  The only other town services, the 11 and 73, are run by Select on Monday to Friday only.

[Bob]

The 54 and 55 plate darts are regularly used on Cannock services as well

[Bob]

BVU/BVT needs a refurb as well. Old threadbare and dirty inside

[Pete50492]

Stafford always used to be an important garage with decent services.  How things decline....

Indeed but surely if Stafford falls into the hands of someone willing to persevere.....As I have said on the Cannock thread surely Stafford would be better in the hands of someone like D & G. Si makes the point of Select. Certainly being based at Penkridge they could do it logistically but I don't think they have the resources at the moment to expand so rapidly

[Hector]

Select are already in Stafford on the 876, 877 and 878 and operating town services 11 and 73. In fact I believe that the 67 is the only Select service which doesn't serve Stafford.

D&G already work into Stafford on 14, 841 and 842.

[Pete50492]

Select are already in Stafford on the 876, 877 and 878 and operating town services 11 and 73. In fact I believe that the 67 is the only Select service which doesn't serve Stafford.

D&G already work into Stafford on 14, 841 and 842.

Which underlines the point that if Arriva were to withdraw from Cannock/Stafford which I consider rther likely then D & G or to a lesser extent perhaps Select would be best placed to take on the town's network as currently operated by Arriva

[Grinder]

All the talk about Arriva pulling out of Cannock and Stafford is to say the least intriguing.  I don't know Cannock but if you look at Stafford there are basically 3 types of service, Town - currently run by Arriva with Select on 2 services, Rural to the North and East of the town run by D & G and Interurban run by Arriva and First Potteries.  Certainly D & G are probably in a position now to operate the town services, Select are I think to small and would need big investment in buses and drives as they only run Monday to Friday.  The Rural ones could remain as they are as could the Stafford-Telford run by Arriva and the Stafford-Hanley run by First Potteries.  But this is the intriguing question what would happen to the 74/75 Stafford-Cannock and 825 Stafford-Lichfield run from Cannock Garage.  These three services, I would suspect are actually profitable.  Loadings during the morning and afternoon rush hours are always good, in fact standing room only on some and a fair load on most services throughout the day.  Any thoughts guys 'cause I haven't a clue.

[Cheese]

All the talk about Arriva pulling out of Cannock and Stafford is to say the least intriguing.  I don't know Cannock but if you look at Stafford there are basically 3 types of service, Town - currently run by Arriva with Select on 2 services, Rural to the North and East of the town run by D & G and Interurban run by Arriva and First Potteries.  Certainly D & G are probably in a position now to operate the town services, Select are I think to small and would need big investment in buses and drives as they only run Monday to Friday.  The Rural ones could remain as they are as could the Stafford-Telford run by Arriva and the Stafford-Hanley run by First Potteries.  But this is the intriguing question what would happen to the 74/75 Stafford-Cannock and 825 Stafford-Lichfield run from Cannock Garage.  These three services, I would suspect are actually profitable.  Loadings during the morning and afternoon rush hours are always good, in fact standing room only on some and a fair load on most services throughout the day.  Any thoughts guys 'cause I haven't a clue.

Don't forget that most, if not all of the D&G and Select services in Stafford are subsidised, Select tried commercially on the 9 which didn't last long, D&G haven't run commercially in Stafford for a while now. Whether this provides a base to operate more services I don't know, but of a trek from Adderley Green to Stafford for example.

[Grinder]

Good point Cheese, I had forgotten about the subsidised services and I agree Adderley Green to Stafford to run local services is a lot of dead mileage.  So the question as to what happens in Stafford if Cannock closes becomes even more intriguing.

[Bob]

I wouldn't imagine the 74 makes that much. For example they've cut it now to the point where the last service from hospital is around 3 pm.  I caught it last sat 10.45 from Cannock and there were two other people on all the way to wildwood and about 6 more got on toward Stafford all were pensioners.  Coming back maybe about 10 people

[Grinder]

Very different in the week Bob, I agree Saturdays are not as good. Last bus from Hospital is 15:48 but the last out of Stafford is 18:41, weekdays and Saturdays, then you are limited to the 75 via Penkridge and that runs till 23:38.  The 75 is the better service in terms of later buses and ok for people wanting to go along the Lichfield Road, Silkmore Lane and Rickerscote Road but no use for people along the A34. 

[Bob]

Yep they used to still run a late 74 at 2345 ish till recently. Another cutback.  You now have to suffer the 75a.  Saturdays used to be busy on the 74. And the 75 can now cope with cadets and solos which says a lot. The 74 is only really busy cos of students.

[Bob]

And the 74/825....well the 74 got upgraded in 2007 with branded Pulsars and now is often either using vehicles older than that or at best a year newer with the Volvos.  The 825 was upgraded with 61 plate pulsars and now gets any crap on there. Hardly a sign of routes doing well to be fair

[Grinder]

Bob, when the 74/75 was introduced with the route branded 57 plate Pulsar 1's it was subsidised by both the County Council and the old Mid-Staffs NHS trust. When the subsidies finished all sorts were tried including for a while 58 plate deckers from Leicester.  Most 74/75 services now use either 58 plate Volvos or 61 plate Pulsar 2's.  I grant you that some later services, Saturday services and Sunday use Cadets or Darts.  Incidentally the 22:00 75A last night was a 58 plate Volvo.  Again the 825 is normally a 58 plate Volvo even on a Sunday although the evening services are quite often Cadets.  If the routes are not doing reasonably well, why are they still running until late evening, surely both the 75A and the 825 would have been cut back if they are that bad. The 825 in particular runs pretty late from the Hospital, 22:38 in the week and on Saturday and 20:38 on Sunday must be making money to keep that up.

[2206]

Bob, when the 74/75 was introduced with the route branded 57 plate Pulsar 1's it was subsidised by both the County Council and the old Mid-Staffs NHS trust. When the subsidies finished all sorts were tried including for a while 58 plate deckers from Leicester.  Most 74/75 services now use either 58 plate Volvos or 61 plate Pulsar 2's.  I grant you that some later services, Saturday services and Sunday use Cadets or Darts.  Incidentally the 22:00 75A last night was a 58 plate Volvo.  Again the 825 is normally a 58 plate Volvo even on a Sunday although the evening services are quite often Cadets.  If the routes are not doing reasonably well, why are they still running until late evening, surely both the 75A and the 825 would have been cut back if they are that bad. The 825 in particular runs pretty late from the Hospital, 22:38 in the week and on Saturday and 20:38 on Sunday must be making money to keep that up.

The 58 plate deckers (4201 - 4204) were at Cannock for the 74 between October 2014 and February 2016. They were from Tamworth not Leicester and were previously used on the 110 (Birmingham City Centre to Tamworth) @Grinder.