GRS Travel

[Stuharris 6360]

Also T202AFM has it's LEDs working now!

According to the rear of one of them this afternoon, it was on route 16246. More idleness not removing the previous route number!

[nitromatt1]

Also T202AFM has it's LEDs working now!

Had them last weekend I think

[Steveminor]

Having spoken to the owner I can confirm, he will NOT be buying ANY ex joes buses as they are "in too bad a condition to be worth any where near his asking price"

[PM]

Having spoken to the owner I can confirm, he will NOT be buying ANY ex joes buses as they are "in too bad a condition to be worth any where near his asking price"

Thanks for that info Steve. I did think the Marshall one in particular seemed overpriced but the Crusader looked in good condition. Do you know whether Mr GRS was referring to mechanical or interior condition or a combination of both of them.

Do you know if he plans to buy more buses as suggested, for additional routes?

Thanks Steve

[Steveminor]

He is looking at buying more buses in the near future but from what he said the jobs ones were not upto scratch mechanically.
4 of them had prohibitions which needed clearing & the others were out of mot (don't know which ones). That could be the reason jobs decided to throw in the towel , if they had no roadworthy buses what's the point.
He told me his next buses will be dda compliant & maybe looking at something other than darts.
He is very happy with the way the 246 is going & is dedicated to making the route work. He lost a lot of money trying 1st the 16A then trying to take on diamond & nxwm on the 16, now it's about building up the cash reserves so that he can do some of the things that people on here have critisied him on.

[Stu]

He is looking at buying more buses in the near future but from what he said the jobs ones were not upto scratch mechanically.
4 of them had prohibitions which needed clearing & the others were out of mot (don't know which ones). That could be the reason jobs decided to throw in the towel , if they had no roadworthy buses what's the point.

VIP take note!  :P

He told me his next buses will be dda compliant & maybe looking at something other than darts.
He is very happy with the way the 246 is going & is dedicated to making the route work. He lost a lot of money trying 1st the 16A then trying to take on diamond & nxwm on the 16, now it's about building up the cash reserves so that he can do some of the things that people on here have critisied him on.

That's good to hear, best of luck to him!

[PM]

He is looking at buying more buses in the near future but from what he said the jobs ones were not upto scratch mechanically.
4 of them had prohibitions which needed clearing & the others were out of mot (don't know which ones). That could be the reason jobs decided to throw in the towel , if they had no roadworthy buses what's the point.
He told me his next buses will be dda compliant & maybe looking at something other than darts.
He is very happy with the way the 246 is going & is dedicated to making the route work. He lost a lot of money trying 1st the 16A then trying to take on diamond & nxwm on the 16, now it's about building up the cash reserves so that he can do some of the things that people on here have critisied him on.

Very interesting. Best of luck to him, I say! Do you know why he stayed on the 16 for 2/3 years if the route was loss making? And why he tried it in the first place, when diamond and NX pretty much had the 16 sewn up?

[Solo1]

the GRS  owner used to work for Diamond  so that may be the reason why he picked the 16 as i saw him on the 16 service with diamond

[fleetline6477]

The older guy who drove for him for a long time was also a long standing Diamond driver on 16.

When he started he ran as 16A with all journeys running to / from Scott Arms, so he did try a variant on the main route.

[Steveminor]

That's correct. He saw the diamond takings & thought he would give it a go firstly by trying the 16A all day which failed miserably then the 16 itself. I think he stuck it out for so long after seeing diamond withdraw off so many other routes, if they had pulled their 16 he would have been quids in. Can't blame him really.

[PM]

That's correct. He saw the diamond takings & thought he would give it a go firstly by trying the 16A all day which failed miserably then the 16 itself. I think he stuck it out for so long after seeing diamond withdraw off so many other routes, if they had pulled their 16 he would have been quids in. Can't blame him really.

I imagine back in BCC days ie when cadets arrived, shift totals were relatively high. No, you can't. It could have paid off had diamond withdrawn. To be honest, when the route was transferred to Long Acre, it seemed pretty dead, especially after the MCVs left. Ultimately, the current situation is better for both operators...

[trident4370]

I say fair play to him, he has admitted there are problems, and when I have personally spoken to him he has admitted the buses need a livery and improvements. Hopefully now the 246 will help him implement those improvements and set GRS apart from other shall we say "competitors" Also turning down Joe's buses must go to prove that he only wants good quality vehicles.

[PM]

I say fair play to him, he has admitted there are problems, and when I have personally spoken to him he has admitted the buses need a livery and improvements. Hopefully now the 246 will help him implement those improvements and set GRS apart from other shall we say "competitors" Also turning down Joe's buses must go to prove that he only wants good quality vehicles.

I couldn't agree more. It would be nice to see GRS competing on some of the busier routes around Dudley. I think it's fair to say they could become a high quality operator in a short space of time. Maybe some weekly tickets at a good price could help them to stand out against the competition?

[Roy]

A quality operator does not have drivers who abuse passengers at bus stops who prefer not to board his P-registered bus (P202 OLX) as a competitor's much newer (and recently refurbished) Trident on the same route is right behind it.  This happened in Brierley Hill High Street yesterday morning on a service 246 heading towards Dudley, and suggests that GRS are desperate to get passengers. 

[andrew1991]

A quality operator does not have drivers who abuse passengers at bus stops who prefer not to board his P-registered bus (P202 OLX) as a competitor's much newer (and recently refurbished) Trident on the same route is right behind it.  This happened in Brierley Hill High Street yesterday morning on a service 246 heading towards Dudley, and suggests that GRS are desperate to get passengers.

happened to me bank holiday Monday too