Travel Express / Lets Go

[Jimboe89]

Do these guys stick to the timetable!

The last couple of Sundays have tried to catch the first number 1 from Tettenhall Wood to get in to town for an early train.  It's not turned up on either occasion!  During the week they just turn up at random times.

[Rachvince53]

Do these guys stick to the timetable!

The last couple of Sundays have tried to catch the first number 1 from Tettenhall Wood to get in to town for an early train.  It's not turned up on either occasion!  During the week they just turn up at random times.

Their number 1 which is meant to be every 20 minutes rarely runs a full service on Mondays. Often the only bus on the route is the same one which operates the 303 contract service meaning their 1 doesn't run at all between 9.00am and c2.00pm when a bus comes off the 64/63/65. At most only one other bus runs on the 1. This has been the case for at least 12 months. 

[B7RLE]

Are this operator still dodgy with both maintenance and their tactics against NX or have they changed now?

[Wba_lad]

Do these guys stick to the timetable!

The last couple of Sundays have tried to catch the first number 1 from Tettenhall Wood to get in to town for an early train.  It's not turned up on either occasion!  During the week they just turn up at random times.

I'll be honest, some drivers do follow timetable as best as they can I can tell you that but sometimes lateness can't be helped, however a lot of their driver especially on the 11 route just run to their own times, they leave under hill whenever they feel like it, a lot of the time some of their buses are running 2 together aswell.

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

From experience I used to have to go to Paget Road most days I had a bus Pass at first so It was NX all the way. I continued to get NX even when I was no longer eligible for the Bus Pass as our family Income had changed. The NX 1 did suffer from issues lateness usually due to delays either at Tettenhall, Wolverhampton or Dudley, running in 3's and overcrowding although whoever designed that area needs to look at themselves how you can have two busy roads Compton Road and Tettenhall Road with the Grammar School, college, Primary School, Girls High school behind the back of the College, two schools in Compton Park plus 1 or 2 in Tettenhall I will never know Darlaston a town of 27,000 has 1 secondary school and 1 in Bilston that is within Walking Distance of Grace Academy in Thomas Moore it has 3 Primary Schools near each other but on residential estates, 1 on the main road between Darlaston and Moxley 1 just off the Walsall Road and 1 on Old Park Road with another one just within Walking Distance in Wednesbury. As someone told me at Morning and Afternoon periods you have 10,000 people all flooding the area that is the equilvant of Bournemouth a Premier League Stadiums capacity flooding into Tettenhall and Compton using 2 main roads. The 1 is the more frequent bus that passes the College, Girls High School and Tettenhall Schools every 8 Minutes to the 10/10A's every half hour although the 10 at Morning was increased to every 15 and a Double Decker was used. I remember riding 6766 on there a couple of weeks before it was destroyed in the arson attack. The 1 therefore is the main bus all the kids and students get. So when I was waiting for it I would check the timetables of the other buses the 891 and Let's Go 1 to see if there late or on time and also if I had just missed an NX1 if it was on time. I could often tell you say the Let's Go 1 was due at 17:10 with the NX1 at 17:15 say the Let's Go 1 would then be due at 17:35 and more often or not it ran just in front of the NX1 together despite the 891 and last NX1 being on time. Also when NX went on Strike I managed to get to Paget Road for 1 day by the 310, 529 and what I thought could be the Let's Go Number 1. I waited in the City for the Let's Go Number 1 and I never saw it or had just missed one. The 891 wasn't due for a while and I wasn't sure if they accepted Nbus or where the boundary was for them. So I started walking and got to Chapel Ash a Let's Go Number 1 was due it never turned up I didn't see a 1 in the opposite direction. The 891 had to stop to pick us all up there was 3 or 4 of us the driver informed us he wasn't supposed to stop there. Coming back I did finally see a Let's go 1 heading up to Tettenhall the one that was due before the Banga 891 never turned up. I thought to myself why when I don't want them do they turn up pretty frequently and when I do am I not seeing them. They would be making some serious Money from the College Kids who use it from the City to College or to the Dudley Road. So they basically do run when they want. As for maintenance can't really comment but the fact they have most of the fleet if not all in Dealership White with Let's Go slapped on the front I guess is something in terms of a livery but I remember there old T Reg Dart knocking around in Red. And that was there Livery. Based on my experience there not great. Missing buses despite me seeing there other buses and there is supposed to be 3 buses on the 1 I think I only saw 1 at 5PM. I saw more NX buses than Let's go I saw 2 but 1 was on the Penn Service as I saw it on the Ring Road. I saw 3 or 4 NX buses that day. And then when I did see them turning up when they wanted. 

[Rachvince53]

Let's Go rarely operate more than one bus on the 1 on Mondays during the off-peak. A second one runs during the peak but does the 303 contract service between then. One driver commented that they have to provide buses on the 63/64/65 and 303 services as they are under contract even if it means not running a full service on the commercial routes. 

As for the state of the buses,  they are in reasonable condition and certainly an improvement on some they have used previously. 

As far as Banga's 891, they do accept nBus as I use them to get to/from Tettenhall.  However the stop in Chapel Ash outside St Marks Church was not previously served and the last time I tried to flag the 891 down he drove straight past. I'm still awaiting a response from Banga two months later. 

[CKD]

Are this operator still dodgy with both maintenance and their tactics against NX or have they changed now?

Still dodgy with maintenance. Buses in dealership white and sharing their Dudley Road depot as a car park doesn't set a good impression 

[Westy]

I'm probably not the only one who's thought this, but whatever possessed TfWM to give them contracts, apart from the lowest tender?

Surely their previous shenagigans should have counted against them?

[MW]

I'm probably not the only one who's thought this, but whatever possessed TfWM to give them contracts, apart from the lowest tender?

Surely their previous shenagigans should have counted against them?

tenders are awarded on a cost basis

[Westy]

tenders are awarded on a cost basis

Reliabillty & general management should be a factor as well.

[Rachvince53]

Reliabillty & general management should be a factor as well.

Agreed but that's not how tendering works. At the end of the day TfWM is accountable to the WMCA and ultimately council tax payers/government.  Although most people probably don't know how tendering works, the government certainly do and would not take kindly to TfWM accepting a higher bid than was submitted. 

[Westy]

Agreed but that's not how tendering works. At the end of the day TfWM is accountable to the WMCA and ultimately council tax payers/government.  Although most people probably don't know how tendering works, the government certainly do and would not take kindly to TfWM accepting a higher bid than was submitted.

Well I'm sure we all have our opinions on how the government operates, so we'll leave it there!

[Tony]

Agreed but that's not how tendering works. At the end of the day TfWM is accountable to the WMCA and ultimately council tax payers/government.  Although most people probably don't know how tendering works, the government certainly do and would not take kindly to TfWM accepting a higher bid than was submitted.

TfWM don't always take the lowest price.

They take the 'Best Value for money'

Similarly TfGM didn't award the franchises to the lowest bid in all cases

[Stu]

Still dodgy with maintenance. Buses in dealership white and sharing their Dudley Road depot as a car park doesn't set a good impression

Many smaller operators choose not to paint their buses and leave them 'dealership white', Kevs, Landflight and Solus also spring to mind.

The TfWM Enhanced Partnership document states the following with regards to vehicle livery:
You cannot view this attachment.

If Lets Go choose to keep their vehicles plain white, then as long as they display their logos, then they are doing nothing wrong.

[CKD]

Many smaller operators choose not to paint their buses and leave them 'dealership white', Kevs, Landflight and Solus also spring to mind.

The TfWM Enhanced Partnership document states the following with regards to vehicle livery:
You cannot view this attachment.

If Lets Go choose to keep their vehicles plain white, then as long as they display their logos, then they are doing nothing wrong.

Just looks unprofessional and very tatty. Even a simple livery like Banga's or all red like TE used to looks far better. Also, as they don't clean them (very regularly at all), they consistently look dreadful.