Questions for Simon from Arriva

[Simon@Arriva]

Simon

Any plans for Arriva Midlands to introduce contactless payment technology this year?

Thanks

Plans are being worked on across Arriva UK Bus with a view to a roll out of new machines at the end of the year.  Contactless will be part of this.  Not sure exactly when Midlands will get them.

[Simon@Arriva]

Shame about the Streetlites, it means the 1 & 2 will still be an embarassment of a premium service 😕. Is Cannock due any vehicles in? Some of the Cadets are on their last legs surely?

Nothing confirmed on new vehicles as yet.

[Bob]

Nothing confirmed on new vehicles as yet.

Not necessarily new. Its obvious Cannocks a bit of a basket cade and no new buses forthcoming i meant transfers

[Simon@Arriva]

Not necessarily new. Its obvious Cannocks a bit of a basket cade and no new buses forthcoming i meant transfers

Sorry - thought you had written new.

I am looking at what we have where for the fleet but this is not a completed piece of work as yet.

[metrocity]

Plans are being worked on across Arriva UK Bus with a view to a roll out of new machines at the end of the year.  Contactless will be part of this.  Not sure exactly when Midlands will get them.

Thanks Simon. I hope it can be implemented sooner rather than later as the bus industry in general is well behind the curve compared to the retail industry with regards to contactless technology implementation

[Bob]

Sorry - thought you had written new.

I am looking at what we have where for the fleet but this is not a completed piece of work as yet.

Any chance of any Deckers coming back? The Cadets, well theyre not really suited to longer interurban routes surely and neither would the darts be for frontline work anymore, surely, yet thats where they end up a lot of the time

[PointerDart]

On the subject of deckers, albeit Telford, is there truth in the rumour of Telford's current ALX400/DB250s leaving?

[Simon@Arriva]

Any chance of any Deckers coming back? The Cadets, well theyre not really suited to longer interurban routes surely and neither would the darts be for frontline work anymore, surely, yet thats where they end up a lot of the time

There are not many double deckers about to be used so this is unlikely.

[Simon@Arriva]

On the subject of deckers, albeit Telford, is there truth in the rumour of Telford's current ALX400/DB250s leaving?

Hi

Yes that is very likely at the end of the summer.

[PointerDart]

Hi

Yes that is very likely at the end of the summer.

That's a shame. Are these going to be replaced with newer deckers, such as Geminis? If not, is there a possibility of the depot doing a running day for the DAFs, as I know the deckers are popular, especially with families, in the area?

[Solo1]

Which of the cannock fleet are now in new livery please

[Smethwickian]

This is a ticketing query to which I cannot seem to get a response from customer services online. On the appropriate zone maps on  this page on your website https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/midlands/bus-tickets/midlands-saver-area-maps/ the West Midlands day ticket is apparently NOT valid east or south of Atherstone, clearly excluding Nuneaton. But the Coventry map on the same set of links clearly states the West Midlands ticket IS valid between Nuneaton, Bedworth and Coventry. So, does one have to pay extra to bridge the gap or not?

[Depotosw]

Welcome to the group Simon, look forward to your postings over time.

Would be particularly interested to see how Oswestry depot responds to the somewhat arrogant competitive attack by EasyCoach on the 2 Oswestry to Wrexham and 2C Cefn Mawr to Wrexham due to start next week. I find the press releases from that concern poking at the long established operator in poor taste operating five minutes in front of Arriva long established services, particularly after the farse demonstrated in Shrewsbury by EasyCoach the later part of 2017. I understand this is probably a commercially sensitive subject however. You have a very well run smaller garage in Oswestry, long may that continue.

[Simon@Arriva]

This is a ticketing query to which I cannot seem to get a response from customer services online. On the appropriate zone maps on  this page on your website https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/midlands/bus-tickets/midlands-saver-area-maps/ the West Midlands day ticket is apparently NOT valid east or south of Atherstone, clearly excluding Nuneaton. But the Coventry map on the same set of links clearly states the West Midlands ticket IS valid between Nuneaton, Bedworth and Coventry. So, does one have to pay extra to bridge the gap or not?

Hi,

The West Midlands ticket is valid on the 65 route in its entirety.

[Simon@Arriva]

Welcome to the group Simon, look forward to your postings over time.

Would be particularly interested to see how Oswestry depot responds to the somewhat arrogant competitive attack by EasyCoach on the 2 Oswestry to Wrexham and 2C Cefn Mawr to Wrexham due to start next week. I find the press releases from that concern poking at the long established operator in poor taste operating five minutes in front of Arriva long established services, particularly after the farse demonstrated in Shrewsbury by EasyCoach the later part of 2017. I understand this is probably a commercially sensitive subject however. You have a very well run smaller garage in Oswestry, long may that continue.

The team at Oswestry are excellent!