Questions for Simon from Arriva

[Simon@Arriva]

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?

Won't be replaced by deckers.  I will consider a running day.

[Bob]

Are the Pye Greens, as rumoured, Cannocks most profitable route? And if so, why were the brand new branded up vehicles taken off and sent elsewhere, after being launched with a lot of publicity?

If it was because takings werent enough to justify them, what does that indicate about Cannock garages long term future?

[Bob]

You could argue that as long as a bus is on there its ok, and thats all that matters, but when something declines in quality you'd be surprised how much people do notice

[Westy]

As I said before, why couldnt Cannock keep the newer vehicles anyway?

The older vehicles would have needed replacing anyway!

[Bob]

You have NX eefurbing 11 plate deckers on repaint, the Commanders are 06 and havent been retrimmed ever

[ntw456]

Is there going to be a bus painted/wrapped for Tamworth's 90th anniversary?

[Simon@Arriva]

Is there going to be a bus painted/wrapped for Tamworth's 90th anniversary?

Hi

No plans to do this.  There is an open day at Tamworth depot on 5th August to mark this occasion. Would be good to see people there.

[Simon@Arriva]

Are the Pye Greens, as rumoured, Cannocks most profitable route? And if so, why were the brand new branded up vehicles taken off and sent elsewhere, after being launched with a lot of publicity?

If it was because takings werent enough to justify them, what does that indicate about Cannock garages long term future?

Hi

I can't really talk about profitability on here but they are important routes for us.

I am not aware of all the reasons why the new buses were moved elsewhere but I know that the depot were disappointed and it still mentioned when I talk to staff/hold staff meetings.

[Bob]

Hi

I can't really talk about profitability on here but they are important routes for us.

I am not aware of all the reasons why the new buses were moved elsewhere but I know that the depot were disappointed and it still mentioned when I talk to staff/hold staff meetings.

They cant be that important or Arriva would invest in them. Darts and cadets seem to have crept back on them as well

[Bob]

Maybe they could at least look at using refurbed vehicles on there?
It doesnt make sense, the 70 , all of a sudden an important service has modern sb200s running literally empty on the half hourly 70. My moneys on that reverting to hourly

[Simon@Arriva]

3306 was at Tamworth today to cover for a 110 Decker that was being used to support a local school in teaching children about safety on buses.

[leepenfold30]

Hello Simon not sure if you answer this question as you don't cover Leicester & Leicestershire

Why has Thurmaston Depot never put full allocation of Sapphires on 158 I've noticed in last few weeks 7 Sapphire Spec buses have been put on instead of 8 buses

Also when's Hinckley Bus Branding being replaced with Arriva

One of Streetlites 3316 has still got 158 branding on it
It needs removing as it confuse customers of 74 78 79 routes from Nuneaton to Coventry

[Simon@Arriva]

I am not sure what the exact question is about allocation of buses at Cannock, the frequency of the 70 and the quality of the Streetlites is but here are some thoughts that I will make in general to try and explain where my thinking is at.

1. We need to have buses on the 25/26 that can take 2 pushchairs.  This rules out some of the Cannock fleet but we are thinking carefully about what we need to do on those routes to make them a real showcase for people to use.

2. The 25/26 are important routes and changes/upgrades do not happen overnight.  My first aim has been to standardise the allocation at Cannock with appropriate vehicles and take stock. 

3. The Pulsars are on the 70 as this is interurban work and I believe that these are good buses for that type of work.  We are hoping that the increase in the 70 frequency works for us and so we need good buses on it to ensure reliability.  It is also a longer route and so needs vehicles that people can feel comfortable on for longer than a journey from Pye Green to Cannock, for example. 

4. We are often accused of too many cuts/shrinking the network but here is an attempt to grow the 70 - we need to see what happens.  If it does not work then we tried - the difficult question to answer is how long to give it.  With the industry in decline and the High Streets in some despair it is hard work at the moment.

5. I am not as certain as I once was that the general public take a great deal of interest in the type, make, model, age of a bus.  Every survey I ever see says that people want punctual, reliable services that operate as directly as possible.  Whether that is a Volvo, DAF, Wrightbus, ADL, BYD or something else is not as important as have sometimes I have treated it as.  They can have all the bells and whistles that manufacturers can come up with but if it is late or breaks down then it is all for nothing.  We haven't been as good as we should have been in Cannock at stopping breakdowns or being punctual but this is now a major area of focus for us and progress is being made.

6. As for the Streetlites, I think they look good and, for me, ride well and drive well.  Drivers have not mentioned them to me in meetings or when I have been around and about.  Passengers seem to like them and I am not aware of complaints regarding them.

7. And so we carry on trying our best, seeing what we can do to improve, me trying to bring my views to the team and ultimately provide the best possible service to the people of Cannock and the surrounding area.

Apologies that was long but hopefully useful.  We can't please everyone but all feedback is good and is taken notice of.

[Simon@Arriva]

Hello Simon not sure if you answer this question as you don't cover Leicester & Leicestershire

Why has Thurmaston Depot never put full allocation of Sapphires on 158 I've noticed in last few weeks 7 Sapphire Spec buses have been put on instead of 8 buses

Also when's Hinckley Bus Branding being replaced with Arriva

One of Streetlites 3316 has still got 158 branding on it
It needs removing as it confuse customers of 74 78 79 routes from Nuneaton to Coventry

Hi Lee,

There was a time that I would know all the answers to that but now I am fully in my new area I will have to ask someone else!  Will see what I can find out.

[Bob]

Hello Simon not sure if you answer this question as you don't cover Leicester & Leicestershire

Why has Thurmaston Depot never put full allocation of Sapphires on 158 I've noticed in last few weeks 7 Sapphire Spec buses have been put on instead of 8 buses

Also when's Hinckley Bus Branding being replaced with Arriva

One of Streetlites 3316 has still got 158 branding on it
It needs removing as it confuse customers of 74 78 79 routes from Nuneaton to Coventry

Have you seen the allocations on the Pye Greens last few days? I thought it was now a Commander route? Anything and everything has been on there. With regard to passengers not noticing blatant low quality downgrades, ie from a 63 plate branded pulsar to a 54 plate knackered Dart, maybe dont relaunch the routes with loads of fanfare and new buses in the town centre then and people wont care.

With regard to the 70, if the best Cannock can offer is Pulsars some of which have knackered diffs and /or vibrate badly when idling ( conpare this to the condition of nx B7RLEs of similar vintage) then its a sorry state of affairs.

Most daytime 70s ive seen have been virtually empty so i wouldnt hold out much hope sadly. Are you looking to launch any new routes to new destinations? Also regarding the 70, its not got the best history...frequency up and down, cluelessly converted to a ( handy but dead) express variant, converted back, frequency cut again, so all thats being done is restoring a previous ( recent) frequency level that failed miserably before, rather than growing the network as such.