Chaserider

[Bob]

Also on the Website

Services 70 and 71 will be revised from 20th June.

Service 70 will no longer serve New Cross Hospital due to low passenger numbers. Buses will operate via Cannock Road between Featherstone and Wolverhampton.

Service 71 will no longer serve Amos Lane in Wednesfield, and will operate via Avon Road in Cannock rather than the Longford estate.

Both services 70 and 71 will no longer operate between Cannock and Huntington. Service 74 will continue to provide a regular service through Huntington.

All buses in Wolverhampton will serve stop AC on the northbound side of Stafford Street.

So dog in tree estate no longer served

[Westy]

Its states on their website
https://www.chaserider.co.uk/

Services 1 and 1A will operate to a reduced timetable between 20th June and 1st July, and will then be withdrawn.
National Express West Midlands will continue to run a regular service between Cannock, Bloxwich and Walsall on route X51.

That's it then!

No point moaning to the powers that be about it then, as they'll just quote similar to what I had before!

(And Eddie Hughes won't give a xxxx about it, because it's not the Stafford Road!)

[Bob]

The way its going therell be nothing left of Cannock network. 

[Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer]

The way its going therell be nothing left of Cannock network.

I wouldn't be surprised. The only thing I see being left are the 60 & 74, 826 & 828

[the trainbasher]

The thing is, following COVID, passenger numbers regrettably are not what they were (partly because of government messaging near enough saying that you'll die using buses/trains/trams) and town centres are suffering because people aren't going as they've got used to doing things online.

What is needed is more subsidy for bus services/reregulation, but to fund that (and properly fund it), you'll need to make cuts elsewhere because the UK economy is going into a recession because of COVID

[Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer]

The thing is, following COVID, passenger numbers regrettably are not what they were (partly because of government messaging near enough saying that you'll die using buses/trains/trams) and town centres are suffering because people aren't going as they've got used to doing things online.

What is needed is more subsidy for bus services/reregulation, but to fund that (and properly fund it), you'll need to make cuts elsewhere because the UK economy is going into a recession because of COVID

Well said

[Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer]

Chaserider got a new bus today. Ex High Peak bus
Optare Versa

[IMarkeh]

The thing is, following COVID, passenger numbers regrettably are not what they were (partly because of government messaging near enough saying that you'll die using buses/trains/trams) and town centres are suffering because people aren't going as they've got used to doing things online.

What is needed is more subsidy for bus services/reregulation, but to fund that (and properly fund it), you'll need to make cuts elsewhere because the UK economy is going into a recession because of COVID

Passenger numbers aren't that bad in some areas. There are a lot of variables including how the town centre has recovered, the effort put in by the bus operator and how well they have dealt with passengers. For example, an operator which is badly managed and has a lot of trips not running combined with a dying town centre, you are going to suffer from very low recovery. If however the area has thrived and the operator is doing a lot of advertising and putting in a lot of effort into the services with low levels of cancellations, generally, passenger numbers recover better. 


The blame isn't solely with Chaserider but they play a big part in it with their constant service changes, low quality buses and I'd be willing to bet that their lost mileage is about the same as their actually operated mileage. Minimal effort, minimal returns is what is being seen here. In the past 18 months, the network has gone through about 5 revamps. Passengers don't know whether they are coming or going. 


What is needed is not reregulation but for the lazy companies to get a boot up their backside to start improving or force them out of the industry and only have operators running buses who make an effort to make buses the best that they possibly can be. 

[ContainsNuts]

I see the keyboard warriors are out in full force again.

Have any of you actually ran a bus company? If you think you can do better than Chaserider why not start your own business? It's a free market and you could run your own services and reap the huge profits from having high specification buses running on frequent timetables.

Or maybe you don't want to throw away a couple of million quid on something where you can't guarantee a return?

Tesco change their ranges and prices constantly and never draw the harsh criticism that is wagered against a bus operator.

I note it's the same usernames (hiding their real identities) that always throw their hat in the ring to tell everyone how bad a bus company is, but they rarely seem to offer any sensible advice on how to resolve the issue.

Don't forget bus companies are generally low margin businesses and the money for huge investments, particularly in 'shire' areas with very little government support, is just not there and it's a very difficult challenge to make ends meet.

[SSmith09]

I note it's the same usernames (hiding their real identities) that always throw their hat in the ring to tell everyone how bad a bus company is, but they rarely seem to offer any sensible advice on how to resolve the issue..

Glad it's not just me - same during the arriva days

If I was chaserider when the 70/71 stop serving Dog In Tree estate I'd send one 74 an hour into the estate as a 74A.

[Bob]

That's it then!

No point moaning to the powers that be about it then, as they'll just quote similar to what I had before!

(And Eddie Hughes won't give a xxxx about it, because it's not the Stafford Road!)

Eddie Hughes wouldnt give a xxxx about anything. He was speaker at our staff conference, about 20 people walked out when he came on. 🤣

[Bob]

I wouldn't be surprised. The only thing I see being left are the 60 & 74, 826 & 828

And Pye greens surely?

[Bob]

The thing is, following COVID, passenger numbers regrettably are not what they were (partly because of government messaging near enough saying that you'll die using buses/trains/trams) and town centres are suffering because people aren't going as they've got used to doing things online.

What is needed is more subsidy for bus services/reregulation, but to fund that (and properly fund it), you'll need to make cuts elsewhere because the UK economy is going into a recession because of COVID

Re-regulation definetely. I'd hope for public ownership too. Thatcher completely wrecked the bus industry with privatisation imo. She said itd lead yo more competition and better services was a total lie, and i think she knew that itd really just lead to private monopolies

[Bob]

I see the keyboard warriors are out in full force again.

Have any of you actually ran a bus company? If you think you can do better than Chaserider why not start your own business? It's a free market and you could run your own services and reap the huge profits from having high specification buses running on frequent timetables.

Or maybe you don't want to throw away a couple of million quid on something where you can't guarantee a return?

Tesco change their ranges and prices constantly and never draw the harsh criticism that is wagered against a bus operator.

I note it's the same usernames (hiding their real identities) that always throw their hat in the ring to tell everyone how bad a bus company is, but they rarely seem to offer any sensible advice on how to resolve the issue.

Don't forget bus companies are generally low margin businesses and the money for huge investments, particularly in 'shire' areas with very little government support, is just not there and it's a very difficult challenge to make ends meet.

Oh, those poor private profiteering companies. Before privatisation, buses were mostly publicly owned and run as a public service and profitable routes could cross subsidise less busy but socially necessary services.

The fact is that at present there are loads of breakdowns, loads of missed trips due to that, often on hourly services, filthy buses that dont look thryve been cleaned in weeks sonetimes, buses with the doors falling off ( literally the door fell off a 52 plate e200 in cannock bus stn other day!), 2 hr gaps in service etc. 

[Bob]

Passenger numbers aren't that bad in some areas. There are a lot of variables including how the town centre has recovered, the effort put in by the bus operator and how well they have dealt with passengers. For example, an operator which is badly managed and has a lot of trips not running combined with a dying town centre, you are going to suffer from very low recovery. If however the area has thrived and the operator is doing a lot of advertising and putting in a lot of effort into the services with low levels of cancellations, generally, passenger numbers recover better.


The blame isn't solely with Chaserider but they play a big part in it with their constant service changes, low quality buses and I'd be willing to bet that their lost mileage is about the same as their actually operated mileage. Minimal effort, minimal returns is what is being seen here. In the past 18 months, the network has gone through about 5 revamps. Passengers don't know whether they are coming or going.


What is needed is not reregulation but for the lazy companies to get a boot up their backside to start improving or force them out of the industry and only have operators running buses who make an effort to make buses the best that they possibly can be.

Old lady yesterday saying she left an hour early "cos it had broke down the last two times and i had to be somewhere today" ( you hear this sort of thing a fair bit), and there were buses missing and leqving a 2hr gap on the 71 ( which people use for hospital appts as New Cross is cannocks main general hospital since they took over our local hosp) and no replacement bus put on. These are important services and get the most unreliable old buses they have stuck on them. Passengers rightly get annoyed.