News Page
Editorial
& Features
published on 26th November 2008
Issue 281
(OBP-494)
Saturday
31st
January 2009
(next update week ending 14th February 2009)
Now in our 11th year
Visit the "OXFORD & CHILTERN BUS PAGE " Archives from October 2002
Visit
the "OXFORD BUS PAGE" Archive 1998 - 2002
Please note that any
comments made in this news page are those of the Editors' and in no way
constitute
any official points of view from the bus companies
mentioned, or indeed any other official body.
As a news page we
reserve the right to make valid comments as seen from an editorial point of
view.
If
you wish to be included on a mailing list where I will advise of any mid-week
news please let me know
malcolmhc@aol.com
To see the pictures full size just click on the thumbnail
Luton guided busway given go ahead
News reaches me of the plan for a guided busway in the Luton area from Houghton Regis to Luton Airport Guided busway which has been given the go-ahead.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7583910..stm.stm
STAGECOACH TO INVEST £70m IN NEW GREENER BUSES FOR UK
* Passengers to benefit from initial order of 420 new buses and coaches
* Business profits to be reinvested to deliver greener, smarter bus travel
* Consumers also offered discounted bus travel to beat credit crunch
Stagecoach Group plc announced today (26 January 2009) that it is planning a multi-million pound investment in new vehicles in the coming financial year for its growing bus operations in the UK.
An initial order worth £70million, for around 420 buses and coaches in 2009-10, will benefit Stagecoach customers across Britain, delivering some of the greenest vehicles in Europe.
Each of the new buses will meet new Euro 5 emissions standards, which come into force on 1 September 2009, further improving the sustainability of Stagecoach's bus and coach fleet.
Full details of vehicle manufacturers and the areas in which the new buses will be put into service will be announced later this year as orders are confirmed.
Bus passenger numbers on Stagecoach services grew by around 4% last year, driven by continued fleet investment, innovative marketing campaigns, partnerships with local authorities, excellent value fares and additional travel under concessionary fares schemes.
Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: "This planned multi-million-pound investment will bring significant benefits to passengers and the environment in local communities where we provide bus services."
"We are committed to reinvesting our profits to boost our quality of service to passengers, even in the current economic downturn. These buses have some of the cleanest engines in Europe and this investment will support our drive to reduce the carbon footprint of our business."
Mr Warneford added: "Stagecoach is leading the way in getting Britain back on board the bus and we are helping make people's pound go further by offering excellent value fares and a range of budget products."
A recent Stagecoach study showed that travelling by bus can be up to 80% cheaper than commuting by car*. Stagecoach also offers online access to monthly and annual bus tickets, allowing customers to receive even further discounts and fix the cost of their travel for up to 12 months in advance. Passengers can log on to www.buymymegarider.com to purchase travel on their local Stagecoach bus network.
Stagecoach operates more than 7,000 buses from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to south-west England, covering more than 100 towns and cities in the UK and carrying around 2million passengers a day. The company has twice been named UK Bus Operator of the Year and won more awards than any other operator at the 2007 and 2008 UK Bus Awards.
Stagecoach completes Preston Bus purchase
Stagecoach has confirmed that it has completed the purchase of Preston Bus for an undisclosed sum. It follows approval by Preston Bus’ employee shareholders at a meeting this week.
Stagecoach has confirmed that, while there will be some changes to management and administration roles as part of the acquisition, it has given a two-year no compulsory redundancies commitment to driving and engineering staff.
The Preston Bus operations will become part of Stagecoach North West, headed by its existing Managing Director Chris Bowles. Passengers will benefit from a more integrated network on all main corridors and new range of simpler fares and ticket types.
Preston Bus Managing Director Peter Bell said that the sale was prompted due to the ‘uncertain future’ it faces as a result of the economic climate and legislative changes, including the Local Transport Act, the Government’s plan to change BSOG, and suggestions that operators should not be fully reimbursed for concessionary travel.
“All of these issues could have seriously undermined the business and, as a result, the Directors decided it was in the best interests of employees and the business to approach potential purchasers,” he said.
Preston Bus, has around 300 employees and a fleet of around 120 vehicles, operating on 14 key routes in Preston and South Ribble. Stagecoach already operates around 160 vehicles in the Preston, Chorley and Fylde areas.
201KYD by Martin
Lat issue I included this picture and Martin responded as follows.
I think this Arriva sightseeing
decker in London has been reregistered. Picture by Gavin Francis.
Regarding
201KYD, this seems to be former Arriva London DLP1 and was registered V601LGC
according to these sites - 5th photo down on right here
http://londonbuspics.fotopic.net/c1600494.html
http://www.buslistsontheweb.co.uk/other/arriva/arriva2.asp?MenuType=Delivery&Manu=Arriva&ManuSub=
In town tonight from Robin
Something for possible inclusion on the bus page subject to space and time
constraints:
I happened to be in town with a camera on the evening of 28 November for the
"Winterlight" event when I was passed by a Kardos recovery truck on its way to a
stricken OBC Volvo on Queen Street.
I've placed some photos of the recovery at:
http://hex.oucs.ox.ac.uk/~rejs/photos/D50/Oxford/20081128/busrecovery/
I was
particularly impressed at the Kardos driver's trust in his truck's lift as he
crawled underneath the bus.
The photos also demonstrate a problem with route 1 buses frequently blocking the
street to other buses, presumably because of conflicts with the evening taxi
rank that occupies their daytime stop. Whose bright idea was this arrangement
anyway?
East-West rail link by Gary Seamarks
Hope this of interest, its not bus news but does effect routes X5 and 100, 150 when completed, had a look at the line last year. It will take more than 2 to 3 weeks for what I saw. The plan is to have trains running by 2013.
Around 20 kilometres of disused railway line between Bletchley and Claydon Junction stations will be cleared of scrub, brambles and overgrown vegetation so that survey and investigation work can be carried out for the design development phase of the East-West Rail project.
Starting on 26 January, the clearance will take two to three weeks and some will be done with manual equipment, although the more densely overgrown areas will need to be cleared with chainsaws and tractor mounted flails. All of the waste materials will be left chipped and spread on the site.
If funding is secured, the East-West Rail Line will eventually link Milton Keynes to Oxford, Bedford and Aylesbury.
Pictureview
Rail replacement - emergency - Stansted style
Ensign Bus were called in last Monday, 26th January when there was a signal
failure at Stortford.
There was quite a long delay
between buses which caused a queue of intending passengers. The fog didn't help.
The previous Sunday saw a wide variety of coaches helping with rail replacement
work at Stansted.
Headington road works cause delays
The major works taking place on the London Road, Headington cause some delays to
bus and coach services.
I was surprised to see this NEx Irizar PB in the Eden Bus Stn, High Wycombe last
week.
Seemingly it had problems on the M40 and the driver opted to come into Wycombe
for assistance.
I imagine it was on a 210 or 420 service from Birmingham.
Additional branding has appeared
on YN08MPF (MPE is still in original livery) one of the two Air Direct coaches
which operate between Stansted and Ipswich. It is, I think, in connection with a
local radio station.
Menu for News Page Issue 31st January 2009
Archive Index (previous News Pages)
Editorial & Features plus Picture Corner
Concessionary Travel, Buses in the Landscape, Running Days and Historical articles.