GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)

[knutstransport]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)

(03/06/2016 06:56)GHA Coaches Wrote:  Although some people have strong views about this subject I can assure you it that even before Routemaster registered their C84,when we heard Arriva we were considering reducing their service we were looking at this service as we thought it would a key part of the network we are trying to build.

Sadly we have found out that there are not enough passengers for a half hourly service and I think it is fair to say that even if GHA had not have started its 84 then Routemaster would still have had to cancel their service, it just might have taken a bit longer.

When Arriva withdraw/reduce a service there are quite often multiple smaller operators interested in running a replacement. Arriva actually withdrew another Crewe area service around the same time as the 84 was cut back and D&G and Routemaster both submitted registration requests to take on that service, only for Routemaster to submit a cancellation request as soon as they saw a D&G registration having been accepted. D&G also registered 2 services per hour between Nantwich and Crewe on the 84 route between school/college start and end times but soon changed that to 1 per hour.

I think one problem with the 84 was that no operator started running replacement services for the ones Arriva withdrew until a couple of weeks after Arriva withdrew them so passengers would likely have started adjusting their journeys to fit around the revised Arriva timetable. The lack of integrated ticketing in Cheshire would also be an issue. I also imagine a lot of passengers had no idea what was going on when one week they caught a Routemaster bus, the next they were waiting at the bus stop at same time and a GHA bus turns up.