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I suggest that you head to Bournemouth or Crawley and see how much they've been ruined. Or head to Guildford to see how much that's been ruined too? Perhaps the most obvious one is Southern Vectis... ruined with those frequent modern buses and late night services :D When you look at the...

In the 1970s, both United and Northern had Bristol RELLs numbered in the 42** series and fair chance they may have had doppelgänger meetings in Newcastle - not quite though as Northern’s were dual doors

I think you're conflating eras. When Nigel Featham was in charge at Arriva North East, there was an influx of new vehicles (there had to be - DDA was approaching) and he introduced the MAX concept as well as extending Sapphire. I can't recall any major cuts nor depot closures unlike his...

@Goldfish62 is correct that Damory is part of GSC. GSW is the Devon and Cornwall ops; arguably setting up a brand new operation with many new vehicles, recruiting staff and setting up new operating centres has soaked up a lot of management time and the ops down there are a bit variable but not...

There is an Ipswich Eclipse - that's the same.

I have to disagree with this. Go North East has declined markedly since the Kevin Carr era. Martijn Gilbert got fixated by daft rebrands and there was a lack of commitment to quality, whilst the closure of Chester le Street depot was shortsighted. Then there was the strike and they have a...

Probably because the negotiation of the lease meant an increase in rent OR the landlord may wish to develop the site OR the cost of running two sites isn't sustainable in the long run (or combinations of all these)

As was stated early in the thread, the Wycombe Bus Co (former Alder Valley ops) were based at Newlands which was due for redevelopment; it was a hellhole of a place as I remember. So Go Ahead would have had the hassle and expense of moving to alternative premises. That MIGHT have prompted...

That vehicle doesn't run to back to Chippenham empty but goes to Sells Green outstation. I would assume that the number of passengers affected by such an anomaly on a Saturday teatime is pretty low, and it makes more sense to do it as they do. Wiltshire Council do a pretty good job at...

Yeah, often the ex Rotala ones with the urban 90 seats!

They are an interworked package for two vehicles (I think). This is how Wiltshire do things so you have a single journey on the 33 from Devizes to Bromham on a Saturday simply because it runs in off a 42 that runs as per the rest of them to Avebury but then runs to Devizes rather than to Calne.

Clearly, Wycombe isn't a gold mine. Carousel has received OBC castoffs but even so, they have 14 full sized vehicles (not the Sprinters) that are newer than the most modern Arriva vehicle. They do have some Citaros that are 2009, but some also that are marginally newer too. Surviving on...

Good to see your report. If the 32 and X41 are justifying larger vehicles than D&G currently use, then not certain why they don't employ them. Certainly, it is strange as Julian Peddle was quite happy to buy large numbers of deckers in Stevensons days though he was very much single deck...

It wouldn't take too long for the bus fleet to be done :lol: I know it was questioned why this purchase has gone under East Yorkshire control. Well, Esk Valley do have a depot at Carnaby near Brid as well as the main one in Whitby, so it is closer to EYMS and they probably have more time to...

I don't think you can blame the operator for that. Upper Wensleydale is very thin operating territory. The council are quite happy letting a bunch of volunteers drive minibuses - much cheaper! Depends what rates Hodgsons are now running these tenders at. Might not be the most lucrative but...

I'd imagine that it was so that the exit from the stairs was more directly opposite the centre doors so, whilst in London, it would ease passenger egress. Some other companies had the door further back and so had a centrally located staircase (and a seat/window behind the driver bulkhead). The...

Thanks for that detailed response. There were a few towns where the two depots existed in a similar manner. As well as Guildford, there were others such as Luton, though Crawley and East Grinstead were soon closed after the NBC was formed. It's fair to say that Wycombe will never be a...

Pulhams does have a substantial bus operation and is nicely positioned to the West of Oxford. As First has shown with Truronian (and their more recent purchase with York Pullman), the Amazon contract win, and the big one with Somerset Passenger Solutions, there is a market for "transport...

As @duncombec mentions, the issues that Arriva has experienced in Wycombe have been replicated elsewhere in the country. Not least in Guildford, as I cited. Wycombe has its challenges like many places in SE England - traffic congestion, staff recruitment and retention etc. However, we've seen...

I think it was higher still before 2010 when they had much of the former Arriva work and there was still some sizeable council tendered work. That said, North Yorkshire Council tenders are much reduced since 2010 and, as you say, Hodgsons (and Reliance) has mopped that up. I know they do some...