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Arriva exiting Cannock

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Surreyman

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Reported that Arriva operations from Cannock are transferring to D & G in early january.
 
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James101

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From the end of service on 9th January 2021, Arriva are planning to hand over the running and operation of their Cannock bus depot and all local routes operated from the depot to D&G Bus.

Arriva’s Cannock depot has 29 services covering areas around Cannock and Stafford, nearly all of which would be passed onto D&G Bus from the effective take over date. There would be no change to services operated as D&G Bus will continue to run all Arriva routes as they currently operate. It is intended that all Cannock depot staff will transfer over to their new employer from the effective take over date and will continue their roles but under the new operating name. Arriva’s route 5 in Stafford and services between Tamworth and Lichfield are unaffected and will continue to be run by Arriva.
Now publicly confirmed. Mentions 'new refreshing brand' and the wording suggests the depot on Delta Way will continue to be used. Considering its position and its under-utilisation I'd guess it will be vacated permanently in the medium term for something more size appropriate. Some (3?) Streetlites in Select base livery are currently being stored at Adderley Green so I wonder if some work will be transferred to Select of Penkridge.

D&G is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrebus but of course Mr Peddle has minority shareholdings in Select and Midland Classic and High Peak. Considering their now vast operating area, I wonder if some of their territories will be rationalised if all parties can agree.
 
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Chris 76

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Reported that Arriva operations from Cannock are transferring to D & G in early january.
How secure are Arriva's operations in Stafford and Tamworth? Tamworth has some healthy town services and is close to Arriva's Leicestershire operations.
Stafford would seem harder to sustain and an obvious target for D&G to consolidate its Cannock acquisition with its Potteries/Cheshire heartland.
 

Lynford1976

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How secure are Arriva's operations in Stafford and Tamworth? Tamworth has some healthy town services and is close to Arriva's Leicestershire operations.
Stafford would seem harder to sustain and an obvious target for D&G to consolidate its Cannock acquisition with its Potteries/Cheshire heartland.

I understand Arriva no longer have a base in Stafford, with the services there being operated by the Cannock allocation.
 

43055

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How secure are Arriva's operations in Stafford and Tamworth? Tamworth has some healthy town services and is close to Arriva's Leicestershire operations.
Stafford would seem harder to sustain and an obvious target for D&G to consolidate its Cannock acquisition with its Potteries/Cheshire heartland.
From the article linked above (also in the quote below) it suggests that the Stafford routes are going over to D&G as well. I think Tamworth will probably be quite secure as they seem to have a decent operation with the Sapphire 110 to Birmingham and frequent town routes.

Arriva to sell Cannock depot to D&G Bus​

From January 2021
From the end of service on 9th January 2021, Arriva are planning to hand over the running and operation of their Cannock bus depot and all local routes operated from the depot to D&G Bus.
Arriva’s Cannock depot has 29 services covering areas around Cannock and Stafford, nearly all of which would be passed onto D&G Bus from the effective take over date. There would be no change to services operated as D&G Bus will continue to run all Arriva routes as they currently operate. It is intended that all Cannock depot staff will transfer over to their new employer from the effective take over date and will continue their roles but under the new operating name. Arriva’s route 5 in Stafford and services between Tamworth and Lichfield are unaffected and will continue to be run by Arriva.
Information about period tickets purchased for these routes with Arriva will be available in due course.
Matt Evans, Managing Director for D&G Bus said, ‘we will welcome all staff who will transfer as part of the recent acquisition of the Cannock and Stafford operations from Arriva. We are committed to building a new refreshing brand and we very much look forward to working in partnership with all stakeholders. Most importantly a “Big Hello” to all our future customers and we look forward to seeing you out and about on our services soon.’
Simon Mathieson, Area Managing Director for Arriva said, ‘Although we will be sad to hand over operations of our Cannock depot, we are delighted that it will be in the hands of D&G Bus, a well-known local bus company, and know that they will take great care of the depot, customers and all the employees.’
To find out more about D&G Bus, visit www.dgbus.co.uk
List of routes to include on the page:
Route 1: Cannock – Walsall
Route 2: Huntington – Walsall
Route 3: Cannock – Walsall
Route 6: Stafford – Rickerscote
Route 7: Stafford – Moss Pit
Route 8/8A: Stafford – Parkside
Route 9: Stafford – Highfields
Route 12: Stafford – Doxey
Route 22: Rugeley – Etching Hill
Route 23: Rugeley – Pear Tree
Route 24: Rugeley – Brereton
Route 25/26: Cannock – Pye Green
Route 60/60A: Cannock – Lichfield
Route 62: Cannock – Sankeys Corner
Route 63: Cannock – Rugeley
Route 70: Cannock – Wolverhampton
Route 74: Cannock – Stafford
Route 75/75A/75B: Cannock – Stafford
Route 825/826: Stafford – Lichfield
Route 827: Stafford – Baswich
Route 828: Stafford – Rugeley
Route 829: Rugeley – Lichfield
Route H: Stafford – County Hospital
 

Robertj21a

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The Cannock operations include Stafford. All should be passing to Julian Peddle's operation(s).

How secure are Arriva's operations in Stafford and Tamworth? Tamworth has some healthy town services and is close to Arriva's Leicestershire operations.
Stafford would seem harder to sustain and an obvious target for D&G to consolidate its Cannock acquisition with its Potteries/Cheshire heartland.
I'm sure I recall Tamworth co-operating with the Hinckley operation before.
 

DJames

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Now publicly confirmed. Mentions 'new refreshing brand' and the wording suggests the depot on Delta Way will continue to be used. Considering its position and its under-utilisation I'd guess it will be vacated permanently in the medium term for something more size appropriate. Some (3?) Streetlites in Select base livery are currently being stored at Adderley Green so I wonder if some work will be transferred to Select of Penkridge.

D&G is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrebus but of course Mr Peddle has minority shareholdings in Select and Midland Classic and High Peak. Considering their now vast operating area, I wonder if some of their territories will be rationalised if all parties can agree.

Regarding the brand, I'm told they will be bringing back the old 'Chaserider' name.

The Cannock operations include Stafford. All should be passing to Julian Peddle's operation(s).


I'm sure I recall Tamworth co-operating with the Hinckley operation before.

The Stafford routes are meant to be going to Select, but no official word on that as of yet.
 

Robertj21a

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Regarding the brand, I'm told they will be bringing back the old 'Chaserider' name.



The Stafford routes are meant to be going to Select, but no official word on that as of yet.
Select being part of Julian's empire.
 

markymark2000

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The Stafford routes are meant to be going to Select, but no official word on that as of yet.
That doesn't surprise me. Since the roumers started, I had it in my head that Select should take the Stafford routes. They are under the Julian empire and I think it would boost their brand and therefore help them with some of their other routes with people seeing the brand being more active (even if a ticket acceptance is put in place between D&G and Select, people see different bus companies and believe that tickets can only be used on that one company and so by making Select more prominent, it will look like the whole town network is under 1 operator with distance routes ran by other companies.
 

James101

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That doesn't surprise me. Since the roumers started, I had it in my head that Select should take the Stafford routes. They are under the Julian empire and I think it would boost their brand and therefore help them with some of their other routes with people seeing the brand being more active (even if a ticket acceptance is put in place between D&G and Select, people see different bus companies and believe that tickets can only be used on that one company and so by making Select more prominent, it will look like the whole town network is under 1 operator with distance routes ran by other companies.
Select being part of Julian's empire.

It’s worth noting while D&G is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrebus and therefore a ‘Peddle’ operation, Select & Midland Classic have their own managing directors and Mr Peddle is a minority shareholder. So while I’m sure Select will play a role, and the developments to their yard and fleet suggest so, it’s not one continuous operation.
 

Robertj21a

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It’s worth noting while D&G is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrebus and therefore a ‘Peddle’ operation, Select & Midland Classic have their own managing directors and Mr Peddle is a minority shareholder. So while I’m sure Select will play a role, and the developments to their yard and fleet suggest so, it’s not one continuous operation.
I think you will still find that, in practice, what Julian says tends to be what then happens.
 

James101

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I think you will still find that, in practice, what Julian says tends to be what then happens.
The companies seem to have their own way of doing things which suggests to me their directors run their own businesses. I hope the expanded Select allows them to make improvements such as their website, driver uniforms etc. Midland Classic fair much better in this aspect.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Cany anyone provide a list of what routes will be passing to D&G please?
See post #5 and the press release


I'd heard strong rumours from a good source that this was happening, hence the why the good fleet has progressively been moved out and why I fancied a last trip there if only to see how bad it was. The rumour I'd been told was that certain routes might be axed but that doesn't look to have happened.

When I saw the reference to a new brand, my first thought was Chaserider which was, of course. applied to the Cannock and Stafford depots of MRN. Whilst there are clear links between D&G and Centrebus and also Midland Classic, the latter is very much it's own operation.

Interesting about the mention on post #2 about the Delta Way site. I don't know if it is oversized given that it took on the Stafford work after its closure although JP has form for disposing of similar sites (e.g. Burton, MK)
 

Qwerty133

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The Cannock operations include Stafford. All should be passing to Julian Peddle's operation(s).


I'm sure I recall Tamworth co-operating with the Hinckley operation before.
Hinckley is very much a part of the Wigston operation nowadays and has just about nothing to do with Tamworth on a day to day basis.
See post #5 and the press release


I'd heard strong rumours from a good source that this was happening, hence the why the good fleet has progressively been moved out and why I fancied a last trip there if only to see how bad it was. The rumour I'd been told was that certain routes might be axed but that doesn't look to have happened.

When I saw the reference to a new brand, my first thought was Chaserider which was, of course. applied to the Cannock and Stafford depots of MRN. Whilst there are clear links between D&G and Centrebus and also Midland Classic, the latter is very much it's own operation.

Interesting about the mention on post #2 about the Delta Way site. I don't know if it is oversized given that it took on the Stafford work after its closure although JP has form for disposing of similar sites (e.g. Burton, MK)
The depot in Cannock was sold by Arriva and is now supposedly owned by a car supermarket who wish to use the site for one of their own outlets in the medium-long term, although I believe Arriva still had access for another couple of years.
 

hst43102

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Interesting development. I'd heard rumours about NXWM taking over the Cannock operations but it does make sense for D&G to take over, considering that they are becoming a major operator in the NW midlands.
 

Alex 2901

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See post #5 and the press release


I'd heard strong rumours from a good source that this was happening, hence the why the good fleet has progressively been moved out and why I fancied a last trip there if only to see how bad it was. The rumour I'd been told was that certain routes might be axed but that doesn't look to have happened.

When I saw the reference to a new brand, my first thought was Chaserider which was, of course. applied to the Cannock and Stafford depots of MRN. Whilst there are clear links between D&G and Centrebus and also Midland Classic, the latter is very much it's own operation.

Interesting about the mention on post #2 about the Delta Way site. I don't know if it is oversized given that it took on the Stafford work after its closure although JP has form for disposing of similar sites (e.g. Burton, MK)
While not officially confirmed to be gone (or I've not seen any confirmation of that) the former Chase 1 (Cannock to Walsall direct) was suspended at the start of lockdown in March, and hasn't returned since. In the same vein, the 3 between Cannock, Brownhills and Walsall was also cut back to Brownhills.
The 70 (Cannock to Wolverhampton) has also been reduced to hourly, and extended to New Cross Hospital.
So there have been some changes done quietly.

The routes passing to D&G are:

2/2A - Huntington & Cannock to Walsall
3 - Cannock to Brownhills
7 - Stafford to Moss Pit
8/8A - Stafford to Parkside
9 - Stafford to Highfields
22 - Rugeley to Etching Hill Circular
23 - Rugeley to Pear Tree Circular
24 - Rugeley to Brereton Circular
25/26 - Cannock & Hednesford Circulars
60/60A - Cannock to Lichfield
62 - Cannock to Burntwood
63 - Cannock to Rugeley
70 - Cannock to New Cross Hospital
74 - Cannock to Stafford via Brocton
75/75A - Cannock to Stafford via Penkridge
825/826 - Stafford to Lichfield via Rugeley
827 - Stafford to Baswich
H - Stafford Town to Stafford Hospital
 

James101

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Despite the variances in their particulars of ownership, there is currently ticket acceptance between D&G, Midland Classic & Select. However the Cannock operations eventually get sliced up between them, there will always be overlap and cross-boundary travel between their operating areas. I hope for their sake they keep this arrangement and shout loudly about it to their customers.
As they all use Ticketer machines I would think it’s possible to ensure the revenue generated is properly shared out to the relevant operator.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Yes - and reportedly some of the 'better' vehicles were already transferred out before the sale.
Arriva did indeed ship out the Streetlites and Pulsars and aside from a couple of decent 2007/2008 SB200s, Solos and B7RLES, it's full of some pretty ragged Darts and knackered SB120s. I'd expect the Solos to be kept but the rest will be on the hitlist as JP wheels and deals.
 

plebb11

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The d&g bus website is a mess and needs major improvement but their operations and that of centrebus are pretty sound
 

capital12

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That doesn't surprise me. Since the roumers started, I had it in my head that Select should take the Stafford routes. They are under the Julian empire and I think it would boost their brand and therefore help them with some of their other routes with people seeing the brand being more active (even if a ticket acceptance is put in place between D&G and Select, people see different bus companies and believe that tickets can only be used on that one company and so by making Select more prominent, it will look like the whole town network is under 1 operator with distance routes ran by other companies.
I’d hardly call Select a brand - or D&G for that matter!

They are barely even logos!

Brands are something people feel an association with and actively will choose over another product because it means something to them.

I can’t imagine anyone would choose one of their wrecks with a scruffy driver unless they absolutely had to!

(That’s not necessarily a rant at the quoted poster, purely that they mentioned brand and they’re not brands!)
 
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Robertj21a

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I’d hardly call Select a brand - or D&G for that matter!

They are barely even logos!

Brands are something people feel an association with and actively will choose over another product because it means something to them.

I can’t imagine anyone would choose one of their wrecks with a scruffy driver unless they absolutely had to!

(That’s not necessarily a rant at the quoted poster, purely that they mentioned brand and they’re not brands!)
Are you suggesting that D&G and Select only have poor quality vehicles and scruffy drivers ?
 

carlberry

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I’d hardly call Select a brand - or D&G for that matter!

They are barely even logos!

Brands are something people feel an association with and actively will choose over another product because it means something to them.

I can’t imagine anyone would choose one of their wrecks with a scruffy driver unless they absolutely had to!

(That’s not necessarily a rant at the quoted poster, purely that they mentioned brand and they’re not brands!)
I think it's a bit of a technicality. Possibly the term 'name' might be more appropriate than 'brand' for a lot of operators however a D&G bus is usually fairly recognisable, certainly on any corridor where there might be a choice available. Arriva is a brand and they've spent money on branding however the overall look of most of their fleets wouldn't really sell it as a unified brand, more a company in need of an identity. I haven't been to Cannock for a while however I suspect the overall impression is even worse than most fleets however if they've lost the Premium vehicles they may have less different paint schemes!
 

Surreyman

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Just to throw in a bit of speculation (I should say here that I have never been to Cannock and know absolutely nothing about the area) why has Arriva decided to pull out? and why does D & G want to buy?
I am guessing that Arriva aren't seeing enough of a return and don't believe they can improve matters, whilst D& G believe that they can get an acceptable return and presumably are buying the operation at very good price?
 
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