GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)

[Aaron's Transport Pictures]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
Confired by the General Manager that the MetroCity's will be transferring to the Shropshire service 576 between Oswestry and Shrewsbury.

[Valandil]

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

(04/03/2016 20:03)knutstransport Wrote:  I wonder where the Metrocities will go. Personally I think it would be a good idea to not designate them to any routes and to use them as cover for the GHA Gold/T3 buses when required or on any suitable service if all the GHA Gold/T3 buses are available.

I'm not so sure, as these buses are pretty new and high spec, so I don't think it would make sense for them to be used on random services (if you're given a flashy bus one day, you'll notice how inferior the normal one is the next day!)
I think they'll be used to upgrade a route.

Passengers may get confused with the 45 ceasing to operate 9 days after the 16(A) and 46 finish, but that probably can't be helped as I guess the company thought long and hard about whether to keep going with the 45, meaning the request for the cancellation was put through later (?)

[knutstransport]

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

(04/03/2016 20:05)Aarons Transport Pictures Wrote:  Confired by the General Manager that the MetroCity's will be transferring to the Shropshire service 576 between Oswestry and Shrewsbury.

Shropshire taking some of the nicest buses from Cheshire again

However, that just creates another question. Where are the Plaxton Centros which are branded for the 576 going to go?

[knutstransport]

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

(04/03/2016 20:12)Valandil Wrote:  I don't think it would make sense for them to be used on random services (if you're given a flashy bus one day, you'll notice how inferior the normal one is the next day!)

That's why I suggested they should be used to cover when other high spec buses aren't available. I know someone who made a single journey on the 88 route having never used it before and got a R reg Wright Renown - no new bus with the advertised leather seats, wi-fi and tables and she hasn't used the route again since despite making a few trips to Wilmslow a month.

While a regular passenger on the 88 route (originally from South America) describes the Enviros as the best buses he's ever travelled on, while he describes the Cheshire Connect Darts (which occasionally provide cover) as being on a par with what you get in a developing country.

[Aaron's Transport Pictures]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
The Centro's have now been allocated to the newly introduced service 84 alongside CA07GHA.

[YN05 WKE]

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

(04/03/2016 20:23)Aarons Transport Pictures Wrote:  The Centro's have now been allocated to the newly introduced service 84 alongside CA07GHA.

Surpriced metrocity not going on 84

[Mayneway]

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

(04/03/2016 18:38)Lynx Wrote:  Usually 15-25 passengers a working easily. It's silly GHA had such a good foothold on Warrington and now it's all gone down the pan. I'm personally very disappointed but it's about time as you can't seriously run a service the way GHA have been doing. Safe to say NW have won this war (again), more of a battle however.

I don't think NW have. GHA have walked away far too early and they certainly haven't given the Warrington services the treatment they should have done. People don't switch straight away they watch and look for reliability and consistency and the GHA services have completly lacked both.

[motormayhem1]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
Its ashame really as GHA was going in the right direction its just unfortunately they are having the problems they are with the staffing levels and shortage on buses as i think theres a few firms now having staff problems.

[Valandil]

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

(05/03/2016 08:33)motormayhem1 Wrote:  Its ashame really as GHA was going in the right direction its just unfortunately they are having the problems they are with the staffing levels and shortage on buses as i think theres a few firms now having staff problems.

If it really is a problem with staffing, then they must think that they won't be able to sort the problem before mid-April, when the services start to be cancelled.
I'm more inclined to think it's a financial decision as the 16(A) and 46 can't have been paying their way and I think the company was less sure whether to keep going with the more profitable 45 route before deciding to swing the axe.

[knutstransport]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
My personal opinion is GHA did the wrong thing by putting ex-Go Ahead Red Wright Renowns on the 45 and then replacing them with Metrocities which are red at the front and running buses 5 minutes ahead of Network Warrington. In doing so they made it look like their intention was to steal Network Warrington's passengers opposed to winning both Network Warrington's passengers and attracting new passengers.

If they had painted the Metrocities in say gold, ran them 30 minutes before/after Network Warrington's services but done marketing to highlight their fares are lower, they use new buses with wifi etc. they might have got less passengers initially but they might have done better in the long term.