Fixing FirstGroup's buses

[gilesbus1]

Fixing FirstGroup's buses
An inyteresting read was last weeks Coach & Bus week which makes some intertesting reading in what the future will be for the company and into what its mistakes where in the past.

NEW BUSES : Orders for teh next few years are to be heavily Single-deck based as a result of the last two yewars concentration on deckers because of the London Olympic shuttles and TfL tendering requirements. The ordesr will be split 50/50 between Volvo Wrightbus and ADL combinations in order to get delivery dates. There is no indication as to how big the order may be or where it might go. Electric vehicles are being investigated as a re further Hybrids, a trial may occur with (an) Electric vehicle(s) in a location.

FARES : It is planned to cut fares in several subsiduaries during the course of the next year, Manchester within the M60 has started that and it will be trailled also in other area's.
The problem before Giles Feranley highlights is that HQ was too involved in decision making including fare rises and nothing was left to local managers to what suited a particular area best, thsi will now end and Regional Directors and the managers of operating subsiduaries will be given more control to make decisions for themselves.

Gilse Fearnley admits he relished the chance to restore what he called a troubled company as he says it will be a major task being rolled out over the next few years.

DISPOSALS : Wigan was unique in it did make a profit the reason there for siposal was that the fleet needed replacing which they wanted to do but that would have mean't a direct hit on profitability which is something the Group can't face right now, when disposals are the order of the day.

No expansions at the moment are due while a plan of fixing existing business's is carried out, the number of expanding independents who have clawed milleage off them under teh old Moir Lockhead based management is a concern to them. The other disposals planned which they will still not reveal despite leaked reports because they stress its difficult and adds to insecurity of staff, make lower margins generally eg only small profits or losses.

There is an admission that all units will now not be sold by the year end.

There is also the statement that once the restructuring exercise has been completed and the core parts of the business arte running correctly again then they may look at bolt on acquisions again (If anything's left I guess by that time).

They also state there is no issue in the USA that business is OK and there is a hope of adding more school contract work there.

COACH OPERATIONS: There will be no expansion of Greyhound as the new management have no wish to become a national coach operator.

FTR : It is unlikely any more FTR's will be bought by FirstGroup and there re-deployment
between Leeds and Bradford is an exercise to try to gain growth on that particular corridor.

Growth is expected as a result of the Sheffield Bus partnership and that is where a lot of future investment may go to First South Yorkshire.

GENERAL COMMENT

These are comments that I am making myself in response to this and with other issues that appear now to be the case or I have heard elsewhere.

I think its clear that things will move in the right direction and that a lot of systems failures existing in the Head Office down system that previously existed, what is interesting is that Giles Fearnley doesn't work out of Aberdeen now which might lead to the question what future the Head Office at Aberdeen might have at least in terms of buses when Giles Fearnley is a Yorkshire man and probably works out of Hunslet Park.

On another website to add to the speculation of what units are going for sale there are various rumours about a number of depots with First Scotland East that are said to make losses in adition to Dalkeith last year which may be sold or closed, as yet there is no confirmation so until we have it I don't want to make further comment on this or which depots they may be.