GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)

[33109]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
Usually it seems on the sun #130 is allocated 1 of the enviros frim the #88 gold contract. Failing that its SB33/34 or occasionally a dart or older solo turns up.

However many think that D&G would've made a better job of this than GHA do currently. Heard some very good comments made by passengers using the eve runs to east didsbury.

Anyone know what the current fleet is at macc, plus any other updates generally plz?????

[knutstransport]

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

(31/05/2015 08:24)33109 Wrote:  Usually it seems on the sun #130 is allocated 1 of the enviros frim the #88 gold contract. Failing that its SB33/34 or occasionally a dart or older solo turns up.

Maybe when it's Pride weekend in Manchester they should use the Beartown buses - they could go down well.

Quote:However many think that D&G would've made a better job of this than GHA do currently. Heard some very good comments made by passengers using the eve runs to east didsbury.

When GHA first took over the 42 Crewe-Congleton route there was criticism in the local media about the new operator not being as good as D&G. I'm sure not how opinion will have changed now GHA have had the chance to solve any initial teething problems and have introduced Gold Enviro 200s.

I don't know a lot about D&G but punctuality and reliability on the 300 route improved significantly following D&G taking it over from High Peak, not that High Peak were a hard act to follow. People comment on the 27 Knutsford-Macclesfield bus having better punctuality since it went to GHA/Vale, which also was previously High Peak.

Personally I think other than the Derbyshire-Macclesfield services High Peak shouldn't try to run services in Cheshire. It's one thing blaming an accident or snow near the Cat and Fiddle for not running a Macclesfield-Buxton bus, it's another thing for using that excuse for not running services which start and end in Cheshire.

[djb]

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

(31/05/2015 09:42)knutstransport Wrote:  Maybe when it's Pride weekend in Manchester they should use the Beartown buses - they could go down well.


When GHA first took over the 42 Crewe-Congleton route there was criticism in the local media about the new operator not being as good as D&G. I'm sure not how opinion will have changed now GHA have had the chance to solve any initial teething problems and have introduced Gold Enviro 200s.

I don't know a lot about D&G but punctuality and reliability on the 300 route improved significantly following D&G taking it over from High Peak, not that High Peak were a hard act to follow. People comment on the 27 Knutsford-Macclesfield bus having better punctuality since it went to GHA/Vale, which also was previously High Peak.

Personally I think other than the Derbyshire-Macclesfield services High Peak shouldn't try to run services in Cheshire. It's one think blaming an accident or snow near the Cat and Fiddle for not running a Macclesfield-Buxton bus, it's another thing for using that excuse for not running services which start and end in Cheshire.

High peak have a mass inter working on their services- I think the 1, 14, 58, 392 and 442 all interwork. Meaning a problem in buxton affects all the macc services too!

As for d/g being better than gha for the 130, I suspect it would be been seen that way, especially as The public probably only see gha running a reduced timetable, without the understanding that it's commercial. My experience of ghas 130 is very good (new bus nearly every time).

[33109]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
True aye, the oldest thing that's shown up for a #130 duty is an 03 plate enviro dart. However some sundays its wedged & comments made that a decker needs to be used.

[knutstransport]

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

(31/05/2015 12:37)33109 Wrote:  True aye, the oldest thing that's shown up for a #130 duty is an 03 plate enviro dart. However some sundays its wedged & comments made that a decker needs to be used.

I don't think some people realise that you can get increase capacity on a route which gets a 35 seater bus without going all the way up to a 70 seater double decker. Someone keeps posting on Facebook that the 88 service they catch to work needs to be a double decker despite the frequency enhancement to the service last year. I'm not sure if they realise that switching an Enviro 200 for a Metrocity could provide around 25% more seats without going up to a double decker.

[knutstransport]

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

(31/05/2015 10:00)djb Wrote:  As for d/g being better than gha for the 130, I suspect it would be been seen that way, especially as The public probably only see gha running a reduced timetable, without the understanding that it's commercial. My experience of ghas 130 is very good (new bus nearly every time).

If the D&G contracted service had started there would have been a slight reduction in service over the previous GHA contracted service but the GHA commercial service had a further reduction.

I think given the full picture the actual bus users would probably have preferred the subsided service as that would have meant a cap on fares, a minimum service level and a minimum number of seats all of which aren't applicable to a commercial service. The disadvantage of course is council tax money being spent supporting the bus but if you actually use the service I don't think you'd mind that.

With talking about D&G and GHA does anyone know if it's GHA who have won the contract for the 9 and 10A Friday and Saturday services in the Macclesfield area? D&G say it'll be run by another operator from 12 June 2015 but no-one appears to have had a registration for those services accepted yet.

[33109]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
Not the faintest idea budda. However comments have been made by passengers/fellow bus spotters I know that GHA need to smarten up their image especially as a lot of drivers don't wear uniforms & show up wearing jeans/t-shirt or similar which looks bad.

Also the state of the gha fleet needs addressing ASAP as a few vehicles are in desperate need of a repaint & interior revamp.

[LJ51 DDA]

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

(01/06/2015 14:26)33109 Wrote:  Not the faintest idea budda. However comments have been made by passengers/fellow bus spotters I know that GHA need to smarten up their image especially as a lot of drivers don't wear uniforms & show up wearing jeans/t-shirt or similar which looks bad.

Also the state of the gha fleet needs addressing ASAP as a few vehicles are in desperate need of a repaint & interior revamp.

Simply could not agree more with you on that, but the new livery being applied to vehicles does smarten up the fleet a lot but %100 agree with you.

[knutstransport]

RE: GHA Group (Bryn Melyn, Vale Travel + Others)
I think GHA could also do with a live update feed on their website. Apparently some Knutsford-Macclesfield services didn't show up earlier and the people waiting for them were uninformed as to whether the buses were delayed or not running.

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

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

PG1073209/33 - G H A COACHES LTD, UNIT 11, VAUXHALL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, RUABON, WREXHAM, LL14 6UY
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Denbigh, Lenten Pool and Rhyl Bus Station given service number X52/x50 effective from 26-May-2015. To amend Timetable.