Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

[iMarkeh]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(04/10/2021 15:36)DVG526 Wrote:  It doesn’t work like that though with the 471/2. Large sections of the route, the main ones that actually need serving are being missed out, there’s plenty of buses along Woodchurch Rd but the issue is Irby and Pensby, particularly Pensby Road not getting a service in one direction for most of the day.

What we need is a 472 Arrowe Park - Heswall and 471 Heswall - Arrowe Park shuttle. Stagecoach can't handle many buses on the route due to their shortages so when they have 1 bus available, surely to provide the best possible service, it'd be best to just run a shuttle and then from Arrowe Park to Birkenhead and Liverpool there are plenty of other buses.

A single bus would make a 40 minute frequency or even hourly for simpicity. While no it's not much, it's better than 1 bus doing Heswall to Birkenhead all

(04/10/2021 15:56)L401CJF Wrote:  Where are these Rock Ferry drivers going then? To the best of my knowledge, we have had about 5 new starters at LS the last month or 2, not all ex Stagecoach. Laird St isn't unable to cover work, anything that is left gets snatched up as overtime very quickly.

Numbers that I have heard from someone who worked at and has contacts at RF, they said the numbers were about 10 over a 2 months going to Arriva with plenty more in the pipeline. I can't say more than that as it's all I was told. You'll know more than me as you work at Laird Street.

(04/10/2021 15:56)L401CJF Wrote:  I agree with the comments about the one sided services between Thingwall and Heswall. Never have understood why it works this way with one operator doing one way round and the other vice versa. Of course there are exceptions to this from around 6pm onward when it switches around, then of course Arriva run everything after 10pm ish.

If you did 471 and 472 both ways, you'd end up with like 2 Stagecoach then 2 Arriva then 2 Stagecoach etc. The other option would be Stagecoach 471 Arriva 472 but would either one be happy losing either Pensby or Irby?

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(04/10/2021 21:19)iMarkeh Wrote:  What we need is a 472 Arrowe Park - Heswall and 471 Heswall - Arrowe Park shuttle. Stagecoach can't handle many buses on the route due to their shortages so when they have 1 bus available, surely to provide the best possible service, it'd be best to just run a shuttle and then from Arrowe Park to Birkenhead and Liverpool there are plenty of other buses.

A single bus would make a 40 minute frequency or even hourly for simpicity. While no it's not much, it's better than 1 bus doing Heswall to Birkenhead all


Numbers that I have heard from someone who worked at and has contacts at RF, they said the numbers were about 10 over a 2 months going to Arriva with plenty more in the pipeline. I can't say more than that as it's all I was told. You'll know more than me as you work at Laird Street.


If you did 471 and 472 both ways, you'd end up with like 2 Stagecoach then 2 Arriva then 2 Stagecoach etc. The other option would be Stagecoach 471 Arriva 472 but would either one be happy losing either Pensby or Irby?

Having travelled on the 471 and 472 i think there is marginally more passengers picked up on the 471 irby , plus you have a school on the line of route .

[DVG526]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(04/10/2021 22:01)wirralbus Wrote:  Having travelled on the 471 and 472 i think there is marginally more passengers picked up on the 471 irby , plus you have a school on the line of route .

The obvious answer is to operate it as a traditional QP route with one operator doing alternate journeys, at least then you’d have a 40 min service on each side if SC withdrew all journeys. The working of the routes is compounded by LS interworking Heswall with the 407. I’m surprised nothing has been done yet as when LS were short of vehicles in years gone by it wasn’t uncommon for them to use ‘rail replacement’ Olympians with no ticket machine fitted (268-70) to cover peak time 417/418/419/472/473 etc to appease the local councillors..

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(05/10/2021 00:11)DVG526 Wrote:  The obvious answer is to operate it as a traditional QP route with one operator doing alternate journeys, at least then you’d have a 40 min service on each side if SC withdrew all journeys. The working of the routes is compounded by LS interworking Heswall with the 407. I’m surprised nothing has been done yet as when LS were short of vehicles in years gone by it wasn’t uncommon for them to use ‘rail replacement’ Olympians with no ticket machine fitted (268-70) to cover peak time 417/418/419/472/473 etc to appease the local councillors..

Even that is only moving the problem at present due to a severe staffing shortage.
I think a major gripe of the Heswall , Pensby and Irby customers is that they see plenty of Chester services still running to a near normal timetable. Maybe a reduced frequency timetable across the board maybe a better option than pulling route.

[L401CJF]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
I can't quote all the bits I want to quote as I'm on my phone and it's incredibly awkward so I'll just dump replies here!

I spoke to a Rock Ferry driver yesterday, don't quote anything as gospel as you know how stories get changed as they float around depots! Apparently a few have gone HGV driving to take advantage of some of the current high wages. A couple gone to Als/Selwyns. Around 3 I think have gone to Laird St over the last month - but again in a depot that big you can go months without seeing new faces faces could well be higher! Apparently a few gone to other Arriva depots.

I agree there needs to be a bus shuttling between Heswall and Arrowe Park to cover the missing trips. Hundreds of unhappy passengers yesterday waiting for missing Stagecoach buses. When I was around yesterday evening there was 1 Stagecoach bus on the circuit, then 27900 came out starting from Birkenhead toward Barnston- I think it was the last Barnston trip.

If Stagecoach can't manage to have one bus out shuttling between Heswall and Arrowe Park then being a "Quality" partnership route Merseytravel should be stepping in temporarily to find somebody else to provide a shuttle. Ls arnt dropping services and are managing fine, they definitely have the resources to provide a 1 bus shuttle.

Lots of old folk up Heswall way who arnt on social media and are just waiting at stops hoping a bus turns up. Speaking to some passengers yesterday they were surprised any 471/472s turned up at all as the gossip up around Heswall/Pensby/Irby was that no buses were running at all on the route - not just Stagecoach.

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
Passengers at bus stops in Irby and Pensby should be advised to travel with Arriva in the wrong direction to get to Heswall for Birkenhead and Liverpool on the route 472 and Thingwall Corner or even Arrowe Park Hospital for the 471 to Heswall.

Also the service 1 is operating via Mostyn Garage due to roadworks on departure from Chester Zoo to Chester Bus Interchange.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(04/10/2021 09:07)DVG526 Wrote:  It appears the 471/472 are the lowest priority at RF at the moment, this must be causing massive issues along Pensby Rd/Thingwall Rd/Irby Rd the way the joint operation is set set up with one operator doing each side in opposite directions. Do Merseytravel need to step in seeing as it’s a QP route? LS don’t seem to be having any staffing issues..

I had to wait over half an hour for a 471 2 weeks ago and 2 472s went past me. It was obvious that a 471 had been cancelled.

[DVG526]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(09/10/2021 06:33)Metroline1511 Wrote:  I had to wait over half an hour for a 471 2 weeks ago and 2 472s went past me. It was obvious that a 471 had been cancelled.

Numerous buses missing again today reported on SCMSL Twitter Sat 9/10 on 41/42 as well as Heswalls. Surely this can’t go on much longer? Anyone at RF know if any new drivers are being recruited or any plans for emergency timetables?

[gka472l]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots
15850 spotted newly repainted into the new local livery, parked in the yard at Rock Ferry earlier.

HTH

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

(09/10/2021 11:01)DVG526 Wrote:  Numerous buses missing again today reported on SCMSL Twitter Sat 9/10 on 41/42 as well as Heswalls. Surely this can’t go on much longer? Anyone at RF know if any new drivers are being recruited or any plans for emergency timetables?

What should be happening is one of two things , either they implement an emergency timetable which is hard on a joint QBP route because it becomes unbalanced , or at best try to cancel the same services each day.

At the moment every days cancellations seem to be slightly different , doesnt really help the customers plan there day around the services that will be running .