JPT Bus Company

[33109]

RE: JPT Bus Company
IMHO its deffo looking likely that they'll get bought out soon just look at finglands............

The big sharks swimming around manchester are first, stagecoach, MCT & travelmaster etc.

[Mayneway]

RE: JPT Bus Company
What went wrong was they went from being a nice family run firm running small tenders to suddenly becoming very greedy and wanting to make a quick buck very fast.
I've heard a few people say this over the last 12 months but they do resemble the UK North of North Manchester.

To give them their credit when they first started running on the 17 a few years back First were in a bad way and passengers fed up of the expensive fares and old tired buses so along comes JPT with fresh young vehicles and cheap tickets and things looked Rosey - in a similar way to what Speedwell did on the 350, but First pulled their socks up invested in new buses and wheeled out thier own cheap tickets and of course the big boys always win.

As for them being bought out, I doubt it. Who wild want them. Most of the decent vehicles are financied and most of thier work is contracts. I carnt see any if the big guns touching them with a bargepole.

[Polo Mint]

RE: JPT Bus Company
That's a shame, I feel they might have fared better on the 17 if they had used a different route number and perhaps terminated it somewhere else, such as Piccadilly or Albert Square or extended it to Boarshaw or Norden or somewhere without a decent link to Manchester. My memory is blurry, but didn't First only offer cheaper fares and the Hybrids (now on route 18) after they extended the route to Rochdale and increase the frequency? JPT have tried to resume the 17 as a daytime and night bus very recently as well, and judging by how empty their buses were and that they cancelled the route quickly, they must have lost a fortune.

They battled with Bluebird on the 112 and eventually lost. There was the 156 extension and the 157, but they were short lived.

Are a couple of routes really the downfall for the company? Route 118 seems pretty successful, although I am not sure that double decker's are necessary, and route 156 seems to be alright.

I'd like to have seen a Middleton to the Trafford Centre route, or a route from Middleton to Salford via Heaton Park.

[M60lad]

RE: JPT Bus Company
I'm not to sure whether a Middleton-Trafford Centre service would make any money as this was the main reason given when First Manchester finally came off the service as they said that it wasn't making them any money, although I think it was a combination of factors that led to First coming off as the service including various incidents and traffic hold ups on the Motorway.

[Owl]

RE: JPT Bus Company

(09/04/2014 17:15)Polo Mint Wrote:  That's a shame, I feel they might have fared better on the 17 if they had used a different route number and perhaps terminated it somewhere else, such as Piccadilly or Albert Square or extended it to Boarshaw or Norden or somewhere without a decent link to Manchester. My memory is blurry, but didn't First only offer cheaper fares and the Hybrids (now on route 18) after they extended the route to Rochdale and increase the frequency? JPT have tried to resume the 17 as a daytime and night bus very recently as well, and judging by how empty their buses were and that they cancelled the route quickly, they must have lost a fortune.

They battled with Bluebird on the 112 and eventually lost. There was the 156 extension and the 157, but they were short lived.

Are a couple of routes really the downfall for the company? Route 118 seems pretty successful, although I am not sure that double decker's are necessary, and route 156 seems to be alright.

I'd like to have seen a Middleton to the Trafford Centre route, or a route from Middleton to Salford via Heaton Park.

Just a small correction - Bluebird sold out to Stagecoach, so technically JPT have not lost on that route, although I suspect it is only a matter of time. The 118 actually proves the point - that is a route that they identified, invested in and built up, and now the bigger competitors are copying. Unfortunately they became more interested in trying to poach business from their rivals, took their eye off the ball, and MCT are now sniffing at their tenders.

I suspect that noboby will want to buy them - there is no value in the fleet or the routes, with the exception of the 118, and if the competitors wait long enough the business will drop into their laps.

[Polo Mint]

RE: JPT Bus Company
Ye I meant the 112 battled with Bluebird for years, but when Stagecoach bought Bluebird then JPT dropped the route.

How bad are their finances? I suspect nobody knows because they are a private limited company, but I assume people are looking at their fleet and so on with the sale of new vehicles to come to a conclusion unless they have other info?

[Mayneway]

RE: JPT Bus Company

(10/04/2014 12:16)Polo Mint Wrote:  Ye I meant the 112 battled with Bluebird for years, but when Stagecoach bought Bluebird then JPT dropped the route.

How bad are their finances? I suspect nobody knows because they are a private limited company, but I assume people are looking at their fleet and so on with the sale of new vehicles to come to a conclusion unless they have other info?

I don't think anyone knows what their finances are like, I know during the last few weeks before Speedwell went bump lots of their drivers were complaining about being paid late et, Bluebird looked like they were struggling when buses were continually running out of diesel halfway through service but who knows.

I think in general you have to compare them now too what they were 2/3 years ago. They had a half decent fleet, some decent commercial and tendered work plus the loyal following of lots of thier passengers via Facebook. They have recently advertised a number of thier low floor young vehicles for sale and replaced them with high floor tired elderly deckers - defiantly a backwards step.

[33109]

RE: JPT Bus Company
Aye just look at their fleet even examples like the 02 plate presidents & the promos which are fairly young now look wrecked. They'll have the likes of MPT sniffing around their routes in no time if they carry on way they're heading ATM.

Maybe it's time they sold out & move on? Deffo sure their drivers would find work with other operators across mancy.

[joe_alker]

RE: JPT Bus Company
I think really they should restart from scratch - rename the company so the public don't get put off by the name association with the current poor quality service, start going for tenders instead of commercial services, not competing just yet with the big guns, just grow steadily and carefully until they have the stability and respect from the travelling public. Ageing vehicles don't have to be a problem, they just need keeping clean and tidy, and mechanically in good check.

Just my opinion.

[Mayneway]

RE: JPT Bus Company

(11/04/2014 16:41)joe_alker Wrote:  I think really they should restart from scratch - rename the company so the public don't get put off by the name association with the current poor quality service, start going for tenders instead of commercial services, not competing just yet with the big guns, just grow steadily and carefully until they have the stability and respect from the travelling public. Ageing vehicles don't have to be a problem, they just need keeping clean and tidy, and mechanically in good check.

Just my opinion.

I don't even think they need to go that far. They just need to tidy up their fleet, sort their scruffy unfriendly drivers out, improve their customer services and their punctuality and then focus on their tenders it's not rocket science but sadly they want to make serious money and think by taking on every company going they are going to be rich and it dosen't work like that.