McGills to be bought out?

[GaryMcEwan]

Why not? Scotrail passengers in Glasgow has been growing for years, while the bus network has been contracting. Maybe abit of a fight might improve things and grab car users instead?

Over the past few weeks, First have been getting it in the neck from rail passengers on the commuter lines for services being delayed by up to an hour, 3 carriage trains instead of the usual 6, and yet Scotrail don't seem to be addressing the problems.

As recent yesterday and Tuesday, it took me over 2 hours to get home due to Scotrail cancelling trains for no apparent reason, and when you ask the staff what the problems are they appear to have no clue and are not only unhelpful but rude and aggressive as well. And if you tweet a complaint to their Twitter team they just disregard it, and if you reiterate it, they tell you to email into their Fort William Customer Relations which don't reply either therefore passing the buck onto someone else...

 

[winston270twm]

Of course, if someone like Arriva or Abellio win the Scotrail franchise, they may want some bus operations in Scotland.

I think NX must be serious contenders for the new Scotrail Franchise having recruited Mary Grant who won the franchise off NX for First Group in 2004

 

[Volvodart]

PQQ due this Friday only the 2 I mentioned and First have said that they are bidding.

 

[winston270twm]

PQQ due this Friday only the 2 I mentioned and First have said that they are bidding.

Thanks Volvodart, maybe its a case of the press putting 2 & 2 together & getting 5 re the arrival of Mary Grant & the bidding of the Scotrail Franchise?

 

[GaryMcEwan]

I think NX must be serious contenders for the new Scotrail Franchise having recruited Mary Grant who won the franchise off NX for First Group in 2004

Now your 3rd person to say that in as many months, the last person to tell me that was saying that NX are wanting it badly.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
It might be a whole load of who shoot john, but Abellio Scotrail LTD is now appearing on Companies House with it being registered at West George Street, Glasgow...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Amazing how a thread about McGill's bus company had a sudden direction change into a discussion on the railway system....

 

[overthewater]

Amazing how a thread about McGill's bus company had a sudden direction change into a discussion on the railway system....

Well maybe the reason for mcgills takeover rumors.......mcgills are bidding for scotrail and could win.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Why not? Scotrail passengers in Glasgow has been growing for years, while the bus network has been contracting. Maybe abit of a fight might improve things and grab car users instead?

Let's be logical about it.

If I were NX, Arriva or Abellio, why on god's green earth would I want to buy some underperforming bus operations that require a lot of capital investment to bring it up to scratch? Furthermore, depending on what is bought, will that then have a number of covenants placed on it if were then to win the Scotrail franchise.

 

[notadriver]

The thought of another bus company running a rail franchise scares me. Mcgills pay their bus drivers around £11/hour. Would they be looking to cut costs and pay train drivers the same given that Lothian buses will pay their tram drivers the same as their bus drivers?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The thought of another bus company running a rail franchise scares me. Mcgills pay their bus drivers around £11/hour. Would they be looking to cut costs and pay train drivers the same given that Lothian buses will pay their tram drivers the same as their bus drivers?

Would not certain railway unions have something to say about that idea.

 

[Deerfold]

The thought of another bus company running a rail franchise scares me. Mcgills pay their bus drivers around £11/hour. Would they be looking to cut costs and pay train drivers the same given that Lothian buses will pay their tram drivers the same as their bus drivers?

Lots of bus companies run and have run rail franchises - First, Stagecoach, Go Ahead, NX - I'm not aware of them paying any less than other companies for similar franchises.

Tram drivers are usually on substantially less than train drivers.

 

[winston270twm]

It might be a whole load of who shoot john, but Abellio Scotrail LTD is now appearing on Companies House with it being registered at West George Street, Glasgow...

Doesn't imply anything, I understand it is a requirement of submitting/intending to submit a bid:

Arriva have Arriva Crossrail Ltd & Arriva DLR Ltd
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//compdetails
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//compdetails

NX still have Scotrail Railways Ltd active
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//compdetails

 

[radamfi]

Tram drivers are usually on substantially less than train drivers.

I was surprised when I saw the advert for Metrolink drivers. I think the pay was in the order of £22K, which probably isn't far off the Manchester average salary and not that much more than a Manchester bus driver.

 

[Deerfold]

Doesn't imply anything, I understand it is a requirement of submitting/intending to submit a bid:

Arriva have Arriva Crossrail Ltd & Arriva DLR Ltd
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//compdetails
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//compdetails

NX still have Scotrail Railways Ltd active
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//compdetails

Those links are session specific so don't link to what you want them to.

 

[winston270twm]

Those links are session specific so don't link to what you want them to.

Sorry, company numbers/limited company names:

04165863 Arriva Crossrail Limited
04170250 Arriva DLR Limited

02938994 Scotrail Railways Limited

Link to Companies House search facility:
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//wcframe?name=accessCompanyInfo

 

[GaryMcEwan]

It appears that this McGills rumour has gone crazy in Renfrewshire. The names that are getting batted about are Stagecoach, Arriva and Go-Ahead.

And people in the area are saying that it looks like it will be happening sooner rather than later.

But I'll believe it when I see it...

 

[winston270twm]

It appears that this McGills rumour has gone crazy in Renfrewshire. The names that are getting batted about are Stagecoach, Arriva and Go-Ahead.

And people in the area are saying that it looks like it will be happening sooner rather than later.

But I'll believe it when I see it...

I suspect McGill's will get swallowed up by one of the bigger groups sooner rather than later. It sounds as though it's just a rumour that is getting out on hand, especially given the number of names being banded about. Unless McGill's have put themselves up for sale, that can sometimes be the outcome following rapid expansion. I'd be surprised if Arriva bought back what was once originally their ASW operation

 

[overthewater]

It seems Dumbarton depot will close down in November, so that was a waste of money...

 

[GaryMcEwan]

It seems Dumbarton depot will close down in November, so that was a waste of money...

Yep which begs the question, was it wise to takeover McColl's?

 

[winston270twm]

It seems Dumbarton depot will close down in November, so that was a waste of money...

Why was it a waste of money? Do you know if the McColls depot was owned or just leased?

McGills will make cost savings by transferring the Dumbarton fleet, services & staff in to their existing Inchinnan garage, it will reduce the groups overheads and hopefully increase their profitability

 

[overthewater]

Why was it a waste of money? Do you know if the McColls depot was owned or just leased?

McGills will make cost savings by transferring the Dumbarton fleet, services & staff in to their existing Inchinnan garage, it will reduce the groups overheads and hopefully increase their profitability

It seems All the Dumbarton routes are getting axed aswell....

 

[winston270twm]

It seems All the Dumbarton routes are getting axed aswell....

Fair point then, wasn't aware of that.

Are sure there aren't any new registrations still to go in?

 

[GaryMcEwan]

Why was it a waste of money? Do you know if the McColls depot was owned or just leased?

McGills will make cost savings by transferring the Dumbarton fleet, services & staff in to their existing Inchinnan garage, it will reduce the groups overheads and hopefully increase their profitability

The Dumbarton tridents are now at Inchinnan, apart from 9951 which has been put to Johnstone...

 

[overthewater]

Fair point then, wasn't aware of that.

Are sure there aren't any new registrations still to go in?

Nothing has gone to the Vosa to get axed. The information has come from Staff notices.

 

[smtglasgow]

I suspect the Easdales will want to sell out in the next couple of years – maybe sooner. I wonder if they feel they have built the business up as far as it can go? Hard to see where else they can go to grow the business – there was talk about them being interested in Lanarkshire (when Hendersons were thinking about selling), but I reckon the cowboy ops there are even wilder than the Renfrewshire ones they ‘came to an agreement with’ a few years ago. First are definitely playing hardball, not just in Dumbarton but also with the 5 min service on the 9 down Paisley Road West and the £2.50 return deal. I guess McGills know that if they try and muscle in on First’s city operations, First will move in on the best Renfrewshire routes, but I wonder if they will want to hit back after being embarrassed in Dumbarton. On top of this, the low level of concessionary fare reimbursement is hitting them hard. Ralph Roberts was quoted in the Sunday Herald last week saying that if this carries on (which it will – the Scottish Govt. can’t afford it as it is) there would be service cuts. In some ways they’re victims of their own success. They’ve done wonders with the Glasgow-Largs route, turning it from a commuter route into a busy service all day, but a good proportion of the daytime punters are OAPs out for the day, so they’ve had to up frequencies without getting the full revenue. McGills are definitely the company to watch at the moment – I guess their next set of registrations will give us an idea of where they’re going.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

I suspect the Easdales will want to sell out in the next couple of years – maybe sooner. I wonder if they feel they have built the business up as far as it can go? Hard to see where else they can go to grow the business – there was talk about them being interested in Lanarkshire (when Hendersons were thinking about selling), but I reckon the cowboy ops there are even wilder than the Renfrewshire ones they ‘came to an agreement with’ a few years ago. First are definitely playing hardball, not just in Dumbarton but also with the 5 min service on the 9 down Paisley Road West and the £2.50 return deal. I guess McGills know that if they try and muscle in on First’s city operations, First will move in on the best Renfrewshire routes, but I wonder if they will want to hit back after being embarrassed in Dumbarton. On top of this, the low level of concessionary fare reimbursement is hitting them hard. Ralph Roberts was quoted in the Sunday Herald last week saying that if this carries on (which it will – the Scottish Govt. can’t afford it as it is) there would be service cuts. In some ways they’re victims of their own success. They’ve done wonders with the Glasgow-Largs route, turning it from a commuter route into a busy service all day, but a good proportion of the daytime punters are OAPs out for the day, so they’ve had to up frequencies without getting the full revenue. McGills are definitely the company to watch at the moment – I guess their next set of registrations will give us an idea of where they’re going.

It's not only the 9 that has the £2.50 return deal, the 9A has it as well which goes out to Braehead, and it's always mobbed! Whereas McGill's X23 really isn't that busy during the day. And what's more McGill's are just away to rocket up their prices from the 2nd of September, and getting rid of their Peak and Off Peak Day tickets, so from now on a £2.75 day ticket is not going to cost £3.30, a shocking 20% increase!

I wouldn't say they are the company to watch out for, I doubt they are going to do anything that is going to set the transport world alight.

 

[winston270twm]

Nothing has gone to the Vosa to get axed. The information has come from Staff notices.

Fair enough, its not my neck of the woods

Maybe the investment by First at Dumbarton has had a bigger impact on the former McColl's routes than McGills expected

 

[BrianTheLion]

There may well be an element of truth in the GoAhead rumour. I'm originally from Gateshead but have lived in Inverclyde for the past 8yrs and back At the beginning of the year, not long after the McColls takeover I emailed Martin Dean who is MD of bus development at GoAhead basically asking him to consider expansion into Scotland specifically targeting a buyout of mcgills. I never received a reply other than an acknowledgement from his secretary, but now these rumours have surfaced maybe my email was actually took notice of after all? I certainly hope so!!

 

[overthewater]

You never know.

Go-ahead also be looking for something else aswell to give It Scottish operates some meat

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

You never know.

Go-ahead also be looking for something else aswell to give It Scottish operates some meat

Hang on!!!! All you're doing by saying that is to come up with some idle musing to legitimise other unfounded speculation!

The facts are what exactly? The only factual information is a response from Go Ahead saying there is no substance. Nothing to substantiate anything, which was the same as the rumours about Go Ahead looking at Musselburgh and North Berwick.