Ah but they are similar but not the same. Hulleys has a blue skirt, Go Coach purple.
From various comments I got the impression that Go Coach were changing to a blue skirt, so the livery is a mixture of both. Not sure if cream and purple would have looked better or worse...
I'm not clear if the intention is that it will be treated as a single fleet, or if it's just recognition that as major engineering is now done at Swanley that there will always be a couple of Go Coach vehicles on loan in Baslow at any one time.
One thing I've noticed is that there have been quite a few new vehicles in to the Hulleys fleet of late, but the Go Coach fleet seems unchanged. Whether that's a reflection of it being more modern and in better condition I'm not sure. They do have quite a few 07/58 reg vehicles which surely must be coming towards the end of their life.
I wonder if they might have some success if they relaunched the X57 now. With the £2 fare, the frequent closures of the Hope Valley line and the enormous decline in reliability of the rail service (particularly when TPE is involved), a Manchester-Sheffield bus seems like it could now be quite an attractive proposition for passengers who would more ordinarily take the train.
In fact for a lot of University of Sheffield students, who live in the Crookes/Broomhill areas or at the Endcliffe student village, £2 for a direct 90 min bus from close to where they live is surely a far more attractive proposition than the trek across the city centre to the station and then paying much more to go by train, taking almost as long in total. No idea if there's much of a student market between Sheffield and Manchester though.
You can currently travel from Manchester to Sheffield on National Express, but only to the interchange in Sheffield and only by going via Leeds, which is a bit out of the way. It does seem like a good candidate for a direct route. But then I suppose you could argue it's already been tried and didn't work!
I think the big issue with the X57 is the very variable traffic conditions from Glossop to at least Denton. Beyond there I think there are bus lanes most of the way which should help avoid delays. If the Mottram Bypass ever gets built then it would make a significant difference in the viability of a bus service. As it stands, a better option might be Sheffield to Glossop then via Hayfield and New Mills to Manchester Airport. Anyone for Manchester could change on the the train at Glossop.
That said, what are the conditions for starting a new service in to a franchised area? It seems like existing services have remained, but I've not seen anything to suggest a new service would be possible and indeed some cross-border services have been franchised.
According to my other half - who works at Sheffield Uni - there is quite a demand for travel to Manchester, mainly because Sheffield doesn't have the best nightlife. Also a lot of Chinese students used to go there are Asian food in Sheffield was very poor. It's improved a bit of late, but I'd still choose Manchester if I had the option and wanted a good Chinese or Japanese meal.
Another area I think they are missing out on - and Stagecoach could take advantage to link up with the Peak Sightseer just as much as Hulleys could - is a better link from Manchester to Chatsworth. Many Manchester students get the train to Sheffield then double-back to Totley before changing to the 218. A direct bus could match or beat that time-wise and the convenience would be a winner for many.
Main issue with Hulleys starting any new services is that unless they can either expand the existing depot or find a new site they simply don't have the capacity. I wonder if moving heavy engineering to Swanley has the potential to open up a little bit more space in the depot for a handful more discs?
As before, apologies for the delay in replying, I was blocked from the forum before I had the chance to correct some of your statements about me.
The Peak Sightseer received BSIP funding to extend the season. ...
There was never a proposal for a joint service.
I'll have to take your word for that, it's not what I was told but what I judge to be a reliable source.
It wasn’t a heated argument from my perspective
@Teapot42 , you simply stated something that was factually wrong and I corrected you. You appeared to accept that correction.
I'm not going to bother arguing that point, we are coming at it from different directions. I'd prefer to see measures put in place to attract public transport use for the whole journey, to me having very little in the way of Stagecoach links and adding to the cost for Wayfarer uses means people will just drive to use the Sightseer - something which appeared to be the case whenever I was in the area.
I've come from our Manchester operations, with franchising happening there is zero opportunity to run routes from that direction.
That is one thing I've been wondering, is it impossible to register a service in to Greater Manchester from outside now? If so it seems a great pity as it makes it harder for those without cars to be given provision to visit the National Park, and for alternatives to driving to be put in place.
You really are determined to see us fail aren't you? Thankfully many thousands of customers disagree with you.
You know, you couldn't be more wrong about that. I'm disappointed by the limited vision and the obstacles put in the way of a bus-only visit to the area. But I want this to expand and become a genuine attraction across the whole of the area, not just a small corner.
For example, you say you don't get any revenue from Wayfarers. From what I've been told about the ticket that will be because it sits with whoever sold it. Therefore, one solution is to provide more services in to the Peak District so more opportunity to sell the tickets. Also, if you don't get money from them, why not offer a discount for holders of Hulleys / TM / Trent Barton day tickets? You'd lose no less money but would attract more passengers using those operators to link to it.
I'm not sure of the competition aspects, but could you not work with said operators to offer joint tickets? It's in both your interests to get more people on the bus.
As for the route, I don't think I could have chosen something within the Peak Park that showed off less of it's beauty if I'd tried. The novelty will be what attracts the customers and there is nothing wrong with that, but something more akin to what you have in the Lakes that connects places and shows off the beauty of the area would be much more of an attraction and asset to the area.
For instance, Bakewell to Castleton via Ashford, Monsal Head and Tideswell would be stunning, especially if you could run up Winnats to the caverns. As it was, we spent more time dodging branches and spying in people's back gardens than enjoying the majesty of the Peaks the time we did the route.
This is utter cobblers
Again, I can only go on what I've been told. And as that bit really did come from someone who knows...
Wrong. The Traffic Commissioner has the ultimate decision on whether to approve a service registration or not.
Interesting that someone in the office of the Traffic Commissioner told me the exact opposite.
This is where your posts really push the boundaries. Aggression in business is illegal, a pact that you suggest is illegal. If it was true, and for the avoidance of doubt it definitely isn't, it is the kind of stuff that people go to prison for.
I'm not sure if we are talking at cross purposes here. In the past it was common for the large operators to run smaller ones out of business or at least off certain routes. Someone at Stagecoach (you probably know who I refer to) actually told me they were mindful of competing against Hulleys. That's the point I was making, not actual aggression, just an acknowledgement that the two operations served different markets and there was little point going head to head. Some route transfers also seemed, well, not arranged but at least done with a degree of cooperation.
I'm sure you can also appreciate a degree of frustration in some of my comments came from the fact our local service at the time was running very poorly and was subsequently halved in frequency, making it all but useless, while other routes were given priority.