The only unhappy tone is a) from Overthewater - when he discovers that Musselburgh depot still hasn't closed
and b) from avowed First haters that seem to think following a bus on a Friday and using them on their holidays offers some sort of detailed critique.
I said after the 2012/3 reorganisation of UK Bus that the worst of the divestment had been done but that there would be ups and downs as they got the business sorted out. I think I intimated as much as poss that I thought Plymouth would have to go eventually. Some I suspected were weak and might go have stayed and a couple I wouldn't have predicted have gone (e.g. Bracknell).
The naysayers of First have to understand that there is always a timelag in steering the proverbial supertanker. It took about 10 years for Moir to royally cock it up - the idea that Tim and Giles would sort it out in 18 months was unrealistic. However, the clearing of the decks is getting there in terms of fleet replacement, driven by DDA compliance of course. Come Jan 2016, a lot of stuff from 1998-2000 will disappear, and that's better than we've seen for a long time. In fact, by the end of this year, Stagecoach will have more Olympians left in service than First - who'd have thought that :?
There will be some more cuts at some point but you'll see that with many firms as the cuts to public funding become more evident.
Also, the whining about First saying one thing about vehicle orders and then doing another. Firstly, things change - Western Greyhound's failure?? It has always been the case - whether it be winning new business and diverting fleet, or indeed, downsizing. More stupid would be to carry on and not respond to changing circumstances, or to not admit that plan A was incorrect. Secondly, First publish their orders and share it with enthusiasts/employees and things will change - do they do so and risk the wrath of enthusiasts who complain when plans change, or do they not publish and then get accused of secrecy? Can't win - NOTE: Stagecoach have a main order and a supplementary order so the alterations are less obvious but they do happen!
I look at my local First subsidiary and it's a mixed bag in some respects. Yes, some retrenchment on services especially where competition has eaten away and too many vehicles still in very off white and tatty interiors. However, a concerted effort to focus the business on the best routes and a lot of new vehicles to correct years of underinvestment. Oh, and a much more sensible approach to fares and getting bums on seats.
However, I think some people would prefer to still believe that it was all still bad old First. Well, Moir is now on his farm and dealing with bulls**t and thank god he's gone; the tanker is well on a new course and whilst there will be future headwinds, the worst of the bad stuff is hopefully overcome.
