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Snowdonia Travel "acquired' by Cityfox

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richw

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Rhys, in all lines of business you will be scrutinised. Its most important how you handle that scrutiny.

As some constructive feedback I would suggest getting consistency over all of your social media and websites.
For example across various medias you have different numbers of vehicles quoted from 40 to 100.
You also advertise on cityfox that you operate local bus services. A check with the TC your o-licence has been surrendered.
With the fine details so inconsistent people are going to question you.
Please take this as almost like a feedback from someone proof reading your publicity, as members of public will question your integrity if such information is inconsistent.

Just google yourself, or your businesses to see the inconsistencies and you will understand my point and I am trying to help you succeed with better presentation in the public domain.
 
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PhilStockley

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A couple more general comments from me:

Contrary to NESW's expectations, I don't take comments about me here as negative or personal. I'm pretty thick skinned and in general I realise that most people are here in the quest for information, so I lay myself open to scrutiny and will catch anything that anyone wishes to throw at me. But clearly it's a two way street and if someone chooses to criticise, they can expect a robust response.

Before I got to know Rhys, I'd read all the same stuff on all the search engines and it would have been easy to jump to all the same old conclusions. But I believe in finding out for myself, and when the opportunity came to get to know Rhys I discovered that so much of what is written is borne out of ignorance and jealousy. And quite frankly someone who - at the age of 21 has entire Facebook pages devoted to slagging them off in a totally libellous and insulting way, but still has the guts and determination to keep going and persevere and make something of himself certainly deserves some support.

I hope people will give some credence for the fact that we are here, happy to answer questions and clarify, even if you're not obliged to like us or agree with everything we do.
 

fgwrich

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Rhys, in all lines of business you will be scrutinised. Its most important how you handle that scrutiny.

As some constructive feedback I would suggest getting consistency over all of your social media and websites.
For example across various medias you have different numbers of vehicles quoted from 40 to 100.
You also advertise on cityfox that you operate local bus services. A check with the TC your o-licence has been surrendered.
With the fine details so inconsistent people are going to question you.
Please take this as almost like a feedback from someone proof reading your publicity, as members of public will question your integrity if such information is inconsistent.

Just google yourself, or your businesses to see the inconsistencies and you will understand my point and I am trying to help you succeed with better presentation in the public domain.

As this has come up before, i'll say it again - I completely agree with you. Yes, you don't have to answer on here Rhys, but by responding with such comments and tone's such as ''The fact is, people generally in life are very jealous. Most hate to see others do well, especially those that are younger. I am doing what most are scared to do and it's working'' continues to take a nock against the professionalism you desire to achieve, which in turn the questions about your integrity will remain by some. I'm in my mid 20s as well, I wouldn't mind running a business myself, but I am not jealous, I am not scared to work, and I'm happy to put the hard work into what it takes to achieve one of my many goals. I will not however go onto the internet, criticise people who make comment, appear to not be able to take on constructive feedback and at least keep my nose clean. These comments, combined with the already mentioned comment about your business inconsistencies and internet history, may well mean that it will take time to putting it frankly, believe you, your plans and potential future business - Put yourself in the mind of an investor or member of the public for example. It's all too easy to put on a song and dance, but a trip to facebook / linkedin or google can easily put a crashing end to many a plan.
 

RhysHand

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Rhys, in all lines of business you will be scrutinised. Its most important how you handle that scrutiny.

As some constructive feedback I would suggest getting consistency over all of your social media and websites.
For example across various medias you have different numbers of vehicles quoted from 40 to 100.
You also advertise on cityfox that you operate local bus services. A check with the TC your o-licence has been surrendered.
With the fine details so inconsistent people are going to question you.
Please take this as almost like a feedback from someone proof reading your publicity, as members of public will question your integrity if such information is inconsistent.

Just google yourself, or your businesses to see the inconsistencies and you will understand my point and I am trying to help you succeed with better presentation in the public domain.

Thank - you for your constructive comments. I will admit that we do need to keep on top of our websites and social media. We now have Sophie who manages our social media and websites and she is slowly going through everything to refresh it and keep them up to date.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
As this has come up before, i'll say it again - I completely agree with you. Yes, you don't have to answer on here Rhys, but by responding with such comments and tone's such as ''The fact is, people generally in life are very jealous. Most hate to see others do well, especially those that are younger. I am doing what most are scared to do and it's working'' continues to take a nock against the professionalism you desire to achieve, which in turn the questions about your integrity will remain by some. I'm in my mid 20s as well, I wouldn't mind running a business myself, but I am not jealous, I am not scared to work, and I'm happy to put the hard work into what it takes to achieve one of my many goals. I will not however go onto the internet, criticise people who make comment, appear to not be able to take on constructive feedback and at least keep my nose clean. These comments, combined with the already mentioned comment about your business inconsistencies and internet history, may well mean that it will take time to putting it frankly, believe you, your plans and potential future business - Put yourself in the mind of an investor or member of the public for example. It's all too easy to put on a song and dance, but a trip to facebook / linkedin or google can easily put a crashing end to many a plan.

I'm not going to go round and round in circles and have a 'spat' with you. This forum is for answering CONSTRUCTIVE questions about the industry and transport businesses, not for making personal comments or attacks. I am not interested in what your opinions about me are.

If you have any business related questions, Phil or I will do our best to answer them.

Rhys
 

Robertj21a

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Thank - you for your constructive comments. I will admit that we do need to keep on top of our websites and social media. We now have Sophie who manages our social media and websites and she is slowly going through everything to refresh it and keep them up to date.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I'm not going to go round and round in circles and have a 'spat' with you. This forum is for answering CONSTRUCTIVE questions about the industry and transport businesses, not for making personal comments or attacks. I am not interested in what your opinions about me are.

If you have any business related questions, Phil or I will do our best to answer them.

Rhys

Fair enough Rhys/Phil,

For a basic business question could I just ask you to clarify:-

Which businesses (transport related) do you run ?

Which bus/coach/taxi operations are 'live' - available to see in the flesh tomorrow ?

How many buses/coaches/taxis do you actually operate ?

If you can answer these, most basic of questions, then I'm sure we'll all be a lot better informed and more able to enter into constructive dialogue in the future.

Thank you.
 

RhysHand

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Fair enough Rhys/Phil,

For a basic business question could I just ask you to clarify:-

Which businesses (transport related) do you run ?

Which bus/coach/taxi operations are 'live' - available to see in the flesh tomorrow ?

How many buses/coaches/taxis do you actually operate ?

If you can answer these, most basic of questions, then I'm sure we'll all be a lot better informed and more able to enter into constructive dialogue in the future.

Thank you.

1. Current live transport business owned by CityFox Group are:
* CityFox Taxis Bristol
* CityFox Taxis Bath
* CityFox Taxis Plymouth (under a marketing agreement with Plymouth Taxis)
* Snowdonia Travel
* Excite (Although does not operate vehicles, it supplies transport consultancy and marketing to bus, coach and taxi operators)

2. All the businesses above.
3. We up until recently had a number of buses parked up, surplus. We were renting sites in Bristol and Cornwall. We've taken the commercial decision to dispose of these older vehicles and sites and look to purchase newer ones. We've just purchased a Scania Omnicity, we'll be looking to add further vehicles too in the near future.
 

Teflon Lettuce

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I thought it would be a good idea to post this

I worked for an employer that had a bad reputation for failed companies, failure to pay wages etc etc... and yet he was the best employer I ever had... the company had an extremely high customer satisfaction rating, etc etc...

what I would say to Mr Hand though is just don't rise to the bait when comments become personal... rise above it and show your maturity and professionalism... ultimately you will have the last laugh through your success
 

RhysHand

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I thought it would be a good idea to post this

I worked for an employer that had a bad reputation for failed companies, failure to pay wages etc etc... and yet he was the best employer I ever had... the company had an extremely high customer satisfaction rating, etc etc...

what I would say to Mr Hand though is just don't rise to the bait when comments become personal... rise above it and show your maturity and professionalism... ultimately you will have the last laugh through your success

You are so correct! Because I've been laughing for the last 9 months!

I make sure we treat the staff right, and then the attitude reflects off to our customers. My staff mean everything to me. They're my family!
 

THarris123

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You are so correct! Because I've been laughing for the last 9 months!

I make sure we treat the staff right, and then the attitude reflects off to our customers. My staff mean everything to me. They're my family!

Very well put regarding the staff Mr Hand. I do think your comment about laughing for the last 9 months isn't the most professional. There are certain comments on here and social media which you have posted which still aren't quite as professional as they should be. Now I'm not saying they should be as professional as an accountant writing to a client, but just a little bit more professionalism would really help. I do admit though your comments on here are much much better than what they used to be, so I really take my hat off to you.

I will very happily admit that I'm jealous of Mr Hand. For someone who is about the same age as me to own so much and have done so much is very highly commendable. I do just wish I could have done more.

Initially when I learnt of Cityfox I was rather full of criticism (and I am still a be now) and Im rather sceptical on the company, but as I've looked into it a bit more and you and Phil have said so much on this forum, I've learnt that it is quite an achievement. For Mr Stockley to say that he's basically fed up with being in a big plc takes guts too.

I'm sure all of us would highly appreciate it if you could inform us of the buses, bus companies and bus services that come on board.

Lastly I do just want to say thank you for coming on here and explaining so much. It's very useful having someone so high up in a transport company on here telling us stuff in a fair bit of detail. Not many managers tend to provide much to us, so some of us (especially myself) have to end up guessing what they're plans are or could be (although having FSW official on here has really helped to be more informed of what's happening a bit in first).
 

Colly405

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I am not responding to you anymore, you are clearly trying to pick at faults with each of my businesses.
I would agree.

Can't say that I was overly impressed with the publicity from CityFox early on, but people here really should give you a chance. From what I can see, things are evolving, and definitely looking more "professional" (for want of a better word!). There may have been setbacks, but as has been said, any entrepreneur get them. And some people may have gotten upset, but then read Richard Branson's autobiography to see that isn't unusual.

Let's be critical, but let's do it in the same way as we do for any other company on this forum. The problem is that there aren't many companies where senior people come on here (the only other vaguely local example that I can think of is FSW, who has themself got frustrated in the past with the tone of some posts. It spirals easily into what look like personal attacks, whether they are meant as such or not.

Let's have our opinions, but let's appreciate that both Rhys and Phil are willing to come on here and explain as much as they can what is happening, which they certainly don't have to do!
 

richw

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Rhys how many taxis do you operate in Bristol and Bath? Are they Hackney carriage licences or just private hire?
Thanks
 

THarris123

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I would agree.

Can't say that I was overly impressed with the publicity from CityFox early on, but people here really should give you a chance. From what I can see, things are evolving, and definitely looking more "professional" (for want of a better word!). There may have been setbacks, but as has been said, any entrepreneur get them. And some people may have gotten upset, but then read Richard Branson's autobiography to see that isn't unusual.

Let's be critical, but let's do it in the same way as we do for any other company on this forum. The problem is that there aren't many companies where senior people come on here (the only other vaguely local example that I can think of is FSW, who has themself got frustrated in the past with the tone of some posts. It spirals easily into what look like personal attacks, whether they are meant as such or not.

Let's have our opinions, but let's appreciate that both Rhys and Phil are willing to come on here and explain as much as they can what is happening, which they certainly don't have to do!

Agree with that and much better said.
 

RhysHand

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Rhys how many taxis do you operate in Bristol and Bath? Are they Hackney carriage licences or just private hire?
Thanks

1. There are 55 in Bristol and 30 in Bath.
2. Each operating company has its own Operators Licence for Private Hire activities, meaning I can use either private hire or hackney vehicles. I tend to invest in buying hackney vehicles because if our phones are quiet, my cars can still go off and earn money!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I would agree.

Can't say that I was overly impressed with the publicity from CityFox early on, but people here really should give you a chance. From what I can see, things are evolving, and definitely looking more "professional" (for want of a better word!). There may have been setbacks, but as has been said, any entrepreneur get them. And some people may have gotten upset, but then read Richard Branson's autobiography to see that isn't unusual.

Let's be critical, but let's do it in the same way as we do for any other company on this forum. The problem is that there aren't many companies where senior people come on here (the only other vaguely local example that I can think of is FSW, who has themself got frustrated in the past with the tone of some posts. It spirals easily into what look like personal attacks, whether they are meant as such or not.

Let's have our opinions, but let's appreciate that both Rhys and Phil are willing to come on here and explain as much as they can what is happening, which they certainly don't have to do!

Thank you Colly405 - I appreciate that and your comments.

Regards,
Rhys
 

Observer

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I think some people may have given CityFox and Rhys a chance when he took on Phil Stockley, but that's just my opinion.

I'm sure there's many people out there who would like to do what Rhys has done, but haven't been able to for various reasons such as not having the funds to do so.

If you can make things work with these various businesses, the least thing you can do is to try.
 

6Gman

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Rhys,

Does Snowdonia Travel have any vehicles? I do some notes for an enthusiast newsletter in the area and must confess I'd never come across them
 

nesw

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The friends of PSV Circle Facebook has a photo of YN53RXK in Cityfox colours running a Christmas/Boxing Day Service 60 in Bristol. I believe that Phil Stockley was the driver.

I'm unsure whether or not it was permitted to charge fares as the registration was submitted in November as seasonal variations only require 21 days notice. As far as I'm aware from DVLA guidance this applies to services already operating wth new registrations still requiring 56 days notice. This is presumably why the entry in N&P gives a start date of 17/1/17.
 

ooo

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Looking at Phil Stockley's twitter, he was indeed driving.

One wonders how many passengers were carried
I know it's very inconclusive but when I saw it heading into the Centre around lunchtime yesterday it was empty.
 

BBC

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I know it's very inconclusive but when I saw it heading into the Centre around lunchtime yesterday it was empty.

Well id imagine this had something to do with the 2/50 running yesterday.
 

ooo

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Well id imagine this had something to do with the 2/50 running yesterday.
I saw it on Christmas Day rather than Boxing Day, but yes I imagine that yesterday people were probably more likely to go on their normal bus routes than try a new one.
 

BBC

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I saw it on Christmas Day rather than Boxing Day, but yes I imagine that yesterday people were probably more likely to go on their normal bus routes than try a new one.

Ah yes sorry didn't realise you posted this yesterday ! I'd imagine the 60 made little or no money christmas day.
 

Stan Drews

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The friends of PSV Circle Facebook has a photo of YN53RXK in Cityfox colours running a Christmas/Boxing Day Service 60 in Bristol. I believe that Phil Stockley was the driver.

I'm unsure whether or not it was permitted to charge fares as the registration was submitted in November as seasonal variations only require 21 days notice. As far as I'm aware from DVLA guidance this applies to services already operating wth new registrations still requiring 56 days notice. This is presumably why the entry in N&P gives a start date of 17/1/17.

Which O licence was used for the registration?
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Ah yes sorry didn't realise you posted this yesterday ! I'd imagine the 60 made little or no money christmas day.

I'd be interested to know how many passengers were carried on the two days. I'd suspect not many.

The curious thing is that the 60 serves an area that is not the most lucrative at the best of times, rather than somewhere like the Gloucester Road and up to a traffic objective like Southmead Hospital.
 

Bletchleyite

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I'd be interested to know how many passengers were carried on the two days. I'd suspect not many.

The curious thing is that the 60 serves an area that is not the most lucrative at the best of times, rather than somewhere like the Gloucester Road and up to a traffic objective like Southmead Hospital.

It does seem that Cityfox is using its taxi profits (I assume that's where the money is coming from) to play buses.

Which is of course a matter only for its shareholders if it wishes to do this - it's not anyone else's problem. But what it isn't is a serious attempt at commercial bus operation.
 

BBC

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I'd be interested to know how many passengers were carried on the two days. I'd suspect not many.

The curious thing is that the 60 serves an area that is not the most lucrative at the best of times, rather than somewhere like the Gloucester Road and up to a traffic objective like Southmead Hospital.

Or the Stapleton road corridor where lots of the population won't celebrate Christmas.
 

nesw

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I understand that operating centre used was HCT yard , Bristol. Quite convenient as it appears Mr. Stockley has been doing some work for them in London. ('Hired out' by one of Mr Hand's many companies 'Excite Venues' I believe he posted in an earlier thread).

Mr. Hand has been very sensitive about the seasonal 60 service and a posting of a photo of the bus in service on 'Friends of PSV Circle' resulted in some quite heated debate. Some of the comments were quite vindictive but the issue was handled quite badly by 'Cityfox'.

Still, it looks as though the Conservatives have a strident supporter as this Twitter post from Rhys demonstrates.

'@frankfieldteam - Give it a rest. Your (sic) a sad boring man. #voteconservative
Sent 5h ago '

And just to be clear , I have nothing against 'entrepreneurs ' or Mr. Hand however, running a bus on the same route as a competitor with the timetable not on Traveline , one may question the business acumen of the the person making the decisions.
 

Robertj21a

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I understand that operating centre used was HCT yard , Bristol. Quite convenient as it appears Mr. Stockley has been doing some work for them in London. ('Hired out' by one of Mr Hand's many companies 'Excite Venues' I believe he posted in an earlier thread).

Mr. Hand has been very sensitive about the seasonal 60 service and a posting of a photo of the bus in service on 'Friends of PSV Circle' resulted in some quite heated debate. Some of the comments were quite vindictive but the issue was handled quite badly by 'Cityfox'.

Still, it looks as though the Conservatives have a strident supporter as this Twitter post from Rhys demonstrates.

'@frankfieldteam - Give it a rest. Your (sic) a sad boring man. #voteconservative
Sent 5h ago '

And just to be clear , I have nothing against 'entrepreneurs ' or Mr. Hand however, running a bus on the same route as a competitor with the timetable not on Traveline , one may question the business acumen of the the person making the decisions.

I'm sure the whole story will come out eventually.
 

RhysHand

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It does seem that Cityfox is using its taxi profits (I assume that's where the money is coming from) to play buses.

Which is of course a matter only for its shareholders if it wishes to do this - it's not anyone else's problem. But what it isn't is a serious attempt at commercial bus operation.

Neil,

We have available cash to use as the business sees fit. The decision was taken to run a bus service over the Christmas period and I can confirm it turned out to be a very good decision. Considering I am the only shareholder, it's my gamble and my risk. It may not be a serious attempt at commercial bus operation, but you have to start somewhere. I started with one taxi, some might say that isn't a serious attempt at operating taxis, but we now have taxis in Bristol, Bath & Plymouth. Every business started from nothing and I am very pleased with how far we have grown in two years.

Rhys
 
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