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Stagecoach North West Discussion

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Polarbear

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Yesterday's Liverpool Echo carried an article about possible strike action on Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancs, commencing on 28 December and timed to coincide with the closure of the Wirral Line on 3 January.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/cross-river-commuters-face-fresh-12360400

Commuters facing severe disruption as a result of the Wirral loop line closure were dealt a fresh blow after Stagecoach bus drivers on Merseyside announced they were to go on strike for two weeks.

The Unite union said 120 bus drivers, based at Stagecoach Rock Ferry garage, will walk out for a fortnight on Wednesday, December 28, in a long-running dispute over pay.

Bus services in both Wirral and Liverpool will be hit, especially the river tunnel service from Birkenhead to Liverpool, when the drivers walk out at one minute past midnight on December 28. The strike is due to end at midnight on Tuesday January 10 - one week after the track renewal works begin.

During the first phase of the track renewal works, there will be no train services at all between Birkenhead and Liverpool for a period of six weeks, with Merseytravel providing a rail replacement bus service instead.

Although Stagecoach’s share of the market on Merseyside is a lot smaller than that of main bus operator Arriva, the action by Stagecoach bus drivers is bound to add to travel problems caused by the loop line closure.

Stagecoach announced earlier this week that it would be increasing capacity by switching from single to double deck buses on all services running between Liverpool, Wirral and Cheshire during the closure of the Wirral line, to help “ease the inconvenience” for cross-river travellers.

Arriva is providing a dedicated fleet of up to 30 brand new hybrid buses to take Merseyrail passengers cross-river during the track renewal works, which last until June 2017.

Unite said it was taking the action because drivers had not had a pay rise since 2015 and after eight months of negotiations, the company had failed to increase its offer of 1.5% for 2016 and 2% for 2017.

The drivers voted by 81% for strike action.

Unite regional officer Ritchie James said: “Unite has been involved in extensive negotiations with Stagecoach to secure an increase that reflects the contribution our members have made to the financial profitability of the company.

“After eight months of negotiation, the bosses have said that any offer can only be improved if it were self-financed by the drivers, which is totally unacceptable as inflation begins to rise.

“The company was prepared to offer inferior terms to ‘new starters’ to enhance the pay by five pence per hour for current drivers – this would have seen a reduction of £620 for the first year of employment of every new driver coming to work at Rock Ferry.

“This is completely unacceptable to our members who have seen the company put the same offer to the workforce on three occasions and for the offer to be rejected on each occasion.

“The offer for 2016 of 1.5 per cent is in the bottom ten per cent of pay settlements that have been negotiated with Stagecoach across the UK by Unite. The two per cent offer for 2017 is well below the inflation forecasts for next year.

“Our members are taking action as a last resort as this very profitable company is not prepared to fairly reward the Merseyside drivers who have contributed to that success.

“The fortnight of strike action will cause severe disruption to bus passengers on Merseyside which we regret. However, Unite’s door is open 24/7 for constructive talks with the management to reach a settlement.”

A Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire spokesperson said: “We respect our Birkenhead depot employees’ right to strike and support an open dialogue between senior management and the union, Unite, to reach the best possible solution. We are committed to resolving this dispute and are doing our utmost to minimise passenger disruption.

“Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire is a leading, best-practice company that employs over 1,200 people and serves more than 42 million passengers every year. As a responsible business that delivers a key public service, it is crucial that we ensure that the business is run in a sustainable way that enables us to continue to deliver outstanding value to our customers, invest in our fleet, and create secure, well-paid, long-term jobs for people across the wider regions.

“Services which may experience minor delays or timetable changes during this time include: Liverpool to Chester via Wirral services - 1 and 2; Wirral to Liverpool services - 471 and 472, Local Wirral services -, 38, 41 and 42.

“We are working hard to minimise the effect on passengers during this busy time and passengers are advised to check the Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire website stagecoachbus.com or Stagecoach Bus app for service updates before travelling. We will also be providing live updates and support on Twitter @Stagecoachmcsl from December 28 throughout the period (excluding Monday January 2).”

A Merseytravel spokesperson said: “Stagecoach are keeping us informed on the issue and what they are intending to do to minimise the impacts for passengers should there be any industrial action. It is anticipated that there will be only minor disruption. Most importantly it is expected that the planned timetable will run from 3 January when the Wirral Loop Line track renewal starts. Buses will be one of the key ways to cross the river at this time.”

Although on the face of things, the offer seems reasonable, there must be something serious running in the background to provoke a two week strike.

****Update****
I understand the strike action has now been postponed until 4 January 2017. This still has the potential to be quite disruptive, give that the Wirral line will by then be closed between Birkenhead and Liverpool for the upgrade.

****further update****

Strike action now cancelled completely.
 
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childwallblues

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Further to the Oxford E400 hybrids I spotted last week, also spotted several YN61 plated E400 hybrids around Manchester with 192 branding.

Wonder if Stagecoach are concentrating all their hybrids in Manchester?

YN61BFJ/K/L/M (12087-90) have been at Stockport for some time so it was probably one of those that you saw.
 

childwallblues

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10797/99/800/01 have been noted at Rock Ferry Depot, Birkenhead in readiness for the upgrade to services 2 and x8 from next week whilst the railway is closed.
 

gka472l

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That makes sense if all the new buses are not yet available.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


10543 was on the 2 yesterday and 10541 on the X8.

10542 is also in use from Chester....there are/were 4 more Cambridge P&R MMC's at Leyland still to be delivered at New Year, 10804 (purple) & 10807/8/9 (orange)...at least 10807 has been reported as arrived at Gillmoss yesterday, so presumably will move on to Rock Ferry or Chester imminently....

HTH
 

Brilliantbert

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10542 is also in use from Chester....there are/were 4 more Cambridge P&R MMC's at Leyland still to be delivered at New Year, 10804 (purple) & 10807/8/9 (orange)...at least 10807 has been reported as arrived at Gillmoss yesterday, so presumably will move on to Rock Ferry or Chester imminently....

HTH

Over last few days only ones I've not photographed are (presumably Orange) 10808 and 10809. Only saw one GM MMC on the 2/X8 yesterday (10542)
 

randyrippley

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Barrow's PX61CVG (15726) was on Morecambe's 5 service today. Still in 555-green.
"New 555" SN16OOE (10560) was on Morecambe's 2
 

83G/84D

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Over last few days only ones I've not photographed are (presumably Orange) 10808 and 10809. Only saw one GM MMC on the 2/X8 yesterday (10542)

Both are orange and were seen at Gillmoss depot earlier today. 10796 (green) was at Rock Ferry all afternoon.
 

ashworth

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I've just received an email from Stagecoach concerning changes is bus services in the Preston area from Sunday 5th February.

The 7 from Chorley to Croston will no longer run and the 150/151 from Preston to Bamber Bridge via High Walton will also be withdrawn. To maintain bus services to Croston and High Walton the 113 is now to serve these places.

I know that for anyone wanting to travel quickly between Preston and Wigan the train has for many years been the best option but the 113 bus has always been an option especially for anyone using an Explorer Ticket etc or a concessionary pass. With these changes of route the 113 is going to take approx 2 hours to travel the whole distance between Preston and Wigan and so really is not now going to be a practical option for anyone wanting travel the whole distance.

Why has the 113, already operating a slow and roundabout route been rerouted to an even more roundabout route. Surely other services could have been rerouted so that the 113 could have remained a route that could provide a useable service between Preston and Wigan.
 

abbo1234

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This leaves no bus service for the residents of Charnock Richard or the residents of the Collingwood area of Chorley. I live on this route and some journeys were standing room only by the time the bus gets to Chorley.After the Eaves Lane deopt closure,looks like Stagecoach are gradually pulling out of Chorley ,apart from the Preston services of course.
 
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childwallblues

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Gillmoss based MAN 18.240/AD 300 24153/54 PO59HYJ/MWG have been noted at Rock Ferry working on route 42. It has not been reported whether this is a permanent transfer or not.
 

class17

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I've just received an email from Stagecoach concerning changes is bus services in the Preston area from Sunday 5th February.

The 7 from Chorley to Croston will no longer run and the 150/151 from Preston to Bamber Bridge via High Walton will also be withdrawn. To maintain bus services to Croston and High Walton the 113 is now to serve these places.

I know that for anyone wanting to travel quickly between Preston and Wigan the train has for many years been the best option but the 113 bus has always been an option especially for anyone using an Explorer Ticket etc or a concessionary pass. With these changes of route the 113 is going to take approx 2 hours to travel the whole distance between Preston and Wigan and so really is not now going to be a practical option for anyone wanting travel the whole distance.

Why has the 113, already operating a slow and roundabout route been rerouted to an even more roundabout route. Surely other services could have been rerouted so that the 113 could have remained a route that could provide a useable service between Preston and Wigan.

Surely, apart from the last few miles into Wigan or Preston, the 113 is just a service linking up villages and towns to other villages and towns. It isn't a subsidised service so needs to pick up enough passengers along the way. Now that the evening service has finished, I rarely use it.
 

siriain

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This leaves no bus service for the residents of Charnock Richard or the residents of the Collingwood area of Chorley. I live on this route and some journeys were standing room only by the time the bus gets to Chorley.After the Eaves Lane deopt closure,looks like Stagecoach are gradually pulling out of Chorley ,apart from the Preston services of course.
What about the 347 (Chorley-Rufford-Southport), operated by Holmeswood Coaches on behalf of Lancashire County Council?
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/roads-...es/bus-timetable-service.aspx?service=LAAO347
 

jonesy3001

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That makes sense as the Scanias are non standard being ex First Bus.

Think wigan are doing the same with there volvo single decks they inherited from first and replacing them with E400s, making it a nearly all double decker depot, anyone know whats happening to the new E300s ADLS that was brand new to the depot.
 

mbonwick

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Think wigan are doing the same with there volvo single decks they inherited from first and replacing them with E400s, making it a nearly all double decker depot, anyone know whats happening to the new E300s ADLS that was brand new to the depot.

Not going anywhere.
 
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