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An operator would not be able to operate a bus for hire and reward without a valid PSV O licence disc displayed. That requirement is absolute, and there are no exceptions permitted even in exceptional circumstances such as these. Whether it would be permissible to operate a bus without a PSV O...

The point about access to finance is a very relevant and important one. Finance companies are very nervous about lending to independent operators without the security of contracts. I wasn’t aware of the commercial services restriction at Hulleys, but this would appear to place them in between a...

It’s worth noting that there is absolutely no reason that tendered services cannot subsidise commercial ones. Ultimately an operator is free to bid any price for the tender; if they win work at a high price and choose to use some of that to operate less remunerative / non remunerative commercial...

The difference there is that railway signals do not routinely show misleading indications which need to be ignored - and where a system "fails safe" and a red signal is shown even if the line ahead is clear, there is a procedure in place for the driver to talk to the signaller and gain...

That’s very unfortunate. Hope the driver, and any passengers involved, are OK. This bus doesn’t seem to have tracked on Bustimes since December - was it off for repairs, being moved back to the depot maybe? As I would imagine it was off a regular route?

Out of interest, do you mind sharing which operator(s) you had this issue with?

I periodically purchase and use such tickets, and find fewer issues than would be expected with a ticket valid on so many operators. Occasionally you have to explain it to a driver, but I've never been refused travel. You may wish to purchase before you travel on an M-Ticket app such as myTrip...

Absolutely nothing. If the Trust are subcontracting to a reputable, O licenced operator, which Holmeswood are, there is no need for the Trust to have any kind of licence. Holmeswood would need to have Electronic Ticket Machines (ETMs) and be Bus Open Data Service (BODS) compliant and a few...

Just a small point of clarification on your very final sentence. The Central Connect scheme is network-wide (covering their East Midlands, East of England and Essex & Herts operations), and pre-dates the Derbyshire BSIP scheme. It also covers all Central Connect cancellations, not just last...

Good evening, a few updates in relation to my own operations, so we’re in East Anglia territory here. Simonds: Diss and Bury St Edmunds is now linked by route 70/70A, not 304. Diss (and Roydon) has an hourly service to Norwich on route 82, albeit the Go-Ahead 1 does still run. The 581 is now...

Interesting. Many thanks for that. Not quite sure how they can say that, because Companies House still lists Alf Crofts and Modeldart (the owner of Hulleys) as owning Go-Coach, but in fairness you do get 28 days to update such matters so maybe the change has happened behind the scenes but not...

Coming to this thread a little late, it appears that this post, now deleted, is quite critical to the ongoing discussion. Can anybody shed some light on what it was / what it said? Presumably an internal announcement from Hulleys?

None whatsoever. Most LAs select the cheapest operator, a small number include a weighted quality element for various commitments an operator makes in their bid, depending on what the LA wants. Vehicle specification, customer service, that sort of thing. IF an incumbent operator delivers such a...

He has either been lazy or disingenuous in how he’s worded that. Absolutely nothing stops a Local (Transport) Authority from funding a service into another LTA’s area. The legality issue arises in respect of the reason the service is needed. Each LTA has a statutory duty to consider the public...

This is not fully correct. Concession revenue is retained by the Local Authority for minimum cost contracts. They move it from the ENCTS budget to the local bus budget internally. BSOG is no longer claimable for LA supported services, except for de minimis services as stated. However, incentive...

The difference between the lower fare and the normal fare is reimbursed by the local authority with BSIP funding. So they would be better to promote it and encourage higher demand (from the lower fare), as their overall revenue would then be increased.

Depends how good the scheduler is! There’s no legal requirement to do so in most cases. At busy locations and in particular bus stations the local authority will often operate a slot booking system to prevent stand / bay congestion. Beyond that, it’s down to the skill, attention to detail and...

This is a consequence of a Local Authority with limited budget automating something which really can't be automated. There is no substitute for good quality local roadside information put together by people local to the area who both know the local geography and know how buses run. Unfortunately...

What is the plan for 1D34 2135 London Kings Cross to Leeds? Presumably too late to divert it? Don't envy the passengers stuck on there not moving for getting on for two hours now. But what will they do with it if they cannot get the line back at a reasonable time tonight...

Within Bury St Edmunds there is overlap between the Mulleys Motorways and Stephensons of Essex town services. Both networks were introduced back when First still had a depot in the town and ran their own town services as well, although since then Mulleys have substantially expanded their network...