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I lifted the key information (without the platitudes) from an internal article, so i'm only going on what was written there. The article is about the customer service function, no mention was made about the social media function, so whether or not that will be managed locally, regionally or...

First have been building a 'customer services shared service' since the beginning of the year. All customer service operations across the UK are planned to be operated from a central hub in Leeds, so staff in both Norwich and Scotland will be affected by the changes. Northern England customer...

37985 has been resprayed into the X30 livery as well, so will probably be out and about soon.

My local bus company generally treats all bus stops as request stops, so the bus needs to be hailed, with the exception of the busiest stops. As for the bus driver missing stops, it may be a case that they simply forgot the bell was rung or that they didn't hear the bell through the rattles and...

It was a real shame to see the rot set in at Regal, at one point, they were investing in new buses and the ones they had already were kept immaculate, putting other operators to shame. Regal seemed to have lost their identity and pride, it would seem, a few years back when buses of all colours...

Chelmsford have 20 Solos dating from 2002, which I think are the oldest examples in First. They are already starting to be withdrawn. 4 have already so I expect the rest will follow soon. So unless they cascade different buses in, it would leave a void of around 10 Solos to be required, taking...

I think that First could help themselves better in the way the changes are communicated, the website and social media are covered but I haven't seen any on bus notices or any other 'analogue' notices which are essential for those who don't frequent the 'digital' formats. This has the effect of...

In the latest fleet news for First Essex, the excellent Busmopolitan blog: https://jpodgorski1.wordpress.com states that the Scania Omnicities are being sent to Clacton rather than Colchester from Chelmsford in exchange for their Enviro 200s. So it would seem that the fleet is being harmonised...

Interesting that Greater Anglia are trying to poach Chelmsford to Stansted Airport passengers, i'm not sure many would take it up and trade a 40 minute journey for one which takes an hour longer, via Liverpool Street. It's a bit dubious of them to say that you will always get a seat. Peak time...

Looks like it is a phased launch. https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/about-us/the-arriva-brand-is-changing/

Most drivers will just stop the bus, wait and contact control to report an obstruction.

2 of the ex 2011 plated Greenline buses have arrived in Chelmsford over the last week to work the X30 route, but won't be put into service until the branding is changed. I expect the other bus will arrive soon.

The first Solos were repainted in 2012, so the rust is starting to come through on quite a lot of them now!

The 5 ex Chelmsford Park and Ride Scania Omnicities are transferring north to Colchester. Most of the Optare Solos are going, but not all of them. There will still be 5 or 6 left. Chelmsford has also recently received a couple of Caetano Darts from First Potteries and a couple of Volvo B7RLEs...

Not sure how many buses are going but with transfers from outside Essex and within, a lot of the older stock in Essex will be withdrawn.

The Essex service changes have been announced. https://www.firstgroup.com/essex/news-and-service-updates/planned-changes/service-changes-week-commencing-18th-february-2018

It will be interesting to watch, the depot changes are just speculation of what could happen, before First would even consider abandoning the operation. However, First Essex have been known to close a network down along with the depot as they did in Braintree, but it would depend on how much the...

First Essex is far from a lost cause, although looking over the last financials show an operating loss, it is in general a profitable company. Short term, the route changes will have an immediate impact on costs. The decision to cascade stock, which otherwise wouldn't be used elsewhere across...

The only changes to the 71 are a revised timetable to provide better spacing with the 70 between Marks Tey and Colchester, because the 70 is going to be half hourly instead of every 20 minutes. All of the major changes take place from 18th February.

Season tickets are increasing but not sure about single and return tickets yet.