overthewater
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It's been stated 28th July is the last day.
It's been stated 28th July is the last day.
Drivers' anger as bus company confirms it will shut depot in Clacton
James Dwan @JamesDwanSenior Reporter
PULLING OUT: First Essex boss Steve Wickers
BUS drivers claim they have been “stabbed in the back” by bosses after they confirmed their Clacton depot will close next month.
First Essex announced in April that 60 jobs were at risk as part of its plans to pull out of the town.
The bus company said it wanted to close its operating base and pull the plug on most of its routes in Tendring.
Company boss Steve Wickers said he was disappointed to announce plans to withdraw services in Clacton, but there has been insufficient passenger demand for a stand-alone bus operation.
Staff have now been told following a 30-day consultation with trade union Unite that the firm will close its Clacton depot on July 28.
A bus driver, who asked not to be named, said: “We feel like we have been stabbed in the back.
“They only just got us new uniforms at the end of March and we had new ticket machines installed a few weeks ago.
“As far as we knew everything was going well here and First were trying to compete with Hedingham on a few routes, which is what we thought they should be doing.
“There were always rumours the Clacton depot could close, but nothing ever came of it. We had Colchester drivers who came over to cover who told us we were going to close, but we didn’t believe it.
“It was quite a surprise for drivers when we were told the depot could close.”
He said more than 40 drivers have been affected, as well as between 10 and 15 engineers – who are competing for just one position at the Colchester depot – as well as a manger and two supervisors.
“I know a handful of drivers have had interviews at Hedingham, but that’s mainly the older guys who don’t want to change,” he added.
“First had 25 positions up at Colchester that they are looking to fill with Clacton drivers, but they upped that to 30.” Driver have been told they will be invited to an individual meetings to discuss how the moves affect them and suitable alternative employment.
Bosses said the services are not making enough money and its bus operations in Clacton have not been viable “for a number of years”.
Mr Wickers said:” We have concluded the process of consultation with our staff and members of Unite and can regretfully confirm that the proposal to close Clacton bus depot will go ahead.
“This decision will mean that the last day of operation for First Essex buses operating town services 2, 3, 4/4a, 5/5a and 6 will be July 28, however services between Colchester, Clacton and Walton on Naze will continue to be operated by First Essex seven days a week.
“This decision will sadly affect some of our employees who presently work at the depot who will be made redundant and we will do everything we can to support them through this difficult time.
“On a more positive note, I am pleased to announce that some of our staff will be transferring to our sister company in Colchester.
“I would like to stress once again that this decision does not in any way, reflect on the commitment of our colleagues in Clacton who have worked tirelessly to provide the best possible service to the local community.
“I would like to thank everyone who has travelled with us over the years and I hope that with the recent announcement by Hedingham bus company, there will continue to be town services operating in Clacton.”
Hedingham Omnibuses announced last month it will step in to cover routes which had been run by First.
For First Essex and the wider group, I suspect it will be business as usual for the near future. Ultimately, I don't think that First Essex is the basket case some are suggesting.
Yes, First Essex may be slashing and burning most of their ties in Clacton, but I have heard on good authority that the wage bill alone has been higher than income for a while.
First Essex is certainly changing under the leadership of Steve Wickers. This year alone, the networks have been revised to reduce PVR back in February, Clacton & Braintree are closing at the end of July and Colchester & Chelmsford T&C changes will reduce the wage bill from these depots. I suspect that more efficiencies can and will be made, but I won't begin to speculate here on what they could be.
There may not be a profit overnight, as there will inevitably be costs from close downs, T&C changes etc. but I think First Essex will be in a stronger position in the medium term.
Is that First or Go Ahead?
Cheers. First making more cuts could actually benefit Go-ahead operations.
They need it. First lost £340k on a £50m turnover.
Hedingham lost £553k on a £4m turnover. An improvement on 2016 but then counteracted with Chambers going from £52k profit to £233k loss on £1.7m turnover!!
I suspect that was the point GW was making, First's cuts may benefit Go-ahead operations however they're unlikely to benefit the P&L enough to turn the loss into a profit whereas First don't need much cost cutting to get the right side of the line (just!).I hesitate to correct The GW but Hedingham operating loss was actually £708k (the -£553k was after tax). It was indeed however still an improvement on the previous year, where the loss was over £1m. The performance of Hedingham/Chambers, relative to turnover, is therefore vastly worse than First. Put in context, if Hedingham/Chambers turnover was the same as First Essex and the percentage loss was the same, it would equate to over £8m.....!!!
I suspect that was the point GW was making, First's cuts may benefit Go-ahead operations however they're unlikely to benefit the P&L enough to turn the loss into a profit whereas First don't need much cost cutting to get the right side of the line (just!).
I hesitate to correct The GW but Hedingham operating loss was actually £708k (the -£553k was after tax). It was indeed however still an improvement on the previous year, where the loss was over £1m. The performance of Hedingham/Chambers, relative to turnover, is therefore vastly worse than First. Put in context, if Hedingham/Chambers turnover was the same as First Essex and the percentage loss was the same, it would equate to over £8m.....!!!
You're quite right Carl - and I really don't mind being correctedI suspect that was the point GW was making, First's cuts may benefit Go-ahead operations however they're unlikely to benefit the P&L enough to turn the loss into a profit whereas First don't need much cost cutting to get the right side of the line (just!).
There will be a cost for the changes in First Essex (redundancy payments etc) but still probably better than p***ing money away in Clacton as they have been.Hopeful come December we will the Go ahead losses reduced, I doubt First will see profit again this accounts.
Quite odd that you don't hope that First improve but that Go Ahead do???
Since were talking about the most recent accounts which have yet to appear: April 2017-2018. And first has made clear its making further cut back beyond that point of time, i would be very very surprised to see profit within those accounts. I would hope Go Ahead losses had been reduced, but I still expect losse.
Inspector Bloke seemed to sum things up. It’s sad for those who’ll lose their jobs. However, it’s apparent that Clacton was losing money for years and there was increasingly no prospect of that changing.We shall see at the end of De cember anyway, so there is no point in arguing about it. Last year some places did better than some on here said they would!
The timetables are up on Hedingham website, It does seem most of the new routes are interlinked with School work, and everything has not been fully replaced.
All routes have been replaced . There are some school time gaps on 4/4a and 6 but I reckon there's still a PVR increase of about 7 or 8. Unlikely to make any money on that basis - though it appears the fleet will be considerably older than First's was, so less depreciation!!
Clacton
29th July 2018
97-97A-98
Colchester to Walton via Clacton
New Monday to Saturday daytime services, replacing the existing 7 and 8 between Walton on the Naze and Clacton and services 74 and 76A between Clacton and Colchester, offering a combined service every 20 minutes between Colchester, Clacton and Walton on the Naze.
Services 97 and 97A each operate every hour and follow the existing service 7 route between Walton and Clacton and then operate via Weeley (97), Elmstead Market (97,97A), Frating (97,97A), University of Essex (97A) to Colchester. Service 98 operates every hour, following the existing service 8 between Walton and Clacton via Kirby Cross, then continuing via St Osyth and Thorrington to Colchester.
The late evening service and Sunday service between Clacton and Colchester will continue to be provided by services 74B (Monday to Saturday evenings) and 74A / 76 (Sundays).
Noticed the 62 group frequency increase - is that a measure against Hedingham?First's plans for services between Colchester, Clacton and Walton. Other changes announced (as expected).
https://www.firstgroup.com/essex/ne...lanned-changes/service-changes-22nd-29th-july
Apologies if you've already explained and I've been sleeping but Hedingham did drop a number of their other services? So is this PVR increase gross or net?