Hulley's of Baslow

[liamf656]

A post on the Friends of the PSV Circle Facebook group appears to show Enviro 200 MK63 XAU in a new Hulley’s livery based on the Go Coach colours. The bus is wearing all over yellow but with Hulley’s dark blue skirt rather than Go Coach purple, and blue stripe above the windows.

Friends of the PSV Circle | Pictured at Go-Coach Swanley is Hulleys of Baslow’s new and revised livery | Facebook

Pictured at Go-Coach Swanley is Hulleys of Baslow’s new and revised livery. This change was made to try and standardise the livery of the fleet as a whole. It also features a new logo, points to...

www.facebook.com

I think an identity change is good in my humble opinion, as the current post-pandemic Hulleys company does not reflect who they were before, and for the worst too.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

A post on the Friends of the PSV Circle Facebook group appears to show Enviro 200 MK63 XAU in a new Hulley’s livery based on the Go Coach colours. The bus is wearing all over yellow but with Hulley’s dark blue skirt rather than Go Coach purple, and blue stripe above the windows. Presumably this will help the seemingly regular vehicle movements blend in more. There also appears to be a new style logo, which one commenter points out bears a very striking resemblance to the former Television South West logo.

Friends of the PSV Circle | Pictured at Go-Coach Swanley is Hulleys of Baslow’s new and revised livery | Facebook

Pictured at Go-Coach Swanley is Hulleys of Baslow’s new and revised livery. This change was made to try and standardise the livery of the fleet as a whole. It also features a new logo, points to...

www.facebook.com

That colour combo is very Status Group!

 

[Trainman40083]

I think an identity change is good in my humble opinion, as the current post-pandemic Hulleys company does not reflect who they were before, and for the worst too.

Maybe more than Hulleys will have to rebrand

 

[Russel]

I'm no fan of Hulleys cream and blue or the new yellow and blue, both look like they were designed in MS Paint by someone who was in a rush...

But, that being said, if updating both the Hulleys and Go Coach livery so they are the same, means the fleet will finally be in a uniform livery, then it can't be a bad thing.

Just look at the fleet list of Bustimes, I can see 10 different liveries across a fleet of 25 buses.

 

[Trainman40083]

I'm no fan of Hulleys cream and blue or the new yellow and blue, both look like they were designed in MS Paint by someone who was in a rush...

But, that being said, if updating both the Hulleys and Go Coach livery so they are the same, means the fleet will finally be in a uniform livery, then it can't be a bad thing.

Just look at the fleet list of Bustimes, I can see 10 different liveries across a fleet of 25 buses.

Ah but they are similar but not the same. Hulleys has a blue skirt, Go Coach purple.

 

[Russel]

Ah but they are similar but not the same. Hulleys has a blue skirt, Go Coach purple.

The dominant colours, cream and yellow, are somewhat different though, the total mashup of liveries Hulleys have had over the past couple of years has looked rather unprofessional.

 

[Killingworth]

The dominant colours, cream and yellow, are somewhat different though, the total mashup of liveries Hulleys have had over the past couple of years has looked rather unprofessional.

They used to be commendably smart and clean. However actually running and on time must be the first priority at present to make them professional.

 

[Typhoon]

The skirt of the Optare Versa behind the Hulley's E200 seems to be in the same blue rather than purple. Are Go-Coach changing their livery as well to a common livery?

Unless it means that 4004 is heading north soon? (Speculation) Or it was just a trial before implementation on the Hulley's stock.

The different colour skirt won't make much difference, as @Trainman40083 writes they are similar, no-one is going to get confused, it is the yellow that stands out.

 

[Trainman40083]

Well it is different

 

[northwichcat]

Well it is different

Looks like the vehicle previously painted in North Western Road Car livery has been given that new Hulleys livery: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=MK63XAU or "MK63 XAU"&sort=date-taken-desc

 

[PaulWC]

Interesting idea, re-using the TSW logo from the 1980's.

 

[MotCO]

Unless it means that 4004 is heading north soon? (Speculation) Or it was just a trial before implementation on the Hulley's stock.

But 4004 has what looks to be the Go-Coach website address on the front dash, not the Hulleys name.

 

[Teapot42]

Ah but they are similar but not the same. Hulleys has a blue skirt, Go Coach purple.

From various comments I got the impression that Go Coach were changing to a blue skirt, so the livery is a mixture of both. Not sure if cream and purple would have looked better or worse...

I'm not clear if the intention is that it will be treated as a single fleet, or if it's just recognition that as major engineering is now done at Swanley that there will always be a couple of Go Coach vehicles on loan in Baslow at any one time.

One thing I've noticed is that there have been quite a few new vehicles in to the Hulleys fleet of late, but the Go Coach fleet seems unchanged. Whether that's a reflection of it being more modern and in better condition I'm not sure. They do have quite a few 07/58 reg vehicles which surely must be coming towards the end of their life.

I wonder if they might have some success if they relaunched the X57 now. With the £2 fare, the frequent closures of the Hope Valley line and the enormous decline in reliability of the rail service (particularly when TPE is involved), a Manchester-Sheffield bus seems like it could now be quite an attractive proposition for passengers who would more ordinarily take the train.

In fact for a lot of University of Sheffield students, who live in the Crookes/Broomhill areas or at the Endcliffe student village, £2 for a direct 90 min bus from close to where they live is surely a far more attractive proposition than the trek across the city centre to the station and then paying much more to go by train, taking almost as long in total. No idea if there's much of a student market between Sheffield and Manchester though.

You can currently travel from Manchester to Sheffield on National Express, but only to the interchange in Sheffield and only by going via Leeds, which is a bit out of the way. It does seem like a good candidate for a direct route. But then I suppose you could argue it's already been tried and didn't work!

I think the big issue with the X57 is the very variable traffic conditions from Glossop to at least Denton. Beyond there I think there are bus lanes most of the way which should help avoid delays. If the Mottram Bypass ever gets built then it would make a significant difference in the viability of a bus service. As it stands, a better option might be Sheffield to Glossop then via Hayfield and New Mills to Manchester Airport. Anyone for Manchester could change on the the train at Glossop.

That said, what are the conditions for starting a new service in to a franchised area? It seems like existing services have remained, but I've not seen anything to suggest a new service would be possible and indeed some cross-border services have been franchised.

According to my other half - who works at Sheffield Uni - there is quite a demand for travel to Manchester, mainly because Sheffield doesn't have the best nightlife. Also a lot of Chinese students used to go there are Asian food in Sheffield was very poor. It's improved a bit of late, but I'd still choose Manchester if I had the option and wanted a good Chinese or Japanese meal.

Another area I think they are missing out on - and Stagecoach could take advantage to link up with the Peak Sightseer just as much as Hulleys could - is a better link from Manchester to Chatsworth. Many Manchester students get the train to Sheffield then double-back to Totley before changing to the 218. A direct bus could match or beat that time-wise and the convenience would be a winner for many.

Main issue with Hulleys starting any new services is that unless they can either expand the existing depot or find a new site they simply don't have the capacity. I wonder if moving heavy engineering to Swanley has the potential to open up a little bit more space in the depot for a handful more discs?

As before, apologies for the delay in replying, I was blocked from the forum before I had the chance to correct some of your statements about me.

The Peak Sightseer received BSIP funding to extend the season. ...

There was never a proposal for a joint service.

I'll have to take your word for that, it's not what I was told but what I judge to be a reliable source.

It wasn’t a heated argument from my perspective @Teapot42 , you simply stated something that was factually wrong and I corrected you. You appeared to accept that correction.

I'm not going to bother arguing that point, we are coming at it from different directions. I'd prefer to see measures put in place to attract public transport use for the whole journey, to me having very little in the way of Stagecoach links and adding to the cost for Wayfarer uses means people will just drive to use the Sightseer - something which appeared to be the case whenever I was in the area.

I've come from our Manchester operations, with franchising happening there is zero opportunity to run routes from that direction.

That is one thing I've been wondering, is it impossible to register a service in to Greater Manchester from outside now? If so it seems a great pity as it makes it harder for those without cars to be given provision to visit the National Park, and for alternatives to driving to be put in place.

You really are determined to see us fail aren't you? Thankfully many thousands of customers disagree with you.

You know, you couldn't be more wrong about that. I'm disappointed by the limited vision and the obstacles put in the way of a bus-only visit to the area. But I want this to expand and become a genuine attraction across the whole of the area, not just a small corner.

For example, you say you don't get any revenue from Wayfarers. From what I've been told about the ticket that will be because it sits with whoever sold it. Therefore, one solution is to provide more services in to the Peak District so more opportunity to sell the tickets. Also, if you don't get money from them, why not offer a discount for holders of Hulleys / TM / Trent Barton day tickets? You'd lose no less money but would attract more passengers using those operators to link to it.

I'm not sure of the competition aspects, but could you not work with said operators to offer joint tickets? It's in both your interests to get more people on the bus.

As for the route, I don't think I could have chosen something within the Peak Park that showed off less of it's beauty if I'd tried. The novelty will be what attracts the customers and there is nothing wrong with that, but something more akin to what you have in the Lakes that connects places and shows off the beauty of the area would be much more of an attraction and asset to the area.

For instance, Bakewell to Castleton via Ashford, Monsal Head and Tideswell would be stunning, especially if you could run up Winnats to the caverns. As it was, we spent more time dodging branches and spying in people's back gardens than enjoying the majesty of the Peaks the time we did the route.

This is utter cobblers

Again, I can only go on what I've been told. And as that bit really did come from someone who knows...

Wrong. The Traffic Commissioner has the ultimate decision on whether to approve a service registration or not.

Interesting that someone in the office of the Traffic Commissioner told me the exact opposite.

This is where your posts really push the boundaries. Aggression in business is illegal, a pact that you suggest is illegal. If it was true, and for the avoidance of doubt it definitely isn't, it is the kind of stuff that people go to prison for.

I'm not sure if we are talking at cross purposes here. In the past it was common for the large operators to run smaller ones out of business or at least off certain routes. Someone at Stagecoach (you probably know who I refer to) actually told me they were mindful of competing against Hulleys. That's the point I was making, not actual aggression, just an acknowledgement that the two operations served different markets and there was little point going head to head. Some route transfers also seemed, well, not arranged but at least done with a degree of cooperation.

I'm sure you can also appreciate a degree of frustration in some of my comments came from the fact our local service at the time was running very poorly and was subsequently halved in frequency, making it all but useless, while other routes were given priority.

 

[py_megapixel]

I think the big issue with the X57 is the very variable traffic conditions from Glossop to at least Denton. Beyond there I think there are bus lanes most of the way which should help avoid delays. If the Mottram Bypass ever gets built then it would make a significant difference in the viability of a bus service. As it stands, a better option might be Sheffield to Glossop then via Hayfield and New Mills to Manchester Airport. Anyone for Manchester could change on the the train at Glossop.

I could see that being successful to some extent but I do think it would have to serve the city centre to appeal to the student market. Having people change to the train is a sensible idea in principle but doomed to fail without proper integration of fares, timetables and marketing, which inevitably wouldn't happen in this country. It also starts to undermine the cost, time and price advantages that buses would have over trains from the western side of Sheffield.

That said, what are the conditions for starting a new service in to a franchised area? It seems like existing services have remained, but I've not seen anything to suggest a new service would be possible and indeed some cross-border services have been franchised.

I think there is a process for it - I recall reading about it in the earliest days of preparation for bus franchising in Greater Manchester.

As before, apologies for the delay in replying, I was blocked from the forum before I had the chance to correct some of your statements about me.

I'm unsure what you mean by this - I've said plenty about bus services but I don't recall making any statements about you personally?

 

[Teapot42]

I could see that being successful to some extent but I do think it would have to serve the city centre to appeal to the student market. Having people change to the train is a sensible idea in principle but doomed to fail without proper integration of fares, timetables and marketing, which inevitably wouldn't happen in this country. It also starts to undermine the cost, time and price advantages that buses would have over trains from the western side of Sheffield.

I'd agree a link to the centre - and Fallowfield / Owens Park - would be ideal. However the route via Glossop is just too uncertain in terms of traffic terms to realistically timetable anything. Via Hayfield is probably more certain time-wise as you get to bus lanes earlier just beyond High Lane, but the extra distance likely makes it unviable.

I do think links from Sheffield and / or Chesterfield to the Airport could have legs. Parking there is getting more and more expensive so decent fares could be viable providing it ran often enough and early / late enough.

I think there is a process for it - I recall reading about it in the earliest days of preparation for bus franchising in Greater Manchester.

I can't believe they would block the possibility completely, nor insist they be franchised, but I've seen comments from both Stagecoach and Hulleys that they don't feel services in to Greater Manchester are possible now.

I'm unsure what you mean by this - I've said plenty about bus services but I don't recall making any statements about you personally?

Sorry, the forum 'habit' of merging posts means a comment intended for mk1979 has lost context.

 

[JD2168]

Has been on Hulleys Facebook page.

A replacement has been found for the Crystal Peaks to Norwood via Killamarsh with a Monday to Saturday extension of First 120 from Crystal Peaks. This means there will be 3 different daytime terminus points for 120 in Crystal Peaks, Halfway & Norwood.

 

[Teapot42]

A replacement has been found for the Crystal Peaks to Norwood via Killamarsh with a Monday to Saturday extension of First 120 from Crystal Peaks. This means there will be 3 different daytime terminus points for 120 in Crystal Peaks, Halfway & Norwood.

I'd read elsewhere this is only temporary?

Story I saw is that Stagecoach had won an initial tender using two vehicles, but the timings have been questioned so it's gone back out for re-tender. The implication was the 120 extension was a temporary thing as the re-tendering process wouldn't be complete before Hulleys withdraw from the 80. There are also suggestions that they don't want to operate via Chesterfield Royal, but how that and still serving Brimington Common can be reconciled I don't know.