Hulley's of Baslow

[Teapot42]

Tender documents normally only specify the vehicle capacity required. If this is being met by two 16 seats or whatever, then the contract conditions are being met, albeit at additional cost to the operator.

That's really the only reason I can imagine some stipulation might be made to get a bigger bus, that the higher costs of running two vehicles may impact the operator to the point where the tender gets handed back early. Presumably there will be other bids so changing early will be less trouble than having to change in 6 months time because the winner was banking on something that didn't materialise.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

The what?

There is a lot of unsubstantiated gossip (polite version) on this thread. That claim, as explained by others after your post was one such.

I think all the buses are being repainted because I saw a bloke who I think works for Andrews, or might have done a few years ago, in B & Q on Sunday. I didn't see what he was buying, I didn't speak to him to find out, I didn't ask whether he was shopping personally or for business purposes nor who he was working for at the moment. But don't let that stop me wading in.

There do seem to be a lot of people who either have an axe to grind, or are fan boys of, Alf / Hulleys.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

I think all the buses are being repainted because I saw a bloke who I think works for Andrews, or might have done a few years ago, in B & Q on Sunday. I didn't see what he was buying, I didn't speak to him to find out, I didn't ask whether he was shopping personally or for business purposes nor who he was working for at the moment. But don't let that stop me wading in.

Lol.

I heard he was buying a conservatory on behalf of Ashbourne Community Transport; they were going to extend one of their Sprinters with it..

 

[Russel]

Tender documents normally only specify the vehicle capacity required. If this is being met by two 16 seats or whatever, then the contract conditions are being met, albeit at additional cost to the operator.

How long is duplication sustainable though, financially?

 

[Omnidekkalover]

Anyone know the fares for Andrews of Tideswell

 

[Trainman40083]

The last former Hulleys service, will shortly see a new operator.....

 

[JKP]

The last former Hulleys service, will shortly see a new operator.....

The 5th April is Saturday. Friday is the 4th. So which day is it? A link to the timetable would also have been helpful.

 

[Trainman40083]

The 5th April is Saturday. Friday is the 4th. So which day is it? A link to the timetable would also have been helpful.

I guess the wrong day/date is just typical Council. No sense check. Maybe they have only just agreed the arrangement and still preparing the timetable.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Apr 2025 ==

I guess the wrong day/date is just typical Council. No sense check. Maybe they have only just agreed the arrangement and still preparing the timetable.

Friday the 4th, it would seem

 

[Teapot42]

The last former Hulleys service, will shortly see a new operator.....

Well, aside from the 6 and the Holymoorside section of the 84/170. Oh, and the Hady / Spital section.

Comments on the DCC post suggest a change of route in Morton. The bus did reverse there, wonder if they'll alter it to avoid that somehow?

Also, I wonder what Notts and Derbys will use to run this - their fleet is double-decker heavy, but a low bridge prevents one being used. I can't see any obvious alternative that doesn't involve a lot of route being missed. Pewit Lane avoids the low bridge but has lots of overhanging trees and is very narrow so might be no more suitable for a 'decker.

Also sounds like it won't extend beyond New Beetwell Street. I can't see that getting it down to a 2 bus operation - unless they chop a large section off the route though.

 

[Trainman40083]

Well, aside from the 6 and the Holymoorside section of the 84/170. Oh, and the Hady / Spital section.

Comments on the DCC post suggest a change of route in Morton. The bus did reverse there, wonder if they'll alter it to avoid that somehow?

Also, I wonder what Notts and Derbys will use to run this - their fleet is double-decker heavy, but a low bridge prevents one being used. I can't see any obvious alternative that doesn't involve a lot of route being missed. Pewit Lane avoids the low bridge but has lots of overhanging trees and is very narrow so might be no more suitable for a 'decker.

Also sounds like it won't extend beyond New Beetwell Street. I can't see that getting it down to a 2 bus operation - unless they chop a large section off the route though.

Maybe former TM Travel Optare Versas 810/813 will make an appearance

 

[JD2168]

Maybe former TM Travel Optare Versas 810/813 will make an appearance

They also have a number of Solos that could be used

 

[zkyx02]

Maybe former TM Travel Optare Versas 810/813 will make an appearance

810 was still in service with TM today, thought they’d shipped them all out to be honest.

 

[daodao]

Well, aside from the 6 and the Holymoorside section of the 84/170.

It seems surprising (or not?) that Holymoorside is going to be left without any regular scheduled bus services, other than 1 schools service to serve a school in Bakewell.

The Chesterfield Borough Transport timetable for February 1973 available on the Timetable World website at https://timetableworld.com/ shows that Holymoorside had a bus service every 20 minutes (30 minutes evenings and Sundays).

 

[ALEMASTER]

It seems surprising (or not?) that Holymoorside is going to be left without any regular scheduled bus services, other than 1 schools service to serve a school in Bakewell.

The Chesterfield Borough Transport timetable for February 1973 available on the Timetable World website at https://timetableworld.com/ shows that Holymoorside had a bus service every 20 minutes (30 minutes evenings and Sundays).

View attachment 177716

Holymoorside does have the Travel Derbyshire on demand bus service i believe so isn't completely without.

Travel Derbyshire on Demand | Public Transport You Can Book

Travel Derbyshire on Demand is a public transport bus service whereby the bus responds to passenger bookings. Simply sign up, and book a bus.

www.roadxs.com

 

[Bletchleyite]

It seems surprising (or not?) that Holymoorside is going to be left without any regular scheduled bus services, other than 1 schools service to serve a school in Bakewell.

The Chesterfield Borough Transport timetable for February 1973 available on the Timetable World website at https://timetableworld.com/ shows that Holymoorside had a bus service every 20 minutes (30 minutes evenings and Sundays).

View attachment 177716

The past is a different country, though. In 1973 the housewife would have been at home, and if there was a family car the husband would have driven it to work, so she'd need to get into town to do the shopping etc. Thus even from such a small place there was much more custom.

The thing that's more remarkable about those old timetables is the comprehensive evening service, which the railway largely still has but buses largely don't.

 

[Teapot42]

The past is a different country, though. In 1973 the housewife would have been at home, and if there was a family car the husband would have driven it to work, so she'd need to get into town to do the shopping etc. Thus even from such a small place there was much more custom.

The thing that's more remarkable about those old timetables is the comprehensive evening service, which the railway largely still has but buses largely don't.

Even in the 1988 timetable it's still a half-hourly service.

Where we live - not very far from Holymoorside - had a 10 minute frequency on the main route, plus a few other routes which added up to about 10 buses an hour. At one point recently it was reduced to a single bus an hour, now back up to 2 but still way below previous provision.

One thing I did notice is that evening and Sunday services even back then were one an hour, much as they are now, and were often compromise services covering a larger area with less purpose. While daytime traffic may have reduced, I'd say that Sunday traffic has almost certainly increased since 1988 with the advent of Sunday opening. Yet, while daytime buses have increased, Sunday ones haven't changed. The result seems to be that traffic on Sunday can be as bad if not worse than during the week, as most people have no option but to drive.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The past is a different country, though. In 1973 the housewife would have been at home, and if there was a family car the husband would have driven it to work, so she'd need to get into town to do the shopping etc. Thus even from such a small place there was much more custom.

The thing that's more remarkable about those old timetables is the comprehensive evening service, which the railway largely still has but buses largely don't.

Exactly on the first point though the decline is perhaps more pronounced that you might expect.

The evening service, and comparison to rail, isn't that remarkable. They tend to serve different markets, there's a noticeable decline in the evening economy since the 1950s, and that whilst the rail industry gets a large government subsidy, bus services don't and have been subject to years of funding cuts as central govt has reduced the local govt grant. Also, running an evening train service, the marginal cost (as a % of total cost) is much less as compared to bus operation.

 

[Trainman40083]

They also have a number of Solos that could be used

Looks like 497 and 499 are most likely. Both Optare Solo SRs are at Derby at the moment.

 

[Dwarfer1979]

Exactly on the first point though the decline is perhaps more pronounced that you might expect.

The evening service, and comparison to rail, isn't that remarkable. They tend to serve different markets, there's a noticeable decline in the evening economy since the 1950s, and that whilst the rail industry gets a large government subsidy, bus services don't and have been subject to years of funding cuts as central govt has reduced the local govt grant. Also, running an evening train service, the marginal cost (as a % of total cost) is much less as compared to bus operation.

The big driver of the long term evening decline is the growth of TVs which meant people went out less in the evenings to the cinema and theatre (which used to be a weekly or more occurrence) which started in the 50's and continued for the next couple of decades up to the present day where almost all households have multiple devices capable of showing TV & films. Once you lose that base volume the smaller towns and local interurban markets struggled to find enough business to keep the evenings running. Bigger cities have a busier and more varied nightlife and also have more general employment working later that helped prop up such services for longer. Rail, based on longer distance travel, probably held up more as they were always carrying more special occasion trips to the big city which are less affected by the routine changes and hold up better as something people do as better than just watching the TV and are also over distances longer than are practical with taxis to avoid drink driving issues that again will compete with local buses in the evening when waiting for a bus in the dark is less attractive than booking a taxi straight from the venue you are attending.

 

[Deerfold]

Even in the 1988 timetable it's still a half-hourly service.

Where we live - not very far from Holymoorside - had a 10 minute frequency on the main route, plus a few other routes which added up to about 10 buses an hour. At one point recently it was reduced to a single bus an hour, now back up to 2 but still way below previous provision.

One thing I did notice is that evening and Sunday services even back then were one an hour, much as they are now, and were often compromise services covering a larger area with less purpose. While daytime traffic may have reduced, I'd say that Sunday traffic has almost certainly increased since 1988 with the advent of Sunday opening. Yet, while daytime buses have increased, Sunday ones haven't changed. The result seems to be that traffic on Sunday can be as bad if not worse than during the week, as most people have no option but to drive.

The most frequent route to me has gone from pre-Covid every 10 minutes to every 15, but its Sunday service has gone from half hourly to every 20 minutes (which it did have until the early 90s). I'm surprised more major routes haven't done the same - many have a worse frequncy when compared to the weekday service.

 

[TC60054]

Well, aside from the 6 and the Holymoorside section of the 84/170. Oh, and the Hady / Spital section.

The Holymoorside / Hady / Spital sections of the former 84/170 are what's being advertised for here.

 

[JKP]

The Holymoorside / Hady / Spital sections of the former 84/170 are what's being advertised for here.

Derbyshire are inviting tenders for a new hourly 84 between Holymoorside and the Royal Hospital. To operate Mondays to Saturdays. Tenders due in tomorrow at 1pm. Sorry cannot attach link.

 

[Deerfold]

The Holymoorside / Hady / Spital sections of the former 84/170 are what's being advertised for here.

Not sure where, but comments from the county are:

Tender put out for new bus service for Holymoorside to Chesterfield Royal Hospital - Derbyshire County Council

We're looking for a bus operator to run a new service, the 84. This will go from Chesterfield Royal Hospital to Spital, Chesterfield town centre, Chatsworth Road and Holymoorside and return.

www.derbyshire.gov.uk

Tender put out for new bus service for Holymoorside to Chesterfield Royal Hospital​

Published: 3 April 2025
We're looking for a bus operator to run a new service, the 84. This will go from Chesterfield Royal Hospital to Spital, Chesterfield town centre, Chatsworth Road and Holymoorside and return.

---

Any bus operators interested are asked to respond by 1pm on Friday 4 April, with their price for running this service. It is hoped that the new service will be operational as soon as possible, and by the end of next week at the latest.

Executive Director for Place, Chris Henning, said:

“We are hopeful that we will get some interest in this new service.
“The 170, when it was run by Hulleys, was a commercial service and ran from Bakewell to Chesterfield through Holymoorside and on to the hospital. When they went out of business this route was taken on by Stagecoach who were unable to run the route on exactly the same lines, leaving people without a service.
“We know that many people from Holymoorside in particular relied on the bus to get them into Chesterfield, to shops and doctors and we are very hopeful that we will have a bus to enable them to do just that shortly.”

Tenders are invited from bus operators for the new 84 service to run from Chesterfield Royal Hospital to Spital, Chesterfield town centre, Chatsworth Road and Holymoorside and return, once an hour Monday to Saturday.

 

[Teapot42]

The most frequent route to me has gone from pre-Covid every 10 minutes to every 15, but its Sunday service has gone from half hourly to every 20 minutes (which it did have until the early 90s). I'm surprised more major routes haven't done the same - many have a worse frequncy when compared to the weekday service.

I think most operators are too conservative to try things, coupled with the fact any improvement would need funding for at least a year for people to get used to it being there and starting to use it.

Locally to me, the X17 could easily be every 20 minutes during the week and 30 on Sunday.

 

[richard13]

55 - Notts and Derby have published the map and timetable for tomorrows start.

Notts and Derby

Map in News and Timetable in timetables.

It is a simplified route and hourly service.
Those knowing the area can comment.

 

[38291018]

55 - Notts and Derby have published the map and timetable for tomorrows start.

Notts and Derby

Map in News and Timetable in timetables.

It is a simplified route and hourly service.
Those knowing the area can comment.

Don't know this area too well but
Was just curious what time did the Hulleys 55 start and end as I remember it running to very late mabey even midnight so unless loadings wasn't alot from 7pm to 12 why would you want to cut the service back that much if demand was there?

 

[Teapot42]

55 - Notts and Derby have published the map and timetable for tomorrows start.

Notts and Derby

Map in News and Timetable in timetables.

It is a simplified route and hourly service.
Those knowing the area can comment.

I wonder if they are missing Morton completely, it's not mentioned and that would cut enough off to make a 2 bus journey maybe viable.

Hulleys started earlier and extended a couple to Coates Park, presumably for workers. Ran much later evening and Sundays, bsip supported. Odd that money isn't available for either the 55 or 170 it seems.

 

[chessie]

55 - Notts and Derby have published the map and timetable for tomorrows start.

Notts and Derby

Map in News and Timetable in timetables.

It is a simplified route and hourly service.
Those knowing the area can comment.

It appears to leave Morton without a bus service, looking at the link the rest of the route seems pretty much as it was between Chesterfield -Alfreton.

The timetable looks to be very tight aswell, traffic often backs up on the approach to Alfreton.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Don't know this area too well but
Was just curious what time did the Hulleys 55 start and end as I remember it running to very late mabey even midnight so unless loadings wasn't alot from 7pm to 12 why would you want to cut the service back that much if demand was there?

Because the daytime service was commercially operated by Hulleys and it is now supported. Also, the evening service was a relatively recent BSIP funded introduction?

 

[Teapot42]

It appears to leave Morton without a bus service, looking at the link the rest of the route seems pretty much as it was between Chesterfield -Alfreton.

The timetable looks to be very tight aswell, traffic often backs up on the approach to Alfreton.

I was thinking the same. They've actually cut a minute off the run to Clay Cross, in my experience that could have done with a bit adding. Overall it's 15 minutes less than Hulleys timings. They were tight, and no way Morton saves more than about 10 minutes.

Hulleys did have a lot of padding between Shirland and Alfreton, but needed it.

This has the feeling of trying to squeeze too much out of two buses. I wonder if it'll get as much criticism as Hulleys did for late running when trying the same thing...