West Lothian buses

[TheGrandWazoo]

I do enjoy Roger French's blog. A man who knows his stuff, knows the realities of bus operation, and what works and what doesn't yet keeps a very balanced and level headed approach.

Whilst I don't know the area that well, and not the recent incursion, what he says would appear to make a lot of sense.

 

[overthewater]

It must be clear for all to see no one is hitting the ball out of the park.

 

[Driver362]

I think it is a fairly accurate opinion,but as most know I drive for lcb I for one would like more pax on board ,but as I spend !y full days and nights running alongside first buses I can note plenty of empty blue uses too ,and as witnessed the other day the blue buses break down also .as do ours but very rarely is this reported but our breakdown s.are announced on a near daily basis I do wonder what the thinking is introducing a 52 plate dart into the fleet is ? Thing I most wonder is what would happen to all all those buses ,drivers,depot etc going by the assessment of !r French we'll all be on the dole soon

 

[overthewater]

52 plates are for route 27 which don't need the big buses on it. The way Lothian is ALWAYS needing drivers I doubt most member of staff will be on the dole. The biggest problem for LCB is the lack of ridercard..

 

[Driver362]

With your wealth of knowledge maybe you should apply ? .They are ALWAYS looking for drivers before any new phase starts ,think that would be fairly self explanatory,wonder ow 'rerecruitment levels at deans are ? From what I see in our ranks and all those recruits just in a fair %of them are ex deans some with a good few years experience I may add ,now the ridacard thingy I've no idea about ,but ,I could always ask

 

[In Focus]

It’s about time, though surprised they went with the West Lothian services before the city ones first, should probably attract more passangers along with the new X18, still waiting for that West Lothian ridacard though..

Not sure contacless is a game changer to be honest ,maybe if LCB were introducing it and First didn't already have it in place it might be ,bit as it is in not sure it will encourage a glut of "new " passengers.

 

[In Focus]

With your wealth of knowledge maybe you should apply ? .They are ALWAYS looking for drivers before any new phase starts ,think that would be fairly self explanatory,wonder ow 'rerecruitment levels at deans are ? From what I see in our ranks and all those recruits just in a fair %of them are ex deans some with a good few years experience I may add ,now the ridacard thingy I've no idea about ,but ,I could always ask

Recruitment is one thing, retention is another ,Drivers will always move around companies both Stage Carriage and Private operators ,this will never change , the other side of That is the long serving guys who remain loyal to a single company but as they got older replacing them might just be a difficult challenge.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Not sure contacless is a game changer to be honest ,maybe if LCB were introducing it and First didn't already have it in place it might be ,bit as it is in not sure it will encourage a glut of "new " passengers.

I agree, contactless doesn't increase passenger numbers. It just speeds up journey times as more passengers make the switch so there's less time fiddling with cash and tickets.

 

[LiviCrazy]

I think it is a fairly accurate opinion,but as most know I drive for lcb I for one would like more pax on board ,but as I spend !y full days and nights running alongside first buses I can note plenty of empty blue uses too ,and as witnessed the other day the blue buses break down also .as do ours but very rarely is this reported but our breakdown s.are announced on a near daily basis I do wonder what the thinking is introducing a 52 plate dart into the fleet is ? Thing I most wonder is what would happen to all all those buses ,drivers,depot etc going by the assessment of !r French we'll all be on the dole soon

The thing is First started with a dreadful reputation, running beat up Plaxton Presidents for years that died on the way into Kirknewton a lot. They’ve updated their fleet and have improved reliability and therefore built reputation on top of a low point. It seems strange to me that Lothian would buy old, underpowered buses to run the route when Lothian are well reputed for reliability (though sometimes it’s self PR as I know a lot of people on the less frequent LB routes who struggle to get to work a lot of the time).

It seems strange to enter and area with older buses and more expensive fares. Not usually the way to enter a market.

 

[Jordan Adam]

The thing is First started with a dreadful reputation, running beat up Plaxton Presidents for years that died on the way into Kirknewton a lot. They’ve updated their fleet and have improved reliability and therefore built reputation on top of a low point. It seems strange to me that Lothian would buy old, underpowered buses to run the route when Lothian are well reputed for reliability (though sometimes it’s self PR as I know a lot of people on the less frequent LB routes who struggle to get to work a lot of the time).

It seems strange to enter and area with older buses and more expensive fares. Not usually the way to enter a market.

It's a classic sign of peoples egos getting ahead of themselves.

To me it seems that management had it in their head that passengers would see the "Lothian brand" and instantly switch. Clearly that's not been the case. The timing for Lothian wasn't ideal either, right after First done a big improvement to their network!

awaits angry member who works at Lothian to quote me

 

[Mwanesh]

It's a classic sign of peoples egos getting ahead of themselves.

To me it seems that management had it in their head that passengers would see the "Lothian brand" and instantly switch. Clearly that's not been the case. The timing for Lothian wasn't ideal either, right after First done a big improvement to their network!

awaits angry member who works at Lothian to quote me

Well said if they think First are giving up without a fight t hey are mistaken.This is turning out to be a nightmare for Lothian.Why cant Lothian stick to their territory.I have heard another silly idea that they should start a Glasgow service to take on the 900.

 

[overthewater]

LCB facebook has highlighted the fact the 12 year old single deckers will go in to service on Saturday. It would seem route 280 is the clue.

 

[Driver362]

The clue is in the name LOTHIAN i.e West Lothian ,'re comment about uses I agree to a certain extent but ,if the bus is running as it should with a.decent gear changing map on gearbox ecu a sensible road speed limiter for the diagrams operating area etc then the D9 B 260 is plenty powerful enough when running in those parameters they are a joy to drive ,but like firsts version they are constantly getting a blue related issues which makes them feel underpowered,that and DPF filters and in that situation they are tedious to drive !!! Granted I'm an employee but I'm no Lothian flag waver just an honest opinion it would appear though lotions ownB9's don't suffer as much ,which begs the question of why they didn't use there own ex stock as it was a known product from.New ,I wonder if Lothian were approached in an y way from WEST LOTHIAN 're running a.service ?? From what I witnessed today contactless was well received so we will see just just how much in the co min g weeks

 

[Driver362]

As opposed to 16 year old darts OTW ???

 

[overthewater]

As opposed to 16 year old darts OTW ???

Thats a valid point, however, 12 year old single deckers doesn't feel like LCB is upping its game. There have had a hard life down in Surry and then running up and down A1. Darts are pottering around on route 27, Lets be fair here is dead duck service. The only reason First has brought them in is because of the competition

I still have a bee in my bonnet over the company poor interaction with customers/passenger over the weekly and monthly ticket.

 

[Driver362]

Yeah I would agree with you there but think you know some of the reason not to ,cuts down on the full family using ticket i.e parents during the day kids nipping up the centre etc ,the ridacard is the one I would most like to see , what is a dead duck service or I'm I being thick here ?I'm all for honest and fair debate otw ,but unless our senior team is bareface lying to us then the numbers are going up I know I had close to a full seated load this afternoon !in fact I was late because of it ,but you learn something new every day on where they came from ,I was looking at one in the depot the other day and thought the rear exit exhaust loo!ed different I just assumed they were ex Lothian ,also the fact you don't see it's original reg mark ,they are wearing RIG marks

 

[overthewater]

A dead duck service is one that really is just borderline service that just covers its cost but provide main service for an area.

Thats a poor reason for not having it, especially since people within Edinburgh could do that. But it the workers who want be able to transfer it to any one else that is losing out on.

Of course the passenger numbers are going up, LCB has more bus routes, I dont doubt you managed to get full bus if your late.

 

[Driver362]

I must stress that is my opinion not LCB's !! I was late because of pax numbers not full bus because I was late ! If that's the reason we are getting increased numbers ,then as my previous post ,we must be getting told fibs but I don't think I will ever convince you otherwise friend so ,I won't bother

 

[overthewater]

I believe you Lothian getting more customers, I do believe you got a full bus, but I have yet to see anything side hit the ball out of the park or coming close to winning. This is a war, and every trick is needed.

 

[sam120]

The single deckers don’t seem to be out today?

 

[Driver362]

Must 't be ready ?

 

[overthewater]

Unless its Sunday for the new X18 duties?

 

[VioletEclipse]

The single deckers don’t seem to be out today?

Lothian just posted a photo on Flickr of one of them screened for service 280.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Lothian just posted a photo on Flickr of one of them screened for service 280.

I think that photo of the "New single decker" is one from a set they took the other day.

 

[Gingerbus1991]

Has 591/592/593/594 been painted yet?

 

[VioletEclipse]

Has 591/592/593/594 been painted yet?

As far as I'm aware they are all still plain white.

 

[overthewater]

N28 was giving away free Irn Bru and tea cakes, this weekend. Thats one way to get the punters in.

 

[VioletEclipse]

N28 was giving away free Irn Bru and tea cakes, this weekend. Thats one way to get the punters in.

Lothian are doing everything they can to get more passengers! In the West Lothian style it seems.

 

[SpeedbirdA350]

Anyone have a link to that "new" bus pic? I could not see anything when i searched. Thanks

 

[Gingerbus1991]

Anyone have a link to that "new" bus pic? I could not see anything when i searched. Thanks

Screenshot from twitter.