McGill's Buses - Renfrewshire & Inverclyde

[DunsBus]

That is incorrect, but this is not a forum for discussing the finer details of such an incident.

Happy to be corrected.

However, for someone to wish ill-will on McGill's on the back of this incident is bang out of order.

The general bias against McGill's which seems to exist on this forum

It's the same through in the east as well. McGill's can do no right, Lothian and its sister companies can do no wrong - an attitude which stems from First days.

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

Happy to be corrected.

However, for someone to wish ill-will on McGill's on the back of this incident is bang out of order.


It's the same through in the east as well. McGill's can do no right, Lothian and its sister companies can do no wrong - an attitude which stems from First days.

Personally I think having a certain bias one way or another reflects the public feeling of an operator, not always but often.

May we speak here about McGills not being happy about the potential of franchising of local bus services in the SPT area.

The fact of the matter is that McGills, like every other private firm, benefits from public funds in some way or other. At the end of the day it’s not as if them claiming victim of theft via franchising is surprising; surely they would still be able to turn a profit even within the realms of franchising?

McGill's in legal threat as SPT announces recommendation to franchise Glasgow buses

Bus operators have issued a robust early warning that they will take legal action over plans announced today by SPT to "move forward" with…

www.heraldscotland.com

Bus operators have issued a robust early warning that they will take legal action over plans announced today by SPT to "move forward" with bus franchising in Greater Glasgow.

Following years of agitating by transport campaigners, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has now said it will take a "dual approach" to change the way the bus network is organised in its catchment area.

Proposals will go before the board of the transport body on Friday with activists saying they will picket the meeting.
The SPT announcement was met with immediate hostility from the millionaire owners of McGill's Group, Sandy and James Easdale, who refer to franchising as "business confiscation" and "against natural justice".

 

[davido39]

Having briefly worked for McGill's I can tell you that even their newer buses broke down very often. In fact, it is why I quit. I've worked with some independents and even their buses did not break down as much as McGill's buses.

This accident was only a matter of time before it happened.

 

[GusB]

I don't think it's very helpful to speculate about the cause of the accident. The people who know the actual cause are unlikely to be able to share it on a platform such as this, so all we can do is rely on forthcoming news reports.

I'd also caution against making any unfounded allegations about any company or individual without having specific evidence to back up your claim.

On the subject of sharing news, if you are linking to an external site, you must provide a relevant quote along with the link.

 

[318266]

If I would have one suggestion towards management, fix running faults when they arise rather than when they develop into a bigger issue. Increases public perception as people see a well maintained bus, decreases driver apathy and prevents more serious issues that could develop from that fault.

I have noted that for the last 3 weeks to a month, 3347 looks to have had a bite taken out of it. Although I have not seen it in the last week so it might have been repaired, a bus running with the offside front top corner missing isn't a good look.

I am well aware that I have no experience in the field, but if it works for other operators then it can work for McGill's, surely?

 

[voidwxrranty]

If I would have one suggestion towards management, fix running faults when they arise rather than when they develop into a bigger issue. Increases public perception as people see a well maintained bus, decreases driver apathy and prevents more serious issues that could develop from that fault.

I have noted that for the last 3 weeks to a month, 3347 looks to have had a bite taken out of it. Although I have not seen it in the last week so it might have been repaired, a bus running with the offside front top corner missing isn't a good look.

I am well aware that I have no experience in the field, but if it works for other operators then it can work for McGill's, surely?

3347 has had that issue for nearing on 4 months now. It’s as if a drivers clipped a traffic light, and they have repaired it with gaffa tape.

 

[sannox]

McGill's operating a new service on behalf of Renfrewshire Council - 514 which runs from Bishopton through the Dargarvel village development to Braehead via the M8 motorway.

Timetable PDF -

https://www.spt.co.uk/media/iopnoub2/service-514.pdf

 

[megabusser]

McGill's operating a new service on behalf of Renfrewshire Council - 514 which runs from Bishopton through the Dargarvel village development to Braehead via the M8 motorway.

Timetable PDF -

https://www.spt.co.uk/media/iopnoub2/service-514.pdf

Interesting to see it being exclusively funded by Renfrewshire Council - I don’t remember seeing that before within ‘SPT-land’. Is that unique?

Looks like a potentially useful service, Braehead is so close but a pain (and expensive if via train and bus) to get to by public transport from Bishopton.

I must say at first glance that timetable is pretty hard to understand, with the same destination listed multiple times but going in different directions? There must be an easier way to present it!

 

[sannox]

Interesting to see it being exclusively funded by Renfrewshire Council - I don’t remember seeing that before within ‘SPT-land’. Is that unique?

Looks like a potentially useful service, Braehead is so close but a pain (and expensive if via train and bus) to get to by public transport from Bishopton.

I must say at first glance that timetable is pretty hard to understand, with the same destination listed multiple times but going in different directions? There must be an easier way to present it!

It is unusual. As far as I can see only the M7, wholly funded by East Renfrewshire Council, is the same. Possibly developer funding given both serve new estates.

It is tricky to interpret as it seems to be two services in one. A local service for Dargavel and Bishopton and a link between Bishopton and Braehead.

It seems to be Braehead to Bishopton Station. It then loops anti-clockwise around Dargavel back to Bishopton Station to terminate. It then leaves Bishopton Station does a loop around Dargavel to Bishopton Station then off directly to Braehead.

 

[overthewater]

Interesting to see it being exclusively funded by Renfrewshire Council - I don’t remember seeing that before within ‘SPT-land’. Is that unique?

Its not unique abut its extremely rare, West Dunbartonshire council once paid for a Direct bus from Clydebank to the new hospital. QE1?

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

On a side note, if local authorities wanted to take direct control of what gets subsidised instead of SPT how would they go about this.

Surely some of SPTs state funding would be diverted to the local authorities for this?

 

[Stan Drews]

The 514 is funded via developer funding (as is the M7), which goes through the relevant planning authority and doesn’t come out of SPTs budget for subsidised services. However, SPT manage the procurement process in the same way that they do any of their other tendered service contracts.
The revenue taken on both services goes to the authority rather than the operator, unlike the majority of SPT tendered routes.