Transdev Blazefield

[northernchris]

I like the message they are promoting, especially if it helps to attract and retain staff. Could be a nightmare to match up the panels though if they need replacing

 

[Deerfold]

And disappointingly there's still uncovered boards with no updates on social media and no cancellations showing on the next bus boards like First are managing to do. Last week a new return trip was added on the 60 in the AM peak however I don't think this has run at all yet. It would make sense to remove these 2 journeys rather than consistently fail to deliver

The new 0728 didn't run this morning (unless it was very late). I needed to get from Keighley Bus Station to the far side of Dalton Lane in this morning's downpour. I bailed at 0724 (when the 60 hadn't arrived and was still just showing a time) and got the 662 to Asda and walked the rest of the way. The 60 didn't pass me.

 

[northernchris]

The new 0728 didn't run this morning (unless it was very late). I needed to get from Keighley Bus Station to the far side of Dalton Lane in this morning's downpour. I bailed at 0724 (when the 60 hadn't arrived and was still just showing a time) and got the 662 to Asda and walked the rest of the way. The 60 didn't pass me.

It's not great, I now assume that anything showing scheduled times is cancelled as they still aren't providing any communication on disrupted journeys. A couple of weeks ago it was mainly the 662 which was taking the brunt of the missing trips, but its now spreading across the network. On Saturday the 60 had 4 round trips cancelled and this morning the first B3 to Hebden Bridge failed to run

 

[Andyh82]

I see that Roger French has done a blog about the current issues nationwide, and Transdev Blazefield have unsurprisingly come out of it well, as they’ve introduced a temporary timetable on the 36 and put a sign up in Harrogate Bus Station.

They are seen as an example of good practice compared to operators who are just cancelling stuff with no notice

Mmmm?

 

[RELL6L]

Mmmm. Just looked at Team Pennine. In some places I think the position looks slightly better than it was but still some big gaps.

20/21 - only 1 of 3 boards running this morning and nothing since lunchtime!
526/574 - only 2 of 3 boards running
546/561/562 - only 3 of 4 boards running
319 - only 2 of 3 boards running

Yesterday only 1 of the 2 boards on the 502 ran all day.

Is this correct - or do they have some vehicles that don't track on BusTimes?

Service Updates page says nothing. It still says the 574 is not running to Booth when clearly it is.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I see that Roger French has done a blog about the current issues nationwide, and Transdev Blazefield have unsurprisingly come out of it well, as they’ve introduced a temporary timetable on the 36 and put a sign up in Harrogate Bus Station.

They are seen as an example of good practice compared to operators who are just cancelling stuff with no notice

Mmmm?

RF does clearly like Transdev - they have similar ideas on how things should be done.

To my mind, it would be better to have a revised timetable rather than the random missing services - better to know your 20 min headway is now a robust 30 mins rather than pot luck. So in that respect, the 36 emergency timetable makes sense.

However, the Team Pennine operation is a case where they have got their priorities wrong and should have deferred the new route and focused on their existing services.

Transdev are not perfect but compared to what I experienced in Arriva Herts and Essex, they are on a different planet!

 

[Andyh82]

563 only seems to have 1 of 2 boards running as well

This is also even after services 514 & 532 have passed to South Pennine Community Transport

Also services 531 (Highroad Well) and 524 (Nursery Lane shorts) seem to have been withdrawn

So that's 3 boards removed from Halifax and they are still not operating another 5. They should have about 30ish including schools

 

[northernchris]

I see that Roger French has done a blog about the current issues nationwide, and Transdev Blazefield have unsurprisingly come out of it well, as they’ve introduced a temporary timetable on the 36 and put a sign up in Harrogate Bus Station.

They are seen as an example of good practice compared to operators who are just cancelling stuff with no notice

Mmmm?

There's a group of people in the industry who seem to think Transdev can do no wrong, so it comes as no surprise to hear Roger Ford is praising them. However there is some difference in the subsidiaries, Coastliner and Flyer (who I believe are managed as one) do tweet individual cancellations and/or at least update the next bus system so cancelled journeys are publicised. Harrogate and very hit and miss, even with the temporary timetable there were 2 consecutive cancelled journeys out of Leeds on Saturday with no info, and due to the amount of waiting passengers the third bus left late despite being in on time so there was a gap of just over 50 minutes. Team Pennine and Keighley don't communicate anything and just expect people to wait indefinitely

 

[RustySpoons]

There's a group of people in the industry who seem to think Transdev can do no wrong, so it comes as no surprise to hear Roger Ford is praising them. However there is some difference in the subsidiaries, Coastliner and Flyer (who I believe are managed as one) do tweet individual cancellations and/or at least update the next bus system so cancelled journeys are publicised. Harrogate and very hit and miss, even with the temporary timetable there were 2 consecutive cancelled journeys out of Leeds on Saturday with no info, and due to the amount of waiting passengers the third bus left late despite being in on time so there was a gap of just over 50 minutes. Team Pennine and Keighley don't communicate anything and just expect people to wait indefinitely

Burnley are somewhere in the middle. Sometimes they'll tweet info of some of the services that aren't running. Other times they'll tweet nothing, other than promo stuff. Anyone who questions a missing service (having waited for it not knowing if it'll show) will just get the standard 'there's a driver shortage' response. Not very helpful.

 

[SCH117X]

On the subject of 36 vehicles not on 36 services this afternoon whilst driving one passed me with 727H School Bus emblazed full height of the front destination.

 

[Flange Squeal]

There's a group of people in the industry who seem to think Transdev can do no wrong, so it comes as no surprise to hear Roger Ford is praising them.

Yes, and they call themselves "The Ten Percent Club" (https://thetenpercentclub.co.uk/whoarewe.shtml).

But then I guess Roger might not know how much is being cancelled, given the company aren't even telling their passengers, presumably as to avoid showing publicly how bad their service is getting (and I can't imagine Alex is going to tell him himself, either).

 

[Deerfold]

My sister-in-law isn't a fan this evening.

She caught the 1355 502 from Keighley to Halifax. It was 15 minutes late because a 67 had taken off its wing mirror.

She got into Halifax, just missing a 562. The next 343 and 562 were cancelled with nothing about this on signs. She caught the next 343. This broke down, so she ended up catching a First service and walking the last mile (which she'd have done an hour earlier if she'd known about the cancellations). She was nearly 2 hours late getting home to her son who'd been waiting an hour or so to get in the house.

 

[northernchris]

Yes, and they call themselves "The Ten Percent Club" (https://thetenpercentclub.co.uk/whoarewe.shtml).

But then I guess Roger might not know how much is being cancelled, given the company aren't even telling their passengers, presumably as to avoid showing publicly how bad their service is getting (and I can't imagine Alex is going to tell him himself, either).

Thanks for sharing, wasn't aware of this group

 

[LOL The Irony]

My sister-in-law isn't a fan this evening.

She caught the 1355 502 from Keighley to Halifax. It was 15 minutes late because a 67 had taken off its wing mirror.

She got into Halifax, just missing a 562. The next 343 and 562 were cancelled with nothing about this on signs. She caught the next 343. This broke down, so she ended up catching a First service and walking the last mile (which she'd have done an hour earlier if she'd known about the cancellations). She was nearly 2 hours late getting home to her son who'd been waiting an hour or so to get in the house.

May I suggest telling her to write in and complain?

 

[Britannia94]

May I suggest telling her to write in and complain?

Risk with that is that Transdev will either ignore it or deny anything was wrong. I’ve never had anything against Transdev and always felt that there a cut above the rest but lately I feel that if you say anything negative about your experiences with them they will bury their head in the sand, or if you tweet them, you will be blocked. Im afraid this mindset they have lately isn’t doing them any favours.

 

[M803UYA]

Thanks for sharing, wasn't aware of this group

Wow. Reading that list is like a roll call of dysfunctional elements of the UK Bus Industry.

I have worked for one of those people and I'm reminded of the famous line Alec Guinness used in 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'.

'Quite possibly the worst commanding officer I've ever come across'

Such a group should perhaps be a little more circumspect given the absolute shower of operations they oversee.

And in two of those cases, in Yorkshire I often see vehicles from that fleet broken down at the side of the road, vehicles in exceptionally poor external condition (filler/bare metal/bare metal panels dented in before anyone gets to paint them) buses that aren't switched off at schools (presumably because they won't restart) and best of all the Johnny Cash 'one panel at a time' vehicle repaint processes. And I've been encountering their vehicles quite often over the last 12 months.

If this is indeed the 'model of how the bus industry should be run' then little wonder it is in the state it is in. And little wonder that these 'beacons' of the industry cannot get/retain staff.

I guess all the indeed reviews of these companies are an unreliable indicator of what they're actually like to work for.

Certainly it's not the happy rosy picture painted for the industry media to see.

 

[SCH117X]

Maybe people should be writing to / emailing the local press - nothing any business likes worse than the local rag painting a poor impression of them.

 

[theblackwatch]

Risk with that is that Transdev will either ignore it or deny anything was wrong. I’ve never had anything against Transdev and always felt that there a cut above the rest but lately I feel that if you say anything negative about your experiences with them they will bury their head in the sand, or if you tweet them, you will be blocked. Im afraid this mindset they have lately isn’t doing them any favours.

That is a totally different experience to what I have had - I've complained (in a constructive manner) on a couple of occasions. One I received an apology and a free day ticket, and the other (which was a more detailed e-mail to them), I got a response back from a manager the next day who went through all the points I had raised, along with an offer of a couple of free tickets. The fact I didn't receive a 'standard reply' was what quite impressed me.

 

[SCH117X]

Tweets below seem to indicate some acknowledgement of issues

https://twitter.com/TeamPennine/status/1442037568833564672

TeamPennine
@TeamPennine
·
Sep 24

Hi Mary, we try to update our cancellations in the Transdev Go app wherever possible. Some of these cancellations happen due to short-notice driver unavailability so it isn't always possible to Tweet.

and

TeamPennine
@TeamPennine
·
Sep 26

Replying to
@HuddsMary

@BusmanproY
and 10 others
Sorry to hear of your concerns Mary. We are doing our best amongst a national driver shortage and condition of buses we’ve inherited. Our comms need to improve and a new centre is being set up at Elland. Do DM us your contact dets /phone no, happy to discuss more with you.

 

[cnjb8]

Yes, and they call themselves "The Ten Percent Club" (https://thetenpercentclub.co.uk/whoarewe.shtml).

But then I guess Roger might not know how much is being cancelled, given the company aren't even telling their passengers, presumably as to avoid showing publicly how bad their service is getting (and I can't imagine Alex is going to tell him himself, either).

Some of the members are strange, the MD for Arriva in Milton Keynes?

 

[SCH117X]

Alex Hornby has issued a press release concerning driver shortages being quoted widely, here in York Press
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19615480.transdev-york-boss-plea-bus-driver-shortage/

A BUS company boss says his firm has almost 100 trainee drivers waiting more than three times longer than usual for licences and test dates.

Alex Hornby, CEO of Transdev, says bus services throughout the country continue to be affected by driver shortages.

Mr Hornby said so far, a relatively small number of journeys provided by Transdev across Yorkshire have had to be cancelled – but the bus firm says it fully realises the inconvenience caused and is thanking its customers for their patience, while it pulls out the stops to resolve a situation which the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) says has led to a shortage of more than 4,000 drivers nationwide.

The bus firm says prospective drivers at its training facility, The Academy, are currently waiting over three times longer than usual to get their licences and test dates confirmed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) – leading to delays in moving them forward from the classroom to the road.
Mr Hornby said: “We’re grateful to our colleagues and our customers for their patience with us – we understand entirely how frustrating it is when journeys are cancelled, and it’s the last thing we want to do – especially at a time when we’re attracting more people back to buses.

“We’re using social media and our Transdev Go mobile app, which tracks all our buses in real time, to keep customers informed – and we’re running a high-profile recruitment campaign highlighting the many benefits we offer to new drivers, including a £1,000 welcome bonus to those already holding a licence.
“Right now, we have 95 new colleagues at The Academy. They just want to complete their training and be out on the road serving our customers – but instead, they’re waiting over three times longer than usual to get licences and test dates confirmed from the DVSA. Now is the time our industry needs help to resolve these delays, so we can deliver services confidently and get people back on board. Most of our buse s are running as normal and we are attracting new drivers, so the current delays to licensing and testing are very frustrating.

“At an industry-wide level, we’re asking the Government to speed up the provisional licence applications and free up availability of theory and practical tests. We are also keen to introduce
our own delegated examiner to help process testing, but DVSA training needed to help us introduce these roles remains suspended. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to do all we can and continue our campaign to recruit more new drivers.”

 

[northernchris]

Alex Hornby has issued a press release concerning driver shortages being quoted widely, here in York Press
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19615480.transdev-york-boss-plea-bus-driver-shortage/

The problem is they aren't updating the app to show cancelled journeys and they are very selective with the tweets they respond to. Transdev are very good at deflecting and blaming others rather than addressing problems entirely within their control.

 

[RustySpoons]

The problem is they aren't updating the app to show cancelled journeys and they are very selective with the tweets they respond to. Transdev are very good at deflecting and blaming others rather than addressing problems entirely within their control.

They've never been entirely great at receiving criticism (depending on who it's from), but I've noticed that lately they've been getting worse. There's been quite a few needlessly snotty and passive aggressive Tweets from both the company accounts and management in reply to some genuine questions people have had recently, including one from Alex Hornby that ended 'I suggest you leave us alone' because it was pointed out that part of the driver shortage they're having was due to the new LCC contracts being taken on without enough drivers.

It isn't helped at all when some of the younger enthusiasts (who can be quite intense with their defending of the company) wade in and try and stick up for them, not realising the people they're getting aggressive with are just members of the public who are rightly annoyed that their bus isn't where it should be. It's embarrassing to read at times.

It's almost as though there's so much praise being banded about in the social media echo chamber between the '10% club' and a few others that anyone else's opinion is automatically wrong and worthless. They'll lay in to an operator who has contravision or third party advertising on their buses, operates a bus with Urban 90 seats or rattles, or sends a bus out in an anonymous livery or with a piece of paper in the windscreen yet when anyone points out, correctly I may add, that Transdev do all of the above they're instantly shot down/ignored/blocked.

 

[philthetube]

Alex Hornby has issued a press release concerning driver shortages being quoted widely, here in York Press
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19615480.transdev-york-boss-plea-bus-driver-shortage/

Can companies not still employ their own testers? If yes, then I would have thought Transdev were big enough for it to be worthwhile.

 

[RustySpoons]

Can companies not still employ their own testers, if yes, then I would have thought Transdev were big enough for it to be worthwhile.

I believe they're trying to get their own examiners, but they're being held up by the DVSA.

 

[RELL6L]

The problem is they aren't updating the app to show cancelled journeys and they are very selective with the tweets they respond to. Transdev are very good at deflecting and blaming others rather than addressing problems entirely within their control.

The problems aren't entirely within their control. At least in part the shortage of drivers is due to a complacent government that cannot bear to acknowledge B****t as having any negative effects at all and therefore finds it very difficult to actually address them.

But what is in their control is (1) how they choose to prioritise what gets run and what gets chopped and (2) how to publicise this. Transdev, notably Team Pennine, do not appear to be making that good a fist of the first part and certainly not the second.

 

[Ken H]

The problems aren't entirely within their control. At least in part the shortage of drivers is due to a complacent government that cannot bear to acknowledge B****t as having any negative effects at all and therefore finds it very difficult to actually address them.

But what is in their control is (1) how they choose to prioritise what gets run and what gets chopped and (2) how to publicise this. Transdev, notably Team Pennine, do not appear to be making that good a fist of the first part and certainly not the second.

Struggling to see how brexit stopped HGV and PSV tests. That was a covid thing. And paying bus and lorry drivers a few pence over minimum wage won't be helping either.

 

[RELL6L]

Struggling to see how brexit stopped HGV and PSV tests. That was a covid thing. And paying bus and lorry drivers a few pence over minimum wage won't be helping either.

Agreed Transdev aren't helping themselves, but it is not entirely within their control. For example delays in PSV tests are not within their control. The need for extra tests was due, in part, to drivers leaving due to Brexit and not being replaced. Covid restrained demand for a while and now that demand has returned and the supply of labour isn't there (in many different industries) there is a need for measures, such as increased testing capacity. The government can't admit Brexit has caused anything bad and so did not prepare for what was bound to happen when demand recovered.

But let's not get into Brexit arguments. I am sure everyone can agree there are plusses and minuses and the debate is how these balance and there are better places than a rail/bus forum to debate it!

 

[RustySpoons]

Agreed Transdev aren't helping themselves, but it is not entirely within their control. For example delays in PSV tests are not within their control. The need for extra tests was due, in part, to drivers leaving due to Brexit and not being replaced. Covid restrained demand for a while and now that demand has returned and the supply of labour isn't there (in many different industries) there is a need for measures, such as increased testing capacity. The government can't admit Brexit has caused anything bad and so did not prepare for what was bound to happen when demand recovered.

But let's not get into Brexit arguments. I am sure everyone can agree there are plusses and minuses and the debate is how these balance and there are better places than a rail/bus forum to debate it!

Striking DVSA staff are also throwing many spanners into the works, especially as they already have a backlog of at least 54000 applications to sift through.

As Alex Hornby mentions in his article in the York Press, it must be deeply frustrating to have the newly qualified staff (either 47 or 95 depending on if you read the article or his Twitter feed) ready to go, but unable to actually put them out on the road because their licenses are being held up. In this respect Transdev are in a lose lose situation. They'll either be paying staff who can't work, or if they're not paying them their full salary until they can hit the road they run the risk of them leaving for another job.

---

In other news, it appears the £1 evening bus fares are here to stay until at least December, which is good news for evening travellers should you actually have an evening bus.

Lancashire County Council have put together a survey asking members of the public what they want from their bus. Unfortunately the closing date for the survey was yesterday (30th September), although as is the case with the relatively incompetent LCC it's still available.

Survey Login

wh1.snapsurveys.com

With the exception of evening buses (on LCC tendered services) Transdev already offer the vast majority of the 'improvements' they're asking about.

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of it.

 

[52290]

Striking DVSA staff are also throwing many spanners into the works, especially as they already have a backlog of at least 54000 applications to sift through.

As Alex Hornby mentions in his article in the York Press, it must be deeply frustrating to have the newly qualified staff (either 47 or 95 depending on if you read the article or his Twitter feed) ready to go, but unable to actually put them out on the road because their licenses are being held up. In this respect Transdev are in a lose lose situation. They'll either be paying staff who can't work, or if they're not paying them their full salary until they can hit the road they run the risk of them leaving for another job.

---

In other news, it appears the £1 evening bus fares are here to stay until at least December, which is good news for evening travellers should you actually have an evening bus.

Lancashire County Council have put together a survey asking members of the public what they want from their bus. Unfortunately the closing date for the survey was yesterday (30th September), although as is the case with the relatively incompetent LCC it's still available.

Survey Login

wh1.snapsurveys.com

With the exception of evening buses (on LCC tendered services) Transdev already offer the vast majority of the 'improvements' they're asking about.

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of it.

I've just filled in my LCC survey and it seems to have been accepted.