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Post by driver6540 on Dec 7, 2010 20:34:59 GMT 1
The way that post turned out, also shows i know a lot less about how to use a computer than other forum members too, for that i apologise. I do hope you got the jist of that post though. Old dogs/new tricks syndrome.
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Post by PinkHours on Dec 7, 2010 23:43:07 GMT 1
Bet thats a kick in the teeth unless they transferr the newer ones out and replace them with older buses from fleets nationwide. 2 Ex Stagecoach Lincolnshire/Roadcar Darts and a Volvo Olympian have already been transfered to Preston, the 1st of many sheds buses to move to Preston before it's wound up?
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kendall17
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Post by kendall17 on Dec 8, 2010 0:03:31 GMT 1
Surley now, with them being seperate entities, transfers of such sort cannot take place?
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Post by PinkHours on Dec 8, 2010 0:15:51 GMT 1
Surley now, with them being seperate entities, transfers of such sort cannot take place? I imagine there may be some loopholes.
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Post by dwarfer1979 on Dec 8, 2010 9:14:33 GMT 1
Following the previous posts on this subject it would appear Transdev are the favourites, but surely if they are successful it would leave them wide open to competition with Stagecoach to win back the routes theyve lost during this process. I will openly admit I probably know a lot less about the bus industry as a whole than most other forum members, but i do feel Transdev will not be able to compete with Stagecoach and its financial muscle. Transdev are just not big enough and will be blown out of the water should a bus war start in Preston, due to the CC descision. Feel free to tell me if im wrong, but wouldnt First or Arriva be a better bet for the Preston townsfolk. My reasoning is they would be less likely to buckle during competition with Brian Souters army. www.stagecoachbus.com/serviceupdatedetails.aspx?Id=1873This is forgetting that Transdev are more than just the UK operations, Transdev are in fact one of the largest transport operators in the world (think of them as a French version of First only much more so) and about to get bigger as they merge with Veolia Transport. There is a question over whether they have the management expertise to handle a competitive environment, although Yellow Buses in Bournemouth show they can do it (shame that is part of the operation going to RATP to buy out their shareholding as part of the merger deal). Also Stagecoach would have to be very careful over competition with Preston Bus due to the OFT/CC involvement (if there isn't an explicit no-competition for x years written into the ruling) as any attempt to drive the new Preston Bus off the road would have them up before the OFT/CC again. From Stagecoach's view someone like Transdev would be a preferable buyer, large & financial stable to handle the costs of stabilising a business that was in financial difficulty before Stagecoach took-over (so not likely to need to sell out due to shortage of funds in a few years to a more dangerous company), but not aggressively expansionist (or involved in current or historical spats with Stagecoach like First) so enabling some peaceful co-existence and enabling Stagecoach to develop their remaining Ribble operations without too much upheaval. Transdev would also probably be a better choice for the passengers than certain other groups due to their better investment record.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Dec 8, 2010 14:55:40 GMT 1
Surley now, with them being seperate entities, transfers of such sort cannot take place? Would they be sold to Preston Bus as opposed to a straightforward transfer between ops.
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kendall17
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Justice for the 96!
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Post by kendall17 on Dec 8, 2010 18:39:09 GMT 1
Surley now, with them being seperate entities, transfers of such sort cannot take place? Would they be sold to Preston Bus as opposed to a straightforward transfer between ops. Probably right. Same goes the other way. Which, unless Stagecoach dont have an order in for 2011, then they have every right to do so. Sure there'll be some rules set by the OFT/whoever is overseeing the sale.
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Post by driver6540 on Dec 8, 2010 21:30:06 GMT 1
This is forgetting that Transdev are more than just the UK operations, Transdev are in fact one of the largest transport operators in the world (think of them as a French version of First only much more so) and about to get bigger as they merge with Veolia Transport. There is a question over whether they have the management expertise to handle a competitive environment, although Yellow Buses in Bournemouth show they can do it (shame that is part of the operation going to RATP to buy out their shareholding as part of the merger deal). Also Stagecoach would have to be very careful over competition with Preston Bus due to the OFT/CC involvement (if there isn't an explicit no-competition for x years written into the ruling) as any attempt to drive the new Preston Bus off the road would have them up before the OFT/CC again. From Stagecoach's view someone like Transdev would be a preferable buyer, large & financial stable to handle the costs of stabilising a business that was in financial difficulty before Stagecoach took-over (so not likely to need to sell out due to shortage of funds in a few years to a more dangerous company), but not aggressively expansionist (or involved in current or historical spats with Stagecoach like First) so enabling some peaceful co-existence and enabling Stagecoach to develop their remaining Ribble operations without too much upheaval. Transdev would also probably be a better choice for the passengers than certain other groups due to their better investment record. Thanks dwarfer, for bringing me up to speed with a few things i was unaware of. I note with interest your mentioning of the proposed merger between Transdev and Veolia. i seem to remember reading about this before, possibly on this forum. Going off-topic slightly, i was wondering how this will work. Is it a takeover by the larger of the two companies?, or are both merging equally to create a new company?.
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Post by PinkHours on Dec 8, 2010 21:40:19 GMT 1
This is forgetting that Transdev are more than just the UK operations, Transdev are in fact one of the largest transport operators in the world (think of them as a French version of First only much more so) and about to get bigger as they merge with Veolia Transport. There is a question over whether they have the management expertise to handle a competitive environment, although Yellow Buses in Bournemouth show they can do it (shame that is part of the operation going to RATP to buy out their shareholding as part of the merger deal). Also Stagecoach would have to be very careful over competition with Preston Bus due to the OFT/CC involvement (if there isn't an explicit no-competition for x years written into the ruling) as any attempt to drive the new Preston Bus off the road would have them up before the OFT/CC again. From Stagecoach's view someone like Transdev would be a preferable buyer, large & financial stable to handle the costs of stabilising a business that was in financial difficulty before Stagecoach took-over (so not likely to need to sell out due to shortage of funds in a few years to a more dangerous company), but not aggressively expansionist (or involved in current or historical spats with Stagecoach like First) so enabling some peaceful co-existence and enabling Stagecoach to develop their remaining Ribble operations without too much upheaval. Transdev would also probably be a better choice for the passengers than certain other groups due to their better investment record. Thanks dwarfer, for bringing me up to speed with a few things i was unaware of. I note with interest your mentioning of the proposed merger between Transdev and Veolia. i seem to remember reading about this before, possibly on this forum. Going off-topic slightly, i was wondering how this will work. Is it a takeover by the larger of the two companies?, or are both merging equally to create a new company?. I get the impression Veolia are shrinking their UK operations. They've lost their National Express work from Nottingham, I saw somewhere that they've lost lots of work in Wales and the Veolia operation in South Yorkshire is apparently being scaled down too.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Dec 8, 2010 22:20:30 GMT 1
If you look in this week's route one mag, Veolia Cymru have received a rather hefty fine from the TC and had their license reduced.
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Post by PinkHours on Dec 8, 2010 22:37:34 GMT 1
If you look in this week's route one mag, Veolia Cymru have received a rather hefty fine from the TC and had their license reduced. Aye, that's what I was talking about.
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Post by mollman on Dec 9, 2010 18:49:42 GMT 1
How about two other groups Stagecoach have a history of (fairly) peaceful existance with - EYMS group and Wellglade?
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Post by driver6540 on Dec 10, 2010 21:27:11 GMT 1
How about two other groups Stagecoach have a history of (fairly) peaceful existance with - EYMS group and Wellglade? Unlikely, that theyll be in the running to take over Preston Bus though.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Dec 11, 2010 16:30:50 GMT 1
I read in the North West bus forum that Transdev are reluctant to buy PrestonBus, even though it looks like a logical fit, due to the matter of pension funds and a reluctance to acquire operations Stagecoach were forced to sell. They are happy to take up routes deregistered by Stagecoach though.
I doubt Stagecoach will sell to First unless inevitable, such as the 20% stakes in Strathclyde Buses and Mainline, and parts of Stagecoach USA.
I think Go-Ahead are the frontrunners as they are mopping up operations in new areas of the country, such as Plymouth and KonectBus. I expect they did unsuccessfully bid for Wardle Transport too.
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jc
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Post by jc on Dec 11, 2010 19:41:29 GMT 1
I think Go-Ahead are the frontrunners as they are mopping up operations in new areas of the country, such as Plymouth and KonectBus. I expect they did unsuccessfully bid for Wardle Transport too. Stagecoach won't want another Oxford - but conversely, if they sold to Go-Ahead on the understanding of having an Oxford style partnership agreement, I'm not sure what the OfT could do about it?
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Jan 20, 2011 18:36:05 GMT 1
An interesting development on this, the Lancashire Evening Post reports Rotala as being the new owner of Preston Bus. However, no party seems to be confirming the sale yet. www.lep.co.uk/news/preston_bus_sold_again_1_2944222One comment below the article sums up the whole thing: "All I've seen since the Competition Commission passed their silly judgement is an extra £9 a week coming out of my wallet to get to work. Hooray for competition."
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Post by driver6540 on Jan 21, 2011 21:15:25 GMT 1
An interesting development on this, the Lancashire Evening Post reports Rotala as being the new owner of Preston Bus. However, no party seems to be confirming the sale yet. www.lep.co.uk/news/preston_bus_sold_again_1_2944222One comment below the article sums up the whole thing: "All I've seen since the Competition Commission passed their silly judgement is an extra £9 a week coming out of my wallet to get to work. Hooray for competition." Now that is interesting, quite a surprise really. I for one wouldnt have put money on Rotala being a contender, but if they can do the contract justice, good luck to them.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Jan 25, 2011 11:07:05 GMT 1
Well it has been confirmed today (Tuesday 25/1/11) that Rotala have purchases Preston Bus for £3.2m. This includes the depot and 85 buses.
John Gunn, Rotala chairman says: "This acquisition represents an exciting new phase in the development of the Rotala group. The extension of our network up the M6 to Preston will bring us a whole new presence in a wholly new area of operation where the development potential is considerable."
Source: RouteOne live news feed.
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Post by mollman on Jan 25, 2011 17:33:25 GMT 1
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Feb 10, 2011 20:37:24 GMT 1
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Post by mollman on Feb 10, 2011 21:03:18 GMT 1
Looks nice apart from the Bs which both look like graffitte
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kendall17
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Justice for the 96!
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Post by kendall17 on Feb 10, 2011 21:23:39 GMT 1
6 colours on there. Awful.
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Matty
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Post by Matty on Feb 10, 2011 23:08:35 GMT 1
Looks rather nice.
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Post by www.buseireann.ie on Feb 11, 2011 9:10:53 GMT 1
Would look a lot better if the silver part was white
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77syk7
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Post by 77syk7 on Feb 11, 2011 11:01:50 GMT 1
Too fussy - but it certainly stands out from the crowd
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