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Post by arriva on Jul 8, 2008 11:14:44 GMT 1
Just wondering if many people liked arriva's services because there seems to be a lot of hate for arriva on this forum.
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Post by arriva on Jul 8, 2008 11:18:45 GMT 1
Sorry about the spelling mistakes forgot to use spell check
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Post by jackh on Jul 8, 2008 14:41:18 GMT 1
I have rated the company as average. Yes, Arriva have changed the network a fair bit since 2000 with the overall PVR of Yorkshire's operations have dropped. However, it does look like things are starting to pick up with a steady increase in fleet renewal. It does seem that Arriva overall has neglected to their UK Regions over the last few years with concentration on expansion on the Continent.
Like with many bus companies, there is still room for improvement.
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Post by angrycommuter on Jul 8, 2008 15:23:53 GMT 1
Very Poor:
Expensive to use (no off peak tickets).
Unreliable
Uncomfortable buses
Terrible service off the core routes
Poor timekeeping
Many grumpy drivers with little or no concern for the passenger
Buses overcrowded at peak times
Many journeys take forever to get anywhere (e.g. 254 from Wakey to Leeds)
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Post by jackh on Jul 8, 2008 15:47:43 GMT 1
Out of interest those who have voted "very good" and "excellent". Can you explain why you made this choice...
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Post by jimbob90 on Jul 8, 2008 15:59:52 GMT 1
I voted "Very good" because in my opinion, the service provided to me by Arriva Yorkshire has been very good. My only complaints are that the fleet isn't maintained to the standards that I see as been acceptable.
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Post by jackh on Jul 8, 2008 16:09:31 GMT 1
I do feel that Arriva don't care about services beyond its core network of high frequency services. The fact they haven't attempted to undermine competition in the Five Towns just proves it.
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Post by jimbob90 on Jul 8, 2008 16:18:33 GMT 1
Don't get me wrong, I completely agree with your comments about competition in the Five Towns, but as a voter, I feel that the company provide myself with the quality of transport I require.
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Post by westyorkshirebus on Jul 8, 2008 17:53:00 GMT 1
Most improvements now are too little too late. In the 'Yorkshire West' area, besides the 202/203 and the 268, the routes have been reduced and rerouted with times changes so many times most passengers have left
Many frequencies have been reduced to the lowest they can get away with, hourly when they used to be every 30 mins etc. Whereas First seem to chip away at the edges but keep the core network stable, Arriva take a sledgehammer to practically every route
Up until recently, the number of low floor buses in this area was less than 50% which is not suitable in 2008.
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Post by Craig on Jul 8, 2008 18:54:18 GMT 1
I have voted 'very poor' - harshly some might say, but my main reasons (similar to angrycommuter's list) would be:
Unreliability - By far the worst operator I have personally experienced for both late running and no-show of services, and this is arguably the worst thing an operator can be guilty of.
Service changes - As mentioned many times previously, the rate at which they chop and change services is ridiculous, and goes completely against two other main principles of good bus operation besides reliability as mentioned in my last point, and these are service frequency and network stability.
Customer service - I'm not tarring all drivers with the same brush, and you can get bad people working in any organisation, but the majority of personal encounters with Arriva drivers I have had have been rude, unhelpful and uncaring. Another big minus point.
Finally I do find that Arriva just seem to run very slooooow bus services; I can't really explain this, other than to say that when I'm on their buses it seems like all time has slowed down and they seem to take longer than any other bus. But perhaps that's just me.
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Post by jackh on Jul 8, 2008 19:09:31 GMT 1
Can agree on the slowness of services! When I was on the 229 yesterday, the bus had arrived into Heckmondwike four minutes before than scheduled for its two minutes standing time.
Furthermore, between Bradley Woodman Inn and Huddersfield, it gives the bus 17 minutes to do the trip, we were there in ten. So in two cases, the bus is early by more than a minute ahead of schedule which is the time VOSA finds acceptable.
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Post by Arriva Wakefield on Jul 9, 2008 1:38:30 GMT 1
Many journeys take forever to get anywhere (e.g. 254 from Wakey to Leeds) I don't think anyone is expected to use the 254 (or similar routes like the 173, 253 etc) throughout. They are intended to be used for short intermediate journeys. |
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Post by guyarab on Jul 9, 2008 10:20:29 GMT 1
Very Poor: Expensive to use (no off peak tickets). Unreliable Uncomfortable buses Terrible service off the core routes Poor timekeeping Many grumpy drivers with little or no concern for the passenger Buses overcrowded at peak times Many journeys take forever to get anywhere (e.g. 254 from Wakey to Leeds) I voted the same way and am in total agreement with this posting. I have another gripe. Evinings we have services running into Dewsbury near enough every 15 minutes upto the hour and then nothing for the next half hour. Journeys from Dewsbury work the opposite way, i.e. at 00, 15 and 35 mins., then nothing. I am told it is because each service terminates at totally different locations, in Wakefield, Bradford and Bradford respectively. They must be able to construct a timetable giving even times over the common part of the route to help local passengers surely? |
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Post by angrycommuter on Jul 9, 2008 13:02:43 GMT 1
I know what the poster above means when they mention that using an arriva bus is like travelling in slow motion. Their buses do seem to take forever to get to their destinations. I used to get the 254 to Dewsbury, and it used to wait for almost 10 minutes in Heckmondwike (having arrived earlier than timetabled). The 220 service to Leeds takes over 90 minutes to travel the 10 or so miles from Roberttown!
On a similar note - the thing that used to really annoy me was when a driver change came about (mostly Hecky drivers). The bus arrives and the driver bails out, leaving the passengers alone on the bus. Any chav or delinquent could easily start the engine and speed off. The replacement drivers nearly always turn up later than the scheduled departure time, safe in the knowledge that the timetable is so slack that the bus will still reach it's destination early.
If you try to complain to Arriva, they try to blame "traffic conditions" for almost everything. I did get a few vouchers for free travel, but most of the time the response I got made me even more annoyed. This, along with other gripes, made me stop using the buses and start to drive to work.
Incidentally, I did use the X61 and X62 quite a bit when Stagecoach ran services to Leeds. These were almost always on time, the timetable was much quicker than Arriva and the service just generally felt better. It's a shame Arriva own 40% of Huddersfield Bus Co., otherwise they might have been tempted to compete on services from Huddersfield where Arriva have a complete monopoly.
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Post by willowbuff on Jul 9, 2008 15:55:03 GMT 1
I live in chequerfield in pontefract and when south yorkshire motors started a couple of years ago arrive decided to put more busses on and then when shouth yorkshire stopped running they are planning on stopping ALL services in september but i notice M travel are running a couple of 487's during the day so will arriva keep 1 service on at about the same time.
i mean at the moment if you miss a bus by a second you have no need to worry as there will be another in a few minutes but yet when no other companies run arriva always seem to change there time and routes until another service starts then they put more on.
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