wibble
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Post by wibble on Aug 9, 2020 13:27:48 GMT 1
First Huddersfield have lost the contract for the Uni from September, however the First Bus Yellow Bus (lower rate of pay and less generous T & Cs) won it on a revised bid due to competition.
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Post by DW1 on Aug 27, 2020 20:30:41 GMT 1
First Huddersfield have lost the contract for the Uni from September, however the First Bus Yellow Bus (lower rate of pay and less generous T & Cs) won it on a revised bid due to competition. Wow that’s huge if First Bus have lost the contract for the 398/399! When you say First’s yellow bus division have won the route, do you mean that yellow school buses are taking over? |
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jst
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Post by jst on Aug 27, 2020 20:47:40 GMT 1
I used the Uni bus daily when I was at Huddersfield Uni in 2005, First have held this one for a long time!
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wibble
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Posts: 204
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Post by wibble on Aug 27, 2020 23:11:04 GMT 1
First Huddersfield have lost the contract for the Uni from September, however the First Bus Yellow Bus (lower rate of pay and less generous T & Cs) won it on a revised bid due to competition. Wow that’s huge if First Bus have lost the contract for the 398/399! When you say First’s yellow bus division have won the route, do you mean that yellow school buses are taking over? The yellow school bus drivers are taking over using service buses transferred to the 'school bus fleet'. Yellow school busDrivers are on less money and less generous terms and conditions compared to service bus drivers. |
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Post by DW1 on Aug 27, 2020 23:34:30 GMT 1
Wow that’s huge if First Bus have lost the contract for the 398/399! When you say First’s yellow bus division have won the route, do you mean that yellow school buses are taking over? The yellow school bus drivers are taking over using service buses transferred to the 'school bus fleet'. Yellow school busDrivers are on less money and less generous terms and conditions compared to service bus drivers. So the route is remaining with First at OFL? I'd say that's a bit of a downgrade IMO. I don't use the service anymore but the allocated buses were falling apart - us students deserve a better quality service |
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Post by gledhill56 on Aug 28, 2020 1:37:01 GMT 1
So the route is remaining with First at OFL? I'd say that's a bit of a downgrade IMO. I don't use the service anymore but the allocated buses were falling apart - us students deserve a better quality service Those of us on normal routes can’t get decent buses (or a decent service beyond 5 buses a day pre Covid when we used to have 4 an hour) so what makes you think uni students will get better buses? |
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joseph
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Post by joseph on Aug 28, 2020 6:11:26 GMT 1
DW1, better quality, where do you think Huddersfield is, Harrogate? Even the new buses in Leeds are looking shabby, caused of course by the customer, so you've no chance of getting a decent bus. One newish Leeds bus has gaffer tape on a seat covering where a sharp instrument has been used. It'd be a laugh if they actually allocated those BMCs to the route, which I believe they have done at times.
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Post by Arriva Wakefield on Aug 28, 2020 7:19:55 GMT 1
The yellow school bus drivers are taking over using service buses transferred to the 'school bus fleet'. Yellow school busDrivers are on less money and less generous terms and conditions compared to service bus drivers. So the route is remaining with First at OFL? I'd say that's a bit of a downgrade IMO. I don't use the service anymore but the allocated buses were falling apart - us students deserve a better quality service And Huddersfield have just gained 4 09 plate Gemini’s. Could we put 2+2 together, and say that it could be connected with this? |
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wibble
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Post by wibble on Aug 28, 2020 7:44:16 GMT 1
So the route is remaining with First at OFL? I'd say that's a bit of a downgrade IMO. I don't use the service anymore but the allocated buses were falling apart - us students deserve a better quality service And Huddersfield have just gained 4 09 plate Geminis.Could we put 2+2 together, and say that it could be connected with this? The work was already covered by Huddersfield depot so it's more like an internal transfer The extra 4 B9s are because of peak/school. duplicates and taking back 4 503 boards Mon - Fri and 3 on a Sat. |
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Post by dwarfer1979 on Aug 28, 2020 8:34:50 GMT 1
The yellow school bus drivers are taking over using service buses transferred to the 'school bus fleet'. Yellow school busDrivers are on less money and less generous terms and conditions compared to service bus drivers. So the route is remaining with First at OFL? I'd say that's a bit of a downgrade IMO. I don't use the service anymore but the allocated buses were falling apart - us students deserve a better quality service That route has never had 'decent' (i.e: relatively young) vehicles, somewhat unusually for a Uni contracted service there never appears to be any quality considerations involved. When I was at Huddersfield Uni 20-years ago it was ex-GM Atlanteans older than the students being carried replaced half-way through by ex London Metrobus Mk.1's that could barely climb the hill up to the Halls with a full load, I could have walked up the hill quicker than the Metrobuses were going by the entrance to Storthes Hall (I was always pleased to see an older Atlantean turn up as in comparison they romped up the hill). The change in operating unit doesn't say anything about the vehicle quality, merely that the drivers will be coming from a lower cost contract unit than the main pool of drivers - though that indication of an emphasis on low cost for contract award wouldn't indicate any push for a better standard of vehicles. |
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Post by DW1 on Sept 30, 2020 23:48:03 GMT 1
So the route is remaining with First at OFL? I'd say that's a bit of a downgrade IMO. I don't use the service anymore but the allocated buses were falling apart - us students deserve a better quality service That route has never had 'decent' (i.e: relatively young) vehicles, somewhat unusually for a Uni contracted service there never appears to be any quality considerations involved. When I was at Huddersfield Uni 20-years ago it was ex-GM Atlanteans older than the students being carried replaced half-way through by ex London Metrobus Mk.1's that could barely climb the hill up to the Halls with a full load, I could have walked up the hill quicker than the Metrobuses were going by the entrance to Storthes Hall (I was always pleased to see an older Atlantean turn up as in comparison they romped up the hill). The change in operating unit doesn't say anything about the vehicle quality, merely that the drivers will be coming from a lower cost contract unit than the main pool of drivers - though that indication of an emphasis on low cost for contract award wouldn't indicate any push for a better standard of vehicles. I agree, for a uni bus service, the current provision before coronavirus was quite poor. It's the only way out of Storthes Hall if you don't have a car, however it doesn't help that the bus only runs every 30 minutes compared to services at other unis which run more frequently and even through the night too. When I stayed at Storthes Hall two years ago, the Volvo B7TL's allocated - although nice buses - were less than adequate to use on a uni bus route. Thankfully it appears 30949-30953/30956 have now been relegated to school buses so I wonder if those 09 reg Gemini's are now for the 398/399? Would be great if Huddersfield gained some more modern buses to used on the 398/399 and the contract change would have been the ideal time to do so, Enviro400 MMC's like First have for the Bath Uni bus services would have been ideal! Sadly it seems First don't invest so much in Hudds. |
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Post by dwarfer1979 on Oct 1, 2020 8:19:30 GMT 1
That route has never had 'decent' (i.e: relatively young) vehicles, somewhat unusually for a Uni contracted service there never appears to be any quality considerations involved. When I was at Huddersfield Uni 20-years ago it was ex-GM Atlanteans older than the students being carried replaced half-way through by ex London Metrobus Mk.1's that could barely climb the hill up to the Halls with a full load, I could have walked up the hill quicker than the Metrobuses were going by the entrance to Storthes Hall (I was always pleased to see an older Atlantean turn up as in comparison they romped up the hill). The change in operating unit doesn't say anything about the vehicle quality, merely that the drivers will be coming from a lower cost contract unit than the main pool of drivers - though that indication of an emphasis on low cost for contract award wouldn't indicate any push for a better standard of vehicles. I agree, for a uni bus service, the current provision before coronavirus was quite poor. It's the only way out of Storthes Hall if you don't have a car, however it doesn't help that the bus only runs every 30 minutes compared to services at other unis which run more frequently and even through the night too. When I stayed at Storthes Hall two years ago, the Volvo B7TL's allocated - although nice buses - were less than adequate to use on a uni bus route. Thankfully it appears 30949-30953/30956 have now been relegated to school buses so I wonder if those 09 reg Gemini's are now for the 398/399? Would be great if Huddersfield gained some more modern buses to used on the 398/399 and the contract change would have been the ideal time to do so, Enviro400 MMC's like First have for the Bath Uni bus services would have been ideal! Sadly it seems First don't invest so much in Hudds. This is a contracted service, so service specification is entirely based on what the University will specify & pay for rather than what the operator may provide on a commercial proposition. You also need to remember to compare like with like, the Bath Uni service is the main service to the Campus not merely a link from a single Halls (or group of Halls) to the Campus for a small proportion of the student body (even when I was staying at Storthes Hall it was one of 4 University owned Halls spread around the town and by the time I left there were as many privately owned Halls as well & growing). Generally those high profile University related services are the main bus to an out of town Campus and run through multiple student housing areas (particularly non-halls rented housing where 2nd & final year students live) and as such these produce much higher all-day volumes and will often have non-student related traffic as well. The Storthes Hall run is much more comparable in style and quality to a number of much lower profile such services at many Universities that I have come across (or that my employers have provided under contract or with partnership of Universities or private accommodation providers) where it is about providing the most service for the least cost as the students simply can't/won't bear the costs of such higher cost options as it will be spread over a relatively small pool of prospective passengers. |
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wibble
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Post by wibble on Oct 1, 2020 23:29:22 GMT 1
They try and put on ex zest 32520/1/2/3/4 as the uni specify WiFi which the old allocation also had.
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Post by michael1971 on Oct 2, 2020 14:13:00 GMT 1
i remember the Yorkshire rider Leyland fleetlines 7112/ 7120 / 7152 and 7153 on this service
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Post by DW1 on Nov 12, 2020 12:27:23 GMT 1
The new allocation for route 398 appears to be 32520-32525, the ex Zest branded buses. A small improvement at least.
Any idea what's replaced them on the 503?
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Nov 14, 2020 22:13:50 GMT 1
The new allocation for route 398 appears to be 32520-32525, the ex Zest branded buses. A small improvement at least. Any idea what's replaced them on the 503? I think Enviro 400s displaced from Leeds by new Streetdecks last year. |
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Post by Father Dougal McGuire on Nov 15, 2020 6:16:35 GMT 1
The new allocation for route 398 appears to be 32520-32525, the ex Zest branded buses. A small improvement at least. Any idea what's replaced them on the 503? I think Enviro 400s displaced from Leeds by new Streetdecks last year. Nothing replaced them on the 503. Enviros were meant for Leeds (green air zone) and Mixenden (push chair space) services. I certainly wouldn't take an Enviro on the 503 service, when they only do 5mph up hills now. |
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wibble
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Post by wibble on Nov 15, 2020 16:24:59 GMT 1
Huddersfield have taken over a couple more 503 boards as well. No buses transferred across though. Anything goes on the 503, generally the 376XX
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Post by DW1 on Jul 30, 2021 10:32:49 GMT 1
Seems as though the 398/399 timetables have been removed from the First website. I didn’t think they did the same this time last year while uni was on summer break. Are they resuming the service in September?
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