Hulleys, the bus company that's badly failing?

[joseph]

Ever since Hulleys was taken over by a man called Alf, it's gone from being a well respected LOCAL bus company, to a very disrespected regional sham in my opinion. Yes when he took it over, it had limited ambition and may well have been in financial trouble given the limited services they ran at the time, and the falling passenger numbers using them, but in an over effort to serve everywhere throughout Derbyshire and beyond in the most unusual way possible, it's turned into a proper farce of a company. Take this report into the Breezer service, you couldn't get a more damming report, have a look at one comment about what drivers think about the owner, says a lot.

 busandtrainuser.com/2023/08/29/an-open-top-bus-bonanza-part-2-1-the-peak-district-breezer/ 

Why doesn't someone rein this guy in before he destroys the reputation of public transport in the peak district, driver shortages and endless insulting rants about bad parking and unplanned roadworks have been going on for some time now, no wonder the powers that be in Derbyshire Council don't let him know when they're closing a road. I personally have told him straight he was a fool for taking on far too many lengthy routes what clearly would never work in practice, take the X1 linking with the 257 via Manchester as well as the Airport, the 257 itself was bad enough, should only have ran to Glossop with deals done with Northern Rail and Stagecoach for through ticketing to Manchester on the train, and Ashton/Stalybridge (good for accessing walks) on the bus. The Seaside and Alton Towers buses were also asking for trouble, should have been pre-bookable only with only day returns available so nobody is left waiting for a duplicate, or worse still left behind because they can't sort one.

Let's not forget the mess local routes themselves are in, Youlegrave residents for example must be wondering which number bus he'll draw out today it's changed that many times!

[stephen01]

Aug 29, 2023 12:10:24 GMT 1 joseph said:

Ever since Hulleys was taken over by a man called Alf, it's gone from being a well respected LOCAL bus company, to a very disrespected regional sham in my opinion. Yes when he took it over, it had limited ambition and may well have been in financial trouble given the limited services they ran at the time, and the falling passenger numbers using them, but in an over effort to serve everywhere throughout Derbyshire and beyond in the most unusual way possible, it's turned into a proper farce of a company. Take this report into the Breezer service, you couldn't get a more damming report, have a look at one comment about what drivers think about the owner, says a lot.

 busandtrainuser.com/2023/08/29/an-open-top-bus-bonanza-part-2-1-the-peak-district-breezer/ 

Why doesn't someone rein this guy in before he destroys the reputation of public transport in the peak district, driver shortages and endless insulting rants about bad parking and unplanned roadworks have been going on for some time now, no wonder the powers that be in Derbyshire Council don't let him know when they're closing a road. I personally have told him straight he was a fool for taking on far too many lengthy routes what clearly would never work in practice, take the X1 linking with the 257 via Manchester as well as the Airport, the 257 itself was bad enough, should only have ran to Glossop with deals done with Northern Rail and Stagecoach for through ticketing to Manchester on the train, and Ashton/Stalybridge (good for accessing walks) on the bus. The Seaside and Alton Towers buses were also asking for trouble, should have been pre-bookable only with only day returns available so nobody is left waiting for a duplicate, or worse still left behind because they can't sort one.

Let's not forget the mess local routes themselves are in, Youlegrave residents for example must be wondering which number bus he'll draw out today it's changed that many times!

well it's been announced today they are taking over Kent based Go-Coach.

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[smithy]

Seen a go coach in Sheffield today running a service

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2023 16:12:16 GMT 1 smithy said:

Seen a go coach in Sheffield today running a service

They've loaned/bought a few Go-Coach vehicles over the past year or so, including an Optare Solo (now repainted), a Solo SR, Versa & a couple of E400s

[joseph]

Just when you think things have settled a bit and Alf has cut back on silly decisions he goes on to do this! We now know though that this guy is loaded hence why Hulleys didn't fold sooner, unless it turns out he's sold Hulleys? Personally, I'd ditch the Hulleys side and just concentrate on Go Coach as Hulleys reputation with the public isn't that great nowadays. It's a firm that should just concentrate on tendered services, nothing else, leave the rest for DCC to either fund or for other firms to cover.

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2023 17:48:25 GMT 1 joseph said:

Just when you think things have settled a bit and Alf has cut back on silly decisions he goes on to do this! We now know though that this guy is loaded hence why Hulleys didn't fold sooner, unless it turns out he's sold Hulleys? Personally, I'd ditch the Hulleys side and just concentrate on Go Coach as Hulleys reputation with the public isn't that great nowadays. It's a firm that should just concentrate on tendered services, nothing else, leave the rest for DCC to either fund or for other firms to cover.

Isn't the 170 & 271/2 the only remaining commercial routes? Everything else seems to have some sort of DCC funding so I'm not sure what your point is as I'd bet those 2 routes carry more than the rest of the network combined. From my last couple of trips to the area their driver shortage seems to have calmed down so there's nothing really to achieve by getting rid of remaining commercial routes.

[kayden11]

Yeah I can't fault them.for trying the weird and wacky routes, however at least they had the decency to withdraw them and nit carry on muddling through and knocking services, besides the late evening 257 are withdrawn due to staffing issues, maybe buying another company may bring other resources to operate dcc routes when they get up.to.staffing levels,

[joseph]

I'm sure the 172 is partly commercial, so too will many Summer journeys such as those on the 173, 275 etc, but the point I'm getting at is everything settled down, or so I thought, after the farce of the Breezer service was which was a joke from the start, how the hell did he expect to get away with a timetable that broke the speed limit! So, like I say all seemed to settle down a bit, then he goes and buys a firm miles from Derbyshire, what will he do, helicopter drivers between both counties? He's better off just concentrating on one firm. As for the decency to withdraw routes, the X1 only ran for 1 day and resulted in a number of amended routes that were amended so as not to be in competition with this commercial venture having to be re-amended to cover the areas left without a service! The words flaiming clot spring to mind when it comes to a farce like that!

[Deleted]

Dec 6, 2023 17:02:54 GMT 1 joseph said:

I'm sure the 172 is partly commercial, so too will many Summer journeys such as those on the 173, 275 etc, but the point I'm getting at is everything settled down, or so I thought, after the farce of the Breezer service was which was a joke from the start, how the hell did he expect to get away with a timetable that broke the speed limit! So, like I say all seemed to settle down a bit, then he goes and buys a firm miles from Derbyshire, what will he do, helicopter drivers between both counties? He's better off just concentrating on one firm. As for the decency to withdraw routes, the X1 only ran for 1 day and resulted in a number of amended routes that were amended so as not to be in competition with this commercial venture having to be re-amended to cover the areas left without a service! The words flaiming clot spring to mind when it comes to a farce like that!

GoCoach are a firm with a good reputation, fairly modern fleet & turns over an OK profit considering the areas it runs in, from a business point of view surely that ticks all the boxes of a good company to make a bid for.

Whilst it's not happened for a few years, it's not the first time a independent has bought another outside of it's original operating area with previous examples having mixed results ( Rotala expanding into West Mids v Centrebus into West Yorkshire for example). At the moment things seem to be improving so I'm hopeful this takeover will have positive results.

[joseph]

Things down at Hulleys aren't going well by a long way, 41 journeys cancelled yesterday throughout most of it's network with the blame laid on multiple issues, this really is not good enough. Yes the bigger companies have similar issues but this is the prime reason why Hulleys need to reign it in and be more realistic with what they can reliably do. They are too wide spread, too thin on the ground, doing way too much for the resources they realistically have. Do you see Squarepeg having such issues? Hulleys must scale back to how they used to be before the takeover and if that's not commercially viable, or can be covered by Derbyshire Council leading to closure, then that's better than running into the ground with a big network, no customers, massive losses and finally closure with a big debt.

[SCH117X]

They seem to have embarked on some weird fleet renumbering presuambly based on that used by Go Coach.

3619 for Solar SR YK05CA0 - Go Coach have 2801, 3801, 3802, 3901, 3902
6311 and 6323 for two Enviro 200s - Go Coach have Enviro 200 MMCs 8343-8347

[stephen01]

Dec 18, 2023 23:30:14 GMT 1 SCH117X said:

They seem to have embarked on some weird fleet renumbering presuambly based on that used by Go Coach.

3619 for Solar SR YK05CA0 - Go Coach have 2801, 3801, 3802, 3901, 3902
6311 and 6323 for two Enviro 200s - Go Coach have Enviro 200 MMCs 8343-8347

YK05 CAO is a standard (or classic) Solo design. So with the fleetnumbering been adapted the first 2 digits are the seating capacity and the other two are supposed to be what number it is currently is in the current Hulley's fleet numbers.

[steve440]

Dec 18, 2023 23:30:14 GMT 1 SCH117X said:

They seem to have embarked on some weird fleet renumbering presuambly based on that used by Go Coach.

3619 for Solar SR YK05CA0 - Go Coach have 2801, 3801, 3802, 3901, 3902
6311 and 6323 for two Enviro 200s - Go Coach have Enviro 200 MMCs 8343-8347

Well at least that should help with service delivery then!!!

[i901]

Dec 18, 2023 23:30:14 GMT 1 SCH117X said:

They seem to have embarked on some weird fleet renumbering presuambly based on that used by Go Coach.

3619 for Solar SR YK05CA0 - Go Coach have 2801, 3801, 3802, 3901, 3902
6311 and 6323 for two Enviro 200s - Go Coach have Enviro 200 MMCs 8343-8347

First 2 digits are the total capacity (standing + seated), second 2 digits are the (former) Hulleys fleet number. So 3619 = capacity of 36, was Hulleys no 19.

I'm sure all the folk stood at bus stops in the middle of nowhere freezing their bits off because Hulleys have failed to show will appreciate the new fleet number stickers that have been applied...

[Deleted]

Hulleys have now issued an apology on their Facebook www.facebook.com/hulleys1921

We’re really sorry…

Over the past few months we’ve fallen way short of the standard of service you’re entitled to expect, and that we’d like to have provided.
In the main, this has been due to either a shortage of Drivers or a lack of availability of parts to repair buses. Neither of these problems have been unique to Hulleys, but because the services we run aren’t high frequency then any missing buses are more noticeable and have a greater impact.

Everybody here at Hulleys has been working hard to put things right and we’ve taken some big steps to try to get back on track. We’ve had another pay increase - the fifth since 2020 - to improve Driver recruitment and retention, and in the last three months we’ve embarked on the most intensive recruitment campaign we’ve ever done and now we finally have enough Drivers to be able to make service.

We’ve acquired another Operator to allow us to share parts stock and improve our buying power as some suppliers will only deal with larger firms as they struggle to maintain supply due to Brexit and other issues. It has also given us access to spare buses which will help out in the short term.

We now have enough buses to provide a full service thanks to our Engineering team of Dan, Tom, Slav and Rob who I would like to take this opportunity to thank for their hard work and going well above and beyond.

Some of you may have already spoken with Anna, who joined us recently and makes sure the phone is answered and that any updates are posted on social media. I know how annoying it is when a bus is late or doesn’t show, but please don’t be abusive, it’s just not right. I’d like to thank Anna for getting our customer service house in order, supported by Courtney, George, Alan and Matt who complete the office team.
I would also like to thank our Traffic Controllers - Jerry, Lee and Martyn - for trying to make sure we provide the best service we could in the most difficult circumstances. Although many times we fell far too short, they made sure that almost without fail schoolchildren got to and from school safely - remember the October floods?

Our amazing team of Drivers have tolerated levels of abuse from a minority of customers whose frustration spilled over into unacceptable behaviour including spitting and fighting. No matter how bad we might have been at times, our Drivers will always deserve due respect and while I cannot apologise enough for our failures, I won’t hesitate in standing up for our staff who have stuck with us through some very challenging times.

I would also like to mention the Local and School Bus Teams at Derbyshire County Council - in no particular order to Alan, Andrew, Chris, Clive, Deborah, Hayley, Ian, Jamie, Jane, Paulette and Phil for their patience and support during this difficult period.

We are under no illusions: we’ve got to now work tirelessly to even begin to rebuild the hard won reputation we once enjoyed, to make the Hulleys name one that people can be proud to work for and can rely upon. It isn’t going to happen overnight and there will be bumps along the road, but everybody here is committed to doing their very best.

Obviously we cannot turn the clock back, but we would like you to give us a chance to prove ourselves again. We know we’ve let people down, made people late for work, miss important appointments, ruined days out, disrupted plans, and again, I’m truly sorry.
We’re never going to be perfect, but we’re now in a position where we can give it a good go.

Alf Crofts
Managing Director

[joseph]

It's a start but if they'd have apologised for things like getting the X1 farce totally wrong, the timetable for the Breezer totally wrong and so on then their reputation may not have been as damaged.

[deerfold]

Dec 22, 2023 16:48:31 GMT 1 @cp2012 said:

Hulleys have now issued an apology on their Facebook www.facebook.com/hulleys1921

We’re really sorry…

Over the past few months we’ve fallen way short of the standard of service you’re entitled to expect, and that we’d like to have provided.
In the main, this has been due to either a shortage of Drivers or a lack of availability of parts to repair buses. Neither of these problems have been unique to Hulleys, but because the services we run aren’t high frequency then any missing buses are more noticeable and have a greater impact.

Everybody here at Hulleys has been working hard to put things right and we’ve taken some big steps to try to get back on track. We’ve had another pay increase - the fifth since 2020 - to improve Driver recruitment and retention, and in the last three months we’ve embarked on the most intensive recruitment campaign we’ve ever done and now we finally have enough Drivers to be able to make service.

We’ve acquired another Operator to allow us to share parts stock and improve our buying power as some suppliers will only deal with larger firms as they struggle to maintain supply due to Brexit and other issues. It has also given us access to spare buses which will help out in the short term.

We now have enough buses to provide a full service thanks to our Engineering team of Dan, Tom, Slav and Rob who I would like to take this opportunity to thank for their hard work and going well above and beyond.

Some of you may have already spoken with Anna, who joined us recently and makes sure the phone is answered and that any updates are posted on social media. I know how annoying it is when a bus is late or doesn’t show, but please don’t be abusive, it’s just not right. I’d like to thank Anna for getting our customer service house in order, supported by Courtney, George, Alan and Matt who complete the office team.
I would also like to thank our Traffic Controllers - Jerry, Lee and Martyn - for trying to make sure we provide the best service we could in the most difficult circumstances. Although many times we fell far too short, they made sure that almost without fail schoolchildren got to and from school safely - remember the October floods?

Our amazing team of Drivers have tolerated levels of abuse from a minority of customers whose frustration spilled over into unacceptable behaviour including spitting and fighting. No matter how bad we might have been at times, our Drivers will always deserve due respect and while I cannot apologise enough for our failures, I won’t hesitate in standing up for our staff who have stuck with us through some very challenging times.

I would also like to mention the Local and School Bus Teams at Derbyshire County Council - in no particular order to Alan, Andrew, Chris, Clive, Deborah, Hayley, Ian, Jamie, Jane, Paulette and Phil for their patience and support during this difficult period.

We are under no illusions: we’ve got to now work tirelessly to even begin to rebuild the hard won reputation we once enjoyed, to make the Hulleys name one that people can be proud to work for and can rely upon. It isn’t going to happen overnight and there will be bumps along the road, but everybody here is committed to doing their very best.

Obviously we cannot turn the clock back, but we would like you to give us a chance to prove ourselves again. We know we’ve let people down, made people late for work, miss important appointments, ruined days out, disrupted plans, and again, I’m truly sorry.
We’re never going to be perfect, but we’re now in a position where we can give it a good go.

Alf Crofts
Managing Director

But still had several cancellations today.

[stephen01]

Dec 22, 2023 21:32:25 GMT 1 deerfold said:

Dec 22, 2023 16:48:31 GMT 1 @cp2012 said:

Hulleys have now issued an apology on their Facebook www.facebook.com/hulleys1921

But still had several cancellations today.

the first effects of the fleet & reliability solutions until w.c 08th January 2024 to give it chance to settle down fully.

[stephen01]

Dec 22, 2023 20:59:26 GMT 1 joseph said:

It's a start but if they'd have apologised for things like getting the X1 farce totally wrong, the timetable for the Breezer totally wrong and so on then their reputation may not have been as damaged.

true but it seems to be covered cloakly in most of the apology (more of rant really). But if they are standardising both fleets it'll mean the 2 EvoRas will soon be leaving then surely as all the Go-Coach fleet consists e200s, e400s, e200MMCs, Solos, Solo SRs, Versas & Tempos..

[i901]

Hulley back to their usual tricks... register a new service (X10 Sheffield to Alton Towers), get the relevant local authorities to go to the trouble of producing timetables etc, then pull the service just before it is due to start...

[joseph]

The latest failure is service 80, a long route that everyone said wouldn't work and it hasn't as it's to be withdrawn beyond Hollymoorside soon. Roadworks, unforseen (yer right) driver shortages and broken buses are to blame, not stretching themselves way too far once again. Rather than taking a service on just because a council asks nicely, I think they need to cut back! The Sunday 257 springs to mind, this should be cut back to Glossop as the current Sunday workings to Castleton via everywhere is asking for trouble.