2500 and counting

I have been thinking long and hard as to what to put in my 2500th post on Plymothian Transit. The original plan was an announcement of a side project of mine which I have been working on for some time but its still a fair way off before I think I can push that out properly. (Some of you may already have found it by now anyway…)

Instead I shall be entirely selfish and have a posting based purely on my own opinion on what is happening in and around Plymouth over the coming months. It seems we are in a state of war. First verses the rest of the world, but in particular Plymouth Citybus, aka Go Ahead.

Of course it should also be pointed out that its not really a proper war with proper hand to hand combat. This war is much more like a game of chess. Each side taking turns to play then sitting back and waiting to see what the other side does next. We have seen some strong moves by Plymouth Citybus and then some moves by First which at this stage seem interesting rather than strong. However it does seem that First is about to play the fares game in a big way as indicated by a recent comment here on PT:

New lower fares announced by First start 22nd September.. First Day £3. First Week (PLYMOUTH) £11 First Month PLYMOUTH reduced from £60 to £40. First Day PLUS includes Tavistock £4.50 First Week PLUS £20 and First Month PLUS £60. Represents some pretty big savings here

I should point out that there is nothing on line about these fares yet but I have heard this from several sources so the cuts are clearly happening. As another recent comment puts it

PCBs Tavistock fares were announced as £4.50 SINGLE and £6.10 return (First have been £6.20 return). So First are going to be every 20 mins and £4.50 return - PCB are going to be every 30 mins and £6.10 return. Both using leather seated E400s? That could be interesting!!!

Once all the new timetables are published, which wont be long now, we will have a good look at these Tavistock services but its clear that First are fighting back hard on their core route. Will we see Citybus match the fares, or at least get a lot closer? I have heard many suggestions that the new First fares are “suicidal” but I guess that depends on how long the low fares last and how many passengers they retain from Citybus. Whatever the case it will indeed be very interesting.

It does seem that First have covered Citybus having brand new luxury DDs by utilising the 12 Reg Park & Ride fleet (very strong rumours from several sources suggest this is the case). This in turn might annoy passengers on the Park & Ride services and maybe even the City Council but as a commercial service First are free to use whatever buses they like. You can see why it makes sense for First to use them on Tavistock duties but it does raise lots of questions. Why have First left this service unloved for so long? Even when they took the opportunity to invest a few years back they choose to stick leather seats in a few buses and paint them purple. Sadly for everyone they chose the awful Volvo B6BLEs with the most uncomfortable hard seats for which the leather does nothing at all. They do look really smart though from the outside! You just know that if the Plymouth – Tavistock services were run by Stagecoach it would be very different indeed! They have a strong record of investment in buses, something which First as a national group have failed in big time. They are trying hard to catch up now in some areas but Plymouth is not alone in having an aging fleet.

The mention of Stagecoach brings me to another question that I am struggling to answer.

One thing I am proud of with Plymothian Transit is that it has become a forum where transport issues can be discussed freely and there have been some very strong views expressed on both sides of the Citybus v First debate. Unlike the comments on The Herald web site which often turn abusive the comments left here have generally steered clear of abuse (just!) for the sake of it. It is clear that many people on either side are very passionate in their arguments. I am sure in many cases because their jobs may be on the line if either side fails.

I was going to illustrate my point with a few of the comments left but I don't want to make it look like I am picking on anyone for their opinions. Just have a look back through the comments on the last few weeks worth of posts. It does seem that many of these comments are pro-First and anti Citybus at the moment. Its not a big imbalance as their are plenty for Citybus too but it seems that many of you are hoping for a robust fight back by First and expecting Citybus to get a bloody nose!

What I don't understand is how Stagecoach are getting away with it?

Within a few days back in July we had a big announcement that Stagecoach were launching a massive fight against First on the Plymouth – Torbay corridor with brand new double decker buses. Just two days later we get Plymouth Citybus doing the same but on a lot less ambitious scale against First on their Tavistock corridor followed by a much smaller battle on the Torpoint services. The response by First to these two sides of attack could not have been more different! Immediate surrender to Stagecoach while taking the fight to Citybus. It is clear that quite a few drivers jobs will go as result of giving up on the X80/81 yet there has been a complete lack of hostility against Stagecoach with all the anger directed at Citybus / Go Ahead! Why?

One other thing which is noticeable at the moment is the anger against First cutting back some of their Plymouth services in order to concentrate the fight against Citybus. In particular the withdrawal from Mainstone on the 15 which leaves a large estate with no service at all with no hope of Citybus directing any buses that way either. I do feel sorry for First here as its clearly not an area which is going to make any bus company any money. When First introduced new Ugobus service 15 it surprised a lot of people (including Citybus) as it was the only route which offered anything different to what Citybus were already running. It also gave Citybus the excuse for pulling out of Mainstone, which was pretty inevitable at the time but saved a lot of grief for Citybus. It still amazes me that the 15 has lasted this long into Mainstone even if it was cut back over the last few years.

The only part of the 15 that seems to carry any passengers is Marjon / Derriford to City Centre. The days when First had the direct service to City Centre to itself have long gone. I have a bus pass I can use on either bus company. My journey of choice to town from Derriford is the 15. In fact I often choose to catch the 15 to town from Asda even though the 50 will get me there a lot quicker. The main reason for this being that the 15 is a lot quieter – I can get a seat I want – the 50 is often full up, the 15 is rarely busy. If you catch a 15 to town from Derriford you will often see people at the bus stops let the bus go by and wait for a Citybus over the same route. I dont know why as I keep getting told that First fares are cheaper than Citybus? (I have no idea if this is true or not as I have had my bus for over ten years now!)

A lot of attention is being placed on Go Ahead being the aggressor here against poor old First bus. How dare Go Ahead pick on First and try to get their routes. GA are portrayed as bullies only interested in profits. (As if First Group are not?). Well, GA ARE the aggressors this time. It was not that long ago that the boot was on the other foot. First introduced services against Citybus when the council had put them up for sale. 

Bus Wars Detail

In both cases the main motivation seems to be to protect what is theirs against some new competitor coming in and taking over. When Citybus was up for sale the last thing First needed was someone like Stagecoach coming in and wanting a fight so the tactic was to destabilise  the company to put prospective buyers off. When this failed we soon saw the first routes being cut back and all the nice new buses being sent away.

This time we saw First Group clearly in difficulty and wanting to sell off whole areas of operation quickly. We even saw Tim O’Toole describe South Devon and Northampton as being “Almost in close down”. (Northampton has since closed.) The last thing GA want is someone like Stagecoach to come in and start wanting to fight…

So what will happen next. Who will win? I really dont know. The battle for Tavistock will be very hard and Citybus wont find it easy at all. The new Plymouth routes by First really wont affect Citybus that much though. I dont understand the logic behind the new 6 at all. Hopefully First know something I don't! The new man at First Devon Alex Carter has a good reputation and seems to know what he is doing. Can he really turn the company around? I get the feeling that he could, if, and its a very big if, First Group give him the cards to play with.

For the record I do hope that First can turn things around. I do  like what Go Ahead are doing at Citybus and more than welcome the extra investment they are putting into Citybus – its is long overdue. Many commenters on this blog have expressed the view that we need both companies to survive to keep each other on their toes. If First cant do that then the sooner they sell up to someone who can the better for all of us.

Of course we have been here before...

©Terry Stapley 19 July 1988 Western National 21A to Plympton.

As usual please feel free to agree / disagree in the comments! Thanks again to everyone who has helped make Plymothian Transit the success it is. If you didn't read it, I wouldn't bother writing it! Now lets start on the next 2500 posts…