Does striking work?

Clearly the unions say it does and the companies involves strenuously argue the opposite.

Many years ago, I was involved in a heated debate with a friend who was of the opinion that bus drivers were perfectly entitled to strike if they wished, so long as they acknowledged that they'd never, ever win. His reasoning was based on the fact that the first time a bus company's local management gave in to their workforce, credence to other depots' drivers would be given, who'd also start to ask for that little bit more (at least to the level achieved by the first, victorious depot) and would strike if they didn't get it. Consequently, large bus companies - specifically involved in our dispute was one of the 'big five' - would never give in as this would be a sign of weakness.

But what makes workers return to work following a strike? Clearly one side has given more than the other, though 'spinned' outcomes to the local media will put pay to this ever being admitted, yet think of all the times you've heard of bus, coach and train company employees manning the picket lines. They're not still out there now, so did the unions win or the companies?

In South Yorkshire, the dominant operator, First, is in a bit of bother with its workforce. Strike action by drivers at its Sheffield depot took place on 25 & 26 October and is planned to reoccur again today. Planned strikes at Doncaster and Rotherham were halted after additional ground was gained by Unite, the union involved in negotiations.

Initially, a 2.5% pay rise was offered to the entire First South Yorkshire workforce, though was unanimously rejected. A revised offer of 3% was made, to commence in 2010; a free pass for a nominated child of each employee; a £100 shopping voucher; and a financial settlement regarding a dispute concerning accrued holiday pay.

It's worth pointing out that none of the above was included in First's original offer to its workforce. We understand, from contacts employed in the organisation there, that initially a 'no strings' offer of 2.5% was made. Many would argue that this was far better than that received by other bus companies in the country at this moment in time. Unite's members in South Yorkshire want to see their pay rival that of First's sister depots in West Yorkshire, specifically Leeds and Bradford.

Proving membership of a trade union has been beneficial for First's employees in South Yorkshire, it was Unite's stewards who brokered the increased offer by First and we understand nothing has been given away by the workforce in return, save a small delay to the implementation of the proposed 3% pay rise. First can easily 'lose' shopping vouchers and free child passes in its system, as they won't be shown allocated against its wage budget, so will find favour with its balance sheet. The union will claim it has forced the UK's largest transport provider to increase its pay offer by 0.5% to almost treble what the Police were offered recently.

Sir Moir Lockhead will be all too aware of the solidarity within his workforce in South Yorkshire. There are many pockets of militancy all over the country, that are deep-rooted and have the potential for lengthy periods of action taken. Sheffield is one of these locations, hence why this depot continues to strike, though latterly as a result of a grievance over disciplinary matters. First's drivers in Bolton, Wigan and Bury have been on strike for eight consecutive Mondays, after being offered a pay increase of 0.5% immediately and 2.25% next year. Competition from a major competitor is not as prominent in the north west as it is in South Yorkshire, with Stagecoach making significant inroads at First's expense. This will also feature strongly in the decision to offer First South Yorkshire drivers a 3% pay rise.

Clearly, my friend's opinion that strike action will never succeed is wrong. In the case of Rotherham and Doncaster, only the threat of action has seen their offer increase by 0.5% and a raft of add-ons that will have a real financial benefit to them. Save the disciplinary matter in Sheffield, and the implication is that calm would have descended on the streets of South Yorkshire by now. At the same time, First has managed to substantially increase the offer made to its drivers and done so in a manner that won't be detrimental to its balance sheet.

Can everyone really be a winner? (GWB)

Stagecoach West Midlands

Many weren't surprised when the Cosmen/CVC consortium potential purchase of National Express Group (NEG) failed, that Stagecoach would make a fresh bid for the beleaguered transport group. In a slightly different manner of approach, Stagecoach have now chosen (perhaps conceded) to approach NEG with a merger proposal rather than that of an outright purchase.

Call it a merger or a take-over, this will become NEG's new HQ: Dunkeld Road, Perth, home to Stagecoach. M'colleague used to live virtually opposite!

The deal is currently being described by Stagecoach as a 'highly preliminary' merger proposal to the tune of £1.7 billion, which would see NEG shareholders retain no more than 40% of the new supergroup, should the go-ahead be given. The Cosmen/CVC consortium was in discussions with NEG to purchase a majority shareholding at 500p per share, valuing the company at £765 million, markedly less than that which Perth-based Stagecoach is offering, but the latter doesn't already have a vested interest in the ownership of NEG, unlike 50% of the former.

Jorge Cosman, head of the Cosmen family, chairman of NEG's Spanish Alsa coach company (which he used to own), deputy chairman of NEG and an 18.5% shareholder in the group.

Putting both figures in context can only truly be understood when the backdrop of £850 million - NEG's debt mountain - is applied in the same sentence. Effectively, 45% of the money Stagecoach has tabled would be NEG's debt.

So, in an about-turn, Stagecoach's chief executive Brian Souter, is now where the Cosmen/CVC consortium was and, if successful, would look to offload what his company do not want/will not be allowed to keep: National Express' coach business being the main item. The Cosmen family have a wealth of experience running scheduled coach services in their native Spain, and we understand they've been getting increasingly annoyed at the way in which NEG has been running their Spanish, former family-owned, business. Selling the Cosmens' Alsa coach company back to them, along with NEG's NX coach business, Jorge Cosmen and his family will be firmly back in the driving seat, able to focus exclusively on the type of business they've been involved with for nine generations. We've read online that Jorge Cosman, deputy chairman of NEG - holding an 18.5% share in the company - is in favour of Stagecoach's latest approach.

He'd be silly not to be. Stagecoach now deal with the risk and the Cosmen family take the smaller, familiar sector that's in reasonably good shape.

This leaves NEG's American yellow school bus business, reputedly the main reason why the Cosmen/CVC consortium walked away from their takeover bid. I'd imaging First, whose 60,000-vehicle American school bus empire is the largest of its kind in the world, would be only too pleased to add NEG's 6,000-vehicle operation to its portfolio.

There is also chance that the Cosmen family won't want the NX coach business. An alternative contender could be Scottish Citylink majority shareholder, ComfortDelGro, based in Singapore. An acquisition here would see both the National Express coach and Scottish Citylink operations merged under the same umbrella once more (NEG having to choose between its Scottish Citylink coach network or the ScotRail franchise in 1997 - opting for the more lucrative rail franchise, which it subsequently lost to First in 2004).

Scottish Citylink's operation mirrors that of National Express coaches: franchised operators running the network of services. Majority owner of the company, Singapore-based ComfortDelGro, do not operate any vehicles. Seen here is a Bruce's of Salsburgh Bova en route to Stirling.

Merger or purchase, it is likely that NEG's HQ will move a few miles north to Dunkeld Road in Perth and that operations such as Travel Coventry and National Express East Anglia will be re-named to include the name Stagecoach in their titles. NEG shareholders could protest en mass, but they'll only have a 40% say in the business.

Feather in the cap: the West Midlands business is the UK's largest stand-alone fleet of buses and is something all of the 'big five' would love to get their hands on. Competition has grown from smaller operators, including Rotala-owned Diamond Bus seen on the left.

I suppose whether you love them or loathe them, Stagecoach are at least willing to try and restore some form of normality to the modes of transport under NEG's control, while making a substantial financial profit in the long-term themselves. Interestingly, should the merger go ahead, Stagecoach would be the largest light-rail operator, with Manchester's Metrolink, Sheffield's Supertram and Birmingham's Midland Metro under its control. They'd also be the operator of the UK's largest stand-alone bus fleet - National Express West Midlands, which isn't thought to be in the best of shape, but a prize worth fighting for nonetheless. Another interesting fact is that I have 11 different ties from the West Midlands bus fleet, but that, as they say, is another story... (GL)

Shower time

Only a quickie today I'm afraid....


Only in American can you purchase a London Underground shower curtain. A little bulky to carry around on the Tube, it does boast one attribute over its smaller, paper counterpart: the Thames! (GL)

Glasgow's 'Clockwork Orange'

During my recent trip to Glasgow, I spent my short time there fulfilling one of the last-remaining trips using a transport system I've hitherto sampled: the Glasgow Subway, aka The Clockwork Orange.

This is the modern-day signage that is SPT's equivalent to London Underground's roundel

The Subway is one of the smallest self-contained rail systems in the UK, coming in at 10.4km (6.5mi) in length, with 15 stations along its circular route. Using twin tunnels, trains operate clockwise on the outer section and anti-clockwise on the inner section. Trains are thus marketed as 'outer' and 'inner' thus enabling passengers to catch the right train for their journey.

Situated in the centre-west of the city, the entire network operates wholly underground. Ironically, the maintenance facility at Broomloan Road is at ground level. The whole system struck me as a mini Tube network, with tunnels measuring only 3.4 meters wide, accommodating the unique track gauge of 1219mm (or 4 feet) between rails. There are some pretty steep gradients along the route, too, with inclines of 6% seen in places (generally as the line climbs after having descended the River Clyde) and the most quirky aspect I spotted was the hump effect each station has: the line rises at one end of each station, to a crescendo in the middle, before falling away as the other end of the station/start of the approaching tunnel portal.

My claim to fame is that I've travelled along the metals of all light-rail systems in the UK, operating normal passenger services, though have never got near the Glasgow Subway until today. It took me 20 minutes to make a round trip on the 'inner' route (anti-clockwise), though time constraints meant I was unable to undertake an 'outer' circumnavigation. The cost of a one-journey ride is a flat rate of £1.20 (60p child). Scottish National Concessions travel at a flat fare of 40p and a day ticket is available priced at £3.50. I therefore paid only £1.20 to do a complete circuit and identified it being possible to undertake a circuit in the opposite direction without having to purchase another ticket. Only the insane and editors of one of the UK's longest-running transport publications would want to do this though, so I can't see Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT - who both own and operate the system) losing much money here!

Similar to the French Metro, a ticket is needed to gain access to the network, though thereafter the user doesn't have to worry too much about where they place it for safe keeping since on exiting stations, the turnstiles are free-turning. SPT advise passengers, however, to retain tickets for inspection. The most impressive aspect of the system though, for me, was its cleanliness. The Glasgow Subway is absolutely spotless. Not one spec of litter or graffiti did I spot in the time I was down there. Also pleasing to see was that loadings weren't on a par with say the Piccadilly Line at rush hour, yet the Glasgow Subway carries in excess of 14 million people every year and undoubtedly has its own congested rush hour, though happily I was to avoid this.

Impressively, the Glasgow Subway is the third-oldest subway system in the world, after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Opening on 14 December 1896 it started out life as a clutch-and-cable railway, though soon became electrified. Its initial title was the Glasgow District Railway, though changed to the Glasgow Underground in 1936, with the SPT officially adopting the 'subway' name as late as 2003.

'Back in the day', an original Oldbury Railway Carriage.

In the early years, there was no cable installed to permit trains to move between lines, so they were hoisted across by train; a crane was also used to lift them from their subterranean tracks to the first maintenance depot near Govan station. The main advantage of lifting trains between tracks using a crane was that neither line required points and could be operated with minimal oversight. Success, however, didn't come immediately, since an accident on the system's opening day saw no further service until 19 January the following year.

Twenty one-car trains were initially operated. Built by the Oldbury Railway Carriage and Car Company based in Worcestershire, these work-horses generally remained in service until 1977 - ain impressive 81 years' service in many cases. People complain that the BR Class 141 'Pacer' is long overdue a replacement: imagine being told they were to remain in service for another 40 years! Of the initial order for 20, only ten operated during the first year, with the balance arriving in 1897 and in 1898 a further ten additional carriages were built by the same manufacturer and used to form two-car trains.

Six of the original cars were 'dumped' here at Beamish, seen two years after their withdrawal from service. At the time the Subway was closed, undergoing massive refurbishment.

Interestingly, all original stations were built as island examples, with trains calling at the same block of concrete. This necessitated trains to have doors on one side only. Today this is different, with numerous stations conforming to the style seen throughout the heavy-rail network in the UK, i.e. a platform per direction.

With World War I long gone, the Glasgow District Railway sold out to Glasgow Corporation in 1923. The original plum and cream livery was retained and it wasn't until 1936 that the next major alterations took place: electrification. Gone was the original livery by 1950, replaced with a more bland red and white colour scheme. A man called Beeching had his say about Britain's rail network during the 1960s, though a weakness of the Subway became a strength at this time: it had no direct link to the overground rail network; consequently when Beeching's axe fell on Buchanan Street and St Enoch stations, their equivalent subterranean sisters remained unscathed. By the end of the '60s, the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive took over responsibility of the Subway from Glasgow Corporation.

Wholesale modernisation came at the end of the 1970s, with the original trains being replaced with 33 brand-new Metro Cammell carriages, built in Birmingham and equipped with GEC electric motors. Regrettably though, the replacement of rolling stock was the least of the Subway's worries: ridership had waned impressively, partly due to the closure of Glasgow's dockyards and also the demolition of large numbers of social housing south of the River Clyde. Although stalwarts, the trains were becoming less reliable and a breakdown caused massive delays since the only way a 'dead' train could be taken out of the way was by crane. Stations were looking dilapidated and an 'earthy' smell was commonplace down there. Then a crack was spotted in the roof of the then named Govan Street Station.......

From 24 March - 2 May 1977 all services were suspended pending 'crack investigation'. Although trains resumed operation, the entire Subway network closed 19 days later following the emergence of yet more cracks at Govan Street. From 21 May 1977 to 16 April 1980 the Subway remained closed, while stations were extensively renovated; a new one was built at Patrick; a moving walkway was installed between Buchanan Street and Queen Street stations; escalators were installed for the first time at some localities; new ticket machines and automated ticket barriers were installed, which saw-off the use for conductors; and a new livery/colour scheme was applied.

This livery coined the system's nickname 'The Clockwork Orange': a vibrant orange, er, SPTE red, seen here in 1980

The Subway was officially opened by The Queen on 1 November 1979, not far off the system's 83rd birthday. Her Majesty declared the Glasgow Subway open, wishing well the new trains in their bright orange livery (with a white stripe) and inspecting the new-look stations that were predominantly coloured brown, yellow and off-white. It wasn't long before the eye-straining livery was toned down to a more acceptable, darker shade of orange, which didn't show up dirt as much, and during the 1990s this was replaced by the existing livery seen today (SPT's carmine-red and cream). Interestingly, both shades of orange livery adopted were officially referred to as 'Strathclyde PTE red' to alleviate any sectarian sensitivities in the city.

The toned-down(!!), slightly redder livery applied in the late-80s.

As for 'The Clockwork Orange' name, its origins are split between the infamous Stanley Kubrik 1971 movie adaptation of a book with the same name, and a one-liner made by the then chairman of British Rail, Sir Peter Parker, who referred to the system as "the original Clockwork Orange". Certainly the date the movie aired and the one-liner muttered tie-in well. Who knows?

A very rare shot indeed - a Metro Cammell carriage seen in daylight at the Broomloan Road depot.

As to the future, the Glasgow Subway could be in line for an extension. In 2007 SPT shared with the city the plans its consultants had recommended: major refurbishment of the existing rolling stock and stations, costing £270 million; and the expansion of the existing network at a cost of £2.3 billion, including a new East End Circle, with seven new stations. The latter aim is to make better use of transport links in the city that have a poor rail service.

The original map. Click for an enlargement. The network itself is unusual in that it hasn't been altered at all, though a couple of stations have gone/been built and re-named.

I was very impressed with my short ride aboard Carriage 002 on the Glasgow Subway. Trains appeared to operate to a six-minute frequency and I let the first three go by in order to capture some photos at the station where I boarded. I suspect that for the drivers monotony could set in a little too quickly; with a round trip taking a mere 20 minutes on the 'inner', how many rotations would a Subway driver be expected to undertake per shift? The lack of daylight must also be a downer, too. The next time I find myself in Glasgow, I'll be making a bee-line for the Subway, if only to complete the 'outer' line and completely tick the box! (GL)

SPT Glasgow Subway: official website
A special Glasgow Subway challenge

Photos: Outside shot of present-day train; Toned-down livery from 1986; Black & white original shot.

CC clear Eastbourne purchase

In a decision received with a shock level not dissimilar to that of the Cosmen Consortium walking away from NEG at the eleventh hour, the Competition Commission (CC) did, on Friday, give the green light to Stagecoach's acquisition of both Eastbourne Buses and its main competitor Cavendish Renown. This despite signalling clearly that a "significant lessening of competition" has resulted.

The CC identified that Cavendish Renown had been operating a number of loss-making services during 2008 and this had "substantially deteriorated" its financial standing. Thus the CC believes that Cavendish Renown would have, by now, either have opted to withdraw large numbers of its routes or closed its business altogether; i.e. the competition would have substantially reduced in any case.

In its provisional decision, the CC had indicated that it would be willing to give clearance to Stagecoach provided one or more of the following restrictions were adopted: prevent Stagecoach from altering or reducing service frequencies and times of operation; remove the restriction Stagecoach had agreed with the owner of Cavendish Renown, which prevented him from setting up a new bus business in the area for a period no less than 3 years; to prevent Stagecoach from rising fares; and to potentially allow another operator to set up business in the Eastbourne Buses depot. None of these restrictions will be implemented now.

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: "We welcome today's announcement by the CC, which is the right decision for bus passengers in Eastbourne. Stagecoach has brought significant new investment to bus services in the area, ensuring that local people have access to a sustainable, comprehensive, high-quality and affordable bus network. We look forward to building on the improvements we have made and attracting more people to the benefits of greener, smarter bus travel in the future.”

They'll no doubt be hoping for a similar about-turn in Preston, though incumbent Preston Bus was no fledgling operator, certainly not by the standards of either two operators involved in the Eastbourne debacle! (GWB)

Controversial?

No, not Nick Griffin this time...

Doing an Evening Standard

News broke this week that the free bus industry trade magazine routeone was to follow in the footsteps of one of its rivals, Bus & Coach Buyer, and upload its entire publication online for anyone to view, be they paid-up subscribers or not. The e-magazine is available from the routeone website the day before its printed version is received by its readership.

We reviewed routeone in July 2008, though to maintain balance, also reviewed its main competitor, CBW the following week, followed by the old-style Transit mag the week after.

Routeone's advantage over CBW is that it is distributed to any bus or coach operator with an Operators' Licence for free. Additional copies and subscriptions for those who do not have an O Licence are available, currently at £79 (it increased by £10 at the start of 2009). Routeone also has its circulation independently checked by ABC, and the average number of copies distributed for the whole of 2008 was 5,894.

CBW and Transit do not permit their publications to be independently checked; we understand that in Transit's case this may well be a god-send! However, does the number of copies sent out necessarily reflect the popularity of your product?

From 12 October, London's Evening Standard did something very courageous. It joined the ranks of the plethora of free press in the capital city and started giving its flagship production away for free. Its print run has effectively been more than doubled to well in excess of half a million (600,000) and a handy online version is updated daily, so that, say a manager of a bus company in the Isle of Wight, can read it at his/her desk over an extended lunch.

The change has come about following the paper's purchase earlier in the year by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev. The drop in sales (of 100%) will be bridged by increases in advertising, or so the theory goes.

Now, routeone's publishers, Expo, will have been all too aware of this bold move by Mr Lebedev and could well have based their decision to go for free on that. There could be a mini backlash though: what if at the start of September you paid £79 for a year's subscription only to now find you can read it online for nowt?

Routeone never had a price tag - not for the vast majority of its circulation, so placing it online for free represents less of a risk, yet potentially maximises readership. But what if the readership don't like what they see? The number who view the e-magazine is of little consequence since to publish online takes seconds. What routeone are interested in is advertisers, who in the current economic downturn aren't advertising as much. A reduction in those taking out ads in routeone has a direct link to its bank balance. Compare this to CBW and Transit and both are affected, but to a much lesser extent.

We don't believe routeone represents the best bus industry trade publication, the title here goes to CBW. It could be argued that routeone's ABC circulation figure should largely be ignored, since if the publication is free who would refuse it? Then there are those who don't like the publication's links to the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), who effectively bankroll routeone, which in turn acts as the CPT's mouthpiece. While the CPT broadly represents the passenger transport industry, it only specifically acts for those who are paid-up members on its books.

Does anyone really care when you're getting something for nothing? We reviewed CBW in July 2008 and in March of this year, contributing writer 'CW' brought news of this production's attempts to glean new membership with a discount. He said that CBW's magazines are going to those who've requested their copy and were willing to pay the annual fee, inferring that since these operators continue to subscribe they're happy with their paid-for publication.

I think it's clear that routeone will lose revenue - though proportionately nowhere near the amount the Evening Standard is doing - since no one will bother paying for a printed subscription now!! The aim, therefore, is to hope and prey the increase in revenue earned from advertising is more than the deficit in subs. This is something CBW and Transit don't really have to worry about. (GL)

Read the Evening Standard online here
Read routeone online here

An update to this entry can be read by clicking here.

Quotes of the week

"For two miles of railway you can travel.....two miles. For two miles of runway you can travel.....anywhere in the world." said Roger Wiltshire, Secretary General of the British Air Transport Association.

Well he would, wouldn't he?!

Mr Wiltshire was politely alluding to the aviation industry being as successful as it is without receiving massive subsidies - the exact opposite of the rail industry. This isn't quite true: airlines receive a £10bn a year tax break on fuel, by not paying fuel duty or VAT on kerosene.

New Transit reported in its latest edition that Ryanair chief executive Michael O' Leary did purchase in 2004 a Hackney Carriage plate for his Mercedes-Benz car, affixing it to the rear, thus enabling said motor car to be classified as a taxi, which permits him to make use of Dublin's bus lanes.

We wonder if the latter is something Mr Wiltshire would consider? - Eds.

A trip along the WCML with Virgin

It's a trip that's been in the planning over a year: an end-to-end trip on board a Virgin Trains Class 390 'Pendolino' from London Euston to Glasgow Central and return. Knowing last September that the West Coast Main Line £9 billion upgrade was due for completion anytime soon (in actuality this wasn't completely finished for another six months!), I'd been interested in one aspect of Virgin's Very High Frequency (VHF) timetable: the reduction in journey times.

The following is the introduction to a stand-alone article I've just finished writing up, which reviews the day I had on two of Virgin's trains while undertaking said trip. The article is archived on the LEYTRavels blog, which features all our stand-alone days out by public transport as well as epic jaunts such as our recent John o' Groats to Land's End trip. (GL)

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I’ve wanted to travel on the West Coast Main Line ever since its £9 billion upgrade was finally completed, late and massively over-budget. What fascinated me the most was not so much the thrice hourly London Euston-Birmingham and London Euston-Manchester journeys Virgin Trains introduced as a result, but the end-to-end journey time between the two points furthest apart on their line: Euston and Glasgow Central. Typically, the time taken to travel between the two stations is now a shade over 4½ hours, though the best attained is the 1630 weekdays departure northbound, which calls at Preston only and manages the fastest-ever journey time of 4:10. This equates to an average speed of 96.3mph and from December comes down to four hours and 8 minutes.

Thanks to the nice people at Virgin Trains, I was recently given the opportunity to undertake a return trip between Euston and Glasgow, for the purposes of this blog. I opted to travel on trains that offered the Breakfast and Evening Meal menus. Having travelled for the first time aboard a Virgin Trains' Pendolino during the 2005 LEYTR Railrover with m’colleague, I was staggered to see that every item of food and drink is completely free of charge to those travelling first class. Having grown up on the other side of the country, where Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) and now National Express East Coast (NXEC) operated my Anglo-Scottish train service, the only gratuities those travelling in first class were afforded comprised biscuits, Pretzels, fruit, tea/coffee and bottled water.

It's incredible to think that the London terminal shown here can be linked with Glasgow Central in just 4:10.

As a leisure traveller on Britain’s rail network, I am quite happy to travel the longer way round if it means I’ll enjoy my journey more. As I see it, for the additional money paid to travel first class, the more freebies you receive the better. If you live in Grantham and want to travel to Edinburgh on business, quite frankly my requirements won’t feature and you’ll consequently pay NXEC ’s fare for a direct train journey between the two places and simply appreciate what you’re offered for free while travelling in first class.

Of course gluttony was not my sole reason for undertaking this journey on Thursday 15 October. I’ve only travelled on a Pendolino twice: firstly a return trip between Euston-Manchester Piccadilly that formed part of our Railrover trip and secondly a single trip between Euston-Birmingham New Street in March 2008. I particularly enjoyed the ambiance within the first-class carriages, with their airline-style narrow windows and free radio channels. Bringing things up-to-date, free wi-fi is now offered to first-class passengers, so too are free papers on weekdays, along with the Breakfast and Evening Meal menus.

Continues on the LEYTRavels blog. Click here.

Happy Birthday, Buses mag

Yesterday saw a special bus rally to celebrate the UK's longest-running bus magazine reaching the ripe old age of 60. As incumbent editor Alan Millar eluded to in his editorial on the first page of the special commemorative November issue, BUSES has reached the age at which someone of the same vintage can travel free on local bus services in the country. It's quite an achievement.

To say reaching 60 won't have been in the minds of the initial editorial, headed by Charles Dunbar, is probably a little false; anyone starting a new publication wants it to exceed beyond their wildest dreams, and that for a number of reasons this has comes true for BUSES. Back in November 1949, BUSES started out as Buses Illustrated, costing one shilling and sixpence, or 7.5p. The first edition, dated November/December 1949, contained 36 pages, on which featured 47 black and white photos, 2 maps and 14 features. The November 2009 edition, on sale at the event, costs £3.95 and contains an un-representative 116 pages and in excess of 250 colour photos.

BUSES has had considerable success because it has no notable competition. There are trade magazines, though these feature less favourably with the bus enthusiast fraternity, carrying more technical information and specifications, not to mention lucrative advertisement pages. Smaller bus magazines for enthusiasts are produced and can be found on the shelves of larger WH Smith - Bus Fayre, for example. Then there are enthusiasts who prefer to take magazines produced in their local area for localised news and views, *coughs* The Lincolnshire & East Yorkshire Transport Review, for example. These smaller productions continue to flourish unabated - even during recessions. For example, the LEYTR membership has not dropped at all over the past year, despite the recession.

Very little competition undoubtedly helps BUSES survive. It's one of the more expensive monthly magazines for the number of pages contained, and ever since I've taken the mag, the price has always increased each and every January. Yet still the publication goes from strength to strength, with more pages and full-colour magazines were instigated a few years ago. BUSES regularly undergoes face-lifts in order to remain fresh and relevant and this in no small part helps it to appeal to the younger demographic, who find news and fleet alterations so easy to glean from online forums for free. In his opening editorial of Issue 001 in 1949, Charles Dunbar said Buses Illustrated aimed to appeal at the young male demographic.

Like many who never, ever miss a copy of BUSES, I can vividly recall my first-ever issue: March 2005 as it goes, and having taken the remainder of that year's run, chose to contact the mag's publisher, Ian Allan, for the missing two copies to complete my first-ever set. Thereafter, I've never missed a single copy (although strangely the other day I went looking for June's copy and can't find it - I'm sure it'll be somewhere). I also choose not to take the magazine on a subscription with the publisher or a third party (PSV Circle et al) for one very specific reason: I do not trust the Royal Mail to deliver the magazine without damaging it in some way.

I know I'm not alone in this rationale.

However, today was a day of celebration (even though a national postal strike looms on Thursday) and it was with Lincolnshire-based Delaine Buses of Bourne that I, on behalf of the LEYTR Editorial, did venture to Swindon to visit the specially-arranged one-off rally at the National Science Museum at Wroughton. We hit the tarmac just after 1030 and parked in what seemed a somewhat strange line-up - front wheels on the grass!

My transport was with this vehicle owned by Delaine Buses - the first-ever purpose-built East Lancs Olympus-bodied Volvo B9TL to be made.

Buses were positioned diagonally on an internal road, facing the sun, but told to park so far forward that their front wheels mounted the grass verge. I looked and thought that a better position would have been to park diagonally but reverse onto the other side of the road, allowing those walking past the parked exhibits to do so on tarmac. As it happens, those wishing to photograph our Volvo B9TL/East Lancs Olympus - the one which featured on the front cover of BUSES in 2006 - had to literally wade through knee-high grass. One photographer even asked me if I'd seen any wildebeest yet!


The day was excellent though. Services were laid on to the Oxford Bus Museum, which was having an open day, tours to Swindon and Avebury, as well as circular site tours. Of particular interest was a service to Hangar L4 about a mile away, that housed vehicles mid-restoration, including an AEC Q-Type, new to Westcliff-on-Sea Motors in 1935; a Bedford VAL 14 with Leyland engine, new to Reliance of Newbury; KPT 909, a Leyland Titan PD2 built in 1948 and a host of other road transport vehicles.

Inside Hangar L4: seen on the left is KPT 909, a Leyland Titan PD2 that entered service 1 year before Buses Illustrated hit the shops.

A special programme costing £2.50 had been produced, listing the attending vehicles (79 buses in total) and was on sale from the Ian Allan stall. So too was the latest, commemorative edition of BUSES. It was also from here that tickets for the buses to Hangar L4 were distributed, with only 25 permitted per departure, since this was the maximum number allowed in the hangar at any time.

There were two bus stops on the site, that seen here was where buses to Hangar L4 departed every 20 minutes. Passengers show the conductor their tickets to gain entry.

A somewhat small selection of stalls was in attendance, though this didn't stop me acquiring a few more ties for the collection. Access to main Hangar D4 was also permitted. Inside was the largest collection of Penny Farthings I've ever seen, not to mention numerous light aircraft. Apparently, adjacent Hangar D3 is so full of vehicles access was denied for today's even since there was not enough space to create a walkway.

Routemasters featured though in limited numbers. This is my favourite type of RM - one restored to the time immediately before it was withdrawn from service. Too many have reverted to their 'as new' look. The balance is being redressed with examples such as this.

Something I hadn't been aware of was that in 1999 the makeover BUSES had was designed by Ray Stenning, though no mention was made of his company Best Impressions, to which we've made numerous references to on this blog. The company's designs are fresh and vibrant and a lot of thought goes into them, but many are very similar. In terms of BUSES at the end of the millennium though, a quick scout through copies of that year show the revamp to which the programme's opening gambit refers, and the main difference was an increase of colour photos. A very welcome sight.

This is the first time I've seen one of Wilts & Dorset's Optare Visionaries, wearing its special Purbeck Breezer branding. These 'deckers have detachable roofs.

All proceeds from yesterday's celebratory rally would go towards keeping iconic RT1 here in the UK. As you'd expect then, the first modern bus to hit the streets of London 20 years before the first Buses Illustrated was produced, was in attendance, parked suitably for decent photos throughout.

RT1 was positioned in good view throughout. I was told that funding has now reached £100,000, with only an additional £50k needed to ensure its future in Blighty.

Turning back to the 'birthday boy', perhaps one of BUSES' biggest strengths is that of its editors. There have only been six in the 60 years of production. Such lengths of time spent at the helm are rare in publications to this frequency and undoubtedly reflect the enthusiasm each has for their job and the industry at large. At 1300hrs a speech was made by current editor Alan Millar and free cake was shared throughout. I've never met Alan before though have communicated with him via email a few times. I went over and enabled faces to be put to names and spoke briefly about a little something in the pipeline.

Thamesdown and Stagecoach provided services linking nearby Swindon with the airfield at Wroughton. Here are four vehicles wearing the present and past Thamesdown liveries (l-r): Bristol RE JMW 168P, Leyland Fleetline/ECW UMR 199T, Daimler CVD6DD/Weymann UMR 112 and Scania/Wright WX59 GJU.

The 'biggy' that no one's asked must surely be this: Will BUSES be around in another 60 years? As buses are becoming a more integral part of everyone's day-to-day lives, then so surely must enthusiasm for them continue to increase. Not everyone's into photos, noting registration plates, spending ridiculous amounts of time searching for ties etc., but for £3.95 a month they can purchase a magazine that keeps them broadly updated on developments and acts as a handy repository for posterity ("whoever he is")! - sorry, Flanders and Swann slipping in there.

A shot that caught my eye - perhaps a subliminal sign of things to come next year?

Talking of celebrations, in 2013 the LEYTR will hit the big five-o. I wasn't even born in 1963 and m'colleague was just teething! (GL)

Exclusive: Virgin's best-ever punctuality performance

You read it here before anywhere else....

The media still comments about poor performance on Virgin’s West Coast rail franchise, despite the £9bn upgrade of the route. That may be a thing of the past. Virgin has just recorded its best-ever performance of 93.3% of trains ontime – the highest since it took over the West Coast rail franchise in March 1997 and average performance over the last three months is over 90%.


Most recent delays on the West Coast Main Line have been attributable to mechanical failure of the either the track or signal equipment, rather than the trains themselves. Consequently, in recent months, Virgin has been as frustrated as those it carries, with delays hampering its punctuality figures. Therefore, recording 93.3% over the past four weeks is quite an achievement - something the company has been so desperately trying to show since December 2008. (GL)

In tatters

It was revealed yesterday morning that the Cosmen Consortium, that had been a 'fag paper's width' away from making a purchase for the National Express Group (NEG), has chosen to walk away from the deal. This had a domino effect on Stagecoach's aspirations to relieve the Consortium of NEG's bus and rail divisions.

"How big is National Express's skeleton?" a friend commented when I made him aware of developments. It's a fair point and a view taken by employees of NEG who've been trying to keep abreast of developments.

The Cosmen family, who were the frontrunners in the Consortium, already hold an 18.5% stake in NEG and were undertaking the necessary 'due diligence' with NEG's books. It is after learning the true debt the group is in that we understand the Consortium as a whole chose to back out. This has thus ended NEG's hopes of a £765 million take-over.

"If NEG's skeleton was that big, having an 18.5% stake in the company would surely be enough to have some idea about it!" was my response. You don't purchase almost one-fifth of a company without having some idea of the state of the books; after all, you're one-fifth responsible for the debt, assumed to be around the £1 billion mark.

And here's another quote: "Although the Cosmen consortium has yet to purchase National Express Group, it's widely seen as a done deal." This is what this blog stated on 5 October, with a mock-up of what the current c2c company could look like with Stagecoach at the helm. The quote here wasn't a spur-of-the-moment one-liner, the Editors tell me it reflected the vast majority of opinion within the transport industry at that time. Consequently, the decision by the Consortium to walk away comes as a pretty big shock - enough to warrant coverage on BBC News.

So, what happens now? NEG will be forced into applying for an emergency rights issue to help cover their mounting debt. Jorges Cosman will have an 18.5% say in how this undertaken. The Consortium now has nothing to offer Stagecoach, who was waiting patiently in the wings, keen to get its hands on National Express East Anglia and c2c - two rail franchises that would prove pivotal during the 2012 London Olympic Games, not to mention the UK's largest stand-alone bus fleet - National Express West Midlands, regarded by many to be in dire need of a shake-up.

The rumour mill has been in action, with commentators claiming 'black holes' in NEG's books scared the Consortium off; that the state of NEG's American bus interests is in particularly poor shape; and even that CVC, the private equity firm that comprised the Consortium, was unable to raise the funds it needed to input. The Consortium has made no official statement as to why it has walked away, though a to-be-expected upbeat NEG statement read: "the board believes that National Express has a strong future as an independently listed company, offering a compelling investment case building on the strength of the individual businesses".

Of course there's nothing stopping any third-party from making yet another offer for the group. (CW)

Boris 'ups' London's fares

It took some guts admittedly, but in the end London Mayor Boris Johnson had to come clean and announce a hike in bus fares of 12.7% during 2010 and of 3.9% for Tube fares. Quick to limit any damage, Johnson said that the fares were virtually identical to those implemented over 2005-6. Apparently this was meant to make Londoners feel better.

Do you consider London's transport tickets good value for money? It's a tough question to ask because the area broadly contained within the M25 that is TfL's territory is so large and home to so many people that everyone's requirements are different. Add to this the requirements of tourists - who don't all want to visit Trafalgar Square etc, and opinion is divided.

TfL's area shaded in mauve. It's a fairly large area but residents therein generally do not travel from extemity to extremity each and every day.

Personally, I feel that for the area covered, TfL's tickets aren't that cheap. Such is the congestion in Greater London that TfL can pitch its unlimited-travel tickets at a slightly higher than comfortable price, since the only other competing mode is the private car or cab - both of which do not fair well in the bumper-to-bumper metropolis. TfL's tickets therefore offer much better value in transporting people around the area in terms of journey time. Canary Wharf to Hillingdon by car at 4pm could easily take twice that of the Tube, including changes en route.

When finalising its price rises, TfL will have undertaken all sorts of calculations, the most important being the deficit in its budget for the coming year against the likelihood of losing custom (and revenue!) through raising fares too high. There's always a 'resistance factor' when fares increase, though this usually steadies fairly soon. I'd love to know the level at which TfL felt it could justifiably raise its fares before significant numbers of people chose to surrender their Travelcard in favour of their car or National Rail service. Could it be the values the Mayor announced on Wednesday or larger increase? I suspect fares could have risen a lot more before people turned away.

On the plus side, TfL's Freedom Pass scheme will continue to offer 24/7 travel for those entitled to concessionary travel and residing in Greater London. (Those in possession of the English National Concession pass will continue to be able to use it in London 0930-2300 weekdays and at all times weekends/holidays). TfL's Freedom Pass scheme also includes under-16s and those 16+ and in full-time education. Consequently, Johnson claims 40% of residents in London will see no increase.

Of course this means, broadly speaking, that the remaining 60% who do pay will cop the rise in fares for those who do not.

Said the Mayor: "I know that Londoners value hugely the expansion of, and improvements to, the buses and Tube and the free or concessionary fares available for many passengers. I share that view. Yet it is now clear to everyone that the era of ever-rising funding from the taxpayer is now firmly at an end. I will need to take this into account when it comes to setting fares in future years. But I am determined to ensure that fares in London will continue to deliver excellent value for money, particularly when compared to the fares charged in other UK cities."

Main items of note are:

• Oyster single bus rides increase by 20p to £1.20
• Weekly bus pass increases by £2.80 to £16.60
• Most Tube fares for Oyster pay as you go increase by 20p
• Longer-distance Tube fares increase >20p at peak periods
• Fares with no set formular for increase will adopt the RPI+2% rule
• Most Travelcard prices will be frozen at 2009 levels
• Announcement due on Oyster usage on all National Rail services

£16.60 for a week's travel on buses initially seems pretty steep, but when places such as Sheffield charge £16 for use on one operator's services only, reasonable value is attained in London. I say 'reasonable' because most people simply want to commute to work five times a week and aren't like me (and other readers of this blog), willing to have a ride somewhere else just bacause I/we can. The distance many people commute by bus in London will be no greater than someone living on the outskirts of Sheffield who needs to travel into the city centre. (GL)

Why hate Ryanair?

With much anticipation I sat down to watch BBC's Panorama programme that aired at 2030hrs on Monday evening. There had been much hype about the broadcast, mainly from Ryanair's PR office, claiming the programme would be a BBC white-wash and that it would not present a well-balanced show.

Having watched the programme, I was left wondering what all the fuss was about. Panorama reporter Vivian White did a fairly good job in putting the piece together, though his on-screen manner wasn't as pleasing as his voice-overs. Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary did have an interview of sorts, as he left his company's AGM. No great scandal of any sort was exclusively revealed by Panorama and consequently I'm pretty sure that Ryanair will 'come out the other side' unscathed.

Firstly, the title of the programme was rather negative, with the word 'hate' contained therein. Surely Panorama could have named it 'Why not love Ryanair?' Sure, this has one word more but isn't as provocative. We may own the BBC, and to a very small extent have say about its direction, but 'Auntie' has to get the ratings, too; hence 'hate' will always be used over 'love' in a title of a provocative programme.

Panorama reporter White interviewed a member of cabin crew and a pilot - both anonymous - as is customary on such programmes, and revealed that the member of cabin crew, who incidentally isn't even employed by Ryanair, felt he was merely a money-making number, while the pilot's only criticism was that he felt time at the start of his day for the production of flight lists was insufficient. Go to ANY bus, coach, tram or rail depot in the country and I will personally guarantee you'll get someone to speak anonymously about the way in which they feel they're being treated badly by their company.

I've only flirted with low-cost budget air travel on two occasions: once from Stansted to Belfast International and once from Luton to Inverness, on both occasions travelling with easyJet. On both occasions I had to pay a fee to pay by credit/debit card (excluding Visa Electron debit cards) and also on both occasions any luggage for the hold was chargeable. Again, on both occasions, travel insurance was automatically added to my bill and I had to manually remove it (my preference). Panorama mentioned that Ryanair's planes don't 'dock' next to walkways and that its passengers have to walk airside. So did both my easyJet flights and also one with Delta to New York from Heathrow T4. This entire paragraph contains nothing Ryanair do that rival easyJet don't.

I simply failed to see why Panorama even bothered to run their programme at all. No doubt the recent introduction of mandatory self-printed check-ins featured heavily. Now this is a move that no other airline has yet undertaken: a £5 fee per person to print-off your boarding pass at home before you travel to the airport. There appears no way round paying this and if you arrive at the airport without having done it, you'll be charged £40 per person for them to print it out for you.

Put it simply: if passengers don't read the small print properly, they'll pay for their ignorance. If you don't like the way in which your £10 flight suddenly becomes £15 or more, once you reach the online checkout, you do have other options available: easyJet being one.

Panorama went to web design company Flow Interactive (designers of the excellent NXEC website amongst others) and they even said the small print wasn't particularly 'small'. They were, however, critical that things such as travel insurance is automatically added and it's not immediately obvious how to remove it until you search the page. Three weeks later, in the run-up to the programme going to air, and the page has been redesigned, no doubt hurriedly by Ryanair.

As for Ryanair's Oslo airport being nowhere near Oslo, have you flown from LONDON Luton? A 'mere' 32 miles from London; or how about LONDON Stansted? 40 miles from central London. Even Inverness' airport is 5 miles east of the city and Belfast International is in County Antrim, 18 miles north of the city.

The Panorama programme was put together well, but the actual content of what was reported lacked a considerable amount. My personal feeling towards Ryanair hasn't altered at all. I'd be no more or less willing to fly with them than before Monday at 8.30.

As one reader emailed: "I like Ryanair and have flown with them a few times. I don't think I'd want to work with them, but as you rightfully point out the uniform bond etc runs along the same vein as that which operates in the bus industry [for drivers' acquisition of their PCV license]. I quite like the way Michael O'Leary works, and as he says, you don't have to work or fly with them if you don't want to." (GL)

Tie query

Many are becoming accustom to my love of bus and coach ties. I've recently hit the 700 mark, following the acquisition of another fellow tie enthusiast's collection. Neither he nor I could identify the one below though - hopefully someone out there can.


The tie was produced by Leeds-based John Handley, with the company name in all-lower case, so relatively recently. The blue/white symbol could be that of a pedal cycle, but then why the emblems of buses, coaches and minibuses throughout?

Any assistance gratefully appreciated. Contact me via the Editorial email address: transport.reviewNOT THIS@gmail.com, remember to remove the wording in italics!!

Eventually all 700 will be uploaded to my special Tie Fotopic. (GL)

Tories to retain free bus travel

David Cameron ended weeks of speculation over his party's willingness to retain free off-peak travel for the over-60s and those entitled to concessionary travel, should the Conservative Party be elected to government next spring. Many had feared that the scheme's £1 billion price tag, needed to reimburse operators for the free rides, would be one of the 'hard choices' a new Tory administration would allow to fall by the wayside.

Cameron told the Yorkshire Evening Post that the English National Concessionary Scheme is popular and "would not be axed". He felt clarification was needed after Labour made numerous implications that the Tories would disband the scheme.

Mr Cameron said: "There is no doubt it is very popular and the scaremongering stories of the Government which they like to put around are just that, scaremongering." (GL)