Just seen this on linkedin.
Some good news, I know it’s rare at the moment! We’ve just heard our tenders for some more routes at Prior Pursglove College were successful, so that now gives us 12 out of the 13 available, the planning starts now
(17 Jun 2020, 9:09 am)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Just seen this on linkedin.
Great news isn't it. We'll now operate all of routes 1-12 which is basically what I used to operate at Stagecarriage and the remaining one (13, ex Skelton Coaches) stays with M&D Travel.
(17 Jun 2020, 12:05 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Great news isn't it. We'll now operate all of routes 1-12 which is basically what I used to operate at Stagecarriage and the remaining one (13, ex Skelton Coaches) stays with M&D Travel.
Really good news. Good to see and hear of local operators picking up work like this.
Quick update from our fleet. B9 Levante FJ12GAX has finished its rebuild, and been repainted all white. Stickers to be applied next. The other one (FJ12GBV) is away at Glen Valley being converted to 70 seats.
B10M Premier N861DSP is for sale if anyone wants a cheap school bus!
Not my photos...
Will you be getting some second hand buses or renting any for the school contracts ?
(10 Jul 2020, 5:53 pm)col87 wrote [ -> ]Will you be getting some second hand buses or renting any for the school contracts ?
Yes we will be, but it’s yet to be finalised. I’m going to look at some on Tuesday apparently.
(11 Jul 2020, 6:58 am)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Yes we will be, but it’s yet to be finalised. I’m going to look at some on Tuesday apparently.
Former GNE Solo YJ10MFN (ex 705) has joined our fleet today.
We’ve also done a very quiet soft launch of the new CoathamConnect brand which you can see it is displaying.... more news on this soon!
(05 Aug 2020, 3:13 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Former GNE Solo YJ10MFN (ex 705) has joined our fleet today.
We’ve also done a very quiet soft launch of the new CoathamConnect brand which you can see it is displaying.... more news on this soon!
I never used much from that batch after they came north, but found them decent enough to ride on in their previous life.
It will be interesting to see what the bodywork on them is like. Visually, some of them weren't in the best of condition prior to moving north. I couldn't have seen that much being spent on them once they did.
However, intregued to know more about the new brand and what it's going to be used on.
(05 Aug 2020, 3:59 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]I never used much from that batch after they came north, but found them decent enough to ride on in their previous life.
It will be interesting to see what the bodywork on them is like. Visually, some of them weren't in the best of condition prior to moving north. I couldn't have seen that much being spent on them once they did.
However, intregued to know more about the new brand and what it's going to be used on.
Announced today that we will be launching a service 18 under the CoathamConnect brand which will link Stokesley, Great Alton, Guisborough and Saltburn soon! More details when I can.
Levantes FJ12GAX/GBV both arrived back from 70 seat conversion at Glen Valley today.
(12 Aug 2020, 8:31 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Announced today that we will be launching a service 18 under the CoathamConnect brand which will link Stokesley, Great Alton, Guisborough and Saltburn soon! More details when I can.
Levantes FJ12GAX/GBV both arrived back from 70 seat conversion at Glen Valley today.
Congratulations! Hopefully service 18 will be successful! Just out of interest, is the stretch between Stokesley and Guisborough supported by NYCC (who were looking to find a replacement for Arriva's 81s) or is it a commercial operation?
(12 Aug 2020, 11:33 pm)peter wrote [ -> ]Congratulations! Hopefully service 18 will be successful! Just out of interest, is the stretch between Stokesley and Guisborough supported by NYCC (who were looking to find a replacement for Arriva's 81s) or is it a commercial operation?
It’s completely commercial though does have an existing school contract wrapped around it.
(13 Aug 2020, 7:56 am)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]It’s completely commercial though does have an existing school contract wrapped around it.
Timetable for the 18 now available and I’ve attached it to this post too! Just the one bus and driver to start with...
[attachment=9531]
(20 Aug 2020, 9:51 am)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Timetable for the 18 now available and I’ve attached it to this post too! Just the one bus and driver to start with...
I understand the reasons why, but it's a shame the gamble wasn't taken for a Saturday service - especially as the farmers markets are back up and running in Saltburn.
The potential for daytrippers to/from the coast would potentially be higher on a weekend too.
Any ideas on ticket acceptance or pricing?
(20 Aug 2020, 10:15 am)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]I understand the reasons why, but it's a shame the gamble wasn't taken for a Saturday service - especially as the farmers markets are back up and running in Saltburn.
The potential for daytrippers to/from the coast would potentially be higher on a weekend too.
Any ideas on ticket acceptance or pricing?
Yeah it's something we'll look to grow and if it proves worthwhile we'll certainly want a Saturday service, perhaps next summer if it picks up. Saltburn seemed to prove more popular than Stokesley with the few Facebook posts we've done so that will be interesting to see.
Fares will be similar to Arriva, we didn't want to change them too much. Not sure it'll be worthwhile us joining the Explorer scheme at the moment though?
(20 Aug 2020, 11:48 am)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Yeah it's something we'll look to grow and if it proves worthwhile we'll certainly want a Saturday service, perhaps next summer if it picks up. Saltburn seemed to prove more popular than Stokesley with the few Facebook posts we've done so that will be interesting to see.
Fares will be similar to Arriva, we didn't want to change them too much. Not sure it'll be worthwhile us joining the Explorer scheme at the moment though?
Fingers crossed it works.
I do think there's a gap and hopefully it can develop in to a successful operation.
Looking at the lay-over time in Saltburn, is there anything that can be done, to open up the service to other parts of Saltburn? There's nothing that currently goes off Windsor Road/Station Square despite it only being a small part of the town and I would have thought there be some opportunities for a small extension with a hail and ride option along Marine Parade, Glenside, Albion Terrace or Upleatham St.
People might only use it for short-hops to/from Saltburn, but there's potential revenue there which it won't achieve if its laying over for 20/25 mins.
(20 Aug 2020, 4:18 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Fingers crossed it works.
I do think there's a gap and hopefully it can develop in to a successful operation.
Looking at the lay-over time in Saltburn, is there anything that can be done, to open up the service to other parts of Saltburn? There's nothing that currently goes off Windsor Road/Station Square despite it only being a small part of the town and I would have thought there be some opportunities for a small extension with a hail and ride option along Marine Parade, Glenside, Albion Terrace or Upleatham St.
People might only use it for short-hops to/from Saltburn, but there's potential revenue there which it won't achieve if its laying over for 20/25 mins.
Had a look at this on a run out the other day... possibly one to look at in the future I think. Have plans for all sorts as you can imagine but we’ve tied it to the connection times with the 81 in Guisborough from Stokesley direction. If this got moved in future we could probably take the layover in Saltburn out and add more at the Stokesley end, which we’ve had a few requests for. The 80/89 contract is up for retender soon too so we’ll see what happens.
In other news brand new 70 seat Volvo B8R / Plaxton Leopard YX70LTJ arrived yesterday direct from the factory. It’s in the white version of the Coatham livery.
(27 Aug 2020, 7:54 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ] Had a look at this on a run out the other day... possibly one to look at in the future I think. Have plans for all sorts as you can imagine but we’ve tied it to the connection times with the 81 in Guisborough from Stokesley direction. If this got moved in future we could probably take the layover in Saltburn out and add more at the Stokesley end, which we’ve had a few requests for. The 80/89 contract is up for retender soon too so we’ll see what happens.
In other news brand new 70 seat Volvo B8R / Plaxton Leopard YX70LTJ arrived yesterday direct from the factory. It’s in the white version of the Coatham livery.
Is the 81 likely to be moved?
I reckon there's more than enough time as it stands to do some sort of circuit around Saltburn in the time it has to layover. In addition to any comfort breaks.
As an example: Windsor Road - Upleatham St - Bandstand - Station Square. 7mins tops? (more likely less).
Return 7mins - still leaves about 10mins layover.
I can see why a few mins extra would be beneficial in Stokesley mind.
Popping to the shop for some bits and jumping on the same bus back is nigh on impossible as the timetable stands. Whereas those extra few minutes layover could make all the difference.
(05 Aug 2020, 3:59 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]I never used much from that batch after they came north, but found them decent enough to ride on in their previous life.
It will be interesting to see what the bodywork on them is like. Visually, some of them weren't in the best of condition prior to moving north. I couldn't have seen that much being spent on them once they did.
However, intregued to know more about the new brand and what it's going to be used on.
I used them quite regular up here and found them to be a decent ride. The seats always lure you into a false sense of security, as they're a lot harder than they look! But comfortable enough for a short journey at the same time.
(13 Aug 2020, 7:56 am)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]It’s completely commercial though does have an existing school contract wrapped around it.
Good to see someone try out a new commercial service.
Does it have free WiFi (as I noticed the stickers are still visible after the silver repaint) or are they yet to be removed from the GNE service?
Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
(28 Aug 2020, 9:47 am)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Is the 81 likely to be moved?
I reckon there's more than enough time as it stands to do some sort of circuit around Saltburn in the time it has to layover. In addition to any comfort breaks.
As an example: Windsor Road - Upleatham St - Bandstand - Station Square. 7mins tops? (more likely less).
Return 7mins - still leaves about 10mins layover.
I can see why a few mins extra would be beneficial in Stokesley mind.
Popping to the shop for some bits and jumping on the same bus back is nigh on impossible as the timetable stands. Whereas those extra few minutes layover could make all the difference.
To be honest I was thinking more taking in some of the villages at the Stokesley end, like Great Broughton & Hutton Rudby. The contract for the 80/89 is up for tender in April though so perhaps best not to jump on that just yet, I have a few ideas of how to improve that but we're a bit limited in what we can do at the moment after six months with little revenue.
As for the Saltburn town part - most of those streets are within a 10 min walk of town so perhaps wouldn't pick up more than a handful of concessionary passes, and there's no bus stops there. It could potentially be re-routed via Victoria Terrace & Albion Terrace in and out though, we looked at that last week when testing. Again there's no bus stops though so would be limited to hail & ride. And we'd miss the school which is a potential traffic source if we find it develops (the afternoon trip is potentially going to pick some up).
(30 Aug 2020, 11:28 pm)Adrian wrote [ -> ]I used them quite regular up here and found them to be a decent ride. The seats always lure you into a false sense of security, as they're a lot harder than they look! But comfortable enough for a short journey at the same time.
Good to see someone try out a new commercial service.
Does it have free WiFi (as I noticed the stickers are still visible after the silver repaint) or are they yet to be removed from the GNE service?
Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
It doesn't, we need to get round to taking the stickers off. It's the first commercial service that Coatham have tried but they're willing to give new things a try.
(31 Aug 2020, 11:37 am)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]It could potentially be re-routed via Victoria Terrace & Albion Terrace in and out though, we looked at that last week when testing. Again there's no bus stops though so would be limited to hail & ride. And we'd miss the school which is a potential traffic source if we find it develops (the afternoon trip is potentially going to pick some up).
Isn't that bridge off of Marske Mill Lane a 4-tonne axel weight limit though?
I guess that theoretically allows for 8-tonne vehicle over two axels, but not much room to spare if you ever had a full load. Certainly wouldn't allow a full size SD to ever operate.