But First, Stagecoach
Yesterday, fbb wondered about the financial sense of rejecting a £1.9billion offer in favour of a paltry £595million. It seems that a huge chunk of the National Express offer is not in real money but NatEx shares. Their offer actually values Stagecoach at £433 million.
The DWS offer is in real money; which should keep Uncle Brian and c-owner sister Ann in deep fried Mars bars abd Haggis soup for a good few months. Other shareholders (which includes the big investors who actually pull the strings for large Plc-type undertakings) will also do better.
So Happy Days Are Here Again?
Not according to Rog**!
Good and unanswerable question from **Mr French.
DWS is an ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY - there's a clue in the name. They are in business to make as much money as they can for their shareholders by managing the assets. It matters not a jot what the assets are as long as they are profitable.
And if the assets don't give a good enough return, they will throw them away and buy some more!
The DWS offer leaves Stagecoach management and its Perth HQ untouched and doesn't require Stagecoach to get rid of any of the assets, i.e. Megabus, Citylink or Falcon.
Yet!
Watch this space!
And Second, First
Recent blogs looked at the First Bristol Bath and West Of England 40 page brochure extolling the virtues of their new fares structure and all the benefits for the passenger. Yep, you guessed it; fares are increasing in Bristol, Bath and the West of England.
But the booklet is so complex that ordinary passengers will struggle to understand it all. fbb is NOT an ordinary passenger and it was too much for his elderly brain cells, few though they be!
And so to First in South Yorkshire.
"Our fares are changing." True; but they are actually increasing, but unlike in Bristol it appears that you get better value on the App. Really?
Here is the current price for a day ticket in Sheffield.
20p cheaper on the electronic thingey?
And from Sunday 13th?
Yikes! £4.50 on the bus AND ON THE APP! If fbb has done the sums correctly, that represents an increase of 25% for App users and an increase of 7% for cash payers.
Very flexible?
But why, oh why, do they try to hide the obvious fact that the fares are being increased? Surely no one is conned by "revised fares" or "our fares are changing". Even First has been partially honest in one if its chummy FAQ answers. 
But there it is again. Surely the phrase should be "we have not increased our fares ..."?
But shouldn't it be the other way round? First makes the improvements, invests more etc. etc. then more passengers will travel - and they might not need to change the fares.
Maybe First management needs to read a few textbooks on the "economics of the free market"?
Does Tesco tell us that they are putting their prices up so that they can improve their stores, their service and their range of products?
And in any case, do the customers really want this patronising style of Q and A?
The answers seems blindingly obvious! Of course "I" want these things but "I" know it is going to cost me more to get them!
Seemples.
And First will not tell you on-line what your "occasional" local fare will be - not even what it "might" be.
You cannot "find the details on these pages" only some of the details - and often not the details you want.
Then there is this on-line panel:-
Does this mean that there are no returns (two trip tickets) available in Sheffield; BUT I can travel from Sheffield to Doncaster AND BACK for £4.40 - or £4 if I use two of my pack of 10 singles?
Cheap as chips!
But is that really the same "flexible" price as a trip to the local shops and back?
And, of course, with no printed lists, you cannot sit back and read all the detail about your fare changes in a calm way at your own convenience. 
Without a cosy leaflet, you have to log on, log off, tap, scroll and scream!
And possibly, in your frustration, fling your phone where you would not really want it to be flung?
And A Tricky Puzzle Picture
The vehicle is on rail replacement duty - but whose bus and which railways station?
A very obvious clue has been expunged!
Next Variety blog : Saturday 12th March
Many people more generally bring up Supermarkets and say "Would Tesco do A or B?" when looking at bus company activities but they never acknowledge that these are completely different businesses operating in a different regulatory environment and different public expectations. You say when was the last time Tesco said they were putting their prices up to improve their stores etc? My question is when was the last time your saw Tescos (or any other major Supermarket chain) warn you that they had put their prices up at all? They may advertise short term deals or competition related pricing (Tescos or Sainsburys advertising their prices on certain ranges match Aldi or Lidl for instance) but they never advise of general price changes (even at the shelf with the item you have to know the price before to know if it has changed), of changes to the range being offered or a change in the store layout explaining where things have moved to - if bus companies acted in this manner we would be rightly castigated for taking customers for granted. Bus Companies can learn from retail businesses but it has to be accepted that buses operate in a different environment and lessons will have to be modified to work in a bus circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Lothian bus so presumably we're not at Holyhead, Penzance or Lowestoft!
ReplyDeleteBustimes says it spent last Sunday pretending to be a train between Derby and Uttoxeter. The new owner's fleet number is on the dash...
DeleteAh!
Delete12.5% not 25%. Seems a shame to lose the discount on the app as, if Sheffield is similar to other places, it's how people prefer to pay.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the sudden Stagecoach fare hikes up to 10% on your own doorstep (assuming the bus turns up of course but country services are prioritised over Exeter city ones) and penalising anyone such as yourself that doesn't like using technology??
ReplyDeleteTo be fair..fares are going up across the country..be in Stagecoach, First or Go Ahead. Can only speak as I find and say that even after fare increase Stagecoach fares are still way cheaper in Plymouth than Citybus AKA Go Ahead
DeleteYes agree going up generally but don't agree those without access to technology & paying on bus should be heavily penalised on Stagecoach SW, which is as you say much cheaper in Plymouth as the minority operator fighting the mighty Citybus on certain key corridors (such as Derriford).
Delete