Which Hand On The Brand?
First it was Catch22, then it was Coastliner ...
... but then the Coastliner brand seemed to vanish from the vehicles. Was it an objection from Transdev ...
We have also met Londoner Buses...
... and Altonian Coaches ...
... all part of Mr Philip Higgs growing and widespread public transport empire.
And not forgetting the open top bus tour of Manchester.
But then, something changes. Instead of Coastliner on the smart green and blue buses, a new name appears.
Transpora?
Of course Transpora has a web site plus Facebook and Twitter pages. It appears to be yet another name for the Blackpool bus operation, but now (as Transpora Group) including Londoner Buses and Altonian, plus Wedding Buses ...
Plus goodies ...
... which might not be easily bookable if they are trundling up and down route A in London.
There is also MiCab ...
... but clicking on the graphic was ineffective! The only likely MiCab fbb could find was a bit too far away for even Mt Higgs to operate - Mexico.
But there was something strangely familiar about the style and the possible over-optimism of the Transpora web site. Companies House reveals that there are two "active" directors of Transpora. One is Mr Higgs and the other ...
... a certain Mr Rhys Hand.
Mt Hand came to some prominence in Bristol in 2016 running various bus operations and a fleet of taxis. His web sites were full of optimism and promise but delivery was shaky at best.
The Higgs-Hand togetherness also shares directorships at Altonian Coaches where we read that vehicles can be hired from depots at Southampton, Blackpool, Manchester and Bristol.
Bristol? Yes Mr Hand with the newly created Transpora, is back in the city!
And here is the route via the Bridgwater Road and across to Hengrove Park (shown in GREY).
The buses also appear on a staff shuttle for the Co-op.
As far as fbb can gather Transpora, as a new company, has yet to file its first annual accounts with Companies House. Those who do so regularly will know that the requirements for a small business (a micro entity) are minimalist. But a disaster in the making might well reveal itself as, indeed, would a potential gold mine.
Neither is likely after just one year of trading. But bus watchers will be keeping a close eye on the future of Transpora's operations; especially in view of the previous experiences of its two directors.
And A Beverley Bell P.S.
Mrs Bell was the Senior Traffic Commissioner involved in the long-running spat with Philip Higgs as per the first blog in this series.
She resigned.
She now runs a consultancy service specialising in helping operators cope with the regulatory side of the transport business ...
... notably appearing at the Public Enquiries led by ...
... you guessed it ...
... Traffic Commissioners!
In the blurb she proffers the thought that such appearances can be daunting and very stressful. Yep! In her time as a TC, she did plenty of daunt and caused plenty of stress!! Whether justifyable or not depends on whether you won or lost!
On reflection, either way was daunting and stressful!
Next Cartographic blog :Wednesday 4th January
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