fbb Gets Confused!
A border runs along the River Clyde between neighbouring towns of Hamilton and Motherwell, as does the M74! Hamilton is in South Lanarkshire ...
... whilst Motherwell is in North Lanarkshire.
Both unitary counties border on Glasgow and both benefit from buses from the city.
It was this picture that set fbb on his attempt to renew his acquaintance with sone bus services in what is generally known as "The Central Belt"
He sort of recognised the route but the operator was unfamiliar. Once upon a time Central Scottish 241 was a much longer service running from Carluke.
It seems that, from the posters in the window, McKindless buses attacked the incumbent post deregulation with their own 41 ...
... and with competitive undercutting fares as well!
The company grew rapidly from a small start on the fringes of Glasgow, eventually having a purpose-built depot at Parkhead.
Expansion culminated in the operation (also partly competitive) of route 62 in Glasgow. Here it is in the hands of the Corporation buses ...
... then PTE-ised ...
... then First Bus ...
... and here, McKindless.
History may show that the company expanded too fast and too widely because at 1900 on Friday 19th February 2010 ...
... the company collapsed. Wikipedia (always reliable, possibly as reliable as the local press) reported its demise.
The end of the company left 116 people unemployed. There were also allegations of tax fraud, with the Inland Revenue telling former employees that the company had not paid tax or national insurance contributions on their behalf since 2004.
The company's depot at Bogside was taken over by new company P&C Buses, which also took on several former McKindless services in North Lanarkshire.
P&C was itself dissolved in 2013.
Since then, McKindless has been succeeded by JMB Travel, which operates many former McKindless services in Lanarkshire and uses similar branding to McKindless.
JMB seems to be a reliable and professional operation - but so, apparently, was McKindless.
Here is just a snapshot from the company web site.
Driver shortages are fairly normal these days, but it can be useful to look at route or timetable news. Clicking on the above text (right) is an excellent example of how to do it. fbb guesses that we are blessed with a PDF which implies printed material.
The front cover is good ...
... with a clear headline and a simplified map.
Then we have a more detailed map ...
... plus, of course, the full timetable.
The evening and Sunday service is a short working but runs through to central Glasgow.
The 29 group is a tendered service by SPT and it is revealing to compare JMB's leaflet with the uninspiring offering from SPT.
The timetable is he same, of course, and one benefit from the "official" leaflet is that you do get a full set of fare tables.
Usually you get a rudimentary map, but, in this case ...
... you don't!
Many operators of SPT tenders simply don't bother with their own publicity, so it is commendable that JMB are keen enough to do something better.
Sadly, nothing so useful for the 41!
Pity.
But the buses on the 41 are very smart!
And, as we have seen, well branded.
Talking of Hillpark on the 29s; when fbb was a-courting the future Mrs fbb, he drove, with father-in-law, from Bearsden to Hillpark to observe and photograph Glasgow Corporation's first and only Leyland Nationals (fleet numbers an innovative LN1 and LN2) ...
... on a new shuttle service into the estate, a little "off the beaten track" ...
... where the 29s are that original route's successor.
Confused.com
Alert readers may have spotted that the "teaser" from yesterday's blog ...
... referred to "Ayrshire". That's because your noble blogger got his Scottish "Unitaries" all of a fankle. He had come up with a good title as well; it was to have been ...
An Ayrshire Area Airing
Neat eh? But not to be, this time around.
Next Variety blog : Saturday 14th January
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