Arriva Departs : D & G Arrivas 1 (Arrives?)

 The late Donld Rumsfeld ...

... put it so well!

Surely he was talking about Arriva's "walking away" from a substantial part of its business in Cheshire East (all of it)? fbb recently published their list of services "under consultation" - which was a lie. There was to be NO consultation, the services were already de-registered when Arriva published their press release. The withdrawn services are listed again below ...

... as they say on many TV reality show "in no particular order" - which is how fbb spent most of yesterday morning trying to sort out what the known knowns might be! His search for service 7 at Winsford proved fruitless! That is because there isn't a service 7 at Winsford.

There are, however services 7A and 7C and it is these you need to enter into search engines to stand any chance of finding the "7". Which is why fbb couldn't at first.

Currently no replacements for both or either have been announced.

In general terms the local authority responsible for overseeing bus services in the area is Cheshire East.

So blog readers will appreciate the proactive way that the council has reacted to Arriva's blanket withdrawal.

Good on you!

This is the same positive approach used a few years ago for some services once again taken over by D & G from a failed operator.

But, despite this snub, D & G have stepped in again; this time to register several of the Arriva cast-offs.

So who is D & G?

The company was started way back in 1998 by David Reeves and Gerald Henderson. All we need to know now is where the company name came from! 

The history of the company is long and complex, with other operators bought, sold, bough back and sold again; a sort of corporate musical chairs.

With the sudden demise of G, his shares were bought by one Julian Peddle. Eventually our Ju bought the D shares as well and D & G became part of Centrebus, but continues to trade in its own right.

So D & G have taken over Arriva's route 31 ...

... and will operate a similar hourly service.

... and likewise the 37...

... is replaced by something very similar.

There are some detailed differeces if route but these need not cloud the overall picture.

But in the case of Arriva's 38 ...

 

... D & G already operates a competitive 38 ...

... so things remain largely the same, but with more money for the D & G piggy bank!

The changes happen from 23rd April.

While fbb was researching these events, he struggled repeatedly with Arriva's web site, but somewhere (he knows not where) he did come across what appears to be an accurate and up-to-date map of Arriva's soon to be jettisoned East Cheshire network.

We note the 31 and 31W (GREEN) between Crewe and Winsford, 37  (ORANGE) via Sandbach with both continuing north to Northwich. The 38 (YELLOW) nips off the map eastwards to Macclesfield.

Which all reminds fbb of a University Challenge question from many years ago.

"If Northwich is in the north and Middlewich is in the middle which wich is in the south?"

Answer at the conclusion of this blog.

Which leaves us with the 84. This is a real interurban trek from Crewe to Chester.

A look at pictures of the 84 on-line gives us a potted history of Arriva liveries. So, again in no particular order, we have an early blue and stone ...

... right through to dark blue Sapphire.

Whatever happened to Sapphire? 

Then right up-to-date we have probably the most boring of the lot, plain pallid light blue.

But as a special treat you could have an 84 specially branded for the Welsh speakers of East Cheshire ...

... as per the side of the bus.

But shouldn't it be "SAFFIR"?

But, as yet, D & G have not published their timetable.

What's going on? 

Stagecoach is going on!

Stagecoach has also registered an 84, and will operate it from the Chester end.

The boss of Stagecoach in the Northwest (Sorry, it's Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire - neat name, eh?) explains.

Could we, yet again, end up with two operators competing for business all the way from Crewe to Chester and thus BOTH losing oodles of moolah ?

Yet another daftness of "the commercial model"?

And tomorrow we will meet another potential daftness, Here is a clue for Crewe.

First Bus runs an hourly service 3 from Hanley via Kidsgrove throughm to Crewe.

Tomorrow, therefore, we look at what is happening to Arriva's former local services in the various towns.

And the Wich which is in the south is Nantwich. And that was one of the rare Paxo question that fbb got right!

A Heartsease Correction

A corrected (and improved) route diagram for Heartsease in Norwich - yesterday's blog contained an incorrect version.

 Next A D & G blog : Friday 17th March