Sillienss At Swanley (4)

A Torrid Time

It was only in 2023 that GoCoach was bought by or merged with Hulleys of Baslow.

In a rather surprising move, the independent Derbyshire operator Hulley's of Baslow has bought Go-Coach of Swanley and all its operations. 

A letter from Go-Coach's Owner, Austin Blackburn, to Go-Coach staff confirms that the sale went ahead on 1st December. Austin Blackburn is remaining with the combined organisation and will be Engineering Manager for both Hulley's and Go-Coach.

Austin Blackburn has been keen to cut down his workload (he estimates he has worked around 70 hours a week for many years), and has no family succession for the Go-Coach business, so was keen that it should be sold to another independent with the same kind of philosophy, rather than one of the larger groups.

Go Coach vehicles began appearing at Hulleys Baslow depot.

Some of them ...

... have now ended up with Andrews of Tideswell ...

... after Hulleys collapsed leaving eye watering debts.

Fortunately, GoCoach's owner was able to extricate his business from the mess before the debacle.

Just over a year earlier, GoCoach had lost the contract to provide frequent buses to the Amazon warehouse just off the Fastrack A Route.

So tough times for the high quality operator in the Sevenoaks and Swanley areas, south east of London.

But the company survived the turmoil and surprised us all by starting a competitive service between Swanley and Dartford on 1st September inst. Arriva had hardly made an effort to promote their 477 and the service had recently been reduced from half hourly to hourly.

Yesterday's blog asked a number of key questions with some suggesting that GoCoach was silly to enter a competitive battle against a national operator with far greater resources.

But if we examine the huge difference between Arriva's attitude and that of the newcomer, it is not to difficult to see why blue has announced capitulation to yellow.

The Go Coach (Bus) leaflet is bright, informative and very attractive.

Longer distance fares are competitive ...

... although short hops would not make for an attractive financial investment!

There is an attractive leaflet ...

... which includes a rather rudimentary but adequate map ...

... plus the timetable of an associated school service.

The full 477 timetable is there, of course ...

... and Roger French snapped a rack of the leaflets on his recently enjoyed 477 ride.

Sadly the online stuff is poor by comparison. The timetable is there, but why, please, do we have to suffler a separate table for each of the five weekdays.

All five are exactly the same!

The on-line route map is also very poor.

During the launch week, GoCoach./Bus offered a extra ride on a London Routemaster,

Good PR!

The difference in attitude between GoCoach/Bus and Arriva is utterly astounding with the latter being largely disinterested. Obviously the yellow lot have something new to sell - but you would expect the company to keep up its standard.

But what will happen when GoAhead runs its 477 from the end of October; with local fares and all the way to Orpington? (That’s  assuming GoAhead will run much the same as Arriva.)

You will not be surprised that fbb is still waiting for a reply to his request for a GoAhead timetable. How long will he have to wait? Will it arrive before the service starts?

Will the fat bloke's postal order timetable ever come?

Yaroooh you fellows! Where's my tuck box?

 More Silliness blog : Fri 19th Sept 

Sillienss At Swanley (3)

Who Did What And When?

10 Question that Must be Asked!

There is no doubt that Arriva was quick to announce the withdrawal from the 477 as soon as the change was registered with The Traffic Commissioners. The last day will be Saturday 25th October.

The intruder is GoCoach (the company) a k a GoBus (the brand) ...

... sotarted operating over part of the Arriva route from 1st September. This means that the service would have been registered sometime in late June.

Question 1 - Did Go Coach get wind of Arriva's decision to abandon the service?  Or did the yellow company read the signs, as in yesterday's blog, signs of decay and lack of commitment; then did they decide to give Arriva a push towards 477 annihilation?

There was no sign of a negative attitude to Arriva on their publicity for the new service.

Exactly the opposite, in fact, with publicity for new 477 being particularly chummy.

Question 2 - Did Arriva actually warn GoCoach of their intentions and, effectively, invite them to step in. This would be "collusion" and thus illegal - but, of course it happens. When fbb was at the fringes of the bus industry they were called "pub meetings", whereby the two (or more} parties would just happen to meet in a pub where ill-advised conversations might, possibly, unfortunately, embarrassingly just happen.

Whoops, deary me!

Question 3 - How come Arriva justified its withdrawal by referring to GoBus "competition" when the newcomer had barely set tyre on the road! 

When Arriva posted their comment ...

Additionally, the introduction of a competing service on the Swanley to Dartford section of the route by another operator from 1 September has significantly impacted the commercial viability of continuing the route. 

... Go Bus had barely started and certainly would have made little immediate impact of Arriva's cash till.

Question 4 - Why is Go Bus not interested in local passengers between Swanley and Dartford. Here is a map which shows Arriva's service unchallenged between Swanley and Orpington.

Arriva would continue to run the RED bit unchallenged and carry local passengers on the "shared" section.. 

And here is Go Coach's very unusual fares policy appplicable between Swanley and Dartford.

Three quid for, say, three stops to the shops? Even by today's standards that is a bii pricey.

Question 5 - why didn't Go Coach run at least hourly between Swanley and Orpington? Was the yellow bus lot hoping to get a bit of Kent County Council money to run the full route?

Even Roger French though this was likely until GoAhead went ahead with their new service.

Following Arriva’s recent decision to withdraw Route 477, an essential transport link between Orpington and Dartford, Go-Ahead Group will step in to serve local communities under the new brand name ‘Kent Country’, ensuring that no one along the route is left without access to vital bus services.

The closure, announced in early September, would have left residents without access to important destinations, including schools and places of work. Kent Country will ensure that the local community continues to have reliable connections to these key locations along the route.

Kent Country will operate from the Fastrack depot, providing continuity for customers. Services under the new operator will begin on 26 October 2025.

Isobel Hedley-Jones, Head of Fastrack ... 

... said: “We recognise the vital role this route plays in connecting people to essential destinations, and we are committed to supporting the community through this transition. The introduction of Kent Country will provide a seamless handover and a dependable service for passengers who rely on this route every day.”

Readers may remember that GoAhead snaffled the Fastrack contract from Arriva.

Laura Trott MBE, MP for Sevenoaks, Swanley and the Dartford Villages ...

... said: “I am delighted that, subsequent to my campaign, Go-Ahead will be taking over the Arriva 477 bus route in full from the end of October. This is brilliant news for residents – especially in Crockenhill – who were facing the prospect of being left without any public transport at all. I am extremely grateful to Go-Ahead for stepping in, and I look forward to working closely with them going forward.”

MPs, like policemen, are looking younger and younger!

Readers may remember that Laura claimed personal credit for saving the Arriva 477 extension to Darent Valley Hospital a while back! 

It did not survive!

Question 6 - how come GoAhead have managed to register their new 477 AND create a new brand in less than the normal registration period? This is possible with the backing of the Council but it might also have been because GoAhead "heard" that Arriva was withdrawing.

Question 7 - The new brand (Kent Country) looks very much like GoAhead preparing the ground for major expansion into what remains of Arriva's "territory" Will we see more Kent Country very soon?

GoAhead has yet to publish a timetable. fbb has asked for one, but, so far, with no response.

He awaits details with excitement.

BUT! Roger French has informed the chubby one that he believes GoAhead will be running their 477 commercially, not seeking any Council cash. So ...

Question 8 - have GoAhead "counted the cost" of taking on a moribund route from Arriva? AND ...

Question 9 - How will Go Coach fare with GoAhead as a far more savvy competitor than Arriva?

Which leads us to ...

Question 10 - Why are there no pictures of Go Coach 477 on line?

Tomorrow, we look at Go Coach (and/or Bus) and their route 477.

Whoops forgot! Roger has ridden the new 477, reported thereon and taken some nice pictures of his journey.

Very smart vehicles!

 Next Swanley Silliness blog : Thurs 18 Sept 

Silliness At Swanley (2)

Silly Arriva Goes Downhill

But not like that; however amusing the idea might be (and however poor a paste-up - fbb is struggling with the minutiae of the new system!).

Herewith a panel timetable from ancient days.

Then a table hidden in Robert Muster's archive shows Arriva still running a 477 every 30 minutes ...

... and extended to Bluewater shopping centre. It must have been before 2022, because this happens.

The locals are far from happy.

Arriva was pleased to reinstate it.

Well, it would have to be reinstated as the MP told them to!

The same gang have campaigned, apparently, and cleverly have managed to stand in exactly the same pose as when the route was cut back. Clever PR eh?

And then Arriva un-reinstaten it.

At some stage in this messy and unhelpful tale, the frequency was reduced to hourly!

And, to conclude this sad saga of superb service (!) to the good people of Kent ...

... it is being obliterated.

It is fair to say that Arriva has not been very enthusiastic about promoting the service; indeed Arriva has not, in recent times, been enthusiastic about promoting any bus service, anywhere, ever!

Photographs on-line show a sorry collection of vehicles over the years with a wheel at each corner and no signs of quality.

Minibuses turned up occasionally with nothing offering any sort of wow factor.

There was, surprise surprise, a very brief period when Arriva managed branded buses.

... but branded., excitingly, in different colours.

fbb is not sure whether the coloured splodges at the rear had any local significance - or, indeed what the splodges were meant to signify anyway.

But it was earlier this month that a nail was formally driven into Arriva's self-adopted design-for-decline coffin. fbb has, as usual, added his thoughtful and considered comments.

We have made the difficult decision to withdraw service 477 following a sustained period of low passenger usage.

and a sustained period of under investment by us.

We have carefully explored all possible options to keep the route running, including a trial last year to extend the service to the local hospital and Bluewater shopping centre, but sadly, it is no longer sustainable.

but we didn't bother much with any publicity - it's all on-line you know!

Additionally, the introduction of a competing service on the Swanley to Dartford section of the route by another operator from 1 September has significantly impacted the commercial viability of continuing the route.

The rotters!

The last day of service will be 25 October 2025. We understand that this will be disappointing for those who rely on the service, this decision has not been taken lightly.

Somehow, customers didn't respond to our appalling on line web site and timetables; but lack of good maps didn't seem to attract them either; surprisingly our eclectic collection of barely average buses did not pull in the crowds. Our cunning plan to halve the frequency seemed to be off-putting to our remaining loyal customer.

Lots of Love : the Managers.

All very silly of Arriva!

But worry not, potential 477 users, the ever (un)resourceful Kent County Council are on the case.

 Next Silliness at Swanley blog : Weds 17 Sept 

Silliness At Swanley (1)

Not Silly Yet - Sense with 477s

There was no date on this London Country Area bus map found on-line; but a careful perusal shows a route 477 from Dartford (top) via Swanley (somewhere in the middle) and terminating at Orpington Goddington Lane and occasionally Chelsfield (bottom left).There is no date on the map, presumably because that piece of historic information was on the front cover which is not pictured!

For the record, the 477 still runs between Dartford and Orpington today!

Please also note that there was a route 431 at Chelsfield which ran from Sevenoaks to  Orpington.

The 431 timetable was never frequent ...

... latterly degenerating into a Monday to Friday only service

The Challenge of Chelsfield

To get to Chelsfield today you have either the R1 which doesn't go to Chelsfield ..'

... but serves Chelsfield station; which, obviously, is nowhere near the village (station left, village at PH, right).

The R1 runs every 20 minutes and was once part of the Orpington Roundabout network.

The R3 does serve Chelsfield village, NOT Chelsfield Station ...

... and also runs every 20 minutes.

Today's operator of both is Metrobus with no sign of any local branding.

Neither route materialises in the somewhat confusing Metrobus web site. It is a good web site if you already know where you want to go.

It has been a nightmare sorting Chelsfield out and it is only by the grace of Robert Munster's bus timetables, Ian Armstrong's London Bus Routes and, via Ian, Mike Harris' bus maps. The R1 and R3 are London buses RED routes.

London Buses web site? No proper maps, no proper timetables, so USELESS.

After a slight modern diversion via Chelsfield, we revert to history.

Back To GREEN

The "477" area was, from the formation of London Transport in 1933,  a Country green operation.

The 477 itself was operated variously from Dartford ...

... and/or Swanley depots. 

The picture below shows the last conductor operated 477 on its final trip to Swanley, shown with its proud but saddened clippie no linger clipping but lovingly clutching his ticket machine.

It looks as if they gave him a Routemaster double deck coach for his final day!

You can get a model of the Dartford garage ...

... which didn't change much in later days.

Sadly this iconic depot has been demolished.

The 477 continued under National Bus Company ownership ...

... and still ran to Chelsfield where the terminus was the historic Five Bells pub ...

/// quaint but ancient.

Buses ran every 30 minutes all the way in London country bus days.

So, London Country South East became Arriva via Kentish Bus.

Arriva's 477 will feature tomorrow. 

 Next Silly Swanley blog : Tues 16 Sept