Private operators who believe in service
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PROSPECTS for independent stage carriage operation in Greater London have probably not been better since the Twenties. The London Regional Transport Bill soon becomes law and will encourage competition and the involvement of small operators in the London scene. And Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley is known to favour the introduction of new blood and new ways of providing public transport.
Independent bus operation is not new to Greater London. A variety of small operators run services in different parts of the area in full agreement with London Transport One of the newest operations is Metrobus of Orpington, Kent. The company successfully runs a service on a route which has not interested LT and which has a history of independent opera tion that started in 1969.
The present Greater London Council seems convinced that independent operators running London buses will be cowboy operators with scant regard for safety or the welfare of the workforce. With Metrobus, as with a number of other small operators running services not deemed to be viable by LT, that definitely is not the case.
Metrobus runs the service with modern well-maintained and equipped vehicles. From the passenger point of view the service is similar to that provided by the transport authority, from the ratepayers viewpoint the service is far better value for money. The small company has operating costs around one third of those of its big counterpart and runs its operation with little revenue support.
The company is run by two directors, Gary Wood and Peter Larking. Both are Certificate of Professional Competence holders and both have had a long interest in bus operation although, before becoming involved with the Croydon to Orpington service, Peter was a civil servant and Gary a driver for National Bus subsidiary London Country. Both have watched with interest the mixed fortunes of the routes they now operate since their schooldays.
It was in 1969 that John Wylde started a service between Orpington and Croydon using 12seat minibuses. At the same time a large private housing development was being built at Forestdale not far from the new minibus service.
At first the estate developers provided their own free bus service between the estate and the Croydon railhead. In 1970 John Wylde's company, North Downs Rural Transport, took over the Forestdale services, but its small vehicles could not cope with the peak loadings. Another independent operator, Orpington and District, was formed and took over the Forestdale service.
Orpington and District operated a fleet of elderly second-hand buses including both doubleand single-deck vehicles. The minibuses again ave way to large vehicles in 1976 when North Downs Rural Transport folded and Orpington 3nd District combined its routes Nith the Forestdale services.
This operator continued the :iervices until 1981 when main:enance problems with its fleet af old buses together with cash low difficulties forced it to close. l'ary and Peter, together with 3ome colleagues, were aware of he operator's problems and were actively looking for ways to :rave the services.
They reluctantly decided that :hey had neither the cash or the mmediate expertise necessary o buy buses and start their own )peration, but they were ;onvinced that the service renained both necessary and riable.
At the time Peter was doing ;ome part-time driving for the fillingbourne bus company and le suggested to Tillingbourne 3eneral Manager Barry King hat his company should form a ;ubsidiary to operate the routes. V first Tillingbourne was not inerested, but after continued iiscussion the company varmed to the idea and Tilling)ourne (Metropolitan) Ltd was ;et up. Peter and Gary were imong the directors of the sub;idiary, which managed to keep Arvices running immediately ifter the demise of Orpington ind District.
To change the image and resore credibility, Tillingbourne Metropolitan) put brand-new :oaches and buses on the route. Three AEC Re!lances, originally lestined to join the Green Line leet of London Country, were icquired. Two have Duple Domiiant 2 coach bodies built to bus !rant specifications and the hird, a Dominant bus body. Alhough all day-to-day running naintenance was to be carried lut at Orpington, major monthly ervices and other important abs were to be carried out at the -illingbourne depot at Crank igh, Surrey, some 30 miles way.
Together with the new image, lew route numbers were dopted and new publicity naterial distributed. A local upermarket wanted an all-over dvertisement double deck bus .n the route which passed its ,remises. Tillingbourne (Metrorolitan) obliged and purchased a Iecker specifically to meet this eed.
But finding a suitable bus was ot that easy as a low railway ridge on the service meant that le more recent buses on the larket were just too high. The olution was the purchase of a :ristol VRT low-bridge bus that had recently served with a National Bus Company subsidiary.
Originally this bus was to run on peak-hour services. Quickly its operation became necessary not only to display its advertisement, but also to meet the passenger demand.
Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) moved from its original yard into its present premises — a garage originally occupied, ironically, by Orpington and District. This includes a workshop large enough to handle more extensive vehicle maintenance procedures than the original yard.
Tillingbourne subsequently decided to concentrate on its own services which were developing nearer its Cranleigh base, and so Peter and Gary became the two directors of the new Metrobus company, which has now been in existence for around six months.
Metrobus has a fleet of six vehicles. The three AEC Reliances bought by Tillingbourne for Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) remain in the fleet and are now leased from the Cranleigh company. The Bristol VRT decker is now in the Metrobus blue and orange livery and two other Titlingbourne buses are owned by the new company. These are both Bedford YMT vehicles, one is u Plaxton Supreme dual-purpose coach built in 1977 and the other a 1978 Duple Dominant bus, which has 60 seats including three and two seating at the rear part of the saloon.
The maintenance facilities have been improved and a pit installed at the Orpington garage. The Metrobus workforce consists of six drivers including the two directors, who both take the wheel for regular shifts, and two fitters. The company also uses a number of part-time drivers from various walks of life including a school teacher.
When I spoke to Peter and Gary about Metrobus its first six months' accounts were soon to be published. The directors were confident that these would show a healthy picture.
The directors are aware of the importance of the image of their operation and the need for continuing passenger information and marketing. They have only modest ambitions to expand the operation and would like to con solidate it.
Their concern for image and, indeed, corporate identity manifests itself not only in the livery of the buses and coaches, but also in the emphasis placed on ensuring that all bear the correct destination blind and number. Each bus stop served has a timetable displayed whenever possible. Where the route is not shared with London Transport services Metrobus bus stop flags are displayed.
Additionally, each bus always carries a supply of up-to-date timetables and other publicity material. Timetables and excursion programmes have also been circulated by door-to-door delivery in the areas served by the route. Gary and Peter regard the stage services as bread and butter for Metrobus and this is supplemented by private hire excursions and tours — work which many other small operators would regard as their staple diet.
Like its predecessor, Metrobus continues to operate an excursion and tour programme and has established a Summer service to Brighton and Worthing. The excursion programme includes both half and full day tours.
Metrobus coaches operate excursions from the area which is served by its stage routes. These operate every Sunday from May to the end of September. For the peak summer months some mid-week excursions are also being sold. The company has not actively marketed private hire services but has found that jobs have resulted from enquiries coming in, again from the area served by the stage routes.
The backbone of the Metrobus network is its service 357 which is operatred hourly and serves all points, including Forestdale, between Orpington and Croydon. Some journeys are extended to serve a pick-your-own fruit and vegetable farm when the various products are in season. Routes 353, 354 and 355 serve part of the main route during peak hours. Service 355 links Croydon with Forestdale only, service 353 misses out Forestdale and provides a faster peak hours Orpington-to-Croydon link, and service 353 pro
vides a daily link from Croydon and Forestdale areas to Bromley.
The Monday-to-Friday service operates from 6.20 am to 8.00 pm. Saturday services start later and finish earlier.
Four vehicles are scheduled for the daily stage requirement and of these one is available during the day for private hire.
In an emergency the schedule can be operated by three buses although this is not routine as it would not allow enough of a margin to overcome the problems of traffic congestion. Croydon Council is a fairly regular private hire customer for the bus or coach not required during the peak, often using it on school games jobs.
Popular accusations that private operators merely wish to take the cream and not provide a service clearly do not apply to Metrobus, although Peter and Gary are aware that they could face some criticism for not providing late-evening or Sunday services. They are looking at all possibilities and would be keen to provide the services if revenue support was forthcoming as it is unlikely that they would generate enough revenue to support themselves.
At present the operator receives payment for carrying passengers with old people concessionary cards and for charging common fares with LT over route sections shared with its services.
With operating costs of between 70 and 90p per bus mile the company could provide far better value for ratepayers' money than LT which, according to its 1983 annual report, has operating costs of around £2.57 per bus mile.
Low wages are often associated with smaller bus operators. Gary and Peter pay their drivers less than they would earn on LT, but more than they would earn working for London Country. And the employees have direct contact with a management which shares the same tasks as its workforce.
Before long a decision will have to be taken on how to replace the current rolling stock. The Gardner-engined decker is 14 years old and is necessary for certain peak hour journeys. The passengers notice when it is off the road and the 61-seat Bedford takes its place. This vehicle can accommodate the passengers, but is fairly unpopular as its two and three seating arrangement makes it difficult for passengers to get up from their seat when they happen to be next to the window.
Despite its age the decker looks modern and smart (but for its H registration plate), and proves generally reliable and economical.
The two Bedfords in the fleet are also proving cost-effective. Their low cost, fuel consumption and good spare parts availability are appreciated and the fitters find them easy to work on. They are a little slower on the service than the AECs as they have manual gearboxes.
The three Reliances are popular with drivers and generally reliable. They have semiautomatic gearboxes and are fairly heavy on brake linings. Fuel consumption and spare parts prices make them less cost-effective than the Bedfords.
The directors are conscious of the problem created by the high floor on the mid-engined buses but have not decided on what should replace them. They think that a Bedford YNT with a semiautomatic gearbox would be a sensible bus, although this would not overcome the floor height problem.
Leyland Nationals would be attractive, although they may not be appreciated by the fitters. The company could do with a second low height decker and would definitely look for one with a Gardner engine.
Interestingly, the coaches generally attract fewer casual riders than the buses as people expect fares to be higher. To overcome this problem in future Metrobus might consider a single deck bus with coach seats so it could also operate on the Brighton service and excursion programme.
I asked Peter and Gary if they planned any dramatic expansion once London Regional Transport came into being. Their plans are modest, although they would like a couple of extra vehicles and would not mind taking on three London Country routes that operate near their base. They feel that the routes numbered 431, 471 and 493 could fit nicely into the Metrobus operation and would be less expensive to operate from the Metrobus garage.
I feel that the concept of operation at Metrobus is one that could be extended to other areas where individual attention to a small number of routes and a flexible approach to working them could lead to as good a service to the public, if not better, and far lighter burden on ratepayers.
Metrobus is small but it is organised right down to its tickei machines and its route publicity. It demonstrates that small need not be bad and can offer thE public a service not designec merely to make a fast buck.