First set to end ALL bus services in East Lothian (Read 950 times)

[fromupnorth]

www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/14512760.Bus_company_First_set_to_end_ALL_bus_services_in_East_Lothian_this_summer/

BUS company First Scotland East plans to end all its bus services in East Lothian this summer, it has announced.

All First's operations will cease in the county from August 14, while the company's bus depots in North Berwick and Musselburgh, if the proposals go ahead. The company claims that its operations in the county "have not been viable for a number of years, despite working hard to turn the business around and attract sufficient customers in what has become an increasingly competitive market".

The firm said it had "been compelled to maintain the substantial part of its network through undertakings agreed some 14 years ago following an investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission" but was "recently released from these undertakings by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)" and, "in order to put the business on a sound footing for the future", it has now decided, following a review, to propose stopping running services in East Lothian and "allow the company to focus resources in areas where customer demand and satisfaction is growing".



Paul McGowan, managing director of First Scotland East, said: “I’m disappointed that we’re proposing to withdraw from Musselburgh and North Berwick. "We will today engage with the local authority on the future of bus services. "However, given there are other bus operators that operate in and around the area, I’m confident if we decide to go ahead with these proposals the majority of our customers won’t be left without a service.”

The company also confirmed it has started the collective consultation process with trade unions on the proposed closure of Musselburgh and North Berwick bus depots, with redundancies expected among the workforce based across both locations and in supporting roles, if the proposal is implemented. A total of 88 positions are now classed as ‘at risk’.

Mr McGowan said: “I am sorry that we are having to discuss the proposal to discontinue services and consider the possibility of redundancies. “I must stress our proposals do not, in any way, reflect the commitment and quality of our employees in the area. I cannot speak highly enough of their professionalism and dedication. "We will be doing everything we can to assist those affected.” He added: “Unfortunately, we’ve incurred losses in East Lothian for years.

"Should the proposal be implemented, this will allow us to concentrate our investment in West Lothian, the Borders and the Central Belt, improving our services for customers and growing our operations in those areas, helping protect jobs in the long term.”

Prior to today’s announcement, First Scotland East began its official consultation process with those affected, including "offering opportunities in other areas".

The company also provided notice to the Traffic Commissioner and the local authority of its intention to cease running affected commercial services after the required statutory period of 70 days and affected tendered services after 90 days.

The East Lothian operations affected account for about a fifth of the First Scotland East operation.

For full details of affected services, visit www.firstgroup.com/scotlandeast

www.bordertelegraph.com/news/14513368.First_Bus_bombshell_for_the_Borders/

COMMUTERS in the Borders have been dealt a blow with the news that First Bus could be set to pull the majority of its bus services in the region.


Under new proposals, town services in Hawick, Galashiels, Peebles and Melose would be removed completely, whilst the X95 would be reduced to an hourly service between Galashiels to Edinburgh.
The services affected would be the numbers 8, 9, 61, 67, 68, 73, 75, 76, 77, 90a, X95 and 397.

Should the plans get the go-ahead, the services would cease from August 14. When contacted by the Border Telegraph, a spokesperson for First Bus said:

“It's important to note this remains a proposal and a period of consultation will now take place. We are speaking to Scottish Borders Council and other organisations in the region to work out the best approach to the challenges we currently face.”

[Deleted]

How many more depots do we think First will look at closing are there quite a lot of non profitable ones being propped up?

[Deleted]

There are around 20 vehicles to transfer out of East Scotland to West Yorkshire this weekend, presumably following these changes. About 20 ALX400s and Scania Wright/Solars are moving South