Wilfreda Beehive (Read 959 times)

[bususer]

Here's an idea; why don't Wilfreda Beehive start to compete commercially on some of Sheffield's bus routes? They seemed OK while they were providing the tram replacement buses with decent vehicles and appeared to be pretty reliable so why don't they start to do more in Sheffield by competing on some bus routes where First South Yorkshire currently have a monopoly. Or, next year when the tram is renationalized why don't they or perhaps one of the existing bus companies compete on the tram routes perhaps Middlewood to Meadowhall?

Any thoughts?

[markno16]

To sum it up - little value in commercial services in general, not even considering up against a large corporate.

Why compete directly against the team? Whilst I know there are intermediate/extended journeys and the bus will always be better for some, you will never win on direct services.

[jakerton43]

I think it’s a different world nowadays, since covid some routes which were operated on a commercial basis now being funded. Look at some of the Rotherham network.

[alemaster]

Wilfreda Beehive used to run some commercial bus services in Doncaster but have since moved away from that - they are successful doing their thing which is coach excursions/holidays, school buses and contract work.

[markno16]

Aug 12, 2023 14:04:19 GMT alemaster said:

Wilfreda Beehive used to run some commercial bus services in Doncaster but have since moved away from that - they are successful doing their thing which is coach excursions/holidays, school buses and contract work.

When you have shrinking networks from the big boys it is proof enough that there is no juice in operating commercial services.

Yes maybe tendered - not a great deal of that in their end of SY.

[crossscythe]

We need to look at the 1990s and the infamous bus jams on Waingate, Terrier, Andrew's, Sheafline, Mainline, Aston Express, Northern Bus, Powell's...what made the market so desirable, what has changed now. Back then, buses were falling over each other to pick up a fare. Legend has it that specially selected drivers were put on strategic routes do beat competitors to the bus stops and take the loads. Car ownership has increased and the reason being is that it is door to door. If more buses ran round the nooks and crannies of each area, like the number 6 used to, like the number 37 used to and like the number 2 used to, it would get the motorist out of his car and on to the bus. He wants convenience, reliability and comfort. I do think that tracking devices and departure screens offer assurance that the bus will actually turn up. The problem is that these screens are only at certain stops. More explorer tickets to connect people from door to door and integration with rail tickets. For example, a lot of people commute from Doncaster to Sheffield for work, being able to have one ticket that takes them from their home in say Cantley, to their office on Motorhead would be a way of getting bums on seats and a way of buses tapping in to the virtually guaranteed railway revenue stream. Day trippers are also another portion of the market that bus companies don't tap in to as well as they could. For example, the First Day Sheffield tickets are not valid in to the Peak District. A hop on hop off variant of this ticket for an extra £2-3 would ensure that people choose to get the bus, rather than drive and if the customer uses the bus for all legs of the journey, that secures at least a marginal profit. Bus companies need to distance themselves from the SYMCA, as another poster on here has said, they don't get their facts right, advertise only tendered services and make the network look un-attractive to customers. They absolutely have no place running bus services. The 1990s proved that privatisation works. Bus companies need to look at the bigger picture, from a marketing perspective, instead of getting tunnel vision over cutting losses.