Here comes Summer!

Although the weather has yet to catch up, summer is here and yesterday "SeaFront 12" resumed for the 2015 season operating between Pleasure Beach and Cleveleys, except on Sundays when buses terminate at Uncle Tom's Cabin. Darts 316 & 319 have been dedicated to 12s, along with open tops 69 & 326 which retain there wrapped adverts for Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Our new service 21 also started today and operates five days per week between the Tower, Stanley Park & Blackpool Zoo. It is proposed to use heritage buses on the route when availability permits, drawing on the Class VI tested buses from the LTT collection, as well as those owned by us.
In other news, Nuttalls Coaches has been acquired on a debt free, cash free, asset free basis and in consultation with leading transport solicitors Backhouse Jones, the operation of services 12 & 21 have been sub-contracted to this licence holder using vehicles and staff seconded from Catch22Bus Ltd. This arrangement has been notified to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, the regulatory body for bus and coach services.

First day in service for 316 on 12s. (Photo: Alan Robson)

May - Fleet update

Ex-Select of Swansea (but previously Cardiff Bus) Dennis Darts 144 & 145 have both entered service in all-white livery of their former operator whilst Darts 316 & 319 are now both MoT ready.
Trident LX51FNJ is also being prepared for MoT.
Meanwhile, Dart 356 has left the fleet for a new life with a Peterborough based driver training company.

Trident "51" is being prepared for MoT and entry into service.

Catch22 gets "Living Wage" accredited

Catch22Bus has achieved accreditation from The Living Wage Foundation for paying its staff more than the UK Living Wage rate of £7.85 per hour. All staff are actually paid in excess of £8.00 per hour, with bus drivers working for us for over 12 months now earning £8.20 per hour.

Blackpool tops the list of poor pay blackspots according to a study on the living wage and so Catch22Bus is proud of being able to achieve accreditation. Over 50% of the jobs in some Blackpool wards pay less than the living wage; the current national minimum wage is £6.50 an hour.

A spokeswoman for the Living Wage Foundation commented that "We are delighted to add a further employer to the list of Blackpool businesses that have been accredited as paying a Living Wage in an area that is typically characterised by low paid seasonal employment".

Director Philip Higgs added that "We have worked hard to develop the business over the last year and our staff are critical to that success. Paying a Living Wage is good for business, good for our staff and their families and good for the local economy".

London Trident joins the fleet

As a direct replacement for Volvo B7TL No.139 sold last month, former Stagecoach London Dennis Trident 17506 (LX51FNJ) has joined the fleet today. New in October 2001, it was one of a batch of 22 low floor Tridents and latterly operated at Catford garage where it was withdrawn in February this year. Others from the same batch are still in service with Stagecoach, for example some are in Manchester on Magicbus branded services, some were converted to open top and others allocated to reserve fleet for use as Rail Replacement or Shuttle buses for large events (such as Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and more locally the Grand National at Aintree).
"51" is likely to retain London red livery for the foreseeable future with a couple of summer corporate hire contracts requiring a 'red' bus where advertising and other branding will be applied for the duration of the contract.


17506 (LX51FNJ) during its last month of operation with Stagecoach in London.

Mwy o efeilliaid Caerdydd!

Another pair of Twins has been acquired by Catch22Bus, this time a further pair of ex-Cardiff Dennis Dart MPDs. Recently withdrawn by Select Bus of Swansea following the acquisition of this business by New Adventure Travel, T144DAX & T145DAX will join their cousins at Catch22Bus including T147DAX.
144 made the journey north to Blackpool today with 145 expected to follow next week. Like Catch22Bus, Select of Swansea has acquired a collection of Dennis Darts and all have been recently retrimmed with blue moquette seating.

[Above] 144 & 145 posed together at Select's depot in Neath, Swansea before 144 departs for the 200+ mile journey to Blackpool. [Below] The bright blue retrimmed seating on Select's Darts.

Cardiff 316 arrives in Blackpool

Ex-Cardiff Bus "Super Pointer Dart" 316 (S316SHB) has arrived with us after respray into fleet colours whilst Arriva MPD 3234 (V234HBH) was collected from their Aylesbury garage depot today and driven north to Blackpool.

Fleet Update

Today (7th April) is the last day in operation for double deck Volvo 139 (W139EON) after being sold for further use to a Staffordshire based company; it is destined to become a mobile classroom. We are looking at some newer ex-London Dennis Trident double deckers as a possible replacement. Also due to leave the fleet soon is Dart 356 (R356LER) which will be withdrawn and replaced in service by repainted ex-Cardiff Dart S316SHB.

A further MPD has been acquired, this time from Arriva The Shires and is due to be collected from their Aylesbury depot, although it latterly operated at Milton Keynes. It is their former 3234 (V234HBH).

Arriva The Shires 3234 in service at Milton Keynes in January 2015.