We're having the painters in!

Over the next few weeks, we've literally got the painters in. We are applying a new livery to our service bus fleet for the "Catch 22" single decks and Darts 143 & 163 are to be the first to receive this. The new livery has been inspired by Cardiff Bus and their orange and turquoise livery. Your writer worked with Cardiff Bus from 2000 to 2003 redesigning their bus network into a series of simplified, high frequency links. I look forward to seeing the painters efforts over the next few weeks.

Dart 143 following repaneling and in-house mechanical work, posed at the Shrine near Victoria Hospital on its way to Poulton. It will be the first bus to receive the new Catch22 bus livery of orange & turquoise.

Does my bus look big in this?

Bendybus MAL53 (BL52ODK) is back in service again on the Catch 22 route. The Citaro was initially trialled in passenger service on the 22 route back on 20th January, but has been off the road in the interim having a few problems resolved. The bus has now been fitted with vinyl lettering over the destination box which reads "Mereside Cleveleys via Town Centre 22" and the Bendy is likely to make regular appearances on the 22 until the "Red Rocket" express service resumes at Easter. Although not intended for the 22, its use allows a greater low floor presence on the service whilst work is in hand on various Dennis Darts / Volvo buses and it prevents storage over the winter months.

More attention for Darts

Darts 143, 162 & 163 are currently all receiving attention after being off-road since MoT expiry in September of last year. Darts 143 has been repaneled and treated to mechanical overhaul and will be the first bus to receive the new "Catch22" livery.
Darts 162 & 163, acquired from dealer Ensignbus in August 2012 for the start of service 22, have been particularly troublesome buses, with 162 plagued with electrical problems. For the last few weeks, 162 has been receiving attention at Hattons of St.Helens and hopefully the bus will soon rejoin the operational Blackpool fleet. It has not yet been decided whether 162 will get the new "Catch22" livery before it finally returns to service.

Dart 162 (V162MVX) following collection from Hattons after rewiring work.

Our Mercedes Bends around the 22!

With the Red Rocket service not expected to restart before Easter, we have decided to keep the buses active where possible and to this end MAL53 was prepared for a test operating day on service 22. Last week the bus was driven around the route to test clearances and passed with tolerance even on the tightest turns in the Claremont area.
From 20 January, a bendy will be allocated to the 07:40 departure from Mereside which coincides with a busy northbound run to Cleveleys, with the vehicle returning to depot just before 18:00.

Fleet Changes

We have made a few changes to the bus fleet recently to thin out vehicles no longer required in the fleet and return to the road some stored vehicles needed for service 22.
Volvo B6 No.601 has finally been submitted and passed its MoT and will be pressed into use on service 22, whereas sister bus 611 is away for MoT work and is earmarked to become the first bus treated to a new colour scheme for buses allocated to 22s. Also sent away for electrical work is Dart 162, which has been off the road since September along with Darts 143 & 163 which will follow in the overhaul process.
Buses leaving the fleet recently are Olympian 324 (N324NHG) now with Red Bus Days in Keighley and Volvo B10M no.899 (R899XVM).

All change at Classic Bus

Oakwood Travel Services Ltd purchased the assets and goodwill of Classic Bus North West Ltd on 31 December and although this means no immediate upheaval for passengers on our "Catch22" bus service and the wedding/private hire business, there will be changes introduced over the coming months to give service 22 a new identity.
Behind the scenes, the day-to-day management has been strengthened by the appointment of David Hughes as Transport Manager. David has a long career in transport, starting at Blackpool Transport but with experience at Transport for London before becoming a VOSA Compliance Officer back in the North West region. After a few years working in Spain, David has returned to Blackpool and will be taking over the day-to-day operations at Oakwood Travel.

Statement re suspension of trading

On 18 December following consultation with the finance company that underwrites our VOSA financial standing and invoice discounting facilities, a decision was made for Classic Bus North West Ltd (CBNW Ltd) to suspend trading. The services being operated on the CBNW Ltd licence were therefore suspended, affecting services 80 (Blackpool - Poulton - Preston) and the Red Rocket Express (although the operation of this was going to be paused after Xmas).

The decision was taken against a background of increasing amounts owed to the business and losses on the bus refurbishment side of the business, affecting cash flow and our ability to keep pace with payroll obligations. Some staff have been laid off and it is likely that there will be redundancies. The decision DOES NOT affect service 22, which operates on the Oakwood Travel licence, and we are now working closely with our principal stakeholders to develop a fresh and sustainable operation through Oakwood Travel Services Ltd.