The model of registering, modifying and cancelling bus routes was still kept, as bus companies still need to alert the Traffic Commissioner and local authorities of upcoming changes.
Never knew that happened. I wondee if the driver doing tactics got paid, surprised the union allowed it. Southern Vectis was only around since 1929, there were many other companies before it
New Zealand had a very intresting system. Operators could operate any commercial routes they deemed profitable and then the council picked up what they didn't deem applicable. This caused spending to go up and up and patronage to stay the same.
Solent Blue Line (later bought by Go Ahead and rebranded "Bluestar") won, with Southampton Citybus (bought by First and rebranded to Southampton CityRed) closing its doors on 18 February 2023.
Excellent programme, thank you so, so much for uploading/sharing: it is very much appreciated. Of course, this programme dates from a time when we still had Local Independent Television in the UK. Sadly, that is no longer the case. ITV in the 21stC is just lightweight fluff; soaps, quizes, and chat shows. That 1990 Act has a lot to answer for. A lot. Meridian started with lofty ideas of 'serving the South, SouthEast & Thames Valley. It very quickly turned into serving just its shareholders, by cutting and cutting and cutting. Within a few years it had quietly negotiated a substantial reduction in its financial franchise fee to the ITC, before starting the downfall of Local ITV by purchasing Anglia TV. Almost immediately the cutting started there as well, by moving Anglia Master Control and Playout to Southampton. Always found it weird when walking round the former TVS So'ton Studios, and seeing 'Anglia Control Room' on one of the Cons... And it wouldn't be too long before Carlton 'TV' (it was alleged by some that Carlton ran a TV Network, I think that it was a scurrilous rumour!), and Granada knocked all the Dominos over and purchased every Franchise barring Scotland. They even got hold of Channel Television eventually. Sorry, rant over folks. Got a bit carried away there. It just rankles a bit. Come back TVS - all is forgiven. TV South made some mistakes, no denying, but they made great programmes, and showed a real commitment to the Region throughout their tenure. 'Perchance it is not dead, but only sleepeth' ....well, one can hope and dream. Best Wishes, & Thanjs Again, You brought back some lovely memories there, my friend. Zac. Zac
Very Few Independent bus operators now most council run bus companies sold out to Big Groups when bus service were run by NBC Companies they were run for passengers not for making money for Shareholders who is to blame for decline of independent Operators Deregulation or Regulation
Same here - I’m 45 and live in a wee village in the Scottish highlands. My school was Plockton High School and went there on old ratty double decker buses - bombing along on single track roads in all weathers was brilliant!
@@Clarencebeeks89 “professional”?drivers are taught how to drive defensively - those that ignore that teaching give the rest of lorry drivers and bus drivers a bad name!!
Driving is driving regardless of the vehicle... I drive buses lorries and vans and I drive every vehicle the same ..carrying passengers makes no difference
Wilts & Dorset got split a good few years ago into Salisbury Reds and Morebus (Poole, Bournemouth Christchurch, Wareham, Swanage area. Badgerline went many years ago. Yellow Buses ceased trading last year (Morebus took over a good few of their former routes)
Bus deregulation is wasteful competition, wasteful in fuel, and resources, confusing for passengers and potential users and inefficient in general. As an American living near Washington DC, I'm glad that the USA has not embraced this nonsense !
yeah because america leads the way in local public transport especially outside the north east! ironic an american lectures us about waste,yous lot are the most wasteful people on the planet!
But then look at Guildford, Brighton, Oxford. Multiple bus companies cooperating with each other and local authorities to increase passenger numbers. It’s only the mindset from bus managers that’s needed to do this. Glad that the 1980s/90s competitive mindset has gone.
Despicable. I have no time for Southern Vectis - they are a complete shambles these days. We had the same situation here in Nottingham a few years back when two other companies tried to take business away from that one that has the monopoly and still does. The same tactic were employed until it was no longer viable for the smaller company. OK - they lost money but in the end they won and they still exist whereas the others went into liquidation. Utter bastards! IOW Council ran some Wight Buses for a while but they didn't last long - these were on the lesser-used routes and so took no or little money - routes which SV were not and are still not interested in. Eventually they were ran by volunteers with the buses taking virtually no money as they were mostly free rides (concessionary travel). SV still do not operate on routes where there is no money / little money to be made but milk the system on the busy routes and on their open top buses. Complaints arise all the time and most of the time they don't bother to reply! Complete crap here from Gary Bachelor. **ck him and the company!!!! R.I.P. John Gange and well done for trying!
Despicable. I have no time for Southern Vectis - they are a complete shambles these days. We had the same situation here in Nottingham a few years back when two other companies tried to take business away from that one that has the monopoly and still does. The same tactic were employed until it was no longer viable for the smaller company. OK - they lost money but in the end they won and they still exist whereas the others went into liquidation. Utter bastards! IOW Council ran some Wight Buses for a while but they didn't last long - these were on the lesser-used routes and so took no or little money - routes which SV were not and are still not interested in. Eventually they were ran by volunteers with the buses taking virtually no money as they were mostly free rides (concessionary travel). SV still do not operate on routes where there is no money / little money to be made but milk the system on the busy routes and on their open top buses. Complaints arise all the time and most of the time they don't bother to reply! Complete crap here from Gary Bachelor. **ck him and the company!!!! R.I.P. John Gange and well done for trying!
this is how privatization always work they bring in "competition" (forgetting to mention the private companies only operate on the profitable routes) then they hamstring the public services with "management boards" and "efficiency savings" and before you know it they're saying "oh my the private company is doing very well and the public service very poorly since we destroyed it, guess we'll just have to sell off the whole thing, oh well" they've done it to gas, electricity (that's worked out well 🙄), rail, mail, freight & dentistry. make no mistake they're coming for the NHS and they're coming for schools
I do remember for 6 months during the early / mid 1980s , the folk of villages in SW New Forest could catch a Marchwood Motorways bus throughout the evening to the glorious Friday & Saturday Lymington nightlife . Wilts & Dorset would traditionally have ceased around 19:00 in any direction for most villages so for once at least you could socialise or drink yourself silly or do both - so long as you were back at the High St Bus Station or route by 22:30 , the last one westwards. It lasted for about 6 months but it sure beat falling off your bike or paying for Taxis for a while but as for the companies & their employees , I wasn’t bothered because I was a young hedonist 😎
That's... not how the system works, unless you mean in London - elsewhere you just go "I want to run/stop running a service." and there's bugger all anyone can do about it.
This was a graphic illustration of what happens when ideology results in politicians interfering in something they don't understand. The bus industry was already fighting a rearguard action against growing car ownership and ineptly-designed urban sprawl and out-of-town shopping which was difficult to serve effectively; the last thing it needed was internecine warfare, and as a result not only were rural and even suburban bus routes virtually eliminated over vast areas of Britain, all chance of road-rail coordination was lost. 35 years on most bus routes are in the hands of three or four major operators who have bought everyone else out, and now another Tory government thinks we should have more buses to save the environment. Sickening.
I guess people riding buses more should not happen, as long as you’re OK with more floods and bad weather events happening substantially more and more. As long as we have convenience for cars, I guess it’s OK. Our grandchildren will be fighting to eat, but hey, as long as we have convenience now.
and have finally managed to get rid of the successor to Southampton Citybus (First City Red), winning and retaining the Uni contracts was part of this.
