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March 2010 It's not often that bus services to Groby are improved and so the introduction of a new service last year from Leicester to Coalville was something to be welcomed. In the morning and late afternoon the new 50 service became a 50A and took a useful detour past Groby Community college. The service also took a new route through part of Coalville.
But after it's debut in a blast of publicity the new service quietly disappeared after passenger numbers failed to meet expectations. The operators feel they were not given a proper opportunity to establish the new route.
“In July 2009 we endeavoured to provide a service from Coalville into Leicester through a route that we believed needed improving, said Wayne Smith, General manager at Veolia's local base at Hugglescote. “On some portions of our route there was an existing service but on other portions we were on new territory. It soon became obvious that existing operators within the area made a decision to defend there existing routes by registering a service that mirrored ours and ran it a few minutes before our own. We have no desire at this moment in time to start what can only be described as a bus war so after due consideration we decided to cancel the service.”
The firm informed passengers of the withdrawal of the service through the drivers and also put notices on their buses. They also informed Leicestershire council with whom they had an agreement to carry scholars.
“We were disappointed that we were not given the opportunity to develop this service,” added Wayne. “We are also aware that the increased services by these other operators were indeed reduced again following our withdrawal. We would like to go on record to thank the passengers that travelled with us during our 6 months on our Service 50 and hope that they appreciate the commercial reason as to why we needed to withdraw.”
Veolia Transport Uk Limited acquired Paul James Coaches at Hugglescote three years ago. Veolia still operates a number of services throughout Leicestershire and the rest of the UK from 21 depots. The Veolia Transport group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global Veolia Environnement, that has a total of 274,000 employees and a turnover of €32.6 billion. The company has interests in the transport, water, energy and environmental services industries.
March 2010
"Try a Starburst,” said the lady at the bus stop. Having just missed the bus into Leicester chewing what I still think of as an Opal Fruit seemed an attractive proposition. When no sweet was forthcoming she explained she was talking about the new bus service from Coalville to Leicester launched on July 13th.
Starburst is the name given to the growing bus network being developed from Paul James Coaches based at Hugglescote. It may sound like a local firm doing well and indeed they were doing so well they attracted the attention of Veolia Transport who launched a takeover. You may wonder why a small firm should run on a route dominated by Arriva, but really you should be wondering why a big firm should run on a route dominated by Arriva. For Veolia Transport turns out to be part of a huge French company with it's shares quoted on stock exchanges in both Paris and New York.
As one of the UK’s newest transport operators, Veolia Transport operates bus and coach services in South Wales, the Midlands and North East England from 21 locations. The company currently employs over 1,750 people in the UK and operates a fleet of over 750 vehicles. But this is small beer when you look at the bigger picture, as the transport arm is a subsidiary of the global 'Veolia Environnement' that has a total of 274,000 employees and a turnover of €32.6 billion. In addition to transport they are active in the water, waste management and energy industries.
So why run on the same route as Arriva?
“It has never been our intention to run head to head with Arriva,” said Wayne Smith, General Manager. “Whilst it is true that our services cross paths with Arriva services, the route we run is different. Our intention was to provide a service for the residents of Coalville who didn’t previously have buses to link vital services such as the hospital and industrial estate.”
The new 50 route becomes a 50A as it takes a local diversion in Groby to serve the Community College twice in the morning and three times in the afternoon. “The route on a 50A heading to Coalville goes up Sacheverall Way, turns right at the Cemetery, goes past the college over the bumps and straight through to the Stamford Arms where it turns left on to Markfield Road,” explained Wayne. “It does the reverse of this when heading towards Leicester. It runs all year even during school holidays and has been designed with workers in mind as well as the schools.”
This diversion provides a new public transport option for the village. Although the 50A may not be ideal for some passengers from Leicester, because it doesn't serve the Leicester Road area, this should not be a problem as it is timed to leave the stand at 20 past the hour, the same time as the Arriva 28 service. And don't wait for a Starburst on a Sunday as the timetable leaflets will be amended on reprinting to show that the service runs Monday to Saturday only. The improved hourly Arriva service from Coalville to Leicester on Sundays may encourage some shoppers to give the car a day off.
A link to Beaumont Leys?
Talk of new routes and improved services raises interesting questions. The new Starburst 50 service follows the same route as Arriva from Groby to Leicester and is very much a duplication and more of the same for villagers. So what about a change to the route that would link Coalville, Markfield and Groby with Beaumont Leys shopping centre and the swimming pool and leisure centre?
This could be achieved on the inward journey from Groby by diverting down Gynsill Lane at County Hall up to the shopping centre and then into Leicester via Anstey Lane. Or if time is of the essence onto the A46 Western Bypass from Groby to the Anstey exit.
Many would agree that Groby should have a public transport link to the Beaumont centre. There is no direct link for young people and others wishing to use the leisure facilities and shoppers without cars have to use the once a week Tesco bus, if this is still running. The development has grown from small beginnings into an important out of town shopping centre and Leicester City Council has plans to extend the leisure facilities. Viability is an issue but as it is a route with no service surely it could be just as profitable as sharing the Groby Road route with Arriva?
July 2009