Hello and welcome to my first review! Being based in Birmingham, something local is always a good idea to start with. Buses in Staffordshire have seen quite some change over the part few months, with Arriva Midlands selling their long neglected Cannock depot to Stoke based D&G Bus, which has rebranded it as Chaserider. Later service changes have seen a number of local routes pass to Select Bus Services, who are linked to D&G through shareholders, and have long had integrated fares with each other, as well as Midland Classic. This review sees me sample a range of the fleet from both companies around Stafford and Cannock, and going into some details of the (or lack of) transport infrastructure at main destinations. It’s worth me noting that if you’d like to explore a much greater amount of Staffordshire, you can buy an all operators ‘Knotty’ ticket.

Selecting Chaserider: Trip 8th July, Written 9th July

The day started with a West Midlands Railway Class 323 into Birmingham, then changing onto a pair of CrossCountry Voyagers on the 0857 departure to take me to Stafford, a half hour journey. Having already noticed a desired bus on route 826 from Stafford at 1010, I opted for a quick run around the Highfields Estate on Select’s route 9 to fill time. Although due at 0931 it arrived a few minutes early at the stop opposite Stafford Station. Shortly before a D&G Metrocity had arrived on their X41 service to Alton Towers, with a group of around 8 people boarding.

Aboard the 9, I purchased the £6.30 day ticket which offers travel on the whole network of Chaserider and Select. Not a bad price considering I’m used to particularly cheap fares in Birmingham with NXWM! A small bug would be to included notation on the Chaserider website that this is indeed available to buy and use on Select, as this isn’t stated under their fares section, although I did notice publicity of this on the front of some Select buses, and on the combined network map (PDF and in person). My bus on the 9 was former Arriva Midlands Wright Commander bodied DAF SB200 FJ06ZTG, a type of bus I’d never experienced until earlier this year (somehow!). This was well presented inside and out, the only improvement being no signage internally to signify it is a Select Bus, something lacking on Chaserider buses internally too. Personally I would also add a network map on display, to complement the advert for the MyTrip app which offers fares for both interlinked companies. Continuing the journey to Highfields, the bus remained several minutes early, until waiting time at the registered terminus (although it actually operates a circular route). Most rows of seats were already taken at this point, being the first bus after 0930, but the bus was the perfect size for the job. Once back into Stafford, I alighted at the station for a quick photo then walked over to Chell Road for my next bus.

My next ride was on Chaserider route 826, one of the backbones of the Staffordshire bus network, linking Stafford with Rugeley and Lichfield, which combined with the 828 offers a half hourly frequency from Stafford. It also serves the Brereton and Springfields estates, the former being to replace local service 24 (this operated for a few weeks upon takeover in January, before being cancelled due to low use in that lockdown). For this journey I had chosen another Commander, being number 190 / FJ06ZTN. D&G had acquired 11 of these with takeover, with 4 remaining on fleet currently, 6 have passed to Select, and 1 of the more elderly 52 plates has been sold for preservation. 190 provided an enjoyable trip for the 40 minutes over to Rugeley. Again being very clean inside. A handful of us were travelling from Stafford to Rugeley and beyond, and a few passengers were picked up in the villages on the way, and one elderly lady in Springfields Estate who wasn’t aware of the bus times anymore, something I will soon get to. Upon alighting I noticed a single timetable for the Cannock services available in the luggage hold, and picked this up.

At Rugeley I had some time to have a look around at the limited facilities at the bus station. It’s really just a group of 6 empty shelters, as shown by the photo there was evidence of paper removal, which may had been due to service changes. Two electronic departure boards were however present near to some benches. This notably stated the stand number, though there were no markings of this on the shelter.

My next ride was on route 63 across Cannock Chase, to Cannock itself. Normally seeing an allocation of Optare Solos, my bus was former First/Metroline London Enviro 200 YX09FLM / 52. This retains its centre door and is one of two acquired by D&G in 2018. It duly arrived at 1110 for the 1115 departure. The front destination was not working, and the driver was the only encountered not wearing uniform, something I always hate seeing, especially at a sizeable operator. Nevertheless we departed on time, and were soon serving some more densely populated areas of Rugeley, where most passengers alighted. Getting up to higher speed, the E200 didn’t provide the most comfortable ride, as expected. Of course there is also a railway doing this same journey, which has definitely taken its toll on the 63 and other bus services over the years. Only myself remained onboard throughout to Cannock, where we arrived on time. Main improvement with this one would be the bus itself, loss of seats in the step free section of the bus isn’t very helpful on a route seeing lots of elderly passengers. Also, none of the stops en route had any signs that the 63 operates from what I could tell, with no timetables present either.

Upon arrival at Cannock Bus Station, I had a quick look around the facilities. As documented by the visit and subsequent updates of @BusAndTrainUser, a network map has recently been put on display, and an advert for the new X14 linking Telford and the new Designer Outlet in Cannock was attracting much interest by passers by. The bus station here has some positives, with clear stand numbering, prominent destination signage, bus timetables and even service change notices for the entire network. Main downsides is the slight cramped nature of its design, and the unappealing ‘seats’ in the shelters.

My next ride was on Super Dart 7/FJ54OTP to Landywood on route 70. Not much to say about this really, very similar experience to the Commanders, although the timetable was particularly tight for timings. The return was on NXWM’s flagship Platinum X51 service. Since introduction this has gone from strength to strength, now running every 10 minutes Birmingham to Walsall, and every 20 onto Cannock (on weekdays). The routing serves the new McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, which Chaserider also serve on a few routes. This batch lack USB charging (a shame as no buses in the area have this) but do have the half leather-half moquette seats, with extra legroom and Wi-Fi available. This is very clearly a more refined product to anything in the area, with the interior coving filled with Platinum feature adverts, and notices about the need for distancing and face coverings currently (these were noticeably more minimal/lacking on other buses sampled). The space grey walls and flooring add to the luxury, though next stop announcements were not working on this occasion. NXWM have also put up posters, promoting the buses and recent route changes, and their own timetables, at every stop in Staffordshire (in the West Midlands this is the job of TfWM), which Chaserider nor Select have done to the same extent. See photos below of the Enviro 400 MMC used.

Having spotted the vehicle being used on new service 23 run by Select from Cannock to Hednesford, I decided to sample this next. Plaxton Centro bodied VDL SB200 YJ07JWK / 18 duly arrived just before 1300. As stated on the service changes list in Cannock, this was introduced in response to residents requests, which is good to see. Around 10 of us boarded at Cannock, mostly concessionary pass holders but a few fare payers. The bus itself was new to ceased John Fishwicks, and has also spent time in the D&G Bus fleet. The route takes in Hawks Green Tesco, Heath Hayes and Wimblebury, with many turns in and out of estates. The timetable gives just 25 minutes for the 6.5 mile route to be completed, which even with a particularly fast run and no delays, was nigh on impossible to stick to. The four minutes stand given at Hednesford allowed for a few photos and a quick chat with the friendly driver, who was also an enthusiast. I did question the achievability of running to time, but a check of the timetable shows it doesn’t run at school times, which makes sense.

For the return to Cannock, I opted for the newest bus in service with Chaserider on the day, being one of two Enviro 200 MMCs new to Whitelaws which were acquired for the start of the takeover from Arriva. These have blue e-leather seats which are well padded, and it certainly made a difference to be on a more modern bus ! Internally the lack of any form of branding was very obvious once again. This journey was had on route 25, the clockwise circular of Pye Green and Hednesford, the opposite being the 26, both running every 15 minutes. YX65RWK / 1 gave a smooth and pleasant journey. Notably whilst at Hednesford I found some Arriva logos on the stop flags not covered up with Chaserider ones, but it was good to see yet more electronic stop boards present here.

Now for some more Select, on route 875. This operates hourly between Cannock and Stafford via Penkridge, and interworks onto several Stafford local services. My bus to Penkridge was a former Stagecoach North East Pointer Dart, being NK56EPO / 14. This was particularly worn inside with window and seat etchings, and faded seats. It was uncomfortably bouncy and loud, even for an enthusiast like myself. And if anyone knows why these Darts left Stagecoach so early in their lives, do let us know !

At Penkridge there were bus timetables present, though very much out of date showing now withdrawn services, not a huge surprise. I then boarded Scania Omnicity MIG8170 / 10 for the return to Cannock. This had been new to Metrobus and was sold with a large batch to Halton Transport. As we know they collapsed in 2020 even before the pandemic, and these fuel thirsty Scanias were deemed part of the issue. Acquired by Select to join a former Nottingham example, the Halton interior was particularly matching of the Select livery (aside from the embroidered logos), and seem far more suitable to a route like the 875 than the alternative Dart. A good loading of around 20-30 people was present on this journey (1405 from Stafford).

Now back at Cannock, I had planned to sample a Super Dart on route 60 through to Lichfield, however this was taken off with a door fault. Knowing the replacement would be an unwelcoming E200, Dart or Solo, I then opted to get the train back home into Birmingham.

Concluding Thoughts....

+ If you’re an enthusiast like myself I’d definitely recommend making the maot of the area whilst the older vehicles are still in use.

+ It’s good to see the Arriva livery almost abolished in the area…

+ The introduction and response to demand of the X14 is worth congratulation (one day we may give this a go)

+ The reintroduction / adaptation of routes that had been long neglected (ie 1, 23, 74, 827, 828, X14) is a welcomed step to encouraging bus use in the area. Route 1 was once Sapphire under Arriva before the buses were moved elsewhere without much reason.

-Rugeley Bus Station in particular needs some attention to make it fit for purpose

-The allocation of Solos, Enviros and Darts in particular onto important interurban links is something I’d like to see changed in future, although I appreciate this is easier said than done.

-Wider distribution of timetable booklets would definitely be appropriate, as only a few buses had these present, and it ‘somewhat’ makes up for lack of at-stop information.

-Marketing like that of NXWM’s X51 would be pleasant to see, as well as route branding where suitable (perhaps this could be done in line with new or refurbished buses to see of the last Arriva liveried vehicles?)

I hope you enjoyed my first review, do check out my personal Twitter @EnviroExplorer, where I post photos from most trips I make. If anyone would like any reviews from my local operator National Express West Midlands, of routes or the network as a whole, do let me know.