Oakwood Travel (Classic Bus North West)

[126th street]

RE: Classic Bus North West
Drivers allegedly not paid for two months... what a fine example of a company. That said, I have to wonder what on earth the guy in the BBC piece was sticking around for if he hadn't been paid for that long.

Operators such as this do the industry as a whole no favours. Whilst it is very sad for the people who have lost their jobs and/or are owed serious wages, these kind of firms are best off out of business where they can then allow the real bus companies to do the job properly.

[126th street]

RE: Classic Bus North West

(23/12/2013 18:24)robertclark125 Wrote:  I'm just thinking on better alternatives, and the list is long; Optare Versa, MAN 18.220, Volvo B10BLE, Enviro 300, VDL SB120, Scanias various offerings, Volvo B7L. And, no doubt, if they'd been looked after beforehand, even better.

As someone else has said coaches would have been a better bet, with dual-purpose seated Volvo Olympians not far behind. The latter are easily capable of motorway work.

I am struggling to think of anything less suited to hammering along the motorway all day than a Citaro artic. Goodness knows how much diesel they were consuming per day as there's no way they are geared anywhere near correctly for such duties - and that's before you come to the issue of keeping them cool...

[SNL 824]

RE: Classic Bus North West
There's a note today on their blogspot saying that a decision to suspend trading was taken on the 18th and was due largely to losses and cash flow issues on the bus refurbishment side of the business. It only affects services on the CBNW licence.

Curiously there is a box next to the announcement stating "rumours of my demise are greatly exaggerated".

[Squire of the Gate]

RE: Classic Bus North West
22 still in operation.

http://www.catch22bus.co.uk/

[enrag2000]

RE: Classic Bus North West
From the Lancashire Evening Post:

A bus operator has suspended trading and admitted it will need to make staff redundant due to financial difficulties.
Classic Bus North West (CBNW) suddenly axed its No. 80 bus service, running between Blackpool and Preston via Poulton and Great Eccleston, before Christmas.
It only took control of the route from Lancashire County Council on December 9, after a former subsidised service operated by Cumfybus was ended by the authority.
County Hall chiefs said the Blackpool-based operator had terminated the service without the required 56 days notice to the Traffic Commissioner.
Workers said half of the firm’s 30 drivers and 15 administration staff had been sacked with no notice and were still owed thousands of pounds.
However, the firm’s owner Philip Higgs, who has been out of the country on holiday, denied the claims.
He said the decision to suspend trading was taken on December 18 after consultation with the finance company which underwrites CBNW’s “VOSA financial standing and invoice discounting facilities”.
He said: “The service being operated on the CBNW Ltd licence was therefore suspended, affecting service 80 and Lancashire County Council were informed.
“We regret having to terminate service 80 at such short notice, but we could not continue to operate, since to do so could have invalidated insurance and our licence obligations. The decision was taken against a background of increasing amounts owed to the business and losses on the bus refurbishment side of the company, affecting cash flow and our ability to keep pace with payroll obligations.
“As an example, we are owed a significant amount from central Government for reimbursement of fuel tax - had this arrived before Christmas then we wouldn’t be in the position we are today.
“Some staff have been laid off and it is likely that there will be eight redundancies.”
The wife of one driver, who did not wish to be named, said after finishing his shift on December 20 he was given a pre-printed letter telling him he was to be made redundant.
She said: “He has not had his wages despite promises, no P45 not even a pay slip.
“A few weeks ago all the drivers were called in on a Sunday morning for a meeting and told the situation, but that things would improve.
“Mr Higgs is away on holiday while drivers are struggling to make ends meet.”
Mr Higgs said a No. 22 service operated by Oakwood Travel Services Ltd, which links the South Shore areas of Blackpool with its town centre, Claremont, Bispham and Cleveleys, would not be affected.
He added: “There is never a good time to break news of redundancy to staff and particularly at Christmas time, but the best performing drivers will continue in employment on service 22, where their friendliness to passengers is often commented upon.
“Wages owed to staff will be honoured.”
Before operating commercial bus routes, CBNW had hired out a fleet of refurbished vehicles for events such as weddings and proms since 2007.

[YN05 WKE]

RE: Classic Bus North West
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1997-Volvo-B10...417b2d45a0

R989XVM is for sale on Ebay

[St Helens Rider]

RE: Classic Bus North West
Archway Steps onto the 80

http://fyldebus.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a...to-80.html

Credit: Fylde Bus Blog.

[St Helens Rider]

RE: Classic Bus North West
Archway on the 80

http://fyldebus.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a...on-80.html

Credit: Fylde Bus Blog.

[St Helens Rider]

RE: Classic Bus North West
There has been some updates on their blog in the last few days:

http://cbnw.blogspot.co.uk/

Credit: CBNW Blog.

[CX54 DKD (Moderator)]

RE: Classic Bus North West
No mention of the fate of the Citaros... I wonder whether they're still keeping plans in the pipeline to re-deploy them on a re-introduced Red Rocket service in the future.