Winning green bus fund bidders

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced the winning bidders, who will receive grants towards the purchase of new hybrid or electric buses, from the thirty million pound green bus fund. Hatch Green Coaches, an independent operator based in Somerset, will receive a grant of eight hundred and eighty-two thousand pounds towards the purchase of nine new vehicles – Holsworthy Limited (trading as Beacon Garage), an independent operator based in Devon, will receive a grant of over eight hundred and fifty-five thousand pounds towards the purchase of nine new vehicles. Bath and North East Somerset Council have been awarded a grant of over one hundred and twenty-six thousand pounds towards the cost of one vehicle – it is understood that the acquired bus will be deployed on park-and-ride services in Bath. Rotala plc, the owners of Wessex Connect, was awarded grants of over two million and eight hundred and eighty thousand pounds towards the acquisition of twenty-three new buses.

Entertainment carriages on First Great Western high speed trains

First Great Western has announced that one coach on each of the company’s fifty-four high speed trains will be converted into an ‘entertainment carriage’ through the installation of touch-screen television screens on the back of every seat. Customers will be able to select from comedy, drama, documentary, childrens and sports programmes as well as the latest news and a ‘moving map’ – passengers will be able to pause, fast-forward and rewind programmes. Customers will receive unlimited free access until 28 February 2010, one ‘free’ journey on or after 1 March 2010 and will then pay three pounds and ninety-five pence per subsequent journey.

Bus strike in Gloucestershire?

Stagecoach West bus drivers in Gloucester are being balloted over potential strike action – the ballot closes on Tuesday 8 December. Gloucester drivers have been offered a pay rise of two per cent, but their colleagues at Cheltenham depot will receive a four and a half per cent increase under a two-year agreement.

No catering on CrossCountry trains in Cornwall

The Department for Transport (DfT) has refused a request from members of parliament that the franchise agreement for CrossCountry should be amended in order to require the train operator to provide catering facilities on the company’s services between Penzance and Plymouth.

Bendy buses come to Bournemouth

Wilts and Dorset have announced that ‘bendy buses’ have been acquired by the company and will be deployed from 11 January 2010 on the Unilinx service U1 which operates between Pokesdown railway station and the University of Bournemouth via Boscombe and Lansdowne.

New qualification for train drivers

A group of twenty-two drivers employed by South West Trains have attained a level two National Vocational Qualification (NVQ2) in Rail Operations – a further fifty-two drivers are working towards this award. The South West Trains operations and safety training centre achieved approved centre status for NVQ2 training from the City and Guilds Group in May this year.

People

Andrew Wickham, the operations director of Go South Coast (which includes Damory Coaches and Wilts and Dorset) has been appointed as Managing director of Plymouth CityBus, following the company’s acquisition by Go-Ahead Group – John Ackroyd, the former managing director of Plymouth CityBus, is now working for Go-Ahead Group in a ‘head office’ role.

And finally,

A national newspaper has reported that a First Great Western customer host refused to sell a customer an egg sandwich from the on-board buffet car on ‘health and safety grounds’ – the steward was apparently concerned that the passenger ‘might choke to death’ if the train had to be evacuated in an emergency!