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Post by ohdear on May 4, 2015 21:21:06 GMT
Yes very good thinking - I had missed his sisters holding. Its amazing how the thoughts about horrible communist regimes are quietly ignored when it comes to finance. However it is closer to home that I have concerns about the taxpayer grants going into Wrightbus on the basis that the NI economy is in need of help. Couple this with Brighton and Hove ordering 20 odd untried bus from them - I am tempted to wonder which way the cost of these buses went. Boris Johnston takes the critism about his Borismaster but from what I read it was more of a political decision to give the contract to Wrights as they are they are a strong Protestant family, Catholics could'nt get a job there before the troubles, supporting the Unionist party who in turn were needed by Mr Camerons government. I have just read that a food firm in NI has just been given a £7 million grant - my goodness a food firm needing grants
Brighton trialled a Streetlite for a while like with any buses they order so I don't understand cynicism behind your point. I am assuming you mean Streetdeck. I had no knowledge of a trial vehicle being in Brighton and as the deliveries arrived at the same time as the trial ones for London I asked a group covering the area and the replies appear to indicate that no trial vehicle had been in service. Anyway what can be the result of trialling just one bus - why was'nt a 400MMC or the new Optare tried. My cynicism stems from that info and that Wrightbus now appears to be the choice rather than a particular chassis. If you have the details of the trialled vehicle I would be interested.
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Post by ohdear on May 4, 2015 9:15:35 GMT
Seems like a bit of loose reporting as Souter is only a shareholder in ADL so I would think it is'nt his decision to sell the company. Perhaps he wants to sell his shares.
I linked to a full article in the Stagecoach London thread. The point is that Souter and his sister, Ann Gloag, own 55% of ADL between them. If they both decide to sell up then the company would effectively be up for sale. I believe it's true to say that Ann Gloag has often followed Brian Souter's investment decisions so there is a likelihood that both shareholdings would be sold. Souter is also quite clever at timing his decisions to invest / divest his own money from a range of businesses. If we assume the story has some truth to it I'd be asking what it is that is concerning Souter that he wants to get out of bus manufacturing. Is it his view about where the market is likely to go (down?) or the scale of investment that will be needed to support a switch in vehicle technology (all electric or even cleaner diesel buses). He may also be concerned (rightly I think) about a possible invasion by Chinese bus manufacturers who can sell at much lower prices than other manufacturers. Yes very good thinking - I had missed his sisters holding. Its amazing how the thoughts about horrible communist regimes are quietly ignored when it comes to finance. However it is closer to home that I have concerns about the taxpayer grants going into Wrightbus on the basis that the NI economy is in need of help. Couple this with Brighton and Hove ordering 20 odd untried bus from them - I am tempted to wonder which way the cost of these buses went. Boris Johnston takes the critism about his Borismaster but from what I read it was more of a political decision to give the contract to Wrights as they are they are a strong Protestant family, Catholics could'nt get a job there before the troubles, supporting the Unionist party who in turn were needed by Mr Camerons government. I have just read that a food firm in NI has just been given a £7 million grant - my goodness a food firm needing grants
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Post by ohdear on May 3, 2015 21:57:01 GMT
Seems like a bit of loose reporting as Souter is only a shareholder in ADL so I would think it is'nt his decision to sell the company. Perhaps he wants to sell his shares.
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Post by ohdear on Apr 23, 2015 21:16:58 GMT
Can someone remind me exactly what it was Hendy got his Knighthood for.
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France
Jan 8, 2015 20:58:54 GMT
Post by ohdear on Jan 8, 2015 20:58:54 GMT
Whilst totally shocked by this act I am afraid the west is helping create these fanatics. The French were quite happy to bomb the life out of Libya for the purpose of getting rid of Gaddifi but look at the state of that country now.
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Post by ohdear on Oct 8, 2014 20:18:05 GMT
I do not think the time will come when operators change their purchases to end the boredom of enthusiasts.
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Post by ohdear on Aug 6, 2014 22:53:39 GMT
It just shows that anyone acting as a buffoon can get elected and elected again despite the financial cost of his policies to Londoners
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Post by ohdear on Jun 23, 2014 8:24:52 GMT
I think "relatively short evaluation period" says quite a lot. With what was it evaluated
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Post by ohdear on May 31, 2014 20:34:37 GMT
Diesel for me simply because the sounds they make - you just don't get that same collection of noises on a hybrid. Forgot to add, the louder a diesel bus, the better for me. Does the include the fan noise from the Volvos
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Post by ohdear on May 28, 2014 20:34:27 GMT
It has been in other papers besides the mail. What I find very worrying is that money is being paid to these claimants because its cheaper than going to court. This is what need s to be changed.
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Post by ohdear on May 20, 2014 22:16:27 GMT
I only survived 2 stops on LTZ1112 on the 11, unbearably stifling with no aircon so I had to get off and take another route. Conductor said aircon failure was usual. This is an utter disaster. Heaven help those depending on LT routes. LT112 is a Metroline vehicle... I'm going to be a bit controversial here, considering the overwhelming opinion here is that the LT is, as you put it Linus, an utter disaster. I think the majority of current bus designs suffer to a greater or lesser extent when the weather heats up - it seems to me to be more an individual vehicle thing. Yesterday, the hottest day of the year, I went on two LTs : LT13 on route 24, which was horrible for heat, and LT50 on route 11, which was a lovely ride all round. I'm sure you could take individual vehicles from all bus batches, and do much the same thing. The LT will invariably be focused on because of its very high profile. Surely when something is so high profile then it should be ensured such faults do not exist or repaired quickly
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