Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2007 20:39:19 GMT
'Bus wars' move north
13 July 2007
Preston Bus could run services outside the city for the first time in a century.
As the city's bus wars hot up, the operator has targeted Carlisle as a
possible location to start running frequent services under a different name.
Any decision to begin services outside Preston would see it going head-to-head with rival operator Stagecoach which is the dominant service provider in Carlisle.
It follows the announcement that the firm, which has run buses in the city for more than a century, had upped the number of vehicles it can operate.
Preston Bus managing director Peter Bell declined to comment on the speculation, but confirmed it had increased its operating licence from 131 vehicles to 150 vehicles.
However, the company's depot, in Deepdale Road,
Preston, is not able to
accommodate more than its current numbers of buses, adding further fuel to the speculation it could be looking to expand.
No new routes have yet been registered with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), although it is believed something could happen next month.
The speculation has reached the trade press, with a monthly transport enthusiast magazine reporting this week that Preston Bus was looking to register two new routes in Carlisle.
Preston Bus is currently locked in a bitter bus war with Stagecoach over routes in Preston after the national operator began running
services on some of its most lucrative routes in the city.
Stagecoach is already operating from the city centre to Farringdon Park and Gamull Lane with services to Royal Preston Hospital, via Deepdale Road and Plungington Road, due to come online at the end of next month.
Last Updated: 13 July 2007 9:13 AM
13 July 2007
Preston Bus could run services outside the city for the first time in a century.
As the city's bus wars hot up, the operator has targeted Carlisle as a
possible location to start running frequent services under a different name.
Any decision to begin services outside Preston would see it going head-to-head with rival operator Stagecoach which is the dominant service provider in Carlisle.
It follows the announcement that the firm, which has run buses in the city for more than a century, had upped the number of vehicles it can operate.
Preston Bus managing director Peter Bell declined to comment on the speculation, but confirmed it had increased its operating licence from 131 vehicles to 150 vehicles.
However, the company's depot, in Deepdale Road,
Preston, is not able to
accommodate more than its current numbers of buses, adding further fuel to the speculation it could be looking to expand.
No new routes have yet been registered with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), although it is believed something could happen next month.
The speculation has reached the trade press, with a monthly transport enthusiast magazine reporting this week that Preston Bus was looking to register two new routes in Carlisle.
Preston Bus is currently locked in a bitter bus war with Stagecoach over routes in Preston after the national operator began running
services on some of its most lucrative routes in the city.
Stagecoach is already operating from the city centre to Farringdon Park and Gamull Lane with services to Royal Preston Hospital, via Deepdale Road and Plungington Road, due to come online at the end of next month.
Last Updated: 13 July 2007 9:13 AM