Worst Group buses (First Group Buses)

Member Name: Poor_student

Product:	First Group Buses
Date:	08/07/06 (1098 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: SOMETIMES turn up

Disadvantages: Dirty, smelly, unreliable - and that's just the drivers!

OK, I didn't mean to have a go at the drivers in the disadvantages bit, and I apologise before I start getting hate mail. But really, this company is the pits, and unsurprisingly, this will read more as a rant than a review (though I have included some factual info).

The Company
First is the largest land transport company in the UK with an annual turnover in excess of £3 billion - yes billion. As well as running buses, they also run train services in Scotland, the west of England and London (as well as other areas, but these are the main ones). With the exception of Transpennine Express, you can tell a First operated services because they insist on putting the word "First" in the title). First also operate in America (poor sods).

Buses
First has bus routes in about 50 major towns and cities, including here in North Manchester (unfortunately). First are responsible for imposing the "overground" buses (the bendy ones) on us and destroying London's heritage Routemaster buses. First states that it invests millions in technology to develop clean, safe, high quality vehicles. They also state that their fares are excellent value for money. and that they put their customers (didn't that used to be passenger some time ago?) First (groan) and employs professional, trustworthy and customer-focussed staff.



The reality
Can someone tell me if there are two First companies operating in the UK, because to be honest, First's description of themselves sounds nothing like the buses that we get round here.

In terms of fares, I'm sure there is an extorion racket going on. Fares have gone up more than 15 times in the past 2 years, but First reckons that fares are cheaper now than they were 20 years ago. 'Scuse me? I distinctly remember back then that the highest single fare was 25p. A return ticket did not then cost the same as two singles (it was cheaper). Now, we have artifically high single fare prices that subsidise the seasonal tickets. A single from my house to the city is £2.10. An all day ticket is £2.80 (for First buses only - an any bus ticket is just 40p more) and a weekly is £13.00. the pricing is such that if you are making just a couple of journeys a week, you will probably end up buying their most expensive ticket, because continuing to buy single tickets is too expensive. I love the way that First blame the need for price rises on the cost of petrol increases. Someone should tell them that their buses run on diesel, and the price of commercial diesel actually decreased the last time First used this excuse.

Where I am, there are three first routes that operate. One is supposed to run "at least every ten minutes" and the bus stop is right outside my house. The other two routes are about 5 minutes walk away, and operate quarter hourly. Can someone please tell me, then, why I often end up waiting for over half an hour for a bus to turn up? And it's not a case of 3 turning up at once - you literally get 2 an hour. I usually end up walking 15 minutes to the main roadway to Manchester, where there are no less than ten services that run that way - one every two minutes (supposedly).
Also, the driver's don't seem to know what the timetable is - or the route. Of an evening, the buses go a slightly different way and does a circular (to avoid a scally-infested estate, thus saving bus windows from being smashed in by the natives). Yet drivers seem to decide at whim which way they will go. Even worse, it got to the point of me asking which way they would drive, and I would stay on or get off and walk, depending on the answer, only to find that the driver has done the opposite!

The buses are supposed to be clean, modern and environmentally friendly. I would like to know, then, why buses on my route seem to fuel global warming all by themselves. The buses are very noisy, seats, if available have chewing gum stuck on them (and also something else which I came across once but will not mention), and the corridors are littered with copies of Metro, kindly placed there by school kids at 8:30 am, yet still there in the evening. And half the time the heating is one - during the summer. Speaking of which, i remember a passenger with quite a bit of luggage. He put the luggage in the luggage compartment, only to be told by the driver to move it because that's where the copies of Metro are kept!

Now I know that each company has good and bad staff, but First seems to employ far too many demons. I know that it can't be an easy job, with obnoxious people arguing the toss, and kids using buses as target practice, but bus drivers seem to be aliens. Show them your buss pass and they either take it off you for examination (next time I'm going to ask if they want DNA prints), stare at you and grunt their assent for you to board, or don't even look at you or your pass (and them once you get fed up waiting, you walk on only for the driver to call you back (usually "oy! You! Get back 'ere) and treat you like it's your fault that they can't be bothered to realise that there is a customer waiting to have their pass examined). And don't even think of trying to use money. I once purchsed a "family" ticket (£4.60) using a fiver. "Friggin 'ell, aven' ye go' any less dan dat?" came the ernest response.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen drivers zoom past bus stops when people are waiting - one driver even gave the waiting people the fingers and laughed as he drove on. Another driver went past me (with flatmate) and about several OAPs, but soon regretted it. My flatmate (a person not to be messed with) ran to the next stop (taking a short cut), stood in front of the bus at traffic lights and got on. I don't know what he did or said, but that driver came back to our stop and let everyone on for free!

The company's customer service is basically a waste of time. I have complained to them twice. One was about the "Changing of the Drivers" (where the driver buggers off and you're left on the bus for twenty minutes for the next one to turn up, but this occaision it took about 30 minutes - and not another bus in sight). The other was when the driver simply decided he wanted everyone off the bus (in the middle of afore-mentioned scally estate) without having the courtesy to explain. My complaints did receive responses - the computer generated type that tells you how seriously they are taking the matter and that it will not happen again (yeah right). In other words - we have a monopoly, there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it so we don't give a rats ass about you cos if you want to use a bus, you have to use ours! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Essentially, First should simply not be allowed to operate. Despite the number of complaints they receive, nothing changes, and people give up complaining. First are on a money maker. They know that and will not let anything get in the way of their cash cow. If the managers of the company had to use the services, I'm damned sure things would change in an instant. There are many people where I live who rely on public transport, yet they are kept virtual prisoner because the services are so unreliable. The day that bus services are put under regulation again cannot come too soon.
And the recommendation, in case you haven't guessed, is meant to be no and not down to the dooyoo bug!

Summary: Nasty to use, but little choice if you don't have a car