Friday 28 February 2014

EYMS Driffield Depot To Close

EYMS have confirmed the closure of their Driffield depot, potentially by June subject to union and staff consultation, as reported by the Hull Daily Mail. EYMS has had a presence in Driffield since 1926. The closure is being blamed on central and local government funding cuts, with EYMS looking to reduce overheads to avoid significant cuts to services, and in turn job losses.

Despite the closure, only minor changes will be made to services, as all routes currently operated from Driffield depot will be reallocated to depots in Hull, Bridlington, Scarborough and/or Pocklington. As a result there will be no reduction in the number of drivers needed, and EYMS note most of Driffield's 33 staff (28 drivers) will have the opportunity to relocate. The changes that will be made include reductions in evening services on route 121 between Hull and Scarborough as buses will no longer be travelling back from Hull or Bridlington to Driffield at the end of the day.

Clearly this is sad news, but preferable to cut overheads than cut services. If EYMS was part of a larger group would Driffield depot have survived this long with just 15 buses and the main service (the 121) serving four other towns/cities with EYMS depots?

EYMS have given assurances to staff that no other depot closures are currently being considered.




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree that it is sad news for the company and for the hardworking staff at Driffield.
The conc fare scheme is always blamed and sometimes people say "Here we go again" but in this case a 80 seater bus travelling between for example Beverley and Scarborough with minimal rebate from ERYCC is hardly running at a profit.
The goverment have ruined the bus industry with a scheme that expects bus companies to run at a loss but not cut services.
If the conc free travel scheme was so important why was it never applied to the railways as well.

Anonymous said...

The Conc travel scheme does work, its just the English government was are trying to operate the scheme on the cheap. Local councils are not to blame, if there get less cash what do you expect?

Maybe if the scheme was operate like the, Scots, Welsh and NI at a national level, then maybe the repayments would be a lot higher...

Scottish bus Companies still get 58%, thats down from 73.5% a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

I dont see the smaller companies moaning like Peter Shipp.
Acklams with new buses,Busking with a expanding fleet, T.D Travel doing quite well, Coastal & Country expanding into the East Riding, Shoreline Suncruisers expanding there services, Yorkshire Coastliner running good services.
I travel in Beverley on EY buses and am also a enthusiast.
When I asked a driver why they were always driving with there foot flat to the floor I was told it was to try and keep to time.


Could it be that P.Shipp needs to come out of his ivory tower and start acting as a business man.

NMcB said...

Anonymous @10:30 I hadn't realised that Coastal & Country were expanding into the East Riding. What services will they be operating ?

Anonymous said...

I do apologise for stating Coastal & Country.
I should have said Esk Valley who now have a operational base in Bridlington.

SS said...

Re Anonymous 7 March 10:30- it is worth noting that Yorkshire Coastliner last year threatened to register their service non-stop between Pickering and Whitby so as to force pass holders to pay, aiming Shipp-style complaints towards NYCC's reimbursement rates in the process.

Also, for whatever reason, TD Travel have recently downsized significantly, so it isn't all rosy elsewhere!

NMcB said...

Thanks. On looking at VOSA, it is clear that both Esk Valley and Shoreline Suncruisers have picked up a number of school contracts lost by EYMS in North Yorks. However, it seems from another comment that the loss of these contracts will mean EY filling in service gaps in local Bridlington town services where buses currently run school trips mid-afternoon. Personally, I feel this is a good thing as running school services doesn't always fit in well with regular all-day services. Esk Valley and Shoreline with fewer year-round all-day services may be in a better position to operate these school runs without affecting other activities.