Bournemouth's Yellow Buses to cease operating from Thursday evening after facing difficulties
Major bus operator, Yellow Buses, is to cease operating from Thursday night after the company failed to find a buyer.
The company employs around 300 staff and operates vital services in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Yellow Buses recently celebrated its 120th birthday, and is one of the oldest operators in the region.
On Wednesday administrators announced that a buyer could not be found for the bus side of the Yellow Buses business, but a buyer has been found for its coach services.
Simon Rowe and Rachel Hotham of Milsted Langdon were appointed as administrators of Yellow Buses on Friday, July 29, when it was announced the company had gone into administration.
Morebus, which also operates in the region, announced this evening it will run extra routes to fill the gap left by Yellow Buses.
In a statement Simon Rowe said: "Whilst we are delighted that the proposed deal will save a significant number of jobs, it is hugely disappointing that we weren’t able to secure the remainder of the business and the jobs attached to it.
“We have informed the staff of the position and I would like to thank all of them for their patience and understanding over the last few difficult days.
“I would also like to thank the other stakeholders who have offered and given their support, in particular BCP and UNITE, both of whom took an active interest and tried to help us present a vision of a sustainable future for Yellow Buses.
“Unfortunately, in the end, the financial challenges which the company faced during its trading life meant that every buyer we spoke to felt that the prospects were not commercially viable.
“The closure of Yellow Buses leaves a gap in the public transport network for the residents and visitors to Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch and we are working with BCP and MoreBus to try and minimise the disruption this will inevitably cause.”
The Unite union, which represents workers said it was deeply saddened by the news.
Unite regional officer Janet Wall said: “We are deeply saddened and very disappointed that national express would not take on the bus side of the operations, just the coaching and school bus contracts.
“Not only is it a significant loss of jobs, it also marks the end of an 120 year era for Yellow Buses.
“I am expecting to talk to the new owners on Thursday and Friday about saving as many jobs as possible.”
A further statement is expected on the future of the coach business.
Routes being taken over by More Bus
Routes 1/1b - Bournemouth to Christchurch, Two Riversmeet via Boscombe, Fishermans Walk, Southbourne (1) OR Cranleigh Road (1b) and Tuckton up to every 30 minutes each. Common sections of the routes will be every 15 minutes. The Westbourne, Branksome & Poole sections will not operate but our more bus m1/m2 routes serve these areas up to every 7 minutes.
Route 1a- Bournemouth to Somerford via Boscombe, Iford, Barrack Road & Christchurch up to every 15 minutes. The section that used to operate to Highcliffe & New Milton will not run, but customers can use the existing more bus X1/X2 routes.
Route 2 - Bournemouth to Castlepoint via Station, Springbourne, Boscombe, Iford, RB Hospital & Townsend Estate (although it does not serve Townsend Estate in the evening) up to every 30 minutes. The section that used to serve past Castlepoint to Moordown, Kinson & Bearwood will not operate but customers can use the more bus route 14 between RB Hospital, Castlepoint and Kinson instead. Route 6a will connect Kinson and Bearwood.
Route 4- Bournemouth to Castlepoint via Station, Winton, Moordown & Muscliffe up to every 30 minutes. This route will then continue as a route 2, so for those needing Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Iford you can stay on the same bus. However, it will not continue to Christchurch.
Routes 5/5a- Bournemouth to Kinson via Station, Charminster, Winton, Ensbury Park, East Howe (5), Cunningham Crescent (5) OR Columbia Road (5a), Maclean Road (5a) and Moore Avenue. Will run up to every 30 minutes on each route, and every 15 minutes on the common sections.
Routes 6/6a- Bournemouth to Bearwood via Station, Winton, University, Wallisdown, & High Howe up to every 30 minutes. Extending beyond Bearwood to Wimborne (6) and Kinson (6a) up to every hour
Route 737- Bournemouth to Airport via Station, Winton, Moordown, Parley & Aviation Park. There will be 2-morning journeys to Airport and 3-afternoon journeys returning.
On Friday the company admitted it had suffered from the challenges of the covid period.
This loss of revenue, compounded by a change in people's lifestyles and a growing reluctance to travel on public transport, has had a financial impact on the business, it said.
This was further compounded by additional factors such as the recent increase in fuel prices and the general rise in inflation has only made that greater.
Councillor Mike Greene, Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport, BCP Council, said: “BCP Council has been working hard to support the Administrators and private bus companies to explore a number of different solutions to safeguard our residents’ and visitors ability to travel. We’re saddened and disappointed that no new owner has been found for the bus operations side of Yellow Buses, despite everyone’s best efforts.
“Following the news that Morebus will be stepping up their service provision from this Saturday, we will now be focusing our efforts on working closely and fully supporting Morebus over the coming days. We’ll also continue to engage with the Administrators and government to minimise any longer term impact to our residents, local businesses and visitors.
“Today is an incredibly sad day for Yellow Buses, its employees and the bus users it serves. The yellow bus has been an iconic part of our towns for over 100 years. It is therefore unsurprising that the recent news that they will cease operations today has hugely impacted local communities across the BCP area.
“We continue in our efforts to support the industry, with advice and information- as we always have, and we’ll work together to seek a longer term solution for the benefit of bus users.
“I’d like to reassure bus users that we are doing all we can to minimise disruption, and we’ll prioritise our existing school transport services in this process. We’ll share further information and updates on bus transport at the earliest opportunities over the coming weeks.”