Nippy Bus (Somerset) folds?

[whole diary]

[chrisr_75]

yup - we should pay more council tax so that these companies can make a profit.

No thank you. I pay more than enough for not very much already.

Reducing wastage and improving efficiency in local authorities might help a lot though.

[JayMac]

hence my suggestion. the taxpayer shoulders the council's expenditure, whether through the initial contract or after they go bust.

But not if the council has required, and got, a bond.

And as has been pointed out this bond needn't be a lump sum. There are insurance type policies for bonds. And if a prospective bidder can't, or won't, get a bond then they shouldn't be able to apply for the contract.

That said it's nice to see you once again defaulting to your, "Ooo pays? The public" stance.

[ChrisB]

Of course the public pays, don't be 'silly' (stronger words do exist)

Whether through taxes or purchases. How else do companies (for bonds) or councils get funds? From the general public / Government/LA grant. And they get their funds through taxes (or borrowing, but taxes pay that back)

[Tim]

Of course the public pays, don't be 'silly' (stronger words do exist)

Whether through taxes or purchases. How else do companies (for bonds) or councils get funds? From the general public / Government/LA grant. And they get their funds through taxes (or borrowing, but taxes pay that back)

I tend to agree.  It may be cheaper on the public purse for the Council to shoulder the risk of having to pay the cost of short term cover in the case of insolvency than paying higher rates so that the contractor can cover the costs of paying for a bond. 

Personally, I think this is the kind of area where privatisation simply doesn't work well.  The root problem is that ultimately the risk (of people not getting to work or kids not getting to school) falls at the door of the public sector.  Bonds etc are all artificial ways of trying to shift the risk, but they are all contrived and paid for by the public sector.  I favour a mixed economy where the private sector is left to do what it does well and the public sector does the rest.     

[JayMac]

Meanwhile, the manner of the Nippy Bus closure was discussed today on both the Radio 4 'Today' programme and Radio 2's 'Jeremy Vine Show'.

Neither were very complimentary toward the Nippy Bus manager(s).

[JayMac]

Nothing excuses the dispicable way the staff were made redundant, but there is a shortage of bus drivers across Somerset (and surrounding areas) at the moment.

This may be why Nippy Bus, and others, have struggled to meet their obligations.

And why is there a shortage? It's two-fold. The building of Hinkley Point C is requiring a lot of PCV licence holders to transport workers on and off site. The pay and perks offered to PCV holders can't be matched by small independent operators. The other reason is Brexit. The flow of qualified bus drivers from Europe has stopped.

The silver lining is that the drivers and mechanics at Nippy Bus should be able to secure employment elsewhere locally fairly quickly. The admin staff may not be so fortunate and will have to rely on statutory redundancy pay.

[JayMac]

A little light relief. Here's how Buses of Somerset announced the takeover of a Nippy Bus route:



I shall be driving through West Cocker tomororow! 

[chrisr_75]

Nothing excuses the dispicable way the staff were made redundant, but there is a shortage of bus drivers across Somerset (and surrounding areas) at the moment.

This may be why Nippy Bus, and others, have struggled to meet their obligations.

And why is there a shortage? It's two-fold. The building of Hinkley Point C is requiring a lot of PCV licence holders to transport workers on and off site. The pay and perks offered to PCV holders can't be matched by small independent operators. The other reason is Brexit. The flow of qualified bus drivers from Europe has stopped.

The silver lining is that the drivers and mechanics at Nippy Bus should be able to secure employment elsewhere locally fairly quickly. The admin staff may not be so fortunate and will have to rely on statutory redundancy pay.

To be fair, only one side of this story has been presented and it is that of the (former) employees.

I know from first hand experience that in small businesses a couple of 'difficult' employees really can cause the entire operation to fail so I can see there is a possible source for this MD's apparent frustration. I suspect something has happened to warrant such a blunt announcement of the business closing, but without being a fly on the wall it's all just conjecture. There is clearly some bad feeling between both employees and owners of this company.

I personally don't have any great opinion about the way it was announced. I'm sure he has met all regulatory/legal requirements, beyond that he can do what he wants, within the law, even if some people are offended. I'm sure the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) were spouting forth in full professional indignation mode about this but there's really nothing anyone can do to stop him expressing his opinions.

[chrisr_75]

A little light relief. Here's how Buses of Somerset announced the takeover of a Nippy Bus route:



I shall be driving through West Cocker tomororow! 

Is that near Cocker Combe? I may have a photo of our Cocker Spaniel next to the sign there...

Unfortunately the place is absolutely full of ticks. Don't take your dog there!

[Red Squirrel]

yup - we should pay more council tax so that these companies can make a profit.

No thank you. I pay more than enough for not very much already.

Reducing wastage and improving efficiency in local authorities might help a lot though.

Tax is the price we pay for living in a civilised society. Given the direction in which our society is heading, I would suggest that we are not paying enough.

For a discussion on neoliberalism, you could start here.

[JayMac]

I know from first hand experience that in small businesses a couple of 'difficult' employees really can cause the entire operation to fail so I can see there is a possible source for this MD's apparent frustration.

Could these 'difficult' employees be the ones justifiably asking the MD why they weren't paid on Friday 28th October? After fielding their questions over the weekend, and dealing with impending insolvency, he gets frustrated and throws his toys out of the pram.

It's interesting to note that, according to a couple of the staff, they've not been told who the 'agents appointed to discharge liabilities' are.

I'm sure the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) were spouting forth in full professional indignation mode

The Today Programme were reporting not spouting.

There was indignation on The Jeremy Vine Show, that though came from phone-in contributors, both for and against the MD's actions. JV's contribution was a shout out to the MD to phone in and respond. Not indignant at all.

[chrisr_75]

yup - we should pay more council tax so that these companies can make a profit.

No thank you. I pay more than enough for not very much already.

Reducing wastage and improving efficiency in local authorities might help a lot though.

Tax is the price we pay for living in a civilised society. Given the direction in which our society is heading, I would suggest that we are not paying enough.

For a discussion on neoliberalism, you could start here.

No thank you again, I do not dirty myself by reading The Guardian.

I said we pay enough, not that it should be reduced, and that effective savings could be made my making the local authorities (and central government for that matter) use our money more responsibly and more effectively, so I don't know why you're introducing neoliberalism to this debate.

You digress away from the original topic of debate into a discussion about political ideologies...

Back to Nippy Buses...

[chrisr_75]

I know from first hand experience that in small businesses a couple of 'difficult' employees really can cause the entire operation to fail so I can see there is a possible source for this MD's apparent frustration.

Could these 'difficult' employees be the ones justifiably asking the MD why they weren't paid on Friday 28th October? After fielding their questions over the weekend, and dealing with impending insolvency, he gets frustrated and throws his toys out of the pram.

It's interesting to note that, according to a couple of the staff, they've not been told who the 'agents appointed to discharge liabilities' are.

I'm sure the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) were spouting forth in full professional indignation mode

The Today Programme were reporting not spouting.

There was indignation on The Jeremy Vine Show, that though came from phone-in contributors, both for and against the MD's actions. JV's contribution was a shout out to the MD to phone in and respond. Not indignant at all.

I've as much idea of who any difficult employees might've been as you or under what circumstances they may have caused problems, so I will not hazard a guess. All I know is there's two sides to every story and this chap hasn't presented his for whatever reason. And the people you employ can make you or break you. Either way, it doesn't really matter, the company is finished, the jobs are gone, end of story.

There will probably be a notice placed in the company premises and it will be reported in the London Gazette and on Companies House website who the administrators are. I'm not aware of any obligation to inform all and sundry individually. It's usually up to creditors to find that out who is dealing with the insolvency. Hard to find information if you don't know how this stuff works, but I suspect it's being done by the book.

[JayMac]

No thank you again, I do not dirty myself by reading The Guardian.

I tend to read both sides of the debate to get a hopefully rounded understanding, from which to form an opinion. I don't close my mind to opposing opinions.

I don't consider I dirty myself by reading the traditionally right wing press. I would though, if I had an outdoor privy, or a cat litter tray, find an appropriate secondary use, after reading, for the likes of the The Times, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express...

[chrisr_75]

No thank you again, I do not dirty myself by reading The Guardian.

I tend to read both sides of the debate to get a hopefully rounded understanding, from which to form an opinion. I don't close my mind to opposing opinions.

I don't consider I dirty myself by reading the traditionally right wing press. I would though, if I had an outdoor privy, or a cat litter tray, find an appropriate secondary use, after reading, for the likes of the The Times, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express...

Wow, sweeping generalisations about my intellect. Appreciate that. 

I intentionally worded my post such as I knew someone would be along to imply I had some leaning towards the far right of the media and sure enough the bait was taken. Quite comical really.