This evening, along with two office bearers from the Community Spirit Action Group and my ward colleague Cllr Donald Hay, I met with Lawrence Davie, Managing Director of National Express Dundee.The Community Spirit representatives handed over the petition about the 11/12 service - with some 650 signatures from local residents.It was a very positive and constructive meeting. It is clear that National Express Dundee is listening to local concerns and Lawrence hopes to announce positive changes to the service once he has Board approval and agreement from the Traffic Commissioner. This should hopefully allow longer weekday services and some service at weekends, going a good way towards addressing residents' concerns.We also discussed the issue of early morning number 17 buses and Lawrence...

There has been a great deal of concern recently about some of the recent bus service changes - and in particular in the West End - the 11/12 service.As I reported earlier this week, I am meeting with National Express Dundee (along with representatives of the Community Spirit Action Group and fellow councillors) about this issue. The meeting has been arranged for 11th August.However, I now highlight another couple of bus issues raised recently:* Firstly, I have raised with the City Council the need for more accessible buses on Stagecoach Strathtay Service 69, following a complaint from a constituent about being unable to assist her elderly mother onto the bus as there was no low-floor access. Given that this service is a City Council subsidised service and serves communities with many...

I welcome today's commitment from National Express Dundee that it is willing to review recent controversial bus service changes in the city.In recent weeks, along with residents, fellow councillors and the Community Spirit Action Group, I have highlighted the deficiencies in the revised 11/12 service in the Ancrum, Pentland and Tullideph areas. Following my approach to the bus company earlier this week, a meeting with their Director, Lawrence Davie, has now been agreed to specifically discuss the 11/12 service. The meeting will take place on 11th August, in order to give all residents a little while longer to sign Community Spirit's petition - available in local shops and on-line - the total signatures now amounting to over 500.Community Spirit representatives, fellow local councillors...

Welcome to the 8.29 service from Stowmarket to London Liverpool Street, where we are, for the time being, on schedule for an 'on time arrival'. I have a reservation for seat 53A in coach F, which is a table seat, facing forward - very nice. Except that there is no coach F. So, where is my reserved seat? No announcement, so I take an available seat, noting the absence of any reservations in coach E. The guard arrives to check my ticket, and I ask him where my reserved seat is. He tells me that there is no coach F (I'd kind of guessed that), and that a number of people have asked him where their seats are already. Now call me naive if you will, but under such circumstances, I might either; Announce that there is a problem and advise people where their reserved seats actually are; or,...

As I have previously updated, residents in the Pentland, Ancrum and Tullideph areas are strongly against the National Express Dundee bus service changes in the area as these are highly detrimental to the local community. The residents’ group for the area – Community Spirit Action Group – has raised a petition that is being distributed to local shops and I have set up an on-line petition in support of Community Spirit’s campaign. The on-line petition is available at : http://tiny.cc/communityspirit.The revised 11/12 service poorly serves the area, with no buses before 9am or after around 3pm and absolutely nothing at the weekends. It is simply not a service that is fit for purpose – particularly for the elderly community. There are no buses to Ninewells Hospital during visiting...

It seems that both Ros and I have an interest in holding National Express East Anglia's feet to the fire whilst they work out their severance period... Railways: Franchises Question Asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for Transport, Theresa Villiers, on 17 June (Official Report, Commons, col. 58WS) that the procurement timetable for the new Greater Anglia rail franchise is to be revised, what arrangements are in place to ensure that the performance of National Express East Anglia is acceptable. Earl Attlee: Current contractual provisions in relation to performance on the National Express East Anglia franchise will remain in place and will be fully enforced by Department for Transport...

As reported in today's Courier, I have raised constituents’ concerns about the changes to bus services covering parts of the West End Ward from tomorrow.These affect the 9/10/11/12 “Outer Circle” service and I have received numerous representations from residents in the Ancrum, Tullideph and Pentland areas, who feel that the removal of that service is detrimental particularly for elderly residents who used it and that the revised 11/12 service not adequate.Across the West End, the bus changes are a mixed bag in that, in all fairness to National Express Dundee, there is an improvement in part of the ward with the replacement for the 9X – the new 5A service – being generally more frequent. This is to be welcomed.However, the people in other parts of the West End such as Pentland,...

I freely admit that my opinion of National Express East Anglia's management is a pretty low one, although they do seem determined to reinforce that at every opportunity. And so, the fact that they were holding a 'Meet the Managers' event at Stowmarket this morning seemed too good to miss. My suspicion that it wasn't going to be a blazing success was highlighted as I walked through the station past the booking office - which was closed, in mid-rush hour. From a personal perspective, having to collect my ticket from the machine, that meant queuing behind people relatively unused to using it, delaying me in my quest to reach the London-bound platform. However, I was early, so no crisis. I raised the matter with the lady on the platform with a badge saying that she was Head of Customer...

National Express West Midlands says bus driver has been suspended after footage was posted on internetA bus driver is facing dismissal after he was filmed apparently reading a book at the wheel, his employer confirmed today.National Express West Midlands said the driver, who has not been named, was suspended after footage of the incident was posted on the internet.The company was alerted to the alleged misconduct yesterday after a passenger filmed the driver in Birmingham on Monday.The footage appears to show the driver flicking through the pages of a book while driving along a dual carriageway in the south of the city, oblivious to the fact that he is being filmed.No complaint was made directly to the bus company.It is understood that the footage was shot on a service operating between...

This column of mine appears in the Morning Star."Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time." "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes. Rather like the non-barking dog in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective story Silver Blaze, the most curious incident regarding our three main parties manifesto promises on Britain's railways is not what they have said, but what they haven't said. The Labour Party boasts of its commitment to "a new high-speed rail line linking North and South" and says it will "press ahead with a major investment programme in existing rail services." Labour will "encourage more people to switch to rail" and promises to "treble the...

I have had quite a number of West End constituents ask about what improvements are planned to bus ticketing - for example, making purchasing bus passes easier and more flexible, in the way the Oyster Card facility in London operates.I contacted Lawrence Davie, Managing Director of National Express Dundee, about this and he has given me a helpful update :"Following on from the successful introduction of the new electronic ticketing machines which now accept the smart concession cards NX DUNDEE is looking at introducing smartcard technology to replace its current season cards and multiple journey products.Managing Director Lawrence Davie said that they had wanted to do this two years ago but had been delayed by problems with the technology for the concession cards. It is now hoped that...

There was no government impropriety, says deputy Labour leader in response to former minister's claims to undercover journalistsHarriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, insisted today there had been no "impropriety" in ministerial decision-making after claims by the former transport secretary Stephen Byers that he had successfully influenced government policies.In a statement to MPs, Harman said the government wants to put the registration of lobbyists on a statutory footing, with a legal requirement for every lobbyist to give details of their clients.Harman made the statement after embarrassing allegations over the weekend that three former cabinet ministers – Byers, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt – were caught by undercover reporters investigating the willingness of MPs to engage...

Former cabinet minister asks parliamentary commissioner for standards to investigate allegations about his willingness to engage in lobbyingStephen Byers, the former cabinet minister, today said he had asked the parliamentary commissioner for standards to investigate allegations that he was willing to use his access and influence to lobby in return for cash.He announced the move 24 hours after it was revealed that he and two other former cabinet ministers – Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt – were caught by undercover reporters investigating the willingness of MPs to engage in lobbying.In a bid to turn Labour sleaze into an election issue, David Cameron urged Gordon Brown to investigate Byers's claims that he had successfully lobbied the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, and the business...

Conservative leader and cabinet ministers condemn findings of undercover 'sting'David Cameron today sought to turn Labour sleaze into a damaging election issue when he called on Gordon Brown to investigate allegations that former cabinet ministers, including Stephen Byers and Geoff Hoon, had shown they were willing to use their access and influence to lobby in return for cash.Cameron called on Brown to investigate Byers's claims that he had successfully lobbied the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, and the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, to change important decisions on behalf of commercial firms.Byers claimed he had persuaded Mandelson to tone down food labelling rules on behalf of Tesco. He also suggested he had persuaded Adonis to tone down his approach to National Express over its...

It didn't take long for the BBC to pretend the Byers lobbying story wasn't really, well, you know, bad. When it broke on the Nolan Show last night, Rita Chakrabarti ended her carefully worded report by saying: "There is of course, no suggestion that Mr Byers has done anything wrong." Peter Spencer on Sky News said the same thing in one of his reports this morning.They could not be more wrong, but as it's Labour, let's give them the benefit of the doubt, eh?You only have to read the full gory details in the Sunday Times to know that Stephen Byers was caught out in exactly the same way as several Tory MPs in the 1990s. You'd think these greedy idiots would learn, wouldn't you? No? No, me neither. Greed always seems to win.Stephen Byers ought to stand accused of corruption - taking money to...

I am somewhat surprised to see that discussions have taken place between my 'favourite' rail operator, National Express and the Conservative Party, in an attempt by the former to be allowed to bid for new rail franchises following their failure on the East Coast and East Anglian routes. Whilst Lord Adonis has set his heart against allowing them to bid at all, the Conservatives have taken the view that, after a period in purdah, they see no reason why they shouldn't get the chance to welch on another contract, run down the quality of services, axe catering, cleaning and customer service staff, and generally make train travel less enjoyable for hundreds of thousands of captive victims, sorry, passengers. Clearly, the Conservatives believe that the debate is not one of private versus...

Well, the performance statistics are out for January, courtesy of National Express East Anglia, and so, how have they done on punctuality? 78.2% for all routes 69.3% for mainline routes Guess what I have to deal with? What this means is that, to achieve their franchise target of 91%, they'll have to achieve 93% punctuality for the next eleven months. That is, to coin a phrase, so not going to happen. Ah well, never mind......

Don't get excited, it isn't an apology from me to them. You may recall that I lodged a complaint with the shambles that is National Express East Anglia in late November, after another of those deeply unsatisfying trips that they seem to increasingly specialise in. Given that their published aim was to reply to 90% of complaints within six working days, I was expecting a response in the first week of December, possibly the second. That response didn't come, and still didn't come, and by Christmas, I had begun to start thinking about another complaint. I'm a busy man though, and you know how these things are... However, I arrived home this evening to find an envelope waiting for me. In it was this letter; Dear Mr Valladares, Thank you for your email dated 24th November 2009. I am...

I have, of late, been pretty critical of National Express East Anglia, due next year to be the late and unlamented franchise holder for trains across the East of England. Increasingly decrepit trains, withdrawal of catering services, cleaners and customers services, mark the signs of a train operator merely attempting to minimise costs until someone capable takes over. The key defence that NXEA put up is that they have improved punctuality. And indeed, across  the entire network, they have achieved their 91% target. So far, so good. However, I use their mainline services. Ironically, this is the one area where they have failed, achieving a moving annual average of 88.68% in the year to 14 November. Ironic, really, because railway companies usually treat their mainline services as...

Amidst the flurry of stories about fare increases this weekend on Britain's railways, I note reports that National Express East Anglia have frozen their unregulated fares, good news indeed for those of us who use their services. Good news, that is, if you don't purchase your tickets using the internet. Because, curiously, what they don't mention is that the 10% discount they offered to passengers booking their tickets online has been withdrawn, which means that those fares have effectively gone up by more than 11%. And, amazingly, they didn't announce that with a fanfare of trumpets, oh no. Indeed, a look at their website doesn't mention the withdrawal of the discount at all. Oh dear, another year, and another disappointment from our friends at National Express East Anglia......

In case you missed them, here are the 10 most popular public relations posts from my blog in 2009. Seven of them got most of their traffic from referrals (Twitter, blog posts, Facebook, email etc) and three of them from simple search – the National Express, Obama and social media research statistics ones. National Express East Coast: Lions led by donkeys – 10 comments In January I used my blog to express dissatisfaction with National Express East Coast’s abysmal customer service. At the end of November it was time to rejoice as it lost its franchise and the east coast mainline once again became a nationalised rail service (however temporarily). In just one month service has improved phenomenally. Public relations is about reputation, not SEO – 16 comments This post on the...

UB40 sang "I am the one in ten", but it appears that I am too. According to National Express East Anglia, they aim to respond to 90% of complaints within six working days. Well, today is day eight.I'm still waiting, ladies and...

Following on from the truncation of their East Anglia rail franchise, today saw a question from Baroness Hanham, seeking to find out what the current position is. Luckily, a clutch of their regular victims were there to kick the company whilst it is down.From the Liberal Democrat benches, Baroness Scott of Needham Market (usual journey Stowmarket to Liverpool Street) commented, "As a poor benighted passenger of National Express East Anglia, may I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware of the steady deterioration in services with regard to cleanliness, refreshments, repairs to carriages et cetera, which is making the travelling experience pretty miserable? Can he assure passengers that in the new franchise more attention will be paid to ensuring that the new company operates a decent...

So National Express is to lose its franchise for train services in the eastern region. The company's foray into train services has been a disaster and has turned a leading UK company into something of a joke. What is interesting about the loss of this second franchise is that it is not immediate. The company will continue to hold onto it for two years? If they are seen as incapable of running...

For those of you who wonder what a bureaucrat does in his spare time, I can confirm that one of the things I don't do is sticking pins into wax effigies of National Express East Anglia management. I can't speak for Andrew Adonis though, but if he does, he's pretty good at this voodoo stuff. Less than forty-eight hours after I complained to and about NXEA, it was announced that their franchise will be terminated three years earlier than scheduled, in 2011.There has been, for some time, a sense that National Express were doing just enough to meet the performance targets built into the franchise agreement. However, the loss of the restaurant car service, the increasingly shabby rolling stock, with faulty toilets and deteriorating standards of cleanliness, and the claims that removing...

“To lose one rail franchise, Dr Beeching, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.” – Oscar Wilde It’s all going horribly wrong for National Express – only a few days ago, they finally relinquished their grip on the East Coast rail franchise to the power-hungry train fanatics better known as the governing council of UK PLC. Now it’s got worse and they have also been stripped of their East Anglia rail franchise. National Express will have the giant train set snatched away from them in 2011, three years earlier than they had hoped. A bidding timetable has also been drawn up for the c2c franchise that is up for renewal and is currently held by National Express and it would be a foolish man who would bet his house on them hanging on to that...

National Express will have its East Anglia rail franchise terminated three years early, the government...

Thank you for contacting National Express East Anglia Customer Services, we have received your email and we aim to get back to you as soon as possible. Our target is to answer 90% of our contacts within 6 working days.However, if your contact is urgent you may prefer to give us a call on 0845 600 7245 mentioning that you have already sent an email.We'll see, shall...

Sometimes, just sometimes, I find myself travelling backwards and forwards between London and Suffolk in first class, usually because the fare is marginally more expensive or, on the odd bizarre occasion, because it is actually cheaper. Today is one of those occasions, and so this posting comes to you from the 19:30 from London Liverpool Street to Norwich, the one train of the day when they provide an at-seat dinner service.Except, with the flair and competence with which NXEA are now renown, I am sitting in a darkened coach J for the second time in a fortnight because the people who apparently manage this company cannot arrange to have lights that work, and so those lucky people who have actually paid a full fare to ride this evening are forced to peer through the gloom at whatever they...

I have just got on board my first East Coast train - ie the company that has replaced the total failure that was National Express. I am at Kings Cross waiting to head home to Gateshead. The livery is the same, the National Express symbols and words have not been changed (frankly there are more important things to spend money on at the moment) and the staff are the same. Let's hope however...