Choice PTF751L, Station Street, Walsall, 1994
By the time this picture was taken on 16th March 1994, independent operator, Choice Travel's fortunes had changed dramatically for the better. This had been almost entirely due to a catastrophic error made by West Midlands Travel in December 1993.
Towards the end of 1993, Choice Travel was on its preverbal knees, West Midlands Travel having pushed them to the brink of collapse. Then out of the blue, the local WMT management team bizarrely decided that they would introduce wide sweeping changes to the entire Walsall bus network. Routes and service numbers were to be changed overnight, and right before Christmas on the 13th December 1993!
Completely miscalculating the situation, they couldn't have chosen a worse time. WMT launched a confusing and almost non existent marketing campaign that no one seemed to understand, not even the staff.
As that fateful Monday morning dawned, services throughout Walsall were thrown into total disarray. Passengers bewildered eyes gazed upon buses showing new route numbers, boarding services that no longer went where they expected. Drivers and frontline staff became overwhelmed with questions and complaints. Delays ensued, anger and frustration mounted, while near empty buses ploughed the streets. The telephones at WMT offices never stopped ringing and letters from disgruntled customers began to pour in.
Meanwhile, Choice's buses continued along the old routes using the service numbers that everyone knew and understood. People's loyalties changed almost immediately, and West Midlands services bombed over night. Not surprisingly, in the weeks that followed, manager's heads rolled, sackings followed, having given Choice Travel & other competitor's the best Christmas present they could have ever wished for.
Choice PTF751L, Station Street, Walsall, 1994
By the time this picture was taken on 16th March 1994, independent operator, Choice Travel's fortunes had changed dramatically for the better. This had been almost entirely due to a catastrophic error made by West Midlands Travel in December 1993.
Towards the end of 1993, Choice Travel was on its preverbal knees, West Midlands Travel having pushed them to the brink of collapse. Then out of the blue, the local WMT management team bizarrely decided that they would introduce wide sweeping changes to the entire Walsall bus network. Routes and service numbers were to be changed overnight, and right before Christmas on the 13th December 1993!
Completely miscalculating the situation, they couldn't have chosen a worse time. WMT launched a confusing and almost non existent marketing campaign that no one seemed to understand, not even the staff.
As that fateful Monday morning dawned, services throughout Walsall were thrown into total disarray. Passengers bewildered eyes gazed upon buses showing new route numbers, boarding services that no longer went where they expected. Drivers and frontline staff became overwhelmed with questions and complaints. Delays ensued, anger and frustration mounted, while near empty buses ploughed the streets. The telephones at WMT offices never stopped ringing and letters from disgruntled customers began to pour in.
Meanwhile, Choice's buses continued along the old routes using the service numbers that everyone knew and understood. People's loyalties changed almost immediately, and West Midlands services bombed over night. Not surprisingly, in the weeks that followed, manager's heads rolled, sackings followed, having given Choice Travel & other competitor's the best Christmas present they could have ever wished for.