Today the Government responded to the e-petition (one of many) that asked the Government to strip FCC of their franchise.
The response noted that whilst the disruption experienced at the end of 2009 was unacceptable, FCC did not breach their franchise terms, and so the franchise cannot be taken away. The response then goes on to say that FCC have been improving and are recruiting additional drivers to lessen the reliance on drivers volunteering to work overtime and rest days
Given the severity of the disruption we feel this response is particularly weak. What is your view? Leave a comment.
The full statement can be read here.
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5 comments ↓
Predictable. FCC Management made three shocking errors:
1 – relying on undocumented overtime to cover shifts while cutting costs and reducing headcount
2 – not planning for the training needs of the new trains and the impact on driver time
3 – not predicting the utterly predictable S.o.Bs at the Unions would (of course!) strike while they were vulnerable because of 1 and 2
Those are management failures.
The service remains barely acceptable 80% of the time, and FCC are still only running partial services, under coached, late, disrupted and dangerously overcrowded.
Yet still we have regional plans to build 100,000+ homes in Beds and Herts (including Wixhams) which will strain the already poor service to breaking point.
Only central government can fix this. They have to step back in, and soon
For about two months FCC had to operate an emergency timetable with many services cancelled and considerable disruption and unpredictability to those that remained. For days on end the Wimbledon-Sutton loop did not function at all. To add insult to injury FCC was unable to cope with the snowy weather. We are entitled to ask: just what level of disruption would be “unacceptable”? Bernie Corbett, West Norwood.
Looks like we have to wait till 2015, another petition to ensure First never get another Franchise again? I hope they give the franchise to TfL when it expires.
Can anyone provide a copy of the Franchise Agreement? As far as I am concerned offering a 50% service with a 100% full fare cannot be acceptable.
The statement also states ” FCC is recruiting additional drivers to lessen reliance on drivers volunteering to work overtime and rest days.”. How can this be so? In 2008 FCC claimed to have 700 drivers
Source: http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=News&sFileName=News.php&iId=117
Now they have 558 with an additional 46 drivers by 2011.
Source: http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=559
FCC has not taken into account retirements nor drivers seeking employment elsewhere.
Its been over a week now and FCC are refusing to comment to the 142 driver short fall in less that 2 years!!!!! So much for FCC MDNeal Lawson and his obsession of customer feedback.
http://www.railpro.co.uk/magazine/?idArticles=243
i couldn’t believe it when i got the email yesterday. as ian says, surely a timetable which only offered 50% of service and then wasn’t delivered can only be a franchise fail.
it did make me think of setting up my own train operating company – i have a fag packet that i can write my business plan on the back of and it doesn’t look like i’d need worry about anything when it all goes wrong.
it’ll be interesting to see if all the MPs that now have to commute rather than being able to stay in their taxpayer funded Westminster party pads might bring a difference to the Government point of view once they’ve endured an FCC journey or two.
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