pyueck
10 Apr 2017
My Greyhound experience I found myself in Kansas City, Missouri this week and decided to do a little test of Greyhound. I took the bus return to Lawrence, Kansas, a trio of around 50miles. I'm sure this is far less than the average journey but it was a test.Firstly I could not get the online booking system to work, I assume because I had Uk details so I turned up at the depot in Kansas City 20 minutes prior to departure. The depot was ok certainly not glamorous, it had a burger bar, some arcade machines, but no ticket machine! There was one person serving the queue was long and slow moving, I got my ticket a few minutes before departure, $43 which I thought was a lot for a short trip.I needn't have been worried about the queue, no sooner than was I in the waiting area than I was told my bus was an hour and a half late. I patiently played on the racing game and an hour and a half later we were off. The bus was fine, certainly not luxurious but it did the job. The driver told us the driver of our bus didn't turn up for work so he was called in. Fair enough....I guess.The customers on the bus were how can I say this politiely, let's just say I felt out of place. I didn't feel unsafe though and it's a low (err fairly) cost bus service what did I expect?!On the bus back I felt like I had done well 20 minutes late. This bus was a lot shabbier, the clientele a little more 'interesting' but it was fine.Overall well the good parts. In the mid west getting around without a car is hard, trains only go to the big cities. People may complain but Greyhound really is the only option for many places apart from a taxi, hiring a car or hitchhiking. Will that change with car pool, possibly. It was also pretty busy, I guess that is good.The bad part was the punctuality. It makes it hard to plan when things are so late. Thank goodness for the feature which tells you just how late your bus is otherwise you would just be at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere preying to see it before night is done. Also personally it was not that cheap!It made me more convinced than ever. I don't think the reason for declining sales is a fall in petroleum prices. Quite frankly I doubt many of the passengers had cars. What's holding the company back is offering a reliable service and to be totally honest the clientele would put some people off too. On a brighter note I also have seen many first student buses. Seemed to be everywhere doing a good job. What it makes you realise is how big the us operation is. So much on this forum is focused on the uk, if they grow student and can fix greyhounds problems this could be where it's at, or at least enough to spin the company off or sell it at a decent price.
pyueck
02 Apr 2017
Re: I think its quite sad I have no idea if winning the franchise was a good or a bad thing, but what I feel is that the mood music is changing. You can now make a good story for this stock and that's what analysts love. Let's see if that results in good results.
Ripley94
31 Mar 2017
Re: I think its quite sad Sliced a few @ 1.33p
Ripley94
30 Mar 2017
Re: I think its quite sad Glad to see this coming back 1st buy 29/11/09 @ 404p.... 23/05/13 @ 139pThank goodness for the 3 for 2 rights @ 85p June 13.Time not timing ???
nk1999
28 Mar 2017
Shore Capital From Citywire:"FirstGroup (FGP) has been awarded the Southern Western rail franchise, which Shore Capital believes will push it closer to a ‘long-waited inflection point’.Analyst Martin Brown retained his ‘buy’ recommendation on the stock, which gained 3p, or 2.4%, to 127p on Monday after FirstGroup announced its joint venture with MTR – in which it has a 70% stake – had won the contract.The franchise will start in August and will last seven years. ‘Even without this award, we believe FirstGroup stands on the cusp of the long-awaited inflection point in its earnings and cash flow, before the announcement we forecast a net free cash flow yield to March 2018 of 11.5% and an imminent return to the dividend paying list,’ he said. "
pyueck
28 Mar 2017
Re: Excellent news Based on previous management comments I see next to no change this year. Maybe next year, but new franchise will require cash outlay early on I suspect. To be honest dividend doesn't really bother me for the next couple of years, key things for me are margins and refinancing debt at lower rates.
raptor66
28 Mar 2017
Re: Excellent news FGP upgraded to 'Hold'
Clarence Beaks
28 Mar 2017
Re: Excellent news Is the divi back in play yet?
pyueck
27 Mar 2017
Re: Excellent news These deals are almost always impossible to assess. You would need to have a very good understanding of the economics of the franchise to do any analysis. Time will tell! The market reaction seems muted.
magoo100
27 Mar 2017
Excellent news Hoping this is a step in the right direction but as always have they overspent?
pyueck
22 Mar 2017
South Western Rail Franchise Well the time is almost here for another rail franchise announcement. It's the two sickmen of the rail franchise world up against each other, FirstGroup vs Stagecoach.I have always been one to think that the media overdoes the benefits of winning a franchise vs whether the deal is actually a good one. However if FGP could win this one, I think the analysts would use it to sell a 'turnaround' story. In my experience analysts love a good story and winning this would give them a good message to spin.I hold out no expectations though as FGP have a recent history of losing all rail franchises going. They are partnered with MTR on this one though and Trenitalia for the East Midlands and West Coast ones. I never understand the bidding process for the bids though, it seems you can have the worst record of customer service going, make grand promises and win...and then deliver none of the promises and shocking customer service with no consequences.
seadoc
28 Feb 2017
Re: Resignation of Director Should have been cannon but.... actually:"canon can refer to a few things, including (1) a code of laws, (2) an established principle, (3) a group of exemplary literary works, and (4) the works of a writer that are accepted as authentic."Seadoc
seadoc
28 Feb 2017
Re: Resignation of Director If calibre is like ammunition for a canon he was of (marginally) less calibre last year:[link]
pyueck
28 Feb 2017
Re: Resignation of Director Ha, one more for the Sun than the FT! Not really sure what the 'sick fetish was', stroked with a beaker, all to their own. Lesson learned, don't get stroked by a beaker at the IBIS hotel Luton.More worrying is that he looks an absolute joker, and if this is the calibre on the board then we have a lot to be concerned about.
seadoc
28 Feb 2017
Resignation of Director Mick BarkerAppointed: 2012Key areas of prior expertise: Rail Industry,Employee RelationsSkills and experience: He has been arailwayman for 40 years and is currently employedas a train driver for First Greater Western Limited,one of the Group’s train operating companies.Mick brings to the Board considerable knowledgeof the attitudes and concerns of employeesand represents their views to the Board andits Committees.Nationality: BritishResigned as employee and director and Sentencing on 17th March, according to SunBut nothing on the company website?Seadoc
