Target Travel

I await Nools reaction with baited breath !

Punchdrunk wrote:

I await Nools reaction with baited breath !

Target keep up with the camouflaging of situation by claiming the football specials run at a loss which is why passes were not accepted on NYD which is total BS, the specials are actually quite profitable.
They can still run these services by classifying them as coaches opposed to regular bus services, but obviously are unable to claim reimbursement from the DFT for senior passes used or any government fuel subsidies.
If by come the Mansfield game the specials are still running but as cash only, then it's because of this.
Company is rotten from the top down. I've heard so many complaints when I've been at the ticket office about the away coaches too about the high number of breakdowns and late arrivals at games.

Me this morning after finding out about Target Travel

Being taken over by dart line

Apparently Dartline Coaches in Exeter are taking over the Argyle team bus at the end of the month.

Dart line of Exeter, excellent news, can’t wait to hear Nools reaction. How long do you think it will be until he starts a PASOTI smear campaign to try and get it moved to a Plymouth company?

Punchdrunk wrote:

Dart line of Exeter, excellent news, can’t wait to hear Nools reaction. How long do you think it will be until he starts a PASOTI smear campaign to try and get it moved to a Plymouth company?

He'll have a whip round and one of Nikkkkkkkkkks sham auctions to raise enough to buy the old black pasty bus back from the scrapyard.

Punchdrunk wrote:

I await Nools reaction with baited breath !

has he made a comment yet or a couple of oinks oinks about it yet...let’s see if he tries to defend the undefendable or maybe ask his mate Goldberg if he can find him

Oink Oink has spoken Reg....

harvetheslayer wrote:

Oink Oink has spoken Reg....

The very good source which is known as the public domain.

From AFC

Andrew Cole Yeah target travel are finishing but dart line are taking over end of feb !! Son in laws dad is second in command but yeah they are shocking !!

Dee Tunnycliffe Andrew Cole are they taking over the fleet or supporters coaches

Andrew Cole Dee Tunnycliffe all the fleet

Andrew Cole Darline are taking over target travel as they have shares in target !! Son in law works there

Martin Rutherford Andrew Cole They are both part owned by Dealtop.

Dartline can cover the work but Target have lost all school work and service work so there’s not much left.

Yep. Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council dumped Target off last year during the last scandal so all of their tenders went to Citybus and Stagecoach.
Devon County Council has already given one of Targets Tavistock routes to Stagecoach and the rest will soon follow.
Only other buses that Target run are the Tesco's free buses under (which aren't regulated) and the Argyle specials (which are regulated)

Another thing I heard at the Crawley away game after Target used the problematic blue coach (the one that leaks and breaks down) is that most of Targets fleet excluding the small number of newer mini buses and Argyles team coach was all under the control of the bank because loans were secured on them hence why they were happy to run these vehicles into the ground.

Dealtop has had history

nearly went under in 2016



and are late with their last accounts

Tgwu wrote:

Dealtop has had history

nearly went under in 2016



and are late with their last accounts

Yet the club were happy to stay in bed with this cowboy outfit.
In recent years the amount of clubs who have a dedicated coach has dropped considerably, due to the obvious costs involved and also a change in travel habits, mostly teams taking the train or flying and just have a standard coach to accommodate around this.
You have to seriously ask yourself is this vehicle really sustainable for Target?
Looks like they mortgaged the bulk of their fleet to procure it in the first place at great expense and now the traffic commissioner has found out that the company was spending the bulk of it's maintenance budget on maintaining this vehicle at a detrimental effect on the rest of it's fleet, which has now been ran into the ground.
Don't know the exact cost of the coach or the detailed maintenance costs in detail, but you have to ask yourself for the amount the coach is used each season (23 away league games) and say another 10 games a season to allow for cup games and friendlies ect, that this level of usage will not even get close to covering the cost of the vehicle and I'm pretty sure it's not Argyle who are hemorrhaging money on this coach. I might be wrong but I'm not aware of any other organisation that uses the coach in revenue service when Argyle are not using it.
The margins in coach operations can be threadbare, I know the National Express spec vehicles that the coach operators have to procure in order to run their franchised routes need to be on the road 18 hours a day for 4 to 5 years to pay for themselves and their service life running National Express contracts is only 6 years maximum before their deemed life expired for NE operation.

Can't see this is anything to blame the club for, a club supporting local firm that has also been a sponsor has now gone bust. Argyle will move on it really is nothing to do with them.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Can't see this is anything to blame the club for, a club supporting local firm that has also been a sponsor has now gone bust. Argyle will move on it really is nothing to do with them.

Agree the state of the company and the atrocious behaviour of it's directors and none of the clubs fault, but they must have known the track record of the company.
They were dicing with people's lives (mostly OAP's and school children) on their poorly maintained and dangerous vehicles whilst the mortgaged the fleet, ran it into the ground and then diverted all of the maintenance budget to finance the Argyle coach. The DFT gave a daming report on them last year which reduted in the council stripping them of their tenders, yet they stuck by them. And now the DFT have given and even more daming judgement on them, so personally I think the club should have severed all ties with the company upon this announcement.
As for supporting a small local business, there's a few local operators like CJ Down, William's, Roslynn ect who all have a pretty good record and would probably be delighted to partner with the club.
In my opinion, all the directors involved should be banned from the industry, period.

Dealtop (Plymouth) ltd was the owner of Target Travel

There's a Dealtop (Exeter) ltd who have some of the same directors at Dealtop (Plymouth)


https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04432409

Still a load of spin though. Target travel goes caput. Still feck all to do with club. Personally I feel sorry for anyone wh may lose their job or maybe not get paid for services rendered. Hopefully Dartline can seamlessly take over and jobs a good un. Meanwhile the story is target travel gone scat end of.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Still a load of spin though. Target travel goes caput. Still feck all to do with club. Personally I feel sorry for anyone wh may lose their job or maybe not get paid for services rendered. Hopefully Dartline can seamlessly take over and jobs a good un. Meanwhile the story is target travel gone scat end of.

Dartline were already shareholders of Dealtop Plymouth Ltd (Target) before the brown stuff hit the fan.
Unless I'm wrong, Dealtop Exeter Ltd is Dartline coaches and have some of the same directors so it cannot be a coincidence.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03476008

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04432409

It all smells of one big rat.

Not arguing that point at all I just don't think any blame can be or should be levelled at the club over this.

No blame to the club from me . Just bloody lovely seeing yet another PASOTI sponsor being exposed as utter scumbag.

You have to feel sorry for the workers who could lose their job through no fault of their own!

The Moral to this tale is, get involved with the Illogan love length, and your company like yer leg ends up fvcked!