Cumfybus

Cumfybus is a bus company based in Southport, Merseyside.

History
Cumfybus was founded in 1986 by Marshall and Patricia Vickers

As time went on, depots were opened in Aintree, Southport, Kirkby and on the Wirral (initially at Birkenhead before moving to Moreton in 2012). Cumfybus had a short venture outside of Merseyside when it operated services around Blackpool and the Fylde area in 2010. In late 2012 the company moved all operations to a central location at Aintree. The yard at Southport was kept for additional storage and/or maintenance. The Fylde, Kirkby and Wirral depots were closed.

In July 2013 Cumfybus opened a depot in Bolton following it being awarded tendered routes by Transport for Greater Manchester in the wake of the collapse of Maytree Travel.

In March 2019, following the expiry of, or unsuccessful renewal bids for, some of the tendered contracts, the company closed Bolton depot. The vehicles returned to Merseyside and were allocated to the remaining depots at Aintree and Southport for use on new contracts and to replace older vehicles on existing routes. The remainder of the Greater Manchester operation - 5 routes, all drivers, management and support staff and four Optare Versa hybrid vehicles provided by Transport for Greater Manchester) transferred to local firm Tyrers Coaches from 1 April 2019.

Operations
Cumfybus now operate 2 regular bus services and 5 school contracts in Southport. They previously operated services in parts of Liverpool and Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The company also used to operate the Southport 'Park & Ride' service from the Esplanade and Fairways Car Parks into Southport Town Centre on behalf of Sefton Council. As of April 2024 'Park & Ride' was permanently withdrawn by Sefton Council.

Fleet
As of May 2024, the fleet consisted of 17 buses, predominantly very old Optare Solos and Optare Versas. A number of these no longer work and have been declared SOR. Some equally old double deck vehicles are based at Southport, with 1 stored at the former Aintree depot which closed in April 2024 and is used for the remaining school services in Liverpool.

Hybrid buses
Diesel-Electric Hybrid Buses were introduced for the Liverpool city centre CityLink C1-C5 routes in May 2012. These came in the form of 13 Hybrid Optare Solos of the original design (not SR). These look very similar to the Yellow Solos that they replace but they have the extra box on the roof which houses all the electrical equipment.

Livery
The standard fleet livery is all-over yellow, with multi-coloured fleet names. A few vehicles carry other liveries, including white, silver, or overall advertisements.

Depots
Cumfybus now just operate a single depot in Southport, and this has come under scrutiny several times from Health & Safety due to the sub standard and inadequate facilities provided for its drivers. Following a random inspection of the depot in 2019, Health & Safety established that the drivers at Southport were not provided with toilets or running water which resulted in staff at the depot having to discretely urinate or open their bowels behind a barrier and not being able to wash their hands afterwards. This had led to a series of complaints from residents who lived nearby and Cumfybus were immediately ordered to provide their drivers with a toilet. This was eventually installed in 2020 along with running water, toilet paper, and soap. The dangerous working conditions in general at the depot also presented unacceptable risks with many hazards identified by Health & Safety. In 2023 they were told to find a way of removing standing water which quickly accumulated throughout the depot after any rain, and in early 2024 they were ordered to demolish an unstable corrugated iron structure which had the potential to seriously injure any staff who worked in or near it. In addition, Cumfybus were found in breach of the 'working alone' regulations with just a sole member of staff being on the premises for much of the day. Concerns have also been raised about emergency procedures at the depot due to it not being connected to a basic landline telephone and not being equipped with wifi.