Bus or Tram?

Remember the recent post on rubber wheels playing Second Fiddle to steel? Remember the 50-plus comments it generated? Remember in particular the arguments for and against enforced bus/rail connections?

Hucknall Connect photo courtesy Derby Bus Depot
In Nottingham next weekend, Premiere starts a new service that not only parallels the tram rails, it obviates a bus-tram connection. So, is this duplication of effort or does it offer something that passengers want?

5th September is the date of the new half-hourly Red 8 that links the Hucknall estates with Hucknall and Nottingham. Passengers from the estates have hitherto relied upon Trent Barton’s Connect, called the “really good link to the tram” but also providing a connection with Trent Barton Rainbow 3.

The tram operates every 12 minutes from Hucknall and Rainbow 3 every 10. The problem is the connecting service through Hucknall. Yes, it too operates every 10 minutes over most of its length but passengers have apparently felt the withdrawal of the clockwise loop. The remaining anti-clockwise service means a longer journey time for some (though, of course, those who have the longer time to Hucknall benefit from the shorter time on the return). Red 8 goes clockwise.

On the face of it, a 10-minute connection into a 12-minute tram or 10-minute bus seems more than adequate. Will a through bus be better? The end-to-end journey time from the Ruffs Estate to Nottingham on Red 8 is 36 minutes with a through fare and no inconvenience of changing. By Connect and tram, this is also 36 minutes plus connection time at Hucknall of six, eight, zero, two or four minutes. And, in the reverse direction, because of the one-way loop, add five minutes to get back to Ruffs on Connect.

You wouldn’t expect Trent Barton to sit on its hands. It’s PR masquerades under the time-honoured “We’ve listened to our customers” approach (I’ve used it myself). Said its commercial director Alex Hornby, “We are about to rethink our services in Hucknall following appeals from our customers”. A nice touch of honesty, even humility, actually never hurt anyone. Expect the clockwise service to be reintroduced this autumn.

Continued Hornby, “It is only through listening to customers that we can develop sustainable services that meet the needs of local communities”. Never mind that Trent Barton’s actions have allowed a competitor to sneak in. Forget that the Connect reinstatement results from the Premiere incursion. And disregard the fact that the withdrawal of the clockwise Connect variant was designed to make the unviable Connect sustainable by reducing PVR 4 to 3. Indeed, the reinstated clock- & anti-clockwise pattern is understood to use but three vehicles.

But give Trent Barton its due, it’s customer focused and it does tend to listen. And it’s now introduced a lower-priced £10 weekly ticket from Hucknall estates, valid on Rainbow 3. Red 8’s *introductory* fares will be £5 per week (at, of course, a lower frequency).

And let’s not forget that the current 10-minute local service (Connect) connecting with a 10-minute trunk service (Rainbow 3) makes more sense than Connect running every 7½ combined clock- and anti-clockwise. I know what I’d prefer but passengers haven’t seen it like that.

Then there’s Red 8’s competition with the tram itself. Your Bus tried this (downstream, from Bulwell) but this proved unsustainable in the long term. Red 8 doesn’t make the mistake of paralleling the tram, though. Rather, it takes on Rainbow 3. But perhaps in linking the route to the Hucknall estates Premiere has come up with a formula that might prove more justifiable. It seems that here is a new test bed of through journeys at a lower frequency versus higher frequencies but with a need to change.

Tackling Deficiencies

This weekend, both Stagecoach and Whippet increase their Sunday bus services on the Cambridgeshire guided busway. This sees one of the busway’s most serious deficiencies tackled. Indeed, Stagecoach goes from one to three an hour. Whippet increases from every two hours to Stagecoach’s current hourly. It would’ve been nice to see a co-ordinated quarter-hourly service that approaches the frequency where passengers need no timetable but such is deregulated life. At least the traffic commissioner has granted short notice.

In Cambridge bus station are two of the Stagecoach busway-liveried vehicles plus, on the left, a further biofuelled bus in a livery that can be used on other services. We asked whether readers had any photos they wished to share and today’s are some of them, with thanks
As for weekday services, there’s a divergence of opinion. Stagecoach is already contemplating buying more vehicles and operating additional services. This might include buses starting from Longstanton park & ride, to cure problems of full upstream buses from St Ives. This follows a busy week two, during which you’d’ve expected the novelty to have worn off. It hasn’t, yet. And, who knows what will happen next week, when the world returns to normal travel patterns. Stagecoach is expecting good things. Let’s hope its optimism is justified.

Whippet, on the other hand, is being far more circumspect. It wishes to see whether the current numbers are stable. Will patronage settle?

Why the difference in approach? Whippet cannot afford to do anything precipitous. It’s a small business without the deep pockets of its near neighbour.

Even were Whippet to increase its hourly weekday service, it cannot easily compete against giant Stagecoach. Stagecoach bought Whippet’s site ahead of the original busway opening to garage its fleet of busway vehicles, with a handful of other biofuelled guidewheel buses in reserve.

Whippet therefore hasn’t the resources to flood the busway with vehicles. It has three only and to ratchet things up from its hourly service to anything approaching Stagecoach’s level would result in expenditure that would not be diligent.

Instead, Whippet is calling for joint ticketing. This would address a second major deficiency in busway operation. But any revenue sharing via the busway ‘station’ ticket machines would also benefit Whippet more than Stagecoach. Whippet knows it’s on the back foot as regards frequency. As things currently stand, if apportioned by mileage, Whippet would presumably gain 1/7th of all revenue on tickets sales that would be priced at the Stagecoach rate of eight per cent higher than Whippet’s own. Presumably, Whippet passengers with busway tickets would then have access to both Whippet and Stagecoach services at either end of their journeys. Add in the busway livery used by both and we have a Quality Contract in the making.

Meanwhile, in spite of Stagecoach’s confidence and Whippet’s cautious Sunday optimism, the naysayers still abound. There’s conspiracy talk in Cambridgeshire of operators deliberately keeping frequencies lower to ensure full buses. Poppycock. Or that commuters will only use the busway because they have no car. Or that the busway will go the way of the strange 1973 100 mph Erith hover train experiment. Or that operators will be pulling services owing to financial difficulties (Stagecoach is committed to five years at the current frequency).

For me, I’d actually rather await the autumn when work, university, college & school resumes full time. A picture will then emerge. But I’m still optimistic.

Post no. 2196

Today marks the sixth anniversary of Omnibuses’ first foray into regular blogging. By regular, I mean rather more than the hit & miss affair dated beforehand. It was from 29th August 2005 that I introduced a basic stats counter, a device that shows I’ve notched up page views now totalling seven figures. Not so bad.

Back then, the chosen subject was the integrated timetable of 1979, the yellow & red buses on its cover and Woolco (remember them?). At the time, Omnibuses was unique and it pretty much remains so. Yet, it’s also much copied, or so some other blog authors have told me. It’s inspired others. I sometimes wonder why, especially when I cringe at some older posts. In turn, the modern Omnibuses emerged thanks to a couple of other blogs. Over 50 known blogs link here. Who said blogging died after 2003? Or that Facebook & Twitter are now the preferred social media? The most popular top ten blogs driving traffic Omnibuses’ way are as follows, with the first two head & shoulders above the rest:

Leon Daniels (was 2nd) | Plymothian Transit (was 1st) | Phil Stockley | Dorset Bus Blog | Southern England Bus Scene | Public Transport Experience | Manchester Transport | Bus Driving | Humber Transport | Bumpy Highway

Back then, Dorset events were the staple fair, though not exclusively so. There was More upon which to report and Yellow Buses was still in municipal hands. The Bristol VR was still a fairly common sight. The corporation still ran open tops. Wilts & Dorset was engaged in an increasingly controversial dogfight with . An emphasis on Dorset & the south continues to be the main criticism of Omnibuses. This in spite of the sister Dorset Bus Blog launched in April 2010 and reaching the dizzy heights of 52 posts.

A large number of readers (about 45 per cent) work in the industry in various jobs, this I know. Over 80 per cent of readers are enthusiasts because many industry people who visit also fall within this category. It’s hard to imagine someone who works in transport who isn’t some sort of devotee.

Sometimes deliberately controversial, sometimes divisive, never yet scandalous, the blog is nothing without its readers, commenters, contributors & those who gladly offer help, to whom all I extend my thanks. As for the next six years, six months, six weeks or six days, I regret I can make no promises! As long as readership increases I will keep trying.

Plus 50p Booking Fee

Here’s a vehicle that would make Brian Souter proud. Nicknamed Stagecoach, it’s US President Obama’s touring coach that bears no resemblance whatsoever to Stagecoach’s Citylink Gold or the 18th & 19th century pioneering covered wagons helping to open up the American Mid-west.

Brand new and bomb-proof, this is one of two belonging to the US government. Obama is using it for his own Mid-west tour, incidentally in the same region as Megabus operates, though we doubt the Obama version is available by yield management online booking.

At $1.1mil, the Canadian-built Prevost even puts to shame country stars’ own touring coaches, more usually seen in the Mid-west.

Additional fitting out was by Tennessee specialist Hemphill Brothers, whose list of clients range from stetson-wearing country stars to the usual prurient, under-dressed, bawdy, over-sexualised, bedroom-ready teen idols.

How Colour can be Black & White

It was on 22nd August that someone accused this blog of being rude about Ray Stenning. I don’t actually think I’ve been rude about anyone. In fact, it was more likely another commenter who made some sort of disparaging comment towards Stenning, whether others felt it acceptable or not.

Earlier, on 7th August, came a comment on the sister Dorset Bus Blog that “Ray Stenning is out of touch with reality…”

It seems to me, when it comes to reactions to the colourful output from Stenning’s Best Impressions design house, that reactions are actually very black & white. You love them or loathe them. There’s very little in between.

Way back to 4th June, someone said, “Does anyone seriously need to use ‘designers’? Get your own staff involved in livery design”. It seems that this topic is nothing other than emotive. At this point, I might mention Lothian Buses’ new livery as an in-house job polarises just as much as Stenning’s own.

It’s very difficult to say with certainty what passengers think. Do they appreciate a lively, considered or original design plus associated printed materials? Or do they just view a well-designed livery bus as, well, just a bus? I am not sure whether anyone has undertaken any concrete or *serious* academic research on this. If there are any younger professionals reading this, the idea of livery design and how passengers react to it might be a suitable topic for an under- or post-graduate dissertation.

If you want my gut reaction, I’d say that design is a very important part of the way in which passengers view their bus service. It portrays something. A poorly thought out design is *likely* to portray a poorer operation. It isn’t perhaps the most important element but it does help shape how passengers view their bus service’s brand and its values. The same goes for coaching, probably more so, but in a different way.

On 14th August, another commenter said of Plymouth Citycoach that here was yet another livery that looks like the rest. Was this fair comment? I think is sufficiently different to be unique. It’s designed to be marketed, to stand out, in quite a tight albeit fairly large urban community. And it’s true blue, a much under-used colour in today’s bus & coach world.

What Citycoach’s new livery does for me is set it apart from what has become standard fare—the dealer stock white coach. Whether through convenience, laziness, easy of application of vinyls, ease of selling on or for whatever reason, DSW is now almost the universal colour of choice in the smaller independent coach sector *and* with the larger National Express, of course. Add a few lines, stripes, squiggles, stars or swooshes to DSW and, wow, the product looks good. Design a proper livery like Best Impression’s Citycoach and, man, the product looks *great*.

Doomsday

Dire forecasts of a widening gap in service provision come from research sponsored by The P.T.E.G. The MVA report says, by 2014, at its worst, that the English urban bus industry is on course to see:

1. Patronage fall by another 20 per cent
2. Mileage reduce by 19 per cent and
3. Fares increase by nearly a quarter

This follows progressive BSOG reductions from next April, progressive changes in free travel entitlement to 66, increases in fuel, reductions in local transport authority support and even reductions in road maintenance budgets that will increase operational costs.

Look closely at the photographs on the cover of the MVA report and what do you see? The obligatory London bus that, in this case, has no bearing on a report that specifically excludes the capital. At least it isn’t a Routemaster

This assumes that bus industry profit margins continue as now. In other words, the changes in patronage, mileage and fares will result directly from the need to maintain current profitability. The report states, fairly, that it will be the passenger who shoulders the burden and not the operator.

The report also speculates upon what might happen were the government to adopt the likely findings of the Competition Commission inquiry into bus services. And, here, conjecture is the word. Operators would then have limited scope to increase fares or reduce mileage. This means the operator is likely to shoulder more of the burden, rather than the passenger, but there would still be reductions as follows:

1. Patronage would instead fall by seven per cent
2. Mileage would reduce by four per cent and
3. Fares would likely neither increase or decrease (in real terms)

Operators’ margins would therefore fall. It’s interesting that consultants don’t seem to consult with each other. Another, this time TAS in evidence to the same CC inquiry, believes the *current* margins are wholly inadequate for either long- or medium-term sustainability.

No one yet knows whether the CC conclusions will find their way into regulations. It’s more realistic to consider what we do know—i.e. the pressures operators will face. If the report is accurate, this essentially means the decline in ridership is mirrored by an almost identical increase in fares. Just what will the average passenger make of that? Paying more for a substantially poorer service? They won’t like it. They’ll not understand, they’ll think it’s a joke and they’ll want some sort of change…

i MVA report for The P.T.E.G.

Second Fiddle?

Referring to the potential for First to improve its bus service offer between Chester & Liverpool, on Monday Neil said,

“Is it too much to hope for that bus companies will stop their petty spats with train companies, stick to the shorter-distance and fill-in stuff they’re better at, and realise that we’re all in it together against the private car?”

Why should the bus be subservient to rail? Different in Europe but in England it never has been, neither in the unregulated 1920s, the regulated era from 1931 to 1986, nor yet since deregulation.

It’s true, though, that the railway often does best at longer distances when compared to the bus. Does that mean the bus should always yield to the train, in every situation? Does this mean that the bus should act merely as a feeder to the nearest rail-head? Should the bus operate longer distances only where there is no rail line?

Aside from fact that buses are free to operate when and where they wish, the two can be complementary. They can co-exist. And even though they may compete, together they can offer two alternatives to the car, not one. And a bus that parallels a rail corridor has some obvious advantages over the train:

• In urban areas, buses tend to stop every 400 yards or so. This is far more flexible than rail.


• Those eligible may use their free travel pass on the bus.


• Buses also have the ability to divert to housing that’s remote from the railway.


• One service can help keep fares down on the other.


• Buses tend to offer easy access and this isn’t always available on the railway (station), to wheelchair users.


• Buses can be and often are more frequent.


• The bus *can* and actually usually does act as a shuttle, of course, for those that wish to take this option and this is useful for some passengers, perhaps those changing again onto the strategic rail network.

But the main reason why buses should not play second fiddle is that the passengers actually want to use the bus. All The Way Through. Not just to the nearest rail station. They hate changing.

It isn’t in our culture to catch a local bus to the station thence a train. Where this is forced upon us, we rail against it (excuse the pun).

So, when in 1980 Tyne & Wear PTE completed its Metro, it forced passengers who used the bus to transfer to light rail. It cut short buses that would, for example, have worked through to Newcastle from south of the Tyne. Passengers would need to decant at the appropriate Metro station to complete their journey by rail. This idealistic, Utopian approach was fine on paper and it even saved bus resources. It was certainly a planners’ dream.

Wirral buses on Merseyside first connected with the Mersey ferries and latterly with trains that crossed under the river. With the competition in 1976 of the MPTE central Liverpool “Loop & Link” underground rail system, Merseyside PTE ensured that buses from the Wirral terminated on the Wirral. Liverpool passengers then had to complete their journey by rail.

What happened in 1986 was the ability of bus operators to serve the latent demand they knew to exist. In both these circumstances, operators began working buses through (again, in the case of cross-Tyne services). Here are good examples of operators who knew their market and acted commercially to service it. Such services have never looked back. Witness the Wirral Silver Service, now called the Cross River Express. And, of course, about seven years ago, First got in on the act by sending Heswall buses that terminated at Birkenhead over to Liverpool.

There are still people in Tyneside & Merseyside who, for whatever reason, transfer from bus to rail. But don’t let it be said that this serves the majority of passengers who head for their main destination by bus. Given the choice, that’s what they prefer. It’s a lot less hassle, for one thing. And it saves time, for another.

Photo & additional information: Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent

What are Enthusiasts For?

Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent reports a little controversially on enthusiasts from the frozen north. Don’t blame me

This running day was more a celebration than a farewell. For, B200 DTU, First’s Leyland Olympian with its ECW body, is still on the books at Chester. But it can’t last much longer and September seems to see its likely demise. This may come at short notice.

Seeing the potential of such a momentous occasion, First placed B200 DTU in service on Saturday. In spite of the bus’ obvious operational deficiencies, it attracted a large and appreciative crowd of enthusiasts.

And this was interesting. Here, I reflected, were people generally of a certain age. And then I realised I, too, was also of that certain age. There were those who were content to enjoy the day in quiet reflection. And more gregarious types, swapping stories and anecdotes, speaking in the coded language of hobbyists no matter their passion, something that bonds & flocks them together, giving them a sense of tribal belonging.

It was also Chester races. There was plenty of Alex Warner’s “mutton dressed as lamb” around, though I’m not sure whether this young lady qualified

Curiously, they said very little that was positive about contemporary operations in and around Chester, no matter the operator. So much for Enthusiasm, thought I. I hope what they say in public is more restrained. I hope they keep their private views to themselves. The bus industry needs enthusiasts to help explain the reasons why, sometimes, the industry appears strange or perverse. There’re always good reasons and who better to understand and counter negative public views than enthusiasts. Who else is likely to stand up for the industry when the need arises? Certainly not Alex Warner’s Chester mutton-dressed-as-lamb types. First was nurturing enthusiasts on this particular day and let’s hope the investment paid off.

Also an ECW-bodied Olympian in Chester, but open top

Back to the bus, B200 DTU is a rare survivor, the last in this part of the world of its once ubiquitous kind. It started life in 1985 in and around Chester and stayed ever since. It was one of over 100 similar Olympians ordered and operated by the former Crosville Motor Services. This now rare ECW-bodied version endured several threats to its operational life. Alongside it at Chester are four newer Alexander-bodied examples and a handful of converted open top ECW-bodied Olympians used on City Sightseeing. The very nice man from First was offering discount vouchers for the city tour. Who says First can’t be enterprising?

Sundry sings of age on B200 DTU

B200 DTU should really have gone years ago. To think it was on premium Crosville Townlynx duties at the start of its career. Life moves on and this Olympian, in terms of ride quality, is no longer any kind of a match for later buses. As it thrashed around getting nowhere particularly quickly, its meaty diesel might’ve awakened passions but it, too, cannot match today’s lighter turbo-diesels. And, with four types of seat moquette on board and the appearance of ageing, it doesn’t give the impression the industry needs.

It may seem odd that people were celebrating the withdrawal of the Olympian. Whatever next. A farewell to the first Dennis Darts? I bet that’s already happened. The Olympian’s played its part and now, in the defence of the industry, so should the Enthusiast. Otherwise, why be Enthusiastic at all?

Peter Parker & the Spider

You don’t always have to agree with Alex Warner’s acerbic comments in Passenger Transport’s mystery “Travel Test”. Witness the rebuttals via the letters page of hurt & angry directors. But Warner, as he travels surreptitiously, surely makes an entertaining read.

For Friday’s edition, Warner visited Chester and Liverpool, taking a pop at the Chester races’ “mutton dressed as lamb types… trying to act what they’re not” and First Manchester’s under-sold Chester to Liverpool service. Or is that First Chester & Wirral? Or First Birkenhead? It seemed First could not quite make up its mind.

He calls the Chester 1s “a good example of the untapped growth opportunities that exist within First Group’s vast territories”. He contrasts Merseyrail’s active marketing along the same corridor with First’s secretiveness. Just the sort of thing, then, for the new sleeves-rolled-up-approach of New First combo of O’Toole & Fearnley.

Could we have a Wirral example of Transdev’s The Lancashire Way or Route 36? Or Wilts & Dorset’s More? Or some of the individuality of Trent Barton stable? Surely, such an approach might transform Chester’s 1 in the same way a spider’s bite changed the very ordinary Peter Parker (not the former BR chairman).

For the 1 is a prime candidate. At opposite ends are two cities with their different heritages and shopping propositions. The bus wins at Chester because the train leaves you frustratingly far from the city centre. Along the route is a world-class zoo, a popular children’s aquarium and a bursting outlet shopping centre called Cheshire Oaks. The bus trawls urban east Wirral to include the towns of Ellesmere Port & Birkenhead, plus others.

Service 1 barren of any route-specific advertising...

Though Warner paints a fairly negative picture of the 1, in fairness to First, it’s recently upped the frequency from every 20 to every 15 minutes. But this brings its own minor headache: no one has replaced now removed every-20-minutes publicity so there’s no visible indication of either frequency or its increase. A missed opportunity?

First currently markets service 1 as the Orange Line. Its Overground concept is a sound one and was a forerunner, nationally, in simplifying networks. But in Chester’s case, the Orange Line gets somewhat subsumed in what is generally an “ordinary” urban network. The Orange Line doesn’t stand out. Added to which, there’s not only another First service 1 (Chester-Blacon, a suburban service), this is also operated jointly with Arriva.

... and as it was beforehand. At least now there’s no window obstruction

So, where does this leave First?

Is it too much to hope for leather seats; double decks to provide for latent capacity; wi-fi; distinctive, original branding; and thorough marketing? Service 1 may yet prove to be a test bed. But will it happen?

Then, there’s the little matter of the Arriva 401 service that operates quicker to Ellesmere Port but then parallels First’s 1. The 401 is every 20 minutes. This alone might be enough incentive for one or either of them to do something radical.

Photos & additional information by Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent

Yesterday’s comment at 0916 about Barry Doe came as something of a surprise. You don’t have to agree with what he prints about bus timetables. I know, for example, that a number of industry people disapprove. But there must nevertheless surely be a better way of expressing an opinion. I know Moordown-resident Barry reasonably well and I also know, were he to read that comment, particularly about his late mother, that he would be very saddened & indeed upset. I have therefore taken the unusual and extreme measure of deleting the comment in the hope that readers will understand. This in my view does not represent censorship.

The four day Bournemouth Air Festival is one of the most spectacular of its kind. It brings with it millions of pounds in tourist income. The gentle curve of the beach and the cliffs above make an ideal viewing platform.

So important is it now to local transport providers that they need to strengthen service considerably plus, of course, there’s a heightened need for additional vehicles to work park & ride shuttles. Wilts & Dorset, for example, waives its low floor guarantee during these four days, to enable it to wheel out Olympians as duplicates or substitutes. On the negative side, buses need to cope somehow with significant delays owing to bus & congestion-causing car traffic.

The success of the venture & its importance to Bournemouth & its neighbours is now as nought in the face of yesterday’s tragedy.

W&D’s More was the main sponsor of the festival’s early years. Indeed, for two years, the event was officially called The More Bus Bournemouth Air Festival. During this time, it was highly successful. Reports suggest that in 2009 nearly 1½ million people attended.

2010’s was eclipsed by poor weather. And this year’s has seen torrential rain, resulting, for example, in considerable and extensive flash flooding at Gervis Place on Thursday. But it wasn’t just The Square that copped it. Other local roads were similarly waterlogged and, off route, Bournemouth’s famous gardens were deep under water and subsequently the wreckage it brought after it subsided.

Yesterday was undoubtedly the best day weather wise but then came the death of a Red Arrow pilot shortly before returning after the display to Hurn Airport.

As sated, More was the main festival sponsor during the early years. Sponsors can enjoy a symbiotic relationship and can bask in the glow associated with such events. The benefits cascade downwards & outwards. W&D no longer acts as prime or any sponsor. Just as benefits accrue during the good times, so can detriment caused by such a human tragedy. In the same way that people in Wootton Bassett on Thursday mourned for the last time the loss of a young British lieutenant killed in Afghanistan and repatriated by air to England, so the people of Bournemouth were equally saddened by its own airborne death. What this will do for the future for the festival is anyone’s guess and how its sponsors will react is also an interesting one upon which to speculate. National Express is one such 2011 sponsor.

But before all that, for now, we have to come to terms with this and our condolences go to the family of Flt Lt Jon Egging who, incidentally, also served in Afghanistan.

From Bournemouth to Boca Raton, from Tuckton to Tallahassee and from Poole to Palm Beach, today on the Florida Bus Blog

A Capital Offence

One of the minor irritations I find on timetables produced by a certain publicity house is the misuse (or non-use) of capital letters at certain timing points. The timetable for the Cambridgeshire guided busway is a prime example.

So, in St Ives, the street named bus stops at Hill Rise and Ramsey Road find their first letters capitalised. Not so for St Ives Bus Station or, for that matter, the separate Huntingdon Bus Station and Rail Station. At least it doesn’t say Train Station!

The most perverse is Addenbrooke’s Hospital. I could almost understand the use of “hospital” were the timing point “Addenbrooke, hospital”, a minor point in a village or suburb. But it isn’t.

The same goes for virtually all Wilts & Dorset timetables. Here’s just one example. Note the upper case Royal Bournemouth Hospital, though. To print this as “Royal Bournemouth hospital” makes no sense.

Better Still?

Wednesday’s, yesterday’s and today’s trade rags get a chance to sing to the same tune when it comes to the Cambridgeshire busway. They are all enthusiastic and with good reason. Only today’s Passenger Transport indicates that the first week saw over 55,000 passengers. One was Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent. Here, Omnibuses NC goes beyond the trade press and ponders what is seemingly the imponderable. What might make the busway even better?

• It’s difficult for the ordinary punter to distinguish between a Whippet and a Stagecoach single deck. They both adopt the same busway livery but they are in competition with each other. They offer different fares, there’s no ticket interavialability and they operate at different frequencies. Mr & Mrs Average Cambridgeshire will not be impressed. The all-operator carnet-style ticket is not enough. Since access to the busway demands a partnership & operator payment, why can’t a QC be extended to fares?



It might say Whippet on the front but not everyone will spot the difference on services liveried identically

• Between whole swathes of countryside are but a handful of “stations”. You approach these quite fast. That’s a good thing. But because there is little distinguishing geography on the route, an audible announcement might be useful to help locate your stop. Since the driver is hand free and operating on what is a private road, this needn’t be automatic, though linking audio to the RTI would be good.


• Timing points on the web timetable refer to the As and Bs serving “central Cambridge” with no real idea where this is. Can passengers find their stop? The printed version is clearer and precise and has maps with stops, too. It would be good if this were also on the web. Other than on a Sunday, in the eastbound direction, there’s no indication as to whether the Bs serve Drummer Street or not; and the Cs mention Drummer Street without reference to it being a bus station. You’ve got to be in the know.


• Some Stagecoach drivers seemed to be wearing baseball caps! Is this standard uniform? Even First seems to have dropped this dumbing down practice and such attire takes the shine off what are very customer focused drivers.


• Fares are high. I’m not suggesting that those charged are out of scale compared to general bus routes in the area. To attract impromptu parkers & riders, £10.80 for a couple just isn’t going to do it. Or £6 for an adult plus child (after 0930). Better to take the very A14 the busway tries to avoid to one of the regular Cambridge P&R sites and pay £2.40 return (via self-service machine; £2.70 on bus) and up to three children travel free.


• When compared to a weekday bus over the core section of every 10 minutes, evening & Sunday services are very poor. If the busway is to be a credible option in promoting modal shift, operators need to rethink services at these times. Access charges are waived on Sundays.


• In particular, the southern section (towards Addenbrooke Hospital & Trumpington P&R) is very well engineered but sees no Sunday or evening service; and only a 20 minute service on weekday daytimes. Might operators make more of this section?


• The C timetable also shows some journeys on the A. It doesn’t make it clear which operator does which. Indeed, no timetable refers to operators at all.

Omnibuses NC’s two other first-hand reports may be found here and here

By Royal Appointment

The August 2011 copy of the Chartered Institute of Transport’s* journal lists the finalists in its annual awards for excellence. There are few bus operators present. Of three finalists under the category “Information Management” comes Lothian Buses from Edinburgh, Scotland. I dare say this is because of whizzo technical solutions such as its bus tracker & Airlink audio announcements. I genuinely wish them well because it would be good to see the few bus-related entries getting somewhere. One of the two other finalists in this category is Palletforce, for instance. The bus industry tends to prefer its own awards.

But what of ordinary information?

I had the honour of dropping in on Edinburgh for the recent marriage of Michael Tindall & Zara Phillips**. In spite of visits to Perth, I’d rarely ventured into Edinburgh. Now, I was heading south by car from Perth and didn’t realise the park & ride as signed off the dual carriageway north of the Forth was intended for Edinburgh. I thought it was just for Dunfermline or Inverkeithing. Well, the signs don’t actually say. There would be something near Edinburgh. Wrong. That was my first mistake. Had I arrived by public transport, I may have had an easier time.

Edinburgh bus station

I took a map from the foyer of the shopping centre under my chosen car park and optimistically headed off to something labelled the bus station. This turned out to be more of a coach station but with a handful of country services. There was no information within to be had (or if there was, I didn’t notice it or find it).

It took me quite some time to track down the Lothian Buses office. I should’ve asked a driver much sooner than I did. Inside was a lengthy queue (of mainly young people) circling the office. It was no doubt flourishing but the queue wasn’t moving. The paper timetables were in the centre and it was difficult to push past the queue to see which I needed. I was really looking for a map, plan or even index showing which bus goes where and from where. A combined timetable book would’ve been nice but I knew that would be optimistic.

I found none of these but an array of individual route leaflets. It wasn’t long before I gave up in the face of several walls of information. I don’t think the queue moved at all during my visit and I felt that the time might be better spent plugging in my satnav rather than trying to figure out where to go.

Yes, I know I came unprepared. Yes, I know I should’ve visited the Lothian Buses website well in advance. But I wasn’t and didn’t. Not everyone will plan in advance or will think to do so. In contrast, what’s it like in the other capitals in Great Britain, London and Cardiff, Wales. Information in London is easily obtained but then again tube stations tend to act as an obvious focus. In Cardiff, city bus times are available in a single booklet from the Cardiff Bus office opposite the bus station (or they were when last I was there).

* I mean the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport, of course. ** Don’t be too impressed. I got as far as watching policemen on the royal mile raising drain covers and peering inside (the coppers, not me).

A Token Gesture

Ah, yes. Tokens. I remember them. A couple of comments yesterday aroused fond memories of coloured plastic or shaped silver metal as issued by local transport authorities to older people and redeemed on the bus in lieu of cash. Yes, they worked… but did they work *well*?

So, why give them up, only to be replaced by smartcard technology that relies on complicated algorithms, a steady vehicle electrical supply, corruptible computer technology and an electronic ticket machine on the bus that might scramble at any moment. One good reason, of course. National policy.

Smartcards may have their downside and they may not be quite as robust as we all like to think. But tokens were never much of an answer, if we’re honest. Their genesis came from the age of the tram, when tram operators were trying to fill off-peak capacity allied to when municipals wanted trams to consume the electricity supply in which they’d heavily invested. Not perfect arguments for tokens and I doubt anyone would re-invent them today.

The main downsides to tokens were:

• They were open to fraud. Car driving older people would pass them off to some driver, taxi proprietor or even shopkeeper for various rates of returns, notably half their value. To those not needing them, they were seen as a perk. The driver would then cash the lot in and make a few bob. It was a universal benefit and easily exchanged for ready cash.


• Some people who didn’t use them would horde them instead. When the person moved, say, to a nursing home or perhaps died, relatives would unearth piles of unopened bags of tokens (and, often, would then try to palm them off through a friendly driver).


• Tokens used to run out. Everyone in a district got the same amount regardless of (a) need, (b) how often they used the bus or (c) the distances, relating to higher fares paid, that they travelled. They weren’t targeted to those who really needed them.


• The benefit was never universal. People in one district had a different allocation to another. Some benefited from half fare. Others got nothing. This was again highly inequitable.


• They were usually administered by treasurers who only saw the cost of the tokens and not their value. Some were trying their hardest to drop their schemes quicker than a burning potato.


• They needed counting, sorting, bagging and redeeming, usually via National Transport Tokens, with its margins.


• There was no easy method for an operator of understanding usage.

I’m not suggesting the universal free travel is free of problems but, in spite of all our usual moans, we’ve come a long way and, for the customer, universal free travel is a far better option than tokens. Let’s not forget, though, that tokens are still with us, albeit to a limited extent.

And the positives? They were easily understood by both customers & drivers. They could be used before 0930. And they ensured the LTA knew its budget: there was no variation according to usage, fares or honeypots.

Conspiracy

It’s just as well we have Facebook to help sort our passengers out. With yesterday’s Plymouth Citybus switch from Wayfarers to ERG ticket machines there was and will be some inevitable confusion, especially this morning. No doubt Citybus has a bank of supervisors with machines in training mode to help those drivers who radio through their problems.

Facebook helps to remedy problems early, as it can take questions in advance. There was, however, one surprise query on the Citybus Facebook page I bet the management were most certainly *not* expecting. Read on.

Fare paying passengers are having to swap their existing smartcards for new ITSO-compliant Key Cards. This is quite a logistical operation. It was clear via Facebook that people were worried about their credit, the expiry of their tickets and actually getting things in the post. One person asked that Citybus upload a picture to show exactly where the smartcards need placing on the machines. This Citybus duly did but someone still asked about the place to dap the car, “Why there?” The good news was that some passengers understood from the outset and were posting helpful comments to back up those of Citybus.

There seemed to be some confusion from free travellers. They are going to have to get used to dapping their cards on the target on the ticket machines themselves. You’d think this was easy. It appears not.

Now, here’s the surprise question. It came from someone called Ann Distin. She first asks what I thought was an obvious question.

“Mine is valid until 2015 will it still work after the 14th”. She was no doubt referring to the expiry date as printed on her pass. Wait a moment while you hear what she said after that:

“I dont think I had a chip [in my card] as I did not want to be under surveillance I have a lead lined card case for when I am in London”

I wonder how Ann gets on with debit cards, CCTV, her ISP, her Clubcard (I’m betting there are Tescos in Plymouth) and so on… Conspiracy theorists of the world unite.

Joking aside, a smartcard can and will give quite some valuable information for operators to use. But I doubt they will routinely pass this information to MI6. Or maybe they do.

Getting the Blues

Yesterday, Plymothian Transit offered a glimpse of what is to come (tomorrow) for the first of a dozen or so Plymouth Citycoaches, the coach unit of Go Ahead's Plymouth Citybus. As locally predicted in the Plymouth area, City Coach is turning blue. Interesting. This doesn’t result from a lack of oxygen during the death throes of an under-performing business; or from holding its breath to see what Go Ahead might come up with.

The new two-tone blue livery is the latest Best Impressions design to feature contrasting shades of the same base colour. This is becoming a common theme and, indeed, is the basis upon which Best Impressions redesigned Citybus’ own red bus livery. Note the pinstripes (in an area prone to snags) and the nod to red (the dotted “i”).

It’s in complete contrast to the current stark and perhaps even barren red on white. And blue may well foster a transfer between other coaching subsidiaries further east. Ah, so that’s where I’ve seen these blue hues to such a similar design before.

Notice that the operator now choses to drop “Plymouth” from the brand name, on the vehicle and its *blue* brochure, top left. It’s had the domain name www.citycoach.co.uk since 1999. Indeed, both this and the former plymouthcitybus.co.uk both originally pointed to coach hire rather than local bus information. With its new plymouthbus.co.uk., perhaps Citycoach can make something of its coach website again.

To think that Citycoach was under threat as recently as 2007. This was in the days of municipal ownership. The directors felt that the business simply no longer fitted in with its core activities. It was perhaps surprising that it took Citybus so long to decide its coaching unit was more of a millstone than business contributor. Other operators had taken similar decisions in the 1990s.

There was a modest public backlash to Citycoach’s potential demise. Citybus undertook a volte-face, albeit with some retrenchment. Now in Go Ahead hands, we can perhaps see a revival of interest in this side of the business. After all, very much in contrast to most other large bus group operators, Go South Coast certainly sees the benefit of a well turned out set of local coaching brands.

Graham on Plymothian Transit called the new livery “stunning”. Me, I’ll just call it “Stenning”. Perhaps the two are synonymous.

Meanwhile, this weekend, Plymouth Citybus is the latest operator to drop Wayfarer, converting instead to VIX ERG electronic ticket machines. Look out Monday morning, then, as drivers and passengers get used to things!

i Plymothian Transit

Someone Special

On his blog yesterday evening, Leon Daniels paid tribute to platform & admin staff in London for the way in which they carried on during this week’s civil disturbances. Staff showed the same level of commitment in other parts of England including I might say in Southampton. They too deserve our commendation.

Many of us will not have experienced problems at first hand. A small number of our employees will nevertheless be special constables who have been called in to “back fill” for their colleagues who have been on the front line or for those regulars who have found themselves, at rather short notice, shipped to other parts of the country, notably London.

The special constabulary maintains the long tradition in this country of the volunteer peacekeeper. When they also work in transport, they bring added benefits that come with their training. We should never minimise the advantages of specials who also work for us. Although their policing role is purely voluntary, they are never really off duty.

Now, we all know that August is often a difficult month in terms of covering platform and other staff who wish to take holidays. Giving time off to specials is not a particularly convenient thing to do. But it does seem right that we offer this flexibility as a way of recognising their particular set of skills, not to mention the domino effect of releasing regulars to assist normality and vital bus services to return. I personally have no hesitation in sanctioning reduced work hours for specials during this difficult time so that they can police. I must say operationally, though, I am rather glad that this ugly episode at last seems to have abated.

i Leon Daniels

Traveline Tales

Phone enquiries taken by the nation’s Traveline operators are in free fall, yet the overall number of queries is increasing. Confused? It’s because the preferred method of service information delivery is increasingly via the web or text, a growing number of which are delivered to the enquirers’ smartphones.

With journey planning software delivering an increasing amount of on-screen content, it’d better be right. Sadly, it isn’t always.

Actually, the same underlying data drives phone-based delivery, of course.

Take Traveline South West. This month, it has cured a number of the ills within its journey planning system. It’s good to note, for example, that the Traveline representation of Purbeck Breezer 50 now aligns with Wilts & Dorset’s. Other misrepresentations have included the disappearance of a key holiday service, Stagecoach’s important south coast 700. As I say, these are now remedied.

We all know that the software underpinning Traveline is complicated. It’s therefore incumbent upon us all—and no one else—to check our own data’s 100 per cent accurate. Because of the data lag, this should be often, on a regular basis. After all, operators pay for this service, though a reduction of up to 25 per cent in phonecalls, depending upon where you are, could have serious implications for Traveline under pay-per-call core funding (though the answer is to up the rate per call to balance things though, clearly, this brings with it accusations of waste).

While TravelineSW should be praised for mending the broken bits, there are still some serious funnies (if there is such a thing). A trip this morning from “Bournemouth” to “London” selecting the coach-only option sends me variously via York or Huddersfield on an all day excursion (usually, actually, throughout the night); whereas, specifying “London Victoria” instead gives the correct options. Strange but true. The rail version is OK.

The Smooth Operation

Turmoil on the streets and stock exchange there may be but Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent reports on one part of the UK where matters are definitely smooth & calm. Who said August was a slow news month?

Upon leaving St Ives bus station, the Cambridgeshire busway starts very modestly indeed. Nearby, at the end of Station Road, is a short section of guideway less than the length of a bus that acts as a sophisticated local bus priority measure. This includes the first of a series of self-enforcing car traps. These are impressive gravel-filled pits that only larger vehicles can span. After buses trigger the lights to cross Harrison Way, they leave the guideway to arrive at a wide avenue or apron set out as an over-wide normal road. This is the St Ives park & ride site.

Indeed, this section is also served by “ordinary” buses, though entry for Stagecoach’s service 20, below, cannot be via the guideway itself but an access road at the back of the park & ride site. Service 20 operates at half-hourly intervals and links Fenstanton with the busway. The type of vehicle used on Monday was in complete contrast to those on the busway.

The St Ives park & ride is one of two new sites to the west of Cambridge. These are designed to offer a real alternative to motorists accessing Cambridge and to lessen congestion on the A14. No one is pretending that the busway will prevent traffic from Catthorpe (M1) to Felixstowe (and neither would rail) but the park & ride sites may persuade local and regional traffic to try the alternative.

The bus stop infrastructure’s in place at the site but, as yet, only half the car park is ready. A Cambridgeshire employee stated that on the first day, Sunday, drivers resorted to parking on the access road, so busy was the area.

There was some confusion among passengers about tickets. At Busway stops, passengers must buy in advance via a machine. This caused some delays in working through the menu options. They’ll figure it out in time, though.

They may not, however, understand why they’re asked to select either a Stagecoach or a Go Whippet ticket. Whippet’s, at 40p cheaper, is tempting but the unwary may not realise there are six Stagecoach services per hour to Whippet’s one, especially as the livery’s the same. The two aren’t inter-available, though Cambridgeshire does offer regular passengers a multi-operator smartcard solution. It was reported that in addition Whippet was offering a £1 ticket.

The other issue about the ticket was its price. It’s basically a Stagecoach dayrider plus price at £5.40. There were some mutterings about the cost. A couple need to pay £10.80. Will they see the value & benefit of this or press on towards Cambridge by car? A single adult plus up to two children is a more reasonable £6 but only after 0930.


After the park & ride, the busway starts in earnest. As before, buses enter the system via a short metal guiderail on each side of the busway. Drivers align with the offside and this automatically brings the nearside into line. There’s a slight judder here and at each junction as the bus squares onto the guideway proper, a bit like a train passing over points as the spring-loaded guide wheels locate. And off they go.

Once in place, the driver is free to accelerate, hands free, up to the maximum 55 mph to which each vehicle is limited. And the faster the bus goes, the smoother the ride. At slower speeds, you get the slight sensation of passing over each individual concrete guideway section but as speed increases, this disappears and so smooth is the ride that it’s quite possible to stand with ease, without the need for conductors' legs & without holding on to anything. To understand just how smooth this ride is, stay on board and experience the normal roads in Cambridge itself; then compare.

There was an engineer on hand to ensure that the lights changed at appropriate intervals, to give the bus priority. Buses need to slow to 40 mph at intersections and must re-locate via the metal guides.

Travelling on board, you have little concept of speed. It seems like 35 to 40. But stand alongside the busway on the adjacent (not fully finished) cycleway and you certainly get a good feel for the busway’s pace. Buses whip along. There’s no doubting that it’s fast. Interestingly, the national speed limit for buses on ordinary roads is 50 mph. The busway, I suppose, is a kind of dual carriageway and this maximum increases to 60.

The busway curves gently though virgin Cambridgeshire countryside, past the yet to be fully completed Langstanton park & ride, via meadows, lakes and even a windmill.

After Histon & Impington, it’s worth noting two very interesting things. The first is that had this been a railway, it would’ve carried on to avoid Cambridge city centre, terminating at the distant and inaccessible railway station. The busway decision was right if for no other reason than this flexibility.

The second is that the busway bifurcates at this point, with busway As serving the new science park. The Bs, however, go through the equally new 10,000-population settlement of Orchard Park, a planner’s dream, located right by a major public transport corridor. Here, the nature of the busway changes. It’s simply a floor without the vertical guide flanges (above). Why, I don’t know. Perhaps cost has something to do with it. Or, perhaps other non-guided services use this stretch.

The Novelty Factor

Yesterday, Omnibuses’ Northern Correspondent threw a sickie & set out early from his northerly comfort zone to report from Cambridgeshire on the first real test of the busway...

Lunchtime and things were definitely not working smoothly in Cambridgeshire. Not that many were openly complaining. The morning peak and immediate post-peak on the busway went well. But then, to add to the general interest of others, the free travellers emerged in numbers (at & after 0930).

It struck me that all this public interest was similar to what happened when the railway first arrived in town or on the occasion of the very first motor bus service. A bit of a novelty. All and sundry emerged to look and to ride. Yes, it was as dramatic as that. And, with schools off, what better way to kill a few hours for free travellers than by taking along those grandchildren.

What resulted, as evidenced by the RTI, was a deteriorating & disjointed afternoon timetable that saw bunching & gaps. And possibly some deliberate duplication. Pressure was on to such an extent that even with a 10-minute frequency, seats were at a premium and there was much standing. Had this been a normal service, Stagecoach might’ve been able to summon up enough drivers to assist—but one of the downsides of a busway is that any old Olympian definitely would *not* do. So, in some cases, passengers’ expectations were not met.

But, most people, most of the time understood the reason for the delay: pressure of numbers. I suspect this will be the case all this week, after which normality will establisg itself.

The roadworks on a bus-only stretch at Cambridge railway station didn’t help the busway As. These are only single decks, owing to height restrictions towards the new Trumpington park & ride.

Mid-morning, post-0930, at Trumpington was busy. No one got angry and drivers handled any raised blood pressure well, without resorting to dropping any passenger off at Addenbrooke’s hospital for medical care. For, the busway As are designed as a park & ride facility for Addenbrooke’s, a site occupying land the size of a small town centre, with its own (small) bus station (though the As didn’t use it). The standard, quicker, direct-to-Cambridge park & rides were nearly empty.

A handful used the As for the purpose for which it was intended. Most, however, continued on the bus and alighted not at Cambridge but carried on along the busway, all the way to the terminus, St Ives. Everyone got off the busway Bs at St Ives, too, for it is after this point that it runs on-street. No novelty there.

Monday, as Sunday, was an unusual day on the busway. Things *will* settle down. Ridership *will* grow. No one yesterday was so perplexed, so confused, or so annoyed that they were visibly or discernibly angry. Mind you, a few people struggled with the compulsory off-bus ticketing but I bet that happened in London at first.

Indeed, most people enjoyed the ride, albeit a little later than they expected. Some had to let the first bus go and await a second. On board, they all craned their necks or lent out into the aisles, to get the best possible forward view.

Tomorrow, Omnibuses’ NC concentrates on the vehicles and the track. Meanwhile, why not forward any *unusual* pictures of the busway you may have…