Following the blog post on Alex Carter, there’s an important announcement on the Dorset Bus Blog this morning. Read the original post here and please, whether or not you are interested in or involved Dorset bus operations, consider reading this morning’s announcement carefully, here.

Alex Carter “steps back”, today on the Dorset Bus Blog

Livery—the results

With thanks to those who voted in the Omnibuses blog survey for the best bus livery we’re now able to reveal the result. In third place was The Green Bus; second was Transdev York; and in first place…

Newbury Buses’ jet black livery of Reading Transport.

We doubt routeONE will be publishing its results today so readers will need to await the next issue in a week’s time. Nevertheless, great minds think alike for R1 voters have also selected this livery. Reading Buses’ website now trumpets its win as the 2011 R1 bus livery of the year.

Going Digital

Among the media interest in the delivery of 15 new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400H hybrid double decks for Lothian Buses here is something I’ve not yet read: the front destination displays are digital.

Edinburgh, Scotland, is so far away for me that it could even be in a different land so I can’t say with certainty but are these the first Lothian deliveries to feature front electronic displays? If they’re not, digital is very much in the minority. Buses as young as 11-reg were still arriving with power blind “linens” at the front, though the side and back displays had become digital.

Digital offers flexibility and convenience. That convenience may yet come to the fore during the 10 months-worth of work that started last weekend along Princes Street, to remedy problems with the on-off-on city centre tramlines. Were Lothian Buses’ blinds all digital, the operator could make any last minute adjustment with ease. This is the second major tram-related disruption for Lothian Buses. The first, during the tramline construction, threatened the very viability of the operator as passengers were put off.

Digital blinds are also said to be clearer for people who have difficulty with their sight. They can offer much more information than the blinds of old. They certainly can do better than the once universal single line ultimate destination.

But they can be irritatingly confusing if they flash, scroll or otherwise advertise something that isn’t strictly pertinent to what the passenger needs to see: a clear rendition of final destination, major via points and route number. Anything else is obfuscation and the traffic commissioners & VOSA have a view on this, too. I suppose I could be accused of defeating my own argument when I say that something subtle is permissible.

And broken or cheaper versions that frustratingly “flash” when static (owing to refresh rate problems) or where individual elements are not refreshing correctly are poor.

Perhaps that’s why Edinburgh’s power blind “linens” are refreshingly clear and easy to read. They appear less garish, less brassy, less kitschy. There’s a certain uniform simplicity & constancy about them. But, with white not yellow on black, does this now most traditional of approaches really cut it in an age where diversity, including for people with visual impairments, is respected?

As an aside, the use of a golden colour rather than Lothian white with newly introduced madder gives the Lothian hybrids a slightly understated and less harsh warmth.

Silver Jubilee—4

As we approach the 25th anniversary of deregulation, here’s the fourth post on the subject

With the 25th anniversary of deregulation approaching in a month from now, it’s hard not to wonder just where the years have gone. And time to reflect upon some thoughts of an era that doesn’t appear that long ago.

Like remembering how we all felt that the National Bus Company and the new passenger transport executives seemed so *permanent*. They weren’t. The totally nationalised sector lasted from 1968 till 1986, so that’s 17 years to deregulation’s 25 and counting.

For it was in 1968 that the half of the English territorial bus industry in private hands (BET) joined the half under the State’s Transport Holding Company (Tilling). Add in municipal control, and virtually all bus services in England were the responsibility of the government, national or local, directly or indirectly. It was following the Transport Act 1968 that in 1969 we saw territorial operators consolidate into NBC and many northern municipals into the PTEs.

And even if you were uncertain about such permanence then, there came the expansion of the PTEs in 1974 and NBC’s bus and coach corporate images of 1972 (with a national TV campaign of limited merit). The tide had turned and would never flow back. Or so we thought. But, as the late 1970s problems rolled over to the early 1980s political change, there began a slow realisation that the current system could never last...

So, with the steady freeing of bonds came the gradual self-discovery of the early 1980s, when NBC began to unbend. It allowed subsidiaries’ coaching units to adopt local colour in the Venetian blind style. It allowed a minority of subsidiaries to choose the hitherto forbidden blue, long since out of favour.

From 1986 to about 1993, there followed something of a Prague Spring, a full awakening into a profusion, even a riot, of local identities and colours. That didn’t last long, either, but even then, few people at the time predicted the rise and rise of the Big Five, even though that is the sort of agglomeration that kinda happened back in the 1920s & 1930s. It seems a world away from life in the 1970s when the future was a sea of red & green and white, under NBC.

Have you ever had a bathroom leak? Clearing up after one is both time consuming and messy. That's why there’s no blog for yesterday and today. Normal service should resume tomorrow. If I have the water on by then.

Positive Image

It’s easy for critics to knock First Bus’ pre-national TV campaign (as they consistently have on You Tube) when, in fact, this seems to be one of the building blocks upon which New First is actually “transforming” its business. It takes guts to come out publicly that you wish to reposition yourself at the top when you already know the journey’s a long one.

Before Fearnley the (now quietly dropped) strapline “Transforming Travel” seemed a little disingenuous, hollow or insincere. First must surely now recognise it has a long way to “Travel” in its “Transformation” process but we should all be supportive of the journey on which it has embarked. Here, at last, is some evidence of change, some portrayal of a vision that will lift the organisation from its current place. On its own, it will be meaningless but we should anticipate and expect much more than this.

OK, so the advert isn’t quite as clever as Stagecoach’s Bus of Britain/Howard Hooterson and First’s might be portraying the organisation as slightly too sickly or sugary. And using High School Musical-style energy in a 30-second TV commercial is all well and good but First needs to ensure that it matches customer expectations. This, as I’ve said, is a long process that begins with shifts in image such as that depicted in the TV commercial. But why shouldn’t the bus service be seen high energy and fun?

It might nevertheless have been better to await the promised First brand refreshment. Or perhaps it isn’t changing that much, after all.

Perhaps the singing bus driver actress should be the new public face of First. That would be a great idea and promote a positive image. She’s certainly photogenic enough.

Yesterday, we said we intended focusing today on a part of a region we don’t usually cover. That’s now held over.

Conspiracy or Odd Behaviour: can you help?

Unless Stagecoach merges with Go Ahead or there’s some other major development, we intend focusing tomorrow on part of a region we don’t usually cover. But today, it’s back to the East Midlands and England’s most colourful operator. That’s literally and increasingly metaphorically speaking. It’s Trent Barton. Who else?

Indeed, we need to elicit the help of the Omnibuses’ Blog Army. Without your help, we can only guess the reasons why Trent Barton seems to be behaving so oddly. Is it a conspiracy, a conflict or a cock-up? For, it’s registered in significant competition against its friend Felix… but it only lasts for about nine days.

Trent Barton operates Tempos on the Black Cat.
Picture courtesy Derby Bus Depot
Felix of Derby operates the Black Cat and the Ilkeston Flyer jointly with Trent Barton. Come 24th October 2011, Trent Barton has registered journeys five minutes ahead of both these Felix services, including during the evenings. Bizarrely, Trent Barton’s cancelled those additions nine days later and the last day of operation is a Wednesday, to boot. If you’re wondering whether all this is legitimate, the evidence is online on Traveline East Midlands from timetables generated by Derbyshire council. See code 1 which reads, “From 24/10/11 to 2/11/11”.

Felix is a long-standing operator on the Derby to Ilkeston corridor that predates both 1931 regulation & 1986 deregulation. Both it and Trent operated the 12 & 120 though Trent’s 120 extended to Mansfield via Heanor. Some 10 years ago, the two were marketed together as the Black Cat, no doubt because Felix used to use a cat logo till it faced the threat of legal action from the owners of Felix the Cat, the silent film era cartoon creation. Felix’s contingent on the Black Cat is actually red & white whereas Felix’s Flyer buses are branded identically to Trent Barton’s.

So much for history. What’s happening next month? It’s over to you. Can anyone help? Perhaps:

• Trent Barton was going to buy Felix but it fell through.


• Someone else was going to buy Felix and Trent Barton didn’t relish that.


• Fleix was for sale but didn’t wish to sell to Trent Barton


• There was a huge falling out 56 days before the variation and a reconciliation none days later. Or, perhaps the variation prompted a reconciliation.


• Trent Barton sensed that Felix was about to compete with it.


• Trent Barton feels the best form of defence is attack, rather like in recent skirmishes.

Or perhaps the explanation is a bit more banal:

• An error on either Trent Barton’s, Traveline’s, Derbyshire’s or VOSA’s part.


• Someone’s having a laugh.


• Or may be I’m daydreaming the lot.

Vanity?

It was from among the handful of comments on yesterday’s post that I read this from Invicta:

“I've always favoured identifying where public money is being spent as overtly as possible. That also helps when faced by cutbacks in public spending, as much to inform decision makers as passengers. And, of course, newspaper reporters....”

What Invicta is saying is that journeys supported by local transport authorities need picking out. Fine if that’s an all-day supported service but this gets messier when there are certain journeys only under subsidy (perhaps early mornings, perhaps evenings). I’m sure LTAs would like everyone to see those journeys for which they are paying, but does it help encourage bus use or is it a vanity thing?

There are two main problems, for me. One is that adding, for example, an identification code above individual journeys can be a distraction. Remember, not many people understand or can read bus timetables well. Would it be better to simplify? Placing a general footnote that some journeys are supported is too vague.

And, secondly, does the public give a hoot anyway? So long as the bus turns up then they don’t really need to know. There’s an argument, if they do, that they can direct their complaint to the correct people but they will logically go to either the operator or the LTA in spite of any timetable indication. Most passengers, most of the time, still think that their council tax somehow pays for all journeys in any case.

While identification might mark out a journey as LTA supported and therefore vulnerable to cuts, this can also backfire on an operator where commercial journeys or services of its own continually fail to meet expectations or when there’s about to be a commercial service withdrawal.

Wasn’t it the former Avon council that used to number supported journeys in the three rather than two digit series? I think the legacy continues among its successors. Thus contracted add ons to the Bath 21 outer circular were 721 and supported journeys to Hartcliife were 487 alongside the 87. Or something like that. Did that really help the passenger, or just cloud the issue?

That’s Life

It could be straight out of Esther Rantzen’s That’s Life TV programme and those reading it in the Daily Express yesterday will probably think you couldn’t make it up. The press just love this sort of thing. Said the Express,

“Residents of a small market town are fuming after council cuts left them with no option but to take a one-way trip on the bus to nowhere.”

Since this is Wiltshire, they must surely mean the bus to Imber but it’s actually to Andover. The Express carried on,

“A service has been introduced for passengers travelling 12 miles by bus from Winterslow, Wiltshire, to Andover in neighbouring Hampshire. But to save cash, council bosses have failed to put on a return service.”

Now, I concede I am no expert on buses so far north of Bournemouth : ) but the story isn’t all it seems. The service in question is Stagecoach’s 87 that was due for the chop by Hampshire council but reinstated in part. In isolation, the timetable looks odd.

But when you see it in conjunction with the 77, things start to make more sense. The 87 journeys operate as they do so as not to run on top of the 77 and to give those delightfully named Wessex villages of Abbotts Ann, Anna Valley, Middle and Over Wallop an hourly service.

So, all the villages bar the Winterslows (and, Daily Express, note there are two in the timetable) have ample opportunity to get to and from Andover. And it isn’t strictly true to suggest that the Winterslows can’t reach Andover, even though the bus gives them just one hour, other timings associated with providing a combined hourly service. That may be enough for some but it I would concede that it doesn’t provide much flexibility.

But with the first bus from the Winterslows at 0853 & 0858 towards Salisbury, and returns at 1133 and 1333, it would seem that the service is aligned more for those who wish to visit the Wiltshire city. Since Wiltshire is paying, that seems fair enough, when money is tight. The fact that, after the Winterslows, it carries on through to Andover is more operational convenience as it supports the 77 in providing that hourly bus service.

Not perfect, may be, but certainly not quite the picture painted by the Express. Then again, a full explanation mightn't be all that newsworthy.

i Daily Express article

Just as things are settling down in Dorset, along comes an internal investigation, today on the Dorset Bus Blog

Gorilla Warfare

Another taking advantage of recessionary-led cheap inter-city express coach services? 19th September is said to be the first day of operation of a new express carrier called Gorillabus. At least Gorilla Bus’ fully functioning website allows you to buy tickets for services that run from today. But with no known advertising or promotion and no appearances in the trade press (not that I’ve seen, unless you know differently), is this for real or is it another phantom express operation?

For, in very recent times, there’s been a small history of phantom express operations. Remember UK Express Coaches, a Newport, Wales dream that actually got as far as a pre-launch, in 2009, featuring no less a person than the town mayor.

At least UK Express was actually launched, even if it got no further. Whatever happened to Dash Coaches? A blaze of web publicity started in January 2011 with the promise and advertisement of numerous driving & non-driving jobs. Prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt, we still wondered whether this was too good to be true and you, the readers, did too, feeling that Dash was suspect. So much so that Dash threatened legal action. Our limited resources meant that we felt compelled to remove the comments readers had left. There were over 40. Dashtravelgroup.com and Dashcoaches.com both now return an http 404 “not found” error. Dash’s Twitter page still has just one message but actually has quadrupled its followers—to four.

Back to Gorillabus, we may be doing the organisation a disservice but the website, though seemingly functional, has just a hint of the incomplete about it. One thing’s for certain, though, whether this is a bona fide operation or not, it has already exercised the minds of some of the industry’s top executives.

The brains behind the operation is one Steve Elms. He intermittently writes his own blog in a rather amusing fashion, with humorous sideswipes at Merseytravel & National Express, for example. Hmmm, a jab at NX. Interesting.

If Gorillabus is legit, we wish it well. If not… we clearly owe Elms an apology!

i Gorillabus
i Steve Elms’s blog

Yellow Buses Livery—survey results

Thank you to all who voted. Before I let people see the results of the recent Yellow Buses livery survey, may I just say how disappointed I was to note that someone, somewhere (well, I know where) had managed to overcome the built in feature that prevents multiple responses.

That person spammed his response no fewer than *22* times, all in a row.

I therefore had to waste time deleting 21 identical entries from the same person and same IP address. This is the first time I have needed to do this. They might’ve been grouped together but, when you need to delete online, I’ve found you automatically go back to the very first record *every time* and then have to click through every single response *again* till you get to the one you need. I won’t say whether there was a slip of the delete button that removed the 22nd, as well >: [

The irony is that the 22 made no overall difference to the winners, it just skewed the percentages a little.

In previous surveys, I will often see a couple of responses from the same network. This results from a network sharing the same IP address among individual PCs. With these, there doesn’t tend to be many individual responses. I still scrutinise them and I find that each response is a little different and spread over time.

Now, for the results. They’re over on Dorset Bus.

Vote for your Favourite

(Thanks to all who voted. The survey is now closed. Call back to see the results)

It just goes to show that liveries are a very subjective and emotive thing. routeONE admits that its panel of six judges found it difficult to shortlist the 321 entries in this year’s livery competition into 15 finalists, three in each of the bus, mini/midi and coach categories. This was the first time routeONE had adopted a shortlisting approach. And it’s as well that they did so, as voting over such a wide range of liveries must otherwise scatter the results considerably.

routeONE printed all the hopefuls in this week’s edition though why, I’m not sure, when readers can only vote for the shortlisted entries. It does, however, offer a colourful pageant. See all the entries here, with details of how to vote.

And what about a poll of our own? For whom would *you* vote from among the top five bus liveries? And let everyone know your thoughts via Comments. Like routeONE, we will allocate 3 points for first place, 2 for second and 1 for third. Vote here

The five shortlisted are:

• Johnson’s Bus & Coach Travel
• East Yorkshire (special livery)
• Transdev York
• Newbury Buses
• The Green Bus

Also, we can report that the shortlisted finalists are for coach livery of the year are Robson’s of Kimbolton; Mayne’s Coaches; The King’s Ferry; Redfern Travel; and Bluebird Coaches.

For the mini/midi category, they are Johnson Bros Tours; Wardle Transport; Winson Coaches; Reay’s Coaches; and Wilson’s of Rhu .

And here are some statistics. The bus livery of the year saw 67 entries of the 321 total. Stagecoach came in with its Lothian lookalike Interconnect variant. There was a First-liveried coach. Arriva entered a Wardle liveries double deck in red, complete with “cow horns”. Other than a smattering of Go Ahead vehicles, the rest were smaller concerns.

Just under half of the coaches entered were in dealer stock white or substantially white. No white coach got through to the shortlist. Between 55 and 60 per cent of mini/minibuses were in dealer stock white.

The most unusual entries were a 1979 AEC Reliance/Plaxton (in white) of Just Travel; an East Lancs rebodied Leyland Leopard (in white) of Plymouth Discovery Tours; a Guy Arab IV/Metro Cammel (not in white) late of Birmingham City Transport and now with Belle Vue; a tri-axle Crosville coach (not in white but also not in green) from Weston super Mare; and a Seaford & District open top Bristol VR largely in cream with green.

For those who’ve commented in the past about Stenning lookalikes, observe the new Plymouth Citycoach livery and that of Transdev Coastliner.

i Photos from routeONE. See them in top quality here
i VOTE IN OUR OWN SURVEY HERE

Band Wagon?

Suddenly, everyone seems interested in school buses, whether they are here or across the water. And I don’t just mean on the Isle of Wight.

Stateside, National Express is consolidating its position as the USA’s second largest private school bus provider with news this week that it’s bought the 90-year Petermann Partners for £127mil. Who? Yes, I was wondering that, too. But, over there, school transport has a far higher profile. Over here, it’s somewhat hidden.

In 2007, First Group added Laidlaw to First Student, giving it some 40 per cent of the US private yellow school bus contract market.

To English eyes, all this interest over there seems odd. Why is it worth it? Over there, it’s not uncommon to get several pieces of work out of each morning and afternoon peak vehicle shift. This spreads the overhead nicely and ensures that there is only an appropriate amount of capital tied up. As a result, investment tends to be higher. The benefit comes when some US schools start as early as 0715. Imagine what such a regime might do to reduce costs over here. But could you ever imagine English parents and teachers agreeing to such a notion?

This, then, leaves English school transport somewhat in the doldrums. In England, we tend to extract just one piece of work per morning & afternoon peak vehicle shift. Our buses therefore tend to be older, though “older” doesn’t equate to unreliable or even unroadworthy, as some would have us believe. But, as a consequence, some would brand our school transport as a Cinderella service.

First Group tried unsuccessfully to corner the UK school bus market by majoring on safety. It stated that it had learnt lessons from the States. The truth was that the bells & whistles First proposed could easily be built into the current school bus system without the need to tender large blocks of work US style. First’s major expense of brand new, purpose built school buses wasn’t actually necessary, which was probably a relief to many local education authorities who couldn’t afford the investment in any case.

So, over here, unlike over there, school transport plodded on in its merry way, keeping a low profile. A Cinderella service it might have remained, provided not by US-style specialists or state boards but small, family businesses, but it did its job nicely. Unlike First, larger operators showed little interest in the school bus market unless a bus could easily be tied in with other work. A flat peak was the post-deregulation mantra.

Til, that is,l Go South Coast took over all school work on the Isle of Wight, in much of Dorset and also to Hampshire’s Alton College creating, in Dorset, a PVR 200 contract for taxis, minibuses, coaches & buses. This most interesting experiment may yet inject interest elsewhere in England and it may just be that larger operators, best placed to respond to new procurement methods now being used by LEAs, will enter this market in a big way. They may no longer overlook school buses. We don’t know the answer to that conundrum yet but give them an opportunity and they will seize it. Just like the opportunities in the States. May be we are about to see our own revolution in terms of school transport but one more attuned to English needs and sensibilities.

Full of Dilemmas

The most curious aspect of the report in the current Bus & Coach Buyer on Bristol Park & Ride was the revelation that the services are registered not in the Western but Metropolitan traffic area.

Bus & Coach Buyer consists largely of adverts but sometimes its pithy editorial is under-valued
This odd arrangement result from what appears to be a late contract aware to Hackney Community Transport’s CT Plus operation (also providing park & ride in Kingston upon Hull). There was little time, apparently, for CT Plus to gain an operator’s licence in Western. Without that licence, it technically cannot register a bus service, commercially or not (in this case, not).

This raises an interesting point about VOSA and the traffic commissioners. Had a commercial operator tried this, it would’ve failed. Indeed, I doubt whether a commercial operator would even have bothered, till such time as a licence was granted. But I have to speculate as to what is the point of traffic areas these days when, for example, VOSA has centralised its bus registration library in Leeds. Is it time to remove what has become an archaic restriction, to allow operators more flexibility in setting up new bases by having a national system? Would standards change? This possibility might align with proposed modernisation of planning law, with a presumption for rather than against development.

Back to Bristol where the council has specified—or is permitting—articulated buses on contracts previously the province of double decks. With a parallel reduction in frequencies (from every eight to 12 at peak; and to every 15t off-peak) and a reduction in individual *seating* capacities, this means the number of peak seats per hour has about halved. Will passengers who need to be persuaded out of their car literally stand for that? Is a 15 minute wait off-peak acceptable? Park & ride services need to be quality operations. What will probably happen is that there will be a re-adjustment in passengers. Numbers will steady a little to reflect the new conditions but, overall, the service will still operate at less of a loss. Such is the compromise now required by cash-strapped local transport authorities. We may moan but this is becoming the new reality.

From the 2008 archive
The people of Bristol are certainly moaning about Boris’s safety cast off. These are probably mostly misjudged comments. If bendies are good enough in historic Bath, why not in neighbouring Bristol? I have no particular problem with using artics in Bristol. With their higher *overall* capacity, they are great at shifting large numbers of people quickly over relatively short distances, so they suit park & ride well, at least in principal. Benefits are the increased availability of wheelchair & buggy space; speed of loading; and generally more area dedicated to low floor when compared to a double deck. Bendies are less likely to be choked at the entry point (as people no longer have to climb upstairs, something they dislike).

Finally, in an era where problems associated with BSOG reductions, subsidy reduction, dCPC and free travel payments have tended to favour economies of scale rather than small operating units with higher fixed & semi-variable costs, how can CT Plus compete? It’s a community interest company and it lodges its vehicles at a council garage. No harm in any of that. It’s again part of the new ways of thinking that will see further changes in procurement for cash-strapped local transport authorities.

Old v Young

Between now and 18th December, Arriva Trains Wales is offering anyone over 55 the chance to travel between any two of its stations for £18 return, less with a railcard. As a marketing initiative, that’s great news for anyone over 55 and, let’s face it, who isn’t : ) It’ll undoubtedly attract people in Wales out of their cars—it’s the right age to capture those who are still driving longer distances yet who might be persuaded onto the train and be retained in the future, as they get older. A clever ploy.

But there’s some disquiet in Wales over this. Why should older people benefit, once again? They are entitled to ask the question, given the public subsidy going into the railway. A question of rail also being a public asset. The immediate answer is, why not? It’s a commercial business, after all. But older people in Wales can have free travel when they reach 60 (a 60 year old in England today will need to wait to March 2013 to benefit). And, any qualifying senior citizen is entitled to a senior railcard. I confess I’m not sure of the half-fare entitlement on coach travel in Wales, though in England, this is for the chop.

But what of younger people, says Wales? A very good point and one not confined to the Welsh region. There are exceptions but, generally in England, young people tend to have to pay full adult fare at 16. I suspect that, were bus services to be invented afresh & anew today, there’d be no such thing as a child concession, for they take up seat space the same as anyone else. The fact is, “half” fares exist but it’s a harsh world when you become an “adult” (at 16). At the very time your interest in cars is awakening, so bus operators suddenly charge you more. And, ask a group of young people what they find most frustrating about the bus service, it’s already the fare.

Some European countries are—or some were—more enlightened, offering reductions up to as late as 25 or 26. This is a deliberate policy to capture younger people onto buses for good. And, whereas there are some schemes in Britain that offer help to people under 18, there’s very little assistance beyond that, other than perhaps for full time students. Might it actually be better, in England, to reduce the scope of free travel in order to help fund reductions in bus travel for younger people, even up to their mid-twenties. It’s unlikely to be a commercial proposition. A radical and naive thought, even though this wouldn’t be *free* travel. But it would help cement the relationship between younger people and their bus service at a very impressionable age. And who knows what long-term benefit that may have for the industry, the environment, road safety and our congested city streets.

The downside? It’s politically impossible to alter the free travel policy so fundamentally.

At it again, next week Wilts & Dorset ups the ante against rival Yellow Buses, today on the Dorset Bus Blog.

Not my Type

It’s hardly surprising that I have quite a fondness for older Alexander bodywork. This doesn’t extend, though, to the Y-Type single deck, in spite of some similarities with Bournemouth’s longstanding loyalty to the Alexander A- & J-Type double decks of old. For the Y-Type benefitted from either the same or a very similar windscreen to Bournemouth’s double decks and a rear Y-Type pane that identical to the J’s upper deck front window. Not that the Y-Type was a monster, like some of these.

The Y-Type first appeared 50 years ago. It really got going in 1963 and lasted 20 years, till 1983. Quite an achievement in what at the time was a changing manufacturing sector. It’s success was perhaps because of the ultra-conservativeness of major Scottish customers who preferred high frame Leyland Leopard service buses to the new, more practical, low-frame rear engined designs. Since most Y-Types ended up in Scotland this, perhaps, accounts in part for my unease at the bodywork. The Y-Type seemed just a little alien & unfamiliar to a southerner.

The Y-Type seemed old before its time. In 1961-3, its double curvature windscreen *was* revolutionary but the product failed to keep up with design standards that saw significant changes later in the 1960s and in the 1970s. It was this that, for me, meant that it was left behind by ECW, the BET style and even the Leyland National. The protruding destination box even had a 1950s feel to it. The front grille areas, designed in a multitude of ways to suit the requirements of individual chassis, were more beefy than handsome.

The Y-Type didn’t really know whether it was a bus or a coach. It could, of course, be both. Yet, it was a little too fussy for the former and not quite distinctive enough for the latter. Mind you, the coach variants, with fewer bays and slightly angled pillars, did have a certain presence on the road. But they were still no match for the Plaxton Panorama introduced in 1958 and the Panorama Elite ten years later. By 1983, it was even possible to buy striking continental coach bodywork, to crisper designs with cleaner lines.

That said, we shouldn’t minimise the impact of the Y-Type and the part it played, particularly north of the border. After Y (and J), Alexander’s designs seemed to go way off mark and if there’s one thing you can say about the Y, when comparing it to the strangely angular P and the bland PS, it held your attention. OK, so did the P-Type to a point but for *very* different reasons.

The Y-Type anniversary is said to be honoured at this year’s Showbus, on Sunday. So we’re told. The Showbus website really does need a thorough spring clean and I can’t find anything specifically on the Y. The Scottish Bus Museum is doing the same, the following Sunday, but this is advertised far better.

Quantifying Complaints

What do passengers complain about most? Fares? Frequency? Lack of shelter? Punctuality? Reliability? Too far to walk to the stop? Incorrect destination displays?

None of these feature in the information published on Friday by the BBC under a freedom of information request made to TfL. Instead, the BBC asked about complaints specifically against bus drivers and the results give a glimpse of what passengers in the capital think. Regarding drivers, life in provincial England will not be much different, though the biggest difference between a London and the provinces is that there are far fewer cash fares in London and therefore fewer opportunities for driver/passenger interaction, including leaving via a London central exit.

Click to enlarge...
So, it’s still a little surprising that driver attitude & behaviour tops the chart given that, in my experience, few London drivers actually look or glance at passengers, let alone hold a rudimentary conversation. And that relates to the suburbs as well as the far busier centre. Or perhaps that’s the problem.

We need to get some perspective.

• During the period of these 66,777 complaints [compare to GMPTE, somewhat different to TfL], passengers made at least 4,000,000,000 journeys on, what, over 6,000 buses. That’s 0.002%. That’s low.



• For every complaint lodged, it’s often said that there are between seven and eight disgruntled passengers. That’s 0.013%. That’s still small.

Not every complaint will be valid. Certainly, those about attitude, the highest category (22,500 complaints) can be six of one and half a dozen of the other. Did the driver start it or was the passenger being unreasonable? Why did any particular situation escalate?

The next biggest category is failure to stop (20,700). Was the bus full? Was the passenger standing at the correct stop in a bank of them? Did the passenger request the driver to stop? Was the bus actually in service?

After these two big ones, there comes poor or dangerous driving (11,000). Given London’s traffic conditions, in a way, I’m surprised that this number isn’t higher. Urban bus drivers often have to accelerate hard and drive on their breaks brakes to keep to time. They tend to drive off before people are seated. We must also recognise that perception will be different for older people than younger. It will also depend upon the vehicle type (for example, sudden movements appear exaggerated when ascending or descending the stairwell—there are plenty of double decks in London). On the other hand, few buses get beyond 30 mph.

We’re now getting to the smaller levels of complaints. Next on the list is fares issues (3,600). And there was me thinking Oyster and free travel (including for younger people) had done away with this category. Or, perhaps, rising fares for those who pay is a source of driver/passenger conflict, reported under attitude/behaviour.

By comparison, the remainder are also rans. Some are serious (driver—alleged assault—241). I particularly liked the 33 complaints about there being no lavatory on board (and remember, these are complaints about the driver). Perhaps there’s now a new role for those hated bendy buses, a way of ensuring that the public takes to these unpopular Goliaths… convert the rear portion into a suite of lavatories.

There are also two important comments under the BBC article. “As a cyclist, I think bus drivers are generally some of the better drivers on the road”. Recognition, at last, that drivers are well trained and observant. And that cyclist deaths at the hands of artic drivers is a myth.

And, “There is a cultural hatred of bus drivers. Just being behind the wheel of a bus marks you out for abuse”. Too true. Added to which, it’s a stressful job with no option but to stick to continually clogged roads without the option of any rat run or diversion. Passengers and motorists between them cause unbelievable levels of hassle, together with the seven-day week plus 24-hour nature of London’s service.

i BBC article on London bus drivers

OK, go on then. Let’s try a Yellow Buses Livery Survey. I note that two people have commented positively on this and I also note that one person wonders what it might achieve, so let’s see. In keeping it simple, there are dangers. And, liveries *are* emotive but on the other hand who better to judge than industry professionals and industry watchers. Please note, you can only vote once. The third question is optional (for obvious reasons because not everyone will remember older styles). Click here for livery images older and new.

(The survey is now closed)

Major Dorset school transport changes bring chaos amidst the horns of several dilemmas, today on the Dorset Bus Blog.

She Sells Seashells on the Sea Shore

Bournemouth hit the national news today—as the town likely to be the first in England to require *local* telephone customers to dial the full 01202 code ahead of the usual six-figure subscriber number. This is thanks to a shortage of lines in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch & Wimborne Minster which, in turn, reflects demand following the significant economic growth in the area. Locally, the Echo reports that this will allow new six-digit numbers beginning with “0” and “1”.

Meanwhile, in more important news, Yellow Buses revealed it will gradually roll out a “new” RATP livery, first used on its 1B/1C Christchurch-Bournemouth-Poole service with the arrival in June 2011 of its Volvo B9TL/Eclipse Gemini 2 double decks.

The in-house design comprises a giant stylised seashell on plain yellow, one that then becomes exaggerated over the rear wheel arch. Views on the livery on the 1B/1C range from “at least it’s still yellow” to a shrugging of the shoulders to positives that it reflects the town’s seaside heritage. Few people seem to wish to pass judgement on the livery. Perhaps that’s because it isn’t anything like ubiquitous enough, quite yet. Or perhaps because it’s still yellow (a condition of the sale into private hands) so they see little real difference.

Since Yellow Buses was sold to previous owner Transdev, Bournemouth people seem less concerned about the livery of their buses than had previously been the case. Livery modifications of the past, even seemingly subtle ones, had provoked a reaction of some kind. Angst was at its highest when Bournemouth Transport deigned to paint its rears out of yellow—the very thought. This unnecessary and surprisingly negative reaction confirmed Bournemouth had a rather conservative attitude. At least it showed that Bournemouth people took an interest in its operator. Now, the buses no longer substantially belong to the people and, while more are using them, they seem less vocal.

The Transdev willow leaf that served the area well
The new design sees the end of the attractive 2006 blue and green leaf effect which, though most definitely last century, was nonetheless attractive. It played a considerable part within a wider package of measures in giving the operator a more modern image and in reversing the fortunes of this once traditional municipal. It seems finally to have played its part.

Out, too, goes the marketing concept of images of real people (with their white borders) that adorned some buses.

Evolution. The last Yellow Buses livery in municipal ownership
The revised design bucks something of a recent trend in that it’s (a) simple in application and (b) doesn’t rely on a Best Impressions or a Stenningesk lookilikey approach. As a result, some might call the revision stark. Others, though, would say it complements Bournemouth’s perfect beach holiday resort atmosphere exactly.

What do *you* say?

ManGONE

It was first tested in 2007 on the Rainbow 4 and Indigo routes. Trent Barton then rolled it out widely. It was once called Toto and now Mango, Trent Barton’s answer to London’s Oyster. It’s one of the oldest & most successful bus-based smartcards outside London and it’s said there are over 18,000 users. There are over 10,000 “likes” on its Facebook page.

But this week we have a salutary lesson in why the paper ticket won’t be ditched any time soon. Cash fares can still be king.

It seems that the Mango card system has failed. Since the weekend, no one has been able to top up their card online or check how much they have left. The only option available is for passengers to visit Derby or Nottingham bus stations, when it’s reported that they have to wait up to 48 hours for credit to appear on their account.

Every IT system comes with risks and rewards. The rewards for Trent Barton’s passengers are a minimum of 25 per cent off each single fare, a daily off-peak cap at the so-called Zig Zag day ticket price, specific off-bus retail discounts and a fully transferable ticket, itself quite a novelty for the industry (but then again how would you police it if it were not so). And the convenience via online top up of never needing cash, till now.

The risks to the passenger, much like Oyster on the Underground, is a failure to touch out equates to a fare deducted to the end of the journey.

The rewards for Trent Barton are passenger loyalty in the face of ever-fierce local competition and that warm feeling passengers get once they’ve topped up. It means passengers worry less about the actual cost of travel. It’s analogous to filling a car full of fuel, after which the motorist seems to perceive motoring as somehow “free”.

The risks to Trent Barton now seem all too obvious. But via Facebook, Trent Barton’s been open about the problem though the issue seems bigger than they first thought. Being Trent Barton, I wonder what it will do by way of generous compensation to sweeten disgruntled Mango customers?

Creating a Fuss

Don’t know why, all of a sudden, everyone seems to have gotten all worked up over half price coach travel. By the time it’s removed at the end of October, operators will have known about this for just over a year. Perhaps it’s got something, everything, to do with a looming deadline, potential deprivation to older people and the hungry media.

A small number of NatEx routes or locations may be under threat following the withdrawal of coach BSOG, believed to include London to Cromer and Hastings, two provincial areas renowned for their older demography
And, surely, in the face of continued economic uncertainties, there are far more difficult decisions being taken by governments national and local… like the withdrawal of rural bus mileage… and the reduction by 20 per cent of genuine BSOG in six months’ time.

By far the main beneficiary of the payment that sees coach BSOG (or CSOG) paid to operators offering half-price English coach travel for those over 60 is National Express. It has emailed all and sundry to try to get them to lobby the government to delay or u-turn. NatEx must know it’s on the back foot, though. For proof, look no further than NX’s recent advertising campaign on 50- & 60-something orientated Radio Gold and, for all I know, elsewhere, suggesting that if eligible listeners book by the October 2011 deadline, they can enjoy half fares till October 2012. Clearly, NX isn’t one to waste an opportunity either way.

There’s no denying that there will be people who genuinely benefit from the fares reduction but we also need to get some perspective:

• Half fares on coaches is a relatively new idea. Time was when NatEx offered a third off but that’s been dead for, what, nearly 10 years. Such a reduction was commercially driven (and there’s no reason why it couldn’t be in the future. The word is that it will be, of some sort).


• Express coaches are still the cheapest form of long distance travel, by far, certainly when compared to rail.


• Older people will still prefer the level of comfort they get from the coach—by “comfort” I mean reassurance.


• It seems probable that express operators will still be able to claim genuine BSOG for those substantial elements of the network that are registered as local bus services. This includes parts of the Oxford Tube, with inserted stopping points less than 15 miles apart, for the purpose. On all these, it was once possible to get free travel but (a) few knew this and (b) operators traded it in for C-BSOG.


• Most (many?) express journeys are discretionary and not essential. Compare this to free bus travel where, aside from honeypots, it’s the reverse. Express travel’s more leisure based.


• Nice idea but in view of the discretionary nature of journeys, should the government have funded this in the first place? Has it simply raised expectations that bit too far? Has it simply offered a media hostage to fortune because people are over 60?

NatEx suggests that one reason why the concession should remain is because the folks north of the border will retain *free* rather than half-price express travel. There’s policy drift in a whole host of areas when you compare London with Edinburgh, Scotland. We mustn’t forget that many, though certainly not all, Scottish express services also act as limited stop local bus rather than pure coach services, for some communities. That’s not really the case in England.

But perhaps the real inequity in these environmentally conscious times is that jet fuel still comes with no duty whatsoever.

Jim’ll Fix It

Transport 2000 is in its 40th year. It wasn’t long ago that it changed its name to the Campaign for Better Transport. Was that in 2004? I can’t remember. Having the name T2000 so many years after the millennium might signal failure, or that the organisation was either backward looking or had completed its crusade.

Any self-respecting organisation that changes its title has to have a new logo. So it was with T2000. Am I alone in thinking that the current logo suggests that the organisation isn’t sure which way it’s heading? Sort of south, then east, then north and west? Or, perhaps it’s a symbol of one-way traffic managed urban England.

Currently, T2000 seems to be refocusing its bus campaigning from rural bus mileage cuts to warning of urban transport withdrawals and or fares increases (post The P.T.E.G. bus report). The latter’s likely to affect many more people but it may not be quite so emotive.

Meanwhile, a new campaigning organisation is stealing a little of T2000’s thunder and that of Passenger Focus and Bus Users UK, too. Especially the last of these. It’s called Fix my Transport. It’s cleverly designed to give ordinary passengers web tools to report problems. Once logged, the idea is that others can see the issues and support them. With minimum fuss, a passenger can therefore starts their own mini-campaigns that take on their own momentum.

If this catches on, it’ll catch a number of operators unawares. Such people power is a little frightening. BUUK can often have a cosy relationship with and operators. It hasn’t any real teeth. Passenger Focus is more general but ultimately toothless, too. T2000 aims at strategic policy change. Fix might therefore just be the tool the bus industry *isn’t* waiting for. It empowers and by sheer weight of numbers might cause action by embarrassment. The people behind Fix also run such democratically accountable sites such as They Work for You and Fix my Street.

Whingers’ charter? Time wasters’ ranting point? Useful feedback tool for the industry? Or further proof that the bus industry is perceived as a public asset rather than a commercial business? You choose.

Meanwhile, my first thought when I saw the launching ship on Fix’s website was of the Titanic. Potential disaster now looms as the industry has failed to deal with a good many of its icebergs. In spite of its more simplistic insignia, Fix might be a direct antidote to the roundabouts, twists & turns of other organisation with far fancier logos. There are already over 2,400 issues reported in the south west.

i Fix my Transport