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Post by WYBS on Feb 2, 2021 12:17:30 GMT 1
I've always had a little more interest in buses than the average person growing up; knowing the difference between different companies around my local area and a few bus routes, but no idea about bus types and details etc...
I suppose I started really getting into the hobby after I started college, which was only 3 days a week, so I found myself going out and about on my days off for the first time, which was a great feeling of freedom as a youngster. Even if it was just trips out to Holmfirth or Harrogate, I was discovering whole new areas, this being my prime objective.
The interest in the buses I was travelling on then naturally came naturally as I began researching bus types, and found myself getting very confused initially about how a Plaxton President could have a B7TL chassis but so could a Gemini... but then a Gemini could also have a B9TL chassis...
Soon after I found a small, rather terrible camera and started taking the odd shot (my first ever being on a day out in Brid in the rain) and uploading them to flickr. I then moved on to a Bridge Camera for a few years, then a DLSR and now looking to upgrade again.
A whole host of flickr photos later (though nowhere near as many as some) all through being bored in between college days.
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Post by WYBS on Jan 16, 2021 0:46:57 GMT 1
I remember a couple of months ago when First were teasing the new Yutongs on twitter and someone replied asking 'Are they double deckers?'.
First responded with something along the lines of 'I would assume they are double deckers but I will check for you'.
Marvellous, I thought. Just about sums them up.
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Post by WYBS on Jan 16, 2021 0:37:55 GMT 1
Transdev somehow manage to have someone active on twitter for each operational area, seemingly from the first bus out in a morning till the last bus in on a night. (Not sure whether duty managers tweet directly or they send a message to someone at a central location who then tweets it).
Yet the biggest company in West Yorkshire: First are only active what is it again, 7am till 7pm? Pathetic.
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Post by WYBS on Jan 6, 2021 3:42:30 GMT 1
Why is "it is still ignorant and rude"? The photographer was not taking a photograph of the driver, they just wanted a picture of a bus doing what is there for, moving people about. It just so happens that for a bus to be moving there needs to be a driver in the driving seat. So the driver and any passengers that are on the bus maybe visable in the photograph but they are not the main reason for the photograph being taken. Many thanks for your response, i never knew that for a bus to be moving there needs to be a driver in the driving seat. you learn something new everyday don't you?. If you were engaged in your daily occupation or perhaps out shopping with your spouse or whatever and somebody jumped out on you with a mobile phone and took a photo of you without your prior consent would you consider that ignorant and rude? Perhaps if the photographer explained his "hobby" is studying peoples hairstyle's that would be ok would it?. There are plenty of opportunities to photograph buses without compromising the privacy of the driver or passengers, I've taken many photo's of buses at terminuses where i've waited for the passengers to disembark then asking the driver if they minded if i took a few shots of the vehicle, i've found most drivers to be very obliging in that respect. common courtesy costs nothing and is often reciprocated. Also remember buses are run as a public service to their customers, not as a service to appease enthusiasts or over zealous "hobbyists" with shiny new mobile phones. And for all the conspiracy theorists on here just because a bus driver doesn't want their photo taking, it doesn't automatically mean they've something to hide they probably just value their privacy a bit more than some of you do. Quite sensible in this day and age. Please feel free to disagree. If they don't want a photo taken maybe a job in the public service world isn't for them. Again there is no expectation of privacy in public.
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Post by WYBS on Jan 3, 2021 13:40:38 GMT 1
Taking photos of people in public is a bit naff IMHO. So I don't do it. If I were driving a bus and later found my mugshot all over the internet, I would not be happy. I think if you do take pics of people and put them on the internet, you should redact their faces. There is software that will pixelate faces. Same with private car registrations. There is no expectation or privacy in public. Public photography is a very important part of our hobby and collectively as a society for documenting snapshots of history and society at any given point in time. I take it the driver was pulling the blind down because of you taking the photo rather than the sun being low for example? He must have a difficult time driving a bus if he is doing this everytime he goes past a CCTV camera.
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Post by WYBS on Nov 15, 2020 15:01:36 GMT 1
Preview of the new Cityzap buses post by Alex: And changes coming up to some of the fleetnumbering coming in to play from 22nd November 2020: Oh no, my fleet lists will be totally cocked up now haha. I'll have to think twice to work out if I've got a photo of something or not. Interested to see the full changes though. I must admit I've always preffered 5 digit fleet numbers like First have but I'll try work out some patterns in the new 4 digit ones (if there are any).
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Post by WYBS on Oct 4, 2020 5:56:43 GMT 1
Apologies if this has already been noted or I'm late to the party but First York vehicles now appear to be tracking on bustimes, but I have yet to see any West Yorkshire vehicles.
First WY vehicles tracking would be great as an enthusiast and also as a regular passenger.
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Post by WYBS on Oct 2, 2020 21:32:39 GMT 1
Yes if any service isn’t back to normal by September I’d be guessing it might be a permanent change So as well as the 231/232, there is the 35 & 54/55 in Leeds and the 622/626 in Bradford which are either operating reduced routes or reduced times It seems Rodley, Calverley and Greengates from Leeds has been abandoned by First and handed to Transdev. It's messed up my First West Yorkshire ticket option too. A lot of Rodley/ Calverley folk left fuming including myself. A 30 minute frequency for these places is absolutely p!ss poor. First completely screwed up the operation when changing it to Bramley operation. Leeds bus station stand change (4/5 stands away than previously), no connection to the 671/ 640/1, stupid timings with buses running 5 minutes after the 60. This hasn't just happened cos of covid, they have been screwing it up since they started operating it. At least Transdev have put deckers on it recently. Hopefully this route will increase to a 20 minute frequency in the future. Part of me thinks deregulation was good for passengers, but things like this make me severely doubt it. Cheers First Leeds, keep up the good work!
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Post by WYBS on Sept 27, 2020 19:25:17 GMT 1
Keighley school buses 2744 and 1030 had both broken down on Bridge Street, one behind the other, blocking a lane up to the roundabout. Quite unlucky. (Friday)
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Post by WYBS on Sept 25, 2020 15:21:46 GMT 1
They could make it easier to find, but the information is on their website. Returns are valid for 28 days. View AttachmentView AttachmentThe flyer day ticket does seem to be cheaper than a single from Harrogate. That's the bit that confused me, how a single can be more than a dayrider. Strange.
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Post by WYBS on Sept 25, 2020 14:12:20 GMT 1
Squarepeg now have (what I believe to be) ex-halton MCV Evolution/ Dart AJ58 PZO, in service yesterday on the No.9. Haven't seen any photos of it yet on flickr with Squarepeg so I'm unsure how long it's been there. Painted in standard fleet livery It's ex UNO Ok thank you. Think I got confused with AJ58 PZH
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Post by WYBS on Sept 25, 2020 14:09:43 GMT 1
I think the Flyer1 ticket is good value, but if you're coming from/going to Leeds it would be time consuming. I presume it's a mix of the Harrogate1 and a Flyer-only day ticket. The Harrogate1 allows travel on all HBC buses (probably except the 21), with the 7 as far as Wetherby Bus Station, the 36 as far as Harewood and Ripley. (I presume the 24 is limited too) So if you were travelling Leeds-Knaresborough for a day you'd have to do A1-A2-1 and couldn't do 36-1. I live relatively close to the A1 route near Horsforth so going via the Airport to Harrogate should be quicker than going via Leeds, plus at half the price of a daytripper it's a win win.
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Post by WYBS on Sept 25, 2020 13:21:59 GMT 1
Squarepeg now have (what I believe to be) ex-halton MCV Evolution/ Dart AJ58 PZO, in service yesterday on the No.9. Haven't seen any photos of it yet on flickr with Squarepeg so I'm unsure how long it's been there.
Painted in standard fleet livery
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Post by WYBS on Sept 25, 2020 13:13:55 GMT 1
So I was recently looking at the various ticket prices to travel on Transdev's flyer network, both on their website and on the displays on the shelters at the Airport.
According to the website a 'flyer1' ticket is £5 and lets you travel anywhere unlimited on the network + Harrogate and Wetherby for a day.
Yet I recall the price of a single between Harrogate and the Airport being £5.40. The price of a return between Leeds and LBI is £6.00 and between Harrogate and LBI is £8.90. I would assume that these return tickets are valid for longer than a single day but can't find anything on the website to confirm this.
I would like to take advantage of this flyer1 ticket as it would half the price of going to Harrogate on the usual daytripper, but the price seems to be a little too good to be true compared to the other tickets available.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Post by WYBS on Sept 15, 2020 20:35:06 GMT 1
Alex Hornby has teased the new ADL E400 MMCs for Witchway on twitter. It is a distinct departure from the current grey vehicles, becoming black and contrasting bright orange.
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Post by WYBS on Sept 11, 2020 20:28:01 GMT 1
Living in West Yorkshire I have a good working knowledge of all the cities and towns in the area which makes planning bus days very easy. I imagine as an outsider though you will see Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddesfield and Halifax but know little more. Even non local bus enthusiasts will probably only add the likes of Keighley, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Castleford & maybe Todmorden to that list as bus depot locations. Obviously there are lots of bus interchange possibilities at places like Morley, Ossett, Pontefract, Otley, Ilkley, Shipley, Brighouse, Wetherby, Garforth, Pudsey and so on. This is the kind of information I'm looking for in respect of Merseyside. I obviously know Liverpool, St Helens, Bootle, Southport, Runcorn, Birkenhead etc from basic maps and bus depot locations. Can anyone give me a list of the other types of smaller places in Merseyside, reasonably sized towns where bus routes interchange or cross paths, I think I'm probably looking for places like Huyton, Formby, Kirkby, Speke & so on. If anyone is local, or who has previously lived on Merseyside, could give me some names and if possible where else I can travel to by bus if I find myself arriving there. Anywhere I should avoid standing around with a camera. I'd be really grateful for any information, Ta in advance I lived in Liverpool for three years. I always found it a little more frustating to travel around as an enthusiast as it is not really mapped out the same as West Yorkshire where you can go from town to town quite easily via various bus stations and what not. West Yorkshire has many more 'major' towns and bus stations, Merseyside has many more smaller, often rail intergrated stations and termini. I always ended up going somewhere then pretty much coming back maybe on a different route rather than going on to another town. It can be quite alright going to maybe Kirkby and then onto Huyton then Halewood etc... depending on what you want to ride on but to go properly bashing town to town I would head outside of Merseyside. A few examples of my travels would be: Liverpool - Chester - Wrexham - Llangollen. Liverpool - Widnes - Warrington - Wigan - Bolton - Manchester. Liverpool - Preston - Blackpool Liverpool - Preston - Bolton or Blackburn A list of smaller terminus type places would be. Speke, Halewood, Crosby, West Kirby, New Brighton, Kirkby, Huyton, Bootle, Southport, Birkenhead, South Parkway, Airport, Old Roan, Heswall. As for taking photos, you'll generally be orite but I wouldn't advise standing around for a long while... and keep your eye out for scallies.
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Post by WYBS on Aug 4, 2020 20:07:10 GMT 1
TM Travel versa 833 (me thinks) was on 29 in Holmfirth yesterday.
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Post by WYBS on Aug 4, 2020 19:11:46 GMT 1
I've always wondered why Ilkley has fewer buses than Otley (particularly local routes) when according to Google it has a slightly higher population.
Is this because Ilkley tends to be more affluent than Otley and maybe private car ownership is more common, or that they have a train station in the centre?
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Post by WYBS on Jul 9, 2020 17:15:09 GMT 1
Does anybody out there have any inside knowledge on when buses will be able to increase their passenger current passenger carrying capacity? I would have expected there to be some more encouragement of trying to persuade passengers to use public transport since the general advice of social distancing is reduced to 1 metre plus - this should in theory be 20 passengers on a single deck and up to 40 on a double. Most timetables this weekend are back to previous levels, so I do hope there will be an announcement soon so we may go out there and maybe spend some money in retail and / or hospitality areas! Alex Hornby and Transdev are actively encouraging people to use their buses as they are allowing non-essential travel and have increased capacity on their vehicles. I believe the essential only travel guidance was dropped quietly a few weeks ago but didn't seem to be mentioned or promoted publicly. This leaves us all in a strange postion, especially when non essential shops, pubs, cafes etc are wide open but most bus and train companies are still pushing the essential only travel message. I tried to contact First to see if they were allowing non essential travel but got no response. Personally I am going to start travelling around again soon, locally at first with Transdev and then see if the message with other companies changes in the near future.
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Post by WYBS on Jun 2, 2020 13:47:40 GMT 1
Alex Horby's latest tweet confirms that the Witchway buses will be staying within the fleet and therefore, two routes will be upgraded to deckers.
I think it's pretty safe to say one of these routes will be the 760, as for the other it remains to be seen. The only other route I can think of would be the 7 at Harrogate. If there are any surplus vehicles they may be painted up in Pride of the North.
I would hazard a guess at the Aireline Versas and 'the7' Eclipses going on to the new airport runs when they start. Though this of course if determined by when Witchway recieve new MMCs.
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Post by WYBS on May 27, 2020 21:43:39 GMT 1
It has certainly lifted my spirits seeing frequencies being increased, and hopefully will stay this way, without having to go back again. It's just a little bit of light appearing at the end of the tunnel, but is a good step forward.
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Post by WYBS on May 9, 2020 15:15:45 GMT 1
A bit of speculation via an Alex Hornby tweet suggests Cityzap could be getting E400 XLBs (Tri Axle).
Potentially Witchway aswell
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TLC
Apr 7, 2020 0:04:58 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by WYBS on Apr 7, 2020 0:04:58 GMT 1
CT Plus sounds a good bet. Having just read something from a driver on youtube, I wouldn't say you were wrong.
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Post by WYBS on Apr 7, 2020 0:03:50 GMT 1
If I recall rightly, the airport are not a fan of deckers, hence why they were rarely ever used with Tiger.
The idea of them using, what are now quite old B7TLs from cityzap is unfathomable.
I wouldn't be suprised if new vehicles were brought in, though saying this will there be any manufacturers open to build them in time?
Looking forward to it anyway, though it will be a shame to see the back of Tiger, despite what some people may think of them.
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Post by WYBS on Mar 6, 2020 23:07:40 GMT 1
Keighley 402 broken down in Rodley this evening
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