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Post by sharksmith on Apr 25, 2024 14:24:03 GMT 1
35263 was the first to transfer down along with 35273 around two months ago. It could have been 35268 (SL67 VWU) - assuming it had a green front wedge? And there is now a photo of it, 35263, on the FirstBus Enthusiasts Facebook page repainted into the base colours of what had previously been assumed was the new electric bus livery but apparently not as it's now on a diesel bus.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 22, 2024 12:00:22 GMT 1
I'm pretty sure that the combined authority is funded through other sources, even if part of this is collected via our Council Tax. I don't think it will matter if the councils do go bankrupt as the combined authority will still be solvent. Also if a contract is in place this will be a legal contact so I'm sure the combined authority will have to have funds set aside for the length of the contract to make sure any necessary payments which become due over that period can be paid.
What happens after the first round of franchises become due for renewal is then anyone's guess as this is the bit that I've never seen any pro-franchiser answer. If government funding has been reduced or even ceased completely, what happens if the combined authority does not have sufficient funds to pay for even the cheapist bid received for a particular franchise. I'm not saying that will happen as I don't have a crystal ball, I'd just like someone to explain to me what the contingency plans for that would be, there surely has to be a plan B? I know Andy Burnham has been asked this a few times and not answered the question.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 22, 2024 9:17:46 GMT 1
I think I've said it before, this debate is basically optimists vs pragmatists. Glass half full people vs glass half empty people. Only time will tell, my experience tells me that plans, especially government/council published plans are very rarely fully implemented and become diluted to a point where they are unrecognisable.
You must be aware of political party manifesto's which set out everything a party wants to do when they take power. You must also be aware that these, lets give them the benefit of doubt and call them aspirations rather than outright lies, very rarely all come to pass.
I don't think the bus company farebox profits are as much as you think they are. Some of these profits go to shareholders sure, but the majority of revenue is used on running costs and vehicle replacements. If the bus companies thought for a minute that they could increase ridership and therefore profits by operating more services they would have done it by now, supermarkets didn't move to 24 hour operation for the good of the customers, it was no doubt because their stores were mostly open in the background for other reasons and they thought they could squeeze a little more profit from the existing infrastructure.
Incidentally, the bus operator shareholders will still take money out of the system as franchise bids will include an element of profit, no company is going to bid just for the prestige of running the routes, there will have to be a profit element. The only way to avoid that would be full privatisation but even then, unless ringfenced, I could see the council licking their lips at any big profits thinking they can be used for other council departments.
I may be wrong, I hope I'm wrong, but everything about public services these days is very much about money, and wringing as much as possible out of an ever decreasing pot of money as government after government, Tory and Labour, try to bribe the general public with tax cuts and empty promises in a desperate bid to stay in power.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 18, 2024 20:02:04 GMT 1
With your views on Firsts 'poor evening services' it does remembering a large number of what they used to be operate was funded by the likes of WYPTE/WYCA, with them cutting the funding & journies not First. If First cannot operate it commercially & WYCA no longer see a need to support the route then it does send the message that the affected journies was not well used. WYCA thought core bus services ought not to be subsidised as overall companies would still be making a profit. First seems to have disagreed and got rid of a lot of late services. Oddly, Transdev have unsubsidised late services on the 662, 36, 66 amongst others. Until the late journeys on the 626 returned recently and the BSIP funded 72, the last 2 buses to anywhere from Bradford were both on the 662 on a Friday and Saturday night in a city dominated by First services. Once again though what if there isn't enough money? Do we want early and late services, rural services, Sunday services or council tax hikes? I know we want the first three but what if the money just isn't there? One of the phrases I hate most in this debate is 'London style franchising' TFL are in huge debt and have had to make significant cuts to frequencies. With high frequencies to start with this isn't so bad in London but we don't have the luxury of such a high quality service as a base from which to make cuts. Incidentally the 662 is an odd one, I caught a late evening service the other week and was surprised how busy it was. Having said that it stayed full with very little alighting or picking up all the way from Bradford to Saltaire where I got off. I think there's a subtle difference with interurban routes over local services. It's not just First areas that see local services finish earlier than other routes.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 18, 2024 19:54:00 GMT 1
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just read the reasonable arguments on both sides without rants? I'm trying to stick to facts, the points I made were all factual and just an explanation of why I think franchising may well be successful elsewhere, but won't work under the current public regime. With the exception of the period since COVID my bus service has neither improved or worsened in my lifetime. I expect to see no changes whatsoever under an enhanced partnership or franchising, I do think I'll be expected to pay a bigger supplement to the combined authority on my council tax though.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 18, 2024 19:44:11 GMT 1
I'm not sure you understand how percentages work there bud. If the cost of living in Bolton rises 9%, that doesn't mean that when you add in the cost of living increases in Oldham and Stockport it rises to 27%. Maybe 1 or 2% more from the people travelling between Bolton and Oldham/Stockport but you'd expect to see roughly the same percentage across the region unless your saying the buses in other areas were worse than the Tranche 1 areas. Although going by what some people think of First compared to Stagecoach you'd probably expect lower increased bus usage percentages in the south of Manchester where Stagecoach have always done such a spiffing job! Bee Network are referring to Greater Manchester, and still Manchester is far greater than Leicester, and has more services and yes that's how percentages work, it balances it out. Take crime rate for an example, a crime would be far higher where there is more people in Manchester compared to Leicester. No 9% of 1 million is 90,000 and 9% of 100,000 is 9,000 but they are both still 9%. It's no higher with a larger sample size. If you eat quarter of a cake you've had 25% of it no matter if it's a cupcake or a feeds 24 party cake. You might put on more weight but you've still only eaten 25% of the cake regardless of the size of it. There may be more crimes in Manchester due to the larger population but not solely because of it, more to do with deprivation and other factors. The percentage of crimes per capita could be the same even though there are less crimes in a smaller area.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 18, 2024 18:43:05 GMT 1
I think the money for franchising could be used on other things which should take a bigger priority, social care, children's care, mental health services, special needs education, disability support, tackling youth crime, all of which are very underfunded and neglected. With that logic, don't do anything with the buses at all just let them collapes. Don't even bother with EP+ as there are clearly more other issues that should take priority. 🤷👀 With a finite amount of resources that's probably correct as most of those other priorities are more important. It's just not in the interests of any public company, or their horrible shareholders, to see their business run itself into the ground so leave them to it with the local authorities paying for essential but unproftable services if society can afford it. This just isn't the utopian society you think it should be.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 18, 2024 18:24:39 GMT 1
The main point is that you can get better services for less cost with partnerships as in Oxford, Reading, Nottingham, Brighton and Leicester. Manchester has 9% growth with an expensive franchising system and Leicester has over 20% growth with a much cheaper partnership system WYCA, and supporters of franchising generally, do not understand the true costs of franchising as they think that the shareholder dividends can be diverted into bus support whereas they will still be paid but hidden in the leasing. Dividends have to be paid to borrow mony to buy buses. Is like the interest rates on a mortgage costs When WYCA find the true costs of what they are doing, compounded by the fact they don't know how to do anything, thye will simply do a Beeching on our buses Many other countries have farnchsing, but as their healthcare is in private ownership they have the spare cash which the UK doesn't. Would we want to porivatise the NHS to pay for buses? Some US cities pay for buses out of parking charges. The more people use the buses, the less parking charges they have to pay for them! Bare in mind there are far more services under Bee Network in Greater Manchester, so it balances out and if it were already 9% increased bus usage from 1 tranche being completed, then that really suggests how well franchising is doing. I'm not sure you understand how percentages work there bud. If the cost of living in Bolton rises 9%, that doesn't mean that when you add in the cost of living increases in Oldham and Stockport it rises to 27%. Maybe 1 or 2% more from the people travelling between Bolton and Oldham/Stockport but you'd expect to see roughly the same percentage across the region unless your saying the buses in other areas were worse than the Tranche 1 areas. Although going by what some people think of First compared to Stagecoach you'd probably expect lower increased bus usage percentages in the south of Manchester where Stagecoach have always done such a spiffing job!
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 18, 2024 17:27:42 GMT 1
Deep down I really don't care whether buses are in public ownership, franchised or with private operators and like lemmings I would expect alomost every area to bring in some form of franchising system over the next ten years or so (DRT anyone?). No doubt in another thirty years time another wave of changes will eliminate franchising and the cycle will begin again, be that with buses in public or private control. Maybe there will be something new (DRT anyone?) or quite possibly, if bus usage continues to drop, the end to bus travel as we know it completely (DRT anyone?).
My objection to franchising in West Yorkshire is that I can't think of one thing under public control in this region which is a success. Looking at Bradford alone, the council is almost bankrupt, the interchange is closed, it looks like the Bradford Live project is now in trouble. How bad are Library Services, Household Waste sites are being closed down, Leisure facilities have been stripped back and I had to wait 3 months for a new garden waste bin even though I now have to pay for the service. I have had the misfortune to deal with Bradfords Child and Adult services and found them to be run appallingly.
In addition I worked for the civil service for over 30 years and know what happens when money gets tight, short term cheap becomes king rather than finding real value for money and staff take the brunt of the penny pinching, looking forward to Diamond Bus taking over some franchises in West Yorkshire as they are cheap.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority are responsible for providing Bus Information, they're the experts on it having been responsible for over 50 years. Can you find anyone who thinks they've done a good job publicising the changes in Bradford over the last few months. Any system will be a failure if you put poor management in place I have seen nothing but failure from Metro and local councils over many years.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 17, 2024 21:15:49 GMT 1
It doesn't matter which way we go there will still be a shortage of bus drivers.
The idea that bus companies haven't had numerous recruitment drives over recent years is laughable, First have had buses advertising driving roles and Transdev were giving cash incentives.
I've seen regular rolling adverts from all the major players since I left the industry 6 years ago.
Wages will either have to increase or the autonomous bus trial in Edinburgh will need to be a resounding success so they can offer lower paid customer service roles instead.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 17, 2024 13:12:05 GMT 1
Conflicting reports that 63596 ML73 EBK has been withdrawn due to some sort of accident is there truth in this ? Hasn't been withdrawn by any of the quick fingered bodies on Bus Times as yet (unless they see this post !!!!!!!!!!!) but hasn't tracked since Mar 18 If you look at the history it was removed from the fleet list by someone and then added back with a snarky comment. 🤣
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 12, 2024 18:08:09 GMT 1
Thanks for this, I think what I need might be a big beneath him as he seems to do full repaints and totally alters the bus. I think all I need is someone who's good at removing decals and reapplying new ones.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 12, 2024 16:57:50 GMT 1
Does anyone know of anyone who can do a decent job of some small alterations to bus models.
I'm not talking about a full blown Code 3 model with change of paintwork etc.
What I'm looking for is for someone to make some minor adjustments to existing models.
For instance - I have the Britbus model of WYPTE Scania Metropolitan 2612. I would love to have this bus's identity changed to 2610 with a change to the destination display to show 640 Saltaire instead.
On a similar thread I'd like to use an NBC Poppy Red Leyland National 2 to have it altered to make it into a West Yorkshire vehicle, maybe 1533, working 678 to West Royd.
Not looking for an amateur willing to give it a try, more an experienced modeller who has done something similar.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 12, 2024 16:34:06 GMT 1
This was reported in the Yorkshire Post three weeks ago.
'Workers at the White Rose railway station project on Elland Road, south of Leeds downed tools last week, while a timescale on work re-commencing remains unknown.
A joint statement to The Yorkshire Post on behalf of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Network Rail, developers Munroe K and principal contractors Spencer Group, describes “a temporary pause” in construction of the new station, but provides no indication of how long the pause may last.
“This decision comes in light of an unforeseen increase in project costs, prompting a thorough evaluation of future funding sources to ensure the project's successful completion,” they said late yesterday.'
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 11, 2024 22:05:40 GMT 1
Individual stops and route maps are now available on metro website. Good job primary schools were back this week, someone had to draw all those wobbly green lines onto the maps.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 10, 2024 21:19:36 GMT 1
I wonder if that’s why they aren’t mentioning the Well Street stops, because it isn’t certain that it will be open in time As of today, Stop M on Lower Kirkgate doesn’t exist, neither does N on Forster Square or V a on Well Street. U does exist but it’s in the middle of the work site I suppose those missing stops could just be dolly stops in the open air from Sunday U was like that on Saturday so nothing much appears to have progressed since then. Has the road seen any surfacing work done this week?
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 10, 2024 20:10:33 GMT 1
They're not stopping at U if Well St hasn't been surfaced yet and can't use O without performing a no right turn over a central reservation which is there to stop that turn. May stop at Q if it does come along Well St or down Church Bank but without detailed route information being published who knows.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 10, 2024 20:00:04 GMT 1
I fully expect to see people waiting at bus stops on Market Street while workmen dig the road up in front of them I'm sure they will when no-one has told them which way their services will travel around the city. Well St should most certainly be open before any rerouting took place and then it would have been as easy as saying 'Your Market St stops are now on Well Street outside the Broadway exit near HMV.' It's like they've just ploughed on with the rebuild of the city centre public transport network without having the foundations in place. No surprise considering the terrible weather this winter that things are behind but they should take a pause and do the job properly. My wife has worked in Bradford for 20 years and catches the 612-614 home. As of today I can't tell her where to catch her bus home next Tuesday. I'm all over the changes and have read everything publicised but the best I can do is stop Z on Vicar Lane. A stop which wasn't even there last Saturday and on a road which my wife had no clue where it is. These routes had three stops in town, Hall Ings, Market Street and on the end of Canal Rd. None of these will now be available. If Well St is not open, will these routes do a loop up Leeds Rd and back down Church Bank or miss all of the Canal Rd stops? Shall I tell her she needs to walk to the bottom of King's Rd, she may as well just walk home, it's only another 3 miles.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 10, 2024 14:09:52 GMT 1
If there was only some sort of Transport Authority whose job it was to provide clear information to the public about bus and train services.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 10, 2024 11:47:23 GMT 1
Well, with a little over a week to go, there's absolutely no official information about routing, apart from the starting stops (if that's not an oxymoron). There is no point in asking METRO. They don't seem to know about ANY intermediate stops? Still no official information on routings. The general public doesn't use bustimes or have the bus companies' own information that I've included above. And it seems that METRO doesn't have the information either, or they're trying to keep things simple by just revealing the terminal points, oh and bus stop L at the bottom of Cheapside for the shuttle. Latest: tonight, a bus driver (talking to a passenger ahem a customer) passed on details of the starting point, i.e., NelsonSt (instead of an intermediate stop)... but then added that changes are still tbc, so it might not happen on Sunday yet... I assume the reticence to give out routings is because they don't actually know if the road changes will be ready for Sunday. So instead of being transparent and open about it, and just explaining the issues, they hide behind the usual cloak and dagger secrecy which seems to be part of the organisational make up of this 'public' body.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 7, 2024 17:38:24 GMT 1
Geminis have aged well but the last couple of years have been harsh on the design The industry has gone towards sharp angular designs like we see on the new enviros as well as the streetdecks. Same trend is seen in cars with new vehicles mostly having sharp headlights, or even bodywork in some cases. People will be able to tell even if they haven't seen a modern bus. Having said all of that, the London Bus Safety Standards are requesting more rounded front ends for vehicles and more sloped fronts. Vehicles praised for their safety are the Optare Solo and NRM so it's likely we'll see a move away from the body styles with sharp angular bodywork designs. Indeed the press release from ADL regarding the Enviro 100EV and 400EV specifically mentions how they have been designed to take into account Londons new safety requirements. One other thing which sounds interesting is the idea of some form of airbag under the front of the bus to stop pedestrians from going under the bus in the event of a collision. Probably for discussion in a different thread though, along with why are UK built midibuses currently so poor. I've ridden both Streetlites and almost brand new Bee Network spec E200MMC's in the last week which were appallingly built, to a standard no car owner would ever accept.
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Post by sharksmith on Apr 6, 2024 15:35:58 GMT 1
They have an awful lot of work to do in a week.
I had a wander round today and it looks a long way off.
Well Street still has raised iron works so will need surfacing and painting in the next 7 days to even take any traffic. Hope the weather stays clear for them!
Two of the four bus stops on there don't even exist yet with stop U only halfway complete with paving flags just going in.
Vicar Lane Z is not in place yet although there is a water filled concrete rectangle there which is I assume where it will be. I could only see one of X or Y completed too.
The Drake Street stop is in place although not showing up on bustimes yet. I wouldn't fancy waiting for a late evening bus there though.
The Bridge Street stop is also in place but could it have been placed any further away from the centre of town!
As mentioned previously Hall Ings H11 is way too small for the traffic it is expecting and will cause queues when 2 buses are on stand at the same time.
N1 & N2 are way too close together for the amount of services using them, if they were putting them so close together they may as well have had three stops there and done away with H11.
And yes they do have posters on bus stops but a mixture of interchange closure information and April changes information which has got to be confusing for passengers unfamiliar with the city.
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Post by sharksmith on Mar 29, 2024 15:45:05 GMT 1
Castleford bound 163's stop within the mini roundabout at the junction of Kippax High Street and Cross Hills, I've always thought that was odd.
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Post by sharksmith on Mar 28, 2024 14:37:47 GMT 1
Strange also why Centenary Square has been labelled as an Interchange Location when no bus or train will be anywhere near here after these changes.
It all just seems to have been rushed through and gives very little confidence that anything has been planned, more just thrown together as an afterthought.
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Post by sharksmith on Mar 28, 2024 11:40:35 GMT 1
At least they've added a map now, that H11 stop is way too small for the amount of services they want to stop there though.
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