|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 21, 2023 22:56:58 GMT 1
It wouldn’t surprise me if First are trimming off journeys at the beginning and end of the day to keep them off any franchise specification so that they can reinstate them and claim it as an improvement.
The £2 Mayor’s Fares have probably changed some people’s buying patterns- I work four days a week in Leeds city centre so will buy a Flexi 5 most weeks and only buy a traditional weekly ticket if I know I’m going to be using the bus at the weekend or working in Leeds 5 days straight. This means that in an average month I might only buy four Flexi 5s and a couple of singles to cover any odd additional days, rather than a conventional monthly ticket.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 18, 2023 13:46:14 GMT 1
The X84 never runs during strikes or other special timetables like Boxing Day. The rationale is presumably that it only leaves Bramhope without public transport if the 34 runs to Otley.
As for “posh folk”, at least half of the passengers on the X84 in the morning are sixth formers and students. Some of them have A-levels this coming week.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 12, 2023 8:35:57 GMT 1
As strategies go, if you're wanting to rewrite an agreement because of the cost of living crisis, an indefinite strike seems like a counterproductive way of going about things. Of course there are always things outsiders never hear in disputes like this, but if I were a manager at First right now,I'd be saying "OK, see you in a fortnight".
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 10, 2023 11:44:03 GMT 1
This could be tricky as somebody who usually catches the X84 from Otley into Leeds- the best alternative I can see is the A3 to the airport and changing there into the A1. Since Connexions took over the 962, it doesn’t even start running until 0900 and I don’t really fancy starting every day with a two mile walk to Menston.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 5, 2023 21:42:16 GMT 1
It was much the same at Leeds on Friday afternoon - demand for the 1545 843 was such that it went out at the same time as the 1625 840 (which was empty although the drivers did try to persuade some passengers for Tadcaster and York that they might have a more comfortable journey on the 840). Quite a few suitcases in evidence as well so I guess some last minute weekend breaks being taken.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jan 11, 2023 17:11:32 GMT 1
35515 (34) has just sideswiped 35561 (8) in the Headrow..... that'll be one for the canteen tonight.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jan 10, 2023 8:29:47 GMT 1
The X84 branded buses seem to have returned to the route in number - currently on board 33487. Not necessarily the best thing from a passenger's point of view as the charging sockets on the newer Leeds City buses do come in handy at times when my phone decides not to charge at night!
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Sept 3, 2022 11:57:14 GMT 1
I'm guessing the route takeover could've been planned before the funding extension in that case. Must have been. I'm surprised First didn't just give up the X84 as well to Transdev. It is the perfect route for them. We can dream, although I wouldn’t be surprised if First insisted on extending the limited stop rules to the Lawnswood Arms if that ever happened. I suspect that if Transdev had known that this was coming, they wouldn’t have cut the 64 back completely. There are not a few Otley students who’ve taken places at Craven College in the expectation that there’d be a through bus to Skipton and as things stand, it’s going to have to be Menston and the train for them.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 27, 2022 19:45:05 GMT 1
Not forgetting the 654 Sunday extension to Knaresborough!
While it’s true that a lot of the journey opportunities can still be made, it’s only just possible to commute from Otley to Harrogate on the X52 and even then you’re pretty much restricted to a 9-5 job. The Keighley 62 was better (during the First strikes in 2016 I went into Leeds with a change at Pannal into the 36) and cheaper but pushed out of the market by an inferior product.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 26, 2022 19:03:21 GMT 1
Seem to be quite a few 377xx buses turning up on the X84 the last couple of weeks - probably once or twice a week on the turns I catch to work. Hard seats and no wifi aren’t going down well!
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jun 26, 2022 18:57:20 GMT 1
ooooh 85 is a good call. Can see it going to Flyer somehow like the 784 did I honestly don't see the point in its existence The 85 was a sop to a handful of people in Pool who were left without a direct bus to Leeds after the X85 from Otley was withdrawn during the pandemic. It used to pick up a few sixth formers and students and one or two folk who worked at the university. The trouble is that since then it’s ceased to become a worthwhile service for anything else, so it doesn’t allow you to go out in the evening, and it’s too infrequent to be any good for shopping.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Apr 10, 2022 7:49:31 GMT 1
Looks as if the last X84 out of Leeds will be a 2303 to Weetwood Police Station only - not sure what the rationale is behind having a limited stop bus with only one set down point which drops any passengers off on the far side of the ring road and then goes back to Hunslet.
Incidentally, it’s probably about time that Metro and First stopped referring to it as Weetwood Police Station - it hasn’t been a cop shop for a few years now!
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Mar 11, 2022 22:30:22 GMT 1
The Cityzap Leeds York is just a change to a very established service though - Passengers have been used to using Transdev/Blazefield buses between the two cities for decades. Cityzap Manchester was a completely new service Cityzap is also particularly handy if you want York College (I know somebody who does Otley-Leeds-York several times a week) or the racecourse rather than getting the train to York and then walk/taxi/bus out again, which wipes out the time saving from the train.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Dec 16, 2021 8:33:11 GMT 1
68809 Andy Powell has just reached Otley on the 34.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jul 3, 2020 19:47:22 GMT 1
Interesting news for the X84. How will it be timetabled. Will they be a chance for some through connections with the bus times to allow Leeds - Skipton Journeys where passengers can change at Otley or Ilkley to continue their journey to Skipton. Do many people normally use the X84 to travel between Skipton and Leeds? When it takes an hour longer than the train, and runs less frequently with a shorter period of coverage, I'm surprised if many people make the full journey – and if not then a link between Skipton and Ilkley/Otley that can run more consistently and reliably might be a good solution. I don't think it's been a realistic option for end to end journeys for a while- even West Yorkshire concessions can get the train and rebook at Keighley or Steeton. Some youngsters from Otley do go to Craven College though and I would imagine that most of the traffic between Ilkley and Skipton will be students and shoppers.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Jan 1, 2019 19:58:55 GMT 1
I suppose you'll always get some people who'll feel that they've made their point but don't feel strongly enough to make a long drawn-out dispute of it. The trouble with striking over pay is that the more you do it, the more you have to make up because of what you've lost by striking in the first place...
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Dec 16, 2018 13:49:05 GMT 1
Now looking at another strike this coming Saturday (22nd) - combined with the Northern Railway strikes, I can't imagine the local traders in Keighley (or Skipton, Hebden Bridge etc) being very happy if people can't come into town on the last Saturday before Christmas.
It might not just be an issue with hourly rates at Keighley- the hours available may be coming into it too. My understanding is that Metro have cut some school contracts, which has led to some drivers losing work- I know somebody who's had to transfer from school buses to commercial services to maintain his income.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Dec 7, 2018 22:51:36 GMT 1
35542 was stretching its legs on the X84 today- first blue stripe Streetdeck I've seen in Otley.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Nov 6, 2018 0:07:09 GMT 1
Transdev couldn't compete with them on the Harrogate—Otley route and withdrew their service. Someone odd that given Transdevs fare via a Keighley day ticket was cheaper. Tell me about it! The extension of the(7)62 was great while it lasted and I used it for a while to get from Otley to Leeds via Pannal when First Leeds went on strike a couple of years ago. It was badly served at Otley bus station as there wasn't really a suitable bay for it so you would often see it setting down and picking up at the traffic island, as at the time First were running the 965 with double deckers which blocked the stand where it should have gone. Connexions also timed their X52 to run about 10 minutes earlier and creamed off all the concessionary travel. If Transdev had used some imagination, they could have extended the service that ran half an hour later between Keighley and Ilkley instead and given a 20/40 minute split on the route, which would improve overall loadings between Otley and Harrogate. It's certainly noticeable that since the 62 and X52 started running between Otley and Ilkley, there seem to be more people using the bus overall because with at least 4 buses an hour, the frequency is reasonable.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Oct 16, 2018 18:57:06 GMT 1
A Connexions double decker caught fire in Otley this afternoon - presumably on the X52 heading to Ilkley as it was at the junction of Bondgate and Crossgate (next to the Rose & Crown pub). Sorry, no numbers as I'd just come back from a 5-mile walk and wanted to put my feet up rather than go out again!
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on May 11, 2018 19:42:15 GMT 1
First arrival in service at the airport is 0859, which means that it's only really useful for flights departing after 1100. Running via Menston adds 10 minutes between Otley and Ilkley, so I may as well take the X84 10 minutes later when I'm going that way as I have a First monthly ticket for work. It may even turn out quicker at times to go from Otley to Keighley via the 62 and the train rather than the 62 all the way.
It's a nice idea, but really needs some earlier arrivals at the airport (which has always been a problem going back to when the 757 ran that way to Otley) otherwise it just looks like a way of saving some empty mileage between Otley and the depot in Keighley.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Mar 26, 2018 18:27:13 GMT 1
When First still had the 965, it ran via the 963 route but in the opposite direction- perhaps that's coming back although it does make for a long trip if you want the Farnley Lane end.
The 967 is an interesting one- I think I must have used it once in the last year because I have a First monthly ticket so tend to wait for the 33/A if I've caught the train to Menston. When I catch the X85 at 0735 in Otley, there are never anywhere near as many people taking the 967- perhaps it's a combination of price (a First monthly Leeds only is about half the price of a 1-3 Mcard) and the unreliability of Northern during the current strikes.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Mar 15, 2018 20:50:46 GMT 1
I do wonder what's in it for First running the X84 to Skipton sometimes- I guess the main flows are students to Craven College and a steady flow of shoppers from Addingham and Draughton, but it's a horrendously difficult route to operate from the Leeds end alone. As a daily X84 user between Otley and Leeds, I can't help wondering whether it wouldn't be better all round to let Transdev run Ilkley to Skipton and have the bus that currently does that leg increasing frequency on the Ilkley to Leeds section instead.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Mar 12, 2018 18:54:01 GMT 1
There was one out on the X85 today - must have been the 1215 based on the time I passed it by the University.
|
|
|
Post by ianigsy on Mar 12, 2018 18:49:45 GMT 1
The combined effect of the snow and lecturers' strikes over the last couple of weeks has been a lot of X84s and X85s hanging around for 8-10 minutes at a time at Headingley and Bramhope as the roads are clear!
|
|