mic
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Post by mic on Dec 28, 2012 18:33:17 GMT 1
seen on photos at Alpha recovery are 40337 and 40425
pioneer could now have 34092 as a transfer i will have to check this out
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SF07
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Post by SF07 on Mar 24, 2013 0:56:38 GMT 1
First Manchester will be reducing the prices of their FirstDay and FirstWeek tickets from 8 April. The FirstDay ticket will be reduced from £4.50 to £4, while the FirstWeek ticket is reduced from £18 to £13. First say that the reductions have been introduced following a strategic review and the success of the cheaper day and weekly tickets in the Oldham and M60 areas. However, it has been suggested that the Metrolink extension to Rochdale via Oldham and Shaw may have had an influence on the changes (First recently said that the 181/182 would be under review over the next couple of months to see what impact the trams will have on their passenger numbers on the 181/182). Stagecoach's recent move into north Manchester following the takeover of Bluebird may also be another factor. In addition to the fare reductions, First have announced plans for investment in GPS technology, which will provide passengers with real-time information within Greater Manchester (something that West Yorkshire have had for a few years now and may see the 184 now included within the yournextbus system) and also implementing free Wi-Fi on board buses too. These plans should be in place by the latter part of 2013. www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/greater_manchester/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=10081&conf=0www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/bus-fares-slashed-first-battle-1943370
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Post by michael1971 on Apr 6, 2013 21:00:49 GMT 1
34219 has transffered from South Yorkshire and 34104 and 34206 are due tommorrow (Sunday)
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Post by Kenton Schweppes on Apr 7, 2013 16:47:44 GMT 1
It begs the question as to why First in West Yorkshire aren't as committed as their Manchester counterparts? West Yorkshire gets a raw deal from First.
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Post by dwarfer1979 on Apr 8, 2013 9:05:04 GMT 1
It begs the question as to why First in West Yorkshire aren't as committed as their Manchester counterparts? West Yorkshire gets a raw deal from First. Depends what you mean, Manchester has always had much higher fares than West Yorkshire (when I was at Uni in WY, admittedly getting on for 15-years ago now, the single fares in WY were about 50% of those in GM and the day tickets were also substantially cheaper) and some of the reductions in GM move the Manchester season tickets into the same price area as West Yorkshires already are. When Stagecoach moved into Manchester they had a strategy of reducing the season ticket prices for their services in GM to increase take up of these type of tickets (a very successful strategy as it now appears) whilst First maintained a more traditional pricing strategy for their operations. This led to a marked price differential between Stagecoach & First in Manchester which has resulted in a great deal of political pressure from the PTE/ITA on First to move their prices more into line with Stagecoach. With the new senior management at First they appear to have agreed to trial it and having done so it must have produced positive results as they are now rolling it out wider. In WY First aren't out of alignment with the season ticket prices of the other operators in the area and these new prices in GM only drop the prices to the region of the more local WY tickets (though First could probably do with expanding the area of the cheaper Leeds ticket a bit - it is a couple of quid cheaper but doesn't get far out into the suburbs - or introducing an intermediate ticket that covers more of the Leeds suburbs for a price between the cheaper ticket and the WY wide ticket)
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Post by Arriva Wakefield on Apr 8, 2013 10:25:15 GMT 1
It begs the question as to why First in West Yorkshire aren't as committed as their Manchester counterparts? West Yorkshire gets a raw deal from First. I believe ALL the First operations in the North are going to have fare revisions/promotions instigated in the coming future. Unfortunately there is only a few people to manage these introductions, so they are coming a bit a a time. Wait and see what comes when West Yorkshire is targeted - if they follow South Yorkshire & Manchester then some big reductions may be expected.
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Post by michael1971 on Apr 8, 2013 20:33:40 GMT 1
34104/34105/34206/34209/34210/34219 all now at Bolton think this is to cover for buses doing former maytree services
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Post by Kenton Schweppes on Apr 8, 2013 23:03:52 GMT 1
First have just put their fares up in West Yorkshire never mind trying to cut them. And when I say raw deal from First I don't just mean in fares, some of the services cuts by First over the last few years are pretty shabby. As an example, my local service in Huddersfield the 372 service Lindley to Almondbury, in fact one of First flagship routes in Huddersfield, the service used to operate up until 11pm now the last service to Almondbury is 9pm, now that's poor. Other service cuts by First too have gone too far, plus the introduction of another limited stop service between Huddersfield and Bradford in the form of the X63, so now we have the X6 and the X63 making only 1 stop along the Bradford Road area of Huddersfield. Whilst I'm a fan of limited stop services this is taking a bit too far. Some of First's decisions puzzle me, do they run buses when its convenient for them?
As I've said in previous post's operator specific tickets get right on my nerves and just think aren't good for the network, whether they bring them down or not. Although any kind of reduction would be welcomed of course.
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158757
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Post by 158757 on Apr 10, 2013 21:01:30 GMT 1
I actually think the X63 is a good idea, with the 328 covering it's not like Bradford Road is now dead and it still allows people to travel to Bradford. Other than the bus station the 328 serves all the same stops as the 363 does along that route.
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SF07
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Post by SF07 on Apr 10, 2013 22:32:19 GMT 1
I actually think the X63 is a good idea, with the 328 covering it's not like Bradford Road is now dead and it still allows people to travel to Bradford. Other than the bus station the 328 serves all the same stops as the 363 does along that route. I agree. The X63 still picks up passengers heading out of Huddersfield on Bradford Road, just doesn't allow anyone to get off until Fartown Bar. Likewise, it doesn't pick up from Odsal but does drop passengers off between Odsal and Bradford. Meanwhile, there has been some confusion with regards to the tickets, following Monday's price drop, as the leaflets that are available on buses say that the FirstDay, FirstWeek and FirstMonth tickets aren't valid on the whole route of the 184 and X84. However, the website has information that 'supersedes information available on buses', which says that the tickets are valid on all First services in Greater Manchester plus on the 100 to Warrington, 184 to Huddersfield, 589 to Burnley and 590 to Halifax. www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/greater_manchester/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=10401&conf=0
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Post by Kenton Schweppes on Apr 12, 2013 20:10:56 GMT 1
I actually think the X63 is a good idea, with the 328 covering it's not like Bradford Road is now dead and it still allows people to travel to Bradford. Other than the bus station the 328 serves all the same stops as the 363 does along that route. Well, why not just increase the X6 to 2 an hour instead of introducing the X63 and keep the standard 363's? My main issue with the X63, which I probably didn't explain properly, is that if you work in Bradford and want to get off after Fartown Bar you either have to get off at Fartown Bar and walk or get off in Huddersfield and make your way back. Where as, yeah,the 328 will pick up anyone for intermediate stops between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar, but I just don't think its necessary really.
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SF07
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Post by SF07 on Apr 12, 2013 22:54:29 GMT 1
My main issue with the X63, which I probably didn't explain properly, is that if you work in Bradford and want to get off after Fartown Bar you either have to get off at Fartown Bar and walk or get off in Huddersfield and make your way back. Where as, yeah,the 328 will pick up anyone for intermediate stops between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar, but I just don't think its necessary really. From Bradford, the X63 doesn't pick up any passengers from Fartown Bar to Huddersfield and doesn't drop off any passengers between Bradford and Odsal. From Huddersfield, the X63 doesn't drop off any passengers between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar and doesn't pick up any passengers from Odsal to Bradford. So, a passenger travelling from Bradford can get off at any stop after Odsal, therefore any stop in between Fartown Bar and Huddersfield.
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Post by westyorkshirebus on Apr 13, 2013 8:38:17 GMT 1
What he said, every journey except ones solely within each end can still be made. The 328 runs every 10 mins which is adequate for local passengers.
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Post by Kenton Schweppes on Apr 13, 2013 10:36:28 GMT 1
I did actually catch the X63 from Fartown Bar last week and the driver did stop at one of the stops after Fartown Bar, so its either it stops after Fartown Bar or it doesn't. Its not at the drivers discretion, if they are using their discretion and stopping, the service might as well revert back to the 363.
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Post by Kenton Schweppes on Apr 13, 2013 10:38:15 GMT 1
My main issue with the X63, which I probably didn't explain properly, is that if you work in Bradford and want to get off after Fartown Bar you either have to get off at Fartown Bar and walk or get off in Huddersfield and make your way back. Where as, yeah,the 328 will pick up anyone for intermediate stops between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar, but I just don't think its necessary really. From Bradford, the X63 doesn't pick up any passengers from Fartown Bar to Huddersfield and doesn't drop off any passengers between Bradford and Odsal. From Huddersfield, the X63 doesn't drop off any passengers between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar and doesn't pick up any passengers from Odsal to Bradford. So, a passenger travelling from Bradford can get off at any stop after Odsal, therefore any stop in between Fartown Bar and Huddersfield. I just don't think there is any benefit in the bus being limited stop on certain parts of the route and for such short lengths. Another great decision by First!!!
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Post by Craig on Apr 13, 2013 20:17:30 GMT 1
I beg to differ, I think it's the best solution. Limited stop services used to involve just picking a few stops along the way for buses to both drop off and pick up passengers, like the X6. The X63 doesn't exclude any stops from being available for passengers further up the route but just necessitates that "local" passengers are diverted on to the "local" frequent services to reduce the number of times it probably has to stop. In this case passengers boarding at Huddersfield can't get off before Fartown but they can use the frequent 328 service, however a passenger can get off at *any* stop after Fartown instead of the limited number of stops offered by the X6.
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Post by Kenton Schweppes on Apr 14, 2013 10:28:29 GMT 1
How much time does it save by not stopping between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar and Odsal and Bradford City centre? The time savings will be negligible, no point, First' time would be better spent into putting effort into other more important stuff like making services work,developing new services and more important stuff.
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Post by mollman on Apr 15, 2013 15:37:40 GMT 1
I hadn't realised Huddersfield and Bradford were now in Greater Manchester
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158757
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Post by 158757 on Apr 19, 2013 21:51:03 GMT 1
How much time does it save by not stopping between Huddersfield and Fartown Bar and Odsal and Bradford City centre? The time savings will be negligible, no point, First' time would be better spent into putting effort into other more important stuff like making services work,developing new services and more important stuff. At peak times especially it saves a good 4 or 5 minutes at each end. Like others have said it's set down/pick up only so the only journey opportunities lost are local journeys between Huddersfield and Fartown and Bradford and Odsal, more than adequately covered by he 328 and 681/2/622/6/7 at the Bradford end. The X6 already runs at 3 buses per hour.
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Post by michael1971 on Apr 20, 2013 18:54:07 GMT 1
From what I have seen, a majority of Volvo B9TL-Geminis already have the new livery. I think these have been a priority for repainting. Yep, a lot of the 05/55/06 plate B7RLEs at Oldham and Queens Road have been re-painted along with newer ones at Bolton. Most B9s have also been re-painted (37554 I think one that hasn't yet), some of the bendy buses have also been re-painted for use on the 135 and 471. The Enviros arrived at Oldham and Bolton depots in the new livery. I'm not sure what the plans are for the other vehicles (Solos, Citaros, B6s, Darts etc). I'm sure that eventually they'll get re-painted. Other areas have re-painted vehicles like Solos and First's Bradford depot have re-painted the B10s for the 620/621 route. 37551 still in old livery
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Post by driver6540 on Apr 21, 2013 21:50:09 GMT 1
Don't know if this is an appropriate thread to post this, But some (If not most) of the Wigan based 07 plate B9TL Gemini's which Stagecoach inherited have now been transferred to Stagecoach Fife, and very smart they look too in their new livery. Also now in Fife are some of the ex-FWY 04 plate B7TL Gemini's which were at Rock Ferry/Chester. Accept my apologies if this has been reported already.
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Post by driver6540 on Apr 21, 2013 22:11:16 GMT 1
Further to the above post, 10 ex-Wigan B9TL's are now in Fife. These are (Stagecoach No's, 16950-59) and 7 ex-Rock Ferry B7TL's (Stagecoach No's, 16960-66).
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SF07
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Post by SF07 on Apr 22, 2013 11:05:09 GMT 1
I've seen some of the photos of the B9TL in the re-painted Stagecoach colours and must admit, they do look good in Stagecoach colours. Shame that they're not running on the 32 and X34. First Manchester should be running some new vehicles later in the year, as Streetlites have been going through 'driver familiarisation' duties over the last couple of weeks. www.flickr.com/photos/georgeupstairs/8661631754/
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Post by michael1971 on Apr 22, 2013 18:50:12 GMT 1
heard from a facebook friend that more Citros are to move to Oldham from Bury
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SF07
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Posts: 3,216
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Post by SF07 on Apr 28, 2013 10:22:34 GMT 1
Promotions of cheaper fares on some services in Bolton have been extended until July. These fares are: *£8 FirstWeek and £4 FirstWeek Child on the 519 (this is in response to Stagecoach Lancashire's weekly tickets between Horwich and Bolton on the 125 (125 and 519 both run along Chorley Old Road)). *£1.50 single fare and 75p child fare between Bolton and Withins/Breightmet on the 536 and 561/562 plus part of 471 and 510 routes. www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/greater_manchester/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=10591&conf=0
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