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First Greater Glasgow

Zakforbes4

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15 Nov 2019
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111
Location
Glasgow
Always wonder if First would ever go back into Parkhall, Antonine Park or Linnvale. The Clydebank network has been fairly unchanged for a while now and I've definitely built up a lot of things to notice going there a lot in my life and from when I worked there for 10 months.

Whitecrook could be done by the 1s and 2s no bother as the 6 is rarely that busy

The M11, M60 and 81 seem fairly busy a lot of the time from what I seen

Avondale buses always seemed dead in comparison to First

Duntocher is a tad overbused when you consider that the Citybus 17 and Avondale 300 also go there as well as the 81

The M60 and 60 are busier than the Avondale 200 a lot of the time

Despite them being short routes the M60 and 81 can be very unreliable at times

Avondale haven't long increased their Parkhall service but cut back on Linnvale frequency

I don't think Clydebank is anywhere near the draw it used to be. Shopping centre quality is way down and it tends to be local shoppers only
For me the 81 should be taken off and the 6 should extend to Duntocher would make a lot more sense
 
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PaulMc7

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9 Jul 2019
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For me the 81 should be taken off and the 6 should extend to Duntocher would make a lot more sense

The problem is the 6 route is massive and unreliable plus the 81 is a circular route in Duntocher so it would make the reliability even worse. Even if the 6 was split in 2 in the city centre it would still be horrendous because of Great Western Road
 

Jordan Adam

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12 Sep 2017
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Aberdeen
I think they were heavy on fuel because of issues with the aircon but since moving to Aberdeen it was said on here that they aren’t as bad as they once were.

Indeed that is the reason. The A/C has been disabled and replaced with a conventional heater unit and hopper window system like you get on most buses, hence fuel economy improving slightly. However they still only do around 5MPG!
 

awsnews

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Joined
13 Mar 2019
Messages
315
Always wonder if First would ever go back into Parkhall, Antonine Park or Linnvale. The Clydebank network has been fairly unchanged for a while now and I've definitely built up a lot of things to notice going there a lot in my life and from when I worked there for 10 months.

Whitecrook could be done by the 1s and 2s no bother as the 6 is rarely that busy

The M11, M60 and 81 seem fairly busy a lot of the time from what I seen

Avondale buses always seemed dead in comparison to First

Duntocher is a tad overbused when you consider that the Citybus 17 and Avondale 300 also go there as well as the 81

The M60 and 60 are busier than the Avondale 200 a lot of the time

Despite them being short routes the M60 and 81 can be very unreliable at times

Avondale haven't long increased their Parkhall service but cut back on Linnvale frequency

I don't think Clydebank is anywhere near the draw it used to be. Shopping centre quality is way down and it tends to be local shoppers only
If Avondale can't make a go of the Linnvale service with their no expense spent approach then I don't see First deciding to have a go as well. Likewise the 184 now only exists to fill in the gaps that no one else wants to serve, hence the convoluted route around the top of Clydebank. The M11 does seem to do okay, would have thought it was more suited to running along Barnes Street.
The recent changes by Avondale appear to be an attempt to improve reliability on the Drumchapel service more than anything else. I am sure they still need all 16 of their O discs for the weekday service which in itself makes like difficult when things go wrong. I didn't think the Parkhall service had changed in frequency, it just gained a second bus to cover the Linnvale section.
Part of the problem with the local services is congestion at Kilbowie Roundabout during peak times, I am sure there was talk of bus priority at some point but nothing seems to have come of it.
 

PaulMc7

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If Avondale can't make a go of the Linnvale service with their no expense spent approach then I don't see First deciding to have a go as well. Likewise the 184 now only exists to fill in the gaps that no one else wants to serve, hence the convoluted route around the top of Clydebank. The M11 does seem to do okay, would have thought it was more suited to running along Barnes Street.
The recent changes by Avondale appear to be an attempt to improve reliability on the Drumchapel service more than anything else. I am sure they still need all 16 of their O discs for the weekday service which in itself makes like difficult when things go wrong. I didn't think the Parkhall service had changed in frequency, it just gained a second bus to cover the Linnvale section.
Part of the problem with the local services is congestion at Kilbowie Roundabout during peak times, I am sure there was talk of bus priority at some point but nothing seems to have come of it.

Yeah if anything even swapping the 6 and M11 around between Yoker and Clydebank could be a way forward. Kilbowie Road in general at peaks is very horrendous. Gets quite bad around school time then just gets worse into rush hour
 

PaulMc7

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9 Jul 2019
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Anyone think of any over and under bused areas? The QEUH always seems overbused on one side towards Partick. From what I've seen of them the 8 and 16 are extremely quiet compared to the 77. I do think quality of bus and frequency do play a part in that though. At times the 77 looks like it could be improved even more in terms of frequency
 

route101

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16 May 2010
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10,594
Anyone think of any over and under bused areas? The QEUH always seems overbused on one side towards Partick. From what I've seen of them the 8 and 16 are extremely quiet compared to the 77. I do think quality of bus and frequency do play a part in that though. At times the 77 looks like it could be improved even more in terms of frequency

Main road up in Castlemilk has loads of buses . Under bused , road where a no 6 is running late ! ha
 

LT02 NVV

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12 Nov 2019
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272
Location
Glasgow
Drumchapel Needs the 42 back as it is busy to get to town, most of the 1Cs, 6As, 3s and 60s are packed.
 

PaulMc7

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Drumchapel Needs the 42 back as it is busy to get to town, most of the 1Cs, 6As, 3s and 60s are packed.

The 42 was a great bus. Considering the route it was reasonably reliable and always carried decent loads. I love having the 1C but it's a nightmare when you aren't going further up the city centre. Getting a 6 just isn't the ideal situation from where I stay either It was also handy having it for getting into Partick too. I like the 2 but they tend to be really unreliable even coming from Faifley
 

PaulMc7

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9 Jul 2019
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Anything more in the way of changes for April? Only seen the 202 and the 19A mentioned on anything so far
 

SarahDFIG

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Joined
9 Jan 2019
Messages
381
Lot of secondary services went in 2013. 11 was another. 31 is a survivor.

Noticed that gold e400 is back.
If you mean 39142 then yes it has recently been repaired but its going back to ADL or should already be away not been in to see.
 

PaulMc7

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The 42 daytime was a busy service and really shouldn’t have been touched.

Used to use it after school and you'd be lucky to even get a seat coming from Partick towards Drumchapel. When they shortened the route it was still pretty busy too. Even an every 30 min service would still work now if they offered something different with it.

Lot of secondary services went in 2013. 11 was another. 31 is a survivor.

Noticed that gold e400 is back.

The 11 going killed bus use along Archerhill and through Kelvindale. It was never really reliable but it was very busy at times
 

PaulMc7

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I always wonder if the network before Simplicity is better than it is currently and gives people more options. Old services like the 11 and 42 could easily have been kept and giving areas without city centre links could be a good option. Could also trim some of the longest routes again like they did with Simplicity if the right terminus points were available.

Kelvindale always springs to mind as it's an area with a fair amount of older people and that train station is very awkwardly positioned so unless you stay on Dorchester Avenue it's not an ideal location. A city centre bus option could maybe work. Bring the 4/4A back to their old routes of Knightswood to Newton Mearns through Jordanhill and Knightswood to Eaglesham via Kelvindale might bring a bit of life into that service.

With fares in West Lothian being reduced a great deal too it would be interesting to see if they tried that in Glasgow and how it would work out. I don't ever see it happening but First have now shown they can do it
 
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JumpinTrainz

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30 Jul 2018
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Since Simplicity was introduced in 2013 a lot of electrification projects have been completed (ie GLQ-Edinburgh, Rutherglen-Whifflet, Cumbernauld). So this has opened up great train links from various areas along the line. So where people will have used the bus they will now use the train as it’ll be quicker and cheaper probably.

I think now would be a good time to re-evaluate how effective the network runs and how they could improve it.
 

PaulMc7

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9 Jul 2019
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Since Simplicity was introduced in 2013 a lot of electrification projects have been completed (ie GLQ-Edinburgh, Rutherglen-Whifflet, Cumbernauld). So this has opened up great train links from various areas along the line. So where people will have used the bus they will now use the train as it’ll be quicker and cheaper probably.

I think now would be a good time to re-evaluate how effective the network runs and how they could improve it.

Yeah the train in terms of speed and quality has definitely went up way more than with the buses. Cost and lack of reliability are the main reasons I always see and hear when it comes to people not using the bus so I reckon if they could tackle those issues then it could work a lot better
 

Scotrail314209

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Yeah the train in terms of speed and quality has definitely went up way more than with the buses. Cost and lack of reliability are the main reasons I always see and hear when it comes to people not using the bus so I reckon if they could tackle those issues then it could work a lot better

One of the routes with high train and bus competition is the X36 from Ardrossan to Glasgow. Takes 50 minutes longer but the prices are very competitive off peak, as it is roughly £1.40 more expensive off peak on the bus than the train, yet people will still take it. However at peak the bus is actually £4.40 more cheaper than the train, which is £14.00

It is a route I take to college purely as it saves a lot of money, as well as picking up quite a trade en route.
 

PaulMc7

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One of the routes with high train and bus competition is the X36 from Ardrossan to Glasgow. Takes 50 minutes longer but the prices are very competitive off peak, as it is roughly £1.40 more expensive off peak on the bus than the train, yet people will still take it. However at peak the bus is actually £4.40 more cheaper than the train, which is £14.00

It is a route I take to college purely as it saves a lot of money, as well as picking up quite a trade en route.

Yeah I've seen that very busy off peak a few times tbh even from the city centre towards Ardrossan. The X77 is usually the same too. The Ayr trains are pretty decent yet the bus always carries a decent load
 

Scotrail314209

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Yeah I've seen that very busy off peak a few times tbh even from the city centre towards Ardrossan. The X77 is usually the same too. The Ayr trains are pretty decent yet the bus always carries a decent load

Peak time X36 journeys are also very busy, particularly the 16:00 which is full from Waterloo Street. However it mainly caters for Beith passengers who do not have access to a train station.
 

156478

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3 Aug 2013
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186
For me the 81 should be taken off and the 6 should extend to Duntocher would make a lot more sense

I'm 50/50 on that idea. Duntocher would get nicer buses, efficiency wise it makes sense so that 6s dont run empty from EK through Clydebank to the business park but the reliability would fall through the floor and Avondale would capitalise on this. One delay on the existing 6 route- which is a nightmare for reliability would destroy the service and they would turn buses at Clydebank and abandon the runs out to Duntocher.
 

PaulMc7

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I'm 50/50 on that idea. Duntocher would get nicer buses, efficiency wise it makes sense so that 6s dont run empty from EK through Clydebank to the business park but the reliability would fall through the floor and Avondale would capitalise on this. One delay on the existing 6 route- which is a nightmare for reliability would destroy the service and they would turn buses at Clydebank and abandon the runs out to Duntocher.

A lot of 6s already get told to go to Anniesland to start because of how unreliable they are. The route needs split majorly before it gets any less attractive. It's got quieter and quieter each month from what I use and see of it
 

PaulMc7

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Is it a case of the network being too stale? Less than 3 months away now from 7 years since Simplicity and not a lot has changed really. Could be a case of keep the core branded routes as they are and revamp the rest with new options
 

route101

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Is it a case of the network being too stale? Less than 3 months away now from 7 years since Simplicity and not a lot has changed really. Could be a case of keep the core branded routes as they are and revamp the rest with new options

I always thought Simplicity was half baked and they were going to do a second round.
 

route101

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One of the routes with high train and bus competition is the X36 from Ardrossan to Glasgow. Takes 50 minutes longer but the prices are very competitive off peak, as it is roughly £1.40 more expensive off peak on the bus than the train, yet people will still take it. However at peak the bus is actually £4.40 more cheaper than the train, which is £14.00

It is a route I take to college purely as it saves a lot of money, as well as picking up quite a trade en route.

To me its a trade off. I dont mind paying a bit more for a quicker journey.
 

PaulMc7

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I always thought Simplicity was half baked and they were going to do a second round.

It was made out to be something great that never really turned out that way. Once people worked things out they realised it was cuts masqueraded as something that sounded exciting a lot of people gave up with buses
 

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