Goldfish62
Established Member
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- 14 Feb 2010
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That's quite amusing.
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Arriva Buses (including Greenline)
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317 forever
Established Member
I'm pretty sure that Arriva UK bus will have fewer vehicles when sold to I Squared than it did when purchased by DB.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Given that they've generally pared back networks across the country (especially in the North East and North Wales), exited mid Wales, Guildford, Cannock, Burton and Scotland, lost Bolton to the Bee Network, and even some of the modest acquisitions (e.g. Wardle and Centrebus Huddersfield) have been sold on, then it's a pretty sure fire bet.
daodao
Established Member
Arriva also exited Eastern and Mid Cheshire within the last 12 months.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
It wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive list - that would take too long
MasterSpenny
Member
The latest I’m seeing, also taken from buslistsontheweb.co.uk:
8008 - BK73ADZ
8009 - BK73AEA
8010 - BK73AEB
8011 - BK73AEC
8012 - BK73AED
8013 - BK73AEE
8014 - BK73AEF
Buslists.uk is usually fairly good but these 80xx buses have yet to appear there.
Statto
Established Member
Something that has slipped under the radar, a new range of day rover tickets for County Durham, Tyne & Wear, & Northumberland have been launched, valid on all operators as well as the Metro & Shields Ferry.
www.arrivabus.co.uk
Arriva Bus
www.arrivabus.co.uk
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Well, for an exile, that's interesting.Something that has slipped under the radar, a new range of day rover tickets for County Durham, Tyne & Wear, & Northumberland have been launched, valid on all operators as well as the Metro & Shields Ferry.
Arriva Bus
So I can get an TNE DaySaver that means any bus in Northumberland, T&W and Co Durham but not into Darlington or the rest of Tees Valley.
Or I can get an Explorer NE ticket that means most buses i.e. Stagecoach, Arriva, Go North East and Travelsure but not the indies like Weardale, Hodgsons or GCT (though I think @darloscott has said before that Explorers are supposedly valid on tendered services in Co Durham but you can't find anything to tell the public that)
I can see a trip around County Durham coming up and revisiting some places that had dropped off the map as Arriva (especially) and Go North East have retreated.
On the Transport North East website it has a list of operators accepting the tickets including Hodgsons, Weardale and a number of other independents.
- Transport North East
Adults can now get a cheaper all day bus ticket to use across the North East* – and you can use it on the Metro and Shields Ferry too! Adults can now travel all day, anywhere, with new more affordable day tickets. Many tickets offer a major cost-saving when compared to the existing product –...
www.transportnortheast.gov.uk
It looks like some companies in Northumberland aren't taking part or just aren't on the list like Border buses.
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The quality of service provided in High Wycombe remains very poor. I paid a brief visit on Tuesday to see if the tracking on BusTimes is reliable. Not entirely, but mostly.
The depot has 33 vehicles, the PVR is 28 or 29, I'm still not sure, but 28 vehicles are required full-time between the peaks.
However:
2790 has been off since 3 November
2953 has been off since 26 October, this was parked in the naughty corner
3007 has been off since 6 September. This was in the naughty corner a couple of weeks ago, looking complete, now it has been moved
3020 has been off since 19 October, this was parked in the naughty corner
4212 has been off since 12 October. A couple of weeks ago this was dumped as towed in but has now moved.
4749 has been off since 23 October, it is in the naughty corner and in a state suggesting it won't run again. I saw it on the 850 about a mile before it broke down on its last journey, interestingly showing 'sorry not in service' but with passengers.
So that's 6 vehicles off all week, so they cannot possibly provide a full service.
Also note that 3025 is tracking as SP HI. Also 2957 has not tracked since Tuesday but I have seen it out and about since so I assume its tracker isn't working. It was on the 800 that evening but is probably on locals now.
4210 and 4211, the other B9TLs, are very flaky, especially 4210, it rarely seems to manage a full day's work. My goodness they are loud!
2325 seems to disappear from the tracking and it is hard to tell if it is running or not. This morning in started out on the board which runs the 3 at xx15 and xx45 but appears not to have even started its first journey, on some days I would say that this is the tracker but today 2982 came out on the 3 from 11.45 so maybe not.
On the 2/12 there should be 7 all-day boards, usually there are only 4 or 5, sometimes 3. There were no early journeys out of Wycombe on Tuesday, although the traffic was particularly awful. On the 10/13 there should be 4 boards, at times there appear to have been as few as 1 bus out, more commonly 2 or 3, never a full service. The 800/850, half hourly services to Reading have not been brilliant either and timekeeping on some journeys is terrible. The 07.40 from Wycombe to Reading and 09.40 return hasn't run all week, yesterday the whole board was missing all day. On Tuesday 31 October the morning X80 from Wycombe left 40 minutes late - presumably due to staff or vehicle issues. It should then run empty from Henley to Wycombe to run the 09.30 service 800, that day the 800 to Reading simply started from Henley. The 15.30 from Wycombe to Reading is usually at least half an hour late leaving Wycombe, the return 17.15 from Reading rarely runs at all. This is because the 11 from Penn at 14.58 usually takes about 30 minutes more than scheduled, whereas the one following the exact same route at 15.25 is rarely more than a few minutes late. This must be school traffic in Hazlemere but its utterly pointless running the journey at that time if it is going to get so delayed.
Some of the school and college journeys are very well loaded. Some 800/850 journeys are regularly deckers and need the capacity. Others vary. On Tuesday morning I saw the 6A which was very busy and the 08.20 departure on the 800 was rammed, both Citaros. But the unreliability of the town services and the late running of many other services must be driving away passengers who have any alternatives. Clearly vehicles are a problem - I don't understand why someone like Arriva can't bring in around 5 or so more vehicles needed to help out. It may be staff too, sometimes even with the vehicle shortage there are buses parked up for a while when everything that moves should be out. Just as an example, today 4210 was at Wycombe Bus Station from 9.20 to 11.20 - why?
Looking in a lot less detail at Aylesbury, their Citaros appear to break down a lot more than Wycombe's, usually in or around Oxford. Also the traffic in Oxford seems to make running buses really hard. On Monday in particular there was hardly any pm peak service out of Oxford. For example 5463 on the 15.00 from Aylesbury to Oxford arrived about an hour late but then didn't return in service, 5461 on the next service 40 minutes late ditto. 3030 turned round at Headington.
The depot has 33 vehicles, the PVR is 28 or 29, I'm still not sure, but 28 vehicles are required full-time between the peaks.
However:
2790 has been off since 3 November
2953 has been off since 26 October, this was parked in the naughty corner
3007 has been off since 6 September. This was in the naughty corner a couple of weeks ago, looking complete, now it has been moved
3020 has been off since 19 October, this was parked in the naughty corner
4212 has been off since 12 October. A couple of weeks ago this was dumped as towed in but has now moved.
4749 has been off since 23 October, it is in the naughty corner and in a state suggesting it won't run again. I saw it on the 850 about a mile before it broke down on its last journey, interestingly showing 'sorry not in service' but with passengers.
So that's 6 vehicles off all week, so they cannot possibly provide a full service.
Also note that 3025 is tracking as SP HI. Also 2957 has not tracked since Tuesday but I have seen it out and about since so I assume its tracker isn't working. It was on the 800 that evening but is probably on locals now.
4210 and 4211, the other B9TLs, are very flaky, especially 4210, it rarely seems to manage a full day's work. My goodness they are loud!
2325 seems to disappear from the tracking and it is hard to tell if it is running or not. This morning in started out on the board which runs the 3 at xx15 and xx45 but appears not to have even started its first journey, on some days I would say that this is the tracker but today 2982 came out on the 3 from 11.45 so maybe not.
On the 2/12 there should be 7 all-day boards, usually there are only 4 or 5, sometimes 3. There were no early journeys out of Wycombe on Tuesday, although the traffic was particularly awful. On the 10/13 there should be 4 boards, at times there appear to have been as few as 1 bus out, more commonly 2 or 3, never a full service. The 800/850, half hourly services to Reading have not been brilliant either and timekeeping on some journeys is terrible. The 07.40 from Wycombe to Reading and 09.40 return hasn't run all week, yesterday the whole board was missing all day. On Tuesday 31 October the morning X80 from Wycombe left 40 minutes late - presumably due to staff or vehicle issues. It should then run empty from Henley to Wycombe to run the 09.30 service 800, that day the 800 to Reading simply started from Henley. The 15.30 from Wycombe to Reading is usually at least half an hour late leaving Wycombe, the return 17.15 from Reading rarely runs at all. This is because the 11 from Penn at 14.58 usually takes about 30 minutes more than scheduled, whereas the one following the exact same route at 15.25 is rarely more than a few minutes late. This must be school traffic in Hazlemere but its utterly pointless running the journey at that time if it is going to get so delayed.
Some of the school and college journeys are very well loaded. Some 800/850 journeys are regularly deckers and need the capacity. Others vary. On Tuesday morning I saw the 6A which was very busy and the 08.20 departure on the 800 was rammed, both Citaros. But the unreliability of the town services and the late running of many other services must be driving away passengers who have any alternatives. Clearly vehicles are a problem - I don't understand why someone like Arriva can't bring in around 5 or so more vehicles needed to help out. It may be staff too, sometimes even with the vehicle shortage there are buses parked up for a while when everything that moves should be out. Just as an example, today 4210 was at Wycombe Bus Station from 9.20 to 11.20 - why?
Looking in a lot less detail at Aylesbury, their Citaros appear to break down a lot more than Wycombe's, usually in or around Oxford. Also the traffic in Oxford seems to make running buses really hard. On Monday in particular there was hardly any pm peak service out of Oxford. For example 5463 on the 15.00 from Aylesbury to Oxford arrived about an hour late but then didn't return in service, 5461 on the next service 40 minutes late ditto. 3030 turned round at Headington.
Toby France (commercial manager for the area) is a regular reader of and correspondent to the Oxford Chiltern Bus Page (oxford-chilern-bus-page.co.uk), albeit (not unreasonably) a strident defender of his employer, and returns blunt brickbats with blunt fire. The latest fleetlist uploaded there - which I believe comes courtesy of him - gives an allocation of 34, not including any loans from elsewhere.
I suspect that a slightly revised version of your report (making clear what was personally experienced versus what was tracked on bustimes) may generate a response to some of your more operationally minded queries.
That's good. I am sure he is aware of the level of performance far better than me - my actual observations are fairly limited but, with a few exceptions for buses not tracking, back up what is shown on BusTimes. A response would be interesting. I have no doubt that the team on the ground are doing their best, but the timetables are not achievable in the peaks, not helped by very variable traffic congestion - although outside peak times on some routes there is plenty of spare time. The fleet is old and, because there is no time for anything to get maintained during the day, I suspect everything runs until it drops (legal minimum maintenance checks excepted).
I think the difference between my 33 and the 34 on the fleetlist is Versa 2979, which seems to have gone several weeks ago.
Does Wycombe have any SB200's? Haven't been around the area for a while. They are usually good on the hills.
I imagine the Y reg DLAs (DB250s) have long gone by now...
No SB200s. The single deckers are Citaros, Versas, one SB180 and three Streetlites. The Citaros seem pretty good, but the Versas get the bulk of the town work which probably has the greatest hill content. I don't know how good they are on the hills to be honest.Does Wycombe have any SB200's? Haven't been around the area for a while. They are usually good on the hills.
I imagine the Y reg DLAs (DB250s) have long gone by now...
Yes the Y reg DLAs have long gone but there is a DB250 - 06 plate ex Leicester - on the books, although it is broken in the yard. Underpowered for the hills I think. Leicester still have a dozen or so of these and with electric deckers coming there soon they may be for cascade.
Hopefully Arriva London can send you some of their 4** series DB300s as some for the 123 are due to be replaced by (slightly newer) ones off the 307. They are quite quick compared to the DB250s and with a Voith 4 speed box, you won't have to hear the engine screaming at 50 on country lanes
The cycle on the 2/12 is every 1hr 45mins and two boards are regularly missing, so one journey missing an hour is about normal. It's usually the same two boards - departing Wycombe at 9.00 and 9.45 on the 2 - so I guess people get used to it.
During the day today there have been 2 boards missing out of 7 on the 2/12, 2 out of 4 on the 10/13 - although a third one has come out this afternoon with 3020 which has been revived after three weeks off the road, and one missing out of 9 on the 11/800/850. The last I have personally verified, I went into Reading at the time of the missing and it definitely did not run, there were a good number of disgruntled passengers waiting for the 850 at 14.05 who will have had to wait for another hour. This stop in central Reading is about the only one without a 'live times' display as well.
The position is worse than I thought as in fact there seems to be a requirement for 30 buses in the morning peak, 28 between the peaks and 29 in the evening peak. There still appear to be 33 buses based at Wycombe but five - 2790, 2953, 3007, 4212 and 4749 - have been off the road for over a week.
I think DB300s are good buses, much more like a double deck SB200 with a lively Cummins engine, certainly the Arriva North West ones I have been on. That would be great, but cascades from London seem less usual these days.Hopefully Arriva London can send you some of their 4** series DB300s as some for the 123 are due to be replaced by (slightly newer) ones off the 307. They are quite quick compared to the DB250s and with a Voith 4 speed box, you won't have to hear the engine screaming at 50 on country lanes
Some of the DB300's might need some TLC prior to use, DW418 has had more suspension problems than Cristian Romero at Spurs
as more electric buses take over the 307, some cascades and shuffles of stock might begin soon, hopefully 
Interurban routes in Buckinghamshire getting a renumbering similar to that with Wycombe urban routes from January. The news item on the website has various mistakes and is hard to understand at the best of times, but essentially:
- 150 (Aylesbury-MK) becomes X4 with no change to timetable, school day 250 becomes X40.
- 500 (Aylesbury-Hemel) becomes X5, taking a faster routing between Aylesbury and Tring.
- X60 (Aylesbury-Buckingham-MK) becomes X6 with no change to timetable.
- 280 (Aylesbury-Thame-Oxford) becomes X7 and X8. The X7 is the full route via Wheatley every 30 minutes, the X8 is shorts every 30 minutes from Oxford to Thame skipping Wheatley (the shorts existed before but went via Wheatley).
- 300 (Aylesbury-Wycombe) becomes X9 with timetable tweaks.
Timetables here. Important to note that Arriva faces competition from local independents on many of these routes (X4 paralleled by Red Rose 100, X7/8 by Redline X20, X9 by Redline 130). Perhaps naively hoping this might signal some improvements in the quality of service - in Oxford the Arriva 280 is a clear poor relation to both local operations, with old and crowded single-deckers entirely unsuited to interurban work.
- 150 (Aylesbury-MK) becomes X4 with no change to timetable, school day 250 becomes X40.
- 500 (Aylesbury-Hemel) becomes X5, taking a faster routing between Aylesbury and Tring.
- X60 (Aylesbury-Buckingham-MK) becomes X6 with no change to timetable.
- 280 (Aylesbury-Thame-Oxford) becomes X7 and X8. The X7 is the full route via Wheatley every 30 minutes, the X8 is shorts every 30 minutes from Oxford to Thame skipping Wheatley (the shorts existed before but went via Wheatley).
- 300 (Aylesbury-Wycombe) becomes X9 with timetable tweaks.
Timetables here. Important to note that Arriva faces competition from local independents on many of these routes (X4 paralleled by Red Rose 100, X7/8 by Redline X20, X9 by Redline 130). Perhaps naively hoping this might signal some improvements in the quality of service - in Oxford the Arriva 280 is a clear poor relation to both local operations, with old and crowded single-deckers entirely unsuited to interurban work.
Little bit confusing/misleading for potential bus users using the "X" when actually neither the X4 or the X6 are the express route between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, that actually being the 100 which goes direct not via Buckingham or Leighton Buzzard and the X9 is slower than the 130 with the X90 peak times only
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JKP
Member
The X4 timetable at 0925 has the wrong times after Aylesbury.
greenline712
Member
There is no revised route on X5, other than the remocal of the school day variation south of Tring.
The X7 X8 timetables have incorrect "automatics" on the direction to Aylesbury.
All in all .... not good at all.
I am advised that the X4 and X6 are likely to be normally worked from Milton Keynes (possibly Leighton Buzzard?) .... so that leaves Aylesbury Garage with around 22 PVR now .... is that enough to survive?
I predict another "Guildford" .....
The X7 X8 timetables have incorrect "automatics" on the direction to Aylesbury.
All in all .... not good at all.
I am advised that the X4 and X6 are likely to be normally worked from Milton Keynes (possibly Leighton Buzzard?) .... so that leaves Aylesbury Garage with around 22 PVR now .... is that enough to survive?
I predict another "Guildford" .....
Oh, not sure why I thought the X5 was a change. Saw the error on X7/X8 and sent an email to Arriva about it, but doubt they'll do anything about it. Interesting that the X4/X6 are moving, definitely doesn't sound good for Aylesbury.
arrivamatt
Member
I've been a long time reader of some of the comments on this thread and have always enjoyed perspectives of customers and enthusiasts alike, often with useful discussion, but felt that there needs to be some balance regarding the remarks made in recent days/weeks about the Buckinghamshire network. From the perspective of designing and mobilising both the Aylesbury and High Wycombe networks, hopefully the below is worthwhile in dispelling some of the assumptions and conclusions made in response to network changes that have been made, or those coming soon.
Our approach in Aylesbury and the wider Buckinghamshire network is to provide an interurban, hub-and-spoke network of services that feel more cohesive and joined-up to our customers. Providing seamless connections to allow for easier transition between our services is a catalyst for growth that we've seen elsewhere in the country, and one we obviously wish to emulate. Evidently, this approach has been remarkably successful when applied in an urban market in High Wycombe, with patronage growing significantly since the introduction of the new services which has supported the longer-term sustainability of the network.
We also need to respond to the changing travel demands of our customers as well as to significantly improve our on-time performance, one of (if not the) most important driver of customer satisfaction for bus users. This is challenging on any interurban route, but certainly one that has been compounded on the Aylesbury to Oxford corridor. Through a lengthy period of gathering real-world runtime data, we've now a better understanding of the impacts of LTNs (low-traffic neighbourhoods) as well productive outcomes from constructive dialogue with Oxfordshire County Council (supported by other operators) on improving bus priority in the city. These both mean that we're confident in delivering a realistic and achievable timetable on this busy corridor.
Are we going to get everything right first time? No - but these timetables give us the solid platform or foundation to build up and improve from. These changes perform the hard reset on the network which provides a stable baseline that refines slowly over time; a network that's adaptable from a strong starting position. High Wycombe's network is one step ahead in this principle, with the forthcoming changes in January being almost entirely built up from customers' feedback, something we promised to do back in September. The other influence being reliable on time performance data, leading to small tweaks and refinements which are far easier to deliver with the simpler network that we launched earlier in the autumn; a process we can emulate for Aylesbury. We actively encourage constructive feedback through Arriva's usual channels - we see every suggestion made, and if not achievable, we will always explain why.
I'm keen to understand why these services changes are "not good at all". The X7/X8 will enjoy a doubling of services on Sunday, later last departures from Oxford with more frequent buses on a Saturday evening - right where our customers tell us they need them. X5/X9/X90 directly respond to our customers' feedback, particularly around school movements, to better provide connectivity for scholars across Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. The X4/X6 fulfil the wider ambition outlined above, and we've been engaging with customers, local bus users groups, elected representatives, local authorities and other stakeholders on how we enhance these corridors in future, too. The timetables now provide more balanced arrivals/departures on simpler headways; an improvement on current.
Route 150 and 250 (X4/X40) moved to operate from Milton Keynes depot on 3 September 2023. Route X60 (X6) has also been operated by Milton Keynes for some years now, at least since pre-COVID (slightly before my time). This better balances driver availability to ensure service delivery is spot on - a conscientious decision that ensures we can staff the mileage we operate. The wider Buckinghamshire network (Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Milton Keynes) is operationally and commercially joined-up, so by the three depots working together, we've significantly mitigated the driver recruitment challenges the whole industry is experiencing. Our customers care about the journey running and running well, not where the operating centre is, and this split ensures we are successful in this endeavour.
The forthcoming changes are neutral for Aylesbury, at 22 PVR.
The very minor error on the X7/X8 was picked up on Friday evening and resolved this morning at first opportunity. Our apologies for this, but on the contrary, we do address these issues when raised.
We've had a very insightful and interesting debate internally on the best nomenclature of the new services. Ultimately, we can't control the numbering system used by other operators, but our desire to create a simple, cohesive network of interurban services that is both easy to transition for our current customer base as well as being a fresh proposition for potential new bus customers has, in our view, been achieved in the "X" unifier, with our future customer messaging focused around this theme. This'll always be subjective in this community and that's always going to be a creative discussion, but there's no right answer - for us, it's about what is right for our customers, and the ambition to attract new folks to bus is a desire for any company, so we've applied a logic that has been successful elsewhere in the country not only for Arriva but for other networks too.
Our approach in Aylesbury and the wider Buckinghamshire network is to provide an interurban, hub-and-spoke network of services that feel more cohesive and joined-up to our customers. Providing seamless connections to allow for easier transition between our services is a catalyst for growth that we've seen elsewhere in the country, and one we obviously wish to emulate. Evidently, this approach has been remarkably successful when applied in an urban market in High Wycombe, with patronage growing significantly since the introduction of the new services which has supported the longer-term sustainability of the network.
We also need to respond to the changing travel demands of our customers as well as to significantly improve our on-time performance, one of (if not the) most important driver of customer satisfaction for bus users. This is challenging on any interurban route, but certainly one that has been compounded on the Aylesbury to Oxford corridor. Through a lengthy period of gathering real-world runtime data, we've now a better understanding of the impacts of LTNs (low-traffic neighbourhoods) as well productive outcomes from constructive dialogue with Oxfordshire County Council (supported by other operators) on improving bus priority in the city. These both mean that we're confident in delivering a realistic and achievable timetable on this busy corridor.
Are we going to get everything right first time? No - but these timetables give us the solid platform or foundation to build up and improve from. These changes perform the hard reset on the network which provides a stable baseline that refines slowly over time; a network that's adaptable from a strong starting position. High Wycombe's network is one step ahead in this principle, with the forthcoming changes in January being almost entirely built up from customers' feedback, something we promised to do back in September. The other influence being reliable on time performance data, leading to small tweaks and refinements which are far easier to deliver with the simpler network that we launched earlier in the autumn; a process we can emulate for Aylesbury. We actively encourage constructive feedback through Arriva's usual channels - we see every suggestion made, and if not achievable, we will always explain why.
I'm keen to understand why these services changes are "not good at all". The X7/X8 will enjoy a doubling of services on Sunday, later last departures from Oxford with more frequent buses on a Saturday evening - right where our customers tell us they need them. X5/X9/X90 directly respond to our customers' feedback, particularly around school movements, to better provide connectivity for scholars across Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. The X4/X6 fulfil the wider ambition outlined above, and we've been engaging with customers, local bus users groups, elected representatives, local authorities and other stakeholders on how we enhance these corridors in future, too. The timetables now provide more balanced arrivals/departures on simpler headways; an improvement on current.
Route 150 and 250 (X4/X40) moved to operate from Milton Keynes depot on 3 September 2023. Route X60 (X6) has also been operated by Milton Keynes for some years now, at least since pre-COVID (slightly before my time). This better balances driver availability to ensure service delivery is spot on - a conscientious decision that ensures we can staff the mileage we operate. The wider Buckinghamshire network (Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Milton Keynes) is operationally and commercially joined-up, so by the three depots working together, we've significantly mitigated the driver recruitment challenges the whole industry is experiencing. Our customers care about the journey running and running well, not where the operating centre is, and this split ensures we are successful in this endeavour.
The forthcoming changes are neutral for Aylesbury, at 22 PVR.
The very minor error on the X7/X8 was picked up on Friday evening and resolved this morning at first opportunity. Our apologies for this, but on the contrary, we do address these issues when raised.
We've had a very insightful and interesting debate internally on the best nomenclature of the new services. Ultimately, we can't control the numbering system used by other operators, but our desire to create a simple, cohesive network of interurban services that is both easy to transition for our current customer base as well as being a fresh proposition for potential new bus customers has, in our view, been achieved in the "X" unifier, with our future customer messaging focused around this theme. This'll always be subjective in this community and that's always going to be a creative discussion, but there's no right answer - for us, it's about what is right for our customers, and the ambition to attract new folks to bus is a desire for any company, so we've applied a logic that has been successful elsewhere in the country not only for Arriva but for other networks too.
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JKP
Member
Well done on correcting the error on the X4 timetable. I wish other companies were as quick to update errors on their public timetables.
Thanks, happy to be surprised! You've fixed the times on the X7, but not on the X8 (edit: that's fixed too, well done Arriva). Very valuable to have your perspective, definitely interesting to have the insight.
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markymark2000
On Moderation
A very interesting read there Matt and so thank you for the explanations as to what is going on. It has been interesting to see your previous writeups in other enthusiast groups just before your High Wycombe changes.
I think it's great to finally see a proactive Arriva manager rather than a managed decline manager like the rest of them.
Sadly, I think you may be in the minority on this one. Any previous attempt to get through to customer service results in being fobbed off and now I have gotten through to the right managers to report wrong or missing bus open data, emails get ignored and with thanks to certain Arriva managers neglect of the operations, some customers have been being given the wrong information for well over 2 years now and there is no hope of that changing.
I can safely say that I have never had a satisfactory response to 'if it's not achievable, we will always explain why', it has always been a fobbed off answer such as 'we will consider this in the future', years later, same issues remain, no change (basic one of changing a timetable, timetable gives 1 minute between timing points and there are 8 intermediate stops, it's physically impossible, local Arriva division don't care and are happy for the bus to run late every day for the past.... 5+ years I think we are on since the last timetable change. Refusal to work in the quality partnership to harmonise the timing points. One operator has timing points at one stop, Arriva has theirs at the stop after for no reason other than making a confusing timetable etc etc) or no answer at all which is a lot more common than you think.
I think it's great to finally see a proactive Arriva manager rather than a managed decline manager like the rest of them.
Very interesting to hear the 'inside' response to the comments on the changes and thank you to Matt for engaging with this forum.
My reaction to the X7/X8 is positive, it improves the timetable and closes some of the long gaps, plus the better Sunday service.
The X5 seems to be little changed. I never thought Aston Clinton would be missed out!
The X4 and X6 are no change and are already worked from the MK end. I am surprised at the use of the X6 number as there is already a service X6 in Milton Keynes (Stagecoach to Northampton) although there are far worse conflicts elsewhere.
On the X9/X90, its a good service for peaks and for shopping, but I don't understand why there are some big gaps: from Aylesbury 07.30-08.30 and 15.00-15.50, from Wycombe 07.30-08.30, 15.10-15.50 and 16.20-17.10. I know there are school constraints but this produces big gaps for potentially returning shoppers. I guess you just have to get on your bus home by about 15.00 or else face a long wait.
I am intrigued by the comment on more changes in Wycombe in January. I think the scheduled network is good, it is just the performance that isn't. There are 'internal' scheduling issues, such as the 14.58 from Penn to Wycombe taking half an hour more than scheduled with the impact that the 800 departure at 15.30 is usually at least 30 minutes late and the 17.15 from Reading on the 850 rarely runs at all. I sympathise with anyone planning around the awful but variable congestion in the town. Worse though is the vehicle issue. A few minutes ago I reckoned there were 20 buses out working, there should be 28. Caveat that this is all from BusTimes and there are a couple of vehicles which are either very flaky themselves or have dodgy trackers (2325, 2957) and so might possibly be out, but at least 6 short:
On the 2/12 - 3 or 4 boards missing (of 7) - gaps of up to 45 minutes
On the 3 - probably 1 board missing (of 2)
On the 10/13 - 2 boards missing (of 4) - gaps of up to an hour
On the 11/800/850 - 2 boards missing (of 9).
Ten buses have not been out today (out of 34 now, with 3920 recently reappeared- should be 30 out in the am peak) - 2325, 2326, 2951, 2953, 3007, 4212, 4749, 5457, 5458, 5460 - only three of eight deckers out. Also 2955, 2957, 3009, 3013 and 3029 stopped at some point during the day and not yet reappeared, while 3020 came out at 11.00 after some days off. There have been missing departures from Wycombe to Reading at 07.40, 10.00, 12.00, waiting to see if anything turns up on the 14.30.
Hard to tell is this is masking a driver shortage as well. Sometimes buses park up at the bus station but can't tell if awaiting a fitter or no driver or just logistics.
It s really encouraging to read that the new network in Wycombe has been a success. My feeling is that a good plan is being let down by unacceptable standards of delivery, mostly due to a vehicle shortage. Would be really interested in the feedback.
My reaction to the X7/X8 is positive, it improves the timetable and closes some of the long gaps, plus the better Sunday service.
The X5 seems to be little changed. I never thought Aston Clinton would be missed out!
The X4 and X6 are no change and are already worked from the MK end. I am surprised at the use of the X6 number as there is already a service X6 in Milton Keynes (Stagecoach to Northampton) although there are far worse conflicts elsewhere.
On the X9/X90, its a good service for peaks and for shopping, but I don't understand why there are some big gaps: from Aylesbury 07.30-08.30 and 15.00-15.50, from Wycombe 07.30-08.30, 15.10-15.50 and 16.20-17.10. I know there are school constraints but this produces big gaps for potentially returning shoppers. I guess you just have to get on your bus home by about 15.00 or else face a long wait.
I am intrigued by the comment on more changes in Wycombe in January. I think the scheduled network is good, it is just the performance that isn't. There are 'internal' scheduling issues, such as the 14.58 from Penn to Wycombe taking half an hour more than scheduled with the impact that the 800 departure at 15.30 is usually at least 30 minutes late and the 17.15 from Reading on the 850 rarely runs at all. I sympathise with anyone planning around the awful but variable congestion in the town. Worse though is the vehicle issue. A few minutes ago I reckoned there were 20 buses out working, there should be 28. Caveat that this is all from BusTimes and there are a couple of vehicles which are either very flaky themselves or have dodgy trackers (2325, 2957) and so might possibly be out, but at least 6 short:
On the 2/12 - 3 or 4 boards missing (of 7) - gaps of up to 45 minutes
On the 3 - probably 1 board missing (of 2)
On the 10/13 - 2 boards missing (of 4) - gaps of up to an hour
On the 11/800/850 - 2 boards missing (of 9).
Ten buses have not been out today (out of 34 now, with 3920 recently reappeared- should be 30 out in the am peak) - 2325, 2326, 2951, 2953, 3007, 4212, 4749, 5457, 5458, 5460 - only three of eight deckers out. Also 2955, 2957, 3009, 3013 and 3029 stopped at some point during the day and not yet reappeared, while 3020 came out at 11.00 after some days off. There have been missing departures from Wycombe to Reading at 07.40, 10.00, 12.00, waiting to see if anything turns up on the 14.30.
Hard to tell is this is masking a driver shortage as well. Sometimes buses park up at the bus station but can't tell if awaiting a fitter or no driver or just logistics.
It s really encouraging to read that the new network in Wycombe has been a success. My feeling is that a good plan is being let down by unacceptable standards of delivery, mostly due to a vehicle shortage. Would be really interested in the feedback.
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