15982 & 15985 were at Hants & Dorset Trim in Eastliegh on tuesday
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Stagecoach West/South West/South Wales - Fleet News & Discussion
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DaveHarries
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It looks as if some changes may be afoot in Swindon effective 02-Sep-2018. A look at the VOSA Bus Service Registrations for 25th July 2018 reveals the following entries for the Swindon area which suggest revisions to Services 4 and 9 as well as possibly to Service 7. As I read it:
4 (Tadpole Garden Village - Swindon Bus Station): Cancelled
7 (Swindon - Highworth): Variation but unknown as to what extent.
9 (Wroughton - Swindon Bus Station): Variation - extended to Tadpole Garden Village in place of Service 4.
10 (Freshbrook - Kingsdown): Variation but unknown as to what extent.
107 (Tadpole Garden Village - South Marston Park): New Service.
HTIOI,
Dave
4 (Tadpole Garden Village - Swindon Bus Station): Cancelled
7 (Swindon - Highworth): Variation but unknown as to what extent.
9 (Wroughton - Swindon Bus Station): Variation - extended to Tadpole Garden Village in place of Service 4.
10 (Freshbrook - Kingsdown): Variation but unknown as to what extent.
107 (Tadpole Garden Village - South Marston Park): New Service.
HTIOI,
Dave
Stagecoach due to expand in Plymouth area in the autumn with award of a dozen council subsidised routes. New service to Sherford plus they have won all 11 current Target Travel routes taking them into many new areas plus taken the 14 cross city route off Citybus. Start of something bigger perhaps?
Yes it is official (after a few weeks of rumours). Stagecoach SW are taking over all Target Travel's Plymouth City Council work from Monday 29th October (routes 7D, 13, 18, 19, 31, 39, 52 and 223) plus route 14 which is currently operated by Plymouth CityBus. No news on what happens to Target Travel's "country" routes but it is likely they will go to Stagecoach too. Target Travel bus drivers will transfer over to Stagecoach SW under TUPE regulations.
The Sherford service is an extension of the existing 2A in the Plymstock area. The extension is supported by Plymouth City Council and is due to take place from 3rd September - the same date the 48 passes over to Plymouth CityBus. Incidentally Plymouth Citybus will divert the 48 via Cattawade to replace route 15 which will no longer operate.
Target Travel's Operating Licence will be revoked from 31st October, although a new licence for a smaller coach-only operation may be granted in lieu.
This gives Stagecoach a little foothold in areas of Plymouth they don't current operate in and may be a springboard for more commercial services. If Target have had licence revoked will they be legally able to.operate any bus services.. namely all their Devon County Council tenders?
What country routes do they operate? I thought most were in sister company Dartline brand?
I imagine the “Dartmoor pony” will move to stagecoach Tavistock outstation.
Target have got quite a few Devon County Council supported country routes. 49 Plymouth to Heybroom Bay, 59 Plymouth, Plympton Lee Moor circular, several Dartmoor services 55,56 and Tavistock town service 89 All these are Target Plymouth services although they could transfer them to Dartline may be or will they go to Stagecoach too?
Anthony ross
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I didn’t realise that target travel and dartline where linked
DaveHarries
Established Member
Just a thought but, in regards the 49 (Plymouth - Heybrook Bay), could that be replaced, albeit over a different line of route, by extending the 48 from Wembury to run to Heybrook Bay? Mondays to Saturdays (except Public Holidays) with one bus every 2 hours: surely a job for an Optare Solo although perhaps the peak trips are, I think, a bit busier and could run with a slightly bigger vehicle between Plymouth and Wembury only.
Dave
goldisgood
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Adding onto what has been said above, it looks like there are timetable changes to Swindon routes 7, 9, 10, 51, 51A, 52, 54, 55, 80 and 81, whilst the 66 will become the S6 using some of the 15 new Gold deckers being delivered to Swindon imminently. This looks like a large number of buses, considering there are only 11 Gold Scanias there at the moment, so could there maybe be a frequency enhancement, or another service going Gold? The 66 can be very busy, and there are lots of new houses being built along the route.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
That's very interesting - hadn't realised they were getting 15 new deckers. The service has only recently been enhanced to every 20 mins throughout the day but you're right, there's a lot of house building going on in Faringdon and a load more just gone up at Southmoor. It really is a success story given that a few years ago, it was an hourly service with B10Ms!
Any idea when they're due? I'm also putting a bet that the 49/51 will go Gold - was at Avebury the other week and two Golds were in action.
goldisgood
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Two are at Gloucester already according to Steven Knight Media, so I guess the rest will be coming soon. It has been around 4 years since the enhancement, unfortunately I don't see many of the off-peak journeys so I'm not sure how busy they are, but it is certainly very busy from the Oxford end at peak times. If anyone knows about the off-peak/Swindon end loadings I'd be interested to know!
I'd agree with you on the 49/51 going Gold, or at least taking the old buses. Swindon's allocations aren't that great, so it isn't rare to see a Gold bus off route. Where could the rest go - maybe Forest of Dean services or the 7?
I have just been informed that all Targets Devon County Council services are now up for retender. This is all the country routes in West Devon area, namely Tavistock and Dartmoor. Will be interested to see if Stagecoach pick these up too?
It's possible - don't Stagecoach have an outstation at Tavistock?
Dartline is another contender, as they already have a presence in the area with the 118 between Tavistock and Okehampton (which until last September was Plymouth CityBus 46).
Yes Stagecoach do have outstation at Tavistock so could run some from there and some from Plymouth I am sure. Will DCC really want to go with Dartline seeing as they are sister company of Target though? If so maybe Dartline get Tavistock area routes with Stagecoach or may be Go ahead PCB picking up ones out of Plymouth?
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Sorry - should've been clearer. Was thinking the older e400 could be cascaded onto the 49/51 after a refurb. The Oxford end is the stronger part of the route from my limited experience on the 66 and my frequent A420 trips
Charlie M.
Member
Transfer the YP14 fleet to Gloucester ops? Gives room for all tridents to go and impr Be capacity on routes 1/8/ at peak that is neeeded?
goldisgood
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Nope, my poor wording! What I meant is that the 49/51 only need 7 buses, so I was wondering where the other old buses could go onto. As the above suggests, Gloucester is an option.
DaveHarries
Established Member
Post moved to "Plymouth Citybus" thread. (DCH)
Last edited:
lightning76
Member
The 66 is being increased to run x15 mins at peak times, and there are some extra peak services on the 55 as well. Both routes should have a PVR of 12, which explains the requirement for new buses. The three newer existing gold buses, 15967/69/70, should be staying (presumably de-branded), whilst the original batch should be moving on. It is thought that the 7 will become entirely Trident-worked, using resurrected buses from the reserve fleet, in place of its officially scheduled 4x Trident, 4x Dart.
Had a read of the VOSA document, and I can't find any reference of route 54 in there?
goldisgood
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https://www.vehicle-operator-licens...registered-local-bus-services/details/522229/ shows that there is a change on the 2nd of September like the other routes.
Thank you for that, oddly I couldn't find it on the actual VOSA documents. Maybe I'm going blind!
Curious what the changes are, as this is my local route. Sadly it's underused, and I'm worried it might disappear at some point!
Significant changes are planned for bus services in Exeter and East Devon. The full source document can be found at www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeter-devon-stagecoach-bus-times-1846544. I can't see a date for these changes but I believe it will be in September. No doubt N&P will have details. Like all changes, there will be some losers but the general effect is one of significant service enhancement.
For those who don't wish to struggle with a local newspaper website, here is a lightly edited text extract.
More massive bus service changes have been announced by Stagecoach - including the introduction of branded 'CONNexIONS' buses for major business routes. The changes to services around Exeter and East Devon follow consultation with customers and various stakeholders. With East Devon Council and East Devon Growth Point funding, the 56 bus will see 'significant enhancements' between Exeter St David’s, the City Centre, Met Office, Science Park, Sky Park and Exeter Airport. It's hoped it will support the on-going development of the region over the next three years. There will also be changes to Exmouth town services and a number of East Devon services, including the introduction of larger buses, fewer journeys and more connections.
In Exeter a new anti-clockwise service, the ‘I’, is being introduced and will link with the ‘J’ to provide a circular route connecting the city centre with IKEA in both directions of travel. Service K will extend to Exeter Science Park.
The bus changes in detail:
Route 5 (Exeter – Cowley Bridge – Crediton). The first journey from Crediton and Cowley Bridge will operate 5 minutes earlier than present. This is to maintain a city centre connection with the new 56 timetable.
Route 56 (Exeter St David’s – City Centre – Exeter Airport – Woodbury – Exmouth). East Devon Council and the East Devon Growth point have joined forces to fund improvements to the route between Exeter St David’s, the City Centre, Met Office, Science Park, Sky Park and Exeter Airport. From Monday to Saturday the off-peak frequency will double to every 30 minutes, matching the peak time Monday to Friday frequency. There will also be new journeys very early in the morning and a new evening service introduced to provide connections for all flights and associated key worker hours. The route between the Met Office and Airport will be amended to serve Clyst Honiton instead of the A30. Combined with route 4, this will provide twice the number of buses serving the Science Park. The timetable is coordinated with route 4 to provide a regular 15-minute Monday to Saturday frequency from Exeter. There will also be some minor changes to the timetable between the Airport, Woodbury and Exmouth, with one additional journey than at present. In Exmouth buses will start and finish at the Parade, and will no longer serve the Leisure Centre. The route will be branded ‘CONNexIONS’ and all five buses will feature a bespoke external and internal livery design plus free Wi-Fi.
Route 56B & 56E (Exmouth – Hulham – Byron Way). The 56B is a new service that will complement the existing 56 service in Exmouth. It will run hourly during the daytimes along Mount Pleasant to Hulham and Byron Way. The 357 evening journeys which currently extend to Byron Way will be renumbered 56E between Exmouth town centre and Byron Way, forming part of the overall combined timetable.
Route 57B (Exmouth – Bicton College). This college journey will be renumbered 357 and extended to start from Hulham.
Route 57C/58C (Exeter – Topsham – Budleigh Salterton – Bicton College). This college journey will be renumbered 58C and will also run during school holidays to simplify the overall timetable between Exeter and Budleigh Salterton.
Route 58 (Budleigh Salterton – Littleham – Sowton – Exeter). To provide better connections for workers, all journeys into and out of Exeter will serve Sowton Industrial Estate and Honiton Road Park & Ride instead of Middlemoor. A new evening journey from Exeter will be introduced at 7pm. For non-college passengers, school holiday journeys will be replaced by year-round route 58C journeys via Rifford Road and Topsham Road. One early morning journey to and from Exmouth will be kept but every other journey will continue to and from Budleigh Salterton.
Route 98 & 98A (Exmouth – Littleham). The frequency on the route will be reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes. Following customer feedback, one journey per hour will use a minibus, allowing it to continue to serve the current 98 route and maintain a regular service along Moorfield Road. The second journey each hour will become the 98A and will use larger single deck buses to help maintain capacity, despite the reduced frequency. The size of these buses means they cannot use the current 98 route and will serve Withycombe Village Road instead. In Littleham, they will not serve Roseway but will run directly to The Green along Capel Lane and then extend to Rodney Close to provide a new service to this area. Connections will be provided onto routes 157 (from 98A) and 357 (from 98) at the Parade during the daytime, creating new through links to Rolle Street and Salterton Road / Cranford Avenue.
Route 99E (Littleham – Exmouth – Brixington). We [Stagecoach] provide this evening and Sunday service on behalf of Devon County Council and it will continue unchanged.
Route 157 (Exmouth – Budleigh Salterton – Sidmouth). There will be some changes to the timetable to improve reliability. These include daytime journeys leaving Exmouth 10 minutes later and Sidmouth/Budleigh 20 minutes later than the current timetable. These changes will also allow buses on routes 157 and 357 to leave both Exmouth Parade and Budleigh Salterton on an even 30 minute frequency. Departures in the morning and afternoon peaks will be broadly similar to the current timetable. Route 157 buses will also provide through connections onto route 98A. As a result buses will no longer serve the Leisure Centre, instead starting and finishing at the Parade.
Route 357 (Exmouth – Budleigh Salterton). There will be some minor changes to the timetable to improve reliability between Budleigh and Exmouth. Buses will generally leave Exmouth 10 minutes later and Budleigh 20 minutes later than the current timetable to create a regular 30 minute frequency between Exmouth and Budleigh when combined with the 157. Buses from route 357 will also provide through connections onto route 98 during the daytime. As a result, the occasional journeys that extended to the Leisure Centre will no longer do so. Instead, all journeys will extend from Rolle Street to start and finish at the Parade. Other journeys will be served by the 56B and 56E. Please see above for full details.
There are no changes to other Exmouth routes 57, 95 or 257.
Route I & J (Digby Tesco – IKEA – The Rydons – Countess Wear – Exeter – Whipton Barton – Hill Barton – Digby Tesco). Funding from the Rougemont Park housing development on Hill Barton Road will allow the J to extend from Whipton Barton via Hill Barton Road and through to Digby. Here, it will meet buses from the other direction to create a circular route. Buses running clockwise (outbound along Pinhoe Road and inbound along Topsham Road) will be route J. Buses running anti-clockwise (outbound along Topsham Road & inbound along Pinhoe Road) will be route I. Buses will run every 20 minutes in both directions, providing a combined 10 minute frequency from IKEA to the City Centre. When combined with route K, there will also be a 10 minute frequency between Countess Wear, the City Centre and Whipton Barton.
Route K (Countess Wear – Exeter – Whipton Barton – Science Park). Funding from the emerging Tithebarn development will allow this route to be extended from Whipton Barton to Cumberland Way, Tithebarn Lane and Exeter Science Park. It is anticipated that the route will evolve in future years to serve other developments in the area. Buses will continue to run every 20 minutes along the extended route.
Route R & S (Exeter – Rifford Road). Due to the significant increase in the number of buses serving Heavitree Road, R and S frequencies will be reduced from every 12 to every 20 minutes in each direction. They will still combine to give a 10 minute frequency from Rifford Road to the City Centre. Routes D and H also provide alternatives from some parts of these routes.
For those who don't wish to struggle with a local newspaper website, here is a lightly edited text extract.
More massive bus service changes have been announced by Stagecoach - including the introduction of branded 'CONNexIONS' buses for major business routes. The changes to services around Exeter and East Devon follow consultation with customers and various stakeholders. With East Devon Council and East Devon Growth Point funding, the 56 bus will see 'significant enhancements' between Exeter St David’s, the City Centre, Met Office, Science Park, Sky Park and Exeter Airport. It's hoped it will support the on-going development of the region over the next three years. There will also be changes to Exmouth town services and a number of East Devon services, including the introduction of larger buses, fewer journeys and more connections.
In Exeter a new anti-clockwise service, the ‘I’, is being introduced and will link with the ‘J’ to provide a circular route connecting the city centre with IKEA in both directions of travel. Service K will extend to Exeter Science Park.
The bus changes in detail:
Route 5 (Exeter – Cowley Bridge – Crediton). The first journey from Crediton and Cowley Bridge will operate 5 minutes earlier than present. This is to maintain a city centre connection with the new 56 timetable.
Route 56 (Exeter St David’s – City Centre – Exeter Airport – Woodbury – Exmouth). East Devon Council and the East Devon Growth point have joined forces to fund improvements to the route between Exeter St David’s, the City Centre, Met Office, Science Park, Sky Park and Exeter Airport. From Monday to Saturday the off-peak frequency will double to every 30 minutes, matching the peak time Monday to Friday frequency. There will also be new journeys very early in the morning and a new evening service introduced to provide connections for all flights and associated key worker hours. The route between the Met Office and Airport will be amended to serve Clyst Honiton instead of the A30. Combined with route 4, this will provide twice the number of buses serving the Science Park. The timetable is coordinated with route 4 to provide a regular 15-minute Monday to Saturday frequency from Exeter. There will also be some minor changes to the timetable between the Airport, Woodbury and Exmouth, with one additional journey than at present. In Exmouth buses will start and finish at the Parade, and will no longer serve the Leisure Centre. The route will be branded ‘CONNexIONS’ and all five buses will feature a bespoke external and internal livery design plus free Wi-Fi.
Route 56B & 56E (Exmouth – Hulham – Byron Way). The 56B is a new service that will complement the existing 56 service in Exmouth. It will run hourly during the daytimes along Mount Pleasant to Hulham and Byron Way. The 357 evening journeys which currently extend to Byron Way will be renumbered 56E between Exmouth town centre and Byron Way, forming part of the overall combined timetable.
Route 57B (Exmouth – Bicton College). This college journey will be renumbered 357 and extended to start from Hulham.
Route 57C/58C (Exeter – Topsham – Budleigh Salterton – Bicton College). This college journey will be renumbered 58C and will also run during school holidays to simplify the overall timetable between Exeter and Budleigh Salterton.
Route 58 (Budleigh Salterton – Littleham – Sowton – Exeter). To provide better connections for workers, all journeys into and out of Exeter will serve Sowton Industrial Estate and Honiton Road Park & Ride instead of Middlemoor. A new evening journey from Exeter will be introduced at 7pm. For non-college passengers, school holiday journeys will be replaced by year-round route 58C journeys via Rifford Road and Topsham Road. One early morning journey to and from Exmouth will be kept but every other journey will continue to and from Budleigh Salterton.
Route 98 & 98A (Exmouth – Littleham). The frequency on the route will be reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes. Following customer feedback, one journey per hour will use a minibus, allowing it to continue to serve the current 98 route and maintain a regular service along Moorfield Road. The second journey each hour will become the 98A and will use larger single deck buses to help maintain capacity, despite the reduced frequency. The size of these buses means they cannot use the current 98 route and will serve Withycombe Village Road instead. In Littleham, they will not serve Roseway but will run directly to The Green along Capel Lane and then extend to Rodney Close to provide a new service to this area. Connections will be provided onto routes 157 (from 98A) and 357 (from 98) at the Parade during the daytime, creating new through links to Rolle Street and Salterton Road / Cranford Avenue.
Route 99E (Littleham – Exmouth – Brixington). We [Stagecoach] provide this evening and Sunday service on behalf of Devon County Council and it will continue unchanged.
Route 157 (Exmouth – Budleigh Salterton – Sidmouth). There will be some changes to the timetable to improve reliability. These include daytime journeys leaving Exmouth 10 minutes later and Sidmouth/Budleigh 20 minutes later than the current timetable. These changes will also allow buses on routes 157 and 357 to leave both Exmouth Parade and Budleigh Salterton on an even 30 minute frequency. Departures in the morning and afternoon peaks will be broadly similar to the current timetable. Route 157 buses will also provide through connections onto route 98A. As a result buses will no longer serve the Leisure Centre, instead starting and finishing at the Parade.
Route 357 (Exmouth – Budleigh Salterton). There will be some minor changes to the timetable to improve reliability between Budleigh and Exmouth. Buses will generally leave Exmouth 10 minutes later and Budleigh 20 minutes later than the current timetable to create a regular 30 minute frequency between Exmouth and Budleigh when combined with the 157. Buses from route 357 will also provide through connections onto route 98 during the daytime. As a result, the occasional journeys that extended to the Leisure Centre will no longer do so. Instead, all journeys will extend from Rolle Street to start and finish at the Parade. Other journeys will be served by the 56B and 56E. Please see above for full details.
There are no changes to other Exmouth routes 57, 95 or 257.
Route I & J (Digby Tesco – IKEA – The Rydons – Countess Wear – Exeter – Whipton Barton – Hill Barton – Digby Tesco). Funding from the Rougemont Park housing development on Hill Barton Road will allow the J to extend from Whipton Barton via Hill Barton Road and through to Digby. Here, it will meet buses from the other direction to create a circular route. Buses running clockwise (outbound along Pinhoe Road and inbound along Topsham Road) will be route J. Buses running anti-clockwise (outbound along Topsham Road & inbound along Pinhoe Road) will be route I. Buses will run every 20 minutes in both directions, providing a combined 10 minute frequency from IKEA to the City Centre. When combined with route K, there will also be a 10 minute frequency between Countess Wear, the City Centre and Whipton Barton.
Route K (Countess Wear – Exeter – Whipton Barton – Science Park). Funding from the emerging Tithebarn development will allow this route to be extended from Whipton Barton to Cumberland Way, Tithebarn Lane and Exeter Science Park. It is anticipated that the route will evolve in future years to serve other developments in the area. Buses will continue to run every 20 minutes along the extended route.
Route R & S (Exeter – Rifford Road). Due to the significant increase in the number of buses serving Heavitree Road, R and S frequencies will be reduced from every 12 to every 20 minutes in each direction. They will still combine to give a 10 minute frequency from Rifford Road to the City Centre. Routes D and H also provide alternatives from some parts of these routes.
goldisgood
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Any ideas as to where the new buses coming to Exeter sometime this financial year will end up? 14 10.8m Enviro 200 MMCs are due.
I’ve been told I and J. Not sure that will need 14 though.
Rapidash
Member
Is it possible that some may end up on the Exmouth Town routes? They are meant to be getting larger vehicles.
Admittedly anything is larger than an old Solo.
Oh, and just in case people were not aware, the buses in Devon now take contactless payments.
Admittedly anything is larger than an old Solo.
Oh, and just in case people were not aware, the buses in Devon now take contactless payments.
goldisgood
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I doubt that - more likely castoff darts or enviro 200s - they'd want to put new buses on busier routes, no?
I would imagine the new buses will end up on Exeter city routes. Possibly old solos from Dartmouth could come to Plymouth for local tender work they have gained from October as some of these I think will need smaller vehicles to negotiate narrow roads etc
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