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First West of England (Bristol, Bath & The West)

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Dai Corner

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20 Jul 2015
Messages
6,316
Looks like Weston couldn't cover one duty this evening.

First WoE said:
SERVICE UPDATE*

Due to operational issues, the following services will not operate.

X9 Bristol-Nailsea & return (14:45-16:08)

X7 Bristol-Clevedon & return (17:15-19:38)

X7 Britol-Clevedon & return (20:15-22:31)
 

freetoview33

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24 May 2009
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3,721
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West of England
Number 1 I fully understand and agree the need to further cut buses.
Number 2 I understand why they are cutting current services so people know the 1 is running but only hourly, it's easier for people.
Number 3 I disagree because it is still set up for people travelling to/from town. Example City Centre - Downs will still be 4bph (Currently 6) lets be honest that really only needs to be 2bph. Then you have the Downs - Westbury/Southmead and Cribbs each bus hourly, when it would be more useful for that to be more frequent.
So basically a hub and spoke system.

Centre - Downs
Centre - Fishponds
Centre - Kingswood
Centre - Keynsham

All these only need to be every 30 mins. With then services connecting onwards to the likes of Midsomer Norton, Bitton, Cadbury Heath, Cribbs Causeway, U.W.E, Lyde Green ect. Means much more people still have access to a service using a similar number of buses.

Downside is telling people they need to change buses if they want to go into town and publicising such, but it would be better for people, as you could still provide a service to the likes of Marshfield ect.

Much the same as the 39/349 set up where the 349 is acting as a feeder into the 39 for onward travel into Bristol or Bath.
 

swifty

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Joined
19 Sep 2012
Messages
1,672
That does have a slight feel of finality about it??

Who operates the evening taxi service these days? It was part of the famed CityFox empire.....

As it turns out it’s Bath depot doing the honours on the 349 loop. It was being run with Bath City Solo 53854 today.
 

carlberry

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Joined
19 Dec 2014
Messages
3,169
Number 1 I fully understand and agree the need to further cut buses.
Number 2 I understand why they are cutting current services so people know the 1 is running but only hourly, it's easier for people.
Number 3 I disagree because it is still set up for people travelling to/from town. Example City Centre - Downs will still be 4bph (Currently 6) lets be honest that really only needs to be 2bph. Then you have the Downs - Westbury/Southmead and Cribbs each bus hourly, when it would be more useful for that to be more frequent.
So basically a hub and spoke system.

Centre - Downs
Centre - Fishponds
Centre - Kingswood
Centre - Keynsham

All these only need to be every 30 mins. With then services connecting onwards to the likes of Midsomer Norton, Bitton, Cadbury Heath, Cribbs Causeway, U.W.E, Lyde Green ect. Means much more people still have access to a service using a similar number of buses.

Downside is telling people they need to change buses if they want to go into town and publicising such, but it would be better for people, as you could still provide a service to the likes of Marshfield ect.

Much the same as the 39/349 set up where the 349 is acting as a feeder into the 39 for onward travel into Bristol or Bath.
I'm sure that, with the benefit of plenty of time for planning, first would have come up with a better plan. However I suspect it's the best they could do! Having feeder services look great on paper but people don't like it and, in the current situation, increasing the number of times people walk past the driver and stand around in bus shelters is an awful idea.
 

Private Baxter

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Joined
22 Sep 2013
Messages
1,787
I recall that was the fleet name carried on buses (in NBC days I think?)
I think it might have been, though long before my time.
It may because Weston and Wells are ran together operationally, with Wells engineering the responsibility of Bath
Oh yes, sorry I knew that, my point was more that the 172 operates nowhere near those two places. The average bus user probably isn't aware of the logistics of how it is run. ;)
 

-Colly405-

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25 May 2018
Messages
634
Location
Stoke Gifford
I'm sure that, with the benefit of plenty of time for planning, first would have come up with a better plan. However I suspect it's the best they could do! Having feeder services look great on paper but people don't like it and, in the current situation, increasing the number of times people walk past the driver and stand around in bus shelters is an awful idea.
And also, imho, it needs to be as simple as possible - people at this time surely need to have it as much like usual as possible so keeping the routes unchanged archives this?
 

carlberry

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Joined
19 Dec 2014
Messages
3,169
The new government scheme aims to pay for half the usual service and advises operating vehicles at half capacity.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52122342

I suspect the current Bristol service is a lot less than half in most cases and operating a bus at half capacity would break all the social distancing rules (assuming most people are traveling alone); you'd need need a limit of a quarter capacity to make any sense (I suspect that very few journeys come anywhere close to that at present however).
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Certainly is. Don't know why they're bothering with Farington Gurney - not like it's some long standing link. Mind you, I guess it provides a loop between MSN and Paulton but only split by 14 mins and then 1h 46,

Might've been better routeing it Peasedown, Radstock, Westfield, MSN, Paulton (double run and turn round at the roundabout) then back and straight through Withies Park and Chilcompton to Stratton but they will have had their reasons.



I'm sure that, with the benefit of plenty of time for planning, first would have come up with a better plan. However I suspect it's the best they could do! Having feeder services look great on paper but people don't like it and, in the current situation, increasing the number of times people walk past the driver and stand around in bus shelters is an awful idea.

Quite - it keeps some semblance of a route network that people understand

Very confused why that is running. Surely no students are going into Uni? Perhaps they will drag out a 320xx to run on it!! I don't think we will ever see those again.

Perhaps it's because it serves St Martins Hospital and also the BMI Bath Clinic?
 

Whiteway215

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Joined
15 Sep 2015
Messages
1,989
Location
Bath
The Bath U2 timetable leaflet from 21 Sept 2019 states the Bath Uni Easter holiday is from the 5th to 18th April. The new U2 timetable from Monday is pretty much exactly the same as the Saturday all year round U2 service which is council funded. BANES also fund the weekday out of term hourly service so is that why the U2 has to run from 5th April? GW-it also serves Sainsburys Odd Down.
 

matt_splat

Member
Joined
19 May 2012
Messages
897
So i notice all 172's from next week start and finish in wells really on a sunday this should be happening all the time anyway as most trips after a few round 172s run empty to wells 172 and 174 don't interwork.

as for the 174 on the Sunday personally i think it would be quicker for it to run via Chilcompton after Stratton then serve farrington and paulton.

Or run straight from Shepton to Farrington
 

Tommy Walters

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9 Nov 2017
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567
Location
Ottery St Mary
The Bath U2 timetable leaflet from 21 Sept 2019 states the Bath Uni Easter holiday is from the 5th to 18th April. The new U2 timetable from Monday is pretty much exactly the same as the Saturday all year round U2 service which is council funded. BANES also fund the weekday out of term hourly service so is that why the U2 has to run from 5th April? GW-it also serves Sainsburys Odd Down.

I reckon the connection from Uni/Twerton-Sainsburys is the key, bare in mind that there are still several international students still in residence on the uni campus unable to travel home. There's only one shop up there which probably does run out of stock from time to time. Having multiple connections from Uni-Supermarkets will certainly help everyone out!

The timetable is basically the same, but with the omission of the 1230 round trip, presumably to give the one bus and driver a break! Normally two vehicles are used on the Saturday/Holiday timetable, swapping over with one another to go and do driver changes in the bus station. They won't drag a 32*** out. A B9 is far more likely. The 32***s were being used far less frequently at the weekends before the uni shut up shop anyway! Same story with the U5 batch - reckon they're probably withdrawn now too!
 

TheGrandWazoo

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So i notice all 172's from next week start and finish in wells really on a sunday this should be happening all the time anyway as most trips after a few round 172s run empty to wells 172 and 174 don't interwork.

as for the 174 on the Sunday personally i think it would be quicker for it to run via Chilcompton after Stratton then serve farrington and paulton.

Or run straight from Shepton to Farrington

To be honest, it makes more sense serving Stratton and Oakhill than it does going direct up the A37 to Farrington. I've always questioned why Chilcompton doesn't get a Sunday service anyway - the route isn't so tightly timed and it's not the biggest diversion
 

TheGrandWazoo

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I reckon the connection from Uni/Twerton-Sainsburys is the key, bare in mind that there are still several international students still in residence on the uni campus unable to travel home. There's only one shop up there which probably does run out of stock from time to time. Having multiple connections from Uni-Supermarkets will certainly help everyone out!

The timetable is basically the same, but with the omission of the 1230 round trip, presumably to give the one bus and driver a break! Normally two vehicles are used on the Saturday/Holiday timetable, swapping over with one another to go and do driver changes in the bus station. They won't drag a 32*** out. A B9 is far more likely. The 32***s were being used far less frequently at the weekends before the uni shut up shop anyway! Same story with the U5 batch - reckon they're probably withdrawn now too!

I doubt it is - that the Coop might be short of the odd thing for the few students left is not major but serving the two hospitals (esp if they need to use the BMI for NHS patients) will be as well as serving the Sainsbury's. It probably doesn't even need to serve the Uni but it may as well and it is the best place to turn around.

Agree with you that the B7s are probably history now. I'd be thinking it might be an e200 or failing that, a B9.
 

Tommy Walters

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9 Nov 2017
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567
Location
Ottery St Mary
I doubt it is - that the Coop might be short of the odd thing for the few students left is not major but serving the two hospitals (esp if they need to use the BMI for NHS patients) will be as well as serving the Sainsbury's. It probably doesn't even need to serve the Uni but it may as well and it is the best place to turn around.

Agree with you that the B7s are probably history now. I'd be thinking it might be an e200 or failing that, a B9.

You're probably right. It could also be to compensate the 20 being cut back to two-hourly & the 42 to hourly. You can run the U2 each hour with just a single vehicle, whereas the 20 of course needs two!

The other one that surprises me as to why it's still so frequent is the D2. Is there still sufficient demand on there to warrant an hourly frequency? I'm not that familiar with the route, so will happily be corrected is someone knows anything more!
 

TheGrandWazoo

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You're probably right. It could also be to compensate the 20 being cut back to two-hourly & the 42 to hourly. You can run the U2 each hour with just a single vehicle, whereas the 20 of course needs two!

The other one that surprises me as to why it's still so frequent is the D2. Is there still sufficient demand on there to warrant an hourly frequency? I'm not that familiar with the route, so will happily be corrected is someone knows anything more!

It’s replacing the X67 and First are accepting Faresaver tickets until 25th April
 

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