Are high numbered bus numbers offputting to potential passengers?

[nw1]

Sometimes that is understandable if there is limited capacity and a local service on much of the same route.

When I lived within walking distance of Bear Flat in Bath some of the drivers of buses on the Radstock routes weren't keen on picking up passengers there. I think there were some old hands who worked the same service roster every day on the 176 / 184 routes.

At one time the city rover for Bath had been valid on all the country routes except those on the routes via Peasedown but that changed around 1998.

It would be better if they formalised it in the timetables though, e.g. a clear note 'this bus does not stop at stops within Bath City except AAA, BBB, CCC...'

On the subject of regular drivers: I remember my local bus route when I was aged around 15 or 16 (an hourly shuttle-type route with only one vehicle theoretically required, though it changed vehicles a couple of times during the day due to the need for double-deckers on school services) had one of two regular drivers on the route the majority of days.

One guy was very friendly, the second less so: I'd guess both were perhaps around 60.

There was one exception, the out-and-back journey in the 1300-1400 hour, which was operated by another driver as it was presumably the lunch-break of the 'regular' driver. Had another vehicle too, I think, presumably so the 'other' driver could work the service without having to change vehicle.

 

[MotCO]

I personally prefer the system i grew up with (around Avon), as many of us probably do - 1 and 2 digit numbers for urban services, 3 digits for interurban and rural routes. The only problem with this was the number of drivers who would still refuse to carry urban passengers on a longer service, something which persisted well in to this millenium despite never having been part of the local travel regs since 1986 and never referred to on timetables.

For the moment at least, i also run one of the very few four digit numbered public routes left in the country.

There is also a 5 character bus route - the AD166 which follows Hadrian's Wall.

 

[Citistar]

I have to ask; why did you number it 1011? And do you say it 'one oh one one' or 'ten eleven'?

It was a tribute to one of Belgium's longest routes - TEC's 1011 from Athus to Liege. Sadly they've now renumbered it E69 and curtailed it to Arlon at the southern end, so it doesn't really work any more. As i don't refer to it verbally very often, i'm open to any reasonable adaptation!

 

[Dai Corner]

It was a tribute to one of Belgium's longest routes - TEC's 1011 from Athus to Liege. Sadly they've now renumbered it E69 and curtailed it to Arlon at the southern end, so it doesn't really work any more. As i don't refer to it verbally very often, i'm open to any reasonable adaptation!

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity

 

[Timmyd]

The 390 looks very odd in central London and doesn’t feel like a central route. I suspect that a number so out of the ordinary might be off putting to occasional travellers who think of buses in the centre as being mostly 2 digit. Don’t know why they didn’t reuse 10 for it, which is the route it was derived from before being withdrawn itself

 

[carlberry]

The 390 looks very odd in central London and doesn’t feel like a central route. I suspect that a number so out of the ordinary might be off putting to occasional travellers who think of buses in the centre as being mostly 2 digit. Don’t know why they didn’t reuse 10 for it, which is the route it was derived from before being withdrawn itself

Travellers just need to know how to identify the bus they want. Having a three digit number somewhere there are lots of two digits numbers makes it easier to find!

 

[Ken H]

I think you will probably find that the longer distance passengers give the drivers plenty of earache if they stop for 'city service' passengers too!

There is this section in the 1936 West Yorkshire Road car bus timetable listing in great detail where their buses stopped in Leeds and Bradford.

Timetable World

timetableworld.com

Link goes to image listing stopping places in great detail.

 

[SCH117X]

There is this section in the 1936 West Yorkshire Road car bus timetable listing in great detail where their buses stopped in Leeds and Bradford.

Timetable World

timetableworld.com

Link goes to image listing stopping places in great detail.

Bradford area is confusing - only the "Canal Road Route" repeats inward one stop after, presumably, those which are the same as outwards, and thereafter those which are different.No obvious indication on the "Bradford,Otley, Leeds, Harrogate" which stops are not served inwards

 

[gg1]

As I am originally from the West Midlands, I never had a problem with the three digit number range of West Midlands Travel, Midland Red West, Midland Red North, etc.

The number ranges were as follows:

1-199 Birmingham, Solihull, and Sutton Coldfield (this number range was also duplicated in Coventry)
200-299 Dudley
300-399 Walsall
400-499 West Bromwich
500-599 Wolverhampton
600-699 Minibus routes supported by WMPTE/Centro
700-799 School services
800-899 Works services
900-998 Timesaver limited stop services

It was far easier and simpler system. I looked at the bus maps on the Network West Midlands website and there are two routes that are close together that have the number 49. One of these is the West Bromwich - Brandhall - wherever nowadays that runs along part of the A4123 Birmingham - Wolverhampton New Road, and a 49 that runs along (or did) along Barnes Hill (the Solihull - Northfield - Weoley Castle). Barnes Hill although switches to a different road number, it is straight on from the New Road at the junction of Hagley Road to Court Oak Road junction, and straight ahead along West Boulevard to Barnes Hill.

The Solihull - Northfield - Weoley Castle 49 has always been the 49 since at least 1988, and the West Bromwich - Brandhall - wherever was formerly the 449.

I can't find a reference to it now but pretty sure I read at the time that there were 1 or 2 service numbers which had to be changed to something completely different due to clashing numbers serving the same location.

 

[Ken H]

Bradford area is confusing - only the "Canal Road Route" repeats inward one stop after, presumably, those which are the same as outwards, and thereafter those which are different.No obvious indication on the "Bradford,Otley, Leeds, Harrogate" which stops are not served inwards

In the 60's in Leeds, West Yorkshire had their own stops. They were generally every other Leeds City Transport (LCT) stop. I also believe that they charged a minimum fare from Vicar Lane. So on the 36 (to Harrogate bus) the minimum fare was to Queens Arms, just North of Chapel Allerton. If you wanted to get off before that you paid to Queens Arms. But this is from hearsay, I never saw that in any timetable. I also dont know if the WY fare to Queens Arms was the same as LCT.
I think the traffic commissioners were regulating this stuff.

 

[Busaholic]

I think the traffic commissioners were regulating this stuff.

They most certainly were! My late father-in-law's job at Ribble at one time in the 1960s and 1970s involved getting permission from the Traffic Commissioners for fare changes, especially on 'joint' routes e.g. with Preston Corporation. It was, apparently, far from being a 'rubber stamp job'!

 

[SCH117X]

I think the traffic commissioners were regulating this stuff.

Definately - in the East Midlands they prevented Barton Transport from raising their fares until they had done something over the state of their vehicles; the outcome of which was the complete repalcement of the fleet with coaches. In Nottingham the City Transport had a protected zone in which only they outbound could set down and inbound pick up.

 

[moogal]

The 390 looks very odd in central London and doesn’t feel like a central route. I suspect that a number so out of the ordinary might be off putting to occasional travellers who think of buses in the centre as being mostly 2 digit. Don’t know why they didn’t reuse 10 for it, which is the route it was derived from before being withdrawn itself

The 10 was still running when the 390 was created.

It's far from the only 3-digit number running in Central London.

I was reminded of this route in an earlier comment where someone mentioned how iBus announces 3-digit numbers individually, e.g. "four-six-eight" - which isn't always true - the 390 is announced as "three-ninety"

 

[JonathanH]

I was reminded of this route in an earlier comment where someone mentioned how iBus announces 3-digit numbers individually, e.g. "four-six-eight" - which isn't always true - the 390 is announced as "three-ninety"

Yes, I subsequently realised that three digit numbers ending in 0 were announced like this.

 

[AM9]

Yes, I subsequently realised that three digit numbers ending in 0 were announced like this.

'Twas always the way that the public said the route numbers as well. In my childhood there were the one-fiftys, one-six-sevens and two-four-seven-ays, whereas the other buses were sixty-twos, tens, twenty-fives etc.. In a slightly different way, about 25 years ago I had a car with Trafficmaster fitted. It would announce the local road conditions as sensed by their population of vehicle sensors. Around here, the roads were the A405 (pronounced as ay-four-oh-five), the A5183 (ay-five-eight-three) but the A414 was voiced as ay-four-fourteen, which in some cases could sound like ay-four-forty (A440). Of course those two roads don't go anywhere near each other but there might be pairs that could be confused somewhere.

 

[nw1]

Yes, I subsequently realised that three digit numbers ending in 0 were announced like this.

I think that's how I thought of them in the days of widespread three-digit numbering outside London. For example there were two separate 260s not far from where I lived and I imagined those as the "two-sixty" while the 262 would be the "two-six-two". Likewise the 740 (a Green Line from Guildford to London) was the "seven-forty" but for some reason I thought of the 230 Guildford town service the "two-three-0". Not sure why, in my head, that one was different.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Living in West Yorkshire, I think there are far bigger reasons that people avoid taking the bus than the three figure route numbers. (State of the First's fleet outside of Leeds, punctuality, fitness for purpose of the timetable... I won't go on).

In Huddersfield, they renumbered the Marsden buses from 35x to 18x when the Huddersfield-Oldham service transferred to Oldham depot and became the 184. I don't get the impression that many passengers even notice the discrepancy, let alone care.

 

[M-Train]

Having very well defined route number series seems to be key—many routes in HK are in the 600’s/900’s, but they are specifically for cross-harbour tunnel running.
Many routes in Seoul/Taipei (IIRC) are 4-digit numbered, so….what exactly is a high route number, really? It depends on where the route is.

 

[Statto]

Back in the day Crosville had most of there routes numbered in to an alpha system, Chester to Tarvin for example had routes numbered C84 & E66, having said that, i don't think passengers are that bothered what number the bus shows whether it's 1 or 999, or A1 to Z99, as long as it turns up & goes to where they're going to.