BHBR 2016 **Cancelled**

[DaveHarries]

Damn council. Money talks (well, a "commercial event" takes priority) and the BHBR 2016 gets cancelled. For the last time, it would appear.
http://www.bristolbusevents.co.uk/

Pity as I was looking forward to it.

Dave

 

[Busaholic]

Bristol City Council have a track record going back to the Second World War, if not before, of impeding public transport at almost every opportunity. No wonder it's the most carcentric of all major British cities. The 'green' tag has always been a massive con - and, yes, I have lived there.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Bristol City Council have a track record going back to the Second World War, if not before, of impeding public transport at almost every opportunity. No wonder it's the most carcentric of all major British cities. The 'green' tag has always been a massive con - and, yes, I have lived there.

This isn't really about impeding public transport though?

 

[Class 33]

Bloody Bristol City Council again. To be honest I was actually half expecting it to be cancelled anyway. Was going to start a thread a few weeks ago about the then planned BHBR in May, but to also say that it may possibly be cancelled as lately it seems to be cancelled every 2 years, as 2012 and 2014 were both cancelled. And my predictions were correct, it went ahead last year so it was inevitable this year's would be bloody cancelled!! Not only that, but it turns out BHBR 2015 was the very last one!!! A shame as it's a great event, and I for one was really looking forward to it. I only do just one bus running event per year, so will have to find a good alternative one now.

 

[Busaholic]

This isn't really about impeding public transport though?

Well, I would ask the question 'what did they mean by that?' and, having provided my own answer, would tack it on to all their other offences to be taken into consideration.
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Bloody Bristol City Council again. To be honest I was actually half expecting it to be cancelled anyway. Was going to start a thread a few weeks ago about the then planned BHBR in May, but to also say that it may possibly be cancelled as lately it seems to be cancelled every 2 years, as 2012 and 2014 were both cancelled. And my predictions were correct, it went ahead last year so it was inevitable this year's would be bloody cancelled!! Not only that, but it turns out BHBR 2015 was the very last one!!! A shame as it's a great event, and I for one was really looking forward to it. I only do just one bus running event per year, so will have to find a good alternative one now.

I was planning to go there, which would have been my first visit to Bristol in five years, going with AN Other and having a meal in the city, possibly an overnight stay, paying parking charges, etc etc. Bristol's loss is not my gain, but it remains Bristol's loss. It will also colour my judgment as to where to stop on future trips to such places as Swindon. If enough people adopted a similar attitude maybe the City Council might just listen, but I doubt it.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Well, I would ask the question 'what did they mean by that?' and, having provided my own answer, would tack it on to all their other offences to be taken into consideration.
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I was planning to go there, which would have been my first visit to Bristol in five years, going with AN Other and having a meal in the city, possibly an overnight stay, paying parking charges, etc etc. Bristol's loss is not my gain, but it remains Bristol's loss. It will also colour my judgment as to where to stop on future trips to such places as Swindon. If enough people adopted a similar attitude maybe the City Council might just listen, but I doubt it.

I still don't see how this is about impeding public transport.

Don't get me wrong - I'm disappointed as its a local one to me. For me, the issue is the late change rather than a right to hold a rally. If they'd agreed the date, then it should be honoured (though I'm sure they fully met their legal responsibilities).

 

[Busaholic]

I still don't see how this is about impeding public transport.

Don't get me wrong - I'm disappointed as its a local one to me. For me, the issue is the late change rather than a right to hold a rally. If they'd agreed the date, then it should be honoured (though I'm sure they fully met their legal responsibilities).

Strictly speaking, you are right, but is it a coincidence that an event celebrating bus transport in Bristol and the surrounding region should be cancelled to make way for an event no doubt extolling the wonderfulness of the local area, its 'greenness' and how the local politicians and their flunkeys in their infinite wisdom will produce Nirvana in our time? Sorry to sound so cynical, but when I went to Bristol University as a mature student I turned down three other offers, partly in the expectation that Bristol would provide something the other places wouldn't : well, it did, but not in a good way. The other six mature students on my course had all left by the end of the second month, defeated in part by our traffic problems caused by the university not offering accommodation to mature students and all of us having to live the other side of the city from Clifton.

 

[Class 33]

Not quite in the same league as the now sadly consigned to history Bristol Harbourside Bus Rally, but this Sunday is the Bristol Vintage Bus Group Running Day at the Brislington Park & Ride site.

Most of the services running are City Centre & Return services via Bath Road and Temple Gate. Which even for bus fans can get a little boring and tedious after you've done a few of these journeys on the day. A percentage of the other services though are journeys to Bath & Return, Avon Valley Railway Bitton & Return, and the A Bus Depot(St. Annes) & Return. That's about it I think. Would be good if they had more of a variety of different routes.

As usual there are a number of single and double deckers from the 50's and 60's running, Lodekka's, Bristol VR's, and Bristol RE's. Though there may not be any Leyland Nationals and Leyland Olympians running.

 

[carlberry]

Not quite in the same league as the now sadly consigned to history Bristol Harbourside Bus Rally, but this Sunday is the Bristol Vintage Bus Group Running Day at the Brislington Park & Ride site.

Most of the services running are City Centre & Return services via Bath Road and Temple Gate. Which even for bus fans can get a little boring and tedious after you've done a few of these journeys on the day. A percentage of the other services though are journeys to Bath & Return, Avon Valley Railway Bitton & Return, and the A Bus Depot(St. Annes) & Return. That's about it I think. Would be good if they had more of a variety of different routes.

As usual there are a number of single and double deckers from the 50's and 60's running, Lodekka's, Bristol VR's, and Bristol RE's. Though there may not be any Leyland Nationals and Leyland Olympians running.

The general public (who buy a huge percentage of the programs) like simplicity (I've had passengers complain at the harbourside because the evening pest had said all the buses went to the rocks railway, they'd never heard of Pensford and they wanted me to take them back straight away!) and the site lends itself to using the main roads. I'm fairly sure that there will be quite a few Bitton as it's joint with the railway (in fact the railway are the only ones promoting it on the Internet!). However I'm fairly sure that the organisers would be willing to add more routes in, if there were people willing to help organise them.

The problem will solve itself however as this will be the last at the site because the P&R operates 7 days from September. Next year may be a bit short of rallies in the Bristol area.

 

[vicbury]

Surely there will be stacks of space in the Park and Ride on a Sunday to be able to continue to run this? The bus stop can accommodate the length of two bendies so could accommodate three double deckers?

 

[carlberry]

Surely there will be stacks of space in the Park and Ride on a Sunday to be able to continue to run this? The bus stop can accommodate the length of two bendies so could accommodate three double deckers?

I believe the number of hoops that have to be jumped through would make it impossible (theres enough to do just to get agreement to use it when it's not in use!).

 

[Busaholic]

It's a long time since I lived in Bristol while attending the university but I do remember a bus rally taking place at Henwood (where I lived) in 1985, and I think it was a first (unlike my degree!) and I'm sure it was on a Saturday because I offended an in-law by refusing an invitation to some morris dancing nonsense on the same day. Was it a forerunner to any other rally? I've a feeling it happened there again but I didn't attend.

 

[carlberry]

It's a long time since I lived in Bristol while attending the university but I do remember a bus rally taking place at Henwood (where I lived) in 1985, and I think it was a first (unlike my degree!) and I'm sure it was on a Saturday because I offended an in-law by refusing an invitation to some morris dancing nonsense on the same day. Was it a forerunner to any other rally? I've a feeling it happened there again but I didn't attend.

Bristol had a rally every August from the mid 1970s, starting out at Cannons Marsh when it was still a car park (mostly where @Bristol is now) that moved to Hengrove Park by 1984 (as a 2 day event over a weekend) then moved again in the mid 1990s to Weston Helicopter museum and then stopped. By this time a different group had started organising a running day on the centre that then became the harbourside rally a few years later. The BVBG later started it's August rallies at Brislington about 2004. This year theres actually another rally at the helicopter museum, but organised by Crosville this time.

 

[Busaholic]

Bristol had a rally every August from the mid 1970s, starting out at Cannons Marsh when it was still a car park (mostly where @Bristol is now) that moved to Hengrove Park by 1984 (as a 2 day event over a weekend) then moved again in the mid 1990s to Weston Helicopter museum and then stopped. By this time a different group had started organising a running day on the centre that then became the harbourside rally a few years later. The BVBG later started it's August rallies at Brislington about 2004. This year theres actually another rally at the helicopter museum, but organised by Crosville this time.

Thank you - Hengrove, not Henwood, and it could have been 1984, thinking about it. I probably told my in-laws it was just on a Saturday to get out of the morris dancing!

 

[THarris123]

Bristol had a rally every August from the mid 1970s, starting out at Cannons Marsh when it was still a car park (mostly where @Bristol is now) that moved to Hengrove Park by 1984 (as a 2 day event over a weekend) then moved again in the mid 1990s to Weston Helicopter museum and then stopped. By this time a different group had started organising a running day on the centre that then became the harbourside rally a few years later. The BVBG later started it's August rallies at Brislington about 2004. This year theres actually another rally at the helicopter museum, but organised by Crosville this time.

When's the Weston one?

 

[Class 33]

No there's no way they'll still be able to run this bus rally when the P & R site becomes 7 days per week. As it's more than just a case of buses pulling into the bus stop and journeying off on their routes, a LOT of the car park is taken up by dozens of buses!

Not really sure where there's another suitable alternative site where they could a bus rally in Bristol.

With the Brislington Bus Rally and the Bristol Harbourside Bus Rally consigned to history after this year, the only event in Bristol left is the Mini Running Day at Flowers Hill. And that one is not much good atall in my opinion. Went once a few years back, but never again! Certainly not worth travelling from outside Bristol to goto that one!

With the Bristol Harbourside Bus Rally though, I'm intrigued as to what exactly happened this year. My understanding is that the Vegfest took place on that weekend instead, so it would be impossible to have had the Bus Rally taking place there as well. But if the organizers of the BHBR agreed with Bristol City Council for the event to have taken place, then it should have been honoured, and when the organizers of Vegfest asked Bristol City Council to host their event on that weekend, then BBC should have said to them "Sorry it's not possible that weekend due to another event booked for the Harbourside on the Sunday. We can book you in for another weekend though....". If it was a case that BHBR booked and confirmed with Bristol City Council for Sunday 22nd May, and then shortly after that the organizers of Vegfest contacted Bristol City Council to host their event on that weekend and they agreed that, then that's not on atall.

A shame the organizers of BHBR have now given up on doing any more. But I don't blame them, if BCC messed them about like they appear to have done a few times now.

Would have suggested they change the date of the BHBR to sometime in August or September instead. As there's not so many events on the Harbourside site during these months compared to between May and July.

 

[carlberry]

A shame the organizers of BHBR have now given up on doing any more. But I don't blame them, if BCC messed them about like they appear to have done a few times now.

Would have suggested they change the date of the BHBR to sometime in August or September instead. As there's not so many events on the Harbourside site during these months compared to between May and July.

My understanding is that the BHBR ogranisers cant 'book' the harbourside as they cant put up the money to pay for a booking. Therefore they're left with having to go along with whatever happens (at any date in the year). As this makes it impossible to organise/book anything they've given up. If somebody was to offer to sponsor it I'm sure they'll be willing to organise it again, or if somebody can come up with a usable site!
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Surely there will be stacks of space in the Park and Ride on a Sunday to be able to continue to run this? The bus stop can accommodate the length of two bendies so could accommodate three double deckers?

It appears that discussions are still ongoing about the use of the site in future, all depending on how popular the P&R gets on Sundays. And it needs agreement from the council and First that whatever is proposed will work. So still a possibility.

 

[carlberry]

According to Bus & Coach Pres magazine this month Harbourside 2017 is moving up the Avon a bit and will take place on 21st May at Chippenham Bus Station.