First South West (Kernow & Buses of Somerset)

[fgwrich]

Lots of road closures in the area due to flooding. West Somerset railway also closed due the line being flooded.

As well as a small landslip outside Blue Anchor.

 

[83G/84D]

More problems on the Mousehole, spare Solo 53505 is VOR (vehicle off road) at Camborne with defects and two Sprinters are unavailable. Only one bus able to make the journey to Mousehole Harbour according to the bustimes tracking site earlier today.
The situation has slightly improved it seems with two Sprinters now operating.

 

[Goldfish62]

More problems on the Mousehole, spare Solo 53505 is VOR (vehicle off road) at Camborne with defects and two Sprinters are unavailable. Only one bus able to make the journey to Mousehole Harbour according to the bustimes tracking site earlier today.
The situation has slightly improved it seems with two Sprinters now operating.

The farce continues!

 

[Andyh82]

The farce continues!

Surely it’s time to stop serving the harbour and terminate permanently at Old Coastguards

Tourists can walk to/from the harbour like they do at Fowey

I doubt many actual residents live in the centre of Mousehole, when I was there in the summer most properties looked like holiday lets.

 

[Goldfish62]

Surely it’s time to stop serving the harbour and terminate permanently at Old Coastguards

Tourists can walk to/from the harbour like they do at Fowey

I doubt many actual residents live in the centre of Mousehole, when I was there in the summer most properties looked like holiday lets.

I don't disagree with you if that's what it takes now to provide a reliable bus service with sufficient capacity.

Sadly, it's estimated that around 80% of homes in Mousehole are now either holiday lets or second homes.

The majority of dwellings in Mousehole are far closer to the harbour stop and withdrawal would undoubtedly result in difficulties for elderly residents (yes, there are some), but so be it.

It would certainly be cheaper for FSW. With a long Solo SR the frequency could be cut to half hourly in the summer and potentially hourly in the winter. Undoubtedly this would lose passengers, but again so be it. I'm sure the Sprinters would find a home with another OpCo.

The current stopping arrangements for buses turning at the Coastguards are unsatisfactory, but provision of new stops, cage markings and a build-out shouldn't be difficult.

 

[-Colly405-]

Have to disagree. Just because First find it difficult to provide a reliable service doesn't mean that what has worked for decades should be scrapped, to the inconvenience of especially the elderly, but in practice anyone (resident or tourist) who want to get on in the middle of the village rather than up the hill.

Maybe someone (and I don't know the local politics or media at all) should be putting pressure on First to just provide the service that people expect, and 8s timetabled.

 

[83G/84D]

It’s only a rumour going around but a couple of members of First South West staff have said that some Enviro 200’s are coming to replace the Sprinters.
If that is true then that would mean the end of services to the Harbour at Mousehole.
I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

 

[Andyh82]

Have to disagree. Just because First find it difficult to provide a reliable service doesn't mean that what has worked for decades should be scrapped, to the inconvenience of especially the elderly, but in practice anyone (resident or tourist) who want to get on in the middle of the village rather than up the hill.

Maybe someone (and I don't know the local politics or media at all) should be putting pressure on First to just provide the service that people expect, and 8s timetabled.

Both the steepness of the hill and the distance seems lower to me than it is at Fowey and Port Isaac.

Of course the question is why the new Sprinters aren’t all in service, they should be.

 

[Citistar]

So why are these Mousehole Sprinters so much less reliable than any of the other examples scattered around the country, regularly doing full days or weeks of work without failing?

 

[Goldfish62]

Have to disagree. Just because First find it difficult to provide a reliable service doesn't mean that what has worked for decades should be scrapped, to the inconvenience of especially the elderly, but in practice anyone (resident or tourist) who want to get on in the middle of the village rather than up the hill.

Maybe someone (and I don't know the local politics or media at all) should be putting pressure on First to just provide the service that people expect, and 8s timetabled.

What I don't understand is why the Sprinters are proving so unreliable when it's a bus type in service all over the country seemingly without the same level of issues.

In respect of the timetable it was increased to 4bph to provide the same capacity as 3bph with Solos did. The trouble is that the PVR is still 3 and it simply doesn't work. The running times and layovers are too tight, with no scope for recovery in the event of late running.

It’s only a rumour going around but a couple of members of First South West staff have said that some Enviro 200’s are coming to replace the Sprinters.
If that is true then that would mean the end of services to the Harbour at Mousehole.
I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

FSW's Solo SRs don't seem to do an awful lot. Surely better to use those, and if necessary get some knackered E200 rattleboxes for twice daily school runs.

 

[83G/84D]

So why are these Mousehole Sprinters so much less reliable than any of the other examples scattered around the country, regularly doing full days or weeks of work without failing?

If First still held “meet the manager” sessions that would be the first thing I would be asking.

What I don't understand is why the Sprinters are proving so unreliable when it's a bus type in service all over the country seemingly without the same level of issues.

In respect of the timetable it was increased to 4bph to provide the same capacity as 3bph with Solos did. The trouble is that the PVR is still 3 and it simply doesn't work. The running times and layovers are too tight, with no scope for recovery in the event of late running.


FSW's Solo SRs don't seem to do an awful lot. Surely better to use those, and if necessary get some knackered E200 rattleboxes for twice daily school runs.

Might be something to do with the turning characteristics of the Solo SR’s. An Enviro 200 may be easier to turn at Coastguards.

 

[Goldfish62]

If First still held “meet the manager” sessions that would be the first thing I would be asking.


Might be something to do with the turning characteristics of the Solo SR’s. An Enviro 200 may be easier to turn at Coastguards.

13m triaxle coaches turn there.

 

[Accelerator59]

It’s only a rumour going around but a couple of members of First South West staff have said that some Enviro 200’s are coming to replace the Sprinters.
If that is true then that would mean the end of services to the Harbour at Mousehole.
I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

Which is what I was wondering back on reply #19,857.

 

[Busaholic]

Maybe someone (and I don't know the local politics or media at all) should be putting pressure on First to just provide the service that people expect, and 8s timetabled.

Local media is virtually non-existent now down here in the sense of an actual journalist getting to grips with a story, it's all been centralised, remaining solitary 'news' staff working from home or dozens of miles away. No local politician seems to take an interest in bus travel these days, but then why would they, with the high rates of remuneration for their use of private cars? The guy I used to know in the Cornishman office a stone's throw from where I live and published a couple of stories I fed him is gone, as indeed is the office.

What is now needed is for someone who relies on the Mousehole bus service to write a detailed and cogent letter to the Traffic Commissioner asking (nay, demanding) some action as the current bus timetable is a work of pure fiction, and not a well-written one at that!

 

[GBM]

What I don't understand is why the Sprinters are proving so unreliable when it's a bus type in service all over the country seemingly without the same level of issues.

In respect of the timetable it was increased to 4bph to provide the same capacity as 3bph with Solos did. The trouble is that the PVR is still 3 and it simply doesn't work. The running times and layovers are too tight, with no scope for recovery in the event of late running.


FSW's Solo SRs don't seem to do an awful lot. Surely better to use those, and if necessary get some knackered E200 rattleboxes for twice daily school runs.

I've heard First have a performance manager.
Seems their job is to look at why vehicles are running late, then make recommendations as to how to improve that.
Either that manager isn't managing performance, or timings are not being adjusted to improve running.
Two questions not being addressed - if this story is true.

 

[Goldfish62]

I've heard First have a performance manager.
Seems their job is to look at why vehicles are running late, then make recommendations as to how to improve that.
Either that manager isn't managing performance, or timings are not being adjusted to improve running.
Two questions not being addressed - if this story is true.

I should certainly hope they have someone who oversees operational performance! That's basic stuff!

As it stands if you increase the running times you reduce the layovers, so the same problems persist. Only solution is to add in a 4th bus, but that costs.

 

[GBM]

I should certainly hope they have someone who oversees operational performance! That's basic stuff!

As it stands if you increase the running times you reduce the layovers, so the same problems persist. Only solution is to add in a 4th bus, but that costs.

From what I see and hear, the Park and Ride at Truro running times were reduced, and layover times halved.
This resulted in a reduction of 3 driver lines - a good saving.
Unfortunately vehicles are running up to 20 minutes late in the peak hours, with some vehicles seen line astern (as seen with the Tinners).
But the managers have achieved the cost saving targets, so a bonus guaranteed and a pat on the back.
Doesn't matter about reliability, passengers or staff moral.

 

[richw]

What I don't understand is why the Sprinters are proving so unreliable when it's a bus type in service all over the country seemingly without the same level of issues.

In respect of the timetable it was increased to 4bph to provide the same capacity as 3bph with Solos did. The trouble is that the PVR is still 3 and it simply doesn't work. The running times and layovers are too tight, with no scope for recovery in the event of late running.


FSW's Solo SRs don't seem to do an awful lot. Surely better to use those, and if necessary get some knackered E200 rattleboxes for twice daily school runs.

The SRs are allocated to Truronian and have tachos fitted. They do some of the highest miles on the fleet. Mostly closed door work the public don’t see. 53865 for example is the most profitable vehicle on the fleet!

 

[Goldfish62]

The SRs are allocated to Truronian and have tachos fitted. They do some of the highest miles on the fleet. Mostly closed door work the public don’t see. 53865 for example is the most profitable vehicle on the fleet!

Thanks. There had to be a good reason for hiding some of the newest vehicles in the fleet from most of the travelling public.

When I was at school we always had the biggest wrecks in the fleet set aside for us. How times change!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

When I was at school we always had the biggest wrecks in the fleet set aside for us. How times change!

Now the biggest wrecks at school are the roof panels

To be fair, there are plenty of superannuated vehicles still employed on schools. One of my local operators was using an L reg Dart until last year - not seen it out yet but may still be about.

 

[Goldfish62]

Local media is virtually non-existent now down here in the sense of an actual journalist getting to grips with a story, it's all been centralised, remaining solitary 'news' staff working from home or dozens of miles away. No local politician seems to take an interest in bus travel these days, but then why would they, with the high rates of remuneration for their use of private cars? The guy I used to know in the Cornishman office a stone's throw from where I live and published a couple of stories I fed him is gone, as indeed is the office.

What is now needed is for someone who relies on the Mousehole bus service to write a detailed and cogent letter to the Traffic Commissioner asking (nay, demanding) some action as the current bus timetable is a work of pure fiction, and not a well-written one at that!

Around 7-8 years ago when the Mousehole service was going through one of its regular (in recent times) bad patches with buses routinely not showing due to breakdowns (arguably worse than now because it was only half-hourly and there were plenty of suitably sized spare buses available) a number of Mousehole residents wrote a lengthy open letter in The Cornishman addressed to Alex Carter detailing their experiences with the poor service, and inviting him to respond. Disappointingly he never did.

The Traffic Commissioner's office and the DVSA are so under-staffed since a previous government's cuts under the auspices of "Red Tape Challenge" that even today's apology for a service would have to get a lot worse before any investigation took place. Probably the best first port of call would be the council, as the service does not reflect well on the Transport for Cornwall enhanced partnership, of which FSW is a member.

 

[Citistar]

Speaking of the TfC EP, are the Sprinters funded through some mechanism of that?

 

[Goldfish62]

Speaking of the TfC EP, are the Sprinters funded through some mechanism of that?

I'd be very surprised. They're comparatively very cheap to buy and operate vehicles which a large company such as FSW should easily be able to afford to purchase as part of its vehicle replacement programme without the need for public money.

From memory the only new vehicles that Cornwall Council sought to fund as part of its BSIP submission to the DfT were electric buses for Truro P&R. And given that the council was only awarded a fraction of what it sought (but still better than the £0 that many councils received) I don't know if that plan still stands.

 

[charlie1284]

I am just wondering if First Kernow were to stop operating the Truro Park & Ride would the current Citaros be 'returned' to Cornwall Council for whoever has the new tender or would First Kernow be able to do whatever they want with them?

 

[richw]

I am just wondering if First Kernow were to stop operating the Truro Park & Ride would the current Citaros be 'returned' to Cornwall Council for whoever has the new tender or would First Kernow be able to do whatever they want with them?

They’re owned by the council not first so yes they’d return to the council

 

[83G/84D]

Mousehole Sprinter 54113 damaged in a collision with a van outside Penzance bus station late this morning.

 

[Goldfish62]

Mousehole Sprinter 54113 damaged in a collision with a van outside Penzance bus station late this morning.

Just one Sprinter on the route now. The other two buses currently out there are a Solo SR and a Gemini.

 

[83G/84D]

Just one Sprinter on the route now. The other two buses currently out there are a Solo SR and a Gemini.

Only one Sprinter available for service! Wonder if any measures or changes will be put in place on the route?

 

[Busaholic]

Mousehole Sprinter 54113 damaged in a collision with a van outside Penzance bus station late this morning.

The entire police resources of Penzance were sent to deal with it, including one police car travelling down Chapel Street at about 60mph while I was trying to hobble across it! Funnily enough, I've twice been out since then and come across a Mousehole bus each time and it's been a Sprinter, so obviously I must have seen the same one twice. Frankly, from head-on they all look the same to me anyway.

 

[83G/84D]

Solo 53701 repaired and returned to service which enables at least some services to serve Mousehole Harbour. Scrap man removed Trident 32762 from Truro on Monday.