freetoview33
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All Red Livery
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freetoview33
Established Member
From Facebook (Alex Bain)
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
From Facebook (Alex Bain)
Many thanks for that - really is appreciated.
That shade is similar to that used on the Long Ashton P&R P-UFB Olympians. It’ll be interesting what the branding will be for it. What’s Kingswood famous for.... Wesley, coal, motorcycles, fighting....
Private Baxter
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Indeed thanks for sharing. And there was me imaging the 42-45 buses would be a line green front! Why the change in style I wonder? Looking forward to seeing these out in service.
From Facebook (Alex Bain)
Private Baxter
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Interesting to read that they have chosen to name the buses to be used on meteobus. Wonder what the inspiration behind some of the names are?!
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
G names for Gas buses?
Think that urban livery is very much optional these days and JF doesn’t like it. However, it’s a departure from the template (Discover, BathCity) though Excel didn’t use that either.
Class 33 will be hoping some blue and yellow will be added to it
freetoview33
Established Member
Chosen by metrobus staff.
diffywood
Member
Deleted
Fighting? Maybe now I live there!
Don't forget the 44 and 45 don't go to Kingswood so I imagine the brand will have a wider context, maybe East Bristol or Church Road related. Or perhaps it's the beginning of a new Bristol City brand...
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
I wouldn’t forget that - I lived in Hanham for a few years and the 44/45 (and 4/6/581) were my local buses!
Aside from fighting, the other three themes are common between Hanham and Kingswood! However, I’d expect something imaginative.
freetoview33
Established Member
With the Red I can't help but think they might brand it along the lines of St George
Private Baxter
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G for Gas were my thoughts tooG names for Gas buses?
Think that urban livery is very much optional these days and JF doesn’t like it. However, it’s a departure from the template (Discover, BathCity) though Excel didn’t use that either.
Class 33 will be hoping some blue and yellow will be added to it
Private Baxter
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I doubt it will be anything that specific, but you never know. It is good to see however these routes finally getting their new buses, after the batch originally intended ended up on the 1&2 instead.
Also notable is the reported loan of 2 Darts to First Wales (ex South Wales Transport) from South Wales Transport!
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
freetoview33
Established Member
Never been a fan of the glazed staircases anyway!
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
With a day free today (other half doing Christmassy stuff), I thought I'd have a trip out on Buses of Somerset, it being 18 months since I'd had a proper explore. Also, I was conscious of the political wing of First South West being rather upset at my previous, and that they had mentioned the changes that were afoot. So I thought I'd check things out....
First of all, I downloaded my m-ticket. To be fair to First, whilst it was a little unreliable in the early days, the m-tickets are spot on. However, the price is a chunky £12, which seems a little pricey given the network. My first bus was the 1050 75 from Glastonbury to Bridgwater. It was a little late but that was (I think) down to some roadworks at Coxley. e200 44535 arrived and I was pleased to see that it had recently gained the latest BoS livery. It looked good, though the interior was standard 2012 First and is just beginning to look a bit scuffed in places. Unfortunately like many e200s (irrespective of owner), it did have a good few rattles as we delved off the main A39 and through the Polden villages. One minor observation (and one that a number of companies fail on) was a temporary timetable notice on a roadside stop from Feb/Mar 2018; great that they put them up but would be better if they were removed. On a clear day, the 75 is a lovely run. However, it is noticeable as to how many people panic when they see a bus coming towards them on a rural road so we never did get the time back that we were lacking. We picked up a few but the majority came from Woolavington. Hard to imagine that a few years ago, First and Webberbus were running 2 or 3 buses an hour on that route!
A smart change at Bridgwater onto the 21 and it was one of the ex Reading/Kernow Solars with newly amended Atlantic Coasters livery now for the 21. To be fair, it's a smart move and I wonder if the colour scheme might be extended to non exAC stock. Also, 65759 had been refurbished (not certain when) but I remember travelling on a sister vehicle a couple of years ago and the seats were quite knackered. This was the red version (as on the Tinners) and not quite to my tastes with the powerful blue panels but that's subjective. It would be churlish to complain too much. We went along the A38 and unlike the younger e200, this was a much more assured ride.
Into Taunton and my first view of the refurbished Quantock Line vehicles. The livery does have echoes of the new East Yorkshire scheme but that's not a complaint, and I didn't hear anyone with a Bridlington brogue complaining. Whilst I didn't have a trip, I did have a good peer in and they look very smart. The Somerset operations may struggle to justify new fleet but this is a good alternative. Instead, I sampled one of the Streetlites on the P&R to Gateway. This is the relaunched service and it was noticeable how many parked cars (many with blue badges parked on double yellows) were parked on Fore Street and East Reach with the park and ride site quite quiet. It's a challenge as many shops will, justifiably in some sense, say that parking close by is essential and they have enough of a struggle these days. However, it did nothing to help the bus. What is good is the few bus gates that Taunton does have and we took advantage of one as we exited the town.
The next machine was from the Blackbrook Inn (now Toby Carvery) to Chard on the 30. This is often a decker and it was again in recently arrived 33127, a former London, Yorkshire and Cornwall Trident. It wasn't a bad old machine to be fair, a bit careworn but it is 17 years old. It still retains Urban colours. It also had adverts for Truro housing developments and this was my one continuing concern - internal publicity for BoS is still scant. Aside from the feedback adverts (standard First stuff) and some timetables on the 21 (but for the 28), it was absent on every vehicle. Feels like they're missing a trick. We carved our way on the 30 and it's a great service; I recalled my first journeys on it some 28 years ago with an Iveco Turbo Daily and a VR.
At Chard, I had chance to sit down for a coffee and then wandered out for my only non First trip. This was the 96 operated by South West Buses. A single to Yeovil was a bargain £3.50..... for 90 mins travel! I nearly passed out on the spot. I'd not done this route for many years. Last time was the 61 nearly 20 years ago which was a lot quicker - about half the time. The vehicle was a 2012 ex Reays e200. Now, I doubt that SWC send out fitters with spanners to tighten stuff up but the number of rattles compared to similar 44535 was noticeable. An indication of variable build quality??? We headed off from Chard on roads I'd not travelled before....perhaps CD or Mike (Henairs) can confirm but before the rural money came, did SN operate some odd local minibus service from Combe St Nicholas via Chard towards Cricket St Thomas that covered part of this. We threaded our way through the countryside as dusk fell and then into Crewkerne, orbiting the town before hitting the centre, then doing it again on our way out so it took about 10 mins to get past the station. We eventually arrived in Yeovil on time and I wandered off for another coffee before walking down to the bus station. This end of town is now really quiet, or so it seems, and whilst I generally prefer to see bus stations exist, Yeovil's is probably in the wrong place and I do support the plans to bin it completely. It is also a pretty bad advert for bus travel generally, and for First in particular.
Now, if BoS is the poor cousin of First South West, then Yeovil depot is probably the relative that the Victorians would almost deny existed. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to know that Buses of Somerset actually ran the buses in Yeovil. My final bus was Dart 42949, still fully labelled as First Wessex and every other bus I saw there (granted it wasn't that many) was in First urban livery save all white 42953. That said, we had a decent load for the final 77 of the day and again, it wasn't a bad old machine.
However, the one thing that really hit me is the frequency of services in Somerset. Aside from the Mendip area and the Taunton to Wellington service, services are quite infrequent on some routes. The Crewkerne to Yeovil service has FIVE journeys; Yeovil to Somerton runs every 45 minutes. Even the Taunton town route 1 is now just half hourly. Times and frequencies are seemingly driven by resources rather than the other way round. This is, of course, not just a product of operators looking to minimise cost but a reflection of the approach of Somerset CC (and neighbouring Dorset too). We all recognise the stresses that austerity has wrought on local authorities yet some, like Wiltshire, have been more successful in protecting their bus networks.
All in all, a good day and some lovely scenery. Buses of Somerset has clearly moved on but there are still some obvious issues, not least the number of vehicles that are running around in Urban or dealer white, like e200 44077 - in Somerset since March 2017. The refurbishment for the 28 Quantock Line is welcome and the 21 Solars - well, it's a neat low cost way of differentiation and avoiding a repaint. However, it's never been a county where profit has come easy and it seems that FSW have been trying to improve their relationships with the county and district councils and other public bodies. Hopefully, with the worst of austerity being over (?), we might see some improvements in both the approach and ambition of the local authorities matching that of FSW and Kernow Council.
Hope this has been of interest and, with interested observers, represents a fair review of the area.
First of all, I downloaded my m-ticket. To be fair to First, whilst it was a little unreliable in the early days, the m-tickets are spot on. However, the price is a chunky £12, which seems a little pricey given the network. My first bus was the 1050 75 from Glastonbury to Bridgwater. It was a little late but that was (I think) down to some roadworks at Coxley. e200 44535 arrived and I was pleased to see that it had recently gained the latest BoS livery. It looked good, though the interior was standard 2012 First and is just beginning to look a bit scuffed in places. Unfortunately like many e200s (irrespective of owner), it did have a good few rattles as we delved off the main A39 and through the Polden villages. One minor observation (and one that a number of companies fail on) was a temporary timetable notice on a roadside stop from Feb/Mar 2018; great that they put them up but would be better if they were removed. On a clear day, the 75 is a lovely run. However, it is noticeable as to how many people panic when they see a bus coming towards them on a rural road so we never did get the time back that we were lacking. We picked up a few but the majority came from Woolavington. Hard to imagine that a few years ago, First and Webberbus were running 2 or 3 buses an hour on that route!
A smart change at Bridgwater onto the 21 and it was one of the ex Reading/Kernow Solars with newly amended Atlantic Coasters livery now for the 21. To be fair, it's a smart move and I wonder if the colour scheme might be extended to non exAC stock. Also, 65759 had been refurbished (not certain when) but I remember travelling on a sister vehicle a couple of years ago and the seats were quite knackered. This was the red version (as on the Tinners) and not quite to my tastes with the powerful blue panels but that's subjective. It would be churlish to complain too much. We went along the A38 and unlike the younger e200, this was a much more assured ride.
Into Taunton and my first view of the refurbished Quantock Line vehicles. The livery does have echoes of the new East Yorkshire scheme but that's not a complaint, and I didn't hear anyone with a Bridlington brogue complaining. Whilst I didn't have a trip, I did have a good peer in and they look very smart. The Somerset operations may struggle to justify new fleet but this is a good alternative. Instead, I sampled one of the Streetlites on the P&R to Gateway. This is the relaunched service and it was noticeable how many parked cars (many with blue badges parked on double yellows) were parked on Fore Street and East Reach with the park and ride site quite quiet. It's a challenge as many shops will, justifiably in some sense, say that parking close by is essential and they have enough of a struggle these days. However, it did nothing to help the bus. What is good is the few bus gates that Taunton does have and we took advantage of one as we exited the town.
The next machine was from the Blackbrook Inn (now Toby Carvery) to Chard on the 30. This is often a decker and it was again in recently arrived 33127, a former London, Yorkshire and Cornwall Trident. It wasn't a bad old machine to be fair, a bit careworn but it is 17 years old. It still retains Urban colours. It also had adverts for Truro housing developments and this was my one continuing concern - internal publicity for BoS is still scant. Aside from the feedback adverts (standard First stuff) and some timetables on the 21 (but for the 28), it was absent on every vehicle. Feels like they're missing a trick. We carved our way on the 30 and it's a great service; I recalled my first journeys on it some 28 years ago with an Iveco Turbo Daily and a VR.
At Chard, I had chance to sit down for a coffee and then wandered out for my only non First trip. This was the 96 operated by South West Buses. A single to Yeovil was a bargain £3.50..... for 90 mins travel! I nearly passed out on the spot. I'd not done this route for many years. Last time was the 61 nearly 20 years ago which was a lot quicker - about half the time. The vehicle was a 2012 ex Reays e200. Now, I doubt that SWC send out fitters with spanners to tighten stuff up but the number of rattles compared to similar 44535 was noticeable. An indication of variable build quality??? We headed off from Chard on roads I'd not travelled before....perhaps CD or Mike (Henairs) can confirm but before the rural money came, did SN operate some odd local minibus service from Combe St Nicholas via Chard towards Cricket St Thomas that covered part of this. We threaded our way through the countryside as dusk fell and then into Crewkerne, orbiting the town before hitting the centre, then doing it again on our way out so it took about 10 mins to get past the station. We eventually arrived in Yeovil on time and I wandered off for another coffee before walking down to the bus station. This end of town is now really quiet, or so it seems, and whilst I generally prefer to see bus stations exist, Yeovil's is probably in the wrong place and I do support the plans to bin it completely. It is also a pretty bad advert for bus travel generally, and for First in particular.
Now, if BoS is the poor cousin of First South West, then Yeovil depot is probably the relative that the Victorians would almost deny existed. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to know that Buses of Somerset actually ran the buses in Yeovil. My final bus was Dart 42949, still fully labelled as First Wessex and every other bus I saw there (granted it wasn't that many) was in First urban livery save all white 42953. That said, we had a decent load for the final 77 of the day and again, it wasn't a bad old machine.
However, the one thing that really hit me is the frequency of services in Somerset. Aside from the Mendip area and the Taunton to Wellington service, services are quite infrequent on some routes. The Crewkerne to Yeovil service has FIVE journeys; Yeovil to Somerton runs every 45 minutes. Even the Taunton town route 1 is now just half hourly. Times and frequencies are seemingly driven by resources rather than the other way round. This is, of course, not just a product of operators looking to minimise cost but a reflection of the approach of Somerset CC (and neighbouring Dorset too). We all recognise the stresses that austerity has wrought on local authorities yet some, like Wiltshire, have been more successful in protecting their bus networks.
All in all, a good day and some lovely scenery. Buses of Somerset has clearly moved on but there are still some obvious issues, not least the number of vehicles that are running around in Urban or dealer white, like e200 44077 - in Somerset since March 2017. The refurbishment for the 28 Quantock Line is welcome and the 21 Solars - well, it's a neat low cost way of differentiation and avoiding a repaint. However, it's never been a county where profit has come easy and it seems that FSW have been trying to improve their relationships with the county and district councils and other public bodies. Hopefully, with the worst of austerity being over (?), we might see some improvements in both the approach and ambition of the local authorities matching that of FSW and Kernow Council.
Hope this has been of interest and, with interested observers, represents a fair review of the area.
Hi Wazoo,
Looks like you had an interesting day in our part of the woods. I often used to go that way when Stagecoach ran the 99 services through to Taunton / Wellington a few years back.
The Wellington section from Taunton didn't last long but I did manage a ride on it as well as a photo I took of a Versa at Welly. For a while BOS, Stagecoach and Webberbus all rang between the two towns which to say the least was an overkill situation.
You are right about Southern National running a Coombe St Nick to Chard service.
This was back when Chard had a depot bottom of Avishays close to the A30.
When First took over Cawlett services in the area an outstation was set up along the trading estate road a little further along from the site Stagecoach shared with a tanker company several years later.
You were unlucky not to get one of the ex DCC Weymouth P&R Versa's on the 96 as SWC have two of these still in the county council livery.
I also had a short run on 33127 this morning on the 1035 TN to AX 30 service and noticed the faded First Sheffield marking above the door.
Cheers, Mike R
Tommy Walters
Member
Quick couple of observations in Bath this evening:
- 10179 & 32343 both on U1 night shift
- 32673 on the last 172 of the evening to Wells, fully justifying the use of a decker as nearly every seat was taken!! It's almost worth considering implementing later journeys on a Saturday, perhaps just to Midsomer Norton & back, worked by Bath depot??
- 10179 & 32343 both on U1 night shift
- 32673 on the last 172 of the evening to Wells, fully justifying the use of a decker as nearly every seat was taken!! It's almost worth considering implementing later journeys on a Saturday, perhaps just to Midsomer Norton & back, worked by Bath depot??
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
I suspect that as it wasn't full, and you could end up with 2 x half empty vehicles, that's why they've not done it.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Cheers Mike
I've still not managed the 99 from Chard to Taunton! Seem to recall there was Taunton to Buckland St Mary service, and they linked with the Combe St Nicholas route? My first visit to Chard was 1991 and the old depot was there in Avishayes Road where the fire station now is. I don't think it lasted many more years before they vacated and moved to Millfield Ind Est.
It is one of the differences of the two halves of FSW, in that they have a number of outstations in Cornwall (e.g. Helston, Padstow, Eden) but only Minehead in Somerset (and that's almost a depot in its own right). There are a number of places that have traditionally had buses outstationed like Wiveliscombe and Chard but makes sense to base them at the main depots as Yeovil and Bridgwater in particular have plenty of space.
Robertj21a
On Moderation
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Interesting comments about an area that I've not visited for some years. In all honesty, as an outsider, it really comes over as an operation that could do with being put out of its misery !
Are there any moderately sized independents who could take on the routes, probably at a lower cost to the council ?. Is DRT already used for the remoter parts ?
Are there any moderately sized independents who could take on the routes, probably at a lower cost to the council ?. Is DRT already used for the remoter parts ?
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
In all fairness, Somerset has never been an easy area in which to make money. Stagecoach tried and failed and the indies there are have many of the same challenges.
Robertj21a
On Moderation
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- 7,525
Private Baxter
Established Member
- Joined
- 22 Sep 2013
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Thank you as always for your review.
Thanks as always for your review. Sounds like you got a reasonable chunk of the region covered. I used to be a semi regular of the full 29 (and to a lesser extent the 28) in a former life, though never travelled beyond Street on the 163/375/377 as they were known then. From reports I think they do match their resources to the demand, though it is always disappointing when services are further cut, especially after investment not long prior. I think they do currently have a strong core service despite low frequencies, though I agree it would be good to see the BoS brand on more buses.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
To be fair to BoS, the point is common across the other operators like South West Coaches. It's not quite that they match resources to demand but that the resource available shapes the service, not the demand. The best example is the 96 where the demand is probably greater than the current timetable but that's what's available with one vehicle. Similarly, the 52 is not based on demand but around what the bus can do.
Again, in fairness, most of the services are now pitched at what is probably the correct frequency, so two hourly from Glastonbury to Bridgwater is not that different from the old 163. However, it's when you see the most frequent Taunton local being the 1 as half hourly on a Saturday, or the Yeovil to Sherborne route being two hourly on a Saturday that makes you step back a bit.
As for the brand and application of the livery, I do get it that it might not be cost effective to paint something like 33127 - I don't know how long that might have and whether it may be repainted. However, stuff like 44077 has been around for nearly 3 years. The Yeovil fleet is largely still in First livery. Now perhaps there are major changes afoot that we don't know about (and no reason why we should) but in Yeovil, you'd be hard pressed to realise that the operator wasn't still old First.
Last edited:
Bring back Miss Gunn.......
Hi Robert,
Now your talking! A lady who commanded respect and was deeply committed to running Safeway services at a top level while she was in charge.
I was only reminiscing with another bus pal the other week and it was raised in our conversation that South Petherton once had no less than 3 depots based in the village with 3 operators who operated around that area at the time.
There was Safeway services, Hutchings and Cornellius as well as Western National (Taunton) also having several vehicles outstationed there including Bristol RE's so some decent stock.
As well as South West Coaches there are services run by Slinky on a dial and ride system using Mini-buses as well as some SCC services (Yeovil - West Coker via North Coker being an example) which serve the smaller communities on varying days of the week.
Atwest do similar work in West Somerset as do Mendip Community Bus in that area so there are a few operators doing the less glamorous routes which are still vital for people who rely on these services as a link to the outside world.
Must admit I've only done the 99 Chard - Taunton three times since BOS have run this section as it's usually only a Streetlite with the occasional E200 on odd occasions.
Must try the 96 one day as haven't done that section with SWC yet.
Think all run via Clapton,Winsham and Forton these days rather than over the top (Windwhistle route)
Cheers, Mike R
Whiteway215
Established Member
Mike
Does your reminiscing include Hutcings & Cornelius? Dennis Lancet UF/Harringtons, Loline/EL 623BYA, Reliance/ Harrington & Willowbrook, LH6L/ECW and best of all RYA700L VR/ECW etc etc
Does your reminiscing include Hutcings & Cornelius? Dennis Lancet UF/Harringtons, Loline/EL 623BYA, Reliance/ Harrington & Willowbrook, LH6L/ECW and best of all RYA700L VR/ECW etc etc
diffywood
Member
33601 this morning - door fell off