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How could you solve bus overcrowding

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MCW

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on the Bendibus issue, Arriva trialled a fleet of 5 vehicles (might have been four but apparently they have a spare) on the Leicester University routes, 80 and 80A which run between the City Center, the Halls and Oadby where there is two other campuses and accommodation. This was done in the latter half of 2010 and they are still here now. With the Bendi's having a capacity of 140?? it works an absolute treat. you seldom see anyone else waiting at the same bus stop when one turns up (in mind service 48 serves some of the same stops).

If that is successful during both day and night, running until gone 11pm, then why not get a few more of them in Leicester and use them on some other routes, such as the 84, possibly the 85 if it can manage two of the worst corners... and maybe the 31 and 31A?

sometimes the answers are again there in front of the operators, but they never act accordingly. If the bus is over crowded, you certainly won't get on it/ won't want to be on it, so it puts you off (or could do) off using public transport for your daily commute. what the operators yet again need to realise is, if you put improvements in place, it encourages those customers to stay and possibly encourage more custom.
 
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neilmc

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On a high frequency, busy service there's not a lot you can do to stop vehicles bunching. A set of adverse traffic lights or two or three passengers buying time-consuming types of ticket can set you back a couple of minutes which means you get more and more passengers at each stop.

When I was crewing we would always overtake a bus in front if we weren't going to run early as a result, as the passengers wouldn't want to be killing time at a timing point whilst the other bus hurtled into town.

In Leeds we used to have quite a number of "swingers", peak period short workings which, especially on inbound workings, could simply be slotted in at a convenient junction; on outbound workings in the evening they had to show the short-working destination, of course, and they would run out of service in the opposite direction to get back and do another one. Operators now seem reluctant to pay the overheads as of course it means more vehicles and, for the crews, more split-shift working.
 

VTPreston_Tez

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That's a pet hate of mine at the minute as well. To give an example, the new trams in Blackpool and the number 1 bus service (same company 'Blackpool Transport') both terminate at the same location "Starr Gate." In the evenings, they each run at 30 minute intervals, so you would expect they'd be evenly spaced 15 minutes apart, but instead they both leave at exactly the same time! So you have 2 vehicles departing at the same time then a 30 minute gap until the next 2. They both run to the same destination at the other end as well, so they run side by side for the whole journey!

Quite simply, I'd either run them at evenly spaced intervals, or scrap the number 1 bus altogether. This would free up 7 double deckers for use on other routes, leaving the trams to run the main service on Blackpool's promenade and north to Fleetwood.

Just like the south Preston buses then.
North Preston (north of Westleigh and Ingol) have not got enough buses.
 

Badger

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On the above, do buses ever switch over roles when that happens? I.e. an early bus overtakes a 10 minute late bus, so timetable wise the bus that overtakes becomes the on time bus.
 

pemma

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On the above, do buses ever switch over roles when that happens? I.e. an early bus overtakes a 10 minute late bus, so timetable wise the bus that overtakes becomes the on time bus.

I've never seen an early bus except when a bus is at it's maximum capacity and leaves early as there's no point in waiting any longer. If that happens and the bus empties out part way along the route then it should wait until it's actual time before continuing.

Or when you say 'early bus' are you actually meaning an on-time service overtaking a late running service?
 

VTPreston_Tez

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I noticed that 31 capacity has been way above the norm today. A double decker westbound bus at 5pm is a first.
However the 1651 from Opp Weeton Place was the notoriously semi-seatless 184 (bus stock number, not route), which was full on the top deck and has like 24 seats on bottom where there is space for at least 28/29, and the same standees can be achieved.
PBT have even more double-deckers, two with tables and at least one with a new blue seat design. If someone can get the stock numbers then I would be grateful.
 

cainebj

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PBT have even more double-deckers, two with tables and at least one with a new blue seat design. If someone can get the stock numbers then I would be grateful.

5 with tables, 40541-40545 I think they are but not sure (ex Lothian V-ESC's). The other 2 are ex Stagecoach London (X-NNO), with East London Bus Group seat moquette I believe, I don't have numbers for them on me. The 5 ex Lothian ones replaced Leyland Olympians on schools (mainly ex Lothian E-MSG dual door ones), the 2 ex Stagecoach ones were bought in for new school contracts Preston Bus were awarded.
 

cainebj

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Seems Preston Bus are reducing capacity slightly, having advertised 2 Scania Esteems for sale, keeping smaller Solo's, after reducing the work for Solo's.
 

VTPreston_Tez

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Preston Bus have announced more staff are needed via Twitter and via their buses. They are getting new buses they said.
Oh and Lea Road's closed on Monday and Tuesday. The 44 will be manic due to an extension, the Orbital avoids a number of estates and Platinum are in for a nasty shock. Nice.

Oh and one more bus has been freed due to Redline taking over a Lea Endowed bus which has also worked the 31 in the past. Looks good if only it could work a morning 113 from Wigan, into the 89 and 113 to Wigan for an evening commute then going to rest.
 

mbonwick

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Preston Bus will be getting some hybrid deckers I believe with GBF money. I think it's 4 they're getting, but as they won't arrive till much later in the year (if not 2013), it doesn't explain the sale of Esteems.
 
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