Well. That must be a record for Megabus.com in the UK - the 13:25 from Cardiff to Newcastle is running 210 minutes late. Ouch! Technical fault though. At least its not as bad as trains though in recent times.
I'd rather forget those ex-Hong Kong Olympians. I had a bit of a hair-raising journey heading to Glasgow for Hogmanay one year. I'd had a reasonably comfy journey from Inverness, and then we were dumped at a freezing cold Broxden and had to await a late-running connection from Aberdeen that was completely rammed with students and backpacks. I'm glad to see standards have improved since!Perth had quite a few ex Hong Kong Citybus' were converted for Megabus duties frequently appearing on normal service routes. You would always be guaranteed that one would appear on the 15 Perth - Comrie in the afternoon.
The route is up and running but the buses aren't yet (so Rawmarsh putting other vehicles out on it in the meantime). I've not seen pictures to know if they'll be in a "dedicated" livery.
There's an interesting bit of co-operation going on, with the Stagecoach X6 broadly dovetailing with the Powells X7 to provide a fifteen minute service from Bramley and eastern Rotherham along the Parkway into Sheffield (providing a much faster journey than the First X1 which was recently reduced to every fifteen minutes - and runs via central Rotherham and Meadowhall).
For those with a spare day, wanting to tour South Yorkshire with a day-rider, the X6 also connects with other Stagecoach services like the 19 at Bramley (Rotherham - Dinnington - Worksop) and various Doncaster - North Nottinghamshire services at Parrots Corner (the Park & Ride south of Doncaster) - I think the Stagecoach ticket is £6/ day, so much more of their South Yorkshire network is opened up by the X6 (e.g. Sheffield - Barnsley on the "Gold" X17, Barnsley - Doncaster on the X19/X20, Doncaster - Parrots Corner on the 21/25/99, Parrots Corner - Sheffield on the X6...).
Rumour appears to be true. https://www.adzuna.co.uk/jobs/details/1147517862?v=76B40E4B8696177D5A535724755ABABBC1467053&se=F83gRVhASK-487rj0H0MngRumour has it that Stagecoach South East are starting an Express route from Canterbury to North Greenwich .Thats why the Elites have gone to Herne Bay for storage .We will only know more in due course.Will keep updated when more info comes in handy.
The following services will not operate on Tuesdays - 1A, 4, 8 , 9, 24, 109A and 109 evening service (please see the timetable above)
The following service will not operate on Saturdays - 1A, 4, 4C, 8, 9, 24, 109A , 109 evening service (please see the timetable above) and X8.
How long will strikes go on for?
The dates we are currently aware of are:
Strike action is being taken by Unite the union therefore we’re unable to advise of further dates or the frequency of any strike action, but should more dates be announced we will publish service information on our website as soon as possible.
- Saturday 11th May
- Tuesday 14th May
- Saturday 25th May
- Tuesday 28th May
- Friday 31st May
- Saturday 1st June
What tickets are available?
There will be an adult £1.50 flat fare Preston Citi zone and an adult £2.50 flat fare across the rest of the network.
There will be a child £1 flat fare across all routes.
All day and weekly tickets are still available for sale and for our customer who already have tickets you can use them as normal.
Will I get days back on my ticket if there is a strike?
Customers should contact us directly by email [email protected]
I have a dayrider or megarider ticket through the Stagecoach bus app, can I use this?
If you have pre-purchased dayrider or megarider tickets with the Stagecoach bus app you can still use your ticket, however please check to see if your service is running, if it is not running please do not activate these on strike days as we aren’t able to refund or extend these tickets.
Got a question that needs answering?
Follow us on Twitter for live service updates or to ask us a question - @StagecoachMCSL - don't have Twitter? Don't worry you can still see our live updates even without an account.
Give us a call on 01772 255777 (on strike dates lines open 7am - 4pm Monday - Friday and 8:30am - 3:30pm Saturdays)
We will continue to keep you updated via our website and live Twitter feed.
I've read on another forum that Stagecoach Gold is to be discontinued - has anyone else heard anything about this?
South Wales, Stagecoach Gold 120/130 downgraded from gold today. Never achieved gold standard. Timekeeping poor. Part of the problem was the stop/start when the bus stopped and the doors opened. Drivers did not like it. Brakes would lock, then you had to press brake again before bus moved off. There was also a mess up with the timetable.
General public not happy with their removal, but were always complaining about late running/two buses together.
South Wales, Stagecoach Gold 120/130 downgraded from gold today. Never achieved gold standard. Timekeeping poor. Part of the problem was the stop/start when the bus stopped and the doors opened. Drivers did not like it. Brakes would lock, then you had to press brake again before bus moved off. There was also a mess up with the timetable.
General public not happy with their removal, but were always complaining about late running/two buses together.
Suspect that it was only one, side issue and that the main reason was it wasn’t making the returns. I thought the 120/130 was a strange choice; the 122 seemed more logical or, as is now the case, the 151.Surely that's a problem that could be resolved by disabling the stop/start system rather than downgrading the route?
The engine cut out is now available on many new buses, I really can't believe that it's anything that drivers in just one part of the country can't cope with !
Surely that's a problem that could be resolved by disabling the stop/start system rather than downgrading the route?
It was requested, but refused.
It's difficult to believe that turning the engine off for the 10 seconds it takes for a passenger to disembark and then starting it again uses less fuel than keeping it running.The stop-start system is part of what makes them ultra-low emission, and hence the latest, cleanest standard, as well as reducing fuel use and qualifying for a higher rate of BSOG. Turning the system off is therefore not a sensible idea!,
The stop-start system is part of what makes them ultra-low emission, and hence the latest, cleanest standard, as well as reducing fuel use and qualifying for a higher rate of BSOG. Turning the system off is therefore not a sensible idea!,
Stop/start technology is used by vehicle manufacturers to improve the average emissions result in government tests and earn them a lower VED band. Once you own the vehicle you can disable it and the VED band doesn't change and you'll probably get better fuel economy. Most cars have an option to switch stop/start off.
No doubt true, but DVSA and hence the TC take rather more interest in bus/Coach Operators than they do in the private motorist.
It's rarely 10 seconds however which is why it makes a difference.It's difficult to believe that turning the engine off for the 10 seconds it takes for a passenger to disembark and then starting it again uses less fuel than keeping it running.
The vibrations a diesel bus makes whilst idling are much less than the shaking which occurs when the engine starts. The noise made is also an issue. It's bad enough for the passengers. Imagine what it must be like living near a bus stop. Stopping the engine whilst the bus is stationary is one of those ideas which sounds good in theory but is not so good in practice, particularly on urban services with closely spaced stops.Having the engine off while stationary is not only good for the environment (which is why many cars employ a start-stop system) but is also more comfortable for the passenger as it cuts out the vibrations that a diesel bus makes.
There have been a couple of twitter reports of 5 hour delays in the last few days. On Friday a Megabus was stuck behind a serious RTI for several hours and yesterday there were reports of similar delays through Birmingham due to road closures for a bike race.Well. That must be a record for Megabus.com in the UK - the 13:25 from Cardiff to Newcastle is running 210 minutes late. Ouch! Technical fault though. At least its not as bad as trains though in recent times.
South Wales, Stagecoach Gold 120/130 downgraded from gold today. Never achieved gold standard. Timekeeping poor. Part of the problem was the stop/start when the bus stopped and the doors opened. Drivers did not like it. Brakes would lock, then you had to press brake again before bus moved off. There was also a mess up with the timetable.
General public not happy with their removal, but were always complaining about late running/two buses together.
Routeone magazine are announcing this as "£4m Investment' in new Gold Routes, 24 vehicles etc, this is borderline fake news, don't know whether the Stagecoach press release was deliberately confusing and Routeone didn't read properly, otherwise this is confusing 'Spin' - apparently claiming £4m of new investment, when in actual fact they have simply moved some existing Gold vehicles from one route to another - the £4m was used to buy the vehicles in a previous year.Indeed 120/130 not making enough of a profit to keep them GOLD. Full rollout of Gold 26 and 151 tomorrow morning.