tbtc
Veteran Member
This thread would have been unthinkable a few years ago, when ten minute frequencies were the norm on busy urban routes and we had services like the 22 in Edinburgh running every four minutes
But, post-Covid (and with rising staff costs making occasional double deckers more attractive that several minibuses), how many remain? I can’t think of any examples in South Yorkshire (where “every fifteen” seems the new benchmark)
By every ten minutes I mean:
. Everything has the same service number, any other services with other suffixes/ prefixes do not count, I’m not talking about “corridors” (61/62/63 or 38/38a/38b) I’m talking about individual services
. It must be for at least three sequential hours a day without any gaps, so not just frequent at peak times (an adjustment between Peak and Off Peak journey times is understandable but I’d want to have the frequency maintained for a minimum of three hours without any wait if over ten minutes)
. Routes operated by multiple divisions of the same company are allowed (e.g. if First Bradford run journeys on a route shared with First Leeds/ Huddersfield/ Halifax then that’s okay), but I’m not accepting routes with multiple operators (e.g. the 120 in Sheffield is every seven/ eight minutes but shared between First and Stagecoach, so doesn’t count).
. However the 120 would have been fine about a decade ago when the combined four minute frequency saw each operator running every eight minutes, they both ran a service every ten minutes). Similarly, a route with competition (or a separate operators of tendered journeys) is allowed as long as one operator meets the criteria
. I’ll allow a little discretion over extensions that are less frequent (every ten minutes on a main section but then every twenty/ thirty beyond), but the “extensions” must be shorter than the “core” section
. Tendered services, Park & Ride, free shuttles etc are all permitted, as long as it’s a service listed in Bustimes.org as open to the public… But no employee shuttles that are restricted to staff showing their lanyards or “airside” routes at airports that would require you to have gone through passport control
. If in doubt, Bustimes.org is the Bible, rather than vague information on operator websites about “up to every ten minutes”
I’ll start the ball rolling: Stagecoach East Scotland 99 from Dundee to St Andrews
But, post-Covid (and with rising staff costs making occasional double deckers more attractive that several minibuses), how many remain? I can’t think of any examples in South Yorkshire (where “every fifteen” seems the new benchmark)
By every ten minutes I mean:
. Everything has the same service number, any other services with other suffixes/ prefixes do not count, I’m not talking about “corridors” (61/62/63 or 38/38a/38b) I’m talking about individual services
. It must be for at least three sequential hours a day without any gaps, so not just frequent at peak times (an adjustment between Peak and Off Peak journey times is understandable but I’d want to have the frequency maintained for a minimum of three hours without any wait if over ten minutes)
. Routes operated by multiple divisions of the same company are allowed (e.g. if First Bradford run journeys on a route shared with First Leeds/ Huddersfield/ Halifax then that’s okay), but I’m not accepting routes with multiple operators (e.g. the 120 in Sheffield is every seven/ eight minutes but shared between First and Stagecoach, so doesn’t count).
. However the 120 would have been fine about a decade ago when the combined four minute frequency saw each operator running every eight minutes, they both ran a service every ten minutes). Similarly, a route with competition (or a separate operators of tendered journeys) is allowed as long as one operator meets the criteria
. I’ll allow a little discretion over extensions that are less frequent (every ten minutes on a main section but then every twenty/ thirty beyond), but the “extensions” must be shorter than the “core” section
. Tendered services, Park & Ride, free shuttles etc are all permitted, as long as it’s a service listed in Bustimes.org as open to the public… But no employee shuttles that are restricted to staff showing their lanyards or “airside” routes at airports that would require you to have gone through passport control
. If in doubt, Bustimes.org is the Bible, rather than vague information on operator websites about “up to every ten minutes”
I’ll start the ball rolling: Stagecoach East Scotland 99 from Dundee to St Andrews
