THarris123
Established Member
Just thought i'd post a little thread to try to clear some of the South West thread.
why I hate Webberbus
Well why do I hate Webberbus?
1. Their stupid non structures fare system
2. Their way in which they run most of their services to mirror the BoS services
3. Their ability to be able to afford new buses
4. Some financial stability - caused by their school contracts and private work which helps fund everything
5. Their drivers
6. Probably the most significant factor - how they operate their services only near enough 9-17, without considering commuters or the young
What First has done wrong
I personally think that First West of England have made an error to take on the 20 and give up on 375 and 377.
Last August they were praised by me, other enthusiasts, bus drivers and enthusiasts for the changes they made - they invested heavily in New vehicles for 376, created new services out of unworkable and uneconomic services and cheered up the look of the depot and bus station. Now in May they plan to axe the 375 and send a reliable 377 to Taunton to be run by BoS.
So from May, Wells depot lose 6 buses (which in the full crew they have is about 12-15 drivers now having to work from other depots - which costs more than hiring new drivers and doing a recruitment campaign for Bath and Weston) and the drivers lose more variation in their work. They will only be going to Weston, Bath, Bristol, Shepton and Street. The main reason why so many drivers prefer to work in Wells is due to them wanting to work in the country, and considering that Bath pays the same wages as Wells, where would you rather work - sat in traffic all day everyday in Bath or out on open roads in Wells? I know where I would prefer to be. Weston and Yeovil are paid less, so going to Wells is a better deal. I know of quite a few drivers who have recently transferred from Bath, Weston or other areas into Wells, mostly because of this reason. So with quite a few drivers in Wells now, what do they do? Cut the workload. Very stupid if you ask me.
What BoS are doing wrong
So from May 377 gets renamed and gets interworked with new hourly service from Wells to Taunton 55 (which follows 38) and 54. That increases the number of vehicles by around about 4-6.
The 375 becomes the 73, which runs every 30 mins from Woolavington to Bridgwater, going on a slower route than 37 too.
Also in BoS, we see the Burnham to Weston section of 21 move to Weston and the route of the 14 gets a frequency increase in Bridgwater. The town services in Taunton, as far as I can tell get a few improvements too.
All of this, I believe doesn't really tackle the Webberbus problem.
We will now have 3 buses going Wells-Somerton every hour, 3 buses going Somerton-Taunton every hour, 3 buses going Somerton-Yeovil every hour, 3 buses going Bridgwater-Cannington every hour and 4 buses going Woolavington-Bridgwater every hour. Yet we then get 1 bus going Wells-Bridgwater every hour, compared to the 3 which were running soon after Webberbus introduced 37, as well as potentially no buses going through the villages between Ashcott and Woolavington (as I haven't seen any route registration changes to 37 in VOSA).
This personally hits me too. I moved to Wells to work in an accountancy firm. There are many based in Wells and many more based within 1 bus journey (Yeovil, Taunton, Bristol, Bath, Weston and other destinations in between). If I was offered a job in Yeovil, I would now have to tell the employer sorry I can work from as early as 7.30 in Yeovil, but from 9th of July I will only be able to work from 8.50ish. The same applies to if I was offered a job in Bridgwater. How many jobs do you think are available in Wells in comparison to the various towns around, not just in accountancy, but in any industry? Well I can certainly tell you there is more potential to find a job in a town surrounding Wells than actually in Wells and yet are there the public transport routes to allow commuters to be flexible? Not South of Wells anymore. This was something that I was very proud of where First differed from Webberbus and now they are just as bad. There doesn't appear to be demand from Wells to Yeovil early in the morning, but it does appear to be viable to have a service going from Wells to Taunton at 19.19 in the evening, just as everybody heads back home from Wells.
From what I have seen over the last few years, there is not by any means enough demand for the planned 54, 55, 77, 73 and X14, but there is enough demand for a 375 service to go Wells to Bridgwater every 2 hours, as well as a 29 service every 2 hours. I get shot down every time I mention that and yet First go and implement the 55 which duplicates the 38 and provides a service that there isn't any demand for, which they also withdrew the 54 shorts (which was always a bad idea to initiate) a year after increasing the frequency. If that doesn't show a lack of demand I don't know what does. Every single time I have been on 377 and 375, the demand I have noticed goes Wells-Street and then Wells-Yeovil/Bridgwater. I have only ever once seen 1 person get on at Woolavington and I have very rarely seen people getting on or off at Somerton (although there is some demand there).
So what I would have done:
Kept 375 and 377 with Wells, renaming them and moving the 54 plate B7s to 77 and solos to 375. 375 would run two hourly.
Kept 21 as is having an hourly service going Taunton-Weston. Remove the Musgrove Hospital section onto 9 as has been done (very good idea). Have the 20 running, but only hourly during the summer, using deckers taken out of Bristol from the Uni reductions (as will be done).
Not decreased or changed any of the frequencies on the Taunton town services last year - that let Webberbus get into that and from what i've seen they're doing just as well as BoS on those services. They would have created those routes anyway (as that's what they do), but they certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as they are at the moment.
Added an extra bus (taken from 375) to 29 to have that running every 2 hours. That maintains the Wells-Street service of every 15 mins, as well as creating a regular quicker service from Wells to Taunton to compete against Webbers. Revert the 29 back to its old route and run it from Wells, being interworked with 375.
Increased the frequency on 28 to every 20 mins
Have more buses running on a Sunday and running later into evenings (maybe even a 24 hour town service in Taunton).
Create a new service network around Bridgwater - maybe reroute 21A around the town to compete against Webbers
Sort out 22/22A - separated it into 3 services, all timed equally surrounding Webbers service
Create a new service going from Wells-Wookey Hole
Create a town service in Wells - will bring loyalty back to First - if they get a day ticket at somewhere like Churchill Road, they then get a service to Somerton/Bridgwater/Yeovil/Taunton without paying extra fares to travel by Webbers
Extend 14 to Minehead in summer - tourists
Create a new network around Taunton and Bridgwater for schools
Create a new brand for private hire work and use some of the buses/coaches from the school work.
First need to hit Webberbus where it hurts the most - private hire, school contracts, Bridgwater town services and other services that they are doing well on. To drive them out of Wells and Taunton you don't do what you've just done - take away the services that are unique in comparison to Webbers and create new services/increase frequencies where there is no demand. I'm really beginning to lose faith in First and they are forgetting about who are most vital to them in comparison to Webberbus - commuters and the young and their drivers. Virtually every last driver I have spoken to in Wells has very negative feedback on what's happening at the moment. It's not just in Wells, but also in Bath and Weston. I'd like to think there are quite a few passengers who will be annoyed by these changes, as they were when BoS changed things last March. I'd also like to think that there are other enthusiasts, hopefully on here that can agree with the comments made in this.
I'm sure to get a bit of backlash on this, but it is not a viable solution to do what First are doing in May to combat Webbers.
Cheers, Tom.
why I hate Webberbus
Well why do I hate Webberbus?
1. Their stupid non structures fare system
2. Their way in which they run most of their services to mirror the BoS services
3. Their ability to be able to afford new buses
4. Some financial stability - caused by their school contracts and private work which helps fund everything
5. Their drivers
6. Probably the most significant factor - how they operate their services only near enough 9-17, without considering commuters or the young
What First has done wrong
I personally think that First West of England have made an error to take on the 20 and give up on 375 and 377.
Last August they were praised by me, other enthusiasts, bus drivers and enthusiasts for the changes they made - they invested heavily in New vehicles for 376, created new services out of unworkable and uneconomic services and cheered up the look of the depot and bus station. Now in May they plan to axe the 375 and send a reliable 377 to Taunton to be run by BoS.
So from May, Wells depot lose 6 buses (which in the full crew they have is about 12-15 drivers now having to work from other depots - which costs more than hiring new drivers and doing a recruitment campaign for Bath and Weston) and the drivers lose more variation in their work. They will only be going to Weston, Bath, Bristol, Shepton and Street. The main reason why so many drivers prefer to work in Wells is due to them wanting to work in the country, and considering that Bath pays the same wages as Wells, where would you rather work - sat in traffic all day everyday in Bath or out on open roads in Wells? I know where I would prefer to be. Weston and Yeovil are paid less, so going to Wells is a better deal. I know of quite a few drivers who have recently transferred from Bath, Weston or other areas into Wells, mostly because of this reason. So with quite a few drivers in Wells now, what do they do? Cut the workload. Very stupid if you ask me.
What BoS are doing wrong
So from May 377 gets renamed and gets interworked with new hourly service from Wells to Taunton 55 (which follows 38) and 54. That increases the number of vehicles by around about 4-6.
The 375 becomes the 73, which runs every 30 mins from Woolavington to Bridgwater, going on a slower route than 37 too.
Also in BoS, we see the Burnham to Weston section of 21 move to Weston and the route of the 14 gets a frequency increase in Bridgwater. The town services in Taunton, as far as I can tell get a few improvements too.
All of this, I believe doesn't really tackle the Webberbus problem.
We will now have 3 buses going Wells-Somerton every hour, 3 buses going Somerton-Taunton every hour, 3 buses going Somerton-Yeovil every hour, 3 buses going Bridgwater-Cannington every hour and 4 buses going Woolavington-Bridgwater every hour. Yet we then get 1 bus going Wells-Bridgwater every hour, compared to the 3 which were running soon after Webberbus introduced 37, as well as potentially no buses going through the villages between Ashcott and Woolavington (as I haven't seen any route registration changes to 37 in VOSA).
This personally hits me too. I moved to Wells to work in an accountancy firm. There are many based in Wells and many more based within 1 bus journey (Yeovil, Taunton, Bristol, Bath, Weston and other destinations in between). If I was offered a job in Yeovil, I would now have to tell the employer sorry I can work from as early as 7.30 in Yeovil, but from 9th of July I will only be able to work from 8.50ish. The same applies to if I was offered a job in Bridgwater. How many jobs do you think are available in Wells in comparison to the various towns around, not just in accountancy, but in any industry? Well I can certainly tell you there is more potential to find a job in a town surrounding Wells than actually in Wells and yet are there the public transport routes to allow commuters to be flexible? Not South of Wells anymore. This was something that I was very proud of where First differed from Webberbus and now they are just as bad. There doesn't appear to be demand from Wells to Yeovil early in the morning, but it does appear to be viable to have a service going from Wells to Taunton at 19.19 in the evening, just as everybody heads back home from Wells.
From what I have seen over the last few years, there is not by any means enough demand for the planned 54, 55, 77, 73 and X14, but there is enough demand for a 375 service to go Wells to Bridgwater every 2 hours, as well as a 29 service every 2 hours. I get shot down every time I mention that and yet First go and implement the 55 which duplicates the 38 and provides a service that there isn't any demand for, which they also withdrew the 54 shorts (which was always a bad idea to initiate) a year after increasing the frequency. If that doesn't show a lack of demand I don't know what does. Every single time I have been on 377 and 375, the demand I have noticed goes Wells-Street and then Wells-Yeovil/Bridgwater. I have only ever once seen 1 person get on at Woolavington and I have very rarely seen people getting on or off at Somerton (although there is some demand there).
So what I would have done:
Kept 375 and 377 with Wells, renaming them and moving the 54 plate B7s to 77 and solos to 375. 375 would run two hourly.
Kept 21 as is having an hourly service going Taunton-Weston. Remove the Musgrove Hospital section onto 9 as has been done (very good idea). Have the 20 running, but only hourly during the summer, using deckers taken out of Bristol from the Uni reductions (as will be done).
Not decreased or changed any of the frequencies on the Taunton town services last year - that let Webberbus get into that and from what i've seen they're doing just as well as BoS on those services. They would have created those routes anyway (as that's what they do), but they certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as they are at the moment.
Added an extra bus (taken from 375) to 29 to have that running every 2 hours. That maintains the Wells-Street service of every 15 mins, as well as creating a regular quicker service from Wells to Taunton to compete against Webbers. Revert the 29 back to its old route and run it from Wells, being interworked with 375.
Increased the frequency on 28 to every 20 mins
Have more buses running on a Sunday and running later into evenings (maybe even a 24 hour town service in Taunton).
Create a new service network around Bridgwater - maybe reroute 21A around the town to compete against Webbers
Sort out 22/22A - separated it into 3 services, all timed equally surrounding Webbers service
Create a new service going from Wells-Wookey Hole
Create a town service in Wells - will bring loyalty back to First - if they get a day ticket at somewhere like Churchill Road, they then get a service to Somerton/Bridgwater/Yeovil/Taunton without paying extra fares to travel by Webbers
Extend 14 to Minehead in summer - tourists
Create a new network around Taunton and Bridgwater for schools
Create a new brand for private hire work and use some of the buses/coaches from the school work.
First need to hit Webberbus where it hurts the most - private hire, school contracts, Bridgwater town services and other services that they are doing well on. To drive them out of Wells and Taunton you don't do what you've just done - take away the services that are unique in comparison to Webbers and create new services/increase frequencies where there is no demand. I'm really beginning to lose faith in First and they are forgetting about who are most vital to them in comparison to Webberbus - commuters and the young and their drivers. Virtually every last driver I have spoken to in Wells has very negative feedback on what's happening at the moment. It's not just in Wells, but also in Bath and Weston. I'd like to think there are quite a few passengers who will be annoyed by these changes, as they were when BoS changed things last March. I'd also like to think that there are other enthusiasts, hopefully on here that can agree with the comments made in this.
I'm sure to get a bit of backlash on this, but it is not a viable solution to do what First are doing in May to combat Webbers.
Cheers, Tom.