News Page
Editorial
& Features
Issue 283
(OBP-496)
Friday 20th February 2009
(next update week ending 7th March 2009)
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Editorial & Features
Buses in the snow – Oxford style
One of my readers drew my attention to some wonderful pictures of buses struggling in the snow, when Headington Hill had to be closed in the recent heavy falls. Follow the link:
http://www.headington.org.uk/news/items/2009/buses_snow.html
On the subject of the snow I thought readers might enjoy some more pictures of snow problems which I found most interesting. Contributors are mentioned and I believe it is a credit to our various local companies that services ran throughout the problems with one small exception referred to above.
Chris Maxfield found himself at Chipping Norton and Witney on Friday 6th February when buses had to be dug out for service.
The scene that greeted those trying to run services from Chipping Norton.
The team who dug buses out, still smiling despite the efforts needed. The team
comprised both managers and driving staff.
Although the buses were released, services were restricted by using M A N Loliners between Oxford and Bladon roundabout on the A44.
Witney did not fare much better as the pictures from Chris show.
Contributions from other readers add to this report.
Richard Sharman took this picture of an S3 running through reducing
snow in winter sunshine.
Banbury was also hard hit as more pictures from Richard show.
Gavin Francis was at Gloucester Green on Monday 9th which was also a difficult day and his two pictures, taken within seconds of each other, show a lone Oxford Tube offering service to London and three X5s in varying states of readiness, surely the first time this has happened.
John Hammond, who has already provided some pictures for issue 282, sent this picture of service 275 on Friday 6th February, the day when we seem to have had the worst conditions. This bus had managed to complete the High Wycombe-Oxford run, under very difficult circumstances.
I somehow think it may be a long time before we experience similar conditions. I understand that one airline at Luton is set on taking action against the airport for loss of service. Maybe some lessons will have been learnt?
Call for ‘Routemaster 2.0’ bids
Plans for London’s ‘new iconic bus for London’, based on the Routemaster, have moved a step closer with Transport for London’s (TfL) formal invitation to manufacturers to tender to build it, announced this morning (Monday).
A notice has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) asking firms to express an interest in developing and building a new bus for London.
Manufacturers will be expected to take the winning ideas and designs put forward in last year’s competition and “consider these in combination with their own expertise in designing and building buses” to come up with a final design.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson, awarded the competition’s joint first prize to Capoco Design and a collaborative entry from Aston Martin with Foster + Partners, using a glass roof, solar panels and wood floors
David Brown, Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “A number of great ideas were harvested from the competition. We are now taking those to bus manufacturers for them to come up with a final design.”
Interested parties must complete a pre-qualification questionnaire by mid-March. Initial contract(s) will be awarded in “late 2009”, with trials from 2011 and service introduction after “successful completion of trials in 2012.”
Another First merger
Following its decision last autumn to merge its five West Yorkshire companies into one operating unit from January, First UK Bus is to merge its Essex and Eastern Counties companies.
It is the latest step “towards further improving efficiencies” says UK Bus Managing Director, Nicola Shaw. The new larger, more cost-effective, company will have around 680 vehicles and 2,000 employees.
Savings will come from streamlining ‘back-office’ and admin tasks that are currently duplicated.
First Eastern Counties MD Peter Iddon announced in December that he is retiring from the business next month; no replacement has yet been announced.
On 23rd February, bus services in Aylesbury are changing. The changes consist of timetable and route amendments offering improvements to frequency and reliability of Aylesbury’s popular rainbow routes.
Services affected include Arriva’s red route 9, which currently runs between Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Aylesbury town centre. This will now be extended to Broughton and Bedgrove, creating a cross-town service between Bedgrove and Stoke Mandeville Hospital running every 15 minutes. Green route 4 will be re-routed to serve Walton Court and Hawkslade; combined with red route 9 this means there will be a bus from Walton Court to town every 7-8 minutes.
A brand new service is also going to be launched on 23rd February. Route 7 will run between the town centre, Southcourt, Ellen Road and Hartwell every 20 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays. Operated by Z&S coaches, this is a pilot service and passenger numbers will be reviewed after the first 6 months.
Changes to the timetables on Line 100 and 150 now mean that the frequency of buses from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes has increased from hourly to every 30 minutes including an extension to the Milton Keynes Theatre and Xscape.
For information on all Aylesbury services please see the transport pages on the Buckinghamshire County Council website or pop into the new Travel Information Centre next to the library.
Silver rider 1 – this service will now be operated by Z&S the route, timetable and fares aren’t changed.
Blue route 2 – this service now operates between Quarrendon, Haydon Hill and Aylesbury bus station only.
Green Route 4 - will be re-routed in Walton Court to serve Hawkslade and Ellen Road, rather than Lavric Road.
Route 7 is a brand new service running every 20 minutes between the town centre and Lavric Road, The Willows and Pearson’s Close.
Route 8 – Arriva’s shuttle service to the depot will no longer run as a public bus service. (Interesting as in Wycombe there is a new service 43 which is in part a staff shuttle to the depot at Cressex. Ed.)
Red Route 9 will now serve Broughton and Bedgrove, giving this part of a town a direct service to the Hospital and the College and will operate every 15 minutes. In Walton Court and Hawkslade, Red Route 9 together with Green Route 4 will provide an off-peak frequency of every 7-8 minutes.
Routes 54 and 66 are being renamed Line 50 and Line 60. The timetables and frequency will remain the same; newer buses will be used on this service to help improve service reliability.
An interesting find from Ken MacKenzie
Ken writes "Malcolm, I ended up at this small station in Kent (Wateringbury) last week and found these vehicles in the station yard.
Not had time to work out who their previous operators are, but the nearest is an ex Routemaster (FPT603C), a Titan ex Wiltax (LN) - (YJB68T) was with Reading when new (I think), an ex First Wright bodied Dart (NDZ3170) and ex Maidstone & District Leyland PDR with MCW body (FKM718L)."
First 09 plate by Alistair Liddle
On the 9th February Alistair Liddle wrote "Trent Barton Scania Solar for their Amberline route, Fleetwood docks today. It is a Volvo B7RLE/Eclipse."
Rail replacement service report from Chris Maxfield.
On the 15th February there were major rail replacement services using local operators coaches. Chris Maxfield was on hand to record contributing operators.
Derwent Coaches
Johnsons Coaches
Motts Coaches
Woottens Coaches
Coach Trip star from TV series
Some of you may have watched the programme "Coach Trip" on ITV or Sky. In this a group of people are taken round Europe on a coach and either get on with each other or participants are voted off and replaced by others. The coach used in this programme carries the registration T100MTT and I cam across said coach in Wycombe bus station last Sunday. It was not participating in the TV series at the time.
Half term holidays bring out the crowds going to London
I had to go into Oxford last Tuesday and my wife, grandchildren and I took the Park & Ride from Thornhill. This service is most convenient as I drops off opposite The Turl which is where we wanted to go.
On arriving at Thornhill we were greeted with the inevitable lack of space to park our car and were extremely lucky to find a young lady just leaving. I grabbed the space and the family walked over to the bus station to board the 400.
I was struck by the number of people waiting to go to London and was told by the bus company ticket sellers that the queue had been much longer only a matter of minutes previously. Certainly all the coaches we passed on our way from Stokenchurch were proclaiming "Sorry, coach full" on their destination screens.
Whilst we waited for our bus I had chance to get a few pictures and was pleased to see that the remaining queue was cleared quite quickly. I think the queue went, not because there were no more people but sadly no more parking spaces. Thornhill is just not big enough with a capacity of a 1000 or so spaces, proving people do want to use public transport but we need to do more to help. Oxford City and County Councils please note.
Pictureview
Rail replacement - emergency - Stansted style
TRANSDEV France 2865ZG74, a Van Hool double deck coach seen at Oxpens on
11th February by Gavin Francis
The launch of a new fleet of
Scania buses fro Blue Star in Southampton - Alex Hornby
The old Preston Corporation bus depot, at Deepdale I think, once home to some
magnificent
Leyland bodied Titan extended to 30ft long and using the Leyland bodies in the
process.
These premises are now owned by Stagecoach who have taken over the Preston
operation.
Picture by Geoff Cunliffe.
One of the Lynxes which are now part of the Stagecoach fleet. Geoff Cunliffe.
A sad picture of the old Reading Bus Station standing forlornly empty after many
years.
The buses now use on street bays and draughty bus shelters for intending
passengers. Simon Hussey.
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