Sadly this is yet another year without open top buses plying their trade around Plymouth seafront. It seems strange that this is the case, especially this year they would have done really well. In fact even the normal bus service around the seafront has been diminshed considerably. Plymouth has never really known what to do with its assets when it comes to tourism. The fact that it took so long to tidy up the magnificent Hoe swimming pool is a case in point.
This last weekend though did see open top buses running around the seafront and they were extremely popular with many extra journies being added to the scheduled trips by overwhelming demand. YSO231T came all the way up from Penzance for the weekend.
Like I've said before, Plymouth CityBus hasn't got a clue anymore when it comes to the Barbican/Hoe route. I lie along that route, so when the announcement for the timetable changes came through, myself along with many other regulars on the route were enraged. By not having the first bus until 8:45, they've cut off all their business from the morning school/work run. It's all fine and dandy on a day like today when the sun is shining, but what about those days when we're in the middle of a storm, and we all end up arriving at work like drowned rats? We're lucky we haven't had a day like that yet, but that will happen this winter and people will not be happy about it at all.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, why couple it on to a route that serves the other end of the city? The Barbican/Hoe and Plympton/Woodford are complete polar opposites of the city, the only way to get further away would be to serve Stonehouse and Potter's Quay. With their attitude there, to them the Barbican/Hoe route is just an appendage they can stick on to whatever route they like. To further sum up CityBus' stupidity, it's possible to get a ticket from Woodford to West Hoe, but when I tried to get from West Hoe to North Hill I had to pay twice - once to the city centre, and again from the city centre to North Hill.
It's an absolute disgrace at the moment. However, I might have heard a rumour that First may be taking over the 20 :)