Its Blue and its Flash

As promised –Plymouth Citybus  102 in Blue Flash ready for the 'new' 42 on Sunday.

Thanks to Brian for the photos!

Two weekends of change: Part One

Don't forget this weekend sees several Plymouth Citybus services change.  Then the following weekend we get a few changes for First and one for Jacketts Coaches. The question I have heard the most from non-enthusiast friends: Why cant all the changes be made at the same time? I know there are all sorts of reasons why the companies themselves cant coordinate the changes, but you would think there must be some way that these things can be sorted!

31 August 2014

Changes to Monday to Friday evenings only – Service 5A between Royal Parade and Saltash will not run after 19:00. Service 5 will continue to serve Saltash from Royal Parade, last bus departing from Royal Parade at 23:08. Service 5 / 5A will continue to operate a combined 30 minute evening service between Royal Parade and Plymstock.

Plymouth Bus Services: 5 5A

31 August 2014

There will be adjustments to some early evening journeys.

Plymouth Bus Services: 21 21A

31 August 2014

Additional journey from Derriford Hospital to City Centre at 17:08 on school days. Short trips in the evenings between Royal Parade and Transit Way withdrawn. Service 29 to Derriford Hospital in the evenings will still serve Transit Way. Last two trips to Derriford on a Sunday will run 20 minutes earlier. Slight change to departure times on Saturdays.

Plymouth Bus Services 29

31 August 2014

Last evening service 41 From Royal Parade to Southway on a Sunday withdrawn. (See service 42A for alternative journey option).

Plymouth Bus Services 40 41

31 August 2014

Service will now operate via Milehouse to Tavistock instead of Mutley Plain. Service will no longer serve Derriford Hospital (see service 42/42A/42B for alternative services). Timetable changes to reflect this change to route, plus additional journeys operating via Brentor to Okehampton.

Plymouth Bus Services 11

31 August 2014

Current service 12 (BlueFlash) to Tavistock will be renumbered service 42. Current service 42 to Tamerton Foliot via Looseleigh Lane will be renumbered service 42B. The current 42A to Tamerton Foliot via Southway Drive will stay as service 42A. Service 42 to Tavistock will now operate via Mutley Plain instead of Milehouse, also serving Derriford Hospital. It will continue to be run using the Blueflash Double Deck buses. Tamerton Foliot services, now 42A (Southway) and 42B (Looseleigh) will now be run by newly branded Blueflash Single Deck buses. The above will mean a 15 minute frequency between Royal Parade and Derriford Hospital, operated by Blueflash branded buses with FREE Wi-Fi on board. All 42 services will run from stop A18 on Royal Parade.

Plymouth Bus Services 42

This last service will see the newly repainted Blue Flash Volvo B7RLEs which I am told look superb - hopefully will have photos early next week!

Recommended Reading

• FOCUS TRANSPORT: EDINBURGH HAYMARKET TUNNEL WORKS Contractors strengthening Edinburgh's Haymarket railway tunnels ahead of a regeneration project have released images of the underground works.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Livery Delivery : Confusion Profusion [1] fbb is sure that everybody did their homework and the brands were chosen for the best possible reasons; BUT? Do students actually care what label is stuck on the side of the buses.
• NORWICH BUSES: First Norwich Network changes including "major changes to Blue Line services" Thanks to First Norwich operations manager Lee Howes, we can exclusively reveal the forthcoming changes to the First Norwich Network, including the "major changes" to the Blue Line which were announced earlier this year before the news is sent to press.

Swapsies

The big swap around by First continues with several Tridents now working in Plymouth replacing Cornwall bound Enviro 400s. So far confirmed in Plymouth are 32802 32803 32817 32853 32861.

Enviro's 33658 33661 33662 33664 33665 have departed and are in Cornwall having had their TAVISTOCK names removed. This leaves Plymouth with 33659 33660 33666 33667 at the moment. 33659 and 33667 at least were still on Park & Ride duties a couple of days ago.

Nick Rice has managed to capture a few of the incoming buses over the last week or so...

©Nick Rice (cc) 13 August 2014

©Nick Rice (cc) 18 August 2014

©Nick Rice (cc) 18 August 2014

Recommended Reading

• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Cartographical Contemplations Consistency isn't Considered! Yet again, First produce their own network map. Is it geographical, like those on the leaflets or the area creations as above? Of course not, don't be silly; that would be far too easy. No we have what purports to be a London Underground style diagram complete with all the disadvantages that concept brings to a bus network
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Malta Buses - Preferred Bidder Selected The Malta Transport Ministry has confirmed that negotiations will officially start with preferred bidder Autobuses Urbanos de Leon, on the concession for Malta's public transport system.
• BBC Scotland: Stagecoach reports rise in bus passenger numbers Transport giant Stagecoach has said more people boarded its buses this summer, after posting a 4% rise in revenues from regional services. The Perth-based group, which operates in the UK and North America, reported a 0.9% rise in passenger volumes outside London in the 12 weeks to 20 July.
• NORWICH BUSES: Life after Norfolk - Lamberts M441CVG Plaxton Pointer bodied Volvo B6s have always been somewhat of a rarity, with most of the bodies being grafted to a Dennis Dart chassis. This makes it quite a shame to say M441CVG has since left Hedingham, presumably for the scrapyard
• ANDYS BUS BLOG: Norfolk Green Fleet Update Meanwhile, other notable news is that six extra double deckers are required due to school contracts gained in the West Norfolk area - they will be ex Stagecoach London Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents
• LANCASTER OMNIBUS: United Utilities and the Bus Station - Phase 3 Phase three of United Utilities' work to improve Lancaster's drains and sewers started on Tuesday, 26th August with the works - and associated road closures - moving along Damside Street to beyond the junction with North Road.
• IPSWICH BUS BLOG: 44516 ENTERS SERVICE Well she is here at long last arriving yesterday from First Essex's Clacton depot 44516 YX09 ACV she was straight into service unusually on the 60/61 services today,

From School Bus to Driver Trainer

There has been a bit of a change around on some of the Volvos at Plymouth Citybus. 443 X549EGK was lettered up for the School Bus 112 service but has now been lettered up for Driver Training.

©Richard Smith 3rd August 2014

©Richard Smith 20 August 2014

Meanwhile former 453 Y826TGH has turned up at the newly revived Velvet Bus where it has been painted in a fetching allover pink livery captured on camera HERE

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• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: fbb's Steyning Day; NOT Stenning, Ray. [2] The line soon settled down to its bucolic obscurity but it never achieved "main line" status as originally intended and only carried passengers to and from these local stations. We can "survey" the line and see what remains. Fortunately most of its length is now "The Downs Link", a long distance cycle route and footpath.
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Suffolk County Council There is no county-wide map. We do have a page listing each are of Suffolk, where if you click on an area, you see timetables for all routes and a basic route diagram. Some diagrams are easier to follow than others however.
• DENNIS BASFORD: ‘Scene’ briefly in Melton Mowbray It is almost a rear and a half since I last visited ‘MM’ so I thought that another visit was due. A North Leicestershire town which lies at the crossroads formed where the A 606 Nottingham to Stamford road and the A 607 Leicester to Grantham road intersect.
• NORWICH BUSES: A chat with First Last month, Kieran and I were looking foward to meeting First Norwich's Operations Manager, Lee Howes, and discussing First's plans and ideas for their Norwich Network in the future
• LANCASTER OMNIBUS: Dalton Square to Return as a Lancaster Terminus? Unfortunately, The Man on the Lancaster Omnibus can find no confirmation as to which services will be affected on the United Utilities website. Neither is there anything on Stagecoach's site, whilst the County Council's Public Transport Pages have been re-organised to be even less useful than previously
• BENJIS BUSES: 14-64 Plate Buses With the new registration upon us we've decided to try and do a weekly update again as this proved fairly popular the last time we did it!
• NORWICH BUSES: Eastern Transport Collection 2014 Bus Rally Today saw the annual Eastern Transport Collection bus rally hosted at the Old Buckenham airfield near to Attleborough. Although not the largest of rallies around, the event was all in all a very enjoyable day with a chance to meet up familiar faces
• YARMOUTH BUS PAGE: Old Buckenham Bus Rally Look at the EYMS website for the pdf for the current 160/162 timetable and the timetable available is dated 15th August 1999. The two services run on Wednesdays and Saturdays linking various small villages into Goole and Howden.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: LONDON UNDERGROUND BAKERLOO LINE EXTENSION Plans for the long-awaited extension of the Bakerloo line are set to take a significant step forward next month. Transport bosses will start a ten-week public consultation on extending the line to parts of south-east London historically poorly served by the Tube.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: fbb's Steyning Day; NOT Stenning, Ray. [3] But, grab your bike or pull on your walking boots and the Downs Link will take you most of the way. No trains, no track but a few bridges and other remnants will, if nothing else, remind you that this was a working railway.
• IAN VISITS: Museum Meals – Museum of London It’s almost too easy to miss the larger cafe on the way out, for despite being next to the exit, and the cloakroom it doesn’t really protrude into the foyer in a way that might make it more noticeable. That it also comes after most people might have stopped at the smaller cafe on the lower floors probably doesn’t help in drumming up passing trade.
• LANCASTER OMNIBUS: Stagecoach Finally Takes on Fishwick The new Stagecoach timetable leaflet doesn't show the Fishwick journeys but, surprisingly, Return tickets are still to be interavailable between the operators and something called the Walton Park Routerider will continue. J Fishwick & Sons, with its prime operating territory, has led a charmed life up to now but The Man on the Lancaster Omnibus wonders if this is just the start of something bigger.
• IAN VISITS: New Routemaster gets Guitar Branding Another of London’s new Routemaster buses has been given an advertising makeover — this time by the guitar brand, Fender Stratocaster, which is marking its own 60th anniversary this year.
• CIRCLE OF LONDON: Metroline Harrow Weald Garage [HD]...VWs for the 140/640 Located right at the pinnacle of Harrow is my local garage Harrow Weald, which is operated out of by Metroline and has done so for as long as I can remember. Although the garage at present only runs three routes, two of them are the busiest routes in Harrow. For years the garage has solely operated bus types but only on the Plaxton President body, however that is about to change and in this case change is good.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: fbb's Steyning Day; NOT Stenning, Ray. [4] Sounds a bit American? In the UK "transit" has been used, historically, for the action of "crossing", as in "the transit of Venus" describing the passing of the planet across the face of the sun.
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: Midweek Round Up 26/8/14 So now the decision has been taken to repaint 33423 into X1 livery. To rob it of its individuality and paint it like 24 others. Correction 26 others as apparently 2 of the former X1 Geminis are getting the same treatment. The question that is screaming out is in the name of all that's holy WHY?????
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Report rues deregulation The big difference in London of course is the level of subsidy the bus network receives, which is per capita far in excess of that granted to any other region of the UK.

Unwanted?

Thanks to David Devoy for his photo of ODV203W:

One ex Padarnbus vehicle yet to attract a buyer is ODV203W. This Leyland Atlantean AN68B/1R / East Lancs OH43/28D was new to Plymouth City Transport as their 159 in February 1981, and is currently in the stock of Drew Wilson (dealers)

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Lots to catch up on as I restart after a short break...

• NORWICH BUSES: First Training Bus sighted in Norwich For sitting opposite First's Rouen Road office was the recently returned 60807 S568RNA, which now carries the special training livery.
• IAN VISITS: London Bus themed bar to open next month Next month the Design Junction returns to London, and as in previous years, will include a London Transport themed bar.
• DENNIS BASFORD: 'Scene’ on the West Coast of Scotland part 1 I recently had a short break staying at the Alexandra Hotel in Oban where most of these images were taken. The tour company was ‘Highland Heritage’ (HH) with whom I have no connection other than as a satisfied customer
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Western Greyhound woes and sabotage claims Some unsettling reports from Cornwall. BBC News is rather muted, but the Cornish Guardian pulls no punches in hinting at behind-the-scenes trouble at one of the country's biggest and most respected independent bus operators.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: A Tram.I.Am; but not Well Known [2] The Tramway was offered to the Council, who declined to take it over. The trams and the track were by now worn out and re-equipment was essential if it was to continue. The Directors gave notice of intent to close it on 29th September 1927, and that the 10.30p.m. from each end would be the last to run.
• ALL OVER LONDON BLOG: The New Additions At Bow Stagecoach's Bow (BW) garage in East London has seen not one, but two changes recently. The count will be three by the end of summer and Bow (BW) will become almost a fully-hybrid garage bar the route 277, between East India (Leamouth, Billingsgate Market) and Highbury & Islington Station
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: PROPOSALS FOR A FURTHER LONDON ORBITAL RAILWAY London mayor Boris Johnson revealed the scheme in his London Infrastructure 2050 plan and predicted the capital would see a population shift to the east with Barking possibly becoming the next Piccadilly Circus within 100 years time.
• NORWICH BUSES: Sanders Joe Wilson kindly informed me this afternoon that Sanders Services of Holt have taken on three more VDL SB120 Wright Cadet buses.
• BENJIS BUSES: 14-64 Plate Buses Weekly 14 / 64 Plate Photo's : W/E 23rd Aug 14
• TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Edinburgh One of the hazards of keeping tight records of your photo collection is that you can ask yourself the question "Surely it's only been five or six years since I was in Edinburgh" and be able to answer "No, it's been fifteen". Time really does fly so my visit on the last day of my tour was very overdue.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: All Change Grimey : All Say Blimey [1] fbb does wonder why this company is entering the risky bus market, especially in view of the sudden (but not unexpected) demise of Redline. Waterson's web site does not mention any bus services. It is hard to see how an extra two journeys to Grimethorpe ill attract new and additional business,
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Rail Companies Shortlisted for Northern & TransPennine Express Three companies have been shortlisted to run the Northern franchise, while 3 companies are being considered for the TransPennine Express franchise. All of these companies have successfully passed the pre-qualification stage, and will now be asked to develop their plans for the franchises before they receive the government’s invitation to tender in Decembe
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: All Change Grimey : All Say Blimey [2] You have to feel sorry for the distressed folk of Grimethorpe. Their bus service used to be frequent and simple to remember. Now it has become complicated and well-nigh impossible to remember.
• IAN VISITS: Weekly round-up of London’s railway transport news First Great Western says it is working on building better trust with its customers after a survey found it was among the worst performing train companies for customer satisfaction. BBC News
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Whitby locomotives mark opening of second platform Managing director Philip Benham, said: "We are delighted that we are now in a position to increase the number of NYMR trains serving Whitby to cater for the growing popularity of visitors to travel to and from the resort by heritage steam trains.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: 15m Scania Irizar i6 for megabus The UK's first 15-metre overall length Scania Irizar i6 coach is set to enter service later this month when it embarks upon long-term trials on a megabus.com route.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: fbb's Steyning Day; NOT Stenning, Ray. [1] Note that local city crusties get a better deal than "furriners", being allowed free travel from 0900 to 0400; BUT the nice kind council does offer mitigation by allowing free travel ford the rest of us TWO MINUTES EARLY from Steyning.
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: After 15 years, changes for the 160/162 Look at the EYMS website for the pdf for the current 160/162 timetable and the timetable available is dated 15th August 1999. The two services run on Wednesdays and Saturdays linking various small villages into Goole and Howden.
• IAN VISITS: Crossrail Tunnels uncovered at Paddington Over the past couple of years, Costain Skanska Joint Venture has excavated down to the new Crossrail tunnels which run some 16 metres below ground. Using the under-digging method, they built the roof of the station at street level first, then excavated out the soil underneath, slowly working their way down to the tunnels beneath them.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Lincoln Martin Arrand has sent us the pictures below, taken in Lincoln.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Northampton Bus Station - STILL NOT SORTED Our new bus station continues to prove the inadequacies of the design, location and layout. Indeed, much of the time it only works because of the goodwill of drivers. It is particularly annoying when buses are unable to access stands and therefore passengers are held captive on the buses until the stand becomes free – frustrating when you sit and watch your next bus leave the bus station without you because you couldn’t alight from your arriving service.
• TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Fairbourne Railway I first visited the Welsh narrow gauge in 1971 and over the years have explored almost all. The one exception is the Fairbourne Railway so when I found a visit to the Talyllyn over the Spring Bank Holiday coincided with the Fairbourne's 'Little to Large' gala weekend I headed up the coast for my first visit.

Terminated

Its funny how things seem to go round in cycles. We have seen it in Plymouth where at various times the fortunes of Plymouth Citybus and Western National / First seem to have swapped around. We are seeing it in Cornwall too. It does not seem that long ago that we were wondering how long First would remain in Cornwall as everything seemed to be going towards Western Greyhound who were busy filling in all the gaps left by the gradual withdrawal by First. WG could do no wrong then. Sadly it now seems to be the other way round.

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• HUMBER TRANSPORT: EYMS Weekday Morning 155/X55/X57 Changes From Monday 1st September EYMS are amending the weekday morning timetable on their Petuaria Express service between Hull, Brough, Elloughton, Gilberdyke, Howden and Goole
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Coach "Plusbus" in Nottingham After all, coach passengers are probably more likely to need to use a local bus to complete their journey and with coaches often stopping at bus stations, such an interchange is often easier than rail to bus. This blog calls for a national Coach-Plus-Bus scheme. Local bus travel wouldn't necessarily have to be free everywhere, but should at least be discounted, say a flat fare of £1, in order to encourage bus-coach-bus journeys
• BRENTWOOD BUS UPDATE: Gazette slams poor service from First The Brentwood Gazette has published this article highlighting several problems with the services provided by First in our town. Route 9 is singled out as being particularly unreliable
• IAN VISITS: 150th anniversary of the Thames Valley Railway Just under 150 years ago, a new railway line opened linking Shepperton to Twickenham. As with so many grand railway schemes, grand plans to expand it further came to nothing, but 150 years later, that little bit of railway is still there, and still very much in use
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Danger Warning Due To Faster Trains on GNGE Line People are being warned to take extra care on level crossings because work to upgrade the Great Northern Great Eastern line is making trains faster and quieter.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: A Tram.I.Am; but not Well Known [1] It was a firm called the Urban Electric Supply Company, a subsidiary of Edmunson's Electricity Corporation, that proposed and subsequently opened an electric tramway from Camborne to Redruth.
• NORWICH BUSES: First Training Bus sighted in Norwich For sitting opposite First's Rouen Road office was the recently returned 60807 S568RNA, which now carries the special training livery.
• IAN VISITS: London Bus themed bar to open next month Next month the Design Junction returns to London, and as in previous years, will include a London Transport themed bar.
• DENNIS BASFORD: 'Scene’ on the West Coast of Scotland part 1 I recently had a short break staying at the Alexandra Hotel in Oban where most of these images were taken. The tour company was ‘Highland Heritage’ (HH) with whom I have no connection other than as a satisfied customer
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Western Greyhound woes and sabotage claims Some unsettling reports from Cornwall. BBC News is rather muted, but the Cornish Guardian pulls no punches in hinting at behind-the-scenes trouble at one of the country's biggest and most respected independent bus operators.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: A Tram.I.Am; but not Well Known [2] The Tramway was offered to the Council, who declined to take it over. The trams and the track were by now worn out and re-equipment was essential if it was to continue. The Directors gave notice of intent to close it on 29th September 1927, and that the 10.30p.m. from each end would be the last to run.

Where’s My (Western Greyhound) Bus?

Passengers in Cornwall have complained about increasingly late and cancelled services from Western Greyhound buses. The bus company said it was facing a "frustrating situation" caused by summer traffic and winter floods. Other complaints included breakdowns en route and passengers having to take taxis or phone friends when they find themselves stranded. One man has started a Facebook page to gather evidence to present to the company and Cornwall Council. Jason Higgs from Liskeard runs the social media page Western Greyhound Wheres my bus , which has more than 700 followers. He said: "The general theme is buses not turning up - we're not just talking about late buses, but buses that should turn up. "I think the main issue there's no communication from the bus company.
Mark Howarth, the managing director of the bus company, said: "We're going through some very serious problems at the moment. "A lot of effort is going on behind the scenes. We're definitely not happy with it. "Earlier this year there was a lot of floods and bad weather which went on for months which has caused mayhem for our buses." Mr Howarth said preventative maintenance was taking place more regularly to make sure "buses are safe and roadworthy". He said it was a "frustrating situation".
BBC Cornwall
Western Greyhound bus services across Cornwall have been condemned by a national passengers’ group, following thousands of complaints. And in a remarkable interview, the bus company’s chief executive blamed some of his own staff for trying to sabotage the company.
“I’ve got a very hardworking team. Unfortunately there are one or two individuals – a small number of our members of staff, who are working against us and trying to sabotage us. And these people know who they are and we’re working in order to deal with that because the bulk of the staff are really working hard. And I would say to the passengers please don’t treat everybody the same way if they have a problem.” CORNISH GUARDIAN

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• NORWICH BUSES: Eastern Transport Collection Bus Rally 2014 Thanks to my good friend Syd Eade, I am able to provide some details about the upcoming annual Eastern Transport Collection Bus Rally.
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: EYMS Full 360/361 Timetable Published EYMS have announced the full timetable for the 360/361 between Goole, Swinefleet, Crowle and Scunthorpe that they takeover from Monday 1st September, operating under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council
• RANDOM STREETS: What is a "wide continental boulevard"? One oft-voiced criticism of articulated buses was that, while they were OK in mainland Europe where they operated on "wide continental boulevards", they were unsuited to London (or other UK cities) where city streets are narrower and more twisting. Or so it was alleged. I'm going to put this to the test. What does a "wide continental boulevard" look like?
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Simple Simon Struggles to Stonehenge because it's not a bus service! It's a "tour". Unlike a typical bus service which runs, say, every half and hour, this "tour" only runs every half an hour. Unlike a bus service where you can turn up and pay the driver, on this tour you can always turn up and pay the driver. Unlike a bus service where you don't book a seat, on this tour you don't need to book a seat. But it's not a bus service, it's a tour; hence the difference.
• IAN VISITS: Museum Meals – London Transport Museum This museum cafe is probably one of the most instagram’d cafe’s in London, for its cappuccino coffees are famous for the tube roundel they use as a stencil for the chocolate dressing.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Brislington Running Day Bristol Vintage Bus Group, a registered charity, held their running day at Flowers Hill, Brislington, on Sunday 10th August. Free bus trips operated in and around Bristol using vintage buses from the BVBG collection
• NORWICH BUSES: A cavalcade of red on the A14 Yesterday saw a cavalcade of First's heritage Routemaster 39623 (RML2623) NML623E and heritage liveried Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TL 32479 (VA479) AU53HJV along the busy A14 between Ipswich and Felixstowe on local route 77.

Life After Brief Life in Plymouth

Rodney Smith paid a visit to the Chambers depot yesterday and spotted an imposter...
The Go Ahead London red Plaxton double decker is former Plymouth Citybus 450 X507EGK one of several wich have been sold on recently. It never got to see proper service in Plymouth so never recieved Citybus livery. Ironically if it stays at Chambers then its likely to receive the current Chambers livery which is pretty much the old "new" livery of Plymouth Citybus! © Rodney Smith - with permission
Plymouth Citybus did use her on school service for a short while when it ran signed up for Schools 103 as caught on camera by Richard Smith...

©Richard Smith
Its not yet known what has caused the change of plans by Plymouth Citybus. There are rumours that somewhat newer double deckers have been sourced from within Go Ahead but as yet nothing has been confirmed. Watch this space!

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• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Wessex may Grizzle with changes at Brizzle [2] Wessex claim this will be quicker as it avoids the "busy Filton Avenue" but the new 12's running time is actually 1 minute longer than the 70/71 between UWE and City!
• IAN VISITS: London Railway News Improvements could be in the offing at Gunnersbury Station, after Network Rail gave MP Mary Macleod its support for schemes aiming to tackle the rising footfall at the station.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Great Western Main Line Electrification Begins Network Rail is using a specially-designed factory train called Brunel which works at night so trains can keep running during the day. The train works up to five times faster than conventional gangs of track workers.
• NORWICH BUSES: Lincolnshire Holiday Part 2 As mentioned in my previous post from my holiday in Lincolnshire last week, there are a number of initiatives which I personally feel Norfolk is missing out on.
• DENNIS BASFORD: On the rails in Bury Bury is a very interesting place for transport enthusiasts not only because of its bus station (see my earlier ‘blog’ dated 09/08/2014) which forms part of Bury Interchange and also includes the terminus of the Tramway line. The tramway runs largely on the trackbed of the old railway line that started at Manchester Victoria and now involves street running in the city itself.
• CIRCLE OF LONDON: Picture of the week A couple of VH's have been appearing on other Edgware (BT) routes such as the 114 and 183, but this is the first time a Wright Gemini 2 Hybrid has been on Route 292. The vehicles are from a batch of 23 vehicles for the conversion of the 13/N13 into a hybrid operation.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: When You're Lying Awake ... Your nightmare's reviewing what First Bus is doing; helping with timetable layout; The challenge is wearing, the burden you're bearing, For a small insignificant payout
• IAN VISITS: People abseiling down Big Ben’s clock face Something to look out for — as people will be abseiling down Big Ben’s clock face next week*. Abseiling technicians will clean each of the four dials of the clock and inspect for damage, working at a height of around 60 metres
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: EYMS Sunday 400/401 Timetable Published From Sunday 14th September, EYMS are taking over the Sunday and Bank Holiday service 400/401 between Goole, Snaith and Selby from Arriva, who operate the main Monday to Saturday service.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Wessex may Grizzle with changes at Brizzle [3] So what do we conclude from all this. As an outside observer, fbb sees a retrenchment by Wessex on the main UWE corridors with a dramatic increase in First's coverage. But a cynical observer cannot help thinking that this is all a bit too cosy and touchy-feely. There is certainly now more competition on routes to the Frenchay campus; but the resultant networks seem more complementary than confrontational.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Routemaster in Service in Ipswich To mark the Celebrate Ipswich festival, First Eastern Counties AEC Routemaster will run on the First Bus 77 service from Ipswich to Felixstowe on Sunday, August 17.
• NORWICH BUSES: Life after Norfolk - Anglianbus 206 (YR02ZYK) In our first Life after Norwich feature, we focus on former Anglianbus 206 YR02ZYK. The Wright Solar bodied Scania L94UB was one of three of the type to operate with Anglianbus.
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: Brough Town Service cutbacks Due to low passenger numbers, the first and last journeys on the 158 Brough and Elloughton Town Service will no longer operate from Monday 8th September onwards.
• IAN VISITS: The missing murmurations of Leicester Square Today we bemoan the presence of that avian chav, the pigeon, which was barely known in London at the start of the 19th century, and has since taken to the city with gusto, as it has in many cities
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Council check: Devon County Council Each Sunday, we gauge how well a local transport authority is promoting the bus services in its territory. This week, we look at Devon County Council.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: STEAM ON THE LONDON UNDERGROUND A steam special once more took to the tracks of the London Underground system on the 2nd of August. This was to commemorate the 150th year since the opening of the Hammersmith & City Line, the train running three return journeys from Hammersmith to Moorgate and back.

Proud to be Plymouth and Pink

Another great shot from Nick Rice today as we see the almost (?)finished product for the Park & Ride Pink service...
©Nick Rice (cc)
It is nice to see PLYMOUTH fleet names in use at last! It remains to be seen if they get any additional lettering specific to Park & Ride duties. The more I see these, the more I like the new livery!

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TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Lathalmond, Part 2 The tour resumes in the museum's main display hall which contains some real gems, beginning with 1945 utility Aberdeen 155 (BRS 37), a Daimler CWD6 with Duple bodywork. It's rather ironic that a firm so associated with luxury coaches was a major constructor of these necessarily crude bodies.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Wessex may Grizzle with changes at Brizzle [1] It doesn't take too many brain cells to realise that there will have been some dissatisfaction with the services provided by Wessex Bus as a spur to the survey and consequent report. There's a clue in the report's title, "The Only Way is Wessex"!! Indeed the report's summary produces stats to highlight the grumps.
NORWICH BUSES: Fleet Update - Simonds News from Diss based Simonds has arisen today that two of their MCV C122RLE bodied Volvo B7Ls acquired in 2013 have received striking new rear adverts for two of Norfolk's popular tourist attractions.
NORWICH BUSES: Anglianbus and Konectbus Updates With the transferal of service 53 (Norwich-Wroxham) to sister company Konectbus from September 1st, the five regular buses on the route are set to transfer with the route.
YARMOUTH BUS: Day Out Today i had a day at Great Yarmouth, i saw many great buses! And even had my last ride on one...
IAN VISITS: London Open House A few venues are using Eventbrite to handle booking following the fiasco a couple of years back when everything broke down. Sadly, some venues are still email or ballots, meaning that you wont know what you have for hours, if not days — which makes planning damndably difficult.

Tridents Trickle Back to Plymouth

First Devon has started to swap buses around with the TAVISTOCK E400's going to Cornwall and an assortment of older Tridents coming back in return. Nick caught 32802 operating on the 15. It does look quite smart too
Nick Rice (cc)

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NORWICH BUSES: Rare acquisitions and more repaints Since our last Ipswich Update post two weeks ago, a number of interesting articles have arisen. RANDOM STREETS: Toronto, Canada Trams, or streetcars as they are known on the North American continent, are not a common sight on the streets of Canadian cities. A number of cities had streetcar systems but, with one exception, all were closed by 1960. That exception was Toronto, Canada's largest city.
IAN VISITS: Science Museum to Open New Communications Gallery From the first transatlantic telegraph cable that connected Europe and North America in minutes rather than weeks, to the advanced computing power of the modern smartphone, the new gallery will look at the impact of developments in communication technology on all our lives.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Let's See What is Built on the Island of Sylt [5] fbb is mildy amused by the need ti use English as a brand. Presumably "Touch and Travel" doesn't sound as "sexy" in German (Berühren und Reisen).
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Nottingham-to-Ripley tram route considered The line, which could cost £180m, would relieve congestion and create new jobs, councillors have said. Nottingham's current tram extension has been criticised for overrunning and disrupting residents and businesses.
IAN VISITS: Ballot for Battersea Power Station Fiery Illuminations We are told that “globes of fire and thousands of points of flickering flame will illuminate the Power Station as musicians play a mix of old style Parisian music with moody improvised sounds.”

Special Offers

A couple of special offers from our two main companies...

Save on your family travel with our £5 Family Summer Rider ticket. This ticket is available to buy and use on our buses in Devon*. This includes those that travel into Devon from Cornwall (such as the 1/1A, 76 and 81), the Mayflower Link 93 to/from Kingsbridge & Dartmouth and the Plymouth Park & Ride.
The £5 ticket is valid for up to 5 people travelling at the same time with no more than 2 adults. So this is unlimited travel across Plymouth and Devon all day from as little as £1 each! Buy yours from your driver.
The ticket is available until Sunday 7 September 2014 inclusive.
*Not available on services 22, 30, X31 and X53 which are not operated by First Devon. First Devon

1st September 2014 will see the launch of our brand new ‘Get On’ ticket range, offering all those in full time education, training or in an apprenticeship 15%OFF the adult equivalent ticket.
The new ‘Get On’ range which includes day, week, month, term and annual tickets, will be exclusively available from our Travel Centre on Royal Parade. Once set up top ups can be done online, making it hassle free.
The 15% discount is available to anyone who can prove they are in full time education, training or an apprenticeship*, not being limited by age as previous student discounts have been.
Opening the discount up to those in full time training and apprenticeships will mean that many more people can now benefit. All previous student products will be withdrawn from 31st August to make way for the new ticket range.
*excludes Open University and distance learning. Discount available whilst in training. i.e. 10 week course will mean the discount is available for the 10 weeks during the course.
to get your hands on our 'Get On' tickets please visit out Travel Centre on Royal Parade from 1st September 2014 with proof that you are either in full time education, training or doing an apprenticeship.

• Get On Dayrider1 day unlimited travel across selected zones zone 1 and 2 = £3.15 zone 1,2 and 3 = £4.68

• Get On 12 Dayriders Any 12 days unlimited travel across selected zones zone 1 and 2 = £31.50 zone 1,2 and 3 = £46.80

• Get On 12 Trips Any 12 one way trips across selected zones zone 1 and 2 = £19.55 zone 1,2 and 3 = £38.25

• Get On Weekrider 7 consecutive days unlimited travel across selected zones zone 1 = £9.35 zone 2 = £10.20 zone 1 and 2 = £13.60 zone 1,2 and 3 = £15.30

• Get On 4 Weekrider 28 consecutive days unlimited travel across selected zones zone 1 = £35.70 zone 2 = £38.25 zone 1 and 2 = £50.15 zone 1,2 and 3 = £55.25

• Get On Monthrider 1 calender month unlimited travel across selected zones via AutoPay or Direct Debit (terms here) zone 1 = £35.70 zone 2 = £38.25 zone 1 and 2 = £50.15 zone 1,2 and 3 = £55.25

• Get On Termrider 91 consecutive days unlimited travel across selected zones zone 1 = £110.50 zone 2 = £118.15 zone 1 and 2 = £155.55 zone 1,2 and 3 = £170.85

• Get On Yearrider 1 year unlimited travel across selected zones zone 1 = £425 zone 2 = £467.50 zone 1 and 2 = £595 zone 1,2 and 3 = £697

Plymouth Citybus

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PORTISHEAD UPDATE: X5 Sunday timetable / Delays until xmas / Smart cards To try and help speed journeys up, First have introduced their own smart card, called Touch. At the moment, they can be used to store Bristol Outer FirstWeek and FirstMonth tickets, with other zones and tickets soon to follow. EAST NORFOLK: Norwich On entering the bus station I noted Megabus liveried Freestone Scania K340/ Iriza YN08JBX on the delayed 13:10 Norwich to London M16 service
SOUTHAMPTON UPDATE: First 12 rerouted First 12 will be rerouted from Sunday 17th August to serve Kingsway instead of the New Road/Palmerston Road junction.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Let's See What is Built on the Island of Sylt [3] but the ravages of wartime military command of the island meant that decline of the network was near terminal. What these routes needed was cleaner, easier to start and drive, diesel power. So bring in the Borgwards.
IAN VISITS: Museum Meals The restaurant though is fairly new, and sits outside the gallery, which is wise as the gallery costs money to go into, so the restaurant can cater to passers by as well as gallery visitors. Being opposite a large park and near a row of eateries means that it has to deliver to a discerning customer base.
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Proposals to extend Crossrail to Hertfordshire to be announced Extending the service would reduce journey times between London and Hertfordshire by up to 16 minutes. At the Crossrail site at Farringdon in central London, Patrick McLoughlin is expected to outline the benefits of extending the link.
NORWICH BUSES: Photo Special - Lincolnshire Holiday Part 1 On a one week holiday in Lincolnshire, I have returned with photographs of 182 different buses and a mind full of ideas regarding what Norfolk is definitely missing out on
NORWICH BUSES: Service Changes Big news this morning is the changes to Anglianbus and Konectbus services this September 1st.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Let's See What is Built on the Island of Sylt [4] One other question before we look at the bus services themselves and their publicity. We know that the main route to Sylt is by train, car shuttle, stopping train or inter city express. An alternative route is by ferry from the Danish island of Rømø.
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Metro transport plan should be backed, says CBI Wales The UK and Welsh governments each say the other should pay up to £500m to electrify the Valleys rail lines. But rail industry expert Ian Walmsley has claimed a tram system connecting Cardiff with the Valleys would be cheaper and more effective
IAN VISITS: Trips in a rare steam train along a rarely used railway line One working model of this remarkable experiment survives, and in October you can take a trip on this most unusual of steam trains as the Great Western Society has permission to run it along the Southall to Brentford branch line. That’s a double treat, as that is a freight line that rarely sees passenger traffic, so a chance to ride in a 100 year old carriage along a railway line that hardly ever sees human traffic

Park & Ride going Pink

First are not wasting any time in getting their Park & Ride buses repainted. The second one WA08MVE has just been completed as seen here thanks to Paul Furse. In the background you can see the next one WA08MVF reversing into the paint shop.

As far as I understand it some of the 55 Reg Tridents will also receive the pink front livery. It has also been suggested that the PR2 fleet will have green fronts, which will be the Volvo B7s.
It will be interesting to see what livery the W reg Tridents will wear once they have been refurbished for the Tavistock routes. It would make sense for them to have the same style front end, in another colour although I guess red or blue is out of the question!

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Green with Envy? The seasoned view is that the trolley bus promoters are losing the PR battle at the tribunal; but that isn't always a measure of the ultimate result. One thing is for certain, First Leeds are shoving massive resources into getting their own way. IAN VISITS: London Railway News The rail industry has begun a review into using driverless technology to bring automated trains to Britain’s railways
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Commonwealth Games Vehicles in Action Further to our recent posting showing Go North East vehicles setting off for Glasgow we have been sent a selection of pictures showing some of the vehicles and those from other operators in action in Glasgow during the period of the Games.
CIRCLE OF LONDON: Route 112: Brent Cross to Ealing Broadway (Timelapse) Route 112 runs between Brent Cross and Ealing Broadway via the North Circular Road, serving Stonbridge Park and Hanger Lane in the process.
LANCASTER OMNIBUS: Second Bus Hits Low Bridge The Lancaster Guardian newspaper has reported (read here) that for the second time this year a Stagecoach double-decker has been driven under the low bridge on Damside Street with significant damage to the vehicle.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Let's See What is Built on the Island of Sylt [1] So the article suggests that new Traxx locomotives are for the Sylt Shuttle. So who, or what is Sylt? And why would you shuttle to and from it?
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Five northern cities set to outline £15bn transport plan The joint One North report will include plans for a new 125mph inter-city rail link, faster links with Newcastle and better access to ports and airports. It has been developed by an alliance of five cities - Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
IAN VISITS: Henry Moore sculpture appears outside King’s Cross station A long term loan has been arranged with the Henry Moore Foundation for one of the artist’s rather more amorphous lumps to sit outside the station, which coincidentally happens to be where Londoners would depart if they were planning a visit to the artist’s Foundation in Hertfordshire or the Institute in Yorkshire.
ANDYS BUS BLOG: Out & about in Skegness - part 1 For our latest Out & about photo special we are taking a look at a recent visit to Skegness by our regular correspondent David Bell, highlights from the visit include Stagecoach's fleet of Seasider branded Alexander ALX400 open toppers which run between the town centre and Ingoldmells, as well as vehicles on local service - this feature will be spread across two parts.
DENNIS BASFORD: 'Scene' in Bury Bus station Bury is a very interesting place for transport enthusiasts not only because of its bus station which forms part of Bury Transport Interchange which also includes the terminus of the Tramway line to Manchester city centre.
BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Council check: Derbyshire County Council This week, we take a look at how Derbyshire County Council is informing the public about bus services there.
FOCUS TRANSPORT: FREE WIFI TRIAL ON LONDON BUSES A trial of free WiFi has begun on two buses operating in London. Transport for London (TfL) has installed it on a route 12 bus, operating between Dulwich, south London, and Oxford Circus.

Full Steam, to Bodmin

Not had much rail news here recently so I thought this might be of interest to many of you...
AFTER months of behind the scenes hard work and storm damage delays, the Bodmin And Wenford Railway and First Great Western in association with the Plymouth based Devon And Cornwall Rail Partnership were able to announce their ground breaking inclusive ticketing deal. Believed to be the first such arrangement between a heritage railway and a national railway company, passengers can now travel from any station in Cornwall and Plymouth through to Bodmin General and Boscarne Junction and return for just £12 (Seniors £11, Children £6).
In effect travel on the mainline is free. From any station in Devon (as far apart as Barnstaple and Exmouth, Tiverton and Paignton) the fare is a very good value £20 (Seniors £19, Children £10).
THIS IS THE WESTCOUNTRY Photo by Dennyboy (creative commons)

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Where the Heyl is Helford? [1] Cleverly, Helford in on the Helford River (originality in naming skills is not a feature of this particular area!) and Cornish heyl means estuary. So Helford is at the Helford heyl ford. Opposide Helford on the north bank of the river is Helford Passage, Treth Heyle in Cornish. So Helford Passage is where you went to pass over the Helford heyl ford to get to Helford. IAN VISITS: An unexpected tractor tour around Foulness Island When visiting an island controlled by the military with very strict instructions to stick to one named road, a tour of the island by tractor is not the sort of thing you should expect. Yet, that is what was on offer as a very unexpected treat during the monthly open day at the Foulness Heritage Centre which I wrote about yesterday.
TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Lathalmond, Part 1 Now, what do you do with over 200 photos of a fascinating site, the largest collection of preserved vehicles with literally dozens of gems to photograph? It's very, very hard to know what to leave out. Rather than stretch things out into three reports I've split it into two admittedly lengthy parts. You of course may need to break off and return, ideally without a bed and strong liquor. Well, maybe a wee dram to keep in the spirit..
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Where the Heyl is Helford? [2] So the bus does not serve Helford Passage and does not terminate at Trebah Gardens; so in various ways every source pf information is WRONG. There is nothing, no bus top pole, no timetable frame; nothing to identify that it is a terminus.
FOCUS TRANSPORT: COASTHOPPER CONTINUES Whilst there was some concern over the route even before the takeover, co-operation between Stagecoach and Norfolk County Council has resulted in financial stability of the service, at least until the autumn of 2015. During the summer the service is operated commercially by the company, which allows the county council leeway to provide support during the quieter months.
ENSIGN: Summertime Well its always a pleasure when a long term project is completed and turns out as you hoped it would. In this case Metropolitan Scania MD60. Although much maligned in service they are very impressive vehicles and the links between the DMS and the later Metrobuses are everywhere you look inside.
IAN VISITS: TV show about London Underground’s flood barriers Next week, the BBC’s Coast TV programme will have a segment about the flood barriers that were installed on the London Underground at the start of WW2.

First still Fighting

If you have been following this blog for a while you may have got the impression that First didn't much care for its operations in Plymouth and had all but lost interest. There have been signs that things may be changing but all to often any positive signs have been outweighed by negative signs. We have seen a fightback on the Tavistock corridor but then they gave up on Keyham. There have been rumours that the 12 Reg Enviros on the Tavistock services were leaving Plymouth for a while now which appeared to be another step back for Plymouth. However it does seem there is still life in Plymouth...
It has been confirmed that the 12 Reg Enviros are indeed due to leave Plymouth (or at least some of them) as it seems they are destined for Falmouth University services which are being revamped. But fear not, for the company has confirmed that newer buses will be used on Tavistock services in their place!
Its not yet known officially what they will be but my money is on new Streetlites. There have been rumours of new Streetlites for Plymouth for ages (but then there have been all sorts of rumours around most of which don't actually come to anything). Hopefully this will lead to a major promotion of the services with at least some sort of route branding.Talking of which...
It seems that the Park & Ride services are being revamped with a new livery at last. 33422 has appeared with a bright pink front end so its hard to miss. I assume that the other two Enviros will receive the pink front too. I also guess the Volvo B7s which have arrived from Somerset will also be painted in the same scheme. Watch this space!
I did manage to get a couple of photos of 33422 yesterday but as always Richard Smith managed to get better ones than me. I have used one of mine below and two of his.

Meanwhile First have also given details of their services for the Firework Championships:
We'll be running extra Park & Ride buses for the evening British Firework Championships on Plymouth Hoe on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 August 2014. Extra journeys will run from both sites to the City Centre:
PR1 from the George Junction (Southway) & Milehouse/Home Park Will run every 15 minutes from 1830 until 2045 and then with regular return buses when the fireworks finish. PR1 evening services will not pick up or drop off along Mayflower Street. After 22:00 return buses from Royal Parade can only be caught from stop A12 (next to Poundland).
PR2 from Coypool (Plympton) Will run every 15 minutes from 1830 until 2045 and then with regular return buses when the fireworks finish. PR2 evening services will not pick up or drop off along Charles Street (they will use the Viaduct instead). After 22:00 return buses from Royal Parade can only be caught from stop A12 (next to Poundland).
Normal Park & Ride fares will be in place:
From The George Junction Adult Return £2.70 Family* Return £4.80
From Milehouse Adult Return £2.00 Family* Return £4.20
From Coypool Adult Return £2.30 Family* Return £4.70
*Any 5 people travelling at same time, max 2 adults.
Normal terms and conditions for concession pass holder travel apply (as in free travel is only available until 23:00)
FULL TIMETABLES

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EAST NORFOLK: today at the beach I looked in at Beach Coach Station earlier this afternoon and found some different coaches present for a change
IAN VISITS: A Museum in the middle of an MOD firing range A hundred years ago, a man died, and in doing so set in chain a series of events that was to see a large island off the coast of Essex sealed off from the general public, and it remains so to this very day. Except, that you can be invited in by the few remaining residents who are allowed to farm there — or once a month, we mere citizens are permitted to travel along one road to see just one building, and then leave again
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Oxford station masterplan redevelopment unveiled A masterplan for Oxford station, which includes a new bus station and upgrades to the area, is to be launched later. The development aims to attract investment and accommodate the expected growth in rail passengers over the next 30 years. The proposals include a new station building and a new rail track and platforms.
ON THIS BUS: The Lure of the Bus Station Buses are important, and none more than bus stations. Smart, functional, attractive facilities send a message that buses need not be seen as a mode of last resort, and they can be part of a much wider package that boasts clean attractive buses, competitive fares and bus priority measures.

Protecting the long term inability

Its been fairly quiet on VOSA recently but...

21 July 2014

PH1101608/9 - TREVELLYAN JACKETT T/A JACKETT'S COACHES, KINGSETT HOUSE,, ALBASTON, GUNNISLAKE, PL18 9AL Variation Accepted: Operating between Derriford Hospital and Chaddlewood given service number 52 effective from 09-Sep-2014. To amend Timetable.

Jacketts have been very quick to give details of the changes, perhaps a bit too quick...
I know I cant really talk when it comes to proof reading!
On a more serious note I can see a group of passengers getting rather upset. Most admin staff finish at 5pm so the 5:15 is a popular bus. If they now to to wait till 5:40 they will not be happy.

There has been one other notice for Target Travel. Didn't realise these football specials were still going!

29 July 2014

PH0006742/54 - ROBERT JOHN RISK, 4 ARCADIA, ELBURTON, PLYMOUTH, PL9 8EF Cancellation Accepted by SN: Operating between Southway (Dunnet Road) and Plymouth Argyle (Home Park) given service number PA3 effective from 12-Aug-2014.

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PTOTPA: Back in the region! It's been an extremely exciting first month, finally fulfilling a lifelong dream of driving a bus on the public highway, and already I've gained huge appreciation for what bus drivers do every day, it's certainly not easy!
CIRCLE OF LONDON: ADL Fife At present the factory is on its annual shutdown, which saw the manufacturing process slow down before grinding to a complete halt which is made evident through the above picture which shows one of Metroline's new 10.8m E200s in very early stages of production.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: More Apples : the Crunch of Competition What we don't know, of course, is whether BoS is profitable and will continue to earn First's shareholders a reasonable crust after the service increase. Neither do we know how well Webber's finances are coping with the increased apple activity.
FOCUS TRANSPORT: More Apples : Megabus Doubles New Barcelona Services megabus.com has announced that it is to double the number of daily services between London and Barcelona following strong passenger demand during the first month of its new service. A new coach service offering fares from just €1 began running between London and Barcelona, via Paris and Toulouse on 8 July and has already proved popular, with thousands of passengers having used the route in the past three weeks.
EAST NORFOLK: First Assets Sale It's good to see First finally selling on redundant assets and attempting to get a better price for them than what would be offered by the scrap man. With all of the other large groups selling surplus vehicles on, First's "for scrap only" policy must seem ridiculous in the eyes of the shareholders, who would want maximum return on any asset

Target Travel

Target Travel were sponsors of the rally on The Hoe at the weekend and were well represented. They also produced one of the main surprises of the event with the new livery of recently acquired Dart Y184CFS:
This does really raise the game as far as Target are concerned and is a real credit to the company. It also shows how well the Pointer 2 body has aged especially when compared with the MAN next to it This is not the most reliable bus in the fleet and is not in brilliant condition bodywork wise. Last week saw Optare Solo operation on the Derriford Park & Ride service which is not ideal when you see just how busy this service can get
New to the fleet and looking very smart is this Bova Futura. It carries the latest style fleet names for Target Travel on the front.
Finally, Target also had two of their Volvo Olympian double-deckers as rally support vehicles. I didn't manage to get a photo of either but Richard Smith did...

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FOCUS TRANSPORT: New Stagecoach Vehicles for Exeter Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, has unveiled a £1.6m fleet of 12 new Stagecoach buses on a visit to Exeter to see how the bus operator and local authorities are working together to boost public transport in the south-west of England.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: What does it all Mean? Please trust fbb; this is NOT a joke; this is not a paste up of bits from Milton Keynes and Northampton; this is a genuine and utterly daft sign in Northampton. It directs innocent and sadly misled National Express passengers to their shelter
IAN VISITS: Remembrance Wreaths being lain at London Transport locations today This year, appropriately, much is being made of the London Buses that were shipped to France. More than 1,000 B-type buses were requisitioned by the War Department for use on the Western Front. Not all of them returned.
DNIIS BASFORD: Bolton Buses 2 The original company of ‘Lancashire United Transport’, dates back to 1905 and was at that time a tram operator. Eventually moving on to buses it disappeared into ‘Greater Manchester PTE’ in 1976 at which time it was the largest independent operator in the UK.

The Hoe Yesterday

Yesterday was the Western National Preservation Groups Bus Rally on Plymouth Hoe, and despite the weather forecast at the start of the week it was a nice sunny day. When the weather is this good you cant beat it as a location for a bus rally. I only managed a short time on The Hoe myself as I had my puppy with me, which also stopped me from getting any rides. I did get to speak to plenty of people, though it was mostly about the dog!
Over the next few days I will present you with a selection of photos, taken by myself and Richard Smith who sent a few in too. We start off with a collection from the PCTPG fleet:
Cant wait to see this one restored!

Looking nice in her new coat as the groups Exhibition Unit

Her sister has also been given a new coact bringing her back to the livery as new. I was never a fan of the grey skirt livery but its nice to see it back again on one vehicle

Another bus with a new coat, again back to as new livery.

Still in as withdrawn livery but always a welcome sight B175VDV. Very much at the start of her preservation journey, TTT162X arrived complete with her matching tow truck
Congratulations to the organisers and the sponsers who have worked really hard and got the weather they deserved and put on a great show. Thanks also to everyone who brought buses to the event. When you look back over the years and see how so many of these buses have been transformed over time you can appreciate the amount of hard work that they put in. Brilliant job by all concerned!

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FOCUS TRANSPORT: BIRMINGHAM NEW SREET STATION OPENING DATE ANNOUNCED Network Rail said more than 50 million people were expected to pass through the station and shopping centre each year Birmingham's New Street Station is set to open in September 2015 after a £650m redevelopment, Network Rail has said.
NORWICH BUSES: Heritage livery and more repaints After a long wait, First 32479 AU53HJV has finally returned from Rotherham in the beautiful Eastern Counties post office red livery
YARMOUTH BUS PAGE: Fleet Update ~ anglianbus and BorderBus 452 AU58 AUV with a dodgy destination but looking great with new logos!
TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Fife and Tayside Kirkcaldy has no need to be bashful though for it's a pleasant, solid Scottish town with a seafront facing Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth and has a small, but perfectly-formed bus station where I got a few views beginning with the title shot of Stagecoach East Scotland Enviro 400 19553 (SP59 APU) arriving on the 33 from Dunfermline
PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Premier Inn-competence Part of the former freight sidings have become the northern terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway which runs all the way to Porthmadog, there terminating with its sister Festiniog Line. It is famous for using ex South Africa Railways narrow gauge locos of huuuuge proportions
BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Council check: Nottinghamshire County Council Each Sunday we take a look at how one of our local transport authorities publicises the bus services on its patch. Today, Nottinghamshire County Council.
FOCUS TRANSPORT: Nottinghams Bendibuses withdrawn Introduced on the route 58 (City Centre & Arnold) in the very early 2000s in a green and white livery, and kept busy ever since, their time on the city streets has now ended. In more recent years they have been employed as student movers for the Nottingham Trent University out on the south side of the city. For this they received a dedicated blue and white livery with bold 'unilink' branding.
CICRLE OF LONDON: London Recap VW1469 BF63 HDG which duly entered service on the 297 as anticipated on 1st of August 2014, following a two month abstinence after its delivery over 2 months ago. The vehicle is one of three demonstrator Wright bodied B5TLs that have/are being trialed in London over a 3-6 month period beginning with the Go Ahead model which was delivered in October 2013. The vehicle is set to begin its three month trial period imminently and will be rooted to the 297 as it can easily be run to Perivale, should any problems occur during this period.