Another week on VOSA: 7-13th

The second week of September (7th - 13th) saw a few interesting items pop up

We start with Riverlink 100:

Applications to Vary Existing Service: VOSA 10 SEP 2014

PH0007025/43 - DART PLEASURE CRAFT LTD, DART PLEASURE CRAFT, STEAMER QUAY ROAD, TOTNES, TQ9 5AL

Variation Accepted: Operating between Totnes and Paignton Bus Station/ Torquay Strand given service number 100 effective from 03-Nov-2014. To amend Stopping Places and Timetable.

This is just a seasonal change to the timetable. The new times can be found on the Riverlink 100 page as above

We then get a couple of related notices from Western Greyhound and Plymouth Citybus:

Cancellations of Existing Services VOSA 10 SEP 2014:

PH0006741/115 - WESTERN GREYHOUND LTD, WESTERN HOUSE, ST. AUSTELL STREET, SUMMERCOURT, NEWQUAY, TR8 5DR

Cancellation Accepted by SN:
Operating between CALLINGTON ( NEW ROAD) and TAVISTOCK ( BUS STATION ) given service number 574 effective from 22-Sep-2014.

Applications to Vary Existing Service: VOSA 10 SEP 2014

PH0006741/42 - WESTERN GREYHOUND LTD, WESTERN HOUSE, ST. AUSTELL STREET, SUMMERCOURT, NEWQUAY, TR8 5DR

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between LISKEARD and CALLINGTON
given service number 574/575 effective from 22-Sep-2014.
To amend Timetable.

21 September 2014

Following consultation with Cornwall Council a revised timetable will be introduced from Monday 22nd September 2014 running between Liskeard and Callington. The section between Callington and Tavistock being run by Plymouth CityBus as the 79/79A. The new timetable for the 79/79A is available from the Plymouth CityBus website.

TIMETABLE PDF

Registration of New Service: VOSA 11 SEP 2014

PH0000135/160 - PLYMOUTH CITYBUS LTD, MILEHOUSE, MILEHOUSE ROAD, PLYMOUTH, PL3 4AA

Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Callington, New Road Finish Point: Tavistock Bus Station Via: Calstock, Gunnislake
Service Number: 79 Service Type: Normal Stopping/Hail & Ride
Effective Date: 22-SEP-2014
Other Details: Monday to Saturday.

22 September 2014

We are pleased to announced that from 22nd September 2014 we will be operating the 79/A between Tavistock and Callington. Cornwall Council has confirmed that from Monday 22 September, the bus service between Callington and Tavistock will transfer from Western Greyhound Ltd to Plymouth Citybus Ltd. The Council is grateful to Western Greyhound for cooperating and ensuring a smooth transition to the new service. The new service has been revised slightly to give better efficiency. Provision will be restored to housing estates on the north of Callington and journey time between the two mains towns of Callington and Tavistock has also been reduced.

Journeys through Harrowbarrow and Metherall will return to the pre June 2014 frequency level of two-hourly. The Cothele area will be served by a dial-a-ride service provided by Darren’s Taxis of Callington.

Peter Oliver, Commercial Manager of Plymouth Citybus Ltd, said “Plymouth Citybus is delighted to be once again operating the service between Callington and Tavistock under the service number 79/A.

The new timetable maintains a number of important links within Callington and an hourly service between Callington and Tavistock with journeys now able to accommodate a number of the school movements between the two towns".

There will be two new tickets introduced specifically for the 79/79A route between Tavistock and Callington.

These will be a 7 day ticket that will be available from the driver and via the plymouthbus mobile app at £16 adult and £13 child (under 19), plus a 31 day ticket available from plymouthbus mobile only at £59 adult and £44.25 child.

In addition to this the Plymouth Citybus Tavi tickets will also be extended to include the 79/79A, meaning that passengers can extend their travel onto services 11 and 42, plus all zone 1 and 2 Citybus services for a small extra charge. .

TIMETABLE PDF

[cc] Nick Rice April 2014

Hopefully these routes will now settle down a bit as its all been a bit turbulent for passengers since the sad demise of DAC!

The last VOSA notice for the week comes from First Service 76 :

Applications to Vary Existing Service: VOSA 11 SEP 2014

PH0004983/186 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, CHELSON MEADOW, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT

Variation Accepted: Operating between PLYMOUTH Bretonside Bus Station and LAUNCESTON Westgate Street given service number 76
effective from 10-Oct-2014.
To amend Route and Timetable.

As for previously announced timetable changes, Sunday 7th saw quiote a few changes for First Plymouth including the end of service 4 into Keyham, leaving the area to Plymouth Citybus. The other timetable change was Jacketts 52 service which unusually introduced its (slightly) reduced service from Tuesday 9th ...

Jacketts 52

From Tuesday 9th September 2014 there will be changes made to some of the evening journeys on service 52 The 16:15 journey will now leave Derriford Hospital at 16:25 and will run 10 minutes later throughout. The 17:15 and the 17:45 will be replaced with a single journey at 17:40. Buses will also now serve ASDA at all times of the day These changes are to ensure the long term viability of this route. TIMETABLE PDF

Recommended Reading

• HUMBER TRANSPORT: EYMS VOSA Changes The following variations, cancellations and registrations have been published on the VOSA website today. I presumme the 155 registration covers the tendered Sunday service.
• BENJIS BUSES: 64 Plate Buses Now for some fun and games! Three out of the four Unilink liveried Volvo B7RLE / Wright Eclipse 2's at Eastleigh (delivered on 14 plates) have had a reregistration
• LANCASTER OMNIBUS: Transport Direct Closes Down Tomorrow but Traveline Has Gone National (in the South East!) Although not without its critics, Transport Direct did have one major advantage over Traveline in that it was presented as one single nationwide site rather then Traveline's series of regional sites that require you to know into which of its areas your proposed journey fell and with each site presenting the results in a different style as compared to TD's standard output.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Harwich to Esbjerg Ferry Service Ends The UK's only ferry link to Scandinavia has closed for good, marking the "the end of an era", its operator says. The route between Harwich, Essex and Esbjerg in Denmark, run by DFDS Seaways, has been in operation for nearly 140 years.
• IAN VISITS: More moves towards driverless trains on the Underground It’s possibly worth noting that the Victoria, Jubilee, Central and from later this year the Northern lines are already driven under automatic train operation, but with an operator on board, so they are essentially driverless, but with the operator sitting in a drivers cab rather than standing in the carriage
• IPSWICH BUS BLOG: IPSWICH BUSES THE EIGHTIES Coming in at the start of the decade was 4 ex West Yorkshire PTE and formally Leeds City Transport Atlanteans registered UNW 401-04H one 42 only lasted 2 years and never got repainted, never popular with drivers and passengers due to poor ventilation and heavy driving 66986 BACK IN SERVICE Many thanks to James Long and the depot staff allowing him to take the photo for supplying me with a photo of 66986 KX05 MHU as twice today i missed a photo opportunity first another bus blocked it in
• LEON DANIELS: Tube train returns to Ongar branch after 20 years Twenty years ago London Transport ‘pulled the plug’ on the Epping-Ongar branch of the Central line.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Underground, Overgound : The New Map [1] Wombles are organised, Boris in charge Seeking the Overground routes to enlarge; Underground, Overground, doffing our cap, Consulting commuters with a new map

A week on VOSA

It seems that the VOSA website is now working properly again so I have been able to go back through September to see what is happening. Lets start off with the first week of September on VOSA :

We start with a batch of applications to change the timetable of Stagecoach X9 Bude to Exeter service:

Applications to Vary Existing Service: VOSA 01 Sep 2014

PH1020951/183 - STAGECOACH DEVON LTD T/A Stagecoach South West, BELGRAVE ROAD, EXETER, EX1 2LB Variation Accepted: Operating between Holsworthy and Bude given service number X9 effective from 27-Oct-2014. To amend Timetable.

Applications to Vary Existing Service: VOSA 01 Sep 2014

PH1020951/184 - STAGECOACH DEVON LTD T/A Stagecoach South West, BELGRAVE ROAD, EXETER, EX1 2LB Variation Accepted: Operating between Okehampton and Holsworthy given service number X9 effective from 27-Oct-2014. To amend Timetable.

Applications to Vary Existing Service: VOSA 01 Sep 2014

PH1020951/185 - STAGECOACH DEVON LTD T/A Stagecoach South West, BELGRAVE ROAD, EXETER, EX1 2LB Variation Accepted: Operating between Exeter and Okehampton given service number X9 effective from 27-Oct-2014. To amend Timetable

X9 by Nick Rice (cc) January 2013

We then get a new school service: CountryBus 913

Registration of New Services VOSA: 02 SEP 2014

PH1017984/114 - ALANSWAY COACHES LTD T/A COUNTRY BUS, KING CHARLES BUSINESS PK, OLD NEWTON RD, HEATHFIELD, NEWTON ABBOT, TQ12 6UT Registration Accepted by SN

Starting Point: Totnes Finish Point: South Dartmoor Academy Via: South Brent
Service Number: 913 Service Type: Normal Stopping Effective Date: 02-SEP-2014
Other Details: Monday to Friday schooldays only.

And then on the same day we get a less than helpful notice for First Devon PR1: PH0004983/278 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, CHELSON MEADOW, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT Variation Accepted:

err, that's it!

The first week of September (31st August - 6th September) also saw quite a few timetable changes with Plymouth Citybus Blue Flash 42 among the mix from the 31st August. Monday 1st September saw major changes across the First Kernow network and also Stagecoach Devon had a few changes from this date too. Coming up shortly we will have a look at the second week of September on VOSA

Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on the sister Plymothian Bus Services site where I try to keep tabs on all the routes in the area. Part of this project has been to define what the Plymothian Transit 'area' actually is. Its not an exact definition by any means, but I tend to draw a circle around Plymouth roughly linking Liskeard, Launceston, Okehampton, Newton Abbot, Totnes, and Dartmouth. Any bus services within this circle, or extending outwards from these points is included. This is the area I now cover on Plymothian Transit and on the PT Bus Services web site. I am currently looking back at the first half of 2003 and adding all the VOSA notices to the site which should build up into a full detailed history of all our bus services. Clearly this is a major project which will take a long time to finish!

Recommended Reading

• DEVON HISTORY SOCIETY: History events: Plymouth International Book Festival The forthcoming Plymouth International Book Festival (17-25 October) has a number of events of historical interest: Fighting on the Home Front: The Legacy of Women in World War One (Kate Adie); British Nurses on the Russian Front 1914-1917 (Angela K Smith), and The Customs House (Sir Andrew Motion).
• BUS AND COACH.COM: Front-mounted cycle rack trial planned A Bath-based cycle campaign group is planning a trial of front-mounted cycle racks and claims to have had DfT approval for the process. The group Cycle Bath says it is in discussions with First, Wessex Bus and Bath and North East Somerset council for a pilot for free racks on buses in the city.
• IPSWICH BUS BLOG: 32486 ENTERS SERVICE AND FURTHER UPDATES It is also worth noting thanks to last nights Ipswich Star that travel on buses in Suffolk has increased by 3% in the last year however as many have said, there are still cutbacks to rural services happening across the county which isn't good news.
• RICHARDS TRAM BLOG: MANCHESTER TEST RUNNING ON WYTHENSHAWE EXTENSION They were out again today with at least three trams on Driver Training on the line to Wythenshawe.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: GCSE 5 What a Super Mess in Weston Super Mare North Somerset is much more bus-friendly than its ancient master. BUT, please, please, can we have a stops map posted in all the frames round the central area? If they had been there, (and if he had used a bit more of his brain?) fbb might have found his 21. The Adventures of Rupert Bear [1] Wrong. Not Bear but Street In the 1960s and 1970s there were grandiose plans to separate pedestrians from traffic using high-level concrete walkways or decks. The vehicles would have the ground level, while pedestrians would move around central Bristol on ‘walkways in the skies’ The Adventures of Rupert Street [2] One of Bristol’s biggest eyesores could be in line for a facelift if a planning application is given the go-ahead by the city council. The scheme which would see a revamp of the Nelson Street area of the city centre would also see several unsightly concrete bridges demolished
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: HYBRIDS IN YORK The City of York's transport has taken a leap forward this year with the introduction of new and part used hybrid buses. Furthermore a re-located Park-&-Ride facility is now open at Askham Bar and work continues in the city centre to provide a new bus interchange at Exhibition Square. Free Bus Service to Kendal 29th September 2014 Cumbria Classic Coaches are looking at the viability of running a weekly bus service to Kendal. It is to replace the current bus service that is being withdrawn by Cumbria County Council on the 1st November. A test run is being carried out on Monday 29th September by operating a free service to check timings. Luton and Dunstable busway predictions 'embellished' Luton Borough Council's portfolio holder for environment, said passenger numbers were "pumped up" when trying to justify demand for the Luton and Dunstable busway. It was claimed that 3.4m passengers would use the busway annually, but only 1.3m used it in its first year.
• NORWICH BUSES: First Norfolk & First Updates and New Norwich Network Yesterday was the first full day of First's newly revised Norwich Network. I headed out between my free periods at Sixth Form to get some pictures. First Norfolk & Showbus Special One of a total of, correct me if I'm wrong, seven heritage liveried buses from the big operators included First Hadleigh Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident 33191 LT52XAB. Ipswich Update - Ins and Outs Since our previous Ipswich Update, a large number of First Ipswich vehicles have been sent away and returned, so many that I've almost lost track; I'll give it a shot anyway!
• SOUTHAMPTON UPDATE: Wheelers W2 is no more The most direct route between the city centre and the General Hospital is now once again First three.
• EAST NORFOLK: Better Late Than Never! The annual Showbus event at Duxford took place last Sunday and unlike most blogs we are a bit late in posting a review due to work and other duties along the way! Darting Back in Time The Dennis Dart is slowly becoming a vehicle of the past, so in its honour we go back to 2005 and a trip to a damp wintery February in Norwich. Our Photo special looks at the Pointer versions that ran in the city that year.
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Council check: North Yorkshire County Council There are no maps of any description, but this page lets you search by location for a list of all routes serving it. The results are rather cumbersome however, as only 5 results are shown per page
• DENNIS BASFORD: Another 'Scene' in Eccles 84 units have been delivered and another 32 have been authorised to be delivered up to 2016. Costing £2,000,000 each they are fast, powerful and comfortable. The trams alone are worth the cost of the ‘Wayfarer’ ticket
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: Weekly News Round Up. There has been much talk about the new livery for the Norwich Network, where buses will have their fronts painted according to the routes they work. Except that's not quite it. It has transpired that the new Streetlites will be devoid of any branding whatsoever

Kingsbridge Album: Double Deckers

The second set of photos from Saturday with a selection of double deckers taken by Richard Smith:

Recommended Reading

• HUMBER TRANSPORT: Kirton Kipper to Hibaldstow North Lincolnshire Council have announced their directly operated 'Kirton Klipper' service will be extended to the nearby villages off Redbourne and Hibaldstow from 24th November
• DENNIS BASFORD: Another Day out with Dennis to Uttoxeter This set of images is to illustrate an article written for a magazine called ‘All Things Local’. This community magazine is produced and distributed from a base in Kilburn, Derbyshire and covers large areas of the towns of Ripley and Belpe
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: GCSE 4 Light Railway : Light Houses : Life Boats The highest difference between low and high tide recorded at Burnham is 46½ feet. Wow! That's higher than 3 double deck buses parked** on top of one another.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Google Celebrates 60 years of the Routemaster The iconic Routemaster bus is being celebrated by Google with a special doodle to mark sixty years since it was first unveiled in London.
• ANDYS BUS BLOG: Stagecoach announces new vehicle order for the X5 between Cambridge and Oxford A total of 18 new Plaxton Elite coaches will go into service on the popular X5 service which operates between Cambridge and Oxford. The vehicles are expected to go into service by the end of this year, delivering even greater comfort, along with free Wi-Fi and toilets, for the hundreds of customers who rely on the service every day.
• LANCASTER OMNIBUS: Buses Coping Well with City Centre Closures The paper described car drivers as "confused" - which doesn't surprise The Man on the Lancaster Omnibus" as he often finds such people are "confused" - usually by things like red lights, speed limits and parking restrictions, let alone major roadworks.
• IAN VISITS: New tunnel opens at King’s Cross station The complex of tunnels and entrances at King’s Cross tube station gained another addition recently, a stunning tunnel with a permanently changing lighting effect Brunels’s original rail infrastructure excavated near Paddington Remains of structures built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for his Great Western Railway have been unearthed near Paddington in west London. Brixton’s Electric Avenue to glow again The first shopping street in the UK to be lit by electricity is to get a makeover after the Heritage Lottery Fund allocated a £2.6 million grant to refurbish buildings along the street. The new money will be spent on restoring buildings in the street to their former glory, and on a series of community projects, including a proposal for solar powered electricity

Kingsbridge Album Part 1

As promised we have the first set of photos taken by Richard Smith at Kingsbridge on Saturday starting with a selection of single deckers...

Recommended Reading

• FOCUS TRANSPORT: NOT ON THE YORKSHIRE BUSES A recent television series titled "On the Yorkshire Buses", featured management, staff and the buses of the East Yorkshire Motor Services bus company. The eight episodes concentrated on the depots at Hull and Scarborough. Included were frontline routes in both locations plus the seafront services at Scarborough. The series was aired during August and September. NEW EUROPEAN NETWORK FROM megabus.com Significant growth in the popularity of low-cost inter-city coach travel in Europe is to see market-leading operator megabus.com launch a new network of services in the Benelux region from next month and open a dedicated base in Belgium. THE GREENEST EUROPEAN BUS COMPANY GROWS BIGGER The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) are to expand London's bus retrofit programme, already the largest in the world, with a further 400 vehicles, bringing the total number of buses fitted with this bespoke technology up to 1,800.
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: GA Delays Round Up. It was all going so well last week, with no major delays apart from the odd safety inspection causing 10 min delays. A tweet from GA even went up proclaiming no short formed trains one evening. All was well with the world. Then on Friday Mother Nature said oh no you don't and stepped in with a vengence. News Round Up Extra. However, it has the biggest and most well laid out reference section to blogs around the country I have seen on any blog, and Graham is obviously a man of very good taste, as yesterday this blog was on top of the pile!
• NORWICH BUSES: First Norfolk & Showbus Special - 2014 Part One Yesterday was most definitely the most exciting day of the enthusiast's calender: Showbus. Showbus is the world's largest bus and coach gathering, consisting this year of over 400 buses and coaches and visited by the masses.
• GREAT YARMOUTH BUS PAGE: Fleet Update ~ First Plaxton Presidents 32201 LT52WTF and 32202 LT52WTG have now been transferred to FirstNorwich.
• IPSWICH BUS BLOG: SHOWBUS SELECTION all of Ensign's recent projects wear parked outside the next hangar including the brilliant restoration of the Scania Metropolitian,
• DENNIS BASFORD: ‘Scene’ at ‘Showbus 2014' The ‘Olympus’ body has had a checkered build background during its relatively short production life. Starting out as an ‘East Lancs Coachbuilders’ product. Then coming from ‘Darwen’ until finally finishing up in the ‘Optare’ stable.

Kingsbridge 2014

This last weekend saw another excellent Kingsbridge Running Day. The weather was great and the event was extremely popular with both enthusiasts and the general public alike. The few photos below give a flavour of the event and show just how busy it was.

With such large crowds and a lot of buses coming and going alongside the regular bus services which use the bus station, it took a lot of work to keep things moving and the crew of volunteers did an excellent job. When you see such a well run operation in progress you really do appreciate the amount of hard work which goes into putting an event like this on.
A special thank you also to the drivers who managed to get their buses down some incredibly narrow lanes - just one of the things which make this event so special.
I will have a few more photos from the day over the next week.
I know where I will be on the 19th September 2015!

Recommended Reading

• TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Ringwood Bus Rally As to be expected there was a significant Bristol/ECW presence, as seen in the title shot, showing a Lodekka from Hants & Dorset and a KSW from the company that they absorbed in 1972, the original Wilts & Dorset.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Todwick's Travel Traumas Mysteries and Misery Multiplied So we clearly see the business ethic of the modern bus company. Push resources into trunk routes that make the most money (the X5) and use clever scheduling and routeing to get the best return possible out of the less profitable corridors From Curlers to Couplers Part 1 and From Bullets to Beer During World War 2 the business diversified into producing armaments and was advised to move out of London, for obvious reasons. A property was found in Branscombe, Devon. From Curlers to Couplers Part 2 and From Bullets to Beer Beautifully kept gardens, fun places for children, a vast permanent model railway exhibition plus the usual shop, cafe all contribute to a good value visit. GCSE 1 The Grand Circular Somerset Expedition When the buses are in BoS green they look better When in First livery they look awful
• IAN VISITS: Weekly round-up of London’s railway transport news THE GALLERY | Crossrail TBM starts complex tunnel drive NCE Photos from the roof of Victoria Station The use of more modern materials does mean that it is somewhat lighter than before, which is an asset, as it turned out that the entire roof rests on the gutters. Replacing the old gutters therefore meaning that the rest of the roof had to be disconnected and then supported on extra scaffolding during the restoration.
• NORWICH BUSES: First Norfolk & Suffolk Showbus Update I can confirm that it has been decided to send 36180 BD11CDZ from Norwich depot rather than 33163 or 37562 as previously reported.
• ON THIS BUS: It’s Getting Better…We Just Don’t Know It Yet! The NXWM red and white livery has taken an awfully long time to grow on me, but the branded ones especially are looking really smart. Stand in the middle of Brum and you’ll see a much-improved scene to that of 5 years ago
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Council check: Leicestershire County Council Timetables are provided, but only for those routes that are subsidised by the county council. Passengers are unlikely to know whether their route is subsidised or not, so this is far from ideal
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: End of the LinQ After a year of operation, Stagecoach axed their Saturday evening/night LinQ service at the end of August.
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: New Solo? Not Bad!. A few weeks ago I posted on Galloway's new Optare Solo, and was a bit critical of it - hard seats, bad reflection from the destination screen and uncomfortable driver's seat. Well I have actually ridden on it now and so here is my ride report Weekly News Round Up. It's been a pretty quiet week for other news, so a recap on things you may have missed. A new company has been announced for Kings Lynn. Coastal Red has been given a licence for initially 6 vehicles, and is being run by Stephen Challis, who together with Julian Paterson set up Konectbus.
• RICHARDS TRAM BLOG: SARAJEVO Peter has visited Sarajevo this last week. MANCHESTER WYTHENSHAWE This afternoon I went out to see what if anything was going on in Wythenshawe. SEATON SELECTION SUMMER 2014

Notices and Proceedings

I have not been able to get the VOSA database site to work properly for me for a few weeks now and recently have not been able to access it at all! I have though started working my way through Notices & Proceedings, the fortnightly summary by VOSA and bringing my Plymothian bus Services pages up to date. The last few weeks have been quiet on VOSA so just a couple of service updates have been added to my site yesterday:

 

Short Notice Registration of New Services: 02 September 2014

PH1128051/1 DANIEL RICHARD TWEEDIE T/A A LINE COACHES, 9 BULLER ROAD TORPOINT PL11 2LD From: CREMYLL To: TORPOINT FERRY Via: Name or No: 32 Service Type: Normal Stopping Effective Date: 18-Aug-2014 Other Details: MONDAY TO FRIDAY

Current and future timetables on Plymothian Bus Services:

32 Cawsands - Cremyll

510 Exeter - Okehampton - Camelford – Wadebridge

 

Applications to Vary Existing Service: N & P 19 August 2014

PH0006741/65 WESTERN GREYHOUND LTD, WESTERN HOUSE, ST. AUSTELL STREET, SUMMERCOURT NEWQUAY TR8 5DR Operating between Okehampton West Street and Launceston given service number 510 effective from 29-Sep-2014. To amend Timetable.

 

There will be a minor change to the timetable from Monday 29th September 2014. The 0845 departure from Okehampton to Exeter is revised to run at 0930, fast to Exeter thereby helping the 0940 departure from Okehampton have capacity as it goes via the villages into Exeter. The 1910 departure from Exeter will now terminate in Launceston, and not continue to Wadebridge due to low demand for this journey beyond Launceston.

TIMETABLE PDF

© Barry Lewis (cc) - A reminder of happier times on the 510...

Recommended Reading

• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: A Day Of Firsts. Now a few weeks ago I absolutely slated the Volvo 9700 Hybrid that First Essex operate on the 100 Lakeside - Chelmsford route. Hated them. Not this one. Loved it. Quiet, smooth, comfortable. A bit rattly which is always annoying in a new bus but I noticed the roads weren't exactly silky smooth so maybe a little leeway there.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Four Cheers for the Fourth Estate Sorry, that should be "Four Jeers" The different statistic from the two different sources begs a number of questions. Who is telling porkie pies?
• NORWICH BUSES: Life after Norfolk - First 37157 (AU07DXT) With the arrival of the new luxurious Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, 37157 was one of five of the type which saw transferral to First Potteries, formerly Potteries Motor Traction.

Life After Plymouth: Western Belle

Something slightly different to the usual "Life After Plymouth":
Built to the order of the Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Co. Ltd in 1935, the Western Belle immediately established herself as the company's new flagship and for nearly fifty years was the firm favourite on Tamar and Yealm excursions. In 2007 she was purchased from Chris Cruises where she had worked for a time on the River Thames. She was completely refurbished by Ullswater 'Steamers', and re-launched onto her new home in early July 2010. Seen approaching the pier at Glenrhydding at the southern end of Ullswater on Sunday 7th August 2014. © Ian Kirby

Recommended Reading

• FOCUS TRANSPORT: CORNISH TRANSPORT BOOST FOR ISLES OF SCILLY Penzance and the Isles of Scilly have been awarded more than £7m in funding to improve transport links. LONDON BUS DRIVERS IN PROTEST MARCH Hundreds of London's bus drivers have taken part in a protest march to demand collective bargaining. Members of Unite want an end to salary differences between firms that can see pay differ from £17,000 to £25,000.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Crazy Conflict on Coronation Street (2) .. Clearly SWC's aim is to cream off enough of First's route 2 and route 3 traffic to make a profit. Is this likely? Is there enough business from these estates to justify two operations? Of course there isn't. Northampton Newspeak Nonsense This fine imposing main entrance on the main road, presenting a dramatic improvement in the station's image (etc. etc. blah blah) may look like the main entrance ... but it isn't.
• DENNIS BASFORD: Coaches 'Scene' in the Southwest A few days holiday based in Weymouth allowed me to have a look at what goes on in that part of the world. The buses of the Southwest will feature in a later ‘blog’.
• NORWICH BUSES: A day of rare allocations This begs the question, why would Konectbus send away their deckers if there is still some need to use them?
• IAN VISITS: A bale of straw for Tower Bridge Due to works on the central section of Tower Bridge, headroom below for boats will be reduced, and as such, under ancient rules, a bale of straw is to be suspended from the bridge to warn boats.

Cycle Network

Families will soon be able to enjoy some of the best views in the city from their saddles, thanks to improvements being made along Plymouth’s spectacular waterfront cycle route.

Work on the route, which is part of National Cycle Network Route 27 and connects the Barbican, the Hoe, Millbay and Royal William Yard, will begin on Monday 15 September.

A new contraflow cycle lane will run eastwards along Madeira Road, from the mini roundabout junction with Hoe Road and past the Citadel to the Elphinstone car park. A 20mph speed limit will also be introduced.

On Monday 27 October work will also begin to improve Millbay Roundabout so that cyclists and pedestrians can cross Millbay Road and travel through the roundabout more easily and safely. The work includes narrowing the space around the roundabout to slow down traffic, as well as creating a cycle route that avoids the roundabout altogether.

Both schemes – designed and being built by the Council’s highways contractor Amey – will make it easier and safer to explore the city’s magnificent waterfront and its historic features by bike, which will in turn provide an economic boost to waterfront businesses.

The improvements are being funded through the Coastal Communities Fund, along with the new bike hire hubs at the Royal William Yard and Commercial Wharf, which Rockets and Rascals have been running since Easter.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport said: “Our waterfront is one of the most incredible features of Britain’s Ocean City and we are really keen to see it become easier for cyclists of all ages and abilities to enjoy the expansive views.

“This isn’t just about providing a cracking day out for tourists; it’s also about encouraging people here in Plymouth to get on their bikes, explore their surroundings and stay healthy and active. The recent Sky Ride brought hundreds of people out onto the waterfront.”

Sarah O’Leary, Waterfront Manager for the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership added: “The waterfront is one of our greatest assets and activities that encourage more people to visit are warmly welcomed. Building on existing ferry services and pedestrian and bus routes, better and safer facilities for cyclists are important and the link between the Royal William Yard and The Barbican is critical in directly benefitting businesses right across the area.”

Work on Madeira Road is expected to last six weeks and work on Millbay Roundabout will take around two weeks. There will be no daytime road closures.

circa 1920. From Richard & Gill Long Collection

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• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Crazy Conflict on Coronation Street (1) ... Over the previous few days, timetable frames had been fixed to stops. Was First Bus at last realising that, to attract passengers, it might be a good idea to tell then when and where the buses run? Oh, naive and foolish reader, of course not.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Work to make Luton and Dunstable busway quieter fails Three bus companies - Arriva, Centrebus and Grant Palmer - provide services up to every eight minutes at peak times. But some people living next to the tracks have complained about being kept awake.
• ANDYS BUS BLOG: Looking back... Eastern Counties seventies selection a selection of Eastern Counties photographs he took in the seventies, included are an interesting selection shots taken in and around the Peterborough, Norwich and Cambridge areas..
• RICHARDS TRAM BLOG: CRICH ELECTRIC 50 A marvellous time was had by all, visitors, old members, new members etc. Older members especially spent a lot of time greeting long lost friends and catching up, reminiscing which trams they had worked on/crewed on in the past.
• FYLDE BUS BLOG: Fairhaven Lake Running Day The Lancastrian Transport Trust arranged a vintage bus shuttle service on Sunday from St. Annes Pier to/from the Blackpool Vehicle Preservation Group's car rally at Fairhaven Lake.

Kingsbridge Running Day coming up…

One of the highlights of the year is coming up this next Saturday:

KINGSBRIDGE 7'6" VINTAGE BUS RUNNING DAY - 20 September 2014

We have organised vintage bus running days in Kingsbridge every year since 2008 so this will be our seventh event in the South Hams
The routes we plan to use are those formerly operated by the Great Western Railway Road Motors, the Western National Omnibus Company and other local operators such as Tally Ho Coaches. Services to East Portlemouth, South Pool, Goveton, Slapton, Salcombe, Hope Cove, Thurlestone, Bantham, Loddiswell, California Cross and East Allington are being scheduled as before. The new services introduced in 2013 (the Coleridge Community Bus circular route 1 from Kingsbridge to Slapton, East Allington, Goveton and Ledstone and School Bus Route TNS004 through the Avon Valley coupled with pre-war rail replacement route 177 to and from South Brent) proved to be very popular and will be repeated this year. In addition there will be several short workings and a new town service with round trip times of less than 30 minutes to enable sampling a greater number of vehicles over the course of the day. Several routes will have duplicates so that passengers can change vehicles at outer termini

TVAGWOT: Kingsbridge Running Day 2014

If you only get to one event this year, then make it this one!

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• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: By Bus It's Hard; Going From Chard [5] it is interesting to compare running times. In 1964 Taunton to Axminster was a journey of 1 hour 20 or 1 hour 24 minutes; whereas today, by running non stop along the much faster A358 between Thornfalcon and Ilminster; ... and using more powerful buses that are easier to drive, the journey takes 1 hour 23 minutes!
• IAN VISITS: Weekly round-up of London’s railway transport news The consortium has been selected by London Underground to extend the Northern Line. The project, which includes digging two tunnels and building two new stations, is worth £500 million.
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• NORWICH BUSES: Looking back to Norwich in 2008 Thanks to regular contributor Leon Wells, we are able to reminisce on the Norwich bus scene as it was in 2008. In this year, some Norwich's operators were still using step entrance buses in mainstream service,
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: Extending the 110, and 30 Changes want to go from Castle Hill Hospital to Sutton? Since the start of the month this is now possible to do if you don't mind a 90 minute tour around the Bricknell Estate, Hull City Centre, Garden Village and North Point Shopping Centre
• ANDYS BUS BLOG: Looking back... Eastern Counties seventies selection Today our regular guest blogger Philip Slynn returns with the first of a brand new three part feature Looking back... at a selection of Eastern Counties photographs he took in the seventies, included are an interesting selection shots taken in and around the Peterborough, Norwich and Cambridge areas...
• FYLDE BUS BLOG: News Round up The Centros are now approaching four years old but remain the newest vehicles for now. It is understood BTS will be purchasing some new single deckers next year - ending the longest new bus famine since the 1950s.
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: Greater Anglia Announce Mk III Stock Overhaul. Greater Anglia have today put to rest some speculation and rumours over the future of the Great Eastern Mainline by announcing the overhaul and refurbishment of the Mark III Intercity coaches on the Norwich to London route.
• LANCASTER OMNIBUS: Dalton Square: September Timetable Review: Services 40, 41, 42, 89 Following the pattern established by services 2, 3 and 4, Service 41 and those buses on service 40 that come through from Morecambe are given extra time - in this case 13 minutes to reach Dalton Square rather than the Bus Station and The Man on the Lancaster Omnibus assumes this must include some layover at the square.
• IAN VISITS: Fancy a luxury meal in a London Underground train? London Underground would like to offer passengers a luxury dining experience in a Royal railway carriage. Nope, not a joke, but real. Back in 2010, TfL acquired heritage coach DM45029, which is notable amongst railway buffs for being the last coach upon which the entire Royal Family travelled together.
• DENNIS BASFORD: ‘Scene’ on the Island of Mull I recently had a short break staying at the Alexandra Hotel in Oban. The tour company was ‘Highland Heritage’ (HH) with whom I have no connection other than as a satisfied customer.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Dave, You'll be the Rouen of Me! (A) The Challenge This blog would not exist without the internet. Often fbb complains against the quality and accuracy of on-line public transport infromation, but a challenge like this would be impossible to conquer without a confuser and the ability to search. It does take a bit of human brain as well; and a smattering of the appropriate foreign language. But finding bus service 85 in Rouen should be easy peasy lemon squeezy!
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Mystery hole in ground halts Sheffield tram services Services on two routes between Sheffield Station and the City Centre have been suspended after the hole was discovered in the embankment near the track close to Park Square.
• HUMBER TRANSPORT: 13, 14 Changes Stagecoach made some major changes to their 13 and 14 services between Hull and Orchard Park. at the start of September.
• EAST NORFOLK: Saturday in Sheringham The local bus scene in North Norfolk is a three way operation with Sanders, Norfolk Green and Konectbus all running into the town, but today saw a few visiting coaches and a couple of more unusual types were noted.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: Dave, You'll be the Rouen of Me! (B) The "F" Word The Académie Française has tirelessly (and fruitlessly) campaigned to prevent the spread of English and/or American words into the language. The French for "hovercraft" is "l'aéroglisseur" (literally "air-slider") but most "personnes" will call it l'hovercraft. So a trendy up-graded bus service in Rouen is called "Fast".
• BRITISH BUS BUGLE: Council check: Oxfordshire County Council For an area of the country that is generally well regarded for the quality of its bus services, the performance of the county council is very poor.
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: Weekly Round up. This tells me two things. Firstly Norwich will look like a Dulux paint chart and secondly if the first bus to be painted is a President it tells you just how much updating the Norwich fleet is going to get. Probably blown the budget on paint!
• NORWICH BUSES: First News and Sanders Photo Exclusive YJ51EKM was sat at Norwich Bus Station's Stand E early this afternoon, still in Black Diamond livery. All vinyls have been removed except some lettering above the windows reading "at the heart of Black County".
• IAN VISITS: Tube trains return to a disused tube line To commemorate 20 years since the ending of Underground services between Epping and Ongar, the Epping Ongar Railway will be holding an “End of Tube Event” on 26, 27 & 28 September
• IPSWICH BUS BLOG: IPSWICH BUSES STORY IN PHOTOS THE 1970's We are now arriving back into the 1970'S now and the first two pictures show the dreaded AEC Swifts already the bane of London Transport during this time Ipswich fared little better with both batches both being withdrawn after 12 years service

Callington 79

Cornwall Council has confirmed that from Monday 22 September, the bus service between Callington and Tavistock will transfer from Western Greyhound  Ltd to Plymouth Citybus  Ltd. The Council is grateful to Western Greyhound for cooperating and ensuring a smooth transition to the new service. The new service has been revised slightly to give better efficiency. Provision will be restored to housing estates on the north of Callington and journey time between the two mains towns of Callington and Tavistock has also been reduced. Journeys through Harrowbarrow and Metherall will return to the pre June 2014 frequency level of two-hourly. The Cothele area will be served by a dial-a-ride service provided by Darren’s Taxis of Callington.

Peter Oliver, Commercial Manager of Plymouth Citybus Ltd, said “Plymouth Citybus is delighted to be once again operating the service between Callington and Tavistock under the service number 79/A.

The new timetable maintains a number of important links within Callington and an hourly service between Callington and Tavistock with journeys now able to accommodate a number of the school movements between the two towns".

There will be two new tickets introduced specifically for the 79/79A route between Tavistock and Callington.

There will be a 7 day ticket that will be available from the driver and via the plymouthbus mobile app at £16 adult and £13 child (under 19), plus a 31 day ticket available from plymouthbus mobile only at £59 adult and £44.25 child.

In addition to this the Plymouth Citybus Tavi tickets will also be extended to include the 79/79A, meaning that passengers can extend their travel onto services 11 and 42, plus all zone 1 and 2 Citybus services for a small extra charge.

I am also happy to confirm that in spite of reports in the press at the time (as mentioned on Plymothian Transit) that THE ROUTE WAS NOT TAKEN OFF WESTERN GREYHOUND BY THE COUNCIL. It was WG themselves who told the council that they wished to come off the service. They also agreed to remain on the route until the council had managed to secure another operator to take over.

I end with a recommendation from Brian Bell:

If anyone has not done the section of bus route via Cothele (currently Western Greyhound 575), this is a really superb route with very narrow roads, and is well worth doing over the next week. Whereas Plymouth City Bus had to divert to avoid the narrowest roads on the 79A (Cothele to Harrowbarrow section), Western Greyhound have reverted to using the very narrow lane. Operates twice a day Mon to Sat. A very highly recommended ride !!

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• TRANSPORT ILLUSTRATED: Worldwide Trolleys at Sandtoft In many ways an event like this is like visiting a different museum - the surroundings were familiar but the vehicles not quite so. I've seen some of them out in the past but not all the serviceable examples at once so I really found this a worthwhile and enjoyable variation on the Sandtoft norm.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE: By Bus It's Hard; Going From Chard [2] So three loud and reverberating raspberries to Buses of Somerset. Obviously they have no sense of Chardian Customer Care. There is a slight and fortuitous positive from this shameless incompetence; as the service 30 timetable is the same in past and present books
• CIRCLE OF LONDON:London United Shepherd's Bush Garage [S] The Garage located on Wells Road in Shepherd's Bush is adjacent to the Shepherd's Bus Market Railway Station which funnily enough, had to be rebuilt upon its completion in 1940 due to the fact the platforms were built 18 inches too narrow of the regulatory requirement. Strangely the garage is one of only a few that have not been subject to much change in their lifespan, with early photos of the base in 1960s and 70s demonstrating the little change in appearance.
• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Regulated rail fares frozen in real terms Mr Osborne also said train companies would have less flexibility to vary prices. The government is ending the so-called "flex rule" which allows firms to raise fares by 2% above the average, as long as the overall average stays at RPI plus 1%.
• EAST NORFOLK: End Of Season Gala ~ Day 2 Sunday was the second day of the End Of Season Gala at the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville
• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: EATM End Of Season Gala 2014 For the first time this year I was able to get out of my village on a Sunday and so off to Lowestoft for the annual End Of Season Gala at the East Anglia Transport Museum.
• ENSIGN VINTAGE FLEET: August-Sept Update RM371 lost its front destination gear when working as a sightseeing bus in Edinburgh and initially we were not sure if an open top RM would prove popular in our fleet so didn't reinstate it immediately. Ever since we have regretted that decision but it's always been to busy to pull in and get it done
• ON THIS BUS: England’s Grey Army Mobilises The press release states “England’s Grey Army Mobilises To Defend The Bus Pass” – an image that surely delights regional newspaper editors England-wide. Here is a true “grassroots” campaign which goes to the heart of some perceived threat to chop at something thoroughly decent for short-term gain.
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• STEVES BUS AND TRAIN PAGE: The Big Interview: Malcolm Robson Ipswich Buses Optare Spectra 60 P442 SWX is named "Delight". It's not unusual for an IB bus to be named, but the reason behind this name is really sweet (pun intended). This Optare started life in Turkey as a Left Hand Drive vehicle, and was converted back to RHD when brought back to these shores. So IB decided to name her "Delight" to reflect her Turkish past.
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Coach Station Consultation

West End traders and residents, taxi and private hire companies, transport operators, as well as passengers are all being invited to comment on proposals for a new coach hub for Plymouth.

Plymouth City Council wants to hear what people think about their plans for the hub on the site of the Mayflower West car park in the city’s West End.

Detailed work has been carried out on the proposal which the Council wants to submit for planning permission in October.

The new coach station will have: Up-to-date passenger waiting facilities on Armada Way (Maxwell House). The former Lloyds Bank building will be completely renovated with new front and rear entrances, toilets, ticket sales, comfy seating area, information screens as well as a food/drink/news concession seven coach parking bays (two more than the existing bus station) sheltered outside waiting area taxi rank Passenger drop off/pick up area improved public space with quality paving and planting, improved security with CCTV, lighting and activity Car parking for over 100 cars

The project also outlines changes to the road layouts near the proposed station that would be needed. This includes:

No access for vehicles from Market Way Reversal of one-way system on service road around former Mayflower West Car Park Mayflower Street to become one-way between coach hub entrance and Armada Way Signals installed at coach station and Mayflower Street junction

The project team has written to key stakeholders including the City Centre Company, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Destination Plymouth as well as ward councillors, MPs, Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, the emergency services, the Federation of Small Businesses, coach operators, taxi and private hire companies and the Confederation of Passenger Transport

And they plan to hold two events at 171 Armada Way on for anyone to come along and have their say on 16 and 17 September.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport said: “We know where the new coach station is going to be, but we want to make sure we have got the right features and that the scheme reflects the needs of as many people as possible who will use it.”

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Assets and Finance said: “This is a big project that could add an extra 200,000 visitors to the West End and shows our commitment to the city centre and its businesses.”

The new coach hub will replace the tired out-dated coach station at Bretonside, which is being redeveloped as part of a major investment package proposed by British Land, the owner of Drake Circus and the UK’s largest listed retail landlord.

The proposal for ‘Drake Circus Leisure’ is for a 12-screen cinema complex, 13 restaurants as well as parking for over 400 cars as well as extensive improvements to public areas with features, seating and planting. The scheme would transform the link from the city centre to the Barbican and the Waterfront, making it more attractive and easier for visitors and shoppers to move from one to the other.

The events take place at 171 Armada Way on Tuesday 16 September from 2pm to 7pm and Wednesday 17 September from 10am to 2pm. The consultation period will run until 22 October. Information and an online feedback questionnaire will be on the Council website www.plymouth.gov.uk/coachhub Click here for larger view (pdf)

I must admit I still like this as it has to be a much better option that the awful Bretonside Coach Station. It is a lot smaller but then it is just for coach services. If it is done properly then this could be a useful addition to this fairly grotty end of town. I am sure many will disagree with me on this! Whatever your views please make sure you let the council know:

 

Consultation Document Plymouth City Council Online Consultation

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• FOCUS TRANSPORT: Art Deco classic Victoria Coach Station made into a listed building Victoria Coach Station, used by millions of Britons and foreign travellers as an international transport hub, has been made a listed building. Culture minister Ed Vaizey announced the move to protect the coach building, which dates back to 1931, as a London landmark.
• SOUTHAMPTON UPDATE: First roadshow / Xelabus X4 rerouted / Gardbus 139 to run on Saturdays Xelabus X4 was due to be rerouted from 17th September but it looks like that has been brought forward to today.
• IAN VISITS: New London Overground Map includes the Barking Extension In more detail, the London Overground could, potentially, get an extension from Barking along the existing Tilbury line and then via a new section of railway, to be built as a raised viaduct, heading south after the railway passes underneath Renwick Road Bridge.

PR1 Re-Launched

First re-launched their Park & Ride service yesterday. This was their pre-launch notice:

Five newly refurbished, rebranded double decker buses operating on PR1 will be officially launched into service at The George Park & Ride site, their drivers all wearing new-look uniforms.

Joining First Devon staff at the buses launch will be Cllr Mark Coker, Plymouth City Councils Cabinet Member for Transport and members of the Plymouth City Council Public Transport team.

As a thank you for their continued support, First will also be handing out breakfast bags to customers using the new-look buses on Monday at The George and Milehouse sites.

To further enhance the Park & Ride fleet, three rebranded single decker buses will be introduced onto PR2 at the end of September. As part of Firsts service changes from Monday (8 September), there will be two new evening trips from Royal Parade at 18.45 and 19.00 on both PR1 and PR2.

Commenting on their launch, Robbie Lamerton, General Manager, First South West, said: "This is a huge milestone as we continue to improve our services to Park & Ride customers in Plymouth. It comes ahead of the changes at Derriford Hospital which will result in more of its staff using the Park & Ride sites to get to and from work. We will be extending a warm welcome to them as well as our regular customers.

Councillor Mark Coker said: "We are pleased to see this much needed investment in Plymouths Park and Ride services, which play an important role in maintaining a strong city centre economy and reducing congestion on busy routes. Extra services, improved passenger comfort and a distinctive livery are positive steps that should encourage more users and hopefully lead to further investment by the operator.'

We knew that there were five buses being rebranded for the PR1 but until yesterday we had only seen three of them out to play. Richard captured the last two repaints...

© Richard Smith

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