Plymouth Citybus in the snow

 

It seems so long ago now but last week saw some of the heaviest snow Plymouth has seen for a good few years. The fact that the city itself got away pretty lightly compared with other areas didn't mean it was easy for anyone. I have already had a picture post of the Plymouth Citybus 50’s in the snow but this is the start of a bigger look back to see how operators managed each day, mainly through their activity on Twitter which provided a crucial service throughout the period.

Wednesday 28th February

11:00  Snow is affecting our services. We will continue to operate as usual wherever possible and are monitoring conditions. Services 20A and 33 have been diverted and services 5/5A and 43 have severe delays

11:23 Service 5/5A is affected due to road conditions in Plymstock. There are delays to this service. This service will not stop in Oreston. Service 14 will not serve Mount Wise/James Street due to adverse weather. Service 15 will not serve any of the roads around Cattedown Service 20A is going as far as Ivybridge Town Hall but is not serving the rest of the town due to road conditions. Service 43 to Ernesettle is struggling to go up and down Biggin Hill. Please expect delays on this service. Service 33 has been diverted. This service will run its normal route as far as Royal Navy Avenue then will carry straight on to Lidl on Wolesely Road and onto Royal Parade. The service will miss Station Road and St Levans Road on its route to Royal Parade. Services 50/50A and 51/51A will not serve Holly Park and Keswick Crescent. Please also expect delays to this service. Service 70 has been suspended past HMS Raleigh and will serve Torpoint to Plymouth only

11:40 Service 21/21A will not serve St Maurice.

11:59 Service 21/21A around Plympton will serve Moorland Road, Glen Road, Sandy Road and Ridgeway past Chaddlewood Garage and the George Pub. It will not serve Steer Park, Wolverwood Lane or St. Maurice

Things soon settled down a bit and buses started to go back to some of the areas affected.

14:02 UPDATE TO PLYMSTOCK AREA: The service 5/5A is operating as normal with the exception of Holmwood Avenue. We cannot serve Holmwood avenue.

14:17 UPDATE TO PLYMSTOCK AREA: Holmwood Avenue is now open. The service 5 is operating as normal.

14:21 SERVICE 75 - We cannot serve Seaton and Down Derry. The service 75 is running on main roads only

14:30 UPDATE TO SERVICE 50/50A - Keswick Crescent is now open.

15:12 UPDATE TO SERVICE 5/5A: Oaklands Green in Saltash is now open.

15:37 SERVICE 70/70A/70B UPDATE: Goad Avenue (Torpoint) is now open.

15:50 SERVICE 21/21A UPDATE: St Maurice is now open. This service is running as normal

16:32 SERVICE 28/A UPDATE: Austin Crescent has now reopened.

They then started to look ahead to what Thursday might bring…

Obviously we can’t predict the weather (!) but we are expecting similar conditions tomorrow and will be working to keep disruption to a minimum. Judging by today’s disruption, we have outlined the services we expect may be affected tomorrow(1st March).

If you are planning to catch one of our services from the following areas tomorrow (1st March), please be advised that we anticipate it will be highly likely these areas and stops will be experiencing service disruption. We would advise you to walk (taking care) to the nearest next stop along the route. We have managed to maintain a service along most main roads today and will endeavour to do the same tomorrow.

This is what we anticipate will be affected tomorrow. Please check our social media pages throughout the day for the latest updates as they happen. Our team will be manning our Twitter and Facebook pages from early in the morning to try and help answer any questions you may have. Please bear with us as we work our way through any enquiries.

• RAME PENINSULA: Rame services beyond HMS Raleigh were suspended today (28th February).
• SERVICE 70/70/70B: Goad Avenue in Torpoint
• SERVICE 50/A and 51/A: Keswick Crescent
• SERVICE 28/A: Austin Crescent
• SERVICE 27: Deer Park
• SERVICE 50A and 51A: Holly Park
• SERVICE 21/A: Steer Park Road
• SERVICE 5/A: Holmwood Avenue, Staddiscombe Road, Dolphin Court Road
• SERVICE 33: Station Road, Warleigh Avenue
• SERVICE 21/A: Wolverwood Lane, St Maurice
• SERVICE 20A: Ivybridge (off main road) , Smithaleigh
• SERVICE 14: Mount Wise
• SERVICE 27: Blandford Road
• SERVICE 44/50A/51A: Whitleigh Green
• SCHOOL CLOSURES
• We have been informed that the following schools will be closed tomorrow, this affects the following services:
• SERVICE 46A/46B: DHS Boys and DHS Girls. This service will not run.
• SERVICE 101 and 102: Southway and Tamerton Foliot. This service will not run.
• Callywith College will be closed tomorrow. Wadebridge School will be closed tomorrow. Looe School will be closed tomorrow. Our local Looe service will operate as normal.

Thursday 1st March

05:55 Good Morning, All services this morning are currently running to schedule, however as the morning progresses the adverse weather predicted may well see this change. We will keep you all updated as and when the need arises. Stay safe.

06:48 SERVICE UPDATE 70/70A: Please note that Whistand Bay is impassable this morning and as a result, this service will not be serving Whitsand Bay. Millbrook, Insworke, Four Lanes End and Cremyll will still be served

06:58 SERVICE UPDATE 70/70A: Millbrook is also hazardous this morning so this service will not serve Millbrook or Whitsand Bay today

08:19 SERVICE 70/70A UPDATE: Unfortunately this service will not be serving any stops past HMS Raleigh all day today. This is due to icy road conditions. Please stay safe out there

08:27 SERVICE 20/A UPDATE: Unfortunately we will not be serving Smithaleigh and in Ivybridge we will be staying on the main roads only. This will be in place all day today. Please stay safe out there

09:14 Due to the weather warning for today we're expecting to not be able to serve parts of some routes from around midday today

09:45 SERVICE UPDATE 75: This service will not be serving Seaton or Downderry all day today.

10:31 SERVICE 11 UPDATE: This service will no longer be serving Trago Mills due to road conditions.

11:37 We have not at present committed to cancelling any services from midday today apart from those already announced (70/A past HMS Raleigh, 20A Smithaleigh, 75 Seaton and Downderry). We are monitoring the weather and expect some disruption in areas experiencing problems yesterday

The weather then started to get worse…

13:32 SERVICE 79 UPDATE: The weather has worsened in Cornwall. As a result this service will not serve Harrowbarrow. We are monitoring other Cornwall routes including Looe. Please keep an eye out for further updates and only travel if necessary.

13:42 SERVICE 33 will not serve Station Road or Warleigh Avenue due to adverse weather conditions.

13:46 SERVICE 20A: Due to adverse weather conditions we will no longer be able to serve Ivybridge or Lee Mill. Services will turn around at Plympton

14:00 CORNWALL SERVICE UPDATE: We will not be able to serve the following areas in Cornwall due to adverse weather: Seaton, Downderry, Crafthole, Trago Mills, Looe Barbican, Hannafore, Calstock and Harrowbarrow. We're continuing to monitor the impact of the storm, please bear with us

14:07 SERVICE 20/21A: This service will not be stopping at Wolverwood Lane due to adverse weather conditions

14:31 Please note, as earlier anticipated we have had to make some changes to parts of our services

14:35 SERVICE UPDATE: We will not be serving Pick Pie Drive in Woolwell due to adverse weather conditions

14:44 SERVICE 5/5A: will not serve Plymstock due to adverse weather. Services will run up the main road as far as Elburton Roundabout.

14:45 SERVICE 76: this service has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions.

14:51 SERVICE UPDATE 12B: this service will not run between Launceston and Bude due to adverse weather conditions.

14:52 SERVICE 12: This service will not run between Callington and Launceston due to adverse weather conditions.

14:54 SERVICE 12A: this service will not stop in the housing estates in Callington, in Ashton or in St Dominic. It will stick to the main roads and will turn around at Callington

15:01 SERVICE 79: this service has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions

15:04 SERVICE 74: this service has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions.

15:09 SERVICE 21/21A UPDATE: this service will not be serving Mudge Way due to adverse weather conditions.

15:25 SERVICE 34 UPDATE: this service will be running on the main road/Union Street only

15:25 SERVICE 15 UPDATE: this service has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions.

15:27 SERVICE 28/28A UPDATE: this service will run as far as Charfield Drive. It will not serve the Austin Crescent area through Crownhill

15:30 SERVICE 40/41 UPDATE: we will not serve Southway. We are attempting to serve just Southway Shops via the George

15:32 SERVICE 21/21A UPDATE: we can no longer serve Chaddlewood or anywhere beyond the Lord Louis pub due to a lorry accident on the road

15:49 SERVICE 42C UPDATE: this service will not be serving Woolwell at all due to adverse weather conditions.

16:07 SERVICE 5/5A SALTASH UPDATE: this service will run between Callington Road and the Ploughboy (both directions) only. We cannot serve anywhere else in Saltash

16:11 SERVICE 11 UPDATE: the 16:40 service 11 will run as far as Liskeard, where it will terminate. This will be the last service 11 for today

16:25 SERVICE 8 & 9 UPDATE: these services will not serve Efford. They will go as far as Laira Green roundabout where they will turn and go back

16:25 SERVICE 50/50A UPDATE: this service will not be serving Asda (I was on the last bus that did serve Asda - very slippery indeed!)

16:40 SERVICE 73 UPDATE: the 1635 will run from Polperro then this service will be suspended. SERVICE 72 UPDATE: 1755 from Polperro suspended. 1620 from Plymouth to Trulefoot only

16:42 SERVICE 40/41/42A UPDATE: this service will terminate at the George Park & Ride. SERVICE 42C UPDATE: this service will terminate at the roundabout on the main road before Tesco.

16:44 SERVICE 44 UPDATE: this service will not serve Whitleigh Green. We will still serve Taunton Avenue.

16:47 SERVICE 11 UPDATE: this service will be delayed as the roads between Trerulefoot and Liskeard and Liskeard to Callington have been closed. More updates as we have them.

16:47 SERVICE 16 UPDATE: this service will now terminate at Lower Ham.

17:04 SERVICE 61/62 UPDATE: this service will operate via Little Dock Lane and will not serve Coombe Park Lane or Honicknowle Lane.

17:04 SERVICE 50/A and 51/A: will not serve Estover, Leigham or Longbridge. Will serve the normal route from Derriford Hospital to the City Centre via St Budeaux. Then from the City Centre to Marsh Mills, up the A38, off at Manadon Roundabout back to Derriford

17:27 SERVICE 43 UPDATE: will not serve Ernsettle. This service will terminate at the top of Biggin Hill.

17:29 SERVICES 35/35A and 61/62: these services will terminate at the Cherry Tree (so will run City Centre - Cherry Tree and back) on main roads only.

17:29 SERVICE 44 UPDATE: this service will not serve Whitleigh Green or Taunton Avenue. This will be a main road service only.

17:38 CURRENT SITUATION: We are now running a very restricted network for the rest of today. We are trying to take people home and maintain a link between Derriford Hospital and the City Centre. We have major disruption due to ice. Thank you all for your cooperation

17:52 SERVICE 12 UPDATE: this service has been suspended.

18:02 Unfortunately we have had to suspend the service 50, 50A, 51 & 51A. Apologies for any incovenience

18:11 we will now only be running the following services. Serv 5 to Elburton Roundabout. Serv 21 St Budeaux - Lord Louis. Serv 42 to Derriford. The serv 43 to St Budeaux. 70B to Torpoint. All other services are suspended. We apologise for all inconveniences caused.

18:40 Last services will run from Royal Parade on our adverse weather network at 11pm. Service 5/5a/21/21a/34/42/43/70B are the nly routes running some are part routes due to road closers etc. Sorry for any inconvenience.

20:31 Due to weather advice we have taken the decision to run our last services from Royal Parade tonight at 10pm not 11pm the last services will run to their end point and return to depot after 10pm. Sorry for any inconvenience.

22:03 Friday morning Weather permitting we hope to run some limited services from 05.30am these will most likely be 5/5a Main road Saltash to Billacombe road, 34 Royal Parade to Derriford not serving Durnford street or Albert Road. Services 21/21a St Budeaux to Lord Louis only.......

.....Service 42 City to Derriford, 43 City to St Budeaux and 70 Torpoint to City centre via union street not serving Goad Ave. All other services are not likely to run before 8.30am at the earliest this will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in the morning. Sorry for inconvenience.

Friday 2nd March

After the expected icy start to the day it was a case of testing the roads and slowly getting the buses back out on routes…

06:46 Good Morning, most buses are now out and operating a very limited service very much to yesterday, updates to follow very shortly

07:03 SERVICE 5/5A UPDATE: Saltash this service will run between Callington Road and the Ploughboy (both directions) only. We cannot serve anywhere else in Saltash. Plymstock will run up the main road as far as Elburton Roundabout

07:05 SERVICE 8 & 9 these services will continue to not serve Efford. They will go as far as Laira Green roundabout where they will turn and go back.

07:07 SERVICE 12, this service will be operating between Plymouth & Callington only

07:21 SERVICE 16: this service will now terminate at Lower Ham.

07:43 The service 5 & 5A are operating via Callington Rd in Saltash & from the City Centre to Elburton Roundabout via Billacombe Rd

07:46 The service 8 & 9 are operating direct via Laira Narrows to Laira roundabout only.

07:47 The service 12 is operating from Plymouth to Callington only. The service 12B is currently suspended

07:51 The service 14 is now attempting it's normal route with the exception of the Mount Wise loop

07:52 The service 16 is operating only as far as Lower Ham

07:53 The service 20 is currently suspended but the route is being tested

07:53 The service 21 & 21A to Plympton are terminating at Strode Road. The Barne Barton service is terminating at St Budeaux square

07:55 The service 23 & 24 are operating as normal

07:56 The service 25 is not serving Walker Terrace

07:57 The Service 33 is not serving Station Rd or Warleigh Avenue

07:58 The Service 34 is not serving Albert Rd

07:59 The service 35 is not serving Dingle Rd or Merrivale Rd

07:59 The service 40 & 41 are only servicing as far as Crownhill

08:00 The service 42 variations are servicing as far as Derriford & Woolwell only

08:02 The service 43 is operating only as far as Higher St Budeaux

08:02 The service 50/51 variations are not servicing Leigham or Estover, operating direct from Marsh Mills to Derriford Hospital. The service 50A & 51A are also not serving Whitleigh & Loosleigh

08:09 The service 61 & 62 are not serving Coombe Park Lane, Sheridan Rd, Chaucer Way or St Pancras Avenue

08:11 Update: Southway and Whitleigh services returning to normal route.

08:13 The service 27 & 28 are currently suspended but we are working to have these services operating as soon as possible

08:24 SERVICE 44 UPDATE: this service is now running its normal route.

08:30 IVYBRIDGE: Unfortunately we cannot serve Ivybridge until further notice. PLYMPTON: We are reviewing the road conditions here, update to follow

08:34 SERVICE 5/5A UPDATE: We have changed the diversion on this route, all services will now serve The Broadway to Elburton and back

08:52 SERVICE 14 UPDATE: Normal service, not serving Mutton Cove

08:52 SERVICE 16 UPDATE: this service is now back to its normal route.

09:05 SERVICE 27/28 UPDATE: services are now starting to run via Higher Compton as far as the bottom of Deer Park

09:05 SERVICE 43 UPDATE: this is now running a normal service.

09:13 SERVICE 21/21A UPDATE: Barne Barton is now in service. We are reviewing the Plympton end of this route. Updates to follow

09:15 SERVICE 12 UPDATE: this service is now operating as far as Launceston but will not be serving Stoke Climsland.

09:25 ALBERT ROAD UPDATE: we can now serve Albert Road (all services 34, 70/A)

09:25 SERVICE 33 UPDATE: the diversion on this service has changed. We will now be able to serve St Levans Road INBOUND.

09:33 GO-CORNWALL UPDATE: We're sorry to announce that there will be NO SERVICE on the services 72/A, 73/A, 74/174, 75, 76, 77/A or 79/A/B due to the geographical locations of destinations on the route and the poor road conditions/lack of gritting

09:34 SERVICE 21/A UPDATE: we will now be able to serve Mudge Way, Glen Road, Langage Roundabout and back.

09:38 SERVICE 42/A/B: this service will now be serving Dunnet Road

09:46 SERVICE 11 UPDATE: we are running a normal service on this route. Please expect some delays as we navigate the roads.

09:51 Please note that the Plymouth Citycoach Cardiff Shopper Trip on Saturday 3 March has been cancelled. You can re-book to go on the 17th March or get a refund. Please contact the Citycoach team to arrange

09:56 SERVICE 42: is now running as normal. SERVICE 42A/B: is only running as far as the bottom of Dunnet Road

09:58 SERVICE 20/A/B UPDATE: this service is running but only as far as Plympton

10:26 SERVICE 12B: we are now running a full service, but will not be serving Stoke Climsland. First service on this route is the 10AM departure from Royal Parade, which is running on time.

10:31 SERVICE 50/51: this will now serve Leigham (including Asda) but not Keswick Crescent

10:40 SERVICE 42A/B UPDATE: this service will now serve Tamerton Foliot.

10:53 SERVICE 5/5A UPDATE: this service is now running the full route in Plymstock but will not serve Holmwood Avenue.

10:55 SERVICE 61/62 UPDATE: this service is now running as normal

10:59 SERVICE 50/51 UPDATE: this service is now running its full route but will not be serving Keswick Crescent

11:01 SERVICE 35 UPDATE: this service is now running its normal route

11:16 SERVICE 33 UPDATE: this is now running a normal service. SERVICE 33 UPDATE: this is now running a normal service

11:27 SERVICE 5/5A UPATE: this service is now operating the full route in Saltash. This entire service is now running as normal apart from not serving Holmwood Avenue

12:13 SERVICE 8/9 UPDATE: This service is now running as normal

12:32 SERVICE 21/21A UPDATE: We have attempted to serve St.Maurice, but unfortunately the roads are not suitable due to parked cars

13:04 SERVICE 25 UPDATE: This service is now operating as normal

14:21 SERVICE 21/21A UPDATE: We are now serving Wolverwood Lane. This may change as it becomes dark due to a fallen tree. Please check for updates.

15:13 SERVICE 11/11A UPDATE: The service 11 from Royal Parade to Liskeard and Padstow, the last trip will be 1840. The service 11A from Padstow to Liskeard only, the last trip will be 1730. No service after these times this evening

15:18 SERVICE 50/50A UPDATE: We are now serving Keswick Crescent. This service is operating as normal except for Holly Park

15:48 SERVICE UPDATE 70/70A RAME: This service is now operating as normal

Saturday 3 March and its all just about over!

08:16 Service Update Good News. We are pleased to announce with the exception of Cornwood and Cole Lane in Ivybridge we are operating a full running service in Plymouth. We still have closures at St Cleer and Lower Tremar on Service 72 and a closure at Bodrigan Rd on service 72

This post is just to show how hard Plymouth Citybus worked to keep services running and more importantly how hard they tried to keep passengers informed. On the whole passengers accepted it and were grateful for the updates and there were plenty of messages of thanks for the drivers and messages for them to keep safe.

Back in January 2010 I ran a similar post looking at tweets from Plymouth Citybus and First Devon & Cornwall…

As was expected the weather caused major problems in Plymouth yesterday. Having logged onto Twitter first thing in the morning I was please to see that buses were running on the main roads. It was clear that didn't include Keswick crescent but I managed to walk up the hill quite easily. Had I checked Twitter again just before I left home I would have picked up the message that Citybus were withdrawing all services as it was now snowing heavily. The message had got through to a few others at the bus stop so I set off on the long walk towards Derriford. Just up the road by Estover College I came across a FDC 15 stuck in the middle of the road half way up the hill, with another one stuck at the top trying to come down. To my surprise a 47 came along Dover Road heading towards Derriford so I jumped on that, but it didn't get very far as it joined a queue of Citybuses stuck at the bottom of the hill near Thornbury School!

December 2010 We don't often get snow in Plymouth, and we certainly haven't had the volume of snow that many places have. Being a Saturday meant for once I had a chance to get out with the camera to see how the buses were getting on.