The weekly look back on what has been published on the Registered Local Bus Services site over the last week. As always click through for more details including timetables and maps.
Last Week
Three services cut by Stagecoach at the end of July. I suspect there will be a lot more changes to come on the same date which will appear here over the coming weeks. Other than that there is just a new school service registration for Dartline
| Licence | Route | Start Point | End Point | Effective | Notes | OPERATOR |
| PH0005305.078 | SID 011 | Exmouth, Dinan Way | Sidmouth Community College | 04-Sep-2022 | NEW REGISTRATION: Mon - Friday term-time only. One AM and one PM journey |
DEALTOP LIMITED |
| PH1020951.049 | 4 4A | Axminster Railway Station | Millwey Rise | 31-Jul-2022 | Cancellation Accepted | STAGECOACH DEVON LTD |
| PH1020951.332 | K | Exeter City Centre | Exeter Science Park | 31-Jul-2022 | Cancellation Accepted | STAGECOACH DEVON LTD |
| PH1020951.321 | L | Exeter South Street | Pinhoe | 31-Jul-2022 | Cancellation Accepted | STAGECOACH DEVON LTD |
Coming up this week
Another annual event service for Stagecoach this week along with a new shuttle service for the Ladock Valley near Truro. I cant see anything on line for this one though!
| Licence | Route | Start Point | End Point | Effective | Notes | OPERATOR |
| PH1020951.359 | LRE (Exeter Let's Rock, Perfect Day) | Exeter St Davids Station | Powderham Castle | 02-Jul-2022 | Operates for Lets Rock Exeter on 2 July 2022 and A Perfect Day on 3 July 2022 and for these events on similar dates each year | STAGECOACH DEVON LTD |
| PH2048071.001 | LV1 | Ladock Valley | Truro | 01-Jul-2022 | Monday to Saturday 9am to 2pm then 4pm to 10pm |
MATTHEW COE |
Exeter changes are appearing now on Traveline. All previous reductions remain with substantial further reductions as follows:
ReplyDeleteAll night services bar Uni on Wed-Fri have gone already!
4/4A cancelled between Cranbrook and Axminster and on Sunday increased to every 30 minutes.
5A/B/C timetable doesn't download but appears that 5A and 5B are cancelled so far.
9 - No Honiton-Sidmouth on Sunday
9A Terminates at Seaton not Lyme Regis and on Sunday hourly to Seaton instead of hourly to Sidford only plus a couple of extensions.
56 Reduced to hourly with no Airport shorts
K and L do appear to be cancelled which can't be right.
Green: No peak extension to Sowton Industrial Estate any more
RED now serves all stops running every 20 minutes partially replacing the K.
I wonder if another operator is taking on the K and L - more work for Greenslades, perhaps?
DeleteNo doubt all will become clear in time.
No, Stagecoach is merging the K & L into its new (reduced) B1 & B2 as part of its PVR cut to save vehicles & drivers (which it can't attract enough of in Exeter).
DeleteNice to see Stagecoach can provide a park and ride service for the formula 1 grand prix at Silverstone charging £15 a ticket and still cancelling services for the general public that need these bus services to get to and from work because they have a driver shortage.
ReplyDeleteJust like Plymouth Citybus on armed forces day. Dozens of cancelled cancelled services yet they are more intrested in running a shuttle bus service 25B! I would have thought timetabled stuff would have come as a priority before extra work. It is rather odd though after they cut back so much in both Plymouth and Cornwall in April you would think they would now have enough drivers to cover the current level of service now.
DeleteNot only Silverstone services but also the Powderham Castle to St Davids Station contracted events shuttle all weekend
DeleteFor one off special events like these it is easier to get drivers as a one off than it is to get cover every day for normal service work. Something like Silverstone brings in staff from every operation in the country, spreading the load. I believe that every management trainee has to drive during Silverstone and lots of management grade staff will be deployed, something you can do once or twice but you simply can't do every day without the general work falling apart (if your managers are driving every day you can't plan for next week, interview new staff, deal with complaints and issues or give drivers the support they need which would result in higher turnover making the situation worst). Also the drivers are probably on enhanced rates for an event like this so you can get volunteers for weekend overtime as a one off that you simply wouldn't get for regular weekend overtime so there is a bigger pool of willing drivers (it is worth sacrificing the weekend if you are bringing in close to a weeks wage as an extra on top of your normal weekly wage for a couple of days work). Also as this is not an established service, nor a complicated route to follow, it is easier to use 3rd party or agency drivers to cover duties, again widening the pool of possible drivers who simply aren't available to cover normal local bus services.
DeleteMy employer has had a special event, related to an established contract, at a depot that was struggling for drivers. It could be covered by bringing in drivers from other depots who had less of a driver shortage and deploying managers without adding extra strain to the local depot on the day.