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The Perry Barr one is excellent with cycle priority at crossings etc. But still some insist in slowing buses down in parallel bus lanes

As is the blue route section of the Bristol Road, other older ones are painfully bad (Stratford Road in Shirley for example).

Yes some cyclists are inconsiderate, some selfish motorists park in bus lanes rather than in a side street or a car park. 

If anything, cyclists using the roads and holding up buses should be even more of a reason for segregated cycle lanes. As I've said, if cycling infrastructure is built properly, then more cyclists will get off the road and traffic can be reduced.

Crucially, segregated cycle lanes that are maintained and kept clear of broken glass, sunken drain covers and raised tree roots. One can dream.

What I think we will likely see as well is a reduced network of bus services, with those that currently rely on subsidy being withdrawn and replaced with 'demand-responsive transport' (DRT) schemes instead. Which sound like great ideas on paper, but actually end up costing more to operate, with the only beneficiaries seeming to be the tech companies selling and providing the software and apps to run them, but are nothing more than glorified taxi services.

Ah, the infamous DRT schemes. Spot On. Some of the figures that Roger French states about the cost of these things are eye-watering, upwards of £40 per passenger journey and as you say, basically a glorified taxi service. And all the while the consultants clean up. 

An interesting read:

https://www.route-one.net/bus/fuel-supply-brings-challenges-for-more-hydrogen-bus-deployment/

I can't say I'm surprised, NX must have been so frustrated having 20 buses sitting idle for want of fuel.

So what of the WMCA's grand plans to generate hydrogen from canal water in Walsall I wonder?

The ZEBRA funding aspect is interesting, will the government allow that phase one funding to be re-specified as electric vehicles like they did for the Sprint bendis? I think the total grant was £30 million for 124 buses.

Quick visit to the NXWM Latest Changes page to see the latest official updates. Loads of nonsense about smashed windscreens, bicycle spaces, random vehicle removals. Won't be bothering with that again.

The route 27 will have a bit of an issue in the coming years. The bridge at Bourneville station is a triange 9' 9, in which a 10' 6(?) Omnilink can fit under nicely. However, since Omnilinks are getting replaced relatively fast (presumably all withdrawn by late-2025 ) and all new electrics seem to be too tall for that bridge. It may require a re-routing of that portion of the 27 because the adjacent Mary Vale Rd looks to be too impractical for any NX bus.

Absolutely correct. Kev's run short length E200s down Mary Vale and I have seen the very occasional double decker use it in the past (can't recall which operator this was). The junction with Pershore Road is very tight, probably too tight for a full length single decker to manage and I have seen the 27 take a lengthy diversion via Cotteridge when there are road works along Bournville Lane. A bit of a dilemma. 

re: E200MMC, is it still the case that they can't be used on the YW27? They were briefly used but but clearly had an issue and possibly one of the reasons they were transferred to WB. The route has been curtailed since then so maybe things have changed?. As has been mentioned before, it will be tricky to find a single deck electric bus to fit under Bournville Lane bridge

The next order, which is likely to start delivery later this year, that I cannot give details of yet, but it will not be BYD

A cynic might suggest the announcement will be timed so it can be made by a victorious mayor. 

I believe the only vehicles that have entered service since October 2019 are the Electrics and (whisper it) Hydrogens, if so it's only four garage's routes that "must" be done by this October, assuming it is enforced. 

I would expect that the requirement to display diversions will be a challenge, especially last minute ones taken to avoid congestion. 

On a slightly related matter, I assume that WMCA's mooted "early spring" implementation of journey cancellations being shown on real time displays at bus stops has slipped?

Yes! Looked up some tickets last night for B'ham to Cambridge for mid June.  Discounted with a certain type of railcard.  Came up at about £49 for a return.  Looked at National Rail website & you can book advance tickets for £24

I've sometimes found that when you click the link from the National Rail website to the website of the train operating company, the ticket they suggest is not actually available to buy!

I always check one of the split ticketing sites that seem to use the same algorithm (one of trainsplit, splityourticket etc.), then trainpal which uses a different algorithm and finally the train company's own ticket site. 

Of course booking fees and share-of-saving costs from split ticket sites also have to be taken into account.

I'm sure I remember some city routes had different other letters to signify where in the city centre they stopped.

"E" was the exception and then there were others like D, and F that would indicate other curtailments.

I'll stand corrected and bow to greater knowledge on this.

Yes, I recall 50K to Alcester Lanes End as a child in the seventies.

A list of the 50 variants on flickr from the sixties has some incredibly short journeys, such as 50A from City Centre to St. Martins Circus which can't have been more than a couple of stops

This Town also features an old WMT or BCC Liveried Bus 6567 or 6765 I think on the 27 I assume a fictional 27 as it picked up the Irish Character from Chelmsley Wood I believe

It is 6757 in WMPTE livery on Coventry route 27. Commendable by the TV production company but I'm not going into the minutiae of Sandy Lane/Harnell Lane accuracy.

I wonder if the decision to wrap rather than paint is because the 2009 E400s are leased rather than owned

I could of course be way off the mark.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/walsall/2024/03/18/walsalls-bus-depot-sold-to-pave-way-for-future-franchise-bus-system-and-hydrogen-powered-buses/

I haven't seen this mentioned on here so for those who want to avoid pop-ups, videos and answering a survey for the privilege of reading the article, here is a summary

Hydrogen buses will be introduced with a hydrogen generation system sourcing water from the nearby canal. 

For those interested, 323202 and 323206 are due to leave WMR in the next month or so. Still got time for anyone who would want to capture them on cross city workings.

Probably wishful thinking but please not before they are replaced by new 730s, there's more than enough short length trains on there as it is.