Coventry Network Review - September 2019

[JPC]

https://nxbus.co.uk/coventry/news/coventry-network-consultation

Changes to occur on most routes which will likely commence 1st September

[JoNi]

https://nxbus.co.uk/coventry/news/coventry-network-consultation

Changes to occur on most routes which will likely commence 1st September

Communication is one of National Express greatest weaknesses. Even by its own "standards" a faceless person asking for feedback at three weeks notice for changes which are a fait accompli after seven years is abysmal.
No leader seemingly has the courage or been given the  responsibility to present a coherent overall plan to citizens let alone develop an ongoing dialogue.
P.S. My renowned attention to detail tells me Tile Cross isnt served by Coventry's route 5.

[paulb1973]

Reading between the lines, this is what could happen, although the re-configuration of some cross-city services seems a bit unclear. New Union Street is going to see far less use it would seem!

4 Possible changes->
Divert City – University Hospital services via Hillfields (Primrose Hill Street etc) Britannia St, Swan Lane to Ansty Road.
Break the link between the Arena Park/Holbrooks area to the Hospital and reconfigure a new link with another part of the city, but using Corporation St and travelling past the Rail Station.
Possibly divert City – Arena Park services to serve more of the Whitmore Park/Holbrooks areas as well as use Eagle Street again.

5/7 Possible changes->
Increase the frequency of services to Coundon/Radford & Brownshill Green areas.
Withdraw the 5 between Holbrook Lane/Everdon Road and the Ricoh Arena.
Break the link between Tile Hill and Radford and separate the two segments and cross-linking the City – Tile Hill section to another part of the city.

6/6A No major changes planned

8/8A Possible changes->
This service may serve other areas of the city. A new route in the city centre is planned; using Coventry University, Pool Meadow Bus station, the Burges (in one direction), Corporation Street and Queen Victoria Road (in both directions). The 9/9A and possibly a diverted 10 would maintain direct links with the Rail Station.

9/9A Possible changes->
Alter the city centre route from Pool Meadow to the Rail Station, to traverse Corporation Street and Queen Victoria Road in both directions, rather than using New Union Street.

10 Possible changes->
No major route changes are planned for either segments of service 10 but the service may be divided with new links established. The City – Bell Green section could be diverted via the Rail Station using the current Corporation Street to give a direct link to the station.

11/11U Possible changes->
Planned route changes between Pool Meadow Bus station and the Rail Station would see buses use Corporation Street in both directions instead of New Union Street – the current 12X would still use the New Union Street area.

12X No major changes planned
13/13A No major changes planned

16/16A Possible changes->
No major route changes are planned for the Keresley side of services 16/16A but the link to Binley may be severed with buses running City – Keresley Village only, at an increased frequency during peak times, as the shorter Keresley Road services will be extended to Keresley Village.
The City – Stoke Aldermoor – Binley service; a range of route alterations exist around Humber Road.
Option 1 all buses running along Terry Road & Sunbeam Way (Aldermoor Lane, Bolingbroke Road and part of Humber Road would not be served).
Option 2 all buses running along Terry Road, Humber Road, Bolingbroke Road and Aldermoor Lane.
Option 3 all buses running along Terry Road, Humber Road, Anglian Way (a new road served) and Sunbeam Way (Aldermoor Lane, Bolingbroke Road would not be served).
Services would not traverse the Hillfields area with a diverted service 4 acting as a replacement.

18/18A Possible changes->
Options include running the 18 at an increased frequency and cross-linking it over to the University Hospital.
The current 18A would be replaced by a new route; City – Prior Deram Walk/Mitchell Avenue via the Rail Station, Kenilworth Road, Cannon Hill Road and Cannon Park. This could be extended to the Westwood Business Park giving this area a regular service to the city centre.

19 Possible changes->
See above, the 19 would be replaced by a new City – Westwood Business Park via the Rail Station and Cannon Park service which also replaces the current service 18A. It would operate 07.00 until 18.00 operating every thirty minutes.

20/20A/20B/20C No major changes planned
21/21S No major changes planned

23/23A Possible changes->
The service may be split and a new Allesley Park - City - University Hospital service created.
The City – Cheylesmore/Fenside segment would run via Corporation Street and Queen Victoria Road (avoiding Cox Street & New Union Street) and consideration is being given to run via the Rail Station.

27A Possible changes->
The 27A to Middlemarch Business Park would be replaced by additional 21 journeys using the normal 21 route to/from the city centre (so avoiding the section of London Road from the Ring Road to Daventry Road).

[gc802002]

Overall - Very Positive!!

Reading the Blurb on the Consultation- Maybe more Drivers Jobs too! So presumably Higher PVR?

[Sandy Lane]

Overall - Very Positive!!

Agreed. Am I right in saying there will still be no direct service between the train station and the Binley Rd corridor?  Many moons ago there used to be a 44? Or was it 48 direct from Princethorpe Way. Someone may be missing a trick here?

[gc802002]

Agreed. Am I right in saying there will still be no direct service between the train station and the Binley Rd corridor?  Many moons ago there used to be a 44? Or was it 48 direct from Princethorpe Way. Someone may be missing a trick here?

Worth submitting the thought!

[JoNi]

Thank you to the person who corrected 5 to say it serves Tile Hill.

[JoNi]

A example of a really good way of managing bus route change.

1) Ask for feedback within defined period to named individual via internet, at bus stops and by publicising on buses with leaflets that are confined to specific route/route group
2) Hold road shows to enable managers to meet local citizens.
3) Develop proposals that are logical based on feedback.
4) Hold road shows to launch those proposals.
5) Publicise new timetables and make them available at least a month in advance that state what has changed not just "Revised timetables"
6) Introduce services with passengers and staff fully aware of whats changing.

Easy isn't it if all parties work together, after all thats what I thought the alliance was for!

[paulb1973]

Reading these comments on the survey:

5/7.. "We cannot identify anyone using the direct links beyond Coventry city centre, between Tile Hill and Radford"

10..."We cannot identify a requirement for the direct link between Eastern Green and Bell Green (there would still be direct buses to and from Coventry city centre from both sides of the city), but if you will be affected by the loss of a direct link across the city centre please let us know"

16/16A..."We cannot identify a requirement for the direct link between Keresley and Stoke Aldermoor"

I find those comments/questions a bit odd - almost as if we [as customers/passengers] wanted those particular links set-up! Surely they were linked together from 2012 etc for operational convenience, with the view that hardly anyone would want to travel one from side of the city to the other, on those services.

You would have thought the only direct link people might want - would be to the city centre obviously and possibly University Hospital/the Rail Station.

[highland]

Filled in the consultation, to get discussion going again here's roughly what I responded:

6/6A:

Nothing proposed but I suggested changing Tile Hill Lane/Broad Lane as a timing point as the railings at the city-bound stop means only one bus at a time can stop. If buses are waiting time there, this can often lead to buses behind being unable to stop. I suggested moving it to Hearsall Common instead.

8/8A:

Good to have buses running the same way through the city centre in both directions, but the survey seemed to be suggesting that the rail station would no longer be served (the wording was confusing, I might be wrong about this), which I disagreed with.

11:

I saw no real point for the change of route in the city centre. Earlsdon/Hearsall Common/Canley already have a link to Corporation Street, and they would lose the link to New Union Street and that side of the city centre.

It's useful in the evenings to have the 11/12X departing from the same stops as they form a combined frequency.

I worry that traffic in the Burges will impact the 11's reliability.

16/16A:

I opted for the choice that covered as much of both routes as possible - better to have connectivity.

18/18A:

I didn't like that the well-used section of the 18A between Canley/Charter Avenue and Cannon Park Shopping Centre would be cut back, and the hourly and often unreliable 60/61 isn't an adequate substitute. Canley needs a link to Cannon Park more than Westwood Business Park does.

Westwood Business Park already has an all-day service to the rail station 10-15m walk away with the 11.

While the 18 could benefit from being more frequent, it shouldn't be done at the expense of cutting the 18A back.

I also fear that extending the route across the city to the hospital could damage reliability as the traffic in Ball Hill and Walsgrave is often very bad.

27A:

I didn't see any point to the proposed changes, which would just make the route slower.

[highland]

Additionally, they seem to plan on increasing the number of buses between the hospital and the city centre, with both the 18 and the 23 (Allesley Park end) potentially getting new links. One could connect with the new and slower 4 which is being split across the city, but besides that the 9/9A aren't being changed, so that surely means more buses?

[JPC]

The 'consultation' closes at 12 noon on Friday 12th July - In case anyone still wishes to make their views known or has garnered some new thoughts since.

I am quite satisfied with what NX are intent on doing, all the services which have mismatched routing / awkward double backing / opposite directions serving the same road/stop etc. within the City centre is seemingly all being resolved.

Disappointing seeing no changes planned for the 6/6A and 13/13A which are sometimes horrendously unreliable, unfair having one half of a service suffering because of delays on the other half. etc.

It sounds like the 18 from Tile Hill South could be joined to the University Hospital end of service 4 via part of the 16A route through Hillfields, this new route could perhaps be the planned allocation for the future ten electric buses?.

[highland]

It sounds like the 18 from Tile Hill South could be joined to the University Hospital end of service 4 via part of the 16A route through Hillfields, this new route could perhaps be the planned allocation for the future ten electric buses?.

The word 'direct' was used in the consultation to refer to the new link between the 18 and University Hospital, and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but going via Hillfields and then Wyken doesn't seem particularly direct.

However, they say they're considering a link between the Allesley side of the current 23 and the hospital, and that too is referred to as direct, so I guess at least one of the new 'direct' links will probably be by joining something up with the eastern half of the old 4.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see what the new mix of routes and service patterns will be.

[Sandy Lane]

The 'consultation' closes at 12 noon on Friday 12th July - In case anyone still wishes to make their views known or has garnered some new thoughts since.

Disappointing seeing no changes planned for the 6/6A and 13/13A which are sometimes horrendously unreliable, unfair having one half of a service suffering because of delays on the other half. etc.

Very disappointing indeed NXC and I cannot see why nothing is being done about it

[JPC]

Date for the Coventry service changes is now confirmed as 22nd September

Amendments are now appearing on the Vosa site where details are sketchy but here goes....

3/3A Arena Park - Fenside
4/4A University Hospital - Tile Hill/Westwood
6/6A Tanyard Farm-Victoria Farm
7 City - Brownshill Green
8/8A Walsgrave - Eastern Green + 9/9A Hospital - Leasowes Ave
10 Bell Green - Tile Hill (South)/Westwood
11/11U/12X City-University/Leamington
13/13A Willenhall-Whitmore Park
16 City - Keresley
18/19 City- Tile Hill/Westwood
21/21A Wood End - Willenhall/Middlemarch
23 Allesley Park - University Hospital
27A Cancelled
X30 Ansty Park shuttle