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Just touching on some points that have been raised in other threads here in this forum.

There doesn't seem to be any 'uniform' or indeed even comprehensive way of informing transport users about current and forthcoming diversions and disruptions.

TfWM does have its own Disruptions page on its website: https://disruptions.tfwm.org.uk

However, as has been pointed out elsewhere, it doesn't appear to detail any diversions or service disruptions in the Coventry area. As well as a number of diversions in the West Midlands not being listed either.

Bus operators of course can have forthcoming diversion notices posted on their website, and they also post them on their Twitter/X timelines.

The problem with Twitter/X though, is thanks to Elon Musk, it has now become a 'closed space', and you are required to have a Twitter/X account in order to even view anything posted there.

The days of simply being able to 'embed' a Twitter timeline on your website, as NX used to do, have now gone, although it is interesting that individual tweets/posts can still be embedded elsewhere, like we can here in this forum.

In my opinion, there needs to be some kind of reliable mechanism or system in place, that allows ALL transport users to be informed of current and forthcoming disruptions and diversions. Relying on Twitter is not the answer, for the reasons stated above, not everyone has access to Twitter/X, and many people don't want to have to sign up just so they can see bus service updates.

TfWM's Disruptions service would seem to be ideal, however it fails when information is not provided to it.

But what is the answer though? Any thoughts?

Sorry to any folks who use Washwood Heath Road bus services, but expect some major disruption while these works are carried out!


Disruption warning as work to install bus lanes on Washwood Heath Road to begin in early 2024

Work is due to begin on installing bus lanes along one of the busiest and most ticketed roads in Birmingham. Dedicated lanes will be implemented on Washwood Heath Road in a bid to improve journey times and reliability of the 94, 95 and 14 services.

An exact date has not been given but work is expected to kick off within weeks and will be completed ahead of other work involving Aston Church Road at the end of March. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said. Residents, businesses, and commuters in the Washwood Heath Road area were urged to plan ahead.

The Washwood Heath bus lane is one of a wider range of cross-city bus route improvements being planned in an attempt to improve connections and help link communities across Birmingham city centre and the suburbs. It is hoped the installation of bus lanes, adjustments to junctions, traffic signals, parking, and bus stops, will enable buses to bypass traffic jams.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/disruption-warning-work-install-bus-28323202


It will be interesting to see if these bus lanes will actually be enforced though, or if they even make a difference.

Just for a bit of fun, what does your crystal ball see for next year?



I'll start with the following...


NX Bus's plan to have 300 new electric buses in service 'by December 2024' delayed until 2025 due to issues with getting chargers installed at garages.

Stagecoach to actually announce an order of electric buses for its Leamington, Nuneaton and Rugby garages, so that Coventry can become an all-electric bus city in 2025.

NX Coventry to announce and place an order for single-deck EVs.

Richard Parker to become the new Labour mayor of the West Midlands, and plans to franchise buses to be accelerated.

Opening of new rail stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road delayed until 2025.

NX Bus announce locations of new garages in Longbridge and Kitts Green to replace the Birmingham Central depot.

Stagecoach to announce and open a new depot in Birmingham/Solihull.

The 20 hydrogen buses at Walsall will be used all day every day of the week.

The modification that enables embedding of tweets / 'X posts' has now been updated and it supports the new 'x.com' links

https://x.com/TransportForWM/status/1720464316007166011?s=20

To embed a post from Twitter / X, click/tap on the Share icon, then select Copy link, and then paste it into your post here, the forum software will then do the rest.

You cannot view this attachment.

[Split off from Birmingham Central thread]

I've been thinking for a while now that the 23/24 really needs extra capacity during rush hour and my thoughts were echoed this evening by the driver of 7521, who asked multiple standees if they could move away from the buggy zone so he could accommodate another mother and pushchair. "Too many people, not enough buses, it's the same every day" were his words.

Peak hour usage on those services must be at or close to pre-pandemic levels on Mon-Thurs at least.

They really struggle on a 5 minute frequency, with most journeys having large standing loads, often even when there are 2 buses together. Pretty much every inbound morning peak bus leaves Harborne High St full, and just a small gap in service results in carnage.

I know they've had a minor frequency increase last month, but would hope that as the driver shortage eases further, they could possibly consider restoring the previous 4 minute rush hour frequency. As it is, the commute to and from work is not a pleasurable one.

I don't doubt that there may be other services in a similar position.

This reminds me of something I thought about a couple of weeks ago.

I know the current economic climate might not be quite right for bus operators to be taking commercial risks, but with the withdrawal of single-operator tickets/passes in lieu of the multi-operator nBus offerings, there has to be some opportunities somewhere for other bus operators to add journeys onto busier services.
I think the way to look at this is "complement, not compete" - NX clearly don't have the resources to put on extra journeys to increase capacity at busy times, so perhaps in collaboration with TfWM, other operators could be invited to register commercial services as a way of 'helping out'.
It's an idea that would need a bit more fleshing out, but it starts with the notion that passengers can use their ticket/pass on any operator's service now, so there is no longer that 'barrier' that hindered smaller operators from competing before on NX's commercial services.

This topic probably isn't the right place for a detailed discussion of this, but if there's interest then I'll split it off.

Have not seen this mentioned before here, but came across this yesterday evening from the Transport For Wales Rail website.

SignalBox is a technology company that was acquired by TheTrainline.com in July 2023, and amongst other things their software "detects, tracks & maps trains"

A generic version covering all train operators can be used at
https://www.map.signalbox.io

Avanti West Coast have their own branded version at:
https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/live-train-status/signalbox

And Transport For Wales have theirs here:
https://tfw.signalbox.io/

Anyone else come across this before?

[T1C Cardiff-Aberystwyth]

Transport for Wales has announced a number of TrawsCymru long-distance bus routes have now been retendered as the service continues to provide vital public transport links for many communities in Wales.

The contracts awarded are:
T1C Cardiff-Aberystwyth – contract awarded to Mid Wales Travel with no immediate changes but from November there will be a new fare structure.

T2 Bangor-Aberystwyth – contract awarded to Lloyds Coaches with no immediate changes but adjustments to fares and timetable in November.
This service will be integrated with the X28 Aberystwyth-Machynlleth to provide an hourly service throughout the day and connecting into the T1 and T1C service in both northerly and southerly directions.

T3 Wrexham-Barmouth – contract also awarded to Lloyds Coaches, the main change on this route will involve the introduction of a T3C service connecting villages including Llanuwchllyn near Bala to Corwen where they can connect with the T3.
This will make the T3 service more efficient and sustainable, improving journey times along the route. There will be adjustments to fares and timetables in November.

T6 Brecon-Swansea – contract awarded to Adventure Travel. This service has recently been deregistered and whilst the new registration process continues, they will be running this service free of charge during the initial weeks of the new contract in early September.

T10 Bangor-Corwen – contract awarded to K&P Coaches as mentioned above there are no immediate changes, but fares and timetables will be adjusted in November.
In March 2024 TrawsCymru will be increasing the frequency of the service on Saturdays, Sundays and in school holidays between Betws y Coed and Bangor, providing an hourly service linking into services in Bangor and Eryri/Snowdonia including Sherpa'r Wyddfa.

James Price, chief executive officer at Transport for Wales, said: "We are pleased to see progress with awarding these contracts and are looking forward to upgrading the service standards in line with our T1 route.

"New EV buses are being procured for the whole TrawsCymru network, however there is a long lead time to delivery and we will therefore be replacing some of the older fleet with new Euro 6 diesel buses for the short term as we look to decarbonise the network and confirm charging depot locations."

From: https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/business/local-bus-companies-awarded-long-distance-route-contracts-637030

I knew this time would come eventually, so the question to be asked now is whether anything can be considered 'noteworthy' at Coventry?

There's now one standard type of double-deck, the ADL E400EV.

Of the remaining single-decks, there are still two types, the ADL E200s, and the Eclipse 2 B7RLEs.

It's already been stated that bar the 20B, which needs single-decks as it passes under a low bridge, all of Coventry's routes are perfectly capable of using double-decks.

With 30 single-decks left, these are going to still see daily use, apart from the 20B, I don't know if there are any other routes that are specifically allocated singles, perhaps due to not actually requiring the seating capacity of a double.

Is it fair to assume that for double-deck routes, any single deck can be considered 'also commonly used', especially if they're the only 'spares' available?

Likewise, would an E400EV also be 'also commonly used' for those routes using single-decks? With the obvious exception of the 20B.

A couple of months ago now, I received an invite from National Express to join their new 'Viewpoint' community.

Like with TfWM's failed attempt at a similar exercise, it is sold as an attempt to engage with customers.

I was expecting to take part in research and consultations about forthcoming bus service changes and suggestions on improvements to the bus network in general.

Disappointingly, and quite predictably, the 'exercises' presented so far have been little more than marketing surveys.

Anyone else here part of this? What do you think?

This is a first! TfWM updating timetables at stops BEFORE any published changes have even been announced!

You cannot view this attachment.

Noticed this morning at my bus stop on Trittiford Road that there is a new timetable effective from Sunday 2nd July for the 3 (YW).
Apart from some additional journeys during the peaks, the basic daytime frequency Monday to Saturday is being reduced to half-hourly.

You cannot view this attachment.

There's nothing on the NX Bus website about forthcoming service/timetable changes, though the new timetables for the 2 (also reduced to half-hourly) and 3 are on the TfWM website.

Seems a bit early for summer holiday timetable changes to be honest.

Anyone else seen any as-yet-unannounced timetable changes at stops yet?

In case anyone is wondering about such things, at the start of the year, Mid Wales Travel made some changes to some of their services in the Aberystwyth area from 1st January.

Mid Wales Travel would like to make a statement regarding the changes to the services at the end of the month.
These are not changes that we want to make. These are changes to ensure the service continues.

Firstly, please understand that we do not receive any subsidies from the council and that these services survive purely on takings from passengers. 
Passenger numbers are below 50% pre covid. 
Therefore, with 50% less money coming in and the help from the government coming to an end, we are facing serious challenges.
Added to that, the rising cost of fuel, wages, parts, maintenance and utilities mean we must make changes or the service will stop completely.
We understand this is not an ideal situation and are very sorry that we cannot carry on as before.
We thank everyone who supports us and hope you continue using our services; the more people who use the service, the more chance we can continue to support it.

From BusTimes, it appears that their 512 service running between Abersytwyth and Ynyslas via Borth and Llandre has been reduced to a every 2 hour frequency:
https://bustimes.org/services/512-ynyslas-aberystwyth-via-bow-street-2

It is probably worth pointing out to those who might otherwise be unaware, that in order to get the 'last' 512 to Ynyslas from Aberystwyth, you'll need to get the 526 to Penrynchoch, which then continues as the 512.

I assume the same arrangement for the first journey of the day as well.

[Return train tickets will be scrapped - meaning passengers will have to pay for two single trips - as 'single-leg pricing' is unveiled amid long-awaited railway reforms]

In the Daily Mail today:

Return train tickets will be scrapped - meaning passengers will have to pay for two single trips - as 'single-leg pricing' is unveiled amid long-awaited railway reforms
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11714979/Return-train-tickets-scrapped-single-leg-pricing-unveiled.html

Return trains will be scrapped after 'single-leg pricing' is introduced as part of the new railway reforms.
Transport secretary Mark Harper will announce the changes this week after Rishi Sunak gave a green light to the proposed changes.
After rounds of successful trials testing out the new proposed system, passengers will no longer buy return tickets and instead will pay for two single trips instead.
The new reforms will mean the Great British Railways (GBR) will be introduced as a new public body which was first introduced by Boris Johnson and and Grant Shapps in May, 2021.

This sounds like an opportunity to rinse even more money out of train passengers. It is only going to work if the price of single journeys can be reviewed fairly. Otherwise this is just going to make long-distance rail travel unaffordable for many people (unless that's the long-term ambition).

I like messing about with Excel spreadsheets and have been learning new tricks recently.

Apologies to Tony, but it was much easier to copy and paste the fleet list(s) shown on BusTimes.org for this.

According to BusTimes, the below is the current state of active vehicles in the NX Bus fleet:

 

Type	Total	AG	BC	CV	PN	PB	WA	WB	WN	YW
ADL Enviro200	93	0	0	13	30	0	14	25	9	0
ADL Enviro200 MMC	38	31	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
ADL Enviro400	266	0	60	35	17	50	12	50	18	24
ADL Enviro400 MMC	388	51	93	10	34	57	48	27	39	29
ADL Enviro400H	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
BYD ADL Enviro400EV	73	0	0	54	0	0	0	0	0	19
Dennis Trident Alexander ALX400	91	0	22	7	0	0	13	0	22	27
Scania K230UB OmniLink	156	20	0	0	0	54	46	14	0	22
Scania N230UD OmniCity	4	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2	18	0	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2	147	0	0	31	14	0	36	0	66	0
Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini	89	41	0	9	0	0	0	39	0	0
Wright StreetDeck	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0
Wright StreetDeck Hydroliner	20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	0	0
Wright StreetLite WF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	1410	143	193	159	95	165	194	162	176	121

I had to make a couple of corrections due to errors or ommissions (for example 4511 was listed as a Wolverhampton vehicle, and one of Coventry's electrics was down as at Walsall), and of course some vehicles that have never tracked on BusTimes will be left off.

I have attached the full spreadsheet below if anyone wants to make use of it.

I've added a new theme to the forum which gives it a clean, fresh new look, while remaining usable on mobile devices too.

Members are invited to try it out and give feedback!

Click/tap the link below to be taken to the Theme Selector (link only works for logged in members)
https://wmbusphotos.com/forum/index.php?action=theme;sa=pick

Under 'WMBIP 2022' click the Use This Theme button to activate it.

Have a look and let me know what you think?

If its not to your liking, you can always revert back using the above link and select the default theme.

From an NX Bus press release:

The West Midlands Bus Bash is back in 2022 - in real life!

Again proceeds will go to the Midlands Air Ambulance.
 
This year we will be linking up with The Transport Museum Wythall to run a shuttle bus service between the museum and the event.

Further details will become available closer to the date.

Over the years, this forum has been attacked a number of times by "bots" attempting to register to the forum in order to post 'spam'. One of the security features within SMF (our forum software) is to be able to block IP addresses, either individually or whole ranges.

Some members may now see the following message when visiting the forum on a mobile device.
You cannot view this attachment.

Unfortunately it would appear that a previously banned IP address range has now been 'reallocated' and is now being used by a UK mobile network provider.

In order to help me identify this IP address range, if anyone gets this message when trying to access the forum from a mobile device, please visit https://whatismyipaddress.com/ , make a note of your current IP address, and then send it to me in a private message (don't post in public please!) when you are next able to log in, or alternatively use the Contact Form on my WMBU website: https://wmbu.org.uk/contact-us/

If you are able to connect to a wi-fi hotspot (public or at home) then you will be assigned a different IP address and you should then have access to the forum.

Once I am able to identify this IP address range, I will be able to remove it from the ban triggers.

[New features for users]

After what seems like an eternity, SMF version 2.1 was finally officially released in February 2022.

This forum has been using the earlier v2.0 software since Tony set it up way back in 2012 (ten years ago now!).

So the time has come to upgrade the software to the newest supported version, and I plan to carry this out on Saturday 2nd April 2022.

There will be a period of downtime while the upgrade takes place, though it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

What to look forward to:

New features for users

    A new WYSIWYG editor, SCEditor
    Real-time alerts in addition to email notifications
    A new default theme with full support for mobile devices
    Draft messages (you can save & resume later)
    Mentions using @name syntax
    Drag & drop attachments
    Attachments can be embedded directly into post text

Upgrading to the latest version also gives us access to numerous 'modifications' and enhancements not available for SMF v2.0.

I'll keep you all posted closer to the date.

[Disappointment as Solihull Metro expansion to NEC delayed - but alternatives being considered]

...is being delayed.

Disappointment as Solihull Metro expansion to NEC delayed - but alternatives being considered

Work on the new East Birmingham to Solihull line was due to start by 2024

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/disappointment-solihull-metro-expansion-nec-23041945

Oddly the article doesn't give any information as to why this plan is being postponed.

But this was surely the whole point of the Eastside extension, to eventually be extended into East Birmingham and North Solihull to connect to the airport and NEC?

I think it would be hard to beat the 27S school service from Kings Heath Boys School to Kings Heath.

https://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/services-timetables/27s-kings-heath-boys-school-kings-heath

Has a running time of 8 minutes and serves five stops.

Seems quite pointless really, as the 27 and 76 already go to Kings Heath high street, and most of its stops must be within walking distance of the school.

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