Thandi

[Tony]

It appears their bus routes have ceased from today

[Michael Bevan]

It appears their bus routes have ceased from today

Is NX covering the 37 today in Walsall? 4867 was tracking on it earlier, and now 4865 is.

[Tony]

Is NX covering the 37 today in Walsall? 4867 was tracking on it earlier, and now 4865 is.

Yes

[hlliwmai]

What's happened have they gone bust or had there license revoked or is it a case of them just choosing not to operate bus services anymore? Could this be the next purchase for Diamond there again I don't think they [Rotala] would be interested in the 2 routes and the buses they've got would probably just end up being sold on or scrapped 

[metrocity]

Is NX covering the 37 today in Walsall? 4867 was tracking on it earlier, and now 4865 is.

Yes - https://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/service-updates/new-37-shuttle-service

[Westy]

Was 37E Darlaston & 37E Willenhall already on the displays, or did they have to be specially added?

I'm guessing only 2 buses have had them added?

[Tony]

No they wouldn't already be on there, and no, I would imagine a lot of the fleet have it on now. It takes less than a minute to update the blinds on a bus.

[IMarkeh]

No they wouldn't already be on there, and no, I would imagine a lot of the fleet have it on now. It takes less than a minute to update the blinds on a bus.

Are NX blinds updated automatically when they return to the depot then, you don't have to dongle them all?

[Tony]

Are NX blinds updated automatically when they return to the depot then, you don't have to dongle them all?

No, someone has to put a USB stick in. But further to my comments I hadn't realized the last 37 on the evening tender terminated at Darlaston, so both Willenhall and 37E Darlaston were already on all blinds 

[DJ]

No, someone has to put a USB stick in. But further to my comments I hadn't realized the last 37 on the evening tender terminated at Darlaston, so both Willenhall and 37E Darlaston were already on all blinds

I'm not sure if Hanover offer something similar, but Mobitec do offer new controllers that can be updated wirelessly when they're at depots. I know Diamond have started upgrading to them on some of the newer vehicles. It may be worth looking into for NX, as the initial investment would likely be offset by the time saved overall.

[ellspurs]

Is this a case of a service being discontinued by one company at rather little notice and another company being able to step in with an emergency timetable? Was there any loss of service (other than the Darlaston-Walsall part)?

[Stu]

Is this a case of a service being discontinued by one company at rather little notice and another company being able to step in with an emergency timetable? Was there any loss of service (other than the Darlaston-Walsall part)?

From the timetable, Thandi were operating the 37 up to every 20mins. NX have stepped in with an hourly service between Willenhall and Darlaston only, presumably as this only requires use of one vehicle.

It would depend on what Thandis loadings were like to determine if there is any loss of service, presumably there are other services that cover the 37 route from Darlaston to Walsall.

[ellspurs]

Ah, it mirrors the 34 between Walsall and Darlaston, so that part of the route is covered. NX have covered the important part which looks like no other service was covering.

[Westy]

Some people may remember that NX did briefly operate the 37 before Thandi took over the route.

(Was it withdrawn by NX, as it wasn't paying/cost effective?)

Presumbly the 34/37/39 timetable of the time was co-ordinated, so when NX withdrew the 37, presumbly the 34 & 39 were shuffled to fill the gap between Walsall & Darlaston, while Thandi operated it's 37 to it's own separate timetable.

Is there a chance that the NX exact timetable of that time could be reinstated, or have things likely moved on since then?

[Stu]

Ah, it mirrors the 34 between Walsall and Darlaston, so that part of the route is covered. NX have covered the important part which looks like no other service was covering.

And an hourly service is preferable to no service.

To be honest, I can't see NX agreeing to taking on this contract if TfWM insist on it staying at Thandi's timetable, not unless TfWM give them more money.