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[limp mode exists to reduce the strain on the bus so it keeps moving, it can still move and collect passengers but of course with a problem that can be fixed another time.]

put in the most polite way possible- i dont see why

limp mode exists to reduce the strain on the bus so it keeps moving, it can still move and collect passengers but of course with a problem that can be fixed another time.

buses move till they break. they get fixed then they move till they break

No sorry, that is factually not correct.

As I stated already, 'limp mode' is an engine management system that is activated when a fault is detected, and it is for the purpose of getting a vehicle safely to a garage or workshop at a reduced speed to prevent any potential damage to the engine.

It's not just buses that have this, most modern vehicles, including cars and small vans, have this too.

For clarity, while I do not work in the bus industry, my main profession is in automotive aftermarket parts distribution, which I have been doing on and off for over 25 years now, so yes I do like to think I know what I'm talking about, even if not directly related to buses.

Possible confusion on 25A. The section towards Kidderminster is not a solid line but a split line which would indicate an occasional variation (evening & Sundays for example) rather than a regular hourly route.

Also the 25 & 25A are not listed on services which serve Merry Hill Centre.  Perhaps they should be listed within the same box under "also calling"

(split from Simon's Q&A thread)

The 25A doesn't commence until 20th April

limp mode- some ppl like the axle whine on it why they prefer it to other tridents. someone said that its sad to see the best sounding tridents go, but 4626 was not.

I'm not sure if you know what 'limp mode' actually is - it's an engine management safety feature so a vehicle can be taken for maintenance before any serious engine damage occurs.

Also, this is the difference between 'enthusiasts' and 'passengers' - enthusiasts may like things such as 'axle whine' etc, but your average passenger couldn't care less, they just want a bus to turn up when it is supposed to and get them to where they want to go.

Crikey.

I think theyve been voted worst operator in the UK

I'm not surprised! For the prices they charge for tickets, the 'passenger experience' is woefully underwhelming.

But it's not just CrossCountry - other train operators are having the same issues with shortage of available carriages as well as staff/crew shortages, see also West Midlands Trains and Transport For Wales.

Was looking at the NX index and saw 4393 says it's for resale however DVLA says it's SORN.

Is 4393 actually being resold if so that would be cool because that's the last 52 Trident that was with NX

SORN = "Statutory Off Road Notification"

Just means the vehicle is being kept in storage and not used on public roads

Good job I have my wits about me and was able to find an alternative way home, but unfortunately many people don't and they will just stand there at the bus stop for over an hour!

Well, I timed leaving work this evening quite badly - if I'd locked up and left ten minutes earlier I'd have had a choice of three buses running in convoy on the 2 and 3, but I didn't and it looked like I was going to be waiting around half an hour or more for what would have been most likely a rammed-full OmniLink.

Had a look at 'plan B' which involved walking across to Moseley Road to get the 50 to Kings Heath again, there were two buses leaving town which I had no chance of making, but alarmingly I couldn't see any other buses that were heading towards Birmingham - of the 19 buses tracking at the time, most of them were heading towards Druids Heath - so that would have been another long wait for a bus that would have been rammed. (Thanks to those temporary traffic lights by the Kings Heath station development)

So 'plan C' it was then, walked to Small Heath station and got the train to Yardley Wood instead.

I think tomorrow evening, I'll try and finish work earlier, assess the situation and then perhaps walk home!

On top of that, with some suggestions from users, some routes were merged fully. This was only done though in a few instances where there is ticket acceptance (ie the Diamond/NXWM 31 as it's a partnership or Carolean/NXWM 3 because there is basically no returns or individual operator tickets bar the very limited National Express out of area day ticket). It was also only done where merging the data didn't/doesn't cause a major readability issue for passengers and/or it is easy for passengers on exclusive/unique parts of each route route to still see their times. These were conditions because it was agreed on the discord a while back that in general people deemed it confusing to merge a service if there isn't ticket acceptance and as 'normal users' are the priority, the timetables need to be as simple as possible. Especially when merging Diamond routes as Diamond often have the wrong stops or have other data issues which prevent the timetables working properly.

There is ticket acceptance on all bus services within the West Midlands, has been since June 2023.

From taking buses to YW today. The 3 was in chaos due to temporary lights at both Yardley Wood Road/Wake Green Road which took me 15 minutes to get over, and also temporary 4 way lights on School Road, by the old terminus. Walking from Yardley Wood garage to the Railway Station there was a 3 waiting to get out onto School Road, and I walked to the Station before he got down to the roundabout just down from the station

Looking at some of the journeys the 16:28 number 3 from City, left city at 16:48 and didn't get to Yardley Wood until 1824 which explains why there were no buses around 18:00 in city

1932 - BX10ACJ – National Express West Midlands – bustimes.org

Thanks for the info, it is more fuel for my argument that the majority of delays on bus services are caused by roadworks and temporary traffic lights, yet many people still think it's the bus company's fault!

Good job I have my wits about me and was able to find an alternative way home, but unfortunately many people don't and they will just stand there at the bus stop for over an hour!

WMCA photo of the very short length of test track construction site in Greyfriars Road.
https://www.wmca.org.uk/news/work-under-way-on-pioneering-coventry-very-light-rail-test-track/

"We are investing millions in this project, and the start of work on this test track shows how close we are to making this a reality."

The on road test will offer local people an opportunity to ride in the vehicle and provide feedback.

Not sure what the trench in the photo is for as seems to be right in the middle of the road. If it is for the VLR track it could be fun getting on and off the tram and avoiding the passing traffic?

From that article:

The 220 metre demonstration track is designed to show how the pioneering transport system can be delivered faster and at a much lower cost than traditional tramways. It is due to be completed ready of on road tests in the summer.

I know it says "investing millions" but I wonder how much it is costing just to build this 220 metre length of track?

@Tony any idea what happened with the 2 and 3 earlier this evening? Was a huge gap in service around 6pm, and looking on BusTimes it seemed that a number of vehicles had gone back to garage?

6 also looked like it was being heavily delayed and gap in service.

Ended up getting a 50 then the 27 back home!

Could BCC sell them ?

It's an interesting question; BCC bought these with ZEBRA funding that they bid for and received, not using their own capital, so I'm not sure where they would stand if they decided to sell them. I think it would be frowned upon if they were able to cash in and then use the money elsewhere, depends on the terms and conditions of the ZEBRA funding award, perhaps BCC would have to pay the money back to the government?

Looks like work finally started big drilling rig on site

There was one there on site when I went by in January!

Phil Upton shared some photos of the tram stop the other day, which looks almost completed, but I couldn't see any sign of any progress having been made on the rest of the bus station.

1910/50. Are YW short of buses? Never seen NX use Omnicrap on this route before

There's no shortage of buses at YW. While primarily allocated to the 2, 3 and 27, the OmniLinks will end up on other routes when and where needed.

These consultations are more about box-ticking than actually shaping decisions. When only 0.5% of the population responds, it's not necessarily apathy – it's often that people sense the outcome is already decided, so why bother? If communities genuinely believed their input would lead to change, you'd see far higher engagement.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many people take part, WMCA just need a majority of the responses to be positive then they can proceed with their plans, 'democratically decided' and all that.

Oh is it some test to make routes that are run by multiple operators show on the same map? e.g 16/16A (kind of), 50 (kind of), 40, etc.

It is more useful for passengers. I noticed the other day when looking at the timetable for the 3 (West Brom to Merry Hill), that it also shows the evening journeys that are run by Carolean.

Anyone just looking at the NX timetable might think there's no service in the evening, but now they know.