Diamond Bus - Discussion

[John]

Which buses were on there today? Newer solos etc or any proper buses?

The Enviro200 30929 and Centro 30704 on there today. These along with MCV 30111 are usually on the 16 most days, the rest are usually Darts or Solos

[PM]

Which buses were on there today? Newer solos etc or any proper buses?

The Enviro200 30929 and Centro 30704 on there today. These along with MCV 30111 are usually on the 16 most days, the rest are usually Darts or Solos

How about on the 50-is that 804 and then the akw darts and mpds?

[John]

How about on the 50-is that 804 and then the akw darts and mpds?

Yes, 30804 was on there today, as well as 30637. The rest are usually MPDs yes Peter

[PM]

How about on the 50-is that 804 and then the akw darts and mpds?

Yes, 30804 was on there today, as well as 30637. The rest are usually MPDs yes Peter

Thought so-havent been on the 50 for a while instead prefer bus spotting/photography in the black country as there is a lot more variety over there and particularly for me as Im more insterested in diamond than more national express stuff

[Tony]

Which buses were on there today? Newer solos etc or any proper buses?

The Enviro200 30929 and Centro 30704 on there today. These along with MCV 30111 are usually on the 16 most days, the rest are usually Darts or Solos

This photo probably says something about expected passenger loads
http://www.wmbusphotos.com/diamondpages/20912.html

[PM]

Which buses were on there today? Newer solos etc or any proper buses?

The Enviro200 30929 and Centro 30704 on there today. These along with MCV 30111 are usually on the 16 most days, the rest are usually Darts or Solos

This photo probably says something about expected passenger loads
http://www.wmbusphotos.com/diamondpages/20912.html

Its a real pity how this service has gone downhill as it is a service that has been operated for 29 years by bcc/diamond-were grs the final straw as they seemed to do well before this??

[Ash]

20912 seems to have gone to Long Acre from Tividale if it was operating on the 16. The problem with diamond on the 16 and the 50 is that the frequency is too low. If it was every 8 minutes for example passenger number's would pick up as only 6 buses are used on the 16 currently and as shown in Tony photo 2 of the solo's were bunched together.

[PM]

20912 seems to have gone to Long Acre from Tividale if it was operating on the 16. The problem with diamond on the 16 and the 50 is that the frequency is too low. If it was every 8 minutes for example passenger number's would pick up as only 6 buses are used on the 16 currently and as shown in Tony photo 2 of the solo's were bunched together.

I agree they need to take the risk and up the frequency and paint the buses colours that stand out something fluorescent or yellow or orange or something and advertise the returns

[Ash]

Im not sure how successful GRS travel are on the 16 as they have even less buses than diamond on the service and use 15 year old darts which are all multicolored.

[PM]

Im not sure how successful GRS travel are on the 16 as they have even less buses than diamond on the service and use 15 year old darts which are all multicolored.

They often seem busy though

[Ash]

Im not sure how successful GRS travel are on the 16 as they have even less buses than diamond on the service and use 15 year old darts which are all multicolored.

They often seem busy though

Yeah they seem to do ok not sure if they stick to a timetable though or whether they try to run directly in front of a NXWM or diamond bus or perhaps they just run a good service and people want to catch them  :o

[Steveminor]

I'm not sure an increased frequency would help out on the 16 Diamond have been losing ground to NX for some time now & I think the reduced frequency is a result in the lower passenger numbers rather than the other way round. It's a shame really as I believe at one time BCC outnumbered TWM on the route. It does seem like over the years NXWM have regained lost ground like the 50 which Petes ran ever 8 mins, the 97 which Petes ran every 8 mins, the 9 which BCC ran every 10 mins just to name a few.
I have to admit NX are a lot harder to compete against than they used to be in part due to the Travelcard.

[winston]

I'm not sure an increased frequency would help out on the 16 Diamond have been losing ground to NX for some time now & I think the reduced frequency is a result in the lower passenger numbers rather than the other way round. It's a shame really as I believe at one time BCC outnumbered TWM on the route. It does seem like over the years NXWM have regained lost ground like the 50 which Petes ran ever 8 mins, the 97 which Petes ran every 8 mins, the 9 which BCC ran every 10 mins just to name a few.
I have to admit NX are a lot harder to compete against than they used to be in part due to the Travelcard.

What's different about the NX travelcards now than in previous years? NX/TWM did go through periods where they didn't appear to put up much fight against competing operators such as BCC. Competition from NX does seem to have intensified for the likes of Rotala since NX group troubles in 2009 & Dean Finch turning the performance of UK bus around

[Steveminor]

The Travelcards now are much better value for money now than they used to be, Tony may correct me but back in the 90s they were only really any value if you were going to catch more than 2 buses every day over 5 days. Now they are cheaper than buying a daysaver everyday.
A lot more people have travelcards now than in the past making the percentage of passengers that a competitor can get off NXWM a lot smaller.

[winston]

The Travelcards now are much better value for money now than they used to be, Tony may correct me but back in the 90s they were only really any value if you were going to catch more than 2 buses every day over 5 days. Now they are cheaper than buying a daysaver everyday.
A lot more people have travelcards now than in the past making the percentage of passengers that a competitor can get off NXWM a lot smaller.

I always thought the 'Faresaver' was always as equally good value for money back in WMT/Yourbus/Metrowest day's, I presume by NXWM reducing the price of travelcards further, it's another sign of them squeezing the competition by encouraging further daily cash paying passengers to buy monthly NX travelcards. In addition to that NX have a comprehensive network generally operating 18 hrs a day / 7 days a week, which no other operators can compete with in offering their own travelcards