Time for the Final Curtain for Centro?

[Kevin_Brum12]

Following on from the discussion in this thread...http://wmbusphotos.com/forum/index.php?topic=1678.0

Here is a question.  Given its apparent incompetence and its ability to waste cash like its going out of fashion, if the Government decided that Centro and its equivalents were to be abolished tomorrow would anyone miss them?   A few years ago I would have lept to Centros defence when it was being described as a "Ptegosaurus" by Brian Souter.   Having seen the mess they've made of the South/West Birmingham Network Review,  the consultant gravy bus "Sprint" which is nothing more than a rebranded First Streetcar (so successful in York they've scrapped it), and the appalling "interchanges" in the city centre where bus users get soaked I am coming nearer to the conclusion that the district councils could probably do a better job if left to their own devices.   Centro's tagline is "Transforming Public Transport"; at present they seem to be doing this for the worst.

The proof is that something is rotten at 16 Summer Lane is the likes of Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Reading, Nottingham (without a PTE in sight) have all grown bus patronage, whilst Centro has continued to preside over bus use decline.  Of course rail use has grown - but it also has outside the PTE areas.   

So, should Francis Maude add Centro to his bonfire of the quangos and lance the "Ptegosaurus"?

[the trainbasher]

We wouldn't have things like nbus or ntrain.

Plus I doubt Dudley Council would be willing to give subsidies to the rail passengers seeing as only 3 stations on 2 different lines are in the borough thus meaning fares would go up.

I doubt Coventry City would be willing to allow concessions for free after 2300 (thus reverting to the legal minimum).

I doubt Sandwell would care if say the 226W existed if left up to them. That's why PTEs can be useful.

What's needed is to turn centro into a TfL style organization. Call it Transport for West Midlands?

[Gareth]

I thought the nBus passes were being reduced in price from April? Anyone know what happened to this plan?

[nitromatt1]

I thought the nBus passes were being reduced in price from April? Anyone know what happened to this plan?

They're pretty good value as it is, an adult day ticket being £4.20 costing only 30p more than a NXWM Daysaver

[Westy]

And the timetable info too.

Bet we wouldn't get these multi operator timetables.

[ilovetea4370]

I guess its the lesser of two evils, there are perks of having Centro there which we would miss if they were gone, but then there's also drawbacks(of which there seem to be more and more lately). I will say this though, just a personal opinion but I think Centro have single handedly ruined the city centre public transport network over the last 12 months, but then who knows where we will be in 3 years time, we could all be singing Centro's praises.

[Gareth]

I thought the nBus passes were being reduced in price from April? Anyone know what happened to this plan?

They're pretty good value as it is, an adult day ticket being £4.20 costing only 30p more than a NXWM Daysaver

The weekly pass is excellent value at £18.40, but in January it was announced it was being reduced to £16.60 from April, and as an nBus user, I wondered why this hasn't happened.

[nitromatt1]

I thought the nBus passes were being reduced in price from April? Anyone know what happened to this plan?

They're pretty good value as it is, an adult day ticket being £4.20 costing only 30p more than a NXWM Daysaver

The weekly pass is excellent value at £18.40, but in January it was announced it was being reduced to £16.60 from April, and as an nBus user, I wondered why this hasn't happened.

Does that mean child rate would go down to £8.30?

[Gareth]

I'm not sure to be honest what the child rate was advertised as. I don't tend to ever use nBus day tickets. If I'm only getting 2 buses, which quite often is the case for work, depending on if its Claribels or NXWM the cash fares would be between £3.20 and £4, so the nBus day ticket has no saving, but I do save on the weekly ticket.

[wilmotm (Matt Wilmot)]

All you need to do to see the pretty good job Centro do is to take a trip on the 255/256, just outside the operating area and into Worcester, where no bus stops are marked with the route numbers that stop there let alone any timetable information, most of the stops are just poles and any shelters that exist are just scruffy wooden huts, I'm right behind Cenro, other than the silly stands in the City centre, which might look nice but offer no shelter!

[Westy]

It appears to me, unless you live on a Arriva route, youve got no chance in Staffs, for timetable displays.

[PM]

They put up bus timetables which they charge operators for. Better to just scrap centro, scrap the quangos, scrap the ptes with the dinosaur like mostly labour politicians who seem to always want reregulation or trams or trolleybuses or something else useless. Instead, have a partnership between operators and joint ticketing arrangements like in oxford.

[nitromatt1]

All you need to do to see the pretty good job Centro do is to take a trip on the 255/256, just outside the operating area and into Worcester, where no bus stops are marked with the route numbers that stop there let alone any timetable information, most of the stops are just poles and any shelters that exist are just scruffy wooden huts, I'm right behind Cenro, other than the silly stands in the City centre, which might look nice but offer no shelter!

Will back you up there, the Worcestershire equivalent of Centro (whatever it is) does a much worse job. For example I could find no bus timetables anywhere in Upton-Upon-Severn for the 42/43 (hourly services to Malvern which come almost at the same time), so I just had to lean on a flimsy bus stop pole until one came!

[PM]

All you need to do to see the pretty good job Centro do is to take a trip on the 255/256, just outside the operating area and into Worcester, where no bus stops are marked with the route numbers that stop there let alone any timetable information, most of the stops are just poles and any shelters that exist are just scruffy wooden huts, I'm right behind Cenro, other than the silly stands in the City centre, which might look nice but offer no shelter!

Will back you up there, the Worcestershire equivalent of Centro (whatever it is) does a much worse job. For example I could find no bus timetables anywhere in Upton-Upon-Severn for the 42/43 (hourly services to Malvern which come almost at the same time), so I just had to lean on a flimsy bus stop pole until one came!

Well to say PTE areas have better bus stops etc is not true-Oxfordshire and many stagecoach areas have brilliant ones

[nitromatt1]

All you need to do to see the pretty good job Centro do is to take a trip on the 255/256, just outside the operating area and into Worcester, where no bus stops are marked with the route numbers that stop there let alone any timetable information, most of the stops are just poles and any shelters that exist are just scruffy wooden huts, I'm right behind Cenro, other than the silly stands in the City centre, which might look nice but offer no shelter!

Will back you up there, the Worcestershire equivalent of Centro (whatever it is) does a much worse job. For example I could find no bus timetables anywhere in Upton-Upon-Severn for the 42/43 (hourly services to Malvern which come almost at the same time), so I just had to lean on a flimsy bus stop pole until one came!

Well to say PTE areas have better bus stops etc is not true-Oxfordshire and many stagecoach areas have brilliant ones

That reminds me, I do like the bus stops around Oxford, seem to have very detailed timetables and are more stylish than ours