Birmingham Central Garage

[Trident 4194]

Seems to be a record 3 MMCs on the ☓21 today, along with 4949 something must have gone wrong somewhere.
I guess it'll be fully B7RLE when the ☓70 becomes platinum though.

B7RLE on BC 24. Also saw a Bristol road branded hybrid coming through harborne high street NIS

[Mike K]

B7RLE on BC 24. Also saw a Bristol road branded hybrid coming through harborne high street NIS

4873 and another crimson E400 on the 23 within a few minutes of each other this morning too. Must be down to all those Platinums on the X21!

[MasterPlan]

Not necessarily, there's extra platinums due for BC on this order, so there will still be spares.

Yeah and they'll be used by the ☓70, no?

[Gareth]

Yeah and they'll be used by the ☓70, no?

The X70 doesn't need many buses, probably enough covered by the new ones. So still some spares.

[MasterPlan]

Harborne Road bus lane was finally open this morning and it cut a decent amount of time off the journey. Arriving into the city only 4 minutes late is almost unheard of on a Monday morning.

I was just reading an article on this. I wasn't aware that it's only in operation between 7-10am. Are there any plans for one going the other way along Westbourne Road etc?"

https://www.networkwestmidlands.com/campaigns/platinum-lane/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialSignIn&utm_content=Harborne+Campaign

Also, what is this?

" Real-time pilot

Transport for West Midlands has also been working with bus operators across the region on a real-time information pilot which will be launched on the 23/24 route later this year.

You'll soon be able to check what time your bus will arrive based on real-time traffic flow information. You'll also be able to check when you'll reach your destination, giving you complete control over your journey.

If the pilot is successful it could be rolled out across the whole of the West Midlands. Check back soon for updates!"

[Mike K]

I read about this 'real time pilot' a week or so ago - I have no idea what it is.

As regards the bus lane, outside of the morning rush hour, traffic tends to flow quite freely down Harborne Road so in my opinion 7am to 10am operation is enough. It certainly is a big improvement on journey times based on my experiences this week.

Outbound in the evening peak, Westbourne Road generally flows ok. Also, one of the problems with a bus lane along there is that it would restrict other traffic to a single lane and would likely mean that traffic would back up along Calthorpe Road delaying buses further.

Just my observations and opinions of course.

[CL]

I believe, in this instance, the word 'pilot' is referring to the testing of the software - rather than the aviation term. Apologies if that sounded patronising; there was no intention of that. 'Pilot' is generally associated with television, but I suppose it's being used in the same context here; testing the waters to gauge an audience's reaction before it's fully rolled out.

I could be wrong, but is this 'real time pilot' just a more refined version of the bus tracking feature in National Express' new app? It does state that this new RTI will factor in traffic delays, etc... I know in the old app, when a bus (on the rare occasion) is extremely late/a no-show, timetabled information appears - rather than an ETA. I reckon this is the same concept, except rolled out network-wide, as the article suggests. To quote, "Transport for West Midlands has also been working with bus operators across the region on a real-time information"

RTI, though widely available on NX's platform for a few years, will be available on the smaller operators, too, within the region - i.e. Diamond, igo - hell, maybe even DTS! Haha

Sidenote: Whilst I see the benefits of introducing this RTI Pilot to a route which has previously suffered mammoth delays, I can't quite get my head around why TfWM would select a NX route to trial RTI when it's already been available on NX's own app (and many others) for years! I get it... but I also don't.

[MasterPlan]

I read about this 'real time pilot' a week or so ago - I have no idea what it is.

As regards the bus lane, outside of the morning rush hour, traffic tends to flow quite freely down Harborne Road so in my opinion 7am to 10am operation is enough. It certainly is a big improvement on journey times based on my experiences this week.

Outbound in the evening peak, Westbourne Road generally flows ok. Also, one of the problems with a bus lane along there is that it would restrict other traffic to a single lane and would likely mean that traffic would back up along Calthorpe Road delaying buses further.

Just my observations and opinions of course.

Ah that's fair enough then. How is it managed though, is there a sign at the start of the bus lane informing drivers of these times?
As for the Westbourne Road I guess you're right to be fair, unless there was some idiot parked on that road or broken down causing a single file lane at some point it went alright really from what I remember.

[DJ]

Ah that's fair enough then. How is it managed though, is there a sign at the start of the bus lane informing drivers of these times?
As for the Westbourne Road I guess you're right to be fair, unless there was some idiot parked on that road or broken down causing a single file lane at some point it went alright really from what I remember.

Yes, all bus lanes usually have a similar sign saying when they are restricted. Some are 24 hours I presume but a lot can be used at certain times.

[2206]

16:11 X2 from Solihull Station failed to operate.
Any reason why?

[MW]

16:11 X2 from Solihull Station failed to operate.
Any reason why?

Look around you. There's frikin traffic everywhere in Solihull at that time. I'm sure you would have seen Lode Lane roundabout at stand still. It was probably adjusted.

[monkeyjoe]

I noticed on the nxm site prompting the new harborne bus lane, they stating buses upto every 8 mins, do people that's deliberate or just a marketing blip

[MasterPlan]

Despite the reliability issues the X20/X21/X22s seem to be carrying some good loadings. Practically every one you see going past seems to be full or near full. So it seems they're popular at least.

[B.C Driver]

Despite the reliability issues the X20/X21/X22s seem to be carrying some good loadings. Practically every one you see going past seems to be full or near full. So it seems they're popular at least.

If your observations were based on yesterday, this was due to the local trains being cancelled. X20, X21, X22, 45, 47, 61, 63 were all struggling due to increased passengers.

[MasterPlan]

If your observations were based on yesterday, this was due to the local trains being cancelled. X20, X21, X22, 45, 47, 61, 63 were all struggling due to increased passengers.

Well no, not just yesterday but I guess that explains yesterday a little.