Wolverhampton Garage

[Tony]

I heard that too but i'll believe it when i see it. I see there is still no mention of the 15th November changes.....

Arriva will not be running the 62 after 15th November unless they register it commercially

[Trident 4609]

Arriva will not be running the 62 after 15th November unless they register it commercially

I'm aware of that. It was mentioned in the Arriva thread. They say it has come to its natural end. Since Arriva took over, every time i caught it there seemed to be considerably less passengers using it than when NX ran iit. I was referring to the changes to the 1,59 and 81.

[Ashley 60171]

I've heard that NXWM might possibly having the 62/A back....

What I've heard is the following

NXWM are to operate the 62 again.
The 62A will be discontinued because I can't think of ten people who used it by the Snuffield even when NX last ran it
The 62 will be reinstated in Finchfield and extended to Castlecroft
A test run with a B7RLE has been done yo decide whether they can negotiate some of the turns in Whitmore Reans/Farmdale, this was apparently done by one of the depot managers

Shoot me down now as I'm expecting to be.

[PM]

Hopefully timetable improved, current form is pretty poor, runs later on Sundays than any other day for some reason? Been hacked right back and usage possibly dropped accordingly?

[Trident 4609]

Hopefully timetable improved, current form is pretty poor, runs later on Sundays than any other day for some reason? Been hacked right back and usage possibly dropped accordingly?

I found it surprising how many people used the service on Sunday's when NX ran it. Even the later trips (I used to catch the last one from my Nan's in Finchfield) saw a fair few people. A fair few of the passengers on the Farndale Estate and back of Dunstall used it and a fair few had NX travelcards or purchased Daysavers.

I'd imagine E200's would be used on it as opposed to B7's.

[Ashley 60171]

I found it surprising how many people used the service on Sunday's when NX ran it. Even the later trips (I used to catch the last one from my Nan's in Finchfield) saw a fair few people. A fair few of the passengers on the Farndale Estate and back of Dunstall used it and a fair few had NX travelcards or purchased Daysavers.

I'd imagine E200's would be used on it as opposed to B7's.

Re vehicle allocation I queried that and my source was adamant it would be B7RLE's.

Re patronage. It was mostly concession passes but there were also a fair few daily/regular during the week fare payers and Travelcard holders, many on the sideroads but also many who could have used more frequent services and it was handy for about 5 NX drivers who lived on the route.

Patronage has declined but Arriva are not at fault.

What didn't help was the belief that NX "wanted rid of the contract" and Centro did their head counting thing on what I recall to be a quieter week on the route. However the antics of a couple of NX drivers is partly to blame for lost mileage/loss of loyal passengers.

[Tomf1993]

The 529 which runs from Walsall to Wolverhampton and 69/89, would it not be better to have the buses started service/ending service at Walsall run from Walsall Garage and buses starting and ending at Wolverhampton run from Wolverhampton garage? this would surely, reduce dead running times bus millage, and less drivers required overall. 529 uses 14 buses, 12 AM/to afternoon then 13/14 come out at 1515 and start at some schools.

[wulfrun]

What I've heard is the following

NXWM are to operate the 62 again.
The 62A will be discontinued because I can't think of ten people who used it by the Snuffield even when NX last ran it
The 62 will be reinstated in Finchfield and extended to Castlecroft
A test run with a B7RLE has been done yo decide whether they can negotiate some of the turns in Whitmore Reans/Farmdale, this was apparently done by one of the depot managers

Shoot me down now as I'm expecting to be.

But why extend the 62 to Castlecroft? Is this to maximise the time the bus is out on the road, in an attempt to cut down layover time interworking with another route? If so, then how much additional time is there spare?

Because I would have thought the most obvious extension for the 62 from White Oak Drive - is left into Castlecroft Road, then right into Finchfield Lane and down to Merry Hill Five Ways. This would also create a route 29 mins long, but more importantly will also bridge a 4 min link in the missing "western radial" between Finchfield and Merry Hill. At present the quickest journey by "public transport" is a 15 min WALK!

Five new(*) stops would be created.

Code Select Expand

White Oak Drive opp Brantley Avenue (used by 3)
(*)Finchfield Lane, adj Meadow Road
(*)Finchfield Lane, adj Wooton Road
(*)Finchfield Lane, before 5 Ways (62 terminus)
----turn around 5 ways island----
(*)Finchfield Lane, after 5 Ways (62 start to city)
Finchfield Lane, adj Adams Road (used by 751)
(*)Finchfield Lane, adj Westfield Grove
White Oak Drive adj Brantley Avenue (used by 3)

But why stop there? Better still, would be to extend the 62 route two stops further on from Merry Hill Five Ways along the route of the 4 via Leasowes Drive and terminate in Warstones Drive - to connect with 2 (Warstones and Penn Fields) as well as the 4 to Springhill - and turn the 62 bus back towards the city using the traffic island in Warstones Road (or Oxbarn Island). This will increase the total journey time to 31 mins. Only 2 mins more than the suggested Castlecroft solution - but is there enough time to layover and keep to 30 min frequency while interworking with another route?

There are huge benefits to be made getting the 62 to Warstones Drive.

For example. Take a trip from Warstones Drive to Compton Square. A journey of 1.5 miles between two local shopping hubs in the West of Wolverhampton, each with further bus connections elsewhere on conventional arterial corridors.

Existing Journey times for the 1.5 mile journey:

Code Select Expand


5mins car
27mins bus + walk (4 to Trysull Road, opp Attwell Park, 24mins walk to Compton Square)
30mins walk
31mins bus + walk (4 to Merridale Lane, 3 to White Oak Drive, 8 min walk to Compton Sq.)
37mins bus + walk + bus (4 to Chapel Ash, 2min walk to St Marks Church for 10 to Compton Square)
41mins bus (+ walk!) + bus (2 to Bus Station for 10 to Compton Square)

As you can see Bus travel is a poor alternative to the car with these timings. It is quicker to WALK in 30 mins than wait for a bus! But with the 62 starting from Warstones Drive - not only is the journey direct but the time taken is slashed to 8 mins! And competitive with the car.

This would be a huge benefit to bus users in the west. In that if Wolverhampton were a cake then you no longer have to travel from the edge of the cake east to the centre to then travel back out westwards to the edge - to cut a long thin wedge of cake. Instead, with the 62, you are getting the icing on the cake - travelling the radial across the thin slice in mins.

The West of Wolverhampton is crying out for its own radial like the East's route 25. By terminating the 62 in Warstones Drive bus users then have good connections to Penn Fields, Warstones and Springhill, thus linking those areas by bus to Merry Hill (4,62), Finchfield (3,62), Compton (9,10,62), Newbridge (1,8,891 4min walk to 62, handy if a bus stop was added nearer to meadow View) and Claregate (5,6,62) via one direct Western radial route - thus linking these centres in minutes - and for arterial destinations elsewhere.

And I agree with @Nathan and @DiamondDart in that the service hours should be extended - to at least 7am to 7pm. Even hourly until end of service - ASDA is open 24 hours - and there are many restaurants open late in Warstones, Finchfield and Compton which could be served far quicker along that radial corridor - which at present would be a taxi or a much longer journey into town on two buses. Or WALK!

If time constraints are an issue and the 62 can only be extended by 4mins from White Oak Drive - then as Castlecroft is already served from White Oak Drive by route 3 - it would make far more sense to route the 62 to Merry Hill as the alternative at present is a 15 min walk.

How can people be encouraged to use public transport if there is no public transport to use? So is it any wonder why bus journeys are decreasing, and why so many choose to turn to their more convenient cars?

[Trident 4609]

I'm told 4580 is repaired and back at WN

[Tony]

I'm told 4580 is repaired and back at WN

Been back over a week

[domino.99]

@Trident 4194   Not rare in the slightest happens EVERY SINGLE BLOODY WEEK! It's booked for some reason

[Trident 4609]

Been back over a week

Cheers Tony.

[Trident 4194]

@Trident 4194   Not rare in the slightest happens EVERY SINGLE BLOODY WEEK! It's booked for some reason

Sorry don't know WN allocations very well!

[MW]

Sorry don't know WN allocations very well!

Why have you deleted your comment? The rest of us can't see what you said to make sense as to why the other guy is shouting at you.

It's quite annoying when certain people always delete comments if they're wrong. Are you ashamed? Everyone makes mistakes, so please don't delete your comments.

[Trident 4194]

Why have you deleted your comment? The rest of us can't see what you said to make sense as to why the other guy is shouting at you.

It's quite annoying when certain people always delete comments if they're wrong. Are you ashamed? Everyone makes mistakes, so please don't delete your comments.

I didn't delete comment, Tony did I think I said 2114 on 81