Bus Stops ?

[Stu]

On a side note from this, I did note the other day that all the outbound Stratford Road services now call at both the Palmerston Road and Stoney Lane stops.

Previously the 2, 3 and 37 out of city would only stop at Palmerston Road, with the 5, 6 and 31 stopping at Stoney Lane. Now the 4, 4A, 5 and 6 serve both stops.

(Obviously the 2 and 3 now both serve Stoney Lane directly)

Perhaps an example of how a simplified network works for the benefit of passengers?

(On another side note, its nice how the bus route numbers are sequenced on how they veer away from Stratford Road, first the 2 and 3 at Stoney Lane, then the 4 and 4A at Warwick Road, and then the 5 at Court Road/Showell Green Lane, leaving the 6 to continue on to Hall Green and Shirley :) )

[MasterPlan]

Too many buses likely, isn't enough space outside Boots for that many vehicles an hour to stop, even off peak it easily got chaotic there

Yeah that's fine, so why keep the 80/A there when they stop just down the road?

Or better that stop could've been for the 80/A only with the 23/24 staying where they were. Don't see what the point in moving them was.

[Kevin]

First stop on the Warwick Rd outbound after Stratford Road still has 37 on the flag

Yeah that's fine, so why keep the 80/A there when they stop just down the road?

Or better that stop could've been for the 80/A only with the 23/24 staying where they were. Don't see what the point in moving them was.

Granted I don't quite see the point in that as well

[Stu]

First stop on the Warwick Rd outbound after Stratford Road still has 37 on the flag

Its the same for all the 'electronic' flags along Warwick Road. To the best of my knowledge, the Boscombe Road one has never shown any route number.

[Michael Bevan]

Not sure if this has been posted already, but I've just seen this photo on Flickr by Elliott Brown...Looks like these will be the new bus stop flags that are being introduced...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/30096275448/

[Straightlines]

Not sure if this has been posted already, but I've just seen this photo on Flickr by Elliott Brown...Looks like these will be the new bus stop flags that are being introduced...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/30096275448/

Dull...Uninspiring...Insipid

[V89MOA]

Not sure if this has been posted already, but I've just seen this photo on Flickr by Elliott Brown...Looks like these will be the new bus stop flags that are being introduced...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/30096275448/

What a shame, I always thought the VAG rounded font looked smart and well suited, this is just very basic and underwhelming.
Who on earth thought white would be a good colour choice, remember how filthy and grubby the TWM flags ended up looking!

[Jack]

What a shame, I always thought the VAG rounded font looked smart and well suited, this is just very basic and underwhelming.
Who on earth thought white would be a good colour choice, remember how filthy and grubby the TWM flags ended up looking!

Oh no, what is the thing with white? These new flats look awful. It doesn't look very pleasing at all, ugh TfWM.

[MW]

There's about 5-6 of these new flags on the 50 route between Kings Heath & Maypole. I noticed one between Moseley & Kings Heath too.

[V89MOA]

Oh no, what is the thing with white? These new flats look awful. It doesn't look very pleasing at all, ugh TfWM.

If you zoom in on the top section, left hand side, you can already see patches of dirt and it's still brand new!

There's about 5-6 of these new flags on the 50 route between Kings Heath & Maypole.

Probably hoping to make up for the stops they've closed on that section!

[Jack]

If you zoom in on the top section, left hand side, you can already see patches of dirt and it's still brand new!

Oh wonderful... these flags look cheap and tacky.

[V89MOA]

these flags look cheap and tacky.

It's probably to save 1p on the blue ink...

[Stu]

Now that the 'anti-TfWM' crew have had their say, I think this look quite smart to be honest.

A clean simple design, very similar to the TFL design in London, and yes, reminiscent of the old Travel West Midlands flags. Although to be honest, I thought the backgrounds of the route numbers might have been colour-coded, in the same way they appear on Google Maps, and as per route brandings.

While I like the blue NWM design, lets face it, they were prone to fading, especially when positioned facing direct sunlight for long periods of the day.

I would question why they didn't use this design when replacing all the flags recently for the South Birmingham review, unless there is to be a strategy of gradual replacement.

[Tiptonian]

As @Stu says, clear and simple. It looks a darn sight better and clearer than the horrible black ones!

One thing I miss from the past is the reflective strip on the WMPTE stops. This was highly effective, and useful to passengers and occasionally drivers in less familiar territory on a dark or dreary night.

[CL]

I've been wanting to put my twopence in, but haven't found the right words to express my emotions, but here goes...

I don't know what to make of it; it's just a bus stop flag, and it does the job. Simple and concise may be two words to describe it; dull and uninspiring are two others that come to my mind. As I've said, it does the job, but I can't help but think it looks a little too basic.

I'll agree with @Stu in saying that a dash of colour won't hurt. Even having a tech-giant like Google colour code the routes according to their corresponding branding is a welcome touch - an opportunity that seems to have gone amiss here. I suppose the problem with colour coding routes like the 50 is the competition between two operators (which I know TfWM hopes to sort out through integration)... If rolled out onto other routes, like the 7 for example, purple blobs would be a nice feature.

My main irk with the new flags are the typeface. I'd have liked to have seen the font match the one of the corporate branding, as per with the current design. It's hard to compare its aesthetic nature to the bus stops in London, whose longstanding transport infrastructure has resulted in their own in-house Johnston typeface being produced/used. Now I'm not suggesting the West Midlands goes out of their way to produce a new typeface, but one which matches the brand identity of West Midlands Bus would definitely feel more welcoming to the new franchise.

Appearance wise, I can see where the London element comes from. You've got the grey here, and the red there. Sad to see the eradication of blue from both buses and bus stops alike, now. Though, in terms of fading, surely red, or any other colour for that matter, would eventually begin to fade as well? Having said that, I have seen a few faded (but predominantly blue) NWM flags, and they're not pretty! On a similar topic (regarding colours), the silver bus stops, as both a shelter and a pole, have blue and orange trims. What's to become of those? A new lick of paint, perhaps?

Overall, I know most of what I've said sounds negative. Of course, I've no political agenda with TfWM... Yet. But, admittedly, I'm not a fan of change. Especially if it's not executed properly. I didn't like National Express West Midlands' red and white livery because of how basic it was. And yet, I appear to have adapted to it. ;)