VERY Late running services

[Tony]

To give you a clue how bad traffic is tonight the 16:50 900 to Coventry left Birmingham 5 minutes late and so far (19:43) has got to Airport. That is 2h50 minutes!

[Matt.N0056]

To give you a clue how bad traffic is tonight the 16:50 900 to Coventry left Birmingham 5 minutes late and so far (19:43) has got to Airport. That is 2h50 minutes!

I'm assuming the traffic will be the same again tonight around the NEC area, and for the rest of the week cause of the Caravan show. Was the same last year, a nightmare to get home from work!

[Trident 4194]

The pe 9s are running in duos or trios, not help by 10 minute waits in colley gate( resurfacing), and then the paradise circus roadworks also

[Tony]

The pe 9s are running in duos or trios, not help by 10 minute waits in colley gate( resurfacing), and then the paradise circus roadworks also

Don't blame Paradise Circus that doesn't cause any delays at all, usually more free flowing than before the roadworks except when it gets the end of the Aston Expressway tailback in the evening. Buses are actually making up some of the lost time cause by Colley Gate in Birmingham

[Trident 4194]

The pe 9s are running in duos or trios, not help by 10 minute waits in colley gate( resurfacing), and then the paradise circus roadworks also

Don't blame Paradise Circus that doesn't cause any delays at all, usually more free flowing than before the roadworks except when it gets the end of the Aston Expressway tailback in the evening. Buses are actually making up some of the lost time cause by Colley Gate in Birmingham

Why they decide to do road surfacing in the week day I don't know. Why not do it on a Sunday or at night?

[the trainbasher]

@Trident 4194 Theoretically doing roadworks off peak and/or during school holidays means less traffic on the roads meaning less congestion.

Of course that's not usually the case!

[Liverpool Street]

Looks like the whole of South East Birmingham is screwed again tonight!

900s are currently running about an hour late, and every route between the Bristol Road and Bordesley Green with severe delays still even at 19:20

How did the BR and Pershore run in the afternoon, @Tony?

[Solo1]

What happened tonight  very heavy traffic heading out of city via Digbeth @6pm  I know the motorway junction is shut

[Stu]

What happened tonight  very heavy traffic heading out of city via Digbeth @6pm  I know the motorway junction is shut

As I was getting off the 37 just now, the driver was on the radio, didn't hear the whole conversation, but was mention of a road being closed, "where the traffic goes left at the lights" was all I caught.

[Gareth]

Being the families resident bus fan, it's usually me who gets texts from my sister about her bus journeys.

Tonight after being approx 20mins late, her 58 then got held up for another approx 20minutes in heavy traffic around Digbeth. Obviously with rush hour traffic and roadworks, these things can happen, but it seems her driver then told everyone to get off and board the already crowded 58 that was due after him. It seems it was his time to finish, or driving hours were up/ something similar.
I'm waiting to hear from her where this happened. Do NX have a plan in place for if and when this happens? Are there spare drivers who could have maybe taken over at Adderley Street if a drivers hours are up due to late running?

Interested to hear your thoughts @Tony 

[Tony]

Being the families resident bus fan, it's usually me who gets texts from my sister about her bus journeys.

Tonight after being approx 20mins late, her 58 then got held up for another approx 20minutes in heavy traffic around Digbeth. Obviously with rush hour traffic and roadworks, these things can happen, but it seems her driver then told everyone to get off and board the already crowded 58 that was due after him. It seems it was his time to finish, or driving hours were up/ something similar.
I'm waiting to hear from her where this happened. Do NX have a plan in place for if and when this happens? Are there spare drivers who could have maybe taken over at Adderley Street if a drivers hours are up due to late running?

Interested to hear your thoughts @Tony

Drivers hours are a legal requirement. In the evening peak do you really think NX could have several hundred drivers on standby just in case?. As I have posted in another thread almost every AG, BC(Garrison Lane around to Bristol Road), BY & YW bus was running up to an hour late. If a driver is close to the end of a 5h30min portion or an 8h30min straight through duty it is one of those unfortunate things that he has to stop driving at the next 'convenient point' he is allowed to exceed those limits due to unforseen circumstances included unusual traffic jams until that next 'convenient point' if that happens to be his home garage with another bus going to the same destination close behind then that has to happen.  If that driver would have carried on and had an accident both the driver himself and the company would be responsible.

[Eric Shaw]

Coventry Road closed at Bordesley Station, causing chaos on Coventry Road, Stratford Road and Warwick Road services.

[Stu]

Coventry Road closed at Bordesley Station, causing chaos on Coventry Road, Stratford Road and Warwick Road services.

That explains the part of the radio conversation I overheard, had a feeling that (Coventry Road off High Street Deritend) was what was being referred to.

Also explains the 'rat-runnings' through Sparkbrook, loads of cars and lorries turning off Stratford Road onto Henley Street, as well as cars coming out of Kyotts Lake Road.

[Rob H]

7025 & 2113 were running together on 71 to Solihull around 10:30 seen at the bottom of my road.

[the trainbasher]

9s were coming in trios and quartets earlier