Diamond West Midlands - Kidderminster

[tank90]

Does anyone have any idea which are the busiest sections of the X3?

At the very least without any extra larger buses allocated to KR, KR should ensure that the X3 is always allocated full size Darts and the more frequent 3's MPD's if nothing bigger is available due to that routes higher frequency

Redditch to Bromsgrove is high due to it being quicker than the 142/143/145.
and i think the 3 section is high too.

Cheers Dan,
I wonder if there would be scope to curtail the X3 between Redditch & Kidderminster bus station only, enhance the frequency to half hourly, reliability would be increased due to it being a shorter route and not getting delayed around the Stourport area. Then have the existing 3's & a new 3A once an hour to cover the Kidderminster General Hospital section previously covered by the X3.

I can't really see many passengers traveling right through from Redditch to The Walshes, would many people from Redditch or Bromsgrove be inconvenienced if they lost a direct link to Kidderminster General hospital?

I think some would as I think Kidder do all eye ops in the county, plus its handy to people who have had to go to the alex to get to that side of kidder where they live.

[winston]

Does anyone have any idea which are the busiest sections of the X3?

At the very least without any extra larger buses allocated to KR, KR should ensure that the X3 is always allocated full size Darts and the more frequent 3's MPD's if nothing bigger is available due to that routes higher frequency

Redditch to Bromsgrove is high due to it being quicker than the 142/143/145.
and i think the 3 section is high too.

Cheers Dan,
I wonder if there would be scope to curtail the X3 between Redditch & Kidderminster bus station only, enhance the frequency to half hourly, reliability would be increased due to it being a shorter route and not getting delayed around the Stourport area. Then have the existing 3's & a new 3A once an hour to cover the Kidderminster General Hospital section previously covered by the X3.

I can't really see many passengers traveling right through from Redditch to The Walshes, would many people from Redditch or Bromsgrove be inconvenienced if they lost a direct link to Kidderminster General hospital?

I think some would as I think Kidder do all eye ops in the county, plus its handy to people who have had to go to the alex to get to that side of kidder where they live.

An alternative option maybe to have the X3 run Redditch - Kidderminster General Hospital then (assuming there's somewhere for it to terminate/turn around?). Also maintain the existing 3 a new 3A (hourly) as suggested above for anyone wishing to travel from Areley Kings/The Walshes or Stourport to Kidderminster general etc

[Cedric]

Does anyone have any idea which are the busiest sections of the X3?

At the very least without any extra larger buses allocated to KR, KR should ensure that the X3 is always allocated full size Darts and the more frequent 3's MPD's if nothing bigger is available due to that routes higher frequency

Redditch to Bromsgrove is high due to it being quicker than the 142/143/145.
and i think the 3 section is high too.

Cheers Dan,
I wonder if there would be scope to curtail the X3 between Redditch & Kidderminster bus station only, enhance the frequency to half hourly, reliability would be increased due to it being a shorter route and not getting delayed around the Stourport area. Then have the existing 3's & a new 3A once an hour to cover the Kidderminster General Hospital section previously covered by the X3.

I can't really see many passengers traveling right through from Redditch to The Walshes, would many people from Redditch or Bromsgrove be inconvenienced if they lost a direct link to Kidderminster General hospital?

I think some would as I think Kidder do all eye ops in the county, plus its handy to people who have had to go to the alex to get to that side of kidder where they live.

At one time the X3 used to terminate in Kidderminster hospital grounds and not go to Stourport  if I remember right it did not pick up or set down  between kiderminster and  the hospital  it used to run in to Redditch hospital as well.     I went to Redditch before xmas and between kidder  and Bromsgrove was busy but Bromsgrove to Redditch section  was even busier  do not think there is any need for it to  go to stourport
as with the 3/15/192/294/295  think there are enough , and if the x3  was routed as it was before through chadsley corbert    it would partly replace the 133 which is the busy section of the 133

[winston]

Does anyone have any idea which are the busiest sections of the X3?

At the very least without any extra larger buses allocated to KR, KR should ensure that the X3 is always allocated full size Darts and the more frequent 3's MPD's if nothing bigger is available due to that routes higher frequency

Redditch to Bromsgrove is high due to it being quicker than the 142/143/145.
and i think the 3 section is high too.

Cheers Dan,
I wonder if there would be scope to curtail the X3 between Redditch & Kidderminster bus station only, enhance the frequency to half hourly, reliability would be increased due to it being a shorter route and not getting delayed around the Stourport area. Then have the existing 3's & a new 3A once an hour to cover the Kidderminster General Hospital section previously covered by the X3.

I can't really see many passengers traveling right through from Redditch to The Walshes, would many people from Redditch or Bromsgrove be inconvenienced if they lost a direct link to Kidderminster General hospital?

I think some would as I think Kidder do all eye ops in the county, plus its handy to people who have had to go to the alex to get to that side of kidder where they live.

At one time the X3 used to terminate in Kidderminster hospital grounds and not go to Stourport  if I remember right it did not pick up or set down  between kiderminster and  the hospital  it used to run in to Redditch hospital as well.     I went to Redditch before xmas and between kidder  and Bromsgrove was busy but Bromsgrove to Redditch section  was even busier  do not think there is any need for it to  go to stourport
as with the 3/15/192/294/295  think there are enough , and if the x3  was routed as it was before through chadsley corbert    it would partly replace the 133 which is the busy section of the 133

Thanks Bowler, The X3 definitely sounds like a route worth developing & growing, both through larger better quality buses & an enhanced frequency

[Cedric]

Winston
another route that could be developed more is the 295 if it ran via Burlish  in to stourport  as the 294 does (which is just 1 journey each way)
it would get more passangers  and get the burlish residents a better service it use to run that way before (in the x93/293) and more people
used it . and leave wilden with the 15 . they could conect with Worcester bus in kider. or stourport .

[winston]

Winston
another route that could be developed more is the 295 if it ran via Burlish  in to stourport  as the 294 does (which is just 1 journey each way)
it would get more passangers  and get the burlish residents a better service it use to run that way before (in the x93/293) and more people
used it . and leave wilden with the 15 . they could conect with Worcester bus in kider. or stourport .

Bowler,
It sounds as though there are plenty of possibilities to grow the Kidderminster operation, Rotala may as well look to grow the business and allocation, as KR depot is at less than half capacity at present. I may help to turn around any losses dating back to First days

[StourportSam]

Does anyone have any idea which are the busiest sections of the X3?

At the very least without any extra larger buses allocated to KR, KR should ensure that the X3 is always allocated full size Darts and the more frequent 3's MPD's if nothing bigger is available due to that routes higher frequency

Redditch to Bromsgrove is high due to it being quicker than the 142/143/145.
and i think the 3 section is high too.

Cheers Dan,
I wonder if there would be scope to curtail the X3 between Redditch & Kidderminster bus station only, enhance the frequency to half hourly, reliability would be increased due to it being a shorter route and not getting delayed around the Stourport area. Then have the existing 3's & a new 3A once an hour to cover the Kidderminster General Hospital section previously covered by the X3.

I can't really see many passengers traveling right through from Redditch to The Walshes, would many people from Redditch or Bromsgrove be inconvenienced if they lost a direct link to Kidderminster General hospital?

People from Redditch and Bromsgrove are not going to travel right through to a large housing estate in Stourport, but think of it the other way around. There are certainly a lot of people from Areley Kings/Stourport who use the X3 to travel to Bromsgrove and Redditch, even on Sundays. There must be a reason First extended the 333/334 to Stourport!

I overheard Diamond drivers some time ago saying Diamond were looking to remove the hospital diversion on the X3. That is the part that causes the most delays, not Stourport, with standstill traffic the norm between the hospital and first ring road roundabout.

[Cedric]

Does anyone have any idea which are the busiest sections of the X3?

At the very least without any extra larger buses allocated to KR, KR should ensure that the X3 is always allocated full size Darts and the more frequent 3's MPD's if nothing bigger is available due to that routes higher frequency

Redditch to Bromsgrove is high due to it being quicker than the 142/143/145.
and i think the 3 section is high too.

Cheers Dan,
I wonder if there would be scope to curtail the X3 between Redditch & Kidderminster bus station only, enhance the frequency to half hourly, reliability would be increased due to it being a shorter route and not getting delayed around the Stourport area. Then have the existing 3's & a new 3A once an hour to cover the Kidderminster General Hospital section previously covered by the X3.

I can't really see many passengers traveling right through from Redditch to The Walshes, would many people from Redditch or Bromsgrove be inconvenienced if they lost a direct link to Kidderminster General hospital?

People from Redditch and Bromsgrove are not going to travel right through to a large housing estate in Stourport, but think of it the other way around. There are certainly a lot of people from Areley Kings/Stourport who use the X3 to travel to Bromsgrove and Redditch, even on Sundays. There must be a reason First extended the 333/334 to Stourport!

I overheard Diamond drivers some time ago saying Diamond were looking to remove the hospital diversion on the X3. That is the part that causes the most delays, not Stourport, with standstill traffic the norm between the hospital and first ring road roundabout.

the 333 never went to stourport on a sunday  when it arrived in Kidderminster it changed to the 300 kiderminster Worcester hospital via bewdley and stouport . there was the 3 Kidderminster rail station to stourport which was a redditich depot working on a sunday.

and when the x 3  first started it used to finish in Kidderminster hospital grounds ,do not know why the extend  to stourport as there are enough buses to stourport
And as for lots of people traveling on the 333/ 300  service  on a sunday  which  I used every sunday  there  where never more than about 18 to 24 people using it  . there where  more on the sunday 292  service  my travels on the 333/300 192/292 services on sundays go back to the days of kesterel coaches woodstone coaches petes travel and whittles and centeral connect

[StourportSam]

People from Redditch and Bromsgrove are not going to travel right through to a large housing estate in Stourport, but think of it the other way around. There are certainly a lot of people from Areley Kings/Stourport who use the X3 to travel to Bromsgrove and Redditch, even on Sundays. There must be a reason First extended the 333/334 to Stourport!

I overheard Diamond drivers some time ago saying Diamond were looking to remove the hospital diversion on the X3. That is the part that causes the most delays, not Stourport, with standstill traffic the norm between the hospital and first ring road roundabout.

the 333 never went to stourport on a sunday  when it arrived in Kidderminster it changed to the 300 kiderminster Worcester hospital via bewdley and stouport . there was the 3 Kidderminster rail station to stourport which was a redditich depot working on a sunday.

and when the x 3  first started it used to finish in Kidderminster hospital grounds ,do not know why the extend  to stourport as there are enough buses to stourport
And as for lots of people traveling on the 333/ 300  service  on a sunday  which  I used every sunday  there  where never more than about 18 to 24 people using it  . there where  more on the sunday 292  service  my travels on the 333/300 192/292 services on sundays go back to the days of kesterel coaches woodstone coaches petes travel and whittles and centeral connect

I didn't say the 333 went to Stourport on Sundays. I thought it was replaced from 2011 with the service we have now. I don't just mean Sundays, I meant every day. Wasn't the 334 the service Kidderminster - Redditch before the X3 was introduced? The number X3 implies it was a continuation to Bromsgrove/Redditch of the 3.
What I meant was replacing the 333/334 with the X3 back around, I don't know, 2008 or whenever it was. I only started using buses regularly in 2007 and take an interest in them from about 2011 onwards so don't know much about before that. 18 to 24 people using it at one time sounds OK for a Sunday service, if people need it to get to work etc. as I do on a Sunday with the 3. I use this service every week and the bus (usually a 45 seater) is healthily filled. That's why Diamond/First can afford to run it on a commercial basis. If you don't know why the 334 was extended into the X3, it was obviously to provide [direct] links to Kidderminster hospital and Bromsgrove/Redditch from Stourport. I never used the service myself but from the timetables I have for the 300 it looks like it would have been very underused and loss making with the route it took/times it operated.

[Cedric]

People from Redditch and Bromsgrove are not going to travel right through to a large housing estate in Stourport, but think of it the other way around. There are certainly a lot of people from Areley Kings/Stourport who use the X3 to travel to Bromsgrove and Redditch, even on Sundays. There must be a reason First extended the 333/334 to Stourport!

I overheard Diamond drivers some time ago saying Diamond were looking to remove the hospital diversion on the X3. That is the part that causes the most delays, not Stourport, with standstill traffic the norm between the hospital and first ring road roundabout.

the 333 never went to stourport on a sunday  when it arrived in Kidderminster it changed to the 300 kiderminster Worcester hospital via bewdley and stouport . there was the 3 Kidderminster rail station to stourport which was a redditich depot working on a sunday.

and when the x 3  first started it used to finish in Kidderminster hospital grounds ,do not know why the extend  to stourport as there are enough buses to stourport
And as for lots of people traveling on the 333/ 300  service  on a sunday  which  I used every sunday  there  where never more than about 18 to 24 people using it  . there where  more on the sunday 292  service  my travels on the 333/300 192/292 services on sundays go back to the days of kesterel coaches woodstone coaches petes travel and whittles and centeral connect

I didn't say the 333 went to Stourport on Sundays. I thought it was replaced from 2011 with the service we have now. I don't just mean Sundays, I meant every day. Wasn't the 334 the service Kidderminster - Redditch before the X3 was introduced? The number X3 implies it was a continuation to Bromsgrove/Redditch of the 3.
What I meant was replacing the 333/334 with the X3 back around, I don't know, 2008 or whenever it was. I only started using buses regularly in 2007 and take an interest in them from about 2011 onwards so don't know much about before that. 18 to 24 people using it at one time sounds OK for a Sunday service, if people need it to get to work etc. as I do on a Sunday with the 3. I use this service every week and the bus (usually a 45 seater) is healthily filled. That's why Diamond/First can afford to run it on a commercial basis. If you don't know why the 334 was extended into the X3, it was obviously to provide [direct] links to Kidderminster hospital and Bromsgrove/Redditch from Stourport. I never used the service myself but from the timetables I have for the 300 it looks like it would have been very underused and loss making with the route it took/times it operated.

no same there was a 3 running then as well . the 333/334  one was in the evening one was on a sunday   that ran  between Kidderminster and Redditch  and the X3 was  mon to sat daytimes all terminating in Kidderminster hospital grounds. as did the 303 Monday to Saturday . the only reason the sunday 3 gets good loads is that it starts from the railway station

[iamwilljh92]

Vehicles still currently V.O.R at Kidderminster...

1) S405 JUA - Removed off fleet (according to Simon Dunn), no reason as to why he has decided to pull it out of service but it makes me wonder if this will be withdrawn at some stage
2) KU52 RYN - Document issues STILL!! (currently SORNED)
3) YJ06 YPU - Optare Solo (under repair apparently), I didn't even know it was broke!

To my knowledge they are currently the only vehicles that are off the road

[StourportSam]

Vehicles still currently V.O.R at Kidderminster...

1) S405 JUA - Removed off fleet (according to Simon Dunn), no reason as to why he has decided to pull it out of service but it makes me wonder if this will be withdrawn at some stage
2) KU52 RYN - Document issues STILL!! (currently SORNED)
3) YJ06 YPU - Optare Solo (under repair apparently), I didn't even know it was broke!

To my knowledge they are currently the only vehicles that are off the road

Might need to add W905 JNF to the list!!
It has been sounding a bit kn*ckered for a week or two with very loud whining noises whilst accelerating but today while I was on it on the 3 coming off Bichen Coppice we went over a bump and there was a very loud bang and crash. From then on something was making a very loud scraping noise and the bus was struggling to move. We managed to get to Stourport where the drviver took it out of service to go back to depot! I don't know what it was but it didn't sound roadworthy!

[iamwilljh92]

I saw (30445, T418 MNH) back in Kidderminster today after a short period of absence it is still in it's White & Red colours therefore it hasn't been resprayed as was thought last week when it vanished from Kidderminster which leads me to believe it must have either gone for an M.O.T. Or gone elsewhere for some routine work

[StourportSam]

Both KU52 RYN and YJ06 YPU appear to have vanished from Kidderminster - anyone seen them?
S405 JUA is still VOR but on its own now.
X372 CUY (Red Diamond), KU52 YJY, W572 JVV and X637 AKW are all still here, suggesting they are transfers not loans.

[iamwilljh92]

Nope no idea mate are you sure KU52 has gone? As I do know that last week it was parked over the other side of the yard (it's not really visible from the road), as for S405 well according to Simon that has been removed from the fleet (he hasn't said why) I honestly believe that it will be permanently withdrawn and sold and as for YJ06 my mate saw a mechanic working on it the other day but it hasn't returned to service so god only knows where it is