50 service

[:D]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

[Justin Tyme]

I can't see how any operator can make any money with that level of frequency.

There are other corridors in Birmingham with very high frequencies.

The combined service on the 74 and 75 along Soho Road is around 16 buses per hour off peak, and it's just as frequent on the Dudley Road between the 82, 83, 87 and 89 - entirely NXWM.  I believe that these two corridors may be West Bromwich garage's most profitable.

[Tony]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

[:D]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

[Stu]

I don't think NXWM fully accepting Swift cards is that far off now, has anyone noticed they've applied new logos to all their card readers with 'place smart card here' stickers?

[Tony]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

NXWM have invested far more heavily in routes without competition than the 50 which is currently using 6 year old buses, and what competition is there on the Hagley Road?

The most recent routes to receive new double deckers
Sutton services - no competition
900/957 - no competition
Kingstanding Limited stop services - only competition is the X56, not direct competition
51/33 - no competetion
Coventry 21 - no competition
Harborne 22/23 - no competition

[Tony]

I don't think NXWM fully accepting Swift cards is that far off now, has anyone noticed they've applied new logos to all their card readers with 'place smart card here' stickers?

I wonder how many 'Pay as you go' Swift cards are actually in circulation?
Centro and NXWM have issued nBus and travelcards on Swift which is accepted on NX buses (as long as it is valid in the area being used). I have seen several of those in use when doing revenue checks

[:D]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

NXWM have invested far more heavily in routes without competition than the 50 which is currently using 6 year old buses, and what competition is there on the Hagley Road?

The most recent routes to receive new double deckers
Sutton services - no competition
900/957 - no competition
Kingstanding Limited stop services - only competition is the X56, not direct competition
51/33 - no competetion
Coventry 21 - no competition
Harborne 22/23 - no competition

There used to be the 9 operated by Diamond, but I'm not too sure if NXWM introduced new buses during the competition, before or after that. Looks like I wasn't correct then.

[winston]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

NXWM have invested far more heavily in routes without competition than the 50 which is currently using 6 year old buses, and what competition is there on the Hagley Road?

The most recent routes to receive new double deckers
Sutton services - no competition
900/957 - no competition
Kingstanding Limited stop services - only competition is the X56, not direct competition
51/33 - no competetion
Coventry 21 - no competition
Harborne 22/23 - no competition

There used to be the 9 operated by Diamond, but I'm not too sure if NXWM introduced new buses during the competition, before or after that. Looks like I wasn't correct then.

NXWM introduced the E400's after Diamond put leather seated 'Royale' branded single deckers on the 9 in that instance

[Sh4318]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

NXWM have invested far more heavily in routes without competition than the 50 which is currently using 6 year old buses, and what competition is there on the Hagley Road?

The most recent routes to receive new double deckers
Sutton services - no competition
900/957 - no competition
Kingstanding Limited stop services - only competition is the X56, not direct competition
51/33 - no competetion
Coventry 21 - no competition
Harborne 22/23 - no competition

There used to be the 9 operated by Diamond, but I'm not too sure if NXWM introduced new buses during the competition, before or after that. Looks like I wasn't correct then.

If I remember correctly, Diamond were running during the time the Hagley Road Enviros were new. I don't know if that impacted the decision for Diamond to initially withdraw their service. But you had minimum 12 NX buses an hour (9, 99, 140) vs 3 Diamond buses on the 9

[CL]

I would only catch foreigners on the 50 and 16. Journey times and passenger quality are usually much better on none-NX.

Especially on Sundays, with Diamond using their Versas on these routes, the vehicle quality is much higher

Makes me wonder why I don't travel on Diamond bus. Does anybody else remember the years where they'd accept a NX* pass, along with a smaller fare, like of 50/60p?

EDIT*: Instead of NX, should've done TWM, I guess it's still the TWM Pass to me, with the cosmos font and whatnot...  :P

[vinh1000]

Aint seen a NX smartcard yet
Ive seen a inspectors version of it but swift cards are definitely in circulation more now
not seen pay as you go for a while

[Lukeee]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

NXWM have invested far more heavily in routes without competition than the 50 which is currently using 6 year old buses, and what competition is there on the Hagley Road?

The most recent routes to receive new double deckers
Sutton services - no competition
900/957 - no competition
Kingstanding Limited stop services - only competition is the X56, not direct competition
51/33 - no competetion
Coventry 21 - no competition
Harborne 22/23 - no competition

Sutton Services do have some competition from the 110

[monkeyjoe]

Was observing on Wednesday last week and it is so fierce with all 3 operators fighting for the moor street stop.

I would have put my life on it that NX had at least 20 buses on this route there was one every minute, soon as one would leave another would turn up , surely there is some sort of competition guideline for fairness as NX seem to have the biggest monopoly on this service.

A simple regulation requiring all operators operating in Centro area to use Swift Card would have sufficed.

All three operators on the 50 do use swift, and yes NXWM have more than 20 buses on there, but they always have had more than 20 buses on there. When I first drove on there it was a 3 minutes off-peak frequency which was before either of the current operators were on there. It is mostly a 4 minute now. Not quite sure what you mean by some sort of 'competition fairness' are you suggesting NX should have reduced their frequency when other operators registered on there?

I thought NXWM still didn't allow Swift card to be used on their buses?

I might have phrased my earlier post badly, what I meant is that it would be better for Centro region to regulate all bus operators to only use swift card and cash, nothing else. I like the way it works in London with Oyster Card.

Even though NXWM is working well as a monopoly (I recall it being that bad few years ago), I feel it can be improved with a healthy dose of competition. This is pretty evident by NXWM investing heavily in bus routes where there are 1 or more other operators competing such as the 50, Hagley Road buses, etc.

NXWM have invested far more heavily in routes without competition than the 50 which is currently using 6 year old buses, and what competition is there on the Hagley Road?

The most recent routes to receive new double deckers
Sutton services - no competition
900/957 - no competition
Kingstanding Limited stop services - only competition is the X56, not direct competition
51/33 - no competetion
Coventry 21 - no competition
Harborne 22/23 - no competition

94 has competition and no signs of any investment there. As users on this corridor have no real alternative public transport options. I had to get that one in there. :) I wonder if there are any other examples of where the competition actually operates a better standard of travel than NXWM.


4

[Stuharris 6360]

Well isn't the whole idea of competition that it should benefit passengers?

When Diamond ran on the 9, they ran every 20 mins but only during the day, no service on evenings or Sundays, therefore people would continue to buy NX travelcards to use because they were more beneficial. Unless the competitor can match or exceed the service levels/quality of the lead operator, the route will always be doomed to failure.