NXWM service changes 15th Nov

[r700a]

I was travelling back from Northfield this morning on the 48 and while going down Black Haynes Road (the 'old' 29 route), on 3 separate occasions there was passengers at the separate stops that just allowed the bus to go past while obviously oblivious to the fact that the bus they are used to, and still expecting to turn up, never will! I did mention this to the driver when I got off, he simply replied "everyone's confused".

I would of expected (given the lack of changes to timetables and flags) the driver of the service in question to stop the bus and explain to those individuals waiting that the 48 is now the only service to serve the road and advise what would be best to do - this didn't happen and I can only presume those in question had a fairly long wait before realising something wasn't adding up. Instances like this simply can not be justified, the failure to get flags and timetables changed is inexcusable.

Similarly, there are going to be people waiting for the 53 on roads that have been omitted from the 50A/C; they will be oblivious to the changes (with flags remaining unchanged and timetables being incorrectly labelled as still being valid from 15th November)

Passengers will be waiting for quite a while before they realise anything is amiss - especially the many elderly passengers who I have seen on the route who most likely have no Internet access and will be reliant on the very few and very late paper notices placed on the buses themselves.

This is not really acceptable - if not in a legal sense, then definitely in a moral and ethical sense!

[Sh4318]

Even just an A4 paper notice on the bus stops, until the timetables are printed, would be better than nothing and pretty easy to do. Doesn't help that even the NX website still show the 48 as going to Bartley Green

I might do a bit of bus bashing today, to see all the fun and games unfold in my area

[winston]

I was travelling back from Northfield this morning on the 48 and while going down Black Haynes Road (the 'old' 29 route), on 3 separate occasions there was passengers at the separate stops that just allowed the bus to go past while obviously oblivious to the fact that the bus they are used to, and still expecting to turn up, never will! I did mention this to the driver when I got off, he simply replied "everyone's confused".

I would of expected (given the lack of changes to timetables and flags) the driver of the service in question to stop the bus and explain to those individuals waiting that the 48 is now the only service to serve the road and advise what would be best to do - this didn't happen and I can only presume those in question had a fairly long wait before realising something wasn't adding up. Instances like this simply can not be justified, the failure to get flags and timetables changed is inexcusable.

Flag & timetable updates are the responsibility of Centro to update not NX as per their partnership agreement, they have as big a part to play in the late notification of these changes, probably more.

From Tony's response it clearly suggests that NX themselves have been delayed from confirming some of the changes, I can only assume some of them stems from Birmingham City Council & the lack of planning for closure of Paradise Circus & alternative routings available out of the City Centre

[2900]

127/8 service, loving the long drive to Dudley on the evening ,128  Oldbury to  brum, 127 brum to Dudley 1h45 mins 17 minute drop back all good come Friday Saturday nite you gonna need it, 127 Dudley to brum ,128 brum to Oldbury just under 4 hours thank you very much a very nice cruise to be honest ,even though my duty was bad one for a Sunday nearly 9 hrs.
From city the times are now plus 4 minutes from old timetable at most timing points.

[2900]

The sainsbury stop blackheath doesn't have 127 on the flag but does have a timetable I got out to have a look. I was wandering whether I was meant to serve blackheath sainsbury stop, my running card had printed blackheath the markets as timing point city bound , blackheath markets timing point on the 127 is for Dudley bound buses as I understand it. The Barclays blackheath stop is flagged 127 city bound so I concluded 127 still serves sainsbury stop then.

[2900]

I,m expecting bedlam this evening on great Charles st and new hall st crossing drivers of all types vehicles not observing the yellow box at the traffic lights.

[Sh4318]

From what I can see from my window, I'm going to enjoy the vehicle allocation of the 50A/C a lot more than the actual route itself. I've saw one ALX, one Gemini and heard what sounded like a 47** Enviro on there so far

[r700a]

From what I can see from my window, I'm going to enjoy the vehicle allocation of the 50A/C a lot more than the actual route itself. I've saw one ALX, one Gemini and heard what sounded like a 47** Enviro on there so far

Ah, so its another one of those routes where they don't put priority on the vehicles used. They'll probably use the oldest possible buses and fall back onto other buses such as the Enviro 400 when needed.

It was very much like this with PN 53, very low priority for 'good' vehicles, if you like.

[Kevin]

From Tony's response it clearly suggests that NX themselves have been delayed from confirming some of the changes, I can only assume some of them stems from Birmingham City Council & the lack of planning for closure of Paradise Circus & alternative routings available out of the City Centre

But does that really excuse the lack of information?
Does it actually mean they couldn't register the other bits of the route and the associated other routes that are affected ie the 48?

[r700a]

But does that really excuse the lack of information?
Does it actually mean they couldn't register the other bits of the route and the associated other routes that are affected ie the 48?

I'm guessing not, probably due to interworkings with other services entering Birmingham.

However, I agree with the lack of information. The example mentioned earlier with people letting the 48 drive past due to being unaware of the change backs this up; earlier and more detailed notices on the buses (and major bus stops) would make a lot more people aware of the changes (even if the flags remained outdated).

Maybe they could have arranged the other changes (outside Birmingham) for a later date; this would prevent the confusion and last minute public notices, caused by the uncertainty of required changes in Birmingham around Paradise Circus.

Others may disagree here, this is just my opinion.

[Tony]

But does that really excuse the lack of information?
Does it actually mean they couldn't register the other bits of the route and the associated other routes that are affected ie the 48?

But the 48 was involved.

If the TC had refused the short notice registration for the 29 then the 48 didn't need to change the same day.

The registration for both services obviously has to be made the same day to apply the same day

In some way or another all of the service changes were tied in to either Solihull Town centre or Paradise Circus. The changes had to apply from yesterday as that was the day the road layouts change, but without getting 8 weeks notice of exact dates and road layouts, services cannot be registered

[Sh4318]

Ah, so its another one of those routes where they don't put priority on the vehicles used. They'll probably use the oldest possible buses and fall back onto other buses such as the Enviro 400 when needed.

It was very much like this with PN 53, very low priority for 'good' vehicles, if you like.

To be honest, I don't think there are enough single decks to cover the 50A/C, so double decks are the only option

[winston]

But the 48 was involved.

If the TC had refused the short notice registration for the 29 then the 48 didn't need to change the same day.

The registration for both services obviously has to be made the same day to apply the same day

In some way or another all of the service changes were tied in to either Solihull Town centre or Paradise Circus. The changes had to apply from yesterday as that was the day the road layouts change, but without getting 8 weeks notice of exact dates and road layouts, services cannot be registered

The only other potential option would have been to delay the road layout changes by an extra couple of weeks so bus operators had more time to notify their passengers & delay the implementation of changes. This then wouldn't happen, as Birmingham City Council would have been hit with extra costs for delays from various other parties including the main contractor responsible for re-building Paradise Circus. As Birmingham City Council aren't overly pro bus, it is the bus passengers that are now suffering for their dithering....

There is always a much bigger picture behind various issues such as these, that most people can't & don't want to see.

[Squiz1971]

The 72 timetables have not been changed on the stops & the bus stop flags from Chelmsley Wood to Solihull still have the 70 on them surely by now this should of been sorted. Did seem strange seeing a 72E for Chelmsley Wood on an inbound journey at Berwick's Lane turning. The new 20 minute frequency to Chelmsley Wood from town will cause a few problems until people get used to it, it is a good job network west midlands have an up to date timetable online so I could get the time for a 72 to Garretts Green Lane for a job interview this morning

[Kevin]

There is always a much bigger picture behind various issues such as these, that most people can't & don't want to see.

I can see it. But....
We knew on here there were going to be changes at least a certain amount of time before they happened.
NX knew there were going to be city centre changes otherwise they wouldn't have delayed releasing their other changes. So why did they have to make those other changes at that time and not another time well in advance?