East Birmingham Sevice Changes - 4th June 2017

[Kevin]

Use it or lose it!!! But in tge majority of the cuts people used it & still lost it.
I'm sorry but for example 94 out of cooks kane & chelmsley rd, could you honestly say those buses weren't used.

71 is going that way so it still gets a service, granted not as frequent but in reality it's only a short way from higher frequency routes, and I doubt many of the people use it all the way to Brum on the 94 so they can in turn afford to make the 94 more direct

They've given up on the 55 anyway which in return has lowered frequency on the Ward End to City section of that corridor. 😕

Yeah I question the person from Claribels having a go at NX for ruining the area they themselves left in favour of carrying fresh air

[Steveminor]

Thats different though as when we left the 55 there was a service in place that passengers could use, so people weren't left without a frequent service.
The 94 change isn't too bad for passenhers monday to saturday daytime as we have a frequent service in place but what about evenings & sundays.
I can also tell you "because I have our figures which wont be as large as nx" but there are a lot of passengers who travel from chelmsley rd & cooks lane to various points on the 94 route. 
But what about tge 71 passengers the other side of chelmsley that have lost their direct link. Ampm used to carry quite a few from kingshurst & castle vale to solihull.
There are a lot of changes tgat are not beneficial to the passengers & i fear that once mps get involved we will be heading inevitably towards franchising.

[Isle of Stroma]

I doubt many of the people use it all the way to Brum on the 94 so they can in turn afford to make the 94 more direct

Yeah I question the person from Claribels having a go at NX for ruining the area they themselves left....

Why would anyone want someone travelling throughout? Far preferable is to have multiple occupants of a seat, each travelling a small distance, as you generate more fare that way. Besides, anyone with any sense* wanting to reach Chelmsley Wood in a hurry & likes making connections catches the non-stop train to Marston Green (as little as 7 minutes from B'ham) for a connecting 'bus & complete the ordeal in as little as 15 minutes. Oh, silly me, I forgot they're naffing up 'bus connections from Marston AGAIN, aren't they?

It's nice that they're speeding up the 94 though. as it will soon be quicker to make most of my 'local' (up to three mile) trips by foot, rather than faffing about waiting for two separate services to materialise.

* Yes, I spotted the paradox as well

[Brummie45]

The CTC school kids use the 94 from Cooks Lane. When I was on the 94 rota at LH we used to have a bus run out of depot to take up 94 service from outside the CTC when school finished. A lot of people also got off the 94 at the top of Chelmsley Road.

Will Claribels stay on Cooks Lane/ Chelmsley Road or change their routing as well. ?

[Steveminor]

We have no plans to take our 94s off cooks lane

[:D]

Does the 8 minute frequency for the 60 really need to cover entirety of its route?

The current 7/8 minute frequency for the 58/59/60 drops to 10 after Swan Centre with the 59 diverging from its route and then down to 15 after the 58 turning right into Gilbertstone Avenue from Coventry Road. This works well because that area doesn't really need that many buses especially that most people choose X1/X2 instead.

I was wondering what theoretical frequency the 60 could have for the section between City Centre and Swan Centre if a half of all buses were to be turned back at Swan Centre like they do on Sundays?

[Kevin]

Does the 8 minute frequency for the 60 really need to cover entirety of its route?

The current 7/8 minute frequency for the 58/59/60 drops to 10 after Swan Centre with the 59 diverging from its route and then down to 15 after the 58 turning right into Gilbertstone Avenue from Coventry Road. This works well because that area doesn't really need that many buses especially that most people choose X1/X2 instead.

I was wondering what theoretical frequency the 60 could have for the section between City Centre and Swan Centre if a half of all buses were to be turned back at Swan Centre like they do on Sundays?

X1 and X2 are having some stops removed so probably accounts for that as well

[:D]

X1 and X2 are having some stops removed so probably accounts for that as well

I did a quick search and I think they'll miss out 3 additional bus stops when travelling out of the city. Bus stop near Deakins Road, Swan Centre (next to the office, not shopping centre), and Clay Lane (the job centre) are skipped.

I'm not still sure if that justifies the 8 minute frequency.

If my calculations are any good, having half of the buses to terminate at Swan Centre could mean 7 minute frequency for the western section of the route.

Not much of a saving then.

[Stu]

My post on this subject on my WMBU Facebook page is breaking all records for 'reach' (for my page of course):

Certainly seems to be a very 'hot potato' for many people over this side of Birmingham!

Most common complaint seems to be having to catch two buses to get anywhere now, and there's a lot of the usual rubbish about taxis being cheaper, or switching to cars. But the general consensus is that a lot of passengers are going to be inconvenienced by, rather than benefit from, these changes.

I think one lesson to be learned from this, is that any future network reviews just be undertaken by TfWM/Network West Midlands, and be much better publicised so passengers can engage and take part. The feeling here is that NX Bus have gone ahead and made all these changes to benefit themselves, rather than the passengers. What about this so called 'bus alliance'? All partners (ie other operators) in the area should have been involved and consulted, as we're going to end up with a disjointed network where NX's 94 follows a new route, while Claribels continue to follow the existing one, as an example.

Sadly, I think a lot of these changes will end up being undone, or changed again, before the end of the year. Certainly we may see our new mayor facing some pressure early on in their new career.

[Trident 4194]

Wonder how many people will get muddled up with the X1, x2, and I suppose the x12 is a combination of both of these services. Feel sorry for passengers who see an 'X' and think it will be a quick route to Solihull, not knowing they have to go through the airport first.

Interesting that NX like cutting routes In half essentially, and there was no reliability issues with the above services this time was there?

[andy41]

I've already had my say about the stupidity of forcing established through passengers into changing buses in such numbers as these alterations will. What I forgot to mention was the cynicism (which I have mentioned before) of creating double hits on concessionary claims for passengers making the same journey in 4 trips that they previously did in 2. When multiplied by the concessionary users in that area, this will cost TfWM a considerable amount through no action of their own, and in turn create extra revenue for NX against lower cost.

[j789]

Whilst such details probably wouldn't be released, one of the reasons for such changes as these may be to do with the amount of money currently received for concession passers. I genuinely do not think NXWM are putting in these changes to try to get more money off fare payers, that argument  doesnt make sense to me, but I do think it is aimed at getting more concession pass holders having to scan twice where currently they scan once. I don't know how much companies receive per pass (from 'people in the know' at work it does not seem very much at all) but it makes good business sense to increase the number of passes scanned as they are then doubling their revenue for the same journey. Perhaps if the councils actually paid bus companies a decent amount for these pass holders these changes wouldn't be needed.
There was a similar network review at First in Worcester over the last couple of years where former cross city routes were split up to terminate at the city only so two journeys became necessary. Whilst this was initially unpopular with passengers they soon adjusted to it and I'm pretty sure the extra concession passes that must be now scanned are greatly received by the finance department. With so must cost pressures on the industry, unfortunately things like this seem like the way of the future. I put the blame squarely at the door of the government and their lack of support and vision for the bus industry.

[j789]

I've already had my say about the stupidity of forcing established through passengers into changing buses in such numbers as these alterations will. What I forgot to mention was the cynicism (which I have mentioned before) of creating double hits on concessionary claims for passengers making the same journey in 4 trips that they previously did in 2. When multiplied by the concessionary users in that area, this will cost TfWM a considerable amount through no action of their own, and in turn create extra revenue for NX against lower cost.

Further to my above post I don't think you can blame NXWM for trying to make more revenue from pass holders. Working in the industry I get infuriated by the misuse of passes and the payment for using them seems unsatisfactory to say the least!

[Steveminor]

@Tony may be able to confirm if im right on this, but NX are not payed per pass for the concessionary pass holders but simply agree a price with tfwm for the whole year. Therefore they will not gain by making pensioners catch 2 buses.

[andy41]

@Tony may be able to confirm if im right on this, but NX are not payed per pass for the concessionary pass holders but simply agree a price with tfwm for the whole year. Therefore they will not gain by making pensioners catch 2 buses.

If that's the case then it's probably commercially sensitive information and I doubt he will be able to confirm it. Personally I thought local authorities ended those sorts of arrangements some years ago.