Service changes 28th April 2019

[Gareth]

that would be good to see the scanias struggle to cope at peak times on the 55

The Scanias get busy at peaks, as do all buses, but 'struggling to cope' is a vast exaggeration.

[2206]

The Scanias get busy at peaks, as do all buses, but 'struggling to cope' is a vast exaggeration.

I'd agree that they do struggle to cope at peak times. They're regularly having to leave people behind at the stops on the peak journeys I use and rammed full of passengers.
With no seats available at all.

[Stu]

The Scanias get busy at peaks, as do all buses, but 'struggling to cope' is a vast exaggeration.

I'd agree that they do struggle to cope at peak times. They're regularly having to leave people behind at the stops on the peak journeys I use and rammed full of passengers.

The same applies to any frequent service operated by single-deckers. As soon as 'gaps' appear in service due to traffic congestion, naturally as queues build up at stops, people will always try and force themselves onto the first bus arrives.

If people would learn to use the apps available to them on their smartphones, one will learn that following a gap in service, normally one or two buses will arrive in quick succession. The first one will obviously be rammed full, while if you wait another minute or so, the one following behind may well be less full.

It obviously doesn't help with single deckers where you get a number of passengers that would rather stand in the most awkward and narrow part of the bus, rather than taking any seat that is available, even if that means sitting next to a fellow human being! Once two or three people are standing in the narrow gangway between the front wheels, any other passengers that get on automatically assume there are no seats, and so stand there too, crowding the platform area by the drivers cab, because they simply can't move down the bus.

Believe me, I've seen this myself; I have fought my way through this crowding and found many seats available towards the rear of the bus. And it infuriates me, because there are some drivers that will look up at their rear view mirror, see a huge crowd of people standing at the front and assume there is no more room, and then start driving past stops.

Sometimes I just want to scream "USE THE SEATS AVAILABLE!"

Because believe me it is also no fun to try and fight your way off an overcrowded bus too.

[2206]

The same applies to any frequent service operated by single-deckers. As soon as 'gaps' appear in service due to traffic congestion, naturally as queues build up at stops, people will always try and force themselves onto the first bus arrives.

If people would learn to use the apps available to them on their smartphones, one will learn that following a gap in service, normally one or two buses will arrive in quick succession. The first one will obviously be rammed full, while if you wait another minute or so, the one following behind may well be less full.

I don't blame them to be honest, if the one infront pulls away and the one behind turns up a minute later you get told you should have got the one infront "because you are making the bus later".
Often the next one doesn't stop and usually won't stop and goes speeding past to overtake if there is one behind.
I don't blame them if they don't want to be stood round waiting all day for one in say 10 minutes time, etc.

Most of the time when they drive past all the stops, its because there's actually no more room.

[monkeyjoe]

The Scanias get busy at peaks, as do all buses, but 'struggling to cope' is a vast exaggeration.

Let's face it it's an ex lea hall route so progress is likely to be minimal.

[Brick60000]

Presumably the X3 will now accept Your Staffordshire cards for journeys through to Lichfield?

[l.murphy123]

Been on the X51 today from my stop in Great Wyrley... really good to see people using it. Only thing I'd say is it would be better to go down green lane like it did previous as there are too many buses down bloxwich road! Also the next stop announcements hadn't been updated but besides that they've hit the nail on the head!

[Tony]

Been on the X51 today from my stop in Great Wyrley... really good to see people using it. Only thing I'd say is it would be better to go down green lane like it did previous as there are too many buses down bloxwich road! Also the next stop announcements hadn't been updated but besides that they've hit the nail on the head!

There's hardly any houses down Green Lane, you give far more people a direct service to Birmingham going down Bloxwich Road

[l.murphy123]

people will always try and force themselves onto the first bus arrives.

This happened today on the X51 from Brum... I looked on the app and there was another due 1 minute later but everyone crowded onto the 1st bus to the point the driver had to stop anymore getting on. Then 30 seconds later the next X51 turned up and there were less than ten of us that got on!

[woody38]

There's hardly any houses down Green Lane, you give far more people a direct service to Birmingham going down Bloxwich Road

saw the buses at Cannock today, I thought that about Green Lane being better than Bloxwich Road, there's more congestion along Bloxwich Road, Green Lane is a bit quicker. With journeys taking around 1 hour 20 from Cannock, even 5 minutes of the journey time would help.

[Westy]

There's hardly any houses down Green Lane, you give far more people a direct service to Birmingham going down Bloxwich Road

What about routing it via Beechdale then we keep our Nx service down Somerfield Road?

[l.murphy123]

What about routing it via Beechdale then we keep our Nx service down Somerfield Road?

That would make it even longer. Most people I see get on the 31/32 when ive used it down Bloxwich Road have a day saver so changing in Walsall for them as they did before wouldn't be a massive issue.

[Tony]

That would make it even longer. Most people I see get on the 31/32 when ive used it down Bloxwich Road have a day saver so changing in Walsall for them as they did before wouldn't be a massive issue.

Your a bus fan it won't be a massive issue to you or most existing bus users. The whole point National Express are trying to do is attract extra passengers, people who currently use one car to make a journey. They don't change cars part way to work. If they are to catch a bus they want to get on and get off at their destination. There is absolutely no point whatsoever spending hundreds of thousands of pounds running a new service just to help your existing passengers.

[Bob]

Saw an X51 leaving cannock on the Walsall Road around 230-235 ish today. Had a few passengers on to be fair. But didnt see any timetables at stops unfortunately. Does it leave from same stand as the Arriva 1?

[evo mark]

yes it goes from the same stand but they had a brackdown already today