Lack of investment in ex-Lea Hall routes in East Bham

[monkeyjoe]

That's because they don't give a toss about the corridor.



Posts onwards split from Perry Barr garage thread - Stu

[Busboy105]

That's because they don't give a toss about the corridor.

True that. I still don't know why they don't upgrade the Lea Hall routes. The 97 is in the top three most popular routes in Birmingham (and the Midlands for that matter) and it's still rocking up with 15 year old tridents while the 50 which operates at a similar frequency gets new buses every 2-3 years.

[2206]

True that. I still don't know why they don't upgrade the Lea Hall routes. The 97 is in the top three most popular routes in Birmingham (and the Midlands for that matter) and it's still rocking up with 15 year old tridents while the 50 which operates at a similar frequency gets new buses every 2-3 years.

I agree and in other areas all the high frequency routes have new/newer buses, South and West Birmingham.
55/94 also combine to high frequency service as well, every 4 minutes.

[Tony]

I agree and in other areas all the high frequency routes have new/newer buses, South and West Birmingham.
55/94 also combine to high frequency service as well, every 4 minutes.

New buses recently have been put on routes where the council have agreed to do road improvements at the same time

[winston]

True that. I still don't know why they don't upgrade the Lea Hall routes. The 97 is in the top three most popular routes in Birmingham (and the Midlands for that matter) and it's still rocking up with 15 year old tridents while the 50 which operates at a similar frequency gets new buses every 2-3 years.

The 50 & 4 (former 37) have had new buses typically every 4-5 years, certainly not every 2-3 years.

[monkeyjoe]

The 50 & 4 (former 37) have had new buses typically every 4-5 years, certainly not every 2-3 years.

That's a lot more often than the lea hall routes, takes the Micheal any beyond.

[busboy31]

Network West Midlands logo has been removed on the front of some buses.

[winston]

That's a lot more often than the lea hall routes, takes the Micheal any beyond.

There may well be a partnership agreement in place that dictates why that occurs or they're the most profitable / high growth routes.

As you don't use ex Lea Hall routes, I'm surprised you're constantly whining about the buses allocated too them....

Even Claribel's have cut back the frequency of their 94, so they can't be that lucrative.

[Tony]

Network West Midlands logo has been removed on the front of some buses.

Being removed from the front of all buses

[Westy]

Presumbly as it's now 'West Midlands Network'.

[Stu]

True that. I still don't know why they don't upgrade the Lea Hall routes. The 97 is in the top three most popular routes in Birmingham (and the Midlands for that matter) and it's still rocking up with 15 year old tridents while the 50 which operates at a similar frequency gets new buses every 2-3 years.

You clearly don't know how much it costs to buy a brand new bus. Or how to run a business.

There are plenty of other routes across the West Midlands area 'rocking up with 15 year old Tridents'.

It's all about getting the best return for your investment. Don't forget, these '15 year old Tridents' were once brand new buses for other routes, just as much as formerly 'brand new' buses for the 9 and 50 are now on the 11A/C.

The 97 will get its turn in due course, it is simply not viable for a company like NX Bus to replace its whole fleet with brand new vehicles every few years, not unless you'd be happy for bus fares to increase from £2.40 to £16.  ;)

[Busboy105]

You clearly don't know how much it costs to buy a brand new bus. Or how to run a business.

There are plenty of other routes across the West Midlands area 'rocking up with 15 year old Tridents'.

It's all about getting the best return for your investment. Don't forget, these '15 year old Tridents' were once brand new buses for other routes, just as much as formerly 'brand new' buses for the 9 and 50 are now on the 11A/C.

The 97 will get its turn in due course, it is simply not viable for a company like NX Bus to replace its whole fleet with brand new vehicles every few years, not unless you'd be happy for bus fares to increase from £2.40 to £16.  ;)

Actually I do know how a business works and I am aware of how much new buses will cost.
Me and several members of the forum are just asking why NX continue to ignore the Lea Hall routes in terms of investment considering that there are some high profile routes on that side of Birmingham given that there has been two major changes to routes within the last 10 years.

[2206]

It's all about getting the best return for your investment. Don't forget, these '15 year old Tridents' were once brand new buses for other routes, just as much as formerly 'brand new' buses for the 9 and 50 are now on the 11A/C.

The 15 year old Tridents were new for the 94 in 2003. They moved onto the 97 around the time Lea Hall closed and replaced the Omnilinks which were new for the route. They were replaced on the 94 by older ALX400 B7TL  at the time.
So the last time the 97 saw an upgrade was when the Omnilinks were new in 2007.

[Tony]

Actually I do know how a business works and I am aware of how much new buses will cost.
Me and several members of the forum are just asking why NX continue to ignore the Lea Hall routes in terms of investment considering that there are some high profile routes on that side of Birmingham given that there has been two major changes to routes within the last 10 years.

There's a lot more than you realise though. If the council says "We will put a new bus lane in if you put new buses on route x' then the double improvement of new buses and a better journey will increase revenue more than just replacing buses on whichever route has the oldest.

[monkeyjoe]

I have a portfolio of accounts I look after and each year I am targeted to grow them all, if I ignored them in the same way nxbus ignore the east (sorry 94,97,55,14) I would be out of a job. The reason they can get away with it , they have a practical monopoly. It's clearly evident.