Coventry service changes - 29th Aug 2021

[JPC]

Blimey, quite a few surprises ... my initial thoughts:

1 - I don't really understand the rerouting nor the Coundon extension, apart from giving an extra daytime bus per hour between City & Canley Station resulting in a imbalanced headway, there obviously was a plan for this to extend all the way to Arena Park which hasn't come to fruition, I suppose there has been some wrangling or disagreement with TfWM.  I don't expect this to last a long time in this form.
2 - Should be more reliable than current service.
5 - The Radford - Arena Park section has degraded to a hourly 'shopping service' and buses will be inefficiently parked at Arena for 27 mins which is probably a make shift due to the above.
7 - Similar to the pre-2006 route.
5A/7A - Rather short journeys to Coundon but also a harkback to the past.
9/9A - I suppose Stoney and Humphrey Burton's Rd have had it too good for too long.
18A - Nicely integrated with the existing 18 makes good sense and shouldn't bother Canley locals too much as from their perspective is an 'against flow' service, the current setup is typically one full and one empty bus nearly in unison.
19 - very surprised this is going to run via Leamington Road and A45 Kenpas Highway.
24/25/25A - all now run along Leamington Rd with stops added on St Martins Rd and Brentwood Avenue in Finham, a much improved hourly service as far as Baginton village/Rowley Rd - generally improved overall utilising more buses.

[paulb1973]

Blimey, quite a few surprises ... my initial thoughts:

1 - I don't really understand the rerouting nor the Coundon extension, apart from giving an extra daytime bus per hour between City & Canley Station resulting in a imbalanced headway, there obviously was a plan for this to extend all the way to Arena Park which hasn't come to fruition, I suppose there has been some wrangling or disagreement with TfWM.  I don't expect this to last a long time in this form.
2 - Should be more reliable than current service.
5 - The Radford - Arena Park section has degraded to a hourly 'shopping service' and buses will be inefficiently parked at Arena for 27 mins which is probably a make shift due to the above.
7 - Similar to the pre-2006 route.
5A/7A - Rather short journeys to Coundon but also a harkback to the past.
9/9A - I suppose Stoney and Humphrey Burton's Rd have had it too good for too long.
18A - Nicely integrated with the existing 18 makes good sense and shouldn't bother Canley locals too much as from their perspective is an 'against flow' service, the current setup is typically one full and one empty bus nearly in unison.
19 - very surprised this is going to run via Leamington Road and A45 Kenpas Highway.
24/25/25A - all now run along Leamington Rd with stops added on St Martins Rd and Brentwood Avenue in Finham, a much improved hourly service as far as Baginton village/Rowley Rd - generally improved overall utilising more buses.

The re-routing of the 1 renders Queensland Avenue without a bus service - is that correct? An Earlsdon to Chapelfields link is maintained albeit by another route. I assume the Earlsdon area will benefit slightly with both the 1 & 2 running along Earlsdon Street (or do I have the routing of service 1 wrong).

Service 5 short journeys (assuming they do exist) will end at Burnaby Rd/Holbrook Lane or do the circle around Everdon Road and come back again?

[JoNi]

The re-routing of the 1 renders Queensland Avenue without a bus service - is that correct? An Earlsdon to Chapelfields link is maintained albeit by another route. I assume the Earlsdon area will benefit slightly with both the 1 & 2 running along Earlsdon Street (or do I have the routing of service 1 wrong).

Service 5 short journeys (assuming they do exist) will end at Burnaby Rd/Holbrook Lane or do the circle around Everdon Road and come back again?

The 1 goes via Corporation Street rather than via the station as well leaving Pool Meadow at xx.17
1 terminates at "The Cedars" in Coundon. It also runs non stop through Whoberley from Broad Lane to bottom of Grayswood Avenue because there are no stops in Glendower Avenue, plenty of parked cars!
The 2 goes same way as 10 at xx.02 and xx.32 from Pool Meadow.
Routes take more than hour to do round trip so 2 and 19 could interwork.
Handy way of converting Earlsdon to E200.

[paulb1973]

The 1 goes via Corporation Street rather than via the station as well leaving Pool Meadow at xx.17
1 terminates at "The Cedars" in Coundon. It also runs non stop through Whoberley from Broad Lane to bottom of Grayswood Avenue because there are no stops in Glendower Avenue, plenty of parked cars!
The 2 goes same way as 10 at xx.02 and xx.32 from Pool Meadow.
Routes take more than hour to do round trip so 2 and 19 could interwork.
Handy way of converting Earlsdon to E200.

I assume then the 1 will traverse Albany Rd, Earlsdon St etc to Canley Station then head for Broad Lane, before dropping down Glendower Avenue (as you say, could be tight along there) and into Grayswood Avenue. Thereafter; Kingsbury Rd, Forefield Rd, Courtland Ave up to the Cedars roundabout. So no more 1 around Belvedere Road, Earlsdon Ave South/North and so-on. With the 5/5A running into Coundon - whats the point of this extension?

Couldn't the 2 just remain with the service number 10 - it now means all the bus stops along the current route 10 need changing City to Tile Hill (in fact on the other side of the city as well).

[JoNi]

I assume then the 1 will traverse Albany Rd, Earlsdon St etc to Canley Station then head for Broad Lane, before dropping down Glendower Avenue (as you say, could be tight along there) and into Grayswood Avenue. Thereafter; Kingsbury Rd, Forefield Rd, Courtland Ave up to the Cedars roundabout. So no more 1 around Belvedere Road, Earlsdon Ave South/North and so-on. With the 5/5A running into Coundon - whats the point of this extension?

Couldn't the 2 just remain with the service number 10 - it now means all the bus stops along the current route 10 need changing City to Tile Hill (in fact on the other side of the city as well).

You make a valid point about the 10, indeed all stops in Earlsdon will have to change as 1 will have to be removed from Belvedere Road area as well.
If the cost of replacing all those 10 bus stops was stopped out of the salary of whoever decided to unnecessarily change the number (not only the flags but cost of staff going out to change them and TfWM backroom staffs time, bus maps etc.) I'm sure that person would take your advice.
You can't cost the aggrevation caused to front line staff who have deal with confused passengers.

[Sandy Lane]

Whats happening to the other half of the 1 route from City out to Walsgrave? I think someone said it will be the 29?

[Lukeeee2018]

Whats happening to the other half of the 1 route from City out to Walsgrave? I think someone said it will be the 29?

From this, it looks like that it was originally going to be the 29/29A but there has been a variation to it which shows the 1 (City to Coundon).

https://www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk/search/find-registered-local-bus-services/details/583308/

[JPC]

Whats happening to the other half of the 1 route from City out to Walsgrave? I think someone said it will be the 29?

The 85 and 85b is amended to takeover/cover the 1 route between Gosford St and University Hospital. (85s and 585s will continue to serve Walsgrave Rd and Ansty Rd).

Service 5 short journeys (assuming they do exist) will end at Burnaby Rd/Holbrook Lane or do the circle around Everdon Road and come back again?

During Mon-Sat daytimes every other bus will turn short at Jubilee Crescent, during the evenings and Sundays all journeys only operate as far as Burnaby Rd/Holbrook Lane - and these also seem set to be parked up here for over half a hour (unless there is some sneaky interworking I haven't yet figured out).  Nothing is scheduled to turnaround at Norman Place Rd anymore - that turnaround what's having or had some costly work done to it! ::)   I hope you don't mind me saying it all smells like a right botch up.

[paulb1973]

The 85 and 85b is amended to takeover/cover the 1 route between Gosford St and University Hospital. (85s and 585s will continue to serve Walsgrave Rd and Ansty Rd).
During Mon-Sat daytimes every other bus will turn short at Jubilee Crescent, during the evenings and Sundays all journeys only operate as far as Burnaby Rd/Holbrook Lane - and these also seem set to be parked up here for over half a hour (unless there is some sneaky interworking I haven't yet figured out).  Nothing is scheduled to turnaround at Norman Place Rd anymore - that turnaround what's having or had some costly work done to it! ::)   I hope you don't mind me saying it all smells like a right botch up.

So the 5 (along with parallel for a bit 5A to Coundon, but not at Norman Place Rd!) will end at Radford (Jubilee Cres) and further along at Burnaby Rd (is that to be called 'Radford' as well?). Are the longer 5 journeys towards the Arena Shopping Park via Everdon Rd to be maintained also. Seems rather complex for what was a fairly simple set-up originally.

Coundon will appear as the terminal point on three different services then (1, 5A, 7A) who'd have thought it! Suddenly the areas seems blessed with bus services. The 7A shorter journeys to boost services in that particular district, I assume.

[Sandy Lane]

The 85 and 85b is amended to takeover/cover the 1 route between Gosford St and University Hospital. (85s and 585s will continue to serve Walsgrave Rd and Ansty Rd).

Blimey it will be confusing then? So is this right then? The 85 & 85b will go on the Binley Rd and the 85s and 585s will go on the Ansty Rd.

[ellspurs]

Blimey it will be confusing then? So is this right then? The 85 & 85b will go on the Binley Rd and the 85s and 585s will go on the Ansty Rd.

Aren't the 85s/585s just school services, or do they operate that hour's journey for the 85?

[Sandy Lane]

Aren't the 85s/585s just school services, or do they operate that hour's journey for the 85?

It all does not make sense to me? Guess there is something we havent clocked yet. When will NXC show the new timtables?

[ellspurs]

Traveline is showing that there is an 0710 service 85 and also a 0710 service 85S, with the 585S running five minutes later. This might be why the school services are running direct, as the 85 has a school-variant time as well.

[JoNi]

Traveline is showing that there is an 0710 service 85 and also a 0710 service 85S, with the 585S running five minutes later. This might be why the school services are running direct, as the 85 has a school-variant time as well.

Traveline shows 585S going via Ansty Road and 85 going via Binley Road.
There are no intermediate timing points added to 85/A leading to confusion as Bustimes doesn't  appreciate route still has existing route beyond route change date. Bustimes has the ability to cope with revised routes.
85S and 585S are both shown as operating as "closed door" services for school children only, although this is unlikely in the case of the "85S".

[Sandy Lane]

The 85 and 85b is amended to takeover/cover the 1 route between Gosford St and University Hospital. (85s and 585s will continue to serve Walsgrave Rd and Ansty Rd).

Looking back over time the 1 and the 585 both served the train station. Will the new 85 route call in at the station? If not then it will be a bad move for bus users.