Closure of Travel Shops

[JoNi]

Birmingham Evening Mail has reported that National Express are closing travel shops.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/bus-station-travel-shops-axed-21577808
Presumably as a result of "Swiftification" (TfWMism not mine) of travel!

[2206]

Birmingham Evening Mail has reported that National Express are closing travel shops.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/bus-station-travel-shops-axed-21577808
Presumably as a result of "Swiftification" (TfWMism not mine) of travel!

There was a queue outside the one on Corporation Street the one day recently when I went past, but I guess passes/tickets can be purchased online and as the article says that is probably what most do now anyway.

[mesub]

Birmingham Evening Mail has reported that National Express are closing travel shops.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/bus-station-travel-shops-axed-21577808
Presumably as a result of "Swiftification" (TfWMism not mine) of travel!

Was just about to make a thread about this :o.

It is true that most tickets can be now be done more locally or online though. It does mean that you would need to wait a few days for a swift card if you're a new customer compared to just going to a travel shop and getting a new one pretty much instantly.

[Westy]

Had a look at the Payzone locator & there are a few within walking distance to me, but I remember having a conversation with one of the Walsall staff a few years ago, & they told me that one outlet actually issued a travel pass for a different area of the country, which does not fill me with confidence.

Certainly will have a chat with the staff next time I go in, certainly to show my appreciation of the service over the years.

I remember the Walsall shop being in at least 3 different locations, the corner of St Pauls St, the old Taylors Music Shop in Bridge Street(initially using both upstairs & downstairs), then into the current location.

I guess this means the end of the timetable leaflets(if there was a plan for them to come back in the first place!), unless there is an alternative plan eventually?

I know Arriva put leaflets in Cannock Shopping Centre, but do Chaserider do so as well?

I know last time my sister purchased her pass, instead of going through work, she had to set up an account with NX.

Under this 'new' system, will it be easy to change the type of pass wanted, from a Walsall Nbus back to a regional Nbus if needed?

I normally have monthlys, while my sister has a yearly pass.

[Tony]

Had a look at the Payzone locator & there are a few within walking distance to me, but I remember having a conversation with one of the Walsall staff a few years ago, & they told me that one outlet actually issued a travel pass for a different area of the country, which does not fill me with confidence.

Well as the Payzone system hasn't been going  'a few years' that sounds a bit of a dodgy story

[Smethwickian]

Oh, dear. Not everyone is online and neither are all bus company or transport authority websites a model of clarity when it comes to simple matters like finding a timetable or map.
I'm guessing that this means the anti-paper brigade will get their way and we'll never see another printed publicity item because there's no outlets for people to obtain them anyway.
This comes on top of Network West Midlands' de-facto closure of its Birmingham travel shop, meaning that the UK's second city will have no tourist information centre and no travel information centre.
It's not like Brum's economy needs every penny it can get from visitors or that there are any big events in the next 12 months attracting thousands of people from around the globe.......

[2206]

Oh, dear. Not everyone is online and neither are all bus company or transport authority websites a model of clarity when it comes to simple matters like finding a timetable or map.

NX Website seems to be one of the simplest to use and find timetables/maps of all operators.

This comes on top of Network West Midlands' de-facto closure of its Birmingham travel shop, meaning that the UK's second city will have no tourist information centre

I think Birmingham Library at Centenary Square has a tourist information desk last time I went in there.

[the trainbasher]

Tbf the closures have been going on for ages. Merry Hill hasn't had a travel shop for 10 years, and Stourbridge is just a rack of timetables since the redevelopment of that bus station.

[Westy]

Does Wolves still have it's rack of timetables by the loos in the bus station?

Does Bilston & Wednesbury still have it's own racks as well?

If all the remaining bus station travelshops were replaced by racks, would TfWM staff still maintain them?

Even if Covid wasn't around, I'd say not.

Local libraries, I would have said, could've been an adequate replacement, if not for sharing premises, certainly for the timetable information, assuming the staff didn't hide the leaflets behind the counter, then charge you for the priviledge, but are libraries opening up yet?

I don't think any of Walsall's are open yet as far as I know.

[2206]

Does Wolves still have it's rack of timetables by the loos in the bus station?

Does Bilston & Wednesbury still have it's own racks as well?

If all the remaining bus station travelshops were replaced by racks, would TfWM staff still maintain them?

Even if Covid wasn't around, I'd say not.

Local libraries, I would have said, could've been an adequate replacement, if not for sharing premises, certainly for the timetable information, assuming the staff didn't hide the leaflets behind the counter, then charge you for the priviledge, but are libraries opening up yet?

I don't think any of Walsall's are open yet as far as I know.

Library in Ward End on the Washwood Heath Road always has the front door open when I go past on the 94/95, so yeah they are all open and probably have been for a while.

[Ian Hardy]

Oh, dear. Not everyone is online and neither are all bus company or transport authority websites a model of clarity when it comes to simple matters like finding a timetable or map.
I'm guessing that this means the anti-paper brigade will get their way and we'll never see another printed publicity item because there's no outlets for people to obtain them anyway.
This comes on top of Network West Midlands' de-facto closure of its Birmingham travel shop, meaning that the UK's second city will have no tourist information centre and no travel information centre.
It's not like Brum's economy needs every penny it can get from visitors or that there are any big events in the next 12 months attracting thousands of people from around the globe.......

The UK's capital city does like paper either and hasn't for over 10 years, the only paper public transport related item that TfL produces is the Tube Map and even that is wrong titled (as most of the Underground is not in a tube - the underground bits of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines are cut and cover tunnels) and it only shows a subset of the rail network in London, i.e. only the TfL operated bits, so it shows the TfL Rail line out to Reading and is only showing the Thameslink on a temporary basis until the temporary closure of Northern line in Spring 2022 finishes and the TfL will remove it.
You cannot even download bus timetables from the TfL website, you have use a site created by a private individual to get that info: http://www.londonbusroutes.net/; at least in the West Midlands you can get a bus timetable from Network West Midlands & NXWM's websites.

[Stu]

There are two problems that I see with regards to printed timetable leaflets:

1) the cost of designing, printing and distributing them
2) the fact that it doesn't take much for them to become out of date, considering the amount of timetable and route changes that seem to take place

While a great number of people do have access to resources online in order to plan a journey or to find accurate timetable information, I do accept that there are still people who don't have such access, and would probably find such printed material invaluable.

But equally I can sympathise with TfWM and individual bus operators, who may be reluctant to spend large sums of money designing, printing and distributing thousands of such leaflets, if only a small number of people are ever going to pick one up and find it useful.

And likewise, if a large number of leaflets are ordered and printed, only for the timetable to be 'adjusted' a few weeks or couple of months later, it becomes a huge waste of paper if those leaflets end up having to be binned because they are now 'out-of-date'.

I really don't know what the 'answer' or solution should be, but it would probably be a good start to ensure that 'at stop' printed timetable information is kept 'up-to-date' as possible, as well as ensuring that resources are available at major nterchanges. But the key advice to passengers, especially those travelling to unfamiliar areas, is to plan in advance.

[2206]

And likewise, if a large number of leaflets are ordered and printed, only for the timetable to be 'adjusted' a few weeks or couple of months later, it becomes a huge waste of paper if those leaflets end up having to be binned because they are now 'out-of-date'.

From what I heard on a NX A12 service a few years back now, the elderly users of that service found the printed timetables in Solihull Library useful, post closure of the travelshop, so they know what time the bus is coming, etc. I would think timetables could be put out in places like that, or at least someone there who can print the timetable information for them from TFWM/NX site as needed perhaps as that saves wasted paper and places like that already have printers.

[BBS]

From what I heard on a NX A12 service a few years back now, the elderly users of that service found the printed timetables in Solihull Library useful, post closure of the travelshop, so they know what time the bus is coming, etc. I would think timetables could be put out in places like that, or at least someone there who can print the timetable information for them from TFWM/NX site as needed perhaps as that saves wasted paper and places like that already have printers.

landflight a12 has good demand too

[Westy]

I gave Aston Manor all my old timetable leaflets & bus maps this weekend, as I'd originally conversed with them over Facebook over the past couple of years whether they would be able to take them off my hands & they said they would, as they would be able to update their archives & as I suggested, flog what they didn't want in the shop, like I've bought old timetables off them in the past, so I thought my large donation would be of use. 

With help from my sister, I took one batch over there yesterday & accepted no problem.

Today, I took the rest of the stuff over there & there was a bloke in a suit, presumbly the head honcho.

I showed him the donation & he initially refused it, as there was no market for the timetables, as they were too recent(Talking earliest 2017 up to early 2020, as they stopped doing the timetables then!).

I stood my ground, saying I'd been conversing with someone there over Facebook & they said yes, but he said they shouldn't have.

I said what shall I do with them.

'Take them to the Recycling', was the reply. (Bearing in mind I don't know Aldridge that well, where the nearest recycling point was!)

Luckliy the old chap that saw me yesterday said he'd sort them out for me, but they should have said they wasn't taking donations before  I brought them all the way over.

Anyone know what Wythall were doing with donations?