Diamond Bus Service Changes 15th April 2023

[the trainbasher]

As mentioned by Simon Dunn in the Rotala Management thread, service 226 is set to be withdrawn alongside services 45 (I assume it is the Walsall 45) and 002.

https://www.diamondbuses.com/news/45_002_226-services/

Since COVID we have been working in partnership with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) in the hope that these services would recover. Since the end of August 2022 we have continued to sustain losses. The decline in viability of these routes is linked to the escalation in labour and operating costs and the lack of income growth. In January 2023, service revisions were put in place to try and align the income and expenditure of these routes and improve their viability.      
This alignment has subsequently failed, and Diamond Bus has now reluctantly taken the decision to cancel our 45, 002 and 226 services from 15^th April 2023.  

[MW]

As mentioned by Simon Dunn in the Rotala Management thread, service 226 is set to be withdrawn alongside services 45 (I assume it is the Walsall 45) and 002.

https://www.diamondbuses.com/news/45_002_226-services/

A similar strategy to what happened in Redditch last year to get the local authority to stump up some cash.

[metrocity]

A similar strategy to what happened in Redditch last year to get the local authority to stump up some cash.

Not necessarily. If TFWM actually get round to delivering the promised 'bonfire of tickets' that should already be in place by now, that might well suffice !

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/bus-fares-simplified-bonfire-bus-25232888

[winston]

Not necessarily. If TFWM actually get round to delivering the promised 'bonfire of tickets' that should already be in place by now, that might well suffice !

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/bus-fares-simplified-bonfire-bus-25232888

I've noticed the Dudley area tendered routes that Diamond have taken over from NX, don't carry the same number of passengers they did when operated by NX. 

The NX 28 Halesowen end was busier than Diamond's 142A.

NX 11A was busier than Diamond's 25 Merry Hill end currently is too. 

[j789]

Not necessarily. If TFWM actually get round to delivering the promised 'bonfire of tickets' that should already be in place by now, that might well suffice !

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/bus-fares-simplified-bonfire-bus-25232888

But what % of passengers currently are inconvenienced by this so called 'array of ticket options?'

I'd guess a very low % indeed, the majority use only NX services so wouldn't notice any change and the small % of users needing cross operator tickets is likely not sufficient to justify such a move.

How would this be funded? NX aren't going to just accept losing revenue from losing the independence of promoting their own tickets where 100% revenue goes to them.  With cross operator tickets, even if the passenger only used 1 operator's services, then that operator would NOT receive the full 100% revenue paid by the passenger as only a certain % goes to the each operator - even if they got 95% it still wouldn't match the 100% revenue that the operator gets now.

I get that the smaller companies want a bigger slice of the financial pie, but ultimately this has to come from increased government subsidy for bus operators, not infeasible brain fart ideas like this.

What will ultimately happen if this gets brought in will be that operators will expect the same income as present so the day ticket prices will have to rise to pay for this. This doesn't benefit passengers in a time of increased costs pretty much everywhere at the moment, if anything the government should be looking at ways to subsidise reduced fares in the long term.

[MasterPlan]

As mentioned by Simon Dunn in the Rotala Management thread, service 226 is set to be withdrawn alongside services 45 (I assume it is the Walsall 45) and 002.

https://www.diamondbuses.com/news/45_002_226-services/

Wow, I didn't think I'd ever see the 002 being withdrawn completely. Cut back to Merry Hill - Halesowen maybe but altogether...?

[the trainbasher]

The thing is, if operators keep withdrawing routes, then its going to get to the point where TfWM are going to say no to funding them, which means that:
a) other routes will lose patronage, especially where passengers use them to connect to other services, and
b) areas are going have big gaps where there is no bus service provision, thus leaving people who cannot/do not drive stranded, and thus increase rates of isolation - especially where there are high numbers of the elderly and disabled.

The 226, for example, serves 3 town centres, the one of the WM areas main hospitals, a number of schools and a major employment centre. It is a service that has been running in a near similar form along the Dudley-Kingswinford-Merry Hill routing since at least the 90s (with only changes in the 00s to run via Wordsley Hospital (when it was the 264/5 and 274/5), and then later to run direct to Dudley from Russells Hall Hospital, and in 2023 when it started serving Wall Heath).

The 002 serves 2 town centres, a University, a major employment centre and a number of schools. It has run in a similar form since the 90s (with only minor changes over the years, from when Ludlows ran it)

Now if they are getting withdrawn, and there is a possibility that it may not get subsidised by the WMCA, then what chances do other routes in the Dudley area have? And if it does get subsidised, then another area could end up losing out on a bus service because of the need to balance the TfWM subsidised bus budget

Would these cuts happen under a TfL style bus network? Maybe not methinks

[Straightlines]

The thing is, if operators keep withdrawing routes, then its going to get to the point where TfWM are going to say no to funding them, which means that:
a) other routes will lose patronage, especially where passengers use them to connect to other services, and
b) areas are going have big gaps where there is no bus service provision, thus leaving people who cannot/do not drive stranded, and thus increase rates of isolation - especially where there are high numbers of the elderly and disabled.

The 226, for example, serves 3 town centres, the one of the WM areas main hospitals, a number of schools and a major employment centre. It is a service that has been running in a near similar form along the Dudley-Kingswinford-Merry Hill routing since at least the 90s (with only changes in the 00s to run via Wordsley Hospital (when it was the 264/5 and 274/5), and then later to run direct to Dudley from Russells Hall Hospital, and in 2023 when it started serving Wall Heath).

The 002 serves 2 town centres, a University, a major employment centre and a number of schools. It has run in a similar form since the 90s (with only minor changes over the years, from when Ludlows ran it)

Now if they are getting withdrawn, and there is a possibility that it may not get subsidised by the WMCA, then what chances do other routes in the Dudley area have? And if it does get subsidised, then another area could end up losing out on a bus service because of the need to balance the TfWM subsidised bus budget

Would these cuts happen under a TfL style bus network? Maybe not methinks

If there were ever a compelling argument for franchising...

[2206]

Wow, I didn't think I'd ever see the 002 being withdrawn completely. Cut back to Merry Hill - Halesowen maybe but altogether...?

The Halesowen - Bartley Green link seems to still have the 202 still, so seems to be quite a heavy reduction from 4bph to 1bph for that section to.

[Trident 4194]

Again the issue with the 002 is reliability. Unfortunately drivers are incapable of sticking to timetable schedules as of late. The amount of 002s I've seen in 2s or running NIS to get back ontime it's ridiculous. 

I know a lot of good drivers have moved onto better things as can expected, but the drivers on routes now really do need some form of monitoring and training. It's not acceptable 

[2206]

Again the issue with the 002 is reliability. Unfortunately drivers are incapable of sticking to timetable schedules as of late. The amount of 002s I've seen in 2s or running NIS to get back ontime it's ridiculous.

I know a lot of good drivers have moved onto better things as can expected, but the drivers on routes now really do need some form of monitoring and training. It's not acceptable

Maybe they're getting stuck in traffic congestion or at roadworks somewhere causing the bus to be late. Hardly the drivers fault if that's the case, which I expect is highly likely.
I find it hard to believe they are all "deliberately running late" as you seem to put it.

[j789]

If there were ever a compelling argument for franchising...

How exactly would franchising solve the underlying problem here - less passenger and increasing costs?!?

Anyone who thinks the London model is something to aspire to needs their head looking at. All it does is throw increasingly large amounts of money into a never ending hole without ever actually addressing any of the real problems facing the bus industry in the long term.

As passengers or people working within the industry, we all see things in a rose tinted way. I wish we could go back to one operator running everything in the region but it's not realistic. Non-bus users will not be happy having to pay increasingly high tax subsidies to support bus routes that clearly passengers do not use as frequently as they did.

Franchising looks like it works on already profitable routes as the passengers are already there. Poor performing routes won't suddenly gain massive numbers of new passengers just because they are franchised, all that is happening is tax payers are subsidising the needs of an increasingly few individuals who want every route to remain operational. The financial reality of this country does not allow endless subsidies in this way and it won't help. 

Clever, Joined up thinking is what is needed and not just looking at a London system that looks great on the surface but has massive financial issues under it!

[Mike K]

Wow, I didn't think I'd ever see the 002 being withdrawn completely. Cut back to Merry Hill - Halesowen maybe but altogether...?

I'm also shocked by the withdrawal of the 002. A long-standing established service that until recently ran every 15 minutes. They've been very open about the reasons in that press release, but to go from this frequency to withdrawn within a few months....well that's some demise.

[winston]

The thing is, if operators keep withdrawing routes, then its going to get to the point where TfWM are going to say no to funding them, which means that:
a) other routes will lose patronage, especially where passengers use them to connect to other services, and
b) areas are going have big gaps where there is no bus service provision, thus leaving people who cannot/do not drive stranded, and thus increase rates of isolation - especially where there are high numbers of the elderly and disabled.

The 226, for example, serves 3 town centres, the one of the WM areas main hospitals, a number of schools and a major employment centre. It is a service that has been running in a near similar form along the Dudley-Kingswinford-Merry Hill routing since at least the 90s (with only changes in the 00s to run via Wordsley Hospital (when it was the 264/5 and 274/5), and then later to run direct to Dudley from Russells Hall Hospital, and in 2023 when it started serving Wall Heath).

The 002 serves 2 town centres, a University, a major employment centre and a number of schools. It has run in a similar form since the 90s (with only minor changes over the years, from when Ludlows ran it)

Now if they are getting withdrawn, and there is a possibility that it may not get subsidised by the WMCA, then what chances do other routes in the Dudley area have? And if it does get subsidised, then another area could end up losing out on a bus service because of the need to balance the TfWM subsidised bus budget

Would these cuts happen under a TfL style bus network? Maybe not methinks

There clearly aren't the numbers using the 002, 45 or 226, otherwise they wouldn't be facing withdrawals...

Would you really want TfWM being in charge of all WM Bus Services under franchising, given how well they managed & implemented the Jan 1st changes ? It will cost the WM taxpayer a fortune to implement franchising & provide/retain routes carrying fresh air. 

As for no cuts under a TfL style bus network, the 271 has just been cut despite significant requests to save it during public consultation. 

[Marge559]

Having the 002 terminate at Weoley Castle doesn't do it any favours, there aren't many routes left that customers can connect with there than say somewhere like Northfield which has connections going all over. TfWM's Cashpoint is ready to pay out, lets just hope the plan doesn't backfire and the cash doesn't end up going to Rugby by mistake, Miller St will be needing a broadband speed boost!