Pensnett Garage

[Mike K]

Cutting corners? Your suggestion is the reduction in frequency for people, not NX's. You then have to either also reduce the 98 to keep the even frequency to the QE from Birmingham or have a completely uneven service.

NX's solution maintaines the 10 minute frequency there and also maintains frequencies at every other bus stop, but hopefully making the service more reliable as well

Going back a few pages in the thread here, but doesn't this post mean that frequencies are maintained at all stops along the existing 99 route? Is there a mystery second replacement service over part of the route that we aren't yet aware of? Or have I misread, or am I talking out of my backside? Or all of the above?

[BK63 YWP]

Tony said the whole route was unreliable not just the QE- Brum section, so seems that there is also problems between Halesowen and QE.

The history of the 244 route is not the greatest for reliability God knows why but the usual crap about traffic will no doubt be suggested.

Harborne high street for one probably causes delays- 142 suffers delays at night too. @Trident 4194 read your sentences before posting....


I really think this could have been rectified just by adding another piece of plastic to the route!!

The 142 does not go anywhere near harborne high street at night... how much of the history of the 244 you basing this on?

Have you been on your Diamond Helicopter again?

@Trident 4194 see above.....

142 does halesowen to stourbridge at night and is currently ran by ARRIVA....

[winston]

It would depend on which part of the route was making it unreliable. With regards to the 99, if it was the section between the QE and city centre causing the reliability issues, removing that part of the route from the equation would make the service more reliable as a result.

I don't know enough about the 244 route to comment knowledgably, but again, if the solution to reliability is to decrease the frequency to 30mins and allow for more running time, it stands a chance that combining the 244 and 99 would lead to a more reliable, albeit less frequent, service.

There will still be issues along both the 244 route & the parts of the 99 route (Welsh House Farm Estate / Harborne High St) that is being tagged on the 244. Also the total journey time end to end will now be increased to approx 1hr 10 mins on a 30 min frequency. If there are any delays / breakdowns en route in the new format, surely these will result in even larger gaps in service than at present due to frequency reductions.

The 244 was obviously chopped / reduced in frequency end of Feb, then extended further still end of April

[Stuharris 6360]

Going back a few pages in the thread here, but doesn't this post mean that frequencies are maintained at all stops along the existing 99 route? Is there a mystery second replacement service over part of the route that we aren't yet aware of? Or have I misread, or am I talking out of my backside? Or all of the above?

No @Mike K I read that post the same as you do, a half hourly frequency on the 244 will not maintain the current service level at stops between Halesowen and the QE!

[ARBB]

@Stuharris 6360  do you use the 99 ? If not, how can you comment ?

There's often crowds of people waiting for the 99 in Halesowen, where's the 99 ? Stuck somewhere else on the route...... I'm sure they'll be happier that a different service coming from a different direction and taking them to the same destination is on time.

@Trident 4194 the 244 isn't as bad as you try to make out and of course the 142 is late..... It's diamond

@Dom there's only 7 full 243 boards one of them is a peak board

[Tony]

I really think this could have been rectified just by adding another piece of plastic to the route!!

Yes, just spend another £100,000 per year on a route. I doubt the route would survive at all then

[winston]

Going back a few pages in the thread here, but doesn't this post mean that frequencies are maintained at all stops along the existing 99 route? Is there a mystery second replacement service over part of the route that we aren't yet aware of? Or have I misread, or am I talking out of my backside? Or all of the above?

@Mike K - This is part of the problem with the forum, we get to hear tit bits of service changes from various posters, yet we don't always have the full picture, hence why we might often get 1+1 = 3. We'd be better knowing all or nothing.

[Trident 4194]

@Stuharris 6360  do you use the 99 ? If not, how can you comment ?

There's often crowds of people waiting for the 99 in Halesowen, where's the 99 ? Stuck somewhere else on the route...... I'm sure they'll be happier that a different service coming from a different direction and taking them to the same destination is on time.

@Trident 4194 the 244 isn't as bad as you try to make out and of course the 142 is late..... It's diamond

@Dom there's only 7 full 243 boards one of them is a peak board

@pndriver the 244 was always late- there was only you that managed to stay on time.

Yet NX can spend money on providing absolute tat films on platinum services. Obviously got money to burn!!!

@Chris the 142 does use harborne high street or at least the same bit that the 99 does.

The 99 really does need a 20 min frequency from the loadings I see. No excess supply being shown according to me.

[Gareth]

Do the contributors of this thread actually use all the bus routes they moan about on here in their daily lives or regular commute to work/college/school/playgroup? (delete as applicable).

[Stuharris 6360]

@Stuharris 6360  do you use the 99 ? If not, how can you comment ?

There's often crowds of people waiting for the 99 in Halesowen, where's the 99 ? Stuck somewhere else on the route...... I'm sure they'll be happier that a different service coming from a different direction and taking them to the same destination is on time.

@Trident 4194 the 244 isn't as bad as you try to make out and of course the 142 is late..... It's diamond

@Dom there's only 7 full 243 boards one of them is a peak board

@pndriver

yes I have had to use the service, had to visit the QE on numerous occasions.I said so when we have debated this issue before if you care to read.

You may have a point about all these people in Halesowen, but can't be as many as you say otherwise why is the frequency being reduced to 1/2 hourly. Secondly what about the people (quite a number) who travel across the QE and now have to change buses. When i have got on the service at the QE I have struggled to find a seat. Yes if the service started at the QE that wouldn't be a problem for me, but what about other people.

[Stuharris 6360]

Do the contributors of this thread actually use all the bus routes they moan about on here in their daily lives or regular commute to work/college/school/playgroup? (delete as applicable).

Sorry but I find that remark rather offensive.

I could say, do you use any PN buses, if not why are you reading the thread. I don't because that's not my right.

What we are debating is a serious subject, the 243/4. 4H and 99 are all being/have been tampered with when in my opinion there is no need.

[Tony]

Sorry but I find that remark rather offensive.

I could say, do you use any PN buses, if not why are you reading the thread. I don't because that's not my right.

What we are debating is a serious subject, the 243/4. 4H and 99 are all being/have been tampered with when in my opinion there is no need.

So you want NX called before the TC for having an unreliable service and not doing anything about it?

[Stu]

The problem is Birmingham city centre. Any bus service that has to enter there is bound to get delayed or become unreliable due to the increasing traffic congestion.

You only have to look at the questions in the recent South-West and South Birmingham surveys to get an idea of what NX Bus (and ultimately TfWM/WMCA) are going to work towards:

-Fewer direct services going into the city centre from the suburbs and periphery ("out-lying") areas of Birmingham.
-Faster and more frequent city centre services along key 'trunk' corridors.

Passengers are going to be inconvenienced because many will have to change buses in order to continue their journey to/from the city centre. But then again passengers who only use these services in local areas, will be less inconvenienced because their 'out-lying' services will be more reliable as a result of not having to come in and out of the city centre congestion hotspot.

But what is ultimately better: being able to travel from Welsh House Farm, or Tile Cross, into the city centre, on one bus service, that takes ages and is unreliable? Or using a local service that may be less frequent but reliable, and then changing onto a more frequent service to continue your journey?

We can't all have a direct bus from where we live to where we want to get to. My opinion is that it is better to have a properly organised network of bus routes, so that even if you have to change buses to complete your journey, it is not a massive inconvenience.

[Stuharris 6360]

So you want NX called before the TC for having an unreliable service and not doing anything about it?

No I don't, but then what is going to happen when NE start cancelling journeys between Halesowen and Dudley because the bus has been delayed on the journey from the QE, they will be called before the TC.

@Tony, why aren't current service frequencies going to be maintained between Halesowen and the QE as you stated in the post highlighted earlier by @Mike K ?

[Dom]

@Dom there's only 7 full 243 boards one of them is a peak board

6, there's one morning peak and one afternoon.