Transport stuff
Jan. 28th, 2008 02:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suzyscottdotcomSome transport stuff, but not quite a ten-point post…
1. Quite a few surprises in this lot, besides the news of the last few days. Firstly, after the 2007/8 budget cuts at North Herts Council and Herts CC, but the residents of Royston will soon be getting a NEW bus service. Ish. See, at the moment, Arriva The Shires run some journeys on the 90/91/92 (under contract to Herts CC) six days a week. From Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock, Ashwell, crossing the Herts-Cambs boundary to Steeple Morden & Guilden Morden. It used to continue to Royston via Bassingbourn, but that bit is now covered by Allan’s 127. I mentioned it’s up for tender, and the new service specification will be revised to follow the existing route to Ashwell, then continuing to Royston, from Monday 31st March 2008. Allan’s 127 is to be revised as a result. You may notice the date – it’s one year to the day since the last unexpected surprise around here, and that was when I fell in love with C! Thoughts – well, it reinstates a direct link without running into Cambridgeshire, and there is more potential in Royston than there is in The Mordens.
2. A look at the first months of the new owners of GNER, now National Express East Coast, ends with the slightly amusing revelation about the state of the wi-fi. Now, the service used to be charged-for to standard class passengers, but now it is free for all, which would explain the state of the network.
"The NXEC WiFi service is completely and utterly rubbish, it hardly ever worked under GNER with only 4 coaches of First Class passengers using it. So what a great idea it was to add another 5 coaches of standard passengers using it. Cue the on board server crashing under the pressure of so many passenger using it."
3. To answer a question I’ve been asked a few times… the recent trip up north cost me a total of £4.00, booked via NatEx online. Cambridge – London was £1.00, London – Dundee was £1.00 (booked twenty days in advance in these cases), and the same on the way back. Full through fare for the same journey on the web is seventeen times the price for a flexible ticket, with some savings on Apex etc. More information on the NX 'funfares' concept is available here. Unfortunately, NX haven't yet followed megabus/train with £1 seats on NXEC, but give it time.
4. Some of you may recall the Hydrogen Fuel Cell buses that ran around London for a while – I snapped up one when I went to the Waterden Road open day – ESQ64992, one of three.
It had been known that one went to the new look LT Museum, and another went to the Science Museum, but the third (ESQ64992, coincidentally) has gone to the Beith Transport Museum. This picture of the bus arriving there was taken by, and copyright of, Kenny Barclay, who explains things with a few words.
"Beith Transport Museum has been selected by Transport for London (TfL) to receive one of three prototype Hydrogen powered buses to add to the existing large collection of vehicles.
The vehicle was part of a Europe wide trial called C.U.T.E (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) involving 31 different companies, where 47 Hydrogen powered buses worked alongside conventional vehicles for a number of years in nine European cities to evaluate the reduction of harmful emissions, indeed the only emissions from these vehicles was harmless water vapour!. The other two UK vehicles have been donated to the London Transport Museum and the National Science Centre. Transport for London is also covering the cost of transporting the vehicle to Beith.
Beith Transport Museum is operated by The Transport Preservation Trust, a registered charity, and is located on Willowyard Road, Beith between Beith and Glengarnock It is open Sunday to Friday... the web site is www.tpt-beith.org.uk
The vehicle will join a collection of over 100 vehicles which include Buses, Tow Trucks, A Railway subway car, Boat, Blackpool Tram, Tank and armoured cars, various fire engines and also vintage cars and bikes. The museum is holding an open weekend on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd March 2008. Admisson is free and everyone is welcome…"
5. Further to last week's revelations about Arriva claiming Goths are a health & safety hazard, here is an interesting follow-up...
6. Finally, a link here to an interesting comparison. You've all seen my pictures of the 'day in the citi' series that are around Cambridge and Peterborough and Oxford and beyond (see userpic here), but the concept of showing off passengers on the backs of buses hasn't been taken by Stagecoach Scotland... until now. With thanks to the operator for supplying the pic, here's an interesting way to drum up interest in a new service for Cumbernauld... yes, ask the passengers what they think, and to show themselves off, and become the faces of the X20 - literally...
1. Quite a few surprises in this lot, besides the news of the last few days. Firstly, after the 2007/8 budget cuts at North Herts Council and Herts CC, but the residents of Royston will soon be getting a NEW bus service. Ish. See, at the moment, Arriva The Shires run some journeys on the 90/91/92 (under contract to Herts CC) six days a week. From Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock, Ashwell, crossing the Herts-Cambs boundary to Steeple Morden & Guilden Morden. It used to continue to Royston via Bassingbourn, but that bit is now covered by Allan’s 127. I mentioned it’s up for tender, and the new service specification will be revised to follow the existing route to Ashwell, then continuing to Royston, from Monday 31st March 2008. Allan’s 127 is to be revised as a result. You may notice the date – it’s one year to the day since the last unexpected surprise around here, and that was when I fell in love with C! Thoughts – well, it reinstates a direct link without running into Cambridgeshire, and there is more potential in Royston than there is in The Mordens.
2. A look at the first months of the new owners of GNER, now National Express East Coast, ends with the slightly amusing revelation about the state of the wi-fi. Now, the service used to be charged-for to standard class passengers, but now it is free for all, which would explain the state of the network.
"The NXEC WiFi service is completely and utterly rubbish, it hardly ever worked under GNER with only 4 coaches of First Class passengers using it. So what a great idea it was to add another 5 coaches of standard passengers using it. Cue the on board server crashing under the pressure of so many passenger using it."
3. To answer a question I’ve been asked a few times… the recent trip up north cost me a total of £4.00, booked via NatEx online. Cambridge – London was £1.00, London – Dundee was £1.00 (booked twenty days in advance in these cases), and the same on the way back. Full through fare for the same journey on the web is seventeen times the price for a flexible ticket, with some savings on Apex etc. More information on the NX 'funfares' concept is available here. Unfortunately, NX haven't yet followed megabus/train with £1 seats on NXEC, but give it time.
4. Some of you may recall the Hydrogen Fuel Cell buses that ran around London for a while – I snapped up one when I went to the Waterden Road open day – ESQ64992, one of three.
It had been known that one went to the new look LT Museum, and another went to the Science Museum, but the third (ESQ64992, coincidentally) has gone to the Beith Transport Museum. This picture of the bus arriving there was taken by, and copyright of, Kenny Barclay, who explains things with a few words.
"Beith Transport Museum has been selected by Transport for London (TfL) to receive one of three prototype Hydrogen powered buses to add to the existing large collection of vehicles.
The vehicle was part of a Europe wide trial called C.U.T.E (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) involving 31 different companies, where 47 Hydrogen powered buses worked alongside conventional vehicles for a number of years in nine European cities to evaluate the reduction of harmful emissions, indeed the only emissions from these vehicles was harmless water vapour!. The other two UK vehicles have been donated to the London Transport Museum and the National Science Centre. Transport for London is also covering the cost of transporting the vehicle to Beith.
Beith Transport Museum is operated by The Transport Preservation Trust, a registered charity, and is located on Willowyard Road, Beith between Beith and Glengarnock It is open Sunday to Friday... the web site is www.tpt-beith.org.uk
The vehicle will join a collection of over 100 vehicles which include Buses, Tow Trucks, A Railway subway car, Boat, Blackpool Tram, Tank and armoured cars, various fire engines and also vintage cars and bikes. The museum is holding an open weekend on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd March 2008. Admisson is free and everyone is welcome…"
5. Further to last week's revelations about Arriva claiming Goths are a health & safety hazard, here is an interesting follow-up...
6. Finally, a link here to an interesting comparison. You've all seen my pictures of the 'day in the citi' series that are around Cambridge and Peterborough and Oxford and beyond (see userpic here), but the concept of showing off passengers on the backs of buses hasn't been taken by Stagecoach Scotland... until now. With thanks to the operator for supplying the pic, here's an interesting way to drum up interest in a new service for Cumbernauld... yes, ask the passengers what they think, and to show themselves off, and become the faces of the X20 - literally...
