Transport ten-pointer
May. 25th, 2008 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suzyscottdotcom1. Firstly, I will mention the ABF tour just once more. The group who took the open top FLF back to Peterborough stopped at March, where the open top bus was to spend the night. Then, one of the Lynx driver trainers was used to take the passengers from March to Peterborough, which makes it perhaps one of the more unusual bus changeovers of recent times!
2. Another snippet to catch up on. When I opened up the PowerBook a week past Tuesday at Victoria Coach Station, it found several wireless networks, including the TfL Buses Operational Support Unit known as Centrecomm. Didn’t attempt to send anything to the unsecured print server though…
3. Down here, and following council cuts to services around Royston in January, a change has been made to Richmond’s Wednesday shopping journeys on Service 24 (Royston – Roe Green & Rushden Turn) which also includes local services in Royston, like passing the end of our close… anyway, the service has been withdrawn from the Beldam Avenue loop, and instead now providing a weekly shoppers service to Coombelands Road & Fieldfare Way, covered every half-hour until 31st December 2007 when Service 17 was withdrawn. This happened at short notice from 30th April 2008.
4. Intalink Intachange 52 is now out – paper copies from the usual sources, or a digital one here.
5. A takeover that had been rumoured for quite a while was the Stagecoach acquisition of the Rapson Group bus operating companies (Highland Country Buses and Orkney Coaches), with Sandy Rapson retiring from operating buses. This was finalised a week past Friday, 16th May.
6. West Coast Motors have finished operating services for Scottish Citylink, after 20 years. Following a breakdown in rates negotiating, Stagecoach and Parks are now providing sub-contracted buses to replace West Coast, but WCM has registered it’s own 926 (Campbelltown – Glasgow) and 976 (Oban – Glasgow) ten minutes ahead of Citylink, and offering free travel on it’s open top tours of Glasgow or Oban for those travelling on their coach. This includes Citylink’s 973 (Dundee – Oban) having some staff staying the night at a B&B in Oban, and returning, and also includes buses further down the west coast being parked up for the night in… a West Coast bus garage! If that wasn’t the height of cheek, one of the Stagecoach Volvo coaches broke down last week… only to be rescued by a WCM vehicle! So, the driver drove back to Glasgow, with a WCM bus, using a Stagecoach driver, ten minutes behind another WCM bus under their own brand!
7. Tendering time again, hence the Perth & Kinross ringbound books all over the computer table. Schools stuff this time, local bus later. Angus will follow soon. Hertfordshire have retendered the 202/290 on a more longer-term contract, and the Sunday service on the 302 for a six-month contract (presumably TrustLine have dropped it because the Sunday service on the 700 is due to restart soon). The rest are various schoolday services and Education contracts.
8. The booze ban on London’s buses & tubes comes into effect Sunday week (1st June), and to commemeorate this, there will be one last bash. "On June the 1st 2008 - drinking on London public transport will be made illegal. We will be raising a glass to the end of this British tradition with a good old knees up. Hurrah. The Final Circle Line Party, Saturday May 31st..." See the website for more details.
9. In the most recent reshuffle of Megabus work and drivers, there are changes to Scottish workings, but little difference to the service offered to the passengers. Having said that, one notable withdrawal is the London – Brighton service, which was withdrawn last weekend.
10. A huge heap of new timetables for the summer – buses and trains – have arrived (thanks again to all!), with some notable items. Stagecoach in Cambridgeshire/Peterborough have, however, wasted little time with publicity for it’s newly-acquired Huntingdon operation, with a colourful multi-fold leaflet for the 553-555 group, plus some standard corporate issues for the local routes and the St Neots corridor. Copies from Huntingdon bus station, travel shop only usually open werekday mornings. Also, there is a similar colourful (but with a different shot of the River Cam!) done by Stagecoach for the introduction of the 8 – see here.
2. Another snippet to catch up on. When I opened up the PowerBook a week past Tuesday at Victoria Coach Station, it found several wireless networks, including the TfL Buses Operational Support Unit known as Centrecomm. Didn’t attempt to send anything to the unsecured print server though…
3. Down here, and following council cuts to services around Royston in January, a change has been made to Richmond’s Wednesday shopping journeys on Service 24 (Royston – Roe Green & Rushden Turn) which also includes local services in Royston, like passing the end of our close… anyway, the service has been withdrawn from the Beldam Avenue loop, and instead now providing a weekly shoppers service to Coombelands Road & Fieldfare Way, covered every half-hour until 31st December 2007 when Service 17 was withdrawn. This happened at short notice from 30th April 2008.
4. Intalink Intachange 52 is now out – paper copies from the usual sources, or a digital one here.
5. A takeover that had been rumoured for quite a while was the Stagecoach acquisition of the Rapson Group bus operating companies (Highland Country Buses and Orkney Coaches), with Sandy Rapson retiring from operating buses. This was finalised a week past Friday, 16th May.
6. West Coast Motors have finished operating services for Scottish Citylink, after 20 years. Following a breakdown in rates negotiating, Stagecoach and Parks are now providing sub-contracted buses to replace West Coast, but WCM has registered it’s own 926 (Campbelltown – Glasgow) and 976 (Oban – Glasgow) ten minutes ahead of Citylink, and offering free travel on it’s open top tours of Glasgow or Oban for those travelling on their coach. This includes Citylink’s 973 (Dundee – Oban) having some staff staying the night at a B&B in Oban, and returning, and also includes buses further down the west coast being parked up for the night in… a West Coast bus garage! If that wasn’t the height of cheek, one of the Stagecoach Volvo coaches broke down last week… only to be rescued by a WCM vehicle! So, the driver drove back to Glasgow, with a WCM bus, using a Stagecoach driver, ten minutes behind another WCM bus under their own brand!
7. Tendering time again, hence the Perth & Kinross ringbound books all over the computer table. Schools stuff this time, local bus later. Angus will follow soon. Hertfordshire have retendered the 202/290 on a more longer-term contract, and the Sunday service on the 302 for a six-month contract (presumably TrustLine have dropped it because the Sunday service on the 700 is due to restart soon). The rest are various schoolday services and Education contracts.
8. The booze ban on London’s buses & tubes comes into effect Sunday week (1st June), and to commemeorate this, there will be one last bash. "On June the 1st 2008 - drinking on London public transport will be made illegal. We will be raising a glass to the end of this British tradition with a good old knees up. Hurrah. The Final Circle Line Party, Saturday May 31st..." See the website for more details.
9. In the most recent reshuffle of Megabus work and drivers, there are changes to Scottish workings, but little difference to the service offered to the passengers. Having said that, one notable withdrawal is the London – Brighton service, which was withdrawn last weekend.
10. A huge heap of new timetables for the summer – buses and trains – have arrived (thanks again to all!), with some notable items. Stagecoach in Cambridgeshire/Peterborough have, however, wasted little time with publicity for it’s newly-acquired Huntingdon operation, with a colourful multi-fold leaflet for the 553-555 group, plus some standard corporate issues for the local routes and the St Neots corridor. Copies from Huntingdon bus station, travel shop only usually open werekday mornings. Also, there is a similar colourful (but with a different shot of the River Cam!) done by Stagecoach for the introduction of the 8 – see here.
