Essex bus timetable books... or should that be book?

Further to my point 3 in this post, Essex County Council have confirmed that from October 2008, the current series of five area books will be replaced by a single book, offering more coverage and less duplication.

This will be on sale in October, priced £1.00 (currently each of the five books are 50p each, but were previously £1.00 each!)

I expect it's going to be a fair size though...

Last few bus bashes...

Now to play catch-up before I start all over again this coming week!

Friday 22nd August - I left Royston on a Stagecoach Cambridge DayRider+, for one last travel on some of the current Huntingdon & Fens network before the changes this weekend. So, to Cambridge on the 26, to Huntingdon on the 554, St Neots on the 566, meet up with Bob (another admin from ABF), X5 to Madingley Road P&R, red P&R bus (77) to The Grafton (shopping centre), walk back to Drummer Street for the 26 back to Royston. An enjoyable day - a bit shorter maybe, but I enjoyed shopping out around the city! See all the pictures here.

Friday 15th August - I've already blogged about that as part of our weekend away, click here for that entry.

Wednesday 13th August - another long day out on an Intalink Explorer, pushing back the boundaries to (once again) visit the most westerly point on the Arriva The Shires public network - Oxford. So, from Royston Bus Station on Centrebus 90 to Baldock, visit to the Intalink publicity bus, Herberts 391 to Stevenage, uno 634 to Hemel Hempstead, Tiger Line T1 to Lye Green, Wootten's Depot, then have a look around and meet Michael W, before taking the T1 through to Aylesbury, Arriva 280 to Oxford High Street, walk/hobble through the cobbles to Gloucester Green for some pictures, before getting Stagecoach X5 back to Cambridge Madingley Road Park & Ride, where C picked me up and drove back to Royston. A very enjoyable day, with lots of pictures - including some taken in the changeable wind and rain! See all the pictures here.

Tuesday 12th August - an early start with an 8-shaped twist! Started on the Arriva 331x from Royston to Hertford, uno 341 to Hatfield College Lane Campus, uno 602 to Watford High Street, Arriva TfL 142 to Stanmore Broadway, uno 615 to Hatfield Galleria, uno 636 to Luton Silver Street, walk through the shops, and then from Luton Church Street to Hitchin on Arriva 102, then Arriva 92 from Hitchin to Letchworth Station Road, and Centrebus 91 back to Royston. A day of changeable weather, so please bear this in mind with the pictures!

Monday 28th July - I mentioned here about my travels by Tiger Line, but the full day out was leaving the flat in Royston at 0540, to Royston Station for the 0600 train to Stevenage. Uno 635 and 634 to Hemel Hempstead, before sampling the first morning of Wootten's Tiger Line Service T1. I managed to sample and photograph all three Tigers in service, traveling between Hemel, Bovingdon Village, Hemel again, Chesham, and onto Aylesbury. From there, Arriva Line300 to High Wycombe, 305 to Uxbridge, then went to see Steve P in West Drayton. From there, he dropped me off back at London Heathrow Airport, and I took the Arriva GreenLine 724 back to Hatrfield Station, for one train through to Royston, getting back about 15 and a half hours after I started! Knackered after a long day in the heat (sunburnt too!), but a very enjoyable day! See here for all the pictures.

First London to go on strike, not for the first time

Nine years ago, FirstGroup's CentreWest London Buses subsidary won "London Bus Operator Of The Year", in the middle of a prolonged industrial relations battle with a few strikes occuring shortly after I moved to West London. The then-MD of First in London at the time, Peter Hendy, has since gone onto... erm, better things in TfL, but the company seemed to improve morale, turn itself around, and gain routes to make up for those lost/surrendered. Now, nine years later, it seems nothing has changed. BTW, the group's financial results for the year to 31 March 2008 showed that "...Revenue £4,707.6m up 26.9% and adjusted operating profit £360.1m up 38.9%..."

Bus drivers to strike in pay row

Thousands of London bus drivers are to go on strike in a row over pay.

Members of the Unite union are demanding an equal rate of pay for drivers across the bus network, which is operated by 18 different companies.

Unite said 2,500 staff employed by First will walkout for 24 hours from 0300 BST on 29 August and again for 48 hours on 12 September.

They voted to strike after rejecting a 3.5% pay increase from First who maintained it was a "good offer".

The industrial action will mainly affect bus routes in east and west London.

Unite is campaigning for London's 28,000 bus drivers to be paid £30,000 a year, based on a 38-hour week.

Share of profits

It claims the disparity between different operators can be as much as £6,000. It also said sick pay, pensions and holiday arrangements differed.

Unite's industrial organiser George Dodo-Williams said: "London bus drivers have consistently delivered huge increases in efficiency and performance since the return of local government to London.

"But they are being forced to take action to stake their claim for a share of the profits generated by their hard work."

A spokesman for Unite said ballots were also being held in relation to other operators.

Downward pressure

The forthcoming industrial action will include drivers who work for First Capital East and Centrewest London Buses, which operate under First.

Adrian Jones from First said: "The London bus market has always been competitive and there is continuing downward pressure on tender prices.

"In the current circumstances, we believe the pay offer of 3.5% is a good one, particularly compared with those currently being made in many sectors."

First said most drivers were paid more than £25,000 a year with 25% of drivers earning more than £30,000 a year for a normal working week.

The firm said the union's campaign to bring pay into line was "unrealistic".

Transport for London (TfL) said it was powerless to intervene because bus drivers are employed by private companies.

If you thought I was pedantic...

... wait till you read about these guys!

Found thanks to thermalsatsuma...