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Post by twobellstogo on Apr 3, 2023 17:31:38 GMT
Ensign joined the scheme from April 1st. Guessing that’s in relation to it now being a First subsidiary?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2023 22:25:53 GMT
Yes, this one is just a coincidence as Carlone are not one of the operators partaking in the scheme, so a single from Staines to Heathrow would still be £3.
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Post by gwiwer on Apr 12, 2023 20:25:31 GMT
Basingstoke to Haslemere on Stagecoach 13.
Largely to farewell that part of the route being permanently withdrawn from Saturday namely Liphook - Haslemere via Hammer Hill (no replacement, so no direct bus link in future) but also because I haven't used any of that route before. If they'd hung on another few weeks I could have used my Freedom Pass but it doesn't start until mid-May!
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Post by wirewiper on May 8, 2023 15:20:43 GMT
Cornish Capers
Did another batch of £2 rides last Friday (5th May), my first for a while as I have been busy with other things. I bought a return train ticket to Plymouth so I could bag two Go Cornwall Bus routes (I actually did three but the third one I have travelled before).
My first bus was to be the 12.15 route 72 to Looe & Polperro (as per the destination display which shows exactly this). At about ten past a "Not in service" single-decker pulled up half-way past the stop and I assumed this was to the be 72, the driver potted around for a few minutes and at 12.15 precisely - he got off and wandered off. The minutes came and went and I started to wonder if the 12.15 was ever going to be, then at 12.22 ADL Enviro400 no. 511 pulled up, changed from "Not in service" to "Looe & Polperro 72", loaded a dozen relieved passengers and set off, eight minutes late.
There were a few comings and goings as the bus ran through Plymouth, clearly the Go Cornwall routes are treated by locals as an integral part of the city's bus network. The bus crossed the Tamar Road Bridge which soars high above the river and the views from a double-deck bus are seriously impressive. The bridge runs alongside Isambard Kingdom Brunel's last great work, the Royal Albert railway bridge which opened in 1859 - 102 years before the road bridge. The latter was a real game-changer for this corner of Cornwall - within a few weeks of it opening, the Saltash Ferry which had operated for 800 years was gone and the local train service was scaled back dramatically.
There were more comings and goings through Saltash, on the Cornish side of the river, then we hit the A38 for a spirited run stopping only once in Landrake to set down a passenger before turning off to take quieter roads on to Looe. The scenery was green and pleasant rather than the ruggedness which is mlore associated with other parts of Cornwall. At East Looe we diverted into a housing estate where we picked up and dropped off a couple of people, then down into the old village dropping off four before crossing the river into West Looe. Here the bus double-runs along the narrow Quayside and reverses at the Fire Station, a maneouvre which seemed to me to be somewhat unnecessary and must be difficult in the Summer due to traffic and pedestrians. On leaving Looe I was the sole passenger for the three-mile run onto Polperro, which included a totally unexpected turn into a farmyard in the middle of nowhere for a driver change! The bus arrived in Polperro 15 minutes late, picked up two waiting passengers and went straight out.
Polperro is an old fishing village and the roads are very constrained so most traffic is barred. Visitors are directed to use a large car park at the Crumplehorn pub at the top end of the village, where buses also terminate. My next run was to be the 73 to Liskeard, which departed bang on time at 14.00 with seven people on board. This was operated by ADL Enviro200 MMC 2451 which was one of the large batch delivered in 2020 for the Transport for Cornwall contract. The 73 offers more local links in the Looe-Polperro area than the 72 and includes a double-run to Pelynt which in itself incorporates a second double-run to Camping Caradon (which proved its worth as one person travelled from there into Pelynt). Route 73 drivers soon become skilled in reversing! Most passengers had alighted by Looe but we picked up two more there, plus three more at Tregoad Holiday park where the 73 does another double-run that the 72 omits. After that there was a scenic but uneventful run through the Looe Valley where we picked up one more passenger in Duloe before arriving in Liskeard at 15.07, still bang on time.
I caught route 11 to take me back into Plymouth. The 15.24 departure was operated by ADL Enviro200 2210, one that had been new to Go-Ahead London in 2014 for route 100. It may have been the smallest bus of the day, but it was the busiest. We left Liskeard on time and had around 15 on board when we hit the A38 for another spirited run, then through Saltash and St Budeaux there were numerous comings and goings. From St Budeaux we followed a CityBus 43 which cleared the road into the City Centre, so despite the small size of the bus, at no point was anyone forced to stand. Arrival at Plymouth Royal Parade was at 16.25, four minutes down.
So - value for money? On this occasion I actually diddled myself. Transport for Cornwall has been the beneficiary of a £23.5million grant from Central Government for a pilot scheme to increase ridership by reducing fares, and since April 2022 the cost of a day ticket covering all bus routes in the County has been capped at £5 - and this specifically includes journeys to and from Plymouth. So I actually overpaid by £1, not that I minded as I still felt I was showing support for the £2 single fare scheme.
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Post by VPL630 on May 10, 2023 7:39:09 GMT
Finished work early in Reading, decided I hadn’t been on a Citaro for a while, caught the 800 to High Wycombe in the form of 3009 - BJ12 YPU a Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530.
I’ve done the 800/850 many times but only once on a citaro and it was a very poorly one, struggling for power, emitting smoke and making some unusual sounds, however on this occasion the bus was in surprisingly good condition…for High Wycombe standards anyway…
The route is quite well padded which normally means you are in for a slow ride but kickdown was used multiple times and the driver didn’t miss a beat all the way showing caution when needed along the various tight bits of the route, not sure I’d want to spend all day driving down those roads and it probably explains some of the body damage those buses incur, there are some nice views out of the window.
Arriving into High Wycombe nearly 4 mins early with quite a healthy load I had 30mins to kill before the 102 to Heathrow, after getting some snacks and back to the bus station at 1500 there was a Scania E400 blinded as a 103 with a long line of passengers waiting, a min later after it should have already left the driver walked down from chatting to others and proceeded to get set up in the bus, 7 mins later still no one had boarded, the driver was still messing about with the ticket machine and in the end had to call a colleague over to help her out after that ordeal passengers loaded, she then put the bus in reverse and moved back without even looking in her mirrors luckily an Arriva bus had spotted her and had stopped because only after about 6ft did she check the mirrors and sound the horn…
Anyway another lovely Citaro turned up on the 102 in the form of 879 - BT09 GOK, shame the same couldn’t be said about the driver, on multiple times throughout the route, the driver made poor decisions, going into gaps that just weren’t there, trying to force his way down the road, failing to do proper observations causing harsh braking a few times, maybe he was having an off day but I doubt it due to the way it was consistent throughout the journey, including lowering the bus onto a kerb causing the doors to fail to close at a bus stop and then taking the best part of 5 mins to work out why they wouldn’t close and getting another passenger to try and pull the door closed to no avail, eventually he worked out how to raise the bus back up and the doors closed. At the M4 roundabout he clipped the kerb aggressively causing the rear near side to scrape the kerb as he came off it, an eventful joinery for all the wrong reasons, not to mention it was driven at a snails pace and while accelerating at random times he would completely let off and then reapply the throttle causing an unpleasant jolt.
The route isn’t anything special, no great sights, but for £2 it’s a useful connection to Heathrow and bonus that it’s a citaro
Hex to PAD, EL to LST, GA to SNF and home
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on May 13, 2023 3:54:11 GMT
I am due to travel from Newcastle to Berwick on Arriva bus X15 or X18 in September. I hope the £2 fare is still in operation by then.
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Post by greenboy on May 17, 2023 6:27:18 GMT
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Post by twobellstogo on May 17, 2023 6:58:09 GMT
Ah, you beat me to it 😂 Headline is £2 until the end of October, then £2.50 until the end of November 2024.
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Post by WH241 on May 17, 2023 8:19:07 GMT
Ah, you beat me to it 😂 Headline is £2 until the end of October, then £2.50 until the end of November 2024. Think this is great news for buses outside of London. It’s good news buses are finally being taken seriously and they are receiving publicity and support.
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Post by wirewiper on May 18, 2023 10:25:15 GMT
I'm not sure this is the best approach. The £2 fare is great in defined urban areas, but I don't think it is appropriate for longer routes. I would prefer a way of keeping fares down all round whilst charging a more appropriate fare for longer distances. Something like the Cornwall BSIP which has capped day fares at £3 in towns and £5 county-wide. Also it is good news that BSIP money is being increased and extended in scope, but will £300 million be enough?
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Post by northlondon83 on May 18, 2023 20:21:52 GMT
Assuming that the 724 (Heathrow to Harlow) is under Arriva Kent Riverside (though it goes nowhere near Kent) it's very good value for money for long distance journeys
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Post by vjaska on May 18, 2023 22:13:21 GMT
Assuming that the 724 (Heathrow to Harlow) is under Arriva Kent Riverside (though it goes nowhere near Kent) it's very good value for money for long distance journeys Do you mean Arriva Kent Thameside by any chance? The 724 end to end is something I plan doing very soon
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Post by northlondon83 on May 19, 2023 7:11:43 GMT
Assuming that the 724 (Heathrow to Harlow) is under Arriva Kent Riverside (though it goes nowhere near Kent) it's very good value for money for long distance journeys Do you mean Arriva Kent Thameside by any chance? The 724 end to end is something I plan doing very soon Yes I do Also it's a very nice bus you get good speeds on some sections whilst some areas it passes are very nice. I used this route in 2021 but more for sightseeing purposes where I would ride the bus to one town then get off it, have an explore round and get the next bus to the next town
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on May 20, 2023 6:21:26 GMT
Ah, you beat me to it 😂 Headline is £2 until the end of October, then £2.50 until the end of November 2024. Think this is great news for buses outside of London. It’s good news buses are finally being taken seriously and they are receiving publicity and support. Indeed it is. Admittedly with few if any rumours of service cuts on July 1st it seemed promising that these fares would continue. Also, with the fare cap (albeit increased in the Autumn) continues until November next year we are likely to have a new Parliament decide whether to extend it after that.
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Post by VPL630 on May 20, 2023 20:45:21 GMT
Upon noticing that an Ipswich buses Citaro was roaming around on the 93 (Colchester to Ipswich) and I'm off today I couldn't say no and boy was I in for a treat, after cruising around Colchester eventually making our way out onto the A12, "*KICKDOWN + MAXED OUT THRASH*" was activated, It's been so long since I've been on one that has been driven so hard, from a standing start being redlined in every gear until hitting the speed limiter in 6th, this was one hell of a ride, so much so it's the first time I've heard the fan roaring away like an old B7TL, this particular bus was in excellent condition. The route primarily serves the A12 but does stop off at a few small villages along the way which are very picturesque, the route is quite tightly time so you are normally in for a good ride, deckers do appear mostly during weekdays but Saturdays you are more than likely going to expecting an E200 if it's an older one you might be in for a treat with a 6pot variant.
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