Friday 20 May 2016

Bus Stations, Plus or Minus? (part 1)

Mostly Minus in South Yorkshire.
fbb has long been banging on about poor quality information in South Yorkshire; particularly from the PTE whose leaflets were generally awful.

Here we are told that the 1A serves Sheffield Interchange. It doesn't!
Actually one journey on Monday to Saturday does ...
... so the brainless confuser that makes up the leaflets (sustainably; a euphemism for wrongly) decided to put that on the front page. Then there's the list of "Stopping points" ...
... where the places in the blue boxes are in the wrong geographical location and those marked with a red "X" are just plain wrong. The buses simply do not go there!

But all this rubbish is of largely academic interest as the PTE no longer prints the leaflets, leaving the passenger to download them - which they generally don't. It is now up to the bus companies to provide their own stuff - which they generally don't as we shall see.

The Tuesday before the change (10th May), a Sheffield blog correspondent visited Doncaster, where the new "Partnership" has improved (i.e. reduced) services, and found almost everything lacking. Likewise in Sheffield itself there was nothing available.

On the Tuesday after the change, this was what John found.

BARNSLEY
As far as he could tell at a quick glance, leaflets showing revised times for Stagecoach services were available.

DONCASTER
John writes:-
Hurray, one muffled cheer for there being leaflets available for most of First's services there. As far as I can see a full set is
8/8a/87/87a
10/13/16
14/15
19
41
50/50a
54
55/56
57/57a
58,
65/66/66a
71/72/73
76/76a
81/82,
84/84a/84b,

And for the prestigious X78, linking Doncaster with Rotherham and Sheffield, now with a really crazy timetable?
NO X78 leaflet
Stagecoach stuff was OK.

ROTHERHAM
Here things were in disarray, mainly as a result of a fire on Sunday night which closed platform A
The only leaflet that John could find was for routes 108 and 109 between Rotrherham and Rawmarsh.
These are currently being headlines on the Stagecoach web site which ...
... lauds the 15 minutes frequency. Actually there are eight buses an hour on these route to Rawmarsh with 108 and 109 going alternately round a large loop.
Of First Bus 22A and 22C, a major change from Sunday 15th, not a word.

And for the prestigious X78, linking Doncaster with Rotherham and Sheffield, now with a really crazy timetable?
NO X78 leaflet

SHEFFIELD
Nothing new at all.
There is not a single solitary Sheffield area changes leaflet anywhere.

Whilst many of the changes to Sheffield routes involve minor tinkerings at peak times on Monday to Friday, some services have significant change throughout the day, e.g. service 74.

And for the prestigious X78, linking Doncaster with Rotherham and Sheffield, now with a really crazy timetable?
NO X78 leaflet

John continues:-

Not even the revised Stagecoach Chesterfield leaflets for the changes on 8 May (I Know they have been produced as I obtained them from Chesterfield on Monday along with leaflets for all the other changed services). In Sheffield these are 43/43a/44, 50/50a/50b, 70/70a/71/71a/72, X17.
Why can't Stagecoach be bothered to supply Sheffield offices, where arguably most of their market originates?

What is needed is a simple way of getting hold of accurate information on-line ...
... and a set of printed timetable always available and always up to date.
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But There Is Some Good News
In Somerset.
Despite the on-line and app shambles, largely created by the "need" for a "national" web site, the locally managed timetable book is excellent. Unlike to non-local web site, it does include service 20 between Burnham on Sea and Weston-super-Mud.
Strangely, the booklet does NOT include services to Penzance, Land's End, Falmouth etc.

If this last item mystifies some of our readers, just use the list to the left of this blog and read yesterday's and Wednesday's blogs. It will all be perfectly clear.
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On Saturday and Sunday we will go for a bus ride; on Monday we will look at another bus station.

 Next bus-ride blog : Saturday 21st May 

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